25 February 2026

The Supreme Court’s decision to refer to a Constitution Bench the petitions challenging the amendment to the Right to Information (RTI) Act through Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, marks a critical moment in India’s evolving jurisprudence on the balance between privacy and transparency. Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act to provide blanket exemption to personal information without the earlier public interest override that permitted disclosure if it served a larger public purpose. Critics argue that this amendment fundamentally weakens the RTI Act, shields public officials from scrutiny, and undermines anti-corruption efforts.

Five Important Key Points

• Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, 2023, amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005, by removing the public interest exception that previously allowed disclosure of personal information when it served larger public interest.
• The Supreme Court in Puttaswamy (2017) recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21, which the DPDP Act seeks to protect, while the RTI Act protects the fundamental right to information derived from Articles 19 and 21.
• The Constitution Bench referral reflects the Supreme Court’s recognition of the constitutional sensitivity of the balance between privacy and transparency.
• Previously, personal assets and liabilities of public servants declared to the government could be disclosed under RTI if it served public interest in anti-corruption investigations; the amendment now bars such disclosure.
• The amendment enables rejection of requests concerning procurement records, audit reports, or public spending if framed as personal information, severely restricting accountability mechanisms.

Background: The RTI Act and Its Role in Governance

The Right to Information Act, 2005, is one of India’s most transformative governance reforms. It operationalised the fundamental right to information derived from the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21. By empowering citizens to seek information from public authorities, the RTI Act has been instrumental in exposing corruption, improving administrative efficiency, and strengthening public accountability.

Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act had a carefully crafted exemption for personal information whose disclosure would constitute unwarranted invasion of privacy. However, this exemption was qualified by the important proviso that information must be disclosed if the appropriate authority was satisfied that larger public interest justified disclosure. This balance between privacy and transparency was the cornerstone of the RTI Act’s effectiveness as an anti-corruption tool.

The DPDP Act: An Overview

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, was enacted to create a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of personal data in the digital age. It follows the Supreme Court’s directive in the Puttaswamy judgment (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India, 2017) to establish a data protection regime. The Act creates obligations for data fiduciaries (entities processing data), establishes rights for data principals (individuals whose data is processed), and creates a Data Protection Board for adjudication.

The DPDP Act is broadly modelled on global data protection frameworks such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), though with significant differences in its scope and enforcement mechanisms. While the objective of protecting citizen data is laudable, the manner in which Section 44(3) amends the RTI Act has generated serious concerns about collateral damage to accountability and transparency.

Constitutional Tensions: Privacy vs. Transparency

The constitutional question before the Constitution Bench is fundamentally one of balancing two facets of fundamental rights. The right to privacy under Article 21, as elaborated in Puttaswamy (2017), is not absolute. It is subject to the proportionality test, which requires that any restriction on privacy must be legally justified, serve a legitimate aim, be necessary and proportionate to achieve that aim, and include procedural safeguards.

The right to information, derived from Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and Article 21, is equally fundamental. The Supreme Court has in multiple cases including Dinesh Trivedi vs Union of India (1997) and PUCL vs Union of India (2003) recognised that access to government information is integral to democratic functioning.

The blanket exemption created by Section 44(3) fails the proportionality test because it does not distinguish between genuinely private personal information and information about the discharge of public duties by public officials. A blanket bar on disclosing any personal information, including the assets and liabilities of public servants, is disproportionate to the legitimate aim of protecting privacy.

Anti-Corruption Implications

The practical impact of Section 44(3) on anti-corruption efforts is significant and direct. Under the earlier framework, RTI requests asking for details of a government official’s declared assets, procurement decisions, tender evaluations, or audit reports could be granted if the Public Information Officer determined that larger public interest was served. This enabled civil society organisations, journalists, and opposition parties to investigate corruption, misuse of public funds, and irregularities in government contracting.

Under the amended provision, any information that can be characterised as personal information may be withheld without the public interest override. This creates a perverse situation where the DPDP Act, ostensibly enacted to protect citizen data, actually ends up protecting the data of public officials from citizens’ scrutiny.

