Jharkhand Public Service Commission

Source : THE HINDU

Polity & Governance

SC takes suo motu cognisance on women’s safety (Delhi-NCR)

• The Bench (Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran) invoked Article 21 (right to live with dignity, free from fear of violence) and ordered a district-wise vulnerability audit, CCTV/lighting checks, and patrolling upgrades within four weeks.
• Static: Suo motu cognisance is exercised under Article 32 (PIL jurisdiction) — the Court acts without a petitioner. Compare with Article 226 (High Courts’ parallel writ jurisdiction).

J&K Assembly passes resolution on “full Statehood”

• Passed with about 60 of 90 MLAs; BJP staged a walkout.
• CM Omar Abdullah cautioned against linking Statehood to “end of militancy,” saying that would leave the case “before Islamabad, not New Delhi.”
• Static recap: J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 created two UTs — J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without). In Re: Article 370 (SC, Dec 2023) upheld the abrogation while directing restoration of Statehood “at the earliest.” This is now the third J&K Assembly resolution on the subject (2000 autonomy report, 2024 special-status resolution, 2026 Statehood resolution).

SC questions Centre’s power to levy UPI merchant fees

• Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked: “If it is not a tax or fee, what is the executive scope of making this expropriation?”
• The MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) of 0.4% on P2M UPI transactions above ₹2,000 comes into effect from October 15, 2026 under a notification issued under the amended Section 10A, Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• Static: PSS Act, 2007 is the parent law governing India’s payment systems; RBI regulates it, and NPCI operationalises UPI/RuPay under it.

States “stumped” by demography panel’s religion-wise queries

• The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), under the Union Home Ministry, has sought 15 years of religion-wise data (birth registration, property transactions, voter ID/Aadhaar spikes, religious structures) — states say the “secular construct of the Constitution” makes such religious-category data hard to maintain.
• Static: Recall the Sachar Committee (2005) — appointed by the UPA government to study the socio-economic status of Muslims; BJP had then opposed it as “divisive.” A recurring comparison point for Prelims (what each committee/commission was for, and who opposed what).

Ease of third-language evaluation for Class 6, says SC

• SC directed CBSE to extend to Class 6 the same relaxation given to Class 7 — the third language will be assessed only through internal school-based evaluation, no pass/fail linkage.
• Static: This traces to the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020‘s three-language formula — a recurring Prelims/Mains theme on federalism and language policy.

A new governance model for Ladakh — Explainer (very high yield)

• The Centre proposes inserting Article 371-K (Part XXI — Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions) to give Ladakh a directly elected legislative body instead of Sixth Schedule status.
• Static:
  • Sixth Schedule (Art. 244(2) and 275(1)) covers only Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram — because these were “Excluded”/”Partially Excluded” Areas under British rule. Autonomous District Councils have up to 30 members; the Governor creates new districts via public notification.
  • State of Rajasthan v. Union of India (1977) called Indian federalism “amphibian” — federal in normal times, unitary during Emergency.
  • Precedent for Parliament granting a UT special status: Articles 239AA and 239AB (Delhi’s special provisions).
  • Article 371 series (A through J, now potentially K) already gives special provisions to several States (Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka) — good to remember as a group, since a new letter (K) is being added.

NEET-SS qualifying percentile cut from 50% to 30% — Explainer

• Union government agreed to SC’s suggestion; MCC ran a stray round to fill 1,857 vacant seats (2025 cycle).
• Static: NEET-SS is conducted by NBEMS (National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences), an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry, for DM, MCh, DrNB super-speciality seats. Tamil Nadu’s 50% in-service doctor quota (G.O. Ms. No. 462) was upheld by SC in 2022.

SC, ST MPs from BJP took part in fewer debates than party peers — data story

• Based on PRS Legislative Research data; ties to Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker on this issue.
• Static reminder: Reservation of seats for SC/ST is under Articles 330 (Lok Sabha) and 332 (State Assemblies) — but speaking time in debates is a procedural/Chair-discretion matter, not a constitutional entitlement. (Recurring trap — flagged in an earlier digest too.)

