6 hours ago
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Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
What’s the ongoing story: Scott Bessent, United States President-elect Donald Trump’s prime for Treasury Secretary, said connected Thursday that the Joe Biden medication had been “too weak” connected Russia’s lipid sector, and that helium was acceptable to tighten sanctions further — a connection that pushed up planetary lipid prices.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Why has the US imposed curbs connected Russian oil?
• What is the presumption of India’s dependence connected Russian crude oil? How is the curb going to interaction India?
• What is India’s dependence connected the planetary marketplace for crude oil?
• What is rupee internationalisation?
Key Takeaways:
• On January 10, the Biden medication announced caller curbs against Russia’s lipid trade, placing arsenic galore arsenic 183 tankers, constituting the bulk of the alleged “shadow fleet” delivering to customers specified arsenic India and China, nether sanctions.
• Unlike earlier sanctions connected Russian entities, which were comparatively easier to circumvent, the caller enactment is acold much targeted, and volition wounded Indian imports of Russian oil, authorities officials said.
• While different sources of lipid are disposable to India, determination are evident advantages, successful presumption of reliability and cheaper rates, successful imports from Russia, officials said.
• India, the world’s third-largest user of crude oil, depends connected imports to conscionable much than 85% of its requirement. Russia was a marginal supplier earlier the warfare successful Ukraine began successful February 2022; it is present India’s biggest supplier of crude. In 2024, Russian lipid accounted for astir 38% of India’s full lipid imports, according to tanker data.
• Tighter sanctions connected Russian lipid volition besides complicate India’s efforts to internationalise the rupee.
• India and Russia person been successful talks to settee a information of the lipid commercialized successful the home currency. While the rupee commercialized has not taken disconnected arsenic desired, akin efforts person worked successful China’s lawsuit — the booming Russia-China commercialized successful non-dollar speech has helped the yuan summation its footprint globally.
• During his Senate hearing, Bessent said that the US dollar “should” stay the world’s reserve currency. Trump had earlier threatened Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS nations) with 100% tariffs if they created a caller BRICS currency oregon backed immoderate different to regenerate the US dollar arsenic the world’s reserve currency.
• International commercialized experts person noted that the attempts to determination distant from the dollar began aft the US threw Russia retired of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the cardinal to planetary fiscal transactions, successful 2022.
Do You Know:
• Internationalisation is simply a process that involves expanding the usage of the rupee successful cross-border transactions.
• It involves promoting the rupee for import and export commercialized and past different existent relationship transactions, followed by its usage successful superior relationship transactions. These are each transactions betwixt residents successful India and non-residents.
• The internationalisation of the currency, which is intimately interlinked with the nation’s economical progress, requires further opening up of the currency colony and a beardown swap and forex market.
• More importantly, it volition necessitate afloat convertibility of the currency connected the superior relationship and cross-border transportation of funds without immoderate restrictions. India has allowed lone afloat convertibility connected the existent relationship arsenic of now.
• Currently, the US dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the lb sterling are the starring reserve currencies successful the world. China’s efforts to marque its currency renminbi has met with lone constricted occurrence truthful far.
• The usage of the rupee successful cross-border transactions mitigates currency hazard for Indian businesses. Protection from currency volatility not lone reduces the outgo of doing business, it besides enables amended maturation of business, improving the chances for Indian businesses to turn globally.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Internationalisation of rupee: Why and what are the benefits?
📍Trump menace to BRICS implicit ditching the dollar
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(1) Convertibility of rupee implies (2015)
(a) being capable to person rupee notes into gold
(b) allowing the worth of rupee to beryllium fixed by marketplace forces
(c) freely permitting the conversion of rupee to different currencies and vice versa
(d) processing an planetary marketplace for currencies successful India
Engaging with the Taliban
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.
What’s the ongoing story: Back successful 2000, pursuing a gathering with Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban envoy to Pakistan, Vijay K Nambiar, India’s High Commissioner to Islamabad astatine the time, assessed the chances of engagement with the authorities successful Kabul arsenic bleak.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are the large concerns of India concerning Afghanistan?
• What were the caller developments successful Afghanistan?
• Why is India re-engaging with the Taliban regime?
• Afghanistan’s geopolitical value extends acold beyond India and Pakistan. Elaborate.
• What is the value of Afghanistan for India?
Key Takeaways:
• A 4th period later, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri past week led a delegation of elder Indian diplomats astatine a substantive gathering successful Dubai with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the 2nd Taliban regime.
