DEFAMATION CASE AND SC 2025
A Delhi court’s blanket order ignored this minimum requirement on September 6, 2025: It ordered that articles alleged to be defamatory by Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) be taken down, and allowed AEL to identify other links to be taken down
As of September 18, the I&B Ministry ordered the takedown of at least 138 YouTube links, 83 Instagram posts, and sent notices to several online publishers. The action is reminiscent of censorship under Section 66a of the IT Act, which the Supreme Court struck down in Shreya Singhal. The SC barred from any restraint on above case.
THE PUBLIC DEBT OF ALL 28 STATES
The public debt of all 28 states combined trebled in 10 years — from Rs 17.57 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 59.60 lakh crore in 2022-23 — according to a first-of-its-kind report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) that provides a decadal analysis on fiscal health of states.
According to the report, at the end of 2022-23,
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- the highest debt-to-GSDP ratio of 40.35 per cent of Punjab,
- Nagaland (37.15 per cent) and
- West Bengal (33.70 per cent) (see chart).
The lowest ratio was recorded in
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- Odisha (8.45 per cent),
- Maharashtra (14.64 per cent) and
- Gujarat (16.37 per cent).
DISTRICT JUDGE APPOINTMENT
The supreme court decision, September 2025
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- Judicial officers with seven years in the Bar before their recruitment to the subordinate judicial service are entitled to be appointed as District or Additional District Judges.
- The court directed that the minimum age for being considered and appointed as a District Judge/Additional District Judge for both advocates and Judicial Officers would be 35 years of age as on the date of application.
- It will infuse young talent into the upper echelons of the district judiciary
- So far, only practising lawyers with seven years were considered for direct recruitment as District Judges.
- District Judges are considered for appointment to the High Court.
- Note: In-service judicial officers, even with seven years of previous experience as lawyers, were not considered, leading to rustication and lack of drive.
The court directed State governments in consultation with High Courts to frame/amend the rules in accordance with this judgment within three months.
Article 233
(1) Appointments of persons to be, and the posting and promotion of, district judges in any State shall be made by the Governor of the State in consultation with the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to such State.
(2) A person not already in the service of the Union or of the State shall only be eligible to be appointed a district judge if he has been for not less than seven years an advocate or a pleader and is recommended by the High Court for appointment.
WHO CAN DISQUALIFYA VOTER?
What are the legal provisions for deletions from electoral rolls?
Electoral registration officers (EROs) of Parliamentary constituencies are empowered by Section 22 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1950, to make corrections and deletions to the electoral roll either on their own or acting on applications made to them.
In each case, they must conduct an inquiry, give the elector concerned time to respond and then pass an order.
The ERO can delete an entry from the electoral roll in case the person has died, or is no longer ordinarily resident in that constituency, or has been found ineligible — meaning, they are not a citizen or are under the age of 18 years.
How can electors apply for deletion?
Under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the forms for new applications, corrections and deletions from electoral rolls have been prescribed.
Form 7 is the one for making “objection for proposed inclusion/deletion of name in existing roll”. Electors can file a Form 7 if they want to delete their own name or if they want to object to any other elector in their constituency. The form can be downloaded from the ECI’s voter portal (voters.eci.gov.in) and handed to the booth level officer (BLO) concerned or submitted online. The ECINet app can also be used to submit forms online.
How is Form 7 filed online?
To submit Form 7 online, one has to first create an account and link their phone number to their electors photo identity card (EPIC) number on the voters’ portal or app.
Only those registered in the same constituency can submit a Form 7 seeking deletion of a name from a particular constituency.
Form 7 requires the applicant to provide their own name, EPIC number and phone number, as well as the name, EPIC number (if available) and address of the person against whom they are objecting.
The applicant has to select one of five reasons for objecting against an elector: “death”, “under age”, “absent/permanently shifted”, “already enrolled”, or “not Indian citizen”.
The form does not require any evidence.
