UPSC Key: Trade War, Anti-Conversion Law and Cotton Production in India

Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico for a month after ‘friendly’ talks, border deal

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.

What’s the ongoing story: President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are tariffs and how do they work?

• What is fentanyl?

• What is the scale of the opioid epidemic in the US?

• How has China played a role in the opioid epidemic?

• What happened between the US, Canada, Mexico and China?

• Why did Trump decide to pause the tariffs?

• What happens in the next 30 days?

Key Takeaways:

• The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days that put North America on the cusp of a trade war that risked crushing economic growth, causing prices to soar and ending two of the United States’ most critical partnerships.

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted Monday afternoon on X that the pause would occur “while we work together,” saying that his government would name a fentanyl czar, list Mexican cartels as terrorist groups and launch a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.”

• The pause followed a similar move with Mexico that allows for a period of negotiations over drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The 10% tariff that Trump ordered on China is still set to go into effect as scheduled on Tuesday, though Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.

• While the trade war feared by investors, companies and political leaders now seems less likely to erupt, that doesn’t mean the drama over Trump’s tariff threats has ended. Canada and Mexico bought some additional time, but Trump could easily renew his tariffs and already plans to announce taxes on imports from the European Union.

• All of that leaves the global economy uncertain about whether a crisis has been averted or if a possible catastrophe could still be coming in the weeks ahead.

• Trump on Saturday had directed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with another 10% tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity. The U.S. president had repeatedly previewed these moves, yet they still managed to shock many investors, lawmakers, businesses and consumers.

Do You Know:

• On February 1, Trump signed executive orders imposing 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a partial exemption for Canadian energy and oil exports, and a 10 percent tariff on China.
Trump has also spoken against the high trade deficit in goods with the three countries that together stands at more than $480bn. China, Mexico, and Canada collectively made up more than 40 percent of US imports of goods last year at $1.2 trillion.

• He said these tariffs would remain in place until the countries took steps to curb the flow of migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the US. The tariffs risked increasing the cost of online goods and prompted global market uncertainty over the risk of a sharp slowdown in global growth.

• According to experts, the primary objective of the tariffs was “to strategically meet the goals of Trump’s foreign policy and domestic policy, and that was to stop the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl into the United States”.

• According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic [for pain relief] and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.” But overdoses can cause “stupor, changes in pupil size, clammy skin, cyanosis [blue skin], coma, and respiratory failure leading to death”.

• Opioids are essentially a type of drugs that “derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the opium poppy plant”, according to the website of US-based Johns Hopkins Medicine. They produce a variety of effects, including pain relief and euphoria, and are highly addictive. Apart from fentanyl, some common opioids include oxycodone, morphine, codeine, and heroin.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Fentanyl: behind US tariffs on Mexico, China

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
📍What are the key areas of reform if the WTO has to survive in the present context of ‘Trade War’, especially keeping in mind the interest of India? (GS2, 2018)
📍China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia’, In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbour. (GS2, 2017)

When freedom came on Aug 15, 1947, he was in jail; his case a benchmark for personal liberty

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination:

• General Studies I: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

• General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

What’s the ongoing story: Minutes past midnight, on August 15, 1947, the echoes of Mahatma Gandhi ki jai and Bharat Mata ki jai reverberated through the Cannanore (now Kannur) jail where Communist leader A K Gopalan, then 43, was in solitary confinement.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Personality in News-A.K. Gopalan

• A.K. Gopalan was detained under which legislative act that led to the landmark Supreme Court case?

• In the A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras case, which Article of the Indian Constitution was primarily interpreted by the Supreme Court concerning ‘procedure established by law’?

• The Supreme Court’s decision in A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950) adopted which approach towards the interpretation of Fundamental Rights?

• Which Justice provided a notable dissenting opinion in the A.K. Gopalan case, advocating for a broader interpretation of personal liberty?

• The A.K. Gopalan case was later revisited and its principles were expanded in which landmark Supreme Court judgment?

