UPSC Key: Dust storms, Financialisation and Scheduled tribe status

Maharashtra clears mine project, says not in tiger area; maps show otherwise

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: THE MAHARASHTRA government on May 13 exempted an iron ore mining and processing project in Gadchiroli from wildlife clearance by claiming — incorrectly — it was not located in any tiger corridor, official communications reviewed by The Indian Express show.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work-Tadoba-Indravati Tiger Corridor, Gadchiroli

• How do tiger corridors help in maintaining landscape-level conservation?

• What are the challenges involved in balancing mining-led economic development with wildlife conservation?

• How do mining projects affect ecological connectivity and wildlife movement in forest landscapes?

• How are environmental impact assessment and wildlife clearance mechanisms effective?

• What is environmental impact of iron ore mining?

Key Takeaways:

• The project proposal involves diverting 9.4 sq km of forest land in Gadchiroli for iron ore extraction and processing by Lloyds Metals & Energy. It received forest clearance on April 15 and environment clearance on May 12, a day before it was exempted from obtaining wildlife clearance.

• According to the project site map submitted by Lloyds to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the area falls in forest compartments 196, 197, 273, 274, 275, 276, 298, 300 and 301. All but one (300) of these compartments are identified as part of the Tadoba-Indravati tiger corridor in the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)-approved Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP) of the Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve.

• Under ‘Category of Area Required’, Lloyds itself identified the project site as a “Tiger Corridor” in its wildlife clearance application submitted in March 2024.

• Yet, records show that on May 13, Maharashtra Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) M Srinivasa Reddy exempted the project from obtaining wildlife clearance and recommended handover of forest land to the company, stating that the project area was not within or near any national park, sanctuary, tiger reserve or corridor identified in any TCP.

Do You Know:

• Tiger corridors are vital wildlife pathways that connect tiger habitats, enabling animal movement, gene flow, and long-term survival. Under the Wildlife Act, development projects involving land in or around tiger reserves or corridors require statutory clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife. A TCP is a 10-year roadmap for every tiger reserve approved by NTCA.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍NTCA limits tiger corridors to minimal requirement, multiple projects to benefit

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2014)
1. Animal Welfare Board of India is established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
2. National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body.
3. National Ganga River Basin Authority is chaired by the Prime Minister.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Nation

Gen Subramani takes over as CDS, prioritises tri-services synergy

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

What’s the ongoing story: General NS Raja Subramani Sunday took charge as the new Chief of Defence Staff, news agency PTI reported.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is ‘Three Star Officers”? Know the ranks in the Indian Army, Indian Airforce and Indian Navy

• Chief of Defence Staff-About, Role and Significance

• Chief of Defence Staff is a three Star Officer or Four-Star Officer?

• Need for Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)- Kargil Review Committee (KRC) 1999, Naresh Chandra Task Force on National
Security 2011

• Appointment of Chief of Defence Staff-Who Appoints?

• Office of the Chief of Defence Staff-Role and Functions

• Why Chief of Defence Staff is a ‘dual-hatted role’?

• What are Theatre Commands?

• What work has been done on Theatre commands?

• Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)-Role and Importance

• Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of Defence Staff-Compare and Contrast

• What will be the upcoming Issues and Challenges for the Chief of Defence Staff?

Key Takeaways:

• Subhramani succeeded General Anil Chauhan, who stepped away on Saturday after ending his tenure as the country’s senior-most military commander.

• Subramani’s primary mandate will be to put in place the military theaterisation plan and strengthen tri-services synergy.

• Taking over as the new CDS, he said, “Transformation of armed forces and organisational reforms to enhance synergy and integration will be the primary focus. We will accelerate the development, induction, and integration of indigenous weapons in our armed forces.”
• Known for his expertise on Pakistan and China, Subramani retired as the Vice Chief of Army Staff on July 31 last year, and was serving as the Military Advisor at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) ever since. Throughout his 40-year career, General Subramani served across a wide spectrum of conflict profiles and held numerous Command, Staff, and Instructional positions.

Do You Know:

• The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services, and offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Executive (in India’s case, to the Prime Minister) on long-term defence planning and management, including manpower, equipment and strategy, and above all, “jointsmanship” in operations.

• In most democracies, the CDS is seen as being above inter-Service rivalries and the immediate operational preoccupations of the individual military chiefs. The role of the CDS becomes critical in times of conflict.

• Most countries with advanced militaries have such a post, albeit with varying degrees of power and authority. The United States Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), for example, is extremely powerful, with a legislated mandate and sharply delineated powers.