THE BETI BACHAO, BETI PADHAO (BBBP)
The Gujarat model: As Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Modi recognised that tackling issues such as female foeticide and girls’ illiteracy required a multi-pronged approach. Laws alone wouldn’t suffice; a fundamental shift in public perception, supported by infrastructure and incentives, was required.
Launched in 2003, the Kanya Kelavani campaign became a key vehicle for this change. The initiative promoted awareness about girls’ education while addressing barriers such as the lack of separate toilets for girls in schools, a major cause of dropouts during adolescence.
The results were significant. Female literacy rate in Gujarat which was lower than the national average, increased to 70%, higher than the national average of 64%. The school dropout rate reduced by as much as 90% among female students in targeted districts.
Scaling success nationwide
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- Inspired by Gujarat’s success, the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative was launched nationwide in 2015. Its aim was twofold: to prevent female foeticide and promote girls’ education.
- The initiative focused on 100 gender-critical districts in its initial phase and later expanded nationwide.
- It brought together multiple ministries — Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Human Resource Development — in a coordinated push for change.
- Among other measures of outcome, its impact is most visible in the survival rate of girls. India’s sex ratio at birth improved from 919 girls per 1,000 boys (2015-16) to 929 (2019-21). Encouragingly, 20 out of 30 States/UTs are performing better than the national average of 930.
THE RIPPLE EFFECTS
The real power of girls’ education lies in the ripple effects it triggers across society. Educated women tend to marry later and have fewer children.
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- India’s Total Fertility Rate has dropped to 2.0, just below replacement level. This shift is closely tied to rising female education and workforce participation.
- Women with secondary education are more likely to seek institutional deliveries and prenatal care.
- The Infant Mortality Rate for girls has dropped from 49 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 33 by 2020.
- While overall female labour force participation remains a challenge, it is rising in sectors such as healthcare, education, STEM, and entrepreneurship — fields that thrive on literacy and skills..
THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT
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- Educated girls grow into educated mothers — and that changes everything. Studies show that children of educated mothers perform better in school and experience better health outcomes.
- In Madhya Pradesh, recent surveys show that 89.5% of people are aware of BBBP, and 63.2% say it directly encouraged them to send their daughters to school.
Today’s educated girls are not merely students; they are potential leaders, advocates, and change-makers of tomorrow. Educated girls are more likely to join the workforce, contribute to their families’ incomes, and invest in the education of their children.
Let’s be clear: when you educate a girl, you save a society.
100 YEARS OF UPSC
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) marks a century of its establishment on October 1, 2025. Its journey over the past 100 years is not just an institutional history but also a testament to India’s enduring faith in fairness, trust and integrity in governance.
ITS CREATION
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- The Government of India Act, 1919, first provided for such a body, and in October 1926, the Public Service Commission was set up, following the recommendations of the Lee Commission (1924).
- ITS FIRST HEAD: Sir Ross Barker
- The Government of India Act, 1935 elevated it to the Federal Public Service Commission, giving Indians a greater role in administration.
THE FOUNDATION AND PILLARS
If the history of the UPSC is its foundation, the principles of trust, integrity and fairness are its pillars. Over the decades, millions of aspirants have placed their faith in the Commission, assured that success or failure depends solely on merit.
The UPSC takes immense pride in conducting the world’s biggest and most sophisticated competitive examination, the civil service examination, with remarkable precision and consistency year after year. Starting with nearly between 10 lakh to 12 lakh applicants for the preliminary examination, candidates for the mains examination have the option of choosing from among 48 subjects and writing their answers in English or any of the 22 languages recognised under the Constitution of India.
A SERIES OF REFORMS
As the UPSC enters its centenary year, this moment calls not just for celebration but also for reflection.
The UPSC has a new online application portal for greater ease of application and new face-recognition technology to ensure zero impersonation. Its reforms with examination and recruitment processes are in line with the changing needs of time.
The UPSC’s Professional Resource And Talent Integration Bridge for Hiring Aspirants (PRATIBHA) Setu initiative, is facilitating employment opportunities for those who reach the interview stage but are unable to make it in the final list. PRATIBHA Setu has already helped many.
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