Context

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that the Bar Council of India (BCI) and its chairperson, Manan Kumar Mishra, lack jurisdiction to discipline or penalise law students, rebuking the regulatory body's attempts to intimidate NALSAR students who were exercising their constitutional right to protest. The court held that only the universities in which students are enrolled can take action against them.

The Order — What the Court Held

• The Bench: A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
• The core finding, as recorded in the order: "On an in-depth consideration of the issue, we are of the opinion that the Advocates Act, 1961 does not confer, expressly or impliedly, any power on the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils to take any disciplinary or punitive action against law students."
• Chief Justice Kant's observation: "The BCI has no jurisdiction or statutory competence as regards students. That is for their universities."
• Why the court did not close the matter: The BCI had already revoked its August 13 letters — one to the NALSAR administration to launch an inquiry against the students, and one to the State Bar Councils to block their professional enrolment. The court nonetheless insisted on clarifying the limits of the BCI's powers.
• The stated purpose of the order: To safeguard university space and students' right to freely express dissent against future attempts to breach it.
• Mishra's defence and the court's answer: Mr. Mishra, who was present, said the BCI had a role in regulating legal education. The court replied that the BCI could step in only after enrolment, and that its disciplinary powers under the Advocates Act, 1961 were obviously limited to registered advocates.
• Justice Joymalya Bagchi: "Till then, BCI did not come into the picture… To say a student will not be enrolled…" — leaving the sentence unfinished.

The Trigger — The NALSAR Convocation Protest

• The students had protested against having Chief Justice Kant as chief guest at their convocation, following his oral comments in court comparing youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites".
• The petition was filed by two former NALSAR graduates, represented by senior advocate K. Parameshwar and advocate Rupali Samuel, seeking legal action against the BCI and its chairperson for threatening the 2026 batch of NALSAR students.
• The petition argued that the BCI letters had created a chilling effect on the freedom of speech and the freedom of association among students.
• Mr. Mishra said the letters to NALSAR and the State Bar Councils were withdrawn "within one hour", that there was no reason for further cause of action, and that the controversy should be given a quietus.
• The court agreed with Mr. Parameshwar that it should protect students in the future against any such violation of their rights by bodies acting without jurisdiction. Such a situation, the senior counsel said, should never arise.

The Companion Matter — Violence Against Protesting Lawyers

• In a separate case the same day, the Supreme Court allowed young lawyers to move the Delhi High Court with their petition for an independent investigation into allegations of targeted violence committed against them by an unidentified mob while they were peacefully protesting at the BCI premises on August 21.
• The Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioners Kunal Yadav and others, to approach the High Court with the plea that they were physically assaulted, dragged, abused and forcibly thrown out of the BCI premises during a peaceful sit-in demanding the resignation of chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra and comprehensive reforms in the regulatory body.
• The petition submitted: "The assault took place inside the BCI premises that are under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, in the presence of a large deployment of Delhi Police personnel, including an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police, who did not intervene."

Context

Under intense pressure from civil society groups, environmentalists and the Opposition, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday withdrew the Karnataka Parks (Preservation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which had earlier been passed by both Houses of the State Legislature without discussion.

Key Facts

• What was opposed: The Bill permitted the alienation of 5% of public spaces. The BJP had announced a protest for this weekend, and several citizens' groups had opposed the Bill.
• The Cabinet decision, per Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara: "The Cabinet has decided to withdraw the Bill and reintroduce it in the next session after holding public discussion. Necessary modifications to the Bill will be incorporated. The Bill had been passed without discussion because the Opposition did not participate in it," he told presspersons in the post-Cabinet briefing.
• How it passed in the first place: The Bill went through without discussion while the Opposition BJP was staging a protest in the House, seeking the resignation of Minister B. Nagendra, who has since resigned from his post.
• The Opposition's framing: The BJP has called the withdrawal its "second victory".
• The government's framing — Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar took to social media to describe the decision as a reflection of "the respect for the sentiments of the people of Karnataka". He said: "Taking into consideration the public opinion, concerns and sentiments, the government has decided to present its intentions more clearly before the people and reintroduce the Bill with the necessary amendments." He added that in a democracy, people are the ultimate judges.
• Related coverage in the same edition: the city's reaction framed as a "Victory for city", and a three-day session on drought in the State.