• He is the most senior military officer and military adviser to the President, and his remit extends to the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the Defence Secretary.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What are role, powers of CDS?

Previous year UPSC main Question Covering similar theme:
📍What are the internal security challenges being faced by India? Give out the role of Central Intelligence and Investigative Agencies tasked to counter such threats. (UPSC, GS3, 2023)

SC asks govt to make law exempting trafficked sex workers from prosecution

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

What’s the ongoing story: Underlining that there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach in the application of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) to tackle commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), the Supreme Court has laid out an elaborate ‘Victim Protection Plan’, securing the rights of “voluntary” sex workers, and called upon the government to consider amending the law to exempt trafficked victims from being prosecuted for prostitution.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956?

• What exactly the Supreme Court of India said?

• Why Supreme Court used Article 142 of the Constitution?

• Which are the recommendations that the SC has directed to be implemented?

• What are the constitutional dimensions of the rights of sex workers under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution?

• How Supreme court distinguish between voluntary sex work and trafficking for sexual exploitation from a legal and policy perspective?

• How has the Supreme Court attempted to balance human dignity, individual autonomy, and anti-trafficking concerns in cases involving sex workers?

• Know the role of the judiciary in advancing the rights of marginalized communities in India.

Key Takeaways:

• It also sought that the new law protects the victims from “sexual abuse” by police personnel when in custody.

• A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, which exercised powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, said in its May 29 judgment that the plan which details “the manner in which preventive, protective and rehabilitative measures are to be taken to safeguard the fundamental rights of the victims of trafficking for CSE…would hold the field until the Parliament enacts a law on the subject”. The court noted that “rights of sex workers can exist without there being a right to sex work”.

• The 297-page judgment sought to distinguish those trafficked for prostitution from adults who indulge in it “voluntarily” and said that “by conflating prostitution and trafficking”, the Act as it stands processes “those trafficked against their will…those who were trafficked but continue voluntarily…” and “those who have chosen sex work for themselves…through the same mechanism under Section 17, without differentiation.”

• It said that “ITPA’s failure to accord rights and protections to” the latter “combined with the deep social stigma attached to sex work, results in voluntary adult sex workers being isolated, marginalised, and unable to access protections that the law extends to them”.

• Writing for the bench, Justice Pardiwala said, “The larger society’s view of sex work is deeply rooted in moral judgment… This attitude is perhaps most starkly reflected in the deeply derogatory terminology that continues to be used in common parlance in Hindi and English to describe voluntary adult sex workers. The consequences of this stigma are severe and far-reaching.”

• The new plan, with an emphasis on dignity and human rights, says, “Victims shall not, at any stage, be treated as criminals or subjected to measures associated with criminal liability.”

• A one-size-fits-all approach, applied to the heterogeneous group of ‘victims of trafficking for CSE’, is unlikely to serve their interests properly. In fact, it might lead to unintended consequences.

Do You Know:

• In 2010, an appeal was filed in the SC against a July 25, 2007 order of the Calcutta High Court by which the latter upheld the life imprisonment imposed on a man named Budhadev Karmaskar, found guilty of murdering a sex worker in Kolkata’s red light area in September 1999. On February 14, 2011, the SC dismissed Karmaskar’s appeal against his conviction and sentencing.
The court suo motu converted the case into a PIL to address the problems of sex workers. It said: “We strongly feel that the Central and the State Governments through Social Welfare Boards should prepare schemes for rehabilitation all over the country for physically and sexually abused women commonly known as prostitutes as we are of the view that the prostitutes also have a right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution…” It issued notices seeking responses from the central and state governments.

• On July 19, 2011, the SC appointed a panel comprising Senior Advocates Pradip Ghosh and Jayant Bhushan, and the NGOs Usha Multipurpose Co-operative Society, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee and Roshni Academy “to assist and advise” it “for giving suitable directions in this matter”.

