The Hindu Editorial Analysis : 12th February 2026

The Hindu Editorial Analysis

We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.

Centre mandates labels for all photorealistic AI content online

• The Union government has announced changes to the Information Technology Act, 2021. These changes make it compulsory to clearly label all photo-realistic content that is created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and shared online.
• These new rules will come into effect from February 20. They also introduce major changes by reducing the time given to social media platforms to remove illegal online content.
• Under the new rules, social media companies must remove some types of unlawful content within two to three hours, instead of the earlier limit of 24 to 36 hours.
• If a court or an “appropriate government authority” declares any content illegal, the platform must remove it within three hours of receiving the order.
• Very sensitive content, such as material showing non-consensual nudity or deepfake videos, must be taken down even faster—within two hours.
• These changes are part of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026.
• The amended rules explain that synthetically generated content includes audio, images, videos, or combined audio-visual material that is created, changed, or altered using computers or algorithms.
• Such content is described as information that looks real and appears to show a real person or a real event, in a way that people may not be able to easily tell that it is artificial.
• The final definition of synthetically generated content is more limited than the earlier draft version of the rules that was released in October 2025.
• Just like the existing IT Rules, if platforms do not follow these amended rules, they may lose their “safe harbour” protection.
• Safe harbour is a legal protection that prevents social media platforms from being held fully responsible for content posted by users, unlike book publishers or newspaper editors.
• The new rules require platforms to ask users to declare whether the content they upload is created using AI.
• If a user does not disclose that content is AI-generated, platforms must either label the content themselves or remove it, especially in cases involving non-consensual deepfakes.
• The rules clearly state that AI-generated images must be labelled prominently, so that users can easily understand that the content is not real.
• Earlier, the draft rules had required that 10% of an image must be covered with a disclosure label, but this condition has been removed in the final version.
• According to an official, platforms were given more freedom in how they label content after they raised objections to the earlier strict requirement.
• The amended rules also say that if a social media company knowingly allows, promotes, or ignores AI-generated content that breaks the rules, it will be considered as failing to follow proper responsibility.
• If such failure is proven, the platform may lose its safe harbour protection under the law.
• The new rules also reverse part of an earlier amendment made in October 2025.
• That earlier rule had allowed each State to appoint only one officer to issue orders for taking down online content.
• Under the new provisions, States are now allowed to appoint more than one authorised officer for issuing such orders.
• According to an official, this change is mainly administrative and is meant to help States with large populations manage their workload better.

Opposition MPs submit notice to remove Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker

• Opposition parties that are part of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) submitted a notice on Tuesday to the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha, seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla.
• They accused the Speaker of conducting the proceedings of the House in a highly biased manner.
• The notice requested that a resolution be moved to remove the Speaker and listed four reasons, including not allowing Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to complete his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President on February 2.
• The Opposition claimed that this was not a one-time incident and said that the Leader of the Opposition is almost always stopped from speaking in the Lok Sabha.
• The notice had signatures of nearly 120 Members of Parliament and was submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress chief whip K. Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed.
• The parties that supported and signed the notice included the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The Trinamool Congress did not sign the notice.
• After submitting the notice, the Opposition agreed to let the House function normally.
• The discussion on the Union Budget began later in the day, and Rahul Gandhi was expected to take part in the discussion the next day.
• Speaker Om Birla instructed the Secretary-General to examine and process the notice according to parliamentary rules.
• To move a resolution for the removal of the Speaker, at least two Lok Sabha members must sign the notice, and a minimum notice period of 14 days is required before it can be discussed.
• According to Article 94(c) of the Indian Constitution, the Speaker can be removed by a resolution passed by a simple majority of the House.
• Article 96 allows the Speaker to respond to the removal notice, but the charges must be clearly mentioned.
• The notice stated that the members were seeking the removal of Om Birla because of the biased way he has conducted Lok Sabha proceedings.
• It also claimed that Opposition leaders are repeatedly not allowed to speak, which it called a violation of their basic democratic rights.
• The notice referred to February 3, when eight Opposition MPs were suspended for the entire Budget session, which the Opposition said was unfair punishment.
• It also mentioned February 4, when a BJP MP was allegedly allowed to make personal and objectionable comments against two former Prime Ministers without being stopped.
• The notice specifically named BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, calling him a habitual offender and accusing the Speaker of not taking action despite repeated requests.
• The notice criticised the Speaker for saying that he had information suggesting Congress MPs might move towards the Prime Minister’s seat and do something unexpected.
• These remarks were called false and inappropriate, and the notice said that making such statements from the Speaker’s chair was an abuse of his constitutional position.
• The notice ended by saying that while the Opposition respects the Speaker personally, they are deeply unhappy with how he has prevented them from raising important public issues.

Internet services suspended as violence continues in Ukhrul

• Internet and data services were suspended in Ukhrul district of Manipur, which has a majority Naga population, after violence between Kuki-Zo and Naga communities continued for the third day.
• Local people said that miscreants burned down nine or ten houses on Tuesday morning, which made the situation worse.
• The violence took place in the Litan area, located between Imphal and Ukhrul.
• There were reports that armed attackers fired shots to scare villagers and force them to leave their homes.
• Officials said that many residents have fled their villages and moved to safer places.
• Manipur’s Home Commissioner-cum-Secretary N. Ashok Kumar ordered the suspension of internet services, including broadband, VPN, and VSAT, in Ukhrul district for five days, starting from 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
• The order said that the suspension was a preventive step taken because of the tense law and order situation.
• It also mentioned fears that anti-social elements could misuse social media to spread photos and videos that might increase violence.
• The violence began after an assault that happened on Saturday night.
• The situation remained tense despite prohibitory orders being imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
• Several units of Central armed forces were sent to the area to control the situation.
• Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh appealed to both communities to maintain peace.
• A team of MLAs led by Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho visited the Litan area to check the situation on the ground.
• The team met leaders from both communities and urged them to remain calm.
• A district official said that while main roads were under control, remote and interior areas were still tense.
• Meanwhile, the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust appealed to both the Tangkhul and Kuki communities to show restraint and maintain peace.

Important Questions

1. According to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, from which date will platforms be required to prominently label photo-realistic AI-generated content?
2. Under the amended IT Rules, within how many hours must social media intermediaries remove non-consensual deepfakes to avoid loss of safe harbour protection?
3. Under which Article of the Constitution of India can Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla be removed through a resolution passed by a simple majority of the House?
4. Which Opposition parties belonging to the INDIA alliance submitted a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary-General alleging the Speaker’s blatantly partisan conduct?
5. For how many days were internet and data services, including broadband and VPN, suspended in Ukhrul district of Manipur due to violence between Kuki-Zo and Naga communities?
6. Under which Section of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were prohibitory orders imposed while Central armed forces were deployed in the Litan area?

Important Vocabulary

1. Photorealistic – images that look very real like actual photographs
2. Synthetically – created using artificial or computer-based methods
3. Intermediary – an online platform that hosts or shares user content
4. Safe harbour – legal protection from liability for user-posted content
5. Blatantly – done openly and without shame
6. Partisan – showing strong support for one side only
7. Resolution – a formal proposal placed before the House
8. Propriety – proper behavior according to accepted standards
9. Miscreants – people who behave in a violent or criminal way
10. Prohibitory – officially forbidding certain actions
11. Volatile – likely to change suddenly into violence
12. Apprehension – fear that something bad may happen

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