04 December 2025

• DoT withdrew its directive requiring smartphone makers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi from 2025 after strong public and industry pushback.
• The rollback followed a 10× surge in voluntary app downloads (6 lakh in one day).
• The mandate was one of three orders issued under amended Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, expanding DoT oversight to TIUEs (entities using telecom identifiers).
• Other directives included restricting messaging apps when the registered SIM isn’t in the device and forcing frequent logout of web-linked accounts.

KEY POINTS

• Original order leaked, not publicly released, triggering controversy over privacy and state overreach.
• DoT highlighted app benefits:
  • 1.5 crore fake mobile connections disconnected,
  • 26 lakh lost phones traced.
• Messaging platforms must:
  • Ensure account access only if SIM is present.
  • Auto-logout Web sessions every 6 hours.
• Platforms must integrate DoT’s Fraud Risk Indicator and blacklist to deactivate high-risk accounts.
• Orders issued by DoT’s AI & Digital Intelligence Unit.

STATIC LINKAGES

• Article 21 & Right to Privacy; proportionality doctrine (Puttaswamy, 2017).
• Union List Entry 31: Centre’s power over telecommunications.
• IT Act 2000: cybersecurity & platform obligations.
• Principles of consent, data minimisation, and due process.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• Pros
  • Stronger defence against SIM fraud, spoofing, and financial scams.
  • Increased voluntary adoption shows rising citizen trust.
  • Fraud databases enhance cross-platform detection.
• Cons
  • Mandatory installation risked privacy violations.
  • Lack of transparency around orders reduces accountability.
  • Executive overreach concerns due to DoT’s expanded TIUE powers.
  • Forced logouts disrupt users and affect business use.
  • Automatic account deactivation challenges due process norms.

WAY FORWARD

• Publish directives transparently and seek consultation.
• Ensure consent-based adoption and privacy-by- design.
• Create appeal mechanisms before account deactivation.
• Strengthen statutory backing for cybersecurity governance.
• Expand digital literacy to promote voluntary uptake.

ENVIRONMENTAL RULES WEAKENED

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• On 18 Nov 2025, the Supreme Court (2:1 majority) recalled its May 2025 judgment that had struck down ex post facto Environmental Clearances (ECs).
• Majority held that retrospective ECs may serve public interest by preventing demolition/closure of completed projects.
• Justice Ujjal Bhuyan’s dissent criticised this as circular logic rewarding illegality.
• The issue is now reopened for fresh hearing.

Key Points

• Review judgment prioritises economic expediency over strict environmental compliance.
• May 2025 judgment had invalidated MoEFCC 2017 notification and 2021 SOP, both allowing post-facto ECs.
• Earlier rulings (Common Cause 2017, M.C. Mehta) affirmed that EC must be prior, as EIA ensures prevention—not validation—of harm.
• Dissent warns that violations becoming “grounds for regularisation” destroys deterrence and hollows out the EIA regime.

Static Linkages

• Article 21 → Right to a clean and healthy environment.
• EPA 1986 → Legal basis for EIA notifications.
• Precautionary Principle, Polluter Pays → Recognised in Indian jurisprudence.
• Stockholm (1972) → Foundation of India’s modern environmental framework.
• Judicial Review & Article 137 → SC’s power to review judgments.

Critical Analysis

• Pros
  • Prevents economic loss from stopping/demolishing completed projects.
  • Provides flexibility where procedural lapses are not environmentally harmful.
• Cons
  • Undermines rule of law and weakens deterrence.
  • Erodes precautionary principle and meaningful public participation.
  • Encourages project developers to bypass EC, expecting later regularisation.
  • Dilutes environmental safeguards despite rising climate risks.

Way Forward

• Limit retrospective ECs to rare, clearly-defined exceptions.
• Strong penalties for illegal construction to remove incentives.
• Strengthen EIA via transparent audits and community participation.
• Digital monitoring (GIS, compliance dashboards).
• Legislative clarification on boundaries of retrospective ECs.

CLIMATE BREAKS URBAN METRICS

• Recent extreme floods in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines exposed how global city indices fail to capture climate resilience.
• Secondary cities like Hat Yai, Cebu, Colombo’s hinterlands suffered heavy casualties despite being key economic nodes.
• Highlights mismatch between what indices measure and what actually protects urban residents in a climate-stressed world.

