What to Read in Hindu Editorial Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: Over-centralisation threatens federal health policy

Context

The ruling striking down domicile-based reservations in post-graduate medical admission overlooks the functional realities of public health governance.

 

Introduction

The recent Supreme Court judgment, in Dr. Tanvi Behl vs Shrey Goyal (2025), which struck down domicile-based reservations in post-graduate medical admissions in the respective medical colleges in States, marks a significant shift in India’s medical education policy. The ruling, holding that such reservations violate Article 14 of the Constitution, dismantles a mechanism that States have long relied upon to ensure a stable medical workforce suited to public health needs. While upholding meritocracy, it misapprehends the complex relationship between medical education policies and State public health planning. By entrenching a centralising bias in India’s medical education framework, it risks disincentivising State investment in government medical colleges — transforming competitive federalism into a race to the bottom.

 

Domicile quotas in State health planning

• Aligning State Investment in Medical Education with Health-Care Personnel Retention
• States allocate substantial, resources, train medical students, expecting that these graduates will contribute to the local health-care system.
• Given chronic specialist, shortages, domicile quotas ensure a predictable supply of doctors familiar with the State’s health-care landscape.

 

Impact of Court Ruling on Domicile-Based Reservations

• The Court’s reliance on Pradeep Jain, Union, India (1984) to eliminate domicile-based post-graduate reservations overlooks the essential distinction between undergraduate and post-graduate education.
• Unlike MBBS, programmes, foundational knowledge, post-graduate courses are the primary channel through which States replenish their specialist workforce.
• Removing domicile, quotas, disrupts this pipeline, making States becoming increasingly reliant on external recruitment — a process fraught with unpredictability and inefficiencies.

 

Disincentivising State Investment in Medical Education

• By striking down domicile, quotas, judgment weakens the incentive for States to invest in medical education.
• A well-functioning system of competitive, federalism, encourages States to develop robust institutions to attract and retain talent.
• If States cannot ensure that their investment, translates, workforce, their incentive to fund medical education diminishes.
• Without domicile, reservations, States may deprioritise medical college funding, leading to declining infrastructure and worsening regional health-care disparities.

 

Disparity Between State and Central Institutions

• This stands in contrast to premier, central, institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER).
• These institutions, granted, autonomy, whereas State medical colleges — arguably even more vital to India’s public health architecture — are now denied a similar prerogative.
• This disadvantages States, planning, long-term health-care needs.

 

Constitutional and Public Health Considerations

• Article 21, Indian, Constitution guarantees the right to life, including access to adequate health care.
• Public health, remains, State legislative competence.
• Medical colleges, institutions, education are also a crucial part of the State’s health infrastructure.
• Viewing them solely as centres, producing, graduates is a limited perspective.
• A broader, systems-based, approach highlights the connection between the right to life, public health, and medical education.

 

The Need for State Autonomy in Medical Education

• Given the role of State, government, medical colleges in sustaining public health, it is essential to recognise the State government’s need for autonomy.
• This ensures that medical, education, aligns with local health-care needs.
• Excessive centralisation, unwittingly, powered by court rulings restricts States from formulating policies suited to their public health needs and socio-economic circumstances.
• Legislatures, judiciary, acknowledge that government medical colleges are integral to State health-care infrastructure.

 

The fallacy of absolute meritocracy

• The Court’s insistence on a rigid, meritocratic, framework ignores the structural inequities inherent in India’s medical entrance system.
• An analysis of NEET-PG, results, flaws reveals significant issues in how merit is assessed, including cases where candidates with negative marks qualify due to percentile-based cutoffs.
• A recent example from 2023, National, Commission saw the National Medical Commission, following directives from the Ministry of Health, reduce the qualifying percentile for NEET PG and Super Speciality examinationsto zero to fill vacant seats.
• If undergraduate, admissions, recognise regional and socio-economic disparities, there is little justification for excluding such considerations from post-graduate admissions.

 

Judicial Precedents on Merit and Equity

• The judgment perpetuates a narrow, conception, merit that disregards its social context.
• As noted in Jagdish Saran (1982), Pradeep Jain (1984), Neil Aurelio Nunes (2022), and Om Rathod (2024), administrative efficiency should be measured not by abstract merit alone but by outcomes that promote societal good and redress structural inequalities.

 

Domicile-Based Reservations and Public Health Impact

• By prioritising candidates, likely, remain and serve in their home States — as acknowledged by the Economic Survey 2024-25 — domicile-based reservations enhance health-care access and mitigate regional disparities.
• This aligns with a broader, inclusive, definition of merit, ensuring that medical education policies contribute to societal well-being.

 

Need for a reconsideration

• Need for Re-evaluation of the Court’s Ruling: While the Court’s ruling follows precedents, Pradeep Jain, Constitution Bench, it merits re-evaluation.
  1. The original framework, rigid, undergraduate and post-graduate admissions was formulated in a different health-care landscape.
• Changing Health-Care Priorities and Specialist Retention: Today, retaining specialists, State, systems is more pressing than ever, particularly in light of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
  1. Rather than eliminating, domicile, outright, a more balanced approach would integrate these reservations with public service obligations.
• Successful Models in Medical Education Policy: Tamil Nadu’s medical, education, framework links quotas to service mandates in public institutions, ensuring that State investment yields tangible health-care benefits.
  1. Such models, deserve, consideration rather than outright dismissal by judicial and policy bodies.
• Flawed Application of Meritocracy: The ruling reflects a well-intentioned, flawed, application of meritocracy that overlooks functional realities of public health governance.
  1. It blurs, line, interpretation between constitutional interpretation and detailed policy design.
• Impact on State Autonomy and Public Health: By reinforcing centralised, control, admissions, it risks weakening State investment, exacerbating regional disparities, and eroding competitive federalism.
  1. A reconsideration, verdict, imperative to ensure that States retain autonomy to structure medical education policies in alignment with health-care priorities.

