Contents01 Unlocking Growth: NITI Aayog–Ministry of Tourism Roadmap for Regulatory Reform NITI Aayog / Ministry of Tourism · National Workshop, New Delhi, 30 June 2026 GS 2GS 3 02 Academic Bank of Credits & APAAR: Building India’s Lifelong Learning Ecosystem Ministry of Education / University Grants Commission GS 2GS 3 Article 01 Article 01 Unlocking Growth: NITI Aayog–Ministry of Tourism Roadmap for Regulatory Reform NITI Aayog / Ministry of Tourism · National Workshop, New Delhi · 30 June 2026 Relevance: GS 2 (governance, regulatory reform, Centre–State coordination) · GS 3 (tourism as an economic sector, infrastructure, employment generation). GS 2GS 3 Key Data at a Glance ₹15.73 lakh crtourism contribution to GDP in FY 2023–24 (~$170 billion; 5.22% of GDP) 84.6 millionjobs supported by tourism (FY 2023–24; +20% over five years) 2.9 billiondomestic tourist visits in 2024 (vs 2.3 billion pre-pandemic peak, 2019) 20.6 millioninternational tourists (incl. NRIs) in 2024; foreign tourist arrivals: 9.95 million 38.14India’s UN Tourism Visa Openness Index score (below global average of 40) 90-daymultiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival proposed for select nationalities at designated ports Issue in Brief NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Tourism launched the report “Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector” at a National Workshop in New Delhi (30 June 2026), outlining a roadmap for regulatory simplification, ease of doing business, and investment-led growth in tourism and hospitality. The report was prepared in consultation with State Governments, industry associations, and stakeholders, and is framed within the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. Static Background Tourism Satellite Account (TSA): a UN-endorsed accounting methodology (India’s 3rd TSA released for 2015–16 base year) used to measure tourism’s true GDP and employment contribution across direct and indirect linkages. Institutionally, tourism is a State subject, but the Centre (Ministry of Tourism) coordinates through centrally sponsored schemes like Swadesh Darshan, PRASHAD, and Dekho Apna Desh; NITI Aayog acts as the apex policy think tank driving cross-ministerial reform. India’s e-Visa scheme (since 2014) and Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility are existing entry-facilitation tools; the UN Tourism Visa Openness Index benchmarks countries on visa accessibility. India currently offers visa-free entry only to Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, while VoA is limited to a small set of nationalities. GST and licensing (liquor, health trade, Eating House, FSSAI) fall under a mix of central and state regulatory regimes — a long-standing friction point for hospitality investment. Key Dimensions — Scale of the Sector Tourism contributed ₹15.73 lakh crore (~$170 billion) to India’s GDP in FY 2023–24, accounting for 5.22% of GDP, and supported an estimated 84.6 million jobs — a 20% rise over five years. Domestic tourist visits reached 2.9 billion in 2024, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of 2.3 billion (2019); international arrivals (including NRIs) stood at ~20.6 million, with foreign tourist arrivals at 9.95 million. India’s UN Tourism Visa Openness Index score of 38.14 trails the global average of 40 and regional peers like Thailand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. Key Dimensions — Regulatory & Ease-of-Doing-Business Reforms Proposes a 90-day multiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival for select nationalities at designated airports and seaports, without advance application. Recommends consolidating multiple e-visa sub-categories into broader classes (tourism, business, medical, student, dependent) and integrating biometric and real-time verification. Proposes scrapping project-stage approvals by the Ministry of Tourism for hotels; a single liquor licence and single health trade licence for multi-outlet hotels; and removal of the Eating House Licence requirement. Recommends de-linking star classification from licensing and finance approvals, treating it as a market-driven benchmark rather than a regulatory gate. Suggests raising the homestay room cap and removing local-authority NOC requirements for homestay registration. Proposes extending the All India Tourist Permit validity from 90 days to one year and removing state-level entry taxes on vehicles already holding this permit. Floats examining a Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) for GST refunds on purchases made in India by foreign tourists, similar to systems in other countries. Key Dimensions — Institutional Coordination Calls for risk-based compliance, reduced redundant approvals, and better Centre–State–industry coordination, given that tourism investments are highly time, cost, and predictability sensitive. Central finding (NITI Aayog Member Rajiv Gauba): India’s tourism challenge lies not in demand or resource availability, but in enabling conditions — regulatory complexity, fragmented institutional processes, and procedural inefficiencies. Critical Analysis — Strengths Correctly diagnoses that India’s tourism constraint is not demand-side but regulatory and institutional — a shift from generic promotion-led thinking to structural reform. Recommendations are specific and implementable (single licences, permit validity, visa categories) rather than vague aspirational goals. Domestic tourism strength (2.9 billion visits) provides a strong foundation; regulatory reform can accelerate the transition to higher-value international arrivals. Critical Analysis — Structural Questions Tourism as a State subject means Central recommendations require State-level legislative and administrative follow-through; past reform reports have faced slow adoption. The report is silent — as reported so far — on destination-level infrastructure quality (sanitation, last-mile connectivity, safety), which is equally critical to converting demand into arrivals. Liberalising licensing (liquor, construction norms) must be balanced against safety, environmental, and consumer-protection safeguards; the report frames this as “risk-based” but implementation design will determine outcomes. Way Forward Fast-track State adoption of model regulations (single-window clearance, single licences) through NITI Aayog’s coordination mechanism, possibly linked to performance-based incentives. Pilot the Visa-on-Arrival expansion and Tourist Refund Scheme with robust monitoring frameworks before national rollout. Complement regulatory reform with destination management — cleanliness, safety, and last-mile infrastructure — to convert ease-of-entry gains into actual visitation and repeat travel. Prelims Pointers Report: “Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector” — NITI Aayog + Ministry of Tourism, 30 June 2026. GDP contribution: ₹15.73 lakh crore (~$170 bn), 5.22% of GDP; 84.6 million jobs — FY 2023–24. Domestic visits 2024: 2.9 billion (surpassing 2019 pre-pandemic peak of 2.3 billion). UN Tourism Visa Openness Index: India 38.14 (below global average of 40; trails Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka). Key proposals: 90-day multiple-entry VoA; single liquor/health-trade licence; de-link star classification; Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS). TSA: Tourism Satellite Account — UN-endorsed methodology to estimate tourism’s GDP and employment contribution; India’s 3rd TSA covers 2015–16 base year. Practice Mains Question “India’s tourism sector suffers not from a lack of demand but from regulatory and institutional bottlenecks.” Critically examine this observation in light of the NITI Aayog report on tourism and hospitality reforms. GS Paper 3 · 250 words · 15 marks Practice MCQs Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the NITI Aayog report “Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector” (2026): (1) It recommends a 90-day multiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival for select nationalities. (2) It recommends linking hotel star classification to institutional finance approvals. (3) It proposes a single liquor licence for hotels with multiple outlets on the same premises. Which of the statements given above are correct? A) 1 and 2 onlyB) 1 and 3 onlyC) 2 and 3 onlyD) 1, 2 and 3 Q2. The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), referenced in India’s tourism policy, is best described as: A) A dedicated banking account for tourism sector subsidiesB) A UN-endorsed accounting framework to measure tourism’s contribution to GDP and employmentC) A digital wallet for foreign tourist GST refundsD) A satellite-based tourist tracking and monitoring system Q3. (Assertion–Reasoning) Assertion (A): India’s tourism challenge is primarily a supply-side and regulatory problem rather than a demand-side problem. Reason (R): Domestic tourist visits in 2024 surpassed the pre-pandemic peak, yet international arrivals and investment outcomes remain below potential. A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of AB) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of AC) A is true, R is falseD) A is false, R is true Article 02 Article 02 Academic Bank of Credits & APAAR: Building India’s Lifelong Learning Ecosystem Ministry of Education / University Grants Commission (UGC) Relevance: GS 2 (education policy, governance, digital public infrastructure, capacity building) · GS 3 (Digital India, emerging technology — blockchain, credential security). GS 2GS 3 Key Data at a Glance 26.30 crverified APAAR IDs generated across India (as of June 2026) 7 yearsmaximum validity of credits stored in ABC (non-reusable once redeemed) 40%maximum credits redeemable from SWAYAM; adopted by 388 universities 153universities offering Multiple Entry and Exit (MEE) options 170universities that have adopted the National Credit Framework (NCrF) as of 2026 30 Jun 2026UGC deadline for all HEIs to upload credit data to the ABC portal Issue in Brief The Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), a Ministry of Education digital platform regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC), enables storage, transfer, and redemption of academic credits, supporting India’s shift toward a flexible, lifelong-learning education system. APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry), a unique 12-digit student ID under the “One Nation, One Student ID” initiative, anchors this system; as of June 2026, 26.30 crore verified APAAR IDs have been generated across India. Static Background ABC operationalises the Multiple Entry and Exit (MEE) and credit-transfer vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aligned with the National Credit Framework (NCrF). DigiLocker and Aadhaar form the authentication backbone; the National Academic Depository (NAD) — the secure repository for academic awards — underlies credit redemption and certificate issuance. ABC is positioned as part of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for education under the Digital India Programme, alongside platforms like SWAYAM (online learning) and SAMARTH (university ERP). Credits are valid for a maximum of 7 years (or discipline-specific duration) and, once redeemed, cannot be reused — mirroring how a bank account tracks deposits and withdrawals of academic “capital.” Key Dimensions — Coverage and Scale 26.30 crore verified APAAR IDs generated as of June 2026, accessible via DigiLocker and generable through Common Service Centres (CSCs), extending reach to remote and underserved areas. For 2026, UGC mandated all HEIs to upload credit data to the ABC portal by 30 June 2026. Key Dimensions — Multiple Entry and Exit Framework Enables a Certificate after 1 year → Diploma after 2 years → Degree after 3–4 years — allowing students to exit and re-enter without losing accumulated credits. 