The Way Forward

The Constitution Bench’s deliberations should result in guidelines clearly distinguishing between private personal information (which deserves strong protection) and information about the discharge of public functions by public officials (which must remain accessible in the public interest). The amendment of Section 8(1)(j) through the DPDP Act should ideally be repealed and replaced with a nuanced provision that retains the public interest override for information related to the exercise of public functions. Parliament should be persuaded to revisit the DPDP Act’s impact on the RTI Act through a consultative process involving civil society, information commissioners, and legal experts.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is highly relevant for UPSC Mains GS-II (Polity and Governance) covering RTI Act, fundamental rights, privacy, and transparency. The Puttaswamy judgment, DPDP Act, and the RTI Act are all standard examination topics. Questions on the balance between privacy and transparency, the role of information in democratic governance, and constitutional provisions relating to fundamental rights are regularly asked. For SSC examinations, questions on the RTI Act, its sections, and key provisions frequently appear. Aspirants should understand the constitutional basis of both the right to privacy and the right to information, and the judicial interpretation that has shaped both.

The successive failures of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) have prompted the constitution of a high-level committee including former Principal Scientific Adviser K. Vijay Raghavan and former ISRO Chairman S. Somanath to investigate systemic organisational and process issues underlying the back-to-back mishaps. The PSLV-C61 failed on May 18, 2025, due to a third-stage ignition failure, destroying the EOS-09 strategic satellite. The PSLV-C62 repeated the same failure on January 12, 2026. This is the first time that an external committee has been constituted to investigate organisational and not merely technical failures at ISRO, marking a significant moment in India’s space governance.

Five Important Key Points

• Both PSLV-C61 (May 2025) and PSLV-C62 (January 2026) failed due to third-stage ignition failures, raising concerns about quality control in component manufacture, procurement, and assembly.
• The new high-level committee consists of experts external to ISRO and is expected to submit its findings to ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan before April 2026.
• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, also a member of India’s Space Commission, visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in connection with the PSLV-C62 failure, indicating strategic significance.
• The Failure Analysis Committee report on PSLV-C61 was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office but has not been made public, raising transparency concerns.
• India’s space ecosystem now involves multiple private companies, making accountability frameworks more complex than in ISRO’s earlier purely public sector era.

Background: The PSLV’s Role and Significance

The PSLV is ISRO’s most reliable workhorse launch vehicle, having successfully completed over 55 missions including the historic launch of 104 satellites in a single flight in 2017. It has been the backbone of India’s commercial launch business, placing satellites for foreign customers and enabling India’s own remote sensing, navigation, and strategic satellite programmes. The EOS-09 satellite destroyed in the PSLV-C61 failure was intended to serve the government’s strategic remote sensing needs, making its loss operationally significant beyond the financial cost.

The consecutive failures are unprecedented in PSLV’s history and represent a serious setback for India’s ambitions in the global commercial launch market, a market being actively contested by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Arianespace, and now China’s commercial launch providers.

The Nature of the Probe: Organisational Not Just Technical

What makes this probe qualitatively different from previous Failure Analysis Committees is its organisational scope. Previous committees have focused on technical root cause analysis, identifying which component failed and why. The new committee has been tasked with examining whether organisational problems, including issues in manufacturing processes, procurement systems, quality assurance mechanisms, and accountability frameworks, contributed to the failures.

This shift in approach reflects a mature understanding that technological failures in complex systems are rarely purely technical in origin. They often reflect deeper organisational pathologies, including communication failures between departments, inadequate quality control checks, procurement shortcuts, and diffused accountability in multi-agency or multi-company supply chains.

With India’s space ecosystem now involving private companies under the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) framework established in 2020, the probe will also need to examine how accountability is maintained when private suppliers are involved in critical component manufacture or assembly.

Constitutional and Governance Dimensions

Space activities in India are governed under the Space Activities Bill, which has been pending parliamentary approval for several years. The absence of a comprehensive legal framework for space activities creates gaps in accountability, liability, and oversight that become particularly visible when failures occur. The probe committee’s findings may provide important inputs for finalising and enacting a comprehensive Space Activities Act.

The Department of Space, which oversees ISRO, functions under the Prime Minister’s Office, reflecting the strategic importance of space programmes for national security, economic development, and scientific advancement. The constitution of a committee at the initiative of the NSA and the Space Commission signals that the failures are being viewed not just as technical setbacks but as potential vulnerabilities in India’s strategic capabilities.

Economic and Strategic Implications

India’s commercial space launch market aspirations depend heavily on PSLV’s demonstrated reliability. Two consecutive failures significantly damage India’s credibility with foreign satellite customers, who can choose from multiple reliable international launch providers. ISRO’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), has contracts with international customers that may be affected.

