Why in news?

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) gave an important ruling recently. It held that the moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cannot protect assets from attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), if those assets are alleged to be "proceeds of crime."

This ruling came in a case involving Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd. The tribunal used a strong phrase to explain its reasoning — it said Parliament did not create the IBC to act like "a holy Ganges" that washes away a company's criminal wrongdoing.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background of The Case
• Why Do the IBC and PMLA Clash?
• What Did the NCLAT Decide?
• Can Insolvency Tribunals Question ED's Attachment Orders?

Background of the Case

• Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd. is at the centre of this dispute. Its promoters are accused of serious financial crimes — bank fraud, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and diverting loan funds worth more than ₹1,600 crore.
• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) started action under the PMLA and provisionally attached the company's assets in 2017. This means the ED legally seized control of these assets on the suspicion they were linked to crime.
• A few months later, the company entered the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the IBC. This automatically triggered a moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC.
  • A moratorium is basically a "pause button." Once it kicks in, no one can start or continue legal proceedings to recover money, enforce security interests, sell company assets, or cancel important contracts against the company.
  • The idea is simple: keep all the company's assets safe and intact while the insolvency process figures out how to fairly repay creditors.
• What Happened Despite the Moratorium?
  • Even though the moratorium was in place, the ED still withdrew ₹2.29 crore from one of the company's bank accounts.
  • Later, in 2019, while the company was going through liquidation, the ED provisionally attached more than 6,000 vehicles owned by the company.
  • The liquidator (the official managing the company's liquidation) challenged these ED actions before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
  • The liquidator argued that these actions violated the IBC moratorium, since they reduced the assets available to repay creditors.
  • The NCLT rejected this argument, so the matter went up to the NCLAT.

Why Do the IBC and PMLA Clash?

• These two laws exist for very different purposes:
  • The IBC aims to resolve corporate insolvency in an orderly way. Its goal is to preserve a company's assets so that creditors can recover what they're owed.
  • The PMLA gives the ED power to identify, attach, and eventually confiscate any assets suspected to be "proceeds of crime."
• The key legal question before the tribunal was this: does the protection given by the IBC moratorium also cover assets that are simultaneously under investigation by the ED under the PMLA?

What Did the NCLAT Decide?

• The NCLAT framed this as a conflict between two laws, not between the liquidator and the ED as parties. It held that both laws operate in separate legal territories.
• The tribunal's key reasoning was this: the IBC was designed to help creditors recover value from a company's legitimate assets.
• It was never meant to legalise or protect wealth that came from criminal activity. So, the Section 14 moratorium only protects assets that were acquired lawfully — it does not extend to assets alleged to be proceeds of crime under the PMLA.
• The tribunal acknowledged that creditors often accept reduced recovery amounts during insolvency.
• But it said the national interest behind anti-money laundering law cannot be sacrificed just because a company happens to be going through insolvency.
• This judgment settles an important question of law: insolvency proceedings under the IBC cannot be used as a shield to stop the ED from attaching or holding onto assets suspected to be proceeds of crime.
  • In simple terms, going bankrupt does not offer any escape route from anti-money laundering action.

Can Insolvency Tribunals Question ED's Attachment Orders?

• The NCLAT made this clear too. It said insolvency tribunals like the NCLT and NCLAT have no power to examine whether a PMLA attachment order is valid or not.
• Any challenge to such an attachment must go through the special legal process set up under the PMLA itself.
• This part of the ruling relied on an earlier Supreme Court judgment — Embassy Property Developments Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Karnataka.
• The tribunal also pointed to a 2025 circular from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
• This circular had already advised insolvency professionals to approach the Special Court under PMLA if they want attached assets returned.

Conclusion

This ruling draws a clear boundary between two important laws. The IBC protects legitimate business recovery, but it cannot be misused to shelter alleged criminal wealth.

The judgment strengthens PMLA's reach, reaffirming that insolvency cannot become a route to escape accountability for financial crimes.

