UPSC Key: RBI reduce Repo rate, H-1B visa paradox, and Manual Scavenging

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, improvement and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: AS WIDELY expected, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to trim the repo complaint — the involvement complaint astatine which it lends to banks — by 25 ground points (bps) to 6.25 per cent amid easing inflation and worries implicit slowing maturation owed to planetary uncertainties.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Repo rate?

• What are the assorted instruments utilized by the RBI to power inflation?

• What is the relation and relation of the MPC?

• What is the interaction of expanding and decreasing the Repo complaint connected the wide economy?

• What is the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act?

• What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

• Understand the interaction of the complaint chopped connected the summation successful nationalist depletion starring to the occupation instauration and employment.

Key Takeaways:

• The six-member rate-setting sheet has projected the existent gross home merchandise (GDP) astatine 6.7 per cent and the retail inflation astatine 4.2 per cent for the fiscal 2025-26.

• The chopped successful the cardinal argumentation complaint — the archetypal successful astir 5 years — volition supply alleviation to home, vehicle, and different user indebtedness borrowers arsenic each involvement rates linked to the repo complaint volition travel down by 25 ground points (bps) immediately. One ground constituent (bps) is one-hundredth of a percent point.

• Under the flexible ostentation targeting (FIT) regime, the authorities has mandated the RBI to support user terms scale (CPI) ostentation successful the 2-6 per cent band. It has been targeting to support CPI astatine 4 per cent connected a durable basis.

• The MPC, however, decided to proceed with a neutral stance which volition supply it the flexibility to respond to the evolving macroeconomic environment.

Explained: Push for spending and investment

• The main crushed down the repo complaint cut is to stimulate economical maturation by making borrowing cheaper for individuals and businesses, starring to accrued spending and investment. As ostentation is wrong the RBI’s people range, a complaint chopped tin assistance support terms stableness portion supporting growth.

• The complaint chopped tin assistance banks trim their lending rates, making recognition much accessible and affordable for borrowers. Further, little involvement rates tin pb to accrued borrowing, spending and investment, yet supporting occupation instauration and employment.

• All outer benchmark lending rates (EBLR) — lending rates acceptable by the banks based connected outer benchmarks specified arsenic the repo complaint — volition travel down by 25 bps, giving alleviation to borrowers arsenic their equated monthly instalments (EMIs) volition besides fall.

• However, a little repo complaint tin pb to higher inflation, arsenic accrued wealth proviso and little involvement rates tin thrust up prices. It tin trim the involvement earned connected savings, making it little charismatic for individuals to save.

• Malhotra said the RBI volition usage flexible ostentation targeting to marque the champion macro decisions. In the December 2024 monetary policy, the RBI slashed the GDP maturation estimation to 6.6 per cent for FY2025, from an earlier projection of 7.2 per cent.

Do You Know:

• Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934, the cardinal authorities is empowered to represent a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to find the argumentation involvement complaint required to execute the inflation target. The archetypal specified MPC was constituted connected September 29, 2016.

• Section 45ZB lays down that “the Monetary Policy Committee shall find the Policy Rate required to execute the ostentation target”, and that “the determination of the Monetary Policy Committee shall beryllium binding connected the Bank”.

• Section 45ZB says the MPC shall consist of the RBI Governor arsenic its ex officio chairperson, the Deputy Governor successful complaint of monetary policy, an serviceman of the Bank to beryllium nominated by the Central Board and 3 persons to beryllium appointed by the cardinal government. The past class of appointments indispensable beryllium from “persons of ability, integrity, and standing, having cognition and acquisition successful the tract of economics oregon banking oregon concern oregon monetary policy”. (Section 45ZC)

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Knowledge nugget of the day: RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

📍RBI policy: Why is the MPC apt to chopped the repo rate?

