Why in news?

PM Modi, speaking at the inaugural session of the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit & Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, announced that India will add 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity over the next 10-11 years.

He also highlighted how India’s clean energy investments over the past decade helped the country cushion the economic blow of the ongoing West Asia (Iran) crisis — directly linking energy security to economic security.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India’s Clean Energy Journey: Promises, Passion, Performance
• How Renewable Investment Cushioned the West Asia Crisis?
• The Investment Opportunity: $220 Billion by Decade’s End
• Beyond Solar and Wind: Green Hydrogen and Clean Cooking
• Empowering Citizens: From “Annadata” to “Urjadata”

India’s Clean Energy Journey: Promises, Passion, Performance

• PM Modi framed India’s clean energy story as one of “promises, passion and performance.”
• Paris Agreement pledge: India had committed to meeting 50% of its installed power capacity from non-fossil sources — and achieved this in 2025, five years ahead of schedule.
• Current Status: India has 308 GW of installed non-fossil capacity, representing 55.1% of its total power generation capacity of 558.89 GW (as per Central Electricity Authority data).
• Global Standing: India now ranks among the top three countries worldwide in solar and renewable energy.
• New Target: 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 — PM Modi acknowledged this is “somewhat difficult” but expressed confidence: “We will do it!”

How Renewable Investment Cushioned the West Asia Crisis?

• PM Modi noted the global economy has faced unprecedented crises in recent years — from COVID-19 to the ongoing West Asia crisis.
• India’s growth has remained strong despite the West Asia turmoil, which he attributed directly to a decade of clean energy investment.
• Broader Lesson: The crisis has sent a clear message globally — energy security is directly linked to economic security.
• He warned that continued heavy dependence on fossil fuels will keep disrupting the global economy, since fossil fuel reserves are “limited and concentrated in only a few regions,” whereas renewable energy potential is unlimited and accessible to every region and country.

The Investment Opportunity: $220 Billion by Decade’s End

• Past Decade Investment: Over $164 billion (₹15 lakh crore) has flowed into India’s renewable energy sector.
• Recent Acceleration: Since the RE-INVEST Summit in 2024, investments of around $63 billion (₹6 lakh crore) have come in — in just two years.
• Future Projection: By the end of this decade, investment opportunities worth more than ₹20 lakh crore (~$220 billion) are expected to emerge in the sector — spanning renewable generation, transmission infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy storage.
• PM Modi emphasised India’s political and policy stability as a unique draw for investors, claiming it is difficult to find comparable stability anywhere else globally.

Beyond Solar and Wind: Green Hydrogen and Clean Cooking

• India’s clean energy ecosystem extends beyond hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear power.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission: India is working in “mission mode” to produce 50 lakh tonnes (5 million tonnes) of green hydrogen by the decade’s end.
• Transport Sector Integration: India recently launched its first green hydrogen train.
• Clean Cooking Movement: PM Modi pitched for reducing dependence on imported cooking gas, urging startups and innovators to develop solutions enabling households to use rooftop solar power for cooking.
• He also advocated wider electric vehicle adoption, with households charging EVs using solar power generated on their own rooftops.

Empowering Citizens: From “Annadata” to “Urjadata”

• PM Modi referenced flagship schemes: PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and PM-KUSUM, aimed at making solar power part of citizens’ everyday lives.
• He called on farmers to go beyond using solar pumps and become energy producers themselves — by installing solar panels on vacant farmland and along field boundaries.
• Key Phrase: “Annadata should become Urjadata” (the food-provider should become the energy-provider) — positioning farmers as active participants in India’s clean energy transition, not just beneficiaries.

Conclusion

PM Modi’s address at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit underscores a strategic reframing of India’s clean energy push — not merely as an environmental commitment, but as a core pillar of national economic resilience.

By achieving its Paris pledge five years ahead of schedule and demonstrating how renewable investments helped shield the economy from West Asia-driven energy shocks, India is positioning clean energy as both a climate and security imperative.

