Current Affairs – May 02, 2026

{GS2 – Governance} Revisiting PIL Jurisdiction in India

Context (TH): Public Interest Litigation, once a tool for social justice, is increasingly facing misuse, judicial overreach, and weak enforcement.

About the Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

PIL is a legal mechanism that allows any person to approach the courts to protect the public interest, especially on behalf of disadvantaged groups.
Origin: Emerged in the 1970s–80s, notably through cases like Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar.
Relaxed Locus Standi: Unlike traditional cases, third parties can file petitions on behalf of affected individuals who cannot access courts.
Constitutional Basis: Filed under Article 32 (SC) and Article 226 (HCs) for the enforcement of fundamental rights.
Scope: Covers issues like environment, human rights, governance failures, corruption, and social justice.

Locus standi is a Latin legal term meaning “place to stand,” referring to a party’s right or capacity to bring a lawsuit or appear before a court.

Concerns About Misuse of PIL

Agenda-Driven Litigation: Many PILs are filed for publicity, political motives, or personal interest, diluting genuine cases.
Judicial Overreach: Courts entertain wide-ranging policy matters, stretching PIL jurisdiction. In M.C. Mehta cases, courts issued wide-ranging directives affecting policy decisions.
Exclusion of Stakeholders: Decisions are sometimes taken without hearing those directly impacted. Delhi slum eviction PILs (2000s), in which residents were not adequately represented.
Weak Enforcement: Court orders in PILs often face non-implementation, reducing effectiveness (e.g. non-compliance of police reforms laid in the Prakash Singh case).
Executive Override: The government often neutralises PIL judgments via laws/ordinances (e.g. in the Election Commission appointment case (2023), the law altered the SC-mandated process).

Suggested Reforms in PIL Jurisprudence

Strict Admissibility Filter: Introduce robust screening to curb frivolous filings (despite over 1.13 lakh PILs filed in 2021, only ~3% reach final judgments).
Defined Locus Standi: Restrict standing to genuine stakeholders or credible bodies, e.g., PILs seeking renaming cities show misuse by individuals without direct public interest.
Limit Judicial Overreach: Avoid courts stepping into governance, e.g., in the 2G Spectrum Case, which raised debates on judicial intervention in economic policy.
Stakeholder Inclusion: Ensure affected groups are heard, e.g., environmental clearance PILs often affect tribal communities without adequate participation.
Strengthen Enforcement: Improve compliance via follow-up mechanisms, e.g., Prakash Singh vs Union of India, police reforms remain largely unimplemented across many states even after years.

{GS2 – MoC} First Coal Mine Agreements with Underground Coal Gasification

Context (PIB): The Ministry of Coal has signed the first Coal Mine Development & Production Agreements with Underground Coal Gasification provisions.

Allocation: Under the 14^th round of commercial coal auctions, mines were awarded to Reliance Industries and Axis Energy.
Significance: Aligns with India’s push for energy self-reliance, value addition in coal, and adoption of cleaner technologies.

About Underground Coal Gasification

Underground Coal Gasification is an in-situ process that converts coal into synthetic gas (syngas) within underground coal seams.
Process: Air/oxygen and steam are injected into coal seams through wells, igniting coal to produce syngas (CO, H₂, CH₄), which is extracted to the surface.
Advantage: Enables utilisation of deep, thin, or unmineable coal reserves, significantly expanding exploitable energy resources.
Economic Benefits: Reduces costs of mining, transportation, and handling, improves energy efficiency.
Environmental Aspects: Lower surface disturbance and waste generation compared to conventional mining, but risks include groundwater contamination and subsidence.
Challenges: Technical complexity, environmental risks, high initial investment, and regulatory concerns remain key constraints.

Syngas is a fuel gas mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen, & small amounts of methane (CH₄).
It is used as a feedstock to produce electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and synthetic fuels.

{GS2 – IR} Global Report on Food Crises 2026 **

Context (FAO | UNDRR): The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026 reveals that acute food insecurity and malnutrition remain at alarmingly high levels.

It is a key publication of the Global Network Against Food Crises, prepared by 18 partner organisations.
It is the 10^th edition of GRFC and offers a consensus-based global analysis of food insecurity and malnutrition in countries affected by food crises.

Launched in 2016, the Global Network Against Food Crises is a multi-stakeholder alliance working to prevent, prepare for, and respond to food crises.
Members: Comprises UN agencies, the European Union, the World Bank, governments, and NGOs.

