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Polity and Governance ................................................................................................................. 8

State has no right to acquire every private property, asserts SC ................................................ 9
Can the state acquire all private property? ................................................................................. 9
SC overrules 1967 verdict against AMU’s minority tag .......................................................... 10
States and the Centre’s fetter of ‘net borrowing ceiling’ ......................................................... 10
What has SC ruled on bulldozing property? ............................................................................ 12
Feminist ideology in India’s constitutional discourse .............................................................. 12
SC ruling on socialism, secularism .......................................................................................... 13
From a republic to a republic of unequals ................................................................................ 14
What is the controversy around the Sambhal mosque? ........................................................... 15
Census 2025 as a comprehensive citizen registry .................................................................... 16
Do new schemes ahead of elections amount to ‘voter bribes’? ............................................... 17
Society and Social Issues ............................................................................................................ 19
What are major challenges faced by Indian cities? .................................................................. 20
Aadhaar biometric data access will aid forensics .................................................................... 21
We need to address India’s workplace culture ......................................................................... 22
Does data justify subdivision of quotas? .................................................................................. 22
Why did SC uphold U.P. madrasa Act?.................................................................................... 24
PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme for higher education gets nod ........................................................... 25
India will fail to meet 2025 TB ‘elimination’ target ................................................................ 25
What are the costs of population decline?................................................................................ 25
Can India get rich before growing old?.................................................................................... 27
The impact of PMUY in Jammu and Kashmir ......................................................................... 27
‘Sea ranching’ launched off Vizhinjam coast as follow-up to artificial reef project in Kerala 28
Prachanda slams Oli, says India ties are under strain .............................................................. 29
Quarter of world’s diabetics are in India; experts call for urgent efforts for prevention ......... 29
The Jhansi hospital tragedy is a result of neglecting fire safety and health care ..................... 29
Electronically track undertrials to cut crowding of jails: SC body .......................................... 30
India has to scale up diagnosis to meet the 2030 WHO target for diabetes ............................. 31
Should packaged food content be labelled? ............................................................................. 32
How does PM Vidyalaxmi differ from other schemes? ........................................................... 32
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 Poverty and climate change must be tackled urgently by the G-20 ......................................... 33
₹6,000 crore scheme to help students access journals ............................................................. 33
An ideal way to treat India’s corneal blindness problem ......................................................... 34
Ban this carcinogenic ‘heart-burn’ drug ................................................................................... 35
Indians need to share contraceptive responsibility .................................................................. 35
International Issues .................................................................................................................... 37
India, Algeria sign pact to elevate defence cooperation, enhance strategic interests .............. 41
Temple attack: PM urges Canada to uphold the law ................................................................ 41
A setback The LDP’s loss of majority in Japan could have implications for the world .......... 42
Prachanda slams Oli, says India ties are under strain .............................................................. 42
On India-Canada diplomatic relations ..................................................................................... 43
What Trump 2.0 means for India ............................................................................................. 44
The BRICS journey — gaining heft while in transition .......................................................... 44
A resounding victory ................................................................................................................ 45
Leverage similarity, complementarity in Nigeria..................................................................... 46
India and Japan sign agreement for UNICORN masts for naval warships.............................. 46
Modi leaves for 3-nation tour, likely to sign MoUs with Nigeria ............................................ 47
Will Riyadh summit impact the Gaza war? ............................................................................. 47
India and Nigeria will join hands to tackle terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking: PM................ 48
India must take forward its commitment to Africa, the Global South ..................................... 48
At G-20 summit, India, China discuss resumption of flights, visa issuance ........................... 48
Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor is operational: Sonowal ........................................... 49
Putin signs revised nuclear doctrine amid Ukraine war ........................................................... 49
India and Italy to negotiate defence industrial road map, focus on maritime sector ............... 50
Targeting minorities.................................................................................................................. 50
Prime Minister proposes seven key pillars to strengthen ties between India, ‘CARICOM’ ... 50
India, Australia firm up renewable energy partnership ............................................................ 51
ICC issues arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leaders .................................. 51
Bhutan pitches Gelephu as biggest cooperative project........................................................... 52
‘U.K. sees generational mission in the Indo-Pacific’............................................................... 52
Why Netanyahu accepted a ceasefire with Hezbollah ............................................................. 53
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Economy Agri & FPI .................................................................................................................. 54
A win that will affect the global economy ............................................................................... 55
Are CSR contributions to agriculture properly tracked? ......................................................... 55
Removing bran on millets reduces the benefits of eating them: study .................................... 56
India should be part of RCEP, CPTPP: NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R Subrahmanyam ................. 56
Zomato, Swiggy breached antitrust laws: CCI probe .............................................................. 57
How will Trump treat illegal Indians? ..................................................................................... 57
October’s inflation pace surpasses expectations, dashing rate cut hopes ................................ 58
India’s tea, sugar exports raise sustainability concerns at home .............................................. 58
Exports rebound, but Oct. import bill hits new record............................................................. 59
How will SDS visa move hit students? .................................................................................... 60
No dual eco-clearance for 39 categories of industry ................................................................ 60
Poor onion, tomato, potato crop pushing up prices, says Centre ............................................. 61
India voices dissent against trade barriers linked to emissions ................................................ 61
Is imposing tariffs on Chinese imports a good idea? ............................................................... 61
Respite for Indian coffee growers as EU grants time for EUDR compliance ......................... 62
Why is a U.K. consumer protection group going after Apple’s iCloud? ................................. 63
Centre aims to make Andaman and Nicobar Islands a tuna export hub .................................. 63
October’s export rebound is heartening but fresh headwinds loom large................................ 64
Telcos can claim CENVAT credit for towers, shelters: SC ...................................................... 64
‘Most steel imports from FTA nations; duty hike ineffective’ ................................................. 64
A ‘bribery scheme’ to bag lucrative solar power deals ............................................................ 65
Sri Lanka ‘should be vigilant’ about Adani power deal, caution experts ................................ 66
Kenya cancels proposed deals with Adani group ..................................................................... 66
After U.S. indictment, conglomerate will face greater pressure in Bangladesh over power
deal, says expert ....................................................................................................................... 67
Iran to launch ‘advanced centrifuges’ in response to UN nuclear watchdog censure ............. 67
Govt. unfazed by high import bills and trade deficit spikes .................................................... 67
India’s urban infrastructure financing, needs and reality ......................................................... 67
India’s total electronics exports for the fiscal year 2023-24 is at $29.1 billion ....................... 69
Central govt. announces ₹1,435-cr. PAN 2.0 project ............................................................... 69
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 Fair share .................................................................................................................................. 70
The right to work deleted ......................................................................................................... 70
Tax cuts may have saved ₹3 lakh crore for India’s corporates ................................................ 71
Scientists, industry demand passage of new Seeds Bill, changes in policy............................. 71
Environment and DM ................................................................................................................ 73
On the new coastal zone plan of Kerala ................................................................................... 76
What explains the deadly Spain floods? .................................................................................. 78
Air quality commission doubles fine on farmers for stubble burning ..................................... 78
‘Tiger population triples in Manas national park’ .................................................................... 78
Staying cool, but with clean tech, global collaborations.......................................................... 79
On improving wind energy generation..................................................................................... 80
Hornbill haven .......................................................................................................................... 81
How can design help a building be more climate-resilient? .................................................... 82
How sustainable is India’s path to net-zero with 45 years left? ............................................... 83
How India could counter the CBAM ....................................................................................... 84
The dangers of high-altitude sickness ...................................................................................... 85
Planetary crisis puts children at risk: UNICEF report ............................................................. 86
Consensus on new climate finance goal remains elusive ........................................................ 87
CAQM’s submissions in Supreme Court ignore increase in paddy burnt area in Punjab,
Haryana..................................................................................................................................... 87
India needs an environmental health regulatory agency (EHRA) ........................................... 87
Western Ghats’s king cobra officially named Ophiophagus Kaalinga .................................... 89
Plastics treaty draft overlooks key issue: limiting production ................................................. 89
What can CAQM do to improve Delhi air? ............................................................................. 90
On stubble burning and satellite data ....................................................................................... 91
Why is there a row over climate finance? ................................................................................ 92
After a health emergency, toxic air foretells an economic one ................................................ 92
Countries vulnerable to climate tense over ‘exported emissions’ ........................................... 93
Why India’s 6Ghz spectrum dilemma is affecting PS5 Pro console launch in India? ............. 94
Between hope and hurdles on the high seas ............................................................................. 95
NGT issues notice to Centre on expansion of glacial lakes ..................................................... 96
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 In Busan, India says it will not back ‘use’ of plastic alternatives ............................................ 96
Science and Technology ............................................................................................................. 98
First science result from Aditya L1, ISRO’s sun mission, is out ............................................. 99
The sun’s in a tizzy ................................................................................................................... 99
RNA editing is promising togo where DNA editing can’t ....................................................... 99
How do lightning rods prevent lightning strikes from reaching people? .............................. 100
India conducts ‘historic’ flight test of hypersonic missile with a range of 1,500 km ............ 101
Weights: AI’s learning switches ............................................................................................. 101
New infectious diseases among bees threaten world’s economies ........................................ 101
SpaceX’s Falcon-9 deploys Indian satellite into orbit ........................................................... 102
If diamonds and pencils are made out of carbon, how is it that pencils can write?............... 103
ONOS bitten- Bringing down cost of access to research papers is only one of many issues 103
MACE in Ladakh opens its one-of-a-kind eye to cosmic gamma rays ................................. 103
Stigma of HIV and birth of biomedical waste regulations ..................................................... 104
Six decades since Thumba launch, slew of private entities prepare for flight ....................... 106
Using body’s defences against cancer .................................................................................... 107
Internal Security ML & Cyber ............................................................................................... 109
How cyber scams use social engineering and malicious APKs to swindle users .................. 110
Indian Army resumes patrolling in Depsang .......................................................................... 110
Autonomous surface vessel completes 1,500-km voyage ..................................................... 111
Ransomware attack hit crucial defence unit last year: DoPT ................................................ 111
France evaluating India’s Pinaka rocket system for its use ................................................... 111
Manipur’s misery- The Centre must take the initiative in resolving the crisis ...................... 112
700 kg meth seized off Gujarat coast, 8 arrested ................................................................... 112
Why were the Kerala IAS officers suspended?...................................................................... 113
Manipur as a case for imposing Article 356........................................................................... 113
Democratising AI needs a radically different approach ......................................................... 114
Indian Army receives logistics drones for use in eastern sector ............................................ 115
Wikipedia and ANI’s defamation suit .................................................................................... 115
Culture & Facts ........................................................................................................................ 116
First Asian Buddhist Summit in New Delhi from tomorrow ................................................. 117

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India sends Letter of Intent to host 2036 Games ................................................................... 117
British writer Harvey wins Booker Prize ............................................................................... 117
Denmark's Victoria Kjaer Theilvig is crowned Miss Universe 2024..................................... 117
Daniel Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad presented Indira Gandhi Peace Prize ...................... 118
A mighty king remembered .................................................................................................... 118

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Polity and Governance

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State has no right to acquire every private property, asserts SC
• A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, held that not every resource
owned by private players can be considered a material resource of the community
- to be used by the government to serve the “common good”.
• The decision dismissed such a power of acquisition by the state while noting that it
reminded of a particular rigid economic dogma of the past.
• The court noted that the Indian economy has already transitioned from dominance of
public investment to co-existence of public and private investments.
• The interpretation was introduced by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in his dissenting opinion
in Ranganath Reddy versus State of Karnataka in 1977.

Can the state acquire all private property?

The story so far:
• A nine-judge Constitution Bench (8:1) of the Supreme Court, held that not every private
resource can be considered a ‘material resource of the community’
− to be used by the government to serve the ‘common good.’
• This overturns the earlier interpretation formed in 1977 that has been followed by the
Supreme Court till 1997.
Constitutional provisions
• Article 39(b) in DPSP provides that ‘ownership and control of material resources of the
community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.’
• The Constitution originally guaranteed right to property and compensation for acquisition
as a Fundamental Right under Articles 19(1)(f) and 31 respectively.
• Article 31C was added through the 25th amendment in 1971, which provided exception
that laws made to fulfil Articles 39(b) and (c) shall not be void,
- on the ground that it violated Fundamental Rights including right to property.
• In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), a 13-judge Bench of the Supreme Court upheld
the validity of Article 31C but made it subject to judicial review.
• In 1978, the right to property was omitted from Fundamental Rights and made a
constitutional right under Article 300A.
What is the current ruling?
• In Property owners’ association versus State of Maharashtra, a seven-judge Bench
referred the issue of interpretation of Article 39(b) to a nine-judge Bench.
• The current majority opinion held the interpretation that every privately-owned property
could be used by the state as a ‘material resource’ to
- ‘Subserve the common good’, as a rigid economic ideology that advocates greater
governmental control over private resources.
• Therefore, it was rejected by the majority opinion which said that India has moved on
from a socialistic model to a market-based liberalised economic model.

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 • However, not every private resource automatically qualifies just because it meets material
needs.
Way forward
• Our economy has changed from a socialistic pattern to a liberalised, market-oriented
model. The growth has uplifted vast majority of people from abject poverty.
• However, there is also a growing inequality that needs to be addressed.
• This judgment should protect the small farm and forest lands of marginalised sections
from forceful acquisitions by the government.
• Equally important is the sustainable exploitation and distribution of material public
resources within the domain of the government.

SC overrules 1967 verdict against AMU’s minority tag

• An educational institution established by a minority community will not lose its identity
once it is recognised through a statute, the Supreme Court declared.
• The majority judgment authored by the Chief Justice was based on petitions seeking
minority status for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
• But the onus was on the community to prove they had established the institution to
preserve and retain their cultural fabric.
• Article 30(1) upholds the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and
administer educational institutions.

States and the Centre’s fetter of ‘net borrowing ceiling’

The Story so far
• The central government, in 2023, imposed a ‘Net Borrowing Ceiling’ (NBC) on the State
of Kerala to restrict the maximum possible borrowing the State can make under the law.
• This ceiling is 3% of the projected Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for FY2023-
24.
• The NBC encompasses all borrowing avenues, including open market loans, financial
institution loans, and liabilities from the public account of the State.
- Furthermore, the ceiling has been extended to cover certain borrowings by these
entities as well.
• This has been a huge blow to the financial position of State, with Kerala finding it
difficult to meet its expenditure related to developmental and welfare activities.
• Kerala approached the Supreme Court of India on the issue of the encroachment on the
executive power that is conferred on the State under Article 293
- of the Constitution of India to borrow on the security and guarantee of the
Consolidated Fund.

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Borrowing powers and provisions
• Chapter II of Part XII of the Constitution deals with the borrowing powers of the
Centre and States.
• Article 292 speaks about the borrowing power of the central government upon the
security of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Article 293 empowers the State government to borrow within the territory of India upon
the security of the consolidated fund of the State.
• In both cases, the extent of borrowing may be fixed from time to time by a law enacted
by Parliament and the State legislature, respectively.
Between centre and states
• As in Article 293(2), the Government of India may grant loans to any State subject to
conditions laid down by any law made by Parliament up to the limits fixed under Article
292.
• The central government can also provide guarantees upon the Consolidated Fund of India
in respect of loans raised by any State.
• Article 293(3) imposes a restriction on the State government if the repayment of loans or
a guarantee which has been given by the Government of India.
• In such a case, the consent of the central government is essential to raise such a loan.
Eliminating revenue shortfall
• To implement the mandates in Article 292, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 was enacted to maintain financial restraint by
- establishing goals such as the elimination of revenue shortfall and the reduction of
fiscal deficit.
• To eliminate the revenue shortfall and the budgetary deficit, a target of 3% of GDP is
established for the Centre’s yearly fiscal deficit ratio (FD).
- By 2025–26, the government expects to reduce the fiscal deficit to less than 4.5% of
GDP.
• As the interpretation of Article 293 of the Constitution of India raises key questions about
fiscal decentralisation, State fiscal autonomy and past borrowing practices,
- the Court has referred the issue of a state’s borrowing powers to a Constitutional
Bench.
There is a need to strengthen this Article
• As suggested by Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, a commission akin to the Finance
Commission is essential to decide any issues arising between federal issues.
• Under Article 293(4) of Indian Constitution, maintaining a balanced fiscal framework
between Centre and States, is critical to enhance cooperative federalism.
• Otherwise, there could be arbitrary decision-making that may disrupt fiscal discipline,
leading to either unchecked borrowing or overly restrictive conditions.

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 • The Centre’s powers under Article 293(4) are exercised fairly, transparently and in a
manner that supports balanced fiscal management and cooperative federalism.

What has SC ruled on bulldozing property?

The story so far
The Supreme Court underscored that it is unconstitutional to demolish a person’s property
without adhering to the due process of law, simply on the grounds of their alleged involvement
in a crime.
Has there been a marked increase in demolitions?
• Over the last few years, there has been an advent of bulldozing of homes and private
properties of accused persons in several States.
• Demolitions were justified on account of action against encroachment or under the
pretext of unauthorised construction.
• Additionally, a report by Amnesty International revealed that authorities in four BJP-
ruled States and one AAP-governed State demolished 128 structures —
- primarily belonging to Muslims between April and June 2022.
Guidelines mentioned
• The court issued comprehensive guidelines aimed at fostering greater institutional
accountability.
• The judges specified that officials responsible for illegal demolitions would face
disciplinary action, contempt charges, and monetary penalties.
• Further, the designated authority has been ordered to extend an opportunity of personal
hearing to the owner.
• Additionally, the concerned authority must prepare a detailed inspection report, signed by
at least two witnesses, before proceeding with the demolition drive.
• The judges also directed the authorities to ensure that the entire demolition process is
thoroughly video graphed.
• The report should be placed before the Municipal Commissioner and uploaded on a
digital portal to ensure public accessibility.

Feminist ideology in India’s constitutional discourse

• In the Indian scenario, even calling the framers of the Constitution of India as ‘founding
fathers’ is very patriarchal and paternalistic.
• The fact that the ‘founding mothers’ of the Indian Republic, the eminent women in the
Constituent Assembly, too painstakingly co-authored the Constitution, has been spitefully
hidden from the popular imagination.
The beginnings
• The founding mothers cobbled an intersectional alliance with B.R. Ambedkar for the
realisation of social revolution.

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 • They shared his sceptical attitude towards the romantic celebration of Indian culture
which is deeply anchored in the brahmanical patriarchy.
• Amrit Kaur, a prominent founding mother of the Constitution, asserted in 1932 that the
women of India were no longer willing to submit to standards,
- whether local, political, or ethical, which had been set for them by the male
conscience of the community.
Fight against a goliath
• The founding mothers conceived the Fundamental Rights not just as injunctions against
the state but also as a social charter that restores their inherent freedoms.
• Hansa Mehta and Amrit Kaur demanded that a Uniform Civil Code capable of arresting
the aggrandising social-patriarchal power must be included in the Fundamental Rights.
• Begum Aizaz Rasul articulated that secularism was the most outstanding feature of the
Constitution.
• Hansa Mehta and Amrit Kaur demanded the term ‘free practice of religion’ be replaced
by ‘freedom of religious worship’ as a constitutional carte blanche
- for religion would impede Indian women’s emancipation.
Still a struggle
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay believed that the Constitution heralded a new beginning for
women in India as it guaranteed equality and justice for them.
• But this euphoria did not last for long. After the passing away of the ‘founding mothers’,
Indian feminist constitutionalism has been affected.
• Despite strong women leaders in politics, India has not been blessed with a feminist
stateswoman or jurist.

SC ruling on socialism, secularism

The story so far
A Division Bench of SC led by the Chief Justice of India dismissed pleas challenging inclusion
of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble to our Constitution.
Preamble of constitution
• The original Preamble adopted on November 26, 1949, declared India a sovereign,
democratic, republic.
• Our Constituent Assembly consciously avoided the word ‘socialist’ as they felt that
declaring the economic ideal of a country in its preamble was not appropriate.
• Likewise, Indian secularism is different from western secularism.
• In the latter, the state and religion are strictly separated and the government does not
interfere in religious affairs.
• However, in India, the state enjoys the power to regulate the economic, financial,
political and secular aspects associated with religious practice.

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Cases that upheld
• In Berubari case (1960), the Supreme Court opined that the Preamble is not a part of the
Constitution and thus not a source of any substantive power.
• Subsequently, in Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the SC reversed its earlier opinion
and said that the Preamble is part of the Constitution and
- that it should be read and interpreted in the light of the vision envisioned in the
Preamble.
• The 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976 inserted the words ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’
and ‘Integrity’ in the Preamble.
Current case
• The current case was filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate
Ashwini Upadhyay and others.
• They had opposed the insertion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble by
stating that these ideologies were forced into the people.
• The court dismissed the pleas and held that ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism’ are integral to
the basic structure of the Constitution.
• The court opined that socialism in the Indian context means a welfare state that provides
equality of opportunity and does not prevent private sector from thriving.
• Similarly, over time India has developed its own interpretation of ‘secularism’.
- The state neither supports any religion nor penalises the profession and practice of
any faith.

From a republic to a republic of unequals

Constitution day on November 26, 2024 marked 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution
and constitutional governance in independent India.
An egalitarian outlook
• Its vision of equality aims to create an egalitarian society to minimise economic
inequalities among the people.
• Reflecting John Rawls’ egalitarian liberalism, including principles of equal basic
liberties, equal opportunities and difference, the Constitution aims to create an egalitarian
society.
• The liberalism is reflected in fundamental rights in Part III and the Directive Principles of
State Policy (DPSP) in Part IV of the Constitution.
• Article 38(2) of DPSP insists that the state shall strive to minimise the inequalities of
income and eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities.
• Further, Article 39(c) emphasises that the economic system ought not to result in a
concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.

