Current Affairs – May 06, 2026

{GS2 – Polity} AI in Indian Judiciary **

Context (HT): Supreme Court proposed framing guidelines for both the bar (lawyers) and the bench (judges) to regulate AI use in drafting judgments and filing petitions.

Significance of AI Use in Judiciary

Research Efficiency: AI tools like SUPACE and LegRAA extract facts from voluminous trial records and identify relevant precedents to aid judicial research and decision support.
Linguistic Accessibility: SUVAS platform translates SC judgments into 18 vernacular languages, allowing litigants to read court orders without intermediaries.
Backlog Reduction: Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) clusters similar legal matters to resolve large blocks of cases amid the 5-crore pendency crisis.
Administrative Automation: Virtual Courts have processed over 8.7 crore petty cases, freeing magistrates from routine clerical work to focus on substantive litigation.

Concerns with AI Use in Judiciary

Algorithmic Bias: Predictive AI models trained on historical Indian jurisprudence risk perpetuating socio-economic and caste-based biases inherent in sentencing records.
Black Box: The opacity of proprietary deep learning algorithms conflicts with the constitutional mandate for reasoned judicial orders.
Semantic Hallucinations: AI tools risk generating semantic hallucinations when processing complex constitutional maxims, creating accountability vacuums for violating mistranslated court directives.
Infrastructural Disparity: A deficit of uninterrupted power and secure cloud networks across more than 3,400 district and taluka court complexes bottlenecks grassroots technological deployment.

Way Forward

Algorithmic Auditing: Mandate biannual technical audits by the Supreme Court’s e-Committee to identify and neutralise socio-economic biases in judicial training datasets.
Statutory Guardrails: Enact a strict “Human-in-the-Loop” legislative framework to prohibit autonomous AI adjudication and preserve human accountability in constitutional matters.
Sovereign Cloud: Establish an air-gapped judicial cloud infrastructure to host unredacted trial records, ensuring national data sovereignty and strict DPDP Act compliance.
Capacity Building: Integrate mandatory AI literacy modules into the National Judicial Academy to standardise technological proficiency among grassroots district magistrates and court staff.

{GS2 – Polity} Increase in Supreme Court Judge Strength *

Context (PIB): Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to introduce the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026.

It aims to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 38 (37 Judges and CJI).
When the Supreme Court was created in 1950, it had only eight judges, including the CJI. The strength was last increased from 31 to 34 in 2019.
Constitutional Basis: Under Article 124, Parliament may increase the number of judges of the SC.
- Strength of the SC is governed by Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, enacted under Art 124.
- To revise the number of judges of the SC, a Bill to amend the 1956 Act must be passed by both Houses of Parliament (simple majority) and sent for the assent of the President.

Significance: It will help in faster disposal of cases, timely delivery of justice, and reducing pendency of cases.

{GS2 – Polity} Can the Chief Minister Refuse to Resign After Losing Majority?

Context (HT | IE): West Bengal CM has refused to resign after poll defeat.

Office of the Chief Minister (CM)

CM is the real executive head of the State, appointed by the Governor under Article 164.
Under Art 163, the Council of Ministers (CoM), headed by the CM, aids and advises the Governor in exercising his functions.
Head of CoM: CM leads the CoM, allocates portfolios, and coordinates government functioning.
Duties to the Governor: The CM must inform the Governor about decisions of the CoM when required under Article 167.
Conduct of Business: Ensures government business is conducted in the name of the Governor, as per Article 166.

Can a CM Continue After Losing Majority?

Majority Principle: Under Article 164, a CM can remain in office only till he/she enjoys the confidence of the Legislative Assembly; loss of majority leads to resignation or removal.
Governor’s Role: The Governor can ask the CM to resign or dismiss the government and invite the leader of the majority party/coalition to form a government.
No Dual Authority: Constitutionally, only one CM can hold office; once a new CM is sworn in, the incumbent ceases automatically.
Tenure: As per Article 172, Assembly tenure is 5 years, after which a new government must be formed.
While the Constitution does not explicitly say a Chief Minister must resign immediately after losing an election, the requirement of majority makes it unavoidable in practice.

{GS3 – Agri} Mission for Cotton Productivity

Context (PIB): Union Cabinet approved the Mission for Cotton Productivity (2026–27 to 2030–31). It was announced in Union Budget 2025-26.

