India and Bhutan discuss technological and capacity building collaboration on boundary-related work

• India and Bhutan  discussed boundary-related field matters while expressing satisfaction at the work completed by respective field survey teams and other stakeholders on the issue.
• The two sides also discussed the potential for technological and capacity-building collaboration relating to survey and boundary-related work, as per the priorities of both governments, during the two-day meeting held between officials from the Government of India and Bhutan’s Office of International Boundaries in New Delhi to review matters relating to boundary-related fieldwork.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian side was led by Surveyor General of India Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana, while Dasho Letho T. Tangbi, Secretary, International Boundaries, in the Government of Bhutan, headed the delegation from the neighbouring country.
• Both sides also finalised the work plan for the next three field seasons.
• “India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, underpinned by mutual trust, shared values, and utmost goodwill at all levels. The meeting was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and is in keeping with the tradition of regular dialogues in all sectors of bilateral cooperation,” read a statement issued by the MEA.
• India and Bhutan share a common perception of their strategic interests and cooperate closely on security issues and border management. India is also Bhutan’s largest trade and development partner and the source of supplies of most of the essential commodities imported by Bhutan.
•  India and Bhutan reviewed fieldwork along the border between the two countries and discussed the potential for a collaboration in capacity-building measures in frontier regions.
• Both sides expressed satisfaction at the work completed by respective field survey teams and other stakeholders on boundary-related field matters.

India-Bhutan Relations

•  The basic framework of India-Bhutan bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries and revised in February 2007.
• Diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968 with the establishment of a special office of India in Thimphu.
•  An agreement on trade and commerce between India and Bhutan was first signed in January 1972. Since then, the agreement has been renewed/revised many times.
• In November 2016, both countries signed an Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit, which provides for a free trade regime aimed at boosting bilateral trade for mutual benefit. 
• In March 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’, making him the first foreign head of the government to receive the honour.
• The government of India has consistently supported the socio-economic development of Bhutan. Hydropower cooperation between the two countries is an example of win-win cooperation. 
• India has been extending economic assistance to Bhutan’s socio-economic development since the early 1960s when Bhutan launched its Five Year Plans.
•  Mutually beneficial hydropower cooperation with Bhutan forms the core of bilateral economic cooperation. For Bhutan, hydropower development continues to be a vital catalyst for socio-economic development.
• The ongoing cooperation between India and Bhutan in the hydropower sector is covered under the 2006 bilateral agreement for cooperation and its protocol signed in 2009. Four hydroelectric projects (HEPs) totaling 2,136 MW are already operational in Bhutan and are supplying electricity to India.
• The 720 MW Mangdechhu was commissioned in August 2019 and handed over to Bhutan in December 2022. Two hydroelectric projects, 1,200 MW Punatsangchhu-I, 1,020 MW Punatsangchhu-II in inter-governmental mode and Kholongchu HEP (600 MWs) under the joint venture mode are under various stages of implementation. 

 India is Bhutan’s top trade partner both as an import source and as an export destination. Since 2014, India’s merchandise trade with Bhutan has almost tripled from $484 million in 2014-15 to $1,615 million in 2022-23., accounting for about 80 per cent of Bhutan’s overall trade, with the balance of trade in India’s favour. 

• India’s top exports to Bhutan are petrol, diesel, passenger cars, rice, wood charcoal, cellphones, soya-bean oil, excavators, electric generators & motors, parts for turbines, transport vehicles and bitumen. 
•  India is the leading source of investments in Bhutan, comprising 50 per cent of the country’s total FDI.
• Around 600 big and small projects in the areas of infrastructure development, roads and bridges, industries, agriculture, e-governance, community development projects like irrigation channels, farm roads, block connectivity roads, basic health units, etc have been identified by the two sides and are at various stages of implementation.
• Apart from hydro-power cooperation and development partnership has moved into new and emerging areas with full interoperability of the flagship digital project RuPay, which has been successfully completed.
• BHIM UPI was launched in Bhutan on July 13, 2021. Bhutan became the first foreign country to adopt UPI standards for its QR deployment and the first country in the immediate neighbourhood to accept mobile-based payments through the BHIM app.