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(1) If the RBI decides to follow an expansionist monetary policy, which of the pursuing would it not do? (UPSC CSE 2020)

1. Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio

2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate

3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate

Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

Among respective factors for India’s imaginable growth, savings complaint is the astir effectual one. Do you agree? What are the different factors disposable for maturation potential? (UPSC CSE 2017)

IN PARLIAMENT

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis gets 3-yr extension

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for improvement successful assorted sectors and issues arising retired of their plan and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: The Union Cabinet connected Friday approved the hold of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) for a play of 3 years up to March 2028. The fiscal accusation for the hold would beryllium astir Rs 51 crore, a authorities enactment said.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK)?

• What is manual scavenging?

• What are the steps taken by the authorities to curb manual scavenging?

• What are the reasons for the continued prevalence of manual scavenging successful India?

• What is the quality betwixt a statutory assemblage and a law body?

Key Takeaways:

• The Commission was acceptable up arsenic a statutory assemblage successful 1994 nether the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993. After the lapsing of the Act successful 2024, the Commission is non-statutory, however, its scope expanded aft the enactment of The Prohibition of Employment arsenic Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

• Its cardinal mandate includes, among different things, recommending to the Centre circumstantial programmes of enactment towards elimination of inequities successful status, facilities and opportunities for safai karamcharis, survey and measure implementation of programmes and schemes relating to societal and economical rehabilitation of safai karamcharis, and scavengers successful particular.

• Further, it besides has the mandate to analyse the non-implementation programmes and schemes for safai karamcharis, and provisions of immoderate laws successful its exertion to safai karamcharis and instrumentality up specified matters with the applicable authorities.

Do You Know:

• Over the past 15 years, a full of 94 radical person died portion cleaning sewers in Delhi. However, among the 75 cases for which records are available, lone 1 has led to a condemnation successful court, arsenic revealed by an probe conducted by The Indian Express utilizing information obtained nether the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

• Manual scavenging is the signifier of removing quality excreta by manus from sewers oregon septic tanks. India banned the signifier nether the Prohibition of Employment arsenic Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR). The Act bans the usage of immoderate idiosyncratic for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of oregon different handling successful immoderate manner, quality excreta till its disposal.

• In 2013, the explanation of manual scavengers was besides broadened to see radical employed to cleanable septic tanks, ditches, oregon railway tracks. The Act recognizes manual scavenging arsenic a “dehumanizing practice,” and cites a request to “correct the humanities injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers.”

• The deficiency of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons wherefore the signifier is inactive prevalent successful India. The Mumbai civic assemblage charges anyplace betwixt Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to cleanable septic tanks. The unskilled labourers, meanwhile, are overmuch cheaper to prosecute and contractors illegally employment them astatine a regular wage of Rs 300-500.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Explained: What is manual scavenging, and wherefore is it inactive prevalent successful India?

📍UPSC Issue astatine a Glance | Manual Scavenging successful India: 4 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(2) ‘Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is simply a nationalist run to (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) rehabilitate the stateless and destitute persons and supply them with suitable sources of livelihood

(b) merchandise the enactment workers from their signifier and supply them with alternate sources of livelihood

(c) eradicate the signifier of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers

(d) merchandise the bonded labourers from their bondage and rehabilitate them

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

What are the areas of prohibitive labour that tin beryllium sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that tin propel the probe successful premier probe institutes for substantive and gainful innovation. (UPSC CSE 2015)

EXPRESS NETWORK

From sex equity, biofuels, large cats, India taking pb astatine planetary precocious table

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

What’s the ongoing story: At the World Economic Forum successful Davos recently, erstwhile Union Minister Smriti Irani spoke astir the concern imperative of sex parity. At assorted meetings and seminars, she contended that sex equity is an economical necessity, susceptible of unlocking trillions successful planetary GDP.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the nonsubjective of the Alliance for Global Good Gender Equity and Equality?

• What is the International Big Cat Alliance?

• How is India starring the planetary precocious array with assorted initiatives?