With an ambitious $220 billion investment opportunity on the horizon and initiatives spanning green hydrogen, clean cooking, and farmer-led solar generation, India’s energy transition increasingly reflects a broader strategic bet: that true economic security in the 21st century depends on reducing vulnerability to volatile, geographically concentrated fossil fuel supplies.

Why in news?

Following the death of 19-month-old cheetah KNG22 — found with five firearm pellets in his body — Kuno National Park Director issued a detailed explanation clarifying a key misconception: satellite collars do not provide continuous, live tracking of cheetahs.

The incident has triggered the suspension of six forest department officials, and raises critical questions about the technological and terrain-related limitations of wildlife monitoring under Project Cheetah.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What Happened to KNG22?
• Debunking the “Live Tracking” Myth
• How Kuno’s Monitoring System Actually Works?
• Why Signal Loss Is Common, Not Exceptional?
• Why Kuno’s Terrain Makes This Especially Challenging?

What Happened to KNG22?

• KNG22 — offspring of Nirva, a six-year-old female South African cheetah under Project Cheetah — was found seriously injured in the Sheopur Territorial Forest Division, near the Morena district border, on October 25, 2026.
• He was rescued and taken to Kuno for initial examination, then shifted to Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, for advanced treatment.
• Diagnostic Findings
  • X-ray: Revealed multiple foreign bodies at different locations in his body.
  • CT scan: Showed damage to internal organs, musculoskeletal system, and nervous system.
  • Emergency surgery: Recovered five firearm pellets — but the cheetah could not be saved, dying on October 27.
• The state government has formed a Special Task Force (forest and police officers) to investigate, and suspended six forest department officials in connection with the case.

Debunking the “Live Tracking” Myth

• Director Sharma stressed: “Let us get rid of the misconception that a satellite-collared animal is available for continuous live tracking, like a live television broadcast.”
• A satellite location only provides a geographical position at a specific point in time — not continuous monitoring.
• By the time this data reaches the monitoring team and personnel physically reach the location, the animal may have moved several kilometres away.

How Kuno’s Monitoring System Actually Works?

• Kuno tracks around 15 cheetahs using a combination of satellite collars and VHF (radio) receivers:
  • Satellite Collars: Provide location data over large, often inaccessible areas.
  • VHF Equipment: Used by field teams to locate animals more precisely on the ground once in range.
• Transmission Frequency: Collars are programmed to send location updates every 6 hours — a deliberate balance between data frequency and battery life.
• If a transmission is missed:
  • One missed update → gap extends to 12 hours.
  • Another missed update → gap extends to 18 hours.
• Cost Factor: Satellite collars cost around ₹4-5 lakh each, with transmission frequency calibrated against monitoring needs, battery life, and expected collar lifespan.

Why Signal Loss Is Common, Not Exceptional?

• Temporary signal loss is a routine occurrence, caused by:
  • Dense forest canopy interfering with GPS accuracy.
  • Rocky terrain, caves, and deep valleys obstructing satellite visibility.
  • Poor satellite geometry or temporary interference affecting location acquisition.
  • An animal resting under dense vegetation, near water, or in areas with poor satellite reception.
• Crucially: A missing location update does not necessarily mean the collar has malfunctioned or that something has happened to the animal — monitoring teams must simply wait for the next successful transmission.

Why Kuno’s Terrain Makes This Especially Challenging?

• Cheetahs are highly mobile, averaging 6-8 km of movement per day — sometimes covering 12-15 km or more, mostly during early morning and late evening.
• By the time a team reaches the last reported satellite location, the animal may have moved far beyond VHF radio range.
• If the scheduled satellite transmission is also missed, teams have no option but to wait for the next successful fix.
• Practical Ground Challenges:
  • Following a cheetah on foot is extremely difficult.
  • Vehicles cannot move in straight lines through forests like animals do — the actual distance covered can be several times the straight-line distance between two points.
  • Moving on foot through dense forest in poor light carries its own risks.
• Keeping an animal within visual or radio-tracking range throughout the day is an extremely demanding task — requiring continuous coordination, patience, technical understanding, and tremendous physical effort.
• These challenges are part of daily monitoring, not occasional exceptions.