Why in news?

In February 2026, the Government of India released its latest report on the country's ocean fisheries. The government claimed that most of India's marine fish stocks are sustainable.

This sounded like good news. But experts argue that this claim hides a bigger, more serious problem — the continuing destruction of India's inshore fishing grounds, the waters closest to the coast.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What Does the Government Claim?
• Questioning the Official Picture
• The Real Problem: Inshore Waters Are Dying
• The Trawling Problem
• Why Aren't Rules Enough?
• Is Deep-Sea Fishing the Solution?
• The Way Forward

What Does the Government Claim?

• The government's report relied on data from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
• It said that most commercial fish stocks in India "are in good health." More specifically, it claimed that 91.1% of the 135 fish stocks studied in 2022 were found to be sustainable.

Questioning the Official Picture

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tells a very different story. In its country profile on India, the FAO says India's marine fisheries have hit a plateau.
• Most major fish stocks are already fully exploited. It also points to unregulated access to fisheries, which has led to overcrowding of trawlers competing for shrinking fish resources.
• There's also a technical problem with how India measures "sustainability." CMFRI mainly uses landing data — this means it looks at how much fish fishermen actually catch, and estimates fish stocks in the sea based on that.
  • This is like counting shells found on a beach and assuming that tells you how many shells exist in the entire sea.
• Other countries use a more reliable method called stock assessment. This involves directly measuring how much fish and marine life actually exists in the sea, rather than just counting catches.
• India hasn't yet adopted this costlier method. As per analysts, this gap may be creating a hidden bias, possibly linked to India's rush to compete with China's fishing industry.

The Real Problem: Inshore Waters Are Dying

• Catches have been falling steadily, and many fish species once common are now gone.
• But the bigger issue isn't overfishing itself — it's the destruction of the inshore benthic environment (the seabed and its ecosystem near the coast). Many fisheries scientists now describe this zone as "destroyed."
• India has a narrow continental shelf around most of its coastline (except in Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra, where it's wider).
• This shelf area overlaps with what's called the territorial sea — the waters within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of the shore.
• This zone is naturally the most fertile, ideal for species like shrimp to breed and grow. But this ecosystem is now badly damaged.
• What's Causing the Damage?
  • Several factors are responsible:
    • Dams on major rivers block nutrients from reaching the sea.
    • Mangrove destruction removes natural breeding grounds for fish.
    • Pollution from industries, agriculture, and growing cities is entering coastal waters.
  • All these factors hit inshore waters far harder than the deep sea.

The Trawling Problem

• One major driver of this damage is mechanised trawling — a fishing method that was actually introduced to India from abroad, only around 1960. It has since grown massively.
• According to the government's own report, India now has 64,414 mechanised fishing vessels. This number keeps growing because there are almost no restrictions on new boats entering the fishery.
• Existing boats are also being upgraded with more powerful Chinese engines, letting them catch even more fish.
• These trawlers continuously scrape the inshore seabed. This destroys plant and animal life living there.
• It has also created serious conflict with small-scale, traditional fishers, whose livelihoods are threatened by this competition.

Why Aren't Rules Enough?

• There is a rule that mechanised trawlers cannot fish within 5 nautical miles of the coast.
• But this rule is poorly enforced, for two reasons:
  • Coastal states don't have enough staff or patrol boats to monitor inshore waters properly.
  • Governments have kept fishers themselves out of the management process, even though they could help enforce rules.
• As a result, the inshore ecosystem keeps degrading. This pushes both small-scale and mechanised fishers further out into offshore and deep-sea waters.

Is Deep-Sea Fishing the Solution?