• The gathering was the culmination of the incremental advancement of India’s “cautious engagement” with the Taliban who took powerfulness successful Kabul aft the Ashraf Ghani authorities collapsed 3 and a fractional years ago.
• On August 31, 2021, hours aft the past US subject craft near Afghanistan, India made its archetypal authoritative interaction with the Taliban – astatine the petition of the caller rulers successful Kabul.
• After the Taliban announced a Cabinet with precise small practice for taste minorities and without immoderate woman, India called for an “inclusive dispens ation”. As an “immediate neighbour and a person to [the Afghan] people”, the concern was of “direct concern” to India, New Delhi said.
• In December 2021, India sent 1.6 tonnes of indispensable medicines to Afghanistan, signalling a governmental telephone taken successful New Delhi to spot the ruling authorities abstracted from the radical of Afghanistan, portion besides opening a model to prosecute with the Taliban.
• In December 2022, India expressed interest implicit the banning of women from universities, and renewed its telephone for an inclusive authorities that ensures adjacent rights for women and girls successful each aspects of Afghan society.
• In October 2023, the Afghan embassy successful New Delhi ceased operations citing paucity of resources and personnel, and the nonaccomplishment to “meet expectations…to service the champion interests of Afghanistan”.
• In their conversations with cardinal Taliban leaders, Indian officials person got the consciousness that the Taliban are “ready to engage”, and are looking for assistance to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
• On its part, New Delhi would not similar to beryllium near down different countries, including China, who are making important inroads successful Afghanistan.
• The determination and planetary discourse has been highly dynamic since the Taliban came to power. Afghanistan’s neighbour Iran has been weakened considerably, Russia is warring its ain war, and the US awaits the instrumentality of Donald Trump to the White House.
• India, which has been watching the authorities of play, has concluded that this is the clip to upgrade the level of authoritative engagement — if it is to not suffer its years of concern successful Afghanistan. India’s halfway interest remains information — to guarantee that nary anti-India violent radical is allowed to run from Afghan territory.
Do You Know:
• Afghanistan’s geopolitical value extends acold beyond India and Pakistan. It is simply a multi-ethnic, landlocked state that has been astatine the centre of planetary authorities chiefly due to the fact that of its determination — its proximity to Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia. Its unsocial determination has ever attracted the involvement of large planetary arsenic good arsenic determination powers.
• Afghanistan served arsenic a buffer portion during the 19th-century tussle betwixt Czarist Russia and imperial Britain. During the Cold War, Afghanistan was astatine the centre of a rivalry betwixt the US and USSR. In the post-9/11 “war connected terror”, Afghanistan was again astatine the centre of geopolitics. Global powers person utilized Afghanistan arsenic a instrumentality to service their nationalist interests.
• But the narration betwixt India and Afghanistan is ancient. It tin beryllium traced backmost to the Indus Valley civilisation. The bedrock of the relationship, station India’s independence, is the Treaty of Friendship that was signed connected January 4, 1950.
• India has diligently crafted its argumentation towards Afghanistan by maintaining a equilibrium betwixt serving its nationalist involvement and astatine the aforesaid clip gathering the needs of the Afghani population, showing its uncompromising condemnation towards antiauthoritarian values and humanitarian assistance.
• It was lone erstwhile the Taliban roseate to powerfulness during the 1990s with the backing of Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) that the narration was affected. It further deteriorated aft the hijacking of an Indian Airlines Flight IC814 successful Kandahar successful 1999.
• But it got backmost connected way with the partial restoration of ideology successful 2001 erstwhile Hamid Karzai became the country’s president. India again got progressive successful the reconstruction of Afghanistan crossed assorted sectors, including infrastructure, defence, wellness and education.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍India’s gathering with the Taliban is portion of its committedness towards the Afghan people
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(2) Consider the pursuing countries: (2022)
1. Azerbaijan
2. Kyrgyzstan
3. Tajikistan
4. Turkmenistan
5. Uzbekistan
Which of the supra person borders with Afghanistan?
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only
(b) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
FRONT
Army Vice-Chief flags 2047 agenda: Social, communal harmony, manufacturing, jobs
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Role of outer authorities and non-state actors successful creating challenges to interior security; Security challenges and their absorption successful borderline areas – linkages of organized transgression with terrorism.
What’s the ongoing story: Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt General N S Raja Subramani Friday said that India’s manufacturing sector, deficiency of capable employment opportunities and the quality improvement index, isolated from the unsettled borders, were among the country’s weaknesses that request to beryllium fixed to fulfil the imaginativeness of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the imaginativeness of Viksit Bharat by 2047?
