Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for August 21, 2026. If you missed the August 20, 2026 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

UGC equity rules being reconsidered: Centre to SC

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; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

What’s the ongoing story: The Centre told the Supreme Court Thursday that it is reconsidering the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations aimed at preventing caste discrimination in higher education institutions.

• What are the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026?

• What are the UGC guidelines on caste discrimination?

• What was the Supreme Court’s decision on the UGC regulations?

• What are the arguments for and against the UGC regulations 2026?

• Which constitutional provisions provide protection against any form of discrimination?

• What are the concerns related to discrimination in higher education?

• Notified on January 13 but stayed by the Supreme Court on January 29, the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 snowballed into a political issue after it drew objections from general category groups over their perceived exclusion and from sections of Dalit and OBC communities opposed to the court stay and any rollback.

• “It is being reconsidered,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The bench was hearing a clutch of petitions that primarily challenge the definition of “caste-based discrimination” in the regulat

• In the eye of the storm is regulation 3(1)(c), which defines caste-based discrimination as discrimination on the basis of caste or tribe against members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

• Petitioners have argued that this excludes general category students and faculty from specific protection against caste-based discrimination. At the same time, the regulations’ broader definition of “discrimination” covers unfair or differential treatment on the ground of caste against any stakeholder.

• Although the Supreme Court stayed the regulations days after the notification and revived the 2012 framework, there is concern within the BJP that the issue may lead to disquiet among Dalit communities, particularly in UP where Assembly elections are due next year. Some among the Dalits are also opposed to bringing the OBCs under the protective umbrella.

• Regulation 3(1)(c) is the one being contested. It defines caste-based discrimination as discrimination on the basis of caste or tribe against members of the SCs, STs and OBCs. Petitioners say this excludes general category students and faculty from the protection umbrella. The regulations, notified in January, were stayed by the Supreme Court which revived the 2012 regulations until further orders.

• The regulations stem from a 2019 petition filed in the Supreme Court by the mothers of Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula, who died by suicide over alleged caste-based discrimination in 2019 and 2016, respectively. They had sought the enforcement of robust anti-discrimination mechanisms across higher education institutions.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Supreme Court stays new UGC rules on caste bias: ‘Will divide society’

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍“Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence caste system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment. (UPSC, GS1, 2018)

RWAs a barrier, Govt may let high-income households compile own spending data

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: Two years ago, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and some Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) had squared off: the latter felt the government’s surveys asked difficult questions and sought private details, while the ministry was worried by the rising unresponsiveness from high-income households living in gated societies. Now, the ministry is considering letting these families compile their own data.

• What were the key findings of the HCES (2023-2024)?

• What is Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES)?

• Who conducts Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES)?

• What is diary-based data collection?

• Why do Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) refuse to be surveyed?

• What is recall error in survey research?

• How recall error in survey research is different from non-response bias?

• How can non-response among high-income households affect the measurement of poverty and inequality in India?

• With the next edition of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) expected to begin in mid-2027 and continue for about a year, the ministry is looking at the adoption of “diary-based data collection” for high-income households living in gated societies, instead of a door-to-door survey by field officials.

• In this method, households note down the information themselves, as and when the relevant activity occurs. In the case of the HCES, this would mean jotting down how much is spent in a month on different goods and services, ranging from food items to haircuts.

• The most recent HCES, conducted from August 2023 to July 2024, saw 2.6 lakh households being surveyed from across the country, barring a few inaccessible villages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The survey sought responses for a total of 405 goods and services.

• While it is called “diary-ba¬sed data collection”, households may not have to actually note down their expenses in a physical diary. The ministry, which now uses tablets to record responses to its surveys, may employ a system where such households can enter their consumption expenditure details on an online portal, sources said.

