UPSC Mains Current Affairs for 9 October 2026

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• Salient Provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021
• What was the Recent Case, and Why did the Woman Approach the SC?
• The Petitioner’s Arguments
• The Government's Argument
• The SC’s Verdict

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court has protected the right of parenthood of a woman, suffering from a rare medical condition, by staying the operation of a law which threatened to wreck her hopes to become a mother through surrogacy.
• In this context, this article analyses the legal provisions with respect to surrogacy in India.

Salient Provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021

• What is surrogacy?
  • The Act defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand it over to them after the birth.
  • It is permitted only for altruistic purposes or for couples who suffer proven infertility or disease.
  • Surrogacy is prohibited for commercial purposes including for sale, prostitution or any other forms of exploitation.
• Status of child born:
  • Once the child is born, it will be deemed to be the biological child of the couple for all intents and purposes.
  • Abortion of such a foetus is allowed only with the consent of the surrogate mother and the authorities and must adhere to the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
• Who can avail of surrogacy?
  • Under the Act, a couple should procure certificates of eligibility and essentiality in order to have a child via surrogacy.
  • The couple is deemed ‘eligible’ if they have been married for five years, the wife is aged between 25-50 years and the husband is between 26-55 years.
  • The couple must not have any living child (biological, adopted or surrogate.) A child with mental or physical disabilities or one suffering from a life-threatening disorder or illness has been exempted from the above criterion.
• Who can issue an ‘essential’ certificate?
  • The couple can get an ‘essential’ certificate if suffering from proven infertility of either partner certified by a District Medical Board, and an order of parentage and custody of the surrogate child, passed by a Magistrate’s court.
  • They must also have insurance coverage for 16 months for the surrogate mother, covering any postpartum complications.
• Who can be a surrogate?
  • A surrogate mother has to be a close relative of the couple, a married woman with a child of her own, aged between 25-35 years, who has been a surrogate only once in her life.
  • She must also possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.
• Who regulates surrogacy?
  • The Centre and State governments are expected to constitute a National Surrogacy Board (NSB) and State Surrogacy Boards (SSB) respectively, within 90 days of the passing of the Act.
  • This body is tasked with enforcing standards for surrogacy clinics, investigating breaches and recommending modifications.
  • Further, surrogacy clinics need to apply for registration within 60 days of the appointment of the appropriate authority.
• Offences under the Act: Include commercial surrogacy, selling of embryos, exploiting, abandoning a surrogate child, etc. These may invite up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs. 10 lakhs.

What was the Recent Case, and Why did the Woman Approach the SC?

• The woman has the Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. Medical board records showed she has absent ovaries and absent uterus, hence she cannot produce her own eggs/oocytes.
• The couple had begun the process of gestational surrogacy, through a donor, last year.
• However, a government notification (on March 14 this year) amended the law, banning the use of donor gametes.
  • It said “intending couples” must use their own gametes for surrogacy.
    • Gametes are reproductive cells that are used during sexual reproduction to produce a new organism. They are also known as sex cells.
    • In animals, female gametes are called ova or egg cells, and male gametes are called sperm.
  • The petition was filed in the SC challenging the amendment as a violation of a woman’s right to parenthood.

The Petitioner’s Arguments

• She had begun the surrogacy process months before the amendment, which cannot be implemented retrospectively.
• The amendment to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules 2022 ruled out the use of donor eggs and made it impossible for her and her husband to continue with the process of surrogacy in order to achieve parenthood.
• The amendment contradicts the Surrogacy Act 2021 which recognised the situation when a medical condition would require a couple to opt for gestational surrogacy in order to become parents.
• The Surrogacy Rules listed the medical or congenital conditions owing to which a woman could choose to become a mother through gestational surrogacy.
  • They included having no uterus or missing uterus or abnormal uterus or if the uterus is surgically removed due to any medical condition such as gynaecological cancer.
  • The Surrogacy Rules made it clear that the choice was solely that of the woman.

The Government's Argument

The process of surrogacy cannot be availed under the law unless the child was “genetically related” to the intending couple. This exempted the use of donor eggs.

The SC’s Verdict

• The amendment is prima facie contrary to what is intended under the main provisions of the Surrogacy Act both in form as well as in substance.
• The law permitting gestational surrogacy was “woman-centric”.
  • The decision to have a surrogate child was entirely based on the woman’s inability to become a mother owing to her medical or congenital condition.
  • Such a condition included the absence of a uterus or repeatedly failed pregnancies, multiple pregnancies or an illness which makes it impossible for her to carry a pregnancy or would make the pregnancy life-threatening.
• The amendment cannot contradict Rules which specifically recognises the absence of a uterus or any allied condition as a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy.
• Addressing the government’s contention that the surrogate child should be “genetically related” to the couple, the court pointed out that the child would be related to the husband
  • In this regard, it may be noted that the expression ‘genetically’ related to the intending couple has to be read as being related to the husband.

Q1) What was the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 enacted?

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 was enacted to regulate the functioning of assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinics and ART banks in the country. 

Q2) What is the Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome?

MRKH syndrome is a rare congenital disorder that affects the female reproductive system. This condition is characterised by an underdeveloped vagina and uterus. The uterus may be small or absent and the vagina is typically shortened.

Source: Supreme Court allows surrogacy, strikes down rule banning use of donor gametes

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is the Smart Cities Mission (SCM)?
• Objective of SCM
• Achievements of SCM (as of June 2023)
• About the “Labelling Strategy”

Why in News?

