Golconda Blue’ 

• A rare 23.24-carat vivid blue diamond, known as The Golconda Blue and once owned by Indian royalty, is set to go under the hammer at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva, Switzerland. Mounted in a contemporary ring by acclaimed Parisian designer JAR, the gem is expected to fetch between USD 35 and 50 million (approximately Rs 300–430 crore). In this context, let’s know about the history of Golconda Blue and diamond mining in India.
• For Indians, the Golconda Blue holds deep historical significance due to its origins in the famed Golconda mines of present-day Telangana and its association with the royal houses of Indore and Baroda.
• The diamond’s documented journey begins with Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar II of Indore—an influential modernist ruler known for his refined aesthetic and cosmopolitan lifestyle during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1923, his father commissioned a bracelet featuring the blue diamond from French jeweler Chaumet, following the acquisition of the iconic Indore Pears.
• In the 1930s, royal jeweler Mauboussin reimagined the piece, setting The Golconda Blue into a necklace famously worn by the Maharani of Indore and immortalised in a portrait by French artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel.

A Kohinoor diamond

• Seated comfortably with the Crown jewels of the Queen mother at the Tower of London, the Kohinoor diamond has been a bone of contention between the Indian and the British governments for decades.
• The origin of the diamond has been placed in the Golconda in Andhra Pradesh. It was mined from the Rayalaseema diamond mine when it was under the rule of the Kakatiya dynasty.
• Post India’s independence in 1947, the diamond was acquired by renowned New York jeweler Harry Winston, who mounted it in a brooch alongside a matching white diamond. The piece later made its way to the Maharaja of Baroda before entering private ownership.

 Diamond

• Diamond is an allotrope of carbon. It is the hardest natural substance known and has a very high melting and boiling point.In diamonds, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms, forming a rigid three-dimensional structure.
• Diamonds occur majorly in two types of deposits, primarily in igneous rocks of basic or ultrabasic composition and in alluvial deposits derived from the primary sources.
• Diamonds can be synthesised by subjecting pure carbon to very high pressure and temperature. These synthetic diamonds are small but are otherwise indistinguishable from natural diamonds.
• Notably, Russia is the world’s largest diamond producer.

 What are lab-grown diamonds?

• Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that are produced using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds. They are not the same as “diamond simulants” – LGDs are chemically, physically and optically diamond and thus are difficult to identify as “lab-grown.”
• There are multiple ways in which LGDs can be produced. The most common (and cheapest) is the “High pressure, high temperature” (HPHT) method.Other processes include “Chemical Vapor Deposition” (CVD) and explosive formation that creates what are known as “detonation nanodiamonds”

Diamond mining in India

• According to the Indian Bureau of Mines National Mineral Inventory Overview of Diamonds, “Diamond mining in India can be traced back to the 5th Century (B.C.). Mining and trading activity of diamonds took place to a large extent in the 16th and 17th centuries (A.D.) in Andhra Pradesh. Golconda was the major trading centre.”
•  Presently, India is the world’s biggest centre for cutting and polishing of rough diamonds and Surat is among the premier centres of the diamond sector, with about 90 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds being cut and polished here by around 10 lakh workers employed in more than 2,500 units.
• According to the Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019, the diamond fields of India are grouped into four regions:
  South Indian tract of Andhra Pradesh, comprising parts of Anantapur, Kadapa, Guntur, Krishna, Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts;
• Central Indian tract of Madhya Pradesh, comprising Panna belt;
• Eastern Indian tract mostly of Odisha, lying between Mahanadi and Godavari valleys;
•  Behradin-Kodawali area in Raipur district and Tokapal, Dugapal, etc., areas in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

World’s Second Largest Diamond & Kimberley Process

•  The second-largest diamond in the world was uncovered in a mine in Botswana in August 2024. It is a rough 2,492-carat stone.
• In a statement by Canadian company Lucara, using the X-Ray Transmission technology, the company was able to discover the diamond in the Karowe Diamond Mine in northeastern Botswana. Notably, Botswana is one of the largest producers of diamonds, and its 30 per cent gross domestic product and 80 per cent of exports depend on the gem.
• The newly discovered gem remains far behind the world’s largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, which was discovered in South Africa about 120 years ago.

