UPSC Key: sixth April, 2025

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

Mains Examination: Common Research II: India and its neighborhood- relations.

What’s the continued story: As Colombo and Delhi signed pacts on defence cooperation, energy, well being, digital know-how and a particular help bundle for the island nation’s japanese provinces, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who held bilateral talks Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stated the Sri Lankan authorities is not going to allow its territory for use in any method inimical to the safety of India and regional stability.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Know concerning the significance of the Neighbourhood First coverage and Imaginative and prescient MAHASAGAR in India’s international coverage

• How India-Sri Lanka relationship advanced?

• What’s the strategic significance of Sri Lanka for India?

• Is Sri Lanka memeber of BIMSTEC and SAARC?

• What are the areas of battle and cooperation between the 2 nations?

• What’s the Katchatheevu island battle? What’s the situation of the thirteenth Modification to the Sri Lankan Structure?

• Who was Thiruvalluvar? How does his philosophy proceed to encourage even right this moment?

Key Takeaways:

• Dissanayake honoured Modi, who headed to Colombo from Bangkok after the BIMSTEC Summit, with the Mitra Vibhushana, Sri Lanka’s highest civilian award to a international head of state.

• Concerning the ethnic Tamil minorities, Modi stated, “We hope that the Sri Lankan authorities will meet the aspirations of the Tamil folks and fulfil its dedication in the direction of totally implementing the Structure of Sri Lanka, and conducting provincial council elections.”

• And quoting Thiruvalluvar, Modi stated “within the face of challenges and enemies, there isn’t any stronger assurance than a real pal and the defend of his friendship”.

• The Sri Lankan President stated he conveyed to Modi that India’s help to the island nation in instances of want and persevering with solidarity are deeply cherished.

• India additionally firmed up debt restructuring agreements as a part of financial help for Colombo and determined to cut back rates of interest on loans.

• For the social and financial growth of the japanese provinces of Sri Lanka, a assist bundle of roughly 2.4 billion Lankan rupees will likely be supplied, he stated.

• The 2 leaders nearly inaugurated the development of the Sampur solar energy undertaking. Additionally they inaugurated the just lately accomplished temperature-controlled warehousing facility at Dambulla, probably the primary facility of its sort on the island.

• An vital settlement that the 2 sides inked was on creating Trincomalee as an power hub.

• Modi stated Sri Lanka has a “particular place” in India’s Neighbourhood First coverage and Imaginative and prescient MAHASAGAR.

Do You Know:

• The thirteenth Modification to Sri Lanka’s structure was made after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J R Jayewardene, on July 29, 1987, in Colombo. It offers with the devolution of land and police powers to the provinces in Sri Lanka. India has been urgent Sri Lanka to totally implement the thirteenth Modification as the reply to the Tamil demand for political autonomy for the Northern and Jap areas.

• Other than the devolution of energy, the Accord had different clauses, corresponding to Tamil and English being adopted as official languages together with Sinhala. It supplied for a system of elected provincial councils throughout Sri Lanka. Thus, it was not simply the Northern-Jap province that may get a provincial council however provinces in the remainder of Sri Lanka too. The Accord additionally says that “The Authorities of India will underwrite and assure the resolutions, and co-operate within the implementation of those proposals”.

• India’s Neighbourhood First Coverage guides India’s relations with nations in its rapid neighbourhood. It focuses on creating mutually helpful, people-oriented, regional frameworks for stability and prosperity by the constructing of bodily, digital and people-to-people connectivity.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

India-Sri Lanka ties — Why Katchatheevu Island is vital for UPSC

Data Nugget: What ought to you recognize about BIMSTEC and SAARC for UPSC?

Received’t permit our territory for use in opposition to India: Sri Lankan President to Jaishankar

Earlier yr UPSC Prelims Query Masking comparable theme:

(1) Elephant Cross, generally seen within the information, is talked about within the context of the affairs of which one of many following? (UPSC CSE 2009)

(a) Bangladesh

(b) India

(c) Nepal

(d) Sri Lanka

Earlier yr UPSC Mains Query Masking comparable theme:

In respect of India-Sri Lanka relations, talk about how home elements affect international coverage. (UPSC CSE 2013)

‘India is an age-old pal of Sri Lanka.’ Focus on India’s position within the current disaster in Sri Lanka within the gentle of the previous assertion. (UPSC CSE 2022)

EXPRESS NETWORK

Navy ensures no nation in IOR can suppress one other: Rajnath Singh

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

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

What’s the continued story: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday stated the Indian Navy ensures that no nation can use its “overwhelming economic system and army energy” to suppress one other nation within the Indian Ocean Area (IOR).

