Bhargav Shukla

POWER TO DEMOLISH BRING RESPONSIBILITY TO REHABILITATE: SC ■ The Supreme Court has backed an NGO's petition seeking formulation of a uniform policy for demolition of unauthorised constructions and simultaneous rehabilitation of affected families. ■ Bench disposes the petition with a direction to the Union and State governments to consider the issues in it. ■ The court asked the Union and State governments to consider the petition filed by an NGO, the Centre for Law and Good Governance, seeking the formulation of a uniform policy for demolition of unauthorised constructions and simultaneous rehabilitation of the affected families. COURTS OBSERVATIONS 🧐 ■ Demolition and rehabilitation are the "twin responsibilities" of the government in a welfare democracy: o If the State wants to demolish, it has to provide rehabilitation for people affected by its action. It is a twin responsibility. o In case of demolition of an unauthorised construction, there has to be a policy for rehabilitation. ■ Court acknowledged that the authority of the state to demolish long- must be balanced with the right of the families to dignity, shelter and livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution. ■ Demolition, being an extreme and irreversible measure, cannot be carried out without a policy that reconciles the right to shelter, livelihood and dignity

PM RESEARCH CHAIR (PMRC) SCHEME ■ In pursuance with the vision of NEP 2020, the Ministry of Education has launched the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme: o    to attract and engage distinguished Indian-origin researchers, scientists and professionals with international research experience, o   to strengthen India's higher education and research ecosystem through research, mentorship and institutional capacity-building across national priority thematic areas. ■ The Scheme provides for fellowships under three categories, namely Research Chair, Senior Fellow and Young Research Fellow. ■ Under the Scheme, seven institutions have been identified as Lead Institutions. ■ The government has made provision of Rs 200 crore for the PMRC Scheme for the year 2026-27. ■ The Scheme envisages India’s position as a global hub of research, innovation and knowledge creation by providing benefits of structured engagement of Indian-origin researchers and scientists to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), national laboratories, and research centres.

TAMIL NADU ADOPTS RESOLUTION FOR ABOLITION OF NEET ■ The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses. ■ It cited: o Repeated irregularities in the conduct of the examination. o Proliferation of coaching centres. o Loss of lives. ■ The resolution said the Tamil Nadu government had consistently maintained that NEET was against social justice and equality and infringed upon the rights of the States in matters relating to medical education. o The examination had seriously undermined the opportunities available to rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, including those whose medium of instruction was Tamil. ■ In 2021, when the DMK was in power, the Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, seeking to exempt the State from NEET. o However, the Bill was reserved for the consideration of the President, and presidential assent has been withheld.

🇱🇧 LEBANON ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY ■ Lebanon abolishes death penalty. ■ Lebanon becomes first and only country in the Middle East to formally abolish the death penalty. ■ The country replaced all existing death sentences with life imprisonment. ■ It has been maintaining a de facto moratorium on executions since 2004. □ A de facto moratorium is a practical suspension or ban on an activity that is not officially or legally prohibited. ■ Around 144 nations—have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

BANKERS' Books Evidence Bill ■ The bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister. ■ It seeks to replace the colonial-era 1891 law by recognizing electronic, digital, virtual, and cloud-based banking records as admissible evidence in courts. ■ It also provides for digital authentication of records and empowers the Centre to extend the law to other financial sector entities.

THE INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE BILL ■ The Bill has been introduced in the Parliament. ■ It seeks to repeal the 1959 Act governing the institution and incorporate it as a statutory body corporate with the President as its Visitor and a Board of Governors as its principal executive body. ■ It also provides for an Academic Council headed by the Director to strengthen governance, research, and academic autonomy while expanding the institute’s role in statistics, data science, and allied disciplines.

'Leaking question papers more heinous than murder' ■ The Chhattisgarh High Court has observed that leaking question papers for competitive examinations and jeopardizing the future of lakhs of students is an offense more heinous than murder. ■ The remark came while dismissing the bail plea of Janak Kumar Dhruv, an accused in the alleged Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) recruitment scam. ■ The case pertains to alleged corruption, question-paper leaks, and manipulation of the CGPSC State Service Examinations conducted in the years 2021 and 2022, due to which relatives of influential people were selected by compromising the recruitment process. 📉 (May be quoted in answers)

No Manual Scavengers Identified in Fresh Survey ■ The Government has informed Parliament that a fresh nationwide survey conducted during 2024–25 under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, did not identify any manual scavengers in any district of the country. ■ 58,098 manual scavengers were identified through nationwide surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018. ■ All identified manual scavengers have been provided One-Time Cash Assistance (OTCA) of ₹40,000 each as part of the Government's rehabilitation efforts. ■ Rehabilitation initiatives under the erstwhile Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), now subsumed under the NAMASTE Scheme launched in July 2023, continue to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities. ■ As reported by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), 182 sanitation workers lost their lives due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks during the period from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2026.

India’s elderly population (60+ years)

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued finalized framework guidelines requiring all Regulated Entities (REs)—including Scheduled Commercial Banks and All-India Financial Institutions—to formally integrate Climate-Related Financial Risks into their governance, capital allocation, and risk management frameworks.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the "Bharat Gen AI" open-source dataset repository under the IndiaAI Mission to accelerate the development of sovereign, multilingual Large Language Models (LLMs). Developing sovereign AI capabilities reduces reliance on foreign proprietary models, protects data sovereignty, and enables localized digital public services in healthcare, agriculture, and education for non-English speaking populations.

🔰Mains Mentorship Program 2026 for GPSC Class 1-2 Exam in online mode only. (For Advt. No. 05/2026-27) Let’s cultivate the discipline that takes you all the way to the final list. 🔺For Registration: please fill this Google form. https://forms.gle/GnLG9aT55zKsaE7VA 🚩Detailed Brochure: Will be sent to registered candidates via registered email. 📌Course Starts: July 01, 2026 ✏️For Admissions: Follow the instructions given in the brochure. - Bhargav Shukla Classes

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One setback, one rejection, or one difficult phase does not define your journey. Stay resilient, keep improving, and move ahead with confidence. #GPSCInterviews

Constitutional Thought of the Day In a democracy, no constitutional authority is a "lord." Every institution derives its authority from "We, the People of India." Judges are independent, but their ultimate duty is to uphold the Constitution and deliver justice. This is why the idea of a "judicial servant"—one who serves the Constitution and the people—is more aligned with India's constitutional ethos than the colonial expression "My Lord." Click Here to Understand its constitutional explanation

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