Article 21
Guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, judicially expanded to cover dignity, privacy and a clean environment.
On UPSC.wiki
Current affairsFast Track Special Courts Scheme Extended to March 2031: ₹3,788 Crore for Speedy Justice in Rape and POCSO CasesThe Union Cabinet approved a five-year extension of the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) scheme from April 2026 to March 2031 with a financial outlay of ₹3,788.04 crore, expanding the network from 779 to 850 courts — including exclusive POCSO courts — to deliver time-bound justice in rape and child sexual abuse cases across 29 states and UTs. Current affairsCentre Mandates Weekly Rice and Paddy Stock Disclosure to Curb Price Rise; Five Southern States Permitted to Impose Stock LimitsThe Union Government on 6 November 2026 directed all traders, wholesalers, retailers, processors, and millers across states and UTs to declare their rice and paddy stock positions every Friday on the Food Stock Portal until 31 January 2027, as prices rise due to deficient monsoon conditions. The government also doubled its open market rice sales target to 50 lakh tonnes and permitted five southern states to impose stock limits. Current affairsSupreme Court: 24-Hour Constitutional Clock to Produce Arrested Person Begins at Actual Detention, Not Formal ArrestIn *Sujit Das v. Union of India*, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar ruled that the 24-hour deadline under Article 22(2) of the Constitution for producing an arrested person before a magistrate begins from the moment of actual detention — not from when a formal arrest is recorded — closing a procedural loophole that had enabled custodial overreach. Current affairsWorld Tsunami Awareness Day 2026: "Be Tsunami Ready — Resilience Starts with You"November 5 is World Tsunami Awareness Day 2026, observed under the theme "Be tsunami ready: Resilience starts with you." The day, established by UNGA Resolution A/RES/70/203 (December 2015), commemorates the Inamura-no-hi story of 1854 and focuses on individual and community preparedness as the first line of defence, aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030). Current affairsDelhi-NCR Activates GRAP Stage 1 from November 1, 2026: Winter Air Pollution Action Plan ExplainedThe Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) invoked Stage 1 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR from November 1, 2026, as Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 226 — the 'Poor' category. New measures include restrictions on non-BS6 vehicles, a 'No PUC, No Fuel' policy at petrol pumps, and doubling of parking fees for the winter season (November 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027). Current affairsCyclone Arnab Makes Landfall in Andhra Pradesh: IMD Classification, Impact and Disaster ResponseVery Severe Cyclonic Storm "Arnab" crossed the Andhra Pradesh–Yanam coast near Narsapur on 28 October 2026, packing sustained winds of 125–135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph. Three people died, approximately 57,000 were evacuated, and crops were damaged across 70,900 hectares. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued Red Alerts for coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, and Odisha. Current affairsNational Sentencing Policy for India: Supreme Court Direction, Malimath Committee and UPSC AnalysisIndia has no national sentencing guidelines, leaving criminal sentencing "judge-centric" — the same offence can draw radically different sentences from different judges. In Sunita Devi v. State of Bihar (May 2024), the Supreme Court directed the Department of Justice to examine a national sentencing policy, stating "sentencing shall not be a mere lottery." The Malimath Committee (2003) first proposed a statutory Sentencing Commission. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS, 2023) reformed criminal law but contains no sentencing framework, keeping the structural gap live in 2026 jurisprudence. Current affairsPM Samajik Sahayata Yojana: Cabinet Renames NSAP, Expands Disability Coverage — ₹53,428 Crore for 2026–31The Union Cabinet approved on October 14, 2026 (PIB PRID: 2323264) the continuation and restructuring of NSAP as Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana for FY 2026-27 to 2030-31, with ₹53,428 crore outlay. The key substantive change is a major disability pension reform: eligibility threshold reduced from 80% to 40% benchmark disability (aligning with RPwD Act 2016), age floor removed from 18 years to birth, and pension amounts increased by 25%. Old-age and widow pension rates remain unchanged. Current affairsAATAL: India's World-First Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory at IITM, New DelhiUnion Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory (AATAL) at the IITM New Delhi campus on October 24, 2026. Described as the world's first of its kind, the ₹80 crore facility — set up under Mission Mausam — analyses the chemical fingerprint of Delhi-NCR's air pollution at 400-metre resolution, providing 72-hour forecasts and enabling source-attribution to guide targeted interventions. Current affairsFund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD): $21.6 Million for Nepal FloodsThe Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), operationalised under the UNFCCC framework, has provisionally set aside $21.6 million for Nepal following the devastating August 2026 floods — marking the fund's first-ever allocation for a specific disaster. The allocation covers less than 0.5% of Nepal's estimated $4.77 billion recovery needs, highlighting the vast gap in climate finance for vulnerable nations. Current affairsFarmer ID Scheme: India Creates 11 Crore Digital Farmer IDs Ahead of ScheduleIndia achieved its target of creating 11 crore (110 million) Farmer IDs on 23 October 2026 — five months ahead of the 31 March 2027 deadline — under the Digital Agriculture Mission. The Farmer ID functions as an Aadhaar-linked unique digital identity for farmers, dynamically linked to state land records and crop data, enabling seamless access to government schemes, credit, insurance, and disaster relief. Current affairsBay of Bengal Cyclone Alert: IMD Forecasts Cyclonic Storm Approaching Andhra Pradesh CoastThe India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that a well-marked low-pressure area over the east-central Bay of Bengal will intensify into a cyclonic storm by the morning of 26 October 2026, moving west-northwestward and likely making landfall near the Andhra Pradesh coast around 28 October. Odisha has ordered school and college closures in five districts. The alert provides an important opportunity to review India's tropical cyclone management framework.
In previous-year questions
- Which Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) in the Constitution of India directs the State to endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife?UPSC · Current Affairs
- In Vanashakti v. Union of India (2026 INSC 761), the Supreme Court quashed the Central Government's 2021 Office Memorandum on post-facto environmental clearances on the ground that it violated which two constitutional provisions?UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Supreme Court bench that directed 19 states and UTs to declare cancer a notifiable disease (August 2026) invoked which constitutional provisions as the legal basis? The PIL argued that non-notification amounts to a violation of these rights.UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Supreme Court's direction on cancer notification (August 2026) is rooted in the right to health under Article 21. Which landmark Supreme Court judgment first explicitly held that denial of emergency medical treatment violates Article 21's right to life?UPSC · Current Affairs
- Article 48A of the Constitution of India, added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976), directs the State to:UPSC · Current Affairs
- Which Article of the Indian Constitution provides the primary constitutional mandate for the State to bring about prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health — the provision that underpins India's drug abuse control policy including the NMBA?UPSC · Current Affairs
- Which Constitutional Article, inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, guarantees the Right to Free and Compulsory Education for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years?UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court declared the Thamirabarani River a legal person in 2026 (WP(MD) 18560/2026). What legal basis did the court primarily rely on for granting this personhood?UPSC · Current Affairs
- Article 48A of the Indian Constitution, which directs the State to protect and improve the environment, was inserted by which Constitutional Amendment?UPSC · Current Affairs
- In the ongoing suo motu case on digital arrest scams, the Supreme Court's power to issue directions to executive bodies like the RBI and state governments — even beyond the scope of a specific statutory challenge — derives primarily from which constitutional provision?UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposed red hexagonal front-of-pack warning labels in August 2026. Which Article of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) most directly mandates the State to raise the level of nutrition and improve public health — forming the constitutional foundation for food safety regulation?UPSC · Current Affairs
- Which Article of the Indian Constitution imposes a Directive Principle on the State to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country?UPSC · Current Affairs