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Economic reforms and inequality
• After the adoption of neoliberal economic reforms in India, the constitutional ideology
took a back seat and the idea of a welfare state is withdrawn.
• After the implementation of neoliberal reforms in the 1990s, there were major structural
changes that happened in the Indian economy,
- which prioritised private capital investment and a slow withdrawal of the welfare
interventionist state.
• The state took the positive role of creating and strengthening markets rather than working
towards creating an egalitarian society, as envisaged in the Constitution.
• As a consequence, the top 1% income has reached 22% of the total income pushing back
to an inequality situation worse than that in the pre-Independence period.
An overlap with social inequality
• The report titled “Towards Tax Justice and Wealth redistribution in India” 2024 was
released by the World Inequality Lab.
• By 2022-23, 90% of the billionaire wealth was held by the upper castes in India.
Scheduled Tribes are not present in billionaire wealth.
• Other Backward Classes (OBC) have a mere 10% presence and Scheduled Castes have a
2.6% representation in billionaire wealth.
• Further, Oxfam International highlights the rise in the number of billionaires from nine in
the year 2000 to 119 in 2023.

What is the controversy around the Sambhal mosque?

The story so far
• A petition was filed by Hari Shanker Jain and others in the court of the civil judge of the
district and sessions court, Sambhal.
• The petitioners alleged that the 16th Century Jama Masjid in Sambhal was built at the site
of an ancient Hari Har Mandir.
• The claim was similar to case of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Eidgah Masjid
Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and Kamal-Maula Masjid in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh.
History of mosque
• The Jama Masjid in Sambhal is one of
the three mosques built by Mughal
Emperor Babur during his reign between
1526 and 1530;
- the other two being the mosque in
Panipat and the Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya which was demolished in
1992.
• The Sambhal mosque was built by Babur’s general Mir Hindu Beg around 1528.

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 • While most historians attribute this mosque to Babur’s general Hindu Beg, some believe
the mosque is actually a Tughlaq-era monument.
• The Hindu tradition, however, holds that the mosque incorporates parts of an ancient
Vishnu temple.
What is the Places of Worship Act?
• The Places of Worship Act was aimed at shutting out the possibilities of any further
contestations around places of worship.
• The petition filed in Sambhal seeks to change the basic character of the place of worship,
in contravention of the 1991 Act.
• The courts have admitted petitions seeking to alter the religious character of the places of
worship in Varanasi, Mathura, Dhar and now Sambhal even,
- as the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the challenges to the Places of Worship Act
itself.

Census 2025 as a comprehensive citizen registry

The 2025 Census includes an exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), which
is a first step for the establishment of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC).
National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC)
• The NRIC draws its mandate from the Citizenship Act 1955.
• Initially conceptualised after the 1951 Census, it gained renewed significance following
recommendations by the Subrahmanyam Committee in the aftermath of the Kargil war
(1999).
• These led to the addition of Section 14A to the Act, mandating the compulsory
registration of all Indian citizens and authorising the issuance of identity cards to
officially document their citizenship status.
As a verified registry with more benefits
• The NRIC aims primarily to enhance national security by maintaining a verified citizen
registry but also offers additional benefits, such as;
- streamlining identity verification, reducing identity fraud and duplication, and
enabling targeted welfare programmes to reach only eligible recipients.
• The NPR serves as the initial step in achieving these objectives by differentiating citizens
from non-citizens through a multi-phase process.
• First, a comprehensive database is created by compiling demographic data during house
listing operations in the Census.
- Next, biometric data is collected to eliminate duplicate records.
• The 2025 Census is anticipated to follow a similar pattern of 2011. Biometric data
collection, however, will probably be excluded, as it is availed through Aadhar.

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Aadhaar versus NRIC
• Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) to residents of India, regardless of citizenship.
• It primarily serves as a biometric-based identity verification tool, linking residents to
services such as banking, subsidies, and digital identity.
• The NRIC aims to establish a comprehensive citizen registry.
• While Aadhaar is focused on identity verification and can be held by any resident, the
NRIC is a citizenship verification system, mandating proof of citizenship.
• Thus, Aadhaar is broadly inclusive for all residents, whereas the NRIC serves as a
definitive record for citizens.
The Assam exercise and privacy concerns
• Assam is the only state where the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been updated
(2019).
• Intended to identify illegal immigrants, particularly from Bangladesh, the process raised
concerns over its accuracy and fairness due to stringent documentation requirements that
left many rural and less-educated residents unable to meet the criteria.
• Unlike the proposed national NRIC, Assam’s NRC was guided by the Assam Accord,
which imposed unique conditions.
• However, Assam’s experience highlights the significant humanitarian and administrative
challenges that could arise from implementing a nationwide NRIC.
• Concerns about data privacy and the potential misuse of demographic and biometric
information persist, despite the Supreme Court's guidelines in the Aadhaar case.

Do new schemes ahead of elections amount to ‘voter bribes’?

In news
• The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance won a landslide victory in
Maharashtra’s State elections.
• Among several reasons cited for this victory are the implementation of the
Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.
• It is a direct benefit transfer programme introduced by the Maharashtra government in
July 2024, four months ahead of the polls.
• Critics say such schemes amount to bribing voters and giving the incumbent government
an unfair advantage.
Cash-transfer schemes
• Cash transfers are often said to be provided for economic independence of women, to
compensate for all the unpaid domestic work and for health and education.
• In Tamil Nadu for instance, they’re getting ₹12,000 a year (as part of the State’s cash
transfer scheme).

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 - If women were to get 100 days of MNREGA employment, they would get ₹29,000 a
year - more than double what they get through these cash transfers.
• The objective of health and nutrition can also be achieved much better through providing
eggs in anganwadis and midday meals.
• As far as the promises of cash are concerned, the media should reflect on its tendency to
term them as bribes or freebies.

18
Society and Social Issues

19
What are major challenges faced by Indian cities?
The story so far
• October 31 is observed every year as World Cities Day.
• The world’s urban population has reached an estimated 4.7 billion, or 57.5% of the
world’s total population, with projections to double by 2050.
• The theme for this year’s World Cities Day is ‘Youth Climate Changemakers: Catalysing
Local Action for Urban Sustainability’.

Challenges faced by cities

• The UN underscores that cities face unprecedented challenges, especially climate change.
• While strides have been made towards Sustainable Development Goals, urban centres
remain plagued by poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation.
• In the Global South, these challenges are intensified by rapid urbanisation, inadequate
infrastructure, and limited resources.
• Cities here often suffer from housing shortages, poor access to clean water and sanitation,
and increased vulnerability to climate-related events.
Indian urbanisation
• India’s urbanisation trajectory differs from the cities in the Global North.
• In Western countries, urbanisation followed industrialisation, which created jobs that
absorbed rural labour, because of massive economic transfers from colonies.
• In contrast, India’s urbanisation is largely driven by economic distress, resulting in
“poverty-driven urbanisation,” with rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban migration.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the strain on urban planning became apparent, as
reverse migration trends highlighted gaps in infrastructure.
What are urban challenges in India?
• The main challenges Indian cities face include inadequate spatial planning, climate
change, massive migration, growing inequality, social segregation, and governance
limitations.
• Urban planning agencies have struggled due to two main issues.

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 - First, spatial and temporal plans are often outdated and fail to accommodate
population growth.
- Second, plans often focus on capital growth rather than people’s needs, leading to a
lack of local ownership and engagement in the planning process.
• Additionally, inequality is widening with exclusive developments catering to the
wealthy while millions lack basic housing.
• Similarly, climate change severely impacts Indian cities. Cities face severe pollution and
are increasingly subject to urban flooding and “heat island effects.”
- Among the 10 most polluted cities in India, eight are in the NCR region around Delhi.

Aadhaar biometric data access will aid forensics

News context
• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has strict regulations about the
disclosure of data in order to protect a person’s right to privacy and ensure that there is no
misuse of personal data.
• In the normal course of events, the police do not have access to either demographic or
biometric information in the Aadhaar database.
Upholding rights and the dilemma
• The dilemma here involves balancing the two components of the right to life i.e., the right
to privacy with the right to life with dignity.
• A number of rulings by High Courts and Supreme Court of India have highlighted the
need for respectful and humane treatment of bodies.
• In some instances, they may be victims of homicide, with the bodies disposed of in
remote areas by the perpetrators to escape detection.
• There are also checks against prior missing person reports. Fingerprints are also collected
and sent to fingerprint bureaus to be matched against criminal records.
A limited database
• Unfortunately, fingerprint databases for police investigations are often limited to the
records of those with known criminal histories.
• In many States, these records are not yet digitised making it even more difficult to cross-
reference data quickly and efficiently.
• In this scenario, the absolute prohibition in the Aadhaar Act, against sharing core
biometric information for any purpose, is a significant challenge.
• In the United States, law enforcement agencies can access advanced identification tools
through the Deceased Persons Identification (DPI) Services.
• This reduces the burden on the higher judiciary in handling cases where access does not
raise concerns about violations of privacy.

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We need to address India’s workplace culture
Toxic work culture
• From all accounts, much of corporate India fails on every count. Toxic work culture is
pervasive in India’s private sector.
• The management employs two people where four are required. It seeks to motivate the
two employees by giving them the wages of three, thus saving on one employee.
• There is ‘variable pay’ to promote a ‘performance culture’ that translates into a higher
stock price great for top management that corners most of the stock options.
• Long hours and employee burnout are typical of the corporate culture of the U.S. but not
of Europe. France has a 35-hour work week.
- But, the per capita income in the U.S. is $85,000. In India, it is $2,700.
Time to remedy matters
• The board of directors should be paying attention to the company’s work culture,
providing recourse and initiating corrective measures.
• Alas, boards tend to be even more disconnected from reality than the management.
Moreover, they lack the incentives or the motivation to challenge management.
• Regulation may get boards to assume responsibility for the work culture, engage with
employees at lower levels, and get a sense of what’s going on.

Does data justify subdivision of quotas?

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 • India’s reservation system has long been a tool for uplifting historically marginalised
communities, particularly the SCs and STs.
• Reservations have opened the doors of higher education, government employment, and
public offices for groups once condemned to the periphery of society.
Quota within system
• Recent debates, have questioned whether a ‘quota-within-quota’ system is needed to
ensure that affirmative action policies are more equitable across SC subgroups.
• The idea is to subdivide the SC quota to provide targeted assistance to the most
disadvantaged communities within the broader SC category.
• While some States, like Punjab, have experimented with such policies, the effectiveness
of subdividing quotas is still a matter of contention.
• Despite its progressive aims, India’s reservation system is plagued by uneven outcomes.
Some SC groups seem to have progressed more than others.
Case Study: What data from different States tell us
• In Andhra Pradesh, there are slight differences between the two major SC groups —
Malas and Madigas and the disparities are not enough to warrant subdivision.
• By 2019, both groups had seen improvements in education and employment, and both
were equally likely to benefit from white-collar jobs.
• A similar story emerges in Tamil Nadu, where the two largest SC groups — Adi Dravida
and Pallan were indistinguishable in terms of socio-economic outcomes.
• In Punjab, the data suggests that this policy has led to better outcomes for more
disadvantaged SC groups, such as the Mazhabi Sikhs and Balmikis.
• The broader takeaway from these findings is that while there is some heterogeneity
within the SC category, the disparities between SC groups and upper-caste groups remain
far more pronounced.
Is quota-within-quota the solution?
• The idea of a ‘quota-within-quota’ is not without merit. In States like Punjab, where there
is a clear disparity between SC subgroups.
• Moreover, the political motivations behind quota subdivision, as seen in Bihar, can often
undermine the policy’s effectiveness.
• Decisions about who gets to be included in the most disadvantaged category are often
driven by political expediency rather than empirical evidence.
• Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s suggestion of introducing a “creamy layer” exclusion
for SCs similar to Other Backward Classes needs a evidentiary basis.
Way ahead
• India’s national Census, delayed for years, is the only source that can provide
comprehensive data on caste-based disparities.
• India’s reservation system has undeniably helped lift millions out of poverty and into the
middle class, but it is far from perfect.

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 • As debates around ‘quota-within-quota’ policies continue, the focus should remain on
improving access to affirmative action for all SCs and addressing the larger disparities
between SCs and upper-caste groups.

Why did SC uphold U.P. madrasa Act?

The story so far
• The Supreme Court on November 5, 2024, upheld the constitutional validity of the Uttar
Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, with exceptions.
• The top court set aside the Allahabad High Court’s decision, which had deemed the 2004
Act to be in breach of the principles of secularism.
How do madrasas operate?
• The Arabic word “madrasah” denotes an educational institution.
• The madrasa system has been in existence since the era of the Delhi Sultanate, receiving
patronage from the Khilji and Tughlaq dynasties.
• In 1993, P.V. Narasimha Rao government recognised the necessity of integrating modern
education into madrasas, resulting in the 2009 Scheme for Providing Quality Education
in Madrasas (SPQEM).
• According to data presented by the Union government, India has 24,010 madrasas, with
around 60% — approximately 14,400 located in Uttar Pradesh.
• The 2004 Act was enacted to regulate these madrasas with respect to curriculum,
standard of education, conduct of examinations, and qualifications for teaching.
What was the case?
• A single judge of the Allahabad High Court on 2019, while hearing a petition filed by
Mohammed Javed, expressed doubt regarding the validity of the 2004 Act.
• It thus concluded that the 2004 Act violated secularism and that the government could not
discriminate by imparting education based on religious affiliation.
• The judges further noted that while “Islamic studies” is mandatory in all madrasas,
essential modern subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences are
either excluded or made optional.
• This, they reasoned, undermines the State’s constitutional obligation under Article 21A to
ensure quality education for all children aged six to fourteen.
Implications
• The verdict sets an important precedent for balancing essential state oversight with the
protection of minority rights.
• By affirming the 2024 Act’s primary aim of imparting quality education, the court
reinforces a nuanced approach to secularism that embraces diversity within India’s
education system.

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PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme for higher education gets nod
• The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved a new Central Sector scheme, PM
Vidyalaxmi, which seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students in their
pursuit of higher education.
• Under the scheme, a student who secures admission in any of the top 860 Quality Higher
Education Institutions (QHEIs), both government and private,
- will be eligible to get collateral-free, guarantor-free loan from banks and financial
institutions to cover full amount of tuition fees and other expenses.
• Under the scheme, for loans up to ₹7.5 lakh, the student will receive a credit guarantee of
75%, enabling banks to extend education loans to students.

India will fail to meet 2025 TB ‘elimination’ target

In March 2018, PM Modi set an ambitious goal of “eliminating” TB by 2025, five years ahead
of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deadline set for 2030.
World report suggests
• The SDG targets for 2030 is 90% reduction in TB deaths compared with 2015 and 80%
reduction in TB incidence compared with 2015.
• But as per the WHO Global TB Report 2024 and the India TB Report 2024, India will not
be able to even meet the 2025 milestones set by the WHO End TB Strategy,
- let alone achieving the ambitious goal of “eliminating” TB by 2025.
• According to the WHO global TB report 2024, the TB incidence rate for India in 2023
was 195 per 1,00,000 population.
• Worse, even in 2023, India has not met the 2020 milestones of the End TB Strategy for
both TB incidence and deaths.
• India did not meet the ‘elimination’ targets set for 2023 by the India’s National Strategic
Plan for TB elimination: 2017-2025 report published in 2017.

What are the costs of population decline?

The Chief Ministers of both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu expressed concerns about the low
fertility rates in their States recently.
Demographic situation in the southern States
• After decades of family planning policies seeking to slow population growth, India is
facing the fact that such policies are also increasing ageing population.
• This is not a uniform phenomenon — southern States, as well as smaller northern States
have seen a much sharper decrease in total fertility rates.
• Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, for instance, recorded fertility rates of 1.4 between 2019
and 2021.
• At the other end of the spectrum are Bihar, with a fertility rate of 3, Uttar Pradesh
(2.7), and Madhya Pradesh (2.6).

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 • States with lower fertility rates have largely developed faster, but are now faced with the
spectre of a rapidly ageing population.
• The India Ageing report published by UNFPA says the share of India’s elderly
population is projected to rise from 10.1% in 2021 to 15% by 2036.
- In Kerala, senior citizens accounted for 16.5% of the population in 2021, a figure that
is set to rise to 22.8% by 2036.

Economic impact
• India’s demographic transition is much ahead of its socio-economic transition and one
has to look at the old age dependency ratio.
- When this ratio goes above 15%, that is when you have the onset of an ageing crisis.
• A number of States have already crossed this point, with Kerala having an old age
dependency ratio of 26.1 in 2021, followed by
- Tamil Nadu (20.5), Himachal Pradesh (19.6), and Andhra Pradesh (18.5).
• Health expenses are likely to rise significantly in States with ageing populations.
• Data shows that Southern states spent 32% of the country’s total out-of-pocket
expenditure on cardiovascular diseases in 2017-2018, while eight Hindi belt states spent
just 24%.
Political implications
• Uneven population growth is set to shake up the federal structure, with the current freeze
on the number of seats in Parliament set to expire in 2026.
• The study estimated that Uttar Pradesh is likely to gain 12 seats, followed by Bihar (10)
and Rajasthan (7), while Tamil Nadu is set to lose nine seats,
- followed by Kerala (6) and Andhra Pradesh (5).
Solutions considered
• The southern CMs seem to be advocating pro-natalist policies by incentivising women to
have more babies, which was not very successful internationally.
• Educated women know they are not reproductive machines, and forced fertility will not
work, nor will incentives that do not recognise what families actually need.

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 • Changes in work-family policies, paid maternity and paternity leaves, accessible
childcare, and employment policies that reduces motherhood penalty can help.
• Another approach is to increase the working lifespan and thus reduce the old age
dependency ratio.

Can India get rich before growing old?

Demographic dividend denotes a country’s economic growth advantages when most of its
population is in the working-age bracket.
The middle-income trap
• Even though three-fourths of India’s population is aged 15-64, the dividend, as it turns
out is not the silver bullet that we have held it out to be, nor is it perpetual.
• India’s total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children a woman has in her
lifetime is declining at a faster pace than was anticipated a decade ago.
• Most States are now below the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman,
needed to maintain a stable population.
• Southern States such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, with TFRs below 1.75, are
leading this trend.
• India’s rapid decline in TFR also challenges conventional wisdom, which links lower
birth rates to improvements in education and income.
Focus on manufacturing
• The proven path for economic growth has been the movement of workers from low-
productivity sectors such as agriculture to higher-productivity jobs in manufacturing and
services.
- While the services sector has grown significantly, manufacturing has stagnated in
India.
• For example, the textile and apparel industry, worth $150 billion, employs 45 million
people, compared to 5.5 million in the $250 billion IT-BPM sector.
• Moreover, textile factories often employ 60-70% women, empowering those who might
otherwise be confined to unpaid work.
• The Central government should lower tariffs to make inputs cheaper for Indian
manufacturers and boost exports.
• Finalising long-pending free trade agreements with the U.K. and EU should be another
priority to expand market access for Indian products.
• Additionally, restrictions on creating worker housing in industrial zones raise hiring
costs.

The impact of PMUY in Jammu and Kashmir

The International Energy Agency says about 681 million people in India rely on solid fuels
for cooking. This poses series health and environmental concerns.

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LPG connection adoption
• In the rural areas of J&K, 85.07% of the households have official LPG connections.
Nearly 68% of these were procured under the PMUY.
• However, despite this substantial increase in LPG availability, traditional cooking
methods remain pervasive.
• About 92% of the households still maintain traditional chulhas, and 85% of the
households engage in fuel stacking, using both solid fuels and LPG.
• This pattern is reflective of cultural attachment to traditional cooking methods, and the
problem of affordability, which limits exclusive reliance on LPG.
PMUY targets
• One of the primary objectives of PMUY is to alleviate the health burden on women by
reducing their exposure to indoor smoke from traditional cooking fuels.
• Among BPL households, the incidence of respiratory problems, such as coughing, chest
infections, and headaches, showed a marked reduction.
• Households with additional appliances such as rice cookers, and educated members, also
experienced better health outcomes.
• For instance, PMUY beneficiaries with rice cookers reported a reduced incidence of
coughing (20%) compared to non-beneficiaries.
Barriers to exclusive LPG usage
• The first is the lack of awareness about the health benefits of LPG.
• The second barrier is financial. The cost of refilling LPG cylinders remains a burden for
many households.
• Fuel stacking remains prevalent in 85% of the households, underscoring the need for
more comprehensive financial support to make LPG refills more affordable.
• Expanding the network of LPG distribution points in rural areas and extending financial
support for refills could further increase clean fuel adoption.

‘Sea ranching’ launched off Vizhinjam coast as follow-up to artificial reef project in
Kerala
• Twenty-thousand pompano
(Trachinotus blochii) fingerlings
were deposited in the sea off
Vizhinjam as a follow-up to the
artificial reef project.
• It is deployed under Pradhan
Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
(PMMSY) to replenish marine
fishery resource and promote
sustainable fishing practices.

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 • The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) had cleared the Centrally funded ₹3-
crore PMMSY scheme in March.
• According to Fisheries department, the reefs have already attracted a large variety of fish
including tuna, trevally and mackerel.

Prachanda slams Oli, says India ties are under strain

• Slamming Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli for playing what he called the “China
card”, former Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said,
- India-Nepal ties are under strain due to the new government’s policies and that there is
a danger that the border dispute would be rekindled.
• Mr. Oli himself likened India and China to Sufi shrines at Ajmer and Nizamuddin in
Delhi, saying in a lighter vein that it should not matter which is visited first.
• The differences between New Delhi and Kathmandu over a number of issues, including
the border dispute over areas including Kalapani and Limpiyadhura,
- which led to a diplomatic stand-off in 2019, after India published maps showing the
changes in Jammu and Kashmir since the amendment to Article 370.
• According to reports, Nepal government, which has incorporated the disputed territory
into national emblem, now plans to issue new currency notes with the map.

Quarter of world’s diabetics are in India; experts call for urgent efforts for prevention
Study findings
• A paper published in the journal The Lancet, based on a global study, recorded over 800
million adults living with diabetes, with more than half not receiving treatment.
• India had the highest number of diabetics in the world, but surprisingly enough, the
number was nearly 100 million more than the numbers revealed.
• According to the study, the total number of adults living with either Type 1 or Type 2
diabetes in the world has surpassed 800 million.
• One of the reasons for the huge numbers might be the use of either HbA1C value or
fasting glucose, whichever data was available in different nations.

The Jhansi hospital tragedy is a result of neglecting fire safety and health care
In news
• The fire in the neonatal intensive care unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in
Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh, underscores the fatal intersection of
- severely neglected sectors in government budgeting and planning health care and fire
safety.
• The neonatal care unit in Jhansi was operating at almost three times its capacity, there
were 49 babies for incubators meant only for 18.