Kimberley Process

• The Kimberley Process (KP) is a global initiative to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds and promote ethical diamonds by protecting legitimate trade in rough diamonds. The KP works in partnership with the United Nations to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legal market.
• According to the website of the Kimberley Process, “The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme that regulates trade in rough diamonds. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) outlines the rules that govern the trade in rough diamonds. The KPCS has developed a set of minimum requirements that each participant must meet.”
• Notably, KP has no permanent offices or permanent staff. Neither can the KP be considered as an international agreement from a legal perspective, as it is implemented through the national legislations of its participants, as per the official website of the Kimberley Process.
• States and regional economic integration organisations that are eligible to trade in rough diamonds are participants of the KP. Presently, there are 60 participants representing 86 countries, with the European Union counted as a single participant. The participants include all major rough diamond producing, exporting and importing countries.
• Besides participants, KP also has observers. There are currently four main observers: the World Diamond Council (WDC), representing industry; the Civil Society Coalition (CSC); the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI); and the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA).

Panel gives nod to shift cheetahs from Kuno park to Gandhi Sagar

•  Even as the Centre is in talks with Kenya, South Africa and Botswana to translocate the next batch of cheetahs to Madhya Pradesh, the Cheetah Project Steering Committee is learnt to have cleared the relocation of some of the cheetahs from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The steering committee, however, advised that the relocation of the cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar, although in the same state, should be carried out with care, taking into account stress factors like the heat while moving them by road. Gandhi Sagar is about 300 kilometres from Kuno.
• The decision, taken at a meeting last week, comes even as concerns linger over availability of adequate prey and the presence of leopards, the competing co-predators.
• Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary has been earmarked as an important link for long-term conservation of cheetahs, with the aim to establish a metapopulation of 60-70 cheetahs across the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• For over a year now, the Madhya Pradesh forest department has been preparing Gandhi Sagar for the introduction of cheetahs. Although it was to be a home for the next batch of African cheetahs, talks between India and African nations have not materialised yet.
• In the first phase, the plan is to release four-five cheetahs into a fenced area in the western part of the sanctuary. An area of 64 square kilometres has been cordoned off and leopards have been moved out to prevent conflict between the two wild cats.
• It is yet to be finalised if the cheetahs to be moved to Gandhi Sagar would be those which were released into the wild at Kuno, or the others which are still inside large enclosures. Of the 26 cheetahs at Kuno, 17 are in the wild and nine remain in enclosures.
• A deficit of prey at Gandhi Sagar has been a concern and the steering committee discussed the ongoing efforts to augment prey base through introduction of chital from other forests of Madhya Pradesh. For in-situ (on-site) breeding of prey, there are herbivore enclosures at Gandhi Sagar.
• “Prey augmentation has been an ongoing process at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. We have chinkara, chousingha, nilgai and chital among the prey base,” said Subharanjan Sen, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.
• The steering committee is also learnt to have discussed the recent controversy triggered by a video clip of a driver hired by the forest department offering water to a cheetah and her cubs. Expressing displeasure, the members advised the state forest department to ensure compliance of standard operating procedures regarding interactions with the cheetahs.
• Project Cheetah kickstarted in 2022 with the translocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa to Kuno National Park. The project has faced setbacks with the deaths of eight of these cheetahs and five cubs born in Kuno.
• The Cheetah Project Steering Committee was constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2023 to review and monitor the project, and also act as an advisory body.
• Cheetahs are among the oldest of the big cat species, with its ancestors going back about 8.5 million years. It is listed as “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Two subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah and the Northwest African cheetah, are listed as “critically endangered”.