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Lear about SAGAR to MAHASAGAR

• Significance of the Indian Ocean Area (IOR) for India

• How has IOR emerged as a strategically vital area in current instances?

• What’s Venture Seabird?

• Find out about India’s evolving maritime doctrine 

• What are the initiatives taken by India to make sure peace and stability within the area?

• India’s presence in IOR is said to safety and nationwide pursuits. Consider.

• What’s India’s technique to counter China’s string of pearls?

Key Takeaways:

• Singh was talking on the flag-off ceremony of Indian Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel Sunayna, which has been designated as Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR (Safety and Development for All within the Area) in Karwar, for a month-long deployment within the IOR.

• Singh stated the IOR is important not simply from a safety perspective, but in addition for commerce, economic system, tourism and tradition.

• On India’s presence within the IOR, he stated it’s not simply associated to India’s safety and nationwide pursuits, however it additionally factors in the direction of equality of rights and duties of our pleasant nations within the area.

• Singh stated the launch of IOS SAGAR is a mirrored image of India’s dedication to peace, prosperity, and collective safety within the maritime area.

• Praising the Navy for rising as “the primary responder” throughout incidents of hijacking of ships and pirates’ assaults in Indian Ocean, Singh stated the Navy ensures the safety of not simply Indian ships, but in addition international ones.

• Singh inaugurated trendy operational, restore and logistic amenities constructed underneath Venture Seabird value over `2,000 crore. He additionally reviewed the maritime safety state of affairs, operational readiness of the Navy, and the longer term outlook throughout inaugural section of the primary Naval Commanders’ Convention of 2025 in Karwar.

Do You Know:

• India’s rising strategic posture within the Indian Ocean Area (IOR) has turn into central to its international coverage, notably in gentle of rising geopolitical rivalries and maritime safety issues.

• The doctrine of MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Development for Safety and Development Throughout Areas) builds on SAGAR and signifies a broadened scope of India’s maritime engagement. This perceptibly contains not solely the rapid neighbourhood but in addition extends to the broader Indo-Pacific area and connects with India’s strategic collaboration with QUAD members—the US, Japan, and Australia.

• The Indian Ocean has emerged as a significant theatre of Twenty first-century geopolitics, internet hosting very important sea lanes that facilitate over 80% of world commerce by quantity and function routes for power transportation. The area’s rising significance comes not solely from its business utility but in addition from intensifying strategic competitors — particularly between India and China, the 2 principal Asian powers in search of to develop their footprint.

• India’s counter-strategy to China’s “string of pearls” is usually described because the “Necklace of Diamonds”, involving strategic partnerships with regional littorals, investments in port infrastructure, and presence by naval diplomacy.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

India should act as a unifier within the Indian Ocean Area

India–Mauritius partnership and the brand new maritime geopolitics

Modi’s MAHASAGAR: India’s huge guess on maritime energy and the World South

Mains Query Masking comparable theme:

How does the MAHASAGAR doctrine replicate India’s evolving maritime imaginative and prescient within the Indian Ocean Area?

What’s the significance of Indo-US protection offers over Indo-Russian protection offers? Focus on as regards to stability within the Indo-Pacific area. (UPSC CSE 2020)

GOVT & POLITICS

Each time a Naxal is killed, nobody feels pleased: Shah’s message to Maoist ‘brothers’ in Bastar

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Common Research-III: Linkages between growth and unfold of extremism

What’s the continued story: Union Dwelling Minister Amit Shah, throughout a go to to Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Saturday for celebrating the closing ceremony of Bastar Pandum, a tribal cultural occasion, addressed Maoists as “brothers”, requesting them to drop their weapons and be part of the mainstream.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What’s the linkage between growth and the unfold of extremism?

• What’s the Left Wing Extremism?

• What’s the Naxal Give up coverage?

• What are the federal government efforts to convey growth to Naxal-affected areas?

• Learn concerning the origin of Naxalism in India

• How is Naxalism completely different from terrorism?

• Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had termed Naxalism “the best inside safety risk to our nation.” Is it nonetheless true?

• What’s its significance: ‘Sashakt, Surakshit and Samriddh Bharat’

Key Takeaways:

•  He additionally reiterated his March 2026 deadline for eradicating Left Wing Extremism (LWE) within the Naxal affected Bastar area and the whole nation.

• Speaking concerning the Naxal give up coverage, Shah stated each village which declares itself Naxal-free will likely be given Rs 1 crore value of growth work. “Inform all militias in your village to give up,” he stated.

• Speaking concerning the growth he needs to see in Bastar, Shah stated, “Improvement means a sub-inspector from Sukma, a barrister from Bastar, a physician from Dantewada and a collector from Kanker. These goals will come true if we work laborious and don’t be afraid of anybody. Your security will likely be taken care of by this double engine sarkar.”

