News 1:India ‘Stands Firmly’ with Israel, Modi Tells Knesset
Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)
- Historic Address: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) on Wednesday, extending a “firm hand of friendship” to Israel and strongly condemning the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack as a “barbaric terrorist attack” .
- Terrorism Stance: Modi emphasized India’s “consistent and uncompromising policy of zero tolerance for terrorism, with no double standard,” drawing parallels with Israel’s own struggle and citing the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks .
- Gaza Peace Initiative: The Prime Minister supported the Gaza Peace Initiative endorsed by the UN Security Council, stating it offers a “pathway” to “just and durable peace for all the people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine issue” .
- Bilateral Relations: Modi highlighted ongoing cooperation in water management, agriculture, talent partnership, and efforts to expand trade through cross-border financial linkages using Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and an ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) .
- Historical Ties: He referenced India’s ancient Jewish communities (in Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra) and the absence of discrimination against Jews in India .
- Netanyahu’s Response: Israeli PM Netanyahu thanked Modi, stating “You stood for Israel. You stood for the Jews. Thank you,” and noted that Modi “did not flinch” in supporting Israel during challenging times .
Prelims 360
🇮🇳–🇮🇱 India–Israel Bilateral Relations (UPSC Prelims + Mains Ready Notes)
1️⃣ Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
- India recognized Israel in 1950.
- Full diplomatic relations established in 1992.
- Major boost after high-level visits:
- Narendra Modi visited Israel in 2017 (first-ever Indian PM visit).
- Benjamin Netanyahu visited India in 2018.
2️⃣ Areas of Cooperation
🔹 A. Defence & Security (Core Pillar)
- Israel is among India’s top 3 defence suppliers.
- Key imports:
- Drones (Heron UAVs)
- Barak-8 surface-to-air missile system
- Phalcon AWACS
- Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM)
- Counter-terrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing.
- Joint development under Make in India.
👉 Defence ties intensified after the Kargil War (1999).
🔹 B. Agriculture Cooperation
- Centres of Excellence in multiple Indian states.
- Focus areas:
- Drip irrigation
- Precision farming
- Water management
- Supported by Israel’s expertise in desert farming.
Geographic Context
- Over 50% of Israel is desert (Negev).
- Very low and uneven rainfall.
- No major perennial rivers except the Jordan River.
👉 Yet, Israel is water surplus today due to technology-driven management.
2️⃣ Key Pillars of Israel’s Water Management
🔹 A. Desalination (Game Changer)
- Israel meets 70–80% of domestic water demand from desalination.
- Major desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast.
- Uses Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology.
- One of the largest plants: Sorek Desalination Plant.
✔ Reduced dependence on rainfall.
🔹 B. Wastewater Recycling (Highest in the World)
- ~85–90% of wastewater is recycled.
- Treated water reused mainly for agriculture.
- Managed by national water company Mekorot.
👉 Israel ranks 1st globally in wastewater reuse.
🔹 C. Drip Irrigation (Agricultural Innovation)
- Invented by Simcha Blass.
- Commercialized by Netafim.
- Supplies water directly to plant roots.
- Reduces evaporation loss.
- Improves crop yield and water efficiency.
Lessons for India 🇮🇳 (Important for UPSC)
India–Israel cooperation includes:
- Centres of Excellence in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.
- Micro-irrigation promotion under PMKSY.
- Collaboration in river cleaning and wastewater management.
Relevance for India:
- Semi-arid regions (Rajasthan, Gujarat)
- Water-stressed cities
- Climate change adaptation
News 2 :SC Takes Suo Motu Case over NCERT Corruption Remark
Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)
- Suo Motu Registration: The Supreme Court on Wednesday registered a suo motu case over a “selective reference” in a Class 8 NCERT textbook about “corruption” in the judiciary. The case is titled *”In Re : Social Science Textbook for Grade-8 (Part 2) published by NCERT and ancillary issues”* .
- The Offending Content: A chapter titled ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’ in a Class 8 Social Science book mentioned that corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and a lack of adequate number of judges were among the “challenges” faced by the judicial system .
- CJI’s Reaction: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant termed it a “tentatively calculated, deep-rooted attempt” to denigrate the judicial institution, emphasizing: “I will not let anything like that to happen” .
- NCERT’s Response: Hours after the court’s action, NCERT issued a statement apologizing for the “inappropriate textual material” and “error in judgement” that had “inadvertently crept” into the chapter. Distribution of the book was put on “strict hold until further orders” .
Hearing Scheduled: A three-judge Bench (CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi) is scheduled to hear the case
Prelims 360
controversy erupted over a Class 8 Social Science NCERT textbook that included a section on the judiciary’s challenges, particularly “corruption in the judiciary” and related issues like case backlogs and accountability mechanisms. This content appeared in Chapter 4: The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society in the book Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol. II.
📌 What the Controversial Statements Covered
The textbook reportedly included material such as:
- Discussion of corruption as one of the challenges faced by the judicial system.
- Data on the number of pending cases in courts (e.g., ~81,000 in the Supreme Court, millions in High and lower courts) as illustrations of systemic strain.
- Reference to complaints received through grievance systems regarding judges’ conduct.
- Even a quote attributed to a former Chief Justice about instances of misconduct affecting public confidence.
The primacy of the judiciary means the superior position and final authority of courts in interpreting the Constitution and safeguarding democratic values in India.
The Supreme Court of India plays a central role in ensuring constitutional supremacy.
