Table of Contents
- Supreme Court to Hear Plea on Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology
- Rajya Sabha Passes Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026
- Delhi University’s Revised History Syllabus Drops Delhi Sultanate Paper
- FCRA Amendment Bill Referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee: How JPCs Work
- NITI Aayog Report: India Needs Deeper Localisation in Manufacturing
- Overseas Mutual Fund Flows Turn Negative After 15 Months
- India’s Goods Exports Surge 20% in July; Trade Deficit at 6-Month High
- IOL Launches Indigenous ‘GARUD’ High-Resolution Binoculars
- Prelims Practice Questions
- Mains Practice Question
- FAQs on UPSC Daily Current Affairs
1. Supreme Court to Hear Plea on Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology
GS Paper 2 — Polity & Governance | Fundamental Rights, Right to Privacy
Context
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea filed by a Rajya Sabha MP challenging the Delhi Police’s use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) to monitor protesters, including the alleged sharing of protesters’ biometric data with private companies, during a recent Jantar Mantar protest.
Key Highlights
- A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India tagged the fresh plea with pending petitions on the same protest.
- Petitioners argue that FRT use violates the Right to Privacy, as laid down in the landmark K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India (2017) judgment, which held that any infringement of privacy must be backed by law, pursue a legitimate aim, and be proportionate.
- The plea also cites the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, arguing neither authorises biometric surveillance of persons in civilian assemblies.
- Delhi Police has defended the surveillance, stating it helped identify individuals with prior criminal cases who were present at the protest.
- The Court has directed that personal data collected during the protest be preserved but not made public for now, and ordered no coercive action against detained minors.
UPSC Relevance
This story connects directly to Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right (Article 21), the doctrine of proportionality, and the ongoing debate on surveillance technology versus civil liberties — a recurring theme in GS Paper 2 and Essay papers.
2. Rajya Sabha Passes Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026
GS Paper 3 — Economy, Mining Sector, Centre-State Relations
Context
Parliament has passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, amid concerns that it could curtail states’ revenue from mineral-rich land.
Key Highlights
- The Bill seeks to prohibit states from imposing specified levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, except as permitted by Centre-prescribed conditions.
- It comes despite the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling upholding states’ power to levy tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land (allowing recovery of arrears from April 1, 2005, without interest or penalty).
- Once enacted, the law will extinguish unpaid or unrecovered dues arising from such levies imposed before its commencement (though already-paid/recovered levies won’t be refunded). Outstanding dues across the sector are estimated at around ₹2 lakh crore.
- The amendment applies only to major minerals — iron ore, coal, bauxite, manganese, and copper — affecting roughly 11 mineral-producing states; minor minerals remain outside its scope.
- The Union Mines Minister clarified that all 14-odd levies on major minerals (environmental cess, pollution cess, etc.) will continue, and that the goal is to keep prices of key minerals stable to avoid a cascading impact on infrastructure and inflation.
- States’ mineral-sector revenue rose from ₹13,258 crore (2014-15) to ₹71,035 crore (2024-25).
UPSC Relevance
A high-value topic for federalism, Centre-State fiscal relations, and the mining/minerals regulatory framework — link this with the MMDR Act’s distinction between major and minor minerals.
3. Delhi University’s Revised History Syllabus Drops Delhi Sultanate Paper
GS Paper 1 — Indian History & Culture | Education Policy
Context
Delhi University’s newly notified postgraduate History syllabus no longer includes the paper on the Delhi Sultanate, along with several other courses on medieval, ancient, and modern India.
Key Highlights
- The dropped paper, “The Delhi Sultanate: Structures of Authority in Medieval North India (13th–14th Centuries),” examined state formation, authority structures, and political-religious-cultural life under the Sultanate.
- Other omitted third-semester papers include “History of North India, c. 1400–1550,” “Gender and Women in Early India: 1500 BCE to 1000 CE,” “Political Processes and Structure of Polities in Ancient India,” and “Religion and Society in Ancient Indian Literature.”
- The revision follows DU’s broader syllabus restructuring under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, building on undergraduate changes made in 2022-23.
- These papers had cleared earlier stages of syllabus approval but did not make it into the final notification issued on August 7.
UPSC Relevance
Useful for GS Paper 1 (Medieval Indian History) as well as for tracking NEP 2020 implementation and debates around curriculum design in higher education (GS Paper 2).
4. FCRA Amendment Bill Referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee: How JPCs Work
GS Paper 2 — Parliament, Parliamentary Committees, Legislative Process
Context
The Lok Sabha has referred the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) amid strong objections from the Opposition and religious organisations to some provisions — reviving the question of how much difference parliamentary committees actually make to legislation.
What Are Parliamentary Committees Tasked With?