• Discuss the significance of the A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950) case in the context of the interpretation of ‘personal liberty’ under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

• Analyse the Preventive Detention Act, 1950, under which A.K. Gopalan was detained.

Key Takeaways:

• A day later, accused of stirring up the people “against His Majesty the Emperor”, Gopalan (or AKG, as is popularly known) was produced before a magistrate in Calicut (now Kozhikode) and charged with sedition.

• He was released on October 12, 1947, but just over a month later, he was detained again under the colonial laws that were still in place in the newly independent nation. After India became a republic, the Preventive Detention Act, 1950 was passed to ‘regularise’ detentions of many including AKG.

• In 1950, he moved the Supreme Court against his detention, perhaps hoping that the freedoms guaranteed by the new Constitution that came into force in 1950 would ensure his release from jail. After all, Article 21 stated that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.

• AKG argued that the preventive detention law violated his fundamental rights under, among others, Article 21 and Article 22 of the Constitution (protection against arrest and detention).

• However, Article 22, while providing for “protection against arrest and detention”, including the right to be informed of charges, the right to a lawyer and the right to be produced before a court within 24 hours, carves out a strategic exception — that protection is suspended when an arrest is under a law that specifically provides for preventive detention. Thus, AK Gopalan v State of Madras would thus go on to become the first case to question the Constitution’s contrariety.

• On May 19, 1950 , a six-judge bench held that the preventive detention law was valid and only allowed minor procedural safeguards that the length of detention had to be informed at the time of arrest although it could be extended. While AKG lost his case, the prescient questions it raised continue to shape our rights and freedoms.

• “Preventive detention is curtailing someone’s freedom based on their past conduct that was used in England and other parts during war situations. The British used it in India and while we continued it in our Constitution, Gopalan’s case brought in some procedural safeguards.

Do You Know:

• Born on October 1, 1904, in Peralasseri village in Kerala’s Kannur district, Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan came from an upper-caste Hindu Nambiar family. After completing college, Gopalan worked as a school teacher for seven years. But the stirrings of the nationalist movement drew him away from the classroom. His participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement landed him in jail for the first time at the age of 26.

• While he went on to become president of the Kerala Congress and a member of the All India Congress Committee, interactions with communist leaders in prison shifted Gopalan’s politics. By 1934, Gopalan had joined the Congress Socialist Party and, in 1939, when the party merged into the Communist Party, Gopalan became one of Kerala’s earliest Communist leaders, alongside P Krishna Pillai and E M S Namboodiripad.

• It is during one such detention, with fellow Communist leader M R Venkataraman, when Gopalan “filed occasional affidavits and wrote to the court as a matter of course”. One of these writ petitions became the AK Gopalan case. The legendary lawyer Nambyar, then a Mangalore-based mofussil lawyer, appeared against then Attorney General and Constituent Assembly member M C Setalvad.

• AKG wrote in his autobiography that he was taken to Delhi to witness the hearing in a “special First Class compartment by two Inspectors and twelve policemen”.

• In his book, M.K. Nambyar: The Constitutional Visionary, K K Venugopal says that his father, while arguing for AKG, invoked everything from India’s dharmic traditions of justice; a Latin enunciation, saying that the “procedure established by law” under Article 21 would mean ‘jus’ (a broader concept of justice and morality) and not just ‘lex’ (a written law or rule) to even used a quick-witted “quote from an authoritative book by a respected author” to bolster his case — his adversary Setalvad’s own book on civil liberties.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Right to Privacy: Bench by Bench, a right discussed and interpreted

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
During the Indian Freedom Struggle, why did the Rowlatt Act arouse popular indignation? (2009)
(a) It curtailed the freedom of religion
(b) It suppressed the Indian traditional education
(c) It authorised the government to imprison people without trial
(d) It curbed the trade union activities

GOVT & POLITICS

Rajasthan tables anti-conversion Bill: No bail for offences, jail term of up to 10 yrs

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main 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: Citing conversion of “gullible persons” through coercion, allurement or fraud, the Rajasthan government tabled the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill in the Assembly Monday with a maximum imprisonment of 10 years and all offences being cognizable and non-bailable.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025-Know its key highlights

• What about those wanting to convert voluntarily?

