UPSC Key: Indelible ink row in Maharashtra civic polls, 78th Army Day, and Road accidents

Earlier in the day, as several voters in Mumbai claimed that the indelible ink on their fingers got washed away, the Opposition targeted the BJP and the Sena, and SEC Dinesh Waghmare.

Key Points to Ponder:

— How is the election conducted in the Municipal Corporation?

— What is a Municipal Corporation?

— Who conducts Municipal Corporation elections?

— Understand the structure and constitutional provisions of the Municipal Corporation

— What is indelible ink?

— Who manufactures it?

— When was it introduced? Why is it important?

Key Takeaways:

— As other Opposition leaders began raising concerns over voters allegedly being able to remove the ink mark, the State Election Commission issued a statement that, since 2011, marker pens have been used to apply ink on voters’ fingers during local body elections.

— Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said he too had received reports of ink being washed away. “This is shocking to me,” the former chief minister said.

— Maharashtra Congress Legislative Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar also alleged that the marker pen used to apply ink on voters’ fingers was sub-standard and was easily wiped off.

— The State Election Commission (SEC) issued a statement saying that attempting to create confusion among voters by trying to wipe off the indelible ink applied on the finger is an offence.

Raj Thackeray’s claim that marker pens are being used instead of indelible ink to enable fraudulent voting, Fadnavis said the Opposition appears to be trying to establish a narrative to justify their potential loss ahead of the results.
(ANI Photo)

— The SEC also said that even if someone tried to commit malpractice by removing the ink from their finger, the concerned voter would not be able to vote again as other safeguards were in place.

— The SEC also said that following orders issued on November 19, 2011, and November 28, 2011, marker pens have been used to apply ink on voters’ fingers during local body elections. As per these orders, the ink must be applied clearly using a marker pen, and it should be rubbed three to four times on the nail and the skin above the nail, it clarified.

Do You Know:

— Indelible ink is applied to a voter’s finger after voting. Its only purpose is to ensure that no one votes more than once. The mark is supposed to stay on the finger for several days and should not come off easily.

— India began using indelible ink in 1962, during its third general election. To ensure that people do not vote more than once, the Election Commission of India decided to mark voters’ fingers with ink. The method worked and has remained in use ever since.

— The ink contains silver nitrate, which reacts with the skin and light to leave a dark mark. The stain fades only as the outer layer of skin wears away. The ink also contains a dye to make it clearly visible.

— The indelible ink used by the Election Commission is produced using a closely guarded formula developed by the National Physical Laboratory of India in the early 1950s.

— The ink is currently manufactured exclusively by Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd, a Karnataka government undertaking based in Mysuru, under a contract with the Election Commission and the Union Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Story of indelible ink & why it is at centre of Maharashtra civic polls row

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

(1) Consider the following statements regarding Mysore Paints & Varnish Ltd.

1. It is the only establishment that is authorised to produce indelible ink in India

2. It is a public company.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and  2 only

(d) None

India moves ahead on EU deal as US pact hangs fire

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests,

What’s the ongoing story: Amid the uncertainty over a trade deal with the US which is dampening investment and export prospects, India has made considerable progress in its trade deal negotiations with the European Union (EU).

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the significance of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?

— India-EU relationship- Know the historical background

—  In the backdrop of volatile US trade measures, why is the deal between India and Europe significant?

— What is the significance of Europe for India?

— What are the challenges in the signing of trade deals between India and Europe?

— What is the issue regarding carbon tax?

— Uncertainty around the US trade deal had created significant urgency for India to explore new markets. Elaborate.

— What is the significance of signing India-Germany deal in this context?

Key Takeaways:

— Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said Thursday that India and the EU have signed as many as 20 out of the 24 chapters and aim to reach a deal before EU leaders visit India later this month.

— The President of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations. They will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27. A formal announcement was made Thursday by the Ministry of External Affairs.

— In the backdrop of volatile US trade measures, the urgency of signing the deal is from both sides, as New Delhi has closed as many as three trade deals in 2025, and the EU signed a long-pending deal with Mercosur, a South American trade bloc.

