General Studies Paper-2

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the BRICS Summit Plenary session on ‘Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence.

Major Highlights of the BRICS Summit

• The BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, adopted at the summit reflected India’s key concerns, especially on cross-border terrorism and global governance reforms.
• PM Modi said that the majority of the world’s population is not properly represented in key global institutions.
• He called for a greater role for the developing world in international decision-making.
• He also emphasizes the need for making BRICS more effective in an increasingly multipolar world.
• He put forward four key suggestions to enhance cooperation among BRICS nations:
  • Improving Systems to Boost Credibility: Highlighted the importance of demand-driven decision-making, long-term financial sustainability, and maintaining a healthy credit rating.
  • Collaborative Initiatives: Proposed creating a BRICS Science and Research Repository that can also benefit the countries of the Global South.
  • Resilient supply chain: He emphasised the need to secure and make the supply chain resilient, particularly for critical minerals and technology.
  • Responsible AI: Stressed the importance of Responsible AI, stating that India believes in artificial intelligence as a tool for enhancing human values and capabilities and is guided by the mantra of ‘AI for All’.

Increasing Relevance of BRICS

• Platform for Strategic Autonomy: BRICS offers India a non-Western multilateral platform to engage with global powers without aligning exclusively with any bloc.
• Strengthening the Group: With the additions of new countries, it will represent almost half the world’s population, and will include three of the world’s biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.
• Focus on Middle East: With the inclusion of Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, and Egypt, there is a Middle East focus, bearing geo-economic, geostrategic, and geopolitical implications.
• Voice for Global Governance: The grouping now represents a larger share of the world’s population and economy.
  • This means the group is potentially a powerful voice for reforming global governance structures and can also act as an influential player within these arrangements.
  • Additionally, India positions itself as a leading voice of the Global South within BRICS.
• Push for Multilateral Reform: A larger BRICS enhances the push for UNSC reform, where India seeks a permanent seat.
• Counterbalance to China’s Dominance: A broader membership may dilute China’s dominance within BRICS.
  • India can build coalitions with new members to promote balanced agendas and prevent unilateralism.

Challenges

• Internal Geopolitical Tensions: India–China border disputes strain bilateral trust.
• Asymmetry in Power and Influence: China’s economic dominance creates imbalance in decision-making.
• Lack of Cohesive Vision: BRICS lacks a unified ideology or strategic coherence beyond broad themes like multilateralism and development.
  • Members pursue divergent national interests, limiting collective action.
• Institutional Limitations: BRICS has no permanent secretariat, making coordination ad hoc and dependent on rotating presidencies.
  • Limited enforcement mechanisms reduce implementation of summit declarations and commitments.
• Economic Disparities: Members are at different stages of economic development and face unique challenges, it creates difficulty in setting common economic goals or trade policies.
• Impact of External Alliances: India’s engagement with the West and Indo-Pacific frameworks.
  • Russia’s increasing dependence on China post-Ukraine conflict.
  • These shifts complicate internal unity and raise questions about long-term alignment.
• Expansion-related Challenges: The inclusion of new members adds diversity but also increases coordination complexity and risks diluting the original focus.

Way Ahead

• While BRICS holds significant potential as a voice of the Global South and a platform for multipolarity, it faces serious structural, political, and institutional challenges.
• Overcoming these would require a shared strategic vision, institutional strengthening, and internal diplomacy — especially among key players like India, China, and Russia.
• As the BRICS operates based on consensus-driven decision-making, attaining consensus among 11 countries characterized by diverse economies, geographical locations, and interests proves to be substantially more challenging than doing so among the original five members.
• To ensure the continued effectiveness and consistency of the institution, in the long run, BRICS might opt to focus on easier-to-achieve objectives.

General Studies Paper-2

Context

Recently, the Chief Justice of India underscored the enduring value of education in one’s mother tongue, calling it a cornerstone of personal growth and ethical grounding.

About

• A language is an umbrella term which contains many mother tongues.
• India is a linguistically diverse country, and one of the richest in the world — with over 1,300 rationalized mother tongues and 122 major languages spoken by more than 10,000 people each.
• In ancient gurukuls and madrasas, students learned through Sanskrit, Pali, Persian, or regional dialects.
• However, colonial education policies introduced English as the dominant medium, marginalizing native languages and creating a linguistic divide that persists today.
• The push for mother tongue-based education is more than a pedagogical shift — it’s a cultural renaissance.
• Language was not just a medium — it was a carrier of values, identity, and indigenous knowledge.