Context

In what today's lead editorial terms "a salutary gesture", the Supreme Court of India — at the request of the Union government — invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash criminal cases against the youth who had taken part in nationwide protests seeking examination reforms and government accountability.

Background & Key Facts

• Who led the protests: A group called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), formed in response to the Chief Justice of India's "unemployment" and "cockroaches" remark.
• Scale and consequence: The protests swelled in numbers and reach, forcing the then Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, to resign.
• The demand met: Among the conditions for halting the agitations was the CJP's call to withdraw the FIRs against protesters in Delhi and other States/Union Territories — which the Court has granted, while directing the Centre to ensure that no fresh FIRs are registered over the protests in July.
• What the Centre's request signifies: That the Centre asked the Court for this step shows how far the CJP's agitations resonated with the youth of the country, who agreed with the movement's core demands. It is also an acknowledgment by the BJP-led government that this is a pressing issue that revealed its failings — particularly the series of paper leaks across India over the years, compounded by an employment deficit for youth.

The Contrast the Editorial Draws

• The Centre's stand in the CJP matter is in stark contrast to how it has dealt with dissent on other issues in recent years — most prominently the farmer-led protests in and around Delhi and the agitations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, described in the editorial as communally motivated.
• Both movements were largely peaceful, but this did not prevent the government from foisting serious charges, including those related to terrorism and sedition, on peaceful protesters — many of whom remain in jail without trial or bail.
• The editorial's diagnosis: Legitimate protest has long been a means of defusing pent-up discontent with government policies in India. The Centre has instead sought to criminalise it, branding dissent and disaffection as sedition to create a chilling effect.
• Why the CJP succeeded where others did not: It overcame that ploy not only through the justness of its demands but also because the protesters' identities as youth and students transcended the limited categories of religion, caste and even class ("richer farmers") that the editorial says the BJP sought to use to sow discord and delegitimise them.
• The editorial's conclusion: Even if it is too much to expect the Centre to seek similar relief for those held in earlier cases, the Court would do well to apply to them the standard it has now set for the CJP. Until it does, the relief granted to the CJP and its sympathisers will remain an exception rather than a principle.

Context

Akshay Rout, former Director General of the Election Commission of India and a public policy commentator, argues in today's lead article that it is "the season of youth in India" — political parties, Ministries, think tanks and media are courting the young as never before — but that India's Gen Z is gaining political attention without yet consolidating into a viable electoral bloc.

The Courtship — What Is Happening Now

• Political parties across the aisle, Ministries, Departments, think tanks and media organisations are engaging with the theme of youth; education and examination systems are being reassessed, skills and coaching processes are under scrutiny, and unemployment is being scanned and nuanced.
• Parties are ramping up conversations on digital platforms where young people are assumed to reside, recasting hitherto successful models of communication to capture the attention of Generation Z — the 14-to-29-year-olds — while mimicking their candid vocabulary.
• College and school campuses are crowded by political personalities. The author's verdict: "The overstretch almost suggests a desperation to connect."

The Schemes Already in Place — and the Lag

• The last 12 years have witnessed a plethora of schemes directed at youth, covering employment, entrepreneurship, skill enhancement, education, internships, sports and volunteering.
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, while facing flak in certain respects, has managed to focus on quality learning geared towards innovation and the empowerment of young citizens.
• The proposed National Youth Policy 2026 seeks to prepare those in the 15-29 age group for the new digital age.
• The lag: beyond the good schemes there is a gap in understanding Gen Z and Gen A (those born after 2010), who have begun to demand accountability.
• A NITI Aayog report speaks of 8.7 crore people in the 15-29 age group who are 'not in education, employment or training' (NEET). Despite clarifications from the government that NEET does not necessarily mean joblessness, a staggering amount of youthful energy still awaits an anchor.
• The yawning gap between formal degrees and job prospects remains a daunting problem. In the wake of the recent street protests, the Opposition has built a narrative that the ruling dispensation is hostile to younger generations — prompting the author's question: do they have a blueprint for the country's youth, or are they only making political capital out of the current ferment?
• The author notes that while the youth furore in India bears no comparison with the cataclysmic happenings in parts of the South Asian neighbourhood, a wake-up call has been sounded to those in power and those seeking to get there.