Telangana becomes first state to implement SC sub-categorisation: ‘Proud to have made history’

• Telangana’s Congress government Monday issued a gazette notification that formally implemented Scheduled Caste sub-categorisation, popularly called reservation within reservation. According to the notification, Scheduled Castes in the state will be divided into three categories – Group I, II and III.
• The Gazette notification, which implemented the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025, shows that Group I will get 1 percent reservation within the 15 percent quota for SCs; Group II will get 9 percent reservation; and Group III will get 5 percent reservation. Group I consists of 15 socio-economically backward castes, Group II has 18 and Group III has 26 such castes.
• With this, Telangana becomes first state to implement SC sub-categorisation. This comes months after a seven-judge Constitution Bench allowed further sub-classification of SCs and STs to ensure grant of quota to more backward castes inside these groups.
• According to the Gazette notification, the Act received the governor’s assent on April 8. “The said assent is hereby published on April 14, 2025 in the Telangana Gazette for general information,” the gazette read.
• The SC sub-categorisation was considered to be a difficult task for the Congress government because of strong opposition from Malas, a sub-caste among SCs who have been opposes to such subdivision. The Madigas of Telangana, however, have been agitating for 30 years demanding sub-categorisation of SCs.
• • On August 1, 2024, In a landmark 6-1 majority ruling, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that Scheduled Castes do not constitute a socially homogeneous class and can be sub-classified by States for the purpose of providing reservation to the less privileged among them

The fearless Sir Sankaran Nair and the story of the Jallianwala Bagh case

·         Sir Sankaran Nair’s resignation in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre marked a watershed moment in Indian political resistance

·         Nair was born in 1857 in an aristocratic family of Mankara village in Malabar’s Palakkad district. After Nair graduated from Presidency College in Madras and got a degree in law, he was hired by Sir Horatio Shepherd who later became Chief Justice of Madras High Court.

·         Since his early days as a lawyer, Nair came to be known for an uncompromising commitment to what he believed, irrespective of the strength of the opposition he faced. This earned him the ire of the British and made him unpopular among his colleagues and peers; he was also despised by the Brahmins of Madras.

·         Edwin Montague, the Secretary of State for India, once described Nair as an “impossible person” who “shouts at the top of his voice and refuses to listen to anything when one argues, and is absolutely uncompromising” (cited in The Case That Shook the Empire).

·         Nair was a lawyer of stellar capabilities and a social reformer of formidable credentials. In 1897, he became the youngest president of the Indian National Congress. By 1908, he had been appointed as a permanent judge of Madras High Court.

·         His best-known judgements indicated his commitment to social reforms — in Budasna v Fatima (1914), he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism could not be treated as outcastes, and in a few other cases, he upheld inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.

·         Nair believed in India’s right to self-government. In 1919, he played an important role in the expansion of provisions in the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms which introduced a system of dyarchy in the provinces and increased participation of Indians in the administration. Following the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh, he resigned from the Viceroy’s Council in protest.

·         In 1922, Nair published Gandhi and Anarchy, a book in which he spelt out his critique of Gandhi’s methods of non-violence, civil disobedience, and non-cooperation. He also accused Michael O’Dwyer, who was Lieutenant Governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre, of following policies that led to the deaths.

·         O’Dwyer sued Nair for defamation in England, expecting the English court to side with him. The trial before the King’s Bench in London went on for five and a half weeks. It was the longest-running civil case at the time.

·         The 12-member all-English jury was presided over by Justice Henry McCardie, who made no attempt to hide his bias toward O’Dwyer. The jury sided with O’Dwyer by a majority of 11 against 1, the lone dissent coming from the Marxist political theorist Harold Laski.

·         Nair was ordered to pay £500 and the expenses of the trial to the plaintiff. O’Dwyer said he would forgo the penalty if Nair apologised. Nair refused.

·         The trial had a resounding impact on the British empire in India. At a time when the nationalist movement was gaining momentum, Indians saw in the judgement the clear bias of the British against them and an effort to shield their own.