• The overall urban non-response rate during the 2022-23 HCES jumped to 9.8%, from 2.8% in the 75th round of the National Sample Survey, conducted from July 2017 to June 2018. In rural areas, the non-response rate increased to 4.1% from 1.5% during the same period. For the most affluent urban and rural respondents, the non-response rate was 11% and 3.9%, respectively. In the 2011-12 survey, the corresponding figures were 3.3% and 1.3%.

• While a diary-based system is “always better”, the problem for MoSPI will be how two data sets compiled through different methods will be “stitched together”, said Pronab Sen, India’s first chief statistician.

• Data collected through surveys suffer from what is called a “recall error” — people can make errors in remembering their expenditure details. The diary method minimises this problem as households can write down the information as and when they make the purchase.

• Concerned by the falling participation of high-income households in its surveys, MoSPI held a “brainstorming session” with representatives from more than 75 organisations and housing societies from across the country in September 2024, hoping to find solutions to the issues it faced — from survey staff not being allowed to enter gated societies, to the lack of awareness on why these surveys are important for policy purposes, often leading to refusal to provide information.

• With the government looking to make its policies increasingly data and evidence driven, a rise in non-response rates can lead to inappropriate conclusions being drawn and decisions not leading to desired results. A rise in non-response rates can curtail the sample size of surveys. If these non-responses are from a certain segment, the final composition of the sample may be different from what was intended, leading to incorrect estimates from the exercise.

• On the other hand, RWAs voiced concern on the sensitive and private nature of some questions, and the apprehension that the details may be shared with other government departments. MoSPI has assured that data privacy is of paramount importance, and the data is anonymised.

• The HCES gives a measure of how much people spend on various goods and services, tracking the change in consumption patterns across different levels of consumers in rural and urban areas. It is key to understanding not just household consumption behaviour, but also standards of living, well-being and inequality.

• The share of expenditure on different items is also used to update the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, which forms the basis of one of the most important economic indicators, the headline retail inflation.

• It is this measure of change in prices that the Reserve Bank of India looks at while deciding on interest rates. The central bank’s CPI inflation target is 4% in a band of 2-6%.

• In the past, the HCES was conducted every five years. However, after an overhaul of the methods, two back-to-back surveys were conducted in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Going forward, the ministry intends to conduct the HCES every three years or so.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Five questions the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 answers

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 1) As per the NSSO 70th Round “Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households”, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2018) 1. Rajasthan has the highest percentage share of agricultural households among its rural households. 2. Out of the total agricultural households in the country, a little over 60 percent belong to OBCs. 3. In Kerala, a little over 60 percent of agricultural households reported to have received maximum income from sources other than agricultural activities. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 2 and 3 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

2) In a given year in India, official poverty lines are higher in some States than in others because (UPSC CSE, 2019) (a) poverty rates vary from State to State (b) price levels vary from State to State (c) Gross State Product varies from State to State (d) quality of public distribution varies from State to State

English indigenous or foreign language? Supreme Court for examining constitutionality

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What’s the ongoing story: The Supreme Court on Thursday wondered whether it’s correct to treat English as a “non-indigenous” language under the CBSE’s three-language policy, given its “roots into Indian society”, and said the constitutionality of doing so will have to be examined.

• What is the current status of English as a language in India?

• What is the three-language formula?

• How three-language formula goes in the context of linguistic diversity, national integration and educational choice?

• What are the Constitutional provisions relating to languages in India?

• The Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with what?

• Is English in the eighth schedule of the Constitution?

• English originated abroad does not automatically answer whether it should be categorised as a “foreign/non- indigenous” language for every policy purpose—what is your take?

• Can a language become indigenous through long usage?

• The court made the observation while hearing petitions challenging the CBSE’s decision to introduce the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) from 2026-27.

• A three-judge bench, presided by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, also asked the Board to clarify if the current batch of Class 6 students can be given a reprieve and the policy be introduced from next year, given that the infrastructure is still not adequately in place.

• During the hearing, some of the petitioners pointed out that the three-language policy considers English a non-native language and this is making life difficult for the students.

