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Current Affairs 25 February 2026

BEPS Multilateral Instrument (MLI)

  • An international treaty that enables countries to modify existing bilateral tax treaties without renegotiating them individually.
  • The BEPS MLI entered into force in 2018, and its provisions entered into effect in 2019.
  • Objectives:
  • Implements tax treaty measures developed under the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.
  • Helps prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.
  • BEPS are tax avoidance strategies used by MNCs to shift profits to low or no-tax jurisdictions by exploiting gaps in tax rules, reducing overall corporate tax liability.

Organ Transplantation Framework in India

  • Legal Framework: Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOTA) enacted by the MoHFW. 
  • Regulatory Mechanism: Three tiered structure under THOTA, 1994:
  •  NOTTO: Apex body for coordination, networking, and registry of organ/tissue donation and transplantation. 
  • Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO). 
  • State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO). 
  • National Organ Transplant Program (NOTP):  Central Sector Programme to improve access to organ transplantation for needy citizens. 

 OCI scheme

  • Introduced in  2005, by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955
  • OCI is not to be misconstrued as ‘dual citizenship’. OCI does not confer political rights to vote.
  • Benefits for OCI Cardholders 
  • Lifelong multiple-entry visa to visit India.
  • Equality with NRIs in certain financial, economic and educational matters except for acquisition of agricultural or plantation land.
  • Prior special permission is required for certain activities such as research activities, etc. 
  • Eligibility:
  • All Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or thereafter.
  • Eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January, 1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947; etc.
  • Exceptions: No person, who or either of whose parents or grandparents had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the government may specify.

RoDTEP Scheme:

  • Launched in 2021 by amending the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20.
  • Objective: It provides refunds of taxes, duties and levies incurred during the manufacturing and distribution of exported goods that are not reimbursed under any other central, state or local mechanism.
  • Administered by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (2024)

  • Objective: Installing Rooftop Solar (RTS) & providing free electricity for up to 300 monthly units for 1 Crore households.
  • Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
  • Duration: Till FY 2026-27
  • Subsidy: Up to 40% to households; based on household’s average monthly electricity consumption and corresponding suitable rooftop solar plant capacity.

International Mother Language Day

  • About: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 21st February as International Mother Language Day in 1999, celebrating it globally since 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
  • The theme for International Mother Language Day 2026 is “Youth Voices on Multilingual Education.”
  • Historical Origin: The day commemorates the sacrifices made during the Bangla Language Movement in Dhaka (then East Pakistan) on 21st February 1952, where students were killed while advocating for the recognition of their mother language, Bangla.
  • Objective: The primary aim is to protect linguistic heritage, cultural diversity, and intellectual traditions worldwide.
  • Crisis of Language Loss: The UN estimates that a language disappears every two weeks, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. This loss is exacerbated by globalization and the pursuit of foreign languages for economic opportunities.

Constitutional Framework for Language and Linguistic Landscape of India

  • Constitutional Framework
  • Article 29: Article 29 grants all citizens the right to conserve their language, script, or culture, and prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds of language.
  • Article 120: Provides for the conduct of parliamentary business in Hindi or English, but grants members the right to express themselves in their mother tongue if they cannot adequately express themselves in Hindi or English.
  • Part XVII (Articles 343-351): Articles 343-351 deal exclusively with official languages at the union and state levels.
  • Article 350A: It places an obligation on every State and local authority to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children from linguistic minority groups.
  • Article 350B: Provides for the appointment of a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities by the President. This officer investigates matters related to safeguards for linguistic minorities and reports to the President, who then places these reports before Parliament and the concerned state governments.
  • Eighth Schedule: Recognizes 22 official languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri. Languages added later include Sindhi (by 21st Amendment Act, 1967), Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali (by 71st Amendment Act, 1992), and Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali (by 92nd Amendment Act, 2003).
  • Linguistic Landscape
  • Unparalleled diversity: Home to 1,369 mother tongues, including 121 languages spoken by over 10,000 people, with a Linguistic Diversity Index of 0.914, one of the highest in the world.
  • Language families: Languages belong to four major families i.e., Indo-Aryan (78% of speakers), Dravidian (20%), Austro-Asiatic (1.2%), and Tibeto-Burman (0.8%).
  • Language endangerment: Nearly 200 languages are vulnerable or endangered, disproportionately affecting Tibeto-Burman and Austro-Asiatic languages.
  • Double Divide: A rigid hierarchy exists where English is at the top, followed by dominant regional languages, while Indigenous and tribal languages are at the bottom, largely excluded from education, governance, and digital spaces.

Supreme Court (SC) Judgments Regarding the Freedom of Speech of MPs

  • Tej Kiran Jain v. N. Sanjiva Reddy (1970): The SC upheld absolute immunity for MPs under Article 105(2). Emphasised that the word “anything” has the widest scope. Reinforced that parliamentary speech is beyond judicial scrutiny.
  • P.V. Narasimha Rao v. State (1998): The SC held that MPs are immune from prosecution for bribery if it is directly connected to a vote given in Parliament.
  • Raja Ram Pal v. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha (2007): SC held that the parliamentary privileges are subject to judicial review if constitutional limits are violated.
  • Kaushal Kishor v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2023): The SC held that a Minister’s statement is not automatically the Government’s position, and the Government is not liable unless it officially endorses the remarks.
  • Sita Soren v. Union of India (2024): The SC overruled the 1998 P.V. Narasimha Rao judgment, and held that MPs and MLAs do not have immunity from prosecution for accepting bribes to vote or speak in the House. 
  • It ruled that bribery is a criminal act and is not protected under Article 105(2) or Article 194(2) (grants protection to MLAs).