2025's landmark bills: Waqf, online gaming, SHANTI and the 130th Amendment

Every year produces legislation that becomes next year's exam questions, but 2025 was exceptional: a contested Waqf overhaul that reached the Supreme Court within days, India's first law banning online money gaming, a civil nuclear law rewritten to invite private capital, and a constitutional amendment bill proposing to sack jailed ministers. This article explains what each law does, why it was controversial, and exactly how the examiner will frame it.

Key takeaways

- The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (UMEED) renamed the 1995 Act and restructured waqf boards; it reached the Supreme Court within days of passage.

- The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 banned real-money games while promoting e-sports.

- The SHANTI Act, 2025 opened civil nuclear energy to private players, the biggest structural shift since the Atomic Energy Act of 1962.

- The 130th Amendment Bill proposed the removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers detained for 30 days on serious criminal charges.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025: UMEED

Passed by Parliament in April 2025, the Waqf (Amendment) Act carries the acronym UMEED: Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development. It amends the Waqf Act, 1995, which governs the administration of waqf properties, religious endowments dedicated by Muslims for charitable or religious purposes.

The Act's headline changes: it drops the requirement that a person dedicating waqf must have practised Islam for five years only in a modified form, redefines who can create waqf, strengthens the registration and survey of waqf properties, and changes the composition of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards to include non-Muslim members. It also reworks the dispute-resolution mechanism, shifting significant authority toward the executive.

The controversy was immediate. Petitioners argued the law interfered with the community's right to manage its religious affairs under Article 26 and discriminated on religious grounds. On 15 September 2025 a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai with Justice A.G. Masih gave an interim order that refused a blanket stay but carved out key provisions: it stayed the five-year-practice requirement and the Collector's powers over disputed properties (on separation-of-powers grounds), capped non-Muslim representation at four members in the Central Council and three in State Boards, and left the registration requirements untouched. The final hearing will decide the law's fate; for now, the interim order is the position aspirants must know.

The Online Gaming Act, 2025: banning the bet

Passed by the Lok Sabha on 20 August and the Rajya Sabha on 21 August 2025, receiving assent on 22 August, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 draws a sharp line through India's gaming industry. Online money games, where users stake money on outcomes, are prohibited outright, with penalties for offering, advertising or financing them. E-sports and social or educational games, where no money is staked, are promoted and recognised.

The law creates the Online Gaming Authority of India to regulate the sector, classify games and enforce the ban. The government's case: money-gaming platforms caused addiction, financial ruin and suicides, and enforcement against offshore operators was failing. The industry's case: the ban wipes out a legitimate skill-gaming sector, threatens jobs and investment, and pushes users toward unregulated offshore sites. The Act was notified to come into force on 1 May 2026. For the exam, the key distinction is money games (banned) versus e-sports and social games (promoted), and the Authority as the new regulator.

The SHANTI Act, 2025: opening the nuclear door

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025 is the most structurally significant economic legislation of the year. Passed by the Lok Sabha on 17 December and the Rajya Sabha on 18 December 2025, receiving the President's assent on 20 December, it replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.

Two changes matter most. First, it opens the nuclear sector to private participation, ending the state monopoly that dated to the 1962 Act. Second, it removes the supplier-liability provision (Section 17(b) of the 2010 law) that had made equipment suppliers liable for accidents and had kept foreign reactor vendors away from India for over a decade. Operator liability is retained but restructured into tiered caps reaching up to 3,000 crore rupees. The government's 100-gigawatt nuclear target for 2047 is the policy backdrop: without private capital and foreign vendors, the target is unreachable. Critics warn that diluting supplier liability weakens the deterrent against corner-cutting and shifts the risk of a catastrophic accident onto the public. The Act is the direct legislative child of the India-US civil nuclear deal's unfinished business.

The 130th Amendment Bill: sacking jailed ministers

Introduced on 20 August 2025 by Home Minister Amit Shah, the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill proposes that the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers be removed from office if they are in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges carrying at least five years' imprisonment. It amends Articles 75, 164 and 239AA, extending the rule to the Union, the states and Delhi. The government argues that administrators facing serious criminal charges should not run governments from jail; the Opposition calls it a weapon for toppling elected governments through arrests by central agencies.

The Bill was referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by Aparajita Sarangi, constituted on 12 November 2025. The INDIA bloc parties boycotted the committee, and the panel deferred adoption of its report for further consultations. As the year closed, the Bill remained pending: introduced and referred, not passed. That status matters for Prelims, which loves asking whether a bill is passed, pending or lapsed.

