UPSC Key: US-China open military channels, Scarcity of urea, and N-power sector

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, Indian diaspora

What’s the ongoing story: In a significant outreach to Beijing within days of the meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Sunday that he met China’s Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun and both agreed to strengthen communication, maintain stability in bilateral ties and “set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and de-escalate any problems that arise”.

Key Points to Ponder:

— How has the US and China relationship evolved in recent times?

— What is the significance of the Indo-Pacific for the USA?

— What are the key defence agreements signed between India and the US?

— Know about the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting – Plus (ADMM-Plus)

— How do the recent attempts by the USA and China to de-escalate the ongoing issue be evaluated by India?

— Is China and USA closeness a cause of concern for India?

— What is the status of India-USA trade talks?

— What is the significance of signing the 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership?

Key Takeaways:

— Hegseth said he met Dong in Malaysia and they spoke again Saturday. He said Trump’s historic “G2 meeting” with Xi — the leaders met in the South Korean city of Busan on October 30 — had “set the tone for everlasting peace and success for the US and China”.

— Washington’s outreach to Beijing, after years of commitment to the Indo-Pacific where it joined hands with its allies and partners to push back against China’s assertive behaviour, will be closely watched given the tensions over Taiwan, the maritime disputes in the South China Sea and the larger region where US troops and warships have considerable presence.

— Beijing’s belligerence under Xi, from the South China Sea to the Ladakh frontier, made the world sit up and the US joined hands with Japan, India and Australia to reactivate the Quad grouping as a counter.

— In fact, the Quad was revived by Trump during his first presidential term in 2017, when his administration framed China as a strategic threat and rival – for the first time.

— Washington’s engagement with Beijing at the military level, where it will now be in talks with the Chinese military, will be watched with some concern in capitals of the region, especially in Delhi, Tokyo and Canberra.

— Following Hegseth’s announcement Sunday, sources in Delhi said India will not want to jump to conclusions about the defence engagement between the US and China, and will assess the purpose behind the engagement. This, the sources said, may work in productive ways as well.

— Delhi and Washington have just signed a 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership. Rajnath Singh called it “a signal of our growing strategic convergence” and said it “will herald a new decade of partnership”.

— He said defence remains a major pillar in bilateral relations between the two sides. The partnership, he said, is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region – a reference to efforts aimed at countering China’s assertive behaviour in the region.

Do You Know:

— Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was the venue of the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting — Plus (ADMM-Plus). It was on the sidelines of this meeting Friday that Hegseth and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh signed a 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership, signalling stable ties between the two countries in the defence sector while they negotiate a trade deal and the thorny issue of a tariff penalty by Washington over Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.

— ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste & Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

— India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus is held annually to bolster the defence cooperation among ASEAN and plus countries.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Washington-Beijing rivalry is more than a tale of rise and decline — it’s a mirror of two nations wrestling to determine the next global order

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) G20

(b) ASEAN

(c) SCO

(d) SAARC

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (UPSC CSE 2019)

 

EXPLAINED

Looming scarcity of urea

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.

What’s the ongoing story: India’s urea consumption is set to touch 40 million tonnes (mt) in the current fiscal, due to surplus monsoon-induced demand and also the maximum retail price (MRP) of the nitrogenous fertiliser remaining unchanged for over a decade.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the constituents of urea?

— What is the purpose of urea?

— What is neem coated urea? Why is it promoted?

— What is nano urea?

— What are the concerns related to excessive use of urea?

— Significance of Nitrogen,  Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and Potassium for crops

— How to manage the scarcity of urea?

— How can India reduce its dependence on urea?

Key Takeaways:

— Sales of the country’s most used fertiliser hit an all-time-high of 38.8 mt in 2024-25 (April-March). The first six months of this fiscal have registered a 2.1% year-on-year increase, which is likely to sustain or even go up with farmers planting more area under wheat, mustard, potato and other rabi (winter-spring) season crops.

— The urea consumption doubled, from about 14 mt to 28.1 mt, between 1990-91 and 2010-11 and rising to 30.6 mt in 2013-14. Thereafter, it flattened and actually fell to 29.9 mt by 2017-18.