The Numbers — Why the Youth Vote Is Still Elusive

• In the 75-year electoral history of India, votes have been garnered under labels such as community, caste, class, farmers, industrial workers and even government employees — but there has been no block identification of the youth as yet.
• There are steady references to the votes of Dalits, minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, as well as the Yadav vote in Uttar Pradesh and the so-called M-Y vote in Bihar — patterns that have held steady over decades.
• The women's vote has now been added in good measure: a house for shelter, a toilet on the premises, gas in the kitchen and electricity at home can capture the imagination of women across regions, besides cash delivered directly into their wallets. "Gratitude is then expressed through the ballot."
• Caste and community continue to abide as assured aggregators; these, along with gender identity, have considerably subsumed youth identity. Critical issues such as employment and education constitute only a loose overhang.
• Youth participation in India's elections has remained low-key compared with other demographic categories, despite improvement in recent years, largely due to the mobilisation efforts of the Election Commission of India, which has galvanised electoral literacy campaigns in schools and colleges.

The Test Case Ahead

• The upcoming Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and Goa will be the earliest test case to determine whether the noisy voice of the streets gets organised into a political preference — including the amount of youth candidature.
• A quarter of the Assembly seats in these States, especially in politically muscular Uttar Pradesh, were won by margins of around 5% and could hence be easily swung by Gen Z voters.
• But the comparison ends there: the youth of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab do not share a common predicament; neither do the Gen Z in Goa and Manipur, or the youth of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which go to the polls later in 2027.
• The author's electoral reading: the current political attention on youth can be interpreted as an attempt to cut possible losses while making a moderate investment.
• Old equations still matter: parties cannot abandon time-tested voting blocs for an undependable, heterogeneous multitude that may or may not walk out of its Instagram residency. Old social calculations and booth management may still hold good in actual polls, while the youth awakening may remain a story on the side.
• The closing image: In the Union government's vision of a developed India by 2047, the youth are regarded as the Amrit Peedhi (the generation of the nectar). But in realpolitik, the forthcoming State elections may show which side the nectar sweetens, or whether it does so at all. Swami Vivekananda spoke of the power of youth; in an electoral sense, that power may only now be crystallising in India.

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attendance at the annual meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — marking 25 years of the Eurasian grouping — had a multi-pronged agenda. Today's second editorial argues that in an altered geopolitical framing, India must broaden its engagement with regional multilateral organisations such as the SCO.

What the Summit Delivered

• The first such meeting since the war: This was the occasion for Mr. Modi to meet his counterparts for the first time since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began more than six months ago, a war that has inflicted economic costs on the whole grouping.
• The Bishkek declaration on Iran: The grouping includes Iran, as well as Pakistan, which has emerged as a mediator between Iran and the U.S. The declaration condemned the U.S. and Israel's attacks on Iran and supported Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology under the NPT — described by the editorial as significant.
• On terrorism: Mr. Modi's speech focused on the importance of dismantling the ecosystem of "terrorist financing, recruitment, radicalisation, and safe havens", calling on the SCO to eschew "double standards" on terrorism. He pressed for a strong message to countries that "use terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide safe haven and support to terrorists" — a pointed reference to India's oft-repeated concerns about Pakistan.
• The declaration's language: Its inclusion of strong language on "all forms" of terrorism, including cross-border, has been welcomed by New Delhi.
• The chairmanship transition: As Pakistan takes over the SCO chairmanship, the summit allowed Mr. Modi to set out India's agenda for the coming year. It remains to be seen how far the Pakistan presidency will take these ideas forward.

The BRICS and Central Asia Links

• Many SCO members are also in the BRICS grouping, which Mr. Modi will host in Delhi on September 12-13 — including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
• New Delhi is keen to forge consensus on a joint declaration, which has been difficult due to UAE-Iran tensions; Mr. Modi's discussions with Mr. Pezeshkian included BRICS cooperation.
• India's ties with the Central Asian Republics have flagged due to other preoccupations, making Mr. Modi's visits to Tashkent and Bishkek and meetings with regional leaders an important initiative to revive talks on trade, critical minerals, tourism and other areas.