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Structural problems
• A point to be noted is that India’s doctor-patient ratio for 2024 is 1:836, which is well
within the World Health Organisation recommendation of 1:1,000.
• The initial reports suggest an electric short-circuit could be the cause, exacerbated by
oxygen cylinders in the care unit.
• In recent years the requirements for fire safety cover have increased manifold whereas
the development of fire service has not made much headway.
• India’s public health expenditure was 3.3% of GDP in 2021. This is lower than the
global average for developing countries, ranging between 2% to 5% of GDP.

Electronically track undertrials to cut crowding of jails: SC body

Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning has called for launching pilot programmes
to use electronic tracking devices for releasing undertrial prisoners to ease prison overcrowding.
NCRB statistics
• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says, the number of inmates in all jails across
India was 5,73,220, but the total capacity is 4,36,266, 131% occupancy rate.
- Additionally, 4,34,302 inmates (75.7%) are awaiting trial.
• The report said countries such as the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Malaysia, and Australia
have been using electronic tracking devices.
• In 2023, the Home Ministry forwarded the Model Prisons and Correctional Services
Act, 2023 to all States and Union Territories for adoption.
- For the first time, the Act introduced the use of electronic tracking devices on
prisoners.

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Safeguards needed
• Nevertheless, the usefulness of tracking technology as a substitute for prison
incarceration cannot be undermined.
• It added that any kind of surveillance by the State to achieve the objective of prison
decongestion must come with safeguards and guidelines.
• Using tracking devices would not only ease the burden on prison infrastructure but also
help mitigate the mental stress that prisoners face.

India has to scale up diagnosis to meet the 2030 WHO target for diabetes

Diabetes in India
• From around 200 million in 1990, the number of people with diabetes has quadrupled
globally to over 800 million in 2022.
• At 212 million, India has the highest number of people with diabetes as against China’s
prevalence of 148 million.
• India also topped the list of countries with 133 million people over the age of 30 years
with untreated diabetes as against 78 million in China.
Testing methods
• One reason for the steep increase in the number of those with diabetes was the
methodology used for pooling and analysing the data.
• That diabetes prevalence in India has increased in the last three decades is beyond doubt
even if the absolute numbers are contested.
• High-calorie foods rich in carbohydrates and saturated fat, and a sedentary lifestyle are
two major controllable risk factors for diabetes.
• According to WHO report, there is overwhelming evidence that cigarette smoking raises
the risk of developing diabetes by 30%-40% compared to those who do not.
• With 133 million people remaining undiagnosed, India has to rapidly scale up diagnosis
to meet the 2030 WHO target for diabetes.

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Should packaged food content be labelled?
The story so far
• A new report was published by Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi) a non-profit global
foundation.
• It has found that leading food and beverage (F&B) companies, sell products that are less
healthy in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) compared to what they sell in high-
income countries (HICs).
Report findings
• The report analysed 52,414 products including those from popular brands such as Nestle,
Pepsico, Unilever, Coca-Cola using a health star rating system.
• The system assesses components of food considered to increase risk (energy, saturated
fat, total sugars and sodium) and offsets these against components
- considered to decrease risk (protein, fibre and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume) to
calculate a final score that is converted to a star rating.
• The ATNi report found that ‘portfolio healthiness’ was found to be lowest in LMICs,
highlighting disparities in products offered across different markets.
Significance in India
• As per National Family Health Survey 5 data, obesity stands at 24% among women and
23% among men.
• At the same time, undernutrition, anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies continue to
remain pressing problems.
• The Economic Survey of India 2023-24 noted that 56.4% of the total disease burden in
India is due to unhealthy diets.
• Another significant issue here is affordability: as per UN data over 50% of Indians cannot
afford a healthy diet.
Food package labelling
• In 2017, India launched the National Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and
Control of Common NCDs, 2017-22 (NMAP).
• However, there has been very little progress made to address front-of-pack labelling of
food.
• Activists have been pushing the government to bring in regulations for front-of-package
labelling of foods that would indicate high sugar, fat and sodium content.

How does PM Vidyalaxmi differ from other schemes?

The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved a new Central Sector Scheme, PM
Vidyalaxmi, which seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students applying for
higher education.

32
What does the scheme cover?
• Students who have gained admission in 860 quality higher education institutions, as
defined by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), are eligible.
• For students with an annual family income of up to ₹8 lakh, and not eligible for benefits
under any other government scholarship,
- a 3% interest subvention for loans up to ₹10 lakh will be provided during the
moratorium period.
• The interest subvention support will be given to one lakh students every year.
What about past schemes?
• PM Vidyalaxmi differs from previous central government schemes in the number of
institutions eligible, mode of processing of loans, income cap, amount disbursed.
• While previous schemes offered benefits to only low-income groups, the Vidyalaxmi
scheme expands coverage to middle-income families.
• The eligible institutions needed to be accredited with the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
• However, under Vidyalaxmi only institutions with NIRF ranks are eligible.

Poverty and climate change must be tackled urgently by the G-20

Tackling global hunger and poverty and promoting climate justice were declared goals for
the recent G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
News context
• Brazilian President Lula Da Silva called poverty “scourge that shames humanity”.
• He asked the gathered nations to implement policies such as taxing the ‘super-rich’, using
a 2% wealth tax to generate more than $200 billion in revenue.
• The G-20 hosted by Brazil, was by the third host country of the Global South, after
Indonesia in 2022 and India in 2023. The next G-20 is to be in South Africa.
• However, the summit followed just after the U.S. presidential election results, casting its
shadow.
• Given his moves during his first tenure, Donald Trump will not set much store by the
aspirations of the Global South.
• In 2026, as the G-20 will return to the U.S., the deadline is more urgent.

₹6,000 crore scheme to help students access journals

• The Union Cabinet cleared the ‘One Nation One Subscription’ scheme, a new Central-
sponsored initiative.
• It aims for providing countrywide access to scholarly research articles and journal
publications.
• Administration: through a simple, user friendly and fully digital process.

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 • Beneficiaries: Government higher education institutions, and research and development
laboratories of the Union government will get the benefit of the scheme.
• Coordination: by central agency called Information and Library Network
(INFLIBNET).

An ideal way to treat India’s corneal blindness problem

• Despite strong support for eye donation in India, with millions, including popular film
actors, pledging to donate, an acute shortage of corneas persists.
• There is a need to perform about 1,00,000 corneal transplants every year, but only 30% of
this need is being met.
The magnitude of the problem
• Indian policymakers are seriously considering the ‘presumed consent’ approach to
corneal donations because of the scale of the problem.
• The cornea is the thin, clear outer layer of the eye. Infection, accidents, or congenital
conditions can turn it opaque.
• Corneal opacities are the second major cause of blindness in India among those who are
50 years and older, and the primary cause in those younger.
• An estimated 1.2 million people live with corneal opacities in India and about a third can
be treated with a corneal transplant.
Presumed consent versus required request
• ‘Presumed consent’ addresses the problem of cornea scarcity alone.
• At first glance, it eliminates a lot of red tape: the permissions, the wait for a post-mortem
examination, even the effort of convincing the next-of-kin.
• Universal ‘opt-in’ should boost the supply of corneas and bring us closer to eliminating
corneal blindness in India.
• Corneal donation and transplantation are a sensitive partnership between the public, the
corneal specialist community, and the policymakers.
- Presumed consent distorts this partnership by negating the need for seeking consent
from the next of kin.
• In addition to ‘required request’, the key to their success is public education and
investments across the cornea transplantation pipeline.
A model that works
• India too has a successful model of ‘required request’ corneal donation: a hospital cornea
retrieval programme (HCRP).
• General hospitals handle a lot of mortality and are thus sites for motivating corneal
donations.
• In the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha, there is no waiting list for
corneal transplants, unlike other parts of the country with months-long waiting lists.

34
 • It has also been found that the ‘Required Request’ approach encourages cornea donation.
It offers some closure to grieving relatives.

Ban this carcinogenic ‘heart-burn’ drug

Story so far
• The multinational pharmaceutical company, GSK announced a record settlement of $2.2
billion in the United States in order to settle multiple lawsuits.
• The lawsuit is regarding one of its best-selling drugs to treat “acid reflux”– Zantac ®,
containing the active ingredient Ranitidine.
• It was revealed that the drug contained high amounts of a cancer-causing carcinogen
called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).
• On testing various brands of Ranitidine, it is found that NDMA has excess of 3,000,000
nanograms in some samples; acceptable limit in U.S. was 96 nanograms.
A widely used pharma drug
• Back in 2021, after reports in the Indian press pointed out how Ranitidine was still being
sold in India, there has been no action since then.
• The task of setting standards, including acceptable limits of impurities and analytical
methods for testing generic drugs for such impurities lies with,
- the Indian Pharmacopeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous institution under the
Ministry of Health and chaired by the Secretary of Health.
• IPC is also required to manufacture and supply reference standards and impurity
standards against which drugs such as Ranitidine can be tested.
• Under Section 26A of The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 only the central government,
within the Ministry of Health has the power to prohibit the manufacture and sale of drugs
in the country.

Indians need to share contraceptive responsibility

In 1952, India pioneered a national programme for family planning, whose focus has since
changed from improving maternal and child health to stabilising the population.
- As this programme evolved, so too did permanent methods of contraception.
Gender and the disparity
• The five rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NHFS) show the use of male
sterilisation, to be steadily decreasing for last three decades in all States.
• In fact, the vasectomies percentage remained constant at around 0.3% in NFHS-4 (2015-
16) and NFHS-5.
• Official data also show a large disparity between the rates of female and male
sterilisation, 37.9% and 0.3%, respectively.
• The initiative is to revitalise the procedure by increasing awareness, generating demand
among men, and debunking misconceptions.

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 • Policies still overlook multiple issues on the ground, keeping them ineffective and
allowing the gap between male and female sterilisation rates to persist.
The ground reality, solutions
• The women from study said sterilisation was their responsibility and that the men do not
believe they need to have vasectomies.
• These women were also unaware of the Indian government’s cash incentives to those
who undergo vasectomies to offset the loss of wages.
• Illiteracy, male egos, misconceptions about its impact on libido, and family opposition
have led to the poor acceptance of vasectomies.
• The unavailability of skilled providers has aggravated the situation, especially in rural
areas.
• To make matters worse, many trained community health workers themselves know little
about no-scalpel vasectomies.
An international comparison
• As a first step, sensitisation should begin during early adolescence in schools.
• Awareness programmes and monitored peer-group discussions can lay the foundation for
accepting sterilisation as a shared responsibility.
• Vasectomy is a safe and simple procedure compared to tubectomy, the corresponding
surgical procedure for women involving their fallopian tubes.
• These information and activities should be supplemented with greater conditional cash
incentives for vasectomies with goal to improve male participation.
− A study in Maharashtra in 2019 showed that more men in rural tribal areas opted
for vasectomies after being offered a conditional cash incentive.
• India should draw from the lessons from other countries that have increased vasectomy
uptake.
− South Korea has the highest prevalence of the procedure worldwide and Bhutan
has also popularised vasectomy b making it socially acceptable.
• Greater public awareness of vasectomies allows both partners in a union to make
informed family planning decisions.

36
International Issues

37
Zeroing in on methane diplomacy, at COP29
From November 11 to 22, 2024, world leaders will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 29th Conference of Parties
(COP29) to the UNFCCC.
Common ground between U.S., China
• Despite tensions in their relationship, the United States and China have found common
ground in addressing non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as methane.
• The two countries joined hands with the United Arab Emirates at COP28 to sponsor a
summit on methane and other non-CO2 emissions.
- China also released its first national plan for controlling methane emissions.
• India, the world’s third-largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions behind China
and the U.S., has an opportunity to leverage the partnership and support.
• But the dominance of agriculture, particularly livestock and rice cultivation, is what
makes India hesitant to announce economy-wide methane reduction targets,
- or sign the Global Methane Pledge championed by the U.S. and the European Union
at COP28 that seeks to cut emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
Waste management programmes
• The Indian government has developed a strong regulatory framework for waste
management, but weak local capacity hampers implementation.
• The government is promoting the Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan
(GOBARdhan) scheme, which incentivises cattle waste utilisation and clean energy
production in villages.
• These initiatives are part of the broader Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 programme
to improve solid waste management.
• In the agriculture sector, the government is implementing climate-resilient practices
through the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• The National Livestock Mission also promotes practices such as green fodder
production, silage making, chaff cutting, and total mixed ration to reduce methane
emissions from livestock.

India silent after U.S. imposes sanctions on 19 Indian entities

In news
• India has not responded directly to the U.S. decision to put 19 Indian entities under
sanctions for providing “dual-use” technologies to Russia.
• Calling them “Third-Country Sanctions Evaders”, the U.S. Treasury Department
imposed sanctions on nearly 400 companies and individuals from 17 countries.
Closer collaboration
• The government has thus far not responded to U.S. Treasury sanctions against a number
of Indian entities for links to Russia and Iran since 2022,
− holding only that India “does not recognise unilateral sanctions”.

38
 • The U.S. will now freeze all property of the sanctioned companies and owners in the
United States and ban all transactions by U.S. citizens with them.
• The Ministry of External Affairs has thus far not commented on the latest allegations
from Canada or the U.S. statement of “concern”.

Why is Brazil weighing options on BRI?

The story so far
• The Brazilian government indicated
that it may not want to join China’s
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• It would make it the second member of
the BRICS grouping after India to
decline joining the trillion-dollar
Chinese global infrastructure project
of 2013.
• Brazil would prefer to explore synergy
in various nationally determined
infrastructure projects, said Chief
Advisor on Foreign Policy.
• Finally, he pointed to more
geopolitical collaborations that Brazil
and China can further, such as the six-
point peace plan for Ukraine.
India’s reasons to stay out of BRI
• In its decision announced in May
2017 to stay out of the BRI, India was more forthright, and had outlined three issues:
- the corridor disregards sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, particularly
referring to projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir;
- it would push smaller economies into debt traps and environmental hazards;
- there was lack of transparency, indicating India was wary of the BRI’s larger
geopolitical aims.
• In Brazil, there is an underlying concern about growing dependence in the CELAC
(Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) region on Chinese investment.
• Brazil-China trade has reached robust levels of $180 billion and Chinese investment of
$3 billion a year in Brazil is the highest in the continent.
Has the BRI lost its sheen?
• One of the reasons the BRI’s charms have dimmed is China’s own slowing economy and
Beijing’s unwillingness to be as generous with its loans.
• Another is the discomfort in many countries over the terms for the loans, which involve
hiring Chinese companies and engaging Chinese workers,
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 - while often demanding heavy collateral, as Sri Lanka found out after losing control of
the Hambantota port.
• The U.S.’s heavy lobbying against the BRI has also had some effect: Italy’s Giorgia
Melloni announced in December 2023 that it would not renew the BRI MoU.

UN summit approves fund to share profits of genetic data

• A UN nature summit agreed in Colombia on the creation of a fund to share the profits of
digitally sequenced genetic data taken from animals and plants.
• Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines
and cosmetics that can make their developers billions.
• The previous summit, COP15 in Montreal, had agreed on the creation of a multi-lateral
mechanism for sharing the benefits of digitally sequenced
- genetic information abbreviated as DSI including a global fund.
• After a last-minute compromise, member countries of the CBD agreed on the creation of
a “Cali Fund” for the equitable sharing of DSI benefits.

The BRICS summit boost to India-Iran ties

In news
• At the 16th BRICS Summit hosted by Russia in
Kazan (October 22-24, 2024), there were a few
meetings on the sidelines which created a buzz.
• One such meeting was between India and Iran,
both close civilisational friends and looking to
strengthen a stagnating partnership.
Much potential
• Globally, India is being widely sought after to
facilitate a peaceful resolution to the conflict as it
enjoys trust and goodwill across both ends, with
Israel and Iran.
• The bilateral meeting between PM Narendra Modi
and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Masoud Pezeshkian was the first time that the leaders have met.
• Mr. Pezeshkian acknowledged the key role played by India in 2023 in Iran’s entry into
key multilateral organisations such as the SCO and BRICS.
• Both sides also discussed the possibilities of strengthening cooperation in key areas such
as Chabahar port and International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
For India
• Chabahar port also provides easy and short access to India’s Kandla and Mumbai ports.

40
 • A further road link from Zahedan to Zaranj in Afghanistan could provide seamless
connectivity for humanitarian aid from India to Afghanistan.
• Iran’s importance for India, however, goes well beyond the Chabahar port and the
connectivity options that it provides.
• Iran is vitally important due to its vast reserves of crude oil and natural gas. At 2021, it
accounted for 24% of the oil reserves of West Asia and 12% of the world.
Security cooperation
• Close military cooperation with Iran is also a possibility. The two countries had signed a
defence cooperation agreement in 2001 but nothing came of i.
• Iran is already supplying armed drones to Russia in its war with Ukraine. India too is
looking to develop cheap and effective armed drones.
• To combat the threat of terror groups from Pakistan, India and Iran could conduct joint
counterterrorism exercises and develop intelligence-sharing mechanisms.
• On the naval front, port calls at Iranian ports and the development of logistical facilities
in the Persian Gulf could prove extremely useful.
Way ahead
• India, under Modi 3.0, is looking to strengthen India’s outreach and strategic convergence
in West Asia.
• Similarly, Iran is looking to consolidate its diplomatic gains of recent years and considers
India to be an important partner.
• The meeting at the BRICS Summit may have just given the right impetus for both.

India, Algeria sign pact to elevate defence cooperation, enhance strategic interests
• India and Algeria concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral defence
cooperation.
• This was signed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and his
counterpart, Chief of Staff of Algeria Said Chanegriha.
• The MoU elevates the defence partnership between both nations, fostering mutual
understanding and enhancing strategic interests.
• General Chauhan’s visit coincided with the military parade and commemorative events of
November 01, marking the 70th Anniversary of Algeria’s revolution.

Temple attack: PM urges Canada to uphold the law

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the violence at the Hindu Sabha Temple at
Brampton near Toronto and said such actions will never weaken India’s resolve.
The issue about
• The incident took place when a pro-Khalistan crowd came to the temple which was
hosting a consular camp that Indian diplomats had organised for the Canadian and Indian
life certificate beneficiaries.

41
 • For the sake of the beneficiaries, the High Commission in Ottawa and Indian missions
had planned similar consular camps at multiple locations.
• Mr. Modi slammed the recent reports of surveillance targeting Indian diplomats in
Canada and described such actions as “cowardly”.

A setback The LDP’s loss of majority in Japan could have implications for the world
The results of the October 27 general election in Japan have thrown all calculations within the
G-7 country and one of the most powerful economies into disarray.
Election results
• The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
dropped from 256 seats to 191 seats in the 465-seat
House of Representatives and its partner Komeito,
from 32 to 24.
• The LDP, in power for much of the past six
decades, has been bleeding public support, after
Shinzo Abe stepped down in 2020 and was
assassinated in 2022.
• Despite garnering sympathy, his successor Fumio
Kishida faced questions over the LDP’s links with
the Korean Unification Church and a scandal over
fundraising by LDP lawmakers.
• This paved the way for a party election that veteran leader and former Defence Minister
Shigeru Ishiba won.
• For India, the bilateral relationship with Japan is among the most steadfast pillars of
foreign policy.

Prachanda slams Oli, says India ties are under strain

• Slamming Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli for playing what he called the “China
card”, former Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said,
- India-Nepal ties are under strain due to the new government’s policies and that there is
a danger that the border dispute would be rekindled.
• Mr. Oli himself likened India and China to Sufi shrines at Ajmer and Nizamuddin in
Delhi, saying in a lighter vein that it should not matter which is visited first.
• The differences between New Delhi and Kathmandu over a number of issues, including
the border dispute over areas including Kalapani and Limpiyadhura,
- which led to a diplomatic stand-off in 2019, after India published maps showing the
changes in Jammu and Kashmir since the amendment to Article 370.
• According to reports, Nepal government, which has incorporated the disputed territory
into national emblem, now plans to issue new currency notes with the map.

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On India-Canada diplomatic relations
The story so far
Recently, Canada and India each expelled their top diplomats due to the fallout from Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation last year.

Is there a historical context?

• India’s long-held complaint has been that Canada acts as a safe haven for Khalistani
separatists/extremists.
• Its biggest grouse has been Canada’s failure in preventing the 1985 Air India bombing
and the lack of support in subsequent investigations.
• Sikhs constitute only 2% of Canada’s population but their political clout is far
disproportionate because of geographic concentration.
• However, there is no public evidence to state that the only motive for the Trudeau
government to lay these accusations against India is to pander to Sikh voters.
Are there political and cultural misunderstandings?
• Canadian government, for a long time, had seen it as a “foreign tragedy” and the victims
as not “real Canadians”, clearly betraying systemic racism.
• Despite being Canada’s worst terrorist act, 90% Canadians had little or no knowledge of
it and more than 50% under the age of 35 had never even heard of it.
• Further, as no Khalistani terrorist act has been perpetrated in Canada since then, the
public is unaffected, and ignorant of Khalistani activism.
• Canadian police independence is guarded, and whenever there were attempts by
politicians to interfere illegally, there has been a huge public outcry.
Legal complexities
• India’s extradition requests, for those who it terms as Khalistani terrorists, are very often
denied not due to political reasons as they not meet Canadian legal standards.

43
 • Western democracies are wary of extraditions to countries with much poorer human
rights records, especially under anti-terror laws such as the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA).
• Other reasons include the weakness of evidence solely relying on statements from the
accused in custody, and the inadmissibility of Indian intelligence evidence
- in courts abroad as it is not gathered under the Indian Telegraph Act and the
Information Technology Act.

