Table of Contents
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.
Auto, Pharma Cheer GST Revamp; Airlines Unhappy
- On Wednesday night, the GST Council announced new changes in tax rates. This brought happiness to auto, insurance, appliances, pharma, and renewable energy sectors, but others were unhappy. The stock market reacted first with excitement but later settled almost flat.
- Airlines strongly opposed the higher GST on non-economy seats. Producers of vegetable oil asked the government to solve the problem of higher tax on raw materials compared to finished edible oils.
- Fertilizer and man-made textile industries gained as the GST Council fixed their tax mismatch. Small business owners were unhappy as labour service tax increased from 12% to 18%.
- The textile industry welcomed the tax changes for cotton and man-made fibres, but they were disappointed with 18% GST on clothes above ₹2,500 like woollens, wedding wear, handlooms, and embroidery.
- The automobile sector welcomed the tax reductions and the scrapping of the Compensation Cess. Small and medium cars up to ₹14 lakh will get 13% lower tax, while bigger cars above 1200 cc engines will see 8–10% cut.
- Auto dealers, however, worried that customers may wait till September 22 for the new rates. They also wanted clarity on the cess for vehicles already bought but unsold.
- Renewable energy companies praised the decision to reduce GST on solar and green energy parts from 12% to 5%, calling it a big help for clean energy growth.
- Appliance makers were also excited, saying the lower GST will boost sales, especially during the upcoming festive season, making products more affordable for middle-class families.
IIT-M Leads NIRF Rankings; Minister Questions ‘Peer Perception’ Metric
- IIT Madras secured the top spot in the NIRF 2025 overall list for the seventh straight year and remained India’s best engineering institute for a decade.
- Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan questioned the ‘peer perception’ metric, which contributes 10% to rankings, expressing concern over its fairness and reliability. He said government-funded colleges should not fall behind in such a subjective measure.
- After the 2024 rankings, many states and state-run universities complained of regional bias, as institutions in big cities scored higher in peer perception compared to smaller state-run colleges.
- NIRF gives overall rankings using five measures: teaching-learning, research and practice, graduation results, outreach and inclusivity, plus peer perception, which holds an important place in the ranking system.
- Pradhan suggested that NIRF should grow into a strong accreditation system by adding new measures like start-up success, better use of data, more categories, and wider participation.
- The tenth edition of NIRF in 2025 evaluated institutions across 17 categories, with increased participation this year. Minister Pradhan noted it reflects consistent progress in Indian higher education.
- He also stressed the need to increase student numbers and improve quality. He mentioned a new national ranking plan, based on the idea of ‘one nation, one data.’
- In the overall top 100, there were 24 state universities, 22 private deemed universities, 19 IITs, IISc, 9 private universities, 8 NITs, 7 central universities, and 5 medical colleges.
- Also in the top 100 were 4 IISERs, 1 college, and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, showing the wide variety of Indian higher education institutions included.
- IISc Bengaluru topped the Universities list for the tenth year and also remained number one in Research Institutions for the fifth year, proving its strength in research and academics.
- IIM Ahmedabad retained its number one position as the top management institute in India for the sixth year, proving its consistent strength in business and management studies.
- AIIMS New Delhi again ranked first among medical institutions for the eighth year, proving its leadership in medical education and research at the national level.
- Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, secured first place in Pharmacy. IIT Roorkee stayed top in Architecture and Planning, showing strong leadership in their fields.
- Hindu College, Delhi, became the best college for the second year in a row, pushing Miranda House to second, and showing its quality in undergraduate education.
- National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, kept its first rank in Law for the eighth year, showing its consistent dominance in legal education.
- In the Universities ranking, IISc Bengaluru was placed first, followed by JNU Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi, and the University of Delhi.
- Among state-run universities, Jadavpur University in Kolkata secured the top spot, with Anna University Chennai, Panjab University Chandigarh, Andhra University Visakhapatnam, and Kerala University Thiruvananthapuram ranking next.
- IGNOU Delhi topped among Open Universities, recognised for providing flexible distance education and learning opportunities for lakhs of students across the country.
India’s Birth Rate Falls, First TFR Decline in Two Years
- India’s crude birth rate dropped by 0.7 points, from 19.1 in 2022 to 18.4 in 2023, continuing the steady fall in yearly births.
- The total fertility rate (TFR) fell for the first time in two years, reaching 1.9 in 2023, after staying at 2.0 during 2021–2022.
- Bihar recorded the highest birth rate at 25.8, while Tamil Nadu had the lowest at 12, showing wide differences between states.
- For fertility rate, Bihar again was highest at 2.8, while Delhi was lowest at 1.2, pointing to regional differences in family size.
- Eighteen states and union territories reported below-replacement fertility, lower than 2.1, the number needed for a population to replace itself naturally.
- The Registrar General of India earlier released delayed reports of CRS, SRS, and MCCD for 2021, followed by 2022 data in later months.
- For 2023, only the Sample Registration System data is public so far, while CRS and MCCD datasets are still not uploaded on the Census website.
- This 2023 data also showed India’s elderly share rose by 0.7 percentage points in one year, reaching 9.7% of the population.
- Kerala had the highest elderly population at 15%, while Assam, Jharkhand, and Delhi had the lowest, each around 7.6–7.7%.
- States with above-replacement fertility were in the north: Bihar 2.8, Uttar Pradesh 2.6, Madhya Pradesh 2.4, Rajasthan 2.3, and Chhattisgarh 2.2.
- The states with the lowest fertility rates were Delhi at 1.2, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu at 1.3, and Maharashtra at 1.4, highlighting strong regional differences.
Important Questions
- Why did airlines oppose the higher GST rates on non-economy seats?
- How did the GST Council’s decision to reduce taxes affect renewable energy companies?
- What made Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan question the reliability of the ‘peer perception’ metric used in NIRF rankings?
- Which institution remained India’s best engineering college for the tenth year in the NIRF 2025 rankings?
- Which state recorded the highest crude birth rate in 2023 according to the Sample Registration System?
- What did the 2023 SRS data reveal about India’s elderly population share?
Important Vocabulary
- Rationalisation – Making something more logical or fair.
- Compensation Cess – An extra tax collected to cover losses of states during GST rollout.
- Mismatch – A situation where things do not fit together properly.
- Scrapping – Removing or cancelling something completely.
- Accreditation – Official approval showing a standard of quality.
- Perception – The way something is understood or judged by people.
- Inclusivity – The practice of involving all groups of people equally.
- Dominance – Being more powerful, important, or leading than others.
- Fertility – The ability to produce children.
- Replacement-level – The number of children needed to keep the population stable.
- Demographic – Related to the structure of a population.
- Proportion – A part or share of the total amount.
Download Online Mock Test Mobile APP
3