• The government is encouraging fishers to shift toward deep-sea fishing, seeing it as a solution. But the FAO is doubtful.
• It says that deep-sea fishing can offer, at best, only a marginal increase in output — not a real solution to the crisis.
• This approach also adds a burden on fishers. They now need more fuel and better technology just to travel farther out to sea.
• Meanwhile, the real problem — a poorly managed inshore zone — remains unaddressed.
• The Palk Bay Example
  • Experts point to Palk Bay, the waters between India and Sri Lanka.
  • India's mechanised fishing fleet regularly fishes in Sri Lankan waters, harming small-scale Sri Lankan fishers on the other side.
  • This happens regardless of who controls the island of Katchatheevu — showing how mechanised fishing's political and economic weight overrides proper management even across international boundaries.

The Way Forward

• The core message here is this: better numbers for fish stocks don't mean fisheries are actually sustainable. What India truly needs is stronger governance of its coastal waters.
• This means:
  • Addressing marine pollution seriously
  • Better management and control of mechanised trawling
  • Involving small-scale fishers in decision-making
• The FAO has echoed this, stating that India needs stronger efforts at both the federal and state level to properly manage its marine fisheries.
• Analysts also suggest that CMFRI should study the actual health of the seabed ecosystem itself, not just catch data — this would give India a much better foundation for future policy.

Context

• India's Asiatic lion conservation story is often praised as a success. Their population has grown from just a few dozen in the early 20th century to about 891 today.
• But there is a hidden problem behind this success. All these lions live in just one place — the Gir forest landscape in Gujarat.
• Scientists, government bodies, and even the Supreme Court have repeatedly warned that this makes the species dangerously vulnerable. A single disease outbreak or disaster could wipe out the entire population in one go.

Why a Second Home Is Needed?

• The Wildlife Institute of India has studied this issue since the 1980s. Its reports have consistently said the same thing: keeping an entire species in one location is risky.
• Threats like epidemics, forest fires, or other disasters could destroy the whole population if it stays concentrated in a single area.
• This concern was formally accepted by the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on April 15, 2013.
• The Court ordered that Asiatic lions be moved from Gir (Gujarat) to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
• It said conservation decisions must be based on ecological science, not regional politics.
• The judgment clearly stated that a second population was necessary for the species to survive long-term.

Why the Translocation Never Happened?

• Despite this clear court order, nothing has moved forward for over a decade.
• Gujarat has resisted sending its lions to another state. It argues that it has done a good job conserving the species, and questions whether Kuno's habitat is even suitable for lions.
• Interestingly, Kuno National Park was actually prepared for this move. Villages were relocated and habitat restoration work was done there.
• Yet, no lions have ever been introduced to Kuno. This shows a clear gap between scientific recommendations, judicial orders, and political will at the state level.

The Growing Risk

• While this delay continues, the danger to the lions has only grown. Since the entire global population of Asiatic lions lives in one place, they are extremely vulnerable to disease.
• This danger became real in 2018, when a Canine Distemper Virus outbreak killed several lions and infected many more.
• Diseases spread faster in populations that live close together and have low genetic diversity — exactly the situation with Gir's lions today.
• Conservation science recommends what is called a "metapopulation approach." This means spreading a species across multiple habitats, so a single disaster cannot destroy the whole population at once.

Attempts at a Solution

• The government launched Project Lion in 2020 to revive this discussion. One proposal was to develop Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Gujarat, as an alternative lion habitat.
• However, experts point out a key flaw: Barda is too close to Gir. A second home needs to be far enough away that a single disease or disaster cannot affect both populations together. Being close by defeats the very purpose of having a second home.

 A Bigger Governance Question

• This delay reflects a larger tension in India's environmental governance. Wildlife is constitutionally a shared responsibility between the Centre and states.
• But in practice, it often gets tangled in state pride and political interests. The Supreme Court has been clear that Asiatic lions are a national heritage — not the property of one state alone. Yet, this principle remains only partly implemented on the ground.