Key Findings of the Global Report on Food Crises 2026

Food Insecurity: About 266 million people (22.9%) in 47 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, nearly double compared to 2016.
Rising Hunger: Acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines declared in 2025, a first in GRFC history.
Major Crisis Countries: Countries like Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen remain among the largest food crises globally.
Protracted Crises: Over 80% of affected people live in long-term crisis contexts, driven by repeated shocks and structural vulnerabilities.
Declining Funding: Humanitarian and development funding for food sectors declined to 2016–17 levels, despite rising needs.
Malnutrition Crisis: 35.5 million children acutely malnourished (≈10 million severe cases). 9.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are also affected.
Displacement Link: Around 85.1 million forcibly displaced people (74% internally displaced), with higher food insecurity among displaced populations.
Emerging Risks: Conflicts (e.g., Middle East) may trigger global food supply disruptions, worsening future crises.

Key Drivers of Food Crises in 2025

Conflict & Insecurity: Primary cause, about 147.4 million people faced acute food insecurity due to conflict, driving the most severe crises.
Weather Extremes: In 16 countries, around 87.5 million people were affected by droughts, floods, and cyclones, including impacts of El Niño and La Niña events.
Economic Shocks: In 12 countries, nearly 29.8 million people faced food insecurity due to inflation, currency depreciation, and market disruptions, though its share declined from 2024.

{GS3 – IE} Nano Urea and Emerging Public Health Concerns **

Context (TH): Nano urea promises higher efficiency and lower fertiliser use, but its rapid rollout raises concerns about long-term health and environmental safety.

About Nano Urea

Nano urea is a liquid nitrogen fertiliser containing nano-sized particles (~20–50 nm) for efficient nutrient delivery.
It is applied as a foliar spray (on leaves), unlike conventional urea, which is applied to soil.
Offers ~70% nitrogen-use efficiency compared to 30–35% in traditional urea, reducing wastage.
Can cut conventional urea consumption by up to ~25%, lowering costs and environmental impact.

Public Health and Environmental Concerns

Health Risks (Nanotoxicity): Nano-sized particles can enter cells and organs, potentially causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and long-term toxicity.
Environmental Uncertainty: Unknown behaviour of nanoparticles in soil, water, and ecosystems, with risks of persistence and bioaccumulation.
Food Chain Exposure: Unclear whether nanoparticles accumulate in crops and enter the food chain, posing dietary risks.
Limited Data: Lack of robust long-term studies and epidemiological evidence on the safety and cumulative exposure of nano urea.
Regulatory Gaps: Current frameworks focus on pre-approval testing, with weak post-market monitoring and surveillance.
Lessons from Past Failures: India’s experiences with DDT, Endosulfan, Bhopal Gas tragedy, arsenic/fluoride contamination highlight risks of delayed regulation.

{GS3 – IE} India’s Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Context (DTE): Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis notes that India’s critical mineral supply chains depend on a few countries, increasing risks during the clean energy transition.

Key Trends

Dependence: India imports over 80% critical minerals, fully dependent on lithium, cobalt, & nickel.
Rising Imports: Critical mineral imports doubled, reaching $8.01 billion in 2023-24.
Demand Growth: EVs & renewables expansion expected to sharply increase mineral demand by 2030.

Mineral-wise Distribution

Cobalt Dependence: India imported 751 tonnes worth $10 million in FY25, mainly from Finland (60%), with DR Congo mining 70% globally and China processing 78.6%.
Copper Supply: Imports reached 2.3 million tonnes worth $3.8 billion, led by Tanzania (50%), Chile (24%) and Japan dominating cathodes at 73%.
Graphite Dominance: India imported 60,000 tonnes worth $40 million, while China controls 91% synthetic supply and 90% anode manufacturing capacity.
Lithium Reliance: Imports include 3,000 tonnes worth $35 million, with full dependence, driven by EVs contributing over 90% battery demand.
Nickel Trends: Imports totalled 5,700 tonnes worth $26 million, led by Australia (65%), with prices falling due to the Indonesian surge and geopolitical disruptions.

Strategic Importance of Critical Minerals

Energy Security: Critical minerals enable renewables; Targets 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030.
Industrial Growth: Essential for EVs, batteries; India’s EV market expected to grow rapidly.
Economic Stability: Stable supply chains reduce volatility. E.g., lithium prices fluctuated sharply.
Strategic Resilience: China dominates processing; concentration raises geopolitical supply risks.

