UPSC Key: India’s Nuclear Liability Law, Western Ghats Conservation and GPS interference

Work underway for changes in two key laws, can open up civil n-sector

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: Legislative groundwork is underway for multiple amendments to two overarching laws governing the country’s atomic energy sector. The changes will align them with legal provisions globally, address festering investor concerns and set the stage for opening up India’s civil nuclear sector.

Key Points to Ponder:

• India’s nuclear liability law-what you know about the same?

• Which two laws are being amended to open up India’s civil nuclear sector?

• The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA)-know its key features

• Why the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA) was cited as an impediment by foreign equipment vendors?

• What kind of impediment Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA) caused?

• Atomic Energy Act, 1962-what you about the same?

• What are the legal barriers posed by the Atomic Energy Act and CLNDA to private and foreign participation in India’s civil nuclear sector?

• What do you understand by the term ‘capping supplier liability under CLNDA’?

• How amendments may revive the strategic Indo–U.S. civil nuclear dialogue and influence broader trade negotiations?

Key Takeaways:

• The first is the easing of provisions in India’s nuclear liability law. Called the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA), it sought to create a mechanism for compensating victims from damages caused by a nuclear accident, and allocating liability and specifying procedures for compensation.

• But it was subsequently cited as an impediment by foreign equipment vendors such as US-based Westinghouse Electric and French nuclear company Framatome. This was on the grounds that this legislation channelised operators’ liability to suppliers through a provision called the right of recourse of the operator — an operator of a nuclear plant would typically be a company such as the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) while the suppliers could include foreign reactor manufacturers such as Westinghouse or Framatome, but also domestic equipment suppliers such as L&T or Walchandnagar Industries.

• Foreign vendors, both involved in the nuclear island and the conventional parts of an atomic power project, cited this specific provision of the operators’ ‘right of recourse’ as a reason for worries about investing in India’s nuclear sector due to fear of incurring future liability in the event of a nuclear accident.

• A set of around 11 legal amendments are now being worked out for the CLNDA, of which two are key. One is an amendment aimed at diluting a specific provision – Section 17 (b) of the CLNDA, which is seen to be at odds with similar nuclear liability legislations enacted worldwide.

• The second major amendment in the works is aimed at enabling private companies to enter nuclear power plant operations in India, and could also set the stage for foreign companies to potentially take a minority equity exposure in upcoming nuclear power projects.

• Hitherto, atomic energy has been one of India’s most closed sectors. The set of legal amendments are being seen as a reform push that could help leverage the commercial potential of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, nearly two decades after it was inked. New Delhi is also keen to package this as part of a broader trade and investment outreach with Washington DC, which could eventually culminate with a trade pact that is currently under negotiation.

• Amendments to the second key legislation – the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 – are being initiated to enable private companies, and possibly even foreign players at a later stage, to enter nuclear generation as operators, which is currently restricted to only state-owned companies such as NPCIL or NTPC Ltd.

• The government has committed to getting both these legislations passed, including an explicit assurance to this effect made in the Union Budget presented earlier this year, even though the legislative route for at least one of the two proposed Bills would be an arduous one.

Do You Know:

• According to Section 17 of the CLNDA, the operator of the nuclear installation, after paying the compensation for nuclear damage, shall have the right to recourse where –
(a) such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
(b) the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or sub-standard services; and
(c) the nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.

• Provision (b) is the one that is a specific insertion in the Indian context and is cited as an impediment by foreign vendors, none of whom have invested in a single project in India since the legislation came into force. This is a cause for worry for Indian sub-vendors too, since the term “supplier” is seen to be too broad in scope.

• The amendments in the CLNDA would effectively bring India’s nuclear liability legislative framework in line with the provisions of the 1997 Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which sought to establish a worldwide liability regime. Under this, a country that is a party to either the 1963 Vienna Convention or the 1960 Paris Convention could automatically become a party to the CSC, while a country that was not a party to either of these conventions could also become a party to the CSC if its national law on nuclear liability were to be in compliance with the provision of the CSC and its annexures.

