Dowry Deaths in India

Source: TH 

Why in News? 

A surge in dowry-related deaths across states like Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Tamil Nadu shows the persistent grip of this illegal practice. Women continue to face harassment, assault, and suicide over dowry, while investigations drag on and convictions remain rare.

What are the Reasons for the Persistence of Dowry-related Deaths in India? 

• Cultural Entitlement and Deep-rooted Traditions: Dowry, though illegal since 1961 under the Dowry Prohibition Act, continues to be treated as a social practice.  
  • Many families still see it as an essential part of marriage, often disguised as "gifts." In some sections of society, a girl’s worth is judged not by the life she builds, but by the dowry she brings.  
  • Cultural and societal pressures push families to meet rising dowry demands, which often leads to harassment, abuse, and even deaths. 
• Extent of the Dowry Problem in India: Between 2017 and 2022, India saw an average of 7,000 dowry deaths annually, based on reports from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). 
  • The NCRB data is conservative, as many dowry deaths go unreported, underscoring the extent of the issue. 
  • A World Bank study covering 40,000 marriages in rural India from 1960 to 2008 revealed that dowry was paid in 95% of marriages. This shows how deep-rooted the practice remains. 
• Gender Discrimination and Patriarchal Practices: Dowry is often used to assert control over women, who are perceived as a burden upon marriage. The demands from husbands and in-laws for additional dowries are rooted in patriarchal attitudes that value women as commodities. 
• Normalizing Abuse: Laws like Section 80 and 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 make dowry-related deaths and harassment criminal offenses. Yet, the practice of dowry has normalized abuse in many households. Such violence often goes unreported, dismissed as a private family matter. 
  • Between 2017 and 2022, dowry was the main motive in over 6,100 murders across India.  
  • Over 60% occurred in West Bengal, Odisha, and Bihar. Together with Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana, these States accounted for 80% of all dowry death cases during this period. 
  • This lack of awareness and ineffective implementation of laws makes it harder for women to break free from abusive relationships. 
• Role of Economic Factors: Rising economic pressures contribute to the demand for higher dowries. The growing consumerism, social media influence, and the desire for a 'grand wedding' create an environment conducive to dowry expectations. 

What are the Key Legal and Judicial Challenges in Dowry-related Cases in India? 

• Inadequate Investigation and Slow Response: Only around 4,500 out of 7,000 dowry deaths reported each year lead to charge sheets.  
  • The rest remain stuck due to investigations being delayed, mishandled, or disposed of due to lack of evidence or false complaints. 
  • More than 67% of dowry deaths in 2022 had investigations pending for over six months, indicating systemic delays. 
• Judicial Bottlenecks: Even after charge sheets are filed, over 90% of cases face delays in courts. With limited convictions (around 100 annually), cases often remain unresolved for years, leading to a sense of impunity among perpetrators. 
• Lack of Coordination Between Police and Judiciary: Police often try to “resolve” dowry complaints through mediation, especially in small towns or villages. 
  • Additionally, the slow pace of charge sheet filing (70% after two months or more) and delays in court proceedings create a system where justice is not only delayed but sometimes denied. 
• Underreporting and Victim-Blaming: Many dowry-related deaths go unreported due to fear of stigma, lack of legal awareness, and pressure from both society and family.  
  • Many women fear being disowned, and victims' families often hesitate to pursue justice in close-knit communities. 

 

What can be Done to Break the Cycle of Dowry-related Violence? 

• Economic Empowerment: Empowering women financially is key to breaking the cycle of dowry violence. Laws like the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and Right to Education Act, 2009 must be strictly enforced to keep girls in school and delay early marriage.  
  • Schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Mudra Yojana, and the National Skill Development Mission can give women the tools, savings, and skills needed for independence.  
    • When women earn and control resources, they’re better able to resist abuse and build their own future. 
• Make Dowry Reporting Easier and Safer: Use tech-based platforms (apps, WhatsApp helplines) to allow anonymous complaints and track police response. Provide legal anonymity and protection for whistleblowers within families or communities. Safer reporting helps more women come forward. 
• Strengthening Law Enforcement: Police must be trained to handle dowry-related cases with greater sensitivity and urgency. Timely investigation and stringent action against the accused must be prioritized. 
  • Dowry complaints must be registered and investigated as criminal offenses from the start. Treating these cases seriously sends a strong signal that dowry abuse isn’t negotiable, it's a crime. 
• Create Real Exit Pathways for Women: Leaving abuse isn’t an option without support. Every district needs proper shelters with counseling, legal aid, and job help. Direct cash or income support must back women who walk out, so survival isn’t the next struggle. 
• Judicial Reforms and Fast-Tracking Cases: Setting up fast-track courts dedicated to dowry death cases would expedite trials and reduce the delay in the justice system.  
• Increase Awareness and Legal Support: Victims of dowry harassment should be provided with easier access to legal aid and counseling. 
  • Social awareness campaigns targeting the negative impacts of dowry could help change societal attitudes over time, reducing dowry-related violence. 

Drishti Mains Question: Q. Despite being legally prohibited, dowry continues to thrive in India.” Examine the socio-cultural and economic factors behind its persistence.

The Sevilla Commitment for Financing Sustainable Development

Sources: DTE 

Why in News? 

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) held in Sevilla, Spain, concluded with the Sevilla Commitment, outlining steps to boost sustainable development finance, address the global debt crisis, and reform the international financial architecture amidst rising debt and economic instability. 

What is the Sevilla Commitment? 

• About: The Sevilla Commitment is a comprehensive framework developed & adopted during the FfD4 conference, aiming to close the USD 4 trillion annual SDG financing gap in developing countries. 
  • The International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) is a UN-led platform organised once in a decade by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 
  • It focuses on strengthening domestic resource mobilization and tax systems, expanding access to social protection, digital economies, and climate resilience. 
  • It also places strong emphasis on gender equality, with over 60 initiatives targeting women’s empowerment, financing for women, and the redistribution of unpaid care work. 
• Objective: It seeks to align financial flows and policies with economic, social, and environmental goals, ensure debt sustainability, expand climate finance, and advance the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. 
• Implementation Mechanism: The Sevilla Platform for Action, comprising 130 initiatives, serves as the implementation mechanism of the Sevilla Commitment.  
• Key Components: 
  • Catalyzing Investment: Promotes sustainable development financing through public-private partnerships and blended finance models. 
  • Addressing Debt Crisis: Proposes tools like debt swaps, pause clauses, and debt-for-development swaps to ease debt burdens on low-income countries. 
  • Reforming Global Financial Architecture: Calls for restructuring the international financial system to make it more equitable, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of developing nations. 
    • These measures align with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (2015) and aim to tackle global inequality through urgent reforms in financing, investment, and debt relief. 

What are Key Initiatives Launched under the Sevilla Platform for Action (FfD4)? 

• Debt Initiatives:  
  • Debt Swaps for Development Hub (led by Spain & the World Bank): Launched to scale up debt swaps and reduce debt servicing burdens by enhancing technical capacity and international collaboration. 
  • Debt-for-Development Swap Programme (led by Italy): Converts €230 million in African debt into investments for development projects, promoting sustainable financing. 
  • Debt "Pause Clause" Alliance (led by MDBs & partner countries): Aims to include crisis-triggered pause clauses in loan agreements, allowing temporary suspension of debt payments during emergencies. 
  • Sevilla Forum on Debt (led by Spain with UN support): Provides a platform for knowledge sharing, coordination, and inclusive debt restructuring efforts among developing nations. 
• Investment Initiatives:  
  • Coalition for Global Solidarity Levies (led by France, Kenya, Barbados):  Proposes taxes on premium-class air travel and private jets to mobilize funds for climate action and sustainable development. 
  • SCALED Platform (led by Germany, Canada, France, UK, Denmark, South Africa): Aims to scale up blended finance by developing replicable and impact-oriented financing instruments. 
  • FX EDGE Toolbox (led by Inter-American Development Bank and Delta): Provides currency risk management tools to promote local currency lending in developing countries. 
  • Effective Taxation of High-Net-Worth Individuals Initiative (led by Brazil and Spain): Seeks to ensure progressive taxation by making high-net-worth individuals contribute fairly to public finances. 

What are the Key Challenges Related to Sovereign Debt in Developing Countries? 

• Debt Burden: As per Philemon Yang, President of the UN General Assembly, 3.3 billion people live in countries where debt servicing exceeds public expenditure on essential sectors like health and education. 
• Overlapping Fiscal Demands: Developing nations are caught between paying off debt and funding critical sectors like climate adaptation, infrastructure, and public services, thus hampering their overall development. 
• Debt as a Development and Climate Justice Issue: High interest rates and limited access to finance force countries to make stark choices between debt repayment and investing in climate resilience.  
  • This disproportionately impacts countries that are least responsible for climate change but most vulnerable to its effects.

What are the Challenges Related to Climate Finance?  Click Here to Read: Challenges Regarding Climate Finance

What Measures Should be Taken to Ensure an Equitable and Inclusive Global Financing System? 

• Shift from Loans to Grants: Developing and climate-vulnerable countries should be prioritized for grant-based or highly concessional climate finance.  
  • Mechanisms like debt-for-climate swaps and loss-and-damage facilities should be promoted to provide support without adding to debt burdens. 
• Reform Credit Rating Systems: Credit rating agencies must be made transparent and accountable, with their methodologies incorporating climate resilience indicators. 
  • Countries participating in debt relief frameworks should not be subjected to punitive downgrades that restrict future borrowing. 
• Implement Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Governments should track, report, and align public expenditure with gender equity and social inclusion goals.  
  • This includes increased investment in care infrastructure such as childcare, eldercare, and maternal health services to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 
• Create a Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanism: There is a need to go beyond the creditor-dominated G20 Common Framework and establish a UN-led, multilateral sovereign debt resolution mechanism that ensures timely, fair, and inclusive restructuring for debt-distressed nations. 

Conclusion 

The FfD4 Seville Conference reaffirmed global commitment to sustainable development, but intent must translate into structural action. Without systemic reforms in the global financial architecture, climate-vulnerable and debt-distressed nations will remain caught in a vicious cycle of debt, disaster, and deprivation. 

Drishti Mains Question: Discuss the challenges faced by developing countries in accessing concessional climate finance. What policy measures are needed at the global and national levels to address these challenges?

Deepfakes

Source: IE 

Why in News?

Denmark has proposed a landmark copyright amendment to ban the sharing of deepfakes without consent, protecting individuals’ voices, faces, and likenesses.  

• The proposed law treats realistic deepfakes as copyright violations, gives individuals control over their digital likeness for 50 years after death, and requires platforms to remove such content or face penalties. 

What are Deepfakes? 

• About: Deepfakes are synthetic media (videos, images, or audio) that are digitally altered using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make it look like someone said or did something they never actually did. They blur the line between reality and manipulation. 
• Technology Used: Deepfakes are powered by deep learning, a subset of machine learning, which itself is a subset of AI. 
  • They're created using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), where two neural networks (a generator and a discriminator) work together to create and refine fake content. 
    • GANs use real data to recreate faces, voices, or movements. A generator makes fake content, and a discriminator tries to detect it. The generator improves until it can fool the discriminator, 
    • Natural Language Processing (NLP) is used for cloning voices. Lip-syncing techniques align deepfake audio with video. 
• Common Types: 
  • Face swaps: Replace a person’s face in a video with another’s. 
  • Voice clones: Imitate someone’s voice to say anything. 
  • Source Video Manipulation: Make someone appear to do or say things they never did. 
• Detection: 
  • Clues: unnatural blinking, facial distortions, mismatched audio, lighting glitches. 
  • Tools: Adobe, Microsoft, Sensity AI, and others offer deepfake detection software. 
    • Social media platforms are beginning to flag or remove malicious deepfakes. 

How has India Dealt with Deepfakes? 

• India doesn’t have a dedicated law for deepfakes, but several existing laws offer partial protection. 
• Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”): Section 66D of IT Act, targets impersonation and cheating via digital means. 
  • Further, Sections 67, 67A, and 67B of the IT Act can be used to prosecute individuals for publishing or transmitting deepfakes that are obscene or contain any sexually explicit acts. 
• IT Rules, 2021: Require platforms to remove impersonation or morphed content when alerted quickly or lose their safe harbour’ protection (a provision that protects social media companies from regulatory liability for third-party content shared by users on their platforms). 
• Copyright Act, 1957: The Copyright Act, 1957 can be applied if deepfakes use copyrighted images or videos without permission. It bars the unauthorised use of any content over which someone holds exclusive rights. 
• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): Issued advisories on deepfake threats and measures that need to be followed to stay protected against. 
• Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C): Assists law enforcement agencies in effectively tackling cybercrimes, including deepfakes. 
• Judicial Interventions:  
  • Anil Kapoor’s Case (2023): Delhi High Court (HC) granted an ex-parte, omnibus injunction restraining from using Anil Kapoor’s name, image, or traits (like dialogue phrases) through AI or morphing for commercial gain. 
    • The court held that his personality rights (including name, likeness, and image) deserve protection not just for his own sake, but also for the dignity of his family and friends. 
  • Mr.Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (Rajnikanth) vs M/S.Varsha Productions (2015): The Madras High Court granted an injunction restraining the use of Rajnikanth’s name, image, caricature, and dialogue style in the film Main Hoon Rajnikanth, recognizing his personality rights as a celebrity. 

Kaziranga Records High Diversity of Grassland Birds

Source: TH 

Kaziranga National Park, Assam best known for its one-horned rhinos, has now emerged as a biodiversity hotspot for grassland birds. 

• First dedicated grassland bird survey conducted in Kaziranga recorded 43 species across its three wildlife divisions. Includes rare and threatened species like: 
  • Critically Endangered: Bengal florican 
  • Endangered: Finn’s weaver, Swamp grass babbler 
  • Vulnerable (6 species): Black-breasted parrotbill, Marsh babbler, Swamp francolin, Jerdon’s babbler, Slender-billed babbler, Bristled grassbird 
  • Finn’s weaver found to be breeding successfully, indicating healthy grassland ecosystems. 
  • Kaziranga’s 1,174 sq. km  habitat supports rich birdlife, with grassland bird diversity comparable to Gujarat and Rajasthan. 
    • The study marks as a key step in avian conservation in Northeast India. 
• Kaziranga National Park: 
  • It was established as a Reserve Forest in 1908 to protect the Indian rhinoceros, it became a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1950, National Park in 1974, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. And it was declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2007 due to high tiger density. 
  • It is known for the Big Five: Rhinoceros, Tiger, Elephant, Asiatic Wild Buffalo, and Eastern Swamp Deer. Nearly the entire population of Eastern Swamp Deer is found here. 
  • It is located along the Brahmaputra River, which brings rich nutrients but also causes habitat loss through erosion. 

Read more: Golden Tiger in Kaziranga National Park

India Achieves 50% Non-Fossil Fuel Power Capacity

Source: PIB  

India’s non-fossil fuel power capacity has reached 242.78 GW out of 484.82 GW total installed capacity, 5 years ahead of its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Non-Fossil Fuels: 

• Non-fossil fuels refer to energy sources that are not derived from fossilized organic matter such as coal, oil, or natural gas.  
  • It includes both renewable energy sources (solar, wind, and hydropower) and non-renewable energy sources (nuclear) energy sources. 
• As of June 2025, India’s total installed electricity capacity stands at 484.82 GW, with 50% coming from non-fossil fuel sources, which includes: 
  • Renewable energy: 184.62 GW (38.08%) 
  • Large hydropower: 49.38 GW (10.19%) 
  • Nuclear energy: 8.78 GW (1.81%) 

Key Initiatives Driving the Growth of India’s Renewable Energy Capacity: 

• PM Surya Ghar Yojana promotes rooftop solar installations enhancing decentralised clean energy access. 
• National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy enabled hybrid power projects for optimal land use, grid stability, and cost-effective renewable generation. 
• PM-KUSUM provides solar-powered pumps for agriculture 
• PLI Scheme for Solar PV Modules encourages domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar modules. 
• Green Energy Corridor Scheme strengthens transmission infrastructure for renewable energy. 
• National Green Hydrogen Mission promotes production and use of green hydrogen as an alternative fuel. 
• National Bioenergy Programme supports biogas, biomass, and waste-to-energy projects.

Read More: India’s Renewable Energy Revolution

FGD Exemption for Thermal Plants

Source: TH 

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change  has exempted 78% of India’s thermal power plants from installing Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems, raising air pollution and public health concerns. 

• FGD Role: These are used to cut sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from coal-based thermal power plants. FGD systems commonly use limestone (CaCO₃), lime (CaO), or ammonia (NH₃) as reagents to neutralize SO₂ in flue gases 
• Policy Shift: In 2015, it was notified that all thermal power plants must install FGD systems by 2017 to reduce SO₂ emissions. However, only about 8% of the plants have complied. 
  • As per the new notification, Only 11% of units (Category A) located in densely populated areas or within 10 km of National Capital Region are mandated to install FGD. 
    • Another 11% (Category B) near critically polluted areas or non-attainment cities may be required to install FGD, depending on expert committee review. 
• Key Reasoning Behind Rollback: A panel led by Principal Scientific Adviser stated that Indian coal has low sulphur content and that ambient SO₂ levels are already below permissible limits (10–20 µg/m³ vs 80 µg/m³ limit).  
  • It also found no significant difference in air quality between areas with or without FGD units.  
  • High installation costs, limited vendors, and delays due to Covid-19 were also cited as key reasons for exempting most thermal plants. 
• Expert Critique: SO₂ contributes to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), impacting health up to 200 km away. Lack of FGD could increase risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. 
  • Tall chimneys only spread, not reduce, emissions. Coal combustion contributes around 15% of India’s PM2.5 levels. 
  • The decision lacks public debate, sets location-based standards, and risks harming air quality and health. 