• In its final report submitted on September 14, 2016, the panel noted that sex workers found it difficult to acquire proofs of identity such as ration cards or voter cards because they lacked a proof of residence. It said that district authorities did not recognise the identities of sex workers and their children, and sex workers did not have access to schemes meant for their rehabilitation. They also had no access to credit offered by states, because the lack of documents prevented them from opening bank accounts, the panel said. The committee recommended that amendments should be made to The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why Supreme Court’s acknowledgement of sex work as a profession is welcome

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2) Which of the following are envisaged by the Right against Exploitation in the Constitution of India? (UPSC CSE, 2017)
1. Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
2. Abolition of untouchability
3. Protection of the interests of minorities
4. Prohibition of employment of children in factories and mines
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

The Ideas Page

India Oman pact holds promises for farms, factories and small businesses

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: The India–Oman Free Trade Agreement that comes into force from June 1 is a defining milestone in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to create global pathways to prosperity for India’s students, artisans, women, farmers, fishermen and MSMEs by opening new markets and accelerating job creation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• India and Oman bilateral relations-Know the background

• Map work-Location of Oman and surrounding countries

• What is the status of trade between India and Oman?

• Oman’s strategic location makes it a vital gateway to the Gulf and Africa-discuss

• What is Oman’s Strategic Significance for India?

• What is Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?

• Know about other types of trade agreements like Bilateral investment treaty (BIT), Preferential Trade Area, Single market, Customs Union etc.

• What is Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?

• How trade relations impacts Power theory?

Key Takeaways:

• India has a deep economic and people-to-people connect with Oman, home to nearly 7 lakh Indians, including merchant families whose roots there go back 200–300 years. Indian remittances from Oman amount to about $2 billion annually, while more than 6,000 Indian enterprises operate there.

• The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries significantly deepens economic and strategic ties. It immediately gives 100 percent duty-free market access in Oman to 98 per cent of tariff lines covering 99.38 per cent of exports. This marks a dramatic improvement over the pre-CEPA system that allowed only 15.3 per cent of India’s exports enter Oman at zero duty. Goods from India that currently face a 5 per cent import duty in Oman, worth about $3.64 billion in exports, will become more competitive.

• For India’s MSMEs, the agreement could be transformative asmany sectors that gain from CEPA are dominated by small businesses. Iron and steel, textiles, leather, auto components and industrial equipment are some of the sectors where MSMEs are expected to get large international orders, which will boost production, investment and hiring.

• In an era of growing global instability, the CEPA offers Indian exporters a crucial opportunity to diversify markets and reduce dependence on traditional destinations facing economic slowdown and rising trade barriers.

Do You Know:

• Oman is India’s closest defence partner in the Gulf region and an important anchor for India’s defence and
strategic interests. Defence cooperation has emerged as a key pillar for the robust India-Oman strategic partnership. Defence exchanges are guided by a Framework MOU which was recently renewed in 2021.

• Oman is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks, enabling close cooperation and trust at the professional level. Oman also provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy missions.

• There are about 6.2 lakh Indians in Oman, of which about 4.8 lakh are workers and professionals. There are Indian families living in Oman for more than 150-200 years. Thousands of Indians are working as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, teachers, lecturers, nurses, managers among other professionals.

• In a strategic move to expand its footprint in the Indian Ocean region, India has secured access to the key Port of Duqm in Oman for military use and logistical support. This is part of India’s maritime strategy to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region. This was one of the key takeaways of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Oman in February ‘2018.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: India, Oman ties and why its top defence official’s Delhi visit important

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3) Which of the following is not a member of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’? (UPSC CSE, 2016)
(a) Iran
(b) Saudi Arabia
(c) Oman
(d) Kuwait

Previous year UPSC main Question Covering similar theme:
📍The question of India’s Energy Security constitutes the most important part of India’s economic progress. Analyse India’s energy policy cooperation with West Asian countries. (UPSC GS2, 2017)

The cloud is the new frontier of digital sovereignty

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: Building sovereign application-layer infrastructure while remaining structurally dependent on foreign cloud, foreign AI, and foreign chips is an unresolved vulnerability — one that the Nayara episode previewed and future geopolitical turbulence will test again.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is a sovereign cloud system?

• Why Government wants companies in critical sectors such as energy, telecom, and banking to use Made-in India sovereign cloud systems?

• Which is the sovereign cloud provider in India?

• “Made in India” signifies what?

• How much Indian companies are dependent on crucial digital infrastructure services offered by foreign companies?

• India’s digital ecosystem-what is present situation?

• Why India needs push in digital infrastructure services?

• What are the issues and challenges with India’s digital infrastructure?

• What are the schemes/programs/policies for digital Infrastructure?

• What is MeghRaj?

Key Takeaways:

• Last year, Nayara Energy — one of India’s largest oil-refining companies — received a notice that should have alarmed every policymaker in Delhi. Microsoft informed the company that it might have to discontinue its cloud services, citing US sanctions compliance obligations arising from Nayara’s Russian shareholder, Rosneft.