• India, not being a party to the Vienna or the Paris Conventions, signed the CSC on October 29, 2010 on the basis of its national law namely the CLND Act and ratified it on February 4, 2016, thereby becoming a ‘State Party’ to the CSC. The tweaks now proposed in the CLND Act would align it further with the CSC provisions, officials indicated.

• The March 26 approval from DoE effectively cleared Holtec International’s application for specific authorisation with respect to the DoE’s restrictive regulation that is referred to as ‘10CFR810’. This specific authorisation (SA IN2023-001) now conditionally permitted Holtec to transfer “unclassified small modular reactor technology” (SMRs) to its regional subsidiary Holtec Asia, as well as Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd, and Larsen & Toubro Ltd in India.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Govt’s ‘U-turn’ on amending CNLD Act aimed at appeasing French, US firms: Congress

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy. (2018)
📍Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India? (2017)

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

The Pachgaon way

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: Madhav Gadgil Writes: The National Mission for a Green India bases its estimates and proposals for action on the information provided by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), and its execution by the Forest Department (FD). 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Pachgaon way highlighted in the article?

• Map Work-Western Ghats

• Why Madhav Gadgil says that FSI data is quite outdated?

• ‘The FD, an anti-science, anti-nature, anti-people agency, will never end up greening the Western Ghats’-Comment

• What are the committees constituted on Western Ghats conservation?

• Why are local communities significant in the conservation and sustainable development of the Western Ghats?

• Compare the recommendations of the Gadgil and Kasturirangan Committees in the context of ecological sensitivity and developmental balance in the Western Ghats.

• What are the challenges posed by developmental activities such as mining, tourism, and infrastructure in the Western Ghats?

Key Takeaways:
Madhav Gadgil Writes:

• Regrettably, FSI data is quite outdated, available on a crude scale and deliberately distorted. At the same time, the FD, an anti-science, anti-nature, anti-people agency, will never end up greening the Western Ghats. What we need instead is a different science-based, nature-centric and people-oriented approach.

• In 1972, Satish Dhawan became the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In July that year, satellite imagery of Earth became available with the launch of the Landsat programme. Dhawan immediately set up the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad to undertake and facilitate remote-sensing activities in the country. One of the early projects of NRSC was to interpret the 1972–75 Landsat imagery to assess the forest cover of the country. The results of the NRSC study were startlingly at variance with FD’s official information.

• The FSI provides data at highly aggregated levels, such as at that of districts, and after a delay of two or three years. There is absolutely no justification for data continuing to be so delayed and aggregated in the day and age of Google Earth and other satellite data that are freely available to all members of the public in real time and at scales as fine as 10 hectares.

• Pachgaon was assigned Community Forest Rights (CFR) under the Forest Rights Act of 2006 over 1,000 ha of land. It is exercising this right to good effect. Through bamboo sales, Pachgaon earns a good income. So its people have stopped setting fire to tendu leaves to stimulate fresh growth. This is despite the fact that tendu leaves, too, were a good source of income. Additionally, they have voluntarily set aside 30 hectares as a sacred grove. With this, the forest is registering healthy growth and sequestering large quantities of carbon. This has also meant security of livelihoods and greater self-respect for the people. Earlier, many villagers used to migrate all the way to Gujarat to earn a living. Now, very few people leave the village.

Do You Know:

• Forest Survey of India (FSI), is a premier national organization under the union Ministry of Environment and Forests, responsible for assessment and monitoring of the forest resources of the country regularly. In addition, it is also engaged in providing the services of training, research and extension. Established on June 1,1981, the Forest Survey of India succeeded the “Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources” (PISFR), a project initiated in 1965 by Government of India with the sponsorship of FAO and UNDP.

• The main objective of PISFR was to ascertain the availability of raw material for establishment of wood based industries in selected areas of the country. In its report in 1976, the National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) recommended for the creation of a National Forest Survey Organization for a regular, periodic and comprehensive forest resources survey of the country leading to creation of FSI. After a critical review of activities undertaken by FSI, Government of India redefined the mandate of FSI in 1986 in order to make it more relevant to the rapidly changing needs and aspirations of the country.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Western Ghats: Why Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa eco-sensitive areas may get notified before others

THE IDEAS PAGE

Needed, a clear trade strategy

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: India’s trade relationship with China sits at the intersection of economic necessity and national security anxiety. While bilateral commerce continues to thrive in volume, it remains fundamentally distorted by strategic asymmetries.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is “managed rivalry” in international trade relations?

