4 September 2025

• Polity: Supreme Court debate on whether India should raise reservations beyond the 50 per cent cap; the creamy layer principle for SCs and STs in focus.
• Economy: India's export challenges merchandise exports as a share of GDP and the US tariff shock of 50 per cent.
• Defence: Corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) shows results; defence PSU exports hit a record ₹3,500 crore.
• Economy: Cabinet approves ₹1,500 crore scheme for critical mineral recycling.
• History: Self-Respect Movement centenary; Periyar's 1925 movement from Kudi Arasu platform.

GS area: Polity and Constitution

The Supreme Court's notice on extending the creamy layer principle to SCs and STs renewed debate on the reservation architecture.

• Current cap: 50 per cent (established by the nine-judge bench in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, 1992).
• Original limit: Balaji v. State of Mysore (1962) set 50 per cent as a "fair limit" but the real enforcement came from Indra Sawhney.
• Constitutional articles: Article 15(4) permits the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. Article 16(4) permits reservations in appointments for any backward class not adequately represented in state services.
• Indra Sawhney (1992): The nine-judge bench upheld 27 per cent OBC quota. It capped total reservations at 50 per cent. It also excluded the "creamy layer" from OBC benefits.
• EWS (2022): Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India held the 10 per cent EWS reservation constitutional. It clarified that the 50 per cent cap applies to social and educational backwardness reservations, and EWS sits separately.
• Davinder Singh (2024): The Supreme Court urged that the creamy layer principle be extended to SCs and STs. This is what triggered the current notice.
• Rohini Commission (2017-23): Found that 97 per cent of OBC benefits went to just 25 per cent of OBC sub-castes, with about 1,000 OBC castes having zero representation. Its recommendations on sub-categorisation are pending.
• State practices exceeding 50%: Tamil Nadu (69 per cent), Haryana, Maharashtra have legislated beyond 50 per cent. These face court scrutiny.

Static linkage: Constitutional law (reservations), social justice.

GS area: Economy (International Trade)

India's merchandise export stagnation and the US tariff of 50 per cent on Indian goods are the major economic concerns.

• Exports as share of GDP: Rose from 7.1 per cent in 1990 to 20.4 per cent in 2010, then fell to 17.7 per cent in 2020 before recovering to 21.2 per cent in 2024. The trend is uneven.
• Global merchandise share: India's share rose from 0.51 per cent (1990) to 1.81 per cent (2024). Low by China's standards (over 14 per cent).
• US market: The US accounts for about 20 per cent of India's total exports. A 50 per cent tariff is a severe blow to sectors like textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and auto components.
• Sectoral performance: India does well in agriculture (2.22 per cent global share), pharma (2.56 per cent), and textiles (5.77 per cent). Manufacturing overall lags at 1.73 per cent.
• Export Promotion Mission (2025): Launched to provide sector-specific support. Sub-components: Niryat Protsahan (easy credit) and Niryat Disha (market access).
• RoDTEP Scheme: Refunds embedded taxes (not claimed elsewhere) on exported goods. Expanded in 2025 to steel, pharma, and chemicals.
• Logistics cost: India's logistics cost runs at 13 to 14 per cent of GDP. The global benchmark is about 8 per cent. This is the single biggest structural competitiveness handicap.

Static linkage: Indian economy, trade policy.

GS area: Economy, Defence

The Ordnance Factory Board's conversion to seven Defence PSUs in October 2021 is showing financial results.

• Background: 41 units of the Ordnance Factory Board were corporatised into seven Defence PSUs in October 2021. This was a major structural reform.
• The seven DPSUs: Munitions India Limited (MIL), Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, Yantra India Limited, India Optel Limited (IOL), Gliders India Limited.
• Pre-reform loss: The OFB recorded a cumulative loss of ₹2,844 crore in 2019-20.
• Post-reform profit: The DPSUs collectively reported a profit of ₹625 crore in both 2022-23 and 2024-25.
• Export record: Exports rose from ₹81 crore in 2019-20 to ₹3,500 crore in 2024-25 the highest ever. Three DPSUs gained Miniratna Category-I status (MIL, AVNL, IOL).
• Significance: Corporatisation introduces board-level accountability, commercial pricing, and export incentives that the earlier departmental structure lacked.

Static linkage: Defence (public sector), Atmanirbhar Bharat.

GS area: Economy, Environment, Science and Technology

The Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 crore scheme for recycling critical minerals from electronic and battery waste.

• Ministry: Ministry of Mines.
• Framework: National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).
• Duration: Six years (2025-26 to 2030-31).
• Eligible feedstocks: E-waste, lithium-ion battery scrap, and catalytic converters from end-of-life vehicles.
• Why critical minerals matter: Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, and rare earth elements are critical for batteries (EVs), electronics, and defence systems. China dominates processing globally.
• Expected outcomes: Annual recycling capacity of 270 kilo tonnes; critical mineral yield of about 40 kilo tonnes annually; investment of ₹8,000 crore; 70,000 direct and indirect jobs.
• Incentive structure: Capital subsidy of 20 per cent on plant and machinery; additional operating expense subsidy. One-third of the outlay is earmarked for small and new recyclers.
• GST Council action: The 56th GST Council meeting approved a two-slab structure of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, with 40 per cent for sin and luxury goods.

