UPSC Key: Deportation, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and Sustainable Development Goals

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and authorities of developed and processing countries connected India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: Newly appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the contented of “irregular immigration” in his precise archetypal gathering with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar successful Washington DC Wednesday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What does deportation mean?

• Why Donald Trump wants to deport Indians?

• What volition the implications of the U.S. administration’s intensified deportation policies connected the Indians?

• How does this determination of U.S. medication tin impact India-U.S. bilateral relations?

• Does Government of India person immoderate strategy to repatriate astir 18,000 undocumented Indian immigrants from the United State?

• What is the value of the H-1B visa programme for India’s skilled workforce?

• Examine the relation of diplomatic negotiations successful addressing issues related to undocumented immigrants.

• How tin India and the United States collaborate to find mutually beneficial solutions?

• Assess the socio-economic-emotional interaction connected families of undocumented Indian immigrants facing deportation from the United States.

Key Takeaways:

• The 2 sides are besides discussing the anticipation of a gathering betwixt Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump connected the sidelines of the AI acme successful Paris connected February 11-12, sources said.

• Jaishankar told reporters that “levels of spot are precise high” and “the spot is simply a much systemic sentiment”.

• “There’s a precise disposable chemistry betwixt Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, and that also, successful a sense, percolates done the strategy and reinforces that comfortableness and trust… So, determination was a precise disposable appetite to get this narration moving to bash more, to acceptable bigger goals. So that was a benignant of feeling successful the room,” helium said.

• Rubio “emphasised the Trump administration’s tendency to enactment with India to beforehand economical ties and code concerns related to irregular migration”, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said successful a readout aft the meeting.

• Jaishankar framed the speech astir mobility of people. “We person a presumption connected mobility, which is simply a principled position, applies to each countries arsenic a government. We evidently are precise overmuch supportive of ineligible mobility, due to the fact that we bash judge successful a planetary workplace.

• On economical cooperation, helium said “the wide consciousness is determination are a batch of opportunities here… successful an epoch of much technology-centric progress, the connection I got was we admit the worth of India arsenic a partner. There are domains we privation to enactment on.

• The duplicate themes of amerciable migration and tariffs are expected to predominate the speech betwixt Delhi and Washington DC successful the Trump 2.0 administration.

Do You Know:

• If the Trump medication moves connected deportations, among the archetypal affected could beryllium the 20,407 “undocumented” Indians, arsenic of November 2024, who are either facing “final removal orders” oregon are, currently, successful detention centres of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Of these, 17,940 “paperless” Indians are not successful detention but are nether “final removal orders,” and different 2,467 are successful detention nether ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

• This makes Indians the 4th largest radical by nationality, and the archetypal among Asians, successful ICE custody. As of November 2024, the full fig of non-citizens, from each countries, detained added up to implicit 37,000.

• Incidentally, ICE has named India with Iraq, South Sudan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina successful the database of 15 “uncooperative” countries reluctant to judge their “undocumented’ citizens backmost from the US.

• Classification arsenic “uncooperative,” covers: “hindering” ICE’s “removal” efforts by refusing to behaviour consular interviews; refusing to judge charter removal missions; delaying removal proceedings.

• According to ICE’s 2024 Annual Report, the fig of Indians deported has already jumped five-fold successful 4 years: from 292 successful 2021 to 1,529 successful 2024.

• However, deportation information is often computed loosely. Sharing accusation connected a charter formation that brought backmost an unspecified fig of ‘undocumented’ big Indians to Punjab past October, an adjunct caput with the Department of Homeland Security enactment the fig of Indians repatriated done charter and commercialized flights betwixt October 2023 and September 2024 astatine 1,100.

• On December 6, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told Lok Sabha that “as per US Government data, a full of 519 Indian nationals were deported to India” betwixt November 2023 and October 2024.

• The evident discrepancies perchance stem from the inclusion of voluntary returns, departures and withdrawals — cases wherever a non-citizen is allowed to permission the US oregon retreat an exertion for admittance without immoderate migration consequences — successful ICE’s removal records, on with repatriations executed nether last removal orders.

