GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

India and the Philippines, marking 75 years of diplomatic ties, have announced a Strategic Partnership aimed at deepening cooperation in defence, maritime security, trade, science & technology, and regional affairs

Bilateral Milestones and Foundational Agreements

• Diplomatic History and Institutional Mechanisms
  • 1949: Establishment of diplomatic relations.
  • 1952: Treaty of Friendship signed.
  • 2000–2007: Key agreements include the MOU on Policy Consultation Talks, JCBC Agreement, and Framework of Bilateral Cooperation Declaration.
  • 2025: Adoption of Plan of Action (2025–2029) for Strategic Partnership.

Dimensions of the Strategic Partnership

• Political Cooperation
  • Institutionalization of regular dialogues: JCBC, Strategic Dialogues, Policy Consultations.
  • Focus on legislative exchanges, youth leadership, and comprehensive MOUs implementation.
• Defence, Security and Maritime Cooperation
  • Operationalization of Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) and JDILC.
  • Military training, tri-service coordination, and defence industry collaboration.
  • Strengthening Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), shipbuilding, and search & rescue (SAR) cooperation.
  • Recognition of 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award as a legally binding resolution mechanism.
• Economic and Trade Cooperation
  • Trade reached US$ 3.3 billion in 2024-25.
  • Expediting Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
  • Collaborations in EVs, AI, ICT, critical minerals, and infrastructure.
  • Ayurveda and traditional medicine exchange mechanisms.
• Science & Technology and Space Cooperation
  • Joint research in STI under DST-DOST cooperation (2025-28).
  • Peaceful uses of nuclear energy and outer space.
  • Agri-research, sustainable aquaculture, and ICT collaboration.
• Connectivity
  • Boosting air, maritime, digital and financial connectivity.
  • Launch of direct flights between capitals soon.
  • Strengthening e-governance and DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure).
• Cultural and People-to-People Ties
  • Visa-free travel to the Philippines for Indians and gratis e-tourist visas for Filipinos.
  • Promotion of tourism, academic, and media exchanges.
  • Expansion of ICCR scholarships and ITEC training.
• Regional and Multilateral Cooperation
  • Reinforcement of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
  • Joint support for UNCLOS 1982, Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, and ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific.
  • Climate action via ISA, CDRI, GBA, and Mission LiFE.
  • Global South advocacy via Voice of Global South Summit.

Strategic Relevance:

• Counterbalance to China in the South China Sea through legal, diplomatic, and defence engagements.
• Enhancing supply chain diversification and strategic autonomy in defence production.
• Leveraging complementarities in emerging technologies and digital public goods.

Challenges:

• Navigating sensitivities in regional geopolitics (e.g., Philippines-China maritime disputes).
• Synchronizing regulatory environments for trade and investment.

Way Forward

• Institutionalization and Monitoring: Establish a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of Plan of Action (2025–2029).
• Maritime Synergy: Strengthen operational-level coordination between navies and coast guards.
• Trade and PTA Finalization: Expedite the India-Philippines Preferential Trade Agreement with mutually beneficial terms.
• People-Centric Diplomacy: Promote cultural diplomacy, tourism exchanges, and academic collaborations.
• Regional Alignment: Leverage ASEAN platforms and enhance policy coordination on Indo-Pacific regional order.

Artificial Intelligence is transitioning from content generation to advanced reasoning capabilities, introducing a new era of AI agents that can perform complex cognitive tasks.

Technological Advancements in Artificial Intelligence – Implications for Governance, Economy, and Ethics

From Generative AI to Reasoning AI: The Shift in Focus

• Old-Gen AI Capabilities: Earlier AI systems (like chatbots) were limited to content generation, summarization, and basic command execution using pre-trained models and datasets.
• New-Gen AI (Reasoning Agents): The next-gen AI systems focus on problem-solving, strategic thinking, task decomposition, and ethical considerations, thus mimicking human cognitive capabilities.

Key Features of Reasoning AI Systems

• Autonomy and Decision-Making: Reasoning AIs can operate independently, access external data, and take multi-step decisions with improved strategic foresight.
• Multi-Agent Collaboration: These AIs can collaborate with other agents or tools, distribute tasks, and simulate expert-like reasoning.
• Adaptability: They exhibit contextual understanding and self-correction, enhancing adaptability across domains.

