Why in the News?

• In a landmark ruling aimed at preserving India’s tiger habitats, the Supreme Court has issued sweeping directions to curb ecological damage in tiger reserves.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About the Case (Background, Key Directives, Directions to States & TCA, Significance, Challenges, etc.)

Background of the Case

• The ruling stems from a suo motu intervention by the Supreme Court after reports of unauthorised tree felling, illegal construction, and misuse of funds surfaced within the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve.
• An expert committee appointed by the Court investigated the violations and proposed detailed recommendations for ecological restoration.
• Accepting the committee’s findings, the Court noted that tiger tourism, while valuable for public awareness, has often devolved into “mass commercial tourism” detrimental to wildlife and forest ecosystems.
• The judgment seeks to strike a balance between ecotourism, local livelihoods, and biodiversity protection.

Key Directives of the Supreme Court

• Tiger Safaris Only in Non-Forest Areas
  • The Court categorically prohibited tiger safaris inside core or critical tiger habitats, directing that they may only be established on non-forest or degraded forest land within buffer zones.
  • Further, such safaris must operate in association with a fully functional rescue and rehabilitation centre for tigers, catering to conflict animals, injured, or abandoned wildlife.
• Complete Ban on Night Tourism and Mobile Use
  • Recognising the disturbance caused by human activity and noise pollution, the Court imposed a complete ban on night tourism within tiger reserves.
  • In areas where roads pass through core tiger habitats, the Court ordered strict night-time regulation, prohibiting vehicular movement from dusk to dawn, except for emergency or ambulance services.
  • Additionally, it directed that the use of mobile phones within tourism zones of core habitats be strictly prohibited to minimise noise and human interference.
• Eco-Sensitive Zone Norms for Tiger Reserves
  • The Court directed that Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around tiger reserves must conform to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
  • Under this, the minimum ESZ area shall be equivalent to the buffer or fringe area of the tiger reserve. States were instructed to notify ESZ boundaries within one year, ensuring uniform protection standards nationwide.
• Regulation of Tourism Infrastructure in Buffer Zones
  • The judgment mandates that all tourism infrastructure development in buffer areas comply with ESZ notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • While eco-friendly resorts may be allowed in buffer areas, the Court emphasised that no such establishment shall be permitted in tiger corridors. It further recommended promoting community-managed homestays and village-based ecotourism, thereby ensuring that conservation efforts benefit local populations.
• Ban on Commercial and Industrial Activities
  • The Court imposed a comprehensive ban on ecologically harmful activities in buffer and fringe areas, including:

• Commercial mining and polluting industries,
• Sawmills and hydroelectric projects,
• Firewood extraction and tree felling without authorisation,
• Waste discharge into natural ecosystems,
• Use of low-flying aircraft or tourism flights, and
• Introduction of exotic species.

• These restrictions align with Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Directions to States and Tiger Conservation Authorities

• The Court instructed all State Governments to:

• Prepare or revise the Tiger Conservation Plans within three months.
• Notify core and buffer areas within six months.
• Establish effective monitoring systems to ensure compliance with the ruling.

• It also directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to serve as the nodal agency for enforcing these directions and conducting annual ecological audits of tiger reserves.
• The NTCA and MoEF&CC were further asked to submit a joint compliance report within one year, detailing progress in implementing the Court’s directives.

Significance of the Judgment

• This verdict reinforces the principle of “ecocentric jurisprudence”, which prioritises the intrinsic value of nature over anthropocentric interests.
• By imposing strict limits on tourism and infrastructure expansion, the Court has sought to reverse the trend of ecological degradation within protected areas.
• It also aligns with India’s broader conservation goals under Project Tiger (1973), which has helped increase the national tiger population to 3,682 as per the 2024 census, a global success story.
• Moreover, by encouraging community-based tourism and homestays, the judgment ensures that local economies remain linked to conservation rather than exploitation.

Context

• A decade has passed since New Delhi hosted the third India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III), a landmark event that symbolised a transformative shift in India’s diplomatic vision.
• By welcoming representatives from all 54 African nations, India signalled its ambition to elevate the relationship into a continent-wide, strategic partnership.
• The years since have seen rising trade, new missions, expanding educational networks, and greater political alignment, yet they have also revealed persistent challenges that demand new solutions.
• As India rises as a global economic heavyweight and Africa becomes the demographic centre of the world, both regions stand on the threshold of a shared future that requires coordinated, co-created action.