Present Form

• Commissions like Radhkrishnan (1948), Mudaliar (1952-53), Kothari (1964-66), and the National Policy on Education (1986) stated that education should be provided in the mother tongue in early ages at Primary School Level.
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework 2023 mark a paradigm shift by advocating for mother tongue or home language as the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, and preferably till Grade 8 and beyond. It is backed by:
• Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates mother tongue instruction ‘as far as practicable’.
• Initiatives like NIPUN Bharat, Vidya Pravesh, and NISHTHA FLN, which promote foundational literacy through native languages.
• CBSE’s recent push for language mapping and regional-language primers in 52 Indian languages, including tribal tongues like Bhutia, Kuki, and Sherpa, to support early education.

Arguments For Teaching in the Mother Tongue

• Cognitive and Academic Benefits: Children grasp concepts more easily when taught in a language they understand from birth.
  • Studies show improved critical thinking, literacy, and problem-solving skills when early education is delivered in the mother tongue.
• Cultural Identity and Confidence: Learning in one’s native language fosters self-esteem, cultural pride, and a stronger sense of identity.
  • It helps preserve linguistic diversity and indigenous knowledge systems.
• Better Learning Outcomes: UNESCO and UNICEF report that students taught in their mother tongue perform better in reading comprehension and numeracy in early grades.
  • It reduces dropout rates and increases classroom participation.

Arguments Against Teaching in the Mother Tongue

• Limited Global Competitiveness: Overemphasis on regional languages may hinder English proficiency, which is often essential for higher education and global job markets.
  • Implementation Challenges: In linguistically diverse regions, it’s difficult to choose a single ‘mother tongue’ for instruction.
    • There’s a shortage of trained teachers fluent in local languages and a lack of quality textbooks.
  • Transition Difficulties: Students may struggle when switching from mother tongue to English or other languages in later grades, especially in science and technical subjects.
    • Some learners become overly reliant on their native language and avoid using the second language, limiting fluency development.

Way Forward

• Promote bilingual education, starting with the mother tongue and gradually integrating English.
• Invest in teacher training and multilingual resources.
• Respect regional autonomy while aligning with national goals.

General Studies Paper-3

Context

The Indian government has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its proposal to levy retaliatory tariffs amounting to nearly $724 million on the U.S..

About

• The move follows the United States’ decision to extend safeguard tariffs—amounting to a 25% ad valorem increase—on imports of passenger vehicles, light trucks, and certain automobile components from India.
• The proposed suspension of concessions by India or other obligations would take the form of an increase in tariffs on selected products originating in the US.

Background of U.S. Tariffs

• Originally imposed in 2018 under President Trump, these tariffs targeted steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) on national security grounds.
• In 2025, during Trump’s second term, the U.S. eliminated country- and product-specific exemptions, affecting India directly.
• The U.S. declined to hold consultations, claiming the tariffs were national security measures, not safeguards.

WTO Safeguards Agreement

• Article 12.3 of the WTO Safeguards Agreement requires a country planning safeguard measures to consult affected members in advance, providing them an opportunity to discuss the proposed action and seek clarification.
• Article 12.5 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards allows a member country to notify its intention to suspend trade concessions if another member imposes safeguard measures without proper consultation.

India’s Position

• India maintains that the measures taken by the United States are not consistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and Agreement on Safeguards (AoS).
• Further, it said that since the U.S. did not hold mandatory consultations under Article 12.3 of the AoS, India had the right to retaliate.
• India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India’s trade.
• WTO Monitoring: India will inform the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods and Committee on Safeguards of its actions.

Implications

• Bilateral Trade: The estimated trade affected by the US action is valued at $2.9 billion, with India seeking to reciprocally recover $723.75 million annually through its proposed tariff measures.
• Trade Deal: The timing of India’s notification is significant, it comes amid heightened expectations of a breakthrough in the ongoing India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations.
• The move could be seen as an attempt by India to build negotiating leverage, especially as it pushes for the removal of US safeguard duties as part of the final deal contours.
• WTO Rules and Reform: The disagreement over whether national security tariffs constitute safeguard measures adds to broader debates on WTO’s relevance and enforcement capacity.