— When signed and implemented, the India-EU deal will be one of the largest trade agreements signed by New Delhi, somewhat blunting the impact of steep US tariffs, raising opportunities for Indian labour-intensive exports in the EU.

— Agriculture has also been a major concern for the EU. Reuters reported Thursday that French farmers drove tractors into Paris to protest against an EU-Mercosur trade deal they say threatens local agriculture by creating unfair competition with cheaper South American imports.

— India and the EU talks have faced significant challenges due to sensitive issues around carbon tax, whisky and automobiles. Germany, the largest exporter of automobiles in the EU, has been pushing for market access in India. However, New Delhi also has a fast-growing automobile sector, which is also one of the largest employment-generating sectors.

— For India, the carbon tax has posed the biggest challenge in signing the trade deal, as a steeper duty on metal exports could reverse gains that would be accrued during the trade deal negotiations.

— Uncertainty around the US trade deal had created significant urgency for India to explore new markets. In November, the Commerce and Industry Ministry asked trade lawyers working on the trade deals to refrain from taking leave.

THE EDITORIAL PAGE: In a year of unpredictability, India ‘needs to accelerate EU FTA

— Manoj Pant writes: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s kite-flying with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with announcements on cooperative defence production and visa-free transit travel for Indian travellers, holds out a promise that an EU-India trade agreement may finally be on the anvil, with the EU-India Summit less than two weeks away.

— The US economy ended 2025 on a strong note, registering robust 4.3 per cent growth in the third quarter, driven largely by consumer spending. Yet the underlying structure reveals significant imbalances.

— Consumption growth is heavily skewed toward upper-income households and is likely to taper off. Broader trends will depend on how Trump’s proposed tax cuts are financed.

— China’s outlook is even more troubling for global demand. Long-term growth has been on a secular decline — from 8-10 per cent in the decades after 1980, to about 5 per cent in 2024-25, and now trending towards 4 per cent or lower.

— Even China’s recent export surge offers limited reassurance. Much of it reflects diversion of exports away from the US toward developing countries, many of which are responding with higher tariff and non-tariff barriers. Another portion is driven by tariff arbitrage, with Chinese goods reaching the US indirectly via partners such as Mexico and Vietnam. This channel is unlikely to last.

— From India’s perspective, traditional global trade prospects in 2026 are therefore limited, except for some resilience in services trade, largely linked to the US economy.

— Trade diversion away from the US then offers the main scope of trade expansion. Here, the importance of the UK and EU free trade agreements looms large. Amid the media focus on the US and Trump, it is often forgotten that the EU is India’s fourth largest market.

— Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act already provides quotas for Indian professionals. So, for the first time, India may find movement of skilled persons (Mode 4 in WTO parlance) a negotiable instrument in the forthcoming India-EU trade agreement. The recent India-Germany cooperation could thus prove more than a kite-flying exercise.

— The dominance of Germany in EU trade is well known, so one can expect an Indo-German cooperation agreement to broaden into an India-EU trade deal incorporating new elements of service trade and an investment agreement to bring in technology where Germany is at the forefront today.

— India-EU trade is already at a very high level. By 2024, the cumulative FDI from the EU was around $120 billion, and it offers substantial potential. With focus on areas like electronics and infrastructure, this matches India’s own current areas of interest well. Germany will be leading the effort in this context.

Do You Know:

— According to the EU, The European Union is a group of 27 countries in Europe. These countries came together to make things better, easier and safer for people. They agreed to work together and help each other.

— India established diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community — the first pillar of the future European Union — back in 1962. The Joint Political Statement signed in 1993 and the Cooperation Agreement of 1994 paved the way for the strengthening of ties between India and Europe.