Features of Indo-Africa Ties

• The Promise and Complexity of a Growing Partnership
  • The strategic logic of India–Africa ties has strengthened considerably since 2015.
  • India’s establishment of 17 new diplomatic missions and trade surpassing $100 billion reflect a broadening engagement.
  • These advances underscore India’s recognition of Africa’s increasing global importance, especially as one in four people on Earth will be African by 2050, and India is set to become the world’s third-largest economy.
  • India has emerged as one of Africa’s top five investors, with $75 billion in cumulative investment.
  • More importantly, the model of engagement is shifting from traditional infrastructure projects to co-creation in high-impact sectors such as vaccine production, digital tools, and renewable technologies. The new message is clear: Build together.
• Expanding Security and Development Cooperation
  • Security cooperation has become a defining feature of this partnership.
  • The inaugural Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) in April 2025—featuring navies from nine African countries, marks the beginning of a shared maritime security architecture in the Indian Ocean.
  • On the development front, India’s Exim Bank extending a $40-million credit line to the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development signals support for African-led development priorities.
  • Education, one of the relationship’s strongest pillars, is highlighted by the opening of the IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, supported by decades of collaboration through the Pan-African e-Network and the ITEC programme.
• Competing in a Changing Global Landscape
  • Despite progress, India faces significant challenges. China remains ahead in trade and investment volumes.
  • Indian companies are often hindered by limited financial scale and bureaucratic delays, creating pressure to scale back engagement, an approach that would be strategically misguided.
  • Instead, India must move up the value chain. Future-facing sectors such as green hydrogen, electric mobility, and digital infrastructure offer the opportunity for joint innovation and leapfrogging.
  • Africa’s own transformation is accelerating through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single continental market.
  • India’s UPI and digital stack can complement Africa’s ambitions, but tools alone are not strategy.
  • With vibrant innovation hubs emerging in Kigali, Nairobi and Lagos, Africa is not just a recipient of technology but a producer of innovation. India must adapt to this evolving ecosystem.

Human Connections: The Partnership’s Most Enduring Strength

• The most profound dimension of the India–Africa relationship is its human link.
• Nearly 40,000 Africans trained in India under programmes such as ITEC, ICCR scholarships, and the Pan-African e-Network now serve as policymakers, innovators and professionals across the continent. These individuals form living bridges of trust.
• The exchange flows both ways. African athletes, students and entrepreneurs have made their mark in India, from Nigerian footballers who became household names to South African coaches shaping Indian cricket.
• African students and researchers enrich India’s universities, laboratories and cultural spaces. The partnership is not merely strategic; it is lived and human.

Charting the Next Chapter: Strategic Priorities

• Connect finance to real outcomes
  • Lines of credit should yield visible, high-impact results, with public finance serving to de-risk private capital.
• Build an India–Africa digital corridor
  • Collaboration must extend beyond UPI to integrate Africa’s digital strengths, enabling co-developed platforms for health, education and payments across the Global South.
• Revive the India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS)
  • The absence of the summit since 2015 has left a strategic vacuum. Its revival would restore structure, visibility and coordinated direction.

Conclusion

• The foundations built since 2015 show that the India-Africa relationship is evolving from one of exchange to one of co-creation.
• As both regions experience unprecedented transformation, India as an economic powerhouse and Africa as the world’s demographic engine, their futures are becoming deeply intertwined.
• Where merchants once crossed the Indian Ocean in search of spices and gold, India and Africa now traverse those waters exchanging ideas, innovation and confidence.
• The next chapter must be one of shared ambition, anchored not in India extending a hand to Africa but in India and Africa joining hands to build the future together.

Context

• India’s justice delivery system faces an enduring crisis marked by enormous case pendency, procedural delays, and structural weaknesses in the subordinate judiciary.
• With 4.69 crore cases pending in district courts, the burden falls heavily on lower courts, which form the backbone of the judicial hierarchy.
• Recent Supreme Court observations highlight a sense of stagnation in this tier, aggravated by judges lacking basic training and experience.
• Addressing this crisis requires targeted structural reforms, improved training frameworks, and modernisation of procedural laws.