Do You Know:

• Chhattisgarh is the one state through which Maoists proceed to have a major presence, and retain the potential to mount huge assaults.

• In keeping with the Ministry of Dwelling Affairs (MHA) web site, there are 70 LWE-affected districts within the nation. Of those, 15 are in Chhattisgarh alone. Of the 25 “Most LWE affected Districts”, seven are in Chhattisgarh, whereas eight are in Jharkhand.

• Chhattisgarh, and to a lesser extent Jharkhand, is part of the federal government’s “remaining push” in opposition to LWE.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

After the anti-Naxal operation: Time to heal, not conquer

Earlier yr UPSC Mains Query Masking comparable theme:

Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is displaying a downward development, however nonetheless impacts many elements of the nation. Briefly clarify the Authorities of India’s method to counter the challenges posed by LWE. (2018)

What are the determinants of left-wing extremism within the Jap a part of India? What technique ought to the Authorities of India, civil administration and safety forces undertake to counter the risk within the affected areas? (2020)

EXPRESS NETWORK

Maharashtrians spending extra time at work, much less for socialising, studying and self-care, finds Time Use Survey 2024

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Financial and Social Improvement-Sustainable Improvement, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, and so on.

Primary Examination: Common Research I: Social empowerment

Common Research III: Inclusive development and points arising from it

What’s the continued story: The Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024, performed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, reveals that residents of Maharashtra are dedicating considerably extra time to work, leading to a decline within the time spent on socialising, studying, and self-care.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What’s the Time Use Survey?

• What are the important thing highlights of the Time Use Survey 2024?

• The survey highlights a major gender disparity within the time spent on “employment and associated actions”- what does it indicate?

• How can this survey assist in policy-making?

• What are the areas of concern?

• What’s the care economic system?

• What does the survey inform concerning the contribution of girls in home work?

Key Takeaways:

• In keeping with the survey, the typical time spent by the state’s residents on employment and associated actions is 469 minutes per day. That is a lot increased than the nationwide common of 440 minutes and marks a considerable improve from the 440 minutes reported within the 2019 Time Use Survey.

• The survey highlights a major gender disparity within the time spent on “employment and associated actions, “which encompasses jobs, farming, fishing, mining, and different financial actions. On common, males dedicate 500 minutes to those duties, whereas girls spend solely 395 minutes.

• Moreover, the time spent on “self-care”, together with sleep, consuming, consuming, and private hygiene, has additionally declined, dropping from 715 minutes to 709 minutes.

Do You Know:

• TUS tracks how folks allocate their time throughout numerous actions corresponding to paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socialising. Its major intention is to evaluate males’s and ladies’s participation in each paid and unpaid actions, offering helpful insights into time spent on unpaid caregiving, volunteer work, and home providers.

• It additionally sheds gentle on time spent on studying, socialising, leisure actions, and self-care. The findings of those surveys are essential for shaping insurance policies on poverty, gender fairness, and human growth.

• India’s first national-level Time Use Survey, the NSS Report – Time Use in India 2019, marked a major milestone within the nation. The second spherical of this survey, launched in 2025, was performed between January and December 2024, protecting 1.39 lakh households and 4.54 lakh people over the age of six.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

Data Nugget: What’s the relevance of ‘Time Use Survey’ for UPSC?

Prelims Query Masking comparable theme:

(2) Think about the next statements:

1. Time Use Survey, a biennial report, measures the time tendencies by the inhabitants on completely different actions.

2. For the primary time, time spent by females on employment and associated actions is greater than males.

3. Purple economic system acknowledges the significance of care work achieved by girls.

Which of the next statements is/are appropriate?

(a) 1 and a couple of solely

(b) 2 and three solely

(c) 3 solely

(d) 1, 2 and three

THE CITY (DELHI)

Second of delight… world’s largest well being cowl lastly rolled out in Delhi stated Nadda on Ayushman Bharat Scheme MoU

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance

Mains Examination: Common Research-II: Points referring to the event and administration of the Social Sector/Providers referring to Well being, Training, Human Assets 

What’s the continued story: Thirty-six lakh eligible residents within the Capital are set to learn from the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), Union Well being Minister J P Nadda stated Saturday because the Delhi authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre to implement the scheme within the metropolis.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Examine Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) – goal, protection, and challenges

• Examine India’s efficiency on vital well being indices in NFHS-5

• What are Ayushman Vaya Vandana well being playing cards?

• What are Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs)?

• Is that this the Central Sector Scheme or the Centrally Sponsored Scheme?

• What’s the distinction between secondary and tertiary care? Ayushman Bharat is worried with which?

Key Takeaways:

• The implementation of the nationwide well being scheme within the Capital was among the many BJP’s key ballot guarantees within the run-up to the Meeting elections.