India, EU to hold next round of trade talks on March 10

• India and the European Union are scheduled to begin the next round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA)  in Brussels with the aim of concluding the talks by the end of this year, a senior official said.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to expedite the conclusion of the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of the year at their meeting in Delhi last month.
• “A free trade agreement between the EU and India would be the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world. I am well aware it will not be easy. But I also know that timing and determination count and that this partnership comes at the right moment for both of us,” Von der Leyen, said during her two-day visit to India.
• Her statement came in the backdrop of massive tariff hikes proposed against all countries by US President Donald Trump under his ‘America First’ policy which is threatening to disrupt global trade and heighten uncertainty in the global economy.
• PM Modi and the European Commission President committed to task their respective negotiating teams to pursue negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, and mutually beneficial FTA.
• Officials were asked to work as trusted partners to enhance market access and remove trade barriers. They were also tasked to advance negotiations on an Agreement on Investment Protection and an Agreement on Geographical Indications.
• Reaching a deal will be complex, however, with significant concessions wanted on both sides in areas ranging from cars and whisky to pharmaceuticals and textiles.
• The EU wants India to lower tariffs on cars, wine, and whisky as well as some agricultural products. India, on the other hand, wants greater market access and lower tariffs for key exports, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, and apparel.
• The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros of trade in goods in 2023, or 12.2 per cent of total Indian trade. Trade in services between the EU and India reached nearly 60 billion euros in 2023, almost double the level in 2020. A third of that were digital services, according to figures compiled by the World Economic Forum.
• The US and China account for 10.8 per cent and 10.5 per cent of total Indian trade, respectively. India, meanwhile, is the EU’s ninth largest trading partner, accounting for 2.2 per cent of the bloc’s trade, WEF figures show.
• Trade between India and the EU has grown by around 90 per cent in the past decade, but talks over a free trade pact have stalled over the years due to sharp differences between India and the 27-nation bloc on agriculture, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals
• In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight years.
• It stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets.
• The two sides are also negotiating an investment protection agreement and an agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs).
• According to the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), key sticking points include agricultural tariffs, especially on dairy and wine import duties, automobile tariffs, and regulatory barriers affecting labour-intensive goods.
• India is reluctant to lower auto import duties and is cautious about committing to EU demands on sustainability and labour standards, it said, adding that services trade remains another contested area, with India seeking easier mobility for professionals and data security recognition under the EU''s GDPR framework (European Union''s General Data Protection Regulation).
• "Government procurement, investment protection, and environmental regulations like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) further complicate talks. Despite these challenges, a successful agreement could significantly enhance bilateral trade, which exceeded USD 190 billion in FY 2024,
• India exported USD 76 billion in goods and USD 30 billion in services to the EU, while the EU exported USD 61.5 billion in goods and USD 23 billion in services to India.
• Agriculture remains a highly sensitive area in the negotiations, as the EU is pushing India to cut tariffs on cheese and skimmed milk powder, which India currently shields through high duties to protect its domestic dairy industry.

How scientists created ‘woolly mice’ as part of their quest to bring back the woolly mammoth

• In an effort to bring back woolly mammoths, a US-based bioscience company has now announced the birth of “woolly mice”. These mice have been genetically engineered to have several mammoth-like traits geared towards cold tolerance, such as thick, wavy, and golden coats.
• Scientists  have successfully edited seven genes to demonstrate that they produce the desired colwd resistance traits.
• “By engineering multiple cold-tolerant traits from mammoth evolutionary pathways into a living model species, we have proven our ability to recreate complex genetic combinations that took nature millions of years to create. This success brings us a step closer to our goal of bringing back the woolly mammoth.
• Notably, some scientists, who were not part of the research, questioned the significance of the creation of woolly mice.

How did the scientists create woolly mice?

• To create woolly mice, the company’s scientists first looked at genetic variants in which mammoths differed from their closest living relative — the Asian elephant. They then selected 10 gene variants related to hair length, thickness, texture, colour and body fat that corresponded to similar, known variants in a lab mouse.
•  “They compared the mammoth genomes that we collected using ancient DNA to ask where mammoths are different in their DNA code from elephants, focusing on genes that are linked to traits like coat waviness, hair length. Then we looked for mouse versions of those same genes, and asked whether a mouse had ever been born with a variant in that gene that led to a woolly coat. If so, this gene was added to our list of mouse genes to edit.
• The scientists made eight edits to modify seven genes in the mice. When the genetically modified mice were born, they reflected the traits that the scientists had predicted based on their computational analysis of the mammoth and elephant genetic data.

What were the edits made in the mouse gene?

