Why in news?

The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently. It seeks to replace the 67-year-old Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, and overhaul the institute's governance structure.

The Bill has triggered protests from ISI faculty, students, and staff, who say it undermines institutional autonomy.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About the Indian Statistical Institute
• Why the Government Wants Reform?
• Concerns Raised by Critics

About the Indian Statistical Institute

• Founded by eminent statistician P.C. Mahalanobis in 1931 as a statistical laboratory at Presidency College, Kolkata.
• Registered as a society, first under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, later under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961.
• Declared an Institution of National Importance through the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, giving it degree-granting power and access to Central grants.
• Headquartered in Kolkata, with centres in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Tezpur.
• Currently governed by a 33-member Council, including an elected chairman, six Centre representatives (from MoSPI, Finance Ministry, RBI), and outside scientists.
• Above the Council sits a General Body of over 1,000 members, whose three-fourths approval is needed for any regulatory change.

Why the Government Wants Reform?

• The government argues the existing society-based model is too unwieldy for meaningful reform:
  • No significant changes have been made to ISI's governing instruments in the last 50 years.
  • Four Review Committees examined ISI's functioning over the years and recommended reducing the Council's size — yet it grew from a smaller body to 33 members instead of shrinking.
  • The fourth Review Committee flagged over-reliance on elections for decision-making posts rather than merit-based appointments.
  • The government wants to align ISI's structure with other Institutions of National Importance like the IITs and IIMs, which function through compact, empowered Boards.

Key Changes Proposed in the Bill

• ISI will become a statutory body corporate, established directly by an Act of Parliament, replacing its current society status.
• All assets, liabilities, employees, and academic programmes of the existing society will transfer to the new statutory institute, with service conditions preserved.
• The President of India will serve as the Visitor of the institute.
• A new 11-member Board of Governors will be the principal policy-making body, accountable to the Union government. It includes:
  • A Chairperson nominated by the Visitor on the Centre's recommendation
  • Two government officials (Joint Secretary-level or above)
  • Four eminent persons in statistical sciences, nominated by the Chairperson
  • Four institute representatives, including two Academic Council members
  • The Registrar of ISI as Board Secretary
• An Academic Council, headed by the Director and comprising senior faculty, will handle academic matters like courses, eligibility norms, and examinations.
• The Director will be appointed by the Board chairperson from a panel recommended by a search-cum-selection committee constituted by the Union government.
• The Visitor is empowered to remove the Director and order inquiries or reviews of the institute's functioning.

Concerns Raised by Critics

• Centralisation of control: The Centre will have direct or indirect influence over 8 of the 11 Board members, raising fears of loss of institutional autonomy.
• Director's independence: Provisions for periodical reviews and an MoSPI nominee on the search-cum-selection committee are seen as reducing the Director to a government appointee.
• Inadequate consultation: Faculty, students, and researchers argue the Bill was drafted without wider stakeholder consultation, despite a petition demanding the same last year.
  • The government counters that a brainstorming session was held in Bengaluru in July 2025 with ISI's Society President, NITI Aayog's Vice-Chairman, the Principal Scientific Advisor, and other stakeholders, and that pre-legislative consultation timelines were extended on request.
• Headquarters ambiguity: Unlike the 1959 Act, which explicitly names Calcutta (Kolkata) as ISI's registered office, the new Bill omits any mention of headquarters — fuelling apprehensions of a possible relocation, though the government has categorically denied any such plan.

Conclusion

The ISI Bill reflects a broader trend of aligning legacy research institutions with IIT/IIM-style governance.

While the government frames it as overdue reform for a century-old body, critics see it as eroding academic autonomy through centralised control — a tension likely to recur across India's premier institutions.

Why in news?

Recently, the Supreme Court has released a new report, "Judgments and Gender: Sensitivity and Compassion in Writing Judgments".