• Non-citizens tin entreaty to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) successful the US against an bid of removal issued by an migration judge. If the BIA affirms the migration judge’s bid of removal, it becomes administratively final.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Express View connected Trump’s anti-immigration agenda: There volition beryllium costs for some India and the US

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
1. Which visa programme is peculiarly important for skilled Indian workers seeking employment successful the United States?
a) L-1 Visa
b) H-1B Visa
c) J-1 Visa
d) F-1 Visa
UPSC Previous Year Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍‘What introduces friction into the ties betwixt India and the United States is that Washington is inactive incapable to find for India a presumption successful its planetary strategy, which would fulfill India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (UPSC CSE, GS2, 2019)

GOVT & POLITICS

Quad connection to China: Oppose immoderate enactment to change presumption quo

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held his archetypal multilateral gathering connected Tuesday arsenic the overseas ministers of the Quad grouping – India, the US, Australia, and Japan – gathered successful Washington DC and vowed to “strongly reason immoderate unilateral actions that question to alteration the presumption quo by unit oregon coercion”, a connection aimed astatine China’s assertive behaviour successful the Indo-Pacific region.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is QUAD?

• Discuss the strategical value of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) successful the discourse of the Indo-Pacific region.

• How does the Quad purpose to code the challenges posed by unilateral actions that question to change the presumption quo by unit oregon coercion?

• What are the implications of the Quad overseas ministers’ associated connection opposing unilateral actions that alteration the presumption quo by unit oregon coercion?

• Do you deliberation that caller Quad overseas ministers’ associated connection tin power determination stableness and planetary relations, peculiarly concerning China’s activities successful the Indo-Pacific?

• Assess India’s relation and interests wrong the Quad framework.

• How does India’s information successful QUAD align with its broader overseas argumentation objectives, particularly successful maintaining a escaped and unfastened Indo-
Pacific?

Key Takeaways:

• On his archetypal time connected the job, Rubio held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian and Japanese counterparts Penny Wong and Takeshi Iwaya.

• In a associated statement, the 4 nations said officials would conscionable regularly to hole for an upcoming leaders’ acme successful India, apt this year.

• “We, the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan, met contiguous successful Washington D.C. to reaffirm our shared committedness to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific wherever the regularisation of law, antiauthoritarian values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended,” a readout by the US State Department said.

• “Our 4 nations support our condemnation that planetary law, economical opportunity, peace, stability, and information successful each domains including the maritime domain underpin the improvement and prosperity of the peoples of the Indo-Pacific. We besides powerfully reason immoderate unilateral actions that question to alteration the presumption quo by unit oregon coercion,” it added.

• “We are committed to strengthening determination maritime, economic, and exertion information successful the look of expanding threats, arsenic good arsenic promoting reliable and resilient proviso chains. We look guardant to advancing the enactment of the Quad successful the coming months and volition conscionable unneurotic connected a regular ground arsenic we hole for the adjacent Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by India,” it further said.

• “Significant that the Quad (foreign ministers’ meeting) took spot wrong hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration. This underlines the precedence it has successful the overseas argumentation of its subordinate states,” Jaishankar said connected X aft the meeting.

Do You Know:

• Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, India, Japan, Australia, and the US created an informal confederation to collaborate connected catastrophe alleviation efforts. In 2007, past PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe, formalised the alliance, arsenic the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue oregon the Quad.

• But this nascent radical was hampered by a deficiency of cohesion amongst members and accusations that the Quad was thing much than an anti-China bloc. Thus, the aboriginal iteration of the Quad, mostly based connected maritime security, yet dissipated. In 2017, faced again with the rising Chinese challenge, the 4 countries revived the Quad, and broadened its objectives.

• Nonetheless, the Quad is not structured similar a emblematic multilateral organisation, and lacks a secretariat and immoderate imperishable decision-making assemblage (like the EU oregon UN). Instead, it has focused connected expanding existing agreements betwixt subordinate countries and highlighting their shared values. Additionally, dissimilar NATO, the Quad does not see provisions for corporate defence, alternatively choosing to behaviour associated subject exercises arsenic a amusement of unity and diplomatic cohesion.

• In 2020, the trilateral India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercises expanded to see Australia, marking the archetypal authoritative grouping of the Quad since its resurgence successful 2017, and the archetypal associated subject exercises among the 4 countries successful implicit a decade. In March 2021, the Quad leaders met virtually and aboriginal released a associated connection titled ‘The Spirit of the Quad,’ which outlined the group’s attack and objectives. The archetypal in-person gathering was held successful Washington DC, aboriginal that year.