Conclusion

The KNG22 tragedy exposes a critical gap between public perception and the technical reality of wildlife monitoring — satellite collars, however advanced, are not a substitute for real-time surveillance, especially across challenging terrain where dense canopy, rocky landscapes, and highly mobile animals routinely disrupt signal continuity.

While the administrative lapses that allowed a cheetah to be shot within a protected reintroduction program demand accountability, Director Sharma’s explanation is a necessary corrective: effective cheetah conservation at Kuno requires not just better technology, but sustained human vigilance, inter-agency coordination, and realistic expectations about what satellite tracking can and cannot achieve in India’s dense forest landscapes.

Why in the News?

• The Supreme Court permitted the conditional use of certified green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR on November 7 and 8, recognising the religious and emotional significance of Deepavali while emphasising the constitutional obligation to protect public health and the environment.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• SC’s Guidelines (Permission for Green Crackers, Constitutional Limitations, Concerns, Regulation of Green Crackers, etc.)

Supreme Court's Conditional Permission for Green Crackers

• A Bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale allowed the bursting of certified green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR during specified hours on November 7 and 8.
• The permitted time windows were:
  • Morning: 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.
  • Evening: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• The Court imposed additional restrictions to protect vulnerable groups and sensitive locations:
  • Firecrackers were prohibited within a 300-metre radius of hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health centres, old-age homes and notified silence zones.
  • Educational institutions were also covered by the restriction.
• These areas were to be declared and marked as 'no-cracker zones', with their locations made publicly available.
• The Court emphasised that celebrations should not come at the cost of environmental degradation and public health.

Religious Practices and Constitutional Limitations

• The Supreme Court acknowledged that bursting firecrackers during Deepavali has religious and cultural significance. It also recognised the festival's social, psychological and emotional importance.
• However, the Court clarified that the right to practise religion is not absolute.
• Article 25 and Public Health
  • Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion. However, this freedom is subject to: Public order, Morality, Health & Other provisions of Part III of the Constitution.
  • The Court held that a religiously associated practice cannot extend beyond these constitutional limitations when it causes harm to public health and the environment.
• Article 21 and the Right to a Healthy Environment
  • Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court has interpreted this provision to include the right to a healthy, safe and pollution-free environment.
  • The Court highlighted that unregulated firecracker use contributes to severe air and noise pollution and generates solid waste. It particularly affects children, persons with disabilities and the elderly, who are among the most vulnerable groups.
  • The constitutional framework therefore requires balancing religious freedom with the right to life, health and environmental protection.

Environmental and Public Health Concerns

• The Court observed that unregulated firecracker use during Deepavali has repeatedly contributed to sharp increases in the Air Quality Index (AQI) and pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
• Particulate matter released through fireworks is particularly concerning because microscopic particles can enter the human respiratory system and cause substantial harm.
• The Court also noted that noise pollution and solid-waste generation add to the environmental consequences of celebrations.

Historical Context of Deepavali Celebrations

• The Supreme Court observed that Deepavali has evolved into a national and even international festival, celebrated across communities and religions.
• It also referred to ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Skandapurana and Padmapurana, which described the use of lamps as a ritual during Deepavali.
• According to the Court's observations, the introduction of gunpowder in India led to the subsequent adoption of firecrackers as part of celebrations.
• This historical discussion formed part of the Court's examination of the relationship between religious traditions and changing practices.

Regulation of Green Crackers and Their Sale

• Alongside permitting limited use, the Supreme Court issued directions to regulate the manufacture, distribution and sale of firecrackers.
• Certification and Manufacturing

• Only manufacturers certified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) were permitted to manufacture green crackers between November 2 and November 6.
• Green crackers had to be packed in sealed boxes and kept separate from unauthorised or conventional firecrackers.
• Manufacture and sale of firecrackers joined in series, commonly known as ladis or garlands, were prohibited.

