Daily Current Affairs

December 1, 2025

Current Affairs

PM Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK): Strengthening Inclusive Area Development

Context: The Ministry of Minority Affairs recently conducted a nationwide review of the PM Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) to enhance last-mile delivery and accelerate development outcomes in Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) across India. The review aims to improve fund utilisation, quality of assets, and convergence with other social sector schemes.

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About PM Jan Vikas Karyakram

PMJVK is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme designed to bridge development deficits in areas with significant minority populations.
Key features:

  • Targets 700+ Minority Concentration Areas where the minority population exceeds 25%, and socio-economic indicators fall below national averages.
  • Covers both urban and rural clusters identified through backwardness criteria.
  • Funding pattern:
    • 90:10 for North Eastern and Hill states
    • 60:40 for other states
    • 100% funding for Union Territories

The scheme focuses on area development rather than individual beneficiary support.

Objectives of PMJVK

  • Reduce regional development imbalances in education, health, skill development, and civic infrastructure.
  • Ensure equitable access to public services for minority communities.
  • Promote women-focused facilities, youth skill centres, and community empowerment.
  • Strengthen social inclusion through modern, accessible public amenities.

Key Achievements (as reported in the review)

1. Social Infrastructure Creation

  • 12,000+ infrastructure projects sanctioned since inception.
  • Development of education facilities including 800+ smart classrooms and modern schools.

2. Health Infrastructure Expansion

  • 500+ Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and maternal healthcare facilities upgraded or established.

3. Gender-Focused Development

  • Women’s hostels, training centres, and safety infrastructure form 15–20% of total projects.

4. Community & Civic Infrastructure

  • 2,000+ community assets developed, such as Sadbhav Mandaps, skill centres, and multipurpose halls.

5. Digital Governance Strengthening

  • 100% fund flow through the PMJVK Portal and SNA–SPARSH platform since 2025.
  • Enhanced transparency through digital geo-tagging and online monitoring.

Issues and Implementation Challenges

  • Low Fund Utilisation: Only 62–65% of annual allocations utilised in time.
  • Capacity Deficit: About 40% of MCAs lack adequate project planning capacity.
  • Land & Clearance Delays: 25–30% of projects stalled due to land availability or permission hurdles.
  • State-Level Variations: Some states achieve over 90% utilisation, while others remain below 50%, slowing national progress.

Way Forward

1. Digital Strengthening

Upgrade the PMJVK Portal with automated alerts, public dashboards, and real-time tracking similar to Geo-MGNREGA.

2. Community Ownership & Social Audits

Integrate social audits, community consultations, and grievance mechanisms, adopting models from the Aspirational Districts Programme.

3. Quality Assurance Measures

Mandate third-party audits, digital photo evidence, and QR-tagging of all created assets—similar to practices in the National Health Mission (NHM).

4. Scheme Convergence

Link PMJVK projects with PM-SHRI schools, PM-KVK skill hubs, NHM facilities, and Smart Cities infrastructure to maximise developmental impact.

Conclusion

PMJVK plays a crucial role in advancing inclusive area development, reducing regional disparities, and improving access to essential public services for minority communities.

Strengthening digital systems, community participation, and inter-scheme convergence will be key to achieving long-term socio-economic transformation in MCAs.

SC Directions on Online Content Regulation

The Supreme Court has issued significant directions to the Union Government to establish a robust framework for regulating abusive, obscene, and harmful online content. The Court observed that the surge in user-generated content—often unverified, defamatory, or targeting vulnerable groups—requires stronger state oversight without undermining constitutional freedoms.

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Key Observations and Directives of the Supreme Court

1. Need for an Independent Regulator

The Court held that existing self-regulatory models followed by digital platforms are ineffective, as they lack neutrality and enforceability. It called for a statutory, autonomous regulator to ensure accountability across social media, OTT platforms, and other online intermediaries.

2. Preventive Rather Than Reactive Mechanisms

Currently, harmful content is removed only after it becomes viral, causing reputational, psychological, and sometimes irreversible harm. The bench stressed the need for real-time moderation capabilities, early-warning tools, and content-flagging systems to curb the initial spread of harmful material.

3. Free Speech and Reasonable Restrictions

While reaffirming the protection under Article 19(1)(a), the Court emphasised that restrictions under Article 19(2)—relating to decency, morality, and public order—must be precise and narrowly tailored. Vague phrases like “anti-national attitudes” or “hurting sentiments” are prone to misuse unless backed by judicially tested standards.

4. Clear Definitions for Content Categories

Ambiguity in defining harmful or prohibited online content can lead to over-censorship. The Court urged the government to adopt narrow and well-defined categories aligned with global best practices and constitutional jurisprudence.

5. Strong Age-Verification Models

Simple disclaimers (“18+ only”) are inadequate. The bench suggested exploring Aadhaar-based or comparable high-assurance age-verification systems to prevent children from accessing pornography, violent content, or self-harm-inducing media.

6. Protection for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)

Noting the rise in online ridicule targeting PwDs, the Court recommended enacting a specific penal law, akin to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, to safeguard dignity and prevent harassment.

Existing Regulatory Framework

  • Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) oversee online content.
  • IT Act, 2000:
    • Section 79 – Safe harbour for intermediaries subject to due diligence.
    • Section 69A – Government power to block content in the interest of national security.
    • Section 67 – Penalises publication or transmission of obscene materials.
  • IT Rules, 2021: Introduced due-diligence norms, content-classification, traceability requirements, and grievance redress; increased obligations on significant social media intermediaries.
  • Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023: Regulates consent-based processing of personal data.
  • Other Statutes:
    • Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (IRWA)
    • POCSO Act, 2012
  • Shreya Singhal (2015):
    • Struck down Section 66A for being vague and unconstitutional.
    • Held intermediaries liable to remove content only upon court order or government direction.
    • Upheld Section 69A as constitutionally valid.

The Court’s latest directive signals a shift toward a more coherent and preventive digital-governance framework, balancing free expression with safety, dignity, and constitutional morality.

Digital Sovereignty: India’s Strategic Imperative in the Emerging Tech Order

Context: India is facing increasing geopolitical pressure over cross-border data flows, digital taxation, cyber regulation, and Big Tech oversight, as global powers attempt to shape digital rules that may restrict national regulatory autonomy. This has intensified India’s debate between digital sovereignty, digital submission, or remaining vulnerable to foreign control of critical digital infrastructure and data systems.

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Current State of India’s Digital Ecosystem

  • India hosts 850+ million internet users, the world’s second-largest online population.
  • The digital economy contributes $500 billion to India’s GDP and is expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030.
  • CERT-In recorded 1.3 million cyber incidents in 2024, reflecting rising systemic vulnerabilities.
  • India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, FASTag, CoWIN, ONDC — has become a global benchmark for affordable digital governance.

Why India Needs Digital Sovereignty

1. Data Power & Economic Value

  • Data is the new strategic resource; the global data economy exceeds $3 trillion (OECD, 2024).
  • National control over data allows value creation, domestic innovation, and bargaining power.

2. Policy Autonomy

  • India must preserve sovereign authority over digital taxes, platform regulation, and competition policy.
  • Ongoing OECD Pillar-1 negotiations emphasise retaining national policy space for digital taxation.

3. National Security & Resilience

  • Foreign dependence creates geopolitical vulnerabilities.
  • SWIFT-based financial exclusion of Russia and Iran shows how digital chokepoints can be weaponised.

4. Technological Development

  • Sovereign digital systems support domestic AI models, semiconductor manufacturing, and cloud infra.
  • World Bank estimates DPI adds $100 billion annually to India’s economic output.

Challenges to Achieving Digital Sovereignty

1. US and Western Platform Dominance

  • 90% of the global digital advertising market is controlled by two US tech giants.
  • India’s digital ecosystem remains dependent on foreign cloud, OS, and platform infrastructures.

2. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Pressure

  • Many digital trade proposals seek to ban data localisation, restrict algorithmic transparency, and curb digital services taxes.
  • India has pushed back to protect regulatory freedom.

3. Brain Drain & Uneven Value Capture

  • India contributes 12% of global AI talent, but economic value largely benefits foreign firms.

4. Digital Dependency

  • Nearly 80% of India’s cloud market is controlled by three US companies.
  • This raises concerns regarding long-term data control and economic sovereignty.

Way Forward

1. Data Localisation & Secure Infrastructure

  • Create strong frameworks for storing sensitive personal and financial data within India.
  • EU’s GDPR provides a model for regulated, rights-based localisation.

2. Build Sovereign Compute Capacity

  • Develop national cloud infrastructure, exascale computing, and indigenous chip fabrication.
  • France’s GAIA-X initiative demonstrates a viable sovereign cloud model.

3. Protect Policy Space in FTAs

  • India must set firm red lines on digital trade negotiation clauses that limit regulatory autonomy.
  • WTO’s General Exceptions allow nations to safeguard domestic regulations.

4. Nurture Domestic Digital Champions

  • Provide fiscal incentives, procurement advantages, and regulatory support for Indian digital enterprises.
  • China’s strategic support helped build Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu as global competitors.

Conclusion

Digital sovereignty is essential for India’s economic strength, technological autonomy, and national security. As digital rules increasingly shape geopolitics, India must secure control over its data, platforms, and digital infrastructure to safeguard long-term developmental and strategic interests.

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