14 January 2026

• The Supreme Court of India raised questions on the powers of the Election Commission of India during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• Issue arose after ~6.5 crore deletions in draft electoral rolls across 9 States and 3 UTs.
• Court examined whether Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) can exclude persons from electoral rolls before the Union Government decides on citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• EC defended its authority to conduct inquisitorial enquiries limited to electoral eligibility.

Key Points

• Article 326: Right to vote restricted to adult citizens.
• Article 324: EC vested with superintendence and control of elections.
• Representation of the People Act, 1950:
  • Governs preparation and revision of electoral rolls.
  • Empowers EROs to decide eligibility for inclusion.
  • Registration of Electors Rules, 1960:
  • Prescribes procedures for enquiry, objections, and appeals.
• Citizenship Act, 1955:
  • Exclusive authority of the Union Government on citizenship status.
• EC stance:
  • Verification of citizenship is incidental to voter eligibility.
  • ERO decisions do not amount to deportation orders.
• Supreme Court concern:
  • Whether voting rights can be curtailed without final executive determination of citizenship.

  • Risk of administrative overreach and denial of due process.

Static Linkages

• Adult suffrage under Article 326.
• Separation of powers between:
  • Constitutional bodies (EC),  
  • Executive (Union Government),
  • Judiciary (judicial review).

• Natural Justice:
  • Right to be heard.  Reasoned orders.
• Voting:
  • Statutory right (RP Act), not a fundamental right.
• Citizenship:
  • Sovereign executive function.

Critical Analysis

• Strengths
  • Prevents non-citizens from influencing elections.  
  • Ensures integrity and credibility of electoral rolls.  
  • Enables timely conduct of elections.
• Concerns
  • Citizenship determination is outside EC’s constitutional mandate.
• Mass deletions risk:
  • Arbitrary exclusion,
  • Disenfranchisement of genuine citizens.
• Appeals may be ineffective due to
• Time constraints,
  • Administrative burden.
• Potential violation of:
  • Article 14 (Equality),
  • Principles of natural justice.

Key Constitutional Tension

• Electoral efficiency vs individual democratic rights.

Way Forward

• Explicit statutory clarification separating:
  • Electoral eligibility checks,
  • Citizenship determination.
• Mandatory reference of adverse ERO findings to Union Government.
• Uniform national SOPs for Special Intensive Revision.
• Strengthened, time-bound appellate mechanisms.
• Independent audit of large-scale electoral roll deletions.
• Greater transparency in ERO enquiries.

SPLIT VERDICT ON SANCTION

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Supreme Court of India delivered a split verdict on Section 17A, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Provision mandates prior approval before inquiry/investigation against public servants for decisions taken in official capacity.
• Justice B.V. Nagarathna: Section 17A unconstitutional.
• Justice K.V. Viswanathan: Section 17A valid with safeguards.
• Matter referred to three-judge Bench.

Key Points

• Section 17A (2018 Amendment):
  • Bars police from inquiry/investigation without prior sanction of government.
• Justice Nagarathna:
  • Violates Article 14 → unequal protection to higher civil servants.
  • Arbitrary: prohibits even preliminary inquiry.
  • Undermines rule of law and anti-corruption objectives.
• Justice Viswanathan:
  • Possibility of misuse ≠ ground for invalidation.
  • Striking down may cause policy paralysis.
  • Favoured sanction by independent authority.
  • Lokpal empowered to inquire even against Prime Minister (with safeguards).
• Present Status:
  • Referred under Article 145(3) practice for authoritative ruling.

Static Linkages

• Rule of Law → accountability of all public authorities.
• Article 14 → reasonable classification + non- arbitrariness.
• Doctrine of Manifest Arbitrariness → legislation can be invalidated.
• CrPC Section 197 → prior sanction jurisprudence.
• Separation of Powers → executive control vs investigative independence.

Critical Analysis

• In Favour of Section 17A
  • Protects honest decision-making.
  • Prevents frivolous and motivated complaints. 
  • Ensures administrative efficiency.
• Against Section 17A
  • Creates executive veto over investigations.
  • Discriminatory protection to elite bureaucracy.
  • Weakens deterrence against corruption.
  •   Conflicts with constitutional morality.

Way Forward

• Transfer sanction power to independent bodies (Lokpal/Lokayukta).
• Allow preliminary inquiry without sanction.  
• Impose time-bound sanction decisions.
• Provide judicial review of sanction refusals.  
• Align with 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission on probity.

NEW FACTORS IN IRAN CONUNDRUM

• Iran has been facing nationwide civic unrest since December 28, 2025.
• Protests began with a strike by Tehran’s Bazaari merchants over severe currency depreciation.
• The agitation later expanded into a broad anti- government movement involving youth, workers and low-income groups.
• The crisis has implications for India due to Iran’s role in regional stability, energy security and connectivity.

Key Points

• Economic trigger
  • Official exchange rate: ~42,000 rials per USD.
  • Market rate: ~1.45 million rials per USD.
  • About 45% depreciation in 2025, making imports of essentials unviable.
• Spread of protests
  • Initially economic, later political in nature.   
  • Reports of arson, vandalism and violence.
• Government response
  • Strong police action and internet restrictions.
  • Cash transfer scheme announced to offset inflation.
• Institutional position
  • Military and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps remain loyal.
  • Oil production and exports largely unaffected.
• External angle
  • Open criticism and pressure by the
• U.S. and Israel.
  • Iran retains leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Trade scenario
  • Major trading partners: China and UAE despite sanctions.