• The group’s superior objectives see maritime security, addressing the risks of clime change, creating an ecosystem for concern successful the region, and boosting technological innovation. In 2020-21, the grouping besides collaborated to combat the Covid-19 crisis, particularly vis-à-vis vaccine diplomacy.

• Quad members person besides indicated a willingness to grow the concern done a alleged Quad Plus that would see South Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam, amongst others.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍PM Modi successful US: What is the Quad grouping?

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
2. Which countries represent the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)?
a) India, Australia, Japan, and the United States
b) India, Australia, South Korea, and the United States
c) India, New Zealand, Japan, and the United States
d) India, Australia, Japan, and Canada
UPSC Previous Year Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is transforming itself into a commercialized bloc from a subject alliance, successful contiguous times Discuss. (UPSC CSE, GS2, 2020)
📍What bash you recognize by ‘The String of Pearls’? How does it interaction India? Briefly outline the steps taken by India to antagonistic this. (UPSC CSE, GS2, 2013)

India connected way to conscionable SDG wellness targets good up of 2030: Govt

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to improvement and absorption of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What’s the ongoing story: The Union Cabinet connected Wednesday reviewed the advancement nether the National Health Mission (NHM) implicit the past 3 years and was informed that with important advancement towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India is connected way to conscionable its wellness targets good up of the 2030 deadline.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Examine the relation of Sustainable Development Goal 3 successful addressing planetary wellness challenges.

• Analyse India’s advancement toward achieving SDG 3.

• What are the cardinal factors contributing to India’s advancement successful achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) up of the 2030 deadline?

• What relation has the National Health Mission (NHM) played successful this advancement?

• Discuss the value of cosmopolitan wellness sum (UHC) arsenic a cardinal people nether SDG 3.

Key Takeaways:

• The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was apprised of the advancement nether NHM during 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 connected Wednesday.

• The Cabinet gave its motion to proceed the ngo for the adjacent 2 years. The Cabinet was besides apprised of accelerated diminution successful maternal mortality rate, babe mortality rate, nether 5 mortality complaint and full fertility complaint and the advancement successful respect of assorted diseases programmes similar TB, malaria, kala-azar, dengue, tuberculosis, leprosy, viral hepatitis etc. and caller initiatives undertaken specified arsenic National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

• The measles-rubella vaccination run covered 97.9% of the desired target. The Maternal Mortality Ratio has declined from 130 successful 2014-15 to 97 successful 2018-20, a simplification of 25%. “There has been a simplification of 83% since 1990, which is overmuch higher than the mean planetary diminution of 45%,” said Union Minister Piyush Goyal portion briefing the media.

• The under-5 mortality — fig of children who dice earlier reaching the property of 5 per 1,000 unrecorded births — has besides decreased from 45 successful 2014 to 32 successful 2020. Similarly, the Infant Mortality Rate has fallen from 39 per 1,000 unrecorded births successful 2014 to 28 successful 2020. One of the cardinal achievements of the programme was besides adding 5.23 lakh healthcare workers.

Do You Know:

• The United Nations defines sustainable improvement arsenic “development that meets the needs of the contiguous without compromising the ability
of aboriginal generations to conscionable their ain needs”.

• The 193 Member States of the United Nations, pursuing negotiations that lasted from July 2012 had agreed upon the substance of a caller papers entitled, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
—This docket contains 17 goals and 169 targets. The goals are to beryllium achieved by each subordinate countries wrong the adjacent 15 years, thereby giving it the moniker of ‘Agenda for 2030’.

• End poorness successful each forms; extremity hunger, execute nutrient information and improved nutrition and beforehand sustainable agriculture; guarantee inclusive and equitable prime education; execute sex equality and empower each women and girls; guarantee availability and sustainable absorption of h2o and sanitation for all; guarantee entree to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern vigor for all; beforehand sustained, inclusive and sustainable economical growth, afloat and productive employment; physique resilient infrastructure, beforehand inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation; trim inequality wrong and among countries; marque cities and quality settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; guarantee sustainable depletion and accumulation patterns; instrumentality urgent enactment to combat clime alteration and its impacts; conserve and sustainably usage the oceans, seas and marine resources; protect, reconstruct and beforehand sustainable usage of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably negociate forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse onshore degradation and halt biodiversity loss; beforehand peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, supply entree to justness for each and physique effective, accountable and inclusive institutions astatine each levels; fortify the means of implementation and revitalize the planetary concern for sustainable development.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍UN Sustainable Development Goals: Here’s what you request to know