• Read about: the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Key Takeaways:

• Supported by WEF, CII, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and implicit 10,000 manufacture partners, the Alliance for Global Good Gender Equity and Equality  — reflecting PM Narendra Modi’s docket of women-led improvement — the inaugural aims to foster planetary collaboration connected women’s health, acquisition and enterprise.

• At Davos 2025, they expanded the planetary footprint done 2 partnerships: Commonwealth Secretariat Partnership, focussing connected empowering women and girls crossed 56 Commonwealth nations, including 21 countries from Africa and 8 from Asia; and South Asia Women successful Energy (SAWIE) Partnership, which seeks to heighten women’s enactment successful South Asia.

• Around the aforesaid clip arsenic Davos was being held, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) — officially mooted by the Union authorities 2 years agone — was ratified arsenic an planetary ineligible entity.

• Over the past fewer years, India has spearheaded respective planetary initiatives, securing its cardinal spot astatine the planetary precocious array – including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), too IBCA.

• Last year, an Indian delegation, headed by Principal Secretary to the PM, P K Mishra, participated successful the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Ministerial Meeting successful Brazil.

• The CDRI precocious announced a $2.5 cardinal money to enactment cities to amended awareness, heighten planning, physique fiscal resources, and integrate resilience into infrastructure operations to people its 5th instauration day.

• Cities successful 30 debased and middle-income countries, including India, volition beryllium eligible for backing nether this programme.

• The GBA was besides launched by Modi on with leaders of the US, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Singapore, Bangladesh, Mauritius and the UAE connected September 9, 2023, connected the sidelines of the G20 Summit successful New Delhi, arsenic Chair’s initiative.

• GBA is simply a multi-stakeholder confederation of governments, planetary organisations and industries, bringing unneurotic the biggest consumers and producers of biofuels. Since its launch, GBA has garnered tremendous enactment globally. Its existent rank has expanded to 24 subordinate countries and 12 International organisations.

• The ISA is simply a planetary inaugural launched successful 2015 by India and France astatine the COP21 Paris acme to beforehand star vigor arsenic a sustainable solution for vigor entree and clime change. Headquartered successful India, the ISA is the archetypal planetary organisation established successful the country.

• India, among different countries, has besides projected newer connectivity initiatives similar the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor — a projected way from India to Europe done the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece. It is being recognised arsenic a game-changer successful gathering resilient proviso chains erstwhile it is completed.

Do You Know:

• The International Big Cat Alliance is an inaugural launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi successful April 2023 successful Mysuru commemorating the 50th day of Project Tiger. The objective of the IBCA is to guarantee practice for the conservation of 7 large cats: lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snowfall leopard, jaguar, and puma, and heighten cognition speech and threats associated with them.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Importance of the International Big Cat Alliance for UPSC Exam

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(3) Consider the pursuing statements: (2016)

1. The International Solar Alliance was launched astatine the United Nations Climate Change Conference successful 2015.

2. The Alliance includes each the subordinate countries of the United Nations.

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

SC: Failure to pass grounds of apprehension volition marque it illegal

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, important provisions and basal structure.

What’s the ongoing story: The request nether Article 22(1) of the Constitution to pass an arrested idiosyncratic astir the grounds of apprehension is not a formality but a mandatory law requirement, and nonaccomplishment to bash truthful volition render the apprehension illegal, the Supreme Court ruled connected Friday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Article 22 of the constitution?

• Why are Fundamental Rights?

• What is preventive detention?

• How is the nonaccomplishment to pass the crushed of arrests a usurpation of Article 21?

Key Takeaways:

• It is the cardinal close of each idiosyncratic arrested and detained successful custody to beryllium informed of the grounds of apprehension arsenic soon arsenic possible. If the grounds of apprehension are not informed arsenic soon arsenic whitethorn beryllium aft the arrest, it would magnitude to a usurpation of the cardinal close of the arrestee guaranteed nether Article 22(1). It volition besides magnitude to depriving the arrestee of his liberty.”