Often called Kapas Kanti, it aligns with the 5F vision: from Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.
Objective: Make India self-sufficient in cotton and improve global textile competitiveness by 2030–31.
Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Textiles.
Key Targets: Increase output to 498 lakh bales, raise lint yield to 755 kg/ha, and reduce trash below 2%.
In its initial phase, the mission will focus on 140 districts across 14 major cotton-growing states, targeting large-scale adoption of modern farming technologies.
Key Focus Areas:
1. Development of High-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, scaling modern farming techniques and promotion of Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton.
2. Promotion of the Kasturi Cotton Bharat brand.
3. Digital integration of mandis for transparent price discovery and direct market access.
4. Cotton waste recycling to improve resource efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint.

Read More > Cotton Industry in India

{GS3 – IE} Viability Plan 2.0 for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) *

Context (PIB): Department of Financial Services approved revised Viability Plan 2.0 to institutionalize performance monitoring and strengthen governance reforms in Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

Key Highlights

Duration: 2025-26 to 2027-28 (Three Years).
Aim: Strengthening financial stability and improving operational efficiency across all 28 RRBs.
4 Core Pillars:
1. Operational excellence: Improving service delivery through technology and process optimization.
2. Asset quality: Strengthening loan portfolios and aggressively reducing NPAs.
3. Profitability: Ensuring sustainable financial returns
4. Growth: Deepening rural banking penetration and expanding the credit-deposit (CD) ratio.
Monitoring Mechanism: It introduces a structured performance evaluation system using 30 specific parameters which includes:
- Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR): It measures a bank’s financial strength by comparing its capital to its risk-weighted assets.
- Credit-Deposit Ratio: Financial metric measuring the percentage of a bank’s total deposits that are used for lending.
- Non-Performing Assets (NPAs): A loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remains overdue for more than 90 days.
- Other: Digital adoption levels, recovery performance, profitability ratios, and performance in implementation of Government schemes etc.

{GS3 – IE} New SOP for FDI Approvals

Context (IE): Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approvals.

Aims to eliminate duplication and improve ease of doing business through transparent, time-bound, and fully digital approvals.
Timeline: FDI proposals requiring government approval must be processed within 12 weeks (earlier 10), with presumed consent after 8 weeks if ministries/RBI do not respond.
- Administrative ministries cannot reject any FDI proposal without formal concurrence from DPIIT.
Paperless: All applications will be processed digitally through the National Single Window System or Foreign Investment Facilitation (FIF) Portal.
Investment threshold: No prior govt approval is required for equity increase up to ₹5,000 crore if ownership share remains unchanged; proposals above this require Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approval.
Mandatory clearance: Security clearance is mandatory for investments from countries that share a land border if the shareholding exceeds 10% or involves control or for investments in broadcasting, telecommunications, space, private security agencies, defence, civil aviation, and Titanium-bearing minerals/mining activities.
Oversight: Ministries must establish a dedicated FDI Cell headed by Joint Secretary-level nodal officers.

India is the 15^thlargest FDI destination, with $90 billion in inflows in 2025-26. Singapore (25%) is the top investing nation, and Maharashtra (31%) is the top destination state.

{GS3 – IE} Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

Context (TH): India’s Manufacturing PMI rose to 54.7 in April 2026, however it remained the second-slowest improvement in nearly four years.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is a leading economic indicator based on surveys of over 400 purchasing managers across the manufacturing sector.
It is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers.
It is released monthly and is one of the most closely watched indicators of economic health.
PMI is derived from five sub-indices, each given equal weight: (1) New Orders (2) Output (3) Employment (4) Suppliers’ Delivery Times (5) Stock of Items Purchased
The indices vary between 0 and 100, a reading > 50 indicates growth, while < 50 signals contraction.

{GS3 – IE} Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0 *

Context (PIB): Union Cabinet approved the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 to aid businesses impacted by the West Asia crisis.

Guarantee Coverage: 100% for MSMEs and 90% for non-MSMEs and the airline sector.

About ECLGS

Launched by Ministry of Finance in 2020 to support pandemic-affected businesses under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
It provides lending institutions with a 100% guarantee against losses, encouraging additional collateral-free credit for businesses.
Implementing Agency: National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) guarantees coverage for Member Lending Institutions.
Tenure of Loan: 5 years (including moratorium of 1 year) for MSMEs/Non-MSMEs and 7 years (including moratorium of 2 years) for airline sector.

