Context

In Maniyar Iliyaz @ Shaik Riyaz vs P. Ayyappan (2026), delivered in June 2026, the Supreme Court gave constitutional language to the everyday indignity of pedestrians being pushed off footpaths, holding that walking on demarcated footpaths is a fundamental right.

Background & Key Facts

• Constitutional basis: The right to safe footpaths is protected under Article 19(1)(d) (freedom of movement) and Article 21 (right to life).
• Judicial directive: The Court directed States and Union Territories to frame policies and guidelines for the provision and maintenance of footpaths and footways.
• Public health angle: WHO's India Physical Activity Profile 2024 estimates 49.4% of Indian adults do not meet recommended physical activity levels; the figure rises to 57.2% among women and 74% among children and adolescents aged 11–17.
• WHO recommendation: At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week for adults.
• Road safety data: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Transport Research Wing) 'Road Accidents in India 2024' found two-wheeler riders and pedestrians together accounted for nearly 67% of road fatalities, with 1.28 lakh deaths among these groups. NCRB 2024 data places the number above 1.1 lakh and the share at at least 60%.
• Framing: The judgment is described as simultaneously a public health intervention, a road safety measure, and a democratic test of whether cities are built for people or machines.

Context

Several protesters were injured in New Delhi when police cracked down on a march to Parliament called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET(UG) paper leak and CBSE exam irregularities, on the opening day of the Monsoon Session.

Background & Key Facts

• Injuries: At least 38 injured were taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College and around 65 to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital with fractures, swellings and head/eye injuries. Delhi Police said over 118 personnel were injured and 60 protesters hurt.
• Internet shutdown: Mobile Internet was cut at around 150 sites across Central Delhi — the first widespread communications blackout in Delhi since the 2021 farmers' agitation. The order was first issued till noon and extended till 6 p.m.
• Right to protest: Activist Sonam Wangchuk (on a hunger strike for 23 days) continued his fast; his wife Gitanjali J. Angmo moved the Delhi HC seeking his transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to a hospital of choice. The Court sought clarity and posted the matter.
• Executive response: Union Minister J.P. Nadda met CJP representatives (Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka); a written petition was submitted around 4 p.m.
• Voter profile: Many protesters had earlier voted for the ruling party — indicating discontent extends beyond paper leaks to unemployment, inflation and stagnant wages.

Context

India's core industrial sectors grew 5% in June 2026 — the fastest in five months — as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry released a new and updated series of the Index of Core Industries (ICI).

Background & Key Facts

• New base year: The updated ICI moves the base year to 2022-23 from the earlier 2011-12.
• Iron ore added: Iron ore is added as a new sector, taking the total number of core sectors from eight to nine. Sectoral weights and estimation methods have also been revised.
• Sectoral growth (June 2026): Iron ore grew 43.9% (against 19% in May — partly a statistical base effect, as it had contracted 16.4% in June 2025). Electricity 9.8%, cement 9.8%, steel 4.6%, coal 1.4%.
• Hydrocarbon slump: Crude oil (-4.2%), natural gas (-7.4%), refinery products (-4.7%) and fertilisers (-3.3%) contracted, attributed to higher imports as global crude prices cooled.
• Earlier peak: Under the new series, the ICI last grew faster (5.2%) in January 2026.

The Nine Core Sectors (New Series)

Context

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation was hovering close to 10% in June 2026, climbing sharply since March after remaining negative or near-zero until December 2025. The 'Economic Notes' explains the drivers using a structuralist lens.

Background & Key Facts

• WPI composition: Weighted average of three sub-categories — primary articles (food, minerals), fuel & power, and manufactured products.
• Main drivers: Fuel & power and manufactured products drove the recent jump. Fuel/power reflect imported oil prices.
• Kalecki's insight: Michal Kalecki argued that primary commodity prices are demand-determined, while industrial (manufactured) prices are cost-determined.
• Two supply curves: For primary goods, supply is near-vertical (fixed), so a supply fall raises prices (demand-pull). For manufactured goods, supply is flat — firms run below capacity, so demand shifts change output, not price; prices move with cost (cost-push).
• Cost channel: Oil is a key material input; fuel/power and manufactured inflation move almost one-to-one. Indian workers are largely price-takers, so wages are not the main cost push.
• Food channel: Inadequate monsoon (El Niño) raised food inflation; historically a drought is a sufficient, though not necessary, condition for food-price spikes.