From Success to Security

• The bigger question India faces is whether it can move beyond just counting numbers, to actually securing the species' future.
• Right now, the situation is a paradox: a lion population that looks thriving on paper, but remains ecologically fragile in reality.
• As the article stresses, mere numbers do not guarantee survival — resilience does.
• Without a second home, decades of conservation work remain at risk of being undone by a single unfortunate event.

Conclusion

• Asiatic lions symbolise conservation triumph, yet remain trapped in a single landscape's vulnerability.
• True success demands resilience, not just rising numbers. Establishing a second home isn't optional — it's an ecological necessity.
• Continued delay risks converting India's proudest wildlife achievement into an entirely preventable tragedy.

Why in the News?

• The National Statistics Office (NSO) has released two new reports, Labour Market Dynamics in Million-plus Cities and Urban Unincorporated Enterprise Landscape: ASUSE 2025, providing the first comprehensive statistical profile of employment and informal enterprises across India's 46 million-plus cities.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About PLFS & ASUSE (Objectives, Key Indicators, etc.)
• Key Findings of the Reports

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• It is conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Introduced in 2017, it replaced the earlier Employment-Unemployment Surveys to provide more frequent and reliable labour market data.
• Objectives

• Estimate employment and unemployment indicators
• Measure labour force participation in rural and urban areas
• Generate annual and quarterly labour market statistics
• Support evidence-based policymaking on employment and skill development

Key Labour Market Indicators

• PLFS measures several important indicators:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Percentage of the population that is either employed or actively seeking work.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): Percentage of the population that is employed.
• Unemployment Rate (UR): Percentage of the labour force that is unemployed but actively seeking work.
• Current Weekly Status (CWS) and Usual Status (US): Two different reference periods used to estimate employment and unemployment.

• PLFS has become India's principal source of official labour market statistics.

Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)

• The ASUSE is another flagship survey conducted by the NSO.
• It covers unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises, excluding construction, and provides information on:

• Employment generation
• Number of enterprises
• Gross Value Added (GVA)
• Productivity
• Wages and emoluments
• Ownership patterns

• ASUSE primarily includes Manufacturing units, Trade establishments and Service enterprises.
• Since the informal sector contributes significantly to India's employment and urban economy, ASUSE serves as an important source of policy inputs for MSMEs, urban development, and labour reforms.

Key Findings from PLFS 2025

• The report presents labour market estimates for persons aged 15 years and above across India's 46 cities with million-plus population.
• Improving Labour Market Indicators
  • The survey indicates steady improvements in urban labour market conditions.

• LFPR in million-plus cities stood at 52.4%, slightly higher than 52.1% in other urban areas.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) reached 49.8%, compared to 49.6% in other urban centres.
• Unemployment Rate (UR) under the Usual Status declined to 4.9%, broadly comparable with the national urban average of 4.8%.
• The report notes that unemployment in million-plus cities has shown a steady decline since 2017-18, reflecting improving labour market conditions.

• Higher Female Participation
  • One of the most notable findings is the improvement in women's participation.
  • The female Worker Population Ratio increased from 17.9% in 2017-18 to 25.5% in 2025, an increase of 7.6 percentage points, exceeding the improvement recorded for men.
  • The survey also reports that million-plus cities have a lower proportion of youth (15–29 years) who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) than other urban areas.
• Nature of Employment
  • Employment in large cities is characterised by greater formalisation. According to the report:
    • 58.5% of workers were engaged in regular wage or salaried employment, compared to 42.9% in other urban areas.
    • Casual labour accounted for only 6.3% of employment, indicating relatively stable employment opportunities in larger cities.
    • Workers in million-plus cities also recorded higher average hours of work than workers in other urban areas.

Key Findings from ASUSE 2025

• The ASUSE report provides the first city-level estimates for India's informal non-agricultural sector.
• Scale of the Informal Economy
  • The survey estimates that India's 46 million-plus cities account for:

• 39 lakh unincorporated establishments.
• 1.98 crore informal workers.
• Nearly 13% of all informal establishments in the country.
• Around 16% of total informal employment.
• Approximately 21% of Gross Value Added (GVA) generated by India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector.
• These cities span 17 States and 1 Union Territory, highlighting the growing importance of urban informal enterprises.