— The multi-tier institutional architecture of cooperation has been presided over by the India-EU Summits, 15 of which have been held so far. The first Summit was held in Lisbon in June 2000, and the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership at the 5th Summit in The Hague in 2004.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why is India signing so many FTAs? It’s not economics, stupid

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023)

The ‘Stability and Growth Pact’ of the European Union is a treaty that:

1. limits the levels of the budgetary deficit of the countries of the European Union

2. makes the countries of the European Union to share their infrastructure facilities

3. enables the countries of the European Union to share their technologies

How many of the above statements are correct

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

The expansion and strengthening of NATO and a stronger US-Europe strategic partnership works well for India. What is your opinion about this statement? Give reasons and examples to support your answer. ( UPSC CSE 2023)

 

NATION

Op Sindoor a symbol of courage, balance: Rajnath

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

What’s the ongoing story: On the occasion of Army Day, DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh said that Operation Sindoor is not yet over, emphasising that India’s efforts toward achieving peace will persist until the mindset that fuels terrorism is eradicated.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the status of the Defence sector in India?

— What was Operation Sindoor?

— What are the challenges facing the defence sector in India?

— Why is Army Day celebrated?

— What are India’s Initiatives for reforms in Defence forces?

Key Takeaways:

— He explained that during Operation Sindoor, the actions taken against terrorists were

carried out with careful consideration and a commitment to humanitarian values.

— The Defence Minister congratulated the Armed Forces for the bravery during the operation and reiterated that the operation remains ongoing as long as the ideology of terrorism persists.

Army personnel showcase combat skills during the ‘Know Your Army’ exhibition ahead of 78th Army Day, in Jaipur, Monday. (PTI Photo)

— He further stressed the need to accelerate efforts to achieve the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in the future.

— He noted that domestic defence production, which was only Rs 46,000 crore in 2014, has increased to a record Rs1.51 lakh crore. Similarly, defence exports, which were less than Rs 1,000 crore in 2014, have surged to approximately Rs 24,000 crore.

— He also highlighted the contribution of Indian soldiers in UN Peacekeeping Missions.On the increasing role of women in the Armed Forces, he said earlier, women were recruited in support roles, but the PM envisioned expanding their role.

Do You Know:

— Army Day is celebrated on January 15 each year, in the honour of Field Marshal KM Cariappa being appointed as the inaugural commander-in-chief of the Indian Army, taking over from his British Predecessor General Sir FRR Bucher in 1949.

— As India celebrates its 78th Army Day, various key personalities reflected on the prosperous occasion. Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reflected on Thursday on how the Indian Army is moving forward as a future-ready force, while emphasising the need for indigenous equipment, terming it a “strategic necessity”.

— Meanwhile in Jaipur, the Indian Army organised it’s first ever Army Day Parade outside a cantonment area on Mahal Road. The parade displayed the technologically advanced BrahMos missile, advanced armoured platforms, the formidable Bhishma Tank (T-90), as well as the Indigenous Arjun Tank.

— President Droupadi Murmu commented on how their ‘nation-first’ spirit serves as a source of inspiration for each and every Indian. “The Indian Army remains steadfast in safeguarding the unity, sovereignty, and integrity of our nation,” Murmu said in a post on X.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India celebrates 78th Army Day; General Upendra Dwivedi stresses need for indigenous equipment

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(3) In the context of the Indian defence, what is ‘Dhruv’? (UPSC CSE 2008)

(a) Aircraft-carrying warship

(b) Missile-carrying submarine

(c) Advanced light helicopter

(d) Intercontinental ballistic missile

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the defence sector is now set to be liberalized: What influence this is expected to have on Indian defence and economy in the short and long run? (UPSC CSE 2014)

THE IDEAS PAGE

DIS/AGREE

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: In the first year of Trump’s second term, India-US ties have been turbulent. What’s next?

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the significance of foreign policy?

— What is the status of India-US relationship?

— What are the reasons for the delay in the signing of a trade agreement between India and the USA?

— What is Pax Silica?

— What is its significance?

— What is the significance of critical minerals?

— What is QUAD?

— What is the role of critical minerals in redefining foreign policies?