Context

On 21 May 2026, India recorded its highest peak demand of 270.8 GW during the day — up ~90 GW from 2019 — underscoring the need for longer-term storage to keep the grid reliable during prolonged low solar/wind generation.

Background & Key Facts

• What is LDES: Technologies storing energy and discharging power/thermal energy over 8 hours to days, weeks or seasons — beyond short-duration storage (under 8 hours).
• 2026 roadmap gap: The Long-Term National Resource Adequacy Plan envisages 80 GW of battery storage and 94 GW of pumped hydro (PHES) by FY2035-36 — average discharge of only ~4 and ~6 hours respectively.
• Technologies: PHES (efficiency 70–80%, most mature); CAES (compressed air, 40–70%); thermal storage (~200 hours discharge, 55–90%); vanadium flow batteries (80–85%, 10–24 hours); hydrogen (up to 1,000 hours but inefficient); iron-air batteries (emerging).
• Cost benchmarks (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory): PHES $0.12/kWh and CAES $0.10/kWh — most cost-effective but site-dependent (two reservoirs / large caverns).
• India's PHES potential: ~267 GW (Central Electricity Authority, 2026); plans for 100.8 GW aggregate by 2035-36, of which 11.6 GW under construction.
• Recent projects: 160-MWh CO₂ battery storage at NTPC Kudgi (Karnataka), and India's first MWh-scale vanadium redox flow battery — a 3-MWh facility at NTPC Greater Noida.
• Global comparison: California (CPUC) has a 2 GW LDES procurement target (2031–2037); the U.K. has a financial framework guaranteeing minimum revenue for LDES projects.

Context

The Supreme Court (Justices Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh) observed that insurers drafting ambiguous, sloppy policies to escape liability cause ordinary policyholders to suffer and create hurdles in the timely disposal of motor accident compensation claims.

Background & Key Facts

• The case: An appeal by Oriental Insurance against a Feb 4, 2025 Chhattisgarh HC order directing it to pay ₹32.67 lakh compensation. The accident involved a vehicle on a religious tour to Nepal that collided with a hill, killing three including driver Riaz Khan.
• Cross-border coverage: The Court held that if an insurer intends to exclude coverage for accidents outside India, it must "expressly mention" so; the offending vehicle had lawfully travelled to Nepal after border-post clearance.
• Interpretation rule: Where insurance terms allow more than one interpretation, courts should adopt the reading that best advances the beneficial object of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
• Regulatory vacuum: The Court flagged the absence of clear statute/precedent on whether domestic insurance extends to countries a vehicle is permitted to operate in under Inter-Country Transport Vehicles Rules, 2021.
• Direction: Advised IRDAI to consider a master circular standardising cross-border coverage clauses across motor insurance policies; ordered the claim deposited within four weeks.
• MACT criticism: The Bench criticised Motor Accident Claims Tribunal orders devoid of "adequate and clear reasoning".

Context

The Supreme Court (Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant) proposed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of senior police officers to probe alleged embezzlement of Ram Temple donations, while cautioning petitioners against politicising a "simple case of commission of offence".

Background & Key Facts

• Demand: Petitioners sought a CBI probe and publication of complete financial details, including foreign contributions, of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
• Status: Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta (for UP) informed the Court that eight people had been arrested; a confidential status report was filed in a sealed cover. State Police is investigating under SIT oversight; the Court suggested re-constituting the SIT to directly investigate.
• Transparency plea: RJD MP Sudhakar Singh (through advocate Devadatt Kamat) sought an inventory of donations (silver, gold) to be published; the CJI cautioned that publishing an inventory could invite false claims of diamond donations, while agreeing valuables must be accounted for.
• Next date: Detailed hearing and orders listed for July 27.

Context

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to replace an ordinance raising the sanctioned strength of SC judges from 34 to 38, amid mounting case backlog.

