Electoral roll revisions, especially when conducted close to elections, can spark political allegations of bias or manipulation.

• Parties may accuse each other or the Election Commission of targeting specific communities or constituencies.

• Even unintentional errors can lead to trust deficits in the electoral process.

2. Consumer Price Index

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the change in prices of a basket of goods and services that are commonly purchased by consumers. It is the most commonly used measure of inflation.
• The CPI is calculated by comparing the prices of the goods and services in the basket in a particular period to those of the same in a base period.
• The base period is usually the previous year's corresponding period. The difference in prices is expressed as a percentage, and this is the CPI inflation rate.
• The CPI is calculated for eight different categories of goods and services Food and beverages, Housing, Clothing and footwear, Transport, Health, Education, Communication, Recreation and Miscellaneous goods and services.
• The weights of each category in the CPI are determined by the expenditure patterns of urban households. For example, food and beverages have the highest weight in the CPI, followed by housing and transport.
• The CPI inflation rate is an important indicator of the cost of living.
• It is used by the government to set monetary policy and by businesses to make pricing decisions.

3. Wholesale Price Index

• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is a measure of the change in prices of goods and services at the wholesale level.
• It is calculated by comparing the prices of a basket of goods and services in a particular period to those of the same in a base period.
• The base period is usually the previous year's corresponding period. The difference in prices is expressed as a percentage, and this is the WPI inflation rate.
• The WPI is calculated for 67 groups of commodities, which are further divided into 225 subgroups.
• The weights of each group and subgroup in the WPI are determined by the value of the goods and services produced in each group and subgroup.
• The WPI inflation rate is an important indicator of inflation at the wholesale level.
• It is used by businesses to make pricing decisions and by the government to set monetary policy.

4. Findings of the Report

4.1. Food inflation

• Food inflation in India remained high in August, at 9.94%. This was driven by rising prices of essential food items, such as cereals, pulses, vegetables, and oils.
• Eleven of the 12 items on the heavyweight food and beverages group of the CPI logged price increases, with oils and fats, the sole item logging a year-on-year decline in prices, posting its first sequential increase in nine months.
• Vegetables provided some relief, with tomatoes leading an appreciable month-on-month deflation of 5.88% in the 19-member basket.
• However, the cooking staples of potatoes and onions were among the seven items that continued to log sequential inflation (2.3% and 12.3%, respectively).

4.2. Monsoon deficit and rising crude oil prices

• The near-term inflation outlook is also made more uncertain by other factors, including a distinct deficit in monsoon rainfall.
• Besides the overall 10% shortfall, sharp regional and temporal anomalies in rain distribution have impacted either the sowing or the quality of produce of several farm items.
• Kharif's sowing of pulses had, as of September 8, recorded an 8.6% shortfall compared with the year-earlier period.
• Another inflation driver, crude oil, has also seen a steady rise in prices as the output cuts by major oil producers of the OPEC+ grouping start to bite.
• The price of India's crude basket had, as of September 12, climbed 7.2% from the average in August to $92.65/barrel, according to official data.

• For the RBI, the latest inflation data further roils its interest rate calculus.
• Unless CPI inflation decelerates by an incredible 250 basis points in September to a 4.33% pace, price gains are certain to substantially overshoot the monetary authority's 6.2% forecast for the July-September quarter, leaving it with few real options to achieve its medium-term price stability goal of 4% inflation.
• As the RBI has been at pains to stress, failure to anchor inflation expectations risks hurting growth.

5. About the sticky Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• The sticky Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a subset of the CPI that includes goods and services that change prices relatively infrequently.
• These goods and services are thought to incorporate expectations about future inflation to a greater degree than prices that change more frequently.
• Some of the items included in the sticky CPI are Rent, Housing costs, Utilities, Education, Healthcare, Transportation, Household furnishings and appliances, Personal insurance, Recreation, and Miscellaneous goods and services. 
• The sticky CPI is often used by economists to measure inflation expectations.
• This is because prices of sticky goods and services are less likely to be affected by short-term changes in supply and demand, and are therefore more likely to reflect changes in inflation expectations.
• The sticky CPI is also used by central banks to set monetary policy.
• This is because the central bank wants to make sure that inflation expectations are anchored at a low level.
• If inflation expectations start to rise, the central bank may raise interest rates to bring them back down.