It replaces the 2023 "Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes" issued during CJI D.Y. Chandrachud's tenure. The new document shifts focus from correcting judicial language to reforming how courts treat victims and witnesses.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background: Why a New Report Was Needed?
• Origin and Authorship of the New Handbook
• Key Difference in Approach
• Linguistic Reform: Two Different Targets
• Compassionate Court Practices: The Core Innovation
• Approach to Queer Issues
• Target Audience and Intent
• Conclusion

Background: Why a New Report Was Needed?

• The trigger goes back to a March 2025 Allahabad High Court verdict.
• The court had ruled that acts like grabbing a woman's breasts and loosening her pyjama string amounted only to "preparation" to commit rape, not "attempt" to rape.
• The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance and set aside this judgment in February 2026.
• During the hearings, CJI Surya Kant questioned whether the 2023 handbook had actually helped prevent such insensitive rulings. He called it "too Harvard-oriented," meaning too elite and theoretical for India's ground realities.
• He said merely issuing a handbook to "sermonise" High Court judges served no purpose.
• The Court then directed the National Judicial Academy (NJA), Bhopal, to form an expert committee for practical guidelines.

Origin and Authorship of the New Handbook

• 2023 Handbook: Conceptualised during the COVID-19 pandemic by then CJI Chandrachud, prepared by the Social Justice Sub-Committee and the e-Committee of the Supreme Court.
• 2026 Report: Emerged from a suo motu writ petition after the Court noted a lack of "compassion and empathy" in the Allahabad High Court judgment. A five-member Committee of Experts, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Aniruddha Bose (Director, NJA), including academics and social workers, drafted it.

Key Difference in Approach

• The 2023 handbook focused on identifying and replacing patriarchal language in judgments — a cognitive and linguistic reform.
• The 2026 report goes further. It targets actual courtroom behaviour and procedure, introducing what it calls "Compassionate Court Practices."
• It argues judges need an "Emotional Quotient" alongside their "Intelligence Quotient" to handle cases involving crimes against women.
• Methodology
  • The 2023 handbook relied on doctrinal research, drawing on existing Supreme Court precedents that had already rejected gender stereotypes.
  • The 2026 report is based on empirical research — analysis of 125 trial court judgments and a stakeholder questionnaire involving judges, victims, and witnesses.
  • This survey found that 80.7% of respondents were unaware of the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, directly shaping its recommendations.

Linguistic Reform: Two Different Targets

• Both handbooks provide glossaries of terms to avoid, but their focus differs:
  • 2023 Handbook replaced stereotype-promoting terms:
    • "Adulteress" → "woman who engaged in relations outside marriage"
    • "Housewife" → "Homemaker"
    • "Eve teasing" → "Street sexual harassment"
  • 2026 Report replaced moralistic and dramatic courtroom phrases:
    • "Body of women as playground" → "Violated bodily autonomy"
    • "Destroys the very soul of a helpless woman" → "Caused severe trauma to the survivor"
    • Avoids terms like "lost her chastity" and "helpless female"
    • Explicitly discourages religious or cultural references such as "Where women are honoured, there the gods rejoice"
  • Notably, the 2026 report also asks judges to be alert to offensive expressions in local and regional dialects, not just English or foreign legal terms — a first for such guidelines.

Compassionate Court Practices: The Core Innovation

• This is the most significant addition in the 2026 report, aimed at preventing "secondary victimisation." Key recommendations include:
  • Witness as Guest: Treating witnesses with respect so they do not "tremble on getting summons," avoiding long waits and poor treatment that discourage testimony.
  • Legal aid and support persons: Judges must proactively check if victims have legal assistance; if not, direct the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) to ensure compliance within 48 hours. Support Persons must be available from the FIR stage onward, especially for child victims.
  • Pre-trial counselling for victims to reduce anxiety before trial.
  • Courtroom environment: Simple courtesies like offering a chair and water; removing unnecessary people from court during sensitive testimony.
  • Controlling cross-examination: Judges must not be a "silent spectator" while victims face insulting or intimidating questioning. The report invokes the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam's bar on indecent, scandalous, or irrelevant questions, particularly about a survivor's sexual history.
  • Privacy safeguards: In-camera trials, confidentiality of victim identity using initials or pseudonyms, and video-link testimony to avoid direct confrontation with the accused.
  • Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018: Its full text is annexed for ready reference — absent in the 2023 version.