All about the first global tax on greenhouse gases

·         The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has finalised a $100 per tonne carbon tax on ship emissions, set to take effect in 2028. This levy, applied to nations failing to meet contributions to the IMO’s net-zero fund or compliance targets, marks the first global tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

·         Coupled with a new marine fuel standard to phase in cleaner alternatives, the decision aims to curb the maritime sector’s 3% share of global emissions, as reported by the United Nations. Yet, with the United States absent from the talks and environmentalists divided, questions linger: Is this a transformative leap toward the IMO’s net-zero 2050 goal, or a compromise that falls short of the climate crisis’s demands?

·         Maritime shipping, the backbone of global trade, moves roughly 12 billion tons of cargo annually, as per United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2023 report.

·         Despite a 0.4% dip in seaborne trade in 2022, the sector is projected to grow 2.1–2.2% yearly through 2028, driven by rebounding containerized trade (up over 3% annually from 2024) and surging oil and gas shipments (6% and 4.6% growth in 2022).

·         This growth fuels a troubling trend: shipping emissions have climbed over the past decade, reaching about 1 billion metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually—3% of global GHG output. Larger vessels, carrying more cargo per trip, burn immense amounts of heavy fuel oil, with Panama, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands—holding over a third of global tonnage—leading the emissions tally.

·         The IMO’s 2023 Revised GHG Strategy sets ambitious targets: a 20–30% emissions cut by 2030 and net-zero by 2050, relative to 2008 levels. Yet, without intervention, emissions could rise further.

·         UNCTAD notes that geopolitical shifts, like the Ukraine war, have rerouted oil and grain shipments, boosting ton-miles (cargo distance traveled) beyond tonnage growth, with oil cargo distances hitting long-term highs in 2023.

·         The $100 per tonne tax, finalised by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) after a week of heated debate, targets ships from nations not meeting net-zero fund contributions or emissions compliance. It’s paired with a fuel standard to promote zero- or near-zero-emission fuels like hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia.

·         The tax aims to incentivise cleaner operations and fund decarbonization, particularly for vulnerable economies. UNCTAD estimates that decarbonizing shipping requires $8–28 billion annually for vessels and $28–90 billion for fuel infrastructure, potentially raising fuel costs 70–100%.

·          A levy could generate billions to offset these costs, supporting port upgrades, climate adaptation, and alternative fuel bunkering.

·         However, the tax’s design sparked fierce debate. Over 60 countries, led by Pacific island nations like the Marshall Islands, pushed for a flat levy per metric ton of CO2. These nations, facing existential threats from rising seas, argued that a simple tax ensures fairness and drives rapid fuel shifts.

·         The International Chamber of Shipping, representing 80% of the global fleet, backed this approach, with Secretary-General Guy Platten calling it “pragmatic.” Conversely, maritime powers—China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa—favored a credit trading model, where ships earn credits for low emissions and buy them to offset excess.

·         Critics, including Marshall Islands Ambassador Albon Ishoda, warned that credits let wealthier operators “buy compliance,” undermining climate goals. The final agreement blends both models, risking diluted impact but securing broader buy-in.

·         The economic stakes are high, especially for small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs).

·         UNCTAD’s 2021 assessment projected a 2.7% rise in maritime logistics costs by 2030 under existing IMO measures like the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), with SIDS and LDCs facing GDP declines up to 0.08%—equivalent to $80 billion globally based on 2022’s $104 trillion GDP.

·         The new tax could exacerbate these costs unless revenues are equitably redistributed. In 2022, two-thirds of the global fleet met CII A–C ratings for low carbon intensity, but stricter standards could see this drop to 49% by 2026, per UNCTAD, hitting smaller operators hardest.

·         For SIDS, the stakes are existential. The Marshall Islands, a top ship registry, exemplifies the tension: its fleet drives global emissions, yet its people face climate-driven submersion.

·         The tax could fund adaptation—think seawalls or renewable bunkering ports—but environmentalists like Emma Fenton of Opportunity Green argue it won’t raise enough to support vulnerable nations’ transitions.

·         UNCTAD emphasizes that a universal framework is critical to avoid a “two-speed decarbonization,” where wealthier fleets adopt green tech while others lag.