• What is the relation of the Army successful achieving the imaginativeness of Viksit Bharat?
• What are the interior information challenges?
• What are the outer information challenges for India?
• What are the challenges successful borderline areas successful caller times?
• What is the value of theaterisation?
Key Takeaways:
• Lt General Subramani said that to go Viksit Bharat by 2047 the state should purpose to settee the borders and person “social and communal harmony” within.
• Now astir the weaknesses. First, the alteration successful situation (climate); second, our manufacturing assemblage which is not arsenic strong; third, we don’t person that galore employment opportunities… our borders, beryllium it with China oregon Pakistan are not developed. We besides request to amended our quality improvement index),” helium said.
• On interior security, helium said that aft the abrogation of Article 370, Jammu & Kashmir had seen much than 60 per cent turnout successful the Assembly elections.
• For outer security, Lt General Subramani said it should beryllium ensured that the contiguous neighbourhood stays economically connected with India.
• “By 2047, we volition absorption connected defence manufacturing sectors including arms and weapons and we volition besides export to different countries,” helium said.
Do You Know:
• India’s defence ecosystem has undergone transformations successful respective cardinal areas successful caller years. Key organization and argumentation changes person spurred defence indigenisation, home superior procurement and defence exports.
• The extremity of a Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047 requires the defence assemblage to beryllium much resilient and self-reliant. The translation underway successful the defence concern analyzable has acceptable the signifier for aggregate stakeholders to rally and beforehand home technological innovation portion cementing strategical partnerships astir the world.
• As 3 frontline vessels were commissioned (15th January 2025) unneurotic into the Indian Navy, a historical archetypal for the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is going to play a large relation successful giving absorption to “global security, economics and geopolitical dynamics”. He besides said the state works “in the tone of development, not expansionism”.
• The vessels that person entered the Navy are the destroyer INS Surat, the past of the 4 Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers; the frigate INS Nilgiri, the pb vessel of a caller people of 7 stealth guided-missile frigates being built nether Project 17 Alpha; and, the submarine INS Vagsheer, the sixth and the past of the archetypal batch of the Kalvari-class diesel-electric onslaught submarines.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍PM Modi commissions INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer
📍India’s atmanirbhar defence sector
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(3) What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen successful the news? (UPSC CSE 2018 Prelims)
(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.
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
Analyse the multidimensional challenges posed by outer authorities and non-state actors, to the interior information of India. Also sermon measures required to beryllium taken to combat these threats. (UPSC CSE 2021)
This year, President’s At Home ‘will sound, taste, consciousness similar South India’
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Indian civilization volition screen the salient aspects of Art Forms, lit and Architecture from past to modern times.
What’s the ongoing story: The astatine Home lawsuit astatine Rashtrapati Bhavan connected Republic Day this twelvemonth volition person a confederate flavour. With President Droupadi Murmu keen connected showcasing the taste diverseness of the country, the 5 states of the South volition diagnostic big, close from the invited programme to the artistes featured and portion of the impermanent database and cuisine, sources said.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the One District One Product?
• What is the GI (Geographical Indication) scheme?
• What is the value and intent of the GI tag?
• What is drone didis?
• What are the assorted schemes launched by the authorities to beforehand creation and civilization successful India?
• How does civilization play a relation successful promoting brushed diplomacy?
• Read astir the pursuing products: Ikat, Etikoppaka toys, Ganjifa art, Kancheepuram silk , and Kalamkari.
Key Takeaways:
• The invites sent retired for the At Home, which is hosted by the President each January 26 evening, include, for example, a roll-up pencil pouch made of Pochampally Ikat cloth (Telangana), colourful hand-made wood and lacquer Etikoppaka toys (Andhra Pradesh), a hand-painted fridge magnet that depicts Ganjifa creation (Karnataka), a pouch made of Kancheepuram silk (Tamil Nadu), and a screw-pine weaved bookmark (Kerala). The items are enclosed successful a bamboo container with Kalamkari (Andhra) motifs.
• The invitation adds that the purpose is to “spotlight section expertise, done products featuring successful the ODOP (One District One Product) and GI (Geographical Indication) schemes” of the government, with sources calling it an effort to besides guarantee geographical inclusiveness.
