Jharkhand Public Service Commission

🏛️ POLITY & CONSTITUTION

1. Collegium System & Judicial Transparency

News Context: Editorial debate on collegium transparency resurfaced with observations favouring greater openness.

Key Facts:

Evolution (Three Judges Cases):

Key Judgments in News:

• CPIO v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (2019): CJI’s office falls within RTI framework
• MediaOne Judgment: Criticised excessive secrecy and sealed-cover procedures

Constitutional Provisions:

Static Link: NJAC (99th Amendment, 2014) was struck down in 2015 as violating Basic Structure (4th Judges Case)

2. OBC Creamy Layer – SC Judgment

News Context: SC examined how income/wealth test should determine creamy layer among OBCs.

Key Issues:

• Candidates whose parents worked in private-sector/public-sector employment where no equivalence with government posts established
• Applying parental salary income differently to similarly placed candidates = hostile discrimination (Article 14)

SC Direction: Create supernumerary posts for affected candidates excluded due to treatment of parental salary income

Constitutional Provisions:

Static Link:

• Creamy Layer: Excludes affluent OBCs from reservation benefits
• Indra Sawhney (1992): 27% OBC quota; creamy layer exclusion
• 1967 – Parliament can prescribe qualifications for determining creamy layer

3. Hijab & Essential Religious Practice

News Context: Allahabad HC dismissed petition seeking permission to wear hijab with school uniform.

Key Holding: Wearing headscarf not established as an essential religious practice whose absence would jeopardize Islamic faith

Constitutional Provisions:

Essential Religious Practices Doctrine:

• Courts determine whether a claimed practice enjoys constitutional protection under Article 25
• Only practices essential to religion are protected
• Test: Would the religion cease to be that religion if the practice is removed?

Static Link: Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986) – children not compelled to sing National Anthem; Sabrimala case (2018) – women’s entry not essential practice

4. Electoral Roll Revision – Karnataka

News Context: Karnataka requested more time for claims/objections under SIR.

Key Data:

ASDDO Categories: Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, Others

Constitutional Provisions:

Static Link:

• Representation of the People Act, 1950 – electoral rolls provisions
• SIR: Special Intensive Revision – to clean electoral rolls

5. Census & Citizenship – Manipur Concerns

News Context: Manipur civil society organizations sought tripartite talks before Census.

Demands:

• 1951 records as base for identifying original Indian citizens
• Census linked to citizenship verification, migration, delimitation, political representation

Constitutional Provisions:

Static Link:

• Citizenship Act, 1955 – acquisition and determination of citizenship
• Census Act, 1948 – governs Census operations

6. SC Procedural Orders

News 1: SC directed Tarun Tejpal to surrender within 3 weeks before his appeal is considered.

News 2: SC directed UP Police not to take coercive action against journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in road-rage FIR.

Static Link:

• Section 438 CrPC / Section 482 BNSS – anticipatory bail
• Article 226 – HC’s writ jurisdiction

💰 ECONOMY

7. UPI – 10th Anniversary (August 25, 2016)

Key Data:

Static Link:

• UPI: Launched August 25, 2016 by NPCI
• NPCI: Umbrella organization for retail payments – established 2008
• DPI: Digital Public Infrastructure – interoperable systems at population scale

8. Merchant Fleet Expansion

News: National Shipping Board proposed to add 100 vessels to India’s merchant fleet over 5 years.

Five Components:

1. Fiscal reforms
2. Assured cargo support
3. Competitive financing
4. Regulatory streamlining
5. Improved ease of doing business

Significance:

• India pays ~$75 billion annually in freight charges to foreign shipping lines
• Reduces dependence on foreign shipping
• Strengthens maritime security
• Supports energy and supply-chain security

Static Link:

• Directorate General of Shipping – under Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
• Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 – governs Indian shipping

9. Food Price Management – Delhi

News: Delhi plans to procure onions and sugar through NAFED if prices rise further.

Key Data:

• Centre expected to sell onions at ₹35/kg in Delhi
• Initial consignment: 800 tonnes

Static Link:

• NAFED: National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India
• Buffer Stock: Maintained by government to stabilize prices
• Essential Commodities Act, 1955 – price regulation

10. Youth Employment & Education Data

Key Data (from editorial):

Static Link:

• PLFS: Periodic Labour Force Survey – MoSPI
• NEP 2020: Education policy framework

🌐 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

11. India–China Border Talks

News: NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese FM Wang Yi discussed border delimitation.

Key Points:

• Special Representatives’ mechanism – for boundary settlement
• 2005 Political Guiding Principles – reaffirmed by China

Concepts to Revise:

Static Link: India-China border dispute – 3,488 km; no final boundary settlement

12. India–Russia Engagement

News: EAM S. Jaishankar held talks with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov.