6. How India’s retail inflation is measured?

• India's retail inflation is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a basket of goods and services commonly purchased by urban households.
• The CPI is calculated by the National Statistical Office (NSO) every month.
• The CPI is calculated by comparing the prices of the goods and services in the basket in a particular month to those of the same in a base month.
• The base month is usually the previous year's corresponding month. The difference in prices is expressed as a percentage, and this is the CPI inflation rate.
• The CPI is calculated for eight different categories of goods and services, Food and beverages, Housing, Clothing and footwear, Transport, Health, Education, Communication, Recreation and Miscellaneous goods and services.
• The weights of each category in the CPI are determined by the expenditure patterns of urban households. For example, food and beverages have the highest weight in the CPI, followed by housing and transport.
• The CPI inflation rate is an important indicator of the cost of living in India.
• It is used by the government to set monetary policy and by businesses to make pricing decisions.

7. Calculation of Inflation

• Inflation is the rate at which the prices of goods and services increase over time.
• It is calculated by comparing the prices of a basket of goods and services in a particular period to the prices of the same basket of goods and services in a base period.
• The base period is usually the previous year's corresponding period. The difference in prices is expressed as a percentage, and this is the inflation rate.

There are two main ways to calculate inflation

The PPI is calculated by the following formula:

PPI = (Cost of a basket of goods and services at the wholesale level in the current period / Cost of a basket of goods and services at the wholesale level in the base period) * 100

 

Source: The Hindu

 

ARAVALLI RANGE

 

 

1. Context

 

 The Supreme Court’s latest intervention in the Aravalli hills case has effectively put the brakes on the Haryana government’s ambitious Jungle Safari project near Gurugram and Nuh. The state government has positioned the project to build one of the world’s largest safari parks as a flagship eco-tourism and biodiversity initiative

 

2. Significance of the Aravalli range

 

 

• Beyond being almost two billion years old and the oldest mountain system in India, these hills function as a vital ecological shield against the advance of desert conditions into the Indo-Gangetic plains.
• They act as a natural barrier slowing the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert into Haryana, Rajasthan, and western Uttar Pradesh. The range plays a crucial role in climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and groundwater replenishment.
• Extending roughly 650 km from Delhi to Gujarat, it supports key water-recharge networks and gives rise to major rivers such as the Chambal, Sabarmati, and Luni.
• The region is abundant in building stones like sandstone, limestone, marble, and granite, as well as minerals including lead, zinc, copper, gold, and tungsten.
• Although these resources have been extracted for centuries, the last forty years have seen rampant stone and sand quarrying, leading to declining air quality and a sharp reduction in groundwater recharge.
• Part of this mining activity has occurred unlawfully. The Court also observed that India has international obligations under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to safeguard fragile ecosystems like the Aravalli range

 

3. Geological & Physical Features of Aravalli

 

• The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest fold mountain systems in the world, with its geological origins dating back nearly two billion years to the Precambrian era.
• Unlike young fold mountains such as the Himalayas, the Aravallis have undergone extensive weathering and erosion over millions of years, which has reduced them to a series of low-lying hills, ridges, and rocky outcrops rather than sharp peaks.
• This long geological history makes the range a valuable record of early crustal evolution and ancient tectonic processes on the Indian subcontinent.
• Geologically, the Aravallis are composed primarily of metamorphic and igneous rocks, including quartzite, schist, gneiss, marble, and granite. These rock formations are part of the Aravalli–Delhi orogenic belt, which was formed due to ancient tectonic collisions and crustal movements.
• The presence of economically significant minerals such as copper, lead, zinc, gold, and tungsten reflects the complex geological processes that shaped the region. Over time, repeated uplift and denudation exposed these mineral-rich formations at the surface, making the range an important mining zone historically.
• Physically, the Aravalli Range stretches for about 650 kilometres in a south-west to north-east direction, beginning near Palanpur in Gujarat and extending through Rajasthan to Haryana and Delhi.
• The range is discontinuous in nature, with broken hill chains and isolated ridges rather than a continuous mountain wall. Its highest peak is Guru Shikhar in the Mount Abu region of Rajasthan, rising to about 1,722 metres above sea level.
• Moving northwards, the height of the range gradually declines, merging into low hills and rocky terrain around Delhi.
• The Aravallis play a significant role in shaping the physical geography of north-western India. Acting as a natural climatic divide, they influence rainfall patterns by intercepting south-west monsoon winds to a limited extent and preventing the unchecked eastward expansion of the Thar Desert.
• The range also forms an important watershed, giving rise to several seasonal and perennial rivers such as the Chambal, Sabarmati, Luni, and Banas.
• The fractured and porous nature of its rock formations allows rainwater to percolate underground, contributing substantially to groundwater recharge in an otherwise semi-arid region