More critically, the destruction of EOS-09, intended for strategic remote sensing, creates a capability gap in India’s surveillance and earth observation infrastructure that has security implications. Filling this gap requires a successful PSLV mission or an accelerated timeline for ISRO’s next-generation launch vehicles.

The investment in India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme may also be affected if fundamental quality control issues are found to be systemic across ISRO’s launch vehicle programmes.

Transparency and Public Accountability

A major governance concern highlighted by this episode is the lack of public disclosure of Failure Analysis Committee reports. In contrast to NASA’s Challenger and Columbia disaster investigation reports, which were published in full and became important documents for aerospace safety globally, ISRO’s failure reports are kept confidential. The PSLV-C61 Failure Analysis Committee report was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office but not publicly released before the PSLV-C62 launch, raising questions about whether findings were adequately acted upon.

Greater transparency in failure investigation processes would not only improve public accountability but also contribute to the global aerospace knowledge base, enhancing India’s standing in the international space community.

Way Forward

The committee’s findings should be acted upon promptly and its recommendations implemented before the next PSLV launch. ISRO should establish a permanent, standing quality assurance board with external independent members to conduct ongoing reviews of manufacturing, procurement, and assembly processes. A comprehensive Space Activities Act should be enacted to establish clear accountability frameworks. ISRO should also consider publishing summary findings of failure analysis reports to improve institutional credibility and public trust.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is directly relevant for UPSC Prelims under Science and Technology and for Mains GS-III covering Space Technology, ISRO missions, and Science and Technology governance. Questions on PSLV, ISRO’s launch vehicle portfolio, IN-SPACe, NewSpace India Limited, and India’s space policy frequently appear in both Prelims and Mains examinations. For the Essay paper, themes of institutional accountability and transparency in public sector organisations are relevant. SSC aspirants should note ISRO’s organisational structure, key missions, and India’s space programme milestones.

India’s global trade strategy has undergone a fundamental transformation in 2025 and early 2026. The signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement on January 27, 2026, described as historic by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the interim India-U.S. trade framework signed in February 2026, have positioned India as a proactive player in global trade architecture. Simultaneously, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs) with multiple countries, including Bangladesh, El Salvador, Argentina, Malaysia, and Cambodia, have created a new and legally controversial category of trade agreement that is not anchored in the WTO framework, raising serious questions about trade multilateralism and India’s negotiating position.

Five Important Key Points

• The India-EU FTA, signed after nearly two decades of negotiations, creates a free trade zone covering approximately two billion people, reducing or eliminating tariffs on over 90% of traded goods.
• Trump’s ARTs are distinct from WTO-compatible FTAs because they are not notified to the WTO under Article XXIV of GATT, making them legally suspicious under international trade law.
• India’s FTA network is projected to cover nearly 71% of its total export basket by 2026, up dramatically from approximately 22% in 2019.
• The India-U.S. interim framework prioritises strategic collaboration in rare earths and semiconductors alongside progressive tariff reduction.
• ARTs contain one-sided provisions, including clauses requiring partner countries to adopt complementary trade restrictions if the U.S. adopts protectionist measures, effectively tying partners’ trade policy to U.S. decisions.

Background: India’s Evolving Trade Policy

India’s trade policy for many years was characterised by caution, protectionism, and a preference for engaging primarily with economies at similar levels of development. India opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019, citing concerns about Chinese import surges, intellectual property provisions, and insufficient market access for Indian services exports. This decision was controversial but reflected India’s determination to protect domestic manufacturing and agriculture.

Since then, India has pivoted dramatically toward a more proactive trade strategy. The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed in 2022, followed by a FTA with Australia in 2022. Negotiations with the UK, which have been ongoing for years, are expected to conclude soon. The 2023 update of India’s Foreign Trade Policy set an ambitious target of reaching $2 trillion in total exports (merchandise plus services) by 2030. In FY 2024-25, India’s total exports reached $825.25 billion, reflecting a 6.05% annual increase.

The India-EU FTA: A Transformative Agreement

The India-EU FTA is arguably the most significant trade agreement in India’s history. The EU is India’s largest trading partner collectively, and the agreement opens the doors to preferential access to a market of approximately 450 million high-income consumers. The reduction or elimination of tariffs on Indian textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and marine products will significantly enhance India’s export competitiveness against Bangladesh and Vietnam, which already enjoy preferential access to European markets under the Generalised System of Preferences.