• Sale and Identification
  • Only firecrackers carrying product-specific QR codes were permitted to be sold. This requirement was intended to improve product identification and help distinguish authorised green crackers from unauthorised products.
  • The Court also permitted the temporary restoration of cancelled licences of traders between November 4 and November 6.
• Financial Security and Enforcement
  • Manufacturers and traders operating in Delhi-NCR were directed to furnish monetary security, with the authorities required to determine an appropriate amount.
  • These measures were intended to strengthen accountability and discourage the sale of conventional or unauthorised firecrackers.

Enforcement Challenges and Regulatory Gaps

• The Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction with the State's failure to effectively implement restrictions imposed through earlier court orders dating back to 2015.
• It observed that the complete ban on firecrackers had not achieved its intended objective. Instead, it had facilitated illegal sales and prevented consumers from purchasing legitimate green crackers.
• The Court also referred to significant increases in AQI levels around Dasara, indicating that pollution concerns were not limited to Deepavali.
• The observations highlight a broader governance challenge: environmental restrictions require effective monitoring, enforcement and coordination among regulatory authorities, manufacturers, traders and law enforcement agencies.

Context:

• India’s remarkable achievement in mass democracy has not translated into mass prosperity.
• The regulatory cholesterol—the lack of transparency, consistency and trust in law enforcement—prevents entrepreneurs from combining land, labour and capital to generate productive, innovative and high-wage jobs.
• Following the decriminalisation of thousands of offences under the Jan Vishwas initiative, India must undertake three further reforms -
  • Siddhant (principles of trust),
  • Sangreh (a single source of legislative truth) and
  • Ashwasan (certainty of enforceable obligations). 

The Economic Imperative - From Employment to High-Wage Jobs:

• The challenge of mass prosperity:
  • India ranks 128th globally in per-capita GDP, despite its remarkable democratic achievements.
  • The problem is not the absolute scarcity of land, labour or capital, but their inefficient utilisation.
  • Nearly one-third of India's workforce remains trapped in employed poverty.
  • India's equity and debt-to-GDP ratios are broadly comparable to sustainable global benchmarks.
  • The central challenge is not merely creating jobs, but creating productive employment that pays higher wages.
• The India-China economic divergence:
  • China's per-capita GDP is approximately five times India's, despite the two economies being comparable in 1991.
  • The difference is not necessarily attributable to superior intelligence or work ethic, but to the institutional environment that enables enterprises to grow, innovate and compete globally.
  • Regulatory cholesterol discourages formalisation and traps workers in informal wage employment and low-productivity self-employment.

Siddhant - Establishing the Philosophy of Trust-Based Regulation:

• Six toxic regulatory mindsets:
  • Prior approval: Activities are prohibited until explicitly permitted, restricting entrepreneurial freedom.
  • Enforcing the unenforceable: Regulations are imposed without assessing the state's actual enforcement capacity.
  • Process as punishment: Excessive procedural requirements penalise even compliant citizens and businesses.
  • Compliance and instrument blind spot: Regulators focus on more than 25 categories of non-legislative administrative instruments instead of examining the overall legislative framework.
  • Writing laws for edge cases: Exceptional instances are used to justify restrictions on entire sectors, such as using drunk driving to argue against automobiles.
  • Excessive criminalisation: Imprisonment becomes ineffective when cases are rarely filed or prosecution is delayed.
• A new regulatory philosophy:
  • Jan Vishwas must institutionalise -
    • Freedom: Presume that citizens and enterprises should be free to act.
    • Necessity: Regulate only when a genuine public purpose requires intervention.
    • Proportionality: Ensure that regulatory burdens and penalties are proportionate to the harm addressed.
  • This requires intellectual, institutional and behavioural transformation among India's civil servants, numbering over 30 million.