• The scientists edited a gene known as FGF5, which targets the cycle of hair growth, creating longer, shaggy hair. This led to the woolly mice gaining the ability to grow three times longer hair than wild type mice. The scientists also edited three other genes related to hair follicle development and structure to create woolly hair texture, wavy coats and curled whiskers.
• Other targeted genes include MC1R which recreated the golden coat of a woolly mammoth rather than the black ones of the wild mice.
• The woolly mice also contain a truncated version of the FABP2 gene that is associated with lipid metabolism and fatty acid absorption in the woolly mammoth. This leads to changes in the body weight of the mice. Shapiro said, “Over the next year, we will be performing standard experiments on the [woolly] mice to explore whether these changes to their DNA make them more adapted to cold climates.”

Rare bar-headed goose rescued; endangered birds sighted at new places

•  For the first time, a bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), a migratory bird, was sighted at Morshing village in West Kameng district.
• The bar-headed goose, a migratory bird species, is native to Asia and Europe. It is listed as ‘least concern’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
• Though it is not considered rare globally, its population is declining in some parts of its range due to habitat loss, hunting, and other human activities. On the contrary, in certain regions, including the Indian subcontinent, the bar-headed goose is considered a rare winter visitor.
• In other regions, such as the Tibetan plateau and parts of Europe, the species is more common and widespread.

Features of the Bar-headed Goose

• Flying Ability: The Bar-headed Goose is capable of flying at altitudes up to 25,000 feet, migrating over the Himalayas, where oxygen levels are low, and temperatures are extreme.

 Characteristics:

• Color: The bird is primarily gray and white with two horseshoe-shaped, brownish-black bars on the back of its white head.
• Bill and Legs: The bill and legs are typically pink, orange, or yellow.
• Wingspan: The wingspan of the Bar-headed Goose ranges from 140 to 160 cm.
• Sexual Dimorphism: Male and female birds look alike, but the male is slightly larger than the female.

Bar-headed Goose Distribution

• Breeding Grounds: Native to Central Asia, where the species breeds.
• Migration: During the winter, they migrate to parts of South Asia. They are found in countries such as:
• India
• Pakistan
• Nepal
• Kazakhstan
• Bangladesh
• Myanmar
• Japan
• Other nearby regions
• Geographical Range in India: Their range extends from the northeast to the southern parts of India.

Bar-headed Goose Habitat

• Breeding Habitat: They prefer high-altitude lakes during the breeding season.
• Wintering Habitat: In winter, they are found near freshwater lakes, rivers, streams, and other water bodies.
• They are also seen in rocky regions, farmlands, and marshes.
• Conservation Status
• The Bar-headed Goose is classified as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List, meaning it currently does not face any significant threats of extinction.
• The sighting of the Bar-headed Goose in Morshing village adds to the significance of the biodiversity found in Arunachal Pradesh and highlights the species'' migratory patterns.

The Former royal hunting ground in Madhya Pradesh now India''s 58th tiger reserve

• Located in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, Madhav National Park has officially been designated as India''s 58th tiger reserve.
• This addition underlines the country''s dedication to expanding habitats for tigers and enhancing biodiversity. Spanning an area of 354.6 square kilometers, the park features diverse terrains, including forested hills, grasslands, and lakes, providing an ideal environment for wildlife.
• The history of tiger reserves in India reflects a concerted effort to protect one of the country''s most iconic species. From its inception in 1973 to the present day, Project Tiger has evolved significantly, with ongoing efforts aimed at ensuring the long-term viability of tiger populations and their habitats.
• Madhav National Park, located in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, was historically used as a hunting ground by two prominent groups:
• Mughal emperors: The park was a favorite hunting spot for the Mughal emperors, including Emperor Akbar, who was known to have captured elephants from this area137.
• Maharajas of Gwalior: The Scindia dynasty, specifically the Maharajas of Gwalior, also used Madhav National Park as their hunting preserve. The park was named after Madho Rao Scindia, a prominent Maharaja of Gwalior124.
• These historical figures utilised the park''s diverse wildlife and strategic location for their hunting expeditions, reflecting the area''s rich biodiversity and its role as a royal hunting ground before it was designated as a national park in 1958.

MADHYA PRADESH: LEADING IN TIGER CONSERVATION

• With the inclusion of Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh now boasts nine tiger reserves, the highest number in any Indian state. This brings out the state''s pivotal role in national conservation efforts.
• The establishment of these reserves aims to protect tiger habitats and promote ecological balance.