Key Takeaways:

India needs a new foreign policy plan

— Michael Kugelman writes: In November 2024, soon after Donald Trump got re-elected as US President, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a proclamation. “I know today a lot of countries are nervous about the US, let’s be honest about that,” he said. “We are not one of them.”

— It was a seemingly reasonable declaration. US-India ties had been rock solid for several decades, including during Trump’s first term…

— The partnership got off to a predictably positive start. In February, Modi was one of the first foreign leaders to visit the Trump 2.0 White House. The two men announced a new phase of partnership. But then things went sideways in a hurry.

— India’s tariffs and large trade imbalance in its favour have long galled Trump. And his hyper-aggressive approach to negotiations means that those on the other side of the table are expected to give in — on practically everything.

— Meanwhile, India got dragged into Trump’s Russia pressure tactics. Trump generally doesn’t take a hard line on Russia, but he badly wants Vladimir Putin’s buy-in for his Ukraine peace proposal. So he sought to pressure Putin by pressuring Russia’s commercial partners to pull back from Moscow. India was an easy target.

— Then there’s Pakistan. New Delhi has long grudgingly accepted that Washington will maintain its dalliances with Pakistan’s generals. But the speed and timing of a resurgence in US-Pakistan relations made it an unavoidable source of US-India strain.

— Another trigger for tensions was India’s refusal to do things the Trump way. Its unwillingness to praise, to flatter, to make copious concessions, hurt India. In the era of Trump, New Delhi’s calm and conventional approach to diplomacy became a liability.

— Finally, there was the noise. Withering White House criticism about India’s “dead economy” and its funding of Russia’s “war machine”. The MAGA base’s ugly anti-India messaging. Problematic policies were the sad storyline of US-India ties this last year, and nasty American rhetoric was the screechy soundtrack.

— Sergio Gor, Washington’s new envoy in Delhi, has telegraphed a desire to patch up ties. That means a lot, given his deep influence in Trump’s White House. But he’ll need to work hard to recoup the trust the US has squandered in New Delhi.

— But ultimately, it all comes down to Trump. Stabilising the relationship will require a presidential visit to India, for an overdue Quad leaders’ summit. He’s more likely to go if he has something big to announce, like a trade deal. For now, this much is true: Many countries remain nervous about the US. India, presumably, is now one of them.

India needs a new foreign policy plan

— Shyam Saran writes: The noisy entry of Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor into the American embassy on January 12 and his very upbeat remarks seem to have rekindled hopes of resuming the upward trajectory of the past 25 years in India-US relations.

— In the geopolitical card game that Trump is playing, it is only China that holds a strong hand, with its stranglehold on rare earths and magnets. So, Trump is deferential to President Xi Jinping and wants a “grand bargain” with him.

— The “Quadrilateral” or Quad among India, the US, Australia, and Japan is a likely casualty. In his remarks at the embassy, Gor said that Trump may visit India in a “year or two”, which indicates that the Quad is no longer a US priority.

— As we begin year two of Trump, it should be evident that the steady upward trajectory of India-US relations of the past 25 years has now stalled and is unlikely to revive despite the rhetoric coming from the US embassy or the belated inclusion of India in the US-led Pax Silica initiative.

— Functional collaboration in defence, counter-terrorism, and scientific and technical cooperation remains intact, and Delhi should not do anything to risk what remain significant assets in India’s economic transformation and in the building up of its advanced technological capabilities.

— India is a very large market and a key source of high-end manpower for the most powerful of the American high-tech companies. This may be the one card that Trump will consider, since he relies on their tacit support.

— The meeting of the Quad foreign ministers, convened by incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio soon after the inauguration, suggested that there would be continuity in the US Indo-Pacific strategy and that US-China competition in the Indo-Pacific would continue as an enduring reality. The bottom has been knocked out from under these assumptions.

— The change in India-US relations may have been precipitated by personal pique felt by Trump when his alleged role in bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor was not acknowledged by India, nor was he nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by PM Modi, while the Pakistani side did so volubly. But personal pique is an aggravating factor, not one of the key drivers.