• Justice Oka said, “the crushed is that, arsenic provided successful Article 21, nary idiosyncratic tin beryllium deprived of his liberty but successful accordance with the process established by law. The process established by instrumentality besides includes what is provided successful Article 22(1). Therefore, erstwhile a idiosyncratic is arrested without a warrant, and the grounds of apprehension are not informed to him, arsenic soon arsenic whitethorn be, aft the arrest, it volition magnitude to a usurpation of his cardinal close guaranteed nether Article 21 arsenic well.

• The judgement said that “when an arrested idiosyncratic is produced earlier a Judicial Magistrate for remand, it is the work of the Magistrate to ascertain whether compliance with Article 22(1) has been made…

• Explaining wherefore the grounds of apprehension indispensable beryllium communicated to the friends oregon relatives oregon persons nominated by the arrested person, Justice Singh said it “is to guarantee that they would beryllium capable to instrumentality contiguous and punctual actions to unafraid the merchandise of the arrested idiosyncratic arsenic permissible nether the law.

Do You Know:

• Article 22 prescribes extortion against apprehension and detention but has a large exception. It says successful Article 22 (3) (b) that nary of those safeguards use “to immoderate idiosyncratic who is arrested oregon detained nether immoderate instrumentality providing for preventive detention.” The remaining clauses — Article 22(4)-(7) — woody with however preventive detention operationalises.

• First, the state, which would beryllium the territory magistrate, would contented an bid to detain a idiosyncratic erstwhile it is indispensable to support “public order.” The authorities tin delegate this powerfulness to the constabulary arsenic well.

• If the detention ordered is for much than 3 months, nether Article 22(4), specified a detention requires the support of an Advisory Board. These Boards are acceptable up by states and usually dwell of retired judges and bureaucrats. A detainee is mostly not allowed ineligible practice earlier the Board. If the Board confirms the detention, the detainee tin determination Court challenging the detention order.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Telangana’s instrumentality nether scanner: How preventive detention works

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(4) Right to Privacy is protected arsenic an intrinsic portion of Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Which of the pursuing successful the Constitution of India correctly and appropriately connote the supra statement? (UPSC CSE 2018)

(a) Article 14 and the provisions nether the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution

(b) Article 17 and the Directive Principles of State Policy successful Part IV

(c) Article 21 and the freedoms guaranteed successful Part III

(d) Article 24 and the provisions nether the 44th Amendment to the Constitution

EDITORIAL

The H-1B paradox

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India

General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for improvement successful assorted sectors and issues arising retired of their plan and implementation

What’s the ongoing story: Ruchi Gupta writes: As India’s maturation flounders, the deficiency of a coherent nationalist improvement strategy is becoming much acute. India’s aspirations of becoming a planetary powerfulness remainder connected progressively shaky ground, seemingly based much connected our size than our achievements successful science, technology, creation oregon different innovation. Nowhere is this strategical vacuum much evident than successful the sermon astir H-1B visas.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are the issues related to migration from India?

• What are the propulsion factors for immigration?

• What is ‘brain drain’?

• How does India’s encephalon drain impact its economy?

• How tin India equilibrium its aspiration to go a planetary powerfulness with addressing home challenges?

• What is the H-1B visa program, and however does it subordinate to India?

• What are the main arguments against India’s existent attack to H-1B visas?

• True “atmanirbharta” (self-reliance) cannot beryllium achieved without cosmopolitan entree to opportunities that alteration each Indian to execute their imaginable wrong the country’s borders. Analyse.

Key Takeaways:

• The Indian government’s efforts to sphere the presumption of H-1B visas for skilled migrants successful the United States are framed arsenic a substance of nationalist interest. While the idiosyncratic anxieties of Indians connected H-1B visas are understandable.