The Changed Setting Since Tianjin

• Compared to the high-octane optics and the Modi-Putin-Xi handshake at the 2025 Tianjin SCO Summit, this year's summit was relatively sombre.
• The stressors: The U.S.'s tariffs, its war with Iran and sanctions on Russia have damaged economic security, energy security and connectivity (the Hormuz Strait blockade), posing major challenges to the grouping.
• For India specifically: after tensions with Pakistan peaked last year following the Pahalgam attacks and the four-day conflict, the past year has been sobering, given Pakistan's diplomatic forays with the U.S. and its new security pact with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

Context

Iran attacked U.S. military bases in Kuwait on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump threatening further strikes, in a renewed flare-up six months into the war. Kuwait said its forces intercepted a missile and drone strike coming from Iran, and condemned the attack as a threat to the country's security and stability and a grave breach of international law.

The Sequence of Events

• The U.S. bombardment: Mr. Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran "any time we want", after extensive U.S. bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead between Tuesday and Wednesday.
• The wedding strike: Iran's pummelling of U.S. military targets across the region came after a U.S. attack that hit a wedding in the country's south. The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from the missile attack in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four persons, including a child, and wounded more than 50.
• Iran's stated targets: Tehran said it targeted U.S. bases and forces in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq's Kurdistan region.
• Kuwait: The army said on Thursday it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran; the Iranian army said it hit "the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with missiles and drones".
• UAE: Iran's army also said it struck Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, but the Gulf country reported no such attack.
• The IRGC response: Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi vowed on Thursday to avenge the four killed: "The pure blood of these oppressed martyrs... will not go unanswered and will definitely be avenged."
• The U.S. response: CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins said "the U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC".
• Israel's reading: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced confidence that Iran's Islamic republic could soon fall, saying it was weaker than ever as the United States resumed attacks.

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in New Delhi on Thursday, where the two sides ramped up bilateral defence cooperation by signing three government-level defence agreements and announced the establishment of a fast trade mechanism. On the same day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released Raksha, a strategic framework for India's defence diplomacy over the next 10 years.

The Modi–De Wever Outcomes

• On conflicts: "Whether it is Ukraine or West Asia, we support all efforts aimed at an early end to conflicts and the restoration of peace. And eliminating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is our shared commitment," Mr. Modi said after the two discussed global and regional issues.
• Private-sector defence: Belgian sources informed that at least 10 private defence agreements will be sealed during the visit, including the production of Belgian military items such as rockets in India.
• The three agreements signed:
  • A Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation;
  • An MoU between the Belgian Security and Defence Industry and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers;
  • An MoU between the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Belgium Federal Police on cooperation in combating transnational organised crime, cybercrime and related matters.
• Flanders Fields: The two leaders paid tributes to the more than 9,000 Indian soldiers who perished in the Flanders Fields during the First World War.
• The Joint Statement announced that the two leaders called for the "safety and security of maritime routes and maintaining safe and unimpeded maritime shipping", in the context of the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine.
• On terrorism: The Belgian dignitary expressed support to India's campaign against cross-border terrorism and condemned the Pahalgam terror attack.
• On trade: In his remarks at a CII event, Mr. De Wever described the current global situation as "turbulent" and called for free trade and an end to the unilateral imposition of tariffs. "Today, India and Europe are speaking the language of trade with renewed conviction, a language of peace, of progress and of prosperity," he said.
• Institutional steps: India announced that a Defence Attaché will be appointed at the Indian Embassy in Brussels; the two sides announced a fast trade mechanism for trade and investment, agreed that bilateral trade will be doubled in the next five years, and announced a Consular Dialogue between New Delhi and Brussels.
• Belgium's Defence Minister Theo Francken: "Our security does not stop at our borders. That is why we need to work more closely with strong partners such as India — militarily, technologically and industrially."

The Pakistan Assurance

• Belgium has assured India that it will not pursue defence cooperation or provide technological assistance to Pakistan, government sources said, following bilateral talks between Rajnath Singh and Theo Francken.
• Mr. Singh specifically raised India's concerns over the possibility of Belgian defence technology or expertise being extended to Pakistan. Mr. Francken assured the Indian side that Belgium stood firmly with India and that there was "no question" of defence cooperation with Pakistan.
• The assurance assumes significance as India has been raising concerns with international partners over the transfer of defence technologies and military equipment that could strengthen Pakistan's military capabilities.
• The Ministers reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral defence and industrial cooperation and agreed to expand engagement through defence cooperation dialogue, high-level visits, training and capacity building.
• They discussed regional peace and security and acknowledged the need for greater maritime security collaboration in the Indo-Pacific; both sides reiterated that the partnership is based on shared values, mutual trust and respect.
• Earlier, Mr. Francken and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth addressed the India-Belgium Defence CEOs Roundtable and B2B Meetings, where the Belgian Defence Minister called for joint efforts to strengthen the armed forces of both countries in an evolving security environment.

