13 August 2026

Justice Varma inquiry: how can a constitutional court judge be removed?

• A three-member statutory committee found all three articles of charge against former Justice Yashwant Varma proved.
• The findings concerned:

• Substantial burnt currency discovered in a storeroom under his effective control.
• Failure to preserve crucial material evidence.
• Explanations found evasive and unsatisfactory.

• He resigned during the inquiry, creating a legal question: can parliamentary proceedings continue after a judge leaves office?

• Supreme Court judges are removed under Article 124(4).
• Article 218 extends this procedure to High Court judges.
• Removal is possible only on grounds of:

• Proved misbehaviour; or
• Incapacity.

• A removal motion requires the signatures of:

• At least 100 Lok Sabha members; or
• At least 50 Rajya Sabha members.

• The Speaker or Chairman may admit or reject the motion.
• If admitted, a three-member committee is constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, consisting of:

• A Supreme Court judge;
• A Chief Justice of a High Court;
• A distinguished jurist.

• If the committee proves the charge, each House must pass the motion in the same session by:

• A majority of the total membership of that House; and
• At least two-thirds of members present and voting.

• The President then issues the removal order.

• An internal “in-house inquiry” of the judiciary is different from the statutory parliamentary inquiry.
• A committee report does not itself remove the judge.
• The claim that proceedings can continue after resignation remains a contested constitutional question.
• Parliament may still consider whether proven misconduct should have consequences for pension, privileges or future appointments, but such consequences require a clear legal basis.

• Judicial independence protects judges from political retaliation.
• Judicial accountability ensures that independence does not become immunity.
• India needs a transparent judicial-complaints mechanism for misconduct below the extremely high threshold of removal.

MMDR Amendment Bill: mineral regulation versus fiscal federalism

• The Lok Sabha passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
• According to the Bill as reported, States would be prevented from imposing additional taxes, cesses or levies on mineral rights.
• The Centre argues that different State levies increase uncertainty and production costs and weaken domestic supply chains.

• The MMDR Act, 1957 regulates mining leases, prospecting, mineral concessions and Union control over mineral development.
• Constitutional distribution:

• Union List Entry 54: regulation of mines and mineral development where Parliament declares Union control expedient.
• State List Entry 23: regulation of mines and mineral development, subject to Union control.
• State List Entry 50: taxes on mineral rights, subject to limitations imposed by Parliament.

• Royalty is a payment for extracting a mineral resource; it is conceptually distinct from a tax.
• A 2024 nine-judge Supreme Court ruling recognised that States retain constitutional power to tax mineral rights, subject to parliamentary limitations.

• Uniform levies can support:

• Predictable investment;
• Lower input costs;
• Integrated mineral markets;
• Critical-mineral supply chains.

• Excessive centralisation can:

• Reduce revenue available to mineral-producing States;
• Weaken fiscal federalism;
• Separate environmental and social costs from revenue;
• Disadvantage tribal and mining-affected regions.

• The measure has only passed the Lok Sabha at this stage.
• A Bill is not law until it is passed by both Houses and receives presidential assent.
• Its constitutional validity may depend on whether Parliament has clearly exercised its power to limit State taxation under Entry 50.

• Establish a transparent national framework defining permissible State levies.
• Protect revenue for District Mineral Foundations and mining-affected communities.
• Require fiscal-impact consultation with mineral-producing States.
• Link mineral revenue to ecological restoration and local development.

De-reservation of government vacancies and the role of the NCSC

• The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has decided to review Union government proposals seeking de-reservation of posts received during the last three years.
• The Commission says many proposals do not explain the efforts made to find eligible reserved-category candidates.

• It means converting a vacancy reserved for a particular community into an unreserved vacancy.
• It must be distinguished from:

• Carrying forward an unfilled reserved vacancy;
• Treating it as a backlog vacancy;
• Filling it through deputation or short-term appointment without altering its reserved character.