— The latter lies in changing geopolitics, the steady decline in US power vis-à-vis China, and the reordering of America’s place in this changing landscape. A Cold War 2.0 appears inescapable, but its nature will be different, with both collusion and confrontation in roughly equal measure between the two superpowers.

— India should go back to the drawing board and rethink its foreign policy. The earlier Cold War may offer lessons. That awaits another exploration, but the key will lie in India’s ability to accelerate its growth, build up its economic, technological, and security capabilities, stabilise its periphery, and build a network of strong partnerships with countries across the global spectrum.

From the Explained section covering a similar theme:

The message in India’s late entry to US-led groupings

— For India’s policy makers, a sense of deja vu is undeniable. Just like it was let into the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) by the Joe Biden administration a full year after the launch of the strategic initiative in June 2022, India’s induction into Pax Silica has come through belatedly, a month after the initiative was launched by the Trump administration.

— How important is this new grouping for India? It is significant because this grouping signals the manner in which the next global tech order could take shape as countries regroup in strategic sectors involving a Chinese presence. Grouping like Pax Silica could cohesively work to address supply chain chokepoints next.

— But being left out initially, and then belatedly brought into Pax Silica almost as an afterthought, exactly like it happened in the case of MSP, could be a reminder that India needs to be seen as bringing something to the table if it has to be a natural partner of choice in any US-led strategic initiative.

— A reason why India was not on the list is because it is simply seen as lacking the critical edge technologies or access to resources that Pax Silica is targeting, and is not a major repository of critical minerals.

— That is not the case with the list of eight countries that Pax Silica brought together, each of which had something to offer.

— The Netherlands, for instance, has a stranglehold over specialised lithography machines that are extremely hard to substitute for chipmaking, while Japan and South Korea have technology and manufacturing expertise.

— Pax Silica is a US-led strategic initiative to counter China’s dominance in new age sectors. It aims to reduce what the US calls “coercive dependencies” and protect materials and capabilities “foundational to artificial intelligence”, and “ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale”.

— Experts have said China’s dominance in the global critical minerals market, which has created a wide gap in price points between Chinese products and those produced elsewhere, is a shared challenge. While this could help India attract American investments, it could also expose it to coercion by China over its deepening involvement with the US.

— Measures under Pax Silica include pursuing new joint ventures and strategic co-investment opportunities, protecting sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure from undue access or control by countries of concern and building trusted technology ecosystems, including ICT systems, fibre-optic cables, data centres, foundational models and applications.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍After a month on the sidelines, US brings India into Pax Silica: What changed, why does it matter?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(4) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023)

Statements-I: Recently, the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) have launched the ‘Trade and Technology Council’.

Statement-II: The USA and the EU claim that through this they are trying to bring technological progress and physical productivity under their control.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I

(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I

(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

The West is fostering India as an alternative to reduce dependence on China’s supply chain and as a strategic ally to counter China’s political and economic dominance.’ Explain this statement with examples. (UPSC CSE 2024)

EXPLAINED

Most road accidents occur in known zones, solutions lie in focused efforts

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 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the NGO SaveLIFE Foundation released the joint report on Thursday (January 8), ranking Maharashtra’s Nashik Rural at the top spot, followed by Pune Rural, Patna and Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the reasons for rising road accidents?

— What is the significance of road engineering?

— How did it contribute to the road accidents?

— Why is Road Safety a must in India?

— What position does India have in terms of Road safety?

— Road accidents are a multi-causal phenomenon and are the result of an interplay of various factors. What are those factors?

— What are the Initiatives Related to Road Safety?

— What are the Initiatives Related to Road Safety at national as well at international level?

Key Takeaways:

— As many as 59% of all road accident fatalities do not involve any traffic violation, indicating that road engineering is one of the biggest contributory factors for deaths.

— As many as 53% of deaths occur in accidents occurring between 6 pm and 12 am, and eight out of 10 victims are hospitalised by means other than the government’s 108 ambulance service.