INDIA''S COMMITMENT TO WILDLIFE PRESERVATION

• India is home to over 70% of the world''s wild tiger population, with approximately 3,682 tigers. The country''s conservation journey has evolved from banning hunting to implementing comprehensive strategies involving legal frameworks, international collaboration, and community engagement.
• The recognition of Madhav National Park as a tiger reserve exemplifies these ongoing efforts and the dedication of forest officials working tirelessly to protect wildlife.
• The transformation of Madhav National Park into a tiger reserve not only enhances the protection of these majestic creatures but also contributes to the overall health of the ecosystem, benefiting numerous other species and maintaining ecological balance.

HISTORY OF TIGERE RESERVES IN INDIA

• The establishment of tiger reserves in India is closely tied to Project Tiger, a pioneering conservation initiative launched on April 1, 1973, by the Government of India. This project was designed to protect the Bengal Tiger and its habitats, and it marked a significant milestone in wildlife conservation efforts in India.

EARLY YEARS OF PROJECT TIGER

• Launch and initial reserves: Project Tiger was initiated with nine tiger reserves, covering an area of approximately 9,115 square kilometers. These initial reserves included Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Bandipur in Karnataka, Kanha in Madhya Pradesh, Manas in Assam, Sundarbans in West Bengal, Melghat in Maharashtra, Ranthambore in Rajasthan, Palamau in Jharkhand, and Similipal in Odisha.
• Expansion and growth: By the late 1980s, the number of tiger reserves increased to 15, covering about 24,700 square kilometers. This expansion continued, and by 1997, there were 23 tiger reserves spanning over 33,000 square kilometers.

EVOLUTION AND CURRENT STATUS

• National tiger conservation authority (NTCA): In 2006, the NTCA was established to oversee the administration of tiger reserves. This marked a significant shift in the management structure, with the NTCA playing a crucial role in implementing conservation strategies.
• Tiger census and population trends: The tiger population in India has shown fluctuations over the years. In 2006, the census reported 1,411 tigers, which increased to 1,706 by 2010 and further rose to 2,226 by 2014. As of 2018, the number reached 2,967, and by 2022, it will be reported to be 3,68225.
• Current tiger reserves: As of December 2024, India has 57 designated tiger reserves, covering a vast area and providing crucial habitats for tigers and other wildlife.

IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES

• Conservation success: Project Tiger has been instrumental in increasing tiger populations and protecting habitats. It has also promoted ecotourism, benefiting local communities.
• Challenges: Despite successes, challenges persist, including habitat fragmentation, human-tiger conflict, and poaching. Continuous efforts are needed to maintain a balance between conservation and human activities.

US Backs Out of Coal Transition Plan, Will It Impact Just Energy Transition Partnership?

• The United States has withdrawn from the the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a collaboration between richer nations to assist developing countries transition from coal to cleaner energy.
• Launched at the 2021 UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, JETP, comprises of 10 donor countries. South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal were subsequently announced as the first beneficiaries of loans, financial guarantees and grants to help them move away from coal.
• The United States has withdrawn from a climate agreement in which rich nations pledged billions of dollars to help a small group of developing countries switch from coal to green energy sources in a possible blueprint for future deals to cut carbon emissions.
• South Africa said it had received notice that the US had withdrawn from the International Partners Group (IPG), a bloc of rich countries that has pledged money for energy transitions in South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. The bloc includes the European Union, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Norway and Denmark.
• The US had declared, effective immediately, its withdrawal from the agreements in South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, said Chrispin Phiri, a spokesperson for the South African Foreign Ministry.
• The US had not pledged money for Senegal''s energy transition, although other members of the IPG did.
• It’s another move by President Donald Trump to take the US out of global climate pacts after he signed an executive order in January to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement that brings countries together to combat global warming.
• That agreement is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels or, failing that, keeping temperatures at least well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

What was the money being used for?

• The US withdrawal from the IPG meant South Africa would lose more than $1 billion (€923 million) in future investment pledges from the US, according to a statement from the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This money was intended to help gradually decommission its polluting coal-fired power stations in favor of renewable energy.

What is the just energy transition agreement?