Sangreh - A Single Source of Legislative Truth:

• The state's duty to make law knowable:
  • The principle of Ignorantia juris non excusat means that ignorance of law is no excuse.
  • However, this principle presupposes that the government makes laws accessible, understandable and publicly available.
  • Secret, scattered or unpublished obligations undermine the legitimacy of the rule of law.
• Judicial recognition of legal accessibility:
  • Harla v. State of Rajasthan (1952): Secret laws cannot bind citizens who have no knowledge of them.
  • B.K. Srinivasan v. State of Karnataka (1987): Laws must be made reasonably knowable to those they govern.
  • Viraj Impex v. Union of India (2019): Laws become operative only after proper publication and public notice.
• Global best practices - Centralised legal repositories:
  • US: Has Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations.
  • UK: legislation. gov. uk
  • European Union: EUR-Lex.
  • Singapore: Statutes Online.
  • Australia: Federal Register of Legislation.
• Sangreh as India's legal digital public infrastructure (DPI):
  • Sangreh must become the authoritative, searchable and machine-readable national platform for legal rights and obligations.
  • Its architecture would involve -
    • Institutional integration: Consolidating existing legal repositories, including physical gazettes, the e-Gazette and India Code.
    • Legal standardisation: Developing a common legal language, syntax and architecture through initiatives such as Bharat Niti Lipi.
    • Technological integration: Establishing a unified, open and API-enabled platform through DPI protocols.
  • Ministries and State governments may maintain their official repositories, while Sangreh aggregates and indexes them into a unified national view.

Ashwasan - Guaranteeing Certainty of Obligations:

• Beyond a digital repository:
  • Earlier attempts to create a single source of legal truth faced multiple challenges -
    • Fragmented institutional authority.
    • Weak technological capacity and poor design.
    • Lack of sustained political and administrative attention.
    • Resistance arising from institutional interests.
  • However, the fundamental problem was the absence of a guarantee that obligations not listed in the repository would not be enforced.
• Transparency of Rules Act (TORA):
  • The proposed law would require every enforceable legal obligation—whether arising from an Act, rule or administrative instrument—to be published on Sangreh.
  • This would ensure -
    • Legal certainty: Citizens and businesses know their compliance obligations.
    • Predictability: Enterprises can plan investments and expansion with confidence.
    • Administrative credibility: Governments become more accountable.
    • Reduced corruption: Hidden rules and discretionary enforcement become harder to sustain.
  • Sangreh would thus evolve from a repository into a legally guaranteed source of enforceable obligations.

Way Forward - Reconciliation of Liberty and the Rule of Law:

• Both (Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and the Indian Constitution) advance the idea that democratic governments should expand human freedom rather than unnecessarily constrain it.
  • Adam Smith emphasised liberty, competition and the rule of law as foundations of enterprise and prosperity.
  • The Constitution derives legitimate governmental authority from the consent of the governed.
• The three interventions of Jan Vishwas reconcile these traditions by making regulation transparent, proportionate and predictable.

Conclusion:

• Together, these reforms can promote formalisation, improve labour productivity, encourage investment and create high-wage employment.
• By replacing regulatory discretion with transparent and predictable governance, India can convert its democratic strength into mass prosperity.

Context

• Festivals and celebrations are integral to India's cultural and religious identity.
• However, the widespread use of firecrackers contributes to severe air pollution, particularly in Delhi-NCR, threatening public health.
• The Supreme Court's October 12 suo motu proceedings on air pollution highlighted the need to balance religious freedom, environmental protection and public health.
• The Court cautioned against a blanket ban and emphasised public awareness, voluntary restraint and less-polluting alternatives.
• The central challenge is to preserve cultural traditions without compromising the fundamental right to clean air.