Background & Key Facts

• Numbers: Raises sanctioned strength from 33 to 37 excluding the Chief Justice of India — i.e., 34 to 38 including the CJI.
• Ordinance route: The Cabinet approved the proposal in May; the ordinance was promulgated and four judges appointed against the enhanced strength.
• Pendency: The Statement of Objects and Reasons cites 92,101 pending cases as of January 1; in 2025 the court registered 75,410 new cases while disposing of 65,615.
• Since 2019: The court has functioned at nearly its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
• Cost: Four additional judge posts plus staff entail ~₹10.56 crore annual recurring expenditure, and ~₹3.47 crore one-time expenditure (vehicles, residences), a total initial cost of ~₹14.04 crore.
• Rationale: Larger strength enables the CJI to constitute Constitution Benches more regularly for substantial questions of law.

Context

India announced it has joined the WTO's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which prohibits government support to illegal fishing and over-exploitation of stocks.

Background & Key Facts

• Scope: The agreement focuses on subsidies related to marine wild-capture fishing and fishing-related activities at sea.
• Adoption: Adopted by consensus at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva in 2022.
• Significance: It is the first multilateral WTO agreement with an environmental sustainability objective.

Context

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) granted market authorisation to Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India's QDENGA (TAK-003), making it the first dengue vaccine approved in the country, for prevention of dengue in individuals aged 4 to 60.

Background & Key Facts

• Vaccine type: QDENGA is a live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine designed to protect against all four dengue serotypes; administered as a two-dose regimen three months apart.
• No pre-screening: Can be given irrespective of previous dengue infection and does not require pre-vaccination screening.
• Burden: Reported dengue cases in India have risen nearly 11-fold over two decades; India accounts for nearly one-third of the global dengue burden (actual infections likely much higher than reported).
• Efficacy: ~80.2% against virologically confirmed dengue at 12 months after the second dose, and ~90.4% against dengue-related hospitalisation at 18 months.
• Trials: Approval based on Takeda's global programme of 19 Phase I, II and III trials with over 28,000 participants; the pivotal Phase III enrolled more than 20,000 across eight endemic countries. An India-specific Phase III (ages 4–60) also supported approval.
• Global reach: QDENGA is approved in 43 countries across Asia, Latin America and Europe, with over 32 million doses distributed.

Context

With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) under way in Karnataka, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) say they were instructed to "double verify" voters aged 85 and above and place them under the "probable absent, shifted, dead/deleted or duplicate (ASDD)" category.

Background & Key Facts

• The allegation: Multiple BLOs told The Hindu they were directed to flag voters above 85 for ASDD verification "even before any discrepancy has been established", with the BLO app linking all voters above 85 to a "Probable ASD" category.
• Official denial: Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar denied any such instructions were issued, and stated no one whose enumeration form is submitted should be placed under ASDD.
• Consequence: Being flagged under ASDD means the voter's entry is subject to additional scrutiny; families were reportedly asked to "keep documents ready" as notices could follow the draft roll's publication.

Context

The Supreme Court (Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant) agreed to clarify that the CBSE's implementation of the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) across India must be voluntary, as directed by an Orissa High Court judgment.

Background & Key Facts

• APAAR: A unique lifelong academic ID for students, part of the "One Nation, One Student ID" initiative under the National Credit Framework / NEP 2020 ecosystem.
• HC direction: The Orissa HC judgment of December 12, 2025 (in Rohit Anand Das vs State of Odisha) directed that the APAAR consent form must "include an opt-out/refusal of consent option".
• SC order: The Court said it would pass an order requiring CBSE to comply on a pan-India basis. Petitioner-parents were represented by senior advocate Indira Jaising and Paras Nath Singh.

Context

An escalating political duel between Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and JD(S) leader & Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) — the Bidadi township project — has triggered a farmers' stir and a political contest in the Old Mysore region.

Background & Key Facts

• The project: GBIT envisages acquiring about 9,600 acres across 25 villages in the Bengaluru South district on the city's outskirts.
• Origins & sparring: Shivakumar notes the township was conceived by Kumaraswamy as CM in 2006; the JD(S) charges the Congress government with acquiring fertile agricultural land.
• Vokkaliga politics: Both leaders belong to the influential land-owning Vokkaliga community and position themselves as defenders of farmers and the region's agrarian identity ahead of local body elections and the 2028 Assembly polls.
• Government response: CM Shivakumar announced a committee to re-examine the project, calling it "not my dream project" while defending orderly urban expansion.
• Old rivalry: Shivakumar lost to H.D. Deve Gowda in the erstwhile Sathanur Assembly seat in 1985, then defeated Kumaraswamy there in 1999. A BJP-JD(S) padayatra against GBIT is planned before the monsoon session.