'Raksha' — The Defence Diplomacy Framework

• What it is: A comprehensive strategic framework outlining India's road map and vision for defence diplomacy and global defence partnerships over the next 10 years, released by Rajnath Singh on Thursday.
• Its purpose: To strengthen India's strategic engagement with friendly nations by aligning national security objectives with proactive international cooperation, laying down an actionable vision aimed at promoting long-term stability, strengthening partnerships, and advancing India's role in an evolving global security environment.
• Pillar 1 — Partnerships: deepening bilateral and multilateral defence partnerships, expanding joint military exercises, and enhancing capacity-building initiatives with friendly countries.
• Pillar 2 — Exports: promoting indigenous defence exports under the Make-in-India initiative, positioning India as a reliable global defence manufacturing partner by expanding international cooperation around indigenously developed defence technologies.
• Pillar 3 — Maritime security: strengthening India's role as a net security provider and first responder in the Indian Ocean Region, underlining India's commitment to peace, stability and security across the region.

Context

Dr. Abhay Bang, physician and founder of the Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH), writes that in India newborns who earlier died at home without medical care are now dying in hospitals. On 24 August 2026, three newborns lost their lives in an accidental fire at the government women's hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra — not the first such episode, and, he warns, not the last unless it is viewed as a trend rather than an isolated event.

The Pattern — Clustered Newborn Deaths in Government Institutions

The author notes this is not a comprehensive national registry but only a partial list; the pattern, however, is recurring and therefore demands a systemic response.

The Four Reasons

• 1. Overcrowding: India has achieved remarkable success in institutional delivery — from 39% in 2005-06 to 90% in 2023-24 (NFHS-6). But the absolute number of women delivering in institutions has risen from 109 lakh in 2005 to 194 lakh in 2024-25 (MoHFW). Sick newborns hospitalised in public Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) rose from 11.3 lakh in 2021-22 to 14.45 lakh in 2023-24 — a 28% increase in two years (HMIS, MoHFW). Newborn-care units everywhere are becoming overloaded.
• 2. The changing case mix: Government hospitals have become the destination not only for normal deliveries but also for large numbers of high-risk births — premature, low-birth-weight and sick newborns referred from peripheral facilities.
• 3. Infrastructure failures: The Gorakhpur episode of August 2017 was attributed by a district-level inquiry to oxygen deprivation following an interruption in oxygen supply. The fires at Bhandara (January 2021), Bhopal (November 2021), Jhansi (November 2024) and Amravati demonstrate the risks posed by fire and electrical hazards. Sick newborns need warmers, incubators and ventilators, and overcrowding increases the electrical load on these units.
• 4. Infection and staffing: Overcrowding, inadequate nurse-to-baby ratios, equipment shortages and poor infection-prevention practices can turn a neonatal unit into a setting where hospital-acquired infections spread rapidly.

The Gadchiroli Model — Evidence for Home-Based Newborn Care

• More than two decades ago, the Gadchiroli field trial by SEARCH demonstrated that trained community health workers (CHWs) could provide effective home-based neonatal care (HBNC), resulting in a 62.2% reduction in neonatal mortality in the rural area (The Lancet, 1999).
• The trained CHWs identified and managed neonatal infections at home, supported breastfeeding and warmth, and managed low-birth-weight and preterm babies.
• Subsequent data published in the Journal of Perinatology in 2005 showed that between 1996 and 2003, 97% of low-birth-weight and preterm babies — including those with birth weights above 1,800 g and gestational ages of more than 34 weeks — were managed at home, with a very low case-fatality rate.
• The principles of the model have already become part of India's public health system (MoHFW, 2011): around 8,00,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have been trained to provide HBNC using training modules developed from the Gadchiroli experience. India does not have to invent a new system.
• The limit is stated clearly: a baby with severe prematurity, respiratory distress, shock, severe sepsis, serious birth asphyxia or another danger sign needs immediate facility-based treatment. HBNC is not a substitute for neonatal intensive care. But not every newborn who needs care requires a hospital bed.