·         The tax is one piece of a complex puzzle. The global fleet—105,493 vessels as of January 2023—averages 22.2 years old, up two years from a decade ago, per UNCTAD. Aging ships resist retrofitting for alternative fuels, which face high costs and scant bunkering infrastructure.

·          In 2022, one-third of ordered tonnage could use alternative fuels, but scaling requires overhauling fuel chains.

·          Initiatives like the COP26 Clydebank Declaration’s 21 green shipping corridors aim to bridge this, but SIDS and LDCs risk exclusion without targeted investment.

·         Freight market volatility adds pressure. Rates crashed 80% from January 2022’s 5,067-point Shanghai Containerised Freight Index peak to 967 points by June 2023, squeezing carriers’ green tech budgets.

·         Overcapacity, with container fleet growth at 3.9% in 2022, prompts cost-cutting like slower steaming, which cuts emissions but delays trade. Digital tools, like the IMO’s 2024 Maritime Electronic Single Window, could streamline ports, but new rules like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism may add red tape.

·         The $100 per tonne tax is a milestone—the first global GHG levy—but its hybrid design and U.S. opt-out raise doubts. UNCTAD projects trade growth will outpace decarbonisation without bolder action.

·          By 2028, the tax could generate billions, but only robust enforcement and reinvestment in SIDS and LDCs will ensure equity. Alternative fuels need cheaper production and wider bunkering; aging fleets need incentives to retrofit or retire. The IMO’s net-zero 2050 target demands not just taxes but a reimagined maritime ecosystem.

·         The carbon tax will generate $30–40 billion in revenues by 2030 and roughly $10 billion annually. The agreement is projected to deliver at best 10% absolute emissions reduction in the shipping sector by 2030 - far short of the IMO’s own targets set in their 2023 revised strategy, which calls for at least a 20% cut by 2030, with a stretch goal of 30%.

·         The funds will be ringfenced for decarbonising the maritime sector alone and not go towards climate financing for developing countries. Starting in 2028, ships will be required either to transition to lower-carbon fuel mixes or pay for the excess emissions they generate. Vessels that continue to burn conventional fossil fuels will face a $380 per tonne fee on the most intensive portion of their emissions, and $100 per tonne on remaining emissions above a certain threshold.

In a first, Supreme Court sets 3-month deadline for President to decide on Bills referred by Governor

·         In setting timelines for Governors to act on Bills presented to them by the state legislatures, the Supreme Court has, for the first time, prescribed that the President should take a decision on the Bills reserved for consideration by the Governor within a period of three months from the date on which such reference is received.

·         A Calling for a decision within three months is significant because under Article 201 of the Constitution, no timeframe has been set for a Presidential decision.

·         It said “where the Governor reserves a Bill for the consideration of the President and the President in turn withholds assent thereto then, it shall be open to the State Government to assail such an action before this Court”.

·         Writing for the bench, Justice Pardiwala noted that under Article 201, the President has two options once a Bill is reserved by the Governor for his/her consideration – grant or withhold assent.

·         The bench said “one of the features of Article 201 which have been the cause of differences in Centre-State relations over the years” is the absence of a time-limit within which the President is required to declare the grant or withholding of assent once the Bill is reserved for his/her consideration by the Governor.

·         It said the Sarkaria Commission had pointed to this and “recommended that definite timelines must be adopted for facilitating the efficient disposal of references under Article 201” and that “the reading of a timeline in Article 201 was also suggested by the Punchhi Commission”.

·         The Sarkaria Commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R S Sarkaria, was set up in 1983 to review the working of the existing arrangements between the Union and the States. The Punchhi Commission too was on Centre- State relations and was set up in 2007 under former Chief Justice of India Justice M M Punchhi.

·          The ruling said “although we are cognisant of the fact that in discharge of his powers under Article 201, the President is expected to ‘consider’ the Bill and such ‘consideration’ may be difficult to be bound by strict timelines, yet it cannot be a ground to justify inaction on part of the President”.

