Full coverage of Polity and Governance is coming soon. The items below touch on it.
Science and Technology › IPR and science policy
Also: Polity and Governance › Laws and legislation
1 Sep 2026
Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 make traceable IST the legal time reference
The Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 give time legal status for the first time under the vision of One Nation, One Time. Time dependent systems in government and critical sectors must use a traceable, authorised IST source. The rules take effect 180 days after publication.
UPSC has asked
Prelims 2018: uses of GPS technology, including banking and power grids
How traceable IST reaches a user
Atomic clocks
CSIR-NPL's clock ensemble and primary frequency standard generate UTC(NPLI).
↓→
Link to UTC
UTC(NPLI) is kept within a few nanoseconds of Coordinated Universal Time.
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IST
Indian Standard Time is UTC(NPLI) plus 5 hours 30 minutes.
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Regional copies
Secondary time scales at five Regional Reference Standard Laboratories, plus NavIC and NIC services.
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Users
Banks, telecom, power grids and government systems synchronise and show traceability.
From the PIB release of 2 September 2026 and The Indian Express, 1 September 2026
Who does what
CSIR-NPL, India's National Metrology Institute, supplies the scientific basis and traceability.
The Legal Metrology Department regulates and enforces, as it already does for shop weights and petrol pump gauges.
Why it matters
Many systems took time indirectly from GPS or a telecom provider, sources that can differ by seconds or even minutes.
Payments, power grids, telecom and data centres depend on accurate time stamps.
SEBI has required stock exchanges since 2013 to synchronise their clocks with atomic clocks.
CERT-In guidelines of 2023 recommend that government ICT systems synchronise with NPL and NIC, because tracing a cyber incident needs trustworthy time stamps.
GPS is controlled by the United States, and its denial to India during the Kargil War led ISRO to build IRNSS, now NavIC.
NavIC's time reference comes from CSIR-NPL.
Ways to receive IST and their accuracy
Network
NTP: millisecond level, enough for most banking
Precision Time Protocol (PTP): microsecond level
Satellite
NavIC carries atomic clocks referenced to NPL
Nanosecond level traceability
Optical fibre
Dedicated dark fibre: picosecond level
From CSIR-NPL's Poonam Arora in The Indian Express, 1 September 2026
For the exam
Prelims: CSIR-NPL keeps IST, the Legal Metrology Department enforces it and BIPM keeps Coordinated Universal Time.
Mains, GS3: traceable time as critical national infrastructure, and a single foreign source such as GPS as a vulnerability.
Also: Polity and Governance › Laws and legislation
6 Sep 2026
Tribal Affairs Ministry says the Forest Rights Act has no provision for gram sabha consent to forest clearance
On 31 August the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and its rules have no provision for gram sabha consent to Stage II forest clearance, and that such matters fall outside its purview.
UPSC has asked
Prelims 2021: the nodal ministry for the Forest Rights Act
Prelims 2018: habitat rights under the Forest Rights Act
Prelims 2013: who initiates the determination of forest rights
Where consent comes from
The Act does not use the language of consent for diverting forest land, and names the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as its nodal ministry.
Guidelines under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 require a no objection certificate from each gram sabha concerned, and this is what is called gram sabha consent.
FRA compliance inside forest clearance
Identify
Potential forest rights claimants on the land to be diverted
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Recognise
Their rights, where they apply
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Vest
The recognised rights in the holders
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Gram sabha NOC
No objection certificate from each gram sabha concerned
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Stage II
Final approval to divert the forest land
From The Hindu, 6 and 7 September 2026
How the dispute arose
A parliamentary committee report of 3 August on NHPC found forest clearance took 106 months on average, and called consent from every gram sabha the most critical bottleneck.
Citing the Teesta-IV hydroelectric project, where three of ten gram panchayats had not consented, it suggested a qualified super majority of 70 to 75 per cent.
Critics cite the 2013 Niyamgiri judgment, where the Supreme Court let gram sabhas decide on bauxite mining in Odisha and they voted against it.