The Optimum Strategy — Three Parts

• First, decongest neonatal units: strengthen HBNC by ASHAs so that appropriate, stable newborns can safely receive care at home rather than occupying scarce SNCU beds.
• Second, strengthen neonatal care units: ensure adequate numbers of doctors and nurses, appropriate nurse-to-baby ratios, functioning equipment, reliable oxygen and electricity supplies with backup systems, along with rigorous infection-prevention measures.
• Third, make neonatal units intrinsically safe: fire detection and suppression systems, electrical and oxygen-system safety measures, emergency evacuation drills and independent safety audits should become mandatory.
• The conclusion: The success of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is unquestionable, but getting mothers into hospitals is only the first step. The future of newborn care should not be hospital versus home; it should be hospital plus home — ensuring that each newborn receives the right care, at the right place, at the right time.

Context

More than 40 crore Indians — over a quarter of the population — are caught in a healthcare gap: too well off to rely on government subsidies, but not financially secure enough to absorb the rising cost of private care. The finding comes from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare report, 'Affordability and Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities in Public and Private Sector', presented to Parliament last month, which makes 368 recommendations on affordability, accessibility and regulation.

Where Care Is Sought — and What It Costs

• The private sector delivers more than 60% of inpatient care and 70% of outpatient care, leaving households without comprehensive financial protection exposed to private prices.
• Medicines account for nearly 30% of current health expenditure. For people with diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease, medicines, consultations and diagnostic tests become a lifelong expense — significant given India's steady increase in non-communicable disease burden.
• Government health expenditure is 1.43% of GDP, against the 2.5% target under the National Health Policy, 2017.
• Health spending as a share of total government expenditure fell from 6.12% in 2021-22 to 4.89% in 2022-23, below the 5.02% recorded in 2019-20.
• Average out-of-pocket spending on childbirth is ₹37,630 in private facilities against ₹2,299 in public facilities — more than 16 times higher.
• The structural fault line: the poorest have government protection; the affluent can buy private care; the vast group in between is increasingly exposed to high costs without adequate financial protection. For the 'missing middle', the threat may not be a single catastrophic bill but the slow erosion of household income through medicines, consultations, tests and repeated treatment.
• Ayushman Bharat–PM-JAY provides hospitalisation protection to vulnerable households, but the missing middle often falls outside fully subsidised coverage; private insurance can leave households facing premiums, exclusions, waiting periods and co-payments.
• The committee's prescription: insurance alone cannot close the gap. It has called for stronger public healthcare infrastructure, nationwide implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act, mandatory quality standards and greater price transparency in private facilities. It has also flagged retail pharmacy practices — excessive trade margins and the non-prescription sale of antibiotics — recommending stronger audits and enforcement.

The Access Dimension — Rehabilitation as the Missing Half of Recovery

Ahead of World Physiotherapy Day on September 8, a companion article by Dr. Shakeeb Ahmed Khan and Dr. Christianez Ratna Kiruba argues that acute care saves lives while rehabilitation determines what kind of life is saved.

• The illustrative case: When Sidhartha Bandha's 63-year-old father suffered a stroke, the hospital saved his life — but the physiotherapy service available was far away. For a family dependent on daily earnings, repeated travel meant transport costs, lost working days and the difficulty of moving a person who could barely move independently. The family gave up on regular rehabilitation, and the father developed contractures — muscles and joints becoming stiff and shortened from prolonged immobility.
• The workforce number: World Physiotherapy's profile of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists estimates 52,000 practising physiotherapists in India — only 0.36 per 10,000 people, whereas several countries in Europe have over 10 per 10,000.
• The two-fold problem: there are not enough physiotherapists, and those available are not able to reach the people who need them.
• Why the need is growing: with India's rising burden of non-communicable diseases, including heart disease and stroke, physiotherapy is the bridge between being medically stable and becoming an active, functioning member of the family and community.
• The proposed measures: community-based learning that places students in rural and underserved communities; training families to safely continue simple rehabilitation at home while the physiotherapist checks progress; and tele-rehabilitation for follow-up, exercise demonstration and contact with patients who find travel difficult — though it cannot replace hands-on treatment where physical examination is needed.
• The structural ask: if opportunities remain concentrated in large cities and private clinics, many who need rehabilitation will continue to be left behind; students need meaningful opportunities in villages, smaller towns, primary healthcare centres and underserved communities — not as an afterthought.

