In News:

A recent 24-year study (1998–2022) of coral reefs in the Lakshadweep Archipelago revealed that live coral cover has declined by nearly 50%, from about 37.2% to 19.1%. The research, conducted across three atolls—Agatti, Kadmat, and Kavaratti—highlights the severe impact of repeated marine heatwaves linked to climate change.

What are Corals?

Corals are small, soft-bodied marine invertebrates belonging to the Cnidaria group. Individual corals, called polyps, secrete a calcium carbonate exoskeleton, forming vast reef structures. Coral reefs provide crucial habitats for about 25% of marine life and support over 1 billion people worldwide with food, livelihoods, and coastal protection.

Types and Distribution:

India’s coral reefs are mainly found in the Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, and Malvan.

Causes of Coral Decline:

• Marine Heatwaves & Climate Change: Rising sea surface temperatures disrupt the symbiotic relationship between corals and their algae (zooxanthellae), causing bleaching and mortality.
• Ocean Acidification: Increased CO? lowers ocean pH, hampering coral skeleton formation.
• Pollution: Land runoff with fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals harms coral health.
• Physical Damage: Coastal development, sedimentation, and unsustainable fishing.
• Overfishing: Imbalance in reef ecosystems due to loss of algae-eating fish.

Key Findings from the Lakshadweep Study:

• Coral mortality from bleaching has decreased over time but so has the reefs’ recovery rate.
• Heat-sensitive coral species have largely disappeared, leaving more stress-tolerant species like Porites dominant.
• Recovery accelerates only if reefs are given at least a six-year gap between bleaching events.
• The 2010 marine heatwave was the most severe, with a Degree Heating Week (DHW) value of 6.7, indicating significant heat stress.
• The study emphasizes the need for longer recovery periods between bleaching for coral regeneration.

Implications for Conservation:

• The study provides a predictive framework to identify reefs vulnerable to bleaching and prioritize restoration.
• Local conservation must be combined with urgent global climate action to reduce the frequency of heatwaves.
• Without global intervention, even resilient coral species may not survive repeated disturbances.

This study underscores the vulnerability of India’s coral reefs, especially in Lakshadweep, to climate change and highlights the urgent need for integrated local and global conservation efforts.

In News:

In a historic advisory opinion delivered on 23rd July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a fundamental human right. The opinion was issued at the request of the UN General Assembly (2023) following lobbying by Vanuatu and supported by over 130 countries, mainly small island developing states (SIDS) vulnerable to climate change.

Key Legal Questions Addressed:

1. What are states’ obligations under international law to mitigate climate change?
2. What are the legal consequences of failing to act on climate commitments?

Major Highlights of the ICJ Advisory Opinion:

1. Environment as a Human Right

• The Court affirmed that access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is inherent to the enjoyment of other human rights.
• Based on customary international law, UNGA Resolution 76/300 (2022), and international human rights treaties.

2. Binding Legal Duties

• States are bound under UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement to:
  • Implement mitigation and adaptation policies.
  • Submit and update Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
  • Facilitate technology transfer and climate finance.

3. Due Diligence and Liability

• States must prevent significant transboundary environmental harm and regulate both public and private actors (e.g., fossil fuel companies).
• Failure to act amounts to an internationally wrongful act, triggering:
  • Cessation,
  • Guarantees of non-repetition,
  • Compensation or restitution.

4. Historical Emissions & Responsibility

• The ICJ accepted that cumulative emissions can be legally attributed to specific states.
• Supports legal claims for reparations and accountability based on historic contributions to climate change.

5. Climate Obligations as Erga Omnes

• These duties are owed to the entire international community.
• Any state can seek enforcement, regardless of direct injury.

6. Scientific Attribution Accepted

• Climate science was admitted as legal evidence.
• Allows courts to establish causal links between emissions and environmental harm.

Geopolitical & Legal Implications:

• Empowers SIDS and developing nations in climate negotiations.
• Opens doors to domestic and international litigation based on environmental rights.
• Highlights inadequacy of current global agreements in ensuring timely climate action.
• Major emitters like USA and Russia have resisted legally binding obligations through courts.

Relevance for India:

• Reinforces Article 21 (Right to Life) and Article 48A (Protection of Environment) of the Indian Constitution.
• Can influence Indian courts and tribunals (e.g., NGT, Supreme Court) in:
  • Air and water pollution cases,
  • Waste management,
  • Climate adaptation litigation.

This ruling marks a critical shift in international environmental law, signaling greater legal accountability for climate action and strengthening the legal foundation for future climate justice claims.

In News:

• The National Cooperation Policy (NCP) 2025 marks a strategic roadmap for revitalizing India’s cooperative sector to meet the nation’s goal of becoming “Viksit” by 2047.
• Rooted in the ethos of Sahkar-se-Samriddhi, this policy aims to build on the unique strengths of India’s cooperative tradition, promote economic democratization, and uplift rural economies through collective participation.
• Mission: To create an enabling legal, economic, and institutional framework that will strengthen and deepen the cooperative movement at the grassroots level and facilitate the transformation of cooperative enterprises into professionally managed, transparent, technology-enabled, vibrant, and responsive economic entities to support production by the masses.

What is a Cooperative?

A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons, united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically member-controlled enterprise. 

Difference between Credit & Non-Credit Cooperatives

The Indian cooperative movement has been the flag bearer of a participatory, people-led development model aimed at socio-economic upliftment at the grassroots level for more than a century.

