21 February 2026

• Trade: US Supreme Court strikes down Trump's IEEPA-based tariffs in a 6-3 ruling; Trump imposes a 10 per cent global baseline tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act.
• Security: India formally joins Pax Silica, a US-led coalition on AI infrastructure and critical minerals.
• Polity: Kurian Joseph Committee report calls for a "structural reset" of Indian federalism comparable in ambition to 1991 economic reforms.
• Society: School dropout data in Karnataka - 20.4 per cent overall; SC high-school dropout at 31.9 per cent nationally.

GS area: International Relations, Economy (Trade)

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 1977 (IEEPA) does not authorise the imposition of broad tariffs. The ruling nullified Trump's "reciprocal" tariff regime.

• IEEPA's original purpose: Grants the US President authority over international commerce during declared national emergencies, primarily for sanctions and asset freezes and not tariff policy.
• Constitutional basis of the ruling: Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution vests the power to impose taxes and duties in Congress, not the Executive. The Court held that delegating broad tariff authority to the President via emergency powers violated this separation.
• Amount collected: Over $133 billion in tariff revenue had been collected before the ruling.
• Trump's response: Announced a temporary 10 per cent global baseline tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act, 1974. This section allows a maximum 15 per cent tariff for 150 days, requiring Congressional extension for continuity.
• India-specific impact: India's interim deal (18 per cent tariff) was negotiated under the IEEPA regime. The ruling requires the tariff framework to be restructured.
• Section 232 tariffs: Steel and aluminium tariffs imposed on national-security grounds (Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, 1962) are unaffected by the ruling. They rest on a separate statutory authority.

Static linkage: India-US trade, WTO, trade policy (IR/Economy).

GS area: International Relations, Economy (Critical minerals, Technology)

India formally signed on to the Pax Silica initiative at the AI Impact Summit.

• What it is: A US-led strategic coalition focused on resilient supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals and AI infrastructure. The founding summit was in Washington DC in December 2025.
• Members: US, Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, UAE, UK and India.
• China's dominance: China controls approximately 60 per cent of global rare-earth mining and around 90 per cent of global rare-earth processing and refining. Pax Silica directly challenges this dominance.
• India's complementary initiative: India Semiconductor Mission (₹76,000 crore revised outlay) provides the domestic production base that Pax Silica cooperation is designed to enhance.
• 30 critical minerals: India's Ministry of Mines has identified 30 critical minerals of national strategic importance, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, titanium, rare-earth elements and tungsten.
• Risk: China could retaliate through export restrictions on rare-earth materials or processed intermediate products that India's manufacturing sector currently imports.

Static linkage: India Semiconductor Mission, critical minerals, India-US relations (IR/Economy).

GS area: Polity (Federalism, Centre-State relations)

The Justice Kurian Joseph High-Level Committee submitted Part I of its report on Union-State relations to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

• Core finding: "Indian federalism now requires a structural reset comparable in ambition to the economic reforms of 1991."
• Article 3 concern: Parliament can alter state boundaries, names and areas without state legislature consent under Article 3. The committee highlights this as a structural federal vulnerability.
• GST and fiscal autonomy: The GST regime reduced states' tax autonomy. States can no longer modify indirect tax rates on goods and services independently; all changes require GST Council approval.
• Centrally Sponsored Schemes: CSS rigidity (states must match central funds with their own resources and follow central guidelines) limits state policy flexibility.
• Delimitation anxiety: Southern states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, AP, Telangana) fear losing Lok Sabha seats after the next delimitation because their slower population growth means fewer seats relative to the northern states.
• Previous commissions: Sarkaria Commission (1988) and M.M. Punchhi Commission (2010) both studied Centre-State relations. Their recommendations remain largely unimplemented.

Static linkage: Article 3, fiscal federalism, GST, Centre-State relations (Polity).

GS area: Governance, Security (Cybercrime)

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) released 2025 cybercrime data:

• Total cases: 28.15 lakh (a 24 per cent spike from 2024).
• Financial losses: ₹22,495 crore (marginally lower than ₹22,845 crore in 2024).
• Investment scams: 76 per cent of financial losses and 35 per cent of total cases.
• I4C's recovery achievement: Blocked fraudulent transactions worth ₹8,031 crore since inception.
• Enforcement gap: Only 55,484 FIRs were registered against 28 lakh reported cases, a 2 per cent conversion rate. Most victims choose not to file formal complaints due to cynicism about recovery.
• Emerging threats: "Digital arrests" (9 per cent of losses) and sextortion (4 per cent of losses).
• I4C structure: The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its helpline number is 1930.

Static linkage: Cybercrime, I4C, MHA, digital security (Governance/Security).

GS area: Governance (Skill development)

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reviewed the SANKALP scheme (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion).

• Scheme basics: Approved in October 2017. Total outlay of ₹4,455 crore with a $250 million World Bank loan.
• PAC findings: Only 44 per cent of the budgeted provision was disbursed between 2017-18 and 2023-24. Of ₹1,606 crore disbursed, only ₹850 crore was actually utilised, an absorption rate of 53 per cent.
• Criticism: The committee described the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship's handling as "lackadaisical." Implementation was slow due to state-level capacity constraints and delayed setting-up of district skill development councils.
• PAC's constitutional role: The Public Accounts Committee examines the appropriation accounts and audit reports of the CAG. It scrutinises whether expenditure conforms to the legislative sanction.

Static linkage: Public Accounts Committee, CAG, skill development, Seventh Schedule (Governance).

• IONS chairmanship: India assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) at its 9th Conclave in Visakhapatnam. IONS was established in 2008. Membership covers approximately 25 nations from the Indian Ocean littoral region.
• Pax Silica and China: China is not a member. The initiative explicitly aims to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains for semiconductor materials and rare-earth processing. It is the technology equivalent of the Quad's security logic.