LEGAL NEWS

Supreme Court Restricts Sharing of Court Proceedings on Digital Platforms

• On 24 July 2026, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order prohibiting the posting, reposting, uploading, sharing, editing, modifying, disseminating, or monetising audio-video recordings of court proceedings without prior permission.

• The interim direction was passed by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by journalist Harshita Grover.

• The restriction applies to audio and video recordings of judicial proceedings, including clips extracted from live-streamed hearings, and bars their unauthorised circulation on social media and other digital platforms.

• The Supreme Court clarified that the order does not affect bona fide news reporting of court proceedings and is intended only to prevent misuse of court recordings.

• The Court sought responses from the Union Government and social media intermediaries, including Meta and X, regarding the misuse and selective circulation of live-streamed court proceedings.

• The interim order was prompted by concerns over edited, selective, and decontextualised clips of judicial hearings being circulated online, potentially misleading the public.

• Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a judicial mechanism that enables individuals or organisations to seek legal remedies on matters affecting the public interest, while live-streaming of court proceedings aims to enhance judicial transparency and public access.

• The Supreme Court of India, established under Article 124 of the Constitution, observed that judicial proceedings are governed by procedural rules and courtroom discipline, and the interim order specifically regulates the digital dissemination of court recordings, not ordinary media reporting.

NATIONAL NEWS

Resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

• Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as the Union Education Minister on 25 July 2026 amid nationwide student protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, particularly the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.

• The resignation followed demands for accountability regarding examination-related misconduct, paper leaks, and reforms to strengthen the integrity of public examinations.

• The Union Council of Ministers, constituted under Article 74 of the Constitution of India, assists and advises the President and comprises Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, and Ministers of State (Independent Charge).

• NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate) is the national-level entrance examination for admission to MBBS, BDS, and other undergraduate medical and allied health courses in India.

• The Government of India transferred the investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 alleged paper leak to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

• Following the controversy, the Government cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination, announced a fresh examination date, and decided to conduct future examinations in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is India's premier central investigating agency responsible for probing major criminal and corruption-related cases.

• Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode conducts examinations through digital terminals instead of paper-based answer sheets, aiming to improve examination security, transparency, and efficiency.

Women’s Workforce Participation and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision

• The Economist highlighted that achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires a structural increase in women’s workforce participation, as greater female employment is essential for sustained economic growth.

• India's Female Work Participation Rate (WPR) has followed a U-shaped trend, declining as women moved out of agricultural work without adequate absorption into manufacturing and formal non-farm sectors, before showing a recent rise largely driven by rural distress.

• A 10-percentage-point increase in female WPR could directly raise India’s GDP growth by nearly 2 percentage points, highlighting women's employment as a major driver of economic expansion.

• The number of young women aged 15–29 who were neither employed, seeking work, nor in education increased from below 70 million before 2004 to over 100 million by 2018, indicating a growing challenge in labour market participation.

• The post-2020 rise in female employment was largely distress-driven, with many rural women entering unpaid family labour (UFL) in agriculture due to limited alternative employment opportunities.

• Tamil Nadu employs over 40% of India’s female factory workforce, despite having only 5–6% of the national population, supported by strong garment and electronics industries, working-women hostels, and better industrial infrastructure.

• Key barriers to higher female employment include capital-intensive economic growth, declining labour-intensive manufacturing, farm mechanisation, restrictive social norms, limited mobility, and inadequate safety, housing, and transport facilities.

• The suggested way forward includes promoting labour-intensive industries such as garments, footwear, food processing, and electronics, expanding safe transport and working-women hostels, investing in health and education, and creating formal non-farm employment to move women from unpaid agricultural work into productive paid jobs.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US Imposes Section 301 Tariffs on 60 Countries

• The United States imposed new Section 301 tariffs on 60 countries on 24 July 2026 under the US Trade Act, 1974. The revised tariffs came into effect on 25 July 2026.

• India was placed in the lower 10% additional tariff bracket, instead of the initially proposed 12.5%, after policy changes related to imports of goods produced using forced labour.

• Section 301 of the US Trade Act, 1974 empowers the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to take action against foreign trade practices considered unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory.

• In June 2026, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) amended the Foreign Trade Policy to prohibit the import of goods manufactured using forced labour, which influenced the tariff decision.

• India is among 17 economies in the 10% tariff bracket, along with Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Mexico, while China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea face the higher 12.5% tariff.

• The new Section 301 tariffs replaced the temporary 10% global tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the US Trade Act, which expired on 24 July 2026.

• Around 70% of India's exports to the United States will now attract the existing Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff plus the additional 10% Section 301 tariff, while products covered under Section 232, such as steel, aluminium, and auto components, continue to face duties ranging from 25% to 50%.

• Section 232 is a separate US trade provision related to national security, while India and the United States continue negotiations on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). A separate Section 301 investigation into alleged excess manufacturing capacity in several countries, including India, is still pending.

APPOINTMENT

Harjit Singh Grewal Assumes Charge as Chairman of National Commission for Minorities (NCM)

• Harjit Singh Grewal assumed charge as the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in July 2026 for a three-year tenure, succeeding Iqbal Singh Lalpura, whose tenure ended in April 2025.

• The appointment was made by the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

• S. Munawari Begum took charge as the Vice Chairperson of the NCM.

• Glenn Souza Ticlo, former Goa MLA (Aldona constituency, 2012–2022), was appointed as the Christian Member of the Commission.

• Berjis Desai, a senior High Court advocate and writer, joined the Commission as the Parsi Member.

• The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is a statutory body established under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

• The Commission was constituted on 17 May 1993 to safeguard the interests of notified minority communities.

• The NCM monitors and protects the rights of six notified religious minorities in India: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis (Zoroastrians), and Jains.

DEFENCE

Samudra Pradakshina: India’s First Tri-Service All-Women Circumnavigation Expedition

• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually flagged off ‘Samudra Pradakshina’, India’s first-ever Tri-Service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition, in July 2026 under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• The expedition was undertaken by the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni, crewed by nine women officers from the Indian Army (IA), Indian Navy (IN), and Indian Air Force (IAF).

• The crew completed a 314-day global voyage, covering nearly 25,500 nautical miles across four oceans, and successfully returned to Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• The expedition was originally flagged off on 11 September 2025 from the Gateway of India, Mumbai, by Rajnath Singh through a virtual ceremony.

• During the circumnavigation, the crew crossed all meridians of longitude, the Equator twice, the International Date Line, and the Three Great Capes—Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn, and Cape of Good Hope.

• The team also navigated the Drake Passage and rounded Cape Horn, earning membership in the prestigious Cape Horners fraternity.

• Samudra Pradakshina symbolises Nari Shakti, Tri-Service integration, maritime excellence, and India’s commitment to global maritime cooperation and goodwill.

• The expedition follows the success of Navika Sagar Parikrama (10 September 2017 – 21 May 2018), which was India’s first all-women naval circumnavigation, completed in 254 days by the Indian Navy.