·         In a significant decision, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan of the Supreme Court declared the action of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi in reserving 10 Bills for the consideration of the President in November last year after their due reconsideration by the state Assembly as erroneous and illegal.

·         While laying down the timeline for Governors to decide on Bills, the Supreme Court referred to Article 200 of the Constitution. Article 200 specifically deals with the issue of granting assent to Bills.

·         When a Bill passed by the legislature of a state is presented to the Governor, the Governor has four options: (1) grant assent to the Bill; (2) withhold assent to the Bills; (3) return the Bills for reconsideration; or (4) reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President.

·         The key difference between the governor and the president is in the manner of appointment and removal — whereas the president is elected by the elected representatives of the country, the governor is appointed by the Union government alone.

·          Whereas the president can only be removed by way of impeachment, the governor can be removed from office at the pleasure of the Union government.

Ashwini Vaishnaw announces Kavach 5.0 system to increase Mumbai local services by 30%

·         In a major step to upgrade Mumbai’s suburban train travel, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced that Kavach 5.0, the latest in the series of Automatic Train Protection (ATP) systems, will be implemented to increase the number of trains by 30 percent. Currently, Kavach 4.0 version is under implementation in the different parts of Indian Railways.

·         Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps trains to run safely during inclement weather.

·         Kavach is India’s very own advanced Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation in collaboration with the Indian industry to prevent train collisions by automatically activating the braking system of the train.

·         This technology features an electronic device linked with radio frequency identification systems positioned at stations, trains and tracks. If a loco pilot inadvertently skips a red signal, Kavach automatically activates and controls the train’s braking systems. Additionally, the system detects any trains approaching the same tracks, taking necessary actions to avert collisions and alerting the loco pilot.

·         — Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Kavach includes the key elements from already existing, and tried and tested systems like the European Train Protection and Warning System, and the indigenous Anti Collison Device.

Why is Right To Information Act important for UPSC?

·         As Recently, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has called the Digital Personal Data Protection Act “draconian” and said, “The DPDP Act keeps all personal information out. In this new provision, you won’t be able to know under RTI which contractor built bridges in Bihar that collapsed.” Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, K C Venugopal and John Brittas had also written to Vaishnaw to repeal Section 44 (3) of the Act, as it “amends the Right to Information”.  Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “You are taking RTI towards ‘road to ignorance’, so that people do not get to know about any corruption.”

Key Points :

·         The DPDP Act propose to amend the Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. This section prevents a public authority from sharing anyone’s personal information on two main grounds – that the disclosure will have no bearing on any public activity, and that revealing such information would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual, unless such disclosure is justified in larger public interest.

·         According to the proposed DPDP law, the two key grounds, that such information could be disclosed provided it serves a larger public interest, have been done away with. Some weeks back, a clutch of organisations dealing with RTI and internet freedom launched a campaign against sections of the DPDP Act, they said, which imposes a blanket ban on disclosure of personal information without consent.

·          The RTI Act, which came into force in October 2005, was seen as a significant development towards freedom of information. It gave ordinary citizens the right to request information from government bodies, making authorities accountable for their actions and decisions.

·         According to the official site of the Right to Information, “the basic object of the RTI Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in a real sense.” These are the four pillars of the Act.

·         The RTI Act, 2005, provided for a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions to deal with appeals and complaints against public authorities. Section 12 of the RTI Act states, “The Central Information Commission shall consist of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), and such number of Central Information Commissioners, not exceeding 10, as may be deemed necessary.”

·         Last year, Delhi High Court observed that the Central Information Commission (CIC) has no jurisdiction to comment on the utilisation of funds by the members of Parliament under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.

·         The Supreme Court, while observing that the autonomy of CIC is of paramount importance for its effective functioning, ruled that Section 12(4) of the RTI Act gives power to Central Information Commission to constitute benches and frame regulations.

·         Yashovardhan Azad mentions the challenges facing the CIC– Vacancies in Information Commissions, mounting pendency, delayed hearing of second appeals, perceptible opacity, and the casual approach of officers in dealing with RTI queries.