• What was the need to bring the Bill?

• Discuss the potential social and legal implications of categorizing offences under the anti-conversion law as cognizable and non-bailable.

• Analyse the challenges in balancing the prevention of forced religious conversions with the protection of individual rights to freedom of religion and expression.

• Compare Rajasthan’s anti-conversion law with similar legislation in other states. What are the common features and differences?

Key Takeaways:

• Those converting voluntarily will have to go through a seemingly exhaustive process which includes the district administration putting up their details on a notice board to invite objections

• In an interview to The Indian Express last year, Rajasthan Law Minister Jogaram Patel had said the Bill is being brought to prevent forcible conversions, especially those of vulnerable communities like tribals, and also to keep a check on “love jihad”, among other things.

• Once passed, Rajasthan will join 11 other states – Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – in having an anti-conversion law.

• In its ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ for the Bill, the Bhajan Lal Sharma government said: “The Constitution confers on each individual the fundamental right to profess, practise and propagate his religion.
• However, the individual right to freedom of conscience and religion cannot be extended to construe a collective right to proselytize; the right to religious freedom belongs equally to the person converting and the individual sought to be converted”.

• However, there have been many examples in the recent past “where gullible persons have been converted from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by fraudulent means”.

• With minister Patel earlier mentioning “love jihad”, the Bill also states that marriages done for “sole purpose of unlawful conversion or vice-versa” will be declared as void.

Do You Know:

• The Bill, tabled by cabinet minister Gajendra Singh, states that those in violation can be punished for 1-5 years in jail with a minimum fine of Rs 15,000.

• In case of conversion of a minor, a woman or a person belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST), the punishment will be 2-10 years with a fine of Rs 25,000.

• In case of mass conversions, the imprisonment would be between 3-10 years with a minimum fine of Rs 50,000, with repeat offenders facing not more than double the punishment provided under the law for each subsequent offence.

• Those willing to convert will have to fill up a prescribed declaration form and submit it to the District Magistrate (DM) or the relevant authority 60 days in advance, and any violation of this would invite up to three years’ punishment and at least Rs 10,000 fine. Then, the “convertor” or the person performing the ceremony would give a month’s advance notice to the DM through a prescribed form, and violating this would invite up to five years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.

• Subsequently, an officer not below the rank of additional DM will “get an enquiry conducted through police with regard to real intention, purpose and cause of the proposed religious conversion.”

• The converted person will then have to send a declaration in a prescribed form, within 60 days of conversion, to the DM. The DM will then display a copy of the declaration on the notice board of the office till the date of confirmation.

• The said declaration will include the convert’s date of birth, permanent/present address, father’s/husband’s name, the religion before and after conversion, the date and place of conversion etc. Then, the convert has to appear before the DM, within 21 days from the date of filing his declaration, to establish his/her identity and confirm the contents of the declaration.

• The Bill mainly empowers blood relatives to lodge an FIR. “Any aggrieved person, his/her parents, brother, sister, or any other person who is related to him/her by blood, marriage or adoption may lodge a FIR” for such conversion, the Bill states.

What the bill says:
—Jail term of up to 10 years
—Cognizable and non-bailable offences
—Burden of proof on person ‘effecting’ conversion
—Exhaustive declaration form, including 60-day notice for voluntary conversions

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Rajasthan’s Bill against ‘unlawful’ religious conversions

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

The spirit of 1971

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

What’s the ongoing story: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Writes: India must continue to flag attacks on minorities but from the highest levels of government, the message to Bangladesh must be clear: India is not pro or anti any dispensation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• How the 1971 Liberation War is significant in shaping the historical and future trajectory of India-Bangladesh relations?

• What is the impact of the political changes in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, on its bilateral relations with India?