— That was partly thanks to the Narendra Modi government, in May 2015, making it mandatory to coat all indigenously manufactured and imported urea with neem oil.

— Neem coating was expected to enable a more gradual release of the 46% nitrogen in urea, prolonging its action and translating into better nutrient use efficiency. Besides reducing the number of bags required to be applied per acre, it was also intended to curb the illegal diversion of the heavily-subsidised fertiliser for non-agricultural use, from particle board, plywood and cattle feed manufacturing to milk adulteration.

— But neither neem coating, nor replacement of 50-kg bags with 45-kg ones (from March 2018) and the launch of liquid ultra-small particle size ‘Nano Urea’ by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (in June 2021), have lowered consumption after 2017-18. It crossed 35 mt in 2020-21 and could reach 40 mt this fiscal.

— Not surprisingly, shortages have been developing. The recent kharif (monsoon) crop season witnessed a scramble for urea, with reports from many states of farmers standing in long queues for hours to procure their bare minimum requirement.

— In fact, things would have been worse but for six new urea plants, each with 1.3 mt annual production capacity, commissioned between 2019 and 2022. It helped boost India’s domestic urea output from 24.5 mt in 2019-20 to 31.4 mt in 2023-24.

— Given its affordability (even a doubling of MRP will still make it the cheapest fertiliser), ease of application (unlike Nano Urea) and proven effectiveness (nitrogen is indispensable for plant growth), the demand for urea is unlikely to go down.

It would, if anything, only go up with expansion in gross cropped area, irrigation coverage and farmers planting more nitrogen-loving crops, whether maize or leafy vegetables.

— Urea consumption can, at best, be capped at around 45 mt through a mix of MRP rationalisation, rationing (not supplying say, more than 25 subsidised bags per farmer) and incorporation of urease and nitrification inhibitor chemicals (which slow down the release of nitrogen).

— In such a scenario, urea imports would make sense primarily to feed the western and southern markets closer to the ports. For the markets in northern, central and eastern India, it would be more economical to import gas and “make” urea.

— This is as opposed to direct import of urea (“buy”) in bulk vessels, which entails additional costs and logistics of discharge at the port, bagging, reloading and transporting to these distant consumption centres.

Do You Know:

— Urea is India’s most widely used fertiliser, with its consumption/sales rising from 26.7 million tonnes (mt) to 35.7 mt between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

— There are two concerns over rising urea consumption. The first is imports, which accounted for 7.6 mt out of the total 35.7 mt sold last fiscal. Even with regard to domestically-manufactured urea, the feedstock used – natural gas – is mostly imported.

– India’s nearly 36-mt annual consumption of urea is today next only to China’s 51 mt, with the latter’s production largely coal-based.

— The second concern is NUE. Barely 35% of the N applied through urea in India is actually utilised by crops to produce harvested yields. The balance 65% N is unavailable to the plants, much of it “lost” through release into the atmosphere as ammonia gas or leaching below the ground after conversion into nitrate.

— Declining NUE, from an estimated 48% in the early 1960s, has resulted in farmers applying more and more fertiliser for the same yield.

— There is growing consensus, including in the government, that India cannot sustain the above increase in consumption of urea – or even di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash and other fertilisers containing just primary nutrients: N, P (phosphorus) and K (potassium).

— A country with hardly any natural gas or rock phosphate, potash and sulphur reserves shouldn’t, beyond a point, encourage the consumption of these commodity fertilisers in plain-vanilla form.  Instead, they must be coated with secondary nutrients (S, calcium and magnesium) as well as micronutrients (zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, iron, copper and nickel).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How urea has been an investment success story

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) Why does the Government of India promote the use of ‘Neem-coated Urea’ in agriculture? (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) Release of Neem oil in the soil increases nitrogen fixation by the soil microorganisms

(b) Neem coating slows down the rate of dissolution of urea in the soil

(c) Nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas, is not at all released into atmosphere by crop fields

(d) It is a combination of a weedicide and a fertilizer for particular crops

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

How do subsidies affect the cropping pattern, crop diversity and economy of farmers? What is the significance of crop insurance, minimum support price and food processing for small and marginal farmers? (UPSC CSE 2017)

Cloud seeding in winters to reduce pollution is bad science. Here is why

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology

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

What’s the ongoing story: It is natural that human psychology gets attracted towards an adventurous recipe that promises to cure in a day instead of a longer therapy, no matter how robust it is. What if the disease returns the next day? The analogy in question is artificial rain by cloud seeding. On cloud seeding as a solution to air pollution, Delhi has been on the same page for the past several years, irrespective of local governments, and since some top-notch institutions of the country are front-runners in this excitement, the matter becomes scientifically serious.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the factors behind the high air pollution?