What Trump 2.0 means for India

New Delhi will no doubt welcome Trump 2.0, even as it braces for the impact of some of his
methods, such as using social media to open coercion in order to drive home a point.
Where the road will be smooth
• The President-elect has made it clear that he intends to
build on his past history with India, including building
trade ties, opening up more technology.
• Rather than pushing India on carbon emission cuts, Mr.
Trump is likely to encourage India to buy into U.S. oil
and LNG.
• Under Mr. Trump, India-U.S. ties are also unlikely to
face less trouble over issues such as democratic norms, minority rights, press freedoms,
and human rights.
• New Delhi will also hope that public comments by the U.S. State Department and
Department of Justice on the Pannun-Nijjar cases will be more muted.
Potential trouble areas
• The first problem is Mr. Trump’s persistent focus on cutting trade tariffs, which saw his
administration impose a series of counter-tariffs.
• The second is his habit of disclosing the contents of private conversations with leaders
and, on occasion, embellishing them or even imagining them.
• In June 2018, he sent the then United Nations envoy, Nikki Haley, on a mission to New
Delhi to virtually threaten India with sanctions.
- Subsequently, India zeroed out its oil imports from both Iran and Venezuela.
• India will also seek Mr. Trump’s intervention in ending Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon,
and reopening talks with Gulf countries,
- to help revive its plans for the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor.

The BRICS journey — gaining heft while in transition

Survival and a rejuvenation
• The summit in Kazan, Russia (October 22-24, 2024) was the sixteenth in a series that
began in 2009.

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 • Only four countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China participated in the first two
summits. South Africa joined the group at the third summit in 2011.
• The 15th summit’s decision on expansion led to five new members: Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
• A disclosure by Mr. Putin that 34 more nations are desirous of joining the grouping
signifies that BRICS is headed upwards.
- Post-summit, the Russian projection was that this grouping represents the ‘Global
Majority.’
BRICS spirit
• The grouping is driven with eight specific characteristics:
- mutual respect and understanding; sovereign equality; solidarity; democracy;
openness; inclusiveness; collaboration, and consensus.
• It is promoting intra-BRICS cooperation under three verticals: political and security;
economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people cooperation.
• BRICS, initially a grouping of emerging economies, is now primarily a platform for
Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs).
• Pushing for comprehensive UN reform, the grouping devised at Johannesburg to support
the aspirations of countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
• Another significant element was the grouping’s call for the elimination of unilateral
economic sanctions.
From India’s lens
• From India’s perspective, BRICS figures among the top six plurilateral groupings — G-
20, Quad, BRICS, BIMSTEC, G-7 and the SCO.
• BRICS helps India to promote multipolarity in the world, exercise its strategic autonomy,
deepen its relations with Russia, and advocate the interests of the Global South.
• In addition, the latest summit served as a useful platform for the first meeting in about
five years between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
• Above all, BRICS allows India to serve as a bridge between the west and the east and
between the north and the south, thus turning New Delhi into a geopolitical sweet spot
today.

A resounding victory
The Sri Lankan election has demonstrated the National People’s Power (NPP), growing appeal
among all sections, who was thrown out what they despised as a corrupt regime.
News context
• Having elected JVP chief Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the country’s President, they
have a hard-to-get over two-thirds majority.
• The NPP has accomplished what former President Mahinda Rajapaksa could not get in
the 2010 poll after the LTTE’s defeat.

45
 • It has been a remarkable show in Jaffna and Vanni in the Northern Province, that is home
to Tamils and the stronghold of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi.
• The rise of the coalition, from three seats with 3.84% vote share in 2020, to a super
majority now, is remarkable.
• It described the unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans as the bedrock
of the new beginning. He can now build on this unity.

Leverage similarity, complementarity in Nigeria

On November 16-17, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous country and second largest economy.
Nigeria – India
• There are more than 150 Indian companies with
footprints in Nigeria with investments estimated at $27
billion.
• With bilateral trade at $7.9 billion, India is Nigeria’s
second largest trading partner.
• Nearly 50,000 Indians in Nigeria, the
largest Oyibo (non-African) group in the country are
well regarded for their low profile, professionalism and
integrity.
• Despite being the top buyer of Nigerian crude, India has
no upstream assets there. There are multiple reasons behind this stagnancy.
• Nigeria is too big and important a partner for India to channel its development assistance
multilaterally through the African Union.
Where India could help
• Despite the current eco-political conundrum, Nigeria retains its long-term attractiveness
for India as a major hydrocarbon supplier.
• Among its top concerns is upgrading its defence and security services to meet the
terrorism and economic anarchy-related challenges such as Boko Haram,
− oil bunkering, Gulf of Guinea piracy, and a turbulent neighbourhood.
• Other complementarities to be leveraged would include importing palm oil, hides and
skins, ginger, and Gum Arabic.
• India’s services exports in areas such as IT and IT-enabled services, banking, financial
services and insurance, health care, skilling and education also deserve support.

India and Japan sign agreement for UNICORN masts for naval warships
In news
• India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Implementation (MoI) for the co-development
of UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) mast.

46
 • This would be the first export case of defence technology from Japan under the bilateral
agreement on defence equipment and technology transfer signed in 2015.
• The UNICORN is a mast with integrated communication systems which will help
improve the stealth characteristics of naval platforms.
• When implemented, this would be the first case of co-development and co-production of
defence equipment between India and Japan.

Modi leaves for 3-nation tour, likely to sign MoUs with Nigeria
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 19th G-20 summit in Brazil that is
being held in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 and 19.
• He left for a three-nation visit that will begin at Nigeria followed by his visit to Brazil,
and Guyana where he will attend the second leadership summit
− between India and the Caribbean nations grouping CARICOM.
• India’s successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to a ‘people’s G-20’ and mainstreamed
the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda.

Will Riyadh summit impact the Gaza war?

Saudi Arabia hosted a summit of leaders from Arab and Islamic countries last week to discuss
the Palestine question.
Significance of the summit
• In recent years, Arab countries had shown a willingness to improve or even normalise ties
with Israel bypassing the Palestine question.
• In 2020, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan normalised ties with Israel in an
agreement called the Abraham Accords.
• In the past, Arab-Israel normalisation, Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 came with some
Israeli compromises.
• In the Riyadh summit, they expressed their collective anger and sent a message to both
Israel and U.S. that resolving Palestine question is key to peace in West Asia.
Where do Saudi-Israel ties stand?
• In 2023, Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, and PM said the kingdom was
in advanced stage of finalising a normalisation agreement with Israel.
• For both the U.S. and Israel, an agreement with Saudi Arabia was the logical next step of
the normalisation process.
• Then came the October 7 attack, and Israel’s war on Gaza. Saudi Arabia and UAE see the
Hamas brand of political Islam as a threat to their monarchical systems.
• But they cannot ignore the mood in the Arab Street and West Asia, which is
predominantly anti-Israel and pro-Palestine.

47
Will the Arabs join the war?
• The last time an Arab country attacked Israel was in 1973 when Egypt, along with Syria,
launched a surprise offensive in Sinai and Golan, Egyptian and
- Syrian territories, respectively, that were captured by Israel in 1967.
• Ever since, peace between Israel and Arab states prevailed, irrespective of Israel’s
military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

India and Nigeria will join hands to tackle terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking: PM
• India accords high priority to its strategic partnership with Nigeria and it will work
towards boosting ties in a range of areas, including defence, energy and trade.
• Terrorism, separatism, piracy and drug trafficking as major challenges and said the two
countries would continue to work together to deal with them.
• Mr. Modi described the nearly 60,000-strong Indian expatriate community as a key pillar
of India-Nigeria relations, and thanked Mr. Tinubu for ensuring their welfare.

India must take forward its commitment to Africa, the Global South
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nigeria, and his ongoing tours to Brazil, for the G-20,
and Guyana, is significant for India’s commitment to the Global South.
News context
• Mr. Modi identified terrorism, separatism, piracy and drug trafficking as challenges for
the two countries to work together on.
• Nigeria is among the top African economies in GDP. It is now a BRICS partner country.
• The Indian community is over 60,000-strong, India’s largest diaspora in West Africa and
a bridge builder.
• While India’s voluble commitment to Global South and South-South cooperation has
been appreciated, it also has been seen as short on follow-through at times.
• Its leadership of the third iteration of “Voice of the Global South” (VoGS) conference
this year has seen lack-lustre participation.

At G-20 summit, India, China discuss resumption of flights, visa issuance

• China and India have agreed to discuss the next steps in their relationship, including the
resumption of direct flights, visas, journalist permissions, river-data sharing
− and allowing Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar.
• It was agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives and of the Foreign Secretary-
Vice Minister mechanism will take place soon.
• The meeting came as Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi arrived in Rio to address the G-20 summit
being hosted by Brazil.
• The lack of direct flights, which were originally suspended during the COVID-19
pandemic, but were never restored due to the tensions at the LAC.

48
 • The meeting called for Delhi and Beijing to plan to commemorate the 75th year of their
diplomatic engagement in 2025.

Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor is operational: Sonowal

The Chennai-Vladivostok eastern maritime corridor has become operational and is carrying
oil, food, and machines, said Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.

News context
• India and Greece would work together on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic
Corridor (IMEEC) announced last year.
• India aims to be the best maritime nation in the world in all indices, outlining a
‘maritime vision 2047’.
• The government had stated that the corridor would result in significant reduction in the
time required to transport cargo between India and Far East Russia by 16 days;
- from 40 to 24 days; and a significant reduction of the distance by up to 40%.
• The IMEEC that was announced during the G20 summit, it goes from India to UAE,
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and European countries, Italy, France and Greece.

Putin signs revised nuclear doctrine amid Ukraine war

• President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional
attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by
- a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.
• It follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia
with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles.
• It demonstrates Mr. Putin’s readiness to tap the country’s nuclear arsenal to force the
West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.

49
 • At the same time, it spells out conditions for using nuclear weapons in greater detail
compared with previous versions of the doctrine,
- noting they could be used in case of a massive air attack involving ballistic and cruise
missiles, aircraft, drones and other flying vehicles.

India and Italy to negotiate defence industrial road map, focus on maritime sector
India and Italy agreed to negotiate a defence industrial road map and agreement for the mutual
protection and exchange of classified information in the maritime and port sector.
News context
• The agreement was stated in the Joint Strategic
Action Plan 2025-29, which outlines their vision for
the next five years.
• The action plan was issued after the meeting between
PM Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia
Meloni on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
• In a historic maritime engagement, the navies of India
and Italy carried out their maiden exercise by Carrier
Strike Groups (CSG) off the Goa coast.
- The sea phase was led by INS Vikramaditya and ITS
Cavour along with INS Visakhapatnam and ITS
Alpino.

Targeting minorities
In news
• Violent protests and clashes erupted after the arrest of Chinmoy Das, a Hindu monk and
leader of one of the newer minority rights groups.
• The protests, by a group representing ‘Sanatani Hindus’ have a key demand that the
Muhammad Yunus-led interim government secures the safety of
- the country’s 20-million strong religious minorities — Hindus, Christians and
Buddhists who have been targeted by Islamist majoritarian mobs.
• It would seem that Bangladesh forces have been empowered to crack down on all such
protests, even if lawful and peaceful.
• In such a charged environment, the summary arrest and custody of a senior religious
figure will only ignite communal tensions.

Prime Minister proposes seven key pillars to strengthen ties between India, ‘CARICOM’
• PM Narendra Modi proposed seven key pillars to strengthen ties between India and
‘CARICOM’ as he held talks with the Caribbean partner countries.
• This marks the first visit by an Indian head of the State in more than 50 years, as he
joined leaders for the second India-CARICOM Summit here.
50
 • They discussed ways to strengthen ties in areas such as economic cooperation, agriculture
and food security, health and pharmaceuticals, science and innovations.
• To promote five Ts — trade, technology, tourism, talent and tradition, an online portal
could be made to connect the private sector and stakeholders of all countries.

India, Australia firm up renewable energy partnership

• India and Australia sealed an ambitious renewable energy partnership and set their eyes
on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement.
• It included ways to boost ties in areas of defence and security ties, mobility, science and
technology and education at the second India-Australia annual conclave.
• The Renewable Energy Partnership (REP) would provide framework for practical
cooperation in priority areas such as solar energy, green hydrogen, energy storage,
investments in related projects and allied areas.
• Both sides are keen to build on the momentum created by the Economic Cooperation and
Trade Agreement (ECTA) which was signed in 2022.
- After the implementation of ‘ECTA’, our mutual trade has increased by 40% in the
last two years.

ICC issues arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leaders

• The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu, his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas officials.
• It has accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war
in Gaza and the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
• Mr. Netanyahu condemned the arrest warrant against him, saying Israel rejects with
disgust the absurd and false actions.
• U.S. President Joe Biden blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to
defend itself against Hamas. Hamas also slammed the request.

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Bhutan pitches Gelephu as biggest cooperative project
Pitching the upcoming Gelephu Mindfulness City as the biggest “cooperative project” in
Bhutan, its Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay, said he was grateful for India’s support.
Gelephu Project
• The Gelephu Mindfulness City is designed to be a hub of knowledge, technology, and
finance, grounded in the values of mindfulness, sustainability and harmony.
• It embodies the cooperative spirit, as every citizen of Bhutan is both a shareholder and a
stakeholder, actively participating in this significant initiative.
Circular economy
• Mr. Tobgay was speaking at the first “Global Conference of the International Cooperative
Alliance”, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The current situation in the world can be a big opportunity for the cooperative movement,
said Mr. Modi.
• To make cooperatives climate resilient, they should be linked to circular economy. It is
also necessary to discuss how we can promote start-ups in co-operatives.
• The government had opened the way to prosperity for lakhs of villages, crores of women
and farmers through its motto of “Prosperity through cooperation”.

‘U.K. sees generational mission in the Indo-Pacific’

More than four months after the U.K.’s Labour party came to power, the government has
declared that the U.K.’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific is long term.
News context
• In 2021, the Boris Johnson-led Conservative government had said the U.K. would
undertake a tilt towards the Indo-Pacific in its defence, foreign, and security policy.
• The Keir Starmer government is currently undertaking the Strategic Defence Review, led
Defence Secretary John Healey.
• Through this U.K. wants a free and open Indo-Pacific underpinned by the rules-based
international system, because rules matter.
• India was uniquely placed to help shift the dialogue and make progress on climate change
and sustainable development.
• , said Ms. West, who has just concluded a two-day visit to India last week.
The ‘three Cs’
• On the U.K.’s approach to China, it would be mixture of ‘compete, cooperate and
challenge’ [i.e., the “three C’s approach”].
• Where applicable, the U.K. would seek cooperation with China, as a fellow permanent
member of the UN Security Council and challenge Beijing,
- when it felt its security and national interests were being undermined.

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Why Netanyahu accepted a ceasefire with Hezbollah
In news
• When PM Benjamin Netanyahu decided to launch a military
invasion of Lebanon on October 1, the objective was to let
60,000 northern Israelis return their homes.
• Almost two months later, he accepted a ceasefire with
Hezbollah. The future of the displaced residents remains
uncertain.
• According to agreement, Hezbollah would withdraw its troops
and weapons to the north of Litani River, and Israel would
withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon.
Three reasons
• Mr. Netanyahu believes a ceasefire with Hezbollah would allow Israel to focus more on
Iran; focus on resupplying its own forces who are increasingly facing the fatigue
- of the two-front war and Israel can isolate Hamas in the ongoing war in Gaza.
• To be sure, Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah.
• The pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon hit Hezbollah’s rank and then it
carried out massive bombings decapitating Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including
Hassan Nasrallah.
• Israel also forced Hezbollah to decouple Lebanon from Gaza.
• But now, Hezbollah declared a ceasefire in return for Israel’s ceasefire and withdrawal
from Lebanon, while Israel’s war on Gaza continues.
Heat of war
• When the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006 came to an end, the UNSC Resolution 1701
demanded a full withdrawal of the Israeli troops from Lebanon and Hezbollah.
• It had also called for the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south and the
disarmament of Hezbollah.
• The latest ceasefire agreement is rooted in Resolution 1701. Israel withdrew in 2006, but
Hezbollah only grew stronger, by stockpiling more weapons.
• Expecting the Lebanese army, which is an inferior fighting force to Hezbollah, to enforce
the ceasefire would be myopic, given the past experiences.

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Economy Agri & FPI

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A win that will affect the global economy
India’s relation with U.S.
• The U.S. is India’s second largest trading partner, accounting for $118.3 billion.
• But, much to Mr. Trump’s dismay, it is the only country with which India has a trade
surplus ($36.74 billion in the same period) among its top five trading partners.
• While the U.S. counts India among its top 10 trading partners, its share of total exports to
India accounts for less than 3%.
• More importantly, the U.S. has remained the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment
for India ($103 billion in the last fiscal).
Actions by U.S. in his regime
• During his election campaigns, Mr. Trump targeted both China and India with measures
ranging from outright bans to increasing tariffs on a range of goods.
• A major flash point with China occurred when he banned Huawei’s 5G mobile devices in
2018.
• He also sought his NATO allies to follow suit, even while his policies towards Western
partners turned negative.
Expectations
• For India, Mr. Trump’s return could affect a range of products, from generic drugs to IT
services.
• A key concern would be a return of restrictions to the highly skilled worker, or the H1B
and L1 visa programmes that Mr. Trump effected in his first term.
• Mr. Trump has also pledged to raise oil and natural gas drilling, which would mean that
the U.S. would once again retreat from its climate goals.
- In the same period, the U.S.’s share increased to 46% of EU’s natural gas supplies.
• It would be interesting to watch how Mr. Trump negotiates with the EU’s Carbon Border
Adjustment Mechanism, which attempts to reduce the carbon footprint of EU’s imports.

Are CSR contributions to agriculture properly tracked?

The story so far:
• A decade ago, India became the first country to legally mandate Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR).
• Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 outlines the rules and regulations governing
CSR.
• According to the National CSR Portal, from 2014 to 2023, ₹1.84 lakh crore of CSR funds
were disbursed.
CSR’s contribution to agriculture
• Nearly 47% of the population depends on agriculture for employment and fraction of
India’s labour force in agriculture is higher than the global average of 25%.
- Economically, agriculture accounts for 16.73% of India’s GDP.

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 • The major concerns focus on the degradation of the natural resource base, stagnant
farmer incomes, and threats caused by climate change.
• According to an outlook report prepared by a CSR, 23% of companies surveyed had
“environment and sustainability” as their CSR priority area.
• Capital requirements and infrastructural development are the most important needs
of Indian agriculture today and this is where CSR activities can help.
The main obstacle
• There is currently no way to fully determine the extent of funding going into these
projects consistently, and to categorise them based on targeted sectors.
• And current reporting mechanisms have little to no emphasis on agriculture-related CSR
initiatives.
• Given the importance of agriculture for Indian economy and for more sustainable growth,
specifying agriculture as a distinct sector in CSR activities is crucial.
• Likewise, identifying the prevailing sustainability issues vis-à-vis agroecosystems and
directing funds according to requirements will help drive tractable changes.

Removing bran on millets reduces the benefits of eating them: study

Removing bran from millets results in decreasing the protein, dietary fibre, fat, mineral, phytate
content in them while increasing the carbohydrates and amylose content study say.
High in minerals
• Millets are high in minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and they
are an excellent source of phyto-chemicals.
• It has wide range of health benefits such as anti-aging, anti-carcinogenic, anti-
atherosclerogenic, antibacterial, and antioxidant effects.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization recognised 2023 as the International Year of
Millets and the Indian government went all out to celebrate it.
Polished millets
• A market survey found that millets, polished like white rice, were being sold but it is
difficult to tell the difference between polished and whole grain.
• Removing the bran and germ extends the shelf life of millets. Millet bran is rich in fats,
and not removing it might reduce shelf life, as it could become rancid faster.
• De-branning will also reduce cooking time, make the grain softer and less chewy.

India should be part of RCEP, CPTPP: NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R Subrahmanyam
• India should be a part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, said NITI
Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam.
• India pulled out of the RCEP in 2019 after entering negotiations in 2013.

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 • The RCEP bloc comprises 10 ASEAN group members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Vietnam)
- and six FTA partners — China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• If joined it will be best for India’s Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
The 40% of India’s exports are from MSMEs.
• He added that countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Mexico probably
benefitted more from ‘China plus one’ than India.

Zomato, Swiggy breached antitrust laws: CCI probe

• An investigation by India’s antitrust body found food delivery giants Zomato and
SoftBank-backed Swiggy breached competition laws,
- with business practices favouring select restaurants listed on the platforms.
• Zomato entered into exclusivity contracts with partners in return for lower commissions.
• While Swiggy guaranteed business growth to certain players if they listed exclusively on
its platform, according to Competition Commission of India (CCI).
• Exclusivity arrangements between Swiggy, Zomato and their respective restaurant
partners “prevent the market from becoming more competitive”.

How will Trump treat illegal Indians?

The story so far
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) flew a large-frame charter removal
flight to repatriate Indian nationals who did not establish legal basis to remain in the U.S.
Why were the Indians repatriated?
• The U.S. officials maintain that they want to deter irregular migration to the U.S. from
India among other countries.
- Available data indicates that Gujarat has been supplying half of the total illegal
immigrants trying to enter the U.S.
• Indians who try to enter the U.S. unlawfully generally try to use the southern U.S. border
with Mexico and the Canada-U.S. border in the north.
• The pressure is more on the Mexico-U.S. border as several Latin American or central
American countries which provide visa-free entry to U.S.-visa holding Indians for a
period of time.
• India has a large number of agreements for visas with these countries that allow for
extended stays for Indian citizens.
What is meant by lawful immigration to U.S.?
• Employment-based immigrant visas fall into five “preference categories”. In certain
cases, spouses and children are allowed to join the applicant.
• The professionals who fall in the first three categories are persons with extraordinary
ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics,

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 - outstanding professors and researchers with adequate experience, multinational
managers and executives.
• The fourth category is ‘Certain Special Immigrants’ that includes professionals who work
with broadcast media in the U.S.
• The fifth category includes investors who can launch foreign commercial enterprises in
the U.S.
Trump’s policy on immigration during his first term
• During his first stint (2017-2021), President Trump had increased the rate of denial of
H1B visas to Indian professionals.
• There were also allegations that U.S. consular officials were making it extremely difficult
for Indian companies to transfer employees from India to the U.S. under the L1 visa
category.
• During his first term, Mr. Trump had given the slogan of ‘Build the Wall’ in the southern
border of the U.S. with Mexico.
• In addition, his anti-immigrant stance will clash with the economic policy of his tech
czars who want to access the Indian market.