• Know the role of the Indo-Bangla Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Peace in strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

• What are the challenges and opportunities in India-Bangladesh relations in the context of recent political developments in Bangladesh.

• Assess the influence of historical events on the current diplomatic and economic engagements between India and Bangladesh.

Key Takeaways:
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Writes:

• Tomorrow, we will mark six months since the shocking ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving premier of Bangladesh. Clearly, the
government was caught off guard; our intelligence failed to anticipate, let alone read, the political undercurrents.

• Today, Hasina has a home in India, as she should, and New Delhi has been cautious in its public stance, as it must. But to engage with a changing Dhaka and prepare for the future, understanding its past is imperative.

• The instability in Bangladesh will have spillover effects in India. The domestic political debate around “illegal immigrants” (read Bangladeshis) could threaten social harmony, and a Bangladesh in turmoil keeps tensions simmering in the Northeast, particularly in Manipur, which has been on edge for a while. The violence faced by Bangladeshi Hindus is a matter of concern and must be addressed.

• Yet, it must also be recognised that a key factor behind the current situation is the “authoritarian and arrogant” style that characterised Hasina’s leadership.

• It must also be acknowledged that the Yunus regime, from the evidence so far, does not appear capable of stabilising the country. Consequently, forces inimical to a free and secular Bangladesh have found a fresh lease on life.

• The deteriorating communal situation and anxiety among the minority Hindu population are largely products of present-day political circumstances rather than the socio-cultural ethos of Bangladesh.

Do You Know:
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Writes:

• India is not only a part of Bangladesh’s history but has also shaped it. The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation is a unique story in the Islamic world. East and West Pakistan, despite sharing a religion, had little in common. After Bangladesh’s liberation, the Radcliffe Line, originally drawn in 1947 to partition the Indian Subcontinent on religious lines, became the 4,000-km border between India and Bangladesh, over 2,200 km of which is shared with West Bengal.

• Bangladesh and West Bengal have a deep historical and cultural bond. That the national poet of Bangladesh, Kazi Nazrul Islam, was from West Bengal, and its national anthem was penned by Rabindranath Tagore, are of immense significance. The values of humanism espoused by both are integral to Bangladesh’s ethos.

• This historical connection is why the India-Bangladesh border has remained porous since 1947.

• After the historic victory in the 13-day war under the courageous leadership of Indira Gandhi, the warmth in India-Bangladesh relations did not last long. However, despite ups and downs, there have been significant achievements. The Tin Bigha Corridor agreement enabled Bangladesh to access its Dahagram-Angarpota enclave from the mainland, and the Ganga River water-sharing agreement was possible due to the positive cultural and historical ties between the two nations. This is no small feat, considering that 54 rivers crisscross the two countries.

• The spirit of 1971 defines our relationship and will continue to shape it. The events of August 5 cannot, and should not, be allowed to change that. That’s in the national interest of both countries.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why India-Bangladesh extradition treaty does not imply that New Delhi must hand over Sheikh Hasina

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
With reference to river Teesta, consider the following statements: (2017)
1. The source of river Teesta is the same as that of Brahmaputra but it flows through Sikkim.
2. River Rangeet originates in Sikkim and it is a tributary of river Teesta.
3. River Teesta flows into Bay of Bengal on the border of India and Bangladesh.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

THE IDEAS PAGE

A shadow as legacy

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

What’s the ongoing story: Yogendra Yadav writes: With Kumar’s departure, the Supreme Court has a choice: Allow the next CEC to be appointed through a government-dominated process or insist on an independent process.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are the implications of amending Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules on transparency and public trust in the electoral process.

• Discuss the role of the Chief Election Commissioner in maintaining the integrity of elections in India. How can the office ensure transparency and public confidence?

• Evaluate the balance between administrative efficiency and public access to information in the context of recent changes in election-related regulations.

• Examine the challenges faced by the Election Commission of India in upholding democratic principles while implementing procedural changes.