• With the Government pushing the deadline of its Smart Cities Mission (to next June), the 100 cities that are part of it are marking their completed projects with logos.
• The cities have been asked to implement the “labelling strategy” - a strategy aimed at displaying the accomplishments so far - by August 31 (2023).

What is the Smart Cities Mission (SCM)?

• It was launched on 25 June, 2015, with the objective to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment.
• 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities (through a two-stage competition) in various rounds from 2016 to 2018, with each getting five years from their selection to complete the projects.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
  • The Central Government will give financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over 5 years i.e., on an average Rs.100 crore per city per year. 
  • An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB.
• The six fundamental principles on which the concept of Smart Cities is based are:

Objective of SCM:

• It will ensure a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
• It aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities.

Achievements of SCM (as of June 2023):

• According to the MoHUA, 74% of the nearly 8,000 projects for which work orders have been issued, have been completed.
• A total of Rs.73,454 crore had been released to the cities, which have utilised 90% of the amount. The total cost of the projects is estimated to be Rs.1,79,204 crore.

About the “Labelling Strategy”:

• The “labelling strategy” was first rolled out as a pilot in 15 cities and expanded to all 100 cities recently.
• It laid out options for using bespoke logos as well as common imagery such as the Mission logo.
  • Stickers, boards, signage and other such material were also designed for installation on completed projects, including smart roads, lights, preserved heritage sites, etc.
• The labelling exercise was “not marketing”, but rather a method for creating awareness and providing information to the stakeholders of the projects. For example,
  • In Udaipur, visitors are given additional information through a QR code that leads to a city app developed under the Mission.
  • In Agartala, the boards that have been put up have left space for advertisements, for generating revenue.
• Hence, the strategy provides a link to build trust with the community and strengthen the loop between citizen feedback and project implementation.

Q1) What is Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) mission?

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was renamed to AMRUT and then relaunched in 2015 with the focus to establish infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation by implementing urban revival projects.

Q2) What is the Rurban mission?

The Ministry of Rural Development launched the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission in 2016. The Mission aims at development of 300 Rurban clusters, that are not stand-alone settlements but part of a cluster of settlements, in relative proximity to each other.

Source: Deadline pushed to 2024, Smart Cities working hard to showcase achievements

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Operation Polo
• What was the background against which Operation Polo was launched?
• Why was Operation Polo launched?
• Operation Polo on the ground

Why in news?

• India celebrated the 75^thanniversary of Operation Polo on September 13, 2023.
• On this day in 1948, Indian Army launched military action to integrate the princely state of Hyderabad.

What was the background against which Operation Polo was launched?

• Intentions of Nizam of Hyderabad state
  • The Nizam of Hyderabad state, Mir Osman Ali Shah, had the intention of keeping his state as an independent entity and did not join India or Pakistan after Independence.
  • The Nizam took advantage of the fact that the Indian government got preoccupied with the Kashmir war soon after Independence.
• Standstill agreement with India
  • The Nizam signed a standstill agreement with India in November 1947.
  • This essentially meant that a status quo would be maintained between the Indian dominion and the Hyderabad state till a solution was found.
  • The agreement was signed for a period of one year during which the Indian government would not exercise any authority over Hyderabad.

Why was Operation Polo launched?

• Location of Hyderabad
  • Situated in the Deccan, Hyderabad was one of the most populous and richest states.
  • It had 17 districts including Aurangabad (now in Maharashtra) and Gulbarga (now in Karnataka).
• Intention to have fraternal relations with Pakistan
  • The landlocked state had a majority Hindu population with the state administration almost entirely run by its Muslim rulers.
  • There was no common border with Pakistan but the Nizam had every intention to have fraternal relations with that country.
• Excesses of the Razakars
  • During this period, the Nizam’s administration had taken advantage of the standstill agreement signed with India.
  • It started to increase the number of its irregular force called Razakars which was led by Maj Gen SA El Edroos, the Arab commander in chief of the Hyderabad state forces.
    • The Razakars were a paramilitary force in the Hyderabad State. It was created to support the Nizam's rule.
    • It also resisted the integration of Hyderabad into the newly independent India.
    • The Razakars primarily consisted of local radical Muslim volunteers who were loyal to the Nizam's regime.
  • The Razakars persecuted Hindus and forced them to become Muslims.
  • They killed many Hindus and Hindu sympathizers, forcing them to flee the state. They also raped women.

Operation Polo on the ground

• The Indian forces were led by Maj Gen Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, the General Officer Commanding of 1 Armoured Division.
• The Nizam of Hyderabad announced a ceasefire on September 17.
• On September 18, Maj Gen Chaudhuri entered Hyderabad city with his forces and Maj Gen El Edroos surrendered to him.
• Maj Gen Chaudhuri was later appointed the Military Governor of Hyderabad.

Q1) Who were Razakars?

Razakars were a private militia in Hyderabad, India, during the Nizam's rule, known for supporting the Nizam's regime and opposing integration with India.

Q2) Who was Maj Gen SA El Edroos?

Major General Syed Ahmed El Edroos was a notable military figure during the Indian annexation of Hyderabad in 1948. He led the Indian Army's Operation Polo, which resulted in the integration of Hyderabad into the newly independent India.

Source: Explained: 75th anniversary of Operation Polo and ‘Police Action’ in Hyderabad