US place on Ukraine-NATO, Part 66A of IT (Modification) Act and SOUL conclave

US withholds co-sponsorship of UN movement backing Ukraine

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Impact of insurance policies and politics of developed and growing nations on India’s pursuits

What’s the continued story: The U.S. is refusing to co-sponsor a draft U.N. decision marking three years since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that backs Ukraine’s territorial integrity and once more calls for Russia withdraw its troops, three diplomatic sources informed Reuters, in a possible stark shift by Ukraine’s strongest Western ally.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Focus on the geopolitical implications of the US refusing to co-sponsor a UN movement backing Ukraine.

• Analyse the function of the United Nations in battle decision.

• How efficient has the UN been in addressing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, contemplating the positions of key international gamers?

• Why US place on Ukraine-NATO modified?

• India has maintained a balanced diplomatic stance on the Russia-Ukraine battle—Touch upon India’s method, its strategic pursuits, and the implications of its neutrality in international geopolitics.

Key Takeaways:

• Washington has additionally objected to a phrase in a press release the Group of Seven nations was planning to problem subsequent week that might condemn Russian aggression, two different sources informed Reuters.

• The U.S. refusal to comply with language that has been recurrently utilized by the U.N. and G7 since February 2022 comes amid a widening rift between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump.

• Trump is attempting to quickly finish the conflict in Ukraine and despatched a workforce to carry talks with Russia this week in Saudi Arabia with out the involvement of Kyiv.

• Ukraine’s allies have used the earlier two Feb. 24 anniversaries of the conflict to reiterate their condemnation of Russia’s invasion however this yr it’s unclear how america will method it.

• On the U.N. nations can determine to co-sponsor a decision up till a vote. The 193-member Basic Meeting is because of vote on Monday, diplomats stated. Basic Meeting resolutions will not be binding however carry political weight, reflecting a world view on the conflict.

Do You Know:

• On Apr 3, 2008, NATO’s Bucharest Summit Declaration stated “NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed right now that these nations will turn out to be members of NATO.”

• On Feb 12, 2025, United States Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth informed the Ukraine Protection Contact Group in Brussels that “…The USA doesn’t imagine that NATO membership for Ukraine is a practical final result of a negotiated settlement [of the war]…”

• The potential of Ukraine turning into a part of NATO has been Moscow’s declared casus belli. Although the US and its European allies have by no means dedicated to when Ukraine would possibly be part of the alliance, the statements by Trump and Hegseth mark a basic shift in America’s Ukraine coverage.

• The enlargement of NATO presents Russia with a traditional “safety dilemma”, a state of affairs through which the actions of 1 state to make itself safer tends to make one other state much less safe, and prompts them to reply in ways in which end in a spiral of hostility.

• Article 5 within the NATO Constitution of 1949 establishes the precept of collective defence, such that “an armed assault” towards any NATO member is to be thought-about as “an assault towards all of them”, and all NATO members can be obligated to defend the one who has been attacked.

• Putin’s Russia sees NATO as a device of Western hegemony, and its enlargement eastward seems because the US creeping up on its Chilly Warfare enemy, which Moscow perceives as a menace to its nationwide safety.

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📍How Trump’s pro-Russia flip has left Ukraine, Europe ‘surprised’

UPSC Prelims Observe Query Masking comparable theme:
1. The precept of “territorial integrity” in worldwide regulation refers to:
a) The appropriate of a rustic to find out its personal authorities with out exterior affect.
b) The prohibition of utilizing power to change internationally acknowledged borders.
c) The institution of worldwide commerce agreements between nations.
d) The appropriate of indigenous communities to self-govern inside a sovereign state.

FRONT PAGE

‘Very, very disturbing’: SC stays Lokpal choice to probe HC judges

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Important Examination: 

• Basic Research II: Statutory, regulatory and numerous quasi-judicial our bodies.

• Basic Research II: Necessary elements of governance, transparency and accountability,

What’s the continued story: Calling it “one thing very, very disturbing”, the Supreme Court docket Thursday stayed the Lokpal’s January 27 order which held it had the ability to look into complaints towards sitting judges of Excessive Courts.
Key Factors to Ponder:

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013-What are its key options?

• What’s the distinction between Lokayukta and Lokpal?

• Do judges come below Lokpal?

