India-EU commerce deal, Avalanche, and textile Sector

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Basic Research-III: Bilateral, regional and world groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s pursuits.

What’s the continued story: At a time when each India and the European Union brace to face reciprocal tariffs from the US and the trans-Atlantic relationship is strained like by no means earlier than, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of the European Fee Ursula von der Leyen tasked their negotiators to conclude the India-EU Free Commerce Settlement by finish of 2025.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s the India-EU Commerce and Know-how Council (TTC)?

— Which international locations kind a part of the European Union?

— What’s the function and performance of the European Fee?

— What’s the significance of the India-Europe partnership?

— What are the challenges for India in finalising an FTA with the EU?

Key Takeaways:

— Calling the engagement “historic and unparalleled…pure  and natural”, Modi stated that it was constructed on shared values geared toward “shaping a greater future for our planet”.

— Negotiations for FTA started in 2007, and stalled some years in the past, and had been relaunched in 2021.

— That is the primary time that there’s a deadline to conclude the FTA, just like a deadline set for the Indo-US commerce deal to be concluded by Fall this yr — that was agreed throughout Modi’s assembly with Trump within the White Home early this month.

— Modi and von der Leyen talked about connectivity between the 2 areas with the Prime Minister referring to “concrete steps” that will likely be taken to take ahead the India-Center East-Europe Financial Hall or IMEEC.

— That is the primary ever go to of the EU Faculty of Commissioners collectively to India and the primary go to exterior of Europe by the brand new Faculty that took workplace in December 2024.

Do You Know:

— In line with the EU, The European Union is a gaggle of 27 international locations in Europe. These international locations got here collectively to make issues higher, simpler and safer for individuals. They agreed to work collectively and assist one another.

— India established diplomatic relations with the European Financial Neighborhood — the primary pillar of the longer term European Union — again in 1962. The Joint Political Assertion signed in 1993 and the Cooperation Settlement of 1994 paved the best way for the strengthening of ties between India and Europe.

— The multi-tier institutional structure of cooperation has been presided over by the India-EU Summits, 15 of which have been held to this point. The primary Summit was held in Lisbon in June 2000, and the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership on the fifth Summit in The Hague in 2004.

— The TTC — a brand new frontier just like the Initiative for Crucial and Rising Applied sciences with the US or the Know-how Safety Initiative with the UK — represents three vital pillars of India-EU cooperation: Digital and Strategic Applied sciences; Clear and Inexperienced Applied sciences; and Commerce, Investments and Resilient Provide Chains.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍With European Commissioners delegation in New Delhi, significance of India-Europe partnership

📍India-EU commerce deal can be largest of its sort

UPSC Prelims Query Protecting related theme:

(1) ‘European Stability Mechanism’, typically seen within the information, is an (2016)

(a) company created by EU to cope with the impression of thousands and thousands of refugees arriving from Center East

(b) company of EU that gives monetary help to eurozone international locations

(c) company of EU to cope with all of the bilateral and multilateral agreements on commerce

(d) company of EU to cope with the conflicts arising among the many member international locations

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

The growth and strengthening of NATO and a stronger US-Europe strategic partnership works nicely for India. What’s your opinion about this assertion? Give causes and examples to help your reply. (2023)

Uttarakhand avalanche: 33 rescued, seek for 22

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography – Bodily, Social, Financial geography of India and the
World.

Mains Examination: Basic Research-I: Vital Geophysical phenomena reminiscent of earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic exercise, cyclones. and so on., geographical options and their location-changes in crucial geographical options (together with water-bodies and ice-caps) and in wildlife and the consequences of such adjustments.

What’s the continued story: An avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) challenge web site close to Mana — India’s “first” village — in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, trapping a number of employees and prompting a rescue operation that concerned a number of companies.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s an avalanche?

— What’s the function of the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority (NDMA)?

— What are the important thing highlights of the Catastrophe Administration (Modification) Invoice, 2024?

