Constitutional provisions, institutions and processes the news keeps testing. 558 concepts, each with its definition, key details and a timeline of every news story that touched it.
FEMA, 1999 replaced the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973 — a shift from a punitive, control-oriented regime to a facilitation-oriented one. It...
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises the historical injustice done to tribal...
The Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) is one of the most significant post-independence legislation recognising the rights of forest-dwelling communities over...
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Gadgil Committee) and the High-Level Working Group (Kasturirangan Committee) are the two foundational reports behind...
The definitional recognition of gig and platform workers under the Social Security Code is a landmark policy shift, with implications for millions of...
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a statutory, autonomous body established under the IRDAI Act, 1999, to regulate and...
Sand is the world's second most consumed natural resource after water, and river sand mining in India has reached ecologically unsustainable levels. The...
India is the third-largest fish-producing country in the world and the second-largest aquaculture producer globally, contributing ~7% of global fish...
India has a well-established framework for evacuating and repatriating citizens caught in foreign crises. The largest such operation in recent history was...
The bedrock of India-Nepal relations is the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed on July 31, 1950, which establishes a unique open-border arrangement and...
The I4C was established by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as a centralised framework to deal with cybercrime in a coordinated manner across India. It...
Indian Railways is the largest rail network in Asia and the world's 4th largest by route length (~67,956 km). It is wholly owned by the Government of India...
The IT Rules 2021 were notified under Section 87 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and created the most comprehensive social media and digital media...
The IT Act, 2000, as amended by the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, is the primary legislation governing cybercrime in India. It defines offences, prescribes...
A standalone central assistance scheme has long provided financial support to states for the cost of transporting foodgrains from the point of central...
Kharif crops are summer crops sown at the beginning of the monsoon season (June-July) and harvested in September-October. They are rain-dependent and...
The Leader of Opposition in a state legislative assembly is a constitutionally and statutorily recognised position that plays a critical role in democratic...
Left-Wing Extremism in India refers to the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency, tracing its origins to the 1967 peasant uprising at Naxalbari village in West Bengal....
Lok Adalat ('People's Court') is India's most distinctive ADR mechanism, rooted in Gandhian principles of conciliation. It provides a fast, free, and final...
At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, PM Modi presented the MANAV (meaning 'human' in Hindi) vision as India's framework for ethical AI governance. This...
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (notified September 7, 2005; implemented February 2006) was a landmark social legislation...
The Mahad Satyagraha took place against the backdrop of severe caste discrimination in colonial India, where Dalits (called 'Depressed Classes' in the...
NISAR (NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint satellite mission being developed by NASA and ISRO. It will carry two radar systems — NASA's L-band...
The Planning Commission, chaired by the PM and functioning since 1950, allocated plan funds to states through Five Year Plans — a top-down, central...
The FNTA agreement is embedded within the broader Naga peace process, which has been ongoing since 1997 when the Government of India and the National...
The National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS) is a linear wildlife sanctuary spanning approximately 5,400 sq km along the Chambal River across three states —...
The NCLT is a quasi-judicial body established under the Companies Act, 2013 (Section 408), and serves as the adjudicating authority for corporate insolvency...
The NDMA is the apex body for disaster management in India, established under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and is...
The National Population Register is a register of usual residents of India. It is compiled under Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, inserted by the...
The National Security Act, 1980 is a preventive detention law that allows the central or state government to detain an individual for up to 12 months...
NBFCs are financial institutions registered under the Companies Act that provide banking services (loans, advances, acquisition of shares, bonds) without...
State-owned oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) — are mandated to retail...
One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that recognises the interconnection between human health, animal health, and the health of ecosystems. It...
ONORC, launched in August 2019 and implemented across all 36 States and UTs, enables portability of PDS entitlements — allowing any NFSA beneficiary to...
The National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage was approved by the Union Cabinet on 12 May 2021 with a total budgetary outlay of...
The PNGRB was established under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006. It is the statutory regulator for entities engaged in refining...
The Planning Commission (1950–2014) and NITI Aayog (2015–present) represent fundamentally different philosophies of governance and economic planning. |...
PMAY-G, launched on April 1, 2016, provides financial assistance to houseless and kutcha-house-dwelling rural families for construction of pucca housing...
The Public Distribution System is the primary institutional mechanism through which the Government of India distributes subsidised foodgrains to eligible...
The Monetary Policy Committee was established by amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, through the Finance Act, 2016. It is a statutory, six-member...
Article 80(4) of the Constitution provides that representatives of each state in the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) shall be elected by the elected members...
Rat-hole mining is an informal coal extraction technique prevalent in the Jaintia and Garo Hills of Meghalaya. It involves digging narrow, cylindrical...
The RRTS is a rail-based, semi-high-speed transit system designed to connect cities within a 150-300 km range, operating at speeds up to 180 km/h. India's...
Article 324(5) of the Constitution explicitly states that the CEC shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge...
Article 326 of the Constitution provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage — every...
The RPwD Act, 2016 replaced the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It significantly...
This Order, approved by the Union Cabinet and notified in October 2016, created a new institutional structure for Ganga governance, establishing the...
The Scheme for Modernization and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System (SMART-PDS) was approved for the period April 2023 – March 2026...
Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines 'industry' broadly as 'any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers' and...
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 is the bedrock of platform liability law in India. It provides that an intermediary shall not be liable...
The Shompen are one of India's most isolated indigenous communities, with a total population of approximately 237 people. They are a Particularly Vulnerable...
In this landmark case, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 as unconstitutional for being vague and overbroad...
Sovereign AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that are developed, trained, deployed, and governed within a country's own jurisdiction, ensuring...
The SR mechanism was set up in 2003 to explore, from a political perspective, a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for a boundary...
The Tenth Schedule was inserted into the Constitution by the Constitution (Fifty-Second Amendment) Act, 1985. It was enacted to address the phenomenon of...
A Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) is one of the largest classes of oil tankers, capable of carrying 200,000 to 320,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) of crude oil....
The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, are India's primary legal instrument for...
Zonal Councils are statutory (not constitutional) advisory bodies created to foster cooperation and resolve inter-state disputes among states grouped by...
This 1978 judgment of a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court (AIR 1978 SC 548) is the foundational precedent on the meaning of 'industry.' It replaced...
A seven-judge Constitution bench, on August 1, 2024, held by a 6:1 majority that state legislatures can sub-classify Scheduled Castes for reservation...