Daily News Capsules
1. Over 7,000 FIRs, no action: Punjab sits on farm fire cases
Close to 7,000 FIRs were registered against farmers burning paddy stubble in Punjab between 2022 and 2024, but there has hardly been any action with most cases yet to result in a charge sheet, wound up after nominal fines or quietly closed under pressure from farmer unions, according to police records and senior officials in multiple hot spot districts. In 2024, Punjab registered 5,783 FIRs for farm fires, compared to 1,144 in 2023 and 44 in 2022. This year, 972 FIRs have been registered through November 4. The police cases are part of a crackdown on a practice that is known to bathe much of north India in toxic smog through late October and most of November, sending air pollution levels into health emergency levels for millions of people in these states. According to police records, prosecution department data and district administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the vast majority of FIRs have seen no follow-up action and remain pending in police stations or have been settled with minimal penalties. For instance, in farm fire hotspot districts including Patiala, Sangrur, Muktsar, Moga, and Faridkot, not a single FIR over a three-year period till November 1, 2025 has reached the stage of challan, or chargesheet, in court, according to prosecution department data. These districts registered 1,875 cases in past three years. Punjab government officials, including the Punjab Police nodal officer for farm fires and special DGP Arpit Shukla, did not respond to requests for comment.
Possible Question
Examine the structural and political challenges that hinder the enforcement of environmental laws such as those against stubble burning in Punjab. How can cooperative federalism and incentive-based mechanisms help achieve sustainable compliance?
2. Pakistan constitution change: Opposition decries SC’s ‘death’
Pakistan’s joint parliamentary committee of the Senate and National Assembly on Sunday approved the 27th constitutional amendment bill with the opposition alleging that the government was sounding “the death knell for the Supreme Court.” The amendment proposes a change in Article 243, seeking to abolish the ‘Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee’ and introduce a new ‘Chief of Defence Forces.’ Other proposals include establishing a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and reducing the powers of the Supreme Court, PTI reported. Senator Farooq Naek of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who chaired the meeting of the joint committee, told the media later that “the meeting unanimously approved the basic draft of the bill.” The Senate is scheduled to meet at 11am on Monday to take up the bill in light of the committee report and vote on every amendment and pass it by a two-thirds majority. After the Senate, it would be presented before the National Assembly, where it must pass a two-thirds majority again. In the final stage, it must get the president’s approval to become a law. The new amendment came under criticism in the Senate session when opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator Ali Zafar said that the proposed constitutional amendment would “sound the death knell for the Supreme Court.” “The way you are amending the Constitution, (it) is like destroying a structure,” Zafar said as he addressed the session. The proposed amendment formally vests the office of Chief of the Defence Forces in the Chief of the Army Staff and constitutionally guarantees the Field Marshal rank for life, he said.
Possible Question
How does the weakening of judicial independence affect constitutionalism and democratic stability in parliamentary systems? What are the safeguards for judicial review in India, in comparison?
3. IIT placement rates slide, pays shrink as vaunted colleges reconcile with changing job market
The overall placement rates at the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) fell from over 90% to just around 80% between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with the weighted average annual salaries reducing marginally from ₹23.45 lakh to ₹22.7 lakh, a HT analysis shows, with IIT administrators and faculty attributing the trend to an uncertain job market and high student expectations, although they insist that the overall placement scenario in the IITs is stable. Across IITs, officials and faculty members agree that the placement slowdown is driven more by changing market dynamics than by student capability. The IITs are yet to release a consolidated report of their 2024-25 placement season. The seven IITs established between 1951 and 2001 (Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee) were the worst affected in terms of placement rates , seeing a dip of over 11 percentage points — from just above 90% in 2021-22 to 79% in 2023-24 — though their weighted average salaries (average pay adjusted for the number of students placed) saw only a marginal dip of ₹0.2 lakh to ₹25.3 LPA. The eight second generation IITs set up during 2008–09 (Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Patna, Ropar, Jodhpur, Indore, and Mandi) recorded the steepest salary decline of about ₹2.2 lakh, from around ₹22.2 LPA to nearly ₹20 LPA, along with a 9 percentage point drop in placement rates, from above 93% to 84%. The eight third generation IITs (including those converted into IITs) — (BHU) Varanasi, (ISM) Dhanbad, Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Goa, Jammu, and Dharwad — saw a 7.3 percentage point fall inplacement rates, from about 87.8% to 80.5%, and a salary decline of ₹1 lakh, from ₹19.6 LPA to ₹18.6 LPA.
Possible Question
Evaluate how India’s higher education system can adapt to evolving global job markets shaped by automation and AI. Should employability be a primary metric of institutional performance? Discuss.
4. Remove strays from public places, top court tells states
The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and Union territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots, and railway stations, and ruled that they cannot be released back in the same places after sterilisation, in a move that animal activists said was counter to the amended Animal Birth Control norms of 2023, and which is likely to highlight the huge shortage of shelters that will now be needed to house these animals. “The recurrence of such incidents…reflects not only administrative apathy but also a failure to secure these premises from preventable hazards,” said the bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, adding that the situation “calls for immediate judicial intervention to safeguard the fundamental right to life and safety of citizens, especially children, patients and sportspersons, under Article 21.” The court noted that despite the statutory Animal Birth Control (ABC) framework, amended in 2023, outcomes remained “suboptimal”, citing a year-on-year rise in dog bites near or inside schools, hospitals, stadiums and transport hubs. It identified the causes as inadequate sterilisation, poor waste disposal, lack of perimeter management, and low public awareness. To be sure, ABC Rules, framed under Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, require local authorities to run ABC and anti-rabies programmes premised on catch neuter-vaccinate-release approach.
