Ex Post Facto Environmental Clearance — SC Judgment
SC quashed 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) — struck down with prospective effect only
• 2021 OM had allowed ex post facto (retrospective) environmental clearances for projects built without prior EC.
2006 EC Notification (Environment Ministry) = mandatory prior-clearance regime; covers highways, airports, real estate/townships, mining
• 2021 OM = mere administrative instruction, cannot override/alter a statutory notification (delegated legislation)
• Court rejected “pollute and pay” principle — inconsistent with sustainable development
Other Key Points
• Centre barred from future administrative orders granting ex post facto EC
• Exception carved out: SC itself can still grant retrospective clearance under Article 142 (plenary powers).
Brics Summit 2026
BRICS Summit 2026 to be hosted by India in Delhi, September 12–13
• Both Xi Jinping (China) and Putin (Russia) expected to attend
Read About Track 2 Diplomacy from Here
BRICS — Origin & First Summit
• Term coined: 2001, by Jim O’Neill (Goldman Sachs economist), originally “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, China) — grouped as fast-emerging economies
• Formalised: 2006, as a diplomatic grouping
• First official summit: 2009, Yekaterinburg, Russia — founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China
• South Africa joined: 2010/11 → acronym became BRICS
Current Membership (as of 2026 — 11 full members)
Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (founding five) +
Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
Department of Military Medicine
• Inaugurated (virtually) by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
• Location: Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow
• Significance: India’s first dedicated academic + operational department focused exclusively on military medicine
• Objective: Strengthen operational medical preparedness of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS)
IACS & Bengal Renaissance
Late 18th–19th century intellectual/cultural awakening, centred in Bengal
• Spanned philosophy, spirituality, literature, arts, education, social reform, natural sciences
• Laid institutional/intellectual foundations of modern India
Mahendralal Sircar (1833–1904)
• Key figure; envisioned scientific self-reliance for Indians under colonial rule
• 1869: Proposed IACS in an article in Calcutta Journal of Medicine
• 1872: Criticised colonial government (Bethune Society address) for lack of institutional support to science
• Founded Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) — 29 July 1876
• Significance: India’s first national institution for scientific research by Indians
• 2026 = IACS’s 150th anniversary
IACS & C.V. Raman
• Raman joined Accountant General’s Office, Calcutta (1907); discovered IACS, given lab access by Amrit Lal Sircar (Mahendralal’s son)
• Worked at IACS labs (before/after office hours) for ~10 years while employed
• 1917: Resigned govt job → joined as Palit Professor of Physics, Calcutta University; continued IACS research
• 28 February 1928: Announced the Raman Effect (discovered at IACS)
• 1930: Won Nobel Prize in Physics — first Asian science Nobel laureate
• 28 February is now celebrated as National Science Day
Prelims-relevant facts
• IACS founding year: 1876
• Raman Effect discovery: 1928; Nobel: 1930
• National Science Day: 28 February
Premature Menopause in India
UPSC-Relevant Content Extraction
Key Facts/Data Points (Prelims)
• Premature menopause = periods stop before age 40 (global average affected: 2–4%)
• Bihar: women aged 30–34 experience it at over 4x the national average; 12%+ of women aged 35–39 already menopausal
• Data source: NFHS-5 (National Family Health Survey)
• High hysterectomy-linked premature menopause also seen in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
• Least-educated women reach menopause early at ~7x the rate of most-educated women nationally
• Anomaly: In most of India, wealth is protective against early menopause; in Bihar, wealth offers no protection — cuts across income groups
Core Issue (Conceptual)
• Surgical menopause (hysterectomy, often with ovary removal) → immediate onset of menopause, loss of oestrogen protection decades early
• Linked to over-treatment/unnecessary surgery in private hospitals, incentivized by state health insurance schemes (moral hazard — insurance covers surgery but not less invasive alternative treatment)
• Distinct problem in Bihar: even after removing surgical
cases, premature menopause remains high — suggests a systemic/healthcare-delivery-based cause, not just biological or economic
GS-II Linkages (Governance, Health, Vulnerable Sections)
• Health as a state subject — variation in state-level insurance scheme implementation (e.g., Ayushman Bharat, state schemes)
• Issues with insurance-driven healthcare: perverse incentives leading to over-medicalization/unnecessary surgery
• Women’s health and rights — informed consent failure (patient “was not told this was the trade-off”)
• Governance failure: absence of regulatory oversight of private hospitals under insurance schemes
Editorial – Lead
FCRA Bill 2026, a threat to civil society organisations
Background
• FCRA = Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act
• First enacted 1976 (Indira Gandhi govt, Emergency era) — fear of foreign destabilisation via NGOs
• Replaced by FCRA 2010 — focused on keeping foreign money out of politics/legislature
• 2010 Act bars foreign funds to: candidates, media, judges, govt servants, legislators, political parties, political organisations
• Registration certificate mandatory to receive foreign contributions
Current Bill (2026)
• Listed in Monsoon Session; earlier postponed after protests (Christian orgs, NGOs)
• Govt reaffirms commitment to pass it
Key Provisions (Contentious)
1. Sec 16A(2): If certificate cancelled → foreign contribution + all assets (even if only partly funded by foreign money) vest in designated authority
2. Vesting starts provisional → becomes permanent if fresh/renewed certificate not obtained in time
3. Authority can transfer assets to govt bodies or sell/auction them; proceeds go to Consolidated Fund of India
4. Sec 14(1)(c): Certificate cancellable if govt deems it “necessary in public interest” — vague, wide discretion
5. Cancellation also possible on mere prosecution (not conviction) for forced religious conversion — misuse potential
6. Surrender clause (16A(1)(b)): Even voluntary surrender of certificate → all assets vest in authority
7. Exemption clause (16L): Govt can exempt any person/org “in public interest” — no defined criteria
Key Concerns Raised
• Vague “public interest” standard → arbitrary power
• Retrospective-like asset seizure even for partly foreign-funded assets
• Punishes voluntary exit (surrender) same as cancellation
• Article 14 challenge: Exemption clause lacks intelligible differentia/rational nexus (classic Art. 14 test)
• Seen as disproportionately impacting minority religious and civil society organisations
NEER vs REER
NEER (Nominal Effective Exchange Rate)
• Simply: the average value of the Rupee compared to a basket of currencies (say, USD, Euro, Yen, Yuan etc.), weighted by how much India trades with each country
REER (Real Effective Exchange Rate)
• Same as NEER, but adjusted for inflation differences between India and its trading partners
• Why this matters: If Indian inflation is higher than in the U.S., Indian goods become more expensive even if the Rupee-Dollar rate stays the same — this eats into competitiveness
REER captures this real purchasing power effect
• NEER tells you: “Did the Rupee get stronger or weaker against their currency?”
• REER tells you: “After accounting for whose prices rose faster, are Indian goods actually cheaper or costlier for foreigners to buy?”
Why UPSC cares
• REER > 100 → Rupee is overvalued in real terms → Indian exports become less competitive (costlier for foreigners)
• REER < 100 → Rupee is undervalued → exports become more competitive (cheaper for foreigners)
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