The Hindu – Important News Articles & Editorial Analysis
Walking on Footpaths is a Fundamental Right, Says Supreme Court
Hearing a road-accident case in which a five-year-old child was crushed to death by a truck, the Supreme Court delivered a historic judgment declaring the freedom to walk safely on demarcated, well-maintained footpaths a Fundamental Right. Authored by Justice P.S. Narasimha, the ruling clarifies that the pedestrian's right overrides the privilege of motorised vehicles — a major milestone for urban planning, civil rights and judicial activism in India.
Constitutional Basis of the ‘Right to Walk’
| Article | Right Guaranteed | Link to Walking |
|---|---|---|
| Art 19(1)(d) | Freedom of movement throughout India | Safe footpaths are a basic precondition for moving freely |
| Art 21 | Right to life & personal liberty | Walking safely and without anxiety is basic to a dignified life |
| Art 19(1)(a),(b),(c) | Expression, assembly, association | Walking embodies socio-political discourse & solidarity (e.g. the Dandi March) |
Elitism in Urbanisation & Neglect of Pedestrians
- Monopoly of vehicles: Early car ownership by the wealthy let ‘elitism’ dominate planning — wide roads and expressways became the benchmark of development.
- Pedestrians as a ‘hurdle’: Affordable vehicles then crowded out pedestrians, who are now treated as a nuisance while footpaths are encroached upon.
Accountability & the Need for a Regulator
- Enforceable duty: If a road exists, it is the legally binding duty of local and municipal bodies to build and maintain a safe parallel footpath.
- Failure of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: The Court found pedestrians' rights wholly ignored in the current Act.
- Full-time regulator: The Centre is directed to draft a new statutory framework and create a dedicated regulatory body of domain experts to plan and enforce the ‘Right to Walk’.
- Directives to ministries: Copies sent to the Ministries of Housing & Urban Affairs, Rural Development, and Road Transport & Highways to begin legislation.
Way Forward
- Pedestrian-centric design: Build smart-city and urban infrastructure around pedestrians and cyclists, not just cars.
- Strict anti-encroachment: Clear illegal parking and commercial encroachment to keep footpaths walkable.
- Time-bound statutory reform: Amend motor-vehicle law or enact a ‘Right to Walk Act’ with accountability and penalties for officials who fail to build footpaths.
The judgment challenges the monopoly of vehicles and seeks to reclaim public space for ordinary citizens. Elevating walking to a fundamental right offers safety and dignity to the poor, children, the elderly and labourers who own no vehicle — but its real success depends on how promptly the executive and local bodies translate it from paper to the ground.
With which Articles of the Constitution has the Supreme Court primarily linked the “right to walk safely”?
- 1. Article 19(1)(d) – Right to move freely
- 2. Article 21 – Right to life and personal liberty
- 3. Article 19(1)(a) – Freedom of expression
Select the correct answer:
- (a) Only 1 and 2
- (b) Only 2 and 3
- (c) Only 1 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Click to reveal answer
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3Four Glacial Lakes in Arunachal Have Expanded in a Decade: Study
A satellite-based assessment by geospatial firm Suhora Technologies (using ICEYE, PlanetScope and LISS-IV data) finds that four of five high-risk glacial lakes in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district have expanded over 2016–2026. Driven by glacial retreat and meltwater accumulation in the Eastern Himalayas, the trend signals a rising threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in this sensitive region.
Key Findings
- Rapid expansion: Four of five lakes grew in surface area; Sanhapo Lake expanded fastest — from 78.07 ha (2019) to 88.81 ha (June 2026), a rise of nearly 10 ha.
- Risk categorisation: NDMA rates two lakes ‘Very High Risk’ and two others (e.g. Dharkha Tso) ‘High Risk’.
- Role of remote sensing: Inaccessible terrain makes field monitoring hard, so continuous satellite observation is crucial.
What Triggers a GLOF
- Unstable moraine dams: Retreating glaciers leave loose rock and debris that dam the water; as volume rises, breach risk climbs.
- Triggering factors: Per glaciologist Anil Kulkarni, surface-area growth alone isn't decisive — landslides, avalanches or rockfalls can suddenly displace water into catastrophic waves.
- Monsoon multiplier: Heavy rain plus accelerated melt raises lake levels dangerously, roughly doubling outburst probability.