• South Africa was the first country to sign up to a so-called just energy transition agreement at the United Nations climate conference in 2021.
• It said it had received $13.8 billion (€12.7 billion) in pledges before the US withdrawal. Indonesia and Vietnam signed their multibillion-dollar deals in 2022.
• The agreements are meant to recognise that some developing countries are reliant on coal to keep their economies going. They don''t have the money or the green energy capacity to swiftly change and need to convert more gradually.
• South Africa, the most advanced economy in Africa, relies on coal for more than 80 per cent of its electricity supply. Nearly all of Indonesia’s energy needs are currently met by fossil fuels, with 60 per cent coming from coal.
• South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam are all among the world’s top 20 emitters of greenhouse gases, according to ClimateWatch, which compiles data on climate change.

Climate change could reduce the number of satellites that can safely orbit Earth, study finds

• A new study says space may become more littered with debris as climate change lessens nature''s way of cleaning it up
• Climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too, a new study finds.
• Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have calculated that, as global warming caused by burning of coal, oil, gas continues, it may reduce the available space for satellites in low Earth orbit by anywhere from one-third to 82 per cent by the end of the century, depending on how much carbon pollution is spewed out.
• That''s because space will become more littered with debris as climate change lessens nature''s way of cleaning it up.

How is climate change reducing space for satellites?

• Part of the greenhouse effect that warms the air near Earth''s surface also cools the upper parts of the atmosphere where space starts and satellites zip around in low orbit.
• The cooling also makes the upper atmosphere less dense, which reduces the drag on the millions of pieces of human-made debris and satellites.
• That drag pulls space junk down to Earth, burning it up on the way. But a cooler and less dense upper atmosphere means less space cleaning itself, resulting in space becoming more crowded.
• “We rely on the atmosphere to clean up our debris. There’s no other way to remove debris,” said study lead author Will Parker, an astrodynamics researcher at MIT. “It’s trash. It’s garbage. And there are millions of pieces of it.”
• The density at 400 kilometers above Earth is decreasing by about 2 per cent a decade, said Ingrid Cnossen, a space weather scientist at the British Antarctic Survey who was not part of the research. This decrease is also likely to intensify as society pumps more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
• Cnossen said that the new study makes “perfect sense” and is why scientists have to be aware of climate change''s orbital effects “so that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure its long-term sustainability.”

How much junk is circling our planet?

• Circling Earth are millions of pieces of debris about 3 millimeters and larger - the width of two stacked pennies - and those collide with the energy of a bullet.
• There are tens of thousands of plum-sized pieces of space junk that hit with the power of a crashing bus, according to The Aerospace Corporation, which monitors orbital debris. That junk includes results of old space crashes and parts of rockets with most of it too small to be tracked.
•  There are 11,905 satellites circling Earth - 7,356 in low orbit - according to the tracking website Orbiting Now. Satellites are critical for communications, navigation, weather forecasting and monitoring environmental and national security issues.
• “There used to be this mantra that space is big. And so we can we can sort of not necessarily be good stewards of the environment because the environment is basically unlimited,”.
• But a 2009 crash of two satellites created thousands of pieces of space junk. Also NASA measurements are showing measurable the reduction of drag, so scientists now realise that “the climate change component is really important.

The New era for disability rights in India

• Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.” This prophetic dissenting opinion of Justice John Marshall Harlan in Plessy versus Ferguson (1896) in the US captures the spirit of the landmark verdict of the Supreme Court of India for disability rights on March 3.
•  The court quashed a rule of the Madhya Pradesh judicial services that disallowed visually impaired and low-vision candidates from seeking appointment to judicial services. "It is high time that we view the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the RPwD Act (Right of Persons with Disabilities Act), 2016, in the same stature as a fundamental right, thereby ensuring that no candidate is denied consideration solely on account of their disability," 

