In-Depth PIB Analysis3 Items

Core TopicImportantConcise

International Relations & DefenceGS Paper II · III

01IBSAMAR IX — India–Brazil–South Africa Naval Exercise02SIMBEX-2026 — India–Singapore Naval Exercise

Economy — Agriculture & EnergyGS Paper III

03AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 — ‘One Land, Two Harvests’

International Relations & DefenceGeneral Studies Paper II · Paper III (Security)

01

IBSAMAR IX (2026): India–Brazil–South Africa Trilateral Maritime Exercise Concludes at Simon’s Town

GS-II · IR — Groupings & Agreements involving IndiaGS-III · Security — Maritime CooperationPrelims + MainsPIB · Ministry of Defence · 21 Oct 2026

The ninth edition of IBSAMAR — the only naval exercise that brings together the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa — ended at Simon’s Town, South Africa, on 20 October 2026, giving maritime substance to a grouping that is better known as a diplomatic forum of the Global South.

◈ From Basics — What is IBSA?

IBSA is a trilateral grouping of three large, multicultural democracies located on three continents — Asia, South America and Africa — and bordering two oceans, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.

• Origin: formalised by the Brasilia Declaration of foreign ministers on 6 June 2003; the first IBSA Summit was held in Brasilia in 2006.
• Three pillars: (i) political consultation on global governance (shared demand for UN Security Council reform); (ii) sectoral cooperation through trilateral working groups; (iii) the IBSA Fund.
• IBSA Fund (2004): the IBSA Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation, managed by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC); it finances development projects in other developing countries.
• Overlap: all three are also members of BRICS and the G20 — but IBSA is the only one of these formats limited to democracies.

▤ Exercise at a Glance

• Edition: IX (ninth); the series began with IBSAMAR I in 2008, held off the South African coast.
• Participants: Indian Navy, Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) and the South African Navy.
• Venue: Simon’s Town, on False Bay, Western Cape — the principal base of the South African Navy.
• Duration & format: about ten days of joint activity across a harbour phase and a sea phase; concluded on 20 Oct 2026.
• Indian participation: INS Tarkash, a Talwar-class stealth frigate (Project 1135.6) built at Yantar Shipyard, Russia, commissioned in 2012.
• Stated aims: interoperability, operational cooperation and mutual understanding among the three navies.

Figure 1 — IBSA and IBSAMAR: the lineage

2003BrasiliaDeclaration2004IBSA Fund(UNOSSC)20061st IBSASummit2008IBSAMAR Ioff S. Africa2024IBSAMAR VIII8th edition2026IBSAMAR IXSimon’s TownMaroon: diplomatic milestones · Blue/Gold: naval exercise editions

The naval track came five years after the political compact — IBSAMAR is the operational arm of a diplomatic idea.

Why the geography matters

• Ocean junction: the waters off the Cape of Good Hope link the Indian Ocean with the South Atlantic. Note the Prelims trap — the official boundary between the two oceans (per the International Hydrographic Organization) is drawn at Cape Agulhas, Africa’s southernmost point, not at the Cape of Good Hope.
• The Cape route: it gained fresh importance when attacks on shipping in the Red Sea from late 2023 forced many carriers to bypass the Suez Canal and sail around Africa.
• Three littorals: India anchors the Indian Ocean; Brazil guards a vast South Atlantic zone it calls the “Blue Amazon” (Amazônia Azul); South Africa sits at the hinge of both.

Figure 2 — Closing ceremony of IBSAMAR IX at Simon’s Town

Exchange of mementos between Indian and South African naval officers; the backdrop carries the crests of all three navies. Image courtesy PIB / Indian Navy; reproduced with credit for educational use.

Why it matters for India

• Defence diplomacy beyond the neighbourhood: extends India’s naval footprint to Africa’s southern tip and the South Atlantic, consistent with the MAHASAGAR vision (2025), the successor to SAGAR (2015).
• South–South security cooperation: gives the Global South a maritime format that does not depend on any great-power framework.
• Africa outreach: complements India’s other engagements with African navies, such as AIKEYME (Africa–India Key Maritime Engagement, 2025).
• Shared non-traditional threats: piracy, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, maritime trafficking and disaster response.