October’s inflation pace surpasses expectations, dashing rate cut hopes

Inflation trends
• India’s consumer prices have gained fresh momentum over September and October,
rendering tangible softening in inflation to a pace below the median target of 4%.
- From 3.65% in August, retail price rise had hit a nine-month high of 5.5% in
September.
• The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in its October review, had termed the
inflation moderation as slow and uneven, and anticipated a reversal.
• However, the Consumer Price Index for October beat all economists’ projections by a
wide margin, to rise 6.2%, the highest since August 2023 when it was up 6.8%.
• Food prices remained the key bugbear as they have been through most high inflation
periods this year.
• Within the food basket, vegetable prices boomed 42.2%, the highest surge in almost five
years, led by tomato prices that more than doubled year-on-year.

India’s tea, sugar exports raise sustainability concerns at home

News context
• India is one of the world’s largest agricultural product exporters.
• Indian agricultural export was valued at $53.1 billion in 2022-23, up from $8.7 billion in
2004-05, a six-fold increase in less than two decades.
• The rapid surge in exports poses multiple challenges to sustainability of the production,
processing and distribution systems of the respective commodities.

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Tea
• India is the world’s fourth-largest tea exporter and second-largest producer, contributing
10% of global exports.
• The total value of Indian tea exports for 2022-23 was $793.78 million.
• Domestic consumption constitutes 80% of total production.
• Top export destinations: UAE, Russia, Iran, the U.S. and the U.K.
• Three major challenges in the tea industry are the management of human-wildlife
interactions, burgeoning chemical use, and labour concerns.
Sugar
• India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer, with 34 million metric tonnes of
production, which is about a fifth of the global production.
• India’s sugar exports grew by 291% from $1,177 million in FY 2013-14 to $4,600
million in FY 2021-22 and 64.90% in 2021-22.
• About 50 million farmers depend on sugar cane cultivation in India. Sugar cane is well-
known for requiring a lot of water to cultivate.
• In fact, implementing drip irrigation in these States could lower water consumption by
40-50%.
Millets
• Millets are resilient to harsh conditions and don’t require more inputs to weather resource
constraints. They preserve soil health and ensure nutritional security.
• Agricultural commodity production in India lives in a unique context: a large domestic
consumption base and now a rapidly growing export base.
• This rising demand highlights their potential as a sustainable agricultural commodity
contributing to economic growth and environmental resilience.

Exports rebound, but Oct. import bill hits new record

• India’s goods exports, which had clocked
an anaemic 1% uptick in the first half of
2024-25, began with October shipments
jumping at a high pace of 17.25%.
• However, this was accompanied by a 3.9%
rise in the country’s merchandise import
bill, lifting it to a fresh record high of
$66.34 billion.
• Economists attributed the spike in the
import bill primarily to higher gold and oil
imports.
• Petroleum imports, on the other hand, rose 13.3% year-on-year to $18.3 billion, and were
46.4% over the previous month’s $12.5 billion.

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How will SDS visa move hit students?
The story so far
• In a significant development, Canadian government announced the discontinuation of the
Student Direct Stream (SDS) visa in November 2024.
• This decision has far-reaching implications for Indian students, who have historically
been one of the largest groups of international students in Canada.
- In 2022, India accounted for over 21% of all international students in Canada.
• For instance, while non-SDS applicants had an approval rate of 19%, SDS applicants
enjoyed a 63% approval rate.
Canadian SDS visa
• The SDS visa, introduced in 2018, was a streamlined pathway designed to expedite the
study permit application process for Indian students.
• It offered a faster processing time and reduced application fees, making it a popular
choice among Indian students aspiring to pursue higher education in Canada.
• The SDS visa also offered a lower application fee than the standard study permit, which
significantly reduced the financial burden for many international students.
Why was the SDS visa discontinued?
• The Canadian government’s decision to discontinue the SDS visa program was driven by
a combination of factors aimed at addressing various challenges and concerns within the
immigration system.
• Canada has been grappling with a significant housing shortage, particularly in major
cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, and rapid influx of international students,
- many of whom rely on off-campus housing, has exacerbated this issue.
• The increasing number of international students has also placed a strain on public
services and infrastructure, including healthcare, education, and transportation.
• Furthermore, the application process for standard student visas is more complex and
rigorous than the SDS visa.

No dual eco-clearance for 39 categories of industry

In news
• The Union Environment Ministry has exempted 39 categories of industries from the
mandatory requirement of approaching State pollution control Boards for permission to
run their industries.
• These include manufacturing units of solar cells and modules, wind and hydel power
units; fly ash bricks or block manufacturing;
- and leather cutting and stitching; and those assembling, repairing and servicing air-
coolers and air-conditioners.
• All of these sectors are in “white category” of industries, meaning they are the least
polluting in nature, by 2016 classification by the Central Pollution Control Board.

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Dual compliance
• The government has accepted the long-standing demand of industry to remove dual
compliance of environmental clearance (EC) and consent to establish (CTE) for setting
up of new industries.
• Now, non-polluting white category industries will not be required to take CTE or Consent
to Operate (CTO) at all.
• The industries which have taken EC will not be required to take CTE. This will not only
reduce compliance burden but also prevent duplication of approvals.

Poor onion, tomato, potato crop pushing up prices, says Centre

• The prices of tomato, onion, and potato, the three essential vegetables in Indian
households remain high compared with last year’s.
• The Union government said that excess rainfall during the year had impacted the
production of these commodities and pushed up their prices.
• An official from Ministry said the prices of tomato, onion and potato were volatile due to
seasonality in production and their susceptibility towards climatic conditions.

India voices dissent against trade barriers linked to emissions

India has voiced its disapproval of “protectionist” measures that link trade barriers and carbon
emissions, at the ongoing climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.
News context
• China had petitioned the Presidency of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP 29) to
include a discussion on climate change-related unilateral restrictive trade measures.
• China’s petition was put forward on behalf of a grouping of countries called BASIC,
which includes Brazil, South Africa, India, and China.
• The petition is primarily directed against a European Union proposal called the Carbon
Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM),
- which imposes a tax on products imported into the EU that do not conform to its
carbon emission norms.
• CBAM is currently operating in a transitional phase but will come into full effect from
January 1, 2026.

Is imposing tariffs on Chinese imports a good idea?

The story so far
• Donald Trump, the President-elect of the U.S., has promised to impose tariffs of up to
60% on Chinese imports to correct the huge trade deficit the U.S. has with China.
• It also as a punitive measure to make China reduce the subsidisation of its domestic
production, which make Chinese goods cheaper and attractive to American consumers as
compared to locally produced American goods.

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 • He has also threatened to impose 10% import tariffs on imports from European Union.
What will be the impact?
• The imposition of tariffs by the U.S. will raise the domestic price of such products in U.S.
markets.
• If the tariffs are across the board and cover a large part of consumer goods sold in the
U.S., then it will increase domestic inflation.
• However, if it helps to reduce the overall trade deficit of the U.S., it may improve the
value of the U.S. dollar and moderate domestic inflation.
• On the contrary, it could have a debilitating impact on global commodity prices, and
worsen inflation in most countries.

Respite for Indian coffee growers as EU grants time for EUDR compliance

• India’s major plantation sectors such as rubber and coffee have heaved a sigh of relief as
the EU Parliament has voted in favour of a proposal by the EU.
• It is to delay the implementation of EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) allowing
growers, exporters and traders additional time for compliance.
• Being EUDR-compliant indicates a grower’s forest-based coffee produce is legal, and not
sourced from any deforested land or unethically cultivated.
• Notably, over 70% of Indian coffees are sold in EU countries and therefore the
compliance extension has direct implications on coffee players in India.
• In spite of that India opposed EUDR since the compliance does not incentivise
sustainably grown coffees.

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Why is a U.K. consumer protection group going after Apple’s iCloud?
The story so far
A U.K. consumer protection group called ‘Which?’ has filed a £3 billion claim against Apple as
it violated competition law in the process.
How does Apple iCloud work?
• Apple’s iCloud is a storage service that allows Apple customers to back up their device-
based data such as photos, videos, emails, files, and more.
• They can then access the stored media from other devices or through the web.
• Naturally, storing so much data from different apps and features and constantly updating
it takes up space.
• With the free version of Apple’s iCloud, users get 5 GB of storage.
- However, they can subscribe to various iCloud+ plans, which offer up to 12 TB of
storage, if they need more space.
Why is the U.K. consumer group taking legal action against Apple?
• ‘Which?’ believes that Apple forced its iPhone and iPad customers to use iCloud and did
not give them fair ways to explore rival cloud services.
− By the group’s calculation, Apple owes customers around £3 billion.
• According to the group, Apple gave greater preference to its own cloud storage service
on devices such as iPhones and iPads, and tied iCloud to these iOS devices.
• As a result, ‘Which?’ claimed that Apple customers were locked into using iCloud,
finding it harder to switch to other services.
• The group also claimed an iOS monopoly across Apple systems helped it get an unfair
advantage in the cloud storage market as well.
• The iPhone- maker said it would defend itself against legal claims, according to
a Reuters report.

Centre aims to make Andaman and Nicobar Islands a tuna export hub
As export of tuna fish from India increased by 31.83% in 2023-24, the Centre is exploring new
areas to source one of the most commercially valuable fish.
Tuna production
• The global tuna market is worth $41.94 billion and the Indian Ocean is considered the
second largest tuna region, producing 21% of world’s tuna.
• The Exclusive Economic Zone around Andaman and
Nicobar Islands is home to a range of tuna species,
with substantial untapped fishery resources.
• Out of this, the Centre expects a stock of 24,000
tonnes of yellow fin tuna, which has a steady market
across the world annually from the islands.

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 • Despite the high demand for these species, the region’s tuna fishery is still
underdeveloped and remains underutilised.
• The challenges included lack of infrastructure, limited access to modern fishing
technologies, and inadequate fish processing and storage facilities.

October’s export rebound is heartening but fresh headwinds loom large

India’s goods exports had stumbled sharply in the second quarter, shrinking an average 5.8%
over the first two months and rising a mere 0.5% in September.
News context
• With half the year gone by, exports were up just 1%. 17.25% surge in merchandise
shipments to overseas markets through October is a positive surprise.
- Non-petroleum exports led the way in October with a 25.6% rise.
• India’s oil imports rose 13.2% in October to $18.3 billion while exports tanked for the
fifth straight month, by over 22% to $4.6 billion.
• Over the past three months, the trade deficit has widened to its second- and third-highest
level.
• The World Trade Organization has pegged global trade growth at 3% in 2025, relative to
a 2.7% estimate for this year.
• India must avoid any policy gestures such as the updated laptop import management
system with possible curbs that could draw other targets away.

Telcos can claim CENVAT credit for towers, shelters: SC

The Supreme Court gave a major fillip to telecom companies by allowing them to claim Central
Value Added Tax (CENVAT) credit for the installation of mobile towers and
- peripherals like pre-fabricated buildings (PFBs) for which they pay excise duties.
News context
• The mobile towers and pre-fabricated buildings (PFBs) or shelters fall within the
definition of ‘capital goods’ or ‘inputs’ under the CENVAT Rules, 2004.
• The High Court had held that the mobile service providers were not entitled to CENVAT
credit on mobile towers and prefabricated buildings.
• Both Revenue Department and MSPs, had challenged the decisions of the High Courts,
seeking an authoritative reading of the law by the Supreme Court.
• Likewise, PFBs shelter ancillary items like battery back-up, rectifier, UPS, and gensets,
which are indispensable components of the mobile telephone system.

‘Most steel imports from FTA nations; duty hike ineffective’

• About 62% of steel imports are landing from free trade agreement (FTA) countries at nil
duty and any duty hike will not have any impact on these shipments.

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 • There is a genuine problem of supply glut due to increased imports, against the
background of raising concerns over rising cheap steel imports.

A ‘bribery scheme’ to bag lucrative solar power deals

Indictment of Adani group

• The indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani and his business associates has been
initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ).
• It presents detailed allegations regarding the processes followed by senior executives of
Adani Green Energy Ltd. and Azure Power Global Ltd.
- to bribe Indian government officials and secure lucrative solar power contracts.
Solar energy procurement
• Between 2019-2020, Azure Power and a subsidiary of Adani Green Energy won, and
were issued letters of award (LOAs) for a manufacturing-linked solar tender.
• The tender was offered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a company
of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• As part of this, Azure Power and Adani Green’s subsidiary would supply 4 GW and 8
GW of solar power, respectively, to the SECI which buy it at a fixed rate.
• The SECI, in turn, had to find State electricity distribution companies (discoms) that
would purchase this 12 GW of solar power.
High prices
• However, the high energy prices set out in the LOA made it impossible for the SECI to
find buyers, thus jeopardising the lucrative LOAs and corresponding revenue.
• As a result, a scheme was devised to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribe
payments to Indian government officials.

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 • In exchange for the said officials getting the State discoms to enter into PSAs (power sale
agreements) with the SECI.
• It was agreed that Azure Power would pay for a portion of the promised bribes.

Sri Lanka ‘should be vigilant’ about Adani power deal, caution experts
Sri Lanka should be vigilant about the Adani power project on the island, after Federal
prosecutors in New York indicted Gautam Adani on multiple counts of fraud.
News context
• Sri Lanka has often seen cases of significant corruption in the country being exposed in
other jurisdictions.
• After news on the alleged bribery scheme of the Adani Group surfaced, many in Sri
Lanka took to social media and called for greater scrutiny of the Group’s power project
on the island.
• President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, have pledged to root out corruption and vowed to
cancel the corrupt Adani deal if his government came to power.
Controversial deal
• Adani Green Energy is investing $442 million in a wind power project in Mannar and
Pooneryn in northern Sri Lanka.
• The main political opposition accused the conglomerate of “backdoor entry”, in the
absence of an open call for tenders.
• The Adani Group came under global spotlight in early 2023, in the wake of U.S. short
seller Hindenburg accusing it of pulling the largest con in corporate history.
• Environmentalists and Mannar residents moved Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, challenging
the project on grounds of potential environmental impact and lack of transparency.

Kenya cancels proposed deals with Adani group

• Kenya’s president has cancelled multimillion-dollar
airport expansion and energy deals with industrialist
Gautam Adani after U.S. bribery and fraud indictments
against him.
• President William Ruto, said the decision was made
based on new information provided by our
investigative agencies and partner nations.
• The Adani group had been in the process of signing an
agreement that would modernise Kenya’s main airport
in the capital, Nairobi.

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After U.S. indictment, conglomerate will face greater pressure in Bangladesh over power
deal, says expert
• Indictment of Adani conglomerate in the U.S. may become a factor in future negotiations
between the Adani Group and the interim government in Bangladesh.
• The criminal proceedings against Mr. Adani came a day after the High Court in Dhaka
ordered a probe into the 1,600-megawatt power deal that,
- allowed the Adani Group to export electricity from its Godda power plant to
Bangladesh.
• Despite that the interim government had taken a positive approach and tried to continue
dialogue.
• But after the U.S. indictment, that space of dialogue may shrink as the group is likely to
face greater pressure from Bangladesh to compromise on pricing.
• Adani’s 2017 power deal with Bangladesh faced a major challenge with the fall of the
Hasina government on August 5.

Iran to launch ‘advanced centrifuges’ in response to UN nuclear watchdog censure

• Iran said it would launch a series of “new and advanced” centrifuges in response to a
resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog that
- censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation.
• Centrifuges are the machines that enrich uranium transformed into gas by rotating it at
very high speed, increasing the proportion of fissile isotope material (U-235).
• The censure motion was brought by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States at
the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• The resolution which China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against carried with 19 votes
in favour, 12 abstentions and Venezuela not participating.

Govt. unfazed by high import bills and trade deficit spikes

• The Centre is non-plussed about the recent spate of record high import bills and is not
actively mulling any import compression measures.
• Over the past three months, India’s goods imports have scaled fresh highs twice, hitting
an all-time high of $64.34 billion in August.
• While October’s imports were driven by both gold and oil imports, that had risen 62%
and 46.4%, respectively from September’s levels.
• India is importing pulses and edible oils like palm oil, crude petroleum, coking coal
needed for steel production and thermal coal for port-based power plants.

India’s urban infrastructure financing, needs and reality

• India’s urban population will increase from 400 million in the last decade to 800 million
over the next three decades.

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 • A recent World Bank report estimates that India will require about ₹70 lakh crore by 2036
to meet its urban infrastructure needs.
Issues at the local level

• Municipal finances, a crucial component of urban infrastructure funding, have remained

stagnant for decades at around just 1% of GDP.
• Municipal bodies contribute 45% of urban investments, while the remainder is managed
by parastatal agencies.
• Despite an increase in central and State transfers from 37% to 44%, the financial health
of municipalities remains precarious.
• Tax revenue grew by only 8% between 2010 and 2018, grants by 14%, and non-tax
revenue by 10.5%.
• However, the share of municipalities’ own revenue sources has declined from 51% to
43%, reflecting a diminishing capacity for self-sufficiency.
Complications involved
• Indian cities also struggle with low absorptive capacity, further complicating the urban
infrastructure landscape.
• Schemes like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) helps
in achieving 80% utilisation and the Smart Cities Mission reaching 70%.
• Public-private partnerships (PPPs), another crucial avenue for urban infrastructure
financing, have seen a marked decline over the past decade.
• The viability of PPP projects is often dependent on the availability of payments or
viability funding for ensuring bankability.
The next step is reform
• In the long term, carrying out structural reform would be critical.
• These reforms should include strengthening State finance commissions to enhancing
autonomy and capacity for better financial management at the municipal level.
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 • In the medium term, the following measures can significantly transform the
development of sustainable urban infrastructure.
• First, develop a robust pipeline of projects. About 15% of this total investment could
potentially come through PPPs, translating to roughly 250-300 PPP projects annually.
• Second, decouple project preparation from financial assistance.
- As new national programmes are conceived, it is essential to decouple project
preparation from financial assistance.
- Ensuring that these projects are designed for financial, social, and environmental
sustainability is vital, especially given India’s vulnerability to climate change.
• Leverage Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for improved operations. Urban service
delivery, particularly in public transport, remains hampered by outdated practices.
• Capture land value in transport projects.
- With ₹70 lakh crore investment by 2036 earmarked for urban transport, there is a
unique opportunity to harness land value.
The need for collaboration
• To conclude, India’s urban future hinges on the ability to address these financial and
structural challenges head-on.
• By pursuing both immediate and long-term strategies, India can build urban infrastructure
that meets the demands of its growing cities, thus ensuring sustainable and inclusive
development for the decades to come.

India’s total electronics exports for the fiscal year 2023-24 is at $29.1 billion
• Mobile phone players want Indian airports to ramp up their existing cargo handling
capacity to support a projected eight-fold increase in device exports.
• Electronics is India’s largest export in air cargo and is expected to increase $180 billion
by 2030.

Central govt. announces ₹1,435-cr. PAN 2.0 project

• The Central government announced ₹1,435-crore PAN 2.0 project to make the permanent
account number a common business identifier for all digital systems of government
agencies.
- Currently, about 78 crore PANs have been issued, of which 98% are to individuals.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
has given its approval for the PAN 2.0 project of Income Tax Department.
• The project enables technology-driven transformation of taxpayer registration services
and is aimed at ease of access and speedy service delivery with improved quality.
• It offers single source of truth and data consistency, eco-friendly processes and cost
optimisation and security and optimisation of infrastructure for greater agility.

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Fair share
On the occasion of National Press Day, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called attention to
the issue of fair compensation to media companies for the use of their content by big technology
platforms.
News context
• The Internet’s rapid growth has created a power imbalance between news publishers and
large online enterprises which set the terms for the use of their content.
• Many countries are grappling with this issue, and new regulations are taking shape.
• In Australia and France, Google and Meta are increasingly required to negotiate fairer
revenue-sharing agreements and licensing deals with publishers.
• A similar push in India will be an essential step to ensure the continued vibrancy and
financial sustainability of news organisations.
• As Artificial Intelligence makes stealthy, large-scale appropriation of content easier, fair
compensation for original creators is an urgent question.

The right to work deleted

• Central to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) is the legal right to work for 100 days per year per rural household.
• Each household gets a unique job card containing the list of all its registered adults. One
cannot work in MGNREGA without a job card.
• Addition of new members to job cards happens upon furnishing appropriate documents
establishing adulthood.
Guidelines for deletion
• Implementation guidelines for MGNREGA are available in Circulars released either
annually or once in two years by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
• The Master Circular from 2021-22 specifies clear protocols for worker deletions as
follows.
• A job card can only be deleted under the following situations:
a) when a household permanently migrates,
b) the job card is found to be a duplicate,
c) it was issued based on forged documents.
d) Additionally, if a Gram Panchayat is reclassified as a Municipal Corporation, all
job cards in that panchayat are deleted.
• Moreover, all deletions must be documented, reported to the Gram Sabha/Ward Sabha,
and updated in the MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS).
Deletions happening
• In 2021-22, 1.49 crore workers were deleted, which surged to 5.53 crore in 2022-23
resulting in a 247% increase in deletions in 2022-23.

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 • In the last four years, names of 10.43 crore MGNREGA workers across India have been
deleted.
• The surge of deletions in 2022-23 coincided when the Union Government issued several
circulars making Aadhaar-based payment systems (ABPS) mandatory in MGNREGA.
Methodology followed
• The overall number of workers deleted in each State can be easily obtained from the MIS
but accessing the official reason in MIS is computationally intense.
• Job cards provide the legal guarantee to work at any time, not just on the day when
deletions happen.
• Deleting workers’ names from job cards on grounds of “not willing to work”, denies the
worker her legal right to work.
• And yet this is the main reason for deleting nearly 1.90 lakh workers in our sample.

Tax cuts may have saved ₹3 lakh crore for India’s corporates
Corporate tax
• Taxed at a significantly lower rate following
the introduction of the concessional tax
regime in 2019, India’s largest corporates
may have saved over ₹3 lakh crore in tax
payments since then.
• This is in addition to over ₹8 lakh crore in
revenue foregone through various deductions
granted to companies in the decade since
2012-13 (FY13).
• A decline in corporate tax-gross domestic
product (GDP) ratio could limit the
government’s ability to finance additional
development expenditure.
• Until 2019, a corporate tax rate of 25% was
levied on domestic companies with an annual
turnover of up to ₹400 crore. It was 30% for
the rest.
• The new tax regime slashed the rate to 22%
as long as the companies forgo certain deductions under the Income Tax (IT) Act.

