28 August 2025

• Environment: Coal NGT report : coal generates 70 per cent of India's power; pollution compliance remains patchy in older plants.
• Economy: GST at 8 years : the 101st Constitutional Amendment replaced CENVAT with a unified destination-based tax.
• Defence: Exercise Bright Star 2025 : India sent 700 personnel to Egypt for multi-domain exercise.
• Governance: National Biofoundry Network : India's synthetic biology infrastructure investment.
• Environment: Gangotri glacier thinning at 46 cm per year : satellite data confirms acceleration.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Amendment), Economy

The Goods and Services Tax was implemented on July 1, 2017 under the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act (2016), replacing a complex multi-layer indirect tax structure.

• 101st Constitutional Amendment: Inserted Article 246A (concurrent power for Parliament and state legislatures to levy GST), Article 269A (GST on interstate trade), Article 279A (GST Council), and modified the Seventh Schedule.
• GST Council: A constitutional body under Article 279A. Chaired by the Union Finance Minister. 2/3 of votes belong to states collectively; 1/3 to the Centre. A 3/4 majority is needed for changes.
• Pre-GST taxes abolished: Central Excise Duty, Service Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), Central Sales Tax, entry taxes, octroi and several cesses.
• Four-slab structure: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Plus 0 per cent (exempted : essentials). Plus cess on sin/luxury goods.
• Revenue milestone: Monthly GST collections crossed Rs 2 lakh crore for the first time in April 2024. Average monthly collection in FY25 exceeded Rs 1.82 lakh crore.
• Pending reforms: Rationalisation of the slab structure (calls to merge 12 and 18 per cent; remove some items from 28 per cent without replacing revenue); rate on insurance premiums; petroleum products remain outside GST.

Static linkage: Constitutional amendments, economy, taxation.

GS area: Environment (Energy, Pollution)

Coal generates approximately 70 per cent of India's electricity. An NGT-commissioned report found that many coal-fired power plants are not meeting emission standards.

• India's coal power capacity: Over 230 GW of installed coal-based capacity as of 2025. Thermal power accounts for about 75 per cent of total installed capacity.
• Emission standards (2015): The Ministry of Environment set emission limits for SO2, NOx, particulate matter and mercury from thermal power plants. Deadline was extended multiple times : from 2017 to 2022 to 2025.
• NGT role: The National Green Tribunal (established 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act) can take up suo motu cases on environmental matters. It directed an audit of compliance.
• Compliance status: About 40 per cent of coal plants (by capacity) had installed FGD (Flue Gas Desulphurisation) units by 2025. The rest are operating under time-extension permissions.
• Just Transition: India's coal-mining belt states : Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha : face a jobs challenge as coal is phased down under climate commitments. A Just Transition Framework is part of India's climate policy discussion.

Static linkage: Environment, energy, governance.

GS area: International Relations, Defence

Exercise Bright Star 2025 was held in Egypt with participation from India and over a dozen other nations.

• Egypt hosting: Bright Star is Egypt's flagship multilateral military exercise, held since 1981. It is the largest military exercise in the Middle East and Africa region.
• India's participation: 700 personnel across Army, Navy and Air Force contingents. First significant multi-domain participation.
• Participating nations: US, UK, France, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan (sometimes), Canada, Greece, Italy and others depending on year.
• India-Egypt bilateral: India and Egypt signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January 2023 during PM Modi's visit. Defence cooperation is a growing pillar.
• Egypt's strategic location: Controls the Suez Canal : through which approximately 12 per cent of global trade passes. Egypt borders Libya, Sudan, Israel and the Red Sea.

Static linkage: International relations, defence, India-Africa.

GS area: Science and Technology (Biotechnology)

The Department of Biotechnology announced the National Biofoundry Network : a network of synthetic biology facilities at IITs, NCBS and research institutes.

• Synthetic biology definition: The design and construction of biological components, pathways and organisms using engineering principles : programming biology as if coding software.
• Applications: Bio-based medicines, industrial enzymes, biofuels, bioplastics, agricultural inputs and biosensors for environmental monitoring.
• Biofoundry concept: A centralised facility with automated robotic systems for high-throughput design-build-test-learn cycles. Reduces the cost and time of biological engineering.
• India's need: Dependence on imported APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) : exposed during COVID-19. Synthetic biology can domesticate production of complex biologicals.
• Biosafety: Synthetic organisms require containment and regulation. The Environment Protection Act 1986 (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee : GEAC) and the Biological Diversity Act 2002 govern such work.

Static linkage: Biotechnology, science and technology, governance.

GS area: Environment (Climate Change, Glaciology)

Satellite analysis confirmed Gangotri glacier is losing thickness at 46 cm per year on average : accelerating from the historical rate.

• Gangotri glacier basics: Located in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. The source of the Ganga (via Bhagirathi River). At approximately 30 km long, one of the largest glaciers in the Himalayas.
• Gangotri recession rate: Has retreated approximately 22 km since 1780 records began. Retreat rate has accelerated since the 1970s.
• Mass balance: Negative mass balance means the glacier is losing more ice annually than it gains from snowfall. The 46 cm thinning figure is the annual mass balance converted to ice thickness equivalent.
• Implications: The Ganga basin supports 500 million people. Glaciers provide the "water tower" function : releasing water during the dry season (April-June) when monsoon has not yet arrived. Accelerated retreat means shorter-term surplus followed by long-term deficit.
• ISRO Glacier Inventory: ISRO's National Glacier Inventory covers 9,575 glaciers in the Himalayas. Gangotri is one of the most closely monitored.

Static linkage: Climate change, geography, environment.

GS area: Governance (Minority Affairs)

The UMEED portal for digitising Waqf properties : their survey, record and management : was being expanded under the Waqf Amendment Act 2025.

• Waqf: An Islamic charitable endowment : property dedicated in perpetuity for religious or charitable purposes. Managed by State Waqf Boards.
• Waqf Amendment Act 2025: Amended the Waqf Act 1995. Key changes: mandatory survey and digitisation of all Waqf properties; non-Muslim members on Waqf Boards; redressal mechanism outside the Waqf Tribunals.
• Controversy: Muslim organisations challenged the Amendment as interfering with religious endowments. The Supreme Court was hearing petitions.
• UMEED portal: "Unified Waqf Management Empowerment Efficiency and Development." Centralised portal for all State Waqf Boards.
• Scale of Waqf properties: An estimated 9.4 lakh registered Waqf properties across India covering approximately 8 lakh acres. Revenue generation capacity is significantly underutilised.

Static linkage: Governance, minority affairs, religious endowments.

• Sci-Hub and ONOS update: The Delhi High Court was hearing publisher cases against Sci-Hub. ONOS (One Nation One Subscription) scheme is an alternative : the government aims to negotiate bulk access to peer-reviewed journals for all publicly funded institutions.
• PM JANMAN scheme: PM Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) Development Mission : launched November 2023. Targets 75 PVTG communities in 18 states. Components: housing, connectivity, drinking water, education, health.
• Decarbonising steel: India's steel sector emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel : above the global average. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies is studying transition pathways including green hydrogen-based Direct Reduced Iron (DRI).