UPSC Problem at a Look | Financial system and Healthcare in 2024 to Legislation and International Affairs in 2025

What’s the subject?

As we enter the brand new yr 2025, it’s essential to mirror on the numerous transformations within the financial system and healthcare that outlined 2024. From numerous financial developments to healthcare achievements, the earlier yr laid the framework for main transitions. Trying ahead, 2025 guarantees a dynamic panorama in international affairs and authorized developments—right here’s what you’ll want to know to remain forward of the curve.

UPSC Syllabus: 

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination : Basic Research-II, III: Worldwide Relations, Structure of India — evolution and primary construction. Indian Financial system and points,  Points referring to Well being, Science and Expertise- developments and their purposes

Query 1: What had been the constructive and adverse points of the Indian financial system in 2024?

As we enter the brand new yr 2025, it is very important consider how the Indian financial system carried out in 2024. We should always think about each the constructive and adverse points of the financial system. Let’s start with the positives, as there are some clear upsides to the present financial scenario.

Positives

1. Progress in Companies: India’s providers surplus as a share of GDP hit a file excessive in October 2024.This progress has been attributed to the fragmentation of world providers worth chains, elevated cross-border telecom bandwidth, and the rise in distant work, all of which help India’s providers exports to developed markets.

2. Authorities Spending: Fiscal spending is predicted to rise because the election aftermath settles. The current discount within the money reserve ratio (CRR) has launched funds held by banks with the RBI. The capex cycle appears to have restarted in some sectors, boosting capital formation, says economist Neelkanth Mishra, including that this progress will probably be investment-led. Additionally, financial easing is predicted to help progress within the coming monetary yr. However the authorities will possible should proceed to do the heavy lifting.

3. Doable MSME restoration: Company progress is slowing, partly on account of sliding consumption progress, however there could possibly be an upside. Former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen mentioned Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which have been hit repeatedly by shocks equivalent to demonetisation, implementation of GST, and the Covid-19 lockdown, are maybe getting again in enterprise, and competing with the company sector.

Negatives

1. Widening Financial savings-Funding Hole: The decline within the family monetary financial savings charge poses a major problem. The Reserve Financial institution of India’s newest Monetary Stability Report signifies that web monetary financial savings of households dropped to five.3% of GDP in FY23, down from 7.3% in FY22. 

This determine is significantly under the 8% common seen over the earlier decade. Family web financial savings check with the whole sum of money and investments that households have, together with deposits, shares, and bonuses, minus any liabilities equivalent to loans and different money owed. Notably, a big a part of financial savings can also be coming into monetary markets bypassing the banking trade, which is one other fear.

2. Fiscal prudence: On the Centre, fiscal consolidation has been a constant theme. A projected decline in fiscal deficit from 6.4% to five.9% of GDP in FY24 will stabilise public debt at round 83% of GDP — a promising indicator of sustainability, given India’s progress outlook, in accordance with the IMF.

However aggressive loosening of purse strings by states poses a fiscal downside. The RBI has flagged issues over a pointy improve in expenditure by states on numerous subsidies, together with farm mortgage waivers and money transfers.

3. Rise in Non-Performing Property (NPAs): Whereas unhealthy loans have been coming down, there are new issues over a major rise in NPAs within the private mortgage and bank card segments. Each most of these credit score are unsecured and carry excessive rates of interest. 

4. Sluggish Investments: Many companies are experiencing a decline in efficiency, and investments are dealing with challenges. 

Query 2: What had been the numerous developments in healthcare in 2024?

Healthcare in 2024 skilled notable developments throughout numerous specializations. With the top of the Covid-19 pandemic, focus has shifted again to the rising burden of non-communicable illnesses (NCDs). Listed here are the some vital development in helthcare that befell in 2024: 

1. NexCAR19: This yr, India launched its first homegrown CAR-T cell remedy known as NexCAR19, developed as a collaboration between academia and trade. NexCAR19 is designed to deal with B-cell lymphomas and B-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in sufferers aged 15 and older. This can be a main growth — NexCAR19 is the world’s most inexpensive CAR-T remedy, which might make superior most cancers therapies extra accessible, and put Indian cell and gene remedy innovation on the worldwide stage.

2. Most cancers Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP): In England, the NHS Most cancers Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) has been launched, with a concentrate on personalised most cancers vaccines made utilizing mRNA know-how.  These vaccines are created by analysing a affected person’s tumour to search out distinctive mutations, serving to the immune system goal the most cancers extra successfully.

3. Ozempic & Wegovy: Extremely efficient weight-loss therapies have been launched lately, particularly in the USA and Europe. The event of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicine — which have a spread of useful results together with serving to decrease blood sugar ranges and selling weight reduction — have seen vital advances and increasing market potential, providing the promise of life-changing therapies for main well being situations.

Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, containing semaglutide, which was authorised by the US FDA in 2017 for remedy of sort 2 diabetes, quickly gained consideration for off-label use in weight reduction. In 2021, the Denmark-headquartered firm launched Wegovy, a semaglutide pen-injection, which grew to become the primary FDA-approved drug for long-term weight administration in nearly a decade.

4. Casgevy and Lyfgenia: In December 2023, the FDA authorised two groundbreaking therapies, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, the primary cell-based gene therapies to deal with sickle cell illness (SCD) in sufferers aged 12 and older. 

In 2024, Boston-based Verve Therapeutics, an organization that specialises in gene-editing medicines, introduced its experimental therapies VERVE-101 and VERVE-102, that are designed to decrease ldl cholesterol by concentrating on the PCSK9 gene within the liver.

Query 3: What do you have to look into the worldwide affairs in 2025?

The yr 2024 was undoubtedly vital when it comes to geopolitics. With two ongoing wars, regime adjustments in India’s neighborhood and West Asia, and the outstanding return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, the yr has been stuffed with essential adjustments. These developments are more likely to form international affairs in 2025, which appears to be each fascinating and complicated.

“From New Delhi, 2025 appears promising and difficult. India will host the Quad leaders’ summit and a doable India-EU summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may journey to China for the SCO summit, and President Vladimir Putin is predicted to go to India. A Modi-Trump assembly is probably going prior to later within the yr.”- Shubhajit Roy

On this context, listed below are some essential developments to observe in 2025.

Challenges in India’s neighbourhood

In 2024, essential international locations in India’s neighbourhood noticed regime change, which poses vital challenges for India on numerous fronts.

1. Bangladesh: Weeks of sustained road protests drove Sheikh Hasina from energy after 16 years, and compelled her to flee to India. The brand new institution underneath Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has requested New Delhi to ship her again, at the same time as his interim authorities itself faces warmth on the struggling financial system, and for failing to guard spiritual minorities in Bangladesh.

2. Nepal: Okay P Sharma Oli, whose pro-China stand has not been comforting to India, grew to become Prime Minister for the fourth time in July. His alliance with Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress, nonetheless, has had a chilled affect.

Donald Trump 2.0

The US Presidential Election, the most important election globally, has returned Donald Trump to the workplace he left in early 2021. Trump has come again after a break, extra assured and presumably wiser — and has introduced nominees for all key appointments lengthy earlier than inauguration day on January 20. His declared intentions of ending ongoing wars and imposing steep tariffs on commerce rivals of the US have piqued curiosity and nervousness in lots of international locations. We might want to wait and see how the selections of the US administration underneath Donald Trump form international politics.

Elections and New leaders in Europe

Contemporary elections are scheduled in Germany for 2025. In the meantime, France is grappling with political instability. The rise of far-right teams seems unlikely to be reversed, and it might solely be a matter of time earlier than these events come to energy in each international locations.

The escalating debate on immigration is creating issues for Indians and others searching for to review, reside, and work in Europe. This subject is predicted to come up throughout negotiations for a free commerce settlement between India and Europe. The UK, which has taken a robust stance on immigration underneath the Conservative authorities, can also be in talks for a commerce pact with India. It will likely be fascinating to see if the British negotiators deal with the important thing sticking factors. Moreover, an India-EU summit is being deliberate.

Bilateral Relations with Canada and USA

The assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, for which Canada has accused India, has severely broken diplomatic ties and complex points of India’s relationships with not solely with Canada however with the USA as properly. 

Moreover, the alleged plot concentrating on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun within the U.S. poses a reputational danger for India’s international picture, particularly amongst supporters of Indian democracy within the West who view India favorably compared to authoritarian China. This can be a query that India might want to deal with with a purpose to alleviate issues throughout Western capitals.

Query 4: What are the important thing points to observe in India’s high courtroom in 2025? 

In 2024, the Supreme Court docket of India made essential rulings and interventions in a number of vital circumstances. It declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, issued tips to forestall unlawful bulldozer demolitions and prohibited trial courts from listening to mandir-masjid circumstances. Moreover, the Court docket restricted the huge powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest people, and reversed the Gujarat authorities’s determination to grant remission to the convicts within the Bilkis Bano gang rape case. 

On this context, As we start the yr 2025, it’s important to know the essential points that can impression residents’ private lives, spiritual beliefs, and their relationships with the state and its legal guidelines. These are the issues that the Supreme Court docket will probably be addressing this yr.