• Nayara was operating within Indian law. Its refinery is on Indian soil. But the digital infrastructure on which it ran its operations was leased from a company headquartered in Redmond, Washington — and was, therefore, subject to American law. The threat was not ultimately executed, but India had just glimpsed what digital dependence looks like when geopolitics turns hostile.

• The Nayara episode is a reminder of something we have been slow to reckon with: Microsoft’s cloud, Amazon’s AWS, and Google’s infrastructure are, in the truest sense, digital infrastructure. Hospitals run on them, banks clear transactions through them, government agencies store data on them, and entire supply chains depend on them. That dependence comes with a condition: The terms can change, and the switch can be thrown, from a boardroom in another country.

• Not all digital infrastructure carries the same risk. Private digital infrastructure — the clouds, platforms, and algorithms built by global technology firms — is a commercial asset, governed by the laws of their home jurisdictions. They can be monetised, restricted, or weaponised. Then there is the digital public infrastructure (DPI), which a country builds to serve its citizens on its own terms.

Do You Know:

• Cloud systems are on-demand, internet-based services that deliver computing resources—such as servers, data storage, databases, and software—hosted in remote data centres rather than on local hardware. Instead of purchasing and maintaining expensive in-house IT infrastructure, businesses rent these resources.

• Big businesses need cloud systems primarily for scalability and cost efficiency, allowing them to instantly scale IT infrastructure up or down to meet fluctuating demand without heavy capital investment.

• A BLOCK by a cloud system provider can log out a client company from accessing its own data, communication channels and other tools and products. This can critically endanger operations in sectors such as telecom, energy and financial services. This is the reason why the government seeks greater control over such digital infrastructure.

• According to PIB, the Enhancement of National Informatics Centre (NIC) National Cloud Services project, launched in 2022, seeks to upgrade the national cloud infrastructure, enabling faster and more efficient delivery of e-Governance services.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Govt keen firms in critical sectors use ‘Made in India’ cloud systems

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4) Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned? (UPSC CSE, 2022)
(a) Cloud Services
(b) Quantum Computing
(c) Visible Light Communication Technologies
(d) Wireless Communication Technologies
Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍Has digital illiteracy, particularly in rural areas, coupled with lack of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility hindered socio-economic development? Examine with justification. (UPSC, GS2, 2021)

Explained

Aravalli range’s role in shielding Gangetic plains from Thar dust

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography

Main Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

What’s the ongoing story: Visuals of a massive dust storm in Churu on Saturday (May 30) have been going viral on social media. The storm, which affected Churu, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Nagaur, Didwana-Kuchaman, Alwar and Sikar, is common in parts of Rajasthan this time of the year, when dust-bearing winds blow in from the Middle East and the Thar Desert.

Key Points to Ponder:

• How Aravalli Range is shaping the climate and ecology of north-western India?

• What are dust storms?

• What are the meteorological and environmental factors responsible for increasing frequency of dust storms in India?

• Map Work- Aravalli Range

• Which peak is the highest point of the Aravalli Range?

• The Aravalli Range is arguably the oldest geological feature on Earth, having its origin in which era?

• The Aravalli Range, is believed to be the oldest range of fold mountains in India-True or False?

• How has mining activity affected the ecological integrity of the Aravalli Range?

• Know the relationship between dust storms and air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR).

• Know India’s preparedness for managing increasing dust storm events under changing climatic conditions.

• Discuss the role of early warning systems in mitigating the impacts of dust storms.

Key Takeaways:

• What stands between the Thar’s dust and the densely populated Indo-Gangetic plains is the Aravalli range. As the winds run into the Aravallis, they lose speed and drop their load of sand. Many such sand dunes, called ‘obstacle dunes’, can be found on the range’s slopes, visual proof of the protective role it plays.

• As Chetan Agarwal, environmental researcher and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Ecology Development and Research (CEDAR), explained, “On many hills on the western slope, directly exposed to the hot winds from the west, there are large deposits of sand known as obstacle dunes. The vegetation growing in these dunes is similar to that found in desert regions. If there is additional tree cover, the wind has to pass through it, creating a natural scrubbing effect and reducing the movement of sand and dust. The dunes clearly show the role the Aravalli range plays in interception of dust.”

• This shield, however, is under stress, as the range degrades due to loss of vegetation and mining on hillocks. Meteorologists say dust from Rajasthan reaches the northern plains now even when a dust storm is not very intense.

