Daily Current Affairs

July 22, 2025

Current Affairs

Sin Taxes and GST: Health-Focused Tax Framework

Context: Rising Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in India highlight the need to reform GST on sin goods through a Health-Focused Tax Framework.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: GST rates on Sin goods, India’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) surge.

Mains: Structural gaps in the current GST framework for sin goods. 

India’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) surge

  • Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) account for nearly 63-67% of annual deaths in India.
  • Four major NCDs- cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory conditions, and diabetes- cause nearly 80% of premature NCD deaths.

Key drivers of India’s NCD surge: 

  • Rising consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs), Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs), Alcohol, and Tobacco.
  • Inactivity
  • Obesity
  • Poor diet
  • Pollution 

Strong fiscal and policy measures to curb these products are crucial to reverse this trend. The WHO has long advocated higher taxes on tobacco, and now recommends similar measures for alcohol and sugary drinks, with potential taxes on Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) under review.

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Structural Gaps in GST Framework on Sin Goods

  • The 139th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health highlighted that Tobacco products in India remain among the cheapest globally.
    • India’s current tax share on Tobacco is well below the WHO-recommended minimum of 75%. It is around 58% for Cigarettes and just 22% for Bidis, revealing a significant gap in effective Tobacco taxation. 
    • GST rates require consensus among states via the GST Council. This makes annual or inflation-linked revisions difficult, leading to increased affordability of harmful goods over time. 
  • Alcohol taxation varies widely by State, leading to price disparities, with some States like Gujarat, Bihar, and Nagaland enforcing full bans. 
  • Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) are taxed at 28%, but lack a dedicated health cess. Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) are often taxed at lower rates.
  • Tobacco products also attract two key non-GST levies: Central Excise Duty (CED) and National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD).
    • Though CED was initially subsumed under GST, it was reintroduced in Budget 2019-20 to restore fiscal control. 
    • NCCD, introduced in 2001 for disaster relief, remains in place.

What can be done?

The 56th GST Council meeting is expected to consider a 40% GST slab on sin goods. However, raising the rate from 28% to 40% alone may not suffice, especially with the Compensation Cess ending in 2026. A comprehensive approach is needed: 

  • Revise Central Excise Duty (CED) and National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD).
  • Create a standalone adjustable GST slab for  sin products, making them less affordable over time.
  • Introduce a dedicated Health Tax on harmful products like SSB, UPFs and tobacco. An additional Health Tax, alongside CED and NCCD can increase the overall tax burden within the GST framework, generate fiscal space, and fund public health initiatives like anti-tobacco efforts, awareness campaigns, and detox programmes.
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There remains considerable scope to increase tobacco taxes, close loopholes, and expand the tax base. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive health tax framework for tobacco, SSBs, and UPFs.

Index of Eight Core Industries

Context: The Index of Eight Core Industries grew at 1.7% in June 2025, as compared to 5% in June 2024. IIP had registered a growth of mere 0.5% in April 2025, its lowest in the last eight months.  The output of eight core infrastructure sectors makes up 40% of the country's industrial production. 

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Index of Eight Core Industries.

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Index Of Eight Core Industries

  • Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) measures combined and individual performance of production of eight core sectors in India, comprising- coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. 
  • These eight core industries constitute 40.27% of the total index of industrial production (IIP).
  • This index is prepared by the Office of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • It is published monthly with the base year as 2011-12.

Weightage of different sectors in the Index:

image 148
  • Highest Weightage: Refinery products.
  • Lowest Weightage: Fertilisers.

India’s Aviation Sector Need Reforms 

Context: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report on the Air India Boeing 787 air crash in Ahmedabad was released recently. The report remains inconclusive with critical uncertainties on whether pilot action was inadvertent or deliberate. 

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Structure of India’s Aviation System.Mains: Key Issues in India’s Aviation Safety Ecosystem.

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Structure of India’s Aviation System

  • The Aviation System broadly involves multiple elements:
    • Airline Operator: The Aircraft (design, airworthiness, and maintenance) and the people who operate it (maintenance engineers, technicians, pilots and cabin crew) are the responsibility of the airline operator.
    • Airports Authority of India: While Airport infrastructure, Air traffic control systems and its personnel are the responsibility of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and/or the Aerodrome operator. 
  • Regulator: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
    • DGCA regulates Airlines, Airports and Airport Authority of India (AAI).
    • It sets safety rules, approves procedures, and monitors compliance.
  • Supervisory Authority: Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)
    • It is the top-level policy-making and supervisory body for civil aviation in India.
    • It oversees both DGCA and AAI. 

Key Issues in India’s Aviation Safety Ecosystem

Each layer in aviation safety- from design, engineering, and operations to regulation- contains flaws. Accidents occur when these flaws align. Crashes are the inevitable result of years of systemic neglect and policy violations.