Strategic Pillars:

The policy is structured around six mission pillars and 16 objectives:

1. Strengthening the Foundation – Legal reforms, better governance, access to finance, digitalization.
2. Promoting Vibrancy – Creating business ecosystems, expanding exports and rural clusters.
3. Making Cooperatives Future-Ready – Technology integration, professional management, cooperative stack.
4. Promoting Inclusivity and Deepening Reach – Promoting cooperative-led inclusive development and cooperatives as a people’s movement.
5. Entering New and Emerging Sectors – Biogas, clean energy, warehousing, healthcare, etc.
6. Shaping Young Generation for Cooperative Growth – Courses, training, employment exchanges.

Key Highlights of the Policy

Legislative and Institutional Reforms

• Encourage States to amend cooperative laws (Cooperative Societies Acts and Rules) to enhance transparency, autonomy and the ease of doing business.
• Promote digitalization of registrar offices and real-time cooperative databases.
• Revive sick cooperatives with institutional mechanisms.

Financial Empowerment

• Preserve and promote the three-tier Primary Agriculture Credit Societies - District Central Cooperative Bank - State Cooperative Bank credit structure.
• Promote cooperative banks and umbrella organizations (like National Urban Cooperative Finance & Development Corporation).
• Enable cooperative banks to handle government businesses.

Business Ecosystem Development

• Model cooperative villages with multipurpose PACS as growth engines.
• Encouraging States/UTs to develop at least one model cooperative village.
• Develop rural economic clusters (e.g., honey, spices, tea).
• Support branding under the ‘Bharat’ brand.

Model Cooperative Village

A Model Cooperative Village is a self-reliant rural unit developed through a cooperative-led, household-focused approach to enhance livelihoods and productivity.

Future-Readiness & Technology

• Develop a national ‘Cooperative Stack’ integrating with Agri-stack and databases.
• Promote Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Government e-marketplace (GeM) platform integration.
• Encourage research and innovation through cooperative incubators and Centres of Excellence.

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

The ONDC is a transformative initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India aimed at democratizing digital commerce. Launched in April 2022, ONDC aims at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

GeM is an online platform for public procurement in India. The initiative was launched on August 09, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.

Inclusivity Measures

• Active participation of youth, women, SC/STs, and differently-abled in cooperatives.
• Model bye-laws for gender representation and transparent governance.
• Cooperative awareness campaigns in schools and colleges.

Model Bye-Laws

The Model Bye-laws are simply a representative sample and a guide to frame bye-laws of a multi-state cooperative society.

Sectoral Diversification

• Promote cooperatives in new and emerging sectors such as:
  1. Renewable energy,
  2. Waste management,
  3. Health and education,
  4. Mobile-based aggregator services (e.g., for plumbers, taxi drivers),
  5. Organic and natural farming,
  6. Biogas and ethanol production, etc.

Youth-Oriented Capacity Building

• Develop cooperative-focused courses in higher education institutions (HEIs).
• Build a national digital cooperative employment exchange.
• Promote financial and digital literacy among youth.
• Recruit quality cooperative teachers and resource persons.

Implementation and Monitoring

A robust multi-tier implementation structure is proposed:

• Implementation Cell within the Ministry of Cooperation with technical Project Management Unit support for effective and timely implementation of the policy.
• National Steering Committee on Cooperation Policy chaired by the Union Cooperation Minister will be constituted for overall guidance, inter-ministerial coordination, periodic policy review, etc.
• Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee headed by the Union Cooperation Secretary for coordination with States, troubleshooting implementation bottlenecks, periodic monitoring and evaluation, etc.

In News:

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF), deliberated on the “India Skills Accelerator” initiative.

Key Highlights:

• Launched by: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
• Collaborating Partner: World Economic Forum (WEF)
• Announced on: 8th April 2025 during a high-level roundtable at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi
• Objective: To strengthen India's skilling ecosystem through inclusive upskilling and reskilling, enhanced government-industry collaboration, and investment in lifelong learning, particularly in high-growth sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and clean energy.
• Key Features:

• Public-Private Collaboration: Structured as a national platform bringing together government and private sector stakeholders; notably, 2 of the 4 co-chairs are from the private sector.
• Focus Areas:
  • Promotes scalable and adaptive training models
  • Facilitates agile career transitions for the workforce
  • Aligns education and training with evolving industry demands

• Strategic Approach:
  • Raising awareness and changing perceptions about future skills
  • Encouraging cross-sectoral collaboration and sharing of best practices
  • Reforming institutional frameworks to support a responsive and dynamic skilling system

• Significance: The initiative is aligned with India’s goal of building a future-ready workforce by addressing skill mismatches and preparing youth for rapidly transforming industries. It contributes to the broader national missions like Skill India, Digital India, and Make in India.

In News:

The Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), informed the Rajya Sabha about AI for India 2.0 Programme.

Key Highlights:

• Launched: 15th July 2023, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day
• Implementing Bodies: Joint initiative by Skill India and GUVI (an ed-tech platform incubated by IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad)
• Accreditation: Recognized by NCVET and IIT Madras
• Objective: To democratize access to emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), especially among youth from non-English-speaking and rural backgrounds.
• Key Features:

• Free Online Training: Offers no-cost courses in AI and ML.
• Vernacular Focus: Educational content provided in 9 Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada, enhancing accessibility for non-English speakers.
• Target Audience: College students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals, with a focus on learners from rural regions.
• Course Content: Includes expert-curated Python programming courses designed to enhance technical proficiency.
• National Recognition: The programme is nationally accredited, ensuring quality and credibility.

• Significance: This initiative aims to empower the Indian youth by equipping them with industry-relevant digital skills, thus aligning with the broader goals of digital inclusion and skilling under Digital India and Skill India missions.