• Dust storms primarily originating from the Thar Desert are not unusual over northern India in the pre-monsoon months of April to June. These storms are fuelled by intense heat and dry conditions, while south-westerly and westerly winds move the dust across the region.

Do You Know:

• The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Climate Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas of India, based on 1981-2010 climatological normals, shows that parts of northwest India fall in the highest dust-storm frequency class, averaging 0.89 to 1.55 dust-storm days.

• The long-period data shows that Delhi and its neighbouring districts already lie in a high-exposure zone. In June, the storm activity is markedly high, with the national capital district recording a frequency of 2.5 days, the highest in the country for the month. With the Aravalli’s degradation, the effects of such storms can be felt more.

• A Forest Survey of India (FSI) assessment of 2018 found that 31 of the 128 Aravalli hills in Rajasthan had disappeared due to anthropogenic pressures. There has also been a loss of hills with 200 meters to 600 meters elevation above sea level in Naraina, Kalwar, Kotputli, Jhalana, and Sariska in Rajasthan.

• The Environment Ministry in its Aravalli restoration framework last year flagged the causes behind the degradation to be a mix of mining of red silica, granite and other minor minerals, deforestation, urbanisation, construction activities, land-use change, pastoral activities and encroachments.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Watch | Massive dust storm engulfs Rajasthan’s Churu, visibility drops to near zero

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5) What is/are the importance/importance’s of the ‘ United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’ ? (UPSC CSE, 2016)
1. It aims to promote effective action through innovative national programmes and supportive international partnerships.
2. It has a special/particular focus on South Asia and North Africa regions, and its Secretariat facilitates the allocation of major portions of financial resources to these regions.
3. It is committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC main Question Covering similar theme:
📍The process of desertification does not have climate boundaries. Justify with examples. (UPSC, GS3, 2020)

Unaffordable homes: UN report lists factors behind housing crisis

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies I: Population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies

What’s the ongoing story: Have you ever felt that you might not be able to afford to buy your own house? If yes, you are not alone. Across countries, housing prices are slipping out of the budget of most ordinary people. The world is in the midst of a housing crisis as more people move to urban areas and not enough houses are being built, according to the United Nations’ recently released World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis: Pathways to Action. The report also flags financialisation as one of the major factors behind this crisis.

Key Points to Ponder:

• The United Nations’ recently released World Cities Report 2026-what are the highlights?

• What is financialisation?

• How is it impacting real estate prices?

• What is the global housing shortage?

• How does unplanned urbanization contribute to housing insecurity and the growth of informal settlements?

• How housing affordability affects labour markets, migration, and productivity?

• Discuss the relevance of United Nations Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) in addressing housing challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Up to 3.4 billion people — four out of every 10 people worldwide — lack access to adequate housing. Of this, more than a billion live in informal settlements such as slums, according to the report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the highest recorded number. It was released at the Thirteenth World Urban Forum, which was organised by UN-Habitat in Baku, Azerbaijan.

• At the same time, housing affordability pressures continue to intensify. If a household spends more than 30% of its budget on housing, it is considered housing stress-burdened. Globally, 44% of households spend more than 30% of their income on rent.

• For prospective buyers, affordability is measured using the house price-to-income ratio: housing is considered affordable when the median house price is no more than three times the median household income, while ratios above five indicate severe unaffordability.

• Central and Southern Asia, including India, have seen the sharpest relative rise in price-to-income ratios of any region — up 73% between 2010 (9.7) and 2023 (16.8).

• In 2018, more than half of the new housing units built in the eight largest Indian cities were in the affordable housing segment. This has declined to fewer than two out of every ten units built by 2025, the report notes. Developers prioritise luxury units due to higher margins and demand, placing homeownership out of reach for most families.

Do You Know:

• The roots of the crisis go back to the post-World War II period, the report notes. Facing severe housing shortages and economic depression, governments invested heavily in public housing. But international agencies, including the United Nations, International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Bank, rarely supported this model. Instead, they advocated greater private sector involvement, arguing that mass public housing was too costly, especially for newly independent and transitioning economies.

• This critique of public housing laid the foundations for two dominant approaches that continue to shape housing policy: “aided self-help” — where households build or improve homes with support — and the “enabling approach”, under which governments facilitate construction by private players, community associations and others. Yet these programmes often failed to reach the poorest households and sometimes displaced the very populations they intended to support, the report states.

