UPSC Key: Five Eyes Alliance, Bodo movement in Assam and Megalithic Menhirs

In IT policy pipeline: `23k-cr electronic subsidy scheme for value-add and jobs

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: THE IT Ministry has finalised the contours for an ambitious incentive policy for electronic components manufacturing, with an outlay of around Rs 23,000 crore, spread over six years, as the government looks to deepen domestic value addition after successfully localising smartphone assembly in the country.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Electronics component manufacturing sector in India—know in brief

• The Rs 23,000 crore electronic subsidy scheme-Know its key features

• The Rs 23,000 crore electronic subsidy scheme aims what?

• What is PLI for electronics component?

• What is the significance of India’s Rs 23,000 crore electronic subsidy scheme in the context of global supply chain diversification, employment generation and India’s ambition to become a manufacturing hub?

• What are the role of government initiatives such as the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Semicon India Programme, and National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019 in transforming India’s electronics sector?

• What are the key bottlenecks in India’s electronics manufacturing sector?

Key Takeaways:

• The components that the government is looking to target through the scheme include display modules, sub assembly camera modules, printed circuit board assemblies, lithium cell enclosures, resistors, capacitors, and ferrites, among others.

• Employment creation is also likely to see a major push through the scheme, with the government having set yearly direct job creation goals for participating entities. “Overall, the government is targeting that the scheme will help generate 91,600 direct jobs over the six-year period, with annual incentive payouts ranging from Rs 2,300 crore to Rs 4,200 crore, conditional on companies meeting investment, production and employment goals for the corresponding year.

• Despite being able to attract companies like Apple and Samsung to localise some of their overall assembly in India, the domestic value addition has been relatively low, around 15-20 per cent, with the government hoping to raise it to at least 30-40 per cent. This is why a scheme to encourage component manufacturing is being seen as an important second step.

Do You Know:

• THE ELECTRONICS component incentive plan is a crucial next step for India as the PLI scheme for smartphones nears its sunset. Despite the latter’s success, local value addition in electronics manufacturing remains low at 15-20 per cent, with the government hoping to raise it to 40 per cent with the component subsidy plan.

• The scheme could offer three different kinds of incentives: depending on operational expenses, capital expenses, and a combination of the two. Operational incentives will be given based on net incremental sales, similar to PLI schemes, and capex incentives will be given on the basis of eligible capital expenditure.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Electronic components subsidy policy: Centre, industry disagree over job creation

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering Similar Theme:
1. ‘R2 Code of Practices’ constitutes a tool available for promoting the adoption of (2020)
(a) environmentally responsible practices in electronics recycling industry
(b) ecological management of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention
(c) sustainable practices in the cultivation of agricultural crops in degraded lands
(d) ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ in the exploitation of natural resources

Moving on security, Gabbard and others from Five Eyes join intel tsars in Delhi

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

What’s the ongoing story: Signalling close cooperation on issues related to security, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, UK’s National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell and New Zealand’s intelligence head Andrew Hampton joined intelligence chiefs of different countries at a gathering in New Delhi Sunday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Five Eyes Alliance?

• Why was the Five Eyes Alliance formed?

• How does the Five Eyes Alliance work, exactly?

• What is the Raisina Dialogue?

• What is the significance of Raisina Dialogue in General and Raisina Dialogue 2025 in particular?

• What are the opportunities and challenges of deeper intelligence-sharing cooperation between India and Five Eyes countries?

• Should India seek deeper engagement with Five Eyes countries for intelligence cooperation?

Key Takeaways:

• The intelligence tsars, attending a conference organised by the National Security Council Secretariat, were being hosted by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, R&AW chief Ravi Sinha and Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka.

• Both Gabbard and Powell will also attend the Raisina Dialogue, starting Monday. Organised by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs, the three-day conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who reached New Delhi Sunday, will join the inaugural session as the Chief Guest and deliver the keynote address.

• Representatives from nearly 125 countries including Ministers, former Heads of State and Heads of Government, military commanders, industry captains, technology leaders, academics, journalists, scholars on strategic affairs, experts from leading think tanks will participate in the Dialogue.