Context

The Centre informed Parliament that no decision has been taken to increase ethanol blending with petrol beyond the present 20%, nor to blend ethanol with diesel for commercial usage.

Background & Key Facts

• Statement: Suresh Gopi, MoS in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told the Rajya Sabha that any future decision would rest on comprehensive scientific evaluation, vehicle compatibility studies, stakeholder consultations and adequate domestic production capacity.
• Excise relief: In June 2026, the government exempted petrol blended with higher ethanol content (22–30%) from central excise duties to boost biofuel blending.
• Standards: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had notified the technical standards to be adhered to for commercial roll-out.

Context

Maglev ('magnetic levitation') technology uses strong magnetic fields to lift a train and move it forward without wheels, eliminating rolling friction and enabling speeds over 400 km/hr — but requiring expensive, precision-engineered dedicated guideways.

Background & Key Facts

• Two suspension types: Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS) uses attractive force with train "arms" wrapping the guideway, floating ~10 mm above track; Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS) uses superconducting magnets and repulsive force from induced currents, needing ~100 km/hr before levitation and hovering ~100 mm.
• Propulsion: Guideway walls carry alternating current creating a shifting magnetic field; train magnets are pulled by the "opposite" pole ahead and pushed by the "like" pole behind. Speed is increased by raising the AC frequency; braking reverses field direction and can use regenerative braking to return energy to the grid.
• Speed record: EMS systems operate around or under 500 km/hr; Japan's SCMAGLEV EDS achieved 603 km/hr in testing in 2015.
• Cost: The Shanghai Maglev (completed 2004) cost ~₹580–720 crore per kilometre (inflation-adjusted), excluding terrain preparation and maintenance — demanding high, consistent passenger demand.
• Physics link: The same diamagnetism principle let physicists Andre Geim and Michael Berry levitate a frog (1997) using a 10-tesla magnet, winning an Ig Nobel (2000); Geim is the only person to have won both an Ig Nobel and a Nobel Prize.

Context

Writing in the paper, Canada's High Commissioner to India Chris Cooter argues that shared interests are driving Canada and India toward a stronger strategic defence partnership amid a changing world order.

Background & Key Facts

• Canada's defence push: Announced at CANSEC 2026 (May 27, 2026); Canada is on track to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035, and surpassed 2% in March.
• Bilateral steps: Defence Advisers accredited in Ottawa and Delhi; PM Carney and PM Modi agreed to establish a Defence Dialogue. Navies participated in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) and Talisman Sabre exercises; an Indian National Defence College delegation visited Canada.
• Industrial base: Canada set up a national Defence Investment Agency and a defence Industrial Strategy to diversify supply chains; a half-billion-dollar investment in next-generation aerospace including a drone innovation hub.
• Space & tech: Canada's RADARSAT constellation can aid India's naval capacity; both are among few nations with advanced space capabilities.
• Critical minerals: Canada has 31 critical minerals (cobalt to helium), the 10th-largest rare-earth reserves, 3rd-largest recoverable uranium, 5% of world tungsten, and is the 2nd-largest uranium producer/exporter (24% of 2024 global output). A Canada–India MoU on Critical Minerals Value Chain was signed during Carney's Feb–Mar 2026 visit.

Context

An opinion piece argues that Indian politics has perfected a category of leaders who abandon both party and principle for power, and that the deeper casualty of defections is the sanctity of the democratic mandate.

Background & Key Facts

• Trigger examples: The break-up of the Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena-UBT (Uddhav Thackeray) are cited as recent instances of realignment.
• Core argument: In a parliamentary democracy, citizens vote for an idea, a manifesto and an alternative — so a defector unilaterally rewrites the contract with voters; the mandate belongs to the electorate, not the elected individual.
• Perverse incentives: Politicians facing investigations often discover ideological compatibility with the ruling party, and investigative intensity is publicly perceived to diminish after realignments — eroding trust in institutions.
• Comparative lessons: Italy's post-war Transformismo, Brazil's coalition presidentialism and the Philippines' turncoatism are cited — when public office becomes a tradable asset, institutional decay sets in.