25 March 2026

• Polity/Rights: SC ruled Dalit converts to Christianity or Islam cannot be granted SC status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950.
• Defence: SC upheld permanent commission for women officers in the Army. There is no rank ceiling.
• Diplomacy: Trump-Modi call on Hormuz; US mediation and India's oil supply security.
• Transparency: Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 released; India scored 39 out of 100, ranked 91st.
• Space: AssamSAT constellation design finalised; 24 micro-satellites to provide Earth Observation data.
• Pharma: BioPharma SHAKTI scheme of ₹10,000 crore formally notified.

GS area: Polity (rights, reservation policy)

The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench delivered a significant ruling on SC reservation eligibility:

• The ruling: Persons who converted from Hinduism (or Sikhism or Buddhism) to Christianity or Islam cannot be granted Scheduled Caste (SC) status, even if they return to practices of their original community.
• Legal basis: The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (as amended) recognises SCs from Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities only. It does not extend to Muslims or Christians.
• The Court's reasoning: SC status is tied to religion-specific social discrimination rooted in the caste system, which the Court noted does not formally exist in Christianity or Islam. Conversion breaks the link with the specific discriminatory experience that the reservation is designed to remedy.
• EWS distinction: Economic Weaker Section (EWS) reservations (10 per cent, 103rd Amendment) are available to all religions. SC-specific reservations (15 per cent) are not.
• Ranganath Misra Commission (2007): Had recommended extending SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims. The government did not implement this recommendation.
• Significance: This forecloses one avenue for the approximately 1.5 crore Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims who have long sought SC status.

Static linkage: SC Order 1950, reservation policy, conversion and SC status (GS II).

GS area: Polity (rights), Security

The Supreme Court reaffirmed and expanded its 2020 ruling on women officers in the Army:

• Background: The 2020 Babita Puniya ruling directed the Army to grant permanent commission to women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers.
• March 2026 ruling: The SC rejected the government's attempt to impose a rank ceiling on women permanent commission officers. Women can now be considered for promotion up to the highest ranks on the same basis as male officers.
• Current state: About 1,700 women officers in the Army as of 2025. Women are now in combat support roles, including intelligence, signals, education, and legal branches. Combat roles (infantry, armour, special forces) remain closed.
• Military Nursing Service (MNS): A pre-existing cadre of women in the Army, separate from the permanent commission route.
• Navy and Air Force: Both had granted permanent commission to women before the Army. The IAF has women fighter pilots since 2016.

Static linkage: Women officers, permanent commission, military justice (GS II, GS III).

GS area: International Relations

A phone call between Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump focused on West Asia:

• India's position communicated: India sought US mediation to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. India remained officially neutral on the US-Iran conflict while seeking oil supply security.
• Trump's offer: US would ensure tankers carrying Indian crude do not face Iranian action if India reduced purchases of Iranian LPG (which India had been buying via third-party sanctioned tankers).
• India's dilemma: Iran provides competitive oil prices and India's Constitution of purchasing through sanctioned channels was a diplomatic balancing act with the US. Stopping Iranian LPG purchases would increase domestic LPG costs.
• Strategic significance: The call illustrated India's triangular diplomacy: maintaining ties with Iran, navigating US pressure, and seeking to keep oil supplies flowing.
• Chabahar port: India has invested $100 million in developing Chabahar port in Iran. The Hormuz closure and US sanctions on Iran put this investment under pressure.

Static linkage: India-Iran relations, Strait of Hormuz, India-US diplomacy (GS II).

GS area: Governance, International Relations

Transparency International released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025:

• India's score: 39 out of 100 (where 100 is least corrupt, 0 is most corrupt). Ranked 91st out of 180 countries.
• India's trajectory: Score was 40 in 2024 and 40 in 2023. A marginal decline.
• Top performers: Denmark (90), Finland (87), New Zealand (85). Nordic countries consistently lead.
• Worst performers: Somalia (11), Venezuela (13), Syria (14).
• Methodology: CPI aggregates data from 13 data sources from 12 institutions, including World Bank, World Economic Forum, and Bertelsmann Foundation. It measures perceptions of public sector corruption only, not private sector.
• CPI vs Democracy Index: Countries with strong rule of law and independent judiciary correlate with high CPI scores. India's score of 39 reflects concerns about judicial independence, corporate-political nexus, and opaque public procurement.
• TI: Transparency International, founded 1993, headquartered in Berlin. Annual CPI is its flagship publication.

Static linkage: Transparency International, CPI, governance indicators (GS II).

GS area: Science and Technology (space)

Assam announced the AssamSAT constellation project:

• Concept: 24 small (micro) satellites providing Earth Observation data for Assam's specific needs.
• Primary applications:
  • Flood mapping and disaster response (Assam experiences severe annual floods).
  • Forest cover monitoring and wildlife corridor mapping.
  • Agricultural crop assessment for precision farming advisory.
  • Urban growth and encroachment monitoring.
• Partnership: ISRO and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) as technical partners.
• Newspace India Limited: A Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Department of Space. Commercial arm of ISRO. Handles manufacturing, launch services, and technology transfer.
• GSAT / NovaSAR precedents: Earlier state-specific satellites were multipurpose. AssamSAT is the first state-specific dedicated constellation.

Static linkage: ISRO, NSIL, Earth observation satellites (GS III).

GS area: Economy (pharma policy), Science and Technology

The BioPharma SHAKTI scheme was formally notified by the Department of Biotechnology:

• Full name: Strengthening of Healthcare through AYUSH and Kindred Technologies and Innovation (SHAKTI).
• Outlay: ₹10,000 crore over 5 years (2026-2031).
• Focus areas:
  • Biologics and biosimilars (large-molecule drugs that are cheaper copies of innovator biologics).
  • Non-Animal Methodologies (NAMs) including organoids, organ-on-chip devices, and in silico (computational) drug testing.
  • Advanced therapy medicinal products (gene therapy, cell therapy).
• India's position in biosimilars: India is already the world's third-largest biosimilar exporter. Key examples: adalimumab, trastuzumab, bevacizumab biosimilars.
• Regulatory framework: Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under MoH&FW. Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Static linkage: Biosimilars, DBT, pharma policy (GS III).