1. Systemic Neglect:

  • Aircraft Design and Airworthiness: DGCA has limited internal technical capacity and relies heavily on foreign regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration (US) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EU). This weakens India's self-sufficiency in evaluating airworthiness.
  • Aircraft Maintenance Standards: 
    • Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs) work under severe stress without duty time limits. Duty-time limitations recommended for AMEs by the court of inquiry following the crash in Mangaluru (2010) remain unimplemented.
    • The DGCA has allowed airlines to delegate AME tasks to less-qualified, lower-paid technicians- a cost-cutting move that undermines safety.
  • Pilot and Flight Crew Stress:  
    • Airlines violate Flight Time Duty Limitations for pilots, and the DGCA grants exemptions which allow pilots who are fatigued to operate.
    • The DGCA’s unique NOC requirement restricts pilot mobility across airlines, increasing stress and enabling airlines to coerce pilots into breaching regulations.
  • Airline Operations: 
    • Airlines prioritise profit over safety. Despite the DGCA suspending personnel for safety violations, airline officials often retain high positions, controlling operations.
    • DGCA-appointed officers in airlines, who are expected to enforce compliance, often have no real authority, making accountability toothless.
  • Air Traffic Management: The AAI faces a severe shortage of Air Traffic Controller Officers (ATCO). The provision to give licences to ATCO has not yet been implemented. Duty-time limitations for ATCOs, recommended by the Mangalore Court of Inquiry, remain unimplemented. 
  • Silencing Whistle-Blowers: Whistle-blowers are often demoted, transferred, or terminated, discouraging the reporting of critical safety issues in the AAI and airlines.

2. Regulatory Loopholes:  

  • Violations of Inner Horizontal Surface (IHS) Norms
    • Thousands of illegal vertical obstructions have emerged within airport flight paths.
    • Statutory safeguards like the Aircraft Act and Order 988 of 1988 were undermined by a non-statutory appellate committee starting in 2008. This committee, comprising officials from MoCA, DGCA, and AAI, approved dozens of unsafe buildings.
    • Ironically, the same officials who approve unsafe structures are often responsible for judging safety complaints about them.
  • Judiciary has been inactive on aviation issues, relying on the state’s technical expertise on the subject. 

Way Forward

  • Reform DGCA and AAI to improve transparency, technical strength, and accountability.
  • Enact and enforce legal protection for employees who report safety concerns.
  • Revoke and re-evaluate unsafe building approvals.
  • Judiciary’s conservative approach to valuing human life needs to change. It must address the deterioration in the aviation sector and hold authorities accountable. 
  • A genuine ‘culture of safety’ must permeate every layer of the Aviation System including fair employment terms and access to mental health care without punitive consequences.

Without immediate, bold reforms and a fundamental shift toward a genuine culture of safety, India’s rapidly growing Aviation Sector risks further tragedies. The Judiciary, regulators, and policymakers must act in cohesion to bring out the necessary reforms.

Vice President of India Resigns Mid-Term 

Context: Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar, 14th Vice President of India, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect citing health reasons. 

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Constitutional provisions related to the Vice President of India. 

Mains: Implications of a mid-term resignation of the Vice President in a parliamentary democracy.

Vice President Resigns Mid-Term

  • Jagdeep Dhankhar assumed the Office of Vice President in August 2022.
  • He is only the third Vice-President in India’s history to resign before completing his term. Earlier V.V Giri and R. Venkatraman stepped down to contest presidential elections.

Who performs the Vice President’s duties now?

  • The Constitution does not provide for an acting Vice President. 
  • However, since the Vice-President is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman, currently Harivansh Narayan Singh, will preside over the House in his absence.

When will the Elections be held?

  • In the case of the President, the Constitution requires that a vacancy be filled within six months. But for a Vice Presidential vacancy, there is no such fixed deadline. The only requirement is that the election be held “as soon as possible” after the post falls vacant.
  • The Election Commission of India will announce the schedule. The poll is conducted under the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Act, 1952.
  • As per convention, the Secretary General of either House of Parliament is appointed as the Returning Officer, in rotation.

How long will the new Vice President serve?

  • The elected candidate will serve a full five-year term from the date of assuming office- not just the remainder of Dhankhar’s tenure.

How is the Vice President elected in India?

  • The Vice President is elected by an electoral college made up of members from both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) including nominated members. 
  • Unlike in a Presidential election, state legislatures do not participate.
  • Voting is held in Parliament House in New Delhi by secret ballot, using the system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
  • Each Member of Parliament (MP) casts a vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. All votes carry equal value.
  • To be declared elected, a candidate must reach a required minimum number of votes- called the quota. This is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by two and adding one (fractions, if any, are ignored). 
  • If no candidate crosses the quota in the first round, the one with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the remaining candidates based on second preferences. The process continues until one candidate crosses the quota.

What are the eligibility criteria for Vice Presidential candidates?

A person contesting for the post of Vice President must be : 

  • A citizen of India
  • At least 35 years old
  • He must be qualified to be elected to the Rajya Sabha, and registered as an elector in any parliamentary constituency. 
  • He must not hold any office of profit under the central or state governments, except positions like President, Governor, or Minister.
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Impeachment Process of Judge of High Court

Context: The impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma - the ex-Delhi High Court judge has begun after 145 MPs, from ruling and opposition parties, submitted a memorandum to the Lok Sabha Speaker. The Parliament has the jurisdiction to constitutionally remove a High Court judge. 