• Cities with the Highest Informal Employment
  • Among million-plus cities:
    • Greater Hyderabad recorded the highest number of informal workers (15.7 lakh).
    • Kolkata had the largest number of unincorporated enterprises (8.84 lakh).
    • Delhi, Bengaluru, Surat, Jaipur and Greater Mumbai also emerged as major informal employment centres.
  • Together, the six largest cities accounted for nearly 40% of all informal workers across the country's million-plus cities.

• Women in the Informal Sector
  • Women constituted approximately 52 lakh workers, representing 26% of the informal workforce in these cities.
  • However, female participation varied significantly across cities:
    • Greater Visakhapatnam recorded the highest female workforce participation at 42.5%.
    • Surat followed with 41.4%.
    • Srinagar recorded the lowest female participation at 10.5%, followed by Varanasi (12.1%).
  • These differences reflect variations in local economic structures, industrial composition, and social factors.

• Productivity and Wages
  • Large cities also displayed higher productivity. According to ASUSE:
    • Pimpri-Chinchwad, Greater Hyderabad, and Delhi recorded the highest Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker.
    • Jaipur reported the highest average annual emoluments per hired worker at Rs. 2.33 lakh, followed by Greater Hyderabad (Rs. 2.14 lakh).
    • On average, hired workers across the 46 cities received annual emoluments of around Rs. 1.51 lakh.

• The findings indicate considerable differences in productivity and wage levels across urban India.

Policy Implications

• The two reports offer valuable insights for policymaking. Key policy priorities include:

• Promoting quality employment in urban areas
• Strengthening MSMEs and informal enterprises
• Increasing women's labour force participation
• Enhancing urban skill development programmes
• Improving access to formal finance and social security for informal workers
• Supporting productivity enhancement in urban enterprises

• The reports also provide an important statistical foundation for initiatives linked to Viksit Bharat, urban planning, and employment generation.

Why in News?

• As the first batch of Agniveers recruited under the Agnipath scheme completes its four-year tenure later in 2026, the Indian Armed Forces are considering increasing the proportion of Agniveers retained as regular personnel.
• While the approved retention rate remains 25% across the Army, Navy and Air Force, internal discussions are underway to revise this based on operational experience, manpower requirements and technological advancements. 

What’s in Today’s Article?

• The Agnipath Scheme
• Proposal for Higher Retention
• Why are the Armed Forces Seeking Higher Retention?
• Alternative Approach Under Consideration
• Significance for Defence Reforms
• Conclusion

The Agnipath Scheme:

• Overview:
  • It is the Indian government's short-term military recruitment model (launched in 2022) for personnel below officer ranks.
  • Under this scheme, recruits/ "Agniveers" (between 17.5 and 23 years) serve for 4 years (including a 6 month training period).
  • It aims to lower the military's average age (from 32 currently to around 26) and reduce the ballooning pension bill, with only 25% retained for a permanent 15-year commission.
  • An attractive, tax-exempt severance (Seva Nidhi Package) of roughly ₹11.71 lakh is provided upon completion (no pension), funded by the recruit's contributions and matching government funds.
  • Compensation for disability (up to Rs 44 lakh, depending on the severity of the disability) and death on duty (a total of Rs 1 crore, including the Seva Nidhi package and the soldier's unserved salary).
• Current retention framework:
  • The 25% retention is based on merit and willingness to continue.
  • The first batches, inducted in early 2023, will complete their tenure later this year.
  • All Agniveers are initially released, and only the selected candidates are re-enrolled as regular soldiers, sailors or airmen.
• Employment opportunities for Agniveers: After completion of 4 year service -
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has earmarked 10% of vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles for eligible Agniveers.
  • The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has introduced initiatives to facilitate the smooth induction of former Agniveers into the merchant navy.
  • The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will provide 10% reservation for former Agniveers in recruitment to the Indian Coast Guard, all 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), etc.
• Ongoing evolution:
  • Training infrastructure across the services has expanded significantly.
  • Agniveers receive:
    • Pay and allowances comparable to regular personnel during service.
    • Leave and welfare benefits similar to regular soldiers.
    • Multiple support measures through MoUs signed with banks for financial security.

