UPSC Key: India-EU FTA talks, Foreign capital paradox and Hezbollah

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, Effects of liberalisation on the economy.

What’s the ongoing story: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Union leaders discussed an “early conclusion” of the India-EU FTA, two top negotiators of the EU, in-charge of trade and agriculture, are coming to India this week to hold talks on resolving knotty issues of the deal.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Read about the European Union (EU) — History, Member countries.

— India-EU relations- Know the background

— What are the key areas of cooperation between India and the EU?

— What are the contentious issues between India and the EU?

— What is Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)?

— Which sectors are presently covered under the EU’s CBAM?

— What can be the potential impact of the EU’s CBAM on India’s exports?

— How have India-EU trade negotiations progressed since 2007? 

— What are the key hurdles in finalising India-EU free trade agreement?

— What is the significance of the India-Europe partnership?

Key Takeaways:

— European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic and Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen will be in Delhi this week to lead the negotiations, their first visit since February this year when the College of Commissioners travelled to India.

— These two Commissioners, who are equivalent to Cabinet Ministers, will be leading a 30-member negotiating team from Brussels and will meet their counterparts in Delhi, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

— The EU visit is aimed at expediting the negotiations to seal the final deal. Talks between India and the EU have gained urgency in the light of the tariff war unleashed by the Trump administration.

— The upcoming round of negotiations assumes significance as it follows the announcement of the EU-US deal. The EU has indicated flexibilities for the US on the contentious Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

— Officials in the Commerce and Industry Ministry said Delhi will now push for similar concessions since the EU had earlier taken a rigid approach on CBAM in negotiations with India.

— In an interview with The Indian Express on September 3, Urjit Patel, India’s newly appointed Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, said, “The US has basically driven a truck through CBAM”.

— Negotiations over CBAM are crucial as the Indian industry has begun facing the impact of the regulation that is to come into effect January 1, 2026.

— On September 4, Prime Minister Modi and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa spoke on phone and discussed “early conclusion of the India-EU FTA”.

— According to sources, the two sides have to negotiate about 26 or 27 chapters in all – each of them tackling different issues and themes – as part of the trade agreement. Besides India, the EU is also negotiating trade deals with Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and UAE.

— As one of India’s largest trading partners, the EU accounted for €124 billion worth of trade in goods in 2023 or 12.2% of total Indian trade. India accounted for 2.2% of the EU’s total trade in goods in 2023. Trade in services between the EU and India reached €59.7 billion in 2023, up from €30.4 billion in 2020.

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.

— The CBAM or Carbon Tax was first introduced by the European Union in 2021.  It taxes certain products coming in from other countries based on their carbon emissions footprint in their production process. For instance, if the imported steel was produced through a process that entailed higher emissions than the emissions standards for that product in Europe, it would be taxed.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍10 meetings, 5 months: What to look out for in run-up to deal, summit 

📍India-EU trade deal would be largest of its kind

📍Knowledge Nugget: What is Carbon Tax and why is it important for UPSC exam?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) 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

(2) ‘European Stability Mechanism’, sometimes seen in the news, is an (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) agency created by EU to deal with the impact of millions of refugees arriving from Middle East

(b) agency of EU that provides financial assistance to eurozone countries

(c) agency of EU to deal with all the bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade

(d) agency of EU to deal with the conflicts arising among the member countries

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)

Advanced radars along northern and western borders to boost drone shield 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology, Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

What’s the ongoing story: With Pakistan managing to breach Indian airspace with swarms of drones, including camouflaged surveillance and attack UAVs, during the hostilities that followed Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army is preparing to plug gaps in its air surveillance network along the northern and western borders with advanced radars, The Indian Express has learned.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What do you understand by ‘Air Defence system’?

— What is Akashteer air defence network?

— What are the challenges faced by India on northern and western borders?

— Read about the Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORADS).

— What is the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS)?

— Know about the IAF’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS).

— What is the S400 Triumf and Barak 8 MRSAM?

— Read about the Mission Sudarshan Chakra. 

Key Takeaways:

— The new radar systems that the Army plans to procure are designed to detect, track and engage aerial objects with a low radar cross-section (RCS), which makes them harder to spot. 