For the pharmaceutical sector, the removal of tariffs and strengthened regulatory cooperation is particularly important. Indian pharmaceutical companies, which are already major suppliers to European generic markets, stand to gain substantially from reduced entry barriers.

The FTA is also expected to boost digital trade, attract European investment into Indian manufacturing under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme framework, and accelerate India’s integration into global value chains in high-technology sectors.

U.S. ARTs: A Legally Controversial Innovation

Trump’s ARTs represent a fundamentally different approach to trade agreements compared to WTO-compatible FTAs. Traditional FTAs, notified to the WTO under Article XXIV of GATT, are subject to specific disciplines. They must cover substantially all trade between the parties, they cannot raise barriers to trade with non-members, and they are subject to scrutiny by the WTO Committee on Regional Trade Agreements. This transparency and conditionality serves as a check against discriminatory trade arrangements that could undermine multilateralism.

ARTs, by contrast, are not notified to the WTO. They are essentially bilateral arrangements where the U.S. leverages its market size and, in several cases, the threat of tariffs to extract concessions from partner countries. The clause in the U.S.-Bangladesh ART requiring Bangladesh to adopt complementary trade restrictions when the U.S. acts on economic or national security grounds effectively turns Bangladesh into an instrument of U.S. trade policy. Similarly, the prohibition on customs duties on electronic transactions in the U.S.-El Salvador ART restricts El Salvador’s data sovereignty.

These provisions reveal the imperial character of ARTs, which are designed not to promote mutual liberalisation but to entrench U.S. strategic and economic interests through trade law.

India’s Position and Implications

The interim India-U.S. trade framework announced in February 2026 has elements of both traditional FTA negotiations and ART-style reciprocity demands. It includes progressive tariff reductions and strategic collaboration on semiconductors and rare earths. The collaboration on critical minerals and semiconductors aligns with India’s efforts to build domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity through the India Semiconductor Mission.

India must carefully evaluate whether the interim framework’s provisions protect India’s policy space for agricultural support, domestic manufacturing incentives under PLI schemes, and data localisation requirements. A full bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. that includes ART-style provisions restricting India’s policy autonomy would be detrimental to India’s economic sovereignty.

Economic Implications for India

India’s FTA strategy, if implemented effectively, has the potential to transform its export trajectory. The EU FTA alone is expected to generate significant gains in labour-intensive sectors, helping integrate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into global value chains. For services exports, where India has a strong comparative advantage, the agreements provide new opportunities in professional services, IT, and financial services.

However, the risk of tariff liberalisation leading to import surges in sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture and dairy, must be carefully managed through appropriate safeguard mechanisms. India’s experience with RCEP negotiations revealed the political economy constraints on comprehensive FTAs, and these lessons must inform the approach to agreements with the U.S. and the EU.

Way Forward

India should champion the reform of WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, which have been weakened by U.S. blocking of Appellate Body appointments. India should build coalitions with other developing countries to resist ARTs that undermine multilateralism. At the same time, India should leverage its new FTAs to develop competitive supply chains in textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and food processing.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is critical for UPSC Mains GS-III (Economy) covering international trade, WTO, FTAs, and India’s trade policy. GS-II questions on India-EU relations and India-U.S. bilateral ties are also directly relevant. For SSC examinations, questions on India’s export policy, WTO, GATT, and bilateral trade agreements frequently appear. Aspirants should understand Article XXIV of GATT, the difference between FTAs and customs unions, and India’s export targets under the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day standalone visit to Israel on February 25 and 26, 2026, is India’s most significant diplomatic engagement with West Asia in recent years. This is Mr. Modi’s second visit to Israel, coming against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, growing U.S.-Iran tensions, India’s recently concluded trade agreements with the EU and the U.S., and Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement of a proposed hexagonal alliance involving India, Greece, Cyprus, and Arab, African, and Asian nations. The visit has profound implications for India’s defence procurement, technology cooperation, trade relations, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and India’s traditionally balanced foreign policy in West Asia.

Five Important Key Points

• The visit is standalone, with no engagement with Palestinian Authority leadership, reflecting India’s successful de-hyphenation of its Israel engagement from its Palestinian policy.
• Key agenda items include defence cooperation (including Iron Beam laser defence system), AI and technology, labour mobility, and the IMEC project.
• Netanyahu proposed a hexagonal alliance of nations against radical Shia and Sunni axes, which creates diplomatic challenges for India given its deep ties with Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
• India’s visit follows the Gaza ceasefire that held since October 2025, but coincides with Israel’s plans to extend control over Palestinian territories in the West Bank, drawing international condemnation.
• India-Israel bilateral trade stood at $3.75 billion in FY2024-25, and negotiations are underway for a Free Trade Agreement, the Terms of Reference for which were signed during Commerce Minister Goyal’s November 2025 visit to Israel.