Supply Concentration

Chile Supply: Chile is India’s largest supplier, providing 2.8 million tonnes mainly of copper imports.
Key Processors: China, Belgium, Germany & Japan dominate the processing & supply of critical minerals.
Limited Partners: India’s imports are increasingly concentrated among a few major global trade partners.

Critical Supply Chain Risks

Export Controls: China and other countries impose restrictions that affect global mineral trade.
Geopolitical Risks: Conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupt supply chains and affect prices.
Market Fragmentation: Friend-shoring policies & resource nationalism reshape global mineral flow.

Read More > Critical Minerals

{GS3 – Agri} Report on Efficiency and Sustainability of Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) **

Context (TH): National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) released a policy paper on the efficiency and sustainability of Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Key Findings of the Report

Sustainability Stress: 70% of FPOs face sustainability challenges due to low equity, limited credit access, and weak market linkages.
Sectoral Concentration: 85% of FPOs focus on field crops and horticulture, while only 15% cover dairy, livestock, and fisheries.
Infrastructure Deficit: Over 60% of them lack post-harvest facilities like sorting, grading, and cold storage, causing high wastage.
Regional Imbalance: Most registered FPOs are concentrated in five or six states, leaving northern and northeastern regions underserved.
Input Bias: Most active ones function as input aggregators (seeds, fertilisers) rather than as output processors, yielding lower profit margins.

Key Recommendations

Procurement Priority: Institutional buyers should prioritise FPOs for the procurement of food and non-food commodities to reduce transaction costs.
Policy & Compliance: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) should collaborate to simplify compliance and establish a single-window system.
Financial Innovation: Financial institutions need to shift from asset-based lending to cash-flow lending and warehouse receipt financing for equity-poor FPOs.
Infrastructure & Technology: The government should subsidise FPOs to establish custom hiring centres and Phygital hubs (physical-digital) for drone operations and climate-smart processing.

About Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)

An FPO is a collective of primary producers (farmers, fishers) registered as a legal entity to improve their collective bargaining power.
Scale: They enable small and marginal farmers to achieve economies of scale by pooling their land, resources, and produce.
Legal Status: FPOs are registered as Producer Companies under the Companies Act, 2013, or as Cooperative Societies under state-specific laws.
Membership: A minimum of 10 primary producers is required to form an FPO.
Ownership: The organisation is owned and managed by the farmers themselves under a democratic, member-driven governance structure. They operate on a “one member, one vote” principle.
Scheme Progress: More than 10,000 FPOs have been established under the 10,000 FPOs Scheme, covering more than 56 lakh farmers.

{GS3 – IE – Laws} Supreme Court Takes Cognisance of NCLT Delays

Context (NIE): The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of delays by the National Company Law Tribunal in approving resolution plans.

The Court termed delays as “grim”, warning they undermine the objectives of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

About the National Company Law Tribunal

Statutory Body: Quasi-judicial tribunal established under the Companies Act, 2013, to adjudicate corporate disputes.
Insolvency Authority: Acts as the adjudicating authority under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, for corporate insolvency cases.
Key Functions: Handles matters like insolvency resolution, mergers & acquisitions, company law disputes, and liquidation.
Time-bound Process: Expected to approve resolution plans within 180-330 days under IBC framework.
Appeal Mechanism: Orders can be appealed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
Challenges: Faces issues of case backlog, delays, and shortage of infrastructure, affecting efficiency.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

IBC consolidates insolvency laws into a single time-bound framework.
Objective: To resolve the bankruptcy crisis in the corporate sector, consolidate insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, and revive the company in a time-bound manner.
Creditor-in-Control: Shifts control from debtor to Committee of Creditors (CoC) during resolution.
Adjudicating Authorities: Corporate cases handled by the National Company Law Tribunal; individual cases by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT).
Regulator: Overseen by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
IBC (Amendment) Act, 2026:
- Faster Admission Process: NCLT must admit insolvency cases once default is proven, reducing delays at the entry stage.
- Out-of-Court Mechanism (CIIRP): Introduces Creditor-Initiated Insolvency Resolution Process, requiring 51% creditor approval for quicker resolution outside courts.
- Cross-Border Insolvency: Introduces a framework to deal with insolvency cases involving foreign assets/creditors.