— According to sources, these systems will be integrated into the Army’s Akashteer air defence network, giving battlefield commanders sharper eyes in the sky and faster responses against hostile drones and other aerial threats.

— In two separate Request for Information (RFI) — the formal process for gathering inputs from potential suppliers— the Army has sought to procure up to 45 Low Level Light Weight Radars (Enhanced) (LLLR-E) and up to 48 Air Defence Fire Control Radar-Drone Detectors (ADFCR-DD). 

— In a separate Request for Proposal (RFP), the Army has also called for 10 Low Level Light Weight Radars (Improved) (LLLR-I]) a surveillance system designed to scan airspace, detect and track targets (including those with very low RCS), and prioritise them based on threat.

— The LLLR-I will be a three-dimensional (3D) Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with a Commander’s Display Unit, Target Designation System, and integral power supply. It must work across terrains — from mountains and high-altitude areas to deserts and coasts — and be able to detect all aerial targets within a 50-km range while tracking more than 100 targets at once.

— The LLLR-E has similar features but adds an Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and a passive radio-frequency detection system, enabling it to pick up signals from low-RCS drones, including swarms, and transmit target data to weapon systems up to 10 km away. The EOTS will allow tracking both day and night, independently or cued by radar.

— The ADFCR-DD, meanwhile, will combine a search radar, track radar, fire control systems, and Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) capability, all mounted on a single vehicle. It will control the fire of at least two L/70 or successor air defence guns and feed target data to Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORADS), which are designed to intercept threats at close range.

Do You Know:

— Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted maiden flight tests of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System, off the Odisha coast.

— This marks another step towards developing a homegrown nationwide security shield from multidomain enemy attacks under Mission Sudarshan Chakra by 2035.

— The IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system comprising all indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles (QRSAM), Advanced Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles and a high-power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW).

— India’s flagship surface-to-air missile systems – S400 Triumf, Barak 8 MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) and the indigenous Akash – played key roles as the Armed Forces activated their Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid, among other air defence systems, to thwart Pakistani attacks during the Operation Sindoor.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍DRDO successfully tests home-grown air defence system: All about IADWS and its 3 components

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

(3) Consider the following statements with regard to the  Integrated Air Defence Weapon System:

1. It is a multi-layered air defence system that comprises all indigenous components.

2. Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles is a short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system.

3. Advanced Very Short Range Air Defence System is a fourth-generation, technically advanced miniaturised Man Portable Air Defence System.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only One

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

 

EXPLAINED

The foreign capital question

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

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

What’s the ongoing story: India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with its annual GDP increase averaging 8.2% during 2021 to 2024. The growth momentum has been maintained even this calendar year. According to the National Statistics Office, the Indian economy registered year-on-year GDP growth of 7.4% and 7.8% respectively in the January-March and April-June 2025 quarters. The impressive growth rates, however, don’t seem to be reflected in the foreign capital flows received by the country.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are foreign portfolio investors (FPI)? How is it different from foreign direct investment?

— What is the significance of FPI?

— How do domestic and international factors affect the FPI in India?

— What is balance of payments (BOP)?

— What is Foreign capital paradox?

— Why is India not receiving foreign capital flows?

— What initiatives should be taken to boost foreign investment in India?

Key Takeaways:

— Take foreign portfolio investors (FPI). During the last five financial years (April-March) from 2021-22, only one year (2023-24) saw net FPI inflows of $25.3 billion into Indian equity markets. In all other years, the FPIs pulled out more than what they invested, translating into net outflows of $18.5 billion in 2021-22, $5.1 billion in 2022-23, $14.6 billion in 2024-25 and $2.9 billion in 2025-26 (till September 5).

— An economy growing at relatively high rates would normally also attract capital flows from overseas investors keen to share in the benefits of that growth. Countries such as India that are capital-starved, moreover, need foreign money.

— But the accompanying table shows net capital flows into India – that includes foreign investment, commercial borrowings, external assistance and non-resident Indian deposits – at just $18.3 billion in 2024-25, the lowest since the $7.8 billion in the global financial crisis year of 2008-09 and well below the all-time-high of $107.9 billion in 2007-08.

— The trend has continued in the current fiscal, with capital inflows during April-June 2025 falling over 40% compared to that for April-June 2024. This was despite a stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 7.8% in the latest quarter.