Election Commission-related developments

• Congress convened a CWC meeting on the SIR row; SC directed the EC to decide the Trinamool leadership dispute (Mamata vs Ritabrata Banerjee factions) within three months.
• SC also told the West Bengal Assembly Speaker to decide disqualification petitions against rebel MLAs by October 8, citing Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly — which held that a Speaker acting under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) must decide within a “reasonable time,” suggested as three months.
• Civil society groups demanded repeal of the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023 and reversion to pre-SIR electoral rolls.
• Calcutta HC questioned the EC’s allotment of the “envelope” symbol to a new outfit (DTC) — a good reminder that Election Symbol allotment is an EC discretionary function under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

Environment & Odisha-Andhra Floods

Odisha’s Mahanadi/Baitarani/Brahmani flood context

• Amit Shah to chair a meeting (Oct 1) on the Mahanadi river water-sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
• Static: Disputes go to the Central Water Commission (CWC) technically, and then to the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (headed by a former SC judge) — constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

CAG flags irregularities in DMF fund use in Odisha

• The CAG report on Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana implementation flagged funds shown as spent under a fabricated “common affected areas” category to bypass the 40% cap on indirect-area spending under Odisha DMF Rules, 2015.
• Static: District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was created under the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015; PMKKKY channels DMF funds for welfare of mining-affected people. Good linkage to the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 story (Naveen Patnaik protesting the new Act) — same law family, different amendment years.

Andhra Pradesh floods

• The Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram (Rajamahendravaram) received over 9.7 lakh cusecs.
• Static: Built by Sir Arthur Cotton on the Godavari in the 19th century — a recurring “colonial-era irrigation engineering” fact for Geography/History crossover questions.

Science & Technology

Rare-disease drugs — India’s next pharma frontier (op-ed, high conceptual yield)

• India already leads in generic drugs (“pharmacy of the world,” supplying ~47% of US generic prescriptions) and biosimilars; the piece argues India could similarly lead in affordable rare-disease (orphan) drug manufacturing.
• Static facts to retain:
  • The US Orphan Drug Act, 1983 gave tax incentives and 7 years of market exclusivity for orphan drugs — a model cited globally.
  • India has ~1,004 reported rare genetic disorders.
  • Under Rule 101, New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, CDSCO recognises 6 countries (including US, UK) whose drug approvals can allow a waiver of fresh Indian clinical trials.
  • CAR-T therapy (personalised cancer treatment) is now being manufactured in India to international standards — a good current S&T fact.
  • Government support for rare-disease patients is capped at ₹50 lakh per National Policy for Rare Diseases.

China brings Pakistani astronauts closer to orbit

• Two Pakistani pilots training at China’s astronaut centre for a mission to Tiangong space station; will fly as “payload specialists” (not pilots) under Pakistan-China space cooperation (SUPARCO).
• Static: Tiangong is China’s three-module space station. Compare with India’s own Gaganyaan programme and the NAVIC-adjacent satellite cooperation themes recurring in these digests.

Economy

Tata Trusts proposes recast of Tata Sons to avoid listing

• Plan: merge Tata Electronics Systems Solutions (TESS) and Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) into Tata Sons, so operating revenue (₹1.05 lakh crore) dwarfs income from financial assets (₹40,072 crore) — pushing Tata Sons out of NBFC / Core Investment Company (CIC) classification and its associated listing requirement.
• Static: RBI classified Tata Sons as an “Upper Layer” NBFC under the Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) framework for NBFCs (2021) — a useful current-affairs hook into RBI’s NBFC regulatory tiers (Base/Middle/Upper/Top Layer).

IIP growth quickens to 8% in August

• Highest since June 2026; manufacturing sector grew 8.95%, electricity sector hit a 27-month high (12.3%), driven by both conventional and renewable electricity growth.
• Static: IIP (Index of Industrial Production) base year and classification (Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity) is a recurring Economy-Prelims topic; released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

SEBI clears Vinod Adani in shareholding case

• SEBI held that Vinod Adani’s role with two FPIs was “advisory,” not “controlling” — so the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms (promoters capped at holding 75%, i.e., public float ≥25%) were not violated.
• Static: MPS norms are prescribed under SEBI (LODR) Regulations and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957.

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