• ‘The Supreme Court docket just lately stayed a Lokpal choice to probe sitting Excessive Court docket judges’—How this may affect the steadiness between judicial independence and accountability in India?

• Focus on the restrictions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, in investigating allegations of corruption towards judges.

Key Takeaways:

• The highest court docket had taken suo motu cognizance of the January 27 order and listed it for listening to earlier than a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai and in addition comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Oka.

• “One thing very, very disturbing,” Justice Gavai stated because the bench issued discover to the Centre, Lokpal and the complainant within the matter.

• It directed its registrar judicial “to masks the id of the complainant and serve him via the Registrar Judicial of the Excessive Court docket the place the complainant resides”. It injuncted the complainant from disclosing the title of the choose towards whom the grievance had been filed, or from disclosing contents of the grievance.

• Solicitor Basic Tushar Mehta, showing for the Centre, stated that in response to his interpretation of the related provisions within the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which the Lokpal had relied upon, “the Excessive Court docket choose would by no means fall throughout the ambit of the Lokpal Act. There are constitutional provisions and a few judgements to indicate this.”

Do You Know:

• The order of the Lokpal, headed by former Supreme Court docket choose Justice A M Khanwilkar, got here on two complaints towards a sitting
Further Decide of a Excessive Court docket, “alleging that the named choose had influenced the involved Further District Decide,” in a state “and a Decide of the identical Excessive Court docket who needed to take care of the swimsuit filed towards the complainant by a non-public firm, to favour that firm. It… alleged that the personal firm was earlier a consumer of the named Excessive Court docket Decide, whereas he was practising as an advocate on the Bar”.

• Deciding this, the Lokpal order stated that not like the Supreme Court docket, established below Article 124 of the Structure of India, the Excessive Court docket involved was established by an Act of Parliament and due to this fact “will probably be too naive to argue {that a} Decide of a Excessive Court docket won’t come throughout the ambit of expression ‘any individual’ in clause (f) of Part 14 (1) of the Act.”

• The ruling referred to the bulk view within the 1991 judgment Okay Veeraswamy vs. Union of India, and stated that in response to this, “a Decide of the superior court docket can not… be excluded from the definition of public servant and would squarely fall throughout the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947”.

• The Lokpal additionally famous that as per the Veerswami choice, no prison case shall be “registered” towards a choose of the Excessive Court docket, Chief Justice of Excessive Court docket or choose of the Supreme Court docket, except the Chief Justice of India is consulted within the matter.

Different Necessary Articles Masking the identical matter:

📍Meet the brand new ‘Lokpal of India’: Justice A M Khanwilkar, who penned a number of orders key for Modi govt

UPSC Earlier 12 months Mains Query Masking comparable theme:
📍‘A nationwide Lokpal, nevertheless sturdy it could be, can not resolve the issues of immorality in public affairs.’ Focus on (2013)

I&B ministry points warning on ‘vulgar content material’ amid Allahbadia row

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance—Rights and Points

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Authorities insurance policies and interventions for improvement in numerous sectors and points arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the continued story: Following the Ranveer Allahbadia ‘obscene’ speech row, the IT Ministry might reply to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Data Expertise by subsequent week on the present authorized framework to control on-line speech on social media platforms and the necessity to make additional adjustments to them to “to carry such platforms below authorized scrutiny in order to safeguard the societal values and defend the dignity of girls and kids,” The Indian Categorical has learnt.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What’s Part 66A of IT (Modification) Act, 2008 which was declared ‘Unconstitutional’ by the Supreme Court docket within the case of Shreya Singhal Vs Union of India in 2015 ?

• Analyse the implications of the latest controversy involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on India’s digital content material regulation framework.

• Focus on the potential challenges and advantages of amending present legal guidelines to carry social media and OTT platforms below stricter authorized scrutiny.

• Consider the function of the Data Expertise (Middleman Pointers and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines, 2021, in regulating on-line content material in India.

• Focus on the constitutional and authorized challenges related to regulating content material on digital platforms in India.

Key Takeaways:

• In an inner communication ready by the ministry to formulate a response for the Committee, it has referenced the now revoked Part 66A of the Data Expertise Act, which was deemed “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court docket in 2015, this paper has learnt.