— It raises the obvious question: Why aren’t overseas investors partaking in the India Growth Story? Are they less sanguine about the country’s economic prospects now than before? Official balance of payments (BOP) data does seem to suggest this possibility.

— A plausible explanation for India not receiving foreign capital flows commensurate with its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy has to do with past investments.

— A lot of FDI that flowed into India from roughly the middle of the last decade, peaking in 2020-21, were in the form of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments – in diverse sectors, from retail, e-commerce and financial services to green energy, healthcare and real estate. Those who put in this money are now cashing out by selling the shares they had originally bought, either to other firms engaged in the same business or via initial public offerings by the investee companies.

— India’s imports of goods far exceed its exports, resulting in large merchandise trade deficits that have more than trebled since 2007-08 to $287.2 billion in 2024-25. But the ballooning goods trade deficits have been greatly counterbalanced by surpluses on the “invisibles” account of the BOP, mainly arising from exports of services and private remittances sent by overseas Indians.

— The invisibles surpluses have kept the overall current account deficits in India’s external transactions well below $50 billion in most years. These deficits have then been comfortably financed through capital inflows, with excesses adding to the official foreign exchange reserves.

— That comfort could come under challenge, though, in a scenario of further widening of trade deficits or drying up of capital flows. The US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods can particularly derail shipments to a market that accounted for $86.5 billion out of its total goods exports of $437.7 billion in 2024-25.

— As far as capital inflows go, much rests upon how foreign investors perceive India. Their primary concern, beyond headline GDP growth numbers, is corporate earnings – whether these are rising sufficiently to justify their investments. For them, the overall business climate and sustainability of earnings is what matters; if market valuations are seen to be unreasonably high, they would rather cash out rather than invest afresh.

— It also explains the Narendra Modi government’s recent burst of reforms, especially the slashing of goods and services tax rates (to help boost domestic consumption and company earnings) and a proposed “task force for next-generation reforms” (to improve the ease of doing business).

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(4) Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly? (UPSC CSE 2019)

(a) Certificate of Deposit

(b) Commercial Paper

(c) Promissory Note

(d) Participatory Note

Difficulty of disarming Hezbollah, despite all its weaknesses

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

What’s the ongoing story: The United Nations Security Council on Sunday (August 31) voted to begin an “orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal” of the 10,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 2027 after its extended mandate expires in December 2026.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Read about the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 

— What is Hezbollah?

— Read about the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. 

— What was the Arab-Israeli war? 

— What is the “axis of resistance”?

— What is the significance of West Asia for India?

— What do recent developments in the Middle East mean for India’s Middle East policy?

— Map work: Location of Lebanon, Israel, Iran, West Bank, Gaza strip.

Key Takeaways:

— This decision comes after concerted pressure from Israel and the United States, who have long criticised UNIFIL for not only failing to disarm Hezbollah and also providing its positions with cover (an allegation that the UNIFIL has frequently denied).

— Since last year, when Israel invaded Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leadership, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese militia has been left severely weakened. That said, continuing Israeli aggression has helped re-consolidate some domestic support.

— Hezbollah (‘Party of God’) was formed as an armed resistance force in Lebanon in response to Israel’s invasion and occupation of South Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. Since 1992, Hezbollah has also been a formidable political actor with representation in the Lebanese Parliament.

— Given Lebanon’s ethnic mix and history of civil war, the country has a tripartite governing system — a Maronite Christian President, Sunni Muslim Prime Minister, and a Shia Muslim Speaker. Over the years, Hezbollah has wielded influence on all three positions, and enjoyed popularity across geographic, religious and ethnic lines in Lebanon, beyond its core constituency in the Shia-dominated South.

— The group was cultivated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and has inextricable ideological, political and military ties to Tehran which has supplied the militia’s vast armory of missiles, rockets, and drones. Nonetheless, Hezbollah continues to assert its nationalist, Lebanese character.

—In fact, Hezbollah has consistently presented itself as a supplement to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) who have a poor military record against the Israelis. In 1989, when the Taif Agreement disarmed most of Lebanon’s armed groups to end a 15-year-long civil war, Hezbollah justified its continued armament through the need to resist the Israeli occupation.

