NEWS:Thousands of forest rights titles ‘vanish’ in Chhattisgarh records
GS-2 governance
Chhattisgarh’s forest rights records reveal ‘vanishing’ titles, raising concerns over FRA implementation and tribal welfare, as discrepancies emerge via RTI.
- Thousands of forest rights titles in Chhattisgarh seemingly disappeared from government records over the past 17 months.
- Data obtained via RTI shows a decrease in Individual Forest Rights (IFR) and Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) titles across multiple districts.
- Government officials attribute the discrepancies to “miscommunication and error in reporting” requiring correction.
- Chhattisgarh accounts for over 43% of the forest area with granted FRA titles nationwide as of May 2025.
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
- Came into effect: January 1, 2008 (rules notified in 2008, amended in 2012).
- Objective: Correct historical injustice faced by forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs) and other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) whose rights over forests and forest land were not recorded during colonial and post-independence periods.
Rights Recognized
- Individual Rights – to hold and live on forest land for self-cultivation and habitation.
- Community Rights – to use, collect, and dispose of minor forest produce (MFP) like bamboo, tendu leaves, honey, etc.
- Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights – to protect, regenerate, conserve, and manage forests.
- Habitat Rights – for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and pre-agricultural communities.
- Rights to In-Situ Rehabilitation – for displaced people without compensation.
- Rights of Conversion – of forest villages into revenue villages.
B. Eligibility Criteria
- FDSTs: Members of Scheduled Tribes residing in forests before 13 December 2005.
- OTFDs: Residents for at least 3 generations (75 years) before 13 December 2005.
NEWS:Government revises export promotion plan, offering credit support and incentives to MSMEs amid rising U S tariffs
GS-2 international relation
- Indian government is modifying the Export Promotion Mission to target sectors affected by increased U.S. tariffs.
- Measures include reducing credit costs for MSMEs, expediting clearances, and providing export incentives.
- The U.S. tariffs primarily impact apparel, textiles, shrimp, organic chemicals, and machinery sectors.
- The Export Promotion Mission, announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, has a ₹2,250 crore allocation.
Composition of Exports
A. Merchandise Exports
- Engineering goods – steel products, machinery, automobiles.
- Petroleum products – refined petroleum, diesel, ATF.
- Gems & jewellery – gold jewellery, cut & polished diamonds.
- Chemicals & pharmaceuticals – APIs, formulations, organic chemicals.
- Agricultural products – rice (basmati & non-basmati), marine products, spices, tea, coffee, cotton.
B. Services Exports
- IT & IT-enabled services – software, outsourcing.
- Business & professional services.
- Travel & tourism.
- Transportation services.
Government Initiatives
- Foreign Trade Policy 2023 – shift to dynamic (rolling) policy, focus on new markets.
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes – boost manufacturing for export.
- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) – refund embedded taxes.
- Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) – upgrade logistics & facilities.
- Districts as Export Hubs – promote niche products.
NEWS: India’s retail inflation hits low amid growth concerns RBI forecasts pick up from January 2026
GS-3 economy
- India’s retail inflation hit 1.55% in July, the lowest since June 2017, driven by a contraction in food prices.
- Core inflation, excluding fuel and food, fell to 4.1%, aligning with the RBI’s target.
- The Index of Industrial Production growth reached a 10-month low, signaling a potential growth slowdown.
- GST revenue growth slowed to single digits in June and July, indicating economic deceleration.
- Retail Inflation = Rise in the general price level of goods & services at the consumer level over a period of time.
- Measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in India.
- CPI reflects the cost of living for households.
2. Measurement in India
- Base Year: 2012 = 100 (updated by CSO, MoSPI).
- Categories in CPI:
- Food & beverages (~45% weight)
- Housing
- Clothing & footwear
- Fuel & light
- Miscellaneous (transport, health, education, etc.)
- Types of CPI in India:
- CPI (Combined) – All India retail inflation (main policy metric).
- CPI for Rural, Urban areas separately.
- CPI for Industrial Workers (IW), Agricultural Labourers (AL), Rural Labourers (RL) – for wage indexation.
Causes of Retail Inflation
- Demand-pull inflation – excessive demand vs supply.
- Cost-push inflation – higher production costs (e.g., fuel price hike).
- Supply shocks – crop failure, global commodity prices.
- Imported inflation (e.g., crude oil, edible oil).
- Structural issues – poor storage, distribution bottlenecks.
NEWS:CyberPeace Foundation reveals 4 lakh data breaches in Indian educational institutions in 9 months, raising concerns about data security.
GS-3 internal security
- Indian educational institutions experienced 4 lakh cyber attacks in the last nine months.
- The attacks were revealed by a study under the CyberPeace Foundation’s e-Kawach initiative.
- Experts warn of consequences like impersonation, phishing, deep fakes, research data theft, and exam paper leaks.
- The CyberPeace Foundation’s e-Kawach initiative highlights the increasing vulnerability of educational institutions.
- Consequences of these breaches can severely impact students, faculty, and the integrity of academic research.
- Addressing these vulnerabilities requires robust cybersecurity measures and awareness programs within educational institutions.
e-Kawach Initiative
The e-Kawach (meaning “electronic shield”) is a cybersecurity project launched by the CyberPeace Foundation (CPF) aimed at safeguarding India’s Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) against cyber threats.cybilportal.orgElets eGov
Key Details:
- Honeypot Network Deployment: CPF set up 24 honeypots—decoys designed to attract cyber attackers—across India to detect and analyze cyber-attack patterns.cybilportal.org
- Command & Control (C&C) Centre: A centralized facility in Ranchi collects data from these honeypots. This data is further processed and analyzed to generate actionable cybersecurity intelligence.cybilportal.org
- Objective: To understand attack methodologies across public and private sectors and relay threat intelligence to relevant government and public bodies for proactive defense planning.cybilportal.org
This system essentially acts as a national-level surveillance grid for cyber threats targeting critical systems like power, telecom, and government infrastructure.
MAINS MOCK QUESTION
“The Forest Rights Act, 2006 is as much a social justice legislation as it is an environmental governance tool.” Discuss in the light of its objectives and implementation challenges.