• For which products is India most dependent on China for imports?

• India’s trade deficit with China in recent years has primarily been driven by what?

• What is ‘Production-Linked Incentive (PLI)’ scheme?

• How can India balance economic engagement and strategic caution with China?

• Know the nature and causes of India’s trade deficit with China.

• How India can reduce economic dependence on China while maintaining trade stability?

• How can India leverage multilateral institutions and regional groupings to counterbalance China’s economic influence in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific?

Key Takeaways:

• India’s widening trade deficit, its reliance on Chinese technology inputs, and Beijing’s growing support for Islamabad have sharpened the dilemma facing Indian policymakers: How to engage economically without compromising sovereignty and security. In response, New Delhi is reimagining its economic diplomacy through a “China-plus-one” playbook — anchored in diversification, industrial policy, and regional recalibration.

• Bilateral trade remains substantial between the two countries, but it is significantly imbalanced. In FY2024–25, India’s two-way merchandise trade with China reached approximately US$127.7 billion, making China India’s second-largest trading partner after the US.

• However, this came at the cost of a record trade deficit of US$99.2 billion — the highest on record — highlighting deep structural
dependencies in India’s economy, particularly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors.

• China’s overt support for Pakistan has further deepened Indian scepticism. Beijing’s financing and arming of a country India considers a direct security threat has amplified concerns about the strategic costs of deeper economic ties. In response, India has adopted diversification strategies, including strengthening economic partnerships with the United States, Japan, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as promoting domestic manufacturing under the “Make in India” initiative.

• India’s answer to the widening trade gap with China is a two-pronged strategy: Build deeper commercial coalitions with trusted partners and turbo-charge domestic manufacturing so that tomorrow’s supply chains run through, not around, India.

Do You Know:

• Washington has become India’s largest goods-trade partner for the fourth consecutive year, with bilateral merchandise commerce reaching US$131.8 billion in FY 2024-25 — up from barely US$88 billion in 2019 — and resulting in India having a healthy surplus of more than US$41 billion. The new backbone of that relationship is the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which has already green-lighted joint semiconductor, AI, and space projects and prodded both governments to prune export-control frictions.

• Tokyo complements this pivot by underwriting supply-chain security and industrial upgrading. More than four-fifths of Japanese firms operating in India intend to expand over the next two years, according to JETRO’s latest global survey, by far the highest figure among major host economies. At the policy level, the Supply-Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), in collaboration with Japan and Australia, has targeted investment in electronics, batteries, and rare-earth processing hubs in India, specifically designed to mitigate single-country dependency. Japan’s role is pivotal, not just as an investor, but also as a norm-setter for resilient and transparent value chains.

• Southeast Asia forms the third pillar. India’s two-way goods trade with ASEAN hovers around US$110 billion. Still, both sides have agreed to fast-track a review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement to reduce non-tariff barriers and open services markets. Simultaneously, niche collaborations — such as semiconductor ecosystem talks with Singapore and defence-manufacturing tie-ups with Indonesia — are knitting India into “China-plus-one” production networks across the region. This eastward economic orientation reinforces India’s Indo-Pacific vision and places regional connectivity at its core.