• This is available in reference to the row that erupted over allegedly ‘obscene’ remarks made by on-line influencer Ranveer Allahbadia within the fashionable comedy present ‘India’s Obtained Latent’ hosted by Samay Raina.

• Final week, the Standing Committee on IT additionally held a gathering on the difficulty, the place they referred to as for stringent measures to curb such speech on social media platforms. The IT Ministry is getting ready a short observe to ship to the Committee by February 25.

• The interior communication ready by the ministry famous the remarks made by the Supreme Court docket towards Allahbadia, and ‘drew consideration’ to Part 66A of the IT Act.

• Following the backlash towards speech made by Allahbadia, which has additionally drawn sharp criticism from the Supreme Court docket, many digital rights activists stay involved over the potential of a heavy handed regulatory response from the federal government, which might additional curtail the liberty of expression.

Do You Know:

• “…consideration of the Ministry is drawn to the Part 66A of IT (Modification) Act, 2008 (Part 66A of the Data Expertise (IT) Act, 2000, was amended in 2008) which was supposed to offer safety towards offensive or insulting message, speech or info made on-line by granting powers to the Authorities to make arrests in such circumstances of misuse of freedom of speech. The Part was nevertheless declared ‘Unconstitutional’ by the Hon’ble Supreme Court docket within the case of Shreya Singhal Vs Union of India in 2015 citing the explanations that the stated Part didn’t fall throughout the cheap exceptions of freedom of speech and expression,” the observe is learnt to have stated.

• The ministry will inform the Committee of the efficacy of present legal guidelines to take care of such circumstances and have to amend the prevailing legal guidelines/IT Act, 2000 “with a view to carry such platforms below authorized scrutiny in order to safeguard the societal values and defend the dignity of girls and kids,” whereas adhering to the inventive expression and freedom of speech assured below Article 19 (1)(a) of the Structure.

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📍The Ranveer Allahbadia controversy: Why we take pleasure in jokes at others’ expense and the psychology of roast humour

UPSC Prelims Observe Query Masking comparable theme:
2. Which of the next organizations oversees social media rules and compliance in India?
a) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
b) Ministry of Electronics and Data Expertise (MeitY)
c) Nationwide Cyber Safety Coordinator (NCSC)
d) Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
UPSC Earlier 12 months Mains Query Masking comparable theme:
📍Look at the scope of Elementary Rights within the gentle of the most recent judgement of the Supreme Court docket on Proper to Privateness. (2017)

GOVT & POLITICS

Modi to open SOUL conclave right now, Bhutan PM is Visitor of Honour

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

What’s the continued story: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the primary SOUL Management Conclave in Delhi on Friday. The 2-day conclave will set the ball rolling for periodic occasions that may carry collectively leaders from throughout numerous fields to share their life experiences, successes and failures with the youth to foster younger management for a vibrant public life  in numerous fields.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What’s College of Final Management (SOUL)?

• Why the institution of the College of Final Management (SOUL) is important?

• What’s the key theme of the SOUL conclave?

• What’s the significance of initiatives just like the SOUL Conclave in shaping future management in India? Focus on close to international management challenges.

• How does the SOUL Conclave contribute to India’s regional diplomacy and tender energy technique?

Key Takeaways:

• This would be the first conclave of SOUL, the upcoming Gandhinagar-based College of Final Studying, which will likely be formally launched on the occasion.

• Bhutan PM Dasho Tshering Tobgay will ship the keynote tackle because the Visitor of Honour. Union Ministers Bhupender Yadav and Ashwani Vaishnaw, former CJI D Y Chandrachud, former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, former Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi, industrialist Sunil Bharti Mittal, reigning world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju, amongst others, will converse on the occasion.

• SOUL envisages medium to long-term coaching classes starting in 2027, when the sprawling campus is constructed.

• “About 300 college students, entrepreneurs and younger professionals from throughout the nation and from numerous disciplines will likely be a part of the viewers,” stated a authorities supply.

Do You Know:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stated that the nation wants management throughout totally different fields with a world outlook and an area upbringing that displays a nationwide imaginative and prescient. “For nation-building, the event of higher residents is crucial. To realize any nice heights or attain vastness, the inspiration have to be laid from the very starting… We’d like individuals who transfer ahead, understanding the worldwide mindset with an Indian thoughts,” he stated on the College of Final Management conclave.
“The event of outstanding leaders in each area is essential and a necessity of the occasions. That’s the reason the institution of the College of Final Management (SOUL) is a major and main step in India’s journey in the direction of a developed future. The very title ‘SOUL’ just isn’t a coincidence—this establishment will turn out to be the soul of India’s social life,” the Prime Minister stated.