• Direct-recruitment vacancies are generally not to be de-reserved.
• Exceptional procedures exist for certain promotion vacancies or urgent Group A posts, subject to recorded public-interest reasons and institutional scrutiny.

• The NCSC is a constitutional body under Article 338.
• It consists of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other members appointed by the President.
• Its functions include:

• Investigating constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Castes;
• Inquiring into complaints of deprivation of rights;
• Advising on socio-economic planning;
• Reporting to the President;
• Recommending corrective action.

• It has powers of a civil court while investigating matters.
• Under Article 338(9), the Union and States must consult it on major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes.

• Article 16(4): reservation in public employment.
• Article 16(4A): reservation in promotion for SCs and STs under specified conditions.
• Article 16(4B): treatment of backlog vacancies.
• Article 335: claims of SCs and STs must be considered consistently with administrative efficiency.

• Administrative difficulty cannot become a routine justification for eliminating reserved posts.
• Before considering de-reservation, departments should demonstrate:

• Adequate advertisement and outreach;
• Relaxations permitted by law;
• Special recruitment drives;
• Examination of deputation and backlog options;
• Reasons recorded in writing.

Mullaperiyar dam: safety, water sharing and inter-State responsibility

• Tamil Nadu has told the Supreme Court that Kerala is obstructing strengthening works at the Mullaperiyar dam.
• This is an allegation before the Court, not an adjudicated factual conclusion.

• Mullaperiyar is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Kerala’s Idukki district.
• The reservoir lies within the landscape of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
• Although the Periyar naturally flows westwards, water from the project is diverted eastwards towards Tamil Nadu’s Vaigai basin.
• The dam is located in Kerala but operated by Tamil Nadu under a historical lease arrangement.

• The original lease was signed in 1886 between the Travancore princely state and the Madras Presidency.
• The dispute concerns:

• Structural safety of the ageing dam;
• Permissible reservoir level;
• Tamil Nadu’s irrigation dependence;
• Kerala’s responsibility for downstream safety.

• In 2014, the Supreme Court permitted raising the level to 142 feet and invalidated Kerala’s attempt to independently restrict it to 136 feet.
• A supervisory mechanism was also established.

• Creates:

• National Committee on Dam Safety;
• National Dam Safety Authority;
• State Committees on Dam Safety;
• State Dam Safety Organisations.

• For a dam located in one State but owned or operated by another, the national authority has an important coordinating role.

• Neither the upstream user’s water requirement nor the downstream State’s safety concern can be treated as absolute.
• The solution requires:

• Independent instrumentation and structural audits;
• Real-time reservoir and rainfall data sharing;
• Rule curves for extreme rainfall;
• Joint emergency-action plans;
• Downstream evacuation maps;
• A long-term decision on strengthening or replacing the structure.

Demolition and rehabilitation as “twin responsibilities”

• During a hearing, the Supreme Court observed that demolition and rehabilitation are twin responsibilities of a welfare government.
• The Court was considering the need for a uniform policy dealing with long-standing unauthorised settlements.

• Article 21 protects life and personal liberty and has been interpreted to include dignity and shelter.
• No person may be dispossessed without authority of law and due process.
• However, Article 21 does not create an unlimited right to occupy public land.

• Prior notice;
• Identification of the affected structure;
• Opportunity to respond;
• A reasoned demolition order;
• Reasonable time to appeal or vacate;
• Transparent execution and documentation;
• Protection against selective or punitive demolition.

• Rehabilitation is particularly relevant where:

• Governments tolerated settlements for decades;
• Residents received electricity, water or municipal documentation;
• Eviction affects children, elderly persons or livelihood-dependent households;
• A statutory rehabilitation policy already exists.

• Legality cannot be established by bulldozer action alone.
• A credible policy must prevent encroachment prospectively while treating long-settled residents with procedural fairness and human dignity.
• The present observation should not yet be presented as a final uniform judicial policy.