Background: India-Israel Relations

India recognised Israel in 1950 but maintained a largely distant relationship for decades, driven by solidarity with the Palestinian cause, dependence on Arab oil, and the large Indian Muslim population’s sensitivities. The establishment of full diplomatic relations in 1992 marked the beginning of a transformation. Since then, and particularly after Prime Minister Modi’s historic first visit to Israel in July 2017 (the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister), the relationship has deepened substantially into a strategic partnership.

Israel has been India’s largest defence supplier in terms of arms exports, accounting for approximately 34% of Israel’s total arms exports between 2020 and 2024 according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Joint development projects such as the Barak-8 air and missile defence system exemplify the depth of defence cooperation.

Convergence on Defence and Security

India’s experience during Operation Sindoor in May 2025 underlined the strategic necessity of a robust, multi-layered air defence system. The Iron Beam, a 100 kW-class high-energy laser system capable of intercepting drones, rockets, and mortars at low per-shot costs, has emerged as a priority for India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra, aimed at creating an impregnable air defence shield. The Modi visit is expected to advance procurement and co-production discussions on the Iron Beam.

The logic of India-Israel defence convergence is compelling. Both nations face asymmetric threats from non-state actors, both have invested heavily in drone technology and counter-drone capabilities, and both share intelligence on terrorist networks. The November 2025 agreement on deepening cooperation in defence industry and technology, including sharing of advanced systems, provides the framework for further integration during this visit.

The Hexagonal Alliance Proposal and India’s Dilemma

Netanyahu’s announcement of a hexagonal alliance against what he called the radical Shia axis and the emerging radical Sunni axis places India in an uncomfortable diplomatic position. India’s foreign policy is built on strategic autonomy, non-alignment with military blocs, and maintaining balanced relationships with all major powers.

Iran is a critical partner for India in multiple dimensions. The Chabahar port in Iran provides India’s most strategic connectivity corridor to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. India has historically imported Iranian oil, and Iran’s geographic position makes it indispensable for India’s energy security and connectivity goals. India is also expected to host the BRICS summit later in 2026, where Iranian President Pezeshkian will be invited.

Joining any alliance framed explicitly against Iran would fundamentally compromise India’s Chabahar strategy, its energy diversification goals, and its role as a neutral facilitator in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs is likely to clearly signal that India endorses stronger bilateral ties with Israel without endorsing any multilateral alliance framework targeting specific nations.

The IMEC and Economic Dimensions

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, announced at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, is a transformative infrastructure project linking India to Europe through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. The Gaza conflict temporarily stalled the initiative, but with the ceasefire holding, there is renewed momentum to advance it.

India’s recently concluded FTA with the EU (signed January 27, 2026) and the interim trade framework with the U.S. (February 2026) create powerful incentives for operationalising IMEC, which would provide a shorter, safer alternative to the Suez Canal route for Indian exports to Europe. The signing of the Terms of Reference for a bilateral India-Israel FTA indicates that trade is becoming a more prominent pillar of the relationship alongside defence.

Gaza Peace Process and India’s Role

India’s participation as an observer at the U.S.-led Board of Peace summit on February 19, 2026, signals a cautious engagement with the Gaza reconstruction process without committing troops or taking sides. India’s historic recognition of Palestine on November 18, 1988, and its consistent support for a two-state solution place it in a morally complex position during a visit that makes no provision for meeting Palestinian Authority leadership.

India’s delayed signing of the UN statement signed by 100 countries criticising Israel’s violations of international law over West Bank expansion plans has raised questions about the consistency of Indian foreign policy. The government’s explanation that the statement was not jointly negotiated has not fully satisfied observers.