Conclusion

• The proposal assumes significance as both countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
• Trade analysts say that India’s WTO notification is a legal and strategic step, signaling its readiness to retaliate against the US safeguard duties on automobiles and parts.

General Studies Paper-2

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the “3 by 35” Initiative, calling on countries globally to increase taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks.

The initiative urges a minimum 50% real price increase on the three targeted products by 2035, achieved through higher excise or health taxes.

About

• The world faces an urgent challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes now account for over 75% of global deaths.
• Simultaneously, shrinking development aid and rising public debt have strained health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
• Studies suggest a one-time 50% price hike could prevent up to 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years and raise USD 1 trillion in public revenue over the next decade.
• From 2012 to 2022, nearly 140 countries raised tobacco taxes, with real prices rising over 50% on average, demonstrating that large-scale change is possible.

What is a Health Tax?

• A health tax is a levy imposed on products that have a negative impact on public health—primarily tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks. The dual purpose is to:
• Reduce consumption of these harmful products.
• Generate revenue for public health, education, and social protection programs.

Objectives and Expected Impacts

• Reduce NCD Burden: Lower consumption of unhealthy products to prevent millions of premature deaths.
  • In Columbia, cigarette tax hike led to a 34% drop in consumption.
• Mobilize Revenue: Generate an additional US$ 1 trillion globally over the next decade.
• Strengthen Health Systems: Fund universal health coverage, prevention, and health infrastructure.
  • SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages, with targets to reduce NCD mortality by one-third by 2030.

Challenges and Considerations

• Industry Opposition: Strong lobbying by tobacco and beverage industries; policy delays and dilution.
• Regressive Tax Concerns: Risk of disproportionate impact on low-income groups unless paired with subsidies.
• Revenue Volatility: Declining consumption may affect long-term revenue stability.
• Tax Exemptions: Long-term industry agreements can restrict tax increases and weaken public health.

Way Forward

• The “3 by 35” Initiative signals a paradigm shift—placing health taxes at the center of both public health and sustainable development strategies. For countries, the path forward involves:
• Designing robust, broad-based health taxes.
• Avoiding industry-driven tax exemptions.
• Using revenues to fund health, education, and social protection, especially for vulnerable groups.
• Building cross-sectoral alliances and engaging civil society for sustained impact.

General Studies Paper-3

Context

• On July 5, 2025, India marks both the fourth anniversary of its Ministry of Cooperation and the International Day of Cooperatives, during a year globally recognized as the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.
• This convergence underscores the renewed relevance and strategic importance of the cooperative model in India’s development agenda, particularly within the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) vision.

Contemporary Relevance

• The cooperative movement in India is the largest in the world, with over 8.4 lakh registered cooperatives and a membership base of nearly 29 crore citizens, reflecting deep roots in the country’s socio-economic fabric.
• The 2025 International Day of Cooperatives, themed “Cooperatives: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Solutions for a Better World,” highlights the sector’s role in delivering people-centered, evidence-based solutions to challenges like economic concentration, inequality, and climate change.
• The creation of the Ministry of Cooperation in July 2021 signaled a decisive policy shift, aiming to strengthen cooperatives at the grassroots, streamline regulatory processes, and transform them into engines of inclusive growth.

Philosophical Foundation

• Indian cooperatives are rooted in Gandhian and Lohiaite ideals of self-help, local democracy, and swaraj, emphasizing community spirit, mutual accountability, and equitable resource ownership.
• They serve as structural counterweights to both top-down government schemes and private corporations, promoting democratic ownership, grassroots participation, and local resource mobilization.

Structural Presence & Sectoral Spread

• Cooperatives are diversified across sectors: about 20% are in banking/credit, while the rest span dairy, sugar, agro-processing, housing, warehousing, and more.
• Key players like Amul, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, and NAFED exemplify successful cooperative business models, especially in dairy and fertilizers, compressing supply chains and ensuring better prices for producers.
• Cooperatives account for 35% of India’s sugar production, 30% of fertilizer distribution, and 15% of short-term agricultural credit, and contribute to significant employment, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.

How Cooperatives Can Boost MSME Potential?