• External diversification is reinforced at home by the PLI programmes, which now span 14 sectors with approved investments of approximately US$18.7 billion. One headline success is electronics: India has become the world’s second-largest mobile phone maker, producing 99 per cent of the handsets sold domestically. Smartphone exports alone surged 55 per cent in FY 2024-25 to US$ 24.1 billion, leap-frogging petroleum and diamonds to become India’s single most oversized export item and signalling a decisive shift toward higher-value manufacturing. India’s industrial push is not only about import substitution — it is about export-led competitiveness in sunrise sectors.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍From the Opinions Editor: India needs a well thought out trade strategy, but first it needs a China strategy

GOVT & POLITICS

Behind curbs on Bangladesh jute products: Dhaka proximity to Beijing, ignoring export malpractices

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: Delhi’s strained ties with Dhaka and the growing proximity between its interim government and Beijing, common malpractices by Bangladesh exporters including circumvention of anti-dumping duty (ADD) through technical exemptions, and influx of cheap, subsidised imports harming Indian farmers are the reasons why India has decided to ban import of jute products and woven fabrics from Bangladesh through all land routes, officials told The Indian Express.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why India imposed anti-dumping duties on jute products from Bangladesh?

• What you know about anti-dumping duties?

• Which Act in India governs the imposition of anti-dumping duties on foreign imports?

• What is ‘dumping’ in international trade?

• How Bangladesh’s growing alignment with China affects India’s regional trade strategy and neighbourhood diplomacy?

• Know the role of anti-dumping duties in protecting Indian industries.

• What can be the implications of India’s trade restrictions on jute imports for bilateral relations with Bangladesh?

• What are the WTO-compliant safeguards that India can adopt to counter unfair trade practices while maintaining its international commitments?

Key Takeaways:

• This latest move comes a little over a month after India decided to place restrictions on Bangladesh products to be exported to North-East India and overseas.

• On Friday, Delhi banned import of certain jute products and woven fabrics from Bangladesh through all land routes, permitting entry only
through the Nhava Sheva seaport in Maharashtra. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in a notification, said that such port restrictions would not apply to Bangladeshi goods transiting through India to Nepal and Bhutan.

• The goods under these curbs include jute products, flax tow and waste, jute and other bast fibres, jute, single flax yarn, single yarn of jute, multiple folded, woven fabrics or flex, and unbleached woven fabrics of jute.

• Officials said that under the SAFTA provisions, jute from Bangladesh enjoys duty free access to India. “However, the Indian jute industry has, for long, suffered due to the adverse impact of dumped and subsidised imports of jute products, particularly yarn, fibre and bags, from Bangladesh,” an official said.

• The imposition of ADD has not yielded a substantial reduction in imports. Various large exporters managed to circumvent ADD through technical exemptions, exports through exempted firms (whose exports go beyond their production capacity), and mis-declaration to secure higher subsidies within, the official said.

• “Imports, which stood at USD 138 million in FY 2016-17 prior to the levy of ADD, marginally declined to USD 117 million in FY 2021-22 and have since risen to around USD 144 million in FY 2023-24. Consequently, prices of jute in India fell below Rs 5,000 per quintal for FY 2024-25, against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,335, creating a vicious payment/ liquidity cycle. • Six mills remain closed with dues of Rs 1,400 crore, adding to Rs 400 crore is legacy dues from the mills. Additionally, the influx of underpriced finished jute goods from Bangladesh has resulted in significant under-utilisation of capacity in Indian mills, threatening their long-term viability,” another official said.

• While Bangladesh made nominal adjustments in response to complaints, the government, the official said, continues to incentivise exports, particularly of value-added jute products.

Do You Know:

• Raw jute is produced mainly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura and Meghalaya. It is estimated that the jute industry provides direct employment to over 4 lakh workers in organised mills and in diversified units including tertiary sector and allied activities, and supports the livelihood of around several lakh farm families.

• In a bid to safeguard the interests of the domestic jute industry and to counter the unfair trade practices employed by the Bangladesh exporters acting in collusion with the establishment, the official said that it has been decided to restrict Bangladesh imports of jute and jute products to India through only from Nhava Sheva port.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍In reciprocal move, India places curbs on Bangladesh exports to North-East and abroad

EXPLAINED

How decision by US SC could boost Trump citizenship order

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

What’s the ongoing story: The United States Supreme Court on Friday removed a significant roadblock to President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship for immigrants.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is birthright citizenship?

• The term ‘jus soli’ refers to what?

• Know the constitutional basis of birthright citizenship in the United States.

• How does President Trump’s executive order challenge the constitutional basis of birthright citizenship.