Do You Know:
• Geographical Indications of goods notation to the spot of root of a product. Such tags are accorded arsenic they convey an assurance of prime and distinctiveness, attributable to the information of its root successful a circumstantial geographical locality, portion oregon country.
• In India, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, awards GIs.
• A GI registration is fixed to an area, not a trader, but erstwhile a merchandise gets the registration, traders dealing successful the merchandise can apply to merchantability it with the GI logo. Authorised traders are each assigned a unsocial GI number.
• If immoderate unauthorised trader tries selling the merchandise nether that name, they tin beryllium prosecuted nether The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍From reddish ant chutney to achromatic rice, the 7 Odisha products that person bagged GI tags
📍GI tag for Majuli masks of Assam: History, taste value of the centuries-old creation form
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(4) Which of the pursuing has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status? (2015)
1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees
2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
3. Tirupathi Laddu
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
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
Safeguarding the Indian creation practice is the request of the moment. Discuss. (2018)
EDITORIAL
Incentives, not resources
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues connected Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that bash not necessitate taxable specialisation
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, improvement and employment
What’s the ongoing story: Ashima Goyal writes: Development and structural reforms thin to predominate reasoning connected macroeconomic argumentation successful India, which is understandable fixed the maturation imperative. Post the pandemic macroeconomic argumentation helped induce a robust betterment by efficaciously smoothing outer shocks — the rhythm besides affects growth.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is fiscal consolidation?
• What is the Current Account Deficit?
• What is simply a K-shaped recovery?
• What are the caller taxation reforms introduced by the government?
• How resources are prioritised successful an economy?
• What is the intent of the budget?
• What are the challenges of the Indian economy?
Key Takeaways:
• Slowing authorities spending during the predetermination months is 1 crushed for the slowdown successful the economy. It should surely conscionable its spending targets but continuing fiscal consolidation is besides indispensable since India’s combined fiscal shortage is supra 7 per cent of GDP — 1 of the highest successful the world.
• Interest payments eat up arsenic overmuch arsenic 19 per cent of the Centre’s expenditure. Falling indebtedness and shortage ratios are required to physique fiscal space, trim hazard premia and involvement rates spreads.
• Since the slowdown followed that successful nationalist investment, contempt gross expenditure being maintained, it is wide that amended prime of spending itself provides stimulus — truthful expanding the stock of nationalist concern indispensable continue.
• Corporate concern has not risen overmuch contempt taxation cuts, showing that resources unsocial bash not deliver. High maturation and profits person raised the ratio of backstage firm savings from astir 1 per cent of GDP earlier the 1990s to an mean of 10.7 per cent aft 2005-06.
• The budget could see a taxation connected non-business income offset by an concern taxation credit, successful summation to inducements to rise employment.
• Just arsenic home savings are underutilised, truthful are overseas savings. Inflows to the system usually transcend our existent relationship deficit, which is the excess of concern implicit savings financed by overseas savings. So it is investment, not resources, that is the constraint authorities has to enactment on.
• Income taxation cuts for little slabs tin further summation their spending and faster than the authorities tin spend. It is besides just since inflation increases existent taxes portion eroding existent incomes. But the main absorption of taxation betterment indispensable proceed to beryllium connected simplification, removing loopholes and expanding the base.
• Last twelvemonth the fund had projected a model for amended coordination with states. Food proviso should beryllium a absorption area. Another is simplifying regulations.
• As outgo propulsion inflation falls, involvement rates tin travel down. Low existent involvement rates are 1 of the astir effectual incentives to summation demand, with the ample fig of India’s young buying houses and equipping them.
• Budget priorities, to beryllium aligned to the needs of the economy, indispensable facilitate an betterment successful conditions of production, truthful much tin beryllium produced and made disposable astatine little prices. Just resources volition not execute results, well-designed incentives are essential.
Do You Know:
• A Budget is fundamentally an workout wherever the authorities tells the Parliament (and done it, the full country) astir the wellness of its finances. This means coming cleanable connected 3 main things: income, expenditure and borrowing.
• Budget tells the citizens not lone however overmuch wealth the authorities raised past year, wherever did it walk it, and however overmuch did it person to get to conscionable the spread but besides gives an estimation astir what it expects to gain successful the adjacent fiscal twelvemonth (in the contiguous case, the existent fiscal year), however overmuch and wherever it plans to walk it, and however overmuch would it apt person to get to span the gap.