·         Satark Nagrik Sangathan, in its 2024 study of State Information Commissions’ performances, found that four out of 29 are defunct and at least three are still headless. In 10 commissions, the waiting time for hearing after filing an appeal is over a year. Nineteen of the 29 Commissions have not cared to file their annual report, mandatory under the Act.

·         Union Minister Vaishnav, in response to the opposition claims, underlined that protection of personal information was important as the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy judgment had held privacy to be an integral part of the Right to Life. This data protection act is in harmony with both privacy and transparency in public life.

·         In August, 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India in K. Puttaswamy v Union of India Case ruled unanimously that  “the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution”.

·         Justice Puttaswamy famously challenged the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme, which led to the Supreme Court recognising the right to privacy under the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution

Day after the Supreme Court’s red flag, Govt puts key aspects of waqf law on hold until May

·         In A day after the Supreme Court red-flagged three key aspects of the Waqf Act, 2025 and suggested it could stay them, the Centre told the court on Thursday that it would neither make any appointments to Waqf Boards nor change the character of waqfs, including ‘waqf-by-user’ that are notified and registered as such until the next hearing on May 5.

·         With the Centre requesting a week to file an affidavit before the SC passes an interim order, the three-judge bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, deferred the cases challenging the constitutional validity of the Act to May 5. CJI Khanna retires on May 13.

·         The Centre had opposed the Supreme Court’s proposal to pass an interim order against the denotification of waqf properties, including ‘waqf-by-user’, aside from staying a provision allowing the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Councils and Boards.

·         The court granted the Union of India, the state governments and the Waqf Boards seven days to file their preliminary reply/response to the writ petitions. It also directed that a rejoinder affidavit to the reply/response of the respondents may be filed within five days from the date of its service.

·         Article 26, a fundamental right under Part 3 of the Constitution, guarantees the freedom to manage the religious affairs of the citizens, and is subject to only three restrictions — public order, morality, and health.

·         Doing away with concept of “Waqf by use”: “Waqf by use” simply means that land used for Muslim religious or charitable purposes for a long time can be deemed to be a Waqf even if it is not registered as such.

·         Waqf — The 2025 law does away with the concept of Waqf by use (which it refers to as “-by-user”) for future dedications, and restricts it only to properties that are already registered as Waqf. It further states that where there is a dispute, or if a property is allegedly government-owned, that land in question will not be treated as Waqf-by-use.

·         Powers of district collector: The SC also mentioned it is considering staying another provision involving powers of the district collector, which could have a bearing on Waqf-by-use lands.

·         Under the 2025 law, if the district collector identifies land, currently in use as a Waqf, as government land, then it ceases to be Waqf land till a court decides the dispute. This power, which flows from a crucial proviso to Section 3(c) of the Act, could alter the status of Waqf land even before a court has decided its status.

·          Inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf boards: The petitioners argued that the 2025 law, which allows non-Muslims to be part of Waqf boards and the Waqf council, is violative of Articles 26(b), 26(c), and 26(d) of the Constitution.

·         AApplicability of Limitations Act: Sibal also challenged a provision in the 2025 law that allows the applicability of the Limitation Act with respect to Waqf properties. The Limitation Act essentially bars parties from making a legal claim, say, against encroachment, after a specific period of time has lapsed.

·         The 1995 Waqf Act had specifically excluded the application of the Limitation Act which allowed Waqfs to act against encroachments on its properties without a specific time frame. The 2025 law removed that exception. To this, CJI Khanna said that the “Limitation Act has both its advantages and disadvantages”.

WTO slashes 2025 trade growth forecast, warns of deeper slump

·         The World Trade Organization sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade from solid growth to a decline on Wednesday, saying further U.S. tariffs and spillover effects could lead to the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.

·         The WTO said it expected trade in goods to fall by 0.2% this year, down from its expectation in October of 3.0% expansion. It said its new estimate was based on measures in place at the start of this week

·         In its latest global outlook, the WTO said it had previously expected goods trade to grow by 2.7 per cent in 2025. That forecast has now been slashed to a 0.2 per cent decline, driven by a sharp rise in tariffs and increasingly unpredictable trade policy decisions from Washington.