Background and appeals

• A two-judge bench of justices R Mahadevan and J B Pardiwala pronounced the judgment on a batch of petitions dealing with certain provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Examination (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, and seeking amendments to the Rajasthan Judicial Service Rules, 2010, to bring them in accordance with the RPwD Act.
• The case was filed by both visually impaired and disabled candidates who were denied job opportunities in the judicial services due to discriminatory provisions in the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan judicial services rules. The petitioners argued that these provisions violated their fundamental rights, including their rights to equality and dignity.
• The court also took suo motu cognizance of a letter petition on Dec 15, 2024, to the then CJI by the mother of a visually impaired judicial aspirant, challenging the legality of the amended Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Examination (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules 1994, whose Rule 6A excludes the visually impaired and low-vision candidates from appointment in judicial services. According to the petitioner, the action of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which rejected a challenge to Rule 7 that does not grant specific exemptions to the disabled, is arbitrary, discriminatory, unjust and violative of the spirit of the Constitution.
• A similar letter petition was sent by a visually impaired law student from Rajasthan to the then CJI requesting action for transparency, fairness and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in judicial service exams in the state.
• The petitioners prayed for a direction to the Rajasthan High Court to publish separately and declare the results and cut-off marks for persons with benchmark disabilities in the Rajasthan Judicial Service Examinations at every stage viz., Preliminary, Mains, Interviews and the final result.

The verdict

• The court said a rights-based approach necessitates that PwDs must not face any discrimination. Instead, there must be affirmative action on behalf of the state to provide an inclusive framework.
• Justice Mahadevan cited cases of exemplary achievements of distinguished individuals in the legal profession, who have demonstrated that visual impairment is no barrier to attaining professional excellence, competing on equal footing and making significant contributions to the justice delivery system alongside their able-bodied counterparts.
• Holding that the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, should be viewed as a fundamental right, the court said no candidate should be denied consideration for employment solely on account of their disability.
• The bench ruled that visually impaired candidates cannot be said to be ‘not suitable’ for judicial service. It struck down the amendment made in Rule 6A of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994 to the extent that it does not include impaired persons who are educationally qualified for the post.
• The court also struck down Rule 7 of the 1994 rules to the extent of prescribing additional requirements of either a three-year practice period or securing an aggregate score of 70% in the first attempt, insofar as it applies to a PwD candidate.
•  Further, the court ruled that a separate cut-off has to be maintained and selection made for visually-impaired candidates in line with the judgment in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, where a seven-judge bench proposed reservation of PwD candidates in public employment, and for relaxation of qualifying marks as affirmative action in their favour.

Reasonable accommodation

• The court highlighted the importance of reasonable accommodation in ensuring equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. The principle, as enshrined in international conventions and established jurisprudence, mandates that accommodations be provided to persons with disabilities as a prerequisite to assessing their eligibility.
•  It held that the principle that reasonable accommodation is not a discretionary measure but a fundamental right integral to achieving substantive equality for PwD, forms part of the right to dignity as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Implications of the judgment

• The judgment has far-reaching implications for disability rights in India and is a significant step forward. It paves the way for visually impaired candidates to participate in judicial services, and sets a precedent for other disability rights cases. It recognises the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to equal opportunities and non-discrimination. As India continues to strive towards an equitable society, this judgment serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting rights of all citizens, regardless of abilities.

Some of the visually impaired who excelled in the judiciary

• Zak Mohd Yacoob
• Lost his sight at 16 months due to meningitis, served as a judge on the South African Constitutional Court from 1998 to 2013. Despite his blindness, he effectively discharged his judicial duties with the aid of a legally trained assistant, a computer, a braille printer, and a note-taker.
• While acknowledging that reading case materials took longer, he firmly rejected the misconception that blind individuals are incapable of assessing critical evidence, such as charts, maps, or witness demeanour. He argued that the belief that one must “see” a witness to assess credibility was unfounded.
• In  his tenure, Justice Yacoob advocated for constitutional protection of differently-abled individuals, stressing the need for equality and accessibility equality within the justice system.

S K Rungta

• Conferred with the position of Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in 2011, he dedicated his career to breaking down barriers for the differently-abled. Initially reliant on clerks for mobility and legal filings, he has cut his dependence with the advent of assistive technology.
• While he encountered skepticism from some judges regarding his capabilities, he asserts that the judiciary has largely been supportive. His contributions have been instrumental from facilitating entry of the blind into the civil services to enforcing disability reservations under Indian law, securing rights of blind to serve as witnesses, and shaping India’s disability legislation - The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

 Nirmita Narasimhan

• A visually impaired lawyer and policy director at the Centre for Internet and Society, Nirmita has been instrumental in advancing digital accessibility and policy reforms. A law graduate from Delhi University with additional degrees in German and Music, she played a key role in drafting India’s National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility and worked extensively with government agencies to integrate accessibility into public programmes.
• Recognised with multiple awards, including the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (2010), she stresses that addressing systemic hurdles rather than focusing solely on disability would indirectly lead to more effective accessibility reforms