Constitutional Dimensions of Environmental Protection and Religious Freedom

• Right to Life and Clean Environment
  • Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.
  • The Supreme Court has interpreted it to include the right to a healthy and pollution-free environment.
  • Environmental protection is further supported by:
    • Article 48A: Directs the State to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife.
    • Article 51A(g): Makes environmental protection a fundamental duty of every citizen.
  • Together, these provisions establish shared environmental responsibility between the government and citizens.
• Religious Freedom and Its Constitutional Limitations
  • Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
  • Therefore, religious freedom cannot justify practices that expose others to unreasonable health risks.
  • Individual freedoms must be exercised without undermining the fundamental rights of fellow citizens.
  • The objective should be to reconcile cultural traditions with constitutional and environmental responsibilities, rather than treating them as competing interests.

Environmental Protection as a Collective Responsibility

• Stockholm Declaration, 1972
  • The Stockholm Declaration recognised the relationship between environmental quality and human well-being, establishing an important foundation for international environmental governance.
• Rio Declaration, 1992
  • The Rio Declaration established two important principles:
    • Precautionary Principle: Governments should take preventive action against serious environmental risks even when complete scientific certainty is unavailable.
    • Polluter-Pays Principle: Those responsible for pollution must bear the costs of preventing and addressing environmental damage.
  • Applied to firecracker regulation, these principles demand preventive measures against harmful emissions and accountability for manufacturers and sellers violating environmental standards.

International Approaches to Firecracker Regulation

• Singapore: Prohibits private firecracker use while permitting licensed professional displays.
• Ireland and the United Kingdom: Restrict the sale of traditional firecrackers to the general public.
• Sweden: Allows firecracker use only by trained individuals holding special permits.
• Germany: Restricts certain powerful firecrackers to authorised permit holders.
• These examples demonstrate that regulated celebrations can preserve cultural enjoyment while reducing environmental and safety risks.
• India can adapt such practices according to its cultural diversity, population density and enforcement capacity.

India's Way Forward: Balancing Celebration with Environmental Responsibility

• Promoting Scientifically Tested Alternatives
  • The government should encourage certified green crackers that satisfy prescribed emission and safety standards.
  • Independent verification is necessary to prevent misleading environmental claims.
• Strengthening Regulatory Enforcement
  • The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), pollution control boards and local authorities should strictly enforce standards governing the manufacture, storage, transportation and sale of firecrackers.
  • Violations must attract appropriate penalties.
• Increasing Public Awareness
  • Environmental protection requires behavioural change alongside legal restrictions.
  • Awareness campaigns should educate citizens about the health consequences of firecracker emissions and encourage voluntary restraint.
  • Schools, religious institutions and community organisations can promote environmentally responsible celebrations.
• Ensuring Proportionate Regulation
  • Restrictions should be based on scientific evidence, public-health requirements and practical enforcement considerations.
  • Authorities must avoid arbitrary measures while ensuring that religious practices do not undermine the right to life and clean air.
• Promoting Collective Responsibility
  • Citizens must recognise environmental protection as a shared obligation.
  • Reduced firecracker consumption, responsible celebrations and support for sustainable alternatives can collectively minimise pollution.

Conclusion

• The debate over firecracker restrictions reflects the constitutional challenge of balancing individual freedoms with collective welfare.
• Religious freedom, cultural traditions and environmental protection must coexist within the constitutional framework.
• Effective regulation, scientific alternatives, public awareness and citizen participation can make celebrations more sustainable.
• Ultimately, protecting the right to celebrate must never compromise another person's right to breathe clean air.
• A meaningful celebration should leave behind memories of happiness, not a legacy of pollution.

Context

• While AI offers opportunities to improve productivity and innovation, its dependence on personal data raises serious concerns about privacy and individual autonomy.
• In 2017, the Supreme Court recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 in the Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India judgment.
• However, India's existing legal framework faces challenges in addressing emerging AI-related risks.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, requires further strengthening to balance technological progress with constitutional rights.