Obstacles to Efficiency in Subordinate Courts

• Clerical Burdens and Structural Inefficiencies
  • A major obstacle to efficiency in subordinate courts is the excessive clerical workload imposed on judges.
  • Under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and the Civil Rules of Practice, judges must call every suit, issue summons, receive vakalathnamas, and handle routine filings.
  • These tasks occupy crucial morning hours, often from 10:30 a.m. to noon, leaving judges minimal time for hearing cases or writing judgments.
  • This misallocation of judicial time contributes directly to pendency.
  • A practical solution is the appointment of a dedicated judicial officer at the lowest rank in each district to perform ministerial functions for all courts of a particular cadre.
  • Such a system would free subordinate judges from clerical tasks and substantially improve productivity and case disposal.
• Judicial Competence and Training
  • Another systemic challenge is the decline in the experience and preparedness of newly appointed judges.
  • Traditionally, district munsifs and magistrates were selected from lawyers with a decade or more of practice under senior advocates, ensuring familiarity with courtroom dynamics and legal reasoning.
  • Today, many judges enter directly from law school with little exposure to real litigation, making it difficult to handle complex matters or pass reasoned orders.
  • To remedy this, there is a need for mandatory training for new judges at High Court benches, where they can observe proceedings, understand judicial conduct, and study how orders are drafted.
  • This work culture through observation would significantly strengthen the subordinate judiciary’s competence and improve the quality of decision-making.

Problematic Legislation and Procedural Complications

• Mandatory Pre-Suit Mediation in Commercial Courts
  • Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, interpreted as mandatory in Patil Automation v. Rakheja Engineers, requires pre-suit mediation.
  • However, commercial parties usually exchange notices before approaching court, making mandatory mediation unnecessary and adding an extra procedural layer that delays access to justice.
• Cooling-Off Period in Mutual Consent Divorce
  • The six-month cooling-off period often works against couples seeking prompt resolution.
  • Inconsistent application across courts leads to avoidable proceedings and even incentivises false declarations about separation duration.
• Ambiguities in the New Rent Act
• Confusion over whether a registered lease is required for rent court jurisdiction results in forum-shopping and contradictory rulings.
• For small residential tenancies, where parties rely on oral agreements to avoid registration fees, this statutory uncertainty increases litigation and delays.

Archaic Procedural Law as a Tool for Delay

• Partition Suits: Two-Step Decree Process
  • Requiring both a preliminary decree and a final decree in partition suits creates unnecessary delays, especially since final decree proceedings do not commence automatically.
  • A single decree or automatic continuation would streamline these cases.
• Execution Proceedings under Order XXI
  • Order XXI contains 106 rules, many of which are hyper-technical and enable judgment debtors to stall execution.
  • The prolonged difficulty in enforcing decrees undermines public confidence and forces litigants into years of post-decree litigation.
• Time Limits for Written Statements
  • The 90-day limit for filing written statements under Order VIII Rule 1 has not accelerated trails.
  • While suitable for money suits, strict timelines in title disputes often compromise the quality of pleadings without improving disposal rates.

The Role of the Higher Judiciary and the Path Forward

• Reducing pendency is not solely the responsibility of subordinate courts. Higher courts must also ensure timely disposal of appeals and revisions.
• The objective should be reasonable termination of proceedings rather than hastening the commencement of new ones.
• Reform requires a combination of measures:
  • Modernising procedural law to eliminate outdated steps.
  • Improving recruitment standards by selecting experienced lawyers as judges.
  • Strengthening judicial training, especially at the entry level.
  • Reassigning ministerial functions to dedicated officers to free judges for core adjudication.
  • Simplifying execution mechanisms to ensure decrees have real enforceability.
• Without these interventions, pendency will continue to rise and public confidence in the justice system will erode further.

Conclusion

• India’s judicial backlog stems from structural inefficiencies, outdated procedures, and inadequate training within the subordinate judiciary.
• Clerical burdens, flawed statutory mechanisms, and archaic provisions of the CPC continue to obstruct timely justice.
• Comprehensive reform, combining modern procedural frameworks, experienced judicial appointments, and smarter administrative design is, essential.
• Only by enabling subordinate judges to focus on their core judicial functions can India deliver timely, accessible, and effective justice.

Why in news?

• Banks are rapidly issuing Tier II bonds to strengthen their capital base at a time when companies are raising record amounts through IPOs.
• The banking system is expected to raise about ₹25,000 crore this financial year, with ₹10,000 crore already raised.
• The surge is fuelled by three key factors:
  • High demand for long-term debt instruments,
  • Expectations of a repo rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy, which would make current borrowing costs attractive, and
  • Regulatory requirements pushing institutions to invest in such bonds.
• Together, these conditions have created a favourable window for banks to tap the market aggressively.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What Tier II Bonds Are and Why Banks Use Them?
• Banks Step Up Tier II Bond Issuances Amid Favorable Market Conditions
• Why Banks Are Turning to Tier II Bonds?