Committees exist because the two Houses have limited time to examine an increasingly complex body of legislation. Smaller committees can question officials, hear experts and stakeholders, and scrutinise a Bill clause by clause. As Rajya Sabha literature puts it, their underlying philosophy is: “Influence, not direct control; advise, not command; criticism, not obstruction; scrutiny, not initiative; accountability, not prior approval.”
Types of committees:
| Committee Type | Function |
|---|---|
| Department-related Standing Committees | Ongoing scrutiny of ministries’ functioning and policies |
| Financial Committees | Scrutinise government expenditure |
| Select Committees | Constituted by one House for a specific Bill |
| Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) | Members from both Houses; constituted for a specific Bill/issue |
Importantly, committee recommendations are not binding on the government.
If the Ruling Party Has a Majority, How Independent Can a JPC Be?
JPC membership broadly mirrors party strength in Parliament, and the chairperson is usually from the ruling side, with a casting vote in case of a tie. Still, the Opposition retains tools: questioning officials, placing evidence on record, proposing changes, and filing dissent notes — though it is rare for Opposition positions to alter the final law, especially on politically central Bills.
Have JPCs Actually Changed Laws?
- The Stock Market Scam JPC (2001-02) produced detailed recommendations on regulatory surveillance and SEBI-exchange coordination; the government acted on 236 of its recommendations.
- The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 JPC led to changes in the composition and functioning of the proposed Cooperative Election Authority.
- Scrutiny of the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017 by a JPC contributed to the government eventually withdrawing the Bill amid depositor-protection concerns.
- The Personal Data Protection Bill JPC is a clear case of Opposition dissent being formally recorded, even where it didn’t change the final outcome.
Has the Committee System Weakened?
According to PRS Legislative Research, the share of Bills referred to committees has fallen sharply:
| Lok Sabha | Period | % of Bills Referred to Committees |
|---|---|---|
| 14th | 2004-09 | ~60% |
| 15th | 2009-14 | ~71% |
| 16th | 2014-19 | ~25% |
| 17th | 2019-24 | ~16% |
While routine scrutiny via Standing Committees has declined, JPCs are increasingly reserved for particularly contentious Bills — making the FCRA referral significant, since the government could have used its Lok Sabha majority to push the Bill through directly but chose the JPC route instead.
UPSC Relevance
A rich, multi-dimensional Mains topic covering Parliamentary Committees, legislative scrutiny, and Centre’s use of JPCs as a political tool — frequently tested in GS Paper 2 (Parliament and State Legislatures — structure, functioning, conduct of business).
5. NITI Aayog Report: India Needs Deeper Localisation in Manufacturing
GS Paper 3 — Indian Economy, Industrial Policy, Manufacturing
Context
NITI Aayog’s new report, “Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub,” calls for India to move beyond assembly-led manufacturing toward deeper domestic value addition.
Key Highlights
- The report analyses four sectors: Chemicals, Telecom & Networking Equipment, Textiles, and Solar Photovoltaic manufacturing.
- Chemicals: Priority is improving domestic feedstock availability, developing integrated manufacturing clusters, and increasing downstream value addition. India’s chemicals industry is valued at $200–220 billion (FY25), ~3–3.5% of the global market, projected to grow 6–8% annually over the next five years.
- Textiles: The report calls for greater focus on man-made fibres (MMF), technical textiles, MSME modernisation, and wider export markets. Around 80% of textile and apparel producers are MSMEs, many facing gaps in machinery, technology, certification, and digital infrastructure. About 35% of India’s MEG (monoethylene glycol) requirement is imported, raising India’s cost disadvantage in MMF manufacturing.
- Recommended fixes: modernising outdated machinery, cluster-level certification centres, and better access to international markets.
UPSC Relevance
Directly relevant to industrial policy, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and PLI-linked manufacturing debates in GS Paper 3.
6. Overseas Mutual Fund Flows Turn Negative After 15 Months
GS Paper 3 — Indian Economy, Capital Markets, External Sector
Context
Overseas Fund of Funds (FoFs) in India saw their first monthly net outflow in July since April 2025, as mutual funds continue to restrict fresh overseas investment intake.
Key Highlights
- Overseas FoFs recorded an outflow of ₹90 crore in July, against inflows of ₹1,661 crore in April.
- Redemptions from such schemes rose sharply — up 19% month-on-month to ₹395 crore, the highest in four months.
- This is linked to RBI/SEBI overseas-investment limits: the mutual fund industry has a combined $7-billion limit for investment in foreign securities and a separate $1-billion limit for overseas ETFs, so AMCs (PGIM, Motilal Oswal, Edelweiss, Franklin Templeton, etc.) have stopped accepting fresh lump-sum investments.
