Supreme Court on Rohingya Deportation Case | Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) | Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) | WHO Backs Use of GLP-1 Drugs For Weight Loss | Samagra Shiksha Scheme | Malaria Parasites

Supreme Court on Rohingya Deportation Case

Syllabus: GS2/Governance/IR

In News

• The Supreme Court heard a habeas corpus petition by activists alleging disappearance of several Rohingya persons who were in Delhi Police custody since May.

Rohingya Crisis

• Rohingya – They are an ethnic group largely comprising Muslims who predominantly live in the Western Myanmar province of Rakhin
• In Myanmar, they are classified as illegal migrants and foreigners residents.

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

• It is also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention.
• It is a United Nations multilateral treaty which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.
• India’s membership – India is not a signatory to this Convention.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 

• Adopted in – It is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1966.
• The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.

India’s Stand on Rohingyas

• Operation Insaniyat: In 2017, India launched “Operation Insaniyat” to provide relief assistance for the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance warned that systemic inefficiencies and structural delays are undermining India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) effectiveness.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016

• It provides a time-bound process for resolving insolvency in companies and among individuals.
• Insolvency definition – It is a situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay their outstanding debt.
• Bankruptcy definition – It is a situation whereby a court of competent jurisdiction has declared a person or other entity insolvent, having passed appropriate orders to resolve it and protect the rights of the creditors. It is a legal declaration of one’s inability to pay off debts.
• Significance – It aims to remove bottlenecks, streamline the corporate insolvency resolution process and protect the last mile funding in order to boost investment in financially distressed sectors.

Adjudicating authority

• National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for companies and LLPs.
• Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) for individuals and partnership firms.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

• Established under – It is a quasi-judicial body constituted under section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013 in 2016.
• Recommendation – The tribunal was established based on the recommendation of the Balakrishna Eradi committee on the law relating to insolvency and the winding up of companies.
• Objective – The tribunal deals with matters mainly related to companies Act and insolvency law.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• The first of its kind R&D Roadmap to Enable India’s Net Zero Targets through Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) was launched.

Do you know?

• India is the 3rd largest emitter of CO2 in the world after China and the US, with estimated annual emissions of about6 gigatonne per annum (gtpa).
• The Government of India has committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 and reaching net zero by 2070.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS):

• Capturing CO₂ from industrial plants/power plants or emission sources; then either using the CO₂ (utilization) or storing it permanently (storage, e.g. geological storage).
• Utilization Pathways Envisaged: Converting CO₂ into value-added products — such as green urea (fertilizer), building materials (concrete, aggregates), chemicals (methanol, ethanol), polymers/bioplastics, aggregates for construction, etc.

WHO Backs Use of GLP-1 Drugs For Weight Loss

Syllabus: GS2/Health

In News

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity.

GLP-1 therapies

• GLP-1 therapies (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) are a class of medications that mimic the natural GLP-1 hormone, which helps regulate blood sugar and appetite.

Obesity

• It is a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits.
• It can lead to increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, it can affect bone health and reproduction.
• It increases the risk of certain cancers and influences the quality of living, such as sleeping or moving.
• As per NFHS-5, 24% of Indian women and 23% of Indian men are obese.

Samagra Shiksha Scheme

Syllabus: GS2/Welfare Schemes

In News

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated that States must meet the Samagra Shiksha scheme’s conditions to receive Central funds.

Samagra Shiksha Scheme

• Launched in – 2018-19
• Financing – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
• Objective – to provide equitable, inclusive, and quality education from pre-school to class 12.
• Features – It supports States and UTs through interventions such as composite school grants, libraries, sports, free uniforms and textbooks, ICT initiatives, remedial teaching, and leadership development.
• Significance – The scheme is aligned with NEP 2020

Malaria Parasites

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

Context

• A recent Nature Physics study reveals that malaria sporozoites, the infectious forms injected by mosquitoes, move through human skin using right-handed helical (corkscrew) paths.

Malaria

• Responsible pathogen – Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites.
• Vector – It spreads from people to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.
• Transmission – Malaria is not contagious and cannot spread from one person to another; the disease is transmitted through the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Five species of parasites can cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species – Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax – pose the greatest threat.

Symptoms

• Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women, travelers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk. Severe symptoms include:
  • extreme tiredness and fatigue
  • impaired consciousness
  • multiple convulsions
  • difficulty breathing
  • dark or bloody urine
  • jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin)
  • abnormal bleeding.