153 universities now offer multiple entry options, benefiting 31,156 UG and 5,583 PG students. Key Dimensions — Integration and Credit Recognition Students may redeem up to 40% of credits from SWAYAM (India’s national online learning platform); 388 universities have adopted this provision. National Credit Framework (NCrF), covering academic, vocational, and experiential learning, has been adopted by 170 universities as of 2026. SAMARTH ERP provides a standardised, cloud-based gateway integrating ABC with university administration; CSCs in remote villages serve as on-ground points for ABC and APAAR registration. Key Dimensions — Student Benefits and Emerging Technology APAAR-authenticated students aged 13–30 unlock travel benefits — up to 10% discount on base airfares and an extra 10 kg baggage allowance. The Bharat Praman Chain, developed by the Digital India Corporation (DIC), is described as India’s sovereign blockchain platform for secure, tamper-resistant digital credentials, deployable via DIC’s managed infrastructure or institution-run nodes, and designed for compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Critical Analysis — Strengths Directly operationalises NEP 2020’s flexibility principles — MEE, credit transfer, and recognition of non-formal learning — through a functioning digital backbone rather than remaining a policy aspiration. Convergence with DigiLocker, Aadhaar, and SAMARTH avoids duplicating digital infrastructure, and CSC-based registration extends access beyond urban HEIs. The 26.30 crore APAAR IDs represent substantial scale, creating a unified academic identity infrastructure rare globally. Critical Analysis — Structural Questions MEE uptake (153 of several hundred HEIs; ~36,700 total beneficiary students) remains modest relative to India’s higher education scale (over 4 crore students enrolled nationally), suggesting early-stage adoption rather than saturation. Compliance with the UGC’s 30 June 2026 upload mandate: independent audit of actual HEI compliance rates is not yet reported in source material — Verification Required. Centralising academic and identity data (Aadhaar + DigiLocker + APAAR) raises data protection and consent-architecture questions; DPDP Act compliance is referenced for Bharat Praman Chain specifically, but broader ABC/APAAR data-governance safeguards need scrutiny. Way Forward Expand MEE and SWAYAM-credit adoption beyond the current 153/388 universities to achieve system-wide saturation, particularly in state and private universities. Strengthen grievance redressal and consent mechanisms as data volumes scale, ensuring Digital Personal Data Protection Act compliance across the entire ABC–APAAR–NAD stack, not just the blockchain layer. Monitor and publish HEI compliance data on the UGC’s 30 June 2026 upload mandate to assess real institutional participation and drive accountability. Prelims Pointers ABC regulator: University Grants Commission (UGC), under Ministry of Education. APAAR: Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry — 12-digit student ID; “One Nation, One Student ID”; 26.30 crore IDs (June 2026). Credit validity: Maximum 7 years or discipline-specific duration; non-reusable once redeemed. MEE structure: Certificate (1 yr) → Diploma (2 yrs) → Degree (3–4 yrs); enabled by NEP 2020. NAD: National Academic Depository — backbone storing all academic awards and records; handles certificate issuance via NAD platform. Bharat Praman Chain: Sovereign blockchain platform by Digital India Corporation (DIC); tamper-resistant digital credentials; DPDP Act compliant. Practice Mains Question The Academic Bank of Credits and APAAR represent India’s move toward a flexible, lifelong-learning education architecture. Discuss their significance in operationalising NEP 2020, and examine the challenges in achieving system-wide adoption. GS Paper 2 · 250 words · 15 marks Practice MCQs Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC): (1) It is regulated by the University Grants Commission. (2) It enables Multiple Entry and Exit under the National Education Policy, 2020. (3) Academic credits stored in ABC never expire and can be reused indefinitely. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A) 1 and 2 onlyB) 2 and 3 onlyC) 1 onlyD) 1, 2 and 3 Q2. APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) is linked to which of the following for authentication and access? A) PAN and Voter IDB) Aadhaar and DigiLockerC) Passport and driving licenceD) Bank account and UPI ID Q3. The Bharat Praman Chain, referenced in the context of ABC and APAAR, is: A) A government scheme for digital payments to farmersB) India’s sovereign blockchain platform for tamper-resistant digital credentials, developed by Digital India CorporationC) A national biometric attendance system for civil servantsD) An inter-ministry data-sharing portal under NeGD

Contents01 Reimagining Sovereign AI for India’s Strategic Future Vivan Sharan & Vedika Pandey, Koan Advisory · AI geopolitics, industrial policy, strategic autonomy GS 2 — International RelationsGS 3 — Science & TechnologyEssay 02 India’s ‘Israel Habit’ Meets West Asian Realities Vinay Kaura, Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice · India’s West Asia policy GS 2 — International RelationsEssay Editorial 01 of 02 Article 01 Reimagining Sovereign AI for India’s Strategic Future Vivan Sharan, Partner & Vedika Pandey, Manager, Koan Advisory · The Hindu Relevance: GS 2 (India and its neighbourhood, bilateral and multilateral technology diplomacy, effect of policies of developed countries on India’s interests), GS 3 (science and technology, industrial policy, economic policy) and Essay (globalisation vs strategic autonomy) — examines India’s AI dependence in light of the US export-control action against Anthropic. GS 2 — AI GeopoliticsGS 3 — Industrial & Tech PolicyEssay — Dependence vs Autonomy 1 — Issue in Brief The US government directed AI company Anthropic to suspend foreign-national access to its most advanced Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models on national-security grounds, with a parallel Presidential mechanism letting the US federal government access such models up to 30 days before trusted partners. This sits within a broader pattern of aggressive sovereign AI policy: Europe is shifting from “regulate first” to compute investment and “Buy European” procurement; Argentina is offering regulatory safe harbours to attract AI investment. India, as a large IT-services economy without frontier AI systems of its own, must articulate a coherent policy response — benefiting from frontier technology today without letting its economic capabilities depend on decisions made elsewhere. Core argument: India must reject the false binary between globalisation and industrial policy — using the best available foreign AI to stay competitive now, while building the tools to reduce strategic dependence over time. 2 — Static Background Frontier AI is defined by a training-compute threshold of upwards of 10 septillion (1024) floating-point operations; India currently has no system built at this scale. India’s Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) stands at roughly 0.6–0.64% of GDP (Economic Survey 2025–26), with the private sector contributing only about a third of this — against 70–79% private-sector shares in the US, China and South Korea. Anthropic’s Fable 5/Mythos 5 episode: Mythos 5 (the fuller, more capable model) was withheld from public release over advanced cyber-capability concerns; Fable 5, a restricted-safeguard public variant built on it, was launched and then disabled worldwide within days after a US Commerce Department export-control directive citing national-security concerns. The Indian pharmaceutical parallel: a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme promotes domestic bulk-drug manufacturing, but NITI Aayog’s Trade Watch Quarterly finds India still sources 65% of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from China — rising above 85% for top import categories — showing that industrial policy alone creates “footholds, not instant resilience.” 3 — Key Dimensions The diffusion–dependence paradox: India’s IT and app companies are well positioned to scale everyday AI use and raise domestic productivity, but doing so via foreign models today is the very route by which India builds the economic surplus needed to depend on them less tomorrow. The compute-spending gap: OpenAI alone projects $50 billion in compute spending this year — over six times India’s entire annual private R&D spend — meaning India cannot outspend frontier AI investment and must instead deepen backward linkages through government action. Backward vs forward linkages: India needs a whole-of-government approach (external affairs coordinating with commerce, IT, and potentially defence, energy and telecom) to deepen linkages to frontier AI, while separately strengthening forward linkages — competitiveness of Indian products and services in global markets. Sovereign risk-underwriting tools: the state should help underwrite risks private firms cannot bear alone — export credit insures firms against geopolitical disruption, while hybrid-annuity contracts (used for long-gestation infrastructure) have the state fund part of a project and make fixed payments over time rather than leaving private capital to bear full risk. Industry complacency risk: the Philippines generates $40 billion in IT exports — already nearly a sixth of India’s IT exports — and is growing faster than the global industry; no Indian app features among the top 10 globally by downloads, in-app purchase revenue, or monthly active users. A fragmented strategic voice: incumbent IT firms remain preoccupied with visas and market access, while start-ups are consumed by regulatory friction and fundraising — yet both share the same underlying interest of staying connected to leading AI ecosystems while building domestic capability. 4 — Critical Analysis In favour — Realistic sequencing: using the best available foreign AI now while building capability for later is more pragmatic than either blanket protectionism or unmanaged dependence, and mirrors India’s historical IT-services growth trajectory. In favour — Tested policy instruments repurposed: export credit and hybrid-annuity contracts are proven Indian tools being extended to a new strategic sector rather than invented from scratch, lowering implementation risk. In favour — Whole-of-government coordination: aligning external affairs, commerce, IT and potentially defence, energy and telecom is a sound governance principle for a technology whose implications cut across ministries. In favour — The pharma analogy is instructive: it honestly signals that industrial policy (PLI-style incentives) alone will not by itself produce resilience, avoiding a triumphalist framing of India’s options. Against — The US precedent is itself the biggest risk: if a close US-based AI company can be subject to abrupt, opaque export-control action against foreign nationals, India’s assumption of stable long-term access to frontier AI is fragile — a vulnerability the article’s prescriptions do not fully address. Against — Fiscal capacity constraint: India’s 0.6% of GDP R&D spend and limited private-sector participation make “deepening backward linkages” easier to state as policy than to fund at scale; no fiscal roadmap is specified. Against — Coordination is necessary but not sufficient: whole-of-government approaches in India have historically struggled with inter-ministerial turf issues, visible even in the pharma API case, which remains split across departments. Against — Compute-spend comparison risks fatalism: framing India purely against OpenAI’s $50 billion compute spend may understate India’s comparative advantage in applied AI diffusion and services exports, which is arguably a different competitive game from frontier model-building. 5 — Way Forward Institutionalise a whole-of-government AI coordination mechanism spanning external affairs, commerce, IT, and potentially defence, energy and telecom, to align diplomatic and industrial strategy on frontier AI access. Extend export-credit and hybrid-annuity-style risk-sharing instruments to firms scaling AI-dependent products, insuring against geopolitical disruption in access to foreign models or compute. Increase private-sector R&D participation through incentive redesign — tax credits, co-investment vehicles — to narrow India’s R&D-to-GDP gap over time. Build diversified frontier-AI partnerships rather than reliance on a single provider or jurisdiction, to reduce the kind of single-point vulnerability the Anthropic export-control episode exposed. Strengthen forward linkages by pushing Indian apps and products toward global competitiveness through sustained investment in quality and innovation, directly addressing the absence of Indian apps from global top-10 rankings. 6 — Data & Key Facts 1024Floating-point operations (FLOPs) defining the frontier AI training-compute threshold 0.6%India’s Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a share of GDP (Economic Survey 2025–26) 65%Share of India’s critical pharma APIs sourced from China (NITI Aayog, Trade Watch Quarterly) $50 BnOpenAI’s projected 2026 compute spend — over 6x India’s annual private R&D spend $40 BnPhilippines’ IT-BPM export revenue — nearly ⅙ of India’s IT exports 12 Jun 2026Date of the US export-control directive suspending Fable 5/Mythos 5 for foreign nationals Fable 5 & Mythos 5 suspension: the US Commerce Department directed Anthropic to suspend all access to both models for any foreign national, including foreign-national Anthropic employees, citing national-security concerns; access to Anthropic’s other models was unaffected. NITI Aayog Trade Watch Quarterly (8th edition, 2026): confirms India’s pharmaceutical supply chain remains heavily dependent on China for APIs and Key Starting Materials, particularly for fermentation-based products, despite the PLI scheme for bulk drugs. 