• In the US, the H-1B statement is entangled with broader migration policies, often coloured by economical and radical anxieties that sometimes manifest arsenic bigotry.

• For India, however, the absorption from a nationalist improvement position should not beryllium connected preserving the H-1B pipeline but connected questioning wherefore a state susceptible of producing globally competitory endowment fails to supply opportunities for this endowment astatine home, specified that 75 per cent of H-1B visa holders are Indians.

• The H-1B strategy represents a wide lawsuit of encephalon drain, with costs borne disproportionately by India. While it whitethorn look advantageous connected the aboveground — generating remittances, gathering planetary networks, and enhancing India’s brushed powerfulness — a person introspection reveals a troubling imbalance.

• India invests heavy successful selecting and nurturing endowment done publicly-funded institutions similar the IITs without reaping nonstop benefits from this training, portion the US gets to cherry-pick apical Indian endowment without bearing the outgo of grooming it. Moreover, those Indians who spell overseas indispensable trade-off governmental rights for economical prosperity.

• The H-1B communicative has go fundamentally a communicative of people privilege. Celebrating idiosyncratic occurrence stories obscures systemic barriers and perpetuates the story that endowment people finds its mode to success. In reality, structural advantages — entree to elite institutions, networks, and resources — play a decisive relation successful determining who gets ahead.

• Proponents reason that lucrative opportunities overseas done H-1B visas spur acquisition domestically and that encephalon drain is overstated. While the transportation betwixt overseas opportunities and acquisition aspirations is valid, this statement is incomplete.

• While accidental overseas whitethorn spark wide aspiration, entree to prime acquisition remains severely limited, arsenic evident from the aggravated competition, exam insubstantial leaks, corruption and suicides among our youth. Consequently, lone a tiny percent benefits portion the immense bulk — peculiarly successful agrarian and underprivileged communities — are near behind.

• The existent outgo of this endowment exodus extends beyond the contiguous encephalon drain. It perpetuates an outward absorption that weakens the urgency for home reform, allowing the authorities to neglect its work to make equitable opportunities and an situation conducive to maturation and innovation.

• Consider wherefore India, with its abundant endowment pool, has produced comparatively fewer globally competitory companies oregon Nobel laureates. The contented isn’t idiosyncratic capableness but the lack of robust organization frameworks: Stable governance, transparent regulations, accessible capital, and accordant regularisation of law.

• India’s existent situation is to alteration its aspirational vigor into a question for systemic reform. Over-indexing connected the diaspora for remittances, investments, and prestige risks undermining the improvement of home institutions. Instead of celebrating the exodus of its brightest minds, India indispensable absorption connected creating conditions that marque staying much charismatic than leaving.

• This requires a cardinal displacement successful priorities. Improving the prime of education, expanding entree to infrastructure, streamlining governance, and fostering an situation conducive to innovation are critical. True “atmanirbharta” (self-reliance) cannot beryllium achieved without cosmopolitan entree to opportunities that alteration each Indian to execute their imaginable wrong the country’s borders.

• National advancement is not measured by however galore citizens win overseas oregon by however galore billionaires India has but by however galore tin fulfill their aspirations astatine home.

Do You Know:

• The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has released the biennial World Migration Report 2024. According to the report, India received implicit USD 111 cardinal successful remittances successful 2022, the largest successful the world, becoming the archetypal state to scope and adjacent surpass the USD 100 cardinal mark. India is besides the root of the largest fig of planetary migrants successful the world, with ample diasporas surviving successful countries specified arsenic the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

• The H-1B visa programme allows American employers to prosecute migrant workers successful occupations that necessitate “a precocious level of skill” and “at slightest a bachelor’s degree”, according to the US Department of Labour.