Different Necessary Articles Masking the identical matter:

📍Want leaders who perceive worldwide mindset, with an Indian thoughts: PM Modi

THE IDEAS PAGE

India can guarantee Ukraine on the desk

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Impact of insurance policies and politics of developed and growing nations on India’s pursuits

What’s the continued story: Manav Sachdeva Writes: As america and Russia have interaction in high-level negotiations over Ukraine’s future — with out Ukraine on the desk — India can not assist however see a painful parallel to its personal historical past.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• India has been balancing its relations with Russia and Western nations amid the Ukraine battle. Analyse the strategic challenges and alternatives this presents for India’s international coverage.

• What function can India play in international diplomacy to make sure that Ukraine’s considerations are represented in key worldwide boards whereas sustaining its strategic autonomy?

• Focus on the affect of a possible US-Russia rapprochement below Donald Trump on India’s geopolitical and financial pursuits.

• Donald Trump’s international coverage method has been characterised by a shift away from multilateralism. Focus on the implications of such a shift for India’s diplomatic engagements.

• How can India preserve a balanced method between the U.S., Russia, and China in a quickly altering world order?

Key Takeaways:
Manav Sachdeva Writes:

• The exclusion of Ukraine from its destiny is a stark reminder of how nice powers have, repeatedly, determined the destinies of countries with out regard for the folks whose lives are at stake. The way through which Ukraine is being sidelined in these discussions mirrors the colonial conceitedness that outlined the Partition of India in 1947, when Britain, in its hurried and careless retreat, drew arbitrary borders with little understanding of the human and geopolitical penalties. For India, the exclusion of Ukraine from these talks is greater than only a diplomatic misstep — it’s an act of profound historic injustice. The message is evident: Massive powers dictate the futures of smaller nations, no matter their sovereignty or self-determination.

• In sensible phrases, India can push for 4 strategic factors via a mixture of diplomatic channels, worldwide boards, and bilateral engagements. First, India ought to use BRICS, IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa), and SCO to push for a collective demand that Ukraine have to be a part of the negotiations. It ought to quietly strain Moscow by warning {that a} flawed peace will result in long-term instability, affecting Russia’s future standing.

• Second, India can use its rising relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, each of whom have engaged in peace efforts, to insist that Ukraine be current in all negotiations. As a significant power importer, India can work with Gulf states to sign {that a} secure Ukraine is vital for international financial safety. Third, as a key voice within the UN Basic Meeting, Safety Council debates, and G20 summits, India can publicly oppose any settlement that doesn’t respect Ukraine’s sovereignty. Lastly, India ought to use its main arms purchases from Russia and commerce ties with the West as leverage to make sure a good settlement.

Do You Know:
Anil Wadhwa Writes in Delhi needs to be sensible, reset ties:

• The transatlantic alliance has been knocked off its axis. The pronouncements by US Vice President J D Vance on the AI Summit in Paris and the Munich Safety Convention, and the “stark strategic realities” outlined by US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth on the NATO headquarters — that the US “will prioritise empowering Europe to personal accountability for its personal safety” — have left little question that the alliance is significantly weakened.

• On the Riyadh assembly, US and Russian high-level officers, within the absence of Europe and Ukraine, have agreed that Ukraine can’t be part of NATO, even whereas leaving open “negotiations” to Russia and Ukraine below Washington’s watch, conceding that it could be unrealistic for Russia to return to the established order with respect to territory, and that sanctions on Russia might want to finish following a peace deal.

• Going ahead, due to this fact, it’s crucial for India to reset its diplomatic sights and anticipate the imponderables. A number of tendencies are clear. Europe will seemingly flip extra inward, and it’ll reciprocate on US tariffs. New avenues might open up for nations like China, India, Vietnam and different labour-intensive manufacturing nations.

• India additionally has an actual likelihood to forge forward with digital partnerships with Europe and the US and discover frequent floor on AI regulation, e-commerce and information storage norms with Europe, since each favour a center path.

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EXPLAINED

Remission with out software: What Supreme Court docket held, why

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Structure, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Coverage, Rights Points, and so on.