NFSA reform: foodgrain entitlement versus nutrition security

• Under Section 3 of the National Food Security Act, 2013:

• Priority households receive 5 kg per person per month.
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana households receive 35 kg per household per month.
• Coverage may extend to:

• 75% of the rural population;
• 50% of the urban population.

• The draft amendment reportedly proposes 7 kg per person for AAY households, capped at 35 kg.
• This would reduce entitlement for households with fewer than five members:

• One member: 7 kg instead of 35 kg.
• Two members: 14 kg.
• Four members: 28 kg.
• Five or more: maximum 35 kg.

• Tamil Nadu estimates that 84.5% of its AAY households have fewer than five members and could therefore lose entitlement.

• The NFSA ceiling of 81.35 crore beneficiaries remains connected to Census 2011.
• With population growth, effective coverage reportedly falls to about 55.6% of the population.
• Delayed Census-based updating can exclude millions despite a statutory coverage formula.

• Reported indicators show:

• Stunting declined from 35.5% to 29.3%.
• Wasting declined only marginally, from 19.3% to 19%.
• Underweight prevalence declined from 32.1% to 31.8%.
• Only around 15% of children aged 6–23 months receive a minimum adequate diet.

• Preserve the household guarantee for the poorest.
• Update population coverage transparently.
• Diversify entitlements towards:

• Pulses;
• Millets;
• Edible oils where appropriate;
• Eggs or protein support through State programmes;
• Maternal and child nutrition.

• Retain offline authentication and doorstep delivery for vulnerable beneficiaries.
• Integrate PDS with health screening, nutrition counselling and ICDS rather than treating grain distribution as complete nutrition policy.

• India should move from calorie security to nutrition security without dismantling the grain guarantee that protects households from hunger and price shocks.

BNSS expands the police-custody window

• Section 187(2) of the BNSS permits up to 15 days of police custody:

• In one block or in parts;
• During the first 40 days in cases with a 60-day investigation limit;
• During the first 60 days in cases with a 90-day investigation limit.

• Under the old CrPC framework, police custody was ordinarily confined to the first 15 days after remand.
• The Court interpreted the new wording as a deliberate enlargement of the custody window. The statutory text is available in Section 187 BNSS.

• Maximum detention while investigation remains incomplete:

• 90 days for offences punishable with death, life imprisonment or imprisonment of at least ten years;
• 60 days for other offences.

• After this period, the accused is entitled to default bail if prepared to furnish bail.

• Section 38 entitles an arrested person to meet an advocate during interrogation.
• The Supreme Court held that this does not mean uninterrupted physical presence throughout interrogation.
• The lawyer may remain within the interrogation site and be able to see the accused.

• The Court considered audio-visual recording of:

• Actual interrogation;
• Discovery proceedings;
• Recovery proceedings

• sufficient, rather than insisting on uninterrupted recording of every transit movement.

• Fragmented police custody can:

• Increase uncertainty for the accused;
• Create repeated exposure to coercive interrogation;
• Make bail strategy harder;
• Weaken the practical protection previously attached to the first 15 days.

• Magistrates must require specific reasons for every subsequent police-custody request.
• Medical examination, custody logs, lawyer access and audio-video records should be mandatory safeguards.
• Police custody must remain exceptional, not an automatic investigative entitlement.

Psychiatric genetics: genes influence risk, not destiny

• There is no single “gene for schizophrenia” or “gene for depression”.
• Most psychiatric risk is polygenic:

• Thousands of common variants;
• Some rare variants;
• Developmental factors;
• Environment;
• Substance use;
• Social conditions;
• Chance.

• GWAS compares millions of genetic variants in large populations with and without a condition.
• A 2022 schizophrenia study identified associations across 287 genomic regions.
• A 2021 bipolar-disorder study identified 64 associated regions.
• Association does not prove causation.
• A genomic region may contain multiple regulatory elements and genes.