— What is cloud seeding?

— How does cloud seeding work?

— How successful is cloud seeding?

— What are the limitations of cloud seeding?

— What measures should be taken to tackle the challenge of air pollution?

— Read about the Air Quality Index (AQI) and SAFAR.

Key Takeaways:

— Cloud seeding is a form of engineering of the natural weather where substances like silver iodide, sodium chloride, or similar kinds are introduced into a particular class of clouds to artificially or forcefully trigger rain. The underlying physics is straightforward: these chemicals act as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei, around which water vapor condenses or ice crystals form and may produce rain.

— Crucially, seeding only works when injected in a particular class of clouds, known as hygroscopic / warm-rain clouds. This class of clouds is considered good for seeding because they have abundant liquid water and respond quickly when extra nuclei are introduced. In contrast, seeding is ineffective in other clouds because their microphysical structure resists external perturbation and hence rain.

— Analysis of decades of climatological records reveals that, unlike the more visible cloud types, hygroscopic or warm-rain clouds, the ones suitable for seeding, are rare and form only under specific atmospheric conditions. These clouds typically appear during the pre-monsoon period, as monsoon dynamics begin to build, and remain common through the monsoon itself.

— Statistical analyses indicate their probability of occurrence is about 51% during pre- and post-monsoon months, but plummets to just 5–10% in winter, precisely when air pollution peaks (November to January) and the demand for cleansing rain is highest. So, it’s seasonally misaligned with the air pollution menace.

— It is understandable (although this author disagrees) as a solution to drought because you need rain on any day of a larger window without waiting for the Air Quality Index to drop. To put it simply, we are betting on a razor-thin probability. Here is why: If cloud conditions are ideal, the global success rate of seeding is roughly 50%; the likelihood of such a cloud forming in the critical winter months is below 10%; and we need those specific clouds on the very days when the AQI spikes, not randomly.

— Air pollution in Delhi remains an unresolved, recurring challenge. As winter 2025 sets in, we are confronted once again with the same fundamental question: what is truly polluting Delhi? Crop residue burning is a short, seasonal episode; festival fireworks last only a few days. Yet, the discourse continues to orbit around these transient factors, overlooking the deeper, systemic drivers.

— It’s time to shift from a city-centric mindset to an airshed approach, one that considers the climatological “family area” responsible for the transboundary movement of pollutants, a proposition promoted by NARFI (National Resource Framework of India) of NIAS, a project supported by the office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. Air knows no administrative boundaries, and city-only solutions risk compromising the larger airshed simply because their implementation seems complex.

— Mitigation must be anchored in coordinated year-round actions targeting persistent sources. A clear starting point is accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels, where the emerging electric vehicle revolution offers real promise. According to SAFAR’s latest estimates, vehicular emissions contribute over 40% of Delhi’s PM2.5 load, and unfortunately, rapid growth in vehicle numbers is offsetting the technological advances.

— The challenges are enormous, but complex problems demand innovative solutions, and each innovation requires rigorous scientific evaluation to sustain credibility and impact. Above all, we must stop normalising toxic air. This is not merely a winter problem, not just a Delhi problem, and certainly not a poor person’s problem. It is everyone’s problem, corroding our health, eroding our productivity, and weakening our collective dignity.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How successful is cloud seeding technology

UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:

(3) How many of the following salts is/are injected into the clouds during the cloud seeding?

1. Silver Iodide

2. Sodium chloride

3. Aluminium Iodide

4. Potassium iodide

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

ECONOMY

8th Pay Commission: What the clearance of terms of reference means

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Economic and Social Development.