Forest rights recognised so far
Over 54 lakhIndividual Forest Rights claims received
About 25.42 lakhTitles distributed, over nearly 238 lakh acres
Over 10 lakhClaims pending
19,845Community Forest Rights recognised
National figures as on 30 June 2026, from the PIB release of 10 September 2026
For the exam
Prelims: the gram sabha initiates the determination of forest rights, and Habitat rights belong to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
Prelims: the Act covers Scheduled Tribes in occupation of forest land before 13 December 2005, and Other traditional forest dwellers.
Mains, GS2: consent as a safeguard for forest dwellers against the delay it adds to projects.
Also: Polity and Governance › Governance and accountability
3 Sep 2026Mains focus
Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: 1.58 crore groundwater recharge structures built through community action
Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB), launched in September 2024, has built more than 1.58 crore low cost artificial recharge structures for groundwater, with communities as owners.
Design
It is guided by the 3Cs: Community, Corporate Social Responsibility and Cost.
In June 2026 it merged with Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain.
State models
Chhattisgarh, Korea district
Aawa Paani Jhoki: farmers gave 5% of their land to recharge ponds and pits
Groundwater up 3 to 4 metres in many villages
Andhra Pradesh, Prakasam district
Ridge to valley approach: treating rainwater from the higher ridges down to the valley
Water budgeting and crop planning
Odisha
CHHATA: rooftop rainwater harvesting
ARUA: aquifer recharge from ponds and water bodies
From the PIB release, 3 September 2026
The gap
Structure counts measure effort, not outcome, so aquifer levels and demand side measures also need attention.
Also: Polity and Governance › Governance and accountability
1 Sep 2026Prelims focus
BHASHINI, India's language AI platform, takes voice first technology to Nepal and the States
The platform
BHASHINI (Bhasha Interface for India) is run by the Digital India BHASHINI Division under the Digital India Corporation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
BhashaDaan crowdsources speech, text and image data from citizens.
Shrutlekh gives real time translation and transcription.
Its reach
36Indian text languages
23Indian voice languages
35international languages
800+government websites powered
From PIB releases, September 2026
The news
Its international workshop, BHASHINI SANGAM, was held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Why Gram Panchayats belong in India's climate planning
India's climate planning runs from the top, through the National Action Plan on Climate Change, 2008, and State Action Plans on Climate Change, with no framework for Gram Panchayats though climate risk differs by village.
Constitutional basis
73rd Constitutional Amendment
Inserted Part IX
Article 243G: States may devolve planning for economic development and social justice to panchayats
Eleventh Schedule
Adaptation subjects: agriculture, minor irrigation, watershed development, social forestry, drinking water
PESA, 1996
In Scheduled Areas, the Gram Sabha protects community resources and approves local plans
From The Indian Express, 8 September 2026
How it can work
Adaptation
Crop diversification
Rainwater harvesting
Groundwater recharge
Reviving water bodies
Mitigation
Afforestation
Renewable energy
Waste management
Bela Gram Panchayat, Maharashtra: India's first net zero panchayat
From The Indian Express, 8 September 2026
Fold climate priorities into the Gram Panchayat Development Plan.
Fund them through schemes such as the rural employment guarantee.
Challenges and way forward
Challenges
Weak technical capacity to assess climate risk
Little local data on rainfall, groundwater and vulnerable groups
Limited finance
Plans made as paperwork, not through Gram Sabha discussion
Way forward
Strengthen funds, functions, functionaries and data
Also: Polity and Governance › Governance and accountability
3 Sep 2026Mains focus
Opinion piece: India needs one Ministry of Energy, not five
An opinion piece in The Indian Express argues that India's separate energy ministries each optimise their own fuel while nobody optimises the whole, and proposes one Ministry of Energy.
One grid, many roles
One grid
Solar
Power at noon
Hydro
The evening peak
Nuclear
Baseload
Coal
Increasingly, flexibility
Balancing
Batteries
Pumped storage
Gas turbines
From The Indian Express, 4 September 2026
The case and the counterpoints
Today
Coal, petroleum, power and renewables each have a ministry, and nuclear sits under the Department of Atomic Energy
Renewable projects commissioned before transmission is ready
Gas based plants built without assured fuel
Coal production, imports, railway logistics and power demand moving on different paths
One Ministry of Energy
Keeps specialised departments for each fuel
Sets strategy from one place
Judges every investment by how it improves the whole system
The United States, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom have unified energy ministries
Counterpoints
Could become unwieldy
Could lose sector focus during a merger
Electricity stays on the Concurrent List
Much of distribution lies with the states
From The Indian Express, 4 September 2026
Energy security needs integrated planning across generation, fuel supply, transmission, storage and demand.