• The theme of the 2025 edition, the MEA said, is ‘Kalachakra – People, Peace and Planet’. Over the course of three days, decision makers and thought leaders will engage each other across conversations in various formats, over six thematic pillars:
—Politics Interrupted: Shifting Sands and Rising Tides;
—Resolving the Green Trilemma: Who, Where, & How;
—Digital Planet: Agents, Agencies and Absences;
—Militant Mercantilism: Trade, Supply Chains & the Exchange Rate Addiction;
—The Tiger’s Tale: Rewriting Development with a New Plan; and
—Investing in Peace: Drivers, Institutions, & Leadership.

• The United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom are the five English-speaking nations that make up the “Five Eyes,” a multilateral intelligence-sharing network that includes over 20 agencies. It uses signals intelligence (SIGINT) as well as surveillance. Since intelligence papers exchanged amongst the member nations are classified as “Secret—AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US Eyes Only,” the group was dubbed “Five Eyes.”

Do You Know:

C Raja Mohan writes in ‘The Five Eyes fracture’:

• Formed during World War II, the “Five Eyes” — comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US — now faces an unprecedented internal crisis, triggered by profound shifts in US policy in Donald Trump’s second term.

• A central feature of this alliance is the intelligence sharing agreement that Washington and London signed in 1946 that built on the bilateral wartime cooperation on intercepting and decoding enemy communications.

• The bilateral agreement was expanded to cover the rest of the “Anglosphere” and focused on collecting and analysing Signals intelligence of common interest. Canada joined in 1948 followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1956. The Anglosphere refers to the English-speaking world, once part of the British empire, which shares common traditions of politics, law and culture. During the Cold War, the Five Eyes played a critical role in monitoring Soviet and Warsaw Pact communications. After 9/11, the Five Eyes expanded its scope to cover counterterrorism and cybersecurity. In the past decade, the alliance turned its focus toward China, warning against the risks posed by companies like Huawei.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The Five Eyes fracture

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering Similar Theme:
2. Consider the following pairs: (2020)
International agreement/set-up : Subject
1. Alma-Ata Declaration : Healthcare of the people
2. Hague Convention : Biological and chemical weapons
3. Talanoa Dialogue : Global climate change
4. Under2 Coalition : Child rights
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only

GOVT & POLITICS

Shah: Over 80% of Bodo accord conditions implemented, remainder in next two years

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

What’s the ongoing story: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Union and state governments had implemented “82%” of the conditions in the 2020 Bodo Accord and would implement the remainder in the next two years.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Bodoland Dispute?

• Map Work-Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang

• Discuss the historical background of the Bodo movement in Assam.

• What is the significance of the Bodo Accord in resolving long-standing ethnic issues?

• ‘The 2020 Bodo Accord aimed to provide greater autonomy and development to the Bodo people’—How far it is successful?

• ‘The Bodo Accord highlights Government of India’s approach to resolving ethnic conflicts through political agreements’-Discuss

• How can similar strategies like Bodo Accord can be used to address other regional conflicts in North-Eastern part of India?

• Autonomy agreements like the Bodo Accord aim to balance regional aspirations with national unity—Discuss the role of such agreements in India’s federal structure.

Key Takeaways:

• Shah was speaking at the annual conference of the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) in Kokrajhar in Assam’s Bodo Territorial Region (BTR). He also took a jab at the Congress while talking about the implementation of the accord.

• Shah said in the last three years Rs 287 crore had been spent on the rehabilitation of 4,881 members of the NDFB, saying the Centre provided 90% of this amount.

• At the meeting, Shah also announced that “a prominent road in Delhi” would be named after “Bodofa” Upendra Nath Brahma Marg, a former ABSU president who was one of the tallest leaders from the community. Shah also said his bust would be unveiled in Delhi in the first week of April.

Do You Know:

• The 2020 Bodo Accord was the third such accord signed with Bodo groups after the Bodo insurgency aimed at a separate state flared up in the 1980s. The 2020 accord brought about a truce with four factions of the militant National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). It extended on provisions already in effect through the earlier accords by providing for, among other things, more legislative, administrative, executive, and financial powers to the BTC.