• Reflect on the legacy of CEC Rajiv Kumar’s tenure. What lessons can be learned to strengthen the electoral process in India?

Key Takeaways:
Yogendra Yadav writes:

• As Rajiv Kumar retires this month, our constitutional system faces a stark choice. Either the Supreme Court intervenes to ensure that the next CEC is chosen through a fairer system and can be trusted to display at least a modicum of fairness, neutrality and transparency. Or we could be headed towards an irreversible political crisis, as in our neighbourhood where election outcomes are routinely disputed.

• To be fair, Kumar is not entirely and personally responsible for the current state of this once-great institution. He comes at the end of a long process. During the first 40 years of its existence, the one-member ECI acted like an extension of the Government of India, rarely exercising the powers granted by the Constitution.

• Complaints of electoral irregularities and bias towards the ruling Congress were not unheard of. Yet, except allegations of large-scale fraud in West Bengal in 1972 or Jammu and Kashmir in 1987, these disputes did not generally implicate the ECI. It was administratively subservient to the government, but not visibly subservient to the ruling party.

• It took T N Seshan to disrupt business as usual and claim the constitutional powers of the ECI in 1990 By all accounts, he was no democrat. But his bull-in-a-china-shop adventures, adequately moderated by the Supreme Court and the appointment of two other commissioners, served to push this sleepy institution into a phase of fierce independence. This phase lasted till 2004, covering the tenure of M S Gill and J M Lyngdoh.

Do You Know:

• There are just five Articles (324-329) in Part XV (Elections) of the Constitution. Article 324 of the Constitution vests the “superintendence, direction and control of elections” in an Election Commission consisting “of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix”.

• The Constitution does not lay down a specific legislative process for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. The President makes the appointment on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

• The Constitution of India gave the Election Commission sweeping powers without going into the specifics. Introducing this provision in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949, Babasaheb Ambedkar had said “the whole election machinery should be in the hands of a Central Election Commission, which alone would be entitled to issue directives to returning officers, polling officers and others”.
Parliament subsequently enacted The Representation of the People Act, 1950, and The Representation of the People Act, 1951, to define and enlarge the powers of the Commission.

• The Supreme Court in ‘Mohinder Singh Gill & Anr vs The Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi and Ors’ (1977) held that Article 324 “operates in areas left unoccupied by legislation and the words ‘superintendence, direction and control’ as well as ‘conduct of all elections’ are the broadest terms”. The Constitution has not defined these terms.

• The SC said Article 324 “is a plenary provision vesting the whole responsibility for national and State elections” in the ECI “and, therefore, the necessary powers to discharge that function”.
The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 (EC Act) requires that the EC and CEC must hold the post for a period of six years. This law essentially governs the conditions of service of the CEC and ECs.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How are the CEC and ECs appointed, and what has the Supreme Court order changed?

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
Consider the following statements (UPSC GS1, 2017)
1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.
2. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections.
3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 3 only
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India? (UPSC GS2, 2018)

EXPLAINED

Trump, Musk & USAID

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 Agency of International Development (USAID) over the weekend emerged as the latest casualty in the Trump administration’s bid to rehaul the federal government.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is United States Agency of International Development (USAID)?

• United States Agency of International Development (USAID)-Role and functions

• Why have Trump, Musk targeted USAID?

• Analyse the implications of merging USAID with the U.S. State Department.

• Evaluate the significance of USAID’s initiatives in India, particularly in areas such as health and climate change.

• Assess the “America First” policy in the context of international development aid. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of this approach for recipient countries?

Key Takeaways:

• A week after President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid, his administration removed two top USAID security officials after they refused to grant representatives of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to restricted spaces at the agency. Musk has since repeatedly called for USAID’s “death”, referring to it as a “criminal organisation”.

• Trump and Musk have targeted USAID for the same reasons as they have gone after multiple other departments and agencies in the federal government: to reduce spending and eliminate the perceived bloat within the US federal government.

• The President had campaigned on a promise to “dismantle the deep state” and sack “rogue bureaucrats”. He simultaneously promised to downsize the federal government, and slash excessive and inefficient government spending.