How to study a current-affairs law

Every one of these laws follows the same exam template, and learning the template multiplies the value of each story. For every Act, know: what it amends or replaces, its core provisions, the constitutional articles it touches, who supports and opposes it and why, and its current status (in force, notified, pending, before the courts). The Waqf Act tests Articles 25, 26 and 14; the Gaming Act tests the Centre's power over interstate digital commerce and the skill-versus-chance jurisprudence; SHANTI tests the balance between development and liability; the 130th Amendment tests Articles 75, 164 and 239AA and the basic-structure limits on disqualification.

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 is the consolidation of four colonial-era statutes into one immigration code: introduced on 11 March 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on 27 March and the Rajya Sabha on 2 April, assented to on 4 April 2025 and in force from 1 September 2025. It repeals the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000. It creates a statutory Bureau of Immigration, makes valid passports and visas mandatory for entry, and sharpens penalties for forged documents and carrier negligence. It is unrelated to citizenship law.

VB-G RAM G: the MGNREGA recast

The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G) is the statute that replaced the MGNREGA of 2005: passed by both Houses in December 2025 and assented to on 21 December 2025. It raises the guarantee from 100 to 125 days of wage employment per rural household, but shifts the scheme from demand-driven to supply-driven, with a 60:40 Centre-state funding split and Viksit Gram Panchayat plans integrated with PM Gati Shakti as the planning base. The Mains angle is the rights question: a legally enforceable entitlement is being recast as a centrally planned programme.

The 130th Bill's machinery: detention, removal and return

The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes the first removal mechanism that runs on detention rather than conviction. It amends Articles 75, 164 and 239AA so that a Minister detained for 30 consecutive days for an offence punishable with five or more years of imprisonment must be removed; if no formal advice for removal comes, the Minister automatically ceases to hold office on the 31st day. The Prime Minister and Chief Ministers must resign after 30 days of such detention, failing which they cease to hold office from the 32nd day. A removed or resigned incumbent may be reappointed after release, at the discretion of the President or Governor. The scheme extends to Union Territories through amendments to the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The case for the Bill is constitutional morality: an executive under serious criminal detention should not govern, and the Bill clarifies the tension between the pleasure doctrine and the aid-and-advice framework with one uniform standard for the Union, the states and the UTs. The case against is the presumption of innocence: removal follows detention, not conviction, going well beyond the RPA, 1951, which disqualifies only after conviction with two or more years of imprisonment. Critics also flag political misuse through investigative agencies, a federalism strain where the Governor drives a removal, and a possible basic structure challenge on natural-justice grounds. The reform conversation it feeds, fast-track trials for cases involving ministers and judicial or parliamentary safeguards before removal, is older than the Bill and will outlast it.

Prelims hooks

• Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (UMEED: Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development): passed April 2025; amends the Waqf Act, 1995.
• SC interim order, 15 September 2025 (CJI B.R. Gavai, Justice A.G. Masih): no blanket stay; stayed the five-year-practice rule and the Collector's powers; capped non-Muslim members at 4 (Central Council) and 3 (State Boards); registration untouched.
• Online Gaming Act, 2025: LS 20 August, RS 21 August, assent 22 August; bans online money games; promotes e-sports and social games; creates the Online Gaming Authority of India; in force 1 May 2026.
• SHANTI Act, 2025: LS 17 December, RS 18 December, assent 20 December 2025; replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010; private entry into nuclear energy; supplier liability removed; operator caps up to 3,000 crore rupees.
• 130th Amendment Bill: introduced 20 August 2025 by Amit Shah; 30 days' custody on charges carrying 5+ years leads to removal of PM, CMs and ministers; amends Articles 75, 164, 239AA; JPC of 31 members chaired by Aparajita Sarangi (12 November 2025); INDIA bloc boycott; pending, not passed.

Mains angle

A 2025-legislation question is really a question about the state's changing role, and the four laws make a natural set. Frame the essay around a single thesis: 2025's legislation shows the state simultaneously withdrawing and advancing. It withdraws from the nuclear monopoly (SHANTI's private entry) and from the gaming tables (the money-game ban is a withdrawal from permissiveness, not from regulation); it advances into religious-endowment administration (Waqf) and into the moral regulation of office-holding (the 130th Amendment).

Evaluate each on the liberty-versus-order axis the examiner expects. The Waqf amendments pit administrative efficiency against Article 26's guarantee of religious autonomy, and the Supreme Court's interim order shows the judiciary policing that boundary provision by provision. The Gaming Act pits consumer protection against livelihood and the limits of prohibition in a digital economy. SHANTI pits energy security against the precautionary principle in liability design. The 130th Amendment pits integrity in public life against the presumption of innocence and the federal risk of agencies being used against opposition governments. Conclude that the year's laws share a method: the executive legislating first and the courts refining after, which makes judicial review, not parliamentary debate, the effective revising chamber.