Privacy Coverage

• Evolution of India's Data Protection Framework
  • Before the DPDP Act, the primary framework governing personal information was the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with its 2011 Rules.
  • These provisions regulated sensitive personal data, including financial information, medical records, sexual orientation and biometric details.
  • Unauthorised disclosure attracted a maximum punishment of three years' imprisonment or a ₹5 lakh fine.
  • However, several categories, including caste, religion, political affiliations, browsing history and social media activities, lacked adequate protection.
  • Publicly available information and data scraped from social media were also largely outside its coverage.
• Limitations of the DPDP Act
  • The DPDP Act, 2023, and Rules notified in November 2025, establish a broader data protection framework.
  • However, the Act does not distinguish adequately between sensitive and non-sensitive personal data.
  • Passwords, biometric information and health records receive the same broad classification as names, marital status and shopping preferences.
  • Another major concern is the exclusion of certain publicly available information.
  • Technology companies such as Meta, Google and Amazon collect extensive user data, which can be utilised to train AI models.
  • Although publicly accessible, such information can become highly sensitive when aggregated and analysed.
  • Therefore, public accessibility should not imply unrestricted permission for commercial exploitation.
  • The framework must recognise that combining seemingly harmless information can expose individuals to significant privacy risks.

Training AI on Personal Data

• Risks of Data Memorisation and Extraction
  • AI models can sometimes memorise and reproduce information contained in their training datasets.
  • Research has demonstrated that carefully designed queries can extract personal information from supposedly anonymised datasets and help identify individuals.
  • AI can also infer sensitive attributes, including emotional conditions, behavioural patterns, mobility and personal relationships, from publicly available information.
  • Consequently, anonymisation alone cannot guarantee privacy because AI can establish connections between seemingly unrelated datasets.
  • This creates new challenges for conventional data protection
• Absence of Effective Consent Mechanisms
  • The DPDP Act does not comprehensively address the use of personal information for AI model training.
  • Its phased implementation delays several substantive provisions until May 2027, leaving individuals with limited protection during the transition.
  • Even after implementation, individuals may have no effective right to object to AI training using certain publicly available personal data.
  • In contrast, Meta provides users in the European Union with an opt-out mechanism for certain uses of their information in AI training.
• Right to be Forgotten and Research Exemption
  • The DPDP Act recognises the right to erasure, but its application to information generated through AI-based inference remains unclear.
  • The Act also exempts certain processing activities undertaken for research, archival and statistical purposes.
  • Since companies may describe AI training as research to improve their services, uncertainty surrounding these exemptions could create opportunities to avoid data protection obligations.

The Way Forward

• Strengthening the DPDP Framework
  • India can address these shortcomings through targeted amendments, appropriate rules and judicial interpretation. Important measures include:
    • Extend DPDP protections to personal data used for AI training.
    • Introduce a meaningful right to object to the use of personal information in AI development.
    • Regulate publicly scraped data and protect information generated through AI-based inference.
    • Establish a separate sensitive personal data category with stricter processing requirements.
    • Strengthen the right to erasure by requiring organisations to disclose other entities holding individuals' data.
    • Clarify whether AI training qualifies for the research exemption and establish safeguards against misuse.
• Balancing Innovation and Constitutional Rights
  • Excessive regulation could discourage investment and restrict research, while inadequate safeguards could facilitate the exploitation of personal information.
  • India's large and diverse population offers considerable opportunities for AI development across businesses, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and non-profit organisations.
  • Banning personal data usage or its international transfer could also weaken
  • AI systems' ability to represent India's linguistic and demographic diversity, potentially increasing algorithmic bias and discrimination.
  • The objective should therefore be proportionate regulation that promotes innovation while ensuring transparency, accountability and individual control over personal information.

Conclusion

• Although the DPDP Act, 2023, establishes an important foundation, gaps concerning sensitive information, publicly available data, AI training and inferred personal attributes require urgent attention.
• India must develop a rights-based and innovation-friendly AI governance framework that protects individuals without unnecessarily restricting technological advancement.
• Ultimately, technological progress must not undermine constitutional freedoms.
• Delaying privacy safeguards could weaken individual autonomy and public trust in an increasingly data-driven society.

About Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC):

• It is a transformative project to create a new city in the foothills of the Himalayas in Bhutan.
• This visionary city aspires to redefine urban development by placing mindfulness, well-being, sustainability, and cultural integrity at its core.
• The GMC project has been envisioned by the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
• Located in Bhutan’s southern plains bordering the State of Assam in India and spanning over 4,046 sq.km., or 10% of Bhutan, GMC was established by Royal Charter in February 2024 as a highly autonomous Special Administrative Region (SAR).
• Through this Royal mandate, GMC is accorded full executive and legislative powers, with an independent judiciary, to govern the SAR separate from the Royal Government of Bhutan.
• Under the direct guidance of the King, GMC will be run by global and local talents to build an advanced economy by adopting and adapting the best governing policies and business practices from around the world.
• Features of GMC:
  • The masterplan for "Gelephu Mindfulness City" shows a low- to-mid-rise metropolis built around a series of inhabitable bridges.
  • Each of the bridges was designed to be combined with cultural, educational, recreational and infrastructure functions.
  • Each bridge will "house" key features of the city: a new international airport, a university, a health-care facility for Eastern and Western medicine, a hydroponic greenhouse, a cultural center, a spiritual center, a market for local goods, and a hydroelectric dam, according to the plan.
  • The planned city will have eleven "ribbonlike neighborhoods" that incorporate the area's 35 rivers and streams.
  • Neighborhoods will be designed like mandalas, with repeated patterns organized around a central public space.
  • To protect against flooding, paddy fields will be built along the rivers, “forming urban terraces that cascade down from the hills to the valley,”. These will further function as biodiversity corridors for local flora and fauna.
  • The GMC will have two protected areas – a national park and a wildlife sanctuary.

About Project 18A:

• It is the Indian Navy’s Next-Generation Destroyer (NGD) programme.
• The proposed programme aims to develop a new generation of stealth-guided missile destroyers.
• Conceived as a successor to the Visakhapatnam-class (P-15B) destroyers, the P-18 class destroyers are engineered to counter emerging threats — from anti-ship ballistic missiles to submarine warfare.
• It is overseen by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB) in collaboration with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
• Features:
  • The P-18 will rank among the largest destroyers ever operated by the Indian Navy, significantly larger than the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers.
    • Under international classification, warships above 10,000 tonnes fall into the cruiser category — a segment that India currently does not possess.
    • Project 18 will mark India’s entry into this class of warships.
  • The warships are expected to have nearly 75% indigenous content.
  • It features Integrated Electric Propulsion (IEP).
  • Cruising Range: 4,500 nautical miles at 18 knots; endurance 45+ days.
  • One of the most notable features of the design is the planned incorporation of up to 144 vertical launch system (VLS) cells capable of firing a diverse range of missile systems, including
    • the long-range BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) supersonic cruise missiles for anti-ship and land-attack roles,
    • the Barak-8 ER (Extended Range) surface-to-air missiles with intercept capabilities beyond 150 km;
    • and the upcoming LR-LACM (Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile).
  • For terminal defence, the ships will deploy four 30-mm rapid-fire CIWS and at least one high-energy laser-based directed-energy weapon for defeating UAV swarms and supersonic sea-skimming missiles.
  • Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities include twin triple-torpedo launchers (Varunastra heavy torpedoes), rocket-assisted ASW mortars, and advanced towed-array sonar systems.
  • Additionally, a 127-mm/62 caliber main gun (likely the Oto Melara or indigenous upgrade) provides naval gunfire support.
  • The ships will be able to carry unmanned underwater vehicles and kamikaze drones, used for surveillance, detecting mines, and attacking submarines.
  • It is also expected to feature an advanced sensor and radar architecture centred on long-range multi-domain tracking systems capable of detecting and tracking targets at distances of up to 500 kilometres.
  • The stealth enhancements include an enclosed X-shaped mast, radar-absorbent materials, optimized hull form, and infrared signature suppression (IRSS) for exhaust systems.