 

4. What is the “100-metre definition” of Aravalli Hills?

 

• The “100-metre definition” of the Aravalli Hills refers to an administrative and legal criterion used—especially in environmental regulation and court proceedings—to identify and protect the Aravalli region.
• Under this definition, any area that rises more than 100 metres above the surrounding plain is treated as part of the Aravalli hill system, irrespective of whether it is a prominent mountain, ridge, or a low, eroded hill. In other words, even subtle elevations and fragmented hillocks that meet this height threshold are classified as Aravalli features.
• This definition became important because the Aravallis are very old and heavily eroded, meaning many sections no longer appear as classic mountains. If protection were limited only to visibly high or continuous hills, large portions of the range—especially in Haryana, Rajasthan, and the Delhi-NCR region—would fall outside legal safeguards.
• The Supreme Court and various environmental authorities have relied on the 100-metre criterion to prevent mining, construction, and land-use change in ecologically sensitive areas of the Aravalli range.
• By using a measurable elevation benchmark rather than appearance alone, the definition helps expand environmental protection to degraded and fragmented parts of the hills

 

5. Supreme Court Intervention and Uniform Definition

 

 

• The Supreme Court’s intervention in the Aravalli region arose from growing concerns over rampant mining, construction, and land-use changes that were degrading this fragile and ancient mountain system.
• One of the core problems identified by the Court was the absence of a uniform and scientifically grounded definition of the Aravalli Hills.
• Different States and authorities were using varying criteria—based on revenue records, forest classification, or visual identification—allowing large tracts of the Aravallis to be excluded from protection and opened up for exploitation.
• To address this ambiguity, the Supreme Court emphasised the need for a uniform definition applicable across States, particularly Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi, where the Aravallis are most fragmented and vulnerable.
• The Court endorsed an objective, elevation-based approach, popularly referred to as the “100-metre definition”, under which land rising more than 100 metres above the surrounding plains would be treated as part of the Aravalli hill system.
• This was intended to ensure that even low, eroded, or discontinuous hill formations, which are characteristic of the Aravallis due to their great geological age, are brought within the protective framework.
• Through its interventions, the Supreme Court also linked the protection of the Aravallis to India’s international environmental obligations, particularly under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
• The Court observed that the degradation of the Aravalli range could accelerate desertification in north-western India and undermine groundwater recharge, air quality, and regional climate stability.
• Consequently, it directed governments to adopt a consistent and precautionary approach in identifying, mapping, and regulating activities in the Aravalli region

 

6. Action against mining

 

• Since the early 1990s, the Union Environment Ministry has framed regulations permitting mining only in projects that receive official approval, but these safeguards have been widely disregarded.
• In response to persistent violations, the Supreme Court intervened in 2009 and enforced a complete ban on mining activities in Haryana’s Faridabad, Gurugram, and Mewat districts.
• More recently, in May 2024, the Court halted the issuance and renewal of mining leases across the Aravalli range and instructed its Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to carry out an in-depth review. This exercise culminated in a set of recommendations submitted in March 2024.
• The CEC advocated a holistic strategy that called for scientifically mapping the entire Aravalli system across States, conducting a broad-scale environmental impact assessment of mining operations, and enforcing an absolute ban on mining in ecologically fragile zones.
• These included wildlife-protected areas, water bodies, tiger corridors, critical groundwater recharge regions, and locations within the National Capital Region.
• The Committee also stressed the need for tighter controls over stone-crushing units and advised that no fresh mining permissions or lease extensions be granted until comprehensive mapping and impact studies were completed.
• The Supreme Court incorporated these recommendations in its order issued in November 2025.
• In addition, in June 2025, the Union government launched the Aravalli ‘Green Wall’ initiative, aimed at increasing vegetation cover in a five-kilometre buffer zone around the range across 29 districts in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.
• According to the government, this programme is expected to make a significant contribution towards the restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by the year 2030.

7. Way Forward

 

 

The Court observed that earlier instances demonstrate how absolute prohibitions frequently give rise to illegal mining networks, aggressive sand mafias, and uncontrolled resource extraction. Consequently, instead of enforcing a complete shutdown, the Court adopted a balanced strategy—allowing lawful mining operations to proceed under strict oversight, placing a temporary halt on new mining activities until a science-based framework is developed, and keeping ecologically critical zones permanently closed to mining

 

 

For Prelims: Aravalli ranges, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)   For Mains: GS I - Indian Geography

 

 

Source: The Hindu