— These are among the key findings of a report on India’s top 100 districts in terms of severity of road accident fatalities.

— The findings shed light on what is derailing India’s efforts to make its roads safer. They noted that most accidents are concentrated in known locations, such as specific road stretches, crash-prone spots, and police station areas. It noted that if the government’s schemes and budgets are directed toward such locations, a significant number of deaths could be prevented.

— This aligns with the recent statements of MoRTH Minister Nitin Gadkari, who has said that poor civil engineering and substandard detailed project reports (DPRs) are driving the rise in road accidents and fatalities.

— Curbing fatalities is key for India, which ranks first globally in terms of the number of annual road accident fatalities. Additionally, its numbers are far ahead of second- and third-ranked countries: China accounts for just 36% of India’s total road deaths, and the United States for 25%.

— Uttar Pradesh accounted for most of the top 20 districts. Tamil Nadu has 19 “severe” districts in terms of fatalities, followed by 11 districts in Maharashtra, nine districts in Karnataka and eight in Rajasthan.

— India has the second-largest road network in the world, totalling about 63.45 lakh km. This comprises National Highways, Expressways, state highways, Major district roads, other district roads and village roads. Of these, National Highways account for 1.46 lakh km, State Highways for 1.80 lakh km and Other Roads for 63.45 lakh km.

— According to the report, damaged crash barriers, absent or faded pavement markings, unprotected hard structures, damaged or wrong signage, and inadequate illumination are among the top 20 most common engineering issues on the road.

— The Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, adopted at the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in February 2020, set a global target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. India is also a signatory.

— The report recommended that NHAI and state PWDs should conduct a comprehensive Road Safety Survey on each corridor and identify the prevalence of engineering issues from the list of 20 repetitive issues on each critical corridor.

— For the critical crash-prone locations, it has recommended site-specific interventions under the relevant Indian Road Congress (IRC) and MoRTH guidelines.

— Along with this, it has recommended upgrading the critical police stations with adequate manpower for undertaking enforcement activities, auditing all 108 ambulances for compliance with the National Ambulance code and setting a target for 108 ambulances to cover 75% of hospitalisations.

Do You Know:

— Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety, 2015: The declaration was signed at the second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety, which was held in Brazil. Under the declaration, the countries plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.6, which is to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.

— India is a signatory to the declaration and is committed to a reduction in fatalities.

— Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030: The UN General Assembly adopted resolution “Improving global road safety” with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

— The Global Plan aligns with the Stockholm Declaration, by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to road safety.

— Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) 2020-2025: It aims to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries in low and middle-income countries and cities by implementing a comprehensive set of actions that are proven to save lives.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s road deaths are not accidents — they are a public health crisis 

📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | Road Safety: 5 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

(5) Consider the following statements Brasilia declaration:

1. It was signed at the first Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety.

2. India is not a signatory to the declaration.

3. Under the declaration, the countries plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 1.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

In Gujarat, India’s 1st state-funded lab to study most lethal pathogens

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: Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of the Bio-Safety Level 4 (BSL-4) Containment Facility and laboratory in his Lok Sabha constituency of Gandhinagar on Tuesday (January 13).

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the significance of the BSL-4 containment facility?

— What are pathogens?

— What are zoonotic diseases?

— What is the link between biotechnology infrastructure and national security?

— What are biosafety levels?

— What is ‘One Health’ approach?

Key Takeaways:

— He called it a “health shield” for India and said it heralded the “beginning of a new era of health security and biotechnology in the country”.

— The technical term “Bio-Safety Level 4” represents the highest level of biological containment. Such laboratories are designed to safely research the world’s most dangerous and life-threatening pathogens which are highly infectious and often lack effective vaccines or treatments.

— At these labs, under extremely controlled conditions that are periodically inspected and monitored based on international standards, scientists conduct advanced research on high-risk pathogens, work on the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, and conduct rapid outbreak investigation and response.