• Bodos are the single largest tribal community in Assam, making up over 5-6 per cent of the state’s population. They have controlled large parts of Assam in the past

• The four districts in Assam — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang — that constitute the Bodo Territorial Area District (BTAD), are home to several ethnic groups.

• The Bodos have had a long history of separatist demands, marked by armed struggle.
In 1966-67, the demand for a separate state called Bodoland was raised under the banner of the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA), a political outfit.
In 1987, the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) renewed the demand. “Divide Assam fifty-fifty”, was a call given by the ABSU’s then leader, Upendra Nath Brahma.

• The unrest was a fallout of the Assam Movement (1979-85), whose culmination — the Assam Accord — addressed the demands of protection and safeguards for the “Assamese people”, leading the Bodos to launch a movement to protect their own identity.
In December 2014, separatists killed more than 30 people in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur. In the 2012 Bodo-Muslim riots, hundreds were killed and almost 5 lakh were displaced.

• Bodoland Territorial Council is an autonomous body under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. There have been two Bodo Accords earlier, and the second one led to the formation of BTC. The ABSU-led movement from 1987 culminated in a 1993 Bodo Accord, which paved the way for a Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC), but ABSU withdrew its agreement and renewed its demand for a separate state. In 2003, the second Bodo Accord was signed by the extremist group Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF), the Centre and the state. This led to the BTC.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Centre signs pact with Assam, Bodo outfits for ‘permanent solution’

📍Explained: Takeaways from Bodo Accord

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering Similar Theme:
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Bodo Accord:
1. The first Bodo Accord was signed in 1993 between the Government of India and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT).
2. The Bodo Accord of 2020 led to the creation of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
3. The Bodo Accord grants separate statehood to Bodoland within India.
4. The accord aims to safeguard the political, economic, and cultural rights of the Bodo people.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 4 only
c) 1, 2, and 4 only
d) 1, 3, and 4 only

EXPRESS NETWORK

An idea to keep water flowing in sub-zero temperatures

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development- Sustainable Development

Main Examination: General Studies II: Important aspects of governance,

What’s the ongoing story: In Kargil, the second coldest inhabited place in the world where temperatures plummet to sub-zero during winter, access to regular water was a challenge until a decade ago, when a unique idea was developed into a permanent solution.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Jal Jeevan mission?

• How important is the Jal Jeevan mission in the coldest places in India?

• Discuss the challenges of water management in extreme cold regions like Kargil.

• How Kargil District Magistrate Srikant Balasaheb Suse implemented Jal Jeevan mission in Kargil?

• How do geographical and climatic factors impact water availability in high-altitude regions?

• Examine the role of sustainable water management practices in cold desert areas.

Key Takeaways:

• Through the Jal Jeevan Mission, the local administration has slowly created underground reservoirs that connect to a network of underground, insulated pipes to provide running water to the households in Drass.

• The difficulty of water freezing in overground pipes has been countered by burying the water supply network at least five feet deep.

• “In the harsh winter, anything above ground will completely freeze because of how low the temperatures can get. However, if we dig
beyond the top four feet, water remains at normal temperature and does not freeze,” the councilor from Bhimbhat in Kargil told The Indian Express.

• While burying water pipes is the norm in the cold desert that is Ladakh, “earlier, there would be one tap with lots of insulation carrying water to the surface and about 30 to 40 households would share that to carry water home,” Abdul Wahid said.

• Over the last three years, the extension of this system to individual households has resolved a significant issue for residents of Kargil and Leh.
Sourced from local springs, the water is collected in large reservoirs built at a height in different villages. Where natural sources aren’t available, borewells have been dug to provide water to villages in the area.

Do You Know:

• Kargil District Magistrate Srikant Balasaheb Suse has been recognised under the category of Resource Utilisation from Central and State Schemes in the Excellence in Governance Awards 2024 organised by The Indian Express.

• He said, “My project is part of the Jal Jeevan Mission. We have lots of water challenges in Ladakh because it gets as cold as -30 degrees Celsius. Everyone was sceptical of the scheme, and we didn’t get support at first because there was little technical know-how about how to fix a problem in a region like this. We researched and brainstormed a lot before implementing three to four technologies.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍JK plans to provide 100% tap water connections to rural households under Jal Jeevan Mission by December 2022

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering Similar Theme:
📍What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India? (2019)

EXPLAINED

MENHIR

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Main Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

What’s the ongoing story: The Mudumal megalithic menhirs in Telangana’s Narayanpet district will soon be the second UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state, after being one six Indian sites to be added to the tentative list by the World Heritage Centre in 2025.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are menhirs?