• Resource Pooling & Shared Infrastructure: Cooperatives enable MSMEs—especially those run by artisans, farmers, and small producers—to pool resources such as tools, technology, and workspace. This reduces individual costs, increases efficiency, and allows members to benefit from economies of scale.
• Access to Finance: By operating collectively, MSMEs within cooperatives can access credit, savings, and insurance more easily.
• Market Linkages & Branding: Cooperatives help MSMEs reach wider markets through collective branding, quality certification, and e-commerce integration. For example, the Amul cooperative has enabled thousands of small dairy producers to market products nationally under a unified brand, achieving both scale and recognition.
• Skill Development & Innovation: Cooperatives foster a supportive environment for skill training, knowledge sharing, and innovation.
  • The PM Vishwakarma Yojana, launched in 2023, is designed to empower traditional artisans through skill upgradation, financial access, and market integration, with cooperatives providing the ecosystem for collective access to tools, credit, branding, and digital platforms.
• Collective Bargaining & Advocacy: Cooperatives represent the interests of MSMEs in policy forums and negotiations, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs addressed in government schemes and regulations.
• Inclusive & Sustainable Growth: The cooperative model promotes self-reliance, job creation, and grassroots participation, which are essential for inclusive and sustainable economic development.
• Risk Mitigation: By sharing risks and rewards, cooperatives provide a safety net for MSMEs, making them more resilient to market fluctuations and economic shocks.

Challenges Facing Cooperatives and MSMEs in India

• Poor Infrastructure: Many cooperatives, especially at the grassroots, lack adequate physical and digital infrastructure, limiting their operational efficiency and market outreach.
• Government Interference and Outdated Laws: Excessive regulation and political interference undermine autonomy, transparency, and democratic functioning of cooperatives.
• Mismanagement and Nepotism: Weak governance, mismanagement, and nepotistic recruitment practices have eroded trust and hampered professional growth within cooperatives.
• Socio-economic Disparities and Exclusion: Structural inequalities persist, with marginalized communities often excluded from meaningful participation and leadership roles within cooperatives.
• Digital & Financial Exclusion: Many rural cooperatives and MSMEs lack digital literacy, e-payment capability, or access to online markets. For example: Lack of awareness and handholding prevents Udyam registration or linking with digital portals like GeM (Government eMarketplace).
• Low Awareness of Government Schemes: Even flagship schemes like PMEGP, PM Vishwakarma, SFURTI, and MUDRA see under-utilisation due to poor IEC (Information, Education, Communication) outreach at grassroots.

Way Forward

• Reform Cooperative Governance and Autonomy: Ensure time-bound, transparent elections in all registered cooperatives. Digitise cooperative records under e-Sahakarita Mission Mode Project for transparency.
• Cluster-Based Development Model: Promote activity-specific cooperatives at the block/district level under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP).
  • Integrate PM Vishwakarma beneficiaries into cooperative clusters like:
  • Tailor clusters in Tirupur
  • Pottery in Khurja
  • Handloom in Varanasi
• Credit Access Through Tailored Financial Instruments: Strengthen NABARD refinance schemes for PACS and agri-coops.
  • Design Cooperative Credit Guarantee Fund (CCGF) for MSME-linked cooperatives.

Conclusion: Cooperatives in the Vision of Viksit Bharat@2047

• As India aspires to become a developed nation by 2047, cooperatives are positioned as key drivers of democratic, decentralized, and inclusive growth.
• Rather than being viewed as legacy institutions, cooperatives are now recognized as vital for sustainable, community-led development, capable of integrating traditional knowledge, modern business practices, and social equity into the heart of India’s economic transformation.

General Studies Paper-3

Context

• Manufacturing has long been the backbone of economic growth, employment generation, and technological advancement for emerging economies.
• In this context, India’s ‘Make in India’ (2014) and China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ (MIC2025) (2015) represent ambitious policy frameworks aimed at repositioning their respective countries in the global manufacturing value chain.
• A comparative assessment of these initiatives provides valuable lessons for India as it seeks to catalyse its own industrial revolution.

Objectives and Strategic Vision

• Made in China 2025 (MIC2025):
  • Aim: Upgrade China’s manufacturing capabilities, reduce foreign dependence, and move up the global value chain.
  • Focus: Ten strategic sectors, including advanced IT, robotics, aerospace, green energy, and high-tech transport.
  • Approach: State-led, target-driven, and heavily funded with clear timelines and measurable goals.
• Make in India:
  • Aim: Increase manufacturing’s share in GDP, boost employment, and attract FDI.
  • Focus: 25 sectors including electronics, defence, automotive, textiles, and biotechnology.
  • Approach: Facilitative, aiming to improve the business environment, incentivise investment, and enhance ease of doing business.