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Construction, group and functioning of the Govt and the Judiciary

What’s the continued story:

• What’s the regulation on remission?

• What did the SC rule?

• Did the SC problem every other instructions?

• What’s the jail inhabitants in India?

Key Takeaways:

• With exceptions for sure sorts of convicts, states are empowered to launch prisoners earlier than the completion of their sentence below the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and the Code of Prison Process, 1973 (CrPC).

• A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan delivered this judgment within the case of “In Re: Coverage Technique for Grant of Bail”. It is a suo motu case that the court docket itself instituted in 2021 to sort out points associated to overcrowding in prisons.

• This choice marks a major shift within the SC’s method to remission. In two separate choices from 2013, the court docket held that states can not remit sentences suo motu (of their very own volition) and the prisoner should first make an software.

Do You Know:

• The ability of remission refers back to the energy to cut back the interval of a sentence for an individual who has been discovered responsible of a criminal offense. Part 473 of the BNSS (and Part 432 of the CrPC) grants state governments the ability to remit sentences “at any time”. States can even select whether or not to impose situations that the convict should meet for her sentence to be remitted, similar to agreeing to report back to a police officer at common intervals.
—If any of those situations will not be fulfilled, the availability states that the states could cancel the remission granted and arrest the convict once more with no warrant. That is separate from the ability of the President and the Governor to remit sentences below Articles 72 and 161 of the Structure respectively.

• One of many restraints positioned on the state authorities’s energy of remission will be discovered below Part 475 of the BNSS (and Part 433A of the CrPC). For convicts serving a life sentence and have been discovered responsible of an offence punishable by dying, the state can not launch them from jail till at the very least 14 years imprisonment have been served.

• The BNSS and the CrPC point out that the remission course of begins “Every time an software is made to the suitable Authorities”. Nevertheless, the SC has now dominated that this software just isn’t strictly obligatory now that the majority states have remission insurance policies which prescribe eligibility situations.
• In line with the most recent information printed by the Nationwide Crime Data Bureau, as of December 31, 2022, prisons in India have a 131.4% occupancy price, with 5,73,220 inmates whereas the overall capability was 4,36,266. The Supreme Court docket’s instructions could put a dent on this determine, though a overwhelming majority of prisoners in India are undertrials (75.8%) and are nonetheless awaiting a ultimate choice of their circumstances.

Different Necessary Articles Masking the identical matter:

📍Supreme Court docket’s huge reduction for convicts: States should take into account launch even with out software

ARTICLE 101(4)

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Structure, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Coverage, Rights Points, and so on.

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Indian Structure—historic underpinnings, evolution, options, amendments, important provisions and fundamental construction.

What’s the continued story: Incarcerated Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh on Wednesday (February 19) moved the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket to attend the continued Parliament session, lest he lose his seat due to his extended absence from the Home.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• What Article 101(4) of the Indian Structure says?

• If an MP is absent from all conferences of the Home for 60 days with out permission, who has the authority to declare their seat vacant below Article 101(4)?

• Focus on the provisions of Article 101(4) of the Indian Structure regarding the trip of seats in Parliament.

• In what circumstances can an MP’s seat be declared vacant because of absence?

• Analyse the safeguards offered in Article 101(4) to make sure that an MP’s seat just isn’t declared vacant unjustly.

• Look at the function of parliamentary permissions within the context of Article 101(4).

Key Takeaways:

• Amritpal, who faces fees below the stringent Nationwide Safety Act, has been detained in Dibrugarh since April 2023. He contested and received the 2024 Lok Sabha election from jail, however to date has an attendance of solely 2%, in response to PRS Legislative Analysis information.

• Previous depart software stories record sickness — their very own or some relative’s — as the commonest purpose for MPs being granted depart. That stated, members have requested and been granted depart on the depend of being imprisoned as nicely.

• In 2023, then Ghosi MP Atul Rai of the Bahujan Samaj Occasion sought permission to stay absent on 23 consecutive sittings of Parliament as he was in jail. His software was granted.

• Even when an MP is absent for greater than 60 days, the Home has to “declare” the seat vacant, that means the matter must be put to vote. This makes it even much less seemingly that Amritpal will find yourself shedding his seat just because he’s unable to attend proceedings.