• How old are menhirs?

• Why were they erected?

• Why do some old stones deserve UNESCO recognition?

• What is UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List?

• What are the types of heritage?

Key Takeaways:

• A menhir is a standing or an upright stone, which is usually tapered at the top. It is man-made, in that it is sculpted and placed by humans, and usually quite large — the largest surviving menhir, the Grand Menhir Brisé or the Great Broken Menhir in Brittany, France, once stood at 20.6 m tall.

• Most people know of menhirs today as the stones that Obelix carries on his back. The affable Obelix, from the French comic book series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, is bestowed with superhuman strength, allowing him to single-handedly sculpt and deliver menhirs to customers. Of course, he often uses these stones to thump any passing Roman soldiers, at times to protect his fiercely independent village, at times simply for some fun.

• Some old stones deserve UNESCO recognition because they give us insight into the ingenuity of early humans. Not only do these tonnes-heavy stones need a solid understanding of physics to be sculpted and move to precise locations, the precision of their placement itself tells us how much our ancestors knew about astronomy and solstices. they give us insight into how the cultures who built them saw and understood the world.

Do You Know:

• The term ‘menhir’ is derived from the Brittonic “maen” meaning “stone”, and “hîr” meaning “long”, and entered the archaeological lexicon in the late 18th century. It was first used by French military officer and Celticist antiquarian Théophile Corret de la Tour d’Auvergne.

• The ones in Europe were originally associated with the Beaker culture who lived during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age — roughly 4,800 to 3,800 before present (BP). But the oldest European menhirs are today dated to as early as 7,000 BP. The ones in Mudumal, dated to roughly 3,500 to 4,000 BP, are the oldest known menhirs in India.

• Menhirs can either be found alone, or as a part of a larger complex of prehistoric megaliths, simply, large stone structures. While the exact purpose of many megalithic sites is debated, they likely served ceremonial functions. Some were markers of graves, while others might have served some astronomical purposes.

• The Mudumal site has been described as a “megalithic astronomical observatory” by the UNESCO dossier. “… Some menhirs are aligned with the rising and setting sun during the summer and winter solstices, suggesting their use as an ancient observatory,” the dossier says. Today, the Mudumal menhirs are closely associated with local legend, with “one particular menhir being worshipped as Goddess Yellamma”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Telangana’s Mudumal Megalithic Menhirs make it to tentative UNESCO heritage list from India

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering Similar Theme:
📍Indian philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss. (2020)
📍Safeguarding the Indian art heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss.(2018)

Farm fire in China-US trade

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

What’s the ongoing story: In his trade wars with Canada and Mexico, US President Donald Trump has exempted many goods from the blanket 25% tariff he had earlier levied on all imports from the two countries.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What the role of agriculture in the US-China trade war?

• How agriculture commodities impact global agricultural markets and developing economies?

• ‘The US-China trade war has influenced global supply chains and agricultural trade patterns’-comment

• How agricultural trade has become a strategic tool in international relations, with examples from the US-China trade war.

• What lessons can India learn from the US-China trade war in terms of agricultural self-sufficiency and export strategies?

Key Takeaways:

• China’s tit-for-tat actions have basically targeted US agricultural produce. On March 4, it imposed a 10% tariff on imports of soyabean, sorghum, beef, pork, dairy and aquatic products, fruits and vegetables, and 15% on wheat, corn (maize), cotton and chicken, from the US.

• These additional duties — a response to the “unilateral tariff increase by the US” that “undermines the multilateral trading system…and disrupts the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation” — aren’t insignificant.

• But China’s tariff actions also appear to fit in with a national strategy to enhance food security through increasing domestic production and reducing import dependence alongside diversification of its supplier base.