• Some inherited risk is shared between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
• This does not make clinical diagnoses meaningless.
• It shows that biological pathways do not always correspond neatly to diagnostic categories.

• They cannot reliably predict:

• Whether a person will develop an illness;
• The age of onset;
• Severity;
• Treatment response.

• Current scores are not sufficiently accurate for routine prediction of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression.

• Global genomic databases disproportionately represent people of European ancestry.
• GenomeIndia generated whole-genome information from 10,000 unrelated Indians across 83 population groups.
• India’s internal genetic diversity means that risk scores developed abroad cannot simply be imported.

• Genetic information should reduce blame and superstition, not generate fatalism.
• Major risks include:

• Privacy breaches;
• Insurance or employment discrimination;
• Marriage-related stigma;
• Commercial testing beyond scientific evidence;
• Labeling healthy people as “patients-in-waiting”.

• Psychiatric genetics is presently more useful for understanding biological pathways and developing treatments than for predicting an individual’s destiny.

Cloud seeding: useful intervention or uncertain weather modification?

• Cloud seeding does not create clouds.
• It introduces particles into suitable existing clouds to encourage droplet or ice-crystal growth.
• Methods include:

• Hygroscopic seeding using salts such as sodium chloride or potassium chloride in warm clouds;
• Glaciogenic seeding using substances such as silver iodide in cold clouds.

• Suitable moisture, cloud structure and updrafts are necessary.

• Southern Turkestan’s cotton-growing region is facing drought and water shortages.
• About 9,110 sq. km of agricultural land is reportedly being targeted.
• Studies cited by the newspaper suggest potential precipitation increases of 15–20%, but this must not be treated as a guaranteed outcome.

• Rainfall enhancement is difficult to distinguish from natural variability.
• A failed operation may simply reflect unsuitable cloud conditions.
• Effects are local and short-lived.
• Large-scale application is expensive.
• Cloud seeding cannot substitute for aquifer management, efficient irrigation or crop diversification.

• Cloud seeding can be a limited drought-response tool.
• It is not a technological solution to structural water scarcity.

Total solar eclipse and the study of the solar corona

• A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun.
• A total solar eclipse requires:

• A new moon;
• Alignment near a lunar orbital node;
• The Moon’s apparent angular size to cover the Sun.

• The path of totality is the narrow surface strip from which complete coverage is visible.

• The solar corona is the Sun’s extremely faint outer atmosphere.
• Under normal conditions, light from the solar disc overwhelms it.
• A coronagraph artificially blocks the disc, but scattered light can obscure the inner corona.
• During totality, the Moon naturally blocks the photosphere and reveals the inner corona.

• Coronal magnetic structures generate:

• Solar flares;
• Coronal mass ejections;
• Space-weather disturbances affecting satellites, communication and navigation systems.

• Researchers study streamers and magnetic-field structures that are difficult to observe from the ground at other times.

• A solar eclipse does not occur at every new moon because the Moon’s orbital plane is tilted relative to Earth’s orbital plane.

Delhi Master Plan 2047: density, land pooling and transit-oriented development

• The DDA has approved the draft MPD-2047.
• It must still receive final approval and notification from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

• Landowners may approach the DDA directly instead of first forming a consortium representing 70% of a sector.
• Land pooling covers around 105 villages and 20,600 hectares in outer Delhi.
• The DDA would retain about 40% of pooled land for common infrastructure.
• The minimum redevelopment area may fall from four hectares to approximately 3,000 sq. metres.
• Higher Floor Area Ratio is proposed near transit corridors and expressways.
• Transit-oriented development applies around Metro and RRTS corridors, with incentives for compact housing.

• FAR: total permissible floor area divided by plot area.
• Land pooling: owners combine land for planned development and receive a share of developed property instead of conventional acquisition compensation.
• TOD: dense, mixed-use, walkable development around mass-transit stations.

