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⚠ LATEST UPDATES (as of September 2026) — READ FIRST

U.1 Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026

(Brand new law — directly affects the Flag Code section and your school assemblies.)

Constitutional nuance worth writing: the Constitution does not explicitly recognise a National Song. The Constituent Assembly (24 January 1950) gave Vande Mataram equal status with Jana Gana Mana; the MHA's 2026 orders prescribe its six-stanza version as the official one. Article 51A(a) makes it a Fundamental Duty to respect the National Flag and National Anthem — it does not mention the National Song.

Judicial caution — Salman v. State of Kerala (2014): the Kerala High Court held that Section 3 targets deliberate acts that obstruct or disrupt the singing. Mere presence, or respectful silence, is not by itself an offence. This distinction survives the amendment, since the words "intentionally prevents" and "causes disturbance" remain undefined.

For a school: you may require the anthem/song to be played and expect respectful conduct, but you cannot compel a child to sing. Compare Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986) — the Supreme Court protected three Jehovah's Witness children who stood respectfully but did not sing, holding their expulsion violated Articles 19(1)(a) and 25.

U.2 57th GST Council Meeting — 12 September 2026

• The 57th GST Council meeting is scheduled for 12 September 2026 in New Delhi, chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman, with a preparatory officers' meeting on 11 September.
• It comes more than a year after the 56th meeting.
• Expected agenda: simplification of GST registration for larger businesses, input tax credit issues, corporate guarantees, employee-related benefits, refunds, valuation clarity and compliance relief for small businesses.
• These are proposals, not decisions. Check the outcome before your exam — it may change the compliance portions of Part D.
• Note also: GSTAT has begun passing orders against businesses that raised base prices after the GST rate cut instead of passing the benefit to consumers (anti-profiteering).

U.3 CCS Rules — Recent DoPT Action

• No fresh amendment to the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 in 2025-26; the last substantive change to gift limits was the DoPT OM of 6 August 2019.
• DoPT Notification dated 12 January 2026 amended Rules 10(1) and 12(4) of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 (suspension and related procedure).
• iGOT Karmayogi — now mandatory: under DoPT OM dated 4 July 2025, with implementation guidelines of 29 August 2025 and a further OM of 8 April 2026, completion of mandatory courses and a comprehensive assessment on the iGOT Karmayogi platform is compulsory, and is recorded in the APAR (per DoPT corrigendum of 19 August 2025). This operationalises Mission Karmayogi and is a live conduct/service obligation.
• Social media: there is still no separate rule on social media. DoPT advisories treat injudicious posts as potential violations of Rule 3 (unbecoming conduct) and Rule 9 (criticism of Government).

U.4 Income Tax and Flag Code — no change

• Income-tax Act, 2025 remains as stated: effective 1 April 2026, slabs unchanged. Budget 2026-27 made no change to individual slabs.
• Flag Code of India, 2002 — no amendment after July 2022. The 2021 and 2022 amendments remain the latest.