What Tier II Bonds Are and Why Banks Use Them?

• Tier II bonds are long-term debt instruments that banks issue to strengthen their capital base.
• With a minimum tenure of five years, they help banks meet Basel III capital adequacy norms and create an additional buffer to support future credit expansion.
• These bonds allow banks to raise low-cost, long-term capital without diluting equity, making them an efficient funding tool.
• Experts note that Tier II instruments also improve a bank’s capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) by adding extra stability to its balance sheet.
  • CRAR is a key financial metric that measures a bank's capital against its risk-weighted assets to assess its financial strength.
  • It is calculated by dividing a bank's capital (Tier 1 and Tier 2) by its risk-weighted assets and is expressed as a percentage.
  • A higher CRAR indicates a bank is more capable of absorbing potential losses, which promotes financial stability and protects depositors. 

Banks Step Up Tier II Bond Issuances Amid Favorable Market Conditions

• India’s top banks are accelerating Tier II bond issuances.
  • SBI recently raised ₹7,500 crore at a competitive 6.93% via 10-year bonds, while ICICI Bank raised ₹1,000 crore in June.
  • Experts estimate that banks may collectively raise up to ₹15,000 crore by December.
• Many lenders waited earlier due to ample liquidity, lower deposit rates, and expectations of future rate cuts, which would reduce borrowing costs. Last year, banks had raised nearly ₹31,000 crore through Tier II bonds.
• This renewed surge reflects improving market appetite and banks’ need to strengthen their capital base.

Why Banks Are Turning to Tier II Bonds?

• Banks are issuing more Tier II bonds because current market conditions make long-term borrowing cheaper than raising funds through deposits.
• With corporate issuers favouring shorter-term bonds this year, there is strong demand for long-duration, high-quality debt, creating a favourable window for banks.
• Market Factors Driving the Surge
  • Expectation of a repo rate cut in December is encouraging investors to lock in long-term yields now.
  • Scarcity of top-rated long-tenor bonds has boosted appetite for Tier II issuances.
  • SBI’s aggressively priced 6.93% bond has acted as a benchmark, increasing confidence among other banks.
  • Provident and pension funds must meet regulatory investment quotas, pushing demand for long-term corporate bonds.
• Regulatory and Strategic Considerations
  • Some banks also need to refinance older bonds whose call options were exercised.
  • With stable markets and attractive yields, banks see this as the right time to strengthen capital buffers rather than wait for uncertain conditions later in the year.
• Tier II Bonds Are Not the Primary Funding Source
  • Experts note that Indian banks still rely mainly on deposits for growth and capital needs.
  • Most large banks have adequate internal capital generation and sufficient buffers, so future Tier II issuances will depend on how attractive market conditions remain.

About Foraminifera:

• Foraminifera, or forams for short, are single-celled organisms that live in the open ocean, along the coasts, and in estuaries.
• Most have shells for protection and either float in the water column (planktonic) or live on the sea floor (benthic).
• Of the approximately 8,000 species living today, only about 40 species are planktonic, thus the vast majority of foraminifera live on the sea floor.
• They live in a number of different habitats at the sea bottom and most ‘crawl around’ using their pseudopodia.
• They are generally less than 500 microns (½ mm) in size, though some tropical species can grow to 20 cm.
• Because they don’t have a wall around their cell membranes, they are extremely flexible and can change shape.
• What does “foraminifera” mean?
  • The shells have hundreds of tiny holes called foramen, the Latin word for window.
  • The organism pushes extensions of its cytoplasm called pseudopodia (or false feet) through these holes to gather food.
• What Do They Eat?
  • Foraminifera eat detritus on the sea floor and anything smaller than them: diatoms, bacteria, algae, and even small animals such as tiny copepods.
• How Do They Build Their Shells?
  • Forams are unusual among single-celled organisms because they build shells made of calcium carbonate (calcareous) or from tiny grains of sand stuck together (agglutinate).
  • Despite their small size and relatively simple biology, forams build complex shells, consisting at their simplest of one chamber (like a vase or tube) to many chambers that coil in elaborate ways.