{Prelims – MIH} Komagata Maru Incident *

Context (IE): Indian popstar Diljit Dosanjh spoke about the 1914 Komagata Maru incident during his second appearance on an American talk show.
In April 1914, Baba Gurdit Singh chartered the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, which carried 376 passengers from Hong Kong to Canada via Shanghai, Moji and Yokohama.
Religious Identity: He renamed the ship Guru Nanak Jahaz. It sailed as a ‘floating Gurdwara’, carrying the Guru Granth Sahib and the Nishan Sahib.
Legal Barrier: Canada denied its entry at Vancouver under the Continuous Journey Regulation.
- The law required immigrants to travel to Canada in one uninterrupted trip from their home country.
Harbour Detention: Passengers remained trapped on the ship in Vancouver harbour for two months.
Shore Committee: Hussain Rahim, Bhag Singh, and Balwant Singh formed a Vancouver committee to raise funds and provide legal aid to passengers.
Forced Departure: The Canadian military forced the ship back to India in July 1914, allowing only 24 passengers to disembark.
Return Arrival: Following the outbreak of World War I, passengers were barred from disembarking at several ports before the ship was finally forced to dock at Budge Budge, near Calcutta.
Massacre: On 29 September 1914, British authorities opened fire after passengers refused a forced train to Punjab, killing 20 people.
Political Radicalisation: The incident was a major accelerant for the Ghadar Movement, radicalising Indian immigrants from peaceful protest toward armed revolutionary struggle.
Formal Apology: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologised in Canada’s House of Commons in 2016 for the government’s discriminatory role in the incident.

{Prelims – S&T} Cyborg Botany

Context (TH): Scientists are advancing cyborg botany to enable plants to communicate their internal health status in real time.

Cyborg botany is an interdisciplinary field that integrates nanotechnology with plants’ natural physiology to create living circuit boards.
Mechanism: Scientists embed conductive polymers like PEDOT into plant tissue. They carry the plant’s electrochemical responses to sensors that convert them into digital data.
Key Feature: Transmits real-time plant health data to devices, allowing early detection of stress and toxins before visible damage occurs.

Major Applications

Precision Agriculture: Smart crops can alert farmers to drought or pests, helping optimise water and chemical use.
Environmental Monitoring: Cyborg plants can monitor air quality, toxicity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within urban infrastructure.
- Example: Researchers engineered spinach plants with carbon nanotubes to fluoresce upon detecting explosives in groundwater.
Energy Potential: Researchers are exploring photosynthesis-based electricity so trees can power the sensors embedded within them.

{Prelims – S&T} Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) Network *

Context (NOA): India has expanded its Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) network to 50 units, a 250% increase from 2014.

DWR is a key atmospheric monitoring system, managed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
It uses the Doppler effect to measure rainfall intensity, wind shear, and wind velocity for precise storm-centre identification.
Dual-Polarisation: Modern units transmit horizontal and vertical pulses to distinguish rain, hail, snow, and non-weather debris.
Radar Bands: The network uses S-band for long-range cyclone monitoring, C-band for medium-range observation, and X-band for localised micro-storms.
Key Benefit: DWR provides high-resolution, real-time forecasts for early warnings, aiding disaster management and aviation safety.
India’s Initiative: Mission Mausam, launched in 2024, aims to install over 100 radars by 2027 to fill remaining coverage gaps across the country.

Radar: Radio Detection and Ranging is a tracking technology that transmits radio waves and analyses returning echoes to determine the location, distance, and speed of distant objects.
Doppler Effect: It is the apparent change in a wave’s frequency caused by relative motion between source and observer; approaching objects increase frequency, and receding objects decrease it.
Radar Bands: These are the radio-wave frequency ranges used by radar systems, which determine their range, resolution, and sensitivity.

{Prelims – In News} Sabastian Sawe Sets World Record at London Marathon

Context (NDTV): Athlete Sabastian Sawe set the world record at the 2026 London Marathon.

He became the first to complete an official marathon in under two hours (1:59:30).
He broke the previous official mark of 2:00:35, set by the late Kelvin Kiptum.

The 2026 London Marathon set a Guinness World Record for the largest marathon and was recognised as the most inclusive to date.

About Sabastian Sawe

Sabastian Kimaru Sawe, known as “The Silent Assassin”, is a Kenyan long-distance runner.
Debut: He won his marathon debut at the 2024 Valencia Marathon.
Streak: Sawe remains unbeaten across four marathons, winning Valencia, London, Berlin, and London.
Half Marathon: He holds a half-marathon personal best, set at his 2024 Copenhagen Half Marathon.