Scientists, industry demand passage of new Seeds Bill, changes in policy

• In National Seed Congress (NSC), scientists, experts, and industry partners asked the
Centre to revisit and modernise Seeds Bill of 2004 and Seeds Policy of 2002.

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• At a panel discussion as part of the 13th NSC, the experts also demanded strategic
interventions to face the challenges faced by the seed sector.
• The Seeds Bill, introduced in Parliament in 2004, was not passed due to opposition from
farmers.
• The country’s seed quality assurance system was weak and should be strengthened on
issues such as adhering to international standards.

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Environment and DM

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India spells out finance needs for biodiversity, conservation
• India expects to spend around ₹81,664 crore on biodiversity and conservation from the
financial year 2025 to 2030.
• The country stated in its updated submission at the ongoing 16th edition of Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Colombia (COP-16).
Way forward
• It is necessary to provide means of implementation,
including financial resources, as laid down in
Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
(KMGBF),
- as well as from Digital Sequence Information (DSI),
for implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans
(NBSAP).
• The KMGBF refers to biodiversity goals previously agreed upon by countries to reverse
and stop biodiversity loss by 2030.
• The DSI deals with equitably sharing the benefits from uploading genetic data of
organisms in global databases.

‘India committed to Sendai Framework for risk reduction’

News context
• India is committed to the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction, PM Modi’s
Principal Secretary, P.K. Mishra said.
• It has called for increased international collaboration on technology transfer, knowledge
sharing and sustainable development to enhance disaster resilience.
Indian initiative
• The Sendai Framework, a UN agreement adopted in 2015, advocates for the substantial
reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health,
- and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons,
businesses, communities and countries.
• The first such working group on disaster risk reduction was established on India’s
initiative during its G-20 presidency in 2023.
• India’s proactive approach on the issue on the basis of the five priorities enunciated
during India’s G-20 presidency:
- early warning systems, disaster resilient infrastructure, disaster risk reduction
financing, resilient recovery, and nature-based solutions.

Glacial lakes rise as glaciers retreat

Glaciers and lake formation
• Glaciers are enormous bodies of dense ice on mountains. They move under the influence
of gravity and their own weight, in the process eroding the land beneath.
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 • The grinding action pulverises the rock underneath, reducing it to a mixture called
moraine:
- a material ranging in size from room-sized boulders to extremely fine rock flour. It
gets deposited on the sides and at the terminus of the glacier.
• When the melting of ice causes a glacier to retreat, the cavernous hole left behind fills
with water, creating a lake by time.

Glacial lakes
• Glacial lakes are hydrological buffers, they check the natural flow of water from melting
ice.
• The scattering of light by ultra-fine particles of rock flour that are suspended in lake
water makes it look blue in colour.
- For example, Himalayas have turquoise-colored glacial lakes.
• A consequence of global warming is the retreat of glaciers. This leads to an increase in
the chances of the breaching of the moraine barriers that help create these lakes.
• Modeling of a future outburst for such lakes will help in disaster mitigation and an
understanding of these wonders of nature.
Notable examples in India
• Gurudongmar lake is located in Northern Sikkim, and at 5,430 msl is one of the highest
lakes in the world.
• A moraine-dammed lake, the outlet stream that go on to form the river Teesta.
• Pangong Tso- a 134-km chain of lakes, a disputed buffer zone between Ladakh and
China.
• Samiti Lake- at around 4,300 msl in Sikkim, lies en route to Kanchenjunga.

What are the key takeaways from COP-16?

The 16th edition of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia, saw representatives of countries trying
to iron out a conclusive deal well past the deadline.
The convention details
• This convention follows meetings in 2022 at Montreal, Canada.

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 • At that meet, countries agreed to protect 30% of land and water by 2030, known as the
‘30-by-30 agreement’.
• In 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), set 23
action-oriented global targets for urgent action in the decade to 2030.
• Other than the 30-by-30 goals, targets include reducing the introduction of invasive alien
species by 50% and minimising their impact by 2030.
What are some decisions taken at COP-16?
• A key aim of the COP-16 was to agree on mechanisms to implement these targets as well
as discuss ways to organise funding.
• In the run-up to COP-16, one of the most contentious issues was on the Digital Sequence
Information (DSI) agreement.
• This deals with “benefit-sharing” of DNA analyses of living organisms stored in
databases to be shared with local communities where such organisms are housed.
• There were plans to create a ‘multi-lateral mechanism’, but no agreement was
forthcoming on which countries or corporations ought to be contributing, and how.
What was India’s contribution to COP-16?
• India presented an ‘updated’ biodiversity plan where it stated that it expects to spend
around ₹81,664 crore from 2025-30 (FY) on biodiversity and conservation.
• From 2018-22 (FY), India spent ₹32,207 crore on biodiversity and conservation, and it
would require funds from sources beyond routine government expenditure.
• India has cited the significant step in global wildlife conservation it has taken by
establishing the International Big Cat Alliance to protect the world’s seven major big cat
species.
• India had raised its Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of ecological importance under the
Ramsar Convention, from 26 to 85 since 2014. It is soon projected to reach 100.

On the new coastal zone plan of Kerala

The story so far
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved the
Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMPs) of 10 coastal districts of Kerala namely,
- Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam,
Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
• The plan permits the coastal districts to take advantage of the relaxed Coastal Regulation
Zone (CRZ) rules and initiate development activities including construction of buildings
towards the seaward side.

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What does it mean for Kerala?
• Kerala has a coastline of around 590 km and nine of its 14 districts are located on the
coast of the Arabian Sea.
• The 2011 Census put the population density of Kerala at 859 persons per km2 which is
more than double the national average of 382 people per km2.
• The coastal areas of the State are marked by a high density of population when compared
to other parts of the State.
• The high demographic pressure on land had resulted in rampant violations of the CRZ
rules along the coast.
Benefits associated
• The approval of the CZMP would directly benefit around 10 lakh people, according to an
estimation of the State government.
• The new regime will see the No Development Zone (NDZ) around the tidal-influenced
water bodies reduced to 50 metres from the earlier 100 metres
- from the High Tide Line in at least 122 local bodies in the State.
• The NDZ in the category is 50 meters from the High Tide Line against 200 meters as
specified by CRZ 2011 notification.
• The NDZ in the CRZ areas of Kerala will be reduced to half. It will be 108.397 sq. km
against the earlier 239.431 sq. km, as fixed by the CRZ 2011 notification.
What about mangroves?
• The changes in rules will see a reduction in the buffer zones of mangroves to 2,500
hectres from the earlier 4,300 hectres in the State.
• The new regime has also taken away the mandatory buffer zone around mangrove
vegetation located in private holdings.

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 • Though the owners of private holdings in which the mangrove patches have survived
may rejoice at the decision, it could leave a disastrous impact on the fast-depleting
mangrove vegetation.

What explains the deadly Spain floods?

The story so far
• In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by
heavy downpours in eastern Spain swept away
almost everything in their path.
• The extreme weather event came after Spain
battled with prolonged droughts in 2022 and
2023.
• The storms concentrated over the Magro and
Turia river basins and in the Poyo canal,
produced walls of water that overflowed
riverbanks.
Weather changes
• Spain’s national weather service said that in the Chiva locality, it rained more in eight
hours than it had in the preceding 20 months.
• Scientists trying to explain what happened see two likely connections to human-caused
climate change.
- One is that warmer air holds and then dumps more rain.
- The other is possible changes in the jet stream of air above land that moves weather
systems across the globe — that spawn extreme weather.
• The immediate cause of the flooding is called a cut-off lower-pressure storm system that
migrated from an unusually wavy and stalled jet stream.

Air quality commission doubles fine on farmers for stubble burning

• The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), based here and charged with
addressing air pollution in the Delhi capital region and surrounding States,
- has doubled the fines applicable to farmers caught indulging in it.
• The fines come even as farm fires in Punjab and Haryana show a declining trend while
those in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh show an aggregate rising trend.
• Since November 1, there has been a rising trend in the contribution of stubble burning to
PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi.

‘Tiger population triples in Manas national park’

• The tiger population in western Assam’s Manas National Park, a major wildlife preserves
stretching into Bhutan, tripled from 2011 to 2019, a new study said.

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 • This turns around in a park that suffered because of
prolonged armed conflict to increased funding,
improved protection infrastructure, and a larger
staff.
• The findings indicated that collaborative efforts
from local communities, government, and
conservation agencies can lead to successful
species recovery.
• However, challenges like poaching and habitat loss
persist, emphasising the need for continuous
management focus.
• In 2021, 44 adult tigers were photographed in
Manas, one of Assam’s two tiger reserves designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The other is Kaziranga park.

Staying cool, but with clean tech, global collaborations

In news
• In a rapidly warming world, cooling is not merely a luxury but a necessity, especially for
vulnerable populations.
• International cooperation on clean energy and cooling solutions is a crucial step
toward addressing the climate crisis.
Cooling-related emissions
• The broader relevance of these international efforts can be seen through the lens of the
Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment (2016).
• It is imperative for the world to adopt the lessons of these frameworks, reducing harmful
emissions while transitioning to sustainable alternatives.
• The Kigali Amendment expanded its scope to target hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent
greenhouse gases used in cooling appliances.
- Left unchecked, HFCs could contribute to 0.52°C of warming by 2100.
• More efficient cooling systems could deliver about two-thirds of total greenhouse gas
reductions by cutting electricity consumption.
• This would reduce emissions, lower air pollution from fossil fuel power plants, and save
costs for manufacturers and consumers.
Expectations
• By 2050, India may have the world’s highest cooling demand, with over 1.14 billion air
conditioners in use.
- India ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2021, committing to reduce HFCs by 85% by
2047.

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 • India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) targets a 20%-25% reduction in cooling demand, 25-
40% in energy consumption and a shift to low-global warming potential (GWP)
refrigerants.
• Establishing an inter-ministerial working group, planning a launch event and allocating
an initial budget are essential.
COP29 and the momentum of COP28
• International commitments to clean energy cooling are encouraging, but technologies
must remain affordable.
• The U.S.-India partnership and the Quad’s initiatives emphasise deployment and local
manufacturing of high-efficiency cooling systems.
• Rising global temperatures require scaling up energy-efficient solutions without straining
fragile electricity grids or leaving vulnerable populations behind.
• At COP28 (Dubai), 63 countries pledged to reduce cooling emissions by 68% by 2050.
• The Global Cooling Pledge, though non-binding, could provide cooling access to 3.5
billion people by 2050 and save $17 trillion in energy costs.

On improving wind energy generation

The story so far
• Tamil Nadu, which is a pioneer in wind mill installations, has wind turbines that are over
30 years old.
• The Tamil Nadu government released the “Tamil Nadu Repowering, Refurbishment and
Life Extension Policy for Wind Power Projects - 2024”.
- They have demanded a policy that will “promote wind energy generation”.

Wind energy potential

• The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) says that India has wind power potential
for 1,163.86 GW at 150 metres above ground level.
- It is ranked fourth in the world for installed wind energy capacity.
• Only about 6.5% of this wind potential is used at the national level and nearly 15% in
Tamil Nadu.
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 • Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh are the
leading States for installed wind energy capacity (93.37%).
• Tamil Nadu has seen the installation of wind turbines since the 1980s, and today it has
the second largest installed wind energy capacity with 10,603.5 MW.
How are wind turbines maintained?
• Wind turbines that are more than 15 years old or have less than 2 MW capacity, can be
completely replaced with new turbines, which is known as repowering.
• They can also be refurbished by increasing the height of the turbine, changing the blades,
installing a higher capacity gear box, etc., to improve the energy generated.
• These can be done for standalone wind mills, or a group of wind mills owned by multiple
generators.
• When wind energy generators take up safety measures in the old turbines and extend its
life, it’s called life extension.
Way forward
• Among the wind energy generating States, the repowering potential is the highest in
Tamil Nadu with over 7,000 MW of installed capacity.
• While there have been generators which have replaced turbines in the past without
government support, the policy itself does not promote wind energy generation.
• It should look at challenges on the field and consider how the wind energy potential can
be harnessed fully by the generators.

Hornbill haven
• People of Mayong village in Morigaon district of Assam have gone out of their way to
secure an ideal habitat for the oriental pied hornbill.
• IUCN Status: Least Concern
• The hornbills have been living in the village for several years. At present there are more
than 30 of them.
• Villagers have prioritised planting fruit-bearing
trees so that the hornbills can get food in the
vicinity. They have planted banana and papaya
trees in their backyards.
• The oriental pied hornbill is a highly adaptable
species, which, in India, is found in the Himalayan
foothills, the northeast and eastern parts.
• Referred to as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of the
forest’ for their key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees, hornbills indicate the health
of the forest they build nests in.

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How can design help a building be more climate-resilient?
High-performance buildings (HPBs) are at the forefront of sustainable construction, tackling
urgent needs like energy efficiency, climate resilience and resource conservation.

What is integrative design?

• HPBs is an integrative design approach that encourages architects, engineers,
sustainability consultants, and building owners to work together and set measurable
performance goals.
• These goals might aim for 90% daylighting in occupied spaces or cooling in 700 sq. ft.
per tonne of air-conditioning in commercial buildings.
• This approach ensures all building systems air-conditioning, lighting, and building
envelope components like walls, roofs and windows work together smoothly.
• This predictive approach helps achieve high operational efficiency, improves resilience,
and reduces long-term costs.
Sustainable materials
• Materials need to be durable, energy-efficient, and prioritise occupant health.
• A life-cycle assessment is often used to evaluate a material’s environmental impact and
reveal the most sustainable options.
• HPBs use low-emission interior materials to improve indoor air quality by reducing the
concentration of volatile organic compounds.
Less energy
• Passive design strategies tap into natural light, optimise building orientation take
advantage of thermal mass to reduce the need for artificial lighting, heating, and cooling.
• These strategies must be tailored to the local climate and the building’s specific needs,
ensuring efficient operation without heavy reliance on mechanical systems.

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 • The Infosys Hyderabad campus was India’s first HPB to have a radiant cooling HVAC
system that combines daylighting controls and task-lighting.
HPBs in saving water
• Water scarcity is a critical issue nationwide, and HPBs address it by conserving and
reusing water and fine-tuning quality.
• Efficient fixtures like low-flow faucets and dual-flush toilets reduce water use while
rainwater harvesting apparatuses to collect rainwater can be used.
• On-site wastewater treatment systems also increase efficiency by recycling greywater for
irrigation and other non-drinking purposes.
• Infosys campuses in India, for example, recycle 100% of their wastewater using a water
management system and aerobic membrane bioreactor, earning them zero-discharge
status.

How sustainable is India’s path to net-zero with 45 years left?

Why net-zero at all?
• To avoid devastating and irreversible consequences, the world must keep the global
average annual surface temperature rise to within 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
• The Sixth Assessment Report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
estimated that from 2020,
- the remaining global carbon budget for a 50-67% chance of limiting temperature rise
to 1.5 °C is 400-500 billion tonnes (Gt) of CO2.
- Currently, annual global emissions are around 40 Gt CO₂.
• Several countries have announced net-zero targets, but we also really need a sharp
decline in total emissions.
Is net-zero equitable?
• Developed countries are expected to help finance climate action, but this hasn’t
materialised at the required scale either.
• Developing countries, especially those that are small islands, are bearing more than their
fair share of the brunt of climate change.
• So overall, neither climate change nor climate action is currently equitable. COP-29 is
expected to build consensus on the level of financing required.
• Importantly, India lacks the carrying capacity to support the developed world’s lifestyle
standards for its entire population.
Demand and supply side measures
• On the demand side, use of better construction materials and passive design elements to
provide thermal comfort that doesn’t require artificial requirements.
- public and/or non-motorised transport within urban areas and railways for intercity
travel,
- local products to reduce the demand for long-haul freight,

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 - mindful dietary choices, and
- alternative fuels in industries in addition to some electrification.
• On the supply side, India needs to further decentralise energy production
• Nuclear power could also offer a precious low-carbon baseload energy and help the
government effectively phase out national economy’s dependence on fossil fuels.

How India could counter the CBAM

Protectionism is a threat to the collaboration required between the developed and developing
world in addressing climate issues.
A ‘discriminatory’ tool
• The CBAM is meant to ensure that imported products bear a carbon emission cost
comparable to the cost imposed on goods produced within the EU.
• Exporters will be mandated to provide information on the quantity and emissions of their
goods and buy certificates to match those emissions.
• The definite phase of the CBAM will enter into force on January 1, 2026 and may pose
significant risks to India’s international trade.
• The EU comprises 20.33% of India’s total merchandise exports, of which 25.7% are
affected by CBAM.
- Iron and steel have accounted for 76.83% of these exports, followed by aluminium,
cement, and fertilizers.
The proposed arguments
• First, on the time for preparing for CBAM.
- The EU set a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% compared to
1990 levels by 2020 which the developing countries don’t have time.
• The second is on empowerment.
- The EU has decided to keep the revenues generated from the CBAM to be used to
fund the NextGenerationEU recovery tool and operate the CBAM.
• Third, there is the issue of quantifying emission reduction responsibilities.
- India can justifiably advocate for an alternative called Equity-based Accounting
(EBA) of Nationally Determined Contributions.
• In the context of the EU-CBAM, India can introduce the concept of EBA to the
developing world concerning retaliation measures.
• Even the PBA adheres to principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and
Respective Capabilities, which is compromised under the CBAM framework.
The proposed arguments
• First, on the time for preparing for CBAM.
- The EU set a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% compared to
1990 levels by 2020 which the developing countries don’t have time.
• The second is on empowerment.

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 - The EU has decided to keep the revenues generated from the CBAM to be used to
fund the NextGenerationEU recovery tool and operate the CBAM.
• Third, there is the issue of quantifying emission reduction responsibilities.
- India can justifiably advocate for an alternative called Equity-based Accounting
(EBA) of Nationally Determined Contributions.
• In the context of the EU-CBAM, India can introduce the concept of EBA to the
developing world concerning retaliation measures.
• Even the PBA adheres to principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and
Respective Capabilities, which is compromised under the CBAM framework.

The dangers of high-altitude sickness

The story so far
In September, a trekker from Idukki, Kerala, died in Uttarakhand while attempting to scale
Garur Peak due to respiratory failure.
What is high-altitude sickness?

• High-altitude sickness, or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), occurs when the body cannot
acclimatise to high elevations, typically over 8,000 feet (2,400 metres).
• As altitude increases, the air pressure and oxygen levels decrease, leading to hypoxia —
a shortage of oxygen in the body’s tissues.
• Early symptoms of AMS include headache, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
• It can also escalate into high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a life-threatening
condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs,
- or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), where fluid collects in the brain.

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Structural issues
• While the Himalayan States witness a steady stream of tourists, healthcare facilities are
inadequate to handle cases of high-altitude sickness.
• Immediate and preventive health measures are also lacking. Basic preventive screenings
or health checks at entry points for tourists could save lives.
• To better manage high-altitude tourism, it is
essential to implement a mandatory registration
system for tourists entering remote mountain
areas.
• The primary cause of high-altitude sickness is
rapid ascent without allowing the body time to
acclimatise.
- Gradual ascent, which allows the body to
adapt to lower oxygen levels, is the best
way to prevent high-altitude illnesses.
Proposals
• Establish state-of-the-art medical facilities in high-altitude regions of the Himalayas.
• Create research centres dedicated to studying high-altitude illnesses.
• Equip Himalayan States with air-ambulance services for rapid medical evacuation in
emergencies.
• Provide health and safety information on government websites and at check-in points.

Planetary crisis puts children at risk: UNICEF report

The world is facing an unprecedented planetary crisis with nearly half the world’s children
living in countries that face high risk of climate and environmental hazards.
UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2024 (SOWC-2024) report
• The report examines impact of three long-term global forces — demographic shifts,
climate and environmental crises, and frontier technologies.
• The report notes that climate destabilisation, biodiversity collapse and widespread
pollution threats are intensifying globally.
• From before their first breath, children’s brains, lungs and immune systems are
vulnerable to pollution and extreme weather.
• Air pollution is especially harmful to children; its impact on their respiratory health and
development can last a lifetime.
Expected
• It notes that by the 2050s, the global child population is projected to stabilise at around
2.3 billion.
• It adds that over 95% of people in high-income countries are connected to the Internet,
compared with barely 26% in low-income countries.

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 • Infrastructure limitations, high costs and permission barriers continue to impede progress.
• This digital exclusion threatens to exacerbate existing inequalities, especially in regions
with rapidly growing child populations.

Consensus on new climate finance goal remains elusive

A day before this round of UN climate talks is scheduled to end in Baku, developed and
developing nations are far from agreeing on a number of NCQG on climate finance.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)
• The NCQG refers to money that will be given by developed countries to developing
nations to help them transition away from fossil fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
• Developing nations say this would cost trillions of dollars. To this end, developed
countries say they have transferred $115 billion in 2021-22.
• Climate finance technically includes every dollar that is even remotely connected to some
aspect of ‘climate’ and therefore includes profit-making business investments.
• By this metric, there is agreement that global climate finance flows in 2021-2022
increased by 63% compared to 2019-2020, reaching an average of $1.3 trillion.

CAQM’s submissions in Supreme Court ignore increase in paddy burnt area in Punjab,
Haryana
• The Central government-constituted Commission for Air Quality Management in
National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had information that,
- the burnt area of paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana increased and many farmers
were burning stubble after satellites passed over the area.
• While the CAQM has informed the Supreme Court time and again that over the past
couple of years there has been a significant reduction in stubble burning incidents.
• Earlier, CAQM wrote to the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under ISRO, to
develop a standard protocol for estimating burnt area under paddy.
• The observation of reduced burning incidents while burnt area is increasing over the
years, may be due to the fact that farmers are well aware of satellite pass timings.

India needs an environmental health regulatory agency (EHRA)

In news
• The 2024 Conference of Parties (COP 29) ends in Baku, Azerbaijan today.
• As a global voice for developing countries, India will push for ambitious climate
mitigation financing from developed nations.
• At the same time, pollutants in our air, water and land continue to pose grave health risks.
• According to the Emissions Gap Report 2024 from the United Nations Environment
Programme, India has seen over 6% more greenhouse gas emissions than 2023.

