7 February 2026

• Polity: The JPC examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill on simultaneous elections considers curbing no-confidence motions in the final year of a Lok Sabha term.
• Economy: Net FDI negative for four months running; analysis of the causes and policy implications continues in Parliament.
• Science: ISRO announces the Gaganyaan drogue parachute test at TBRL Chandigarh, a key milestone in crew module re-entry safety.
• Environment: North-east India forest fires intensify; IAF deploys Mi-17 V5 helicopters over Arunachal Pradesh.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional amendments, Parliament)

The Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill 2024 (the "One Nation One Election" Bill) is considering whether to bar no-confidence motions against a government in the final year of a Lok Sabha term.

• The Bill's core proposal: Align elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies so they occur simultaneously. The first such simultaneous election is targeted for 2034.
• Term truncation: State assemblies elected after 2026 would have their terms cut short to align with the 2034 Lok Sabha cycle. This is a significant federal concern.
• No-confidence bar proposal: To prevent destabilisation in the final year, the JPC is examining whether to prohibit no-confidence motions. The Karnataka High Court ruled against such a bar in a related matter in February 2026, emphasising parliamentary accountability.
• Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act 1994 precedent: This Act already bars no-confidence motions against elected panchayat heads in the final year of their term. The JPC is considering the same logic for Parliament.
• Article 75(3): The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. No-confidence motions are the constitutional mechanism for this accountability. Barring them raises a fundamental question about parliamentary democracy.
• Article 83: Fixes the term of the Lok Sabha at five years. Early dissolution remains possible through the President acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers or on loss of confidence.

Static linkage: Parliamentary democracy, Article 83, Article 75, simultaneous elections (Polity).

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

ISRO and DRDO successfully tested the drogue parachute for the Gaganyaan crew module at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh.

• What the drogue parachute does: During crew module re-entry, the drogue stabilises the capsule and reduces velocity before the main parachutes deploy. Without stable deceleration, the main parachutes could be damaged or unable to open correctly.
• Full parachute system: The Gaganyaan crew module carries a 10-parachute system in four types: apex cover separation parachutes, drogue parachutes, pilot parachutes and main parachutes.
• Ribbon design: The drogue is a ribbon-type parachute. The ribbon design allows controlled airflow through the canopy, providing stability at high speeds and altitude.
• TBRL: The Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, is a DRDO laboratory specialising in ballistics and parachute testing. It provides the controlled environment for high-velocity drop tests.
• Gaganyaan mission timeline: India's first human spaceflight mission. The uncrewed test flights are complete. Crewed flight is targeted for 2026.

Static linkage: ISRO, Gaganyaan, space programme (Science and Technology).

GS area: Environment, Disaster Management

Forest fires in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland reached alarming levels in early February 2026.

• Scale: Arunachal Pradesh recorded 200 times more fire incidents in early 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Surface fires (burning ground cover and understory rather than canopy) covered large areas in the Walong sector.
• IAF response: Mi-17 V5 helicopters dropped over 1.4 lakh litres of water. Operations were conducted at altitudes exceeding 9,500 feet, a significant technical challenge for rotor-wing aircraft.
• North-east forest significance: The North-east contributes 36 per cent of India's total forest cover. It is part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and hosts many endemic species.
• Fire seasonality: About 80 per cent of India's annual forest fires occur in March and April. The February 2026 outbreak was an early peak caused by dry weather and accumulated fuel from the previous year.
• Causes specific to the region: Shifting cultivation (Jhum/slash-and-burn), accidental ignition and topographic wind patterns that accelerate fire spread along ridges.
• Mi-17 V5: A heavy-lift multi-role helicopter manufactured by Russian Helicopters. India operates a large fleet. Its bucket-drop capacity for firefighting is well-established.

Static linkage: North-east India, forest policy, disaster management (Environment).

GS area: Polity (Fundamental rights, Governance)

The Supreme Court is considering whether Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 unconstitutionally impairs the Right to Information Act, 2005.

• The conflict: Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act exempts personal information from disclosure but allows it when disclosure is in the "public interest." Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act removes this public-interest override, creating a blanket ban on disclosing personal information.
• Impact on journalists: A journalist using RTI to investigate corruption involving named officials can no longer override the personal-information exemption in the public interest. Fines up to ₹250 crore under DPDP compliance could apply to platforms that publish such information.
• K.S. Puttaswamy (2017): The Supreme Court recognised privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21. The DPDP Act is partly grounded in this judgment. But the same judgment held that privacy must be balanced against other fundamental rights including the right to information.
• Constitution Bench referral: The Court referred the question of whether Section 44(3) violates Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of expression and press) and Article 21 (privacy in its RTI-access dimension) to a larger bench.

Static linkage: RTI Act, DPDP Act 2023, K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, Article 21 (Polity/Governance).

GS area: Economy (Financial markets)

A discussion paper on corporate bond market development notes that India's corporate bonds represent only 15 per cent of GDP - compared to 80 per cent in the US and 45 per cent in China.

• Bank dominance: Banks carry 60 to 65 per cent of all non-financial corporate debt. This concentrates risk in the banking system and crowds out bond-market development.
• PSB recapitalisation: The Central Government has injected ₹3.2 lakh crore into public sector banks since 2017 to address non-performing assets (NPAs). This recapitalisation supports lending capacity but does not solve the structural over-reliance on bank credit.
• Why corporate bonds matter: Deep bond markets allow companies to borrow at market rates without depending entirely on banks. They also provide institutional investors (pension funds, insurance companies) with long-duration assets to match long-duration liabilities.
• SEBI role: The Securities and Exchange Board of India regulates the corporate bond market. It has introduced several measures (electronic book building, reduction in minimum issue size) to deepen the market.

Static linkage: Financial sector, SEBI, corporate bonds, PSB recapitalisation (Economy).

• DeNotified Tribes (DNTs) and Census 2027: DNT communities (nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes historically branded as "criminal" under colonial law) have demanded a separate enumeration column in Census 2027. No separate census column has existed since 1931. Approximately 1,200 DNT communities are identified; 268 remain unclassified.
• SEED scheme underutilisation: The Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs has a ₹200 crore outlay but only a fraction has been utilised. The scheme covers education, housing and livelihood support.