Frameworks against Untouchability in India | Right to Work in India | World’s Coral Reefs Report | Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Report 2026 | Sone River Water-Sharing Agreement | UPI in Uzbekistan

Frameworks against Untouchability in India

Polity

News – 

• A shuddhikaran (purification) ritual performed after a political rally has revived the debate over whether such purification falls within the scope of untouchability under Article 17.

Safeguards Against Untouchability

• Article 17: Abolishes untouchability and makes it an offence.
• Article 15(2): Prohibits caste-based denial of access to public places and facilities.
• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955: Penalises enforcement of untouchability and related social disabilities.
• SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: Provides Special Courts for speedy trial of atrocities.
• Article 338: Establishes the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).
• Manual Scavenging: 2013 Act prohibits manual scavenging and hazardous sewer cleaning.
• RPA, 1951: Conviction for certain untouchability offences can lead to electoral disqualification.

Right to Work in India

Polity

News – 

• The transition from MGNREGA to the VB-GRAM G Act has reignited Supreme Court debates about elevating the “Right to Work” to a Fundamental Right under Article 21.

Key Differences 

World’s Coral Reefs Report

Environment

News – 

• Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) published the 7th ‘Status of the World’s Coral Reefs’ report.

Key Findings

• Coral cover: Global hard coral cover declined by ~9.5% from the 1980–2009 baseline.
• Recovery: Major disturbances now occur every 4–6 years, reducing recovery time.
• Major driver: Marine heatwaves due to climate change are the leading cause of coral-cover decline.
• 2024: 87% of reefs faced unprecedented heat stress; >40% experienced heat stress posing a risk of coral mortality.
• Key concept: Coral bleaching occurs when heat stress causes corals to expel symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), potentially leading to mortality.

CORAL REEFS 

• Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse ecosystems of the planet.

Formation & Symbiotic relationship – (Coral polyps + zooxanthellae)

• They are formed when Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, develop a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae, which live in its tissues. 
• Formation – Coral reefs begin to form when free-swimming coral larvae attach to submerged rocks or other hard surfaces along the edges of islands or continents. 
• The coral provides a protected environment and the compounds zooxanthellae need for photosynthesis. 
• In return, the algae produce carbohydrates that the coral uses for food, as well as oxygen. The algae also helps the coral remove waste. 

FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR FORMATION

• Warm tropical oceans with minimum temperature of 20 degree (30 degree north and 25 degree south latitudes)
• Oceanic water free of sedimentation
• Transparent parts of ocean bodies 
• Relatively low salinity ocean bodies

TYPES OF REEF FORMATIONS

• Fringing reefs – They are the most common, projecting seaward directly from the shore, forming borders along the shoreline and surrounding islands. 
• Barrier reefs – Grow at border shorelines, but at a greater distance. They are separated from their adjacent land mass by a lagoon of open, often deep water. 
• Atoll – If a fringing reef forms around a volcanic island that subsides completely below sea level while the coral continues to grow upward, an atoll forms. Atolls are usually circular or oval, with a central lagoon. 

DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA 

• The Gulf of Kutch  

1. The West Coast of India 
2. The Lakshadweep Islands 
3. The Gulf of Mannar 
4. Palk Bay
5. Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands 

THREATS 

• Destructive fishing practices, Overfishing, Careless tourism, Pollution, Sedimentation, Coral mining, Climate change. 

CORAL BLEACHING

• When corals face stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. This phenomenon is called coral bleaching.

Causes of Coral Bleaching

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Report 2026

International

News- 

• The 2026 V-Dem Report classifies India as an “electoral autocracy,” ranking it 106th out of 179 on the Electoral Democracy Index, with its score at the lowest level since the 1975 Emergency.

About- 

• V-Dem Institute: Based at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; assesses democracy using expert-based data.
• Five dimensions: Electoral, Liberal, Participatory, Deliberative and Egalitarian Democracy.
• India: Classified as an “electoral autocracy” and ranked 106th/179 in the Electoral Democracy Index.

Sone River Water-Sharing Agreement

Geography & Environment

News – 

• Bihar–Jharkhand MoU ended a 25-year water-sharing dispute after Jharkhand’s creation in 2000.
• Bansagar Accord (1973): Agreement among MP, UP and Bihar on Sone River development and Bansagar Dam operations.

• Origin: Amarkantak Plateau, Maikal Range.
• Tributary: 2nd-largest right-bank tributary of Ganga after Yamuna.
• States: MP → UP → Jharkhand → Bihar; joins Ganga near Maner, Bihar.
• Major tributaries: Rihand, North Koel, Banas and Ghaghar.
• Major projects: Bansagar Dam (MP), Rihand Dam (UP), Indrapuri Barrage (Bihar).

UPI in Uzbekistan

Economy

News – 

• NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) signed a commercial agreement with Uzbekistan’s National Interbank Processing Center (NIPC) to enable UPI payments across Uzbekistan.

• Uzbekistan became the 11th country to accept UPI for cross-border merchant transactions. 
• Other countries: Bhutan (First), UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, and Greece.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• Launched by – UPI was designed and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.
• Objective – It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• Countries with operational or planned interoperability include: Singapore (PayNow), UAE, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and others.

Additional Information – National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• Established in – It serves as an umbrella body for the operation of retail payments in India.
• Established by – Reserve Bank of India along with the Indian Bank’s Association. 
• Established under – It was set up under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Products of NPCI

1. RuPay
2. National Common Mobility Card
3. Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
4. Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
5. Bharat Bill Payment System