— What’s the Coalition for Catastrophe Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)?

— What’s the distinction between an avalanche and a landslide?

— What are India’s efforts in managing catastrophe?

Key Takeaways:

— The incident passed off between Mana village and Mana Cross, close to the Indo-Tibetan border. An officer of the BRO stated the workers had been employed by a contractor for the development of a street close to Mana village.

— Mana, a vacationer attraction that was earlier referred to as the “final village of India” and is now known as the “first Indian village” earlier than the China border, is among the few villages within the district the place individuals migrate to decrease altitudes between November to April yearly to keep away from excessive winter circumstances when temperature drops to minus 17 levels Celsius and extra.

Indian military personnel throughout a rescue effort following an avalanche that struck a camp close to Mana village in Chamol district of Uttarakhand, Friday. Credit score: x/@suryacommand

— On the time of the avalanche on Friday, the village was abandoned as all of the villagers had been in Gopeshwar, the district headquarters, practically 100 km from Mana.

— Situated on the top of 10,500 toes (from the ocean stage), Mana village has over 1,200 residents and 824 of them are enrolled as voters. A number of the villagers additionally run homestays. The closest hospital is 3 km away in Badrinath.

Do You Know:

— In line with UNDRR, an avalanche is a fast circulation of snow down a hill or mountainside. Though avalanches can happen on any slope given the fitting circumstances, sure occasions of the yr and sure places are extra harmful than others.

— In line with CDRI web site, “In India, over 58% of the land is susceptible to earthquakes, 12% to floods, 15% to landslides, and greater than 10% to forest fires. Of India’s 7,516 km shoreline, practically 5,700 km is in danger from cyclones and tsunamis.

— The Coalition for Catastrophe Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a world organisation arrange on India’s initiative in 2019. It’s a partnership of nationwide governments, UN companies and programmes, multilateral growth banks and financing mechanisms, the personal sector, and information establishments that goals to advertise the resilience of recent and current infrastructure programs to local weather and catastrophe dangers in help of sustainable growth.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Annual migration saves tons of of residents as avalanche hits Chamoli village

📍Data Nugget: Why is Coalition for Catastrophe Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) necessary for UPSC examination?

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

📍 Vulnerability is a necessary component for outlining catastrophe impacts and its menace to individuals. How and in what methods can vulnerability to disasters be characterised? Focus on several types of vulnerability as regards to disasters. (2019)

📍 Catastrophe preparedness is step one in any catastrophe administration course of. Clarify how hazard zonation mapping will assist catastrophe mitigation within the case of landslides. (2019)

 

EXPRESS NETWORK

Want to concentrate on girls’s difficulties: SC revokes dismissal of MP judicial officers

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Basic Research-II: Construction, organisation and functioning of the Govt and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Authorities; strain teams and formal/casual associations and their function within the Polity.

What’s the continued story: Underlining that will probably be futile to take consolation within the rising variety of girls judicial officers until a delicate work surroundings and steerage might be secured for them, the Supreme Courtroom Friday put aside the termination of two girls judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh saying the motion in opposition to them was “punitive, arbitrary and subsequently unlawful”.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s the standing of girls’s illustration within the judiciary?

— What are the problems associated to gender equality within the judiciary?

— What are the broader challenges of the judiciary in India?

— What’s the technique of recruitment of civil judges in India?

— What are the arguments in favour and in opposition to the All-India Judiciary Companies?

Key Takeaways:

— A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Ok Singh directed that they be reinstated in service inside 15 days from Friday in accordance with their seniority that they possessed as on the date of termination and that their probation be declared as on the date their juniors had been confirmed.

— The judgment was delivered within the suo motu case regarding the dismissal of six girls civil judicial officers (Civil Judges, Junior Division) in Madhya Pradesh) on Could 23, 2023. The state authorities had terminated their service on the suggestions of the executive committee of the MP Excessive Courtroom.