The critical view

• Limited scale and frequency: IBSAMAR is held only roughly every two years, with gaps — nine editions in 18 years — and involves a handful of ships, which caps the depth of interoperability.
• IBSA’s relevance question: since the expansion of BRICS (from 2024), IBSA’s distinct identity as a democracies-only caucus is sometimes seen as overshadowed.
• Partners’ wider ties: South Africa has also exercised with the Chinese and Russian navies (Exercise Mosi, 2019 and 2023), a reminder that IBSA partners pursue multi-alignment, as does India.

✎ Mains Practice Question

IBSA was conceived as a platform of three multicultural democracies spread across three continents. In the context of an expanded BRICS, examine the continuing relevance of IBSA — including its maritime track — for India’s interests in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic. 15 marks · 250 words

02

SIMBEX-2026: 33rd Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise Begins at Visakhapatnam

GS-II · IR — India & its Extended NeighbourhoodGS-III · Security — Maritime SecurityPrelims + MainsPIB · Ministry of Defence · 21 Oct 2026

The 33rd edition of SIMBEX, one of the Indian Navy’s longest-running bilateral exercises, opened at Visakhapatnam on 21 October 2026 with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) — a partnership that has grown in step with India’s eastward strategic turn.

◈ From Basics — India and Singapore

Singapore became independent on 9 August 1965, and India was among the first countries to recognise it. The city-state sits on the Strait of Singapore, at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca — one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

• Policy frame: Look East Policy (1992) → upgraded to the Act East Policy (2014); Singapore has been a key entry point to ASEAN.
• Economic anchor: India–Singapore CECA (2005) — India’s first Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement; Singapore is among the largest sources of FDI into India.
• Status of ties: Strategic Partnership (2015), elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2024).
• Maritime information: Singapore hosts the Information Fusion Centre (IFC); India set up the IFC–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram in 2018.

▤ Exercise at a Glance

• Edition: 33rd; began in 1994 as Exercise Lion King (Singapore is the “Lion City”), originally focused on anti-submarine warfare training.
• Dates & venue: 21–26 Oct 2026, Visakhapatnam — headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (formed 1968).
• Harbour phase (21–23 Oct): professional interactions, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEEs), cross-deck visits, sports and planning conferences.
• Sea phase (24–26 Oct), Bay of Bengal: anti-submarine, anti-surface and anti-air warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and tactical manoeuvres.
• Indian ships at the opening: INS Nilgiri and INS Kamorta; RSN ship: RSS Supreme, a Formidable-class frigate.

Figure 3 — Opening of SIMBEX-2026 on board an Indian warship

Officers of both navies at the opening ceremony, Visakhapatnam, 21 Oct 2026. Image courtesy PIB / Indian Navy; reproduced with credit for educational use.

Decoding the drills — basics an aspirant should know

• Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW): detecting, tracking and neutralising submarines using sonar, helicopters and torpedoes — the most demanding naval skill, given that sound, not light, is the primary sensor underwater.
• Anti-Air Warfare (AAW): defending a force against aircraft, drones and missiles.
• Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW): engaging enemy ships, typically with anti-ship missiles and guns.
• Interoperability: the ability of two forces to operate together using common procedures, signals and communications — the core aim of every such exercise.

Figure 4 — India–Singapore: milestones in a maturing partnership

1994ExerciseLion King2005CECAsigned2015StrategicPartnership2019SITMEX(with Thailand)2024ComprehensiveStrat. Partnership2026SIMBEX-33VisakhapatnamBlue/Gold: naval exercises · Maroon: diplomatic and economic milestones

The naval exercise predates both the trade pact and the strategic partnership — defence ties led the relationship.

Why it matters

• Chokepoint security: a large share of India’s trade with East Asia passes through the Malacca–Singapore Straits; cooperation with the RSN supports safe transit.
• Bay of Bengal focus: the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal form the western approaches to the Strait of Malacca, where India’s Andaman & Nicobar Command (India’s first tri-service command, 2001) is positioned.
• Indo-Pacific stability: both navies back a rules-based maritime order and freedom of navigation under UNCLOS (1982).
• Wider defence web: bilateral exercises on land and in the air, plus the trilateral SITMEX, deepen the relationship beyond the sea.

The critical view

• Partnership, not alliance: Singapore balances its ties with all major powers; SIMBEX builds interoperability without implying shared commitments in a crisis.
• Capacity gap in the IOR: India’s role as a preferred security partner depends on fleet strength, shipbuilding timelines and maintenance cycles, not exercises alone.
• Underwater domain awareness: rising activity of extra-regional survey and research vessels in the Indian Ocean makes ASW and information sharing more — not less — important.