Real-World Use Cases and Impact

• Enterprise Adoption: Enterprises are integrating reasoning AIs for functions like legal analysis, financial modeling, software development, compliance, and internal auditing.
• Human-AI Synergy: The human role is shifting from executor to overseer or verifier, while AI handles execution and optimization.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

• Opacity and Explainability: The complexity of AI reasoning introduces black-box concerns, limiting explainability and trust.
• Accountability and Oversight: If machines reason autonomously, questions arise around whose logic, perspective, or biases they reflect.
• Biases in Reasoning: The source of training data and model design influences the AI’s output, making it vulnerable to biased conclusions.

Way Forward

• Explainable AI (XAI): Developing frameworks to make AI decisions transparent and interpretable is vital for governance.
• Ethical Frameworks and Regulation: Policymakers must define accountability norms, standards for AI deployment, and rules for data transparency.
• Capacity Building: Human workforce must be equipped with skills to collaborate with AI through training and digital literacy programs.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has updated progress under the ‘Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)’ scheme, including establishment of cyber forensic labs and launch of I4C as an attached office.

Constitutional Provisions:

• ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• States/UTs are primarily responsible for cyber crime prevention and investigation.

CCPWC Scheme:

• Launched by Ministry of Home Affairs to counter cyber crimes against women and children.
• ?132.93 crore released to States/UTs for:
  • Establishing cyber forensic-cum-training laboratories
  • Hiring junior cyber consultants
  • Training LEA personnel, public prosecutors, and judicial officers.
• Cyber Labs commissioned in 33 States/UTs, partially functional in Tamil Nadu.

Capacity Building:

• Training curriculum developed for police, prosecutors, and judiciary.
• Over 24,600 personnel trained in areas such as cyber forensics, investigation, and awareness.

Cyber Crime Reporting Portal:

• Launched on 20 Sept 2018, revamped on 30 Aug 2019.
• Enables public to report all types of cyber crimes, with focus on crimes against women and children.

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C):

• Declared as an attached office of MHA on 1 July 2024.
• Acts as a national coordination centre for cyber crime response across all categories.

India's Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying is implementing a G20 Pandemic Fund-supported project to bolster preparedness against zoonotic diseases.

Project Name and Launch:

• Title: “Animal Health Security Strengthening in India for Pandemic Preparedness and Response”
• Launched on 25th October 2024 under the G20 Pandemic Fund.

Project Objectives:

• To reduce spillover risk of pathogens from animals (domestic and wild) to humans.
• To safeguard public health, nutritional security, and livelihoods of vulnerable communities.

Key Focus Areas:

• Laboratory Strengthening: Accreditation-focused lab assessments and digital tools for self-assessment.
• Surveillance Enhancement: Genomic surveillance, early warning systems, and national laboratory networks for zoonotic and transboundary diseases.
• Human Resource Development: Capacity building of epidemiologists, animal health professionals, and community-level animal health workers.
• Data and Risk Analysis: Development of integrated data systems, risk communication strategies, and behaviour change awareness.
• Institutional Strengthening: Addressing gaps at national and regional levels.

Funding Details:

• Total Grant: USD 25 million from G20 Pandemic Fund.
• Allocation:
  • ADB: USD 12.00 million
  • FAO: USD 8.714 million
  • World Bank: USD 4.285 million

Broader Relevance:

• Aligns with One Health Approach, promoting intersectoral coordination between human, animal, and environmental health.
• Supports India’s commitment to global health security under G20 initiatives.

Recent data tabled in Parliament highlighted state-wise per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP), revealing economic divergence among Indian states.

• Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) per capita is a key measure of economic prosperity at the state level, calculated at constant prices (2011–12) to factor out inflation and enable real income comparison over time.
• Gujarat emerged as the most prosperous large state with a per capita NSDP of ?1.96 lakh in 2023–24, followed by Karnataka, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu.
• India's national average per capita income in 2023–24 was ?1.09 lakh at 2011–12 constant prices.
• Southern and Western states (Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) maintained economic dominance due to robust industrial, services, and IT sectors, while agriculturally rich states like Punjab and Haryana also performed well.
• BIMARU states — Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh — continue to lag. Notably:
  • Bihar had the lowest per capita NSDP at ?32,227, with an annual growth rate of just 3% over 12 years.
  • Madhya Pradesh, although a former BIMARU state, recorded 8% annual growth, overtaking some richer states in growth momentum.
• Bifurcation of states has had a notable impact:
  • Post-2000 bifurcation, Jharkhand outperformed Bihar in per capita income.
  • Telangana has outpaced Andhra Pradesh in relative income; Uttarakhand fares far better than Uttar Pradesh.
• Relative per capita income compares a state's per capita income to the national average:
  • In 2023–24:
    • Telangana: 1.94 times national average
    • Andhra Pradesh: 1.32 times
    • Uttarakhand: 1.41 times
    • UP: 0.51 times
    • MP: 0.77 times
    • Chhattisgarh: 0.8 times
    • Bihar: 0.29 times
• This divergence in income levels reflects regional inequalities, with policy implications for fiscal transfers, development planning, and federal equity.