• Responding to the concern, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for CBSE, told the bench: “English is an official language under the Constitution. That status no one can take away… it’s not treated like a foreign language, but it can’t be treated like a native language also. Language is the vehicle of a culture…”

• Justice Bagchi said, “If we have to examine that issue as to the extent to which English can be considered as a non-indigenous language, first, I personally have a serious reservation about the expression used ‘native’. It has a very colonial import. It should be ‘indigenous’. Secondly, if you see the historical perspective of English and the extent of its roots into Indian society, it would be, I think in a final decision making process, although it’s your policy, you would take the final call, but then on the constitutionality angle, we have to see whether English can be classified as a non-indigenous language or an indigenous language. Because if you do that, to a large extent these rough edges can be taken care of.” Bhati said “non-native is an expression coming from the new education policy”.

• The Central Board of Secondary Education three-language policy, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, mandates that students study three languages, with at least two being native Indian languages (Bhartiya Bhashas). Rolled out starting in the 2026–2027 academic year, the framework changes language requirements across middle and secondary classes

• According to CBSE, Students entering Class 6 from 2026–2027 fully follow the three-language policy, and the third language will be included in their Class 10 board examinations.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍We don’t want children to come under pressure: SC flags CBSE three-language policy

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍National Education Policy 2020 is in conformity with the Sustainable Development Goal-4 (2030). It intends to restructure and reorient education system in India. Critically examine the statement. (UPSC, GS2, 2020)

India and Japan to enhance cooperation in maritime security to guard Indo-Pacific

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: India and Japan agreed to enhance operational maritime security cooperation and protect vital Sea Lines of Communication across the Indo-Pacific following high-level bilateral talks on Thursday.

• What constitutes Indo-Pacific region?

• The Term ‘Indo-Pacific’-What does it mean? Define this term in Geopolitical and in geographical context.

• Know the importance of Indo-Pacific region for India

• India’s Indo-Pacific Strategy-Know in detail

• Long-standing spiritual affinities as well as powerful cultural and civilizational ties have been the foundation of India and Japan’s friendship-discuss

• India-Japan Bilateral Relations and Shared Heritage-Know in detail

• What international organisations are Japan and India members of?

• India and Japan-Know Economic Relations, Cooperation in Security Fields, Cultural Relations and Bilateral Treaties and Agreements

• Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)-What is the rationality behind FOIP?

• What Does a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ Actually Mean?

• Do you think that the Free and Open Indo-Pacific is actually meant to contain China?

• India-Japan and China-connect the dots

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation during their meeting in New Delhi. The pact establishes a comprehensive framework to strengthen ties between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Key areas of focus include Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).

• A joint statement released after their bilateral meeting stated that both ministers emphasised the importance of sharing assessments of the regional and international security environment, especially amid heightened global tensions. They also strongly opposed any unilateral actions that threaten the freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, and any attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion, without explicitly naming any country.

• The two ministers affirmed that they would strengthen coordination between the two sides to protect Sea Lines of Communication through mutual visits by naval ships and units, joint exercises, personnel and subject matter expert exchanges, and logistical support, including the use of ports and maintenance and repair facilities. The two ministers concurred on moving swiftly to realise concrete maritime security cooperation that serves the strategic and operational needs.

• They agreed that both sides should maximise synergies to enhance mine countermeasures capabilities and explore the possibility of joint development in naval shipbuilding and design, leveraging Japan’s technological expertise and India’s production capabilities, in accordance with their respective policies. They also agreed that both sides should leverage each other’s strengths in defence shipbuilding and related areas, and deepen discussions on Japan’s use of India’s production capabilities within the framework of ‘Make in India’.

• According to Britannica, Indo-Pacific, maritime region spanning the Indian and Pacific oceans that has become a significant focal point of geopolitical strategy and tension throughout the 21st century. The term has been widely adopted in policy discourse by the United States and its allies, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the countries of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Although Russia and China also prioritize the region strategically, they generally prefer the older term “Asia-Pacific.” The increased prominence of the Indo-Pacific concept has been considered by some analysts to be a response to the rise of China’s power and influence.

