In News:

A recent report by Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in residential areas of Lebanon, raising concerns about possible violations of international humanitarian law. The allegations come amid escalating hostilities along the Israel–Lebanon border, with Lebanese authorities reporting significant civilian casualties from recent strikes.

What is White Phosphorus?

White phosphorus (WP) is a highly reactive chemical substance commonly used in military operations. It appears as a translucent yellowish-white waxy solid that glows faintly when exposed to oxygen due to slow oxidation.

Key characteristics include:

• Highly flammable: Burns at temperatures exceeding 800°C, hot enough to melt metal.
• Persistent combustion: Continues burning until the chemical is completely consumed or deprived of oxygen.
• Storage conditions: Usually stored under water or inert environments to prevent accidental ignition.
• Odour: Often described as having a garlic-like smell.

Military Uses of White Phosphorus

White phosphorus is mainly used for military tactical purposes, including:

1. Smoke Screens: Produces dense smoke that can obscure troop movements or equipment.
2. Illumination: Used in flares to light up battlefields at night.
3. Incendiary Effects: Can ignite objects and structures due to intense heat.

Because of these functions, it is often categorized as an incendiary munition, which refers to weapons designed to set fire to objects or cause burn injuries through heat, flames, or chemical reactions.

Health and Environmental Hazards

The use of white phosphorus poses severe risks to human health, particularly in populated areas.

Major health impacts include:

• Deep chemical burns that may penetrate to the bone.
• Release of toxic chemicals damaging organs such as the liver, kidneys, and heart.
• Metabolic disorders, including abnormal potassium levels that may lead to cardiac failure.
• Increased risk of building fires and infrastructure destruction when used in civilian areas.

These effects make its deployment in urban environments especially dangerous for civilians.

Legal Status under International Law

White phosphorus is not explicitly banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention when used for non-chemical warfare purposes such as smoke generation. However, its use is regulated by international humanitarian law.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) restricts weapons that cause excessive injury or indiscriminate harm.

• Protocol III of the CCW specifically restricts the use of incendiary weapons against civilians or in civilian-populated areas.
• However, white phosphorus is often classified as a multi-purpose munition used for smoke or illumination, enabling some militaries to argue that it does not fall strictly under incendiary weapon restrictions.
• Israel is not a signatory to Protocol III, complicating enforcement and accountability.

Notably, India is a party to all five protocols of the CCW, reflecting its commitment to regulating conventional weapons that cause indiscriminate harm.

In News:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently conducted Open Market Operation (OMO) purchase auctions of Government Securities (G-Secs) worth ?50,000 crore to inject liquidity into the banking system. The move was undertaken amid pressure on the Indian rupee and tight liquidity conditions in the financial system. OMOs are an important monetary policy tool used by the RBI to regulate liquidity and maintain stability in financial markets.

What are Open Market Operations (OMO)?

Open Market Operations refer to the purchase and sale of government securities by the RBI in the open market to manage liquidity in the banking system.

Types of OMOs:

• OMO Purchase
  • RBI buys government securities from banks or financial institutions.
  • This injects liquidity into the banking system as banks receive funds in exchange for securities.
• OMO Sale
  • RBI sells government securities to banks or market participants.
  • This absorbs excess liquidity from the system, helping control inflationary pressures.

Through these operations, the RBI influences money supply, interest rates, and overall financial stability.

Government Securities (G-Secs)

Government Securities (G-Secs) are tradable financial instruments issued by the government to borrow money from the market.

Types of Government Securities:

• Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
  • Short-term instruments with maturity less than one year.
  • Issued only by the Central Government.
• Government Bonds or Dated Securities
  • Long-term instruments with maturity one year or more.
  • Issued by the Central Government.
• State Development Loans (SDLs)
  • Bonds issued by State Governments to finance their expenditure.

Because these securities are backed by the sovereign, they carry virtually no default risk and are therefore called risk-free or gilt-edged instruments.

Reasons for the Recent OMO Purchase

The RBI’s decision to purchase ?50,000 crore worth of G-Secs was aimed at:

• Injecting liquidity into the banking system.
• Stabilising financial markets during periods of tight liquidity.
• Easing pressure on the rupee by improving domestic liquidity conditions.
• Supporting smooth functioning of the government securities market.

In News:

India’s assumption of the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) provides an important opportunity to strengthen global mechanisms aimed at preventing the trade in conflict diamonds. As one of the largest players in the global diamond value chain, India’s leadership in the Kimberley Process can enhance transparency, improve traceability, and reinforce responsible diamond trade.

Conflict Diamonds: Meaning and Background

• Conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, refer to rough diamonds mined in war zones and sold by rebel groups or their allies to finance armed conflicts against legitimate governments.
• The term gained global attention in the 1990s, when diamonds were found to be funding violent conflicts in several African countries such as Angola, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Liberia.
• These diamonds often entered global markets through informal and illegal trade networks, making their origin difficult to trace and raising concerns about ethical sourcing in the international diamond trade.

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)

The Kimberley Process, established in 2003, is a multilateral and voluntary certification mechanism designed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate global diamond market.