• The state has not only built fewer homes but has also often built them in the wrong locations. A detailed analysis of annual DDA reports by the Centre for Policy Research’s Cities of Delhi project, directed by Partha Mukhopadhyay and Patrick Heller, found that the agency consistently fell behind housing targets and that construction skewed sharply toward higher income groups. “We calculate that of the 979,073 houses built between 2003 and 2010, fewer than 23,000 (2.3%) were built by the DDA,” it said.

• The report also notes that housing must be developed where livelihoods and social infrastructure, such as parks, exist; otherwise, people are unwilling to relocate. More than 50,000 government-built flats remain unoccupied on Delhi’s outskirts due to poor connectivity, lack of livelihoods and political tussles.

• According to the report, financialisation is one of the major drivers behind the crisis. It refers to the increasing involvement of financial actors, investment instruments and large pools of capital in housing and land markets. Mortgage lenders, private equity funds and corporate landlords have expanded their role in rental and ownership markets, often seeking long-term income and asset appreciation.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Solving migrant workers’ housing crisis

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6) In the context of the Indian economy, non-financial debt includes which of the following? (UPSC CSE, 2020)
1. Housing loans owed by households
2. Amounts outstanding on credit cards
3. Treasury bills
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Religion and the tribal identity: Why ‘delisting’ debate refuses to die down

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

What’s the ongoing story: When the population census process got underway in Jharkhand on May 16, an appeal began circulating among Adivasi communities: don’t mention “Hindu” in the religion column; instead, write “Sarna” — the traditional tribal faith — or “others”.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is delisting?

• What are the constitutional basis for the identification and recognition of Scheduled Tribes in India?

• Examine whether Scheduled Tribe status should be linked to religion.

• What are the constitutional implications of delisting Scheduled Tribes following religious conversion?

• How does the Scheduled Tribe category differ from the Scheduled Caste category in terms of constitutional criteria and eligibility?

• Know the role of Articles 341 and 342 in shaping affirmative action policies for marginalized communities.

• What are the legal and constitutional challenges involved in implementing a policy of tribal delisting after religious conversion?

• Connect the dots between tribal identity, culture, and religion in India.

Key Takeaways:

• Around a week later, a large Sangh-affiliated Adivasi gathering in New Delhi demanded “delisting” from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category for tribal people who convert to Christianity or Islam.

• “Delisting” refers to the demand that tribal people converting to Christianity or Islam should not continue receiving benefits for STs. Among the major voices raising this demand are Adivasi Hindus.

• But another section of Adivasis, from the Sarna community (which does not identify as either Hindu or Christian), argues that if religion becomes the basis for removing tribal status, the same rule should apply to tribal people who have converted to Hinduism.

• This renewed debate around delisting has also raised Constitutional questions around religion and affirmative action. This comes amid the recent Supreme Court observation reiterating that Dalits converting to Christianity or Islam cannot continue to claim Scheduled Caste status under Article 341. However, Article 342, which deals with STs, does not explicitly mention religion — a distinction now central to the debate around tribal identity and conversion.

Do You Know:

• The roots of the delisting idea are often traced to Baba Kartik Oraon, a prominent Adivasi leader who later became a Union minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet.

• Kartik Oraon lost his debut Lok Sabha election in 1962 from Lohardaga, an ST-reserved constituency. He argued before the Patna High Court that since his opponent had converted to Christianity, he no longer was a tribal from the Oraon community and should, therefore, be disqualified. The Patna High Court, however, held that Oraon is “primarily a tribe and ethnic identity, not merely a religion”. It observed that Christian Oraons retained their clan system, and continued to observe tribal customs and festivals. The judgment noted that they are “Oraons first and Christians next”. This High Court judgment is often cited by opponents of the delisting demand to argue that religion is immaterial in determining ST identity.

• In August 1967, when Kartik Oraon was a minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, the government introduced the ‘Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order Amendment Bill’ in Lok Sabha to revise the inclusion and exclusion of castes and tribes across India. It was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee the next year in March.
The committee, in its report on November 17, 1969, proposed amending the Bill to exclude Christian and Muslim tribal converts from the Scheduled Tribe category. The government, however, expressed reservations over the proposal. Parliament never adopted it.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍RSS-linked outfit seeks Bill to delist converted tribals from from reserved ST categories

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
7) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2024)
1. It is the Governor of the State who recognizes and declares any community of that State as a Scheduled Tribe.
2. A community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(b)  2.(c)  3.(a)  4.(b) 5.(c) 6.(d) 7.(b)

  

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.