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: The government on Tuesday (October 28) approved the terms of reference (ToR) of the Eighth Central Pay Commission after having announced its formation in January this year. This clears the path for the revision of pension, pay and allowances of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and around 69 lakh pensioners, which will come into effect from January 1 next year.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Read about the Central Pay Commission?

— How have the Pay Commissions evolved over time in India, and what major changes have they introduced?

— How does the Pay Commission contribute to efficient governance and public administration?

— Recommendations made by the Pay Commissions are binding in nature—true or false?

— What are the challenges associated with implementing the recommendations of pay commissions?

— What can be the potential impact of the 8th Pay Commission on the social security framework?

— Know about the National Pension System and Unified Pension Scheme.

Key Takeaways:

— The Eighth Central Pay Commission will be headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, a former Supreme Court judge and the chairperson of the Press Council of India. Apart from Justice Desai, the Commission will have IIM Bangalore Professor Pulak Ghosh as Member (part-time), and Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain as Member-Secretary.

— A Pay Commission is constituted by the central government approximately every decade to revise the salary structure of its employees and determine pension payments. Since 1947, seven Pay Commissions have been established. The government had announced the formation of the Eighth Central Pay Commission in January this year to examine and recommend changes in the salaries and other benefits of central government employees.

— The terms of reference have been finalised after consultations with various ministries, state governments and staff side of the Joint Consultative Machinery. The Commission will submit its recommendations within 18 months.

— As per the Terms of Reference, the Eighth Pay Commission will have to keep in view the economic conditions in the country and the need for fiscal prudence, the need to ensure that adequate resources are available for developmental expenditure and welfare measures.

— It will also take into consideration the likely impact of the recommendations on state government finances, as states usually adopt the recommendations with some modifications, and the prevailing emolument structure, benefits, and working conditions available to employees of Central public sector undertakings and the private sector.

— While these ToR are same as the Seventh Pay Commission, one additional term has been added this time — to keep in view the unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes. This is significant in the backdrop of continuing demands for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme — an unfunded, non-contributory scheme, under which government employees hired before January 1, 2004 used to get defined benefits post retirement, with 50 per cent of their last drawn salary as monthly pension.

— Under the National Pension System, which covers employees who joined service post January 2004, contributions are defined but benefits depend on the market.

— Last year, the government announced a revamped pension scheme — Unified Pension Scheme — having defined assured pension, family pension and a minimum pension for those with less than the mandatory service for full pension. The UPS has an assured payout of Rs 10,000 for employees superannuating after qualifying service of 10 years and “full assured payout” after a minimum 25 years of qualifying service.

– The Eighth Central Pay Commission recommendations are expected to be announced in April 2027. They will, however, be effective from January 1, 2026, implying that the pay and pension hikes are likely to be implemented retrospectively from that date, with arrears being paid when the recommendations take effect. Allowances, however, are likely to be revised prospectively.

Do You Know:

— Pay Commission recommendations have an impact on the fiscal math of the government as salaries to employees constitute a major chunk of its revenue expenditure. The Central government’s outgo on pay, pension and allowances is estimated at over Rs 7 lakh crore in 2025-26, which is around 18 per cent of the revenue expenditure.

— The previous Seventh Central Pay Commission had recommended a 23.55 per cent increase in pay, allowances and pension, which had led to an additional annual outgo of Rs 1.02 lakh crore for the central government.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Cabinet approves terms of reference of the eighth pay panel

📍What is the 8th Pay Commission, approved by Union cabinet?

UPSC Prelims Practice  Question Covering similar theme:

(4) What is the primary function of a Pay Commission in India?

(a) To determine tax rates for salaried employees

(b) To review and recommend salary structures of government employees

(c) To regulate public sector employee recruitment

(d) To oversee pension disbursements for the private sector

‘Two key amendments to open up N-power sector likely in Winter Session’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: The NDA government is readying multiple amendments to two overarching legislation governing the country’s atomic energy sector, with an internal deadline to wrap up political consultations in time for introducing these in the upcoming Winter Session.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Read about the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA).

