Daily News Capsules
1. SC asks CAQM for report as Capital’s air gets worse
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to submit a report on the pre-emptive steps being taken to prevent further deterioration in the Capital’s air quality. CAQM has not responded to the worsening pollution. This was pointed out to the court by senior advocate Aparajita Singh assisting the court as amicus curiae. She said Delhi’s air is already in the “very poor” zone, with the AQI hovering between 300 and 400 at a majority of the monitoring stations. She pointed to news reports stating that during Diwali, only 9 of the Capital’s 37 monitoring stations were functional. “CAQM must tell this court what pre-emptive steps they intend to take before the air turns severe,” she said. Quoting the newspaper reports, she added, “If the monitoring stations have not been functioning, how do we know when to implement GRAP?” In response, a a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and justice K Vinod Chandran said: “We direct CAQM to place on record an affidavit explaining what steps are proposed to be taken to prevent the air in Delhi-NCR from turning severe.” Overall, CAQM has over 20 members, including full-time members, ex-officio members, NGO experts, and ex-officio expert members.
Possible Question
Examine the effectiveness of India’s institutional framework for air quality management. What ails the current arrangement?
2. Pakistan among countries testing N-weapons: Trump
Pakistan and China are among the countries which are testing nuclear weapons, US President Donald Trump has said to justify his administration’s plans to resume testing after a gap of over three decades. Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, Trump announced that the US will start testing nuclear weapons on an “equal basis” with rival powers. In an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell on Sunday, the US president named Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan as the countries testing nuclear weapons. “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it…. We’re gonna test, because they test and others test,” Trump said. “And certainly North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing,” he asserted. Trump claimed some of the countries conducting tests of their nuclear weapons don’t acknowledge them. “They don’t go and tell you about it. You don’t necessarily know where they’re testing. They test way under — underground, where people don’t know exactly what’s happening with the test,” he said. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had tested a Poseidon nuclear capable super torpedo. Reacting to the statement, China denied testing nuclear weapons.
Possible Question
Analyse how the revival of nuclear testing by major powers could alter the global strategic stability framework. What role can India play in strengthening non-proliferation and arms control regimes?
3. Canada rejected 74% Indian study permit pleas this August as allure dims
Canada’s clampdown on international students has hit applicants from India particularly hard, government data shows, as what was once a preferred destination loses its allure for Indian students. Canada lowered the number of international student permits it issues for the second year in a row in early 2025 as part of a broader effort to reduce the number of temporary migrants and address fraud related to student visas. About 74% of Indian applications for permits to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions in August — the most recent month available — were rejected, compared to about 32% in August 2023, according to immigration data provided to Reuters. By contrast, about 40% of study permit applications overall in each of those months were refused. About 24% of Chinese study permits this August were rejected. The number of Indian applicants has also dropped, from 20,900 in August 2023 — when Indians accounted for just over one quarter of all applicants — to 4,515 in August 2025. India has been Canada’s top source of international students over the past decade. In August, it also had the highest study-permit refusal rate of any country with more than 1,000 approved applicants.
Possible Question
Discuss the implications of declining international student mobility on India’s higher education and migration policies. How can India enhance its domestic educational competitiveness and global partnerships?
4. Indian national abducted by RSF militia in Sudan: Officials
Sudan is in contact with Indian authorities regarding the reported abduction of an Indian national by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia that captured the strategic city of El Fasher last month, Sudanese ambassador Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom said on Monday. The envoy sought India’s support as an important player of the world community to cope with the situation arising from recent gains by the RSF, which he described as a “bloodthirsty militia” working as a proxy for foreign powers. The RSF has issued a video purportedly showing the kidnapped Indian national, identified as Adarsh Behera, a 36-year-old resident of Odisha. Behera, who was working in Sudan for the past three years, was reportedly abducted when the RSF captured El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the last remaining stronghold of Sudanese forces in the Darfur region, on October 26. “As regards the Indian national, we have seen various [reports] but we also don’t have confirmation. There is a complete communication blackout in El-Fasher. No one can contact anyone in the city right now,” Eltom told reporters. There was no word from Indian officials on the status of Behera. Eltom said the Indian embassy based in Port Sudan is closely following the situation and Sudan’s embassy in New Delhi has been in contact with the External Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Ministry in Port Sudan regarding the development.
Possible Question
Evaluate India’s evolving approach to citizen protection and crisis management abroad. What mechanisms exist within the Ministry of External Affairs for handling hostage and evacuation situations?
5. Govt plans to nudge auto industry to invest in a rare-earth-magnet-free future
The government plans to nudge the automobile industry to invest in research and development (R&D) of rare-earth-magnet-free technology, according to two officials aware of the plan, as the country seeks to break free from China’s stranglehold and adopt cleaner solutions. The Union Heavy Industries Ministry plans to leverage funds from the government’s ₹50,000 crore Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) towards this strategic push to counter China, which controls more than 90% of the world’s rare earth processing capabilities, said one of the two officials quoted earlier. India’s R&D investments stand at 0.6-0.7% of GDP compared to 3.5% in the US and 2.4% in China, according to the government and Unesco data. The ANRF, which is targeted to last until FY28, aims to plug this gap. The central government’s contribution to ANRF is ₹14,000 crore and the remainder has been raised through donations from public sector companies, private sector organisations, philanthropic entities, and international bodies. The push for innovation in rare-earth-magnet-free technology comes in tandem with the government’s support for manufacturing rare-earth magnets. The ₹7,300 crore incentive scheme is slated to be announced soon.