Proposal for Higher Retention:

• The three services are reportedly examining an increase in retention. For example,
  • Indian Navy: Around 75% retention.
  • Indian Army and Indian Air Force: Around 50% retention.
• These proposals are expected to be discussed with the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
• Although similar proposals were submitted earlier, they were returned for further evaluation.

Why are the Armed Forces Seeking Higher Retention?

• Need for experienced personnel:
  • Four years of service provides Agniveers with operational exposure, specialised training and familiarity with advanced weapon systems.
  • A larger pool of experienced personnel would improve combat effectiveness during crises and conflicts.
• Lessons from Operation Sindoor:
  • Operational experience demonstrated that Agniveers performed effectively.
  • However, soldiers with longer service displayed faster decision-making and superior responses due to repeated field deployments and extensive training.
• Technological modernisation:
  • The Armed Forces are inducting advanced platforms, modern weapon systems and emerging technologies.
  • Personnel operating sophisticated equipment, particularly in the Navy and Air Force, require longer training cycles and sustained experience.
  • Higher retention would preserve critical technical expertise.
• Addressing manpower shortages:
  • The Army currently faces an estimated shortage of around 1.8 lakh personnel.
  • Recruitment is being expanded, with approximately 70,000 Agniveers trained during the previous training cycle, and 90,000 vacancies expected in the upcoming recruitment cycle.
  • Greater retention would ease manpower gaps until recruitment reaches desired levels.
• Unit cohesion and professionalism: Longer service helps build camaraderie, leadership qualities and institutional knowledge. Experienced personnel contribute to better teamwork, discipline and operational efficiency.

Alternative Approach Under Consideration:

• Even if the overall retention ceiling remains at 25%, the services may adopt differential deployment.
• For example,
  • Specialised units requiring higher technical expertise could have a greater proportion of retained Agniveers.
  • Regular infantry or conventional units could continue with larger numbers of Agniveers serving their initial four-year tenure.
  • Newly raised Bhairav battalions are cited as a possible example of such a model.

Significance for Defence Reforms:

• The debate reflects the challenge of balancing two objectives:
  • Maintaining a young military profile, one of the core goals of Agnipath.
  • Ensuring adequate availability of experienced, technically skilled and combat-ready personnel amid evolving security challenges and rapid military modernisation.
• The eventual decision on retention percentages is likely to shape India's long-term military manpower policy, operational preparedness and defence reforms.

Conclusion:

• Former Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi described Agnipath scheme as a transformative manpower reform intended to create a younger, technologically capable and future-ready military.
• He emphasised that the scheme remains an evolutionary process, and any modifications should be guided by operational experience, institutional assessment and feedback after completion of the first full cycle.

Context

• The meaning of citizenship in India has come under renewed scrutiny following a recent statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) describing the Indian passport as a travel document rather than a citizenship document.
• Since passports are ordinarily issued only to Indian citizens, this clarification raises important constitutional concerns about what constitutes valid proof of citizenship.
• Against the backdrop of recent legal and administrative developments, the debate extends beyond documentation to the principles of equality, secularism, and constitutional democracy.