Way Forward

India’s West Asia policy must evolve to reflect the region’s increasing complexity. A clear, publicly articulated framework distinguishing bilateral partnerships from multilateral alliance commitments would help India maintain its credibility as a neutral actor. Deepening defence, technology, and trade ties with Israel while maintaining transparent engagement with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority is achievable but requires careful diplomatic management.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is ideal for UPSC Mains GS-II (International Relations), covering India’s foreign policy, India-Israel relations, West Asian diplomacy, and strategic autonomy. Questions on IMEC, India’s de-hyphenation policy, and India’s relationship with Israel and Palestine are examination-ready. For UPSC Essay, themes of India’s strategic autonomy in a multipolar world are directly relevant. SSC aspirants should note India’s recognition of Israel, SIPRI data on arms exports, and the IMEC project.

The Union Health Ministry’s announcement of a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme targeting girls aged 14 marks a landmark moment in India’s public health journey. The programme, which will use Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine procured through a partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is voluntary and free of cost. Given that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian women, with nearly 80,000 new cases reported annually, this policy decision has enormous implications for women’s health, preventive medicine, vaccine diplomacy, and healthcare governance in India.

Five Important Key Points

• India’s HPV vaccination programme will target girls aged 14, a group identified as deriving maximum preventive benefit from the vaccine before potential HPV exposure.
• The vaccine used, Gardasil, is a quadrivalent HPV vaccine providing protection against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18, the latter two being responsible for most cervical cancer cases.
• Scientific evidence confirms that a single dose provides robust and durable protection when administered to girls in the recommended age group, enabling a simpler single-dose schedule.
• Vaccination will be conducted exclusively at designated government health facilities, ensuring quality control and post-vaccination monitoring.
• The procurement follows a globally supported mechanism through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, ensuring affordability and supply chain reliability.

Background: Cervical Cancer Burden in India

Cervical cancer is caused by persistent infection with certain strains of Human Papillomavirus, which is transmitted through sexual contact. HPV types 16 and 18 together account for approximately 70% of all cervical cancer cases globally. In India, cervical cancer remains a significant public health challenge disproportionately affecting women from lower socio-economic backgrounds who lack access to regular screening. With 80,000 new cases annually and thousands of deaths, the disease imposes not only a health burden but also an economic and social burden on families.

India already has a domestically produced HPV vaccine, Cervavac, developed by the Serum Institute of India and approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). However, for the national programme, the government has chosen Gardasil procured through the Gavi partnership, citing stringent quality standards and the established international evidence base for the vaccine. This choice reflects a pragmatic approach to ensuring a successful national rollout.

Scientific Rationale and Single-Dose Schedule

One of the most significant scientific aspects of this programme is its adoption of a single-dose schedule. For many years, HPV vaccination was administered in a two or three-dose schedule. However, accumulating global evidence, including data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Gates Foundation-funded trials in Kenya, and other large-scale studies, demonstrates that a single dose administered to girls aged 9 to 14 provides protection equivalent to multi-dose schedules. This is particularly important for India, where health system infrastructure, cold chain maintenance, and follow-up compliance are challenges in reaching every eligible girl with multiple doses.

The single-dose schedule dramatically simplifies programme management, reduces cold chain storage requirements, lowers overall costs, and improves the probability of achieving high coverage. For India’s vaccination infrastructure, which has demonstrated remarkable capacity through the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) and the COVID-19 vaccination drive, a single-dose HPV vaccine is operationally far more achievable.

Governance and Delivery Framework

The programme will be delivered exclusively through government health facilities including Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (formerly Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres), Community Health Centres, Sub-District and District Hospitals, and Government Medical Colleges. Each session will be conducted under trained medical officers with provisions for post-vaccination observation, ensuring safety surveillance.

This delivery model aligns with the National Health Mission’s (NHM) existing infrastructure and leverages the experience gained through school-based vaccination programmes such as the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign. The integration with Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which are the flagship delivery points of Ayushman Bharat, signals an attempt to strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure as the backbone of preventive health programmes.

However, the success of the programme will depend critically on community awareness, consent from parents, healthcare worker training, and robust monitoring systems. India’s experience with previous vaccination campaigns has shown that rumours, misinformation, and hesitancy can significantly derail uptake. A comprehensive communication strategy involving ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, school teachers, and local leaders will be essential.

Constitutional and Rights Dimensions

The decision to make the HPV vaccination voluntary rather than mandatory reflects a careful balance between public health goals and individual autonomy. The right to health, while not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, is derived from Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) through judicial interpretation. The Supreme Court in multiple decisions including Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity vs State of West Bengal (1996) has held that the state has a constitutional obligation to ensure access to healthcare for its citizens.