— In 2000, when Israel withdrew from Lebanon, and then again in 2006, when Israeli forces and Hezbollah fought each other to a stalemate, the group successfully presented itself as the only Arab force to have affected strategic defeats on Israel. This allowed Hezbollah to further consolidate its domestic position by drawing support from Lebanon’s Shia, Sunni, and Christian constituencies.

— In the last two decades, Hezbollah successfully leveraged its external raison d’être — the Israeli threat — to amass disproportionate internal influence in Lebanon’s politics and economy, enabled by the inherent weaknesses of the Lebanese state.

— Since last October, Israel has maintained its occupation of at least five points in South Lebanon and struck targets across the country almost daily. This has forced Hezbollah to remain to the north of Lebanon’s Litani river.

— Despite its losses, Israel’s continued threat to Lebanon allows Hezbollah to consolidate support internally. Hezbollah now tactfully leverages Israel’s aggression in Lebanon’s neighborhood to drive home suspicions regarding Israel’s assurances of a phased withdrawal, and reaffirm its own role as a supplement to the LAF.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What role UNIFIL plays in Lebanon, India’s contribution to it

 

EXPRESS NETWORK

Distress brews as Assam tea prices plunge amid rising imports from Africa

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and economic development.

Mains Examination: General Studies-I, III: Distribution of key natural resources, factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India), Indian economy.

What’s the ongoing story: For 36 years, Asim Saikia has run a small-scale tea garden on five acres of land in Assam’s Golaghat district. It has been getting more difficult over the past two decades, he says, but this year he is questioning whether remaining in the tea industry is viable at all. The reason — a plummet in the prices small tea growers like him are being offered by the factories they sell them to.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is Tea?

— What are the geographical and climatic conditions required for the cultivation of tea in India? 

— Know about the status of the tea industry in India and tea-producing countries in the world.

— What are the tea-producing states of India?

— Read about the Tea Board of India.

— What are the initiatives taken by the Tea Board of India?

— What is the significance of the tea industry in India’s agricultural exports?

— What are the challenges faced by the Indian tea industry?

Key Takeaways:

— Asim Saikia isn’t alone in this predicament. While the market for Assam tea has long been grappling with several issues — such as production outweighing demand — this year, producers cite an additional concern: an uptick in imports of cheaper tea from other producing countries in Africa and Asia.

— This has been flagged by several tea associations, pushing for greater regulation and tracking of tea imports. The associations have particularly flagged a jump in tea exported by Kenya to India — according to the Tea Board of Kenya, the African country’s exports have jumped to 17.13 million kg in 2024, a whopping 225% rise from the 5.26 million kg in 2023. Between January and June 2025, Kenya has exported 6.69 million kg to India against 4.61 million kg during the same period last year.

— “The concern is that these cheaper teas being imported are being blended with a percentage of Assam tea by packers and brands, and then the product is marketed, sold and re-exported as Assam tea,” said Tea Association of India (Assam branch) secretary Dipanjol Deka.

— Assam accounts for roughly half the tea produced in India annually. In 2024, Assam constituted 649.84 million kg or 50.58 percent of India’s total tea production. This figure was 688.33 million kg (49.3 percent) in 2023, 688.7 million kg (50.4 percent) in 2022 and 667.73 million kg (49.7 percent) in 2021.

— According to an Assam government report, the tea industry contributes nearly 5 percent of Assam’s Gross State Domestic Product.

— Meanwhile, exports constitute a small fraction of India’s total production. In 2024, India had exported 254.67 million kg of tea — the third highest in the world. This was up from around 231 million kg in 2023 and 2022.

Do You Know:

— Tea is one of the industries, which by an Act of Parliament comes under the control of the Union Govt. 

— The genesis of the Tea Board India dates back to 1903 when the Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed. The Bill provided for levying a cess on tea exports – the proceeds of which were to be used for the promotion of Indian tea both within and outside India. The present Tea Board set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 was constituted on 1st April 1954. 