Possible Question
Discuss the constitutional and ethical dimensions of the Supreme Court’s directive on stray dog removal. How can India reconcile the right to life and safety of citizens with its obligations toward animal welfare?
5. SC suggests use of blockchain to ease land registrations
The Supreme Court has called for a fundamental restructuring of the country’s land registration system, and asked the Law Commission of India to examine the use of blockchain technology to move towards conclusive land titling. A bench of justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said that the present framework, where only documents are registered and not the title itself, has produced uncertainty, litigation, and trauma for buyers, and that the time has come for a transparent, tamper-proof, technology-driven alternative. The bench noted that nearly 66% of all civil litigation in India today is linked to land disputes. “Emerging technologies such as Blockchain can transform land registration into a more secure, transparent and tamper-proof system,” it said. The bench further emphasised that while several states have digitised land records through initiatives like the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme and the National Generic Document Registration System, digitisation alone merely reproduces flawed records if underlying data remains inaccurate or incomplete. Blockchain, by contrast, could help integrate cadastral maps, survey data, revenue entries and title transfers into a single auditable system, reducing fraud and uncertainty.
Possible Question
Critically assess the potential of blockchain technology in transforming land governance in India. What institutional reforms are required to ensure that technological adoption leads to conclusive land titling and reduced litigation?
Editorial Snapshots
A. Brics moment at Belém COP30
COP30, beginning Monday in Belém, Brazil, is being held at a time of great shift in global power dynamics. The US, the world’s largest historical emitter, has been in climate denial since COP29 at Baku, and will be missing at the high table in Belém. The Trump administration not only withdrew from the Paris Agreement but also dismantled several climate policies. The US action has dampened the response world over to COP30 and led to general anxiety over which direction the world is going and who is going to pay up for climate action in the developing world. Early signs are that China, the world’s largest polluter, may step in, with Brazil, the COP30 host, and the EU, to provide leadership. On Thursday, China, Brazil, and the EU made some noteworthy speeches at Belém’s Leaders’ Summit. Numerous other statements at Belém suggest that the world is willing to move on climate action without the US. For instance, the Brazilian COP30 and Azerbaijan COP29 presidencies have released a report on the “Baku To Belém Roadmap To 1.3T”, which plots the path to deliver climate finance amounting to $1.3 trillion annually to enable developing countries to adopt low greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. So, is Belém likely to be a Brics moment? Russia and the Arab countries are unlikely to back any big move against fossil fuels, but Belém may still be a moment of South-South solidarity if New Delhi steps up. India, with its low per capita emissions and vulnerable population, is at great risk of climate impacts. As per the UN’s 2024 estimates, clean energy attracted $2 trillion in investment — $800 billion more than in fossil fuels. India has a lot to showcase on energy transition because it has already delivered on one of its 2030 NDCs, five years in advance. Considering its leadership role in drafting the Paris Agreement, or the launching of the International Solar Alliance, it is prudent for New Delhi to be a voice for the Global South.
Possible Question
In what ways does South–South cooperation, exemplified by platforms such as BRICS, reshape the global climate finance architecture? Discuss India’s strategic interests in aligning climate diplomacy with development priorities.
B. Why India needs to empower its mayors
Zohran Mamdani’s election as the mayor of New York is discussed widely because the office has actual powers to shape policies and politics in the world’s financial capital. In the Indian context, the 74th Amendment to the Constitution provided for the decentralisation of powers to urban local bodies (ULBs) as early as 1992. This should have empowered municipalities and municipal corporations, with the chairperson (in a municipality) and the mayor (in a city) having substantive executive powers. That transfer of power did not happen: Kerala may be the exception, having witnessed a political movement towards decentralisation of powers. It is time to truly empower ULBs. A first step is proper decentralisation of powers — state governments prefer centralisation and run cities through civil servants. Second, the share of revenues transferred to ULBs must be increased. Third, city administrations must have more autonomy in deciding taxes, user charges, cess, and levies. Let cities compete to attract investment through innovative taxation and raise funds for infrastructure. The mayor must be the CEO and face of the city — not the commissioner or the CM. Fourth, cities must develop their own capacities: Decentralised planning needs local expertise. India’s parliamentary system discourages direct elections to executive office; parties mostly pick the mayor from among the elected councillors. They nominate political lightweights because the office lacks authority and agency. That will change only if the office is endowed with executive and financial powers.
Possible Question
Despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment, India’s urban governance remains highly centralised. Analyse the structural constraints that prevent effective decentralisation, and suggest measures to make elected mayors genuine agents of urban transformation.
Fact of the day
October took us closer to the 1.5°C goal being breached:
Limiting global warming to under 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average was once a sacrosanct climate goal which now looks almost certainly redundant with a Donald Trump-led US reneging on the 2015 Paris Agreement. Latest monthly data for the planet’s October temperatures is yet another proof that the 1.5°C could be breached sooner than later. Global temperature datasets are published by multiple agencies. The ERA5 data published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is the one that becomes available the earliest among the six tracked by the World Meteorological Organization. Daily ERA5 data for October, finalised last week, shows the month was 1.54°C warmer than the pre-industrial average. This makes October this year the third warmest October month after 2023 and 2024, and the third consecutive year (the only month this has ever happened) when the month has recorded more than 1.5°C warming. The five-year average of October warming is now 1.48°C. This is the closest any month is to breaching the 1.5°C threshold on a somewhat long-term basis. However, the 10-year average for October 2025 is still 1.36°C, which makes it only the fifth warmest month by long-term warming as of now. While 2025 might not cross the 1.5°C barrier on an annual basis, the January-October average is 1.47°C despite no help from cyclical factors like an El Nino. The underlying trend of long-term warming is here to stay.