— Writing for the bench, Justice Nagarthna additionally touched upon the topic of girls in judiciary.  The court docket stated that, “a larger illustration of girls within the judiciary, would vastly enhance the general high quality of judicial choice making and this impacts usually and in addition particularly in circumstances affecting girls.”

Do You Know:

— The newest India Justice Report (IJR) factors out that the gender hole stays vast in every of the subsystems that make up the justice supply system — police, judiciary, prisons, authorized assist, and human rights commissions. Girls represent about 13-14% of judges in Excessive Courts throughout India.

— Till now, there was no girl Chief Justice of India. The primary girl decide on the Supreme Courtroom bench was Justice Fathima Beevi in 1989. Within the excessive courts too, in over seven a long time there have been solely 16 girls chief justices. So main by instance just isn’t on the playing cards.

— Talking of the subordinate judiciary, a 2018 research by the Vidhi Centre for Authorized Coverage discovered that whereas illustration of girls within the decrease judiciary is comparatively greater at 27%, it hit a glass ceiling in greater appointments — as district judges and subsequently on the excessive court docket stage.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Justice system tormented by low budgets: India Justice Report 2022

📍Does the Indian judiciary have a ‘patriarchy downside’?

📍Can a justice system with out girls convey justice to girls?

Prelims Query Protecting related theme:

(2) Which of the next constitutional articles present for the institution of All-India Judiciary Companies?

(a) Article 179

(b) Article 209

(c) Article 312

(d) Article 324

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

Focus on the desirability of larger illustration to girls within the greater judiciary to make sure variety, fairness and inclusiveness. (2021)

 

EXPLAINED

Adjustments to Waqf Invoice proposed by JPC, now cleared by Cupboard

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Basic Research-II: Authorities insurance policies and interventions for growth in varied sectors and points arising out of their design and implementation

What’s the continued story: The Union Cupboard on Thursday cleared all 14 amendments to the Waqf (Modification) Invoice, 2024 proposed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) final month. It’s more likely to be tabled within the  Parliament within the second half of the Price range session, which begins on March 10.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s Waqf?

— Why has the federal government launched the Waqf Invoice?

— How does the Structure shield the Proper to Faith?

— What’s the composition and performance of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)?

— How is the liberty of faith protected by the Structure?

— What are the arguments in favour and in opposition to the Waqf Invoice?

Key Takeaways:

— The Invoice was launched in August final yr to amend the Waqf Act of 1995 which governs the administration of waqf properties in India. It proposed sweeping adjustments which give the federal government a foot within the door in regulating waqf properties, and settling disputes relating to such properties.

— The amended Invoice offers the Waqf Tribunal the ability to increase the timeline in choose circumstances. Nonetheless, provided that the circumstances which might be thought of “adequate”, and the interval of extension should not specified, the Tribunal must train its discretion.

— The 2024 Invoice gave the District Collector the powers that had been beforehand with the Waqf Tribunal.

— The Invoice additionally added that till the federal government comes to a decision, the disputed property will likely be handled as a Authorities property and never waqf property.

Do You Know:

— A Waqf is private property given by Muslims for a selected function — spiritual, charitable, or for personal functions. Whereas the beneficiaries of the property might be completely different, the possession of the property is implied to be with God.

— Waqf properties in India are ruled by the Waqf Act, 1995. Nonetheless, India has had a authorized regime for the governance of Waqfs since 1913, when the Muslim Waqf Validating Act got here into power…

— A Waqf property is managed by a mutawalli (caretaker), who acts as a superviser. Waqf properties are managed in a means that’s just like how properties underneath Trusts are managed underneath the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.

