UPSC Key: India pushes new global governance index, Dairy sector, and Aspirational Agriculture Districts

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

What’s the ongoing story: OVER the past few years, several global indices have portrayed India in a negative light and the government has questioned their methodology. Now, as the current president of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), India has proposed a new international governance index, The Indian Express has learnt.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the role and function of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)?

— Why is India pushing for greater transparency in the Worldwide Governance Indicators?

— What are the issues raised by India against the World Governance Index?

— What is the purpose of these global indices?

Key Takeaways:

— India, which won the presidency of the Brussels-based IIAS for the first time in June this year, has pitched for research on establishing this index. As India completed 100 days of its three-year presidency, IIAS released Friday a list of achievements that included advancing this research agenda through initiatives such as the international governance index.

— He added that the committee would establish a working group to develop the index. The topic would be incorporated into the agenda for the IIAS annual conference in 2026, he said.

— This move at IIAS comes at a time when India’s rank has slipped on global indices. In its reports, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has listed India as an electoral autocracy since 2017. The latest report in 2025 ranked India 100 out of 179 countries on the “liberal democracy index”, in which Denmark was ranked one.

— In 2022, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister had published a working paper on the Freedom in the World Index, the V-DEM indices and the EIU Democracy Index.

— Speaking at a seminar organised by the Finance Ministry on November 15, 2023, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran had called for greater transparency in the Worldwide Governance Indicators, which he said are used by credit rating agencies in making their assessments.

— “This World Governance Index itself is a composite of several sub-indices, which are purely based on the subjective opinions of some so-called expert institutions which do not have presence on the ground nor do they understand whether the context in which they are making these judgements is appropriate or apt for the member countries,” he had said.

— The WGI covers over 200 economies and includes six indicators: voice and accountability; political stability and absence of violence/terrorism; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law; and control of corruption.

— The 2023 WGI, the most recent report available, gives India the percentile rank of 51.47 for voice and accountability; 21.33 for political stability and absence of violence/terrorism; 67.92 for government effectiveness; 47.17 for regulatory quality; 56.13 for rule of law and 41.51 for control of corruption.

— Zero is the lowest and 100 the highest rank.

Do You Know:

— The IIAS, established in 1930, has 31 member countries, including India, Japan, China, Germany and Saudi Arabia. While it is not affiliated with the UN, it actively works with it.

— An international non-profit, IIAS organises events for public servants and academics and produces research on public governance. India had won the presidency for 2025-2028 after the first-ever election for the post, defeating Austria.

— India won the Presidency of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) for the 2025–2028 term. India has been represented by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances since 1998.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The trap of global rankings 

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) The Global Competitiveness Report is published by the (UPSC CSE 2019)

(a) International Monetary Fund

(b) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(c) World Economic Forum

(d) World Bank

 

GOVT & POLITICS

Shah: From 2026, no more ‘tareekh pe tareekh,’ FIRs to be cleared in 3 yrs

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 three new criminal laws are “the biggest reform the country has witnessed in the 21st century”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday said that adding that they make the process of justice delivery simpler and time bound and after 2026, an FIR will be disposed of in three years on an average.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the three new criminal laws?

— Evolution of criminal laws in India.

— What committees were formed to reform India’s Criminal Justice System?

— What is the significance of e-FIRs and zero FIRs?

— How is the government integrating modern technology into policing and investigation?

— What are the challenges in implementing the new criminal laws?

Key Takeaways:

— There will be no “tareekh pe tareekh” (repeated adjournments in courts), the home minister said, adding the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action.

— The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), framed by the BJP-led Centre, replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively. The new laws came into effect on July 1, 2024.

— Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a week-long exhibition on the three laws in Haryana’s Kurukshetra, Shah said, the purpose of the laws framed by the British was to maintain their rule in India.

— He said that the new laws have been crafted based on the three principles given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: “citizen first, dignity first, justice first.”

— Instead of a “stick” and “third degree”, the police, under the new laws, work on data and scientific evidence. Now, police, jail, the judiciary, the prosecution and forensics have been connected online, he said.

— Thanks to e-FIRs and zero FIRs, women need not visit police stations anymore to get a complaint lodged. Videography of all seizures has been made mandatory, and forensic investigation compulsory for all offenses carrying a punishment of seven years or more, he added.

— He further said that new challenges like mob lynching, terrorism, organised crime and digital crime have emerged. There is a provision in the new laws for a trial in absentia for an accused who has fled the country, he said.

— Shah said nearly 14.8 lakh police personnel, 42,000 prison staff, 19,000 judicial officers and more than 11,000 public prosecutors have been sensitised about the new laws.