— Know about the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

— What do you know about light water reactors (LWR), Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology and small modular reactors (SMR)?

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

— How amendments may revive the strategic Indo–U.S. civil nuclear dialogue?

— How is Nuclear energy helping India to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality?

Key Takeaways:

— While confirming that a winter session deadline is being targeted, a senior government official told The Indian Express that India’s move to look outwards for collaborations on nuclear is driven by two clear policy imperatives: the desperate need for base load alternatives to coal-fired capacity to tide over the limitations of renewables; and more importantly, the external outreach for nuclear collaborations is driven more by the need for capital than the need for technology.

— This is despite the realisation that India’s existing nuclear technology — its mainstay Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology — has scalability issues. The official indicated that foreign funds, including sovereign funds from West Asia, have expressed early interest to put in capital to part-finance India’s stated objectives to scale up nuclear power, including getting into the manufacturing value chain of SMRs or small modular reactors.

— SMRs are increasingly being seen as important for nuclear energy to remain a commercially competitive option into the future.

—The first amendment entails an easing of the provisions in India’s nuclear liability law called the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA), which sought to create a mechanism for compensating victims from damages caused by a nuclear accident, and allocating liability and specifying procedures for compensation, but has subsequently been cited as an impediment by foreign equipment vendors such as US-based Westinghouse Electric and French nuclear company EDF.

—This is on the grounds that this legislation channellises 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 Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) while the suppliers could include foreign reactor manufacturers, 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, have 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. Workarounds, including capping liabilities above a certain limit and a state-backed fund pool as a backstop, are being considered.

— The second major amendment in the works is aimed at tweaking the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 to enable private companies to enter nuclear power plant operations in India to potentially take a minority equity exposure of up to 49 per cent in upcoming nuclear power projects, while also setting the stage for foreign companies to infuse equity into these projects to scale up the execution pace.

— 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.

— In the civil nuclear sector, New Delhi is now pushing SMRs — advanced nuclear reactors that have about a third of the generating capacity of most traditional nuclear power reactors but can produce a large amount of low-carbon electricity — as a technology of promise that can help in industrial decarbonisation, including a determined hard sell of the country’s ability to take something of a leadership role in the dissemination of this technology.

— These are important in offering base load power that could give grid operators some degree of flexibility, especially given the imperative of inducting renewables into the grid brings with it the challenge of inducting more base load generation to balance out the vagaries of renewable power output. While thermal generation is seen as important in this regard, nuclear energy offers a more carbon-neutral base load generation option.

— As part of its domestic SMR push, the NPCIL announced a tender in March 2024 for a stepped-down version of indigenously-produced nuclear reactors. Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s largest private-sector corporation, Tata Power and Adani Power are among six private entities that are learnt to have formally expressed interest to set up small modular nuclear reactor-based projects.

— Some 16 sites have been tentatively marked across six states — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The Bharat Small Modular Reactors’ are proposed to be constructed and operated under NPCIL’s supervision and the state-run company will retain operational control and asset ownership, while the successful bidders will hold beneficial rights over the net electricity generated for captive use.

— India’s own range of at least three SMR prototypes that are being designed and developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, a constituent unit of the DAE, include broadly three reactor types.

Do You Know:

— SMRs are essentially advanced small nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of 30MWe to 300 MWe (megawatt electrical) per unit. Conventional nuclear reactors, the kind which are currently installed in India and elsewhere, usually have capacities to produce 500 MW of electricity or more.

— The relatively simpler and modular design of SMRs—enabling their components to be assembled in a factory instead of being constructed on-site—lowers costs and allows flexible deployment, making them a much more attractive proposition in recent years.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How India’s nuclear mission can be both ambitious and realistic

📍Knowledge Nugget: How is Nuclear Energy Mission and Small Modular Reactors relevant for UPSC Exam?

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. (UPSC CSE 2018)

 

THE IDEAS PAGE

Red Corridor to green shoots

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Linkages between development and spread of extremism

What’s the ongoing story: Shamika Ravi and Manuj Joshi write: India, the cradle of four major religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism — has long stood for peace and compassion. From the teachings of non-violence to the moral triumph of Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movement, India’s identity has been shaped by restraint, tolerance, and dialogue over bloodshed. Yet, within this same land, the Naxalite movement continues to pursue its goals through the barrel of a gun.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is insurgency?