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
3. Consider the pursuing statements: (UPSC CSE, 2016)
1. The Sustainable Development Goals were archetypal projected successful 1972 by a planetary deliberation vessel called the ‘Club of Rome’.
2. The Sustainable Development Goals person to beryllium achieved by 2030.
Which of the statements fixed supra is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
UPSC Previous Year Mains Question Covering akin theme:
📍National Education Policy 2020 is successful conformity with the Sustainable Development Goal-4 (2030). It intends to restructure and reorient acquisition strategy successful India. Critically analyse the statement. (2020)

DRDO conducts cardinal scramjet trial successful large measurement towards processing hypersonic missile

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians successful subject & technology; indigenization of exertion and processing caller technology.

What’s the ongoing story: AMID A planetary contention to make hypersonic munitions, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) precocious demonstrated a cutting-edge “active cooled scramjet combustor crushed test” for 120 seconds for the archetypal clip successful India. The palmy crushed trial marks a important milestone successful processing next-generation hypersonic missiles, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Know the presumption and Difference between-Infra Sonic, Subsonic, Super Sonic, Ultra Sonic, Hypersonic etc.

• Hypersonic Missiles-what are they?

• What is Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

• What velocity is simply a Mach?

• What is Ramjet?

• What is the quality betwixt a ramjet and scramjet?

• Discuss the strategical advantages and challenges of hypersonic missile technology. How tin this exertion heighten India’s defence capabilities?

• Analyse India’s advancement successful processing hypersonic rocket technology, including cardinal achievements similar the HSTDV (Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle). What are the implications of this for nationalist security?

Key Takeaways:

• The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), a Hyderabad-based installation of DRDO, has been moving connected improvement of a long-duration supersonic combustion ramjet oregon scramjet-powered hypersonic technology.

• The MoD said the crushed trial of the scramjet combustor showcased respective notable achievements, demonstrating its imaginable for operational usage successful hypersonic vehicles, similar palmy ignition and unchangeable combustion. Officials said the ignition successful a scramjet motor is similar ‘keeping a candle lit successful a hurricane’.

• Another cardinal accomplishment is the improvement of Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC), which is designed to withstand utmost temperatures encountered during hypersonic flight.

• A caller precocious ceramic TBC having precocious thermal absorption and susceptible of operating beyond melting constituent of alloy has been jointly developed by DRDL and Department of Science and Technology (DST) facilities.

• The coating is applied wrong the scramjet motor utilizing peculiar deposition methods that heighten their show and longevity.

Do You Know:

• Hypersonic missiles are a people of precocious weaponry that question astatine speeds greater than ‘Mach 5’, oregon much than 5 times the velocity of sound. These precocious weapons person the imaginable to bushed existing Air Defence Systems of large subject powers crossed the satellite and present accelerated and high-impact strikes.

• Hypersonic weapons, which alert astatine speeds successful excess of Mach 5, oregon 5 times the velocity of sound, could airs important challenges to rocket defence systems due to the fact that of their velocity and manoeuvrability.

• Several nations including the US, Russia, India and China are actively pursuing hypersonic exertion and person demonstrated assorted levels of development.

• The cardinal to hypersonic vehicles is scramjets, which are variants of a class of pitchy engines called the aerial breathing engines. The quality of the engines to grip airflows astatine speeds successful multiples of velocity of dependable without utilizing immoderate moving parts gives them the capableness of operating astatine those speeds.

• Scramjet combustor incorporates an innovative occurrence stabilisation method that holds continuous occurrence wrong the combustor with aerial speeds much than 1.5 km per second.

• Many caller and promising ignition and flame-holding techniques were studied by the DRDO scientists implicit aggregate crushed tests earlier arriving astatine the scramjet motor configuration.

• Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation tools were utilized for their valuation and show prediction.

• Earlier successful September 2020, successful different large milestone successful India’s hypersonic exertion development, the DRDO had successfully flight-tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV).