Do You Know:

• “If for a interval of sixty days a member of both Home of Parliament is with out permission of the Home absent from all conferences thereof, the Home could declare his seat vacant,” Article 101(4) says. The 60 days, nevertheless, don’t account for “any interval throughout which the Home is prorogued or is adjourned for greater than 4 consecutive days”.

• Successfully, the interval of absence is barely calculated based mostly on the precise sittings of Parliament. Amritpal, as an illustration, solely attended one sitting of the Lok Sabha — the one through which he was sworn in final July. Since then, he has remained in detention in Assam. This has amounted to almost 50 absences to date.

• Nevertheless, as former Lok Sabha Secretary Basic P D T Achary informed The Indian Categorical, he doesn’t recall a single occasion through which Article 101(4) was invoked, and an MP misplaced her seat in consequence.

• The operative time period in Article 101(4) is “with out permission of the Home”. For lengthy absences, MPs write to the ‘Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the Home’, the parliamentary panel that offers with this problem.

• The committee makes suggestions on every depart software, that are then ratified by the Home involved. In apply, nevertheless, functions are seldom rejected. “Amritpal as an MP has each proper to write down to the panel and request permission to be absent on the grounds that he’s in jail and isn’t getting bail,” Achary stated.

Different Necessary Articles Masking the identical matter:

📍Decode Politics: Is Amritpal Singh’s concern justified — can MPs lose their seat because of extended absence?

What mineral assets does Ukraine have – and might the US take them?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Present occasions of nationwide and worldwide significance.

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Impact of insurance policies and politics of developed and growing nations on India’s pursuits.

What’s the continued story: US President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of “breaking” a deal over the usage of its mineral assets. Whereas the deal had by no means been signed, Trump on Wednesday (February 19) informed reporters, “They broke that deal.”

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Look at the strategic significance of Ukraine’s mineral assets within the context of the US-China technological rivalry.

• Analyse the geopolitical challenges confronted by the US in securing vital minerals from Ukraine.

• Focus on the function of vital minerals in shaping the worldwide power transition and financial insurance policies of main powers just like the US, China, and the EU.

• Consider the affect of conflict and political instability on Ukraine’s capability to leverage its mineral assets for financial improvement.

• How do worldwide provide chain disruptions of vital minerals affect India’s power safety and manufacturing sectors? Counsel
coverage measures India can undertake to mitigate such dangers.

Key Takeaways:

• He claimed that when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent travelled to Kyiv final week, the Ukrainians “agreed to it roughly” however then Bessent “was handled quite rudely as a result of primarily they informed him no.”

• The US has proposed that it’s allowed entry to 50 per cent of Ukraine’s necessary mineral assets in return for help towards Russia. Whereas Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is open to the deal, he desires extra beneficial phrases.

• Whereas the small print of the deal will not be in public area, broadly, whereas Ukraine sees the deal as a way to safe future help, Trump desires cost for the assistance the US has already offered.

• In line with a Monetary Instances report, Trump has stated the US is owed $500 billion price of Ukraine’s assets (together with mineral deposits, gas, and infrastructure similar to ports) in change for army help offered towards Russia. “That’s considerably greater than the overall $69.2bn in army help Washington has given since 2014, in response to State Division statistics,” the report says.

• American officers have stated that if the US have been to get financial stakes in Ukraine — like a mining licence or different preparations to
extract minerals — that in itself can be a safety assure, because the US would defend its pursuits towards an assault. Nevertheless,
Zelenskyy desires a extra concrete assurance of army and financial assist.

Do You Know:

• Ukraine has wealthy assets of minerals which can be vital in manufacturing quite a lot of merchandise, from high-end weapon methods to scrub power options like Electrical Automobiles to digital devices and semiconductors. These minerals will not be discovered extensively and are additionally tough to extract, making them useful. What makes them much more necessary for the US and the West is that China has massive sources of them. Mineral assets are a part of the rationale Trump desires to purchase Greenland, too.

• Two classifications are necessary when speaking about these assets — uncommon earth parts, and demanding minerals.
There are 17 uncommon earth parts, together with 15 Lanthanides (atomic numbers 57 — which is Lanthanum — to 71 within the periodic desk), Scandium (atomic quantity 21) and Yttrium (39).