— Know about the origin of naxalism in India

— What is the Red Corridor?

— What are the initiatives taken by the government to create Naxal-Mukt Bharat?

Key Takeaways:

— This contradiction should give us pause. In a world already riven by global conflicts, cyber warfare, and growing geopolitical tension, India cannot afford an internal insurgency that drains its moral and material strength.

— When internal violence festers, the costs of maintaining peace multiply — not just in financial terms, but in human confidence and national cohesion.

— Naxalism, often wrapped in the rhetoric of justice for the marginalised, has been parasitic at its core, feeding off democratic freedoms while undermining them.

— To confront this challenge effectively, India must first be clear about what sustains it. For too long, the dominant narrative has been that Naxalism is a byproduct of poverty and underdevelopment. But this explanation, while convenient, doesn’t withstand scrutiny.

— If deprivation alone were the cause, why would Naxalites routinely destroy schools, railway tracks, and telecom towers — the very infrastructure meant to lift people out of poverty?

— Empirical evidence also contradicts the poverty narrative. Studies by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the University of North Carolina reveal that economic indicators like poverty or unemployment are weak predictors of terrorism or political violence.

— Instead, ideology, state capacity, and identity-based grievances are far more influential. In the Indian context, research published in the Economic and Political Weekly finds that even forest cover, a proxy for state inaccessibility, correlates more strongly with Maoist activity than economic backwardness.

— The geographic pattern of Naxalism further exposes the poverty myth. The insurgency had primarily taken root in the so-called “Red Corridor” across central and eastern India — Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, parts of Odisha, and Bihar — while other states with comparable or even worse poverty levels have remained largely immune.

— The Multidimensional Poverty Index shows that districts with similar deprivation levels in other states have not succumbed to extremist influence. This suggests that something deeper is at work, including local governance deficits, historical neglect, poor law enforcement, and political manipulation.

— Recognising this reality, the Indian government has in recent years recalibrated its strategy to create a Naxal-Mukt Bharat — a Naxal-free India. Although law and order are state subjects, the Centre has adopted a collaborative approach, recognising that insurgency does not respect administrative boundaries.

— Beyond security operations, the government’s focus has shifted to undermining the ideological and social roots of Naxalism. Initiatives like Skill Development Centres, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and Eklavya Model Residential Schools are equipping local youth with employable skills and quality education.

— These measures not only create alternatives to militancy, but also restore faith in the state’s capacity to deliver tangible benefits. Infrastructure development has also become a cornerstone of counterinsurgency.

— The number of civilians killed by Left Wing Extremists has dropped from an annual average of 480 during 2004–2013 to just 152 between 2014 and 2024. The footprint of Naxalism has also contracted dramatically: From 126 affected districts in 2014 to just 18 in 2024, with only six now categorised as “severely affected”.

— Naxalism may be weakening militarily, but the conditions that once allowed it to thrive — poor governance, local grievances, and administrative apathy — require continued vigilance. To permanently eradicate Left Wing Extremism, one must move beyond the comfortable rhetoric of poverty and underdevelopment. At its core, this is a governance challenge.

— India’s civilisational strength lies in its moral resilience. The decline of Naxalism demonstrates that progress anchored in justice and inclusion is the most potent antidote to extremism. But peace cannot be imposed; it must be built through trust, good governance, and opportunity.

— As India marches toward becoming a $5 trillion economy, ensuring internal harmony is as vital as external security. The promise of a Naxal-Mukt Bharat is not just a security goal, it is a moral one. It reaffirms the idea that in India, transformation comes not through terror, but through trust.

Do You Know:

— While often conflated, Maoism, Naxalism, and Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) have distinct origins. Maoism is based on Mao Zedong’s doctrine of agrarian revolution and guerrilla warfare. Its Indian variant emerged with the 1967 Naxalbari uprising, leading to the broader Naxalite movement.

— The Maoist insurgency traces its roots to the CPI(Marxist-Leninist) founded by Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal. The movement fractured during