News In Short 30-01-2026

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)

Syllabus: GS2/Governance 

In News

• The Economic Survey notes that Indian school exams focus on rote learning, and recommends a PISA-like assessment at Grade 10 to identify learning gaps and inform targeted interventions.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)

• PISA evaluates education systems by testing real-world application of knowledge—focusing on problem-solving, critical thinking, and practical literacy rather than rote memorization.
• It is conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 
• India participated only once (PISA 2009) through Tamil Nadu & Himachal Pradesh.

Need in india and Economic survey recommendations 

• The Economic Survey notes that Indian school examinations primarily focus on rote learning and certification, failing to generate diagnostic evidence needed to identify learning gaps. Reports like ASER and NAS highlight this structural issue. 
• PISA-like, competency-based assessment at the end of Grade 10 would measure the application of knowledge in reading, maths, and science, enable comparisons across states, school types, and socioeconomic groups, and provide policymakers with actionable insights for targeted interventions to improve learning outcomes.

Source: IE

SC Stays New UGC Regulations on Caste-Based Discrimination

Syllabus: GS2/ Education

Context

• The Supreme Court of India has stayed the operation of the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, raising concerns that they could divide society.

What are the UGC Equity Regulations, 2026?

• The Regulations were notified to address discrimination within higher educational institutions.
• Regulation 3(c) defined “caste-based discrimination” as discrimination only against members of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• The framework provided institutional and legal remedies exclusively for these categories.

Key Observations of the Supreme Court

• The court observed that
  • The Regulations have far-reaching and sweeping consequences.
  • They may institutionalise social divisions within campuses.
• Discrimination is not solely caste-based and can arise from language, region, culture, gender, or identity.
• Concerns related to ragging and misuse: A general category student may be left without remedies if discrimination is committed against them.
  • Such asymmetry could lead to criminalisation and misuse of law, affecting young students’ futures.

Source: IE

Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• NITI Aayog launched Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0 campaign.

About

• Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0 is a time-bound, outcome-oriented three-month campaign aimed at achieving saturation of critical development indicators in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks across the country.
• It seeks to build upon the success of Sampoornata Abhiyan 2024, which demonstrated strong improvements in key human development indicators.
• The campaign targets 112 Aspirational Districts and 513 Aspirational Blocks under the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme.

Source: PIB

Personality Rights

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• The Delhi High Court issued notice to actor Salman Khan on a plea by a China-based AI voice platform to lift an interim injunction, bringing focus on personality rights, AI misuse, and digital privacy law in India.

What are Personality Rights?

• Personality rights refer to the right of a person to protect his/her personality under the right to privacy or property. 
  • These could include a pose, a mannerism or any aspect of their personality.
• These rights are important to celebrities as their names, photographs or even voices can easily be misused in various advertisements by different companies to boost their sales.
• Many celebrities even register some aspects as a trademark to use them commercially.
  • For example, Usain Bolt’s “bolting” or lightning pose is a registered trademark.

Reasons for providing these Rights

• The idea is that only the owner of these distinct features has the right to derive any commercial benefit from it.
• Exclusivity is a big factor in attracting commercial dividends for celebrities. 
• Personality rights are not expressly mentioned in a Laws in India but fall under the right to privacy.

Legality of Personality Rights

• Celebrities can move the Court and seek an injunction when an unauthorised third party uses their personality rights for commercial purposes.
  • Personality rights claims are typically filed under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, since celebrities rarely hold conventional IP rights over their identity.

• Personality rights or their protection are not expressly mentioned in a statute in India but are traced to fall under the right to privacy (Article 21).
  • In K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court recognised privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21.
• Many concepts in intellectual property rights used in protection of trademarks such as passing off, deception can be applied while deciding whether a celebrity deserves to be protected through an injunction.

Source: TH