- Overseas appeal is fading as the AI-led rally in markets like South Korea, Taiwan, and the US cools — South Korea’s Kospi index fell over 22% in July after rising 108% earlier in 2026.
- Improved domestic market performance and a global AI-sector meltdown also contributed to the shift back toward Indian equities.
UPSC Relevance
Useful for GS Paper 3 topics on capital account management, mutual fund regulation, and global market interlinkages — pairs well with RBI’s LRS (Liberalised Remittance Scheme) framework.
7. India’s Goods Exports Surge 20% in July; Trade Deficit at 6-Month High
GS Paper 3 — Indian Economy, External Trade
Context
India’s merchandise exports and imports both clocked double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive month in July, but a sharper rise in imports pushed the trade deficit to a six-month high.
Key Highlights
- Goods exports rose nearly 20% to $44.24 billion; imports grew 17.51% to $76.22 billion, widening the trade deficit to $32 billion — a six-month high.
- India’s exports to the US rose ~12.85% to $9.02 billion in July; exports to China jumped 64.57% to $2.2 billion.
- Top 5 export destinations in July: USA ($9.02 bn), UAE ($7.9 bn), Singapore ($3.26 bn), China ($2.2 bn), Netherlands ($1.76 bn).
- Non-traditional markets also grew: exports to ASEAN, South Asia, and North-East Asia rose; exports to Brazil surged 150.36% to $1.57 billion.
- Imports rose across the board, including from China (up 29.68% to $52.71 billion, April–July).
- FIEO’s President noted the over-19% July export growth reflects Indian exporters’ resilience amid global trade disruptions, but flagged the widening trade deficit as an area needing attention.
UPSC Relevance
Core data point for GS Paper 3’s external trade and balance of payments segment — useful to cite in Mains answers on India’s trade diversification strategy.
8. IOL Launches Indigenous ‘GARUD’ High-Resolution Binoculars
GS Paper 3 — Science & Technology, Defence Indigenisation
Context
India Optel Limited (IOL), a Mini Ratna Category-I Defence PSU under the Department of Defence Production, has launched the indigenously designed ‘GARUD’ High-Resolution Binoculars for the civilian market.
Key Highlights
- Developed and manufactured by the Ordnance Factory, Dehradun (a unit of IOL), whose precision-optics legacy dates back to 1943.
- Specifications: 8x magnification, 7.6-degree field of view, ±5 diopter adjustment, weather-resistant build, ergonomic soft-touch grip, and a weight of approximately 610 grams.
- Applications span birdwatching, wildlife observation, nature exploration, travel, sports, forestry, marine, and security-related use.
- The launch marks IOL’s entry into the civilian optics market, extending defence-grade optical technology — previously used by the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces — to the general public, in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
UPSC Relevance
A useful example for GS Paper 3 answers on indigenisation of defence production, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and dual-use technology transfer from defence PSUs to civilian markets.
9. Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding Parliamentary Committees in India:
- Recommendations of a Joint Parliamentary Committee are binding on the government.
- A Joint Parliamentary Committee consists of members from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
- Select Committees are constituted by a House for examining a specific Bill.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (b) — Committee recommendations, including those of a JPC, are not binding on the government.
Q2. The K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India judgment (2017) is associated with which of the following?
(a) Right to Education
(b) Right to Privacy
(c) Right against Exploitation
(d) Right to Constitutional Remedies
Answer: (b) — Right to Privacy, held to be part of Article 21.
Q3. Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act framework, which of the following is classified as a “major mineral”?
(a) Bauxite
(b) Ordinary sand
(c) Building stone (d) Brick earth
Answer: (a) — Bauxite; the others are typically classified as minor minerals.
10. Mains Practice Question
“Parliamentary Committees are often described as ‘mini-Parliaments’ meant to ensure detailed legislative scrutiny, yet their relevance is increasingly questioned.” In light of the declining referral of Bills to Standing Committees and the selective use of Joint Parliamentary Committees for contentious legislation, critically examine the changing role of Parliamentary Committees in India’s legislative process. (250 words, GS Paper 2)
11. FAQs on UPSC Daily Current Affairs
Q1. Why is Daily Current Affairs important for UPSC preparation? Current affairs form the backbone of both UPSC Prelims (especially in GS Paper I) and Mains (GS Papers II, III, and the Essay paper), and are increasingly integrated into static portions of the syllabus like Polity, Economy, and History.
Q2. How should aspirants use this Daily Current Affairs digest? Read each news item along with its GS Paper mapping, note down key facts for Prelims (numbers, Acts, judgments), and practice linking the issue to broader static concepts for Mains answer-writing.
Q3. What is the difference between a Select Committee and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)? A Select Committee is constituted by a single House to examine a specific Bill, while a JPC includes members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and is typically used for Bills requiring wider political consensus or scrutiny.