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(5) With reference to the “Tea Board” in India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2022)

1. The Tea Board is a statutory body.

2. It is a regulatory body attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

3. The Tea Board’s Head Office is situated in Bengaluru.

4. The Board has overseas offices at Dubai and Moscow.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 3

(b) 2 and 4

(c) 3 and 4

(d) 1 and 4

(6) Consider the following States: (UPSC CSE 2022)

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Kerala

3. Himachal Pradesh

4. Tripura

How many of the above are generally known as tea-producing States?

(a) Only one State

(b) Only two States

(c) Only three States

(d) All four States

 

THE IDEAS PAGE

Building a city of the future

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Urbanisation, their problems and their remedies.

What’s the ongoing story: Auguste Tano Kouame, Asmita Tiwari and Natsuko Kikutake write- “Cities hold the key to India’s future. In just five years from now, Indian cities are expected to generate over 70 per cent of new jobs. In another 25 years, the country’s urban population is likely to soar to almost a billion, with some megacities becoming larger than individual countries. Given this staggering pace of urban growth, it will be critical for India’s cities to draw up a blueprint for the future that will bring out the talent and entrepreneurship of its aspiring young generations.”

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the challenges faced by Indian cities?

— What do you understand by the term ‘climate-resilient infrastructure’?

— What is the urban heat island effect?

— What are the causes of urban flooding?

— Issues related to urban stormwater management.

— What is ‘Sponge city technology’?

— What are the government schemes related to improving the urban quality of life?

Key Takeaways:

— “Since a large share of urban infrastructure is yet to be designed and built, India’s cities have a narrow window of opportunity to prepare for the future. By 2070, they will need to build over 144 million new homes — more than double the existing stock — along with the transportation systems and municipal services that can cater to these unprecedented numbers.”

— “Importantly, the new infrastructure will need to withstand the growing impacts of climate change. It will therefore be essential to make early investments in climate-resilient urban design and infrastructure to avert billions of dollars in annual damages while saving countless lives.”

— “Today, floods pose a growing risk. As the construction of new housing and infrastructure proceeds apace, more than two-thirds of India’s urban dwellers will face the risk of pluvial or surface flooding, potentially racking up losses of $5 billion by 2030, and $30 billion by 2070.”

— “An integrated approach — one that demarcates high-risk areas as no-build zones, improves city-wide drainage, promotes nature-based solutions that can absorb excess rainwater, and installs flood warning systems — can help reduce this risk. Brazil, for instance, which is now 80 per cent urban, has moved beyond channelisation and structural flood control towards this more integrated approach.” 

— “Extreme heat is another significant challenge. Even today, the impacts of extreme heat, together with the urban heat island effect, are causing nighttime temperatures in major Indian cities to exceed those of surrounding areas by 3°C to 5°C year-round. With temperatures expected to rise throughout the 21st century, cities can build on Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan by increasing tree cover and canopies, replacing heat-intensifying roofs with easily doable cool roofs, and shifting the working hours for outdoor labourers.”

— “Scaling up these and other measures to India’s largest and most affected cities can not only avert hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, but also protect economic productivity, even during the peak summer months.”

— “The efficiency of transportation is also vital for the productivity of a city and its people. Today, however, more than a quarter of India’s urban roads are directly exposed to some level of flooding… Mapping flood risks, improving drainage, developing alternative routes for roads that become impassable, and investing in flood protection and road maintenance can help avert climate-induced disruptions to economic activity.”

— “In addition, large investments in modernising municipal services, including waste collection and converting waste to energy, can improve the quality of air, water and soil, with far-reaching impacts on urban productivity and quality of life.”

— “To address these challenges, cities will need to build institutional capacity, promote collaboration, and get the support of both the government and the citizens, for the undertaking is too large to go it alone. It will be equally important to promote private sector engagement to bring efficiency, innovative financing and technical capacity for driving this major endeavour.”

Do you Know:

— An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience a higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day. The variations are mainly due to heat remaining trapped within locations that often resemble concrete jungles. The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How biodiversity can increase the resilience of cities

📍Knowledge Nugget: World Bank report on Indian cities — why it matters for UPSC prep

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

What are ‘Smart Cities’? Examine their relevance for urban development in India. Will it increase rural-urban differences? Give arguments for ’Smart Villages’ in the light of PURA and RURBAN Mission. ( UPSC CSE 2016)

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