Citizenship under Scrutiny

• Administrative and Judicial Developments
  • Recent developments have significantly reshaped the discourse on citizenship.
  • The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI), recent Supreme Court judgments, and the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, operationalised in 2024, have expanded official scrutiny over citizenship while increasing the responsibility of individuals to establish their legal status.
• Passport as Evidence of Citizenship
  • Although a passport primarily facilitates international travel, it is issued almost exclusively to Indian citizens, except in exceptional cases permitted in the public interest.
  • Consequently, it serves as strong evidence of citizenship. Treating it merely as a travel document creates uncertainty regarding the documentary standards required to prove citizenship.

The Foundations of Citizenship

• Constitutional Vision
  • The Constitution (Part II) addressed citizenship through Articles 5–11, primarily to resolve issues arising from Partition.
  • While Article 11 empowers Parliament to legislate on citizenship, this authority is guided by the Constitution's foundational values of secularism, equality, and non-discrimination.
• Constituent Assembly Debates
  • The Constituent Assembly rejected P. S. Deshmukh's proposal to grant citizenship exclusively to Hindus and Sikhs.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar argued that a secular republic could not distinguish citizens on religious grounds, resulting in the adoption of B. R. Ambedkar's religion-neutral citizenship framework.
• Evolution of Citizenship Law
  • India initially followed the principle of jus soli, granting citizenship primarily through birth and residence. However, subsequent amendments to the Citizenship Act 1955altered this approach.
  • The introduction of Section 6A under the Assam Accord and the 2003 amendment, which denied citizenship by birth where one parent was an illegal migrant, reflected a gradual shift towards more restrictive citizenship norms.
• Judicial Interpretation
  • The Supreme Court upheld Section 6A in 2024, interpreting Parliament's powers under Article 11 broadly and recognising concerns over external aggression arising from migration into Assam.
  • In Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (2026), the Court further upheld the ECI's authority to examine citizenship for electoral purposes and refer doubtful cases to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act.
• Burden of Proof
  • Experiences from Assam demonstrate that individuals identified as doubtful voters may remain trapped in prolonged proceedings before Foreigners' Tribunals, leaving their rights in suspension.
  • Simultaneously, the burden of proof has shifted from the State to individuals.
  • Aadhaar is treated as proof of residence, Voter ID as evidence of electoral registration, and passports merely as travel documents, making it increasingly difficult to establish citizenship conclusively.

The Primacy of Personhood

• Constitutional Protection
  • The Constitution places personhood before citizenship. Article 14 guarantees equality before the law to every person, while Article 21 protects the right to life and personal liberty.
  • Citizenship supplements these guarantees through Article 19, conferring freedoms such as speech, peaceful assembly, occupation, and the statutory right to vote.
• Citizenship and Democratic Rights
  • Political philosopher Hannah Arendt described citizenship as the right to have rights.
  • Uncertainty over citizenship threatens meaningful participation in democracy and access to constitutional protections.
  • Citizenship must therefore rest not solely on documentation but on human dignity, equal protection, and the Constitution's commitment to justice and inclusion.

Conclusion

• The evolving framework of citizenship in India reflects a growing tension between administrative verification and constitutional values.
• While the State has the authority to regulate citizenship and prevent misuse, such powers must remain consistent with the principles of justice, equality, secularism, and human dignity.
• A constitutional democracy cannot reduce citizenship to an endless documentary exercise; it must preserve the rights and equal status of every individual within the framework of the Constitution.

About Micromonospora shyamaprasadii:

• It is a new species of bacteria.
• It was discovered from West Bengal.
• It was isolated from the mulberry rhizosphere — the active soil zone around mulberry roots.
• It was named in honour of Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 125th birth anniversary.
• The bacterium appears to produce compounds that prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, indicating its antibiotic potential.

Key Facts about Micromonospora:

• It refers to a genus of bacteria of the family Micromonosporaceae.
• They are gram-positive, spore-forming, and generally aerobic.
• They are widely distributed in various environments, including coastal and marine sediments, peat swamp forests, and plant rhizospheres, where they often form intimate associations with plant roots, including those of rice, wheat, and various legumes.
• These bacteria also exist in complex microbial communities in soil and the rhizosphere.
• They are best known for producing bioactive compounds, including antibiotics and industrially important enzymes.