Approach to Queer Issues

• Both handbooks support non-binary inclusivity but differ in method:
  • The 2023 handbook focused on debunking myths (e.g., that transgender persons cannot be raped) and offered preferred terms like "Intersex" instead of "Hermaphrodite."
  • The 2026 report introduces the SOGIESC framework (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics).
  • It recognises "Partner" as an inclusive term extending to same-sex relationships, and flags regional terms like Hijra, Jogappa, and Thirunangai as pejorative, recommending "intersex" or "transgender" instead.
  • It also includes first-hand testimony from a transgender individual on systemic discrimination faced in the justice system.

Target Audience and Intent

• The 2023 handbook was aimed primarily at judges and the legal community.
• The 2026 report is designed to be understood by laypersons, victims, and children, explicitly avoiding "foreign" legal jargon in favour of simple, accessible language.

Conclusion

The 2026 report moves judicial reform beyond vocabulary to lived courtroom experience, embedding compassion, privacy, and dignity into trial procedure. By grounding guidelines in empirical data and regional realities, it aims to build a more empathetic, victim-centric criminal justice system for India.

Context:

• Extreme weather has struck both India and China this year. Delayed monsoon followed by intense rainfall caused severe flooding in Mumbai, Surat, Assam, and Odisha.
• China's Guangxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces faced similar deluges. Experts link these events to climate change.
• Against this backdrop, a Chinese climate envoy's April 2026 visit to New Delhi has revived questions about whether shared climate vulnerability can open a new, low-risk avenue for India-China cooperation.
• This article highlights how the shared climate vulnerabilities of India and China can create a pragmatic avenue for bilateral cooperation.
• It examines the impacts of extreme weather, the history of climate engagement, complementary strengths in resilience planning, financing challenges, and the potential for climate resilience to rebuild trust despite broader diplomatic differences.

Shared Climate Vulnerabilities

• India and China face strikingly similar climate stress. Rapid urbanisation has eaten into wetlands, forests, and permeable land, replacing them with concrete.
• Outdated drainage, poor waste management, and shrinking green cover have worsened flooding and waterlogging in cities.
• Coastal megacities in both countries face compounding threats — extreme rainfall, storm surges, and rising seas.
• Inland cities battle heatwaves, droughts, and flash floods in rapid succession.
• Left unaddressed, these risks disrupt supply chains, dent productivity, and strain public health systems.

A History of Climate Engagement

• Cooperation between India and China on climate issues is not new. From the early 1990s to 2020, both sides signed joint statements and MoUs on disaster management, covering floods, earthquakes, and droughts.
• These pledged joint research, hydrological and seismic data sharing, and exchange of governance practices.
• Sister-city agreements — Delhi-Beijing, Mumbai-Shanghai, and Chennai-Chongqing — were meant to translate these commitments into action.
• However, recurring diplomatic tensions meant most of this cooperation stayed on paper.

Complementary Strengths

• China and India bring different but complementary strengths to the table:
  • China has embedded resilience into core urban and rural planning, using data-driven approaches for transport, housing, and drainage systems.
  • India excels in adaptive, community-led governance — visible in early warning systems, heat action plans, cool roofs, and nature-based solutions.
• Exchange at the municipal level — on sponge cities, drainage modernisation, and waste management — could help both sides learn from each other.
• Rural livelihoods, agricultural resilience, and joint hydrological modelling for the shared Himalayan ecosystem also offer scope for collaboration, especially since water-sharing agreements between the two countries lapsed in 2022.

The Financing Challenge

• Both countries depend heavily on public funds for climate adaptation, leaving a significant financing gap.
• Bridging it requires greater private capital through blended finance, municipal bonds, and credit enhancement tools.
• But these markets remain underdeveloped, held back by weak local capacity and regulatory gaps.
• Knowledge exchange between India and China on financing models could help build these ecosystems and, in turn, shape climate resilience standards for the wider Global South.