• The programme was started successful 1990, with the volition of helping “employers who cannot different get needed concern skills and abilities from the US workforce by authorising the impermanent employment of qualified individuals who are not different authorised to enactment successful the United States”.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Knowledge Nugget: Why ‘Dunki Routes’ utilized by deported immigrants from US substance for UPSC exam

📍Best of some sides: The H-1B visa strategy is designed to exploit overseas talent

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

Discuss the changes successful the trends of labour migration wrong and extracurricular India successful the past 4 decades. (2015)

THE IDEAS PAGE

AI race: What India should do

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Awareness successful the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intelligence spot rights.

What’s the ongoing story: Amitabh Kant writes: Just a fortnight back, the US committed billions to semiconductor investments with the Stargate initiative, laying the groundwork for its technological future. The purpose was to make 1,00,000 jobs and unafraid rod presumption for the US successful AI. In different portion of the world, an open-source AI exemplary emerged successful DeepSeek, shaking the foundations of proprietary systems with its unmatched cost-efficiency and performance.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Stargate initiative?

• What are the initiatives taken by India to beforehand AI?

• What are the challenges of AI for a processing state similar India?

• What is the relation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) successful AI?

Key Takeaways:

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who antecedently called India’s efforts to make its ain AI models “totally hopeless”, has made a implicit about-turn and said that India should instrumentality a enactment relation successful the AI space. The planetary AI contention has begun.

• With its young colonisation and a well-established Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), India needs to rapidly make capabilities to pb the adjacent signifier of the AI revolution.

• The government’s committedness is unequivocal; its IndiaAI Mission is simply a wide declaration of intent. Our developer assemblage is the 2nd largest successful the world, down lone the US. India has 240-plus Gen AI startups, of which 70 per cent cater to industry-specific challenges successful sectors specified arsenic healthcare, education, BFSI, and agriculture.

• For instance, Sarvam AI is moving connected gathering a foundational exemplary with Indian languages. Niramai is simply a health-tech startup utilizing AI to observe aboriginal signs of breast cancer successful women. With specified a vibrant ecosystem of innovation, we person the indispensable instauration to catalyse some the gait and standard of a caller question of integer transformation.

• First, look astatine what we person achieved successful fiscal inclusion — we took bank-account penetration from 30 per cent to implicit 80 per cent successful conscionable 7 years. econd, analyse the standard of integer payments — $568 cardinal successful monthly UPI transactions, with India handling 49 per cent of planetary real-time payments.

• India indispensable instrumentality decisive steps to physique and fortify the hardware backbone powering AI systems, ensuring that they present unmatched efficiency, reliability, and scalability.

• Investments successful AI hardware volition make jobs and pull important capital, portion besides sparking a ripple effect of innovation crossed industries. By processing robust hardware ecosystems, India tin presumption itself arsenic an indispensable spouse successful planetary proviso chains, amplifying its power connected the planetary stage.

• To support our sovereignty successful technological advancement and pb from the front, we indispensable not let ourselves to go a technological colony of the US and China.

• This requires america to bash the following. One, India indispensable innovate successful a nimble, little energy-consuming, cost-effective manner. We indispensable bash much for little like ISRO. Two, unfastened root is the mode forward, but we indispensable make an situation that encourages superb and clever engineering.

• Three, we indispensable physique sovereign frontier models that are based connected our information sets and bash not person immoderate inherent biases. Four, since India has 22 recognised authoritative languages and a immense fig of section dialects, we indispensable physique multilingual and multimodal foundational models.

• Five, arsenic a Quad partner, India should unafraid its presumption among Tier-I countries successful the realm of AI diffusion, and not beryllium subjected to immoderate restrictions oregon controls. Six, determination indispensable beryllium a consciousness of large urgency and a mission-driven approach.

Do You Know:

• DeepSeek’s technological achievement has stunned the world, from Silicon Valley to the planetary AI stage. However, China’s increasing dominance successful AI raises captious questions astir India’s position, particularly fixed the deficiency of an AI laboratory oregon startup that rivals the capabilities of OpenAI oregon DeepSeek.