India Implications
Fears echo the October 2023 Sikkim disaster, when the breach of South Lhonak Lake killed dozens and destroyed the Chungthang hydro dam. India's ability to identify dangerous lakes via satellites has improved, but translating assessments into ground-level risk reduction — and installing Early-Warning Systems at lakes like Sanhapo — remains a major gap.
Way Forward
- Early Warning Systems: Install real-time sensors and automated weather stations at high-risk lakes for timely downstream evacuation.
- Controlled breaching: Drain excess water gradually via siphoning or channels to prevent sudden outbursts.
- Regional cooperation: Share satellite data and build joint disaster strategies across India, Bhutan and Nepal.
- Climate-resilient infrastructure: Factor GLOF hazards into Himalayan hydropower and road projects.
The steady growth of these lakes shows how fast climate change is reshaping the Indian Himalayan Region. Not every expansion means imminent disaster, but ignoring it would invite another Sikkim — safeguarding the Eastern Himalayas now depends on turning timely science into administrative policy and community preparedness.
What is a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)?
- (a) Flood caused by excessive monsoon rainfall in plains
- (b) Sudden release of water from a glacial lake due to failure of its natural dam
- (c) Flood caused by cyclonic storm surge
- (d) Flood caused by river embankment breach only
Click to reveal answer
Answer: (b) Sudden release of water from a glacial lake due to failure of its natural damMoving from Drone Purchases to Drone Partnerships
India has announced a $2 billion (~₹16,500 crore) drone-procurement plan to boost domestic manufacturing — strengthening defence self-reliance and marking a strategic shift from large, expensive platforms toward smaller, cheaper, ‘attritable’ drones. But the existing transactional procurement framework risks obsolescence, making structural reform urgent.
The New Economics of Drones
- Cost-effective lethality: The Ukraine–Russia and Iran–Israel wars show micro/nano drones are far more useful than multi-million-dollar combat drones like the MQ-9B Reaper.
- Asymmetric warfare: Cheap drone swarms destroy high-value assets (tanks, radars), while the missiles to down them cost several times more — draining the adversary.
- Civil-military convergence: COTS/FPV drones are rapidly weaponised; China's edge lies in tight industry–academia–military coordination.
The Obsolescence Problem
- Rapid tech decay: A 2015 fighter jet stays relevant today, but a tactical drone bought now can be obsolete in 2–3 years.
- Electronic warfare: Enemy jammers can adapt in 6–8 weeks; Ukraine's response — fibre-optic cable-guided drones — shows the need for an agile, red-tape-free upgrade system.
From ‘Buyer-Seller’ to Managed Service Contracts
| Dimension | Current: Transactional Buy | Proposed: Managed Service Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement | Tender → buy hardware → relationship ends | Long-term, lifecycle service (like leased IT with upgrades) |
| R&D incentive | Low — no demand predictability | High — assured demand funds continuous R&D |
| Upgrades | Ad-hoc, slow | Real-time software/protocol upgrades vs evolving EW |
| Crisis surge | Limited | Contracted firms can scale production overnight |
India Implications
The DAP already allows direct COTS purchases and the DPM provides repair buffers, but the framework stays fundamentally transactional — unsuited to drone tech that needs constant iteration. India must pivot the Ministry of Defence from a ‘one-time delivery’ mindset to long-term contracts prioritising sustained capability, bridge IITs–startups–armed forces into one R&D ecosystem, and decentralise approvals so field modifications clear quickly.
The $2 billion plan signals strong political will for defence indigenisation, but modern wars are won by out-innovating, not merely out-spending, the adversary. To become a drone superpower, India must shed the ‘buyer’ mindset and become a strategic partner to its domestic industry — the systemic shift that keeps the armed forces future-ready.
Which of the following best describes a “Managed Service Contract” in defence procurement?
- (a) One-time purchase of equipment without future support
- (b) Long-term arrangement including maintenance, upgrades and lifecycle support
- (c) Import of fully assembled defence platforms only
- (d) Procurement exclusively through government-owned enterprises
Click to reveal answer
Answer: (b) Long-term arrangement including maintenance, upgrades and lifecycle supportRight of Way: India Needs to Build More Footpaths to Help Pedestrians Walk Freely
Following the Supreme Court bench (Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar) declaring the right to walk on demarcated footpaths a Fundamental Right under Article 21, this companion analysis warns that unless the ‘judicial nudge’ is translated into real infrastructure and public culture, the right risks becoming merely a tool for post-accident compensation.