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The urgency of integration
• Numerous epidemiological studies have uncovered the detrimental health effects of
exposure to air, water and soil pollutants.
• For example, exposure to air pollution PM2.5, is now known to be associated with
respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pregnancy outcomes,
- child growth and development and even mental health disorders.
• India’s current environmental governance model needs to be more integrated with health.
• There is a disconnect between environmental monitoring, health impact assessments, and
emissions control, given little to no data flow between them.
Global examples
• A centralised agency such as EHRA could integrate environmental and health data.
- It helps in allowing policymakers to track, regulate, and mitigate these impacts
effectively, with much-needed inter-disciplinarity.
• Germany’s UBA focuses on environmental policy, managing air, water and waste
regulations while championing sustainable energy and climate initiatives.
• Japan’s MOE tackles pollution, chemical safety, and ecosystem protection.
- It collaborates with health and science agencies to monitor environmental health,
enforce pollution controls, and address urban pollution and radiation issues.
A data-driven, evidence-based framework
• Even though organisations such as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
provide essential support for environmental health research,
- their impact is somewhat limited without a central body to bring together and translate
this data into practical policies.
• An EHRA would enable India to adopt an evidence-informed and science-driven
regulatory framework, specific to nation’s unique environmental challenges.
• Integrating health impact assessments (HIAs) into all significant projects, such as urban
development and infrastructure planning can help decision makers.
• An incentivised energy transition and public health campaigns around environmental
health could encourage transition to cleaner technologies.
Participatory approach
• Involving the public is essential for the success of environmental health initiatives.
• In India, an EHRA could be critical in educating citizens on environmental health risks
and empowering communities to advocate cleaner air, water, and healthier living
conditions.
• Citizen initiatives and the role of non-governmental organisations are pivotal, given the
need for accountability to start bottom-up from local bodies and panchayats.
• The role of communicators and journalists is crucial in highlighting and supporting these
initiatives.

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 • An EHRA would be instrumental in helping India meet commitments such as Paris
Agreement by aligning national policies with global standards.
Building accountability
• Establishing an EHRA in India would not be without challenges, from bureaucratic
inertia to resistance from industry stakeholders wary of regulation.
• However, clear frameworks for inter-ministerial coordination, measurable objectives, and
cross-sectoral cooperation could help overcome these barriers.
• An EHRA should be operationally independent, guided by scientific expertise, and
empowered to enforce policies that prioritise public health.
• An EHRA could build on these achievements to strengthen India’s governance of its
environmental health crisis by framing pollution control as both a public health
imperative and an economic opportunity.

Western Ghats’s king cobra officially named Ophiophagus Kaalinga

• Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre officially named the king cobra found in the
Western Ghats as Ophiophagus Kaalinga.
• The name Kaalinga is deeply rooted in Kannada
culture and is well known to everyone in Karnataka.
• He also highlighted that snakebite-related deaths are
increasing in Karnataka.
• Therefore, antivenom has been made available in all
government hospitals to address this issue.
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Plastics treaty draft overlooks key issue: limiting
production
Following five days of deliberation, countries have thrashed out a preliminary draft of the
Global Plastics Treaty at UN-led Global Plastic Treaty negotiations in Busan, South Korea.
Points of disagreement
• A group of about 67 countries, including the EU and a coalition of Pacific Island
countries called the High Ambition Coalition, has said that;
- the treaty does not go far enough to address the core purpose, which is to limit
production and trade, and address the harm posed by plastics manufacturing.
• The major points of disagreement are proposals by the EU to have a global target to
reduce the production of primary plastic polymers, steps to implement strategies,
- and programmes to identify the risks of and protect against adverse health impacts
associated with plastic pollution.
• Chemicals that are known to be hazardous are only included in other international
conventions such as the Rotterdram, Basel, Stockholm conventions.

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What can CAQM do to improve Delhi air?
Air pollution in Delhi has been in the ‘severe’ and ‘severe plus’ category for the most part of
the last 10 days.

What is the CAQM?

• The CAQM in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas came into existence
through an ordinance in 2020, later replaced by an Act of Parliament in 2021.
• The CAQM was set up for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of
problems surrounding air quality and connected issues.
• It replaced the EPCA (Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority),
which was formed in 1998 by the Supreme Court.
• However, the EPCA was not backed by a statute and experts had raised the issue that it
lacked the teeth to act against authorities which did not follow its orders.
Why did the SC pull up the CAQM?
• Over the years, the Supreme Court which has been hearing an ongoing case on air
pollution, has pulled up different governments and agencies for their laxity.
• The court pulled up the CAQM for delaying implementation of curbs though the AQI had
slipped to the ‘severe plus’ category.
• The Commission must ensure that its efforts and directions issued actually translate into
reducing the problem of pollution.
• Stage IV is the highest level of restrictions under Graded Response Action Plan
(GRAP).
• Though the CAQM makes plans and coordinates with different agencies, it is the
agencies that have to implement them on the ground.

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On stubble burning and satellite data
The story so far:
• The air quality in the national capital has been struggling to recover from the lows to
which it dropped right after Deepavali.
• Despite the implementation of GRAP stage IV measures, active intervention of the
Supreme Court, and stop-gap measures by Delhi government, situation is still bad.
• While stubble fires are not solely responsible for Delhi’s plight, a controversy over
measuring their prevalence illustrates the amount of attention they are receiving.
How are the fires counted?
• Farmers in Punjab and Haryana sow rice in the kharif season and harvest it in November,
using the summer monsoons to quench the crop’s high-water demand.
• After the rice is harvested, they need to clear the leftover organic material called paddy
stubble, in order to make way for the next sowing season.
- For reasons of time and cost, they have traditionally preferred to burn the stubble.
• Due to the winds at the time of year, the toxic particulate matter floats and hangs over
New Delhi.
Data recordings
• The Indian government currently procures this data from two NASA satellites called
Aqua and Suomi-NPP.
• Aqua’s and Suomi-NPP’s overpass at each location happens at 1:30 p.m. local time in the
day and at 1:30 a.m. local time at night.
• Recently the controversy arises when CAQM tells that number of fires in 2024 seemed to
be the lowest in last decade, while satellite reports suggest that,
- burning activities are taking place after satellite overpass time, but it needs ground-
truthing.
How is the government responding?
• The Centre had originally created the CAQM to replace the Environmental Pollution
(Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), which the Supreme Court had created in
1998.
• The Supreme Court in particular has upbraided the CAQM for failing to mitigate air
pollution resulting from the fires over the years.
• But the CAQM has also maintained that its efforts have lowered the prevalence of fires
by 71% in Punjab and 44% in Haryana between 2020 and 2024.
• The CAQM said ISRO plans to evaluate the usability of data from various satellites to
identify farm fires.

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Why is there a row over climate finance?
The story so far
The 29th edition of Conference of Parties (COP), arguably the most important of UN’s climate
conferences, take a collective step forward in addressing rising carbon emissions.
Significance of COP-29
• Going into the talks, developing countries had stated that at least a trillion dollars per year
from 2025-35 would be necessary to meet emission targets.
• The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance refers to money that
will be given to developing countries by developed countries.
• It will help the former meet their goals to transition away from the continued use of fossil
fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
What do developing countries want?
• This block of countries includes China, India and the Group of 77 countries.
• There are also other coalitions such as Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC),
Least Developing Countries (LDC), Small Island Developing Countries (SIDS) etc.
• Nearly all developing countries fall into one or multiple groupings and they agree that it
is the developed countries should pay the bulk of climate finance.
• The NDCs are targeted, voluntary plans by all countries to reduce carbon emissions by
certain quantities until 2030.
What does the developed world say?
• However developed countries, led by the European Union, say these demands are
unreasonably high.
• They aver that all actors should collectively work to hike up climate finance to $1.3
trillion per year by 2035.
• Moreover, this would consist of a variety of sources, including public and private,
bilateral and multilateral, and alternative sources.

After a health emergency, toxic air foretells an economic one

An unseen health crisis
• Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to health, even the leading cause of
premature death in India.
• According to her research, nearly 2 million lives were cut short in India in 2021 alone
due to pollution-related diseases.
• Among the most affected are pregnant women, children, the elderly, and those already
facing health challenges.
• Exposure to air pollution can permanently impair lung development, leading to chronic
respiratory issues and asthma in children.

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A fractured response
• India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 to reduce particulate
matter pollution by 20-30% by 2024, later adjusted to 40% by 2026.
• NCAP’s role in raising awareness and enhancing air quality monitoring is critical but it
also has shortcomings in sustained, source-specific emission reductions.
- The NCAP needs localised strategies focused on specific emission sources.
• NCAP is a beginning, but a whole-society approach that spans sectors and prioritises the
vulnerable is essential.
Economic and social costs
• Vulnerable, low-income communities bear the heaviest burden: The poorest are most
exposed yet least equipped to mitigate these effects.
• The burden of non-communicable diseases linked to pollution continues to rise even
climate-related challenges like heat waves exacerbate health and productivity losses.
• Despite increasing public awareness, India’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels remains a
significant obstacle to change.
• True progress in air quality will require a pivot from coal to renewables, coupled with a
robust national investment in sustainable infrastructure.
Reforms and accountability
• Experts said it could be critical for the NCAP to adopt a regional approach rather than
presume one size can fit all.
• Listing pollution as a cause of death in death certificates could explicitly increase the
public awareness towards pollution.
• The UNEP reports called for systemic changes in the transportation, energy, and health
sectors to curb pollution effectively.
• India stands at a crossroads, and its choices today will determine the health of generations
to come.

Countries vulnerable to climate tense over ‘exported emissions’

News context
• Fossil fuel exports have been a hot topic at the United Nations climate conference in
Baku this year.
• Climate-vulnerable countries argued that nations should be held accountable for the
pollution they send overseas, often to poor developing nations in the form of oil, gas and
coal.
U.S. exports
• U.S. fossil fuel exports including coal, oil, gas, and refined fuels led to over 2 billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in other countries in 2022.
- That is equivalent to about a third of U.S. domestic emissions, the data showed.

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 • Most U.S. gas exports now go to European countries seeking to reduce dependence on
Russia, while China has become one of the top buyers of U.S. crude and coal.
• America’s biggest growth market for coal, however, is North Africa.
• Much of the increase was driven by cement and brickmakers in Egypt and Morocco,
which together took in more than 5 million short tonnes over the period.

Why India’s 6Ghz spectrum dilemma is affecting PS5 Pro console launch in India?
The story so far
Earlier in November, the PlayStation 5 Pro console was released in key markets around the
world, but no announcement was made regarding India.
History on WiFi bands
• In India and throughout the world, WiFi has mainly used two key bands of frequency —
2.4GHz and 5GHz.
- 5GHz is significantly faster, but covers a shorter distance.
• The frequencies for the spectrum used by these WiFi bands were de-licensed for indoor
and outdoor use separately in India starting in 2002.
• That technology uses both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies simultaneously, with greater
efficiency, resulting in better speeds.
• But in 2021, WiFi 6E was introduced, splitting the world into two regions: those who
allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum, and those that didn’t.
What is 6GHz spectrum and what does it have to do with WiFi?

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 • By 2021, several countries including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab
Emirates, the U.K., and the U.S. began de-licensing a third band of spectrum for WiFi.
• The WiFi 6E standard was introduced that year, allowing the creation of routers that
broadcast on this frequency, bringing up theoretical maximum speeds to 9.6Gbps.
Who has the 6GHz band in India, and who wants it?
• The 6GHz band is currently with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for
satellite use cases.
• However, satellite communications over 6GHz are unlikely to interfere with WiFi-like
use cases and India was able to get extension till 2027.
• India and China have not allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum for WiFi yet.
• Tech companies, such as those represented by the Broadband India Forum, Google, Meta,
Amazon, and other have argued for a U.S.-like allocation for this spectrum to WiFi.
In future
• While the 6GHz debate is complex in its own right, it is not entirely clear that the
consumer electronics’ interests are significantly impacted by India’s decision.
• At any rate, WiFi 7 as a technology does not need 6GHz to work in India.
• Advances in WiFi technology are based not (just) on newer bands of wireless spectrum,
but in greater efficiency and using these bands simultaneously.

Between hope and hurdles on the high seas

In news
• India recently signed the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement,
better known as the High Seas Treaty.
• Hailed as a landmark step in ocean governance, the treaty seeks to protect marine
ecosystems and promote the sustainable use of resources in areas beyond national
jurisdiction.
• However, despite its laudable intentions to address critical gaps in international maritime
regulation, structural complexities and potential challenges.
Fraught with challenges
• The treaty’s ambitious goals are tempered by its lack of a clear implementation roadmap.
- With only 14 of its 104 signatories having ratified the agreement, it remains far from
the required threshold of 60 needed to come into force.
• The issue stems particularly in regions such as the South China Sea, where overlapping
claims complicate consensus on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
• Southeast Asian nations remain divided on whether high-seas “national parks” could
affect territorial claims or limit economic opportunities for,
− coastal communities that depend on marine resources.
Issue with treaty
• One of the treaty’s most contentious provisions involves marine genetic resources.

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 • The treaty obligates nations to share the profits derived from exploiting these resources
through a global fund.
• However, without robust accountability measures, this provision risks being undermined
by wealthier nations underreporting their activities.
• Capacity-building and technology transfers present yet another challenge for low and
middle-income countries.
• The treaty calls for equitable partnerships in ocean science, but lacks enforceable
mechanisms, leaving less capable nations vulnerable to being sidelined.
• Asymmetry threatens to perpetuate inequalities in maritime research and governance.
Bridging the divide
• For the High Seas Treaty to succeed, it must overcome its structural and political
limitations.
• This requires a radical shift in maritime governance, one that integrates high-seas and
coastal regulations into a cohesive framework.
• The treaty’s success ultimately hinges on fostering a collective commitment among
nations to safeguard the oceans as a shared global resource.

NGT issues notice to Centre on expansion of glacial lakes

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Centre regarding rapid
expansion of the Himalayan glacial lakes, raising concerns over the increasing risk of
natural disasters.
• The NGT took suo motu cognisance of a news report showing about 10.81% increase of
the glacial lakes in the last 13 years due to the rising temperatures.
• The melting of glaciers paved way for larger glacial lakes, which held more water and, in
turn, increased the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides.

In Busan, India says it will not back ‘use’ of plastic alternatives

While India may have banned single-use plastic in 2022, the nation has struck a contradictory
note at the ongoing UN-led Global Plastic Treaty negotiations here.
News context
• India said that while it encourages the research, innovation, and development of
sustainable alternatives and non-plastic substitutes,
- and it would rather not support the “use” of these products, technologies, and services.
• India has pushed back against a suggestion to “reduce the use of primary plastic polymers
and associated chemicals of concern in plastic products”.
• Chemicals of concern are used in making goods but which are associated with harm.
Plastic alternatives
• While India has, on paper, allowed the use of “biodegradable” and “compostable” plastic,
lack of clarity on whether such plastic is actually degradable and,

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 - whether compostable versions are being composted has hindered their widespread
adoption.
• Nearly 24 million tonnes of plastic packaging have been introduced into India with a
mechanical recycling capacity of only 9.8 million tonnes.
• Of the 15 million tonnes of plastic that are used in consumer products and become waste
within a year, only about 20% is collected.

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Science and Technology

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India’s first analog space mission kicks off at Leh in Ladakh
• India’s first Mars and Moon analog mission at Leh in Ladakh to simulate life in an
interplanetary habitat has been inaugurated.
• ISRO, AAKA Space Studio Pvt. Ltd, IIT Bombay, and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council have collaborated in this endeavour.
• The mission is designed to simulate extraterrestrial conditions on Mars and the Moon,
enabling India to enhance its human spaceflight capabilities.

First science result from Aditya L1, ISRO’s sun mission, is out
• The first science result from the Aditya-L1 mission, India’s first scientific mission
dedicated to studying the sun, is out.
• Scientists who developed the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) aboard
Aditya-L1 predicted the onset time of a coronal mass ejection on the sun on July 16.
- The VELC was developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAp), Bengaluru.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Aditya-L1 in September 2023.
• The sun is an active object and often spews vast quantities of plasma in violent eruptions
called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The sun’s in a tizzy

• The sun too rotates about its axis. But unlike the earth, which has a rotation period of one
day, the sun has a differential rotation.
• The period of rotation near its equator is 26.5 days, at sun spot zone (16 degrees north) it
is 27.3 days and at the pole it is 31.1 days.
• The sun’s enormous core temperature of 15 million degrees K and a surface temperature
of 6,000 degrees K in a high-pressure gaseous state called a plasma.
• For the purpose of certain calculations, the top and the bottom ends of the visible sphere
of the sun are designated as north and south poles respectively.

RNA editing is promising togo where DNA editing can’t

What is RNA editing?
• Cells synthesise messenger RNA (mRNA) using instructions in DNA and then read
instructions from the mRNA to make functional proteins.
• During this process of transcription, the cell may make mistakes in the mRNA’s sequence
and based on them produce faulty proteins.
- Many of these proteins have been known to cause debilitating disorders.
• RNA editing allows scientists to fix mistakes in the mRNA after the cell has synthesised
it but before the cell reads it to make the proteins.

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RNA editing in development
• Wave Life Sciences used RNA editing to treat -1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), an
inherited disorder.
• In patients suffering from AATD, levels of the protein -1 antitrypsin build up and affect
the liver and the lungs.
• Once at the target, the ADAR enzymes fix the mRNA, and the cells produce -1
antitrypsin at normal levels.
• Wave Life Sciences is planning to extend its RNA editing technology to treat
Huntington’s disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and obesity.
Challenges in RNA editing
• A big challenge in RNA editing is its specificity.
• ADARs can perform adenosine-inosine changes in both targeted and non-targeted parts
of mRNA, or skip the targeted parts altogether.
• When ADARs don’t align with the adenosine of interest, potentially serious side-effects
could arise.
• Another challenge is the transient nature of RNA editing; this is also its strength, but
individuals will need to be treated repeatedly to sustain the therapy’s effects.
• Current methods to deliver the gRNA-ADAR complex use lipid nanoparticles.

How do lightning rods prevent lightning strikes from reaching people?

What is lightning?
• Lightning is an electrical discharge between charged particles in a cloud and the ground.
• Objects can be classified as electrical conductors or insulators, but this depends on the
electrical energy acting on the object.
• Lightning strikes are possible because electrical charges can build up in a cloud beyond
the ability of air to keep resisting their movement.
What is a lightning rod?
• While a lightning strike occurs between a cloud and an object on or near the ground, it
takes the path of least resistance, which means it moves towards the closest object with
the highest electric potential.
• Heat energy always flows from a warmer object to a cooler object. Liquid water flows
from a place with a higher gravitational potential to a lower one.
• Similarly, an electric current flows from a place with higher electric potential to a place
with lower electric potential.
• The lightning rod is connected to a wire that drops through the length of building into the
ground, where it dissipates its electric charges into its surroundings.
What dangers does a lightning rod pose?
• The lightning rod and the components connected to it are designed to carry a lightning
strike into the ground.

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 • If the wire bends in a U shape at any point, the two arms of the U should be far apart to
prevent the current from arcing across and shorting the conductor.
• The charges should also not be able to arc through any other objects nearby.

India conducts ‘historic’ flight test of hypersonic missile with a range of 1,500 km
• India announced the successful flight test of its maiden long-range hypersonic missile
with a range of 1,500 km.
• The missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains has
been indigenously developed by DRDO.
• Hypersonic weapons are manoeuvrable and can fly at speeds of at least Mach 5, five
times the speed of sound.

Weights: AI’s learning switches

• Machine-learning models called artificial neural networks (ANNs) have taken the world
by storm, transforming everything from the protection of endangered languages to
accelerating drug discovery.
• Every ANN has three components: nodes, edges, and weights. Scientists originally
designed ANNs to mimic the learning behaviour of the human brain.
• But unlike nodes and edges, weights exist entirely mathematically. A weight denotes the
strength of an edge.
• The higher the weight, the stronger the signals transmitted along that edge, and the more
attention the destination node pays to them.
• When an ANN ‘learns’ new information, it essentially adjusts the weights of different
edges to further enhance the final result.

New infectious diseases among bees threaten world’s economies

In news
• A significant chunk of the world’s agricultural productivity and nutritional security relies
on small insect pollinators.
• More than 75% of food crops, fruits, and flowering plants need bees, wasps, beetles, flies,
moths, and butterflies to yield successful harvests.
• This is why threats to insect pollinators, including pesticides, pollution, and climate
change, endanger the economies of entire countries.
Habitat overlap and native bees
• India hosts more than 700 bee species, including four indigenous honey bees:
 Asiatic honey bee (Apis cerana indica)
 Giant rock bee (Apis dorsata)
 Dwarf honey bee (Apis florea)
 Stingless bee (sp. Trigona).
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 • Western honey bees were introduced in India in 1983 to increase the country’s honey
yield.
• In 1991-1992, a Thai sacbrood virus outbreak devastated around 90% of Asiatic honey
bee colonies in South India and reemerged in 2021 in Telangana.
- The virus has been reported from other parts of the world, including China and
Vietnam.
Need for focused research
• A study estimated that 40% of bumblebee species in the Indian Himalaya could lose more
than 90% of their habitat by 2050, raising concerns about the competition for resources
with western honey bees.
• Experts agree that more research and surveillance are required to monitor emerging
diseases in bees and other pollinators.
• Understanding the basic ecology of pollinators is key to conservation-oriented studies of
how they will respond to threats such as climate change, habitat loss or infectious
diseases.

SpaceX’s Falcon-9 deploys Indian satellite into orbit

• India’s GSAT-N2 (GSAT-20) communication satellite was successfully launched by
SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket.
• GSAT-N2 is a Ka-band high throughput communication satellite of NewSpace India
Ltd., which is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
• The satellite is set to enhance broadband services and in-flight connectivity across the
Indian region.
− This is India’s first collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

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If diamonds and pencils are made out of carbon, how is it that pencils can write?
Carbon and its phases
• Carbon is one of the most common elements on our planet. It can come in different
phases and forms.
- The core of the pencil is made of carbon, the same carbon most of us are primarily
made of.
• In this way, if the carbon atoms arrange themselves in the form of an Egyptian pyramid-
like structure, they form a diamond.
• Diamonds are shiny, transparent, and the hardest material known in nature. This is why
it’s often used to cut other metals.
Writing by sliding
• When you write using a pencil, you are sliding the core of the pencil on paper.
• In the process, you’re forcing the carbon atoms of the pencil to slide on the atoms of the
paper.
• But if you slide a hard material like diamond or a steel spoon on paper, the atoms of the
material are so tightly bound to each other they don’t leave and move on paper.
• When they looked at the tape under a microscope, they found thin layers of carbon stuck
to it, i.e. graphene.