• In this test, the hypersonic cruise conveyance was launched utilizing a coagulated rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 km, wherever the aerodynamic vigor shields were separated astatine hypersonic Mach number.

• The hypersonic combustion sustained and the cruise conveyance continued connected its desired formation way astatine hypersonic velocity for much than 20 seconds.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Scramjet vehicle: The value and capableness of the HSTDV

📍With DRDO successfully investigating India’s archetypal long-range hypersonic missile, each you request to cognize astir the weapon

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
4. What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen successful the news? (2018)
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defence collaboration betwixt Japan and South Korea.
5. With notation to Agni-IV Missile, which of the pursuing statements is/are correct? (2014)
1. It is simply a surface-to-surface missile.
2. It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
3. It tin present one-tonne atomic warheads astir 7500 km away.
Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

ECONOMY

Inter-ministerial huddle connected imaginable commercialized argumentation changes by Washington

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and authorities of developed and processing countries connected India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: The Commerce and Industry Ministry has begun inter-ministerial talks to amended hole for apt changes successful US commercialized argumentation that could impact tariffs connected Indian goods exports to the US nether the caller Donald Trump administration, a authorities authoritative said connected Wednesday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Discuss the imaginable implications of the “America First” commercialized argumentation nether President Trump’s 2nd word connected India’s commercialized dynamics.

• How should India strategize to safeguard its economical interests?

• Analyse the relation of the U.S. Trade Representative successful formulating and implementing commercialized policies.

• Evaluate the conception of “decoupling” successful the discourse of U.S.-China commercialized relations.

• Examine the value of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) successful the U.S. legislative framework.

Key Takeaways:

• This comes a time aft Trump instructed his commerce and treasury departments to analyse the causes of America’s “large and persistent” yearly commercialized deficits successful goods and announced a caller ‘External Revenue Service (ERS)’ to cod tariffs from overseas governments.

• Notably, the TPF is simply a level for the US and India to sermon and resoluteness commercialized and concern issues.

• The TPF is simply a cardinal portion of the bilateral commercialized narration betwixt the 2 countries. Concerns implicit the adjacent TPF conscionable originate arsenic Trump has besides directed the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to reappraisal existing US commercialized agreements and sectoral commercialized agreements and to “recommend immoderate revisions that whitethorn beryllium necessary” oregon due to execute oregon support the wide level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to escaped commercialized statement spouse countries.

• Moreover, India, the US, and 12 different members, including Australia, Indonesia, and Japan, signed an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a determination statement to summation economical integration and practice successful the Indo-Pacific.

• India is simply a signatory to 3 pillars of the IPEF: proviso chains, cleanable economy, and just economy.

• India’s last user goods conception whitethorn look arsenic a important commercialized target, arsenic the state recorded its largest commercialized surplus with the United States successful 2023, argumentation probe institute Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) said successful a report.
Do You Know:

• Despite attempts to diversify exports, India’s dependence connected the US has grown implicit the past decade. According to authoritative 2022–23 data, the US accounts for 18 per cent of India’s exports, compared to 10 per cent successful 2010–11.

• India’s export handbasket to the US is well-diversified, benefiting industries ranging from textiles to electronics and engineering. However, Trump’s promised tariffs whitethorn chiefly people China, fixed the acold larger commercialized imbalance. A caller circular of US–China commercialized wars could payment India by attracting investments and manufacturing distant from China.

• During his archetypal term, Trump invoked nationalist information provisions to enforce a 25 per cent tariff connected alloy and 10 per cent connected aluminium from India and different countries, breaking from the signifier of not targeting affable nations.

• Biden chose to negociate with India and the European Union alternatively than lifting these tariffs. Trump has repeatedly voiced his vexation astatine precocious tariffs successful India, which impact US companies similar Harley-Davidson. At a rally past month, helium criticised China, Brazil, and India, and called India a “tariff king” and “trade abuser”.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍What Trumponomics means for India, the world

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
6. The “Trade Promotion Authority” (TPA) successful the U.S. discourse allows:
a) The President to unilaterally enforce tariffs
b) Congress to negociate commercialized agreements directly
c) The enforcement subdivision to negociate commercialized deals based connected legislature guidelines
d) States to acceptable their ain commercialized policies

India’s lipid request apt to deed yet different grounds successful 2025-26

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

What’s the ongoing story: India’s depletion of refined petroleum fuels and products is projected to deed yet different caller precocious successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2025-26 (FY26) connected the backmost of dependable maturation successful vigor usage successful assorted sectors of the economy.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What percent of India’s lipid is imported?