About Thames River:

• It is a 346-km river that flows through southern England.
• It is the longest river in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom, right after the River Severn.
• Course:
  • Origin: Its source is at Thames Head, near Kemble in the Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire County.
  • It flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary.
  • The Nore is the sandbank that marks the mouth of the Thames Estuary and the confluence point of the Thames and the North Sea.
• The Thames’ basin covers an area of approximately 16,130 sq.km.
• The Thames is tidal a few miles upstream from London. Past London it becomes an estuary.
• Main Tributaries:
  • Lea, Leach, Churn, Coln, Windrush, Kennet, Evenlode, Ock, and Loddon.
  • The River Kennet is the largest one at 45 miles long.
• The river passes numerous popular cities along its way, such as London, Reading, Hendley-on-Thomas, Windsor, and Oxford, where it is also called the Isis River.
• It provides two-thirds of London’s drinking water.
• It has been a vital transportation route since ancient times, facilitating trade and commerce between London and other parts of England.
• There are 16 bridges that cross the River Thames in Greater London alone, most prominently the Golden Jubilee Bridges and the Millennium Bridges for pedestrians.

About Ammonium Nitrate:

• Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a crystal-like white solid which is made in large industrial quantities.
• It is a salt of ammonia and nitric acid.
• It is commonly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer, and it has also been used as an oxidizing agent in explosives.
• It has a melting point of 170°C.
• It is highly soluble in water; heating of the water solution decomposes the salt to nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
• It is one of the base ingredients used in the manufacture of commercial explosives. It is the main component of slurry explosives used for mining.
• What Makes Ammonium Nitrate So Explosive?
  • Ammonium nitrate is not an explosive by itself.
  • Other ingredients like fuel,, have to be added to make it an explosive.
  • For such explosive mixtures to explode, initiators like detonators are required.
• Legal Controls on Ammonium Nitrate in India:
  • Under rules introduced in 2012 and updated in 2021, any mixture containing over 45% ammonium nitrate is legally classified as an explosive.
  • A District Magistrate may permit possession of up to 30 metric tonnes, while larger quantities need approval from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).
  • PESO issues licences for the manufacture, storage, transport, and use of large quantities of ammonium nitrate.

About Siliguri Corridor:

• It is a narrow stretch of land in West Bengal that connects India’s mainland to its northeastern states.
• It is around 170 km long and 60 km in width, with its narrowest section being just 20-22 km.
• Overall, it is 12,200 sq.km. in area.
• This corridor shares its border with Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh and is only 130 km away from China’s Chumbi Valley.
• Its geographical fragility and criticality have earned it the nickname “Chicken’s Neck” in strategic and military circles.
• It is the only land link between our Northeast region and the rest of the country.
• Any disruption in this corridor — be it from military conflict, natural disaster, or internal unrest — would sever India’s northeastern states from the rest of the country.

About Caracal:

• It is an elusive medium-sized wild cat species.
• Scientific Name: Caracal caracal.
• It is often referred to as the desert lyn;, however, they are more closely related to the African golden cat and the Serval.
• In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian name that translates as ‘black Ear’.
• Distribution:
  • It is native to Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, northwestern India and arid areas of Pakistan.
  • Their numbers in India have dwindled to an estimated 50, primarily in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Habitat:
  • It can be found in many environments, such as semi-deserts, savannahs, shrublands, steppes, forests, and woodlands.
  • It prefers dry areas with very little rainfall.
• Features:
  • The caracal has a solid build, long legs, a short face, and tufted ears.
  • They are the largest of Africa’s small wild cats, with males reaching 31 inches in length and females 29 inches in length.
  • A vital feature of the cat is the black tufts on its ears.
  • The cat’s fur is generally a red-tan or sand, although some black caracals have also been seen.
  • Dark lines and white spots can be found near the nose and eyes.
  • The fur is short and thick, and the cat’s back legs are longer than the front.
  • They are remarkable jumpers and can jump up to 3 meters (10 feet) into the air to knock flushed birds down with their paw.
  • They can reach speeds of up to 50 mph (80 kph) when in full flight.
  • Like most species of cat, the caracal is predominantly nocturnal.
  • They live in small herds and their shy and elusive nature makes them difficult to spot in the wild.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least concern.

About Portugal:

• Location: It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, located on the Iberian Peninsula.
• Bordering Countries: It shares land border with Spain (north and east).
• Maritime border: It is bounded by the North Atlantic Ocean to the south and west.
  • It also administers two autonomous regions: the Madeira and Azores archipelagos, located in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Capital city: Lisbon
• Geographical Features of Portugal
  • Climate: Its climate is very much like that of most Mediterranean countries. This means it's hot in the summer and temperate in the winter.
  • Rivers: The Tagus River, flowing west into the Atlantic ocean, divides Portugal into mountainous northern regions and rolling plains in the south.
  • Highest Point: Ponta do Pico (Pico Alto), located in the Azores.
  • Natural Resources: It mainly consists of iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum.