August-Polity & Governance

1: Constitutional Issues & Judiciary

1. The 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill (August 20)

The government introduced a major amendment to end the "Governance from Jail" controversy.

• The Bill: Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025.
• Key Provision: Provides for the automatic removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, or any Minister if they are arrested and detained in custody for 30 consecutive days for an offence punishable with 5+ years of imprisonment.
• Impacted Articles: Proposes amendments to Article 75 (Union Ministers), Article 164 (State Ministers), and Article 239AA (Delhi).
• Companion Bills: Two other bills were introduced to cover Union Territories (Puducherry) and Jammu & Kashmir.
• Current Status: Referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chaired by Aparajita Sarangi.

2. Supreme Court Reaches Full Strength (34 Judges)

For the first time in several years, the Supreme Court achieved its maximum sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

• New Appointments: Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi were sworn in.
• Significance: This ensures a higher capacity for Constitution Benches. Notably, Justice Pancholi is in line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in October 2031.

3. Landmark Judgments (August 2025)

• District Judge Eligibility: A 3-judge bench referred a major question to a 5-judge Constitution Bench: Can a judicial officer with 7 years of combined experience (Bar + Bench) be directly appointed as a District Judge under Article 233?
• Bar Council Fees: In Union of India v. Gaurav Kumar, the SC ruled that Bar Councils cannot collect "optional" fees for enrollment, declaring them a violation of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g).
• Stray Dog Crisis: The SC stayed a previous order to relocate all stray dogs to shelters in the Delhi-NCR, emphasizing a balance between public safety and animal welfare.

2: Legislative Actions (Monsoon Session)

The Monsoon Session concluded in August with several landmark bills being passed to replace colonial or outdated laws.

1. The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025

• The News: Parliament passed this Bill to replace the Income-Tax Act, 1961.
• Objective: To make the tax code concise and easy to read. It retains the core of the 1961 Act but removes redundant clauses and simplifies the legal language.

2. National Sports Governance Bill, 2025

• Key Feature: Establishes a National Sports Board to recognize governing bodies and a National Sports Tribunal to settle disputes (like doping or selection rows) outside regular courts.
• Goal: Aligning Indian sports with the Olympic Charter and ethical governance.

3. Maritime & Shipping Reforms

Five major bills were passed to modernize India's blue economy:

1. Bills of Lading Bill, 2025: Recognizes electronic documentation.
2. Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025: Updates carrier liability.
3. Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025: Simplifies trade within Indian waters.
4. Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 and Indian Ports Bill, 2025.

4. The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025: Replaced MGNREGA. It guarantees 125 days of work (up from 100) and shifts focus to durable infrastructure linked to the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.

3: Governance & E-Governance

1. Digital Transformation Capacity Building

• The Initiative: MeitY and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) launched a specialized training program at IIM Ahmedabad (August 11–14).
• Focus: Training 27 high-ranking officials in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and AI-driven decision-making.

2. Project SAMPADA 2.0 (Madhya Pradesh)

• The News: Recognized as a national model for e-governance in August.
• Feature: Makes property registration 100% paperless and faceless. It allows citizens to register documents via e-Sign without visiting a Sub-Registrar's office.

3. Bhashini Integration

• Update: The AI-led language translation platform Bhashini was integrated into IRCTC and Police Helplines across 5 states in August to bridge the linguistic divide for non-Hindi/English speakers.