Context

The Union government had considered using the Central list and the States' lists of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) while deciding that the 2027 Census will use an open-column method to enumerate castes. Following deliberations, officials told The Hindu, it emerged that this would present a problem "because the list of OBCs is not a list of castes, it is a list of classes".

Why the Lists Were Rejected

• Entries that are not castes: Officials said several entries in OBC lists do not represent a caste but describe "different groups of people, like those engaged in begging".
• Examples given: The lists had entries such as "local borns" in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, entries describing occupational groups, or those denoting a specific class of labourers, or settlers, which would not qualify as castes.
• The scale of the anomaly: While both the Central and State lists of OBCs have such entries, they comprise a minority among the nearly 3,000 communities classified as OBC.
• The federal complication: Several communities in the OBC lists might be classified as either SC or ST depending on the State.
• The State-survey question: A similar problem arose when considering the use of States' lists. One official said these issues surfaced while the government was assessing whether the methodology used in State-conducted caste surveys, such as in Bihar and Telangana, could be replicated.
• What stays unchanged: The government is enumerating Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities with the corresponding Presidential lists, as it has always done.

The Objections and the SECC Precedent

• The open column for "all other castes" has prompted OBC groups and Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to demand that the communities be listed and enumerated specifically. They have questioned the utility of the open-column method.
• Opposition leaders and several scholars have argued that the open-column method could yield results similar to those of the Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011, which threw up over 46 lakh caste names. The Narendra Modi government had cited this as a reason not to release the caste data from that exercise.
• Officials involved in the caste enumeration methodology said the options discussed had respective "pros and cons", adding that the open-column method was finalised only after considering the other options at the "highest levels".
• The classification issue in short: while discussing the use of Central or State OBC lists to enumerate caste communities, the main issue was whether all communities listed could be counted as castes.
• The political stake: One of the Opposition's main arguments for the caste census was the need to enumerate the OBC population.

Context

The ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is an example of the "might is right" philosophy being practised by statutory bodies and institutions, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said on Thursday, delivering the Professor Jagdeep Singh Chhokar Memorial Lecture organised by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

What He Said

• On institutional conduct: One of the most disturbing trends today is that statutory institutions, constitutional bodies, and governments have suddenly started behaving as if "might is right" — a concept he described as outdated.
• On the judiciary's role: "Institutions that have the mandate of law invested in them... think whatever they do is right. You have the example of the special intensive revision, where an unfair procedure has been imposed on millions of people in the country, and you have the judiciary which has validated that."
• On legality versus fairness: While authorities argue everything being done is legal, "it is definitely not fair" — "That is what justice is all about." "It is not just about enforcing the letter of the law; it is also about protecting its spirit."
• The number he pressed: "How do you explain the deletion of 13 crore names [from electoral rolls]?"
• On disenchanting voters: He questioned whether efforts were being made to create a situation where people become disenchanted with the democratic process: "As it is, 33% of people do not even vote, and now we have created such mass anxiety."
• On 'power dynamics': Comparing post-independence India to the present, he noted that both the nature of politics and the profile of politicians have undergone a tremendous change, and said it is valid to ask whether elected representatives are actually addressing the issues that need fixing.
• On political priorities: Critical issues affecting public life have not been taken seriously by any political party. "How many parties opposed electoral bonds?" he asked, adding that political activity today feels largely driven by power dynamics rather than addressing the general concerns of the public.

The Companion Story — Anganwadi Workers as Booth Level Officers

• The Karnataka High Court sought a response from the Election Commission on a PIL petition which has questioned the practice of routinely appointing anganwadi workers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
• The two stories together frame the SIR debate at both ends: the procedure imposed on voters, and the frontline workforce on whom the procedure is imposed.