Possible Question
Explain the strategic and environmental importance of developing rare earth-independent technologies. How can India’s industrial and innovation policies reduce critical mineral dependencies?
Editorial Snapshots
A. Bridging the divide in J&K
The Omar Abdullah ministry took oath in October last year in an atmosphere of hope, and on the promise that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) would be restored. That has not happened in these many months. In an interview with this newspaper, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah elaborated how the absence of statehood and executive powers — these remain with the lieutenant governor (LG) — has reduced the elected government to a toothless entity. His concerns are valid. Two issues need immediate redress. One, the powers between the elected government and the LG’s office need to be clearly defined and separated, at least until there is closure on the matter of statehood. Considering that J&K is a border state and a constant target of Pakistan’s terror proxies, the Centre may want to centralise all the executive powers in the LG’s office. This is a flawed approach and can only result in alienating elected representatives from their constituents. Two, a time frame needs to be discussed for the restoration of statehood. The Centre had told the Supreme Court that it is in consultations with the state government. In fact, the Centre had given an undertaking to the Court that statehood would be restored. This process must not be allowed to be held hostage to Pakistan’s machinations. Full statehood for J&K is both a political and legal promise. The premise of an elected legislative body is to have public representatives as the interface between citizens and the executive. Such an arrangement can ease governance and prevent public alienation from the State apparatus. The UT elections, five years after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the first since 2014, saw an exceptional 63.90% turnout. It was perceived as an act of trust by the people in electoral democracy and seen as a fresh start to rebuild J&K and enable a politics of healing and hope. That opportunity should not be lost.
Possible Question
Critically analyse the constitutional and political implications of retaining Jammu and Kashmir’s Union Territory status. How can restoring statehood contribute to democratic legitimacy and regional stability?
B. The Mokama test for Bihar administration
A key aspect of the NDA campaign has been that a vote for the Mahagathbandhan would mean a return of the “jungle raj” in Bihar. Thisnarrative sought to recall a time in the 1990s, when violence by bahubalis (men with criminal records) was frequent and mostly condoned by the administration headed by Lalu Prasad, then chief minister and the face of Rashtriya Janata Dal. A significant achievement of Nitish Kumar’s tenure in office was the restoration of the rule of law and the reining in of politicians, who were law unto themselves. Last week’s poll violence in Mokama, a town notorious as a playfield of bahubalis, was a throwback to a past Bihar wants to forget. That the key figure in the violence — a supporter of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) with a crime record who was shot when workers of JSP and NDA clashed — was the candidate of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), threatened to unravel the ruling alliance’s narrative about law and order. Mokama was a test for the ruling alliance, especially since the Mahagathbandhan campaign had made rising crime an election issue. The arrest of Anant Singh, the JD(U) candidate, late Saturday night, sends out the message that the State is in charge and no politician will be allowed to challenge its writ. Singh is an influential upper caste leader with a record of winning multiple elections. The arrest will resonate beyond Mokama and serve as a warning for politicians to respect the sanctity of the law. This is an election where political parties are offering agendas of hope, of building infrastructure and industry, of opportunities and jobs, of peace and prosperity. All this is possible only if the police function as a neutral arm of the State and independent of political influence. Rebuilding Bihar is a long haul, of course, but the decline in violence in recent years, thanks to the reassertion of the State, is evidence that it is on the right path. That’s a precious gain and has to be preserved at all costs.
Possible Question
Discuss the role of political accountability and institutional reform instrengthening law and order in Indian states. How can depoliticisation of the police system enhance governance outcomes?
Fact of the day
‘India’s exports to US dip 37.5% during May-September’: India’s exports to the US have dipped 37.5% during May-September 2025, from $8.8 billion in May to $5.5 billion in September, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. It said that exports of pharmaceuticals, smartphones, metals and auto have declined during the period. Pharma product exports dipped 15.7% from $745.6 million in May to $628.3 million in September. Industrial metals and auto parts facing uniform tariffs for all countries saw a 16.7% drop, from $0.6 billion to $0.5 billion. Aluminium exports fell 37%, copper 25%, auto parts 12%, and iron-steel 8%, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said, adding that with similar duties on global suppliers, the dip likely reflects softer US industrial activity rather than lost competitiveness. He added that labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, chemicals, agri-foods, and machinery endured a 33% decline, from $4.8 billion to $3.2 billion. “The impact here was both deep and widespread,” he said. Exports of solar panels fell 60.8% from $202.6 million in May to $79.4 million in September.