 

Conclusion

Contrary to the Court’s concerns that domicile quotas pose a grave national risk, over-centralisation threatens federal health policy. If India aims to build a robust and sustainable health-care system, judicial doctrine must evolve to accommodate the complex interplay between medical education, federalism, and public health policy. Over-centralisation in medical education threatens federal health policy by undermining State autonomy and weakening public health systems. Ensuring a balanced approach that integrates domicile-based reservations with service obligations is essential for equitable healthcare access and a sustainable specialist workforce across India.

 

Editorial 2: DeepSeek’s market disruption must awaken India

Context

The biggest lesson it offers to Indian IT giants is the power of research and development.

 

Introduction

DeepSeek, a Chinese company, has shaken up the global tech industry and stock markets with its low-cost artificial intelligence (AI) model. This breakthrough has forced critics to reconsider China’s position vis-à-vis the United States in the race to advancement and dominance in AI and computational capabilities. DeepSeek’s innovation has caught the attention of not just policymakers but also business leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, who opened war rooms for engineers after DeepSeek’s success and who are now eager to understand its formula for disruption. So what DeepSeek, which is originally not a core AI firm but a financial trading company, has essentially done is to create generative AI models that perform on a par with the current leader, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, while requiring significantly lower costs for development and operations.

 

Placing China at an advantage

How does DeepSeek’s Innovation affect India’s dominance in IT?

• The core of DeepSeek’s success lies in its ability to overcome the limitations of expensive computational power.
• This gives it a significant cost advantage over competitors worldwide.

 

Disruption to India’s IT Dominance

• This disruption is reminiscent of India’s long-standing dominance in the global information technology (IT) sector.
• India’s IT dominance has been built on its competitive edge through an abundant supply of skilled, English-speaking, and cost-effective labour.
• However, with generative AI eliminating both skill and language barriers, DeepSeek’s innovation has accelerated the rise of cheaper, more efficient alternatives.
• These alternatives can replace low-cost IT service providers at an accelerated pace.
• This poses a serious threat to India’s IT dominance.

 

China’s Strengthening Position in AI and IT Services

• DeepSeek’s breakthrough not only strengthens China’s position in AI but also opens the door for broader advancements in IT services through AI-driven automation.
• The Indian IT sector, which has long thrived on cost-effective labour-led service models, now faces a reality where AI can easily replace repetitive, low-value tasks that were once its competitive advantage.
• DeepSeek’s success signals that Indian IT giants have fallen behind their Chinese counterparts in this new era of technological competition and innovation.

 

What can organisations learn from DeepSeek?

1. The Power of Research and Development (R&D)

• The biggest lesson DeepSeek offers to Indian IT giants is the power of research and development (R&D).
• DeepSeek treated AI product development as a “sidekick” rather than a core activity, yet this investment in innovation has paid off tremendously.
• This highlights the importance of utilising surplus capital as well as idle resources, both capital and human, towards R&D rather than merely optimising workforce efficiency.

2. Encouraging Research, Experimentation, and Risk-Taking

• Companies should foster an environment that encourages research, experimentation, and a tolerance for failure.
• Instead of focusing solely on delivering immediate business objectives, organisations must cultivate a culture that goes beyond routine deliverables.
• DeepSeek’s approach of treating AI development as a secondary initiative reflects its willingness to take riskswithout expecting guaranteed returns.
• By normalising failure as part of the innovation process, it has created a foundation for groundbreaking advancements.

3. Building an Ecosystem for Long-Term Innovation

• For Indian IT firms, the takeaway is clear: investing in R&D, even as a secondary pursuit, can lead to game-changing breakthroughs.
• The key is to build an ecosystem that values long-term innovation over short-term optimisation.

 

Future priorities for India

• Low R&D Investment: India lags behind in R&D investment, a critical factor for sustaining long-term competitiveness.
  1. India’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) remains below 1% of GDP, far lower than other major economies, including China.
• Comparison with China:
  1. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data, China invested around 2.43% of its GDP in R&D as of 2021.
  2. This highlights India’s urgent need for policy intervention to boost domestic R&D in cutting-edge technologies such as AI.
• Challenges in Advanced Research and Talent Acquisition: A key issue is the lack of investment in advanced research, particularly in hiring top talent.
  1. Recruiting PhDs and experts is essential for driving innovation but remains underfunded.

 

Policy Missteps in Industrial Prioritisation

• A major policy misstep has been the persistent debate over prioritising manufacturing or services.
• This false dichotomy ignores the strong linkages between the two sectors.
• Manufacturing and services complement each other and must grow together for a balanced economic strategy.

 

India’s IT Dominance Under Threat

• India’s comparative advantages, such as cheap labour and English proficiency, are no longer sufficient in the AI-driven global economy.
• The focus must shift toward building a workforce that enhances productivity through AI rather than being replaced by it.
• India must recognise and retain high-skilled talent to drive innovation within the country rather than abroad.

 

Conclusion: Focus on quantum technology

As a top priority for the future, India must ensure it does not fall behind in the next major technological frontier, which is the quantum computing race. Advancements in quantum technology will be crucial for maintaining technological leadership in the coming decades. To stay competitive, the government and private sector must significantly increase investments in R&D, particularly in quantum computing alongside AI, and actively recruit top researchers to drive breakthroughs in this field.