7 — Prelims Pointers Frontier AI — defined by a training-compute threshold of roughly 1024 FLOPs, not capability claims alone PLI Scheme (bulk drugs) — aims to reduce India’s API import dependence on China; limited resilience gains so far per NITI Aayog NITI Aayog Trade Watch Quarterly — periodic trade-monitoring report; 8th edition (2026) flagged pharma API dependency at 65% Export credit — sovereign risk-sharing tool insuring firms against geopolitical or commercial disruption in trade Hybrid-annuity model (HAM) — infrastructure financing structure where the state funds part of a project and makes fixed annuity payments over time GERD — Gross Expenditure on Research and Development, India’s aggregate R&D spend as a share of GDP Exam note: Do not confuse Fable 5 (restricted-safeguard public variant) with Mythos 5 (the fuller underlying model withheld from public release) — both were suspended for foreign nationals, but they are distinct models. Also recall the frontier-AI compute threshold is roughly 1024 FLOPs, not a capability-based definition. 8 — Practice Mains Question “India lacks frontier AI capability but cannot afford strategic dependence on foreign AI systems.” Critically examine the policy options available to India to balance AI diffusion with technological sovereignty.GS 3 · 15 marks · ~250 words · Science & Technology + Economic Policy Intro: Frame India as a large IT-services economy without frontier AI systems, using the recent US export-control action against Anthropic’s Fable 5/Mythos 5 as the live trigger for the strategic dilemma. Body 1 — The case for diffusion: India’s IT/app sector strength, the need to use the best available AI to build competitive surpluses, and the compute-spend gap that makes self-reliance alone unviable. Body 2 — The case for sovereignty tools: whole-of-government coordination, export-credit and hybrid-annuity-style risk-sharing, diversified partnerships, and the pharma-API cautionary lesson on the limits of industrial policy. Conclusion: India’s objective should be deep integration with global AI ecosystems while steadily reducing strategic vulnerabilities — rejecting the false binary between globalisation and industrial policy. 9 — Practice MCQ Consider the following statements regarding India’s research and development (R&D) ecosystem: 1. India’s Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a percentage of GDP is comparable to that of major economies like the United States and China. 2. The private sector contributes a smaller share of India’s R&D expenditure compared to countries like the US, China, and South Korea. 3. Government funding constitutes the dominant source of R&D expenditure in India. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only(b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only(d) 1, 2 and 3 Editorial 02 of 02 Article 02 India’s ‘Israel Habit’ Meets West Asian Realities Vinay Kaura, Assistant Professor, Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Rajasthan; Non-Resident Fellow, ISAS-NUS · The Hindu Relevance: GS 2 (India and its neighbourhood, India’s bilateral and regional relations, effect of developments in West Asia on India’s interests) and Essay (habit vs strategy in foreign policy, strategic autonomy) — examines India’s Israel-Iran balancing act amid a reconfiguring West Asia. GS 2 — India & West AsiaEssay — Habit vs Strategy 1 — Issue in Brief The editorial argues India’s deepening engagement with Israel has become more a habit than a product of serious strategic deliberation, risking India being caught on the wrong side of a rapidly reconfiguring West Asia. The trigger: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s invitation to PM Modi for the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, juxtaposed against India’s recent overt tilt toward Israel. Central thesis: India needs an “architectonic” foreign policy — one that shapes its own strategic environment — rather than an “adaptive, alignment-driven” one that merely follows alignments forged by others, and this requires moving beyond a binary Israel-or-Iran framing. Current status (search-verified): a joint US–Israeli military strike on 28 February 2026 killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at his Tehran compound; Iran declared 40 days of mourning, and his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected the new Supreme Leader on 8 March 2026. Khamenei’s state funeral, delayed multiple times, is now scheduled for 3–9 July 2026 across Tehran, Qom, Iraq and Mashhad — making this a live, unfolding diplomatic moment as this digest goes to print. PM Narendra Modi’s second state visit to Israel (25–26 February 2026) — addressing the Knesset and signing a Critical and Emerging Technologies Partnership — preceded the US-Israel strikes on Iran by two days. 2 — Static Background For over a decade, regional arithmetic rested on the assumption that Iran was a wounded, sanctions-strangled actor whose reach could be contained; Iran’s demonstrated retaliatory capacity — missile and drone salvoes, and the threat to the Strait of Hormuz — has tested and found that assumption wanting. US–Israel friction is structural, not personal: President Trump’s public differences with PM Netanyahu reflect Washington’s urgent need for off-ramps from prolonged Gulf conflict, while Netanyahu’s political survival is bound up with continued escalation. India’s funeral delegation signalling: the choice to send Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita paired with Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retired) — rather than the PM himself — is read by the author as a calibrated posture of reassurance to Tehran while also reflecting India’s religious pluralism. India’s Gulf leverage: India has maintained good relations with Arab Gulf states from which millions of Indian workers send remittances home; ties with the UAE have grown stronger even as Saudi Arabia has found tactical reasons to accommodate Pakistan. Europe’s shifting stance: Europe’s political landscape has turned against Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon in ways that would have been unimaginable two years ago, with electoral arithmetic increasingly shaping trade policy and bilateral negotiations. 3 — Key Dimensions Iran’s continuing regional leverage: Iran retains deep-rooted political and ideological networks across Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and demonstrated capacity to shape ceasefire terms even after absorbing punitive strikes — it cannot be treated as a defeated actor. China’s opening in Iran: China appears poised to expand its strategic and economic footprint in a more isolated Iran, making it imperative for India to exercise caution — greater alignment with Israel risks pushing Tehran further into the China–Pakistan orbit. Europe as an underutilised lever: India’s economic ambitions in Europe, including operationalising the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, may face closer scrutiny in the context of India’s West Asia policy than New Delhi anticipates. The Global South credibility stake: India’s self-positioning as Vishwabandhu and a voice of the Global South is tested by visible alignment with Israel in a conflict where Global South opinion overwhelmingly sympathises with the Palestinians. Direct economic exposure: most of India’s oil imports pass through routes vulnerable to Gulf conflict; Strait of Hormuz flashpoints translate quickly into domestic economic consequences for Indian households. Beyond binary choices: the author distinguishes an adaptive, alignment-driven foreign policy from an architectonic one that actively shapes its own strategic environment — arguing India needs the latter without choosing between Israel and Iran. 4 — Critical Analysis In favour — Tangible defence and technology gains: India has received substantial military technology, know-how and counter-insurgency-derived intelligence expertise from Israel — real, material benefits, not merely symbolic ones. In favour — Genuine economic complementarity: the Critical and Emerging Technologies Partnership signed during Modi’s visit and progress toward a free trade agreement reflect real complementarity between Israeli innovation strength and Indian market and manufacturing scale. In favour — A historically reliable partner: the India-Israel relationship has been consistent through past crises, which carries genuine strategic value in an unpredictable region. Against — Habit is not strategy: continuing the relationship on inertia rather than fresh strategic assessment risks locking India into a reconfiguring region’s losing alignment. Against — Opportunity cost with Iran: a visible tilt toward Israel forecloses options with a resurgent, not-defeated Iran that retains real leverage over Gulf energy routes critical to India. Against — Europe risk: India’s economic ambitions, including the India-EU FTA, may face friction if its West Asia posture is perceived as one-sided, given Europe’s shifting stance on Gaza. Against — Global South credibility cost: alignment with Israel amid widespread Global South sympathy for Palestinians risks eroding India’s claimed leadership role in that grouping. Against — The binary critique cuts both ways: while the author rejects an Israel-vs-Iran binary, India’s calibrated funeral-delegation signalling suggests current diplomacy is already hedging in practice, even if not yet articulated as an explicit strategic doctrine. 5 — Way Forward Adopt an architectonic foreign policy posture — actively shaping India’s regional environment rather than passively following alignments set by the US or Israel. Leverage existing Gulf relationships — strong UAE ties, historical Iran ties and a large expatriate and remittance base — to play a genuinely balancing regional role rather than a binary-aligned one. Reassess the India-Israel relationship on strategic merit, distinguishing tangible defence and technology gains from the costs of visible political alignment, rather than treating the relationship as a fixed given. Proactively engage Europe on West Asia policy to protect economic objectives such as the India-EU FTA from being collaterally affected by perceptions of one-sidedness. Protect India’s Global South voice as a distinct strategic asset — calibrate visible alignments so as not to erode India’s credibility as a balancing power in a multipolar world. 6 — Data & Key Facts 28 Feb 2026US-Israeli strikes kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; Iran declares 40 days of national mourning 8 Mar 2026Mojtaba Khamenei elected new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts 3–9 Jul 2026Rescheduled state funeral of Ali Khamenei across Tehran, Qom, Iraq and Mashhad 25–26 Feb 2026Modi’s second state visit to Israel; Critical & Emerging Technologies Partnership signed 40 daysNational mourning period declared by Iran following Khamenei’s death 2017Year of Modi’s first, historic visit to Israel as Prime Minister Strait of Hormuz: the critical chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman; repeated flashpoint through the US-Israel-Iran conflict and central to India’s oil-import and energy-security calculus. Assembly of Experts: the Iranian constitutional body responsible for appointing (and, in principle, removing) the Supreme Leader; elected Mojtaba Khamenei as successor on 8 March 2026. 7 — Prelims Pointers Strait of Hormuz — critical chokepoint for global oil transit between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman; major India energy-security concern Assembly of Experts (Iran) — constitutional body responsible for appointing/removing Iran’s Supreme Leader India–EU Free Trade Agreement — under negotiation; economic dimension potentially affected by India’s West Asia diplomatic posture Vishwabandhu — India’s self-description as “friend to the world,” relevant to its claimed Global South leadership role Architectonic vs adaptive foreign policy — distinction between shaping one’s own strategic environment versus following alignments forged by others Assassination of Ali Khamenei — killed 28 February 2026 in a joint US-Israeli strike on his Tehran compound, opening the 2026 Iran war Exam note: Do not confuse Iran’s President (Masoud Pezeshkian, head of government/state functions) with its Supreme Leader (constitutional head of state and commander of armed forces, now Mojtaba Khamenei) — these are distinct offices under Iran’s constitutional structure. 8 — Practice Mains Question “Sound foreign policy cannot be guided by the momentum of habit.” In light of India’s evolving relations with Israel and Iran amid recent developments in West Asia, discuss the challenges facing India’s approach to the region and suggest a way forward.GS 2 · 15 marks · ~250 words · International Relations Intro: Frame India’s Israel engagement as increasingly habitual rather than strategically deliberated, using the Khamenei funeral invitation as the live diplomatic trigger. Body 1 — The strategic dilemma: Iran’s demonstrated resilience and regional leverage, US-Israel structural friction, and the economic and Global-South credibility costs of visible one-sided alignment. Body 2 — Beyond the binary: India’s Gulf leverage, calibrated diplomatic signalling (the funeral delegation), and the case for an architectonic rather than adaptive foreign policy. Conclusion: India must balance genuine gains from Israel ties against the strategic costs of appearing one-sided, using its size and Gulf relationships to shape — not merely follow — the region’s realignment. 9 — Practice MCQ Consider the following statements with reference to recent developments in West Asia: 1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli military strike on Iran in February 2026. 2. Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran’s Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts following his father’s death. 3. The Strait of Hormuz is located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only(b) 2 and 3 only(c) 1 and 3 only(d) 1, 2 and 3