Conclusion

• Climate change respects no borders, and India and China's shared vulnerabilities offer a rare opening for trust-building.
• Moving beyond past diplomatic setbacks, disaster resilience and urban planning present a pragmatic, low-risk pathway for renewed engagement, cooperation, and mutual learning.

About National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS):

• It is an autonomous organisation aided by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
• It was established to facilitate cell biology research in the country.
• It is located on the campus of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,
• Origin:
  • The institute traces its origin to the National Tissue Culture Facility (1986) and was established as the National Facility for Animal Tissue and Cell Culture Collection (NFATCC) in 1988.
  • It was renamed National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) in 1996.
• The tripartite mandate of NCCS includes the following as its key functions:
  • To serve as a National Cell Repository.
  • To perform basic research in cell biology.
  • Human resource development through teaching and training.
• NCCS is engaged in cutting-edge research in the diverse areas of modern cell biology, broadly categorized as
  • Cell Biology and Cancer Biology.
  • Structural Biology, Bioinformatics, and Omics.
  • Infectious diseases, Immunology, and Microbiology.
  • Neurobiology & Stem Cell Biology.
• The research addresses challenging health issues like cancer, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and regenerative medicine through approaches that integrate modern and conventional disciplines.
• The institute hosts a National Cell Repository that maintains and distributes well-characterized animal cell lines to various colleges, universities, and research institutions in India at affordable costs.
• NCCS hosts the DBT-funded National Centre for Microbial Research for collecting, identifying, preserving, and distributing microbial cultures from various ecological niches across the country.
  • NCCS has the third-largest microbial collection in the world.

About Asan Conservation Reserve:

• It is located in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand.
• It is situated at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna Rivers.
• The Asan River, unlike other rivers which flow north to south, flows in a west to east direction.
• The reserve comprises the Asan Barrage and the wetland formed by damming the Asan River in 1967.
• The barrage created a freshwater reservoir with habitats ideal for migratory and resident birds.
• It was declared a Conservation Reserve in 2005 under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It was declared a Ramsar site in 2020. It is the first Ramsar site in Uttarakhand.
• It is also listed as an Important Bird Area (BNHS and BirdLife International) and is popular for sightings of native and migratory birds.
• This biodiverse wetland lies strategically along the Central Asian Flyway, serving as a critical habitat for numerous migratory and resident species.
• It is home to 330 species of birds, including critically endangered-white-rumped vulture, Baer’s pochard; endangered-Egyptian vulture, steppe eagle, black-bellied tern; and vulnerable-marbled teal, common pochard, Indian spotted eagle, etc.
• The wetland is especially known for hosting large flocks of ruddy shelduck during winter.
• Among the fish, the endangered golden mahseer (Tor putitora) is particularly significant, as the wetland functions as an important feeding, migration, and spawning site.

About English Channel:

• The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is a narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean.
• It separates the southern coast of England (part of Great Britain) from the northern coast of France.
• It is separated from the North Sea on the north by the Strait of Dover.
• The current name, “English Channel,” dates back to the 18th century. Before then, the English mostly referred to the waterway as a “Narrow Sea.”
• The French refer to the Channel as “la Manche” because of its sleevelike shape.
• Its narrowest part is the Strait of Dover.
• It is the smallest of the shallow seas covering the continental shelf of Europe.
• Climate: Temperate maritime climate, with warm summers and cold winters.
• The main islands are the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands (a collection of islands including Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark).
• Historical Importance:
  • Served as a natural defensive barrier for Britain.
  • Played a crucial role during:
    • The Norman Conquest (1066)
    • The Napoleonic Wars
    • World War I
    • World War II, including the Dunkirk Evacuation (1940) and the Normandy Landings (1944).
  • It is one of the world’s busiest shipping areas. It accounts for up to 20% of the global maritime trade and connects the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea.
  • Major Ports:
    • United Kingdom: Dover, Portsmouth, Southampton
    • France: Calais, Cherbourg, Le Havre
  • Channel Tunnel:
    • The Channel Tunnel (also called the Chunnel) is a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel connecting Folkestone in Kent, England, with Coquelles near Calais, France.
    • The Channel Tunnel, 50 km long, consists of three tunnels: two for rail traffic and a central tunnel for services and security.
    • It has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world (37.8 km).
    • It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland.