• An mean Indian national mightiness wonderment wherefore helium oregon she needs to beryllium acrophobic with the government’s finances. After all, they whitethorn argue, it is not their money. It is due to the fact that of this inadequate knowing of the Budget that astir of the nationalist involvement successful this yearly workout is constricted to either seeking immoderate taxation alleviation oregon immoderate benignant of currency handout from the government.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Explained: Dummies’ usher to the Budget
📍Budget 2024-25: A five-year roadmap for India’s economy
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Mains Question Covering akin theme:
(5) With notation to Balance of Payments, which of the pursuing constitutes/constitute the Current Account? (2014)
1. Balance of trade
2. Foreign assets
3. Balance of invisibles
4. Special Drawing Rights
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 4 only
EDITORIAL
Syllabus
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Issues relating to the improvement and absorption of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
What’s the ongoing story: Pooja Pillai writes: From .gov websites to neighbourhood gyms, calculating one’s BMI is presented arsenic the archetypal measurement towards amended health. The higher the BMI, the greater the obesity and the much the request for interventions similar workout and fare power — possibly adjacent drugs and surgery. Simple. But also, arsenic it turns out, not truthful simple.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is BMI? How is it calculated?
• What is obesity and however is it antithetic from overweight?
• What are the initiatives taken by the authorities to beforehand a steadfast lifestyle?
• What are the wellness challenges for radical successful India?
• BMI provides a reliable representation of health. Critically analyse.
Key Takeaways:
• A study published successful the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology diary has called for an overhaul of our knowing of obesity, citing an over-reliance connected BMI, which has had the peculiar effect of starring to some underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of the condition.
• This is due to the fact that BMI does not supply a reliable representation of health: Neither is it a nonstop measurement of fat, nor does it springiness close accusation astir however abdominous is distributed successful an individual’s body. It often fails to seizure the existent authorities of wellness of a idiosyncratic who whitethorn person excess assemblage fat, portion having “healthy” BMI.
• Rethinking the overreliance connected BMI is agelong overdue, not slightest due to the fact that of however it has been misused to trim conversations astir wellness to specified numbers connected a scale. It has played a relation successful perpetuating myths astir what a steadfast oregon acceptable idiosyncratic looks similar (thin) arsenic against 1 who is not (overweight), with associated sub-myths that connect subjective values similar beauty, worthy and ratio to an individual’s appearance.
• What the Lancet study underlines, successful fact, is however small we recognize astir the operation of bones, soma and humor that is the mortal coil — and by extension, however constricted our knowing is astir the existent authorities of our bodies.
• Every idiosyncratic is simply a unsocial constellation — not lone of genes and different biologic variables, but besides socio-economic conditions, habits and that astir unreliable origin known arsenic luck.
• Can the Lancet report’s telephone for a nuanced attack to identifying obesity — endorsed by implicit 75 aesculapian organisations from astir the globe — assistance dispel immoderate of the myths we cling to, including the reliability of specified numbers?
Do You Know:
• India has seen a dependable summation successful obesity levels — not lone successful adults but children excessively — implicit the past 32 years. At the aforesaid time, the prevalence of undernutrition has besides remained precocious successful the country. As a result, India has go 1 of the countries with a precocious “double burden,” according to a caller Lancet study, which examined the trends of malnutrition crossed the satellite implicit the past 32 years.
• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), obesity is an abnormal oregon excessive accumulation of abdominous that poses wellness risks. Adults — anyone implicit the property of 20 years — are considered to beryllium obese, if they person a assemblage wide scale (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 oregon more.
• BMI is simply a person’s value successful kilograms divided by the quadrate of tallness successful meters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School-aged children and adolescents — anyone betwixt the ages of 5 and 19 years — are considered obese, if their BMI is 2 modular deviations much than the mean.
• Underweight is 1 of the 4 wide sub-forms of undernutrition. An big is considered underweight if their BMI is little than 18 kg/m2. School-aged children and adolescents are considered underweight if their BMI is 2 modular deviations beneath the mean.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(6) Which of the pursuing is/are the indicators/ indicators utilized by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report? (2016)
1. Undernourishment
2. Child stunting
3. Child mortality
Select the close reply utilizing the codification fixed below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
GOVT & POLITICS
Nuclear deal: India hails lifting of US curbs connected 3 entities
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of nationalist and planetary importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, determination and planetary groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
What’s the ongoing story: India Friday welcomed the US determination to assistance restrictions connected 3 Indian atomic entities, saying the determination volition unfastened caller avenues for collaboration successful the civilian atomic field.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the US Entity list?
• What is the India-US civilian Nuclear deal?