{Prelims – Envi} Caracal *

Context (TH | TOI): Wildlife officials confirmed rare sightings of caracals in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert.

Locally known as padang or siyah-gosh, Caracal (desert lynx) is a highly agile, medium-sized wildcat closely related to the African golden cat. It has a leaping ability of over 3 metres and stealthy hunting prowess.
Habitat: Dry arid regions like savannas, semi-deserts, rocky ravines, and dry scrublands across Africa, Middle East, Central Asia & parts of northwestern India.
It is a carnivorous, nocturnal, ambush predator, preying mainly on rodents, hares, and birds.
IUCN: Least Concern; WPA: Sch I.
MoEFCC added caracal to ‘Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species and Habitats’. Rajasthan launched Project Caracal to draft a conservation plan.

{Prelims – Reports} World Migration Report 2026

Context (HT): International Organisation for Migration (IOM) released World Migration Report 2026.

The IOM publishes the ‘World Migration Report’ biennially (every two years) since 2000.

Key Findings

Global Migration Trends: International migrants reached 304 million (3.7% of global population), while forced displacement crossed 120 million globally.
Climate-Induced Displacement: Natural disasters triggered 65.8 million internal forced movements within national borders.
Economic Impact: Remittances reached an estimated 905 billion US dollars globally in 2024, including 685 billion dollars to low- and middle-income countries.

India Related Findings

India Holds Largest Diaspora Globally: India-UAE (5^th largest, predominantly migrant workers) and India-U.S. (6^th largest, mainly skilled workers & students) are among the top 10 global migration corridors.
Remittances: India consistently leads as the top remittance recipient, remaining the only country to surpass USD 100 billion, with inflows of USD 137 billion in 2024.
Internal Displacement: Disaster-induced internal displacements in India were the second highest in Asia, exceeding 5 million.
Brain Drain to Brain Gain: The diaspora is investing back not just through remittances but also through knowledge transfer and political lobbying, converting emigration into a strategic national asset.

{Prelims – IE} Article 24 of ILO

Context (DTE): Tea plantation workers in West Bengal invoked Article 24 of the ILO, alleging systemic labour rights violations and poor working conditions.

Article 24 of the ILO Constitution empowers industrial associations of employers or workers to complain against non-compliance with a ratified ILO convention. If the ILO Governing Body deems the representation receivable, it may form a tripartite committee to examine it and publish findings.

The Tea Act of 1953 established the Tea Board to regulate the cultivation, production, sale, and export of Indian tea. It empowers the Centre to take over sick or ailing tea undertakings in specified circumstances.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a Geneva-based specialised UN agency, founded in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles to promote social justice and labour rights.

Read More > ILO | India’s Tea Industry

{Prelims – PIN World} Places in News

PIN

Particulars

Samar, Philippines

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Samar (San Julian) island in Philippines (TH).

Samar is part of the Eastern Visayas region in the Philippines, located along the Pacific coast.
It is the 3^rd largest island in the Philippines, separated from Leyte Island by San Juanico Strait.
It lies along Pacific Ring of Fire, making it highly prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Mexico City

Mexico City is sinking rapidly due to groundwater depletion (TH).

Located in the Valley of Mexico, Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. It is built on the ancient bed of Lake Texcoco, making it prone to subsidence and earthquakes.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

Polity – SAMARTH Panchayat Portal (LM): Ministry of Panchayati Raj expanded it to Assam, UP, and Maharashtra after pilots in Chhattisgarh and HP. Launched in 2023, it aims to digitise revenue collection and monitoring to make Panchayats financially self-reliant under the Own Source Revenue Framework.
S&T – India’s First Portable MRI (AIR): Introduced at AIIMS Delhi for ICU and emergency patients. The ultra-low-field MRI device can be wheeled to the patient, avoiding risky transfers to conventional MRI rooms.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues. Unlike X-rays or CT scans, MRI does not use harmful ionising radiation, making it safer for repeated use.
In News – Sanchar Madhyam (PIB): Commemorative issue released by Indian Institute of Mass Communication to mark 200 years of Hindi journalism.
- ‘Udant Martand’ was the 1^st Hindi newspaper, published in 1826 from Calcutta by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla.