• On September 3, 2025, the GST Council approved a major restructuring of the indirect tax framework. The new model reduces the number of slabs and lowers GST on most goods. While these changes have been welcomed by many industries, some sectors have expressed dissatisfaction, and concerns remain over possible revenue shortfalls.
• Discussions on rationalising GST rates have been ongoing for several years. In 2021, the Council set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) composed of state representatives to examine this issue, though its progress was limited.
• To accelerate the process, the Union Finance Ministry submitted its proposals to the GoM on August 15, 2025, the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi described these “next-generation” reforms as a Deepavali gift in his Independence Day speech.
• Following a briefing by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the GoM endorsed the proposals and forwarded them to the Council, which took them up in a marathon 10.5-hour meeting on September 3.
• The revised tax structure reduces the earlier slabs of 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% plus cess to 0%, 5%, 18% and 40%, with most compensation cesses withdrawn. The cess continues only on tobacco products but will also be phased out once the Centre clears its COVID-19 compensation loans.
• Of the 453 items affected, 413 (over 91%) saw rate reductions, particularly shifting common-use goods from 12% to 5%. A smaller group of 40 items faced hikes, including 17 luxury products that moved from 28% to 40%, though in cases like SUVs, the effective tax incidence will actually decline when the cess is removed.
• The timing of these changes is tied to two developments. First, the legal window for levying the compensation cess will soon close, likely by the end of this year, once the Centre repays its borrowings.
• Without new rates, items such as tobacco would have become cheaper, which the government could not justify. Second, the reforms may also cushion the economic impact of recent U.S. tariffs of 50% on Indian imports, which are expected to slow growth in the coming quarters despite a strong 7.8% GDP growth in Q1.
• The healthcare sector has welcomed the cut in GST on medical products from 12% to 5%, highlighting benefits for patients. The renewable energy sector also hailed the reduction on components as a boost to India’s clean energy goals. Real estate developers have praised the lowering of GST on cement from 28% to 18%, while auto manufacturers expect stronger demand from tax cuts on cars and two-wheelers.
• On the other hand, some industries are less satisfied. The textile sector supported the 5% rate on fibres but criticised the 18% duty on garments above ₹2,500, warning it will make woollens and wedding apparel costlier.
• Auto dealers fear customers may delay purchases until the new rates take effect. The insurance sector faces a mixed outcome—while exemptions for personal life and health insurance may deepen penetration, the removal of input tax credits could squeeze profits.
• Airlines opposed the higher tax on non-economy seats, while edible oil producers expressed frustration that the inverted duty structure was not resolved. The MSME sector raised concerns about higher GST on labour charges from 12% to 18%, citing increased operating costs.
• The revenue effects remain contested. The Centre projects a hit of ₹48,000 crore based on current consumption, while an SBI study places the figure closer to ₹3,700 crore. Opposition-ruled states have demanded a cess on the new 40% slab to offset losses, but this proposal was rejected, leaving states dependent on their own resources and the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission

How Majorana particles promise to shield quantum computers from noise?

For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international Significance

For Mains Examination: GS III - Science and Technology

Context:

In the race to make quantum computers practical, scientists have found themselves drawn to some of the strangest ideas in physics. Few are stranger — but also more promising — than the notion of using particles that are their own antiparticles to store and manipulate information. This is the concept behind Majorana particles.

Read about:

What is a Quantum Computer?

What is a Cubit?

Key takeaways:

• In the 1930s, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana proposed a particle that is unique in being identical to its own antiparticle. Unlike most matter and antimatter, which annihilate when combined, a Majorana particle is a perfect mirror of itself—reversing all charges and properties yields the same particle. Electrons and protons do not exhibit this property.
• For decades, Majoranas existed only in theory. High-energy physicists searched for them in cosmic rays and accelerators without success. More recently, condensed matter physicists discovered that certain quasiparticles in engineered materials behave mathematically like Majoranas.
• These quasiparticles are collective excitations, not fundamental particles, and can emerge in systems like superconducting nanowires cooled near absolute zero under magnetic fields.
• The discovery of Majorana-like modes in tabletop experiments sparked excitement in the quantum computing community. Their appeal lies not merely in their rarity but in their potential to address one of the field’s biggest challenges: maintaining stable quantum information

The Challenge of Qubit Stability

• Quantum computers rely on qubits, which can exist in a superposition of 0 and 1. This, combined with entanglement, gives quantum computers their power.
• However, qubits are extremely sensitive—interaction with the environment, such as stray heat or light, can collapse their superposition, erasing information.
• This phenomenon, known as decoherence, limits qubit lifetimes to microseconds or milliseconds in current superconducting chips.
• To counter this, engineers use quantum error correction, encoding one logical qubit into many physical qubits to detect and fix errors. This approach, while effective, requires hundreds or thousands of physical qubits per logical qubit, creating a scaling bottleneck

Majoranas as a Solution

• Majoranas offer a fundamentally different approach. Instead of storing a qubit in a single fragile object, the information can be shared between two spatially separated Majorana modes. In certain superconductors, electrons can form bound pairs, and under specific conditions, the quantum state of one electron can effectively split into two halves, each behaving like a Majorana mode.
• These halves can be positioned far apart within the same device, collectively defining a qubit. Any local disturbance affecting one half cannot destroy the information; both halves must be disrupted simultaneously, which is highly unlikely. This nonlocal encoding acts like splitting a secret between two locations: possessing only one part reveals nothing.

Braiding and Topological Protection

• Majorana modes are a type of non-Abelian anyon, which behave differently from ordinary quantum particles. When two identical particles like electrons or photons are swapped, their overall quantum state either changes sign (fermions) or remains unchanged (bosons).
• Non-Abelian anyons, however, undergo a fundamental transformation when exchanged, and the order of swaps matters, creating distinct final states depending on the sequence.
• This property enables topological quantum computation. By moving Majorana modes around each other—a process called braiding—one can manipulate the qubit’s state. The outcome depends only on the braid’s topology, not on the precise motion.
• This makes computations intrinsically robust against timing errors, position variations, or environmental noise, as nature effectively “rounds off” imperfections, much like a knot retains its structure regardless of twists until untied

 Follow Up Question

Refugees in India

• According to a report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), published in July 2024, India is home to at least 2,09,028 refugees, mainly from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
• However, Indian law does not define who a “refugee” is. The Citizenship Act, 1955, only provides a definition for an “illegal immigrant,” but makes no distinction for refugees.
• At the global level, the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as a person forced to leave their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a social group.
• The Convention also outlines the responsibility of states to safeguard refugees and ensure they receive a minimum standard of treatment. While 149 UN member states have signed and ratified the treaty, India is among 44 countries that have not.
• Consequently, India lacks a dedicated refugee law, treating refugees and other foreign nationals in the same legal category.

Illegal Immigrants in India

• Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, an illegal immigrant is a foreign national who enters India without valid travel documents or remains in the country after the expiry of such documents. Such individuals are not eligible for Indian citizenship.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) provided an exemption: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014, are not treated as illegal migrants under the Act. By this definition, Rohingya Muslims are categorized as illegal immigrants and cannot apply for Indian citizenship.

Foreigners in India

As per the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025:

• Every foreign national must possess valid travel documents such as a passport and visa to enter and stay in India.

• A person entering without such documents can face up to five years of imprisonment or a fine up to ₹5 lakh.

• Foreigners who arrive legally but overstay after the expiry of their visa may face up to three years in prison or a fine up to ₹3 lakh.