• What will be the impact of ending birthright citizenship on immigrant communities in the U.S., with a specific focus on the Indian-American community?

• Know the role of the judiciary in interpreting constitutional amendments related to citizenship.

• How might the U.S. Supreme Court’s historical rulings influence the outcome of legal challenges to the executive order of birthright citizenship?

• Examine the international perspective on birthright citizenship.

• Assess the political and social implications of modifying birthright citizenship laws.

Key Takeaways:

• The Court, in a 6:3 opinion, limited the powers of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions. Now their decisions will apply only to parties in a specific case they are hearing rather than universally to other similar cases.

• The US Supreme Court is yet to rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order issued on January 20, the very first day of his second stint as President. However, it has removed protections granted by federal judges which have thus far hindered the implementation of the law

• A part of his larger anti-immigration policies, one of Trump’s key poll promises was to end birthright citizenship for immigrants. Essentially, children born in the US to parents unlawfully present or present on temporary visas would not automatically be granted citizenship.

• Trump’s executive order plays on the interpretation of the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” to hold that certain people — undocumented immigrants or those without legal status — are not covered by the 14th Amendment, and hence not automatically eligible for birthright citizenship.

• In contrast, the US legal system has a complex dual structure where both federal Courts (established under Article III of the US Constitution) and state courts (established by each state’s constitution and laws) operate. The federal courts are a three-tiered system, with 94 federal District Courts, 13 Courts of Appeals over them, and at the top, the US Supreme Court.

• These federal courts are not limited by state jurisdiction. This is what allowed several federal district courts to immediately block the enforcement of Trump’s January 20 order.

Do You Know:

• Citizenship in the US is defined by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1868. The provision was introduced to extend citizenship to Black Americans, who had been excluded till then. It states: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The 14th Amendment also bars the state from making any laws that infringe the rights of any US citizens. These protections are similar to those in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

• India has a unitary legal system. High Courts issue injunctions against the state but are, in some cases, limited by jurisdiction, while the SC’s orders have a nationwide impact. That said, universal injunctions against non-state actors are common in certain kinds of orders, such as content takedown directions or in intellectual property disputes.

• Historically, the US Supreme Court has upheld birthright citizenship, including in the landmark case United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), where the Court ruled that a child born in the US to non-citizen parents was still a US citizen. Immediately after Trump signed the order, immigrants’ rights advocates sued his administration. The lawsuit charges them with flouting the Constitution’s dictates, Congressional intent, and long standing Supreme Court precedent.

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has also expressed concern about the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. In a statement, the ACLU has highlighted the potential for mass deportations, family separations, and other human rights abuses under Trump’s immigration policies. Legal challenges will shape the trajectory of the policy in the days to come.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Trump to end birthright citizenship, will hit Indians in US; 18 states sue

China’s fertiliser supply squeeze

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: China’s unpredictable export restrictions aren’t just limited to rare earth elements and magnets used in electric vehicles (EV), wind turbines, defence equipment and various consumer electronic devices.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why and how much China matters?

• What is Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP)?

• What is the fertiliser requirement of a typical farmer?

• How much subsidy does a farmer really get per acre?

• What are the reasons behind the recent DAP fertilizer supply squeeze caused by China?

• How has India’s dependence on imported fertilizers affected its strategic autonomy in agricultural policymaking?

• Know the geopolitical dimensions of the fertilizer trade with reference to China’s recent export restrictions.

Key Takeaways:

• There are also affecting the supply of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), a critical fertiliser containing phosphorous (P) nutrient that crops require during the early stages of root and shoot development. Farmers usually apply it at the time of sowing, along with the seeds.

• Opening stocks of DAP in India for the current kharif (monsoon) planting season on June 1, at 12.4 lakh tonnes (lt), were below the 21.6 lt for the same date of 2024 and 33.2 lt two years ago.

• Much of that is due to China drastically reducing exports and squeezing global supplies of phosphate fertilisers. This comes even as sowing activity has picked up, on the back of 8% above-average monsoon rainfall for the country as of June 29.