The piece makes a case for organising government around outcomes rather than inputs.
Also: Polity and Governance › Federalism and centre-state
3 Sep 2026Mains focus
Opinion: interlinking rivers will not solve India's water disputes; managing demand will
Home Minister Amit Shah said river linking could keep India free of water shortage for 100 years. In The Hindu, T. Ramakrishnan argues it would multiply disputes the Centre already struggles to settle.
Disputes left unsettled
November 2019
Tamil Nadu seeks a Pennaiyar tribunal
February 2026
Supreme Court direction, yet no tribunal under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956
March 2026
Tamil Nadu seeks a tribunal on Karnataka's Mekedatu dam project, unanswered
From T. Ramakrishnan's article in The Hindu, 3 September 2026
Linking adds conflict
Few inter-basin transfers built in 130 years
Mullaperiyar dam
Parambikulam-Aliyar
Krishna Water Supply Project
Indira Gandhi Canal
Links meeting resistance
Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar: Keralam fears harm to the Vembanad wetland
Ken-Betwa Link Project: tribal protests in Chhatarpur
From T. Ramakrishnan's article in The Hindu, 3 September 2026
Receiving regions may demand transferred water even in distress years, depriving original users.
The alternative
Demand side management: conserve water, reward farmers for efficient use, and curb groundwater extraction driven by free farm electricity.
4 Prelims and 1 Mains questions, on the most important items above.
Prelims
Q1
With reference to Indian Standard Time (IST), consider the following statements:
1.IST is UTC(NPLI) plus 5 hours 30 minutes.
2.The Legal Metrology Department generates India's national time scale.
3.NavIC's time reference comes from CSIR-NPL.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a)1 and 3 onlyAnswer
(b)1 and 2 only
(c)2 and 3 only
(d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer and explanationHide answer and explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: CSIR-NPL generates the national time scale with its atomic clocks, while the Legal Metrology Department regulates and enforces.
With reference to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, consider the following statements:
1.The gram sabha is the authority that initiates the process of determining forest rights.
2.The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal ministry for the Act.
3.Habitat rights under the Act are meant for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 and 3 only
(c)1 and 3 onlyAnswer
(d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer and explanationHide answer and explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Act names the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as its nodal ministry.
With reference to the Sone river water sharing between Bihar and Jharkhand, consider the following statements:
1.The Sone is a left bank tributary of the Ganga.
2.The water shared by the two States was allotted to undivided Bihar under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement.
3.The dispute was settled by a tribunal constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a)Only oneAnswer
(b)Only two
(c)All three
(d)None
Show answer and explanationHide answer and explanation
Only statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong: the Sone is a right bank tributary of the Ganga. Statement 3 is wrong: the dispute was settled by an agreement, not by a tribunal.
1.It functions under the Digital India Corporation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
2.BhashaDaan is its tool for real time translation and transcription.
3.It supports more Indian voice languages than Indian text languages.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 onlyAnswer
(b)1 and 2 only
(c)2 and 3 only
(d)1, 2 and 3
Show answer and explanationHide answer and explanation
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: BhashaDaan crowdsources language data, while Shrutlekh does real time translation and transcription. Statement 3 is wrong: BHASHINI supports 36 Indian text languages but 23 Indian voice languages.
Accurate and traceable time has become critical national infrastructure. Discuss the significance of the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 for India's digital economy and strategic autonomy.
Q1 (a) Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: CSIR-NPL generates the national time scale with its atomic clocks, while the Legal Metrology Department regulates and enforces.
Q2 (c) Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Act names the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as its nodal ministry.
Q3 (a) Only statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong: the Sone is a right bank tributary of the Ganga. Statement 3 is wrong: the dispute was settled by an agreement, not by a tribunal.
Q4 (a) Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: BhashaDaan crowdsources language data, while Shrutlekh does real time translation and transcription. Statement 3 is wrong: BHASHINI supports 36 Indian text languages but 23 Indian voice languages.