— In one year since their implementation, chargesheets were filed within 60 days in 53 per cent criminal cases lodged across the country, and within 90 days in 65 per cent cases.

Do You Know:

— The new criminal laws (NCLs) — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — came into force on July 1, 2024, amid much debate and discussion.

— The NCLs have been projected as encouraging speedy justice, tech-centric, forensic-centric, victim-centric, and future-proof, and have given an unprecedented spur to the conversation on the decolonisation of laws.

— A change in criminal law typically affects four major components of the criminal justice system: Police, prosecution, judiciary, and the bar.

— The primary measure to achieve speedy justice has been the introduction of timelines in the BNSS. For instance, victims must be informed about the progress of the investigation within 90 days; the supply of police reports to the accused must be completed within 14 days; discharge applications must be filed within 60 days, and charges must be framed within 60 days.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Indian Penal Code to Nyaya Sanhita: What’s new, what is out, what changes

📍One year of new criminal laws: The challenges of implementation

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) Which of the following statements is/are correct? (CDS)

1. Criminal law is exclusively a subject under the State List of the Constitution of India.

2. Code of Civil Procedure falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India.

Select the answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

‘India’s dairy sector fastest growing in the world, expanded 70% in 11 yrs’: Amit Shah

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

What’s the ongoing story: The dairy sector in India has grown by 70 per cent in the 11 years of the BJP rule at the Centre — with milk production increasing from 146 million tonnes in 2014-2015 to 239 million tonnes in 2023-24 — and is now the fastest-growing sector in the world, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday said.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the importance of cooperatives in the dairy sector?

— What is White Revolution 2.0?

— What is Operation flood?

— What are the challenges faced by the dairy sector in India?

— What are the initiatives taken by the government in this sector?

— What are the initiatives taken by the government for the promotion of cooperatives in India?

Key Takeaways:

— Shah, who also holds the cooperation portfolio, said that over the past four years, the ministry, in collaboration with all state governments, has worked to lay a strong foundation of cooperatives.

— “I want to assure you that by 2029, not even one Panchayat will be there in the country, which will not have a cooperative society,” Shah said.

— Shah said the government has decided to establish three new multi-state cooperative societies for the dairy sector. The first society will focus on ‘animal feed production, disease control and artificial insemination’, the second will promote ‘developing cow dung management models’ and the third will promote ‘circular use of dead cattle remains’.

— As many as eight crore farmers are connected with the dairy sector, and the per capita milk availability, which was earlier 124 grams, is now 471 grams.

— Saini credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’ (prosperity through cooperation) and the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 for revitalizing the cooperative sector.

— Haryana, ranked third in the country in milk production, produces 122.2 lakh tonnes annually with a per capita milk availability of 1,105 grams per day. The state is also extending support to farmers through cooperative societies, low-interest loans, timely seed and fertilizer supplies, and insurance and welfare schemes, he said.

Do You Know:

— Operation Flood, launched in 1970, ushered in the White Revolution and transformed the dairy sector in India. Last year, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced plans for “White Revolution 2.0”.

— The idea of White Revolution 2.0 revolves around cooperative societies, which were also the bedrock of Operation Flood five decades ago.

— India is the world’s top milk producer, with production having reached 230.58 million tonnes during 2022-23. In 1951-52, the country produced just 17 million tonnes of milk.

— The average yield is, however, only 8.55 kg per animal per day for exotic/ crossbred animals, and 3.44 kg/ animal/ day for indigenous/ nondescript animals. The yield in Punjab is 13.49 kg/ animal/ day (exotic/ crossbreed), but only 6.30 kg/ animal/ day in West Bengal.

— The national per capita availability of milk is 459 grams/ day, which is higher than the global average of 323 g/ day; this number, however, varies from 329 g in Maharashtra to 1,283 g in Punjab.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍A new White Revolution in dairy sector: Where India stands, where it aims to be

UPSC Prelims practise Question Covering similar theme:

(3) Consider the following pairs:

Agriculture Revolution     Product

1. White Revolution: Egg

2. Black Revolution: Petroleum product

3. Silver Revolution: Milk

4. Red Revolution: Onion

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

 

EXPRESS NETWORK

Govt identifies 100 Aspirational Agriculture Districts, UP tops list

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 CENTRE on Friday announced 100 Aspirational Agriculture Districts to be developed under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) across 29 states and UTs, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for the most 12 districts.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY)?

— What is the objective of introducing it?

— What is the Aspirational Districts Programme(ADP)?

— What are the challenges faced by the ADP?

— How is ADP under PMDDKY going to enhance agricultural productivity?

Key Takeaways:

— The government also released the operational guidelines of the scheme and appointed 100 Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) — most of them joint secretaries — for monitoring the scheme’s performance across the selected districts. The order was issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on Friday.

— On the districts’ list, UP is followed by Maharashtra with nine districts, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan account for eight each, while seven districts have been selected from poll-bound Bihar.

— Six states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal —  account for four districts each. Three districts each have been selected from Assam, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The UT of J&K, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have two districts each. — The remaining 11 states — Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim and Tripura — account for a district each.

— According to operational guidelines of the scheme, identification of 100 aspirational agricultural districts has been based on three factors: (i) low productivity (ii) moderate crop intensity (iii) below-average access to credit.

— While the PMDDKY does not have a separate budgetary allocation, it will be implemented through convergence of various schemes. As per the guidelines, a district agriculture development plan will be prepared for each district and 36 schemes of 11 departments will be converged into these plans.

— Of these 36 schemes, a maximum 19 will be from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It is estimated that work worth `24,000 crore will be undertaken under the scheme every year.

Do You Know:

— Designed on the lines of Aspirational Districts Programme, PMDDKY aims at developing agricultural districts. It has 5 objectives— enhancing agricultural productivity, adopting crop diversification and sustainable agriculture practices, augmenting post-harvest storage at the panchayat & block level, improving irrigation facilities & facilitating long-term & short-term credit.

— The ADP is based on the 3 Cs, Convergence (of central and state schemes), Collaboration (of central and state level nodal officers and District Collectors), and Competition among districts through monthly delta ranking based on incremental progress in 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under five broad socio-economic themes: Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Infrastructure.

— The 100 districts are selected on the basis of three parameters – low productivity, moderate crop intensity, and below-average credit parameters.

— Cropping intensity is a measure of how efficiently land is used. It is defined as the percentage of gross cropped area to the net area sown. Simply put, cropping intensity means the number of crops grown on a piece of land in an agricultural year (July-June). At the all-India level, cropping intensity was recorded at 155 per cent in 2021-22, but there were variations across states.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, the new scheme to develop 100 agri districts across the country

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to vagaries of nature, discuss the need for crop insurance and bring out the salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). (UPSC CSE 2016)

EXPLAINED

On declining inflation, improving consumer confidence

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

What’s the ongoing story: Since August 2023, retail inflation in India has witnessed a sharp deceleration from being close to 7% to being around or below 2% in August this year. That means the rate at which the general price level was rising has come down.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is inflation?

— Which is responsible for maintaining price stability by controlling inflation using monetary policy?

— Understand the role of increasing/decreasing the interest rates by the RBI on the inflation rate in the economy

— Why is it important to contain high inflation?

— Falling inflation rate has had a salutary effect on consumer confidence across India. Elaborate.

— What is the consumer confidence index?

— What is the importance of positive consumer sentiments?

Key Takeaways:

— In July 2023, for instance, consumer facing prices went up 7.4% over their level in July 2022. However, this rate of increase (called inflation) has subsided sharply since then, and prices in August 2025 went up by just 2% over where they were in August 2024. The slide in inflation has been sharpest since October last year.

— It is this deceleration in the inflation rate that has made it possible for the Reserve Bank of India, which is tasked with the job of maintaining price stability in the country, to start cutting interest rates. Central banks raise interest rates to curtail the demand for money and, through that route, contain high inflation.

— The RBI’s latest surveys show that the falling inflation rate has also had a salutary effect on consumer confidence across India. That’s because lower inflation means better purchasing power in the hands of consumers.

Consumer confidence is on the rise.

— To arrive at the consumer confidence index, the RBI seeks responses on a whole host of variables such as the general economic situation, income levels, spending levels, employment situation and the price level for the current period (as compared with one year ago).

— It is important to note that the level of 100 marks the point of difference between negative and positive sentiments. The area shaded green is positive, and the red-shaded area is negative sentiment territory. A value below 100 means that among the people surveyed by the RBI, more were pessimistic about the current state of affairs than optimistic.

— The rural consumer confidence index has now been in the positive territory (above 100) since March. In fact, it is now at the highest point since the RBI started the survey for rural consumers two years ago.

— Despite an uptick, the urban consumer sentiment tells a different story. For one, it continues to languish in the negative territory. It is important to note that the last time the urban consumer confidence was in the positive territory was way back in March 2019, just as the country was about to go into the general election.

Do You Know:

— Inflation refers to the rate at which the general price level for goods and services increases over a period of time, causing a decrease in purchasing power of money or real income. In other words, as inflation rises, each unit of currency can buy fewer goods and services than before.

— Rising inflation affects the financial well-being of households, especially those with lower incomes or fixed incomes. As the cost of goods and services increases, it reduces the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased with the same nominal income, thereby affecting households’ cost of living.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How inflation affects cost of living

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(4) In India, which one of the following is responsible for maintaining price stability by controlling inflation? (UPSC CSE 2022)

(a) Department of Consumer Affairs

(b) Expenditure Management Commission

(c) Financial Stability and Development Council

(d) Reserve Bank of India

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons in support of your arguments. (UPSC CSE 2019)

A red sunset on the horizon

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.

General Studies-III: Various Security Forces & Agencies & their Mandate Security Challenges & their Management in Border Areas.

What’s the ongoing story: Almost six decades after the Naxalbari uprising, an armed peasant revolt led by a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which spurred a lengthy left-wing insurgency in India, the Maoist movement is at a crossroads.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Who are Maoists?

— What is Naxalism?

— Know the origin of naxalism

— How is terrorism different from Naxalism?

— What is the linkage between development and the spread of extremism?

— What are the steps taken by the government to curb Naxalism?

Key Takeaways:

— Under relentless pressure from the government — Union Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed to “end” the Naxal insurgency by next March — top Maoist leaders are divided on how to proceed.

— For the second time in a month, Mallojula Venugopal Rao, the ideological head and chief spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist), earlier this week wrote a letter stating that it is time for the “cessation of armed struggle” in order to “save the party”.

— At the heart of the crisis among the Maoists is the relentless crackdown by central armed forces, backed by elite anti-Maoist state police units, which has brought the armed guerrillas to their knees.

— In recent years, Maoists have also struggled to recruit new cadres to replenish their diminishing ranks. While recruitment from the non-tribal populations ceased more than a decade ago, today, even tribal youth are disinclined to join the party.

— This is, in large part, due to the inability of the Maoist ideology to keep up with rapid material and social changes in areas that were once hotbeds of revolutionary fervour.

— Sources say that tribal communities greatly benefit from government welfare schemes and free education for children, making them less likely to want to join the armed struggle. Young people, who have accessed mobile phones and the Internet, are no longer interested in the austere jungle life of a Maoist guerilla, spent almost constantly looking over one’s shoulder.

—  This has meant that much of the top Maoist leadership, who waged war against the Indian state for decades, has grown old; many are learnt to be suffering from serious illnesses.

Do You Know:

— The “Maoist-Naxal movement” began in Naxalbari in northern West Bengal on May 18, 1967 when some 150 peasants, armed with only sickles, daggers, and spears, attacked properties of landlords, seized maunds of paddy, and started seizing land.

— Charu Mazumdar, the ideologue behind the Naxalbari uprising, was a hardcore CPI(M) member who, between 1965 and 1967, penned eight monographs, known as the ‘Historic Eight Documents’, which laid down the ideological fundamentals of the decades-long insurgency.

— Among other things, Mazumdar claimed that the Indian state was a bourgeois institution, accused communist parties of “revisionism” for deciding to work within the framework of this bourgeois state, and advocated for a protracted revolutionary war, on the lines of what Mao Zedong waged in China or Fidel Castro and Che Guevara waged in Cuba, to overthrow the Indian state.

— The uprising led to a split in CPI(M) which opposed armed struggle. Many communists, including Majumdar and his comrade-in-arms, Kanu Sanyal, were expelled from the party. They went on to form the CPI(Marxist-Leninist) in 1969.

— A government crackdown on CPI(ML) and the Naxalites, as the revolutionaries came to be known, however, all but ended the original movement. Many leaders went underground, surrendered, or were captured or killed by the forces. Majumdar himself was arrested; he died in police custody in 1972.

— But even as the movement petered out in Bengal, it resonated in many parts of the country. Most notably, it entered Andhra Pradesh through Srikakulam, a district where tensions between tribal farmers and landlords had long been simmering. In October 1969, these tensions came to a boil: peasants attacked landlords, seized grain and land, and armed themselves, joining splinter groups of the CPI(ML).

— In the late 2000s, left-wing extremism (LWE, the government’s official nomenclature) affected nearly 180 affected districts across an area of 92,000 sq km. But the government’s efforts, “combining security enforcement, inclusive development, and community engagement” according to one MHA press release, has made a significant impact since.

— The number of LWE-affected districts reduced to only 38 in April 2024, with only six of these being deemed “districts of concern” where additional resources need to be deployed.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What lies ahead as Centre mounts offensive against Maoists

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

📍Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is showing a downward trend, but still affects many parts of the country. Briefly explain the Government of India’s approach to counter the challenges posed by LWE. (2018)

📍What are the determinants of left-wing extremism in the Eastern part of India? What strategy should the Government of India, civil administration and security forces adopt to counter the threat in the affected areas? (2020)

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PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (c)    2. (b)    3. (a)     4. (d)

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