Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the $5-billion Great Nicobar infrastructure project will significantly enhance India's maritime global trade. The project includes a transshipment port, a power plant, and an airport. It aims to increase India's port handling capacity from 2,700 MTPA to 10,000 MTPA. While the government views it as a strategic move to position India as a bridge between the Indo-Pacific and the Global South, the project faces criticism from environmental activists and local populations over ecological concerns and forest rights violations.
The project aims to place India among the top five ship-building countries globally.
It includes a transshipment port, an international airport, and a power plant in the Great Nicobar island.
The government plans to increase port handling capacity to 10,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Exam Points
Project cost: $5 billion.
Target port capacity: 10,000 MTPA (up from 2,700 MTPA).
India's coastline length: Over 11,500 km across 13 coastal States/UTs.
This article highlights how major social media and search platforms routinely host advertisements for unverified medical treatments, violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act (DMRA), 1954. Despite strict regulations in the U.S., these platforms allow misleading ads for cures for chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer in India. The authors argue that Big Tech exploits the 'intermediary' status to avoid liability. They call for reforms, including criminal prosecution of managerial personnel and revoking legal immunity if platforms fail to enforce local health laws.
The DMRA 1954 prohibits advertising drugs for 54 medical conditions, regardless of their clinical efficacy.
Big Tech platforms often host misleading ads for ayurvedic, homeopathic, and cow-urine based products claiming to cure serious illnesses.
Platforms claim 'intermediary' status to avoid liability for user-generated content, yet their marketing teams actively solicit these ads.
Exam Points
Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act (DMRA) was enacted in 1954.
The DMRA lists 54 medical conditions for which drug advertisements are prohibited.
Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act, 1994.
The European Union and India are exploring a strategic agenda to link the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) with the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This linkage aims to prevent Indian exporters from being penalized twice—once by domestic carbon prices and again by EU border levies. However, significant hurdles remain, including the underdeveloped nature of the ICM, which lacks absolute emission caps and robust independent verification. Bridging the price gap between the EU's high carbon prices (€60-€80) and India's lower prices (€5-€10) is a major technical and political challenge.
The EU's CBAM acts as a border tax on carbon-intensive imports to ensure a level playing field for EU industries.
The Indian Carbon Market (ICM) is currently based on intensity improvements rather than absolute emission caps.
A successful linkage would require the ICM to mirror the compliance-grade features of the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS).
Exam Points
EU carbon prices: €60 to €80 per tonne; Indian carbon prices: €5 to €10 per tonne.
The New Strategic EU-India Agenda was set out on September 17, 2025.
ICM: Indian Carbon Market; CBAM: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The article discusses the decline of U.S. dominance in basic research due to funding cuts and 'brain drain,' while China rapidly ascends. The U.S. administration has significantly reduced budgets for the NIH, NSF, and NASA, leading to the cancellation of thousands of research grants. In contrast, China has made strategic, long-term investments in frontier research, particularly in AI, quantum research, and semiconductors. China now leads in several research categories and produces a higher share of the world's most-cited papers, challenging the geopolitical balance of the 21st century.
The U.S. S&T system is facing severe budget cuts, including a 56% reduction in the NSF budget.
China's R&D spending is growing at 8.7% annually, significantly faster than the U.S. and EU.
China accounted for nearly 40% of all AI publications in 2021, far exceeding the U.S. share.
Data from Niti Aayog and the Ministry of Statistics reveals that Bihar continues to struggle with poor social and economic indicators. In 2022, Bihar ranked last among 27 states in the Human Development Index (HDI) with a score of 0.609. The state has the highest percentage of women (40.8%) married before the age of 18 and the lowest percentage of females who have ever attended school (61.1%). While Bihar shows some positive environmental trends, such as low plastic waste generation and fossil fuel consumption, its per capita income remains the lowest in the country.
Bihar's HDI score of 0.609 is the lowest among the 27 states measured in 2022.
The state has significant challenges in education, with only 17.1% Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education.
Bihar's infant mortality rate (IMR) was 46.8 in 2019-21, significantly higher than the national average.
Exam Points
Bihar HDI score (2022): 0.609 (Rank 27 of 27).
Per capita Net State Domestic Product (Bihar): ₹60,337.
Percentage of women married before age 18 in Bihar: 40.8%.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, expressed India's support for the Gaza peace initiative proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. He emphasized that ongoing conflicts disrupt global food and energy security, particularly affecting the Global South. Jaishankar also called for an early end to the war in Ukraine. He highlighted India's role as a bridge between the Indo-Pacific and the Global South and advocated for resilient supply chains and maritime cooperation within the ASEAN region.
India officially supports the Gaza peace plan to restore stability in the Middle East.
The External Affairs Minister highlighted the negative impact of conflicts on global food and energy flows.
India continues to advocate for 'multipolarity' and 'resilient solutions' in international trade and security.
The Supreme Court of India has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the rising cases of 'digital arrests.' Fraudsters, often operating from 'scam compounds' across borders, pose as law enforcement or judicial officers to extort money from innocent citizens, especially senior citizens. They use advanced technology, including AI, to create fake courtrooms and police station environments. The court took suo motu cognizance of the issue after reports of people being threatened with arrest unless they paid large sums of money.
'Digital arrest' is a cybercrime where victims are intimidated into staying online under the guise of a legal investigation.
Criminals use AI and deepfake technology to morph backgrounds into realistic police stations or courtrooms.
The Supreme Court highlighted that many of these cybercrimes originate from organized 'scam compounds' outside India.
A recent survey highlights the declining proficiency and usage of the Dogri language in the Jammu region, particularly among the youth. While Dogri was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and recognized as an official language of J&K in 2020, it lacks a meaningful presence in school curricula and administrative use. The decline is attributed to globalization, migration, and a lack of government support. The survey shows a stark generational divide, with proficiency dropping to near zero among respondents under 20 years of age.
Dogri is one of the five official languages of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
UNESCO reports indicate that India has lost over 220 languages in the last 50 years.
There is a significant rural-urban divide, with 56% of rural respondents speaking Dogri compared to 45% in urban areas.
Exam Points
Dogri was recognized as an official language of J&K via the J&K Official Languages Bill, 2020.
Dogri is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
UNESCO report: India has the highest number of dialects on the verge of extinction.
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