• Density without drainage, water, sewerage and public transport creates congestion rather than efficiency.
• Development around expressways can reinforce car dependence if disconnected from mass transit.
• Land pooling can generate disputes over valuation, consent and unequal gains.
• Higher FAR can increase land prices and displacement unless affordable housing is protected.

• Compact cities are more sustainable only when density is matched by infrastructure, public transport, green space and affordable housing.

RBI’s proposed loan interest-rate framework

• The draft RBI directions are proposed to take effect from April 1, 2027.
• They would cover banks, RRBs, cooperative banks, all-India financial institutions, NBFCs and housing-finance companies.

• Interest generally calculated:

• At monthly rests;
• On a daily reducing balance;
• Using the actual/actual day-count convention.

• Agricultural loans would retain crop-cycle-linked provisions.
• Floating-rate personal loans and floating-rate MSME loans must be linked to an external benchmark such as:

• RBI repo rate;
• Government Treasury Bill yield;
• A benchmark published by Financial Benchmarks India.

• The lender cannot price a loan below its applicable benchmark.
• Benchmark, reset frequency and reset date must be disclosed.
• Reset periods generally cannot exceed three months and cannot be changed during the loan tenor.

• It improves transmission of RBI policy-rate changes.
• It makes loan pricing easier to compare.
• It reduces the discretion involved in internal benchmarks such as MCLR.

• Faster transmission also means borrowers face quicker EMI increases when policy rates rise.
• The final framework must require:

• Transparent spreads;
• Advance reset notices;
• Options to switch between EMI and tenure adjustment;
• Fair conversion to fixed-rate loans;
• No arbitrary spread revision.

• These are draft directions, not presently operative rules.

Private-hospital FDI and rising healthcare costs

• The Health Committee has recommended reviewing FDI rules governing operation and acquisition of existing private hospitals.
• It warned that foreign-capital-backed consolidation may enable large chains to acquire affordable mid-sized hospitals and increase treatment prices.
• Average hospitalisation expenditure cited:

• Private hospital: ₹50,508;
• Government hospital: ₹6,631.

• Hospital construction and operation have generally been open to up to 100% FDI through the automatic route.
• The question is not whether foreign investment is inherently harmful.
• The key distinction is between:

• Greenfield investment that adds capacity;
• Acquisition-led consolidation that increases market power.

• Encourage foreign investment in:

• Medical-device manufacturing;
• Consumables;
• Specialised and rare-disease medicines.

• Apply stronger scrutiny to acquisition and operational control of existing hospitals.
• Establish efficiently managed public multispeciality hospitals in every revenue division.
• Standardise costs of essential procedures and diagnostics.
• Increase reserved or subsidised beds for BPL, EWS and PM-JAY beneficiaries.
• Create hospital-level ethics committees to examine professional fees.

• Investment policy must measure not only capital inflow but also:

• Additional beds created;
• Geographic distribution;
• Price behaviour;
• Competition;
• Access for poorer patients;
• Quality of care.

IAF medium transport aircraft programme

• The Defence Ministry has issued a tender worth approximately ₹1 lakh crore for 60 multirole transport aircraft.
• The programme is an Indian-led partnership involving domestic firms and foreign original-equipment manufacturers.
• Reported competitors include:

• Mahindra–Embraer C-390 Millennium partnership;
• Tata–Lockheed Martin C-130J partnership.

• Around 20% may be procured in fly-away condition.
• The remainder would be manufactured in India.
• Indigenous content is expected to exceed 60%.

• Transport aircraft support:

• Rapid troop and equipment deployment;
• Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief;
• Special operations;
• Tactical airlift;
• Potential aerial-refuelling configurations.

• This is a tender, not a completed selection or acquisition.
• The separate C-295 programme involves Airbus and Tata and is intended to replace the Avro fleet.
• India already operates 12 C-130J aircraft.