• How tin India trim its dependency connected lipid imports?

• What crude lipid means?

• What are the types of crude oil?

• Why India is babelike connected crude oil?

• Where does India import oil?

• India’s home crude lipid and earthy state accumulation has declined steadily-why?

• What steps person been taken by the Government of India to trim the imports of crude oil?

• What is the quality betwixt Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP), New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)?

• How precocious reliance connected imported crude lipid impacts the Indian economy?

Key Takeaways:

• According to the latest projections by the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the lipid ministry, depletion of petroleum products—seen arsenic a proxy for crude lipid demand—is seen rising 4.7 per cent implicit the revised estimation for FY25 to 252.93 cardinal tonnes.

• The depletion maturation is expected to beryllium led by fuels and products similar petrol, aviation turbine substance (ATF), liquefied petroleum state (LPG), diesel, and petroleum coke.

• Late December, S&P Global Commodity Insights (SPGCI) had said that India was expected to extremity 2024 with an lipid request maturation complaint surpassing that of China, making the South Asian state 1 of the fastest-growing large lipid depletion centres globally.

• China is the world’s second-largest user of crude lipid down the United States (US), but is the commodity’s biggest importer globally. But lipid request maturation successful China has been subdued successful the post-pandemic epoch owed to a operation of factors.

• In February 2024, Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) had said that India’s lipid request maturation was expected to overtake China’s by 2027, making the erstwhile the biggest operator of planetary lipid request maturation done the remainder of the decennary “underpinned by beardown economical and demographic growth”, notwithstanding the increasing electrical conveyance (EV) penetration, vigor efficiency, and rising biofuel consumption.

Do You Know:

• India’s petroleum depletion has been scaling caller heights with each passing year, with the objection of 2 years erstwhile request was deed due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The revised estimation for the existent fiscal—241.68 cardinal tonnes—is slated to beryllium the highest-ever petroleum merchandise depletion level truthful far, but volition apt beryllium topped successful the adjacent fiscal.

• The existent grounds depletion level—234.26 cardinal tonnes—was achieved successful FY24.

• An investigation of humanities information shows that the pre-pandemic grounds for depletion of petroleum products was 214.13 cardinal tonnes successful FY20.

• Demand took a deed successful FY21 owed to the pandemic, and posted a humble betterment successful FY22. Consumption of astir products breached pre-pandemic highs successful FY23, and person been rising since.

• Unlike galore countries, India is seen arsenic a large maturation centre for lipid request fixed the aboriginal imaginable successful energy-intensive industries, increasing conveyance sales, a rapidly expanding aviation sector, expected maturation successful depletion of petrochemicals, and a inactive increasing colonisation with comparatively debased per-capita vigor consumption.

• In fact, India is among the fewer markets wherever refinery capableness is expected to grow substantially implicit the coming years. India presently has a refining capableness of astir 257 cardinal tonnes per annum.

• India is the world’s third-largest user of crude lipid with an lipid import dependency of implicit 85 per cent.

• Consumption of each large fuels—diesel, petrol, and liquefied petroleum state (LPG)—is apt to interaction an all-time precocious successful the adjacent fiscal, per PPAC projections.

• Consumption of diesel, which is the astir utilized petroleum substance successful the country, is seen rising 2.8 per cent implicit the existent fiscal’s revised estimation to 94.12 cardinal tonnes successful FY26.

• Petrol depletion is seen higher by 6.6 per cent astatine 42.64 cardinal tonnes. Higher request for these 2 fuels usually reflects robustness successful the proscription and concern segments.

• LPG depletion is seen rising 4.7 per cent year-on-year to 33 cardinal tonnes. Consumption of ATF, oregon pitchy fuel, is projected to registry a astir 10 per cent complaint of maturation to 9.95 cardinal tonnes successful FY26, against the revised estimation of 9.06 cardinal tonnes for FY25.

• High ATF request maturation is typical of the beardown maturation successful India’s civilian aviation market, which is present the third-largest home aviation market, and 1 that is expanding rapidly.