Read more: Reviewing FGD Rules for Coal Power Plants

ADEETIE Scheme to Boost Industrial Energy Efficiency

Source: PIB  

The Union Ministry of Power in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has launched the Assistance in Deploying Energy Efficient Technologies in Industries & Establishments (ADEETIE) scheme. 

ADEETIE Scheme: 

• Objective: It aims to accelerate the adoption of advanced energy-efficient technologies across India’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. 
  • It  can help MSMEs reduce energy consumption by 30–50%, improve efficiency, and contribute to green energy corridors. 
  • It will be implemented for three years (FY 2025-26 to FY 2027-28) and will also cover 14 energy-intensive sectors, including chemicals, food processing, textiles, and steel re-rolling. 
• Key Features: MSMEs can avail 5% interest subvention for Micro & Small Enterprises and 3% for Medium Enterprises on loans for adopting energy-efficient technologies. 
  • The scheme is structured to provide end -to-end hand holding through subvention on loans, Investment Grade Energy Audits (IGEA), Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), and post-implementation Monitoring and Verification (M&V). 
  • ADEETIE portal was launched to facilitate the financing process for the beneficiaries 

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE): 

• It was established in March 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.  
• The mission is to develop policies and strategies based on self-regulation and market principles, aiming to reduce the energy intensity of the Indian economy. 

Read More: Decarbonizing MSME and Energy Sector, Reducing Industrial Emissions in India

ACC Approves Appointment of New NMC Chairman

Source: IE  

Dr. Abhijat Sheth has been appointed as the new chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC): 

• ACC is a high-level committee of the Government of India responsible for appointments to top-level civil services, departmental heads, and senior positions in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).  
• It comprises 2 members- the Prime Minister (Chairperson) and the Minister of Home Affairs (Member). 
• ACC is one of the 8 Cabinet Committees, others being:  
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) 
  • Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) 
  • Cabinet Committee on Accommodation 
  • Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (also called Super-Cabinet) 
  • Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs 
  • Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth 
  • Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment and Livelihood 
• Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional bodies set up under the Transaction of Business Rules, 1961, derived from Article 77(3) of the Constitution.

National Medical Commission (NMC): 

• About: NMC is the apex regulatory body for medical education and practice in India, constituted under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. 
• Members: It comprises 33 members, including a Chairperson, 4 Board Presidents, ex officio members, and part-time members. 
• Objective: The NMC ensures affordable quality medical education, promotes skilled healthcare workforce, supports universal healthcare, encourages research, conducts transparent assessments, maintains a medical register, enforces ethics, and ensures grievance redressal.

Read More: National Medical Commission, Appointment to Cabinet Committees

India’s Ayush AI Efforts Recognised by WHO

Source: PIB 

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a technical brief titled "Mapping the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Traditional Medicine," which acknowledged India's leadership in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with traditional systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Sowa-Rigpa, and Homeopathy. 

• India's vision of 'AI for All' complements its global leadership in digital health innovation and the integration of traditional medicine. 
• Recognized Initiatives: 
  • Ayurgenomics: It merges Ayurveda and genomics to personalise health recommendations and predict disease markers. 
  • Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL): India was the first to launch TKDL in 2001. It is a unique digital database developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (now Ministry of AYUSH).  
    • It protects traditional knowledge from misuse and helps global patent offices prevent wrongful patents. 
  • Ayush Grid:  It is a digital platform enabling AI-driven citizen services like the Showcase of Ayurvedic Historical Imprints (SAHI), National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Electronic (NAMASTE), and Ayush Research Portals. 
• Applications of AI in Traditional Medicine: In India AI is used to map drug action pathways, and analyse traditional concepts like Rasa (taste), Guna (properties), and Virya (potency) using artificial sensors.

Read more:AI in Healthcare