Key Points

• Cyclone-induced rains triggered hundreds of deaths and massive displacement across Asia.
• Major indices (CPI, Global Liveability, Resilience Index) underweight drainage, slope stability, informal housing safety.
• High-risk secondary cities often excluded from rankings → weak visibility and low investment.
• Indices influence capital allocation, prioritising showcase infrastructure over risk-mitigation and maintenance.
• City-wide averages mask deep inequities in exposure and adaptive capacity.

Static Linkages

• NCERT: Urbanisation challenges, unregulated peri-urban growth.
• DMA 2005: Institutional mechanisms for risk management.
• Sendai Framework: Exposure reduction, early warning, resilience planning.
• NITI Aayog Urban Planning Reforms (2021): Drainage, risk mapping, municipal capacity deficits.
• Precautionary Principle & Sustainable Development (SC jurisprudence).

Critical Analysis

• Strengths
  • Multi-dimensional metrics; fosters benchmarking and governance transparency.
• Limitations
  • Climate-blind metrics: no assessment of drainage, landslide risk, wetland loss.
  • Exclusion bias: many vulnerable towns not assessed.
  • Investment distortion: incentives favour optics over resilience.
  • Equity blindspot: averages hide vulnerability of informal settlements.
  • Weak municipal capacities in planning and enforcement.
• Stakeholders
  • Governments: prefer visible projects.
  • Poor communities: face highest exposure.  
  • Investors: rely on incomplete risk signals.
  • International agencies: emphasise plans/indicators over on-ground action.

Way Forward

• Integrate climate-risk metrics (drainage load, hazard maps) into indices.
• Use ward-level vulnerability assessments.
• Include secondary and peri-urban towns in evaluations.
• Incentivise maintenance, building-code enforcement, desilting.
• Expand resilience financing (bonds, green funds).
• Build municipal technical capacity in planning, GIS, hydrology.
• Promote nature-based solutions and risk- sensitive land-use.

• Cyclone Ditwah stalled over Sri Lanka, causing major flooding (14 lakh affected; 474 deaths).
• Re-intensified over Bay of Bengal and delivered heavy rain to TN–AP.
• By Dec 1, its remnant deep depression near Chennai dropped ~18 cm in 24 hours, triggering city-wide inundation.
• Despite drain upgrades post-2015 & 2023 floods, several neighbourhoods remained waterlogged.
• Key vulnerabilities: flat terrain, rising paved areas, weakened rivers (encroachments/desilting gaps), and incomplete drainage links.
• The 600-page Thiruppugazh Committee Report on flood mitigation remains unpublished.

Key Points

•  ₹5,200 crore spent; 1,100 km drains added, ~75% complete.
• Network designed for short intense bursts—not prolonged rainfall from slow cyclones.
• Rivers (Cooum, Adyar, Kosasthalaiyar) draining from upstream basins cause quick urban flooding when catchments saturate.
• Reverse flow forced GCC to shut drains and rely on pumps.
• Existing flood maps/elevation models not integrated into planning or enforcement.

Static Linkages

• Role of wetlands/floodplains as natural buffers.
• Impact of urbanisation on runoff and drainage.
• Municipal duties (12th Schedule): water supply, drainage, environmental protection.
• NDMA’s Urban Flooding Guidelines: basin-based management, real-time modelling.
• Backwater effect and basic hydrological concepts.

Critical Analysis

• Strengths
  • Major investments in drainage and basin planning.
  • Efforts toward Integrated Urban Flood Management.
• Persistent Gaps
  • Lack of transparency: Thiruppugazh Report not public; no unified implementation roadmap.
  • Encroachments and poor desilting shrink river capacity.
  • Partially upgraded drains create chokepoints.
  • Scientific tools (hazard maps, elevation data) not used for zoning or approvals.
  • Climate-induced slow-moving cyclones outpace existing design norms.
• Stakeholder Concerns
  • Residents face disruption and losses.
  • State & ULBs face capacity constraints and rising expectations.
  • Environmental groups highlight wetland destruction.

Way Forward

• Release Thiruppugazh Report and publish a time- bound implementation tracker.
• Make hazard maps public and legally binding for planning.
• Establish basin-level flood management coordination.
• Remove encroachments; restore wetlands as retention buffers.
• Deploy smart pumps, tidal gates, anti-backflow valves.
• Strengthen ULB finances and maintenance systems.
• Expand nature-based solutions and real-time modelling.