— The BSL-4 laboratory coming up in Sector-28 of Gandhinagar, along with an Animal Bio-Safety Level (ABSL) facility, will be a strategic national asset where research is conducted on the deadliest pathogens known to mankind, including the Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus, Kyasanur Forest Disease virus, and Nipah virus, among others.

— The BSL-4 lab being built in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, at a cost of ₹362 crore over 11,000 square meters, will be the second such civilian research facility in India and the first to be fully funded and controlled by a state government. It is being constructed under the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission (GSBTM).

— This will help the state not only respond to deadly human disease outbreaks in real time but also to zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to humans, as well as aid in research and development of vaccines and therapeutics.

— Currently, there are only two high-security labs in India studying the deadliest zoonotic diseases. One is the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, with a current ABSL-3+ rating, but which is slated to be upgraded to ABSL-4 according to an announcement in June 2025.

— As of March 21, 2025, according to a reply in Parliament by the Department of Health Research (DHR), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had established a network of Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) under the central sector scheme “Setting up of a Nationwide Network of Laboratories for Managing Epidemics and National Calamities.”

— Under this scheme, 165 biosafety laboratories, including 11 BSL-3 level labs and 154 BSL-2 level labs, have been approved.

Do You Know:

— According to the World Health Organisation website, One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.

— It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.

— While health, food, water, energy and environment are all wider topics with sector-specific concerns, the collaboration across sectors and disciplines contributes to protect health, address health challenges such as the emergence of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety and promote the health and integrity of our ecosystems.

— By linking humans, animals and the environment, One Health can help to address the full spectrum of disease control – from prevention to detection, preparedness, response and management – and contribute to global health security.

— The approach can be applied at the community, subnational, national, regional and global levels, and relies on shared and effective governance, communication, collaboration and coordination.
— Having the One Health approach in place makes it easier for people to better understand the co-benefits, risks, trade-offs and opportunities to advance equitable and holistic solutions.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Preparedness for future respiratory threats; why genomic surveillance, One Health approach matter

📍Is Delhi’s winter pollution breeding superbugs? What a latest JNU study says about antibiotic-resistant bacteria

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MGNREGA gave women freedom. New law may no	Srimanjori Guha and Annesha Mukherjee wrote: Over the past several years, concerns have been expressed by academics and practitioners over the low female labour force participation (FLFPR) in India. The recent rise in FLFPR is due to increased participation in unpaid work in family farms and/or non-agricultural enterprises. In such a situation, the high share of women in work generated under MGNREGA is heartening. Despite changes in government and a pandemic, the share of women in total person-days increased from 48 per cent in 2008-09 to 57.94 per cent in 2024-25. This shows that since its inception, MGNREGA has been a critical source of employment for women. A vast majority of women workers, specifically those belonging to marginalised communities, in rural areas, are engaged in agricultural labour. Without guaranteed work for 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, they will be compelled to take up informal work that provides no assurance of availability, proximity, or wage parity. Reduced availability of work and weaker bargaining power over wages (because of the lack of a fall-back option) will increase women’s dependence on landowning caste-class communities for employment, often in poorer conditions.
Film certification process is punishment	Express Opinion: A film was made and duly sent to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which asked the makers to implement some cuts before it could be certified for release. It should have been a straightforward process, from conception to release, pausing only at the mandated stop at the CBFC. However, in the case of Jana Nayagan, like so many other films before it, the path to the big screen has become tortuous, winding through courtrooms as the makers struggle to get the film out. The problem begins with the Cinematograph Act of 1952, which empowers the CBFC to classify content for viewer suitability. The ambiguity around words like “public order”, “decency” and “morality” has repeatedly been used to turn the certification process into a censorship regime. The summary abolition of the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in 2021 has left filmmakers with little choice but to appeal to the high courts if they disagree with a certificate or if one is denied altogether. Over the years, attempts have been made to reform the certification process, with committees headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal and filmmaker Shyam Benegal suggesting much-needed changes. As their recommendations gather dust, the space for artistic expression continues to shrink.

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (c)  2. (a)  3. (c)   4. (c)  5. (d)

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