Current affairs — 25 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• The 99th Amendment Act, 2014 related to the National Judicial Appointments Commission.
• The 101st Amendment Act, 2016 related to Goods and Services Tax in India.
• The 102nd Amendment Act, 2018 gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.
• The 104th Amendment Act, 2019 extended SC/ST seat reservation in legislatures until 25 January 2030.
• The 106th Amendment Act, 2023 related to reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Prelims pointers

• The release cites Madras Bar Association vs UOI, W.P.(C) No.1018 of 2021.
• The Supreme Court judgment cited in the release is dated 19 November 2025.
• Paragraph 142 of the judgment struck down certain provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.
• The judgments apply to appointments, tenure and service conditions of tribunal members and chairpersons.
• The Government said future statutory provisions would consider Supreme Court directions on judicial independence of tribunals.

Prelims pointers

• The Viksit Vibrant Village Programme 2026 was implemented through MY Bharat.
• The programme covered 74 vibrant border villages across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• It was organised in two phases from 4 June to 30 June 2026.
• Over 400 youth participants representing every State and Union Territory were selected through a nationwide online quiz.
• The selection quiz witnessed participation from more than three lakh youth.

Prelims pointers

• USTR announced final measures under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, 1974 on 23 July 2026.
• The investigation covered 60 economies, including India, over prohibitions on imports of goods produced with forced labour.
• India faces an additional 10% ad valorem duty, reduced from the 12.5% initially proposed on 2 June 2026.
• Generic pharmaceuticals, smartphones and some specified products remain outside the additional 10% duty.
• The Ministry estimated that 45% of India’s exports to the U.S. remain outside the Section 301 duty, while 55% will attract it.

Prelims pointers

• Bharat Taxi was launched in Rajasthan at a programme in Jaipur by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
• The release presents Bharat Taxi as a cooperative-based mobility model under the ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ vision.
• Nearly 8 lakh registered Sarathis and around 41 lakh registered customers had joined Bharat Taxi.
• Around 11,000 Bharat Taxi trips were being completed every day, according to the Ministry release.
• Nearly ₹77 crore had been directly credited to Sarathis’ accounts so far.

Prelims pointers

• Sarnath was inscribed at the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee held at Busan, South Korea.
• The inscription made Sarnath India’s 45th property on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• The serial property comprises Chaukhandi Stupa and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Sarnath is associated with Buddha’s first sermon, Dharmachakra Pravartana, and the inception of the Buddhist sangha.
• The site was included in India’s World Heritage Tentative List in 1998 and was nominated under criteria (iii) and (vi).

Prelims pointers

• The Catch the Rain Campaign in Nandyal district ran from 4 July to 4 August 2026.
• Planning covered all 489 Gram Panchayats through surveys, mapping, technical assessments and community consultation.
• Nandyal identified, sanctioned and grounded 2,103 water conservation works, achieving 100% grounding.
• The district desilted and restored 2,691 km of feeder and supply channels under the campaign.
• The interventions restored 3.27 TMC of tank storage capacity and created an additional 0.03 TMC of storage.

Prelims pointers

• BNS 2023, BNSS 2023 and BSA 2023 came into force throughout India with effect from 1 July 2024.
• BPR&D conducted capacity-building programmes and webinars across all 36 States and Union Territories.
• Since 2024, BPR&D trained 83,740 officers and stakeholders from the five pillars of the criminal justice system.
• Police and Public Order were described as State List subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• Union support measures named in the release include ICJS 2.0, forensic-capacity modernisation schemes and Nirbhaya Fund-supported projects.

Prelims pointers

• Article 222 provides for transfer of a High Court judge by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• High Court judge transfer proposals are initiated by the CJI in consultation with four senior-most Supreme Court puisne judges.
• Transfers are to be made in public interest for better administration of justice throughout the country.
• Judicial appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts are made under Articles 124, 217 and 224.
• The 1998 MoP followed the Second Judges Case of 6 October 1993 and the Third Judges Case advisory opinion of 28 October 1998.

Prelims pointers

• Union Budget 2026 allocated ₹810 crore for judicial infrastructure under the district and subordinate courts CSS.
• Union Budget 2026 allocated ₹1,200 crore for eCourts Project Phase III.
• Rajasthan High Court had 50 sanctioned judges, 39 working judges and 11 vacancies as reported in the release.
• Rajasthan had 1,722 sanctioned judicial officers, 1,517 working and 205 vacancies.
• Digital justice services listed include e-Filing, e-Pay, virtual courts, video conferencing and the National Judicial Data Grid.

Prelims pointers

• Karnataka requested inclusion of its 2022 reservation law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
• The law is titled the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services under the State) Act, 2022.
• The Act provides 56% reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
• The Act has been challenged before the High Court of Karnataka and the matter is sub judice.
• The Centre decided that Ninth Schedule inclusion may not presently be appropriate due to the pending court proceedings.

Prelims pointers

• eCourts Project Phase III (2023–2027) was approved on 13 September 2023 with an outlay of ₹7,210 crore.
• 1.21 crore cases have been filed through the e-filing platform under the reported progress.
• NJDG provides access to over 32.46 crore cases and over 39.79 crore orders/judgments.
• Courts have conducted over 4.15 crore hearings through video conferencing.
• The release reports 2,515 e-Sewa Kendras, 31 virtual courts and an AI tool called LegRAA.

Prelims pointers

• The FTSC scheme was launched in October 2019 for rape and POCSO Act, 2012 cases.
• The scheme has been temporarily extended up to 30 September 2026.
• As of 30 April 2026, 775 FTSCs including 398 exclusive POCSO courts were functional across 29 States/UTs.
• The FTSC funding pattern is Central share:State share of 60:40 or 90:10.
• The Department has released ₹1,259.51 crore to States/UTs since the scheme’s inception.

Prelims pointers

• SIR Phase I was first undertaken in Bihar ahead of the 2025 State Legislative Assembly elections.
• Phase II covered nine States and three Union Territories from October 2025 to April 2026.
• Deletions during SIR are based on death, permanent shifting, duplicate entries or repeated untraceability after verification.
• Claims and objections use Forms 6, 7 and 8 before finalisation of electoral rolls.
• The Supreme Court judgment dated 27 May 2026 upheld SIR under the RP Act, 1950 and Article 324 obligations.

Prelims pointers

• Section 12(d) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 provides free legal aid entitlement for persons with disabilities as quoted in the release.
• NALSA’s 2024 scheme covers legal services for persons with mental illness and persons with intellectual disabilities.
• The specialised legal-service units under the 2024 NALSA scheme are called Manonyay.
• Manonyay units have been established in all States/UTs except Lakshadweep, according to the release.
• eCourts Phase III provides ₹27.54 crore for accessible ICT-enabled facilities and ₹6.35 crore for S3WaaS websites.