Daily Current Affair-8th-August-2025

News at a glance

No.	Topic/Theme	GS Paper(s)	Why in News / Contemporary Relevance	Core Focus/Key Facts
1	Extension of President’s Rule in Manipur	GS-2 Polity – Federal Structure	Parliament extended central administration in Manipur	Article 356 provisions, legislative process, federalism, security vs autonomy, repeated central rule
2	Technocratic Shift in Welfare Delivery	GS-2 Governance – Welfare State	Digital/data-driven reforms reshape social sector	Algorithmic delivery, drop in sector spending, accountability deficit, need for participatory systems
3	Domicile-Based Recruitment in Bihar	GS-2 Governance – Civil Services/Issues	Bihar prioritizes local hiring in state jobs	Reservation legality (Art. 16), regional development, constitutional debates, youth employment
4	Hepatitis D as a Carcinogen	GS-2 Health – Diseases	WHO classifies Hepatitis D as cancer-causing	Virus features, co-infection with HBV, cancer progression, prevention via HBV vaccination
5	India–New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue	GS-2 IR – Bilateral Relations/Security	First formal defence partnership dialogue launched	Indo-Pacific security, capacity building, intelligence sharing, multilateral forums, bilateral limits
6	Sulphur Dioxide Emissions	GS-3 Environment – Pollution	Emission norms relaxed for coal plants	SO₂ sources, health/environment effects, FGD tech, slow compliance, national pollution leadership
7	SC Empowers Pollution Control Boards	GS-3 Environment – Governance & Law	SC upholds PCBs’ powers to levy compensation	‘Polluter pays’ principle, statutory authority, constitutional basis, real/imminent harm requirement
8	Battery Waste Crisis & Policy Gaps	GS-3 S&T/Environment – Waste Management	EV boom accelerates battery waste challenge	EPR rules, lithium recycling, economic risks, informal sector, infrastructure/pricing reforms
9	Antarctic Krill Fishery Shutdown	Prelims – Environment/Biodiversity	Record catch closes fishery early, sustainability alarm	Krill’s ecological role, threats from warming/overfishing, food web significance, global marine policy

GS2 – Polity – Federal Structure: Extension of President’s Rule in Manipur

Context:
Parliament has recently sanctioned the continuation of President’s Rule in Manipur for a further six months, extending central administration in the state until February 2026. The move follows persistent unrest, administrative instability, and prolonged ethnic tensions, particularly between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi groups, which led to the resignation of the previous government earlier in 2025 and prompted direct intervention by the Union government

Constitutional Context:

Article 356 empowers the President to suspend state government functions and impose direct central rule when constitutional governance breaks down in a state.
This proclamation must be ratified by Parliament within two months, and subsequently renewed every six months, not exceeding three years in total.
For extensions beyond one year, prerequisites include either a concurrent national emergency or a certification from the Election Commission that elections cannot be held.
Administrative powers transfer to the Centre, with the Governor acting as executive authority and legislative functions taken over by Parliament or its designate.

Governance Implications:

The repeated imposition and renewal of President’s Rule raises concerns about the dilution of federal principles and the risk of diminishing democratic representation at the state level.
Persistent central oversight, particularly in situations of security or complex ethnic conflict, often highlights the tension between national integrity and state autonomy.

GS2 – Governance: Trends in Welfare Delivery

Context:
India’s rapid shift toward digital and metric-driven frameworks for welfare provision has increased systemic efficiency but triggered debates around diminishing citizen engagement, democratic accountability, and rights-based delivery.

Key Analysis:

Welfare programmes now emphasize maximization of coverage and reduction of leakage through technology, rather than deliberative inclusion or socio-political justification for support.
Performance metrics such as process speed, beneficiary accuracy, and large-scale coverage may overshadow participatory governance and citizen agency.
Some scholars interpret this move as a transition to ‘technocratic governance,’ where technical processes and expert management dominate public dialogue.
There has been a noticeable reduction in budgetary allocation for social sector initiatives, and mechanisms like RTI face backlogs and understaffing, hampering transparency.
Grievance redress mechanisms centralize complaint processing but may lack true accountability to citizens.

Recommendations:

Strengthen federal capacity for locally tailored welfare initiatives.
Ensure algorithmic welfare systems guarantee explanatory rights and avenues for appeal.
Invest in civic and legal education at the grassroots to promote participatory oversight and democratic resilience.

GS2 – Governance: Domicile-Based Recruitment in Bihar

Context:
Bihar has moved to prioritize local candidates in government selection processes, especially for teacher recruitment, and has increased reservation for women domiciled in the state. The policy reflects efforts to address regional unemployment and encourage youth retention.

Analysis:

Domicile preference can enhance employment prospects for locals and reinforce regional development.
Such policies, however, face constitutional hurdles under Article 16, which prohibits discrimination except in specific cases where Parliament legislates for residence-based criteria.
Judicial precedents have generally disallowed blanket job reservations based solely on state of residency, citing threats to equality of opportunity.
A balance between affirmative action and constitutional integrity is essential; employment preference should be accompanied by investment in skills and inclusive economic planning.

GS2 – Social Sector – Health: Hepatitis D Identified as a Carcinogen

Context:
The World Health Organization now designates Hepatitis D as a high-risk cancer-causing agent due to its aggressive disease progression, immune evasion, and propensity to induce severe liver damage.

Comprehensive Facts:

Hepatitis D is a defective RNA virus; it requires Hepatitis B co-infection for replication.
Transmission is primarily via blood exposure, shared needles, unprotected sex, or perinatal transfer.
The infection can progress swiftly to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and substantially increases risk for hepatocellular carcinoma.
No effective antiviral exists; preventive focus remains on universal Hepatitis B vaccination.
The infection is rare in India but potentially underdiagnosed.

GS2 – IR: India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue

Context:
The first formal India–New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue has taken place, marking a substantial elevation of bilateral engagement in security and maritime affairs.

Salient Features:

Both nations seek to institutionalize defence exchanges, focusing on Indo-Pacific maritime security and a rules-based regional order.
New Zealand offers avenues for maritime intelligence, multilateral cooperation, and supports India on key international issues like UNSC permanent membership.
Limitations include differences in defence capacity, New Zealand’s economic interdependence with China, and episodic, rather than sustained, military coordination.

GS3 – Environment: Sulphur Dioxide Emissions

Context:
India continues to lead globally in anthropogenic SO₂ emissions, primarily from coal-fired power plants. Recent regulatory changes have relaxed requirements for flue gas desulphurisation installations, citing high compliance costs.

Essential Facts:

SO₂ contributes significantly to air pollution, causing respiratory illness, acid rain, and ecosystem harm.
Technical solutions include pre-combustion methods like coal washing, and post-combustion scrubbers that chemically remove SO₂ using limestone.
Adoption remains slow; only a small fraction of coal plants currently use modern control technologies.

GS3 – Environment: Supreme Court Upholds PCB Powers

Context:
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that Pollution Control Boards can levy compensation for prior environmental damage and demand bank guarantees to deter future harm, formalizing their authority under relevant water and air pollution statutes.

Key Points:

The polluter pays principle is central, making environmental offenders liable for remediation costs.
Orders are valid only where actual or imminent harm is substantiated.
The ruling builds on landmark precedents and reinforces the role of regulatory agencies in upholding constitutional environmental duties.

GS3 – S&T: Battery Waste Management in India

Context:
India’s transition towards EVs and energy storage has led to an exponential rise in battery waste, posing environmental and regulatory challenges.