• To deliver on these promises, Trump appointed billionaire Musk as the chief of the newly fashioned DOGE whose sole mandate is to make the federal government more efficient. Musk has vowed to slash federal spending by $2 trillion.

Do You Know:

• USAID is the “lead international humanitarian and development arm of the US government”, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

• The agency provides assistance to other countries primarily by funding non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foreign governments, international organisations, or other US agencies, often for specific programs to alleviate poverty, provide education and healthcare, among other things.

• The agency managed more than $43 billion in funds, and provided assistance to around 130 countries in FY2023. (See Charts). The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds in FY2023 were: (in descending order of funding) Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria.

• USAID employed more than 10,000 people in FY2023, according to CRS, with approximately two-thirds of this workforce serving overseas. This number does not factor in thousands of “institutional support contractors” who are pivotal for the execution of the agency’s
programs. USAID maintains more than 60 missions around the world.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Musk says Trump agreed to close USAID, staffers told to stay out of HQ

EXTRA LONG STAPLE (COTTON)

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

What’s the ongoing story: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget on Saturday, announced a five-year mission to “facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple (ELS) cotton varieties”.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What does “ELS” stand for in the context of cotton varieties?

• Why there is a limited cultivation of ELS cotton in India?

• Which country is a major exporter of ELS cotton to India?

• What recent initiative has been launched to enhance cotton production and exports in India?

• What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of the Mission for Cotton Productivity in enhancing India’s ELS cotton production and reducing import dependence?

• Examine the agricultural limitations, such as genotype variability and pest susceptibility, that hinder the domestic production of ELS cotton in India.

Key Takeaways:

• Cotton is classified, based on the length of its fibres, as long, medium, or short staple. Gossypium hirsutum, which constitutes roughly 96% of the cotton grown in India, falls in the medium staple category, with fibre lengths ranging from 25 to 28.6 mm.

• On the other hand, ELS varieties boast fibre lengths of 30 mm and above. Most ELS cotton comes from the species Gossypium barbadense, commonly known as Egyptian or Pima cotton. Having originated in South America, ELS cotton today is mainly grown in China, Egypt, Australia, and Peru.

• “In India, some ELS cotton is grown along rain fed parts of Atpadi taluka in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, and around Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu,” Bhausaheb Pawar, a senior research assistant with the Mahatma Phule Krishi Mahavidyalay in Ahmednagar, told The Indian Express.

• This is why brands producing top-of-the-line fabrics mix a small quantity of ELS with medium staple cotton to improve quality, said Pradeep Jain, founder-president of the Khandesh Gin Press Factory Owners and Traders Development Association. “More than 90% of the 20-25 lakh bales — each bale contains 170 kg of de-seeded ginned and pressed cotton — of the fibre that we annually import constitutes ELS cotton,” Jain said.

Do You Know:

• For the 2024-25 season, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of medium staple cotton was Rs 7,121 (per quintal) while that of long staple cotton was Rs 7,521.

• Nonetheless, cotton farmers in India have thus far been reluctant to adopt ELS cotton. This is mainly due to lower than average per acre yields, experts say. While the medium staple variety yields between 10 and 12 quintals per acre, ELS cotton has a yield of only 7-8 quintals.
Additionally, farmers growing ELS cotton are often unable to market their premium produce at premium prices. “The market linkages necessary are not available easily,” said one trader.

• “The best science & technology support will be provided to farmers,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.
With the cotton ecosystem plagued by low per-acre yields, and increased pest attacks, adoption of the latest technologies would be a welcome step, Jain said. “What we need is the farmer to access the latest in GM [genetic modification] technology,” he said.

• Farmers in Maharashtra have long demanded that they be allowed to cultivate the herbicide-resistant HtBT cotton, which is illegal at present. This would significantly help with weed management.