Achievements

• China (MIC2025):
  • Green Technologies: Dominates global lithium-ion battery and solar module production (>75% share), and leads in electric vehicles.
  • High-Speed Rail: World’s largest network (~40,000 km).
  • Robotics & AI: Closed the gap with global leaders, with firms like DJI and Huawei as global innovators.
  • Integrated Supply Chains: Self-sufficiency in electronics, renewables, and mobility sectors.
  • Domestic Value Addition: Enhanced local content in high-tech manufacturing.
• India (Make in India)
  • Mobile Manufacturing: Now second-largest globally; Apple produces 15% of iPhones in India.
  • FDI Growth: Inflows rose from $45.14 bn (2014-15) to $84.83 bn (2021-22).
  • PLI Schemes: ₹1.97 lakh crore committed across 14 sectors, incentivising domestic production.
  • Ease of Doing Business: Improved World Bank ranking from 142 (2014) to 63 (2019).
  • Infrastructure: Development of industrial corridors and logistics parks.

Challenges and Shortcomings

• China:
  • Global Criticism: Accused of unfair subsidies, non-tariff barriers, forced technology transfers, and monopolistic ambitions.
  • Trade Tensions: MIC2025 became a flashpoint in US-China trade disputes.
• India:
  • Stagnant Manufacturing Share: Manufacturing’s GDP share remains around 17.7% (2023), far from the 25% target.
  • Employment Concerns: Manufacturing’s share in employment declined from 11.6% (2013-14) to 10.6% (2022-23).
  • Export Weakness: Exports as a share of GDP fell from 25.2% (2013-14) to 22.7% (2023-24); exports remain concentrated in non-labour-intensive goods.
  • R&D Deficit: R&D spending is below 0.7% of GDP, much lower than China.
  • Skill Gaps: Only 4.7% of the workforce is formally skilled (vs. China’s 24%).

Key Lessons for India

• Strategic, Long-Term Vision: China’s MIC2025 was anchored in a clear, well-funded, and time-bound strategy targeting high-value sectors. India must similarly articulate a National Industrial Strategy with sector-specific roadmaps, measurable targets, and strong coordination between central and state governments.
• Robust R&D and Innovation Ecosystem: China’s rise was powered by heavy investments in R&D and fostering public-private research partnerships. India’s R&D spending remains low (<0.7% of GDP). To catch up, India should incentivize private sector R&D, establish research parks, and promote technology transfer.
• Integrated Manufacturing Clusters and Supply Chains: China’s integrated supply chains reduced import dependence and improved domestic value addition. India must accelerate the development of plug-and-play industrial parks, strengthen MSME linkages, and ensure backward integration to boost local manufacturing.
• Focus on Skilling and Workforce Readiness: China’s skill development programs created a future-ready workforce. India, with only 4.7% formally skilled workers, needs large-scale, industry-linked vocational training, especially in electronics, renewables, and advanced manufacturing.
• Policy Stability and State Support: Consistent, long-term policy support and incentives were crucial for China. India should maintain policy stability, reduce compliance burdens, and ensure ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
• Support for MSMEs and Startups: MSMEs are the backbone of India’s industrial output and exports. Enhanced credit access, expanded MSME classification, and targeted support for startups can drive innovation and job creation.
• Quality, Technology, and Clean Manufacturing: China’s focus on quality and technology made its products globally competitive. India should prioritize clean tech manufacturing (solar PV, EV batteries, wind turbines), quality standards, and digital platforms for export facilitation.

General Studies Paper-2

Context: India’s development cooperation with the Global South has been showing a rising trend for the last several years.

India’s development cooperation with the Global South

• India has emerged as a key advocate for the Global South, leveraging its democratic credentials and economic growth.
• Historically, it played a leading role in The 1955 Bandung Conference, advocating decolonization and equality.
  • The formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1961.
  • Establishing the G-77 in 1964 to promote South-South cooperation.
• India continues this legacy through initiatives like Proposing African Union’s inclusion in G20, which was accepted at the 2023 Delhi Summit.
• India’s development cooperation with the Global South has grown significantly, with funding nearly doubling from $3 billion in 2010-11 to $7 billion in 2023-24.
  • Key engagement methods include capacity building, technology transfer, market access, grants, and concessional finance, particularly through Lines of Credit (LoCs) under the IDEAS scheme.

