UPSC Key: Cockroach Janta Party, Bond yields, and Millets

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000?

— What are the concerns related to this section?

— What are the steps taken by the government to take down inflammatory content on social media?

— What is the process of forming a political party in India?

— What is the role of youth in upholding democratic values?

— What is Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India case?

— Know about the Gen Z revolts around the world

Key Takeaways:

— The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked X to withhold the account under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the official said, adding that the input to do so came from the IB.

— “MeitY received an input from the IB to block the X account of Cockroach Janta Party, citing that it posed a threat to the sovereignty of India. The IB believed that the account was posting inflammatory content through its account, which could have jeopardised the country’s national security.” the official said.

— Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act empowers the Central government to restrict public access to information in the interest of sovereignty, security, public order or preventing incitement to offences.

— The process is governed by the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. Blocking orders are confidential.

— Although the account has been withheld in India, it is accessible from other locations – it had more than 200,000 followers on X as of Thursday evening. A second government official said that the blocking order was sent to the social media company when the account had roughly around 90,000 followers.

— According to X guidelines, any account or post is withheld if the social networking site receives a “valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity”.

— On May 15, the CJI pulled up a lawyer who had filed a petition seeking directions to the Delhi High Court over the designation of a Senior Advocate, a status he himself was aspiring to. “There are already parasites of society who attack the system, and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any place in (the) profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists, and they start attacking everyone,” he said.

— The remarks triggered an uproar, following which the CJI said it was “totally baseless” to suggest that he had criticised the youth.

From the Politics page: ‘Cockroach Janta Party shows people’s frustration with govt’

— In an interview with The Indian Express, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reflects on what the CJP phenomenon reveals about the mood of the country’s youth, the failures and possibilities it provides in mainstream politics, among other issues.

—  Tharoor: It was obviously a spontaneous initiative but it went viral very quickly and I think it’s a very healthy thing in a democracy that people have different ways of being able to express their wishes and something that is satirical, humorous and at the same time deadly serious is an excellent outlet for the frustrations of the youth.

Do You Know:

— Express Opinion: Millennials inherited traces of optimism from a country still narrating economic rise as inevitability. They attended protests, signed petitions, wrote lengthy Facebook posts about constitutional morality, and believed participation impacts thought processes. Disillusionment hit them soon.

— Gen Z grew up watching idealism decay in public. Their political memory begins where millennial optimism collapsed. No event represents that emotional transition more sharply than the rise and transformation of the Aam Aadmi Party.

— In contemporary India’s emotional architecture, shame has become politically central. Shame about unemployment. Shame about moving back home at thirty. Shame about earning less than school friends. Shame about not “cracking” life on schedule. The Cockroach Janta Party phenomenon understands humiliation instinctively. And that is exactly why it spread like wildfire.

— The Cockroach Janta Party may disappear within months. Internet movements often burn intensely and collapse without consequence. But dismissing it entirely would be foolish because something about this absurdity feels historically real.

— The establishment may completely miss what is forming underneath because it will first appear unserious. Political moods often enter public life disguised as comedy because comedy lowers society’s defences. People laugh before realising they are confessing something.

— A country that once produced idealists now produces exhausted young people calling themselves cockroaches online.

That sounds ridiculous.

Until suddenly it does not.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Millennials had hope and AAP. Gen Z has the Cockroach Janta Party

Explore alternative energy sources, PM tells Govt amid West Asia crisis

Syllabus:

Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

What’s the ongoing story: With the crisis in West Asia and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz straining energy supplies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday urged the Council of Ministers to urgently explore alternative energy sources, including a push for biogas as a substitute for LPG cooking gas.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Know about the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and how it has impacted India

— What are the major petrochemical items imported by India?

— What are the steps taken by the government to absorb the shock from the West Asia war?

— What are the constituents of biogas? How is it produced?

— What are Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)?

— What are the challenges faced by the FMCG sector?

Key Takeaways:

— The directive came as Modi addressed a three-and-a-half-hour ministerial meeting shortly after returning from a tour of the UAE and four European nations where the conflict in West Asia and its fallout ranked high in the discussions.

— The Prime Minister also called upon his government to implement reforms with vigour, underlining that Viksit Bharat 2047 was not merely a promise but a commitment, and stressed the need to focus on the future rather than past complacencies or regrets.