Static linkage: Critical minerals, clean energy supply chains.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity

Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha received NTCA approval to become a tiger reserve in 2025.

• Location: Near Sambalpur, Odisha. Core area of about 347 sq km within the total 804 sq km sanctuary.
• Border: Shares a border with the Hirakud Reservoir (a Ramsar-tagged wetland).
• Historical connection: Connected to the resistance base of freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai.
• Biodiversity: Indian bison, sambar, wild boar, leopards, wild dogs, chousingha (four-horned antelope), and over 300 bird species including 120 migratory species.
• Community model: 400 families voluntarily relocated with rehabilitation packages. 155 surrounding villages engaged as conservation partners.
• Innovation: India's first dark-sky tourism hub is located here. No artificial lights in the core zone, making it ideal for stargazing.
• Significance: Odisha's tiger population is growing. Debrigarh joins Simlipal as the state's second tiger reserve.

Static linkage: Biodiversity (environment), Project Tiger.

GS area: Modern Indian History, Social Justice

The Self-Respect Movement turned 100 in 2025.

• Founded: 1925 in Tamil Nadu.
• Founder: E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar).
• Platform: Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu (meaning "Republic").
• Core ideology: Critique of caste hierarchy, Brahmanical dominance, and patriarchy. Emphasis on rationalism, equality, and individual dignity.
• Key features: Self-respect marriages (without priests or caste rituals); advocacy for women's rights (widow remarriage, divorce, property rights, abortion rights); promotion of inter-caste marriages.
• Political evolution: Initially worked with the Justice Party. Later Periyar founded the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK). The DK in turn gave rise to the Dravidian political parties (DMK, AIADMK).
• Legacy: The Self-Respect Movement is the ideological foundation of Tamil Nadu's welfare-oriented, caste-questioning political culture. It influenced reservations policy and secular education in Tamil Nadu.

Static linkage: Modern Indian history (social reform movements), Dravidian politics.

GS area: Science and Technology

Majorana particles appeared in science-technology prelims context for their quantum computing applications.

• Proposed by: Ettore Majorana, Italian physicist, in 1937. He hypothesised a particle that is its own antiparticle.
• Properties: Electrically neutral. Unlike electrons and positrons (which annihilate each other), two Majorana particles can meet without annihilating.
• In condensed matter: Majorana modes appear as quasiparticles in superconducting nanowires at extremely low temperatures. They are not fundamental particles but emergent phenomena.
• Why they matter for computing: They are naturally error-resistant because their information is stored non-locally (spread across two distant locations). This is "topological protection" errors cannot flip the qubit without physically moving both Majoranas.
• Topological qubits: Microsoft and other labs are pursuing Majorana-based topological qubits as an alternative to conventional error-prone qubits.
• Category: Majorana modes are non-Abelian anyons. Braiding (swapping their positions) changes the quantum state in a controlled, reversible way.

Static linkage: Science and technology (quantum computing).

GS area: Economy, Polity

The GST Council approved a two-slab simplification of the GST rate structure in its 56th meeting.

• GST Council composition: Chaired by the Union Finance Minister. Members are the Union Minister of State for Finance or Revenue and all state/UT Finance Ministers or Taxation Ministers. Constitution: Article 279A (inserted by the 101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016).
• Voting: Decisions require 75 per cent weighted majority. The Union Government has one-third of the votes; all states together have two-thirds.
• New slab structure: 5 per cent (essential and merit goods), 18 per cent (standard goods and services), 40 per cent (demerit, luxury, and sin goods). This simplifies from the earlier four main rates (5, 12, 18, 28 per cent) plus cess.
• GST 2.0 / Bachat Utsav: Announced on 22 September 2025. The rationalisation aims to leave more disposable income with households.
• Inverted Duty Structure (IDS): Cases where input tax rates are higher than output tax rates, creating refund claims that strain the system. Rate rationalisation addresses this.

Static linkage: Constitutional law (GST), Indian economy (indirect taxes).

GS area: Disaster Management, Geography

Sudan's Marra Mountains saw a massive landslide killing over 1,000 people.

• Marra Mountains: Volcanic highlands in the Darfur region of western Sudan. They rise up to about 3,000 metres.
• Darfur: The western region of Sudan, site of the long-running Darfur conflict (2003 onwards) that led to ICC charges against former President Omar al-Bashir.
• Sudan's rivers: White Nile and Blue Nile converge at Khartoum. The Blue Nile provides about 85 per cent of the Nile's water at the Sudan-Egypt border.
• El Fasher: The main city of North Darfur; a contested city in the current SAF-RSF conflict.
• Humanitarian context: Sudan is experiencing one of the world's largest displacement crises. The SAF-RSF conflict that began in April 2023 has displaced millions and collapsed health infrastructure.

Static linkage: World geography (Africa), disaster management.

• Caste census 2027: The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) last happened in 2011. A new caste census linked to Census 2027 is being debated. The Rohini Commission found extreme concentration of OBC benefits in a small number of sub-castes.
• Critical minerals treaty: India is negotiating bilateral Critical Minerals Agreements with Australia, Canada, and the US to secure supply chains for lithium, cobalt, and nickel.