Initiatives to Control Malaria by WHO

• WHO’s Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 – It aims to reduce malaria case incidence and mortality rates by at least 40% by 2020, at least 75% by 2025 and at least 90% by 2030 against a 2015 baseline.
• ‘E-2025 Initiative’: The WHO has identified 25 countries with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025 under the initiative.
• High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) initiative: WHO has initiated the initiative in 11 high malaria burden countries, including India.

Indian Government Initiatives to Control Malaria

• National target – The Government of India set a target to eliminate malaria in India by 2027.
• National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) – It has been developed and launched in 2016 aligned with the Global Technical Strategy (GTS) for malaria elimination 2016-2030.
• Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India): It was established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control.

PM Internship Scheme

Syllabus: GS2/Schemes

Context

• The PM Internship Scheme’s pilot project has exceeded its target of providing 1.25 lakh internship opportunities in a year.

Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme

• Objective: To provide internship opportunities to youth in leading companies, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and practical skills.
• Ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• Duration: The internship lasts for 12 months.
• Stipend: Interns will receive a monthly stipend of ₹5,000 for the entire year.
• Eligibility Criteria: Must be an Indian citizen.
  • Must be aged between 21-24 years.
  • Should not be employed full-time or engaged in full-time education.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) Gets Navratna status

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has been accorded ‘Navratna’ status.
• It becomes the 27th Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to be accorded the status.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)

• Location-It is a petroleum refinery situated at Numaligarh in Golaghat district of Assam.
• India’s central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) are classified into three major categories – Miniratna, Navratna and Maharatna CPSEs.

Classification

• Miniratna Status: CPSEs are put in two sub-categories under the Miniratna status – Miniratna-I and Miniratna – II.
• Navratna status: PSUs that have a Miniratna-I status and have obtained an “Excellent” or “Very Good” MoU rating in three out of the last five years.
• Maharatna status: A PSU is eligible for being granted a “Maharatna” status, in case it meets the following criteria:

1. Should have a “Navratna” status
2. Should be listed on the Indian stock exchanges
3. Should be compliant with minimum shareholding norms
4. Average annual turnover of more than ₹25,000 crore and average annual net worth of over ₹15,000 crore in the last three years

• Average annual net profit of over ₹5,000 crore in the last three years along with significant global presence.
• BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, GAIL, HPCL, Indian Oil, NTPC, ONGC are some of the Maharatna PSUs.

State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW 2025)

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

In News

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations recently released The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW 2025).

State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW)

• Publishing organization – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• It is a report on land and water management, aimed at promoting sustainable use to achieve food security and rural development.

Latest Findings

• The report warns that agriculture must produce 50% more food by 2050 to meet global demand, but this will intensify pressure on already strained land, soil, and water resources.
• Agriculture now covers one-third of Earth’s land and uses 72% of global freshwater, leading to water scarcity, groundwater overuse, and degradation of over 1.6 billion hectares of land, much of it farmland.
• This cycle of degraded soils, declining water, and deforestation is undermining agriculture’s foundations and weakening food system resilience.

Dr Rajendra Prasad

Syllabus: GS1/ Famous Personalities

Context

• The President of India, paid tributes to Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, on his birth anniversary.

Early Life and Education

• Birth: He was born in 1884 in the Siwan district of Bihar.
• Education: He joined Presidency College, Calcutta, where he pursued his undergraduate studies. In 1915, he completed his Master of Law (LLM) with Honours.

Role in the Freedom Movement

• Champaran Satyagraha (1917): Gandhiji’s call brought him to Champaran. This marked a turning point, inspiring him towards national service.
• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22): Gave up his successful law practice and founded the National College in Patna (1921).
• Stood firmly with Gandhiji after the Chauri Chaura incident.
• Salt Satyagraha (1930): Led the Salt Satyagraha in Bihar at Patna’s Nakhas Ponds, where volunteers made salt and courted arrest.
• Congress President: He presided over the Bombay session of the INC in 1934. Following the resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose as the President of the Congress in 1939, He was elected as President.
• In July 1946, when the Constituent Assembly was established to frame the Constitution of India, he was elected its President.
• He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1962 for his exemplary service.

Committees of Constituent Assembly chaired by Rajendra Prasad

1. Committee on the Rules of Procedure
2. Steering Committee
3. Finance and Staff Committee
4. Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag

Literary Contributions

1. Satyagraha at Champaran (1922)
2. India Divided (1946)
3. Atmakatha (1946)
4. Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminiscences (1949)
5. Bapu Ke Kadmon Mein (1954)