• Minerals are outlined as ‘vital’ by nations based mostly on their wants, broadly utilizing two parameters: their significance for financial improvement and nationwide safety, and their lack of availability. India in 2023 recognized 30 vital minerals.

Supply: Ukrainian Geological Survey and Ministry of Environmental Safety and Pure Sources of Ukraine

• In line with a report by Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Safety and Pure Sources and the Ukrainian Geological Survey, “Ukraine holds 22 of the 50 strategic supplies recognized by the US as vital, and 25 out of the 34 recognised by the EU as critically necessary. Notably, Ukraine holds very aggressive positions in 5 key ones: graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and uranium.”

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📍Trump calls Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’, deepens rift between Washington and Kyiv amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

ECONOMY

Defending rupee: RBI ahead greenback gross sales contact $67.93 bn as of Dec 31

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Financial and Social Improvement

Important Examination: Basic Research II: Indian Economic system and points regarding planning, mobilization, of assets, progress, improvement and employment.

What’s the continued story: The Reserve Financial institution of India’s (RBI) excellent internet ahead gross sales of the greenback have surged to $67.93 billion as of December 31, 2024, because the central financial institution intensified its efforts to stabilise the rupee. This marks a major enhance in excellent ahead greenback gross sales of $14.58 billion simply three months in the past in September 2024, and a considerable rise from $541 million in the course of the yr ended March 2024.

Key Factors to Ponder:

• Analyse the explanations behind the Reserve Financial institution of India’s choice to interact in ahead greenback gross sales amounting to $67.93 billion as of December 31, 2024.

• Critically consider the effectiveness of ahead greenback gross sales as a device for the Reserve Financial institution of India to defend the rupee.

• Focus on the affect of the Reserve Financial institution of India’s ahead greenback gross sales on the liquidity situations within the home banking system.

• Look at the challenges confronted by the Reserve Financial institution of India in managing the rupee’s change price via ahead greenback gross sales, contemplating the worldwide financial surroundings and India’s exterior sector dynamics.

• The Reserve Financial institution of India’s substantial ahead greenback gross sales mirror its method to forex administration.

Key Takeaways:

• The excessive ahead greenback gross sales place signifies that the RBI has been actively promoting {dollars} within the ahead market to defend the rupee amid considerations over US commerce insurance policies, sluggish home progress, and FPI outflows. Within the spot market, the RBI’s greenback gross sales stood at $45 billion within the third quarter—$15.15 billion in December 2024, $20.22 billion in November and $9.27 billion in October—whereas it purchased greenback price $9.63 billion in September 2024, in response to RBI information.

• The RBI additionally performed a dollar-rupee purchase/promote swap for $5 billion on December 31, with the transaction set to be reversed on August 4. This transfer goals to handle the affect of the RBI’s spot market interventions on rupee liquidity.

• Nevertheless, whereas larger greenback gross sales within the ahead market could not affect the foreign exchange kitty instantly, it may possibly result in a lower in foreign exchange reserves subsequently because the RBI is anticipated to repurchase the {dollars} within the ahead market on the prescribed dates. By promoting extra {dollars} within the ahead market, the RBI is successfully decreasing the demand for {dollars} within the spot market, which helps to stabilise the rupee.

• The rupee depreciated by 1.5 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) in January 2025, according to actions in most main currencies, amid rising international uncertainties. It had fallen to a low of 87.95 earlier this month.

Do You Know:

• A rising US greenback and FPI outflows from rising market economies (EMEs) amid rising international uncertainties exerted important strain on rising market currencies throughout January 2025.

• In an surroundings of heightened international market turbulence, the rupee exhibited comparatively low volatility. When it comes to the 40-currency actual efficient change price (REER), the INR depreciated by 2.2 per cent (m-o-m) in January 2025, because of depreciation of the INR in nominal efficient phrases and damaging relative worth differentials, the RBI stated in its ‘State of the economic system’ report launched on Wednesday.

• As of February 7, 2025, India’s international change reserves stood at $638.3 billion, offering a canopy for 10.8 months of imports and 89.7 per cent of exterior debt excellent at end-September 2024. The RBI famous that sturdy macroeconomic fundamentals and enhancements in numerous measures of exterior sector vulnerability have helped India navigate the continued wave of world uncertainty.

Different Necessary Articles Masking the identical matter:

📍India is susceptible to a forex disaster

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (b)  2. (b)

 

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