The Government highlighted that Aadhaar-based payments under PM-KISAN have achieved 99.92% success rate in the 19th instalment, ensuring near-universal transaction efficiency.

About the Scheme:

• Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector Scheme, launched in February 2019.
• Provides ?6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmers, in three equal instalments of ?2,000 each via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Primary eligibility: Ownership of cultivable land (subject to exclusion criteria for higher income groups).

Technological & Procedural Enhancements:

• Aadhaar-based payment made mandatory from the 13th instalment (Dec 2022 – Mar 2023) to reduce errors and ensure delivery to the rightful beneficiary.
• Integrated with:
  • PFMS (Public Financial Management System)
  • UIDAI
• Income Tax Department
• Land seeding made compulsory along with e-KYC verification.
• Aadhaar linkage helps prevent failures due to incorrect bank account details, especially after bank mergers.

Grievance Redressal Mechanism:

• Farmers can raise issues through:
  • CPGRAMS Portal
  • PM-KISAN Portal
  • Physical receipts and emails
• Introduction of AI-based KisaneMitra Chatbot in September 2023 to resolve queries in 11 Indian languages.

The Government of India reaffirmed its commitment to promoting sustainable agriculture through balanced fertiliser usage and schemes like PM-PRANAM, Soil Health Card, and PKVY.

Soil Health and Fertility Scheme (2014):

• Objective: Promote Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) by combining chemical fertilizers with organic manures and bio-fertilizers.
• Parameters tested: pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Organic Carbon, N, P, K, Sulphur, and Micronutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, B).
• Output:13 crore Soil Health Cards issued.
• Extension activities: Over 93,781 trainings, 6.80 lakh demonstrations, and 7,425 farmer melas conducted.

Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), 1985 – Alternative Fertilisers Notified:

• Includes:
  • Organic Fertilizers
  • Bio-fertilizers
  • De-oiled cakes
  • Organic Carbon Enhancers
  • Nano Fertilisers
• Aim: Encourage nutrient management and reduce reliance on chemical fertilisers.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY):

• Coverage: All States/UTs except North Eastern Region.
• Financial Assistance: ?31,500/ha over 3 years;
• ?15,000/ha through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for on-farm/off-farm organic inputs.

Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER):

• Target: Exclusive to North Eastern States.
• Financial Assistance: ?46,500/ha over 3 years;
  • ?32,500/ha for organic inputs;
  • ?15,000/ha through DBT.

PM-PRANAM Scheme:

• PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM)
• Aim: Promote balanced use of fertilizers, alternative fertilisers, and organic farming.
• Coverage: All States/UTs.
• Incentive: 50% of fertilizer subsidy saved to be provided as an incentive for reduction in chemical fertiliser consumption compared to the average of previous 3 years.

The Ministry of Cooperation has established the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) to enhance exports from the cooperative sector under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.

National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL)

• National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) has been set up as an umbrella organization under the MSCS Act, 2002 by the Ministry of Cooperation.
• Its primary objective is to promote and facilitate exports of products and services produced by cooperative societies across India by accessing international markets.
• NCEL aims to maximize realization for cooperative producers by improving branding, processing, certification, packaging, labelling, and storage standards.
• It will also facilitate finance, offer technical support, develop market intelligence, and implement government schemes related to exports.
• NCEL is empowered to undertake procurement, trading, research and development, and capacity building to enhance global competitiveness of Indian cooperative goods and services.
• Eligibility for membership includes:
  • Any Multi-State Cooperative Society, or
  • Any State-registered Cooperative Society under applicable laws of States or Union Territories.

The Government of India has undertaken climate-resilient initiatives in fisheries and animal husbandry sectors to safeguard the livelihoods of fishers and livestock farmers against climate change.

Climate-Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages (CRCFVs):

• 100 coastal villages identified under PM MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) as CRCFVs.
• Purpose: To build resilience against climate change in vulnerable fishing communities.
• Implemented by:Department of Fisheries, in consultation with coastal state governments.

Activities and Facilities under PMMSY:

• Promotion of mariculture (seaweed, bivalves, ornamental fishes, etc.).
• Development of fish drying yards, processing centers, markets, ice plants, cold storages, and rescue infrastructure.
• Nutritional and livelihood support during lean/fish ban periods and insurance coverage for fishers.

Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP):

• Includes:
  • National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) – Foot and Mouth Disease, Brucellosis.
  • Critical Animal Disease Control Programme (CADCP) – Classical Swine Fever, PPR.
  • ASCAD – State-prioritized diseases like Lumpy Skin Disease and Rabies.
• Includes veterinary hospitals, laboratories, Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs), and PashuAushadhi (generic medicines via PM-KisanSamriddhiKendras).

Marine Plastic Litter (MPL) Initiatives:

• India is involved in:
  • GloLitter Partnership Project
  • RegLitter Project
• Implemented by IMO and FAO to reduce plastic waste from ships and abandoned fishing gear (ALDFG).

BOBLME Project:

• Funded by: GEF and NORAD, co-financed by member nations.
• Implemented by: FAO, in partnership with BOBP-IGO.
• Promotes: Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) – focuses on ecological sustainability, social equity, and economic stability.

NABARD and RBI have undertaken coordinated efforts to enhance rural financial literacy and improve borrower protection in the microfinance sector.

Financial Literacy Initiatives:

• RBI’s Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) project (launched in 2017) has led to the establishment of 2,421 CFLs as of March 31, 2025; each CFL covers approximately three blocks.
• NABARD supports Financial and Digital Literacy Camps and Village Level Programmes (VLPs) to promote awareness of banking services and SHG-bank linkage at the grassroots level.

Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans:

• RBI has simplified the definition of microfinance loans: All collateral-free loans to households with annual income ? ?3 lakh are classified as microfinance loans.
• RBI has removed earlier quantitative restrictions, such as minimum tenures and caps on loan cycles, and allowed greater flexibility in end-use, including non-income-generating purposes like education or medical needs.

Borrower Protection Measures:

• A regulatory cap mandates that monthly loan repayments must not exceed 50% of household monthly income.
• RBI has issued guidelines on fair recovery practices and mandated grievance redress mechanisms within Regulated Entities (REs).

Interest Rate Deregulation:

• RBI issued a principle-based regulatory framework allowing REs to set board-approved interest rate policies; however, interest rates must not be usurious.

Role of SROs (Sa-Dhan& MFIN):

• These Self-Regulatory Organizations monitor compliance by MFIs, restrict borrower over-indebtedness, and limit the number of lenders per borrower.
• They also serve as consultative platforms for regulatory policy formulation.

Credit Reporting and Transparency:

• RBI mandates Credit Institutions (CIs) to report borrowers' income and credit data to Credit Information Companies (CICs).
• This data helps in assessing borrower indebtedness and ensures compliance with the 50% repayment obligation limit.

India’s welfare delivery is increasingly being driven by data-centric and algorithmic systems, raising concerns about political accountability and democratic norms.

Transformation of Welfare into Technocratic Governance

• Algorithmic Efficiency Replacing Rights-Based Approach: India’s welfare system now prioritises performance metrics like minimising leakage and expanding coverage over fundamental questions of social justice and entitlement, shifting the focus from citizen rights to deliverables.
• Data-Driven Schemes Dominating the Landscape: Schemes such as PM-KISAN and E-SHRAM reflect a unidirectional logic of measurable and automated governance that often excludes deliberative democratic participation and context-specific decision-making.
• Decline in Social Sector Spending: Despite welfare claims, India’s social sector spending dropped to 17% in FY 2024–25, down from an average of 21% between 2014–24, with sectors such as labour, minority welfare, and nutrition witnessing steep post-COVID-19 declines.

Erosion of Accountability and Democratic Norms

• The Right to Information in Crisis: The RTI regime is weakened with over 4 lakh pending cases as of June 2024 and eight vacancies in Information Commissions, limiting public oversight and transparency in welfare implementation.
• Centralised Grievance Mechanisms Lacking Responsibility: Platforms like CPGRAMS, while improving complaint visibility, centralise data without devolving accountability, creating a gap between resolution tracking and actual responsiveness at state/local levels.
• Identity Reduced to Computable Data: Echoing Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s Aadhaar dissent, the current welfare model risks reducing individuals to decontextualised data entries, devoid of socio-economic nuance or constitutional safeguards.

The Need for Reflexive, Inclusive Welfare Governance

• Rebuilding Participatory Federalism: India must empower States to design context-sensitive and pluralistic welfare models, drawing on initiatives like Kerala’s Kudumbashree and Gram Panchayat Development Plans under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
• Instituting Democratic Safeguards in Digital Governance: Mechanisms such as bias audits, offline fallbacks, and the right to explanation and appeal, as recommended by UN Human Rights, must be embedded in digital welfare infrastructure.
• Citizens as Governance Partners: To ensure a resilient and inclusive Viksit Bharat, welfare digitisation must align with democratic antifragility, ensuring that citizens are active partners, not passive entries in welfare databases.