About Rhine River:

• It is a river and waterway of Western Europe.
• It is the 12th longest river in Europe and the longest in Western Europe.
• It is called different names depending on the country it flows through. It is called Rhein in Germany, Rhine in France, and Rijn in the Netherlands.
• Course:
  • Origin: In the Alps of eastern Switzerland, two mountain streams run together to form the Rhine.
  • It flows through six countries–Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, and the Netherlands before flowing into the North Sea at Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  • The Rhine forms a natural border between Germany and France.
• The Rhine, alongside the Danube, formed the Roman Empire’s northern inland frontier.
• The Rhine served as a formidable German border during World War II, a defensive barrier to Allied troops.
• Tributaries: Some of the notable tributaries include Aare, Tamina, Moselle, Erft, Rein da Tuma, Plessur, Rotach, and Wiese.
• The Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen in Switzerland is Europe's largest waterfall.
• The Upper Middle Rhine Valley in Germany is famous for its castles, vineyards, and the legendary Lorelei Rock.
• The major cities along the Rhine include Basel (Switzerland), Cologne, Bonn, Duisburg, Mainz, Leverkusen, and Neuss (Germany), Strasbourg (France), and Rotterdam and Utrecht (Netherlands).
• It is Europe’s most important commercial waterway, channeling the flow of trade among Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
• It facilitates industrial transportation and supports industrial production, with about 20% of the world’s chemical industries manufacturing along the river.

About African Swine Fever (ASF):

• It is a highly contagious viral disease affecting pigs and wild boar.
• It is caused by the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), a DNA virus from the Asfarviridae family.
• Characterised by high fever, haemorrhages, and mortality rates that may approach 100 percent, the disease has caused severe socio-economic losses to the global pig farming sector.
• The disease does not infect humans (not zoonotic) or other livestock species.
• Global Distribution:
  • Originally found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, ASF is now prevalent in many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
  • India notified the first outbreak of the ASF virus in 2020 in the Northeastern States of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Since its first detection in India, ASF has spread to several States and Union Territories.
• Transmission:
  • The virus is highly resistant in the environment, meaning that it can survive on clothes, boots, wheels, and other materials.
  • It can also survive in various pork products, such as ham, sausages, or bacon.
  • Therefore, human behaviours can play an important role in spreading this disease.
  • Infection can occur through direct contact between infected pigs or boars but also, for example, through soft ticks in (sub)tropical regions or through contaminated materials or contaminated feed.
• Treatment: Currently, there is no treatment available against ASF, so prevention by adopting strict biosecurity measures, such as culling the animals, is the only way to prevent ASF.
• Prevention:
  • A couple of commercially licensed ASF vaccines are available in Vietnam.
  • ICAR–National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD), Bhopal, recently developed India's first indigenous MA-104_Cell_Line-Based Live Attenuated ASF vaccine for pigs.

About MSME Sustainable ZED Certification Scheme:

• It aims to help MSMEs improve manufacturing processes, adopt higher quality standards and reduce their environmental footprint.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
• Features:
  • It focuses on encouraging women entrepreneurs, with the government providing a 100 per cent subsidy on the cost of ZED certification for women-owned MSMEs, effectively making the certification free for eligible enterprises.
  • The ZED framework offers Bronze, Silver and Gold certifications, allowing MSMEs to progressively improve their quality and sustainability standards.
  • Eligible enterprises can avail financial assistance of up to 75 per cent of the cost of testing, system or product certification.
• The scheme has also gained support across the country, with 22 States and Union Territories integrating ZED into their industrial policies and offering additional incentives to certified MSMEs.