— The Waqf Act states that any dispute associated to Waqf properties will likely be determined by a Waqf Tribunal…

— A Waqf Board is a physique underneath the state authorities, which works as a custodian for Waqf properties throughout the state. In most states, there are separate Waqf Boards for the Shia and Sunni communities.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Defined: The proposed adjustments to Waqf legislation

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

How the Indian idea of secularism is completely different from the western mannequin of secularism? Focus on. (2016)

Legacy of Khusrau, musical flagbearer of Sufism’s pluralistic custom

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Historical past of India and Indian Nationwide Motion

Mains Examination: Basic Research-I: Indian tradition will cowl the salient elements of Artwork Varieties, literature and Structure from historic to trendy occasions

What’s the continued story: In his handle to the twenty fifth version of Jahan-e-Khusrau at New Delhi’s Sunder Nursery on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the annual music competition that commemorates the Sufi poet-musician Amir Khusrau as imbued with the “perfume of the soil of Hindustan”.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— Who was Amir Khusrau?

— What’s Sufism?

— What are the foremost sufi orders in India?

— What are the contributions of Amir Khusrau to the language, literature, and music of India?

— What’s the distinction between the Chisti Order and the Suhrawardi Order?

Key Takeaways:

— Bestowed with the sobriquet of Tuti-yi-Hind, the ‘Parrot of India’, the thirteenth century mystic is seen as a father determine for North India’s syncretic Ganga-Jamuni tradition.

— Khusrau made lasting contributions to Indian classical music, Sufi qawwali, and Persian literature, and can be credited for growing Hindavi, a precursor to trendy Hindi and Urdu.

— Khusrau’s father probably got here to India from Central Asia within the early thirteenth century, because the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan ravaged Islamic Transoxiana (equivalent to components of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan).

— He entered the service of Sultan Iltutmish (1211-36), and married the daughter of an Indian Muslim. The couple’s second little one, Abu’l Hasan Yamin ud-Din Khusrau, was born in 1253.

— Khusrau turned an expert poet at age 20, and served as one till his demise. He began out within the service of princes and nobles, earlier than changing into a everlasting fixture within the court docket of the Delhi Sultan. Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji bestowed upon Khusrau the title of ‘Amir’.

— Amir Khusrau served at the least 5 Sultans — Muiz ud din Qaiqabad, Jalaluddin Khalji, Alauddin Khalji, Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah, and Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq — and plenty of different highly effective patrons over 5 a long time, which testifies to the standard of his poetry. He wrote in Persian, the language of the court docket, in addition to Hindavi.

— Khusrau was essentially the most beloved disciple of the Chishti Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, who as soon as wished that his favorite pupil can be buried with him.

— Khusrau’s ghazals and qawwalis are right this moment sung in each sacred and secular contexts, at sufi dargahs and Bollywood musicals. His hottest compositions embody Chhaap Tilak, Zehal-e-Maskeen, and Sakal Ban Phool Rahi Sarson.

— Nonetheless, his musical contributions probably go farther than this. Khusrau is alleged to be instrumental within the growth of recent Indian classical music — he’s credited with crafting dozens of ragas, creating ornate khayal music, and inventing the sitar and tabla, despite the fact that proof for that is restricted.

Do You Know:

— Moinuddin was born in 1141 CE in Sistan, a province in Persia (Iran) which borders present-day Afghanistan. He’s stated to have been a descendent of Prophet Muhmmad.

— Sufism emerged between the seventh and tenth centuries CE as a counterweight to the growing worldliness of the increasing Muslim group. Sufis embraced a extra ascetic and devotional type of Islam, and sometimes engaged in a wide range of mystical practices. Ultimately, Sufi practitioners got here to be organised in varied orders which congregated across the teachings of a sure instructor or wali.

— The Chishti order was based within the tenth century by Abu Ishaq Shami within the city of Chisht close to Herat. Nevertheless it was Moinuddin and his disciples who led to its unfold within the subcontinent.

— Amongst his most outstanding disciples was Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (1173-1235), who established the Chishti order base in Delhi. Kaki turned a central determine within the area’s non secular life because the non secular guru of Iltutmish, the third Sultan of Delhi. The Qutub Minar is alleged to be named after Kaki, whose shrine lies in Mehrauli, subsequent to the long-lasting construction.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍In ‘In Search of the Divine: Dwelling Histories of Sufism in India’, Rana Safvi maps a millennium of shared spirituality

📍Who was Moinuddin Chishti, crucial determine within the unfold of Sufism in India?