• India and Japan share a long-standing friendship rooted in centuries of cultural and civilisational exchange, spiritual affinity, and shared values of freedom, democracy and respect for the rule of law. However, ties have gained specific focus and traction over the last decade when the relationship was elevated to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014.

• The relationship was launched as a Global Partnership in 2000, upgraded to a Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006, and elevated to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014 during the Summit between PM Modi and former PM Shinzo Abe.

• Japan participates in several bilateral exercises with India, including JAIMEX, Dharma Guardian, Veer Guardian, and bilateral Coast Guard Drills, as well as in multilateral exercises such as MALABAR and MILAN. Defence equipment and technology cooperation has also progressed, including the signing of a Memorandum of Implementation for the transfer of the UNICORN Mast in November 2024.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍In Indo-Pacific, the slow and steady growth of Indian power

📍From strategic stockpiling to AI ecosystem, roadmap is rolled out

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 3) With reference to “Look East Policy” of India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE, 2011) 1. India wants to establish itself as an important regional player in East Asian affairs. 2. India wants to plug the vacuum created by the termination of the Cold War. 3. India wants to restore the historical and cultural ties with its neighbours in Southeast and East Asia. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC, GS2, 2020) 📍The new tri-nation partnership AUKUS is aimed at countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. Is it going to supersede the existing partnerships in the region? Discuss the strength and impact of AUKUS in the present scenario. (UPSC, GS2, 2021)

In a 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court for tweaking the definition of industry, exempts pending matters

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: Underlining that the essential framework of its 1978 interpretation of what constitutes an “industry” has withstood the test of time, the Supreme Court on Thursday, in a 5:4 ruling, said that the definition needs modification.

• What is the definition of an industry in India?

• What kinds of activities or organisations should be treated as an industry for the purposes of labour law?

• The 1978 Bangalore Water Supply judgment adopted a very broad interpretation of industry-know in detail

• Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa (1978)-What was the case and outcome?

• Why was the 1978 judgment significant?

• What is the significance of finality of judicial decisions in maintaining the rule of law?

• What are the labour laws and labour codes in India?

• What is the definition of labour in India?

• “We have felt that some of these constituent elements could have been articulated differently so as to better reflect the scope and contours of Section 2(j) (of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947),” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said. CJI Kant, Justices Alok Aradhe, SC Sharma, Vipul Pancholi and PS Narasimha formed the majority while Justices BV Nagarathna, Dipankar Dutta, Ujjal Bhuyan and Joymalya Bagchi wrote dissenting opinions.

• A fine print of the ruling prescribing the new formulation of the definition is awaited. The definition of an “industry” – earlier under the erstwhile Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and now under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which is set to replace it – determines employees under which workplaces are entitled to statutory protections. The wide net cast by the 1978 definition enabled workers to have a legal recourse regarding wages, working hours, strikes and protection against arbitrary dismissal, among other things.

• The majority ruling said that while pending disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act will continue to be decided under the framework laid down in its landmark 1978 Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v A Rajappa judgement, prospective cases will be governed by the modified definition. However, even the modified definition will not apply to pending cases.

• “It is not intended to displace the governing legal position in respect to the pending process. Consequently, all matters presently pending before courts, governors, labor authorities, or other fora under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 may be adjudicated in accordance with the triple test as laid down in Bangalore Water Supply. We have not disturbed that because it will create artificial discrimination…” CJI Kant said.

• In the 1978 ruling, the Supreme Court laid down what came to be known as the “triple test” for identifying an industry. It held that an undertaking would qualify as an industry if there was “systematic activity”, “organised by cooperation between employer and employee”, “for the production and/or distribution of goods or services calculated to satisfy human wants and wishes.” The court said it did not matter whether the activity is driven by profit, though purely spiritual or religious activities would not be covered.