✎ Mains Practice Question

Singapore has long been central to India’s eastward engagement. Discuss how defence and maritime cooperation with Singapore advances the objectives of India’s Act East Policy and its role in the Indo-Pacific. 10 marks · 150 words

Economy — Agriculture & EnergyGeneral Studies Paper III

03

AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026: India Makes the Case for ‘One Land, Two Harvests’

GS-III · Agriculture, Energy & Infrastructure; EnvironmentPrelims + MainsPIB · MNRE & Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare · 21 Oct 2026

India is hosting the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference (AWC 2026) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi (21–23 October) — the first time the series is held in the Global South — and the Government has announced a large agrivoltaic programme under the next phase of PM-KUSUM.

◈ From Basics — What is Agrivoltaics?

Agrivoltaics (Agri-PV) is the simultaneous use of the same land for solar photovoltaic (PV) power and agriculture. Instead of clearing a field for a solar park, panels are raised or spaced so that farming continues beneath or between them.

• Elevated (stilt-mounted): panels on high frames, crops grown underneath.
• Inter-row / interspace: tilted or vertical (bifacial) panel rows with crops in the gaps.
• Other forms: PV on greenhouses, solar arrays with grazing or apiculture, and aquavoltaics over fish ponds.
• Origin: proposed in 1981 by researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE); Japan’s “solar sharing” model was formalised for farmland in 2013.

The science behind it — static background

• Photovoltaic effect: first observed by Edmond Becquerel in 1839; light falling on a semiconductor (usually silicon) frees electrons and produces direct current, which an inverter converts to AC.
• Light saturation point: beyond a certain light intensity, photosynthesis does not rise further. Many C3 crops (leafy vegetables, potato, several pulses, spices) tolerate partial shade; sun-loving C4 crops such as maize and sugarcane are less suited.
• Microclimate effect: shade lowers leaf and soil temperature and cuts evapotranspiration, saving water and protecting crops from heat stress.
• Mutual benefit: PV output falls as cells heat up (roughly 0.4–0.5% per °C above 25 °C); transpiration from crops below keeps panels cooler and slightly more efficient.

Figure 5 — How an elevated agrivoltaic system works

Harvest 1 — Electricity from elevated / tilted PV modules• Partial shade lowers leaf and soil temperature → less evaporation• Crop transpiration cools the panels → better PV efficiencyHeight & spacingfor machineryGrid /DISCOMHarvest 2 — Crops below: shade-tolerant crops, vegetables, fodder, horticultureDashed blue: rain runoff from panel edges → drainage / harvesting (to prevent soil erosion)

Two harvests from one plot: the design must leave room for tractors, crop changes and water management — not just panels.

▤ Conference & Policy at a Glance

• Event: 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference, 21–23 Oct 2026, Bharat Mandapam; theme “Powering the Global South”; 1,200+ delegates, including 150+ from abroad.
• Host: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), with support from Germany’s BMUV (environment ministry); organised with Conexio-PSE.
• Knowledge products launched: a Decision-Making Tool (India Agrivoltaics Alliance), a Book of Abstracts (IWMI), the AgriPV Policy Handbook (MNRE), and the Global Agrivoltaics Climate-Zone Technical Framework.
• Policy announcement: an agrivoltaic programme under the next phase of PM-KUSUM, to support AgriPV capacity creation and bridge its cost gap (government announcement; details awaited).
• Nodal ministries: MNRE with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; DISCOMs and State energy departments for power procurement models.
• Government framing: farmers as both “Annadata” (food giver) and “Urjadata” (energy giver); slogan “One land, two harvests”.

47.5 Mha

Cropland technically suitable (TERI estimate)

~30%

Share of India’s 160 Mha cropland

25–30%

Higher capital cost vs ground-mounted solar

₹3.20–3.30

Possible generation cost per unit (under assumptions)

Why it matters for India

• Land is the binding constraint: ground-mounted solar needs roughly 4–5 acres per MW. With 86% of holdings small and marginal (Agriculture Census 2015–16), diverting farmland to solar parks is neither feasible nor desirable at scale.
• Farmer incomes: a second, steady income stream (lease rent or power sales) hedges against price and weather shocks.
• Water and climate resilience: field studies cited by the Government suggest 10–20% yield gains for some crops and about 30% lower water use in suitable systems — results that are crop- and site-specific.
• Energy transition: India’s non-fossil installed capacity stands at 308.03 GW, over 55% of about 560 GW. Decentralised, farm-level generation reduces transmission losses and diesel use in irrigation.
• Rural jobs: a CSTEP AgriPV manual estimates 1.10–3.32 lakh full-time-equivalent jobs (installation, operation and maintenance) (estimate).