• Indigenisation should be measured through domestic design capability, supply-chain depth, maintenance knowledge and future upgrades—not merely local assembly.

Prelims and short-note briefs

Lar gibbon and exotic-wildlife regulation

• Lar gibbon is native to Southeast Asia.
• It is Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• It is listed in CITES Appendix I.
• It appears in Schedule IV of India’s Wild Life (Protection) Act framework governing CITES-listed specimens.
• The Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024 regulate reporting, possession and transfer.
• Do not confuse it with the hoolock gibbon, India’s only native ape.

Southern African Customs Union

• Members:

• South Africa;
• Botswana;
• Namibia;
• Lesotho;
• Eswatini.

• A customs union allows internal tariff-free movement and maintains a common external tariff.
• India and SACU have signed terms of reference to restart preferential-trade negotiations.
• A PTA provides selected tariff preferences; it is narrower than an FTA.

Operation Safed Sagar

• Name of the Indian Air Force’s operations during the 1999 Kargil conflict.
• High altitude reduced aircraft and weapon performance.
• Mirage 2000 aircraft and precision-guided weapons played a significant role.
• The IAF operated under the political restriction of not crossing the Line of Control.
• The episode demonstrates the importance of navigation, surveillance, precision targeting and joint Army–Air Force planning.

Zhu Rongji

• Former Chinese Premier associated with:

• Reform of state-owned enterprises;
• Banking and fiscal restructuring;
• Administrative modernisation;
• China’s accession to the WTO in 2001.

• His career illustrates China’s transition towards a more market-oriented but State-directed economic model.

Faith healing and preventable deaths

• Article 25 protects religious freedom subject to public order, morality and health.
• Article 47 places public health among the State’s responsibilities.
• Article 51A(h) calls upon citizens to develop scientific temper.
• The effective response is not criminal law alone; tribal health access, trusted community workers, emergency transport and culturally sensitive communication are essential.

Updates to earlier GyanGram issue files

• These should not become new 13 August cards.

• FCRA Amendment Bill — owner: 10 August

• Bill referred to a 31-member JPC: 21 Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha members.
• Report expected in the first week of the Winter Session.
• A JPC’s report is recommendatory and not legally binding.
• Add concerns regarding the proposed designated authority’s power over assets created using foreign contributions.

• Cauvery dispute — owner: 11 August

• Add Karnataka’s proposed challenge to the direction requiring release of 12,000 cusecs.
• No new standalone story until a judicial or institutional decision changes the governing position.

• Examination integrity — owner: 27 July/10 August

• Add the reported absence of a formal NTA policy for selecting subject experts.
• Add allegations that subject experts and intermediaries enabled question-paper leakage.

• UPI sustainability — owner: 11 August

• Government subsidy of ₹2,000 crore reportedly covers only 11% of estimated operational costs of ₹20,700 crore.
• Options under consideration include MDR for high-value or high-turnover merchants and a tiered incentive structure.

• E20 ethanol — owner: 30 July

• Add feedstock composition, vehicle compatibility and fleet-transition data from today’s explainer.
• Do not publish another generic ethanol-benefits card.

• Great Nicobar project — owner: 26 July

• Add the tribal council’s allegation that concerns involving the Shompen PVTG and settlement proximity were overlooked.

• VB-G RAM G/MGNREGA — owner: 11 August

• Add the reported fall in generated person-days and the continuing concerns over funding, wage adequacy and digital exclusion.

• AI applications — owner: 12 August

• Add SBI’s use of AI to underwrite approximately ₹1 lakh crore in MSME loans as a positive application requiring explainability, auditability and human appeal.

Two Mains practice questions

1. Judicial independence cannot mean immunity from accountability, while judicial accountability cannot become political control. Discuss with reference to the constitutional procedure for removing judges.

1. India’s food-security framework must progress from cereal entitlement to nutrition security without weakening the legal protection against hunger. Examine.