Context

Economists Jatinder S. Bedi and R. Nagaraj write that under the new series of the National Accounts Statistics (NAS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector's gross value added (GVA) is ₹38.6 lakh crore for 2023-24 at current prices, constituting 14.7% of GDP. An Alternative Estimate built from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) gives a substantially lower figure — prompting a closer look at the official estimate.

How Manufacturing Output Is Measured

• Two parts of the sector: one comprises all registered factories employing 10+/20+ workers with/without power, including registered companies (the organised/formal sector); the other comprises unincorporated/informal/household units — small factories and workshops falling outside the corporate/factory sector.
• The ASI reports the production accounts of the factory sector; ASUSE covers the informal sector. Their combined output almost completely represents total manufacturing output.
• The data source for the official estimate: For the unincorporated sector, the NAS uses ASUSE — the same source as the Alternative Estimate, so it cannot account for the gap; besides, the unincorporated sector's share in total manufacturing GVA is only 13.9%.
• Hence the gap must lie in organised manufacturing: the NAS uses company balance-sheet data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' MCA-21 database, compiled from annual statutory filings. This practice began with the 2011-12 base-year revision, partially replacing the ASI, and has continued in the latest revision with minor modifications.

The Arithmetic of the Gap

• A standard way to validate GVA is to use employment data to estimate potential output by applying appropriate "technical ratios" drawn from the ASI and ASUSE datasets. The definitions of employment in the three surveys are not the same and their collection methods differ — but for a validation exercise, PLFS estimates provide a useful reference point, and official agencies use similar methods.
• A majority of the residual companies are likely to be non-factory private companies; the left-over residual workers are likely to belong to the unincorporated sector not covered in the ASUSE survey because of their small size.
• The NSO's defence: being an establishment-based survey, the ASI reportedly fails to capture value addition taking place within an enterprise but outside the factory premises — head office, marketing and distribution, or R&D activities.
• The authors' response: "Probably not." Available evidence does not seem to support the official view (Dholakia, Nagaraj and Pandya, Economic and Political Weekly, 2018). Alternatively, if the ASI-based estimate did not underestimate production, the gap may arise from the NSO methodology of scaling up sample estimates of active companies for a universe of companies whose size and composition are hazy and unverified.
• The statistical issue: whether the official estimate represents a "fuller description of ground reality" through the use of corporate data, or amounts to an overestimation of output, remains a matter of contention. It can only be resolved if the MCA data and the NSO's methodologies are made public for independent verification.

The Parallel Political Contest Over GDP

• The Congress's four questions: Leader Jairam Ramesh asked why GDP estimates for all four years since 2022-23 had been revised substantially downwards, seeking an explanation for a cumulative downward revision of ₹43 lakh crore in the estimated size of the Indian economy; what components of the new methodology drove the changes; who was consulted in framing it; and why the deflator used for calculating real GDP appears to understate the impact of inflation.
• The trigger: the government's highlighting of 7.8% real GDP growth in the April-June 2026 quarter.
• The revision he points to: repeated revisions to the GDP estimate for April-June 2025, bringing the figure down from about ₹86 lakh crore to ₹80 lakh crore.
• Garg's analysis: citing calculations by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Mr. Ramesh said nominal growth in the latest quarter would have been closer to 2.6%, instead of the reported 10.3%, had the earlier base not been revised downwards. He cited concerns raised by former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and the IMF over India's national accounts.
• K.C. Venugopal said Mr. Modi was "a creator of a manipulated world" — "Let him live in that world but the reality is quite different."
• In Parliament: at least one member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, raised the controversy surrounding the latest GDP estimates, questioning the reliability of official growth figures against Mr. Garg's claim that the economy expanded by only 2.6% in the June quarter rather than the officially reported 7.8%. "The issue was not on the agenda today, so it was not discussed further," a member said.
• The same committee, meeting on "Direct Tax Reforms: Simplification, Rationalisation and Ease of Compliance" with the Department of Revenue and the CBDT, criticised the Income Tax regime — cutting across party lines — for relying excessively on "punitive action" and granting tax officials significant scope for overreach; it flagged compliance-related glitches in the implementation of the Income Tax Act, 2026 and sought data on tax revenue collections, the number of assessees and pending litigation. Members also flagged the growing contribution of individual income taxpayers relative to corporate tax collections.

Twelve further questions from the smaller reports, national, international and business news in today's edition.