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- Why in News?
- The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell (USA), and Shimon Sakaguchi (Japan) for groundbreaking discoveries explaining how the body maintains immune balance through peripheral immune tolerance.
- Key Provisions:-
- Their research focused on the peripheral immune system, which regulates immune responses outside the brain and spinal cord. In 1995, Sakaguchi identified regulatory T cells (Tregs)—a unique class of T-cells that suppress excessive immune reactions and prevent the body from attacking itself. This mechanism, termed peripheral tolerance, is vital for immune stability.
- Brunkow and Ramsdell furthered this work by studying scurfy mice, which suffer from autoimmune disease, leading to the 2001 discovery of the FOXP3 gene. They demonstrated that FOXP3 governs Treg development, linking genetic control to immune regulation.
- Their discoveries have transformed medical science, opening new avenues in cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune disease treatment, and organ transplant tolerance.
- Why in News?
- A new report has been released ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha (November 2025), commemorating 30 years since the 1995 Copenhagen Summit.
- Defining Social Justice:
- Social justice envisions a world where everyone can achieve material well-being and spiritual growth in conditions of freedom, respect, and equal opportunity. The International Labour Organization (ILO) identifies four foundational pillars—human rights, equal access, fair distribution, and just transitions.
- Progress and Gaps:
- Global extreme poverty has declined from 39% to 10%, and over half of humanity now enjoys some form of social protection. However, inequality reduction has stagnated—71% of income differences stem from birth circumstances—and public trust in institutions has steadily eroded since 1982.
- The Way Forward:
- The report calls for modernizing labour institutions, strengthening social dialogue, integrating social justice across all policy areas, and fostering global cooperation through initiatives like the Global Coalition for Social Justice.
- Why in News?
- The Supreme Court of India has agreed to review the constitutional validity of the Securities Transaction Tax (STT), a key fiscal measure governing financial market transactions.
- About Securities Transaction Tax (STT):
- STT is a direct tax imposed on the purchase and sale of securities—such as shares, derivatives, and equity-oriented mutual funds—executed through recognized stock exchanges in India. It was introduced under the Finance Act of 2004 to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the securities market.
- The primary objective of introducing STT was to curb tax evasion by replacing complex and easily manipulated capital gains reporting with a simpler, transaction-based tax system. It also helped streamline revenue collection from market activities.
- The Court’s decision to examine its constitutional validity could have significant implications for India’s financial sector, potentially shaping future taxation frameworks and the regulatory architecture of capital markets.