The Plight of Pedestrians
- Dominance of vehicles: Drivers treat pedestrians as a nuisance as motorisation surges.
- Fragmented law: India has no central pedestrian-rights legislation; safety is split across municipal laws, town-planning statutes and road-design guidelines.
- Broken footpaths: Where they exist, they are choked by illegal parking, vendors, poles, debris and road-widening.
Why Rights-Based Laws Underdeliver
| Law / Mission | Intended Goal | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Street Vendors Act, 2014 | Protect vendors' livelihood (Art 19(1)(g)) | Incomplete Town Vending Committees → evictions & rent-seeking persist |
| COTPA, 2003 | Curb public smoking | Worked via social messaging & small penalties — change must be cultural |
| Swachh Bharat | End littering | Citizen duty alone failed; the State must do its part (collection / footpaths) |
Emerging Threats to the ‘Right to Walk’
- Law-vs-law conflict: A mandate to fully clear footpaths clashes with the Street Vendors Act, 2014, which grants vendors trading rights on pavements.
- Gentrification risk: Used merely to ‘clean’ roads, the order could trigger elite-centric gentrification that criminalises the urban poor's livelihoods.
Way Forward
- Divert funds: Shift budgets from flyovers and expressways toward pedestrian infrastructure.
- Inclusive street design: Demarcate distinct, sufficient zones for both walking and vending.
- Cultural shift: Embed ‘pavements belong to pedestrians’ into daily traffic culture, not just law.
Declaring walking a fundamental right is a commendable constitutional step, but without proactive State participation it stays on paper. Rather than a tool to evict the poor, the order should build inclusive urban infrastructure — until the exchequer is dedicated to pedestrian safety, the ‘right of way’ will remain unfulfilled.
Which of the following best reflects the concept of “Right of Way” in urban planning?
- (a) Exclusive priority to motor vehicles
- (b) Equitable allocation of road space among users
- (c) Priority only to commercial transport
- (d) Restriction on pedestrian movement
Click to reveal answer
Answer: (b) Equitable allocation of road space among usersIndia's Cheapest Power is Here, the Grid Must Catch Up
India's energy transition is at a turning point: solar and wind are now its cheapest electricity sources (a record 45 GW of clean capacity was added in 2025), and falling battery costs let India deliver firm clean power at about ₹3.5/kWh. But the transmission grid has become the biggest bottleneck — roughly 50 GW of ready clean energy is stranded, because renewable projects take 12–18 months while transmission lines take 3–5 years.
Four Opportunities to Unlock ~1,000 GW (No New Land)
| Lever | Potential | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Battery storage at grid nodes | ~400 GW | Lines run at only ~25% use; BESS raises utilisation 2–3× |
| Repurpose coal corridors | ~100 GW | Use idle transmission of low-running coal plants for nearby solar/wind |
| Upgrade existing sub-stations | ~100 GW | Accept new connections; pair with batteries for peak management |
| Reconductoring (HTLS wires) | Doubles capacity | Replace sagging legacy lines with High-Temperature Low-Sag conductors on same towers |
A Faster, Smarter, Cheaper Path
- Time efficiency: These fixes deploy in months, needing no new corridors, land or lengthy clearances.
- Future-proof new lines: India's planned 40% grid expansion (>$100 bn over a decade) must build in advanced conductors and storage so lines carry 4–5× more power.
Three Policy Shifts for Success
- Enforce storage rules at State level: SERCs and DISCOMs must embed the national mandate for solar-plus-storage into procurement.
- Life-cycle costing: Reward technologies with superior system-wide lifetime benefits over the cheapest upfront bid.
- Coordinated Renewable Energy Zones (REZ): Plan mega-REZs with matching grid corridors to end site-vs-transmission mismatch.
India Implications
Grid-connectivity deficits are already the biggest obstacle to the energy transition in the US and Europe. To dodge that trap, India should treat the grid as an engine of growth — 24×7 reliable power is now demanded by steel, aluminium, cement, data centres and chemicals — accelerate co-located Pumped Storage and battery systems, and simplify rules to draw PPP investment into grid modernisation.
India has a strong ‘One Nation, One Grid’ foundation, but new lines alone won't meet future demand. The real wisdom lies in extracting maximum power from every existing line while building more. The grid is no longer background infrastructure — it is the cornerstone of India's future productivity, industrial growth and Net-Zero (2070) goals.
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