Challenges

• The Global South faces challenges like food insecurity, poor health infrastructure, debt, conflict, and lack of fair representation in global policymaking.
• With rising global debt concerns and liquidity crises, India is re-evaluating the role of LoCs due to increased risks and costs.
• Traditional development assistance providers (ODA) are facing budget cuts and a shrinking aid environment, with a steep decline in global aid expected from $214 billion in 2023 to around $97 billion.
• This reduction threatens progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which require over $4 trillion annually by 2024, amid costlier and less predictable borrowing.

Alternatives

• Triangular Cooperation (TrC)—a partnership model involving a Global North donor, a Global South pivotal country, and a third partner country—offers a promising alternative.
• Countries like Japan, Germany, Indonesia, and Brazil have successfully implemented TrC projects, promoting shared learning and tailored solutions.
• India and Germany have initiated TrC projects in Africa and Latin America, supported further by collaborations with the US, UK, EU, and France during India’s G-20 presidency.
• These partnerships demonstrate how combining technical, financial, and human resources in TrC can effectively re-phase global development finance to achieve impactful, cost-effective results in the Global South.

Suggestions and Way Ahead

• India’s approach is rooted in its vision of inclusive development—“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (One Earth, One Family, One Future)—emphasizing partnership, empowerment, and shared growth for a sustainable future.
• India can help shape a more inclusive and resilient global order amid rising global inequalities and weakening development finance

General Studies Paper-3

Context

The European Commission has proposed a legally binding goal to reduce net Green House Gas emissions by 90% by 2040, compared to 1990 levels.

EU’s Recent Plans to Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• The 2040 milestone is built to ensure trajectory to the 2050 climate-neutral goal, offering policy clarity to citizens, industrial investment, and global diplomacy.
• Carbon Offsets from Outside Europe: From 2036 onwards, countries can meet up to 3% of their reduction target through carbon credits generated from climate projects outside the EU.
• Technological Neutrality: The EU is open to all types of clean or low-carbon technologies to reduce pollution, like Renewable energy, Nuclear energy, Carbon capture and storage (CCS), and Carbon removal.
• Complementary Policies:
• Fit for 55 package targets a 55% cut by 2030, expanding European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and rolling out the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
• Heavy industries may get exemptions via free permits to protect competitiveness.

India’s Commitments Emission Reductions

• India has launched the LiFE mission (Lifestyle for Environment) and updated its NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) under the Paris Agreement.
• Under its updated NDC 2022, India pledges:
  • 45% reduction in emissions intensity (amount of CO₂ per unit of GDP) by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
  • 50% of installed electricity capacity will come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
  • Creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (GtCO₂e) by increasing forests and tree cover.

What is the Progress under GHG Emission Reduction?

• Progress of European Union: Achieved a 37% reduction in emissions since 1990. In 2023 alone, emissions fell by 8.3%, even though the economy continued to grow.
  • The EU is now using a mix of clean energy sources like renewables (solar, wind), nuclear power, and carbon capture technology to meet its goals.
  • The EU has strong policies and tools like CBAM, ETS and Horizon Europe.
  • India’s 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4), highlighted a 7.93% reduction in GHG emissions in 2020 compared to 2019.
• Emission intensity (per unit GDP) saw a 36% reduction from 2005 to 2020.
• As of October 2024, India’s installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources reached 46.5%, totaling approximately 203GW.
• Solar power alone accounted for roughly 92 GW of this capacity.
• India ranked 10th in the Climate Change Performance Index 2025, scoring high in GHG emissions and energy use but weaker in climate policy and renewable deployment.

Challenges in GHG Emission Reduction

• The EU faces challenges in reducing GHG emissions due to industrial resistance seeking relaxed rules, reliance on foreign carbon credits that may shift the burden to poorer nations, and slow progress in the transport sector, where road emissions remain high.
• India’s Heavy Dependence on Coal: Coal still fuels ~75% of Indian emissions. Also, the steel industry is growing fast and still depends heavily on coal, which adds to the pollution problem.
• Climate Targets Need to Be Stronger: India has set climate goals ( NDCs), but experts say they are not strong enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
• Policy Gaps Remain: India is setting up a carbon market (where companies can trade the right to emit carbon), but it is still optional and not fully working yet.