• China is a massive importer of agri-commodities. In 2023-24, it was the world’s No. 1 buyer of soyabean, rapeseed, wheat, barley, sorghum, oats and cotton, and No. 2 for corn and palm oil. It was also the biggest export market for US soyabean, cotton and coarse grains (excluding corn), while the second largest for its tree nuts (mainly almonds, pistachios and walnuts) and third for beef, pork, dairy products and poultry meat.

Do You Know:

• In April 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs unveiled a report that projected an increase in the country’s
domestic output of grains (including soyabean) from 694 mt to 767 mt and a reduction in imports from 148 mt to 122 mt by 2032.

• China has two state-owned giants: COFCO (China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation) and Sinograin (China Grain Reserves Group). The first one is a global trader that handled over 122 mt of agri-commodities with revenues of $50 billion in 2023. COFCO has been promoted as a rival to the four ‘ABCD’ dominant western commodity trading firms: Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus. Sinograin, established in 2000, is China’s national stockpiler tasked with the storage and management of its centralised reserves of grain, oil and cotton.

• China, which began augmenting its strategic reserves following the 2008 global food price crisis, substantially stepped up imports of corn, barley, wheat, sorghum and even oilseeds, cotton and rice from 2020-21 (see accompanying table). The unprecedented import-led stockpiling — amid the pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and extreme weather-induced worldwide supply disruptions —was undertaken through COFCO and Sinograin.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Trump 2.0’s first sweeping tariff goes live, could increase dumping pressure on India

One more tiger reserve: why India needs them, the challenges some face

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh, was declared a tiger reserve earlier this month, taking the tally of such reserves in the country to 58.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work– Madhav National Park

• Map Work-Locate top five and bottom five states (Population) Tiger Reserves in India

• What is Project Tiger?

• What year does Project Tiger begin?

• Where was Project Tiger launched?

• Under which Prime Minister was Project Tiger launched?

• “Status of Tigers in India” report-Key Highlights

• What is India’s tiger population?

• What is the purpose of tiger reserves?

• What is the distribution of tigers in India?

• What are the areas of concern regarding tiger conversation?

• National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under which Ministry?

• Who is the Chairman of National Tiger Conservation Authority?

• What are the persisting threats facing the tiger across its habitats?

Key Takeaways:

• The latest tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1,651 sq km, and currently has six tigers, including a cub. It is hoped that the notification of the new reserve will aid the movement of tigers in the Ranthambore-Kuno-Madhav National Park corridor, identified as a promising habitat for a growing tiger population.

• Although native elites in India had been hunting big game for millennia, it was during British rule that this activity reached an unprecedented scale. Even after Independence, big game hunting flourished among Indian elites and tourists. For tigers, the apex predator of India’s forests, this had huge consequences.

• An alarm about declining tiger populations (also courtesy rapid deforestation to carve out farm land) was sounded in the 1960s. In 1969, the Indira Gandhi-led Union government banned the export of tiger skins. The very same year, the landmark 10th assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Delhi saw tigers being recognised as an endangered species, and a resolution being adopted to put a moratorium on their killing. The government also launched a task force to address the issue, headed by the chairman of the Indian Board for Wildlife, Karan Singh.

• The recommendations of this task force paved the way for the launch of Project Tiger in April 1973, soon after the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was passed. This project was meant to last only for six years initially, but has continued to date. It was aimed at maintaining a viable population of tigers, and preserving their habitat.

Do You Know:

• Project Tiger was launched with nine tiger reserves — Manas (Assam), Jim Corbett (now in Uttarakhand), Kanha (Madhya Pradesh), Palamau (now in Jharkhand), Ranthambore (Rajasthan), Simlipal (Odisha), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), and the Sundarbans (West Bengal).

• The purpose of the reserves was to create a “core” —where felling, grazing, and movement of people, except those involved in conservation activities, was prohibited — and a “buffer zone”, where human activity would be limited, ‘Joining the Dots’, the report of the 2005 tiger task force under Sunita Narain, noted.

• After amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act in 2005-06, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body, was created for oversight on the implementation of Project Tiger.