• CM Gupta additionally slammed the earlier AAP authorities. “This scheme, which is a lifeline for Delhiites, couldn’t be carried out (until now) because of the conspiracy of the earlier authorities. Delhi was an instance of how residents endure when central and state governments don’t work in tandem in the direction of the identical objective,” she stated.

• Now, West Bengal is the one state that has not carried out the Central scheme.

Do You Know:

• The Ayushman Bharat Yojana, often known as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), is a medical health insurance scheme launched by the Authorities of India in 2018. Its major intention is to offer complete well being protection of as much as ₹5 lakh per household per yr. It connects the private and non-private well being sectors right into a one-nation, one-system.

• This monetary defend applies to critical (secondary) and demanding (tertiary) care, together with numerous surgical procedures and sicknesses. Whether or not it’s a knee substitute, coronary heart bypass, most cancers therapy, and even persistent situations, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana empowers beneficiaries to get the medical consideration they want with out monetary hardship. This system goes even additional by protecting pre and post-hospitalization bills, making certain a extra complete healthcare expertise.

• PMJAY is for inpatient secondary and tertiary care. Outpatient providers should not part of the scheme. The latter element is being addressed by Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), earlier known as Well being and Wellness Centres. With over 1,75,000 AAMs free consultations and plenty of medicines (as much as 172) and diagnostics (as much as 63) are being supplied free.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

Data Nugget of the day: Ayushman Bharat

Earlier yr UPSC Prelims Query Masking comparable theme:

(3) On the subject of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, think about the next statements: (UPSC CSE 2022)

1. Non-public and public hospitals should undertake it.

2. Because it goals to attain common well being protection, each citizen of India ought to be a part of it finally.

3. It has seamless portability throughout the nation.

Which of the statements given above is/are appropriate?

(a) 1 and a couple of solely

(b) 3 solely

(c) 1 and three solely

(d) 1, 2 and three 

ECONOMY

How development defects in Nationwide Highways preserve India’s street accident numbers excessive

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Financial and Social Improvement – Sustainable Improvement, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, and so on.

Mains Examination: Common Research-III: Infrastructure: Vitality, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways and so on.

What’s the continued story: On January 14, 2025, a 28-year-old lady died and her husband suffered important accidents after the SUV crashed right into a divider on the newly-constructed Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME). The police officers stated that each have been carrying seatbelts and the automobile abruptly flipped over when the motive force utilized the brakes and the automobile hit the divider.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What are Detailed Venture Studies (DPR)?

• Who’s accountable for the development and upkeep of the Nationwide Freeway?

• What’s the significance of street infrastructure in growth?

• Learn concerning the Bharatmala undertaking, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and Golden Quadrilateral

• What are the challenges of street infrastructure in India?

Key Takeaways:

• From the fractures or fissures that develop within the concrete slabs used for pavement development, floor undulations or deformations, potholes from water stagnation and uneven using floor — a collection of serious defects recognized in numerous Nationwide Freeway (NH) tasks throughout India from 2019-20 to 2023-24 have a direct bearing on the creation of ‘black spots’ or hazardous factors on the NH, the place accidents happen repetitively.

• On March 6, in a convention on street security, Gadkari stated that engineers and consultants concerned in roadbuilding and the “substandard” detailed undertaking reviews (DPRs) produced by them have been accountable for persevering with street accidents, the place India has among the many highest numbers on the earth.

• In keeping with the minister’s reply in Parliament, the defects are of primarily 4 classes, particularly, pavement points, retaining wall points, bridge and construction defects, and different development & upkeep deficiencies.

• Settlements in highways imply displacement of the pavement floor or the underlying soil, which ends up in an uneven or depressed floor.

Do You Know:

• No recent tasks will now be taken up underneath the Centre’s flagship Bharatmala Pariyojana, the Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways (MoRTH) stated in its newest annual report.

• The Venture, Bharatmala Pariyojana Part-1, which obtained Cupboard approval in October 2017, entails a complete size of 34,800 km in 31 States and Union Territories, and covers over 550 districts. Nonetheless, a complete of 26,425 km or 76 per cent of the entire authorised size has been awarded for development to develop it as financial corridors, which together with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) corridors, are anticipated to hold nearly all of the freight site visitors on street.

Different Vital Articles Masking the identical matter:

No additional tasks are being taken up underneath Bharatmala Pariyojana amid delays, value overruns

UPSC Mains Query Masking comparable theme:

“Funding in infrastructure is crucial for extra speedy and inclusive financial development.” Focus on within the gentle of India’s expertise. (2021)

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Click on Right here to learn the UPSC Necessities journal for March 2025. Share your views and options within the remark field or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com