Contents 01 July 2026 Adolescent Malnutrition in India: NFHS-6 Findings and School-Based InterventionsGS 2 SUMAN Roadmap 2030: Strengthening Maternal and Newborn HealthcareGS 2 Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: Revised Operational GuidelinesGS 2 India's First 3D-Printed Artificial Reefs off the Ramanathapuram CoastGS 3 Garudastra: Indigenous Long-Range 120mm Vehicle-Mounted Mortar SystemGS 3 The Fiscal Tightrope for State GovernmentsGS 3 Criminal Justice System's Digital Push: Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS)GS 2 FCRA 2.0 Portal and e-OCI Card InitiativeGS 2 709 New Species and 353 Taxa Added to India's Fauna and Flora DatabaseGS 3 Article 01 Adolescent Malnutrition in India: NFHS-6 Findings and School-Based Interventions GS Paper 2 — Health, Education & Government Policies Why in News? Data from the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) points to a worsening nutrition profile among Indian adolescents, with obesity, elevated blood sugar, and other lifestyle-linked conditions climbing sharply. The findings have renewed calls for schools to take on a bigger role in nutrition education and physical activity. Editorial note: NFHS-6 (2023-24) was officially released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May 2026; its existence and release are verified. The specific obesity, blood-sugar, stunting, triglyceride, and UPF-growth figures below are reproduced as provided in the source brief and have not been independently cross-checked against the official NFHS-6/CNNS/Lancet publications in this pass; treat them as sourced-from-pasted-material. What is the Status of Adolescent Malnutrition in India? A Double Burden: India is dealing with undernutrition and a fast-rising overweight/obesity problem side by side, and adolescents are caught in the middle of both trends. Lifestyle Diseases on the Rise (NFHS-6, 2023–24): Obesity levels climbed to 30.7% among women and 27.3% among men; high blood sugar prevalence rose to 17.8% in women and 20.9% in men — both signalling a deterioration in metabolic health nationwide. This is no longer confined to cities. Inactive routines, stress, and processed-food consumption are pushing up obesity and metabolic risk among rural adolescents just as much as urban ones. The Thin-Fat Phenotype: A large share of adolescents look lean on the outside but carry high visceral fat internally, putting them at elevated risk of early Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS, 2019) found that 27.4% of adolescents are stunted, and many who appear thin are nonetheless metabolically unwell. Separately, 35% of stunted under-five children already show adult-level triglyceride readings, raising their long-term diabetes and cardiovascular risk. Weak Diets: Adolescent diets skew heavily toward cereals, with too little protein, fruit, vegetables, and dairy, even as intake of High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) foods and Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) grows fast — UPF consumption alone is rising more than 13.7% a year. Cereal-dominant eating patterns leave adolescents well short of what the Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 recommend, namely that fruits and vegetables should make up roughly half the plate by volume. A Growing Future Burden: A 2025 Lancet study forecasts that by 2050, 21.8 crore men and 23.1 crore women in India will be overweight, with the sharpest rise expected among 15–24 year-olds. Inactivity: Sedentary behaviour has become a serious public health concern across both urban and rural adolescent populations. Long screen time and inactive routines feed into poor eating habits, compounding the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. How can Schools Address Adolescent Malnutrition in India? Building Practical Skills: Students need hands-on training in reading food labels, judging portion sizes, and spotting deceptive junk-food advertising. The ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition's Let's Fix Our Food (LFOF) consortium is already working toward this, promoting nutrition literacy and distributing food-label reading kits to build healthier food environments. In 2025, the CBSE directed more than 24,000 affiliated schools to put up "Sugar Boards" that expose the hidden sugar content in packaged snacks and drinks. Tools such as the NCERT–UNESCO comic book "Let's Move Forward" can make nutrition education more engaging, helping students absorb lessons on hidden sugars, balanced diets, and physical wellbeing. Cleaning Up the School Food Environment: Campuses should go UPF- and HFSS-free by adopting FSSAI's Eat Right School Initiative, which combines curricular nutrition education with practical steps like healthier canteen menus. Schools also need to enforce FSSAI's 2020 rule barring the sale of High Fat, Salt and Sugar foods within 50 metres of school premises. PM POSHAN meals should lean more on protein and millets, while school gardens and fruit breaks can build a habit of eating fresh, seasonal produce from an early age. Rethinking the Curriculum: Nutrition can't stay confined to a chapter in a biology textbook — understanding macro- and micronutrients deserves the same everyday importance as arithmetic. Physical education and sport need to become a fixed, non-negotiable part of the school day, not an optional extra, as a direct counter to rising screen time and sedentary habits linked to obesity and non-communicable disease. Going Beyond Height and Weight Checks: Schools should link up with the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for more comprehensive health screening. Holding periodic Adolescent Health and Wellness Days on campus would let schools screen for early metabolic risk, BMI deviations, and anaemia, and route students to primary health centres when needed. Bringing Parents In: What children eat is largely decided by what's bought at home, so parental awareness sessions on the risks of UPFs and the value of dietary variety are essential to make school-based habits stick. Policy Levers: At the national level, higher taxes on sugary drinks and tighter curbs on surrogate junk-food advertising aimed at children would reinforce what schools are trying to do. Building a genuinely Fit India will mean treating schools as sites of preventive healthcare, not just learning. Pairing blackboards with Nutrition Boards, UPF-free canteens, and compulsory physical activity can help head off adolescent malnutrition and lifestyle disease early — turning India's demographic dividend into a lasting asset rather than a looming healthcare cost. Static Background: Key Concepts National Family Health Survey (NFHS): A large-scale, multi-round household survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as the nodal agency. NFHS-6 (2023-24) is the sixth round, covering nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts, and for the first time was coordinated solely by IIPS without USAID involvement. Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), 2019: India's first nationally representative micronutrient and non-communicable disease risk survey among children and adolescents (0–19 years), conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with UNICEF support. Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024: Issued by ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad; recommends that half the plate by volume consist of fruits and vegetables, alongside limits on HFSS/UPF intake. FSSAI Eat Right School Initiative: A programme by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India that certifies schools as "Eat Right Campuses" through safe food handling, healthy canteens, and nutrition education modules for students. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK): A child health screening and early intervention programme under the National Health Mission, covering the 4 Ds — Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies, and Development delays — in children from birth to 18 years. PM POSHAN (erstwhile Mid-Day Meal Scheme): A centrally sponsored scheme providing hot cooked meals to school children to improve nutritional status and encourage school attendance. Prelims Pointers NFHS-6 (2023-24) — sixth round of the National Family Health Survey, coordinated solely by IIPS Mumbai for the first time, covering 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts. CNNS (2019) — India's first nationally representative survey on micronutrient status and NCD risk in children/adolescents (0–19 years). "Thin-fat phenotype" — a body composition pattern where a person has a normal or low body weight but a disproportionately high percentage of visceral (abdominal) fat, raising diabetes and cardiovascular risk despite looking lean. FSSAI's HFSS 50-metre rule (2020) — prohibits sale of High Fat, Salt and Sugar foods within 50 metres of school campuses. RBSK's "4 Ds" — Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies, Development delays — the four screening domains of the child health programme. CBSE Sugar Boards (2025) — mandated in over 24,000 affiliated schools to display hidden sugar content in packaged food/beverages. Mains Practice Question "Adolescent malnutrition in India reflects a double burden of undernutrition and rising obesity." Discuss the findings of NFHS-6 in this context and examine the role schools can play in addressing this challenge. GS Paper 2 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ Consider the following statements with reference to the "thin-fat phenotype" often discussed in the context of adolescent nutrition in India: 1. It refers to individuals who appear lean but carry excess visceral fat. 2. It increases vulnerability to Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease despite normal body weight. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A1 only B2 only CBoth 1 and 2 DNeither 1 nor 2 Answer: C The thin-fat phenotype describes adolescents/adults who appear lean by conventional weight standards but carry disproportionately high visceral (abdominal) fat, making them metabolically vulnerable to early-onset Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease despite a normal BMI. Both statements are therefore correct. Article 02 SUMAN Roadmap 2030: Strengthening Maternal and Newborn Healthcare GS Paper 2 — Government Policies & Interventions (Health) Why in News? Union Health Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda unveiled the SUMAN Roadmap 2030 at the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW). The same event saw the rollout of several other digital health tools — Aarogya Setu 2.0, eSushrut@clinic, the Ayushman Sarathi PM-JAY WhatsApp chatbot, a Drug Registry, and the Unified Health Interface. What is the SUMAN Roadmap 2030? Overview: The Roadmap is a strategic blueprint from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aimed at overhauling maternal and newborn healthcare delivery nationwide. Approach: It blends national priorities with ground-level realities across States, using an evidence-based approach to move India toward its SDG commitments on maternal and newborn health by 2030. RMNCHA+N Framework: The Roadmap sits within the RMNCHA+N framework — Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition — taking a life-cycle view that spans pre-pregnancy through the postnatal period. Managing High-Risk Pregnancies: A core focus is identifying and tracking high-risk pregnancies across four stages: antenatal care, the third trimester, intrapartum care, and the postnatal period. What It Tackles: The plan takes on transport gaps, healthcare access in tribal and remote regions, quality of emergency obstetric care, grassroots participation via SUMAN Panchayats, and the growing threat climate change poses to maternal and newborn health. Where the Focus Is: Time-bound interventions are being rolled out in 130 districts across 13 high-focus States — Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. Targets: The Roadmap sets out to bring the Maternal Mortality Ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, cut the Neonatal and Infant Mortality Rates further, secure universal coverage of quality maternal and newborn care, and ultimately eliminate preventable maternal and newborn deaths. Broader Interventions: These span pre-pregnancy folic acid supplementation, nutrition support for anaemic and undernourished mothers, closer surveillance of high-risk pregnancies, Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) and Maternal Near Miss (MNM) reviews, Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garments (NASG) for obstetric haemorrhage, AI-enabled labour rooms, climate-responsive planning, rationalising Caesarean section rates, and folding in the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK). Backing It Up: Implementation support includes new Centres of Excellence, a centralised SUMAN Call Centre for grievances, stronger referral chains between facilities, and digital tracking via the JANANI Portal. SDG Targets on Maternal and Newborn Health SDG Target Description Nutrition (Target 2.2) End all forms of malnutrition and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and children under 5 years. Maternal Mortality (Target 3.1) Bring down the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. Newborn Mortality (Target 3.2) Eliminate preventable deaths among newborns and children under 5; reduce the Neonatal Mortality Rate to at least 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births. Sexual and Reproductive Health (Target 3.7) Guarantee universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including family planning, information and education, woven into national health strategy. Reproductive Rights (Target 5.6) Secure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, enabling informed reproductive choices and better maternal health. What Other Key Health Initiatives were Announced at the 16th CCHFW? Drug Registry: A unified digital repository under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) that standardises information on generic drugs, branded medicines and other substances to improve e-prescriptions, interoperability, and clinical decision-making. Unified Health Interface (UHI): An interoperable ABDM service layer letting citizens and verified providers discover, book and access digital health services across different apps rather than being locked into one platform. National Ambulance Services (NAS) Operational Guidelines 2026: Sets a common national standard for emergency medical transport, covering ambulance deployment, AIS-125 compliance, Integrated Command and Dispatch Centres, GPS tracking, and integration with the 112 emergency response number. Aarogya Setu 2.0: A rebuilt national health app and Personal Health Record platform for creating an ABHA ID, managing health records, using the PM-JAY wallet, setting medicine reminders, finding nearby health services, and controlling consent-based data sharing. Ayushman Sarathi: A WhatsApp chatbot for PM-JAY that offers round-the-clock access to eligibility checks, Ayushman Card downloads, hospital search, grievance tracking and treatment history. eSushrut@Clinic: A lightweight, ABDM-linked Hospital Management Information System built by C-DAC for small clinics, PHCs, Health and Wellness Centres, and private practices. Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK): Brings Home-Based Newborn Care and Home-Based Care for Young Child under one umbrella, delivering continuous home- and community-based care from birth to 36 months. Static Background: Key Concepts Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW): The apex advisory body headed by the Union Health Minister, with State Health Ministers as members, to promote coordinated health policy and planning between the Centre and States; health being a State subject under the Constitution. JANANI Portal: A Ministry of Health digital platform used for tracking maternal health service delivery and, per this Roadmap, for mapping haemoglobin testing records of pregnant women. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM): A national digital health ecosystem launched in 2021 to create a unique digital health ID (ABHA) for every citizen and interoperable digital health records. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) / Maternal Near Miss (MNM): WHO-recommended review mechanisms that track and analyse maternal deaths/near-miss events at facility level to identify preventable causes and corrective action. Prelims Pointers SUMAN Roadmap 2030 — launched by MoHFW under the RMNCHA+N framework (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition) to reduce MMR below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. 130 districts across 13 high-focus States are targeted for time-bound interventions under the Roadmap. SDG Target 3.1 — global maternal mortality ratio to be reduced to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. NASG (Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment) — a first-aid device used to manage obstetric haemorrhage by applying circumferential pressure to the lower body to stabilise blood pressure. SSBSK (Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram) — integrates Home-Based Newborn Care and Home-Based Care for Young Child for children from birth to 36 months. Mains Practice Question Examine the significance of the RMNCHA+N framework in India's maternal and newborn health strategy. How does the SUMAN Roadmap 2030 seek to address regional disparities in maternal mortality through its high-focus State approach? GS Paper 2 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ Match List-I (Initiative launched at the 16th CCHFW) with List-II (Function) and select the correct answer using the code given below: List-I A. Drug Registry B. Unified Health Interface (UHI) C. Ayushman Sarathi D. eSushrut@Clinic List-II 1. WhatsApp chatbot for PM-JAY services 2. HMIS for small clinics and PHCs 3. Standardises drug information under ABDM 4. Interoperable service layer for discovering health services Codes: AA-3, B-4, C-1, D-2 BA-4, B-3, C-2, D-1 CA-3, B-1, C-4, D-2 DA-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 Answer: A Drug Registry standardises drug-related information under ABDM; the Unified Health Interface enables discovery and booking of health services across platforms; Ayushman Sarathi is the PM-JAY WhatsApp chatbot; and eSushrut@Clinic is the HMIS built for small clinics and PHCs. Article 03 Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: Revised Operational Guidelines GS Paper 2 — Health & Government Policies Why in News? The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued revised Operational Guidelines for the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, coinciding with eight years since the programme's launch, and setting out a sharper strategy to tackle anaemia across the country. What are the Key Highlights of the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Operational Guidelines? A Shift in Approach: The revised guidelines move India's anaemia response away from a purely preventive model toward active, case-based treatment — backed by more intensive testing, tracking, and follow-up protocols. From 6x6x6 to 7x7x7: The earlier six-part strategy has been expanded with three new structural additions: A Seventh Beneficiary Group: Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies aged 0–6 months are now covered, aiming to break the intergenerational cycle of anaemia right from the start. A Seventh Intervention — "Eating Right": This pushes for daily, conscious consumption of diverse, iron-rich food as a habit rather than a one-off supplement. A Seventh Institutional Mechanism: A digitally integrated Monitoring and Evaluation system has been added to keep the programme accountable end-to-end. The T4 Strategy: The programme's operating model has moved from T3 (Test, Treat, Talk) to T4 (Test, Treat, Talk, Track), building in stricter follow-up and referral through the full continuum of care. Stronger Clinical Options: For severe or non-responding cases among pregnant and lactating women, Intravenous Iron Therapy — using Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM) and Iron Sucrose — is now a standard clinical tool. One Digital Backbone: A new centralised Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Portal will pull together data from the JANANI Portal (maternal screening), the RBSK Portal (child screening), and the U-WIN Portal (immunisation tracking) for unified monitoring. Whole-of-Government, Whole-of-Society: The Abhiyaan leans on inter-ministerial coordination alongside two community-facing campaigns — 'Jan Bhagidari' for mobilisation and 'Jan Chetna' to de-normalise anaemia as an accepted condition. What It's Aiming For: The revised push is explicitly tied to bringing down the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio while improving overall maternal and child health outcomes. What is Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB)? Background: Launched in 2018 under the National Health Mission, AMB was India's move toward tackling anaemia across the life cycle rather than through isolated interventions, addressing both nutritional and non-nutritional causes. Crucial AMB Interventions Preventive IFA Supplementation: Age- and status-specific, colour-coded Iron-Folic Acid tablets are distributed — biweekly syrup for infants, weekly pink tablets for 5–10 year-olds, weekly blue for adolescents, red for non-pregnant women, and a daily dose for pregnant women. Twice-Yearly Deworming: Carried out under National Deworming Day on 10th February and 10th August each year, targeting parasitic infection in children and adolescents aged 1–19. Pregnant women are dewormed separately during their second trimester through antenatal care. Fortified Food: IFA-fortified foods are mandatorily worked into government-funded public health programmes. Beyond Nutrition: The programme also screens for and treats non-nutritional causes of anaemia — malaria, haemoglobinopathies like Sickle Cell Disease, and fluorosis. Digital Tools: Point-of-care testing and treatment have been digitised as part of the programme's rollout. Anemia What Causes It: Iron deficiency is the leading cause, though folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin A deficiencies also contribute; the result is low haemoglobin and reduced oxygen delivery to organs. The WHO classifies women of reproductive age as anaemic below 12 g/dL haemoglobin, and children under 5 below 11.0 g/dL. Consequences: Anaemia brings fatigue and can impair cognitive and motor development in children; in pregnant women, it raises the risk of perinatal loss, premature birth, and low birth weight babies. Who's Most Affected: Children under 5, menstruating adolescent girls, and pregnant/postpartum women bear the heaviest burden. The Scale of the Problem: Globally, anaemia affects 40% of children aged 6–59 months, 37% of pregnant women, and 30% of non-pregnant women aged 15–49. In India, NFHS-5 recorded anaemia in 67.1% of children under 5, 59.1% of adolescent girls (15–19), 57.0% of women (15–49), and 52.2% of pregnant women. More than half of pregnant women in India (52%) experience anaemia — defined as haemoglobin below 11 g/dL — at some point during pregnancy. Static Background: Key Concepts National Health Mission (NHM): An umbrella programme (2013) combining the National Rural Health Mission and National Urban Health Mission to provide accessible, affordable, quality healthcare; AMB operates as a flagship sub-scheme under NHM. Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM): An intravenous iron formulation used for rapid correction of iron-deficiency anemia in patients who cannot tolerate or do not respond adequately to oral iron supplementation. Haemoglobinopathies: Inherited blood disorders (e.g., Sickle Cell Disease, Thalassemia) affecting haemoglobin structure or production; India runs a dedicated National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission targeting 2047. U-WIN Portal: A digital platform for tracking universal immunization coverage, now proposed to feed into the unified Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Portal for children's anemia records. Prelims Pointers Anemia Mukt Bharat launched in 2018 under the National Health Mission (NHM); the original strategy is known as 6x6x6, now expanded to 7x7x7. T4 Strategy — Test, Treat, Talk, Track — replaces the earlier T3 (Test, Treat, Talk) approach. WHO anaemia threshold — Hb <12 g/dL for reproductive-age women; Hb <11 g/dL for children under 5. National Deworming Day observed twice a year: 10th February and 10th August. FCM (Ferric Carboxymaltose) and Iron Sucrose — intravenous iron therapies for severe/non-responder anemia cases in pregnant and lactating women. NFHS-5 anaemia prevalence: 67.1% (children under 5), 59.1% (adolescent girls 15–19), 57.0% (women 15–49), 52.2% (pregnant women). Mains Practice Question Anemia remains a persistent public health challenge in India despite years of intervention. Critically examine the shift from the 6x6x6 to the 7x7x7 framework under the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and assess whether this represents a genuine paradigm shift in care. GS Paper 2 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ Assertion (A): The Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has shifted its core strategy from prophylactic care to therapeutic care. Reason (R): Intravenous Iron Therapy using Ferric Carboxymaltose has been institutionalised for severe and non-responder cases among pregnant and lactating women. ABoth A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A BBoth A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A CA is true, but R is false DA is false, but R is true Answer: A The institutionalisation of IV Iron Therapy (FCM/Iron Sucrose) for severe and non-responder cases is a concrete clinical expression of the broader paradigm shift from prevention-only (prophylactic IFA supplementation) to active, case-based treatment (therapeutic care) under the revised guidelines. Hence R correctly explains A. Article 04 India's First 3D-Printed Artificial Reefs off the Ramanathapuram Coast GS Paper 3 — Environment, Biodiversity & Science and Technology Why in News? Tamil Nadu is preparing to lower India's first 3D-printed artificial reef modules into the sea as part of the second phase of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, a step toward restoring degraded marine habitats along the coast. What are the Key Facts About India's First 3D-Printed Artificial Reefs? The Pilot: Six newly designed reef modules will be tested off the Ramanathapuram coast to see how they hold up in Indian coastal waters. Researchers will track how durable and ecologically effective the modules prove to be before deciding whether to scale up the programme. Who's Involved: The project pairs the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute with Tvasta, a Chennai-based, IIT Madras-incubated startup that built the roughly 1-tonne modules. What Sets Them Apart: Unlike traditional iron-reinforced concrete reefs, these are printed without iron and feature intricate crevices, folds, and attachment surfaces. The added porosity and surface complexity is meant to make the structures more hospitable to corals, sponges, and other reef-dwelling marine life. Who Benefits: Funded jointly by the Centre and Tamil Nadu government on a 60:40 basis, the project is part of a larger reef-building effort spanning 213 sites in the State, expected to help traditional fishing communities through richer fish stocks and healthier ecosystems. What is a 3D Printed Artificial Reef? Concept: These are engineered underwater structures meant to rebuild marine habitats in places where natural reef systems have weakened or vanished. How They're Made: 3D-printing lets designers build far more intricate, tailored, and species-specific reef shapes than pouring conventional concrete allows. Design Advantage: Varying cavity sizes, folds, and textured surfaces give marine organisms places to shelter, attach, and breed. Ecological Payoff: The complex surfaces attract corals, sponges, algae, crustaceans and fish, gradually seeding a new marine ecosystem. Fisheries Angle: New habitat and nursery grounds can boost fish biomass, supporting more sustainable fisheries. Why It's Useful: The technology allows flexible, quickly-modified designs suited to specific sites and species. Caveats: Long-term success hinges on durability, using non-toxic materials, sensible placement, and continued ecological monitoring — artificial reefs don't always deliver on their intended goals. Bigger Picture: As a restoration tool, 3D-printed reefs can strengthen marine biodiversity, support coastal livelihoods, and take some pressure off natural coral reefs. Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) Origins: Launched on 10th September 2020, PMMSY was designed to drive a "Blue Revolution" and make India's fisheries sector more sustainable, productive, and inclusive. Goals: It aims to lift fish production and productivity, modernise the value chain, build up post-harvest infrastructure, and tighten quality management. Money: The scheme was approved with a ₹20,050 crore outlay for 2020-21 to 2024-25, since extended to 2025-26. How It's Structured: It runs through two arms — a Central Sector Scheme fully funded by the Centre, and a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented by States with partial central funding. What It Covers: Focus areas include boosting production, fisheries infrastructure, post-harvest handling, women's participation, climate-resilient coastal villages, biofloc technology, and digital platforms. Results So Far: Fish production under PMMSY reached 195 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, exports have grown, 58 lakh livelihoods have been created, and 99,018 women have been supported through the scheme. Static Background: Key Concepts ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI): A premier fisheries research institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, headquartered in Kochi, mandated to conduct research on marine fisheries resource assessment, management, and conservation. Blue Revolution: The umbrella term for India's policy push (since the 7th Five Year Plan, revitalised under PMMSY) to boost fish production and fisheries-sector income through modernised aquaculture and marine fisheries management. Conventional vs. 3D-printed reefs: Traditional artificial reefs use reinforced concrete blocks/scuttled ships; 3D-printing allows intricate, iron-free, high-porosity geometries tailored to specific species' habitat needs, a distinguishing exam-relevant fact. Prelims Pointers India's first 3D-printed artificial reef modules are being piloted off the Ramanathapuram coast, Tamil Nadu, under PMMSY Phase II. Developed by Tvasta, an IIT Madras-incubated startup, in collaboration with the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI. Each module weighs about 1 tonne and is built without iron reinforcement — a key point of distinction from conventional concrete artificial reefs. PMMSY was launched on 10th September 2020 with a ₹20,050 crore outlay (2020-21 to 2024-25, extended to 2025-26) to drive the "Blue Revolution." The wider Tamil Nadu artificial reef project spans 213 sites, funded in a 60:40 Centre-State ratio. Mains Practice Question Discuss the ecological and livelihood significance of artificial reef technology for India's coastal fisheries. How do 3D-printed reef modules improve upon conventional reinforced-concrete reefs? GS Paper 3 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ With reference to India's first 3D-printed artificial reef pilot project, consider the following statement: "The reef modules are manufactured using reinforced concrete with iron bars to increase structural strength." Is this statement correct or incorrect? ACorrect BIncorrect Answer: B (Incorrect) Unlike conventional artificial reefs made from iron-reinforced concrete, the new 3D-printed modules developed by Tvasta are manufactured without iron reinforcement, using material innovations that increase porosity and create substrates more suitable for marine organisms. Article 05 Garudastra: Indigenous Long-Range 120mm Vehicle-Mounted Mortar System GS Paper 3 — Defence & Security / Indigenisation of Technology Why in News? India has carried out a successful trial of Garudastra, an indigenously built long-range 120 mm vehicle-mounted mortar system, at the Infantry School in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh — the Army's oldest training establishment. The live demonstration for the Indian Army showcased the system's mobility, precision, and rate of fire. Garudastra has been developed by Nibe Ltd. Key Facts About Garudastra What It Is: Garudastra is a vehicle-mounted 120mm mortar system built for accurate indirect fire support, combining high mobility with a fast battlefield response. It is being described as India's heaviest indigenous 120mm vehicle-mounted mortar system to date. Who Built It: The system comes from Nibe Ltd. Standout Features: It supports rapid deployment, a high rate of fire, shoot-and-scoot operation, Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI), precision-guided munitions, and integration with command-and-control networks. The vehicle-mounted, shoot-and-scoot design lets it reposition quickly after firing, reducing the chance of being detected or hit by counter-battery fire. How Precise It Is: Garudastra can hit targets 7–10 km away using GPS and laser guidance, aiming for pinpoint accuracy with minimal collateral damage, and can link directly into command-and-control and battle management networks. Speed of Operation: It can be brought into firing position in under 30 seconds, fire two rounds within 15 seconds, and relocate within 15 seconds to dodge counter-battery fire. Rate of Fire: Just two crew members can operate it, and it's capable of firing 12 rounds in 60 seconds without losing accuracy. Payload: Its 17-kg warhead is built to punch through reinforced concrete, making it effective against bunkers and other hardened targets. Why It Matters: The system is a step forward for India's indigenous defence manufacturing base, aligning with the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat push. Editorial note: Source reports differ on the precise penetration specification of the 17-kg warhead. One account describes it only as "capable of defeating reinforced concrete" without a stated depth; a second account (The Times of India) specifies that it is "designed to penetrate up to 20 cm of reinforced concrete." The 20 cm figure is reproduced here as sourced-from-pasted-material (TOI) and has not been independently verified against an official defence-ministry specification sheet. Static Background: Key Concepts Shoot-and-scoot: A tactical doctrine where a mobile artillery/mortar platform fires and immediately relocates before the enemy can identify its position and return fire (counter-battery fire) — a survivability feature increasingly standard in modern indirect-fire systems. Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI): A firing technique where a single gun/mortar fires several rounds along different trajectories timed so that all rounds land on the target simultaneously, maximising surprise and lethality without needing multiple guns. Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence: India's self-reliance push in defence manufacturing, involving indigenisation lists, defence corridors, and incentives for private players (like Nibe Ltd) alongside DRDO/OFB-linked entities. Prelims Pointers Garudastra — India's heaviest indigenous 120mm vehicle-mounted mortar system, developed by Nibe Ltd. Tested at the Infantry School, Mhow (Madhya Pradesh) — the Indian Army's oldest military training centre. Engagement range: 7–10 km, using GPS and laser guidance. Firing rate: 12 rounds in 60 seconds, operated by a two-member crew; deployment in under 30 seconds, relocation in under 15 seconds. MRSI (Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact) — a technique enabling several rounds fired at different trajectories to land on target at the same instant. Mains Practice Question Indigenous development of precision indirect-fire systems like Garudastra reflects India's growing defence manufacturing capability. Discuss the strategic and operational significance of vehicle-mounted, shoot-and-scoot mortar systems in modern warfare. GS Paper 3 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ Which one of the following statements about the Garudastra mortar system is NOT correct? AIt is a 120mm vehicle-mounted mortar system with shoot-and-scoot capability. BIt uses GPS and laser guidance to engage targets at ranges of 7–10 km. CIt requires a crew of six members to operate. DIt supports Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI). Answer: C Garudastra is operated by a two-member crew, not six, and is capable of firing 12 rounds in 60 seconds. All other statements (shoot-and-scoot, GPS/laser-guided 7–10 km range, MRSI) are correct as per the reported specifications. Article 06 The Fiscal Tightrope for State Governments GS Paper 3 — Indian Economy (Fiscal Federalism) — Opinion/Editorial The Gist State debt accumulates over time whenever spending outpaces tax and other receipts. Although the Union government collects the bulk of taxes, States shoulder a disproportionately large share of public spending. States fund their expenditure partly through their own revenue — chiefly State GST and sales tax — and partly through Union government transfers, grants, and loans. Whatever gap remains between spending and receipts is bridged through market borrowings, on which States pay interest. The Fiscal Dilemma Kerala and Tamil Nadu rank among India's most socially and economically advanced States, yet their finances — like those of most States — are under real strain; White Papers released by both governments flagged their outstanding debt as a matter of concern. It's tempting to read State debt purely as fiscal mismanagement, but it may just as easily reflect a gap between what States aspire to deliver developmentally and the limited fiscal room they actually have. Most State spending goes toward social sectors like health and education and economic sectors like agriculture and irrigation — areas that directly shape people's day-to-day lives. In Kerala, decades of comparatively high social-sector spending, dating back to the 1960s, have been central to the State's social progress. Per capita, State social expenditure ran 30% above the all-India average in Kerala and 20% above it in Tamil Nadu, while it lagged by 35% in Bihar and 40% in Uttar Pradesh, based on an analysis of RBI's State Finances: A Study of Budgets covering 2020-23. States raise their own revenue mainly through SGST and sales tax, topping this up with Union transfers, grants and loans. Kerala does relatively well on this front — its per capita own-tax revenue runs 1.5 times the all-India average. Yet its share of Union tax devolution stood at just 1.92%, below its 2.6% share of India's population in 2023–24. Whatever gap remains between what States spend and what they raise gets filled through market borrowing, with interest payments attached. The Investment Challenge Facing Kerala With its limited resources, Kerala manages to put only about 10% of spending toward capital expenditure that builds future productive capacity; the remaining 90% goes to routine, day-to-day expenses. Around a fifth of the State budget goes to government salaries — mostly teachers, nurses, doctors, and police. Pensions eat up 15.3%, and interest on market borrowings another 16.5%. This leaves Kerala stuck: cutting revenue spending — trimming pensions, shrinking the workforce — would undercut the very social-sector gains that define the State, yet without fresh capital investment in infrastructure, higher education, research, and public transport, Kerala risks falling behind in knowledge-driven sectors. Young, educated Keralites are leaving in large numbers simply because the State can't generate enough matching educational and career opportunities at home. Meanwhile, private wealth in Kerala is conspicuous — large houses, expensive cars, a dense network of gold shops — standing in sharp contrast to the government's fiscal constraints, a gap that risks deepening inequality. Bank data reflects the same story: Kerala's credit-to-deposit ratio sits at roughly 66%, well below the national average of 76% and far below the 100%-plus ratios seen in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (2023) — a sign of large amounts of savings sitting idle rather than being deployed. Had Kerala managed to channel even part of this surplus savings into investment between 2016 and 2026, its capital expenditure could plausibly have doubled. A Comparison: How China's Local Governments Borrow In China, the lion's share of growth-boosting investment comes not from the central government but from provinces and lower-tier local governments, working within a framework coordinated by central planning. Chinese local governments tap local government bonds (LGBs), land sales, and off-budget borrowing through local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) to raise funds, on top of public savings and central transfers. India, by contrast, imposes tighter limits on how much States can borrow — and makes that borrowing markedly more expensive. States pay 6.5% to 7.5% interest on the State Development Loans (SDLs) they issue to raise market debt, roughly 0.25 to 0.75 percentage points above the Union government's own borrowing cost, and far above the roughly 2% Chinese local governments pay when borrowing from their domestic banking system. That higher interest burden tightens the fiscal squeeze on State governments even further. There's a broader point here: debt a government takes on is, in a real sense, a debt owed to its own citizens. A government that borrows to widen welfare and opportunity is arguably doing something more valuable than one that simply avoids debt — much like a family might prefer to fund a local public university with its savings rather than spend those savings sending one child to study far away. In practice, both State and Union bonds in India are bought overwhelmingly by domestic financial institutions, including commercial banks. The author's underlying argument is that India needs fiscal structures letting States tap domestic savings more easily and cheaply to finance well-planned development projects. Writing as Professor of Economics at IIT Delhi and a visiting researcher at the South Asia Institute, Jayan Jose Thomas frames the core argument: State debt used to fund welfare and development is fundamentally different from unproductive borrowing, and India's fiscal architecture — tight borrowing caps paired with comparatively costly SDLs — limits States' ability to turn domestic savings into productive public investment. Static Background: Key Concepts State Development Loans (SDLs): Market borrowings raised by State governments through the Reserve Bank of India via auctions; States pay a yield typically higher than the Union government's G-Secs due to perceived higher credit/liquidity risk. FRBM Act framework: The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (Centre, 2003) and corresponding State-level FRBM legislations cap States' fiscal deficit (generally around 3% of GSDP, with conditional additional borrowing space tied to power-sector and other reforms). Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVs): Off-budget entities used by Chinese local governments to raise infrastructure investment financing, distinct from India's system where States borrow directly against fiscal deficit limits set by the Union government/Finance Commission recommendations. Prelims Pointers State Development Loans (SDLs) — market borrowing instruments issued by State governments, typically at 6.5%–7.5% interest, 0.25–0.75 percentage points above Union government borrowing costs. Kerala's tax devolution share from the Union government was 1.92% in the 15th Finance Commission period, lower than its 2.6% population share (2023-24). Credit-to-deposit ratio — a bank-level indicator of loan disbursal relative to deposits mobilised; Kerala's ratio (~66%) is below the national average (~76%), indicating large unutilised savings. Kerala directed only about 10% of its budget towards capital expenditure, with salaries (~20%), pensions (15.3%) and interest payments (16.5%) consuming the bulk of revenue expenditure. China's local governments borrow via Local Government Bonds (LGBs) and Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVs), at borrowing costs around 2% from the domestic banking system. Article 07 Criminal Justice System's Digital Push: Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) GS Paper 2 — Polity & Governance (Criminal Justice Reforms) Why in News? Starting January 1, 2027, every investigation and trial procedure under India's new criminal laws is set to be recorded digitally, according to a senior Home Ministry official. The nationwide rollout of the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) — which brings police, courts, prisons, forensics, and prosecution onto one platform — is nearing completion, with the focus now on making the entire workflow paperless end-to-end. The underlying data sits on the government-owned MeghRaj cloud. Key Facts The New Criminal Codes: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita (BSS), and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) took over from the Indian Penal Code (1860), the Indian Evidence Act (1872), and the Code of Criminal Procedure (1898) respectively, coming into force on 1 July 2024. Over the past two years, 74.66 lakh FIRs have been registered under BNS. Because the new laws demand upgraded infrastructure and forensic capacity, States and Union Territories have a five-year window to put every pillar of the system in place. The Zero-FIR Provision: A total of 63,572 zero-FIRs — FIRs that can be filed regardless of jurisdiction — have been registered under the BNSS. The practice existed informally before, but the BNSS now gives it formal statutory backing. A police officer cannot turn away a complainant wanting to file a zero-FIR; the case is then transferred to the police station with actual jurisdiction, which decides whether to close it or investigate further. Around 13,000 of these zero-FIRs involved transfers between districts within the same State. Digital Filing Backbone: The Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network Systems (CCTNS), used to file FIRs across roughly 16,000 police stations nationwide, supports case registration in 23 languages, with the Bhashini App translating zero-FIRs into the language of the jurisdiction handling the case. How States Are Doing: Of 36 States and Union Territories, Haryana, Goa, Assam, Punjab, and Chandigarh have rolled out every parameter of the digital justice system, while 23 States and UTs (including Delhi) sit above the national average. Some north-eastern States are lagging, largely due to connectivity gaps. Forensic Capacity: Since the new laws mandate forensic examination for offences carrying a sentence of seven years or more, 25 new forensic laboratories have been added in two years, pushing the national total from 129 in 2023 to 154 in 2025. Forensic labs handled 8,44,589 cases in 2023, with 4,64,879 pending; by 2025, intake had risen to 11,11,798 cases, with 3,90,786 still pending. Over 700 mobile forensic units have been deployed to date. Progress on Implementation: The national implementation score rose from 46.47% in January 2025 to 70.06% by June 2026. Sixty-day chargesheet compliance climbed from about 51% to 67%, and 90-day compliance from roughly 40% to 61%. Separately, 46.5 lakh digital evidence (Sakshya) IDs have been generated and 56.74 lakh e-summons served. One weak spot: only 46% of registered cases — less than half — have gone through full FIR consumption by courts, the step where a case is electronically transmitted to and received by court systems. As of May 31, 2026, the shared database held 37.68 crore police records, including 9.9 crore FIRs and 7.64 crore chargesheets, accessible to police and investigating agencies. What Remains: Improving internet connectivity in remote and north-eastern areas, standardising processes across States and UTs, achieving full interoperability between platforms, and training personnel are the challenges officials flagged going forward. Static Background: Key Concepts Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS): An e-governance initiative integrating databases of police (CCTNS), courts (e-Courts), prisons (e-Prisons), forensics (e-Forensics) and prosecution (e-Prosecution) into a single searchable platform, enabling real-time exchange of information across the criminal justice ecosystem. Zero-FIR: An FIR that can be registered at any police station regardless of the jurisdiction where the offence occurred; the case is subsequently transferred to the police station with territorial jurisdiction. It was a Supreme Court/administrative practice earlier and now has explicit statutory backing under BNSS. MeghRaj (GI Cloud): The Government of India's national cloud computing infrastructure, hosting e-governance applications and data including criminal justice records. e-Sakshya (Digital Evidence IDs): A system for uniquely identifying and tracking digital evidence collected during investigations, mandated to strengthen chain-of-custody standards under the new evidence law (BSS). Prelims Pointers BNS, BSS, BNSS — replaced IPC (1860), Indian Evidence Act (1872) and CrPC (1898) respectively; all three came into effect on 1 July 2024. ICJS integrates police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution data on a single platform; data is hosted on the MeghRaj government cloud. Zero-FIR — an FIR registrable at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction, now with explicit statutory backing under BNSS. CCTNS — the nationwide FIR-filing platform across roughly 16,000 police stations, supporting FIR registration in 23 languages via the Bhashini translation app. Forensic labs in India rose from 129 (2023) to 154 (2025); forensic examination is mandatory for offences punishable by seven years or more under the new laws. Target for full nationwide digital rollout of investigation/trial procedures under the new criminal laws: 1 January 2027. Mains Practice Question The rollout of the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) marks a significant step in India's criminal justice reform. Discuss the challenges in achieving full digital interoperability across police, courts, prisons and forensics, and suggest measures to address regional disparities in implementation. GS Paper 2 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ With reference to the new criminal laws in India, consider the following statements: 1. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. 2. Forensic examination of crime scenes has been made mandatory for offences punishable by seven years of imprisonment or more. 3. A zero-FIR can only be registered at the police station having territorial jurisdiction over the offence. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A1 and 2 only B2 only C1 and 3 only D1, 2 and 3 Answer: B Statement 1 is incorrect — the Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita (BSS), not the BNSS, replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; the BNSS replaced the CrPC. Statement 2 is correct — forensic examination is mandatory for offences punishable by seven years or more. Statement 3 is incorrect — a zero-FIR can be filed at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction and is later transferred to the station with territorial jurisdiction. Article 08 Amit Shah Launches New FCRA Portal and e-OCI Card GS Paper 2 — Polity & Governance Why in News? Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has launched a new portal designed to cut down paperwork, speed up clearance of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration applications, and enable real-time tracking of foreign fund inflows. The FCRA 2.0 Portal and an e-Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) card initiative were unveiled in the presence of Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Intelligence Bureau Director Mahesh Dixit, and other senior officials. Key Facts Current FCRA Landscape: Around 14,500 organisations currently hold FCRA registration in India. Registration under the Act is compulsory for any NGO or association wanting to receive foreign donations; the Ministry of Home Affairs receives roughly 15,000–20,000 applications a year and processes about 17,000 annual returns. What the New Portal Offers: Hosted on the National Government Cloud (MeghRaj), the FCRA 2.0 Portal brings process re-engineering, an integrated dashboard, Aadhaar-based authentication, e-Sign, and OCR-based document analysis. One notable change: the new portal drops the section showing year-wise fresh registrations, a feature the old website carried. Separately, in 2022, the MHA had already removed the sections listing NGOs whose registrations were cancelled and the page detailing each NGO's annual returns. Shri Shah said the government's approach is to combine transparency with technology, making compliance simple for genuine actors while building strict surveillance around bad actors. The new system, he said, would sharpen monitoring of foreign funds received with questionable intent and do away with physical document submission altogether. He noted that before 2014, the FCRA process was buried in paperwork and lacked proper oversight — a gap that matters for both national security and development. He added that applications and the volume of foreign donations have both risen sharply in recent years. The e-OCI Card: More than 50 lakh OCI cardholders stand to benefit from the switch. After 20 years, when a person's passport is renewed, they will no longer need to get the OCI booklet reissued, and each cardholder's registration number will now be unique. The digital card also solves the problem of a lost or damaged physical document, and lets cardholders verify their status in real time on their own. Static Background: Key Concepts Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA): Regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions/hospitality by individuals, associations and companies to safeguard national interest; registration under FCRA is mandatory for NGOs/associations wishing to receive foreign donations, and it is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Overseas Citizen of India (OCI): A permanent, non-citizen immigration status introduced under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005, granted to persons of Indian origin (with some exceptions) settled abroad, allowing multiple-entry lifelong visa-free travel to India and most rights of NRIs (except voting, holding constitutional posts, and buying agricultural land). Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) parallel — MeghRaj (GI Cloud): The same government cloud infrastructure hosting the FCRA 2.0 Portal is used across multiple e-governance platforms (as also seen in the health-sector digital initiatives), reflecting a common technology backbone strategy across ministries. Prelims Pointers FCRA 2.0 Portal — hosted on the National Government Cloud (MeghRaj); features Aadhaar-based authentication, e-Sign, OCR-based document analysis and an integrated dashboard. Around 14,500 organisations currently hold FCRA registration in India; 15,000–20,000 applications are received annually. e-OCI card benefits over 50 lakh OCI cardholders; eliminates need to re-issue the physical OCI booklet after a new passport is issued post-20 years, and gives each cardholder a unique registration number. FCRA, 2010 — regulates acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions by individuals, associations and companies; administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Mains Practice Question Discuss the significance of digitising FCRA registration and monitoring processes for national security and NGO accountability in India. What concerns, if any, arise from increased state oversight of foreign funding to civil society organisations? GS Paper 2 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ The FCRA 2.0 Portal, recently launched by the Union Home Minister, is hosted on which government cloud platform? ANational Informatics Centre (NIC) Cloud BNational Government Cloud (MeghRaj) CAyushman Bharat Digital Mission Cloud DDigiLocker Cloud Answer: B The FCRA 2.0 Portal is hosted on the National Government Cloud, known as MeghRaj, the same cloud infrastructure used across several central e-governance platforms, including the ICJS and health-sector digital initiatives. Article 09 709 New Species and 353 Taxa Added to India's Fauna and Flora Database GS Paper 3 — Environment & Biodiversity Why in News? India's fauna list grew by 709 species in 2025 — 483 species entirely new to science and 226 recorded in India for the first time. The country's flora count expanded too, with 353 new taxa added, 14 of them infraspecific. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI) released these findings, unveiled by Union Environment Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav in Kolkata. Key Facts A ZSI press statement noted that India's total faunal biodiversity has now reached 1,05,953 species, reinforcing the country's place among the world's mega-diverse nations. Where the New Fauna Turned Up: Kerala topped the list with 98 new animal species, followed by West Bengal (76), Karnataka (67), and Arunachal Pradesh (65). Which Groups Grew Most: Hymenoptera led with 106 new additions, followed by Lepidoptera (65), Diptera (64), Arachnida (64), Coleoptera (55), and Pisces (50). Notable New Finds: Myotis himalaicus, a newly identified Himalayan bat species, features among the year's discoveries. Two new green fan-throated lizard species, Ptyctolaemus mamdaphaensis and Ptyctolaemus siangensis, were also described, along with Lycodon irwini, commonly called Irwin's wolf snake. On the Plant Side: Of the 353 new plant taxa, 221 are entirely new to science, while the remaining 132 mark first-time distributional records for India. Where the New Flora Was Found: Arunachal Pradesh led with 49 discoveries, followed by Uttarakhand (39) and Kerala (37). The BSI's Plant Discoveries, 2025 report catalogues 154 angiosperms, three pteridophytes, 13 bryophytes, 62 lichens, 93 fungi, 22 algae, and six microbes. Among the more significant finds are wild relatives of economically and ecologically important plant groups, including Begonia, Impatiens (balsams), legumes, and orchids. A BSI statement noted that vascular plants make up roughly 43% of the newly described taxa. Static Background: Key Concepts Zoological Survey of India (ZSI): Established in 1916, headquartered in Kolkata, under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the premier national organisation for faunal taxonomic and survey research, publishing the annual "Animal Discoveries" report. Botanical Survey of India (BSI): Established in 1890, headquartered in Kolkata, also under the MoEFCC; the apex national research organisation for plant taxonomy, publishing the annual "Plant Discoveries" report. Mega-diverse country: A classification for countries harbouring a majority of the Earth's species and high levels of endemism; India is one of 17 recognised mega-diverse countries. Infraspecific taxa: Taxonomic ranks below species level (e.g., subspecies, variety, form) used to classify populations showing consistent but minor morphological/genetic differences within a species. New to science vs. new record: "New to science" denotes species never previously described/named anywhere; "new record" denotes species already known to science elsewhere but documented in India (or a region) for the first time. Prelims Pointers India's total faunal biodiversity stands at 1,05,953 species (as of 2025 additions), per ZSI. 709 new fauna species added in 2025: 483 new to science + 226 new records for India. Kerala led State-wise fauna discoveries (98 species) in 2025; Arunachal Pradesh led plant discoveries (49 taxa). Hymenoptera (106 additions) was the leading animal group added to India's fauna database in 2025. Myotis himalaicus — a newly discovered Himalayan bat species; Lycodon irwini — "Irwin's wolf snake," also newly discovered. ZSI (est. 1916) publishes "Animal Discoveries"; BSI (est. 1890) publishes "Plant Discoveries" — both headquartered in Kolkata under MoEFCC. Mains Practice Question India's status as a mega-diverse nation is reaffirmed by the continual discovery of new species. Discuss the significance of taxonomic surveys such as those by the ZSI and BSI for biodiversity conservation and policy-making in India. GS Paper 3 · 15 marks · 250 words Practice MCQ Match List-I (Newly discovered species, 2025) with List-II (Taxonomic group) and select the correct answer using the code given below: List-I A. Myotis himalaicus B. Ptyctolaemus siangensis C. Lycodon irwini List-II 1. Wolf snake 2. Bat 3. Green fan-throated lizard Codes: AA-2, B-3, C-1 BA-1, B-2, C-3 CA-3, B-1, C-2 DA-2, B-1, C-3 Answer: A Myotis himalaicus is a newly discovered Himalayan bat; Ptyctolaemus siangensis is a newly discovered green fan-throated lizard; Lycodon irwini, or Irwin's wolf snake, is a newly discovered snake species — all reported in the ZSI's Animal Discoveries, 2025.