Key features include:

1. Certification System – Every shipment of rough diamonds traded between participating countries must carry a Kimberley Process Certificate, confirming that the diamonds are conflict-free.
2. Trade Restrictions – Participating countries are allowed to trade rough diamonds only with other members of the Kimberley Process.
3. Global Coverage – The Kimberley Process accounts for over 99% of global rough diamond trade, making it a crucial framework for responsible diamond governance.
4. Monitoring and Compliance – Members commit to implementing internal controls and reporting mechanisms to ensure transparency in diamond trade.

India’s Diamond Industry

India plays a central role in the global diamond value chain:

• Largest cutting and polishing hub in the world, especially in cities such as Surat.
• Major importer of rough diamonds for processing.
• Leading exporter of cut and polished diamonds, with exports valued at about $13.3 billion in 2024–25.
• Second-largest diamond consumer market after the United States.

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) acts as the nodal agency for implementing Kimberley Process certification in India. It operates under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is responsible for issuing certificates for diamond exports and imports.

In News:

India’s transition to clean energy increasingly emphasizes decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions to address energy poverty and support sustainable development in rural areas. In this context, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched LaBL 2.0 (Lighting a Billion Lives 2.0) in New Delhi. The initiative seeks to scale up clean energy access while promoting rural livelihoods, women’s entrepreneurship, and climate action. It represents the next phase of the earlier Lighting a Billion Lives programme launched in 2008, which provided solar lighting solutions to off-grid communities across India.

About LaBL 2.0

LaBL 2.0 is a next-generation decentralised renewable energy programme aimed at expanding clean energy access while enabling productive economic activities in rural and underserved regions. Unlike the earlier initiative that mainly focused on household lighting, LaBL 2.0 emphasizes energy for livelihoods, climate finance integration, and sustainable development.

Objectives

The programme aims to:

• Expand clean and decentralised renewable energy access in remote and underserved areas.
• Promote green livelihoods and rural enterprises powered by renewable energy.
• Encourage women-led entrepreneurship in the clean energy sector.
• Integrate climate finance mechanisms and carbon markets with grassroots energy initiatives.
• Contribute to broader sustainable development and climate mitigation goals.

Key Features

• Expansion of Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE)
  • Promotes solar and other renewable technologies in off-grid and energy-deficit rural areas.
  • Encourages distributed energy solutions such as solar micro-grids and clean energy appliances.
• Productive Use of Energy for Livelihoods: Focuses on using renewable energy for income-generating activities, including rural enterprises, small industries, and agricultural processing.
• Women-led Clean Energy Entrepreneurship: Encourages women entrepreneurs to manage renewable energy enterprises, enhancing both economic empowerment and energy access.
• Climate Impact Measurement: Introduces Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) frameworks to track carbon reduction and climate benefits.
• Integration with Climate Finance: Develops finance-ready project models linking decentralised energy initiatives with carbon markets and climate finance mechanisms to attract investments.
• Flagship Demonstration Projects
  • Includes initiatives such as:
    1. Hastinapur Model City
    2. HUDCO Model Solar Village
    3. GCC DRE Carbon Credit Programme
    4. Solar technology partnerships for rural energy solutions.

In News:

Ensuring a safe and dignified workplace is a key component of gender equality and inclusive growth. In this context, Indian Railways launched the SHINE (Sexual Harassment Incident Notification for Empowerment) App on 8 March 2026 (International Women’s Day) to provide a secure and confidential mechanism for reporting workplace sexual harassment. The initiative represents a step towards strengthening institutional mechanisms for women’s safety and promoting a gender-sensitive work environment in one of the world’s largest public sector employers.

About the SHINE App

The SHINE App is a digital complaint platform developed for women employees of Indian Railways to report incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace. It functions as a module integrated into the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) used by railway staff.

Through the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal, women employees can lodge complaints online without having to approach administrative offices physically. Once registered, the complaint is automatically forwarded to the designated authority responsible for handling such cases, ensuring faster and more transparent redressal.

Key Features of the SHINE Platform

• Confidential Complaint Mechanism
  • Enables women employees to file complaints securely.
  • Protects the identity of complainants and ensures privacy in the complaint process.
• Integration with HRMS: The module is embedded in the Human Resources Management System, enabling seamless digital reporting and monitoring of complaints.
• Direct Access to Internal Complaints Committees (ICC): Complaints are directly received by the designated Internal Complaints Committee, which is responsible for investigating cases of workplace harassment.
• Expanded Coverage: Complaints can also be filed on behalf of contractual workers, students, trainees, and visitors present on railway premises, thereby extending protection beyond permanent employees.
• Faster and Transparent Resolution: Digital processing enables quicker communication between complainants and authorities and allows monitoring of the complaint status.

Legal and Institutional Framework

The SHINE initiative operates within India’s broader legal framework addressing workplace harassment:

• Vishaka Guidelines (1997): Issued by the Supreme Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, which laid down procedures for preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment.
• Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013: Provides statutory protection and mandates the creation of Internal Complaints Committees in organizations with more than 10 employees.

The SHINE app complements these provisions by digitizing the complaint mechanism and improving accessibility.