Practice Question

The ideological and strategic shift in U.S. technological policy under Donald Trump and its long-term implications for India’s digital and innovation landscape.

Historical Evolution of Tech Cooperation

• SITE and Scientific Internationalism: The 1975 Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) marked a milestone in India-US tech collaboration, reflecting Cold War-era ideals of scientific cooperation and developmental outreach.
• Post-Nuclear Test Stagnation: India’s 1974 nuclear test strained bilateral tech relations, stalling collaborations due to U.S. non-proliferation concerns, which took decades to repair.
• Rebuilding Trust via ICET (2023): The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET), launched in 2023, symbolises renewed efforts to bolster strategic tech partnerships between India and the U.S.

Rise of Techno-Capitalism in the U.S.

• Private Sector Dominance: In the U.S., private firms like SpaceX have overtaken public institutions like NASA in technological dominance, transforming the state’s role from controller to enabler.
• Trump’s Techno-Strategic Shift: Donald Trump’s policies aggressively promote deregulated AI development, digital infrastructure, and stablecoins to ensure U.S. dominance in the tech domain.
• The ‘Tech Broligarchy’ Model: The emerging alliance between Silicon Valley elites and the U.S. state — termed “tech broligarchy” — prioritises geopolitical leverage over democratic or idealistic motivations.

Implications and Strategic Concerns for India

• India’s Hybrid Tech Model: India remains caught between the U.S. model of private-led innovation and China’s state-driven approach, with its domestic ecosystem lacking scale and cohesion.
• Vulnerability of Indian IT Sector: AI-driven automation and U.S. visa restrictions under Trump threaten India’s IT outsourcing model and digital workforce stability.
• Strategic Overhaul Required: India must increase investment in R&D, mobilise private sector innovation, and equip its regulatory frameworks to thrive in a rapidly evolving global tech order.

Practice Question

India’s geopolitical approach is under scrutiny following recent diplomatic setbacks and shifting global power equations post Operation Sindoor and amid deepening U.S.-China dynamics.

Diplomatic Strains with Strategic Partners

• Lack of Diplomatic Support During Operation Sindoor: Despite clear evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, many of India’s strategic partners, including the U.S., refrained from condemning Pakistan, underlining a deficit in mutual trust.
• US Trade Pressure Post-NISAR Launch: On the same day India-U.S. collaboration culminated in the NISAR satellite launch, the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods and linked Russian oil imports to punitive trade actions, reflecting transactional diplomacy.
• Erosion of Regional Trust Post-Galwan: U.S. posture in South Asia—reviving ties with Pakistan, supporting opposition in Bangladesh and Myanmar—has heightened India’s strategic concerns despite prior military and diplomatic engagements.

Western Hypocrisy and Economic Targeting

• Selective Sanctions on Energy Security: While India is targeted over Russian oil, EU nations like Hungary and Belgium continue to import Russian LNG with exemptions, exposing duplicity in sanction regimes.
• Non-Tariff Trade Barriers by the EU: The EU’s carbon border tax, digital service taxes, and sanctions on India’s Vadinar Refinery during India-EU BTIA talks signal disregard for India’s energy and trade sensitivities.
• Technology and Trade Contradictions by the U.S.: Despite blocking Indian imports of Russian goods, the U.S. permitted Nvidia to resume AI chip sales to China, contradicting its stated security concerns and undermining India’s tech interests.

China’s Strategic Encirclement and India’s Policy Dilemmas

• China's Renewed Push in India's Neighbourhood: Beijing proposed a new trilateral with Pakistan and Bangladesh, revived airbases near the Siliguri Corridor, and supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, complicating India’s regional calculus.
• Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and Border Provocations: China’s control over rare earths, APIs, and essential machinery, coupled with dam construction near the Brahmaputra and renaming of Arunachal locations, indicates a calibrated pressure strategy.
• India’s Passive Stance on Global Conflicts: India’s silence on the Israel-Gaza and Ukraine conflicts has limited its diplomatic leverage; Operation Sindoor has demonstrated that reciprocal support cannot be expected without proactive engagement.

Practice Question:

In a fragmented global order, assess the strategic consequences of India’s passive engagement in global conflicts. How should India recalibrate its geopolitical posture to secure its economic and security interests?    (250 words)