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Removal process of a Judge of High Court. 

Removal process of a Judge of HC

  • A judge of a High Court can be removed from his/her office by an order of the President. The President can issue the removal order only after an address by the Parliament has been presented to him/her in the same session for such removal. 
  • The address must be supported by a special majority of each House of the Parliament (i.e., a majority of the total membership of that House and majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting). 
  • The grounds for removal are two: proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Thus, a judge of a High Court can be removed in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. 

The Judges Enquiry Act (1968) regulates the procedure relating to the removal of a judge of a High Court by the process of impeachment:

  1. A removal motion signed by 100 members (in the case of Lok Sabha) or 50 members (in the case of Rajya Sabha) is to be given to the Speaker/Chairman. 
  2. The Speaker/Chairman may admit the motion or refuse to admit it. 
  3. If it is admitted, then the Speaker/Chairman is to constitute a three-member committee to investigate the charges. 
  4. The committee should consist of (a) the Chief Justice or a Judge of the Supreme Court, (b) Chief Justice of a High Court, and (c) a distinguished Jurist. 
  5. If the committee finds the judge to be guilty of misbehaviour or suffering from an incapacity, the House can take up the consideration of the motion. 
  6. After the motion is passed by each House of Parliament by a special majority, an address is presented to the President for removal of the judge. 
  7. Finally, the President passes an order removing the judge. 

The procedure for the impeachment of a judge of a High Court is the same as that for a judge of the Supreme Court. No judge of a High Court has been impeached so far. 

India’s Silent Crisis: Poor Soil Health and Hidden Hunger

Context: Despite achieving food self-sufficiency, India continues to face widespread malnutrition largely due to declining soil health and imbalanced fertiliser use.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Key facts and schemes related to Food security and Soil Health.

Mains: State of Soil Health and its impact.

India’s Progress in Food Security

Once dependent on food imports under the US PL-480 programme in the 1960s, India has today become self-sufficient in food production: 

  • In FY25, India exported 20.2 million tonnes (MT) of rice in a global market of 61 MT. 
  • India runs the world’s largest food distribution programme, the PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), providing  5 kg of free rice or wheat per person per month to more than 800 million people. 
  • The Food Corporation of India holds about 57 MT of rice- the highest stock in 20 years and nearly four times the buffer norm of 13.54 MT as of July 1, 2025.

Poverty has receded significantly: 

  • The extreme poverty head count (those earning less than $3/day at 2021 PPP) dropped from 27.1% in 2011 to just 5.3% in 2022.

Persistent Challenge of Malnutrition: 

  • Despite food self-sufficiency, malnutrition remains a major concern. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5) (2019-21) reports that : 
    • 35.5% of children under five years of age are stunted, 
    • 32.1% are underweight, and 
    • 19.3% are wasted. 
  • One critical and often overlooked factor behind malnutrition is the health of soils. 

Status of Indian Soils

  • Less than 5% of Indian soils have high or sufficient nitrogen (N). 
  • Only 40% have sufficient phosphate (P).
  • Only 32 % have sufficient potash (K).
  • Just 20% are sufficient in soil organic carbon (SOC) - a critical component of soil fertility and nutrient absorption
  • Our soils also suffer from a deficiency of sulphur, as well as micronutrients like iron, zinc and boron.

Imbalanced Fertiliser Use:  

  • For example, In Punjab, nitrogen use exceeds recommendations by 61%, while potassium use is short by 89%, and phosphorus use is short by 8%.
  • Only 35-40% of Nitrogen from granular urea is absorbed by crops, the rest is either released into the atmosphere as nitrous oxides or leaches into groundwater, contaminating it with nitrates and making it unsafe for consumption.
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Impacts of Agriculture in Nutrient-deficient Soils

  • Crops grown on nutrient-deficient soils often mirror those deficiencies, leading to a silent but pervasive form of malnutrition in humans. E.g., Deficiency of zinc in soils results in low zinc content in cereals like wheat and rice, which in turn is linked to childhood stunting.
  • Imbalanced use of fertilisers leads to soil degradation and suboptimal agricultural productivity. 
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The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and OCP Nutricrops (Moroccan state-owned fertiliser production company) have committed to collaborating to improve soil health in India. The collaboration aims to develop, implement, and scale region-specific, data-driven soil nutrition solutions that enhance crop productivity while improving their nutritional profile.

Way Forward

To restore soil health and improve both crop and human nutrition, India needs a paradigm shift-

  • Shift from indiscriminate fertiliser use to science-based soil nutrition management.
  • Promote rigorous soil testing to guide fertiliser application.
  • Implement customised fertilisation strategies aligned with specific soil and crop needs.
  • Link to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Improving soil nutrition advances SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG-13 (Climate Action). 

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