• With differences in how this judgement was interpreted in subsequent rulings, the case was referred to a nine-judge bench for reconsideration.

• The majority opinion held that the reference questioning the correctness of the 1978 ruling was maintainable.

• The 1978 definition resulted in what later benches called a “docket explosion” bringing more cases to the labour courts. Parliament attempted to narrow the definition through the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, excluding several organisations, but the Centre told the court in 2005 that no alternative dispute-resolution mechanism existed for employees who would fall outside the amended definition, so the 1978 position continued to hold.

• Labour unions argued that the judgement has provided a stable framework for nearly five decades and that excluding workers from the Act without comparable protections would leave them with little recourse.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Post-liberalisation, what should be scope of industry definition, asks Supreme Court

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 4) In India, which one of the following compiles information on industrial disputes, closures, retrenchments and lay-offs in factories employing workers? (a) Central Statistics Office (b) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (c) Labour Bureau (d) National Technical Manpower Information System

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard? (UPSC, GS3, 2024)

Vande Mataram: Religious imagery, political debate

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

• General Studies I: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.

• 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: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at party programmes, amid BJP attacks over the National Song’s rendition at its Independence Day programme and later at an event in Goa.

• What is ‘Vande Mataram’?

• What are the important facts about Vande Mataram?

• The National Anthem and National Song-know the difference

• Why Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Ananda Math (1882) is considered a foundational text for understanding Indian nationalism?

• What are the political debate around ‘Vande Mataram’?

• Why did the Congress in 1937 distinguish between the first two stanzas and the rest of the song?

• What do the remaining four stanzas say, and why have they been contentious?

• The Congress’s highest decision-making body cited a 1937 CWC resolution to back its stand, arguing that the leading lights of the freedom movement, including Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, had backed limiting the public rendition of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas.

• The row comes months after Parliament made intentional attempts to prevent or disrupt the singing or playing of Vande Mataram an offence.

• Vande Mataram (meaning ‘mother, I bow to thee’) was composed in Sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875. Six years later, it was included in his novel Anandamath, which tells the story of the late-18th century Sanyasi Rebellion — a series of armed uprisings in Bengal against the East India Company rule and the regional Muslim administrators.

• Vande Mataram gained popularity during the Swadeshi movement (1905-08), becoming closely associated with the freedom struggle. The Muslim League, however, was against some references in the song, and also believed that “bowing to the mother” amounts to idolatry.

• The opposition to Vande Mataram from Muslim scholars is rooted in the interpretation that the song’s imagery of “Mother India” as a goddess violates the basic Islamic tenet of strict monotheism, which forbids followers from worshipping anyone other than Allah.

• The third stanza talks about “crores and crores” of arms ready to bear swords in the defence of the motherland, while the fourth says the motherland’s image is carved out in every shrine, and the fifth likens the motherland to goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. This invocation of Hindu goddesses has sparked objections from Muslim scholars. The latter parts of the song, according to historian Tanika Sarkar, “become a call to war where Muslims are the adversary in the Anandmath, and the motherland here acquires the form of a Hindu goddess that alienates Muslims”.

• When India gained Independence, there was a demand for Vande Mataram to be adopted as the national anthem. In the Constituent Assembly, there was some friction on the issue. On August 14, 1947, at the Assumption of Power ceremony, Sucheta Kripalani sang the first verse of Vande Mataram as the opening item. On August 26, HV Kamath rose in the Assembly to say that on that day: “…Some of us in this House noticed that a number of our Honourable friends entered the Assembly Chamber — I would almost say trooped into this Hall — after the song had been sung. I would request you, Sir, to look into this matter…”

• Among those who preferred Jana Gana Mana as the anthem were Nehru, and among the reasons he cited was that Vande Mataram would be difficult to set to an orchestra. On November 5, 1948, Seth Govind Das said in the Constituent Assembly: “…I would say that ‘Vande Mataram’ can be our National Anthem. The history of our struggle for independence is associated with Vande Mataram. If it be said that is tune is not fit for orchestrisation I would submit that this is a difficulty which can be overcome by experts in orchestral music.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Govt set to bring Bill to criminalise insult to Vande Mataram

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: 5) With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct? (UPSC CSE, 2021) (a) Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolor Indian National Flag here. (b) Pattabhi Sitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of Andhra region from here. (c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here. (d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.

