News In Short 04-08-2026

Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• Lok Sabha has passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026. 

About

• Aim: To further amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, for increasing the number of Judges of the Apex Court from the present 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India). 
• Earlier this year, the President had promulgated an ordinance to increase the number of Supreme Court Judges from 33 to 37. 
• The bill has been brought in view of the rising number of pending cases in the Supreme Court and to make the judicial system more efficient and effective.
  • This step will further strengthen judicial capacity, expedite the effective disposal of cases, and mark an important milestone in ensuring timely justice for citizens.

 Constitutional Provisions

• Article 124(1) of the Constitution empowers Parliament to determine and increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court.
• The Constitution originally provided for a Chief Justice of India and not more than seven judges, thereby allowing flexibility for future expansion.
• This constitutional design reflects the need to adapt judicial capacity to changing socio-economic and legal demands.

Evolution of Supreme Court Strength

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 initially fixed the strength at 10 judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
• The strength was increased to 13 judges through the 1960 amendment and 17 through the 1977 amendment. 
• The strength was increased through subsequent amendments and was last increased to 33 (excluding the Chief Justice of India) by 2019 amendment.

Source: AIR

Delhi Lakshmi Yojana

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• The online registration portal for the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana has opened for registration.

About 

• Under the scheme, eligible women will receive financial assistance of 2 thousand five hundred rupees every month. The scheme offers beneficiaries two financial options.
  • Under the first, ₹1,000 every month will be credited to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet for day-to-day expenses, while the remaining ₹1,500 will be deposited in a recurring deposit (RD) or fixed deposit (FD) account.
  • Under the second option, the entire ₹2,500 monthly assistance can be deposited into an RD or FD account to help beneficiaries build long-term savings with interest.
• Women aged between 21 and 60, whose family income is up to ₹2.50 lakh per annum, will be eligible to apply.
  • Applicants or their parents or husbands must have been residents of Delhi for at least 10 years, and the beneficiary must be a registered voter in the national capital.

Source: AIR

Glaw Lake Becomes India’s 101st Ramsar Site

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• India’s one more wetland, Glaw Lake of Arunachal Pradesh, has entered the global list of protected wetlands as a Ramsar site. 

About

• It is the country’s 101st such site and the state’s first to join the elite club for additional care and conservation.
• Located within the Kamlang Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, Glaw Lake is a pristine freshwater lake in the Eastern Himalayas and a biodiversity hotspot. 
• The Glaw Lake wetland has over 150 tree species and 49 orchid species recorded within the site and its catchment, underscoring its ecological significance and surrounding landscape.

Source: AIR

India Achieves Near-Universal Banking Coverage

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• 99.92% of inhabited villages in India are now served by a banking outlet (Bank branch / Business Correspondent / India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)) within a radius of 5 km, as per the data by banks on Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App.

Initiatives taken by the Government

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks, to open bank branches anywhere in India without prior approval, provided 25% are in unbanked rural areas.
• State Level Bankers’ Committees (SLBCs) and Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committees (UTLBCs) continuously identify uncovered areas and coordinate branch expansion.

Measures to Prevent Cyber Financial Frauds

• The government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has set up India Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC) to share real-time fraud intelligence and alerts to the banks and financial institutions by leveraging advanced technologies.
• RBI has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tool ‘MuleHunter’ for identification of money mule and advised the banks and financial institutions for its uses.

Digital Initiatives for Agricultural Credit

• The Jan Samarth Portal has been started as a one-stop digital platform for linking government-sponsored loan and subsidy schemes.
  • It provides a quick and efficient way to apply for loans and their timely sanction based on a digital evaluation of the applicant’s data.
• Kisan Rin Portal (KRP) has been launched by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in September 2023, enabling Aadhaar-based beneficiary verification and faster digital claim settlements under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for loans availed through KCC.

Source: PIB

Vikram Sarabhai Medal

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• Astrophysicist Annapurni Subramaniam has been awarded the COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal – 2026.

About

• This international medal is awarded to scientists from developing countries for their outstanding contributions to the field of space research. 
• It is awarded jointly by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), an international body affiliated to the International Science Council and United Nations (through UN-COPUS) , and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). 
• The medal was constituted in 1990 in the honour of Vikram Sarabhai — the founder of India’s space programme and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Do you know?

• Subramaniam is the only fourth Indian to receive this medal, in addition to being the first Indian woman scientist and only the third female recipients of this honour. 
• Among the other Indian recipients of this medal include ISRO scientist and director of ISRO’s Physical Research Laboratory, Anil Bharadwaj (2024), Physicist Gurbax Singh Lakhina (2014) and eminent space scientist and former ISRO chairman, UR Rao, (1996).

Source: IE