Prelims Query Protecting related theme:

(3) Who bestowed the title of ‘Amir’ to Khusrau?

(a) Jalaluddin Khalji

(b) Alauddin Khalji

(c) Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah

(d) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

 

EDITORIAL

Trump is constructing a brand new American empire

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Basic Research-II: Impact of insurance policies and politics of developed and growing international locations on India’s pursuits, Indian diaspora.

What’s the continued story: Faisal Devji writes: Within the newest episode of the Ukraine warfare, the USA voted to dam a Europe-backed UN decision calling for de-escalation and a peaceable decision of the battle for which it held Russia accountable. In consequence, the US discovered itself aligned with Russia, Belarus, Iran, and North Korea, together with Israel, Hungary, and a smattering of poor and dependent states in Africa and the Pacific.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s globalisation?

— How is Trump 2.0 redefining the worldwide political order?

— Examine: Capitalism, Liberalism, and Neo-liberalism

— How did the tip of the Chilly Struggle form the worldwide order?

— What’s the peace deal proposed by Trump?

Key Takeaways:

— Whereas a lot is being fabricated from America’s unprecedented abandonment of its European allies, the latter had themselves very not too long ago sided in opposition to the remainder of the world in refusing to sentence Israel’s warfare in Gaza.

— Having stood by the US in supporting the warfare in Gaza and Lebanon, in opposition to world opinion and the choices of each UN company and court docket, Europe now finds itself having to defend a world order it has achieved all the things to decrease.

— It is just now dawning on European politicians that essentially the most critical menace the West faces as a geo-political actor is neither Russia’s military nor China’s financial system.

— Precipitated by the tip of the Chilly Struggle, this shift additionally had vital home penalties for each People and Europeans. Their states not required the form of well-liked help that was so essential in dealing with the Soviet menace.

— Globalisation resulted in a situation the place it turned inconceivable to separate home from worldwide issues. Terrorism and migration got here to signify this blurring of spheres in well-liked understanding, whereas politicians more and more sacrificed home wants for worldwide concerns in free commerce offers in addition to wars and navy interventions around the globe.

— The insurance policies inaugurated by the Trump administration may have monumental penalties however are unlikely to reach their objectives.

— Globalisation has additionally led to the emergence of recent financial and navy powers on the planet exterior the West, and these can’t be dragooned into serving as America’s allies as Europe as soon as had.

Do You Know:

— There’s a distinctly lengthy and identifiable custom of political thought that has been characterised as Western or European. Its origins are traced to the Greek philosophers, particularly Plato and Aristotle, whose theorisation occurred within the context of the Greek city-state or polis, from which the phrase politics itself is derived.

— The custom of political idea was carried ahead by the extended and highly effective Roman Empire. Many grand figures of the Roman Empire – statesmen reminiscent of Cicero and Seneca and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius – belonged to the philosophical system referred to as Stoicism. They balanced intense political engagement with a extra indifferent philosophical reflection on the frenzied nature of political life.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Rise and fall of state in Western political thought

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

Establish the foremost adjustments within the Worldwide Political financial system in post-Chilly Struggle interval. (PSIR, 2013)

India might be the world chief in textiles. Right here’s how

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Basic Research-II: Indian Economic system and points regarding planning, mobilisation, of sources, progress, growth and employment

What’s the continued story: Kulin Lalbhai writes: One aim that India should prioritise if it has to develop into Viksit Bharat by 2047 is job creation. The textiles and attire business is India’s second-largest employer after agriculture, offering direct employment to 45 million individuals. The sector is anticipated to motor on at an annual progress charge of 10 per cent and develop into a USD 250 billion market by 2030, with the potential so as to add thousands and thousands of extra jobs.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s the share of the textile sector within the financial system?

— What’s the contribution of the textile sector to employment?

— What are the challenges dealing with the textile sector?

