Daily Current Affairs – 13 November 2025

Explore the Daily Current Affairs 13 November 2025, relevant for UPSC exam. Download quick REVISION NOTES from our telegram channel – https://t.me/CivilMentorIAS.

Context: Article highlights India’s transition from a centrally controlled economic model to one driven by competitive federalism, where States actively vie to attract private and foreign investments through better governance, infrastructure, and policy efficiency.

India’s evolving economy and role of federal states:

1. Pre-1991 Era: India followed a command-and-control economy; the Centre determined industrial locations through licenses and quotas.
2. Post-1991 Reforms: Liberalization reduced central control, allowing market forces and State initiatives to shape investment patterns.
3. States now compete for investments — e.g., Google, Foxconn, Vedanta-Foxconn JV, Micron — by improving business environments rather than lobbying Delhi. Healthy competition fosters efficiency, innovation, and better service delivery. Examples:
   • Gujarat attracted the semiconductor JV over Maharashtra.
   • Tamil Nadu and Telangana compete over EV manufacturing hubs.
   • Andhra Pradesh’s success in drawing Google’s AI data centre.

India competes globally through its States. Investors enter through specific cities (Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar), not “India” in abstract. This signifies a maturing federal compact where States act as partners in nation-building, not dependents on central patronage. Each State’s success has a spillover effect — strengthening national supply chains, skills, and overall industrial growth.

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Context: The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that advocate–client confidentiality is essential to a fair trial and constitutional democracy. In its October 31 judgment, the Court ruled that lawyers cannot be summoned by investigating agencies merely to disclose what clients have communicated, except in limited situations such as when legal advice is used for an illegal purpose. This decision reinforces the rule of law, right to fair representation, and Article 20(3)’s protection against self-incrimination.

What Are Privileged Communications?

Privileged communication refers to confidential exchanges that the law protects from disclosure to promote honesty and justice.

Under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023, protections are given in:

• Section 128: Marital communications
• Section 129: Official State records
• Section 132: Advocate–client communications

Section 132 forbids advocates from revealing client communications, even after employment ends, except when:

• The client consents,
• The communication furthers an illegal act, or
• The lawyer observes a crime during engagement.

Constitutional Provisions:

• Article 14: Equality before law
• Article 20(3): Protection against self-incrimination
• Article 21: Right to life and fair trial
• Article 22(1): Right to legal representation

Supreme Court’s Key Observations:

1. Compelling a lawyer to disclose client communication violates the right to a fair trial (Article 21) and equality before law (Article 14).
2. The privilege belongs to the client, but its enforcement relies on the lawyer’s ethical duty of silence.
3. The Court linked Section 132 with Article 20(3), protection against self-incrimination, stating that the State cannot bypass this protection by compelling a lawyer to disclose information.
4. The advocate is not a private agent but a “constitutional actor”, a guardian of the citizen’s right to defence and due process.

Significance:

1. Strengthens the right to effective legal representation, as recognized in M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1978) and Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1980).
2. Reinforces the idea that liberty without legal counsel is meaningless.
3. Restrains the misuse of investigative powers under BNSS, reminding that police powers end where professional privilege begins.
4. Upholds the integrity of the justice system — preventing advocates from being coerced into becoming witnesses against their own clients.

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India contributes to nearly one-fourth of global TB cases, making its progress crucial to achieving the UN SDG 3.3 target — ending TB by 2030.

Reasons for Success:

1. Innovative Case-Finding Approaches:
   • Active surveillance, door-to-door screening, and digital reporting systems.
   • Use of AI-based tools and molecular diagnostics for faster detection.
2. Decentralisation of Services:
   • Expansion of district and community-level diagnostic and treatment centres.
3. Community Mobilisation:
   • Increased awareness and local partnerships under TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (launched Dec 2024).
   • Involvement of NGOs, Panchayati Raj institutions, and community health workers (ASHAs).
4. Government Initiatives:
   • Nikshay Poshan Yojana: Nutritional support to TB patients.
   • Nikshay portal: Real-time patient tracking and reporting.
   • Integration of private healthcare providers in TB reporting.

Challenges:

• Persistent MDR-TB (multidrug-resistant tuberculosis) threat, though currently stable.
• Need to sustain funding and community engagement for 2025 elimination targets.
• Strengthening of nutrition, sanitation, and housing—key determinants of TB.
• Ensuring continuity of care post-treatment to prevent relapse.

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Daily Current Affairs 13 November 2025

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