Discussions: Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan; UN, SCO, BRICS, G20 coordination

Static Link:

13. US Sanctions on Indian Companies

News: US imposed sanctions on 4 India-based companies for Iranian petroleum transactions.

Concepts to Revise:

• Secondary Sanctions: Penalize non-US persons for dealings with sanctioned entities
• OFAC: Office of Foreign Assets Control – US Treasury
• CAATSA: Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act

Static Link: India maintains strategic autonomy while balancing ties with US, Iran, Russia

14. UN Racial Discrimination Review

News: UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern.

Issues Raised:

• Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Dalits
• Rohingya refugees, migrants
• Bengali-speaking Muslims
• Hate speech, hate crimes, excessive force, arbitrary detention, racial profiling

Static Link:

• ICERD: International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)
• UN Treaty Bodies: Monitor implementation; observations not binding judgments

15. Bay of Bengal Maritime Rescue

News: Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner sank; Indian Coast Guard leading rescue.

Key Facts:

• 24 crew members – 2 Chinese rescued
• Coordination with China’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre

Concepts to Revise:

• Flag State: Country where vessel is registered
• Search and Rescue Region (SRR) – defined by IMO
• Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC)

Static Link:

• UNCLOS: Search and rescue obligations
• IMO: International Maritime Organization

🌍 GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENT

16. UNCCD COP17 – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

News: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav addressed 17th COP to UNCCD.

Theme: “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.”

India’s Advocacy:

• Shift from reactive drought relief to proactive, technology-enabled resilience
• Early-warning systems, satellite-based drought assessment, groundwater recharge

Rio Conventions:

Static Link: UNCCD adopted 1994 after 1992 Rio Earth Summit

17. Aravalli Range – SC Committee Criticism

News: Environmental groups criticized SC-appointed committee for inadequate assessment.

Geography:

• Oldest fold mountain range in India
• Extends across: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi

Importance:

• Barrier influencing desertification and dust movement
• Groundwater recharge
• Wildlife habitats and biodiversity
• Regulates local climate

Threats: Mining, urbanization, infrastructure expansion, fragmentation, forest cover loss

Static Link: Aravalli Range – runs ~800 km

18. Ganga Floodplain – NGT Challenge

News: NGT took up challenge to amendment diluting “construction-free zone” requirement.

Key Points:

• 2016 Order: Ganga floodplain = construction-free zone
• August 10, 2026 amendment: Removed this clause
• Challenge: Amendment dilutes protection – increases flood risk, reduces groundwater recharge

Static Link:

• NGT: National Green Tribunal – established 2010
• NMCG: National Mission for Clean Ganga – under Jal Shakti Ministry
• Ganga: India’s longest river – 2,525 km

🔬 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

19. AI Training & Book Destruction

News: AI firms cutting bindings off rare/out-of-print books, scanning pages, discarding physical copies.

Issues:

• Copyright and fair use
• Digital preservation
• Destruction of cultural property
• Transparency in AI training datasets

Key Fact: Anthropic reportedly settled copyright class-action case for $1.5 billion

Static Link:

• Copyright Act, 1957 – protects intellectual property
• Fair Use: Limited use without permission (not explicitly defined in India)

20. DRDO Missile Technology Transfer

News: Defence Minister approved ToT for all conventional missile systems developed by DRDO.

Objectives:

• Move from development to industrial-scale production
• Strengthen domestic defence manufacturing
• Reduce import dependence
• Promote technology absorption

Static Link:

• Atmanirbhar Bharat: Self-reliant India
• Defence Industrial Corridors: Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh
• Positive Indigenisation Lists: Ban on import of specified items

21. Loitering Munitions

News: Former CDS General Anil Chauhan said loitering munition used in Operation Sindoor may have struck Kirana Hills (near Sargodha, Pakistan).

What is Loitering Munition?

• Remains airborne over an area
• Searches for target
• Attacks after target identification

Difference from:

Static Link: Operation Sindoor – India’s cross-border strikes (May 2025)

22. H1N1 (Swine Flu) in Delhi

Key Data:

Vulnerable Groups:

• Elderly persons
• Children
• Pregnant women
• Individuals with pre-existing respiratory conditions

Static Link:

• H1N1: Influenza A subtype – swine flu
• WHO: Swine flu pandemic – 2009 (Public Health Emergency)

23. Digital Child-Data Protection – Brazil

News: Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency fined TikTok ~$30 million.

Violation: Irregular processing of children’s and adolescents’ data

Static Link:

• GDPR: EU’s data protection regulation
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 – India’s data protection law
• Consent, Purpose Limitation, Data Minimization, Deletion – core privacy principles

🏅 SPORTS

24. US Open – Grand Slam Tennis

Key Facts:

Key Historical Fact: Equal prize money for men and women (since 1973)

Static Link: Hawk-Eye review technology introduced; current men’s/women’s champions – verify separately

📌 STATIC CORNER – QUICK REVISION