By making the vaccine free and accessible through government facilities, the programme is consistent with the state’s positive obligations under Article 21. The voluntary nature of the programme also respects personal autonomy and religious or cultural concerns that some communities might raise regarding vaccines associated with sexual health.

Economic Implications

The economic case for investing in HPV vaccination is strong. Cervical cancer treatment is costly, involves hospitalisation, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and imposes significant economic burdens on low-income households. A cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of India’s healthcare budget shows that the investment in HPV vaccination generates substantial returns through reduced treatment costs, prevention of premature female mortality, and preservation of workforce productivity.

The partnership with Gavi ensures that vaccine procurement costs are subsidised, making the programme financially viable for the government. More than 90 countries have already implemented single-dose HPV vaccination schedules, and their experience demonstrates the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of this approach at scale.

Challenges and Way Forward

Despite the programme’s promise, several challenges must be addressed. Geographic reach remains a concern, particularly in remote tribal and hilly areas where health infrastructure is inadequate. Awareness campaigns must actively counter misinformation about the vaccine’s safety and its association with sexual activity, which has been a barrier in some states. Cold chain maintenance for vaccine storage and transportation needs to be strengthened. Data systems for tracking vaccination coverage and adverse events must be robust and real-time.

The government should also consider integrating HPV vaccination with cervical cancer screening programmes for older women, creating a comprehensive cervical cancer prevention ecosystem. Investment in training healthcare workers on counselling skills to address parental concerns will be equally important.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is relevant for UPSC Prelims under Science and Technology and Health Policy. For UPSC Mains GS-II, questions on health policy, government schemes, and women’s health frequently appear. The GS-III paper may test the economic aspects of public health investment. For SSC examinations, questions on health ministries, vaccination programmes, and Indian Constitution’s provisions on health are common. Aspirants should understand the linkages between Ayushman Bharat, NHM, Universal Immunisation Programme, and the new HPV vaccination drive.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has emerged as one of the most contentious electoral law and governance debates in recent times. The Supreme Court of India, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, has taken an extraordinary step of deploying judicial officers from neighbouring states of Odisha and Jharkhand to assist in the verification of claims and objections in West Bengal. This unprecedented judicial intervention in an Election Commission (ECI) exercise raises fundamental questions about electoral integrity, federalism, the constitutionality of the SIR process, and the independence of the Election Commission. The matter touches the heart of India’s democratic processes, universal adult franchise, and the role of the judiciary in electoral matters.

Five Important Key Points

• The Supreme Court expanded the judicial team deployed for West Bengal’s SIR process, authorising deployment of civil judges with at least three years of experience from Odisha and Jharkhand.
• Nearly 50 lakh claims and objections were pending before Electoral Registration Officers, with 294 district judges insufficient to handle the load within the election timeline.
• The Supreme Court permitted the ECI to publish a voter list on February 28, 2026, while allowing supplementary lists to be published continuously till nominations are filed.
• Under Article 142, the Supreme Court declared that voters in supplementary lists would be deemed part of the final electoral roll published on February 28.
• Aadhaar, Class 10 admit cards, and pass certificates were declared valid proof documents for SIR verification, despite concerns about Aadhaar forgery in border areas.

Background: What Is the Special Intensive Revision?

The Special Intensive Revision is a process undertaken by the Election Commission of India under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to update and correct electoral rolls. It involves identifying voters based on logical discrepancies, address mismatches, and mapping errors. The ECI notified the SIR for West Bengal on October 27, 2025, and the process has since been enveloped in political controversy between the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government and the ECI.

The ECI’s decision to conduct SIR just before the West Bengal Assembly elections brought it under intense scrutiny. Large-scale deletions from electoral rolls were reported across multiple states. Tamil Nadu saw nearly 11.5% of voters removed, Gujarat 13.4%, and Chhattisgarh 11.8%. These numbers are strikingly high for a routine exercise, particularly given that female electors were deleted in higher proportions than male electors, raising concerns about structural bias in the SIR methodology.

Constitutional and Legal Dimensions

The SIR draws its legal basis from the Representation of the People Act, 1950, particularly Section 21 to Section 28, which empower the Election Commission to prepare, revise, and maintain electoral rolls. The Election Commission, constituted under Article 324 of the Constitution, has superintendence, direction, and control over the preparation of electoral rolls for all elections to Parliament and State Legislatures.