— It is learnt that the ministers were also apprised about the performance of ministries and departments on various indicators including disposal of files and public grievances. The top five and bottom five ministries on each indicator were ranked, it is learnt.

From the FRONT page: Supply chains hit, Govt asks industry if local production of 200 petro items possible

— The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in a meeting with the petrochemical industry, has asked them to “urgently respond” on the scope to indigenise the production of over 200 highly import-dependent petrochemical items, The Indian Express has learnt

— The list of items also includes high-value imports ranging from phosphoric acid, ammonia, acetic acid, toluene used in agriculture, food production, and industrial manufacturing, plastics and resins such as polypropylene, polycarbonates and propylene copolymers that go into the production of automotive components, packaging materials, and medical devices.

— While the Indian industry and consumers have been relatively shielded by the impact of the West Asia crisis due to the low-cost inventory, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is depleting the inventory and a more pronounced impact across the industry may be felt if the crisis continues.

—- The list of items suggests that India’s import substitution strategy cannot rely on a single policy instrument, such as tariffs or PLI schemes. Different categories require very different policy responses depending on the level of existing domestic capability, scale gaps, technology intensity and supply-chain dependence, Srivastava said.

— Items such as PVC pipes, polycarbonates (roofing sheets), epoxy resins (coatings, adhesives), and MDI/polyurethanes (insulation foam) are primarily used in housing, commercial real estate, and government infrastructure projects.

— Similarly, MDI, polyurethanes, carbon blacks (tyre filler), engineering plastics (polyamide/nylon), and isocyanates go into vehicle interiors, tyres, bumpers, and industrial coatings.

— Some of these items are also key raw materials for fertiliser and urea production. These included phosphoric acid, used in fertiliser production and anhydrous ammonia, a feedstock for urea.

— Items like PET (terephthalic acid), acrylic fibres (acrylonitrile), nylon-6/6,6 (polyamide), and vinyl acetate are used in the garment and technical textiles industry. Similarly, Butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, epoxy resins, toluene, xylene, and ethylene glycol feed the decorative and industrial coatings value chain.

Do You Know:

— FMCGs are products that are sold quickly, are affordable for consumers, and have high turnover for companies. FMCGs have a short shelf life because of high consumer demand (e.g., soft drinks and confections) or because they are perishable (e.g., meat, dairy products, and baked goods).

— In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the government introduced a PLI scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: The cause and effect of rising inflation

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Discuss the rationale of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. What are its achievements? In what way can the functioning and outcomes of the scheme be improved? (UPSC CSE 2025)

 

ECONOMY

West Asia war pushes up bond yields, raises spectre of RBI rate hike

Syllabus:

Mains Examination: General Studies-III:  Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: Yields on Indian government bonds – issued by the Centre to raise funds to bridge its annual fiscal deficit, or the mismatch between its receipts and expenditure – have risen sharply in recent weeks in the wake of the war in West Asia due to the strain on public finances as expenditure mounts for things such as fertiliser subsidy and loss of revenue from the cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel, among others.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are government bonds?

— What are bond yields?

— What factors impact bond yields?

— Yields on Indian government bonds have risen sharply in recent weeks. Why?

— What is the role and function of the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC)?

— How is inflation measured in India?

— How is inflation controlled in India?

Key Takeaways:

— On Thursday, the most actively traded Indian government bond closed at 7.11%, up a massive 45 basis points (bps) from 6.66% on February 27. Bond yields have risen across the world, from the US to Japan, to multi-year highs as fears of rising inflation unnerve investors that central banks may start raising interest rates.

— Bond yields move in the opposite direction to prices. Rising bond yields are a sign of investors expecting higher interest rates in the future.

— In India, opinion has begun to shift that the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee may start raising the policy repo rate as early as next month – the rate-setting panel will announce its decision on June 5 – with the rupee’s non-stop fall seen as becoming a consideration for monetary policy, something the central bank has repeatedly said in the past is not the case.

— “For India, four-five rate hikes have been priced in by the OIS market over the next year. Markets are forward-looking, so they will react to conditions that they see maybe around six months ahead,” Gaura Sengupta, Chief Economist at IDFC First Bank, said.