TAKING THE LEAP

Context of the News

• Supreme Court is hearing petitions challenging discriminatory provisions against persons affected by leprosy.
• NHRC informed the Court that 97 Central and State laws still contain discriminatory clauses.
• These laws restrict access to public transport, public spaces, employment, business, and even electoral participation.
• India accounts for ~57% of global leprosy cases, despite the disease being curable and non-infectious after treatment.
• Court has directed all States/UTs to submit reports on steps taken to amend such laws.
• NHRC (since 2021) recommended legal reform, rehabilitation, early detection, and replacing derogatory terminology.

Key Points

• Leprosy is fully curable through WHO- recommended MDT, provided free under NLEP.
• Existing laws reflect outdated beliefs and deny patients equality and dignity.
• NHRC suggestions:
  • Remove derogatory terms and discriminatory clauses
  • Promote iris-based Aadhaar enrolment (due to fingerprint damage)
  • Ensure rehabilitation and social integration.
  • Supreme Court emphasizes eliminating stigma rooted in misinformation and historic fear.

Static Linkages

• Fundamental Rights: equality, non- discrimination, dignity.
• DPSPs: improvement of public health and welfare of vulnerable groups.
• Role of statutory bodies (NHRC) in rights protection.
• Disease control systems and public health administration.
• Epidemiology: infectious diseases and social determinants of health.

Critical Analysis

• Positives
  • SC push accelerates long-pending legal reforms.
  • Corrects structural discrimination and protects constitutional rights.
  • Reinforces scientific understanding that treated leprosy is not infectious.
  • Improves access to welfare through Aadhaar inclusion.
• Challenges
  • Amending 97 different laws requires coordinated Centre–State action.
  • Deep-rooted stigma persists despite medical advances.
  • Weak rehabilitation mechanisms in several States.
  • Low awareness among officials and communities about curability.
• Stakeholders
  • Patients: seek dignity, social acceptance, opportunities.
  • Governments: face administrative and legislative coordination challenges.
  • NHRC/Civil society: push for reforms and awareness.

Way Forward

• Repeal/amend all discriminatory provisions swiftly.
• Enact a unified anti-discrimination law for persons affected by leprosy.
• Strengthen early detection, MDT access, and rehabilitation under NLEP.
• Promote nationwide awareness on curability and non-infectious nature.
• Ensure accessible Aadhaar enrolment through iris scanners.
• Train frontline officials to reduce stigma and support reintegration.

RUPEE HITS 90 AMID US DEAL WOES

Context of the News

• Rupee fell past ₹90 per USD for the first time, closing at ₹90.19 on Dec 3, 2025.
• Depreciation driven by FPI sell-off, India–US trade deal uncertainty, and high importer dollar demand.
• RBI intervened to limit volatility but avoided defending any specific level.
• Forward premiums surged, showing higher hedging costs and expectations of continued weakness.

Key Points

• Rupee down 5.35% in 2025, vs 2.88% (2024) and 0.57% (2023).
• FPIs sold ₹1.52 lakh crore equities in 2025;₹8,369 crore in first three days of December.
• Stop-loss triggers above 90 deepened the fall.  
• One-year forward premium increased 12+ bps in three sessions; one-month tenor at 7-month high.
• India–US 10-year yield spread widened to ~250 bps, signalling higher currency risk.
• REER model suggests 2–3% annual depreciation may be needed to retain export competitiveness.

Static Linkages

• India follows a managed float exchange rate regime.
• Exchange rate influenced by: capital flows, inflation differential, interest rate spreads, current account balance.
• Depreciation effects: boosts exports marginally but raises imported inflation.
• RBI tools: spot intervention, forwards, swaps, and liquidity management.
• Yield spread indicates relative attractiveness and risk perception of domestic assets.

Critical Analysis

• Pros
  • Slight improvement in export competitiveness.  
  • Market-led adjustment reflects true demand– supply conditions.
• Cons / Risks
  • Higher imported inflation, especially crude and electronics.
  • Costlier hedging and pressure on corporate margins.
  • Weaker FPI sentiment due to elevated currency risk.
  • Widened yield spread raises sovereign risk premium.
• Stakeholders
  • RBI: Balances stability with reserve preservation.
  • Exporters: Gain mildly.
  • Importers/MSMEs: Face higher input costs.
  • Investors: Turn cautious amid global uncertainty.

Way Forward

• Diversify exports; move to higher-value products.
• Strengthen domestic capital markets to reduce dependence on FPIs.
• Promote local currency invoicing in trade.
• Build energy security via renewables.
• Maintain strong forex buffers and calibrated RBI intervention.
• Provide clarity on trade negotiations to ease uncertainty.