• Currently, India’s per acre yields are significantly lower than other countries. For instance, Brazil boasts an average yield of 20 quintals per acre, while China boasts a yield of 15 quintals. Better seeds, timely agronomic advice, and adoption of technology would help India improve in this regard, and grow premium varieties such as ELS cotton.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Production of extra long staple fibre cotton to get boost: Nirmala Sitharaman

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of (2021)
(a) brown forest soil
(b) fissure volcanic rock
(c) granite and schist
(d) shale and limestone

Why scientists are monitoring asteroid with only 1% chance of hitting Earth

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main 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 newly discovered asteroid — called 2024 YR4 — has slightly more than 1% chance of crashing into Earth in 2032, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials said last week.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is asteroid?

• What is the difference between a meteoroid and an asteroid?

• What is the newly discovered asteroid 2024 YR4?

• Discuss the significance of international collaboration in monitoring near-Earth objects (NEOs) like asteroid 2024 YR4.

• How do organizations such as the United Nations and the European Space Agency contribute to planetary defense?

• Evaluate the effectiveness of current detection systems, such as the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), in identifying potentially hazardous asteroids.

Key Takeaways:

• According to a BBC report, the probability of the asteroid named 2024 YR4 hitting the Earth on 22 December 2032 is currently estimated to be 1.3%.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has stated that the asteroid will safely pass through the Earth with 99% chance of not having any collision, however a possible impact “cannot yet be entirely ruled out”.

• The Royal Astronomical Society’s Dr Robert Massey said that he is “not panicking or losing sleep over it” due to the news of an asteroid’s possibility of hitting Earth in 2032.

• “There is no need for alarm. The thing about this kind of event is that historically they tend to go away when the calculations are refined,” Dr Massey said, as quoted by BBC.

• The YR4 asteroid, detected in December 2024, may create an impact similar to that of a nuclear bomb if it were to hit a populated area and astronomers have predicted it to be between 40m and 90m across.

Do You Know:

• The 2024 YR4 was first discovered in December last year by a telescope in Chile. The near-Earth asteroid is as big as a football field, measuring 40 to 100 metres across. It came closest to Earth on Christmas Day — passing within roughly 800,000 kilometres of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon, according to a report by the Associated Press.

• It will eventually fade from view over the next few months, and will not be visible again until it passes Earth’s way again in 2028. That is why scientists across the world are currently busy using some of the most powerful telescopes to determine 2024 YR4’s path and size before it gets out of sight. To do so, scientists have until mid-April when the asteroid will become too faint to detect.

• Experts said the 2024 YR4 is big but not as big as the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs and most other extant life some 66 million years ago. The 2024 YR4, however, can cause considerable localised damage in case it hits a populated area.

• Astronomers use something called the Torino Scale to categorise an object’s destruction potential. The NASA JPL Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has currently rated the 2024 YR4 a 3 on a scale from 0 to 10. Apophis asteroid, which was discovered in 2004, was initially rated 4 on the scale but was later downgraded as observations showed that it posed no threat for at least 100 years.

• Thousands of asteroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most are very small and burn up in the atmosphere due to friction — some of the larger ones burn spectacularly, and show up as fireballs in the sky. Sometimes unburnt fragments hit the surface but they are not big enough to cause much damage.

• Large asteroids, which can cause global disasters, hit Earth much less often. Those bigger than a kilometre in diameter, such as the Chicxulub asteroid that sent the dinosaurs into extinction might hit in 260 million years, according to a report by DW. That is because our Solar System is huge compared to the size of Earth, which means that the chance that the Earth will be hit by an object such as an asteroid is very small.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍UN monitoring newly discovered asteroid 2024 YR4 that may hit Earth in 2032

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
What is the difference between asteroids and comets? (2011)
1. Asteroids are small rocky planetoids, while comets are formed of frozen gases held together by rocky and metallic material.
2. Asteroids are found mostly between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, while comets are found mostly between Venus and Mercury.
3. Comets show a perceptible glowing tail, while asteroids do not.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (c)  2. (b) 3. (d) 4.(b) 5.(b)

 

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