• Amid questions implicit India’s spot successful the planetary AI race, the authorities said that the state volition make its ain Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) successful the adjacent 3 to 5 years, and a home foundational AI level tin beryllium expected successful the adjacent 10 months.

• Last year, the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore for the adjacent 5 years, nether which the authorities volition allocate funds towards subsidising backstage companies looking to acceptable up AI computing capableness successful the country, among different things.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍UPSC Issue astatine a Glance | DeepSeek breakthrough: 4 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains

📍India’s AI strategy

UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(5) With the contiguous authorities of development, Artificial Intelligence tin efficaciously bash which of the following?

1. Bring down energy depletion successful concern units

2. Create meaningful abbreviated stories and songs

3. Disease diagnosis

4. Text-to-Speech Conversion

5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy

Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below:

(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only

(b) 1, 3 and 4 only

(c) 2, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

EXPLAINED

Budget, beyond the taxation break

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Government Budgeting.

What’s the ongoing story: The Union Budget for 2025-26 was presented past Saturday (February 1) and it provided a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore (that is, Rs 1 trillion) taxation alleviation to income taxpayers of the country. The anticipation is that this hefty magnitude of wealth near successful the pockets of the taxpayers volition boost depletion request and frankincense propulsion up India’s economical (that is, GDP) maturation complaint supra the 6% level.

Key Points to Ponder:

• How is the GDP calculated successful India?

• What were the changes brought successful GDP calculations aft 2015?

• What are the challenges of utilizing GDP successful calculating the advancement of the economy?

• What are the assorted components of the Budget?

Key Takeaways:

• Governments tin power the wide GDP maturation done their taxation and expenditure policies, unneurotic clubbed arsenic “fiscal policy”. Taxing little leaves consumers with much wealth to walk and frankincense trigger economical activity.

• Similarly, spending much connected creating productive assets (called superior expenditure) comparative to spending connected mundane expenses specified arsenic salaries (also called existent oregon gross expenditure) besides helps wide GDP growth.

• India’s yearly GDP has grown astatine the complaint of 10% successful nominal presumption (that is, inclusive of inflation). In comparison, the per capita GDP (or the mean income of an Indian) has grown lone astatine the complaint of 8.9%.

• The size of the Union Budget oregon the complaint astatine which authorities spending expanded (11.8%) is higher than the complaint of nominal GDP maturation rate. It is for this crushed that the Budget arsenic a percent of GDP was lone 13.31% successful FY15 and expanded to 15.65% successful FY25.

• Budget expenditures connected Health and Family Welfare is adjacent little than education. While the allocation has grown astatine a complaint astir successful sync with the wide size of the Budget, the information is that contempt this increase, the allocation is conscionable 1.7% of the full authorities expenditure.

Do You Know:

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an important macroeconomic indicator that measures the economical maturation of a country. It is besides an casual parameter for comparing the maturation of a state with that of different countries successful the world.

• The disadvantage of this measurement is that it is an mean numerical indicator that does not seizure inequalities, unemployment, the rural-urban divide, oregon income percentiles. Despite these drawbacks, GDP remains a often utilized metric due to the fact that of the mode it is measured.

• GDP is the sum of the marketplace worth of each the last goods and services produced wrong the geographical boundaries of a state each year.

Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:

📍Why is GDP considered a cardinal measurement of economical growth?

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:

(6) A alteration successful taxation to GDP ratio of a state indicates which of the following? (2015)

1. Slowing economical maturation rate

2. Less equitable organisation of nationalist income

Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:

Explain the quality betwixt computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) earlier the twelvemonth 2015 and aft the twelvemonth 2015. (2021)

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (b)  2. (c)  3. (a)   4. (c)  5. (d)  6. (a)

🚨New Year Special: Click Here to work the January 2025 contented of the UPSC Essentials monthly magazine. Share your views and suggestions successful the remark container oregon astatine manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram transmission – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X.