— OIS, or Overnight Index Swap, is a type of interest rate derivative used by financial market players to hedge the interest rate risk they face and is an indicator of interest rate expectations.

— Should the RBI raise interest rates next month, it would not be the first to tighten monetary policy in response to the shock from the war. Most recently, on Wednesday, the Indonesian central bank surprised by raising its policy rate by 50 bps to 5.25% .

Do You Know:

— G-secs, or government securities or government bonds, are tradable instruments issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. It is used by the government to borrow money from the public.

— The effective interest on the government bonds is called yield. But the rate of return is not fixed — it changes with the price of the bond. But to understand that, one must first understand how bonds are structured. Every bond has a face value and a coupon payment. There is also the price of the bond, which may or may not be equal to the face value of the bond.

— Suppose the face value of a 10-year G-sec is Rs 100, and its coupon payment is Rs 5. Buyers of this bond will give the government Rs 100 (the face value); in return, the government will pay them Rs 5 (the coupon payment) every year for the next 10 years, and will pay back their Rs 100 at the end of the tenure. In this case, the bond’s yield, or effective rate of interest, is 5%. The yield is the investor’s reward for parting with Rs 100 today, but for staying without it for 10 years.

— Imagine a situation in which there is just one bond, and two buyers (or people willing to lend to the government). In such a scenario, the selling price of the bond may go from Rs 100 to Rs 105 or Rs 110 because of competitive bidding by the two buyers. Importantly, even if the bond is sold at Rs 110, the coupon payment of Rs 5 will not change. Thus, as the price of the bond increases from Rs 100 to Rs 110, the yield falls to 4.5%.

— Bond yields are in line with the prevailing interest rate in the economy. With reference to the above example, if the prevailing interest rate is 4% and the government announces a bond with a yield of 5% (that is, a face value of Rs 100 and a coupon of Rs 5) then a lot of people will rush to buy such a bond to earn a higher interest rate.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge Nugget: Government securities, T-bills, and bond yields explained for UPSC prelims

📍Knowledge Nugget: CPI vs WPI and Inflation basics for UPSC preparation

📍Knowledge nugget of the day: RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2018)

1. The Reserve Bank of India manages and services Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.

2. Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.

3. Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

(2) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)? (UPSC CSE 2017)

1. It decides the RBI’s benchmark interest rates

2. It is a 12-member body including the Governor of RBI and is reconstituted every year.

3. It functions under the chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 2 and 3 only

EXPLAINED

Iran war, monsoon worries could make millets the preferred choice of farmers

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country

What’s the ongoing story: The Iran crisis-induced supply shock in fertilisers and a below-normal monsoon may give a boost to bajra, moong and other pulses. MSP procurement by the government can also help.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Why do paddy and maize cultivation need more fertilizers?

— What are the favourable conditions for the cultivation of millets?

— What are the advantages of millets?

— What are the favourable conditions for cotton cultivation?

— How is the MSP determined?

— What are the challenges facing cotton cultivation?

— What are the steps taken by the government to promote millet cultivation?

Key Takeaways:

— On Saturday, Ramesh Chander sowed bajra (pearl millet) on eight acres using a 50-horsepower tractor-mounted seed drill machine. He plans to sow seeds of the ‘Proagro 9001’ hybrid on another six acres next month, after harvesting the standing moong (green gram) crop on that field.

— The higher bajra acreage is at the expense of narma (cotton). Chander had cultivated the natural fibre crop on 23 acres in 2024, which he reduced to 12 last year: “This time, I may do just one acre”.

— Chander gives three reasons for virtually deserting cotton.

(i) The first is the threat from gulabi sundi or pink bollworm. Till 4-5 years ago, kapas (raw un-ginned cotton) yields were 10-12 quintals per acre.

(ii) The second reason is labour shortage for picking cotton, with the cost ranging from Rs 12 to Rs 25 per kg.

(iii) The third factor has to do with chemical inputs – fertilisers and pesticides… In bajra, per-acre fertiliser use is just two bags of SSP and two urea bags, along with two 80-gram sprays of ‘Proclaim’ to control top borer.