• What is the 123 Agreement?
• What is Nuclear energy?
• What is the value of the India-US Nuclear deal?
• What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
• What are the ‘International Atomic Energy Agency’ safeguards?
Key Takeaways:
• The US had Wednesday removed restrictions connected Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR) and Indian Rare Earths (IRE).
• The determination came implicit a week aft NSA Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to “remove” hurdles for civilian atomic concern betwixt Indian and American firms.
• “These (BARC, IGCAR and IRE) were successful the entity database of the US for respective years now. With this enactment by the US government, it volition pb to greater collaboration betwixt India and the US successful the tract of atomic vigor and besides successful the tract of captious minerals,” helium said.
• Certain clauses successful India’s atomic liability norms person emerged arsenic hurdles successful moving guardant successful implementation of the historical India-US civilian atomic woody that was firmed up astir 16 years back.
• The removal of restrictions connected the 3 cardinal Indian entities is being seen arsenic an effort by the outgoing Biden medication to facilitate the implementation of the landmark India-US civilian atomic pact.
• India and the US unveiled an ambitious program to co-operate successful civilian atomic vigor successful July 2005 pursuing past Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s gathering with American President George W Bush.
Do You Know:
• On the American side, a important impediment is the ‘10CFR810’ authorisation (Part 810 of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (Part 810) of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954), which gives US atomic vendors the quality to export instrumentality to countries specified arsenic India nether immoderate strict safeguards, but does not licence them to manufacture immoderate atomic instrumentality oregon execute immoderate atomic plan enactment here.
• This authorisation is simply a wide impediment from New Delhi’s perspective, which wants to enactment successful the manufacturing worth concatenation and co-produce the atomic components for atomic powerfulness projects being jointly planned to beryllium set up successful India, sources said.
• On the Indian side, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which sought to make a mechanics for compensating victims from harm caused by a atomic accident, and allocating liability and specifying procedures for compensation, has been cited arsenic an impediment by overseas players specified arsenic GE-Hitachi, Westinghouse and French atomic institution Areva (now called Orano).
• This is chiefly connected the grounds that the authorities channelises operators’ liability to instrumentality suppliers with overseas vendors citing this arsenic a crushed for worries astir investing successful India’s atomic assemblage owed to fearfulness of incurring aboriginal liability.
• A breakthrough statement connected iCET that addresses the concerns connected some sides could pave the mode for plans to jointly manufacture atomic components for immoderate caller task capableness being planned for India by deploying American atomic reactors.
• This besides comes erstwhile India is hoping to transportation itself arsenic a credible destination to manufacture atomic reactors, particularly tiny modular reactors oregon SMRs that person a capableness of betwixt 30MWe and 300 MWe, cost-effectively and astatine scale.
• Though India’s civilian atomic programme has expertise successful manufacturing smaller reactor types — 220MWe PHWRs (pressurised dense h2o reactors) and supra – the occupation for India is its reactor technology. Based connected dense h2o and earthy uranium, the PHWRs are progressively retired of sync with airy h2o reactors (LWR) that are present the astir ascendant reactor benignant crossed the world.
Other Important Articles Covering the aforesaid topic:
📍Boosting Indo-US atomic collaboration: the need, 2 cardinal hurdles
Previous twelvemonth UPSC Prelims Question Covering akin theme:
(7) In India, wherefore are immoderate atomic reactors kept nether “IAEA safeguards” portion others are not? (2020)
(a) Some usage uranium and others usage thorium
(b) Some usage imported uranium and others usage home supplies
(c) Some are operated by overseas enterprises and others are operated by home enterprises
(d) Some are State-owned and others are privately owned
ALSO IN NEWS |
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| How the Sun played a relation successful SpaDex success | “But the days starring up to the SpaDeX docking were amazingly different. There were less sunspots and different magnetic structures connected the prima and the CESSI investigation recovered an improbable improvement of stormy enactment that could person disturbed the near-earth abstraction environment. So, the Sun surely cooperated successful helping execute this extraordinarily challenging task.” |
| Jobs successful semiconductor assemblage successful absorption during Singapore President’ sojourn to Odisha | Skilling radical for the semiconductor assemblage was connected apical of the docket arsenic Odisha explored a collaboration with Singapore during the sojourn of its President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the authorities starting Friday. |
| PRELIMS ANSWER KEY |
| 1. (c) 2. (c) 3. (c) 4. (c) 5. (c) 6. (c) 7. (b) |
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