However, the Supreme Court has played an active role in questioning whether the SIR process itself is constitutionally valid. Critics argue that conducting a mass revision without a fresh Census, which has been delayed by the BJP-led Union government since the 2011 Census, is inherently flawed because comparisons with accurate population data are impossible. This raises the question of whether the ECI acted prematurely and whether the exercise violated the right to vote, which is a statutory right closely linked to Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court’s use of Article 142, which grants the Court power to pass orders necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter, reflects the gravity with which the apex court is treating the issue. By declaring supplementary list voters as part of the final electoral roll, the Court is essentially filling a legal vacuum created by the ECI’s logistical failures.

The inclusion of Aadhaar as a verification document under Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, has also been challenged. Petitioners argued that Aadhaar was being forged on an industrial scale in border areas of West Bengal, potentially enabling illegal immigrants to enrol as voters. The Supreme Court declined to remove Aadhaar from the list of valid documents but directed concerns to be raised with the Union government for statutory amendments.

Governance Concerns and the Trust Deficit

A central theme in the Supreme Court’s intervention is the persistent trust deficit between the Mamata Banerjee government and the ECI. The Court itself acknowledged this trust deficit as a justification for judicial deployment in a process that is ordinarily administrative. This is constitutionally unprecedented in the history of Indian elections.

The involvement of judicial officers transforms the nature of the SIR from an executive administrative exercise into a quasi-judicial process. While this may improve credibility, it also sets a potentially dangerous precedent where the judiciary is routinely pressed into service to validate or oversee administrative failures. The question of institutional capacity and administrative accountability deserves deeper reflection.

The Calcutta High Court Chief Justice’s letter to the Supreme Court, detailing that even if each of the 294 judges handled 250 cases per day, the entire process would take 80 days, is a damning indictment of the planning and execution of the SIR. It reveals a fundamental mismatch between the scale of the exercise and the resources deployed, leading to inevitable infringement of voter rights.

Impact on Universal Adult Franchise

Universal adult franchise is guaranteed through Articles 326 of the Constitution, which provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage. Any process that leads to wrongful deletion of eligible voters directly undermines this constitutional guarantee.

The disproportionate deletion of female voters is particularly alarming. Married women who shift residences, migrant workers, and those living away from their registered addresses are structurally vulnerable to deletion under the SIR methodology. This is not merely a logistical problem but a systemic failure that requires a household-by-household approach rather than a technology-driven mapping exercise.

The Supreme Court’s observation that it is seeking to ease the hurt rather than aid the process of universal adult franchise is a candid admission that the ongoing judicial intervention is remedial rather than preventive. The constitutional goal of ensuring every eligible adult has the right to vote is being compromised by the manner in which the SIR was designed and implemented.

Editorial Analysis: Was the SIR Premature?

From a policy analysis standpoint, the decision to conduct SIR without an updated Census is questionable. The 2011 Census data, now 15 years old, cannot accurately reflect India’s demographic realities. Projected adult population estimates based on such old data inevitably produce large discrepancies when compared against actual electoral roll numbers, making it impossible to determine whether high deletion rates reflect genuine errors or administrative over-exclusion.

The Supreme Court’s editorial observations in this case, as reflected in its orders, strongly suggest that it believes the process was flawed from conception. However, having allowed the process to proceed, the Court is now managing consequences rather than preventing them. This is a lesson for constitutional democracies about the importance of timely judicial intervention in electoral processes.

Way Forward

Several structural reforms are necessary to prevent a recurrence. First, the Election Commission must wait for updated Census data before undertaking mass revisions of electoral rolls. Second, the SIR methodology must incorporate a robust household-by-household verification mechanism rather than technology-driven mapping that is prone to errors. Third, legal safeguards must be strengthened to protect migrant voters and married women from wrongful deletion. Fourth, the ECI must develop adequate institutional infrastructure for large-scale revision exercises instead of depending on the judiciary. Finally, Parliament must debate and legislate clearer standards for SIR processes to prevent discretionary and potentially partisan use of electoral roll revisions.

Relevance for UPSC and SSC Examinations

This topic is directly relevant for UPSC Prelims under Polity and Governance, UPSC Mains GS-II for questions on Election Commission, electoral reforms, federalism, and Supreme Court jurisdiction, and the Essay paper for themes on democracy and institutions. For SSC examinations, questions on Article 324, Article 326, Representation of the People Act, and the role of the Election Commission are commonly asked. Aspirants must understand the interplay between the ECI’s constitutional mandate, the right to vote, and the Supreme Court’s plenary powers under Article 142.