— The bajra Chander would sow in June 15-20 is harvestable three months later, giving him ample time to plant a 130-140 days rabi (winter-spring) mustard crop by mid-October. After that is harvested, he can sow a 60-65 days zaid (summer) moong crop from mid-March to mid-April.

— A major uncertainty that Indian farmers are facing ahead of kharif plantings, which will take off with the monsoon rains from June, is fertilisers.

— While the requirement of fertilisers isn’t much in bajra, moong and other pulses, that’s not so with paddy or maize.

— This year, the price sentiment isn’t bad for cotton and maize. The West Asia tensions have driven up prices of manmade fibres like polyester and nylon, and also demand for bio-ethanol from maize used in blending with petrol.

— However, the global supply shock in fertilisers as well as petroleum-derived solvents and emulsifiers that go into pesticide formulations may dampen farmer enthusiasm.

— The United Nations had, at India’s initiative, declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The Iran crisis and a possible subnormal monsoon could well make 2026 the real breakthrough year for these less nutrient, pesticide and water-intensive crops.

Do You Know:

— Millets are both eco-friendly and healthier than more commonly consumed grains. They require much less water than rice or wheat, and can be grown in rain-fed areas without irrigation. Belonging to the grass family, millets tend to be more tolerant to drought and extreme weather, and can grow in poor soil and in hilly areas.

— Millets can be a healthier option to keep lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes at bay. Switching out the regular grains can be especially beneficial in India, which is considered to be the diabetes capital of the world. It is projected that the country will have 69.9 million diabetics by 2025. Indians are also at a high risk of cardiovascular diseases at a young age.

— Millets have a much lower glycaemic index — a measure of how much blood sugar levels spike after consuming a food item — than processed rice or wheat. A low glycaemic diet can help in controlling weight and blood sugar levels, consequently reducing the risk of heart disease or even cancers.

— Millets are also high in fibre content that is known to improve gut microbiota. They result in satiety faster and keeps people fuller for longer, thereby reducing the amount of food consumed.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s big millets push, and why it makes sense to have these grains

📍Knowledge Nugget: What is Mission for Cotton Productivity?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(3) With reference to ‘Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC CSE 2016)

1. This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with a cluster approach.

2. Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have a larger stake in this scheme.

3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and micro-irrigation equipment.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Why world’s richest cricketing body is not covered under RTI act

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday, May 18, held that the BCCI is not a “public authority” under the Right to Information Act and therefore cannot be compelled to disclose information under the law.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the role and function of the CIC?

— Know about the evolution of the Right to Information Act

— What is the National Sports Governance Act, 2025?

— What is the significance of the Right to Information Act?

— What were the major recommendations of the Lodha Committee?

Key Takeaways:

— The order came in a case filed by a Delhi resident who had sought to know under what authority the BCCI selects players to represent India, why governments provide stadiums and police security to what is technically a private association, and whether the government exercises any legal control over cricket administration in India.

— The CIC noted that the BCCI does not fall within the ambit of a “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and dismissed the appeal filed in 2018 after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports informed the applicant that the information sought was not available with it.

— The BCCI’s position outside the ambit of both “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution and “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act sits at the heart of the order.

— Section 2(h) defines a “public authority” as “any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted” by the Constitution, laws made by Parliament or state legislatures, or government notifications.

— It also includes bodies that are “owned, controlled or substantially financed” by the government, including NGOs substantially financed by public funds.

— Article 12 defines “State” to include the government and Parliament of India, state governments and legislatures, and “all local or other authorities” under the control of the government.

— Over the years, courts have expanded this definition through judicial interpretation, particularly in cases involving bodies performing public functions.

— The National Sports Governance Act, 2025, which provides that sports bodies receiving grants from the government would be treated as public authorities under the RTI Act to the extent of utilisation of those funds. Since the BCCI receives no such grants, it falls outside this statutory extension.

— The Lodha Committee had recommended bringing the BCCI under the RTI. The Law Commission, in its 275th report in 2018, also recommended that sports bodies performing public functions be brought within the ambit of the RTI Act, as it “exercises state like powers” and “virtually acts as a National Sports Federation”. But none of these recommendations translated into binding law.