Figure 6 — Technical potential vs projected demand (TERI scenario)

Agrivoltaics on 16 Mha(TERI deployment scenario)Projected demand 2050(upper estimate)Projected demand 2050(lower estimate)12,775 TWh10,020 TWh5,250 TWh

A technical ceiling, not a forecast — actual deployment depends on local conditions, cost and grid capacity, as the Government itself cautions.

Lineage — where agrivoltaics fits in existing schemes

• PM-KUSUM (2019): Component A — small grid-connected plants on barren, fallow or cultivable land (on stilts where crops continue below); Component B — standalone solar pumps; Component C — solarisation of grid-connected pumps, including feeder-level solarisation. About 25 lakh pumps solarised so far, as per MNRE.
• What changes: agrivoltaics moves from an optional design within Component A to a dedicated programme, with support to offset the higher cost of elevated structures.
• PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (2024): rooftop solar for households; decentralised solar added 16.3 GW last year — 7.6 GW via PM-KUSUM and 8.7 GW via rooftop.
• Convergence ideas: siting projects near mandis, warehouses and cold chains using maps from PMGSY (7.70 lakh geo-tagged facilities) and PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (400+ cold-chain projects).

Figure 7 — Decentralised solar capacity added last year: 16.3 GW

PM-KUSUM — 7.6 GWRooftop solar — 8.7 GWRooftop largely through PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (63 lakh+ beneficiaries)

Farm and household rooftops now contribute almost equally to decentralised solar growth.

Global practice — lessons for India

• Germany: support is tied to continued farming and minimum crop-yield requirements; the DIN SPEC 91434 (2021) standard defines what counts as agrivoltaics.
• Japan: all categories of farmland opened to agrivoltaics; small systems supported through preferential tariffs.
• Italy: a €1.7 billion funding programme for farmers, developers and research institutions.
• Global scale: installed agrivoltaic capacity crossed 18.4 GW in 2025.

Institutions & constitutional hooks

• Agriculture (Entry 14) and Land (Entry 18) are in the State List; Electricity is in the Concurrent List (Entry 38) — so land-use rules and power purchase are largely State decisions.
• Electricity Act, 2003; tariffs set by CERC and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions.
• International Solar Alliance (ISA), IWMI (a CGIAR centre), TERI and CSTEP — names to recognise in Prelims.

The critical view

• Cost premium: elevated, tilted structures cost 25–30% more than ground-mounted plants; viability depends on subsidy design and long-term power purchase agreements.
• Small-plot mismatch: with average holdings near 1 hectare, single-farmer projects are hard; aggregation through FPOs or cooperatives is essential.
• Risk of “solar first, crops second”: without a legal definition and yield thresholds, projects may keep only token cultivation — which is why Germany ties support to crop output.
• Tenancy and equity: much tenancy in India is informal; lease income may go to landowners while tenant cultivators bear shade-related yield risk.
• DISCOM finances and grid: loss-making distribution companies and weak rural grids can delay payments and power evacuation.
• Evidence base: yield and water benefits vary by crop and climate; Indian trials (for example at ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur) are still limited in number.
• Panel end-of-life: solar modules fall under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022; scaling up adds to future PV waste.

Way forward

• A clear national definition of agrivoltaics with minimum land-use and crop-yield conditions.
• Crop–climate zone matching, using tools such as the new Climate-Zone Technical Framework.
• Farmer-owned models through FPOs and cooperatives, with protection for tenant cultivators.
• Standard procurement models with DISCOMs and State energy departments, and simpler land-use conversion rules.

✎ Mains Practice Question

Agrivoltaics promises “one land, two harvests”, but its success in India will depend on its fit with small and marginal landholdings. Critically examine the potential and challenges of agrivoltaics in India and suggest the elements of an enabling policy framework. 15 marks · 250 words