1. Important Non secular Observe Check: In 2020, the Supreme Court docket determined to evaluate its 2018 ruling, which had decided the follow of excluding girls from the Sabarimala temple unconstitutional. The ruling was sought to be reviewed by a bigger bench, increasing the premise of the case to how spiritual practices are to be reviewed judicially. The main target of the pending enchantment is to rethink the so-called “important spiritual follow take a look at,” a contentious doctrine advanced by the courtroom to guard solely these spiritual practices which might be important to the faith.

Notably, this case can even have an effect on a long-standing problem by two Parsi girls who married exterior their group. They’ve sought permission to enter the Tower of Silence and different spiritual websites. Moreover, there’s a separate plea calling for Muslim girls to be allowed entry into mosques.

The problem argues that by excluding Muslims, the modification violates the precise to equal safety earlier than legislation, and the ideas of secularism. In October, the SC upheld the validity of the Assam Accord, and consequently, Parliament’s energy to specify a deadline for peculiar circumstances. Nevertheless, the SC additionally framed the concept of citizenship when it comes to fraternity and plurality, which will probably be key to the problem to the 2019 legislation.

3. Locations of Worship Act: Given {that a} bigger constitutional problem to the Locations of Worship Act that froze the spiritual character of all locations of worship besides the (then) disputed construction in Ayodhya as they stood on the daybreak of Independence is pending earlier than the courtroom, disputes over the title and spiritual character of sure mosques, allegedly constructed by razing Hindu temples, will proceed to play out in 2025.  The Locations of Worship Act has been challenged on two important grounds.

(i) First, that it takes away the ability of judicial evaluate by abating claims that existed on the time of passing the legislation and prohibiting contemporary claims in courts.

(ii) Second, it’s arbitrary in retrospectively selecting August 15, 1947 because the deadline for figuring out the spiritual character of a spot of worship.

The opposite aspect has argued that the legislation fortifies the ideas of secularism and non-retrogression, that are held to be a part of the primary construction of the Structure.

4. Overview of ED’s powers: Whereas granting bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal within the cash laundering case within the alleged excise coverage rip-off, the SC raised questions on the Enforcement Directorate’s huge powers to arrest. It referred a key subject — on when an arrest is legally necessitated — to a bigger Bench. In a collection of separate rulings because the 2022 verdict, the SC has additionally mandated key procedural safeguards in ED circumstances — the grounds of arrest have to be knowledgeable in writing, and the stringent “twin-conditions” for bail can now be “relaxed” if the accused has undergone an extended interval of incarceration.

Past the above talked about circumstances, New legal legal guidelines are more likely to be topic to judicial evaluate. Notably, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, have changed the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Prison Process Code of 1973, and the Indian Proof Act of 1872. 

Whereas these new legal guidelines introduce a number of progressive components, sure points have sparked controversy. For instance, permitting law enforcement officials as much as 14 days for a preliminary investigation earlier than registering a First Info Report (FIR), the whole removing of Part 377 of the IPC (which beforehand provided safety to males and LGBTQIA+ people from non-consensual sexual activity), and lengthening detention durations as much as 90 days have been challenged earlier than the Supreme Court docket. As the numerous job of adapting to the brand new legal guidelines continues, extra points are more likely to come up.

Publish Learn Questions 

Prelims

(1) How lots of the following states share the borders with the Bangladesh?

1. Assam

2. West Bengal

3. Tripura

4. Mizoram

Choose the right reply utilizing the codes given under:

(a) One solely

(b) Two solely

(c) Three solely

(d) All 4

(2) Take into account the next statements about CAR-T cell remedy:

1. It modifies immune cells by turning them into potent most cancers fighters.

2. It makes remedy simpler with a one-time remedy.

3. NexCar19 is a kind of CAR-T remedy developed indigenously in India.

How lots of the statements given above are appropriate?

(a) Just one

(b) Solely two

(c) All three

(d) None

(3) ‘Train SAMPRITI’ is a navy train between India and which of the next nations?

(a) Bangladesh

(b) Sri Lanka

(c) Nepal

(d) Thailand

Mains

(1) What are the rising challenges to the Indian financial system?  What initiatives have been taken by the federal government to advertise increased personal sector funding?

(2) Focus on the importance of India’s relationship with Bangladesh within the context of regional cooperation and growth. Spotlight the current developments between the 2 international locations.

(3) What’s CAR-T cell remedy? Focus on how efficient and completely different is that this from different most cancers therapies.

(4) Critically study the compulsions which prompted India to play a decisive function within the emergence of Bangladesh. (UPSC CSE 2013)

(Sources: Taking a look at 2025, Legislation: Key questions of faith, society written by Apurva Vishwanath , Taking a look at 2025, Diplomacy: Challenges of a fancy world, Taking a look at 2025, The Financial system: Some positives, some issues, Taking a look at 2025, Well being: Breakthroughs of hope and promise)

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