— Spotlight the important thing initiatives taken by the federal government.

Key Takeaways:

— If our exports develop from the present USD 45 billion to the focused USD 100 billion, and if the financial system grows at 6-7 per cent a yr, textiles can add as much as a million jobs yearly from now to 2030 — 10 per cent of what the nation wants.

— That is all excellent. However we now have a possibility to be nice. China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, the world’s three main textile exporters, are present process shifts for causes starting from geopolitics to inner turmoil. International markets are more and more trying in the direction of India.

— Authorities has permitted varied schemes with outlays of a number of thousand crores that incentivise the sector — such because the Pradhan Mantri Mega Built-in Textile Area and Attire (PM MITRA) Parks, the Manufacturing Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme and the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) Scheme.

— The USD 100 billion Indian textile market presents an enormous home alternative. A burgeoning center class is driving demand and this development is additional amplified by Gen Z.

— India suffers a 15-20 per cent value drawback in comparison with competing international locations like Bangladesh and Vietnam. An enormous element of that is decrease effectivity within the labour-intensive garment manufacturing course of.

— Usually in India, if the roles are in a single hub, the employees are elsewhere. Even Tiruppur, the attire mega-hub in Tamil Nadu, has a labour scarcity as a result of industries there are rising quick and employees give up usually. Then again, in locations like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, the place jobs have to be created, there’s barely any business. India must create jobs the place they’re required.

— The speed of attrition in our textile business is as excessive as 10 per cent. Employees usually should spend an enormous a part of their wage in transport and lodging and are liable to go away their current employer even for a small wage hike.

— Creating residing quarters for employees close to factories, as is finished in international locations like China, may cut back absenteeism, enhance workers retention, and result in greater productiveness.

— A defining characteristic of the garment business is that ladies signify 90 per cent of its blue-collar workforce. Secure jobs in secure environments empower girls.

— Automation is commonly related to effectivity and diminished manpower. Nonetheless, know-how and human expertise will proceed to coexist. When effectivity goes up, the business will develop, creating extra jobs.

Do You Know:

— India’s textile business is among the many largest on the planet, spanning an enormous worth chain from cotton cultivation to high-end attire manufacturing.

— The scale of India’s textile and attire business can’t be understated—it contributes 13% to industrial manufacturing, 12% to exports, and roughly 2% to GDP.

— After China, India is the second largest producer of cotton, accounting for twenty-four% of world manufacturing. Cotton cultivation engages round 60 lakh farmers, largely throughout Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana.

— The complete cotton textile worth chain—from processing uncooked fibre and spinning yarn to weaving cloth, dyeing, and stitching—employs over 4.5 crore individuals.

— Whereas fibre consumption in India tilts closely in the direction of cotton, the textile business additionally consumes different pure fibres like wool and jute. India can be the world’s second largest producer of synthetic fibres (MMF), with Reliance Industries Ltd main in polyester fibre and Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries Ltd as the one home producer of viscose fibre.

— Regardless of being a world chief in manufacturing, MMF consumption in India is simply 3.1 kg per capita, in comparison with 12 kg in China and 22.5 kg in North America, based on a Ministry of Textiles observe.

— Roughly 80% of India’s textile worth chain is concentrated in MSME clusters, every with its personal specialisation. As an illustration, Bhiwandi in Maharashtra is a key hub for cloth manufacturing, Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu leads in t-shirts and undergarments, Surat in Gujarat specialises in polyester and nylon cloth, and Ludhiana in Punjab is thought for woolen clothes.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Chief in fibre manufacturing, however progress, exports lagging: What ails India’s textile business

UPSC Prelims Query Protecting related theme:

(4) Take into account the next statements: (2020)

1. The worth of Indo-Sri Lanka commerce has constantly elevated within the final decade.

2. Textile and textile articles” represent an necessary merchandise of commerce between India and Bangladesh.

3. Within the final 5 years, Nepal has been the biggest buying and selling accomplice of India in South Asia.

Which of the statements given above is/are appropriate?