Key Terms

• Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025: The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 is the central law passed by Parliament in August 2025 that bans online money games while promoting e-sports and social gaming. It prohibits offering, advertising and financing games played for monetary stakes, prescribes imprisonment and fines for violations, and creates the Online Gaming Authority of India for regulation. Real-money fantasy sports platforms withdrew paid contests after its passage.
• Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 channels liability for a nuclear accident onto the operator, capped at Rs 1,500 crore, with the government covering compensation beyond that. Its debated Section 17(b) gives the operator a right of recourse against suppliers of defective equipment, which foreign vendors read as supplier liability and cite for staying out of India's reactor market. India joined the global CSC regime in 2016. The supplier-recourse clause has slowed several planned foreign reactor projects.
• The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 is: The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 is the consolidated immigration law that received presidential assent on 4 April 2025 and came into force on 1 September 2025. It repeals four older laws, mandates reporting of foreigners by hotels, hospitals and universities, and punishes forged travel documents with 2 to 7 years in jail and fines up to Rs 10 lakh. It matters because it is the first post-independence overhaul of immigration law, squarely in UPSC polity current affairs. came into force 1 September 2025
• Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920: The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 is the colonial-era law that empowers the Central Government to require passports for persons entering India and to punish entry without valid travel documents. Enacted in 1920 as part of the post-First World War passport regime, it remains the statutory basis of India's entry controls. For UPSC it is occasional prelims material on vintage legislation still in force.
• Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000: The Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000 is the Indian law making airlines and shipping companies liable for bringing passengers into India in violation of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920. A competent authority may impose a penalty of one lakh rupees per offending passenger after giving the carrier a hearing, with provision for appeal. It matters for UPSC as the legal basis of carrier sanctions against undocumented migration and human trafficking routes.
• Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939: The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 required foreigners entering or residing in British India to register with the authorities and report their movements. Enacted on the eve of the Second World War, it was a security measure to monitor aliens during wartime. It continues in independent India alongside the Foreigners Act, 1946. It matters for UPSC modern history as part of the wartime administrative controls imposed by the colonial state.
• Online Gaming Authority of India: The Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) is the statutory regulator established under Section 8 of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, and constituted in 2026. Functioning under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it registers e-sports and social games, determines whether a game is an online money game, maintains a national registry, runs grievance redressal and can suspend registrations or direct blocking of unlawful platforms. It gives India's gaming ban its enforcement teeth. OGAI's power to certify games means only registered e-sports and social games can be advertised legally in India.
• Articles 75, 164 and 239AA: These three articles govern the Council of Ministers at different levels. Article 75 covers the Union: the President appoints the Prime Minister and ministers, who hold office during his pleasure but are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. Article 164 mirrors this for the states, with ministers collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Article 239AA gives Delhi a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Lieutenant Governor. Together they form the constitutional spine of parliamentary government. The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on Delhi's administrative services turned on the scope of Article 239AA.
• Articles 25, 26 and 14: Articles 25, 26 and 14 combine religious freedom with equality. Articles 25 and 26 protect individual and denominational religious rights, while Article 14 requires the state to treat all religions equally before law. Courts use this trio to test whether religious practices or state actions discriminate. It frames most religion-equality litigation in India. temple entry disputes are often argued through Articles 25 and 14 together
• Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill: The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes the automatic removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and ministers who remain in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges punishable with five or more years of imprisonment. Introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2025, it amends Articles 75, 164, and 239AA and was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It is debated as a test of constitutional morality versus federalism. Critics warn it could let arrests be weaponised against opposition-led governments.
• India-US civil nuclear deal: The India-US civil nuclear deal, operationalized through the 123 Agreement of 2008, ended India's nuclear isolation following the 1974 and 1998 tests. The US Hyde Act of 2006 and a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver in September 2008 let India trade in civilian nuclear technology despite staying outside the NPT. UPSC significance: strategic autonomy and energy security. A turning point in India-US relations. The deal enabled fuel-supply agreements for India's civilian reactors and its push for export-control regime membership.
• Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025: The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act No. 22 of 2025) is Parliament's overhaul of waqf administration, notified on 8 April 2025 as the UMEED Act. Key changes include ending waqf by user, deleting Section 40, separating trusts from waqfs, mandating women and non-Muslim representation on Boards, barring waqf on Fifth and Sixth Schedule tribal land, and allowing High Court appeals against Tribunal orders. For UPSC, it tests the balance between regulation and Article 26 rights. West Bengal saw protests against the Act in 2025, leading to communal violence in some districts.

Practice questions