• The depletion of petroleum coke, oregon petcoke, is besides seen rising 10 per cent year-on-year to 24.85 cardinal tonnes successful FY26, per PPAC projections.

• Petcoke is utilized arsenic a substance successful assorted industries, including power, cement, steel, fertiliser, and glass, isolated from being a feedstock successful the manufacturing of products similar aluminium, paints, and coatings.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Explained: The autumn successful crude lipid prices, and its interaction successful India

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
7. The word ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes recovered successful news, refers to a people of (2020)
(a) Crude oil
(b) Bullion
(c) Rare world elements
(d) Uranium

EXPLAINED

Why Neutral Expert’s determination connected IWT is simply a triumph for India

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighborhood- relations.

What’s the ongoing story: The Neutral Expert appointed by the World Bank under the presumption of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has decided that helium is “competent” to adjudicate connected the differences betwixt India and Pakistan regarding the plan of 2 hydroelectric projects successful Jammu and Kashmir, vindicating New Delhi’s long-held position.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Indus Waters Treaty?

• What is the ongoing quality about?

• Why is the Expert’s determination significant?

• What is the aboriginal of the IWT?

Key Takeaways:

• “The determination upholds and vindicates India’s basal that each the 7 questions that were referred to the Neutral Expert, successful narration to the Kishenganga and the Ratle hydroelectric projects, are differences falling wrong his competence nether the Treaty,” the Ministry of External Affairs said connected Tuesday.

• On Tuesday India welcomed Lino’s decision. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “India welcomes the determination fixed by the Neutral Expert nether Paragraph 7 of Annexure F to the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960.

• The determination upholds and vindicates India’s basal that each 7 (07) questions that were referred to the Neutral Expert, successful narration to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, are differences falling wrong his competence nether the Treaty.”

• “It has been India’s accordant and principled presumption that the Neutral Expert unsocial has the competence nether the Treaty to determine these differences. Having upheld his ain competence, which comports with India’s view, the Neutral Expert volition present proceed to the adjacent (merits) signifier of his proceedings. This signifier volition culminate successful a last determination connected the merits of each of the 7 differences,” the MEA connection said.

• It said, “Being committed to preserving the sanctity and integrity of the Treaty, India volition proceed to enactment successful the Neutral Expert process truthful that the differences are resolved successful a mode accordant with the provisions of the Treaty, which does not supply for parallel proceedings connected the aforesaid acceptable of issues. For this reason, India does not recognise oregon enactment successful the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration proceedings.”

Do You Know:

• The IWT was signed by India and Pakistan connected September 19, 1960 to find the organisation of the waters of the Indus and its tributaries.

• It was signed successful Karachi by past Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and past Pakistan President Ayub Khan aft 9 years of negotiations arranged by the World Bank.

• Under the IWT, India enjoys “unrestricted use” of the 3 “Eastern Rivers” (Beas, Ravi, Sutlej), whereas Pakistan controls the 3 “Western Rivers” (Indus, Chenab, Jhelum). This, successful effect, gives India astir 30% and Pakistan 70% of the h2o carried by the Indus River System.

• According to Article III (1) of the Treaty, “India is nether work to fto flow” waters of the Western Rivers to Pakistan.

• Pakistan objects to the plan features of 2 hydroelectric projects presently nether operation successful J&K — the Kishenganga HEP connected Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum, and the Ratle HEP connected the Chenab. Although they are “run-of-the-river” projects, which make energy without obstructing the earthy travel of the river, Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that these interruption the IWT.

• In 2015, Pakistan requested the assignment of a Neutral Expert to analyse its method objections to the projects. However, it unilaterally retracted this petition a twelvemonth later, and alternatively projected adjudication by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

• Article IX of the IWT provides for a graded three-level quality colony mechanism, successful which disputes are archetypal decided astatine the level of the Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan, past escalated to the World Bank-appointed Neutral Expert, and lone past to the PCA successful The Hague.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Neutral adept vindicates India basal connected Indus treaty: MEA

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
8. With notation to the Indus stream system, of the pursuing 4 rivers, 3 of them determination into 1 of them which joins the Indus directly. Among the following, which 1 is specified a stream that joins the Indus direct? (2021)
(a) Chenab
(b) Jhelum
(c) Ravi
(d) Sutlej

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