·         The most severe scenario modelled by the Geneva-based body shows a 1.5 per cent drop in trade, coupled with global GDP growth falling to just 1.7 per cent — a significant downgrade from its earlier 2.8 per cent estimate.

·         Presenting the figures, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala voiced particular concern about the growing divide between the US and China, warning of “a phenomenon that is really worrying to me”. She said trade between the two countries could collapse by between 81 and 91 per cent without exemptions for key technology products such as smartphones — a shift she described as “tantamount to a decoupling of the two economies” with “far-reaching consequences”.

·         The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also raised the alarm. World Bank president Ajay Banga said that rising uncertainty would dampen global growth, and urged developing nations to work with neighbours and the US to roll back tariffs: “The quicker we do it, the better.”

·          It is nearly three percentage points lower than what would have been expected under a low tariff baseline scenario, according to the WTO Secretariat’s latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report released on April 16.

·         This is premised on the tariff situation as of April 14. Trade could shrink even further, to -1.5 per cent in 2025, if the situation deteriorates.

·         Services trade, though not directly subject to tariffs, is also expected to be adversely affected, with the global volume of commercial services trade now forecast to grow by 4 per cent, slower than expected.

·         The recent de-escalation of tariff tensions has temporarily relieved some of the pressure on global trade. 

·         However, the enduring uncertainty threatens to act as a brake on global growth, with severe negative consequences for the world, the most vulnerable economies in particular. 

·         At the start of the year, the WTO Secretariat expected to see continued expansion of world trade in 2025 and 2026, with merchandise trade growing in line with world GDP and commercial services trade increasing at a faster pace. 

·         However, the large number of new tariffs introduced since January prompted WTO economists to reassess the trade situation, resulting in a substantial downgrade to their forecast for merchandise trade and a smaller reduction in their outlook for services trade.

·         Risks to the merchandise trade forecast persist, particularly from the reactivation of the suspended ‘reciprocal tariffs’ by the United States, as well as the spread of trade policy uncertainty that could impact non-US trade relationships. 

·         • If realised, reciprocal tariffs would reduce global merchandise trade volume growth by 0.6 percentage points in 2025 while spreading trade policy uncertainty could shave off another 0.8 percentage points. 

Disruption in US-China trade

·         The disruption in US-China trade is expected to trigger significant trade diversion, raising concerns among third markets about increased competition from China. 

·         Chinese merchandise exports are projected to rise by 4 per cent to 9 per cent across all regions outside North America, as trade is redirected. 

·         At the same time, US imports from China are expected to fall sharply in sectors such as textiles, apparel, and electrical equipment, creating new export opportunities for other suppliers able to fill the gap.

·         Additionally, the reinstatement of US tariffs could have severe repercussions for export-oriented least-developed countries (LDCs) whose economies are particularly sensitive to external economic shocks due to their concentration of trade on a small number of products as well as their limited resources to deal with setbacks. 

·         Although the high tariffs are limited to goods, their effects are expected to ripple across the broader economy, including on services trade.

What is the WTO?

·         The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. 

·         The primary purpose of the WTO is to open trade for the benefit of all.

·         At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

·          The WTO came into being on January 1, 1995. But its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system.

·         Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements cover trade in services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs (intellectual property).

·         The WTO provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all, thus contributing to economic growth and development. 

·         It also provides a legal and institutional framework for the implementation and monitoring of these agreements, as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application. 

·         The WTO currently has 166 members, accounting for 98 per cent of world trade. A total of 25 countries are negotiating membership.

·         The WTO’s top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which meets usually every two years.

·         WTO activities are supported by a Secretariat led by the WTO Director-General. The Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

·          The General Council meets regularly to carry out the functions of WTO. It has representatives (usually ambassadors or equivalent) from all member governments and has the authority to act on behalf of the ministerial conference which only meets about every two years