— Relying on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Ltd v State of Kerala (2013), the Commission held that the “control” contemplated under Section 2(h) must be “substantial and pervasive” over management, policy, administration and financial affairs, not mere regulatory supervision.

— The CIC found that the BCCI’s internal structure does not reflect governmental control. Its office bearers are elected internally under its own rules, no government nominee sits on its committees, and government approval is not required for its decisions.

— Section 2(h)(d) of the RTI Act includes within the definition of “public authority” bodies that are “substantially financed” by the government. The Commission held that “substantial financing” means funding so significant that the body would struggle to exist without it, not incidental benefits or tax exemptions available to many entities.

— The CIC noted that the BCCI generates its revenue independently through media rights, sponsorships, broadcasting agreements and ticket sales. It rejected the argument that the use of government-owned stadiums or police deployment during matches amounts to substantial government financing.

— In 2016, the Supreme Court in BCCI v Cricket Association of Bihar, arising out of the IPL spot-fixing and conflict-of-interest scandals, imposed sweeping governance reforms on the BCCI through the Lodha Committee recommendations. These included tenure limits, the one-state-one-vote principle, conflict-of-interest norms and structural governance reforms.

Do You Know:

— The RTI Act, which came into force in October 2005, was seen as a significant development towards freedom of information. It gave ordinary citizens the right to request information from government bodies, making authorities accountable for their actions and decisions.

— According to the official site of the Right to Information, “the basic object of the RTI Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in a real sense.” These are the four pillars of the Act.

— The RTI Act, 2005, provided for a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions to deal with appeals and complaints against public authorities. Section 12 of the RTI Act states, “The Central Information Commission shall consist of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), and such number of Central Information Commissioners, not exceeding 10, as may be deemed necessary.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge Nugget: Why is Right To Information Act important for UPSC?

📍Tracing the roots and impact of Right to Information Act

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

(4) Consider the following statements:

1. The RTI Act, 2005, provides for a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions.

2. The decisions of the Central Information Commission are final and binding.

3. The Central Information Commission has jurisdiction over a State Information Commission.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

The Right to Information Act is not all about citizens’ empowerment alone, it essentially redefines the concept of accountability.” Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2018)

What Russia-China ties mean for India’s security

Syllabus:

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

What’s the ongoing story: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday (May 19), less than a week after US President Donald Trump concluded his three-day visit. Such high-level engagements in quick succession are extremely rare. Nonetheless, these visits underline China’s emergence as a central hub of global diplomacy.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are India’s concerns with increasing closeness between China and Russia?

— Understand India’s relationship with China and Russia and its challenges

— Russia’s growing cooperation and dependence on China has serious ramifications for India’s security. Why?

— How are bilateral alliances defined in this new global order?

— How has India’s relationship evolved with China, Russia and the USA?

— How is India readjusting its relationship with Western countries amidst changing geopolitics of the world?

Key Takeaways:

— Washington seeks to alleviate its strained ties, while Moscow aims to secure Beijing’s sustained economic support and preserve its strategic relevance in global geopolitics.

— The US, China and Russia are systemic players and the nature of their interactions is central to the stability and future direction of the global order. Therefore, Putin’s visit to Beijing is significant, not merely for bilateral reasons but also for regional and global stability.

— Historically, Russia-China relations can be understood in three phases: the imperial period, the Soviet period and the post-Soviet period. Russia and China have interacted as civilisational states for centuries. They share a long border of roughly 4,300 km, and their relationship has largely been tranquil. However, there were periods of episodic conflicts and hostility.

— Russia and China have deep economic and political ties and complement each other in several respects. President Putin and Xi Jinping have met more than 40 times. In fact, Putin has visited China more than 20 times, while Xi has visited Russia 11 times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, is welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

— China is the leading player in commerce, technology and finance, while Russia thrives on its energy and defence exports. Russia needs market, technology and capital, while China needs energy and defence products.

— The Russian economy would have collapsed without China’s support from 2022. Russia’s total trade value was about $700 billion in 2025, of which about $228 billion (or 32 per cent) was only with China.

— Russia’s main exports are crude oil, coal, natural gas, copper, timber, and agricultural products, and its imports are cars, computers, tractors, phones, machinery, electronics, and vehicles.