(a) 1 and a couple of solely

(b) 2 solely

(c) 3 solely

(d) 1, 2 and three

UPSC Mains Query Protecting related theme:

Analyse the components for extremely decentralised cotton textile business in India. (2013)

 

THE IDEAS PAGE

Wanted: The massive leap

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

Major Examination: Basic Research III: Science and Know-how- developments and their functions and results in on a regular basis life.

Basic Research III: Consciousness within the fields of IT, Area, Computer systems, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and points regarding mental property rights.

What’s the continued story: B V R Subrahmanyam and  Debjani Ghosh write: The previous six weeks have shattered standard knowledge about AI dominance. A brand new period of innovation, disruption, and geopolitical manoeuvring has arrived. Those that fail to adapt danger being left behind.

Key Factors to Ponder:

— What’s deepseek?

— What are the constructive classes that India can be taught from the Chinese language AI mannequin?

— How does AI growth affect world geopolitics?

— Focus on India’s function within the AI race and its potential for worldwide collaborations.

— Significance of holding the Paris AI Summit

— What are the initiatives taken by India to advertise the AI mannequin?

— What are the challenges of India’s AI Mission?

Key Takeaways:

— January introduced a stark wake-up name with the emergence of DeepSeek. The Chinese language start-up unveiled its AI mannequin, DeepSeek-R1, which matched the capabilities of main fashions like OpenAI’s GPT-4 whereas additionally being open supply and free.

— In the meantime, the AI Motion Summit in Paris, the place leaders from practically 100 nations convened to form AI’s future, despatched a powerful message: Development should take priority over extreme regulation. A defining second got here when France unveiled a €109 billion AI funding plan, underscoring the urgency of considerable investments to take care of world competitiveness.

— India’s advocacy for a human-centric AI strategy, passionately championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, additionally gained traction.

— DeepSeek’s success serves as each a wake-up name for established gamers and an inspiration for rising challengers.

— China’s pivot from NVIDIA’s proprietary CUDA to PTX isn’t only a workaround — it’s a strategic masterstroke. By breaking free from a locked ecosystem, they’re guaranteeing their AI developments stay resilient, adaptable, and unshackled from exterior constraints.

— The AI race has reached a breaking level. Nations are not simply competing on innovation — are battling for management. Those that lead will form the longer term, whereas those that lag will discover themselves dependent, susceptible, and left behind within the new AI order.

Do You Know:

— India stands at a decisive juncture. Our aspiration to develop into a developed nation by 2047 —Viksit Bharat — just isn’t merely an formidable aim however a defining mission that requires a elementary transformation of our financial system and society.

— For India, the period of incremental progress is over. If we’re to attain Viksit Bharat by 2047, we can not afford to be mere individuals within the AI revolution — we should lead its disruption.

— Our success will rely on three non-negotiable imperatives. One, world-class expertise to drive AI excellence and world competitiveness. Two, cutting-edge R&D and innovation to make sure India is not only a shopper of AI however a creator of breakthrough applied sciences. Three, an uncompromising dedication to human-centric AI, guaranteeing that innovation serves society and strengthens our world standing.

— This have to be the hallmark of India’s AI management — one that’s daring, visionary, and unapologetically formidable. As PM Modi aptly reminded the world on the AI Motion Summit, as AI writes the code for humanity, we, people, should maintain the important thing to shaping its future responsibly.

Different Vital Articles Protecting the identical matter:

📍Data Nugget: Paris AI Summit and India’s AI diplomacy—a must-know for UPSC examination

Prelims Query Protecting related theme:

(5) With the current state of growth, Synthetic Intelligence can successfully do which of the next?

1. Create significant brief tales and songs

2. Illness prognosis

3. Textual content-to-Speech Conversion

Choose the proper reply utilizing the code given beneath:

(a) 1 and a couple of solely

(b) 1 and three solely

(c) 2 and 3only

(d) 1, 2, and three

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

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

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