About Modified UDAN Scheme:

• The scheme aims to accelerate the next phase of aviation-led development.
• A key emphasis is on the development of 100 aerodromes from existing unserved airstrips to expand aviation infrastructure across the country.
• The scheme has been earmarked for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support to ensure the viability of regional airports during their initial years of operation.
• Additionally, an investment will fund the creation of modern helipads, and a continued Viability Gap Funding for airlines to sustain regional airline operations.
• The scheme promotes the induction of indigenous aircraft and helicopters, including HAL Dhruv and Dornier platforms, for operations in underserved and remote regions.

About UDAN Scheme:

• The Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) launched in October 2016 by the Government of India to enhance air connectivity to underserved and unserved regions.
• Objectives:
  • Improve regional connectivity across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
  • Make air travel affordable for common citizens.
  • Promote balanced regional development.
  • Enhance the infrastructure utilisation of unused and underutilised airports.
• The mission has two parts.
  • First, make air travel affordable on short regional sectors where train journeys take 10-18 hours.
  • Second, revive unserved and underserved airports — places that had runways but no scheduled commercial flights.
• The first UDAN flight took off on 27 April 2017, connecting Shimla to Delhi.
• Key Features:
  • Airlines are selected through a competitive bidding mechanism.
  • Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is provided to airlines to operate on less profitable routes.
  • The Airports Authority of India has also waived off the airport fee for the same.
  • At the same time, the state governments are also providing security, electricity, and fire-fighting facilities free of cost.
  • 50% of seats are offered at a capped fare of around Rs. 2,500 per hour of flight.
  • Focus on connecting remote, hilly, and island regions.
• Funding Mechanism:
  • Initially funded through a Regional Connectivity Scheme levy imposed on flights operating on major routes.
  • The levy subsidised airlines operating on regional routes.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation runs it through the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which acts as the implementing agency for bidding, monitoring, and viability gap funding payouts to airlines.
• Phase-by-phase Summary:
  • UDAN 1.0 (2017): 128 routes awarded; first commercial flight Delhi–Shimla.
  • UDAN 2.0 (2018): added priority areas including the North-East, hill states, islands; helicopter routes introduced.
  • UDAN 3.0 (2018-19): tourism-focused routes, seaplane operations, and select international connectivity.
  • UDAN 4.0 (2020): further expansion to remote areas and water aerodromes, longer stage length allowed.
  • UDAN 5.0 onwards: stage length raised to enable longer regional links; relaxation of viability period rules; helicopter and small-aircraft sub-schemes (Sagarmala Seaplane, Krishi UDAN, etc.)

About Tandulwadi Fort:

• It is located near Lalthane village in Palghar district, about 104 km from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The fort dates back 800 years and was primarily used as a watch tower over the surrounding plain.
• Tandulwadi is not a fully built up fort, but a series of structures spread over the top of the mountain.
• History:
  • In the thirteenth century, King Bhimdev's kingdom comprised the cities of Shurparak (Nalasopara) and Mahikawati (Mahim).
  • The first known history of the fort was in the 15th century (about 1429) during the rule of Jafar Khan, son of Ahmed Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate.
  • It was used as a reconnoiter fort to keep a watch on neighboring forts and the Arabian Sea.
  • In 1454, the Sultan of Ahmedabad captured Mahikavati (Mahim Fort) and one of his Sardars named Mallik Allauddin was made chief of Tandulwadi fort.
  • In 1509, the Portuguese took the fort but lost control of the area to the Marathas in 1737 after the Battle of Bassein.
• Structure:
  • It has several rock cut water cisterns.
  • There are no bastions, walls or houses on the fort.
  • There is no evidence of fortification except for a small stone wall on the southern side.
  • A small water pond is situated in the center.