— For key technologies, Russia now depends heavily on China. Chinese automobile, telecom and electronic companies have captured a high share of the Russian market following the withdrawal of Western companies.

— The Putin-Xi Summit on Wednesday is considered more productive than the Trump-Xi meeting a week ago because it issued a joint statement and signed more than 40 agreements encompassing energy, technology, investment, transport, space, digital and cultural cooperation. There was no concrete agreement on the Siberia-2 gas pipeline.

— Essentially, they seek to develop robust bilateral ties immune from global volatility and Western pressure. Without naming the US, they criticised its unilateral and hegemonic policies, and pledged to work for a “multipolar” world order and democratisation of global institutions.

— Russia and China are not natural allies in terms of common culture, ideology, political regime or racial affinity. However, the emerging geopolitics, in which both Russia and China view Washington as a structural rival, has brought them closer. In the lexicon of international politics, an alliance is a formal agreement in which two states commit to supporting each other against external aggression.

— There is a growing concern that Beijing and Moscow are headed towards a military alliance. However, in the shifting sands of global geopolitics, military alliances can be a liability and come with twin fears of “entrapment” and “abandonment”.

— Russia’s growing cooperation and dependence on China has serious ramifications for India’s security. For the last two decades, New Delhi has pursued a twin strategy to maintain balance: cultivating a security partnership with the US and by maintaining strong ties with Russia.

— These diplomatic options, however, are dwindling as both Trump and Putin are trying to woo Xi Jinping. New Delhi will have to work on alternative strategies as it can no longer rely on the US for its continental security and balance. At least, not while Trump is in office.

Do You Know:

— C. Raja Mohan writes: Those perennially anxious about a G-2 between the US and China should worry even more about China’s deepening partnership with Russia. One of the core arguments for Russia’s centrality in India’s national strategy is that it serves as a balancing power in Eurasia.

— If Trump’s visit was about moving the US from confrontation to stabilisation of ties with China, Putin’s is about celebrating the strategic partnership unveiled 25 years ago. Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has become even more dependent on China. What do the two pilgrimages to Beijing mean for India?

— First, India should not be rattled by every shift in great-power relations. Since World War II, relations among the US, China and Russia have changed repeatedly, often violently. Taken in pairs, they have been allies, friends, enemies and frenemies at different moments. Dealing with that change is part of the national mandate.

— Second, the real challenge for India is addressing the consequences of China’s rise and assertion.

— For India, the problem is especially acute: A long, disputed and tension-prone boundary; Beijing’s growing influence in India’s neighbourhood; an expanding Chinese footprint in global institutions; and a trade deficit now above $110 billion, rooted in India’s deepening dependence on Chinese manufactured goods.

— Third, the answer lies partly in accelerating India’s own rise. Shifts in great-power relations, the emergence of wars and global crises — these are variables India cannot control. What it can drive is its own modernisation.

— Fourth, India cannot close the gap with China anytime soon, but it can reduce the impact of the power imbalance through external cooperation that reinforces internal self-strengthening.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍C Raja Mohan writes: Great-power competition demands a first-principles foreign policy

📍In a shifting world order, five principles should guide India’s diplomacy

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (UPSC CSE 2020)

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Ebola watch: Govt defers Africa & big cat summits, alerts airports	With the World Health Organization declaring a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda “a public health emergency of international concern”, the government Thursday issued an advisory for travellers from “high risk countries” entering India. It also announced the postponement of the India-Africa Forum Summit and the first International Big Cat Alliance Summit which were to be held in New Delhi in the coming weeks. In a joint statement with the African Union, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that after consultations on the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa”, the two sides agreed “it would be advisable to convene the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later date”.
Voice from Ladakh is not a demand for privilege, but an appeal to be trusted	Gitanjali J Angmo writes: The most troubling aspect of the present discourse is that the Centre itself repeatedly promised constitutional safeguards to Ladakh. After the abrogation of Article 370 and the creation of the Union Territory in 2019, the BJP, in its manifestos for the MP and Hill Council elections in 2019 and 2020 respectively, articulated assurances regarding the Sixth Schedule. Yet once it won on these very manifestos, it went back on its commitments. Can promises made to frontier populations become expendable after elections?

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (c)  2. (a)  3. (c)   4. (b)

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