1️⃣ Constitutional Basis of Judicial Primacy
🔹 A. Supremacy of the Constitution
- India follows constitutional supremacy, not parliamentary supremacy.
- Judiciary is the final interpreter of the Constitution.
📌 Articles:
- Article 13 – Laws violating Fundamental Rights are void.
- Article 32 – Right to constitutional remedies.
- Article 226 – Writ jurisdiction of High Courts.
🔹 B. Judicial Review
- Power to review:
- Legislative actions
- Executive decisions
- Not explicitly mentioned in one single Article, but derived from:
- Articles 13, 32, 136, 226, 227.
Judicial Review was declared part of the Basic Structure Doctrine in
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala.
🔹 C. Basic Structure Doctrine
- Parliament cannot amend the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
- Established in 1973 judgment.
Further strengthened in
Minerva Mills v. Union of India.
News 3: Loose Connection Made Satellite Miss Orbit: Panel
Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)
- The Mission: NVS-02, the second satellite in India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) series, was launched aboard a GSLV-F15 rocket on January 29, 2025 from Sriharikota—the 100th launch from the spaceport .
- What Went Wrong: The satellite was successfully placed into an ‘elliptical transfer’ orbit, but the subsequent attempt to raise it to a circular orbit failed. The engine meant to fire for orbit raising never ignited .
- Committee Findings: An ISRO “apex committee” concluded that the signal meant to activate a key valve in the engine’s oxidiser line never reached it. The most likely cause: at least one connection in the electrical connector—in both the primary and back-up lines—came loose or failed .
- Timing of Report: After nearly a year, ISRO made the report public, detailing the failure analysis and corrective measures .
- Corrective Actions Implemented: Recommendations to “enhance the redundancy and reliability of pyro system operations” were successfully implemented in the CMS-03 (GSAT-7R) mission launched on November 2, 2025, which performed satisfactorily .
- Context: This disclosure comes amid broader scrutiny of ISRO’s recent performance, including a separate high-level committee probing systemic issues behind successive PSLV failures .
Prelims 360
NVS-02
Launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the satellite was:
- Successfully placed into an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
- But the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM), which is used to raise the satellite from elliptical orbit to a circular Geostationary Orbit (GEO), failed to ignite.
🔍 What Happened?
1️⃣ Normal Process
- Rocket places satellite in elliptical transfer orbit.
- Satellite’s onboard engine (LAM) fires at apogee.
- Orbit becomes circular → final geostationary position (~36,000 km).
2️⃣ Failure
- The orbit-raising engine did not fire.
- Satellite remained stuck in elliptical orbit.
- Could not reach intended geostationary slot.
🇮🇳 NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) – UPSC Ready Notes
NavIC is India’s independent regional satellite navigation system developed by the
Indian Space Research Organisation.
It was earlier known as IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System).
1️⃣ Why NavIC Was Developed?
- To ensure strategic autonomy in navigation.
- Kargil War (1999) highlighted dependence on foreign GPS.
- Provide reliable positioning services over India and nearby regions.
2️⃣ Coverage Area
- Covers India and up to 1,500 km beyond Indian borders.
- Regional Navigation System (not global like GPS).
3️⃣ Satellite Constellation
- Originally 7 satellites (now being expanded with NVS series).
- Combination of:
- Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites
- Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) satellites
Recent generation satellites belong to the IRNSS constellation upgrade series (NVS).
News : 4 Cases Stall as Judicial Officers Busy with SIR in West Bengal
Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)
- The Crisis: Judicial work in district and metropolitan courts across West Bengal has been severely affected after hundreds of judicial officers were deployed to process nearly 50 lakh claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the February 28 deadline .
- Scope of Disruption: Except for urgent matters and bail hearings, trials and regular proceedings—including in special courts such as those dealing with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases—have been affected as judges undertake verification work .
- Cases Affected: Several important cases where trial processes have been or are likely to be affected include:
- South Calcutta Law College case (June 2025)
- Sexual assault of a medical student at Durgapur Medical College (October 2025)
- Sexual assault and murder of a 13-year-old at Rampurhat, Birbhum (September 2025)
- Background: The Supreme Court on February 20, 2026, citing a “trust deficit” between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India (EC), directed that judicial officials would look into claims and objections in the SIR process .
Expert Critique: Former IAS officer and ex-Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar termed the involvement of judicial officers a “knee-jerk reaction” and “not a well thought-out process,” noting that District Magistrates/Electoral Officers hold statutory authority under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 .
News 5 : Centre Dismisses RTI Plea for Details of VB-G RAM G Act
Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)
- The RTI Application: An RTI applicant sought records of consultations the Centre held with State governments before introducing the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025—the new rural employment law .
- Minister’s Statement: The application referred to an article by Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, published in The Hindu on December 24, 2025, in which he stated that the Bill was “preceded by extensive consultations with State governments, technical workshops and multi-stakeholder discussions” .
- Information Sought: The applicant requested:
- Records of pre-legislative consultations with States
- Details of technical workshops and multi-stakeholder discussions
- Internal notes showing how inputs were incorporated into the drafting
- Ministry’s Response: The Rural Development Ministry rejected the plea, stating that information could not be shared because:
- The scheme “has not yet been formally notified by the States/UTs and has not become operational”
- Implementation process is “still under way”
- Disclosure would involve sharing records of “ongoing deliberations and decision-making relating to policy implementation”
- RTI Act Exemption: The rejection implicitly invokes exemptions under the RTI Act for matters related to ongoing deliberations and policy formulation .