6) Who among the following is associated with ‘Songs from Prison’, a translation of ancient Indian religious lyrics in English? (UPSC CSE, 2021) (a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak (b) Jawaharlal Nehru (c) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (d) Sarojini Naidu

Panel to review nuclear liability caps every 5 years

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: Liability caps for nuclear operators under the SHANTI Act will be reviewed every five years by an expert group, which can recommend changes to the graded limits, according to the Act’s draft rules released by the Department of Atomic Energy.

• The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act-know the key highlights and features

• How nuclear liability works and how it has changed under the SHANTI Act?

• India’s nuclear liability law-what you know about the same?

• Which two laws are being amended to open up India’s civil nuclear sector?

• Why the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA) was cited as an impediment by foreign equipment vendors?

• Atomic Energy Act, 1962-what you about the same?

• Rule 78 of the draft rules, which were released on August 14, provide for the Centre to form a group of experts in specific domains — nuclear science and engineering, actuarial science, insurance and law, along with public-interest representatives — to review the “maximum limits of operator’s civil liability for nuclear damage” and propose amendments to the act’s second schedule.

• The second schedule of SHANTI act introduced graded liability caps based on the size of a nuclear installation, replacing the earlier flat cap of Rs 1,500 crore under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA).

• Under the new framework, operators of reactors above 3,600 megawatt-electric (MWe) face a maximum liability of Rs 3,000 crore, while those between 1,500 MWe and 3,600 MWe face a cap of Rs 1,500 crore. The limits fall to Rs 750 crore for reactors between 750 MWe and 1,500 MWe and Rs 300 crore for those between 150 MWe and 750 MWe.

• For reactors up to 150 MWe, fuel-cycle facilities other than spent-fuel reprocessing plants, and transportation of nuclear material, the liability is capped at Rs 100 crore.

• The review mechanism is not entirely new. Section 6 of the now-repealed CLNDA also allowed the Centre to periodically review the operator’s liability and notify a higher amount. The draft SHANTI Act rules, however, explicitly provide for a defined time period for an expert group to undertake the review and recommend amendments to graded caps.

• This comes as the issue of liability cap has also reached the Supreme Court, following a petition which challenged the act for allowing “private sector and foreign companies to operate nuclear power plants in India, [and] has also capped the liability of these operators at an absurdly low level and exempted the supplier from any liability,” in violation of the Constitution.

• One of the most contentious changes is the dilution of the operator’s “right of recourse” against nuclear equipment suppliers in the event of an accident.

• According to Section 17 of the CLNDA, the operator of a nuclear installation, after paying the compensation for nuclear damage, shall have the right to recourse where (a) such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing; (b) the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or sub-standard services; and (c) the nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.

• The SHANTI Act retains provisions (a) and (c) but omits provision (b), which previously exposed nuclear equipment vendors to long-term and uncertain liability risk in the event of a nuclear accident.

• This provision was repeatedly flagged by foreign nuclear equipment vendors as a deterrent to investing in India’s nuclear sector as it exposes them to long-term and uncertain liability risk in the event of a nuclear accident.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How India’s new nuclear rules could favour old nuclear energy partner Russia

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy. (UPSC, GS3, 2018) 📍Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India? (UPSC, GS2, 2017)

1.(b)  2.(b)  3.(b) 4.(c)  5.(c) 6.(c)

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Priya Kumari Shukla is a Senior Copy Editor in the Indian Expre... Read More