• India is home to an estimated 3,681 tigers (range 3167-3925), as per the last population estimation released in 2022-23. The big cats occupy around 89,000 sq km area, as per NTCA. That is equivalent to the area of Jordan, and larger than that of Austria. Tigers are broadly distributed across the following “landscapes” — Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains, Central Indian Highlands and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra floodplains, and the Sundarbans.
Corbett, with 260 tigers, boasts the largest population of the big cat followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai (113), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba-Andhari (97), Sathyamangalam (85), and Pench (77).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Fifty years of ‘Project Tiger’: How the programme saved Indian tigers

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering Similar Theme:
4. The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of (2017)
(a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna
(b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves
(c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System
(d) Security of National Highways

THE IDEAS PAGE

Thinking a BIT differently

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic

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

What’s the ongoing story: Rajesh Kumar Singh, Karamjeet Kaur Writes: Revised model Bilateral Investment Treaty text is an opportunity to tailor it to the current global economic realities

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Bilateral Investment Treaties?

• Discuss the significance of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

• What are the major reasons behind India’s move to renegotiate or terminate many of its Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs)?

• Examine the pros and cons of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the context of India’s experience with international arbitration cases.

Key Takeaways:
Rajesh Kumar Singh, Karamjeet Kaur Writes:

• An announcement on the revision of the model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) text was made in the Union Budget 2025 to make it more investor-friendly. The last revision was in 2015, which was aimed at balancing investors’ rights and obligations. As the government considers a new version, it is imperative that the legalese of the text reflects the current economic realities.

• BITs, also referred to as International Investment Agreements (IIAs), are a tool for providing assurance to foreign investors against “measures” that may adversely impact their investments. These treaties are legally enforceable. They provide rights to investors (through the investor-state dispute settlement) or to home states (through state-state dispute settlement) to bring a claim against a host state (receiving foreign investment).

• As per UNCTAD data, as many as 3,291 IIAs (including 2,831 BITs) have been inked so far and many more are still being negotiated.

• A “model” text in investment treaty negotiations is a standard base position of a country on its investment treaties. The final agreement is an outcome of a negotiated position between the partner countries. While it is not binding to have one for negotiating a treaty, it generally helps to have one as a guiding document for the negotiators. Countries generally revise their model text at regular intervals. For instance, the US developed a Model BIT text in 1994, which was replaced in 1998, followed by newer versions in 2004 and 2012.

Do You Know:
Rajesh Kumar Singh, Karamjeet Kaur writes:

• BITs find their genesis in the mid-20th century. Most of the early BITs were signed between a developed capital-exporting country and a developing capital-importing country. Scholars have ascribed this to two fundamental systemic factors. One, decolonisation and the rising trend of economic nationalism. This made BITs an instrument to protect the private property that foreign investors owned abroad. Two, most of the FDI in the 1950s and 1960s was either resource-seeking or focused on manufacturing through import substitution industrialisation policies and thus the need for certain “minimum standards of protection” of investments.

• In the early 1990s, with the NAFTA agreement, pre-establishment commitments were introduced in investment treaties. The traditional commitments were on the host state to provide “protection” for foreign investments and investors.

• In March 2024, India signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a grouping of four European countries-EFTA. This agreement’s investment chapter weaved-in a quantifiable commitment on investment and direct employment by EFTA in India.
• The MFN clause was developed in the context of multilateral agreements. Simply put, an automatic MFN implies that the additional commitments offered to others in future, automatically apply to the existing trade partners. This concept was borrowed into BITs as well. Inclusion of MFN in BITs ensures that similar “treatment” (in terms of laws, rules, regulations, orders, inactions etc) is given to investments and investors of all treaty partners.

• The Model BIT of 2015 did not include MFN. While there is a history of how this clause has been misused in the context of investment agreements, there is a more basic issue here.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why India needs a forward-looking approach to Bilateral Investment Treaties

THE WORLD

Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 31 killed

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: The Houthi-controlled Health Ministry in Yemen has reported, as per AP, that the death toll from US airstrikes has risen to 31, including women and children. Ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi stated on Sunday that an additional 101 people were injured in the overnight attacks.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work-Yemen, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

• Who are the Houthis?

• Why Trump administration launched large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis?

• Examine the role of Iran in the Yemen conflict, particularly in relation to the Houthi rebels?

