1. Delhi Revisits Cloud Seeding for Smog (ENVIRONMENT) (IE) After Diwali, severe air pollution in Delhi-NCR revived discussion of cloud seeding. Fresh trials were reportedly under consideration after the October 2025 attempts produced little rain. The proposal turns on whether suitable clouds are present and whether any rainfall would deliver meaningful relief. How seeding changes…
1. Two-Child Norm for Panchayat Polls Goes to Larger Bench (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE) (IE) On 4 November 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe referred the 2003 ruling in Javed v. State of Haryana to a larger Bench. Javed had upheld laws barring people with more than two children from…
1. Demonetisation at Ten: A Mixed Scorecard (ECONOMICS) (TH) (IE) On 8 November 2026, the demonetisation of 2016 completed ten years. Central bank data now reveal a paradox: digital payments have exploded, yet Indians hold about as much cash relative to GDP as they did before the note ban, and forgers have learnt to copy…
1. Voter ID for Welfare? The Debate Explained (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE) (TH) Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh has said that the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number, combined with biometric authentication, would be used instead of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries and process payments under Panchayati Raj schemes. The remark has opened a…
1. Beyond Calories: The Case for Nutritional Security (SOCIAL JUSTICE) (IE) With poverty falling sharply over the past decade, a fresh policy debate asks whether India's food safety net should move beyond handing out cheap cereals towards securing nutritional security — a diet that actually builds healthy bodies and minds. Food Security vs Nutritional Security…
1. Internet Access Is a Fundamental Right, Rules SC (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE) (TH) In Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish (2026), the Supreme Court held that the right to access and use the internet is a fundamental right of every individual — children included — under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a). The…
1. ASI 2024-25: Inside India’s Factory Sector (ECONOMICS) (PIB) The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the detailed publications of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2024-25 — Volume I and the Summary Results of the Factory Sector — along with unit-level data. These deepen the headline results first put out on…
1. Death Penalty: Supreme Court’s Turn Towards Due Process (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE) (TH) The World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October) has revived debate on how India applies the ‘rarest of rare’ test. Recent Supreme Court rulings have moved the focus from the brutality of the crime to a fair, individualised sentencing hearing for…
1. Counting Urban India: The Case for a National Policy (SOCIETY) (TH) India’s first Census in 16 years will keep the 2011 yardsticks for what counts as “urban”. Experts warn that this will again under-record the towns growing on city fringes, and argue that only a unified National Urbanisation Policy (NUP) can bring these settlements…
1. Why a Strong El Niño Doesn't Always Mean Drought (GEOGRAPHY) (TH) A strong El Niño is building in the Pacific, with sea-surface temperatures near 2°C above normal, and the 2026 southwest monsoon ended about 13% short (87.4% of the Long Period Average). Yet the record shows that even a severe El Niño does not…