What are the Suggestions?

• The EU should tighten offset rules by allowing only high-integrity credits, speed up transport decarbonisation by advancing vehicle mandates, and boost funding—using CBAM revenues—to support vulnerable regions and sectors.
• India can raise its NDC ambition with deeper emission cuts across key sectors, promote a green industrial shift (e.g., hydrogen, electric arc furnaces), make carbon trading mandatory by 2026 with strict oversight, and improve energy efficiency through stronger standards and expanded solar and EV adoption.

Concluding remarks

• The EU’s 2040 climate target represents a critical midpoint between ambition and feasibility in the journey toward net zero.
• While the inclusion of carbon offsets provides tactical flexibility, it also raises important ethical and governance questions.
• For India and the Global South, it reinforces the need to advocate for just and equitable climate action in global platforms while preparing domestic policies for a green future.

General Studies Paper-3

Context: The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU)urged the State government to ensure minimum wages, legal recognition, and comprehensive welfare schemes, for gig and platform workers.

Who are gig workers?

• The World Economic Forum defines the gig economy as short-term, task-based work facilitated by digital platforms connecting workers with customers.
• In India, gig workers are considered “self-employed,” with increasing female participation.
• Gig work includes web-based tasks like content writing and software development, and location-based services like driving and food delivery through platforms such as Ola and Zomato.
• Gig workers are paid per task, enjoying flexible work outside the traditional 9-to-5 model.

Related Steps

• The 2025 Union Budget introduced steps to formally recognise gig and platform workers and extended social protection schemes to them.
• The Code on Social Security, 2020, legally defined gig and platform workers as those engaged in non-traditional employer-employee arrangements.
• Recent initiatives like e-Shram registration, digital ID cards, and health coverage under Ayushman Bharat show the government’s recognition of gig workers.

Challenges

• The revised Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 has not made significant changes to accurately reflect the diverse nature of gig and platform work.
• Despite projections estimating the gig workforce to reach 23.5 million by 2029-30, India’s main labour survey still categorizes gig workers under broad groups like ‘self-employed’ or ‘casual labour,’ leading to their statistical invisibility.
• This lack of clear classification hampers effective policy-making and equitable access to social security schemes established under the Code, such as the Social Security Fund and National Social Security Board, which depend on accurate data for inclusive welfare planning.

Conclusion and Way Forward

• The 2025 PLFS revision improved sample size and rural coverage; it still does not clearly define or capture gig work.
• To ensure inclusive policymaking, India can revise PLFS classifications or add specific modules for gig workers.
• Governments and platforms must collaborate to define clear legal protections and offer tailored social security like health and pension plans.
• Platforms should ensure transparency, fair pay, and good working conditions.

General Studies Paper-3

Context: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) marks 50 years since it entered into force.

About

• Genesis: CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is a pioneering global agreement originally conceived in 1963 at a meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Aim and Scope: CITES is a voluntary international agreement between governments, aiming to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
  • It operates through a licensing system that regulates all import, export, and re-export of listed species and their parts or derivatives.
• Administration and Structure: The CITES Secretariat is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • As of 2024, there are 185 Parties (countries or regional organizations) to CITES; India ratified the Convention in 1976.
  • While CITES is legally binding on its Parties, it does not replace national laws. Instead, each Party must implement CITES through its own domestic legislation.

Significance

• CITES was the first global agreement to address wildlife trade at an international level, providing a framework for cooperation to prevent over-exploitation and extinction due to trade.
• It remains a cornerstone of international efforts to protect biodiversity, with its effectiveness relying on the commitment and enforcement by its member Parties.

Key Initiatives

• Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme: Adopted at the 10th CoP Harare (1997), this site-based system monitors trends in the illegal killing of elephants across Africa and Asia.
• International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC): Launched in 2010, ICCWC is a partnership between CITES and other organizations to support national law enforcement agencies in combating wildlife and forest crime.
• Strategic Vision 2021–2030: This framework guides CITES’ efforts to ensure wildlife trade supports global biodiversity goals, sustainable development, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• CITES Tree Species Programme: Launched in 2024, focuses on improving the management and sustainable use of tree species listed under CITES.