• Evaluate the potential impact of the U.S. military offensive against the Houthis on international shipping routes in the Red Sea

• Examine the strategic significance of Yemen in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East

Key Takeaways:

• The air and naval strikes, authorized by US President Donald Trump, aimed to neutralise key military assets including radars, missile defence systems, and drones used by the Houthis to disrupt Red Sea shipping routes.

• Trump vowed to deploy “overwhelming lethal force” to safeguard global shipping, reported AP.

• He also warned Iran against supporting the Houthis, stating that Tehran would be held “fully accountable” for the group’s actions, as per AP.

• The operation marks one of the most significant actions of Trump’s second term and signals a renewed push to counter Iranian influence in the region, following multiple failed attempts by previous administrations to curb Houthi aggression.

• The strikes are a direct response to escalating tensions in the region, particularly after Houthi forces fired a surface-to-air missile at a US Air Force F-16 jet and claimed responsibility for downing an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea.

Do You Know:

• The Houthis are Zaydi Shias. Zayadism is a sub-sect of Shia Islam which believes in following the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad’s family as the political leader of the state.

• They have been engaged in a civil war for more than a decade now, with the balance tilting in their favour in recent years. They control Yemen’s capital Sanaa. Iran, a Shia-majority country, is believed to back the Houthis, while its regional rival, the Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia (along with Western allies like the US) backs the Yemen government.

• In late 2023, the Houthis began attacking ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Apart from the existing geopolitical rivalries, Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip triggered their actions. Subsequently, the US and the UK struck Houthi bases as retaliation. Because of uncertainty in the region, several shipping companies have stopped their movement and are instead choosing the route around South Africa, resulting in a longer and more expensive journey.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍This Word Means: Houthi

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering Similar Theme:
5. What was the stated reason for the U.S. launching airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen?
a) Retaliation for attacks on Red Sea shipping
b) Response to Houthi advances in southern Yemen
c) Support for Saudi-led coalition forces
d) Protection of U.S. embassies in the region

ECONOMY

India, New Zealand to relaunch FTA talks after a gap of 10 years

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

What’s the ongoing story: India and New Zealand announced the relaunch of free trade agreement (FTA) talks after a 10-year break, following a meeting between New Zealand’s Trade Minister Todd McClay and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal here, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

Key Points to Ponder:

• India-New Zealand Bilateral Relations-know about the same

• India and New Zealand recently announced the relaunch of free trade agreement (FTA)-What are the key takeaways?

• Discuss the key challenges India faces in finalizing free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, particularly in the context of its agriculture and dairy sectors.

• How FTAs impact India’s economy, with special reference to the agriculture sector?

• What are the key differences between Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs)?

• How India’s approach to trade agreements has evolved in recent years?

Key Takeaways:

• The announcement of the talks comes as India has stated its aim to conclude trade negotiations with the US and the European Union this year. Trade talks with Australia for a comprehensive deal are also in progress along with renegotiation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade deal.

• Trade experts said a major challenge in negotiations with New Zealand has been the country’s demand for greater access to India’s dairy market, which India has traditionally protected to support millions of farmers. However, US pressure on India to open its agriculture and dairy sectors could influence the negotiations this time around, think tank Global Trade and Research Institute (GTRI) said.

• The trade talks were announced as the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, began his four-day visit to India on Sunday, during which he is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Do You Know:

• A major challenge in the renewed talks will be the disparity in tariff structures. New Zealand’s average import tariff is only 2.3 per cent, with over half of its tariff lines already duty-free, meaning Indian goods already have substantial access to its market. In contrast, India’s average tariff stands at 17.8 per cent, meaning it would have to make significant reductions, making a traditional FTA less attractive for India.

• India’s key goods exports to New Zealand include clothing, fabrics, and home textiles, valued at $72.8 million. Medicines and medical supplies followed closely at $67.5 million, while refined petroleum exports totalled $52.2 million. Other notable exports included automobiles and parts.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India and New Zealand sign defence cooperation pact, agree to step up maritime safety after Modi meets PM Christopher Luxon

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering Similar Theme:
📍Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is transforming itself into a trade bloc from a military alliance, in present times Discuss. (2020)

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

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

  

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