Static Linkages

• Sanctions & Inflation – NCERT Economics: sanctions reduce foreign exchange inflow and weaken currency.
• Energy Security – Indian Year Book: chokepoints like Hormuz affect global oil prices.
• West Asia Politics – NCERT Political Science: religion, nationalism and geopolitics shape state behaviour.
• Diaspora & Remittances – Economic Survey: Gulf stability crucial for India’s remittance inflows.

Critical Analysis

• Positive aspects
  • Strong state control prevents immediate regime collapse.
  • Oil sector continuity provides economic cushioning.  
  • Nationalism limits effectiveness of foreign pressure.
• Concerns
  • Structural economic issues remain unresolved.  
  • Youth alienation and generational disconnect.  
  • Sanctions worsen inflation and unemployment.
  • Repeated unrest indicates governance legitimacy issues.
• For India
  • Gulf instability impacts oil imports and remittances.
  • Weak Iran affects India’s access to Central Asia.
  • Long-term economic opportunities in Iran remain stalled.

Way Forward

• Promote dialogue and diplomatic engagement instead of regime-change tactics.
• Revival of nuclear negotiations to ease sanctions.  
• For India:
  • Maintain strategic autonomy in West Asia.
  • Diversify energy sources to reduce Hormuz risk.
  • Sustain long-term engagement with Iran for future economic gains.

• Rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across governance, industry, agriculture, health, and services.
• Recent global studies highlight environmental costs of AI computation, especially energy use, carbon emissions, and water footprint.
• Reports by OECD and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) underline the climate and resource implications of large AI models.
• India’s AI policy discourse focuses on AI for climate action, but not sufficiently on AI as a contributor to environmental degradation.

Key Points

• Carbon Footprint
  • Global ICT sector contributes ~1.8–2.8% of global GHG emissions (OECD).
  • Training a single Large Language Model (LLM) can emit ~300,000 kg CO₂ (UNEP, 2024).
  • 2019 NLP study: ~626,000 pounds of CO₂, equal to lifetime emissions of ~5 cars.
• Energy Consumption
  •   AI inference is energy-intensive.
  • UNEP (2024): One ChatGPT query ≈ 10× energy of a Google search.
• Water Stress
  • AI data centres may consume 4.2–6.6 billion cubic metres of water by 2027, worsening water scarcity.
• Transparency Gap
  • Corporate claims on low AI energy use lack uniform measurement standards.

Static Linkages

• Environmental Externalities and Market Failure (negative externalities).
• Sustainable Development principle (Brundtland Report).
• Precautionary Principle and Polluter Pays Principle (Indian environmental jurisprudence).
• Environmental Impact Assessment framework (EIA Notification, 2006).
• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) disclosure norms.
• Climate change mitigation under India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Critical Analysis

• Advantages
  • AI improves climate modelling, disaster forecasting, and energy optimisation.
  • Regulation can promote green data centres and efficient algorithms.
  • ESG disclosures enhance accountability.
• Concerns
  • High carbon, water, and energy intensity of AI infrastructure.
  • Absence of standardised AI-specific sustainability metrics.
  • Risk of greenwashing by tech firms.
  • Developing countries may face resource burden without proportional benefits.
  • Regulatory lag between digital governance and environmental law.

Way Forward

• Expand EIA framework to include large AI and data- centre projects.
• Establish national AI sustainability standards (energy, carbon, water).
• Mandate AI-specific disclosures under ESG norms via Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Securities and Exchange Board of India.
• Incentivise renewable-powered data centres.
• Promote pre-trained and energy-efficient AI models.

MORE FOR LATER

Context of the News

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited India, meeting PM Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.
• Visit precedes the EU–India Summit (Republic Day) and the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron for the AI Summit.
• Objective: strengthen India–Europe strategic and economic ties amid global geopolitical turbulence.
• Outcomes mainly included Joint Declarations of Interest (JDIs) and MoUs, not binding treaties.

Key Points

• Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe.
• Bilateral trade crossed USD 50 billion in 2024– 25 (commerce ministry data).
• Talks aligned with the ongoing India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations (relaunched in 2022).
• A Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap signed to promote joint production, technology partnerships, and supply-chain resilience.
• Germany informally suggested Indian diversification away from Russian defence equipment; India rejected any conditionality.
• Germany’s trade with China stood at ~USD 287 billion (2024–25), making China its largest trading partner.
• Ariha Shah child custody case remains unresolved despite Indian diplomatic and consular efforts.

Static Linkages

• Strategic Autonomy as a core principle of India’s foreign policy.
• Trade agreements as tools of economic diplomacy and market integration.
• Defence indigenisation under Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Consular protection under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.
• Indo-Pacific concept and rules-based international order.

Critical Analysis

• Opportunities
  • Enhances India’s leverage in India–EU FTA negotiations.
  • Defence cooperation can diversify suppliers without strategic compromise.
  • Signals India’s growing role in Europe’s Indo- Pacific outreach.
• Challenges
  • Differences over Russia–Ukraine conflict limit strategic convergence.
  • Germany’s continued economic dependence on China weakens diversification narrative.
  • JDIs lack enforceability, delaying concrete outcomes.
  • Prolonged Ariha Shah case affects people-to- people trust and humanitarian diplomacy.

Way Forward

• Convert JDIs into binding agreements with timelines.
• Fast-track India–EU FTA with balanced market access.
• Deepen defence cooperation through co- development and co-production.
• Institutionalise dialogue on humanitarian and consular issues.
• Maintain issue-based alignment while safeguarding strategic autonomy.