ONOS bitten- Bringing down cost of access to research papers is only one of many issues
While generally undesirable, centralisation promised to be a boon vis-à-vis public access to
research through India’s ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ (ONOS) plan.
ONOS scheme
• ONOS was first proposed in the country’s fifth draft National Science, Technology, and
Innovation Policy (2020) in response to the hefty fees research journal charged.
• Research institutes also subscribe to these journals, so scholars can avail all the papers
through their libraries.
• As these fees climbed over time, librarians banded up in consortia to increase their
bargaining power at negotiations.
• However, ONOS will be limited to publicly funded institutes; and it allows the
stranglehold of commercial publishers on scholarly publishing to continue.
• Add to this the absence of consultation with the institutes on their specific needs, and any
celebration of ONOS will have to be deemed premature.

MACE in Ladakh opens its one-of-a-kind eye to cosmic gamma rays

The MACE
• The Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) telescope is a state-of-the-art
ground-based gamma-ray telescope inaugurated in Hanle, Ladakh, on October 4.

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 • Located at around 4.3 km above sea level, it is the highest imaging Cherenkov telescope
in the world.
• It boasts of a 21-metre-wide dish, the largest of its
kind in Asia and second-largest in the world.
• The facility was built by the Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre, the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd.,
and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
A strange blue light
• Gamma rays are produced by exotic energetic
objects in the cosmos, including rapidly spinning
pulsars, supernova explosions, hot whirlpools of
matter around black holes, and gamma-ray bursts.
• Because of their high energy, gamma rays are a health hazard. They can damage living
cells and may even trigger deleterious mutations in DNA.
- Fortunately, the earth’s atmosphere blocks gamma rays from reaching the ground.
• Thus, astronomers who want to study objects that emit gamma rays prefer using space
observatories.
• Instruments used for this kind of detection are called imaging atmospheric Cherenkov
telescopes (IACTs). The MACE telescope is an IACT.
Uses and goals
• MACE’s main goal is to study gamma rays with more than 20 billion eV of energy.
• The telescope can examine high-energy gamma rays emitted from near black holes
beyond the Milky Way and which are digesting large volumes of matter.
- Other potential astrophysical targets include gamma-ray pulsars, blazars, and gamma-
ray bursts.
• One important goal is to find dark matter particles. Dark matter is a type of matter
believed to make up more than 85% of the total mass in our universe.

Stigma of HIV and birth of biomedical waste regulations

Syringe wave
• In August 1987, the beaches of the United States witnessed a chilling phenomenon
dubbed the “Syringe Tide.”
• Used syringes and other medical waste, such as blood vials and body tissues, began
appearing on the Jersey shore and New York City beaches along the Atlantic coast.
• By the mid-1980s, HIV/AIDS was viewed as a biological death sentence, with little hope
for a cure or vaccine.
• The stigma surrounding HIV, linked with syringes and hospital waste, amplified public
anxiety.

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India’s journey
• In 1986, India took its first major step toward environmental protection by enacting the
Environmental Protection Act, almost 40 years after gaining independence.
- Coincidentally, 1986 was the year in which the HIV case in India was identified at
Madras Medical College in India.
• The Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules of 1989 did not mention
biomedical waste, missing an opportunity for regulation.
• In the landmark case of Dr. B.L. Wadehra vs. Union of India (1996), the Supreme Court
lamented that the capital city of Delhi turned into an “open garbage dump.”
• In 1998, Parliament introduced the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling)
Rules, marking hospital waste was recognised as hazardous and distinct.
• The Act empowered the Central and State Pollution Control Boards to monitor and
regulate waste disposal, ushering in an era of accountability.

The HIV link

• In hindsight, the discovery of HIV and the associated public fear catalysed a global
reckoning with healthcare practices.
• For India, it highlighted the urgent need to protect not just the environment but also the
occupational health of its medical workforce.

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 • Stringent protocols are in place today, ensuring that hospital waste is segregated, treated,
and disposed of responsibly. However, challenges remain.
• Mishandling of biomedical waste still poses risks, particularly in rural and resource-
limited settings.

Six decades since Thumba launch, slew of private entities prepare for flight

November 21 was 61 years since the birth of the Indian space programme. On this date in 1963,
scientists launched a Nike-Apache sounding rocket from Thumba in Kerala.
Launches of merit
• NewSpace India, Ltd. launched the 4,700-kg GSAT-N2/GSAT-20 satellite onboard a
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida.
- INSAT-1D was the last such satellite launched from Florida, in 1990.
• GSAT-N2 is a Ka-band high throughput communication satellite built by ISRO to
enhance broadband services in underserved areas, including Northeast and islands.
• ISRO is preparing to launch its PSLV-C59 mission bearing the European Proba-3
mission.
• The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will fly in its extended length configuration
(XL), which was last used to launch Aditya-L1 in September 2023.
• India’s astronaut-designate Shubhanshu Shukla, who is set to fly to the International
Space Station in 2025, is undergoing training at the European Space Agency.
From the private sector
Four Indian private companies are preparing to launch their payloads/satellites into orbit.
• Pixxel, which is Indian-American, unveiled ‘Fireflies’, its six hyperspectral satellites
expected to be launched early next year.
- It constitutes the first batch in what is eventually expected to become a constellation
of 24 satellites.
- can help detect crop diseases, water-stressed areas, real-time deforestation, and ocean
pollution early.

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 • GalaxEye Space is flying its “It’s NOT a Satellite, It’s Just a Tech Demo” on board the
PSLV’s Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform.
• PierSight Space will also fly a mission on a PSLV POEM called ‘Varuna’, and set to fly
HEX20’s Nila satellite onboard SpaceX.
• Catalyx Space’s SR-0 satellite launched onboard the third developmental flight of the
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle mission re-entered the earth’s atmosphere.
• SatSure is working with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for
automated image feature extraction models for building footprints,
- roof type, roads, and water bodies among other classes for more than two lakh
villages.

Using body’s defences against cancer

I-NCMs
• Cancer, often called the “emperor of all maladies,” remains a formidable adversary
despite decades of scientific progress.
• A study from Chicago, has gained attention for discovering that white blood cells
activated by severe COVID-19 demonstrate cancer-fighting abilities.
• The spread of cancer, also known as metastasis, could be slowed by a specialised type of
white blood cell called induced non-classical monocytes (I-NCMs).
• These cells can be generated through severe infections like COVID-19 or by using
certain chemicals.
• Once activated, I-NCMs are able to leave blood vessels and migrate to tumours, where
they launch an attack on cancer cells.
Potential of immunotherapy
• Over the past decade, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach to cancer
treatment.
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• Cancer cells often reprogramme the body’s immune system to protect themselves from
detection and destruction.
• Immunotherapy aims to overcome these defences by empowering the body’s immune
cells to fight back.
• I-NCMs are derived from monocytes which circulate in the bloodstream. Monocytes are
involved with fighting off infections, immune regulation and repairing damaged tissue.
• When exposed to certain bacterial or viral infections or chemicals, a small number of
these monocytes transform into I-NCMs.
• Another form of immunotherapy is the use of CAR-T where the patient’s own T cells are
reprogrammed in the lab and reintroduced into the body to attack cancer.
• Not all cancers respond to immunotherapy, and even when treatments show initial
success, cancer cells can adapt and develop resistance.

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Internal Security ML & Cyber

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How cyber scams use social engineering and malicious APKs to swindle users
The story so far:
• In mid-October, traveller Bhargavi Mani claimed that she lost close to ₹1 lakh while
trying to book lounge access at the Bengaluru airport.
• The scam was executed by asking to download an APK (Android Package format) file
that looked like a regular app, shared via a WhatsApp chat.
• The malicious APK was able to function after she clicked on the link which granted
screen mirroring access to a supposed customer care adviser during a video call.
How do cybercriminals use Big Tech platforms?
• Ms. Mani said she was asked to download the malicious app from a fake website, which
no longer exists. The URL presented to her was “Loungepass.in”.
• Loungepass.com is a genuine website that allows users to pre-book airport lounge access
at major airports.
• In this case, social engineering tactics were employed to lure her to the fake site; a
method commonly used by threat actors.
• However, it is important to note that Apple’s iOS is designed to prevent apps from being
downloaded or installed directly from a link that,
- bypasses the official Apple App Store, which enforces strict security protocols.
How bad is the cybercrime situation in India?
• In 2023, Indian citizens lost ₹66.66 crore in 4,850 reported cases of online scams.
• A report by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) revealed that digital
financial frauds amounted to a staggering ₹1.25 lakh crore over the last three years.
• The use of sophisticated technical knowledge, coupled with social engineering techniques
and a rise in data leaks, exacerbates the problem.
• India ranked fifth globally in the number of breached accounts in 2023, with 5.3 million
leaked accounts.

Indian Army resumes patrolling in Depsang

• The Indian Army has successfully patrolled one of the five Patrolling Points in Depsang
Ara of eastern Ladakh, the Leh-based 14 Corps announced.
• This marks the resumption of patrolling in the area for the first time since disengagement
was undertaken last week that began in May 2020.
- Patrolling Point 10 was accessed in the patrol as agreed by the two aides.
• Earlier, disengagement was completed from Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh,
which were also the last two friction points of the 2020 stand-off.
• However, given that there has been a stand-off at Demchok since 2017 and the latest
agreement is for restoring the ground situation to pre-April 2020 situation,
- it is not clear up to what point the Army would get to patrol in the Demchok area.

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Autonomous surface vessel completes 1,500-km voyage
• An autonomous surface vessel built by Sagar Defence Engineering has completed a
1,500-km voyage from Mumbai to Thoothukudi without human intervention, in an
endeavour supported by the Indian Navy.
• This first-of-its-kind journey highlights India’s
growing expertise in autonomous maritime
technology.
• It establishes a significant milestone in developing
cutting-edge, unmanned systems for national
security.
• The Sagarmala Parikrama demonstrates India’s
ability to build autonomous maritime systems indigenously, which is critical to our
national security.
• It aligns with global advancements in autonomous surface and underwater systems.

Ransomware attack hit crucial defence unit last year: DoPT

In news
• A crucial defence unit was affected by a ransomware attack in 2023, according to the
2023-24 annual report of the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT).
• In 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated complex cybercrimes
with national security implications.
• DDoS stands for distributed denial-of-service, a malicious attempt to disrupt internet
traffic.
• According to the 2023 report of the CERT-In, as many as 15,92,917 security incidents
were reported last year.
• These incidents included website intrusion and malware propagation, malicious codes,
phishing, DDoS attacks, website defacements,
- unauthorised network scanning activities, ransomware attacks, and data breaches.

France evaluating India’s Pinaka rocket system for its use

• France is considering India’s Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launch (MBRL) system for its
requirements and is soon going to carry out a detailed evaluation of the system.
• France has announced plans to replace its
M270 Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU) rocket
systems in service.
• The French Army has 13 upgraded M270
systems and since the beginning of the war in
Ukraine, six systems have been transferred to
Ukraine.

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 • Armenia became the first export customer for the indigenously developed Pinaka with
interest expressed by several countries for the system.
• The Pinaka Mk1 has a range of 38 km and it can fire a variety of ammunition. Several
extended range ammunitions are under development.
• There were four broad domains in the cooperation — capability; education, information,
training; equipment; and understanding between the senior leadership.

Manipur’s misery- The Centre must take the initiative in resolving the crisis
Ten armed militants were killed in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
and police in Manipur’s Jiribam district.
News context
• Women, children and the elderly have been facing the brunt of the violence that began in
May 2023.
• More than 250 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced since the conflict between
Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities began.
Kuki demands
• The Kuki Students’ Organisation has called for ‘non-cooperation’ with the CRPF,
claiming that the militia men were on a security patrol.
• Kuki outfits are demanding the creation of a Union Territory with legislature which will
require a division of Manipur.
• Ethnic relations in India’s northeast are extremely complex, and violence, once it erupts,
can continue for a long spell.
• In a porous border region populated by numerous armed militia groups, policing alone
cannot restore peace and order.
• The fresh surge in violence is a setback, but the Centre must step up its efforts to nudge
the Meitei and the Kuki communities towards peace.

700 kg meth seized off Gujarat coast, 8 arrested

• The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in coordination with Navy and the Gujarat Anti-
Terrorism Squad (ATS), seized 700 kg of methamphetamine off the coast of Porbandar.
• The seizure and arrests were made as part of Operation Sagar Manthan launched earlier
this year to target drug trafficking through maritime routes.
• The vessel was identified and intercepted by the Navy by mobilising its mission-deployed
maritime patrol assets.
• Indian territorial waters are a testament to our resolve to eradicate the scourge of drugs
from India to realise our vision of a Nasha Mukt Bharat by 2047.

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Why were the Kerala IAS officers suspended?
The story so far
• Kerala has suspended two IAS officers, N. Prashant and K. Gopalakrishnan, citing
violation of service rules.
• The charge against N. Prashant is that he had made derogatory statements on social media
against an IAS officer undermining public image of administrative machinery of the state.
• K. Gopalakrishnan has been suspended for allegedly creating a religion-based WhatsApp
group that sowed disunity and created communal formations.
What do the rules state?
• The All-India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 (AIS rules) governs the conduct of IAS,
IPS and Indian Forest Service officers.
• The AIS rules provide a code of conduct for the officers, such as;
- Officers should maintain high standards of ethics, integrity, honesty, political
neutrality, accountability and transparency.
- They should uphold the supremacy of constitutional values.
- They shall not in any communication over any public media adversely criticise the
policies of the government.
What are the issues?
• First, the rules don’t have explicit guidelines with respect to communication through
social media.
• Second, the rules have been amended from time to time by including various new
conduct guidelines that regulate both the private and official life of officers.
• The term ‘unbecoming of a member of the service’ however continues as an omnibus
rider that can be misused/misinterpreted.

Manipur as a case for imposing Article 356

Story so far
• The state of Manipur reflects a classic case of the failure of the constitutional machinery,
necessitating invocation of Article 356 by the President of India.
• The President need not wait for the report from the Governor because under this Article,
the President can act if, “otherwise”, satisfied that a situation has arisen,
- in which the government of that State cannot be carried on in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution.
• In Manipur, the unprecedented and horrific violence that erupted in May 2023, continues
unabated.
Why Manipur is proving to be different
• No State in India has seen such continuing violence among the common people.
• Violence on account of insurgencies did take place in Nagaland and Mizoram a long time
ago and terrorism continues unabated in Jammu and Kashmir.

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 • Manipur is a different situation where the ordinary people are not only becoming victims
but are also being forced to indulge in violence to protect themselves.
• Article 355 obliges the Union to assist States to meet such challenges and one can
assume that the Union government has indeed done so, though unsuccessfully.
Violence unabated
• Between May 3 and November 11, 2024, more than 250 people have been killed and over
a lakh of people displaced from their homes in the ethnic violence.
• Clearly, the Supreme Court’s intervention was slow and ineffective, despite there having
been 27 hearings.
• Sectarian violence in Manipur is a matter of concern for India. The situation demands the
immediate intervention of the President.
• It is true that Article 356 has been more abused than used. But today, its invocation will
be lauded nationally.

Democratising AI needs a radically different approach

To break Big Tech’s hold over the AI ecosystem and democratise AI development, India is
investing in sovereign cloud infrastructure, creating open data platforms and supporting local
start-ups.
Challenges of Big Tech dominance
• Deep learning is now the popular form of AI because it has generalised capabilities. But
this is precisely also what makes it computationally expensive.
- As of 2023, Gemini Ultra was the costliest model, costing about $200 million to train.
• These costs also incentivise Big Tech companies to keep advocating for deep learning as
the future and pushing out larger and larger models.
• Some recent policy proposals suggest investing in public compute infrastructure or
developing a federated model, as like India’s Digital Public Infrastructure model.
• However, it is not enough just to provide alternate infrastructure. This infrastructure also
has to be competitive with the Big Tech offering.
Big companies
• Big Tech companies offer a wide range of developer tools which make workflows easier
and more efficient, and are optimised for their cloud infrastructure.
• Along with access to cloud infrastructure, they give companies access to the latest
algorithmic models, along with tools to simplify data preparation and labelling.
• Big Tech’s end-to-end service offering makes development cheaper and easier and drives
up the costs of switching to other providers.
• Big Tech’s data monopoly is even harder to contend with.
• Big Tech with its advanced computational infrastructure and data intelligence are
positioned to best leverage these open data architectures.

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Prioritising a theory of change
• Understanding the causal mechanisms through which various factors link together and
developing hypotheses about how potential interventions may contribute to change.
• In this model, domain expertise and lived experience guide AI development rather than
statistical patterns in Big Data alone.
• By championing “small AI”, firmly anchored in a theory of change, we can carve out a
space for AI development that is inherently more democratic and effective.

Indian Army receives logistics drones for use in eastern sector

• The Army has received Sabal-20 logistics drones procured from EndureAir Systems for
deployment in the eastern sector.
• Sabal-20 is an electric unmanned helicopter based on variable pitch technology, and
capable of carrying payloads of up to 20 kg.
• Sabal-20 is engineered to meet rigorous operational demands, supporting missions such
as long-range deliveries, high-altitude operations, and precision logistics.
• Also, IIT-Kanpur, announced a major advancement in stealth technology by launching
the Metamaterial Surface Cloaking System — Anālakshya

Wikipedia and ANI’s defamation suit

The story so far
Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) filed a defamation suit against Wikimedia
Foundation Inc. and three Wikipedia ‘administrators’ before Delhi High Court.
What is Wikipedia?
• Wikipedia is a community-driven encyclopaedia freely available on the Internet.
Volunteers from around the world work together to populate and maintain it.
• While not all pages on Wikipedia are of equal quality, it has acquired a reputation of
being reliable because its editors include field experts.
• The platform allows anyone to communicate their knowledge freely as long as they abide
by the guidelines.
How is Wikipedia populated?
• Following the single-judge Bench’s direction to reveal the identities of the three
‘administrators’, Wikimedia, which hosts Wikipedia, filed an appeal.
• Through a consent order, the court directed Wikimedia to submit the subscriber
information of these individuals in sealed covers.
• ANI has contended that Wikimedia, has actively participated in removing any edits that
sought to reverse the false and misleading content framed against the Plaintiffs.
• It implies Wikimedia violated the obligations of an intermediary under the safe-harbour
provisions of the IT Act 2000 and
- the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

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Culture & Facts

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First Asian Buddhist Summit in New Delhi from tomorrow
• The Government of India, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation,
is holding the first Asian Buddhist Summit in Delhi.
• The summit themed “Role of Buddha Dhamma in strengthening Asia” is a
manifestation of India’s Act East Policy.
• It will bring together Buddhist ‘Sangha’ leaders, scholars, experts and practitioners from
various traditions across Asia to foster dialogue, promote understanding,
- and address contemporary challenges faced by the Buddhist community.

India sends Letter of Intent to host 2036 Games

• India took the first step in its attempt to host the 2036 Olympics by sending a formal
Letter of Intent (LoI) for the same to the IOC.
• This is in continuation of the push from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting major
multi-discipline events, including the 2030 Youth Olympic Games,
- publicly declaring India’s intention to host the 2036 Olympics during the opening
ceremony of the 141st IOC session in Mumbai last year.
• If India does manage to win, it will become only the fourth Asian country ever to host the
quadrennial event — after China, South Korea and Japan.
• Yoga, kho-kho, kabaddi and chess are among the sports likely to be included in India’s
bid.
• With at least three other confirmed bids Chile (Santiago), Indonesia (across Jakarta, Bali
and the new capital of under-construction Nusantara), and Turkiye (Istanbul) —
- and more in various stages of internal preparations and discussions with the IOC,
including the likes of cash-rich Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

British writer Harvey wins Booker Prize

• Britain’s Samantha Harvey won the 2024 Booker Prize
for Orbital, a story about a single day aboard the
International Space Station.
• The novel, Harvey’s fifth, was the top selling book on the
shortlist of six finalists and has sold more copies than the
past three Booker Prize winners combined.
• Harvey said she wrote the novel while stuck at home during
the pandemic watching footage of the earth in low orbit on
her screen.

Denmark's Victoria Kjaer Theilvig is crowned Miss Universe 2024

• Victoria Kjaer Theilvig was crowned Miss Universe, the first contestant from Denmark to
achieve the honour.

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 • The 21-year-old dancer, entrepreneur, and animal rights activist beat more than 120
contestants in the pageant's held in Mexico City.
• India’s Rhea Singha was called into the list of top 30 contestants.

Daniel Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad presented Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament, and Development for 2023 was
presented to classical pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian peace
activist Ali Abu Awwad.
• Mr. Barenboim was selected for his contribution to foster peace through musical and
cultural dialogue initiatives.
• Mr. Awwad for his advocacy for dialogue through his organisation Roots, an outfit that
he started after spending time in jail.

A mighty king remembered

Rajaraja Cholan
• The birth anniversary of the legendary Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I is celebrated
every year during the Sadhaya Vizha in Thanjavur
of Tamil Nadu.
• Born as Arulmozhi Varman in 947 CE, he rose to
become one of history’s most illustrious and
visionary rulers.
• Raja Raja’s reign, from 985 to 1014 CE, was
marked by military prowess and profound
administrative vision.
• His life is famously depicted in Kalki
Krishnamurthy’s 1955 Tamil novel Ponniyin Selvan, which was later adapted to a motion
picture series under the same title.

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Sadhaya Vizha
• The Sadhaya Vizha, honours the legacy of a ruler whose influence stretched to Sri Lanka
and the Maldives.
• The heart of the celebration is at the iconic Brihadeeswarar Temple (also known as the
Big Temple).
• The temple itself, a masterpiece of Chola architecture, is a tribute to Raja Raja’s devotion
to Lord Shiva, revered here as Peruvudaiyar.

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