• DAP is India’s second most-consumed fertiliser, with its average annual sales of 103.4 lt during the last five years next only to the 359 lt of urea. A significant chunk of that – an average of 57 lt for this period – is imported in finished form.

• The accompanying table shows that China was until 2023-24 (April-March) a prominent, if not top, supplier of DAP to India. However, imports from China fell from 22.9 lt in 2023-24 to 8.4 lt in 2024-25. Not a single tonne from China has come into the country since the start of this calendar year.

Imports from China fell from 22.9 lt in 2023-24 to 8.4 lt in 2024-25.

• China’s export curbs – to ensure that its farmers have access to the product first and also to meet the growing demand for phosphates in the production of EV batteries has led Indian importers to source more from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Russia and Jordan. None of these countries have been able to fill the void left by China.

Do You Know:

• DAP contains 46% P and 18% nitrogen (N). There are many in the industry and agronomists who believe that Indian farmers should be discouraged from applying fertilisers with very high individual nutrient content, be it DAP or urea (46% N) and muriate of potash (60% potassium or K).

• Most crops don’t need large doses of such high-analysis fertilisers. What they require is balanced fertilisation – through products having nutrients in the right quantities and proportions for effective absorption by the plant roots and leaves. These include complex fertilisers containing N, P, K and S in different combinations.

• DAP has, over the past few years, been virtually turned into a controlled fertiliser similar to urea.
Capping or reducing DAP consumption would, perhaps, lead to a more efficient use of imported material and scarce foreign exchange.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How fertiliser subsidy works

Threat of GPS interference to global air & sea transportation; the solutions

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What’s the ongoing story: A Delhi-Jammu flight was forced to turn back last week. Two tankers collided at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. A container ship ran aground near the port of Jeddah in May.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is GPS interference?

• Why is GPS interference dangerous?

• Where are such incidents common?

• What are the causes and consequences of GPS interference on global aviation and maritime safety?

• What are the geopolitical implications of GPS spoofing and jamming incidents, especially in conflict zones?

• How is India’s preparedness in dealing with GPS disruptions?

• How does GPS spoofing affect civil infrastructure?

Key Takeaways:

• GPS interference refers to spoofing or jamming, two types of deliberate cyber-attacks on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, which disrupt or deceive vehicles’ navigation systems. While both are often used synonymously with each other, spoofing and jamming refer to slightly different kinds of interference.

• GPS jamming, also known as GPS intervention, involves a device (jammer) emitting strong radio signals on GPS frequencies in order to overpower weaker signals. This disrupts the functioning of GPS systems by rendering receivers unable to determine location or time.

• GPS spoofing involves a device transmitting signals on the same frequencies used by GPS satellites, overwhelming or blocking the GPS receivers from acquiring or maintaining the right satellite signals. Unlike jamming, which disrupts signals entirely, spoofing deceives the receiver into trusting false data.

Do You Know:

• GPS interference can disrupt both military and civilian transport operations from afar, without physical confrontation. “The risks are real and alarming. Spoofing can cause a pilot to misjudge the aircraft’s position, increasing the chance of collisions with terrain or other aircraft,” Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retd), former vice-chief of Air Staff, told The Indian Express. “For ships, the consequences of loss of situational awareness include groundings or collisions, disrupting entire maritime operations,” he said.

• In 2024, reports indicated up to 700 daily GPS spoofing incidents globally, highlighting the scale of the threat. For critical infrastructure, such as air traffic control, port operations, and VTS-vessel traffic systems, spoofing can cascade into broader systemic failures.

• GPS interference can occur due to various reasons, not all of them malicious. These include electromagnetic radiation from nearby devices, adverse atmospheric conditions like ionospheric disturbances, solar activity (such as flares), and, of course, intentional jamming/spoofing.

• Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) are the primary backup: these use gyroscopes and accelerometers to track the aircraft’s current position based on its last known location. VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) provide ground-based radio navigation, allowing pilots to further cross-check their position.

• The Indian military has deployed the indigenous Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). NavIC is designed to provide precise positioning and timing services across India, and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Air India Express flight to Jammu returns to Delhi due to ‘GPS interference’

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com

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