Content

1. How can India benefit from neurotechnology?
2. DHRUVA framework
3. Crypto transactions crossed ₹51,000 cr. in 2024-25 in India
4. Nahargarh Biological Park
5. Gallbladder cancer

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How can India benefit from neurotechnology?

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 Why in News?

• May 2024: Neuralink received US FDA approval for first in-human BCI trials.
• Demonstrated:
  • Thought-controlled cursor movement
  • Prosthetic-enabled motor function in paralysed patients
• Renewed global debate on:
  • Human enhancement
  • Brain data privacy
  • Military uses of BCIs
• Parallel developments:
  • China Brain Project (2016–2030)
  • EU & Chile enacting “Neurorights” laws
• In India:
  • IIT Kanpur developed BCI-driven robotic hand for stroke patients
  • New focus on health-tech + neuro-AI convergence

Relevance

GS 2 – Governance & Social Justice

• Health governance and regulation of emerging medical technologies
• Data privacy, informed consent, and human rights (brain data)
• International cooperation on tech ethics (neurorights, global regulations)

GS 3 – Science & Technology + Internal Security

• Emerging technologies: Neuro-AI, BCIs, assistive technologies
• Dual-use technology risks (civil–military fusion, neuro-weapons)
• Strategic technology competition (US–China–EU)

What is Neurotechnology?

• Neurotechnology = technologies that:
  • Record
  • Monitor
  • Stimulate
  • Modify
    brain activity directly.
• Works at the intersection of:
  • Neuroscience
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Signal Processing

Core Technology: Brain–Computer Interface (BCI)

• BCI = Direct communication pathway between brain and external device
• Three functional layers:
  • Signal acquisition → EEG or implanted electrodes
  • Signal decoding → AI/ML algorithms
  • Command execution → Prosthetics, cursors, wheelchairs

Types of BCIs

• Non-invasive
  • EEG headsets
  • Safer, less precise
• Invasive
  • Implanted electrodes
  • High precision, surgical risk

What Can BCIs Do?

(A) Therapeutic Uses (Current Reality)

• Paralysis → Neuroprosthetic limb control
• Parkinson’s → Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
• Depression → Targeted neural stimulation
• Stroke → Motor rehabilitation
• Epilepsy → Seizure detection & suppression

(B) Diagnostic Uses

• Brain disorder mapping
• Cognitive decline tracking (Alzheimer’s, dementia)

(C) Emerging Uses

• Gaming & immersive VR
• Cognitive performance tracking
• Human–AI interaction

Global Landscape

(A) United States

• Global leader via NIH – BRAIN Initiative (launched 2013)
• Focus:
  • High-resolution brain mapping
  • Neuro-AI interfaces
• Private sector:
  • Neuralink
  • BrainGate
  • Synchron

(B) China

• China Brain Project (2016–2030):
  • Understanding human cognition
  • Brain-inspired AI
  • Neurological disease treatment
• Strong civil–military fusion angle

(C) Europe & Chile

• First movers in “Neurorights” laws
• Legal protection for:
  • Mental privacy
  • Cognitive liberty
  • Psychological integrity

Why Does India Need Neurotechnology?

(A) Public Health Imperative

• India has one of the world’s largest neurological disease burdens
• 1990–2019:
  • Stroke became the largest contributor among neurological disorders
• Major disease load:
  • Stroke
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Parkinson’s
  • Depression

(B) Economic & Strategic Opportunity

• Neurotechnology sits at convergence of:
  • Biotech
  • AI
  • Medical devices
• High potential for:
  • Export-oriented med-tech
  • Defence applications
  • Assistive devices market

Where Does India Stand Today?

(A) Research Institutions

• National Brain Research Centre
• Indian Institute of Science – Brain Research Centre

(B) Academic Innovation

• IIT Kanpur:
  • Developed BCI-based robotic hand
  • Target group: Stroke survivors

(C) Start-up Ecosystem

• Dognosis:
  • Uses canine neural signals to detect cancer scent recognition
  • Neuro-AI applied to animal cognition for human diagnostics

Strategic Advantages for India

• Large and genetically diverse population → better clinical datasets
• Strong base in:
  • AI
  • Electronics
  • Biomedical engineering
• Expanding:
  • Health-tech startups
  • Make-in-India medical devices

Bottom-Line Assessment

• Neurotechnology is:
  • No longer speculative
  • Clinically viable
  • Strategically sensitive
• For India:
  • Healthcare transformation tool
  • Next frontier of strategic tech competition
• Without regulation:
  • Risk of ethical disaster
• With regulation:
  • Potential global leadership in affordable neuro-health solutions

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DHRUVA framework

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Why in News?

• May 2025: Department of Posts proposed DHRUVA (Digital Hub for Reference and Unique Virtual Address).
• Government released:
  • Draft amendment to the Post Office Act, 2023 to legally enable DHRUVA.
• Follows the launch of DIGIPIN (geo-coded location pin system).
• Policy concerns raised by:
  • Dvara Research on privacy, consent, and urban governance limitations.

Relevance

GS 2 – Governance

• E-governance, Digital Public Infrastructure
• Consent-based data sharing and privacy
• Urban governance and service delivery
• Legal gaps in data regulation

GS 3 – Infrastructure & Digital Economy

• Logistics efficiency
• Platform economy
• Last-mile service delivery
• Smart cities and geospatial governance

What is DHRUVA?

• DHRUVA = a proposed Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for standardised digital addresses.
• It converts physical addresses into virtual “labels”, similar to:
  • Email IDs
  • UPI IDs
• Example:
  • Instead of writing a long address → user shares something like amit@dhruva.

Core Objective of DHRUVA

• Standardisation of addresses across platforms
• Consent-based sharing of address data
• Service discovery:
  • Identifying what doorstep services are available at a user’s location
• Improve:
  • Governance
  • Logistics
  • E-commerce delivery
  • Emergency services

What is DIGIPIN?

• Developed in-house by India Post.
• 10-digit alphanumeric, geo-coded digital pin
• Coverage:
  • Every 12 square metre block in India
• Use-case:
  • Rural areas with weak descriptive addressing
  • Precise fallback for:
    • Postal delivery
    • Emergency response

How Will DHRUVA Work?

DHRUVA ecosystem includes:

• Address Service Providers (ASPs)
  • Generate proxy address labels
• Address Validation Agencies (AVAs)
  • Authenticate address authenticity
• Address Information Agents (AIAs)
  • Handle user consent management
• Central Governance Entity
  • On the lines of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

How Will DHRUVA Be Used?

(A) Consent-Based Address Sharing

• Users tokenise addresses, like:
  • UPI tokenises bank accounts
• User controls:
  • Who can access
  • For how long
  • For what purpose

(B) Seamless Address Updating

• When a person shifts residence:
  • All linked platforms automatically update delivery location.

(C) Logistics & Platform Integration

• Supported platforms:
  • Amazon
  • Uber
  • India Post
  • Gig economy & food delivery platforms

Why is DHRUVA Being Framed as DPI?

DHRUVA is aligned with India’s DPI model like:

• Aadhaar → Identity
• UPI → Payments
• DigiLocker → Documents
• DHRUVA → Addresses

Features:

• Public ownership
• Interoperable
• Platform-neutral
• Consent-based data flows

Will It Help Urban Governance?

(A) Key Concern Highlighted by Dvara Research

• Addresses in DHRUVA are linked to people, not independently mapped physical structures.
• Implication:
  • Urban planning requires structure-based data, not merely person-based data.

(B) Consent Paradox

• Since personal data is collected:
  • User consent becomes mandatory.
• If citizens refuse consent:
  • Datasets become incomplete
• Result:
  • Weak urban planning
  • Faulty population projections
  • Inaccurate infrastructure mapping

(C) Global Best Practice Contrast

• In most advanced economies:
  • Digital addresses are linked to surveyed buildings
  • Not tied to personal identity
• This:
  • Eliminates consent dependency
  • Enables richer governance datasets

Governance & Legal Challenges

• No standalone law yet authorising large-scale address data collection
• Dvara recommendation:
  • Dedicated draft legislation required
• Key risks:
  • Surveillance through address linkage
  • Profiling via location-based service history
  • Function creep across welfare, policing, taxation

Benefits of DHRUVA (If Designed Safely)

• Faster emergency response
• Seamless service discovery
• Reduced address fraud
• Lower logistics costs
• Inclusion of rural habitations without formal addresses

Key Risks

• Privacy erosion
• State surveillance potential
• Market monopolisation by large platforms
• Weak anonymisation of geospatial data
• Exclusion if digital consent infrastructure fails

Strategic Bottom Line

• DHRUVA represents:
  • Next frontier of India’s DPI stack
  • Digital control layer for geography + service delivery
• However:
  • Without clear legal backing, anonymised structure-mapping, and privacy-by-design:
    • It risks becoming a surveillance-grade address infrastructure
• Success hinges on:
  • Independent structure mapping
  • Firewalls between identity and location
  • Strong statutory oversight

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Crypto transactions crossed ₹51,000 cr. in 2024-25 in India’

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Why in News?

• 2024–25: Crypto transaction value in India crossed ₹51,000 crore, registering 41% year-on-year growth.
• Data shared by the Ministry of Finance in the Rajya Sabha.
• Government collected ₹511.8 crore as 1% TDS on crypto transactions.
• Growth trajectory:
  • 2022–23: ₹22,130 crore
  • 2023–24: ₹36,270 crore
  • 2024–25: ₹51,180 crore

Relevance

GS 3 – Economy

• Digital economy and fintech expansion
• Taxation of new asset classes
• Black money, money laundering, FEMA risks
• Financial stability and speculative markets

GS 2 – Governance & Regulation

• Regulatory vacuum in crypto-assets
• Institutional responsibility of the state
• Global financial governance coordination

What is Cryptocurrency?

• Cryptocurrency = a digital asset based on:
  • Blockchain technology
  • Cryptographic security
  • Decentralised ledger system
• In Indian law, crypto is classified as:
  • Virtual Digital Asset (VDA)
  • Not legal tender
  • Treated as a taxable asset, not currency

What are Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs)?

• Defined under the Income Tax Act as:
  • Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ether)
  • Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
  • Other cryptographic tokens
• Excludes:
  • Indian digital rupee (e₹) issued by RBI

How is Crypto Taxed in India?

Legal Basis

• Introduced under the Finance Act, 2022
• Continued under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (retained in I-T Act 2025 framework)

Tax Structure

• 30% flat tax on profits from VDAs
• No loss set-off allowed
• 1% TDS on every transaction
  • Deducted at the time of transfer
  • Applies irrespective of profit or loss

How Was ₹51,180 Crore Estimated?

• Government collected ₹511.8 crore as 1% TDS
• Since:
  • 1% TDS = Total Transaction Value × 0.01
• Therefore:
  • Total crypto transaction value
    = ₹511.8 crore × 100
    = ₹51,180 crore

What Does the Growth Indicate?

• Mass retail participation despite:
  • High volatility
  • Strict taxation
• Indicates:
  • Rising financialisation among youth
  • Shift towards alternative assets
  • Platform-driven crypto trading boom

Why Is Crypto Growing Despite Heavy Taxation?

• Frictions like:
  • 30% flat tax
  • 1% TDS per transaction
• Yet growth due to:
  • Bull cycles in global crypto markets
  • Ease of app-based crypto trading
  • Narrative of crypto as:
    • Inflation hedge
    • High-risk, high-return instrument

Economic Implications for India

(A) Revenue Mobilisation

• Stable non-traditional tax base
• Predictable TDS inflows

(B) Capital Flight Risk

• Unregulated cross-border transfers
• Potential FEMA violations

(C) Financial Stability Risk

• High retail exposure to volatile assets
• No deposit insurance or investor protection

Key Policy Challenges

• Absence of:
  • Dedicated crypto regulator
  • Consumer protection framework
• Risks:
  • Money laundering
  • Terror financing
  • Tax evasion via foreign wallets
  • Market manipulation

Takeaways

• Crypto in India has moved from:
  • Grey-zone experiment → High-volume taxable asset class
• The surge to ₹51,000+ crore shows:
  • Effective tax collection
  • But also deep systemic exposure to an unregulated financial instrument

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Nahargarh Biological Park

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Why in News?

• December 8, 2025: A safari vehicle caught fire inside Nahargarh Biological Park, leading to a narrow escape of 15 tourists.
• The fire started in the engine compartment and spread rapidly.
• All tourists were evacuated safely by the driver and forest rescue teams.
• The incident was reported in The Indian Express.
• It renewed public debate on:
  • Eco-tourism safety
  • Vehicle maintenance accountability
  • Forest fire risks linked with mechanised tourism

Relevance

GS 2 – Governance

• Public safety in tourism
• State accountability
• Forest department administration
• Private contractor regulation

GS 3 – Environment & Disaster Management

• Forest fire risks
• Sustainable eco-tourism
• Wildlife conservation vs commercial tourism
• Climate–fire linkages

What is a Biological Park & Safari?

• Biological Park:
  • A protected forest area focused on:
    • Wildlife conservation
    • Environmental education
    • Regulated tourism
• Wildlife Safari:
  • Controlled movement of tourists via:
    • Buses
    • Open jeeps
  • Supervised by:
    • State Forest Department
• Legal backing:
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
  • State eco-tourism rules

Nahargarh Biological Park:

• Located in Jaipur district, Rajasthan, along the Aravalli hill range.
• Established in 2016 as part of the larger Nahargarh forest landscape.
• Functions as a biological conservation and eco-tourism park.
• Developed to:
  • Reduce pressure on city zoos
  • Promote semi-natural habitat-based conservation
• Falls under the jurisdiction of the Rajasthan Forest Department.

What Exactly Happened?

• A safari bus carrying 15 tourists:
  • Detected smoke while moving inside the park
  • Within minutes, it burst into flames
• Immediate response:
  • Driver evacuated tourists
  • Forest department rescue team arrived quickly
• Outcome:
  • Tourists unharmed
  • Vehicle completely destroyed

Governance & Regulatory Gaps Exposed

• No nationally uniform safari vehicle safety code
• Absence of mandatory:
  • Fire suppression systems
  • Automatic engine cut-off
  • Periodic third-party fitness audits
• Many safari vehicles:
  • Operated through private contractors
  • Weak maintenance accountability

Legal & Judicial Context

• Forest tourism operates under:
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
  • State forest rules
• The Supreme Court of India, in the T.N. Godavarman forest conservation case series, has repeatedly emphasised:
  • Controlled tourism
  • Vehicle regulation in forest zones
  • Prevention of ecological degradation

Eco-tourism vs Conservation: The Core Tension

• States promote safari tourism for:
  • Revenue
  • Employment
• But unchecked tourism leads to:
  • Infrastructure stress
  • Safety dilution
  • Wildlife disturbance
• The Nahargarh incident shows:
  • Commercial incentives overtaking precautionary principles

Conclusion

The Nahargarh safari fire exposes the safety and regulatory vacuum in India’s rapidly commercialising eco-tourism sector, where infrastructure growth has outpaced environmental risk governance.

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Gallbladder cancer

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Why in News?

• December 2025: Investigative public health report highlighted Gallbladder Cancer (GBC) as an “invisible epidemic” in India’s Gangetic belt.
• Key triggers for national attention:
  • India contributes ~10% of global GBC burden
  • ~70% of patients are women
  • Heavy clustering in:
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Bihar
    • West Bengal
    • Assam
  • Strong links established with:
    • River pollution
    • Arsenic & heavy metal contamination
    • Weak cancer surveillance
• Governance issues flagged:
  • Poor environmental enforcement by Central Pollution Control Board
  • Weak monitoring by Central Ground Water Board
  • Limited rural reach of the National Cancer Registry Programme

Relevance

GS 2 – Governance

• Public health surveillance failure
• Environmental governance
• Cancer as a non-notifiable disease
• Policy neglect of preventable disease clusters

GS 3 – Environment & Health

• River pollution
• Heavy metal contamination
• Environmental cancers
• Industrial regulation failures
• Groundwater contamination

What is Gallbladder Cancer? 

• A highly aggressive cancer of the gallbladder
  • Often asymptomatic in early stages
  • Detected mostly at Stage III or IV
• Medical characteristics:
  • Rapid local spread
  • Early liver and lymph node metastasis
• Survival:
  • 5-year survival < 10% in advanced disease

Why is GBC Concentrated in the Gangetic Belt?

• Geographic clustering along the Ganga River basin
• Primary environmental drivers:
  • Arsenic contamination in groundwater
  • Cadmium and lead from industrial effluents
  • Pesticide residues in agriculture
  • Adulterated mustard oil
• Daily exposure routes:
  • Drinking contaminated groundwater
  • Consuming polluted river fish
  • Cooking with unsafe oils
• Long latency:
  • Carcinogenic exposure accumulates silently over decades

Gendered Burden: Why Women are Disproportionately Affected

• ~70% of GBC patients are women
• Contributing factors:
  • Reuse of cooking oil
  • Storage of leftover food without refrigeration
  • Daily exposure to contaminated water during household chores
  • Nutritional deficiencies
  • Delayed health seeking due to:
    • Poverty
    • Patriarchy
    • Limited access to diagnostics
• Hospital-stage data:
  • At Tata Memorial Hospital,
    >80% of women present at Stage III/IV

Economic & Social Impact

• Treatment cost:
  • ₹8–12 lakh per patient
• Consequences:
  • Medical impoverishment
  • Discontinuation of treatment
  • Intergenerational poverty cycles
• Geographic overlap with:
  • High multidimensional poverty
  • Poor sanitation
  • Gender inequality

Governance Failures at the Core

(A) Environmental Governance

• Weak enforcement of:
  • Water pollution laws
  • Industrial effluent norms
• Continued discharge into rivers
• Poor remediation of contaminated aquifers

(B) Health Surveillance Failure

• Cancer registries cover <10% of India’s population
• NCRP relies heavily on:
  • Hospital-based reporting
• Rural poor remain statistically invisible

Why GBC Remains “Invisible”

• Cancer is not a notifiable disease in India
• No mandatory cluster reporting
• Result:
  • Delayed detection of regional spikes
  • No targeted prevention strategy
  • Low political salience despite high mortality

What Needs to Change?

• Make cancer a legally notifiable disease
• Integrate:
  • Health surveillance with National Clean Ganga Mission
• Strengthen:
  • Groundwater testing
  • Industrial discharge audits
• Community-level interventions:
  • Low-cost screening through district hospitals
  • Routine water testing
  • Women-focused awareness campaigns
• Develop:
  • Gender-sensitive cancer policy

Learning from Global Best Practices

• Bangladesh:
  • National Residue Control Program for seafood
• Vietnam:
  • Coastal heavy-metal monitoring
• Philippines:
  • National Residue Monitoring Plan for aquaculture
• India’s gap:
  • Marine Products Export Development Authority residue control applies only to exports, not domestic fish consumption

Public Health Interpretation

• GBC in the Gangetic belt represents:
  • An environmental cancer epidemic
  • Driven by:
    • Pollution
    • Gender disadvantage
    • Surveillance failure
• It is:
  • Preventable
  • Detectable early with proper systems
  • Politically neglected

Takeaway

• Gallbladder cancer in the Gangetic belt is:
  • Not a medical mystery
  • It is a governance failure in slow motion
• The epidemic survives because:
  • Pollution is tolerated
  • Women’s health is deprioritised
  • Cancer is statistically invisible
• Declaring cancer notifiable is the single most powerful trigger for reform, as:
  • What gets counted → gets governed → gets prevented

Conclusion

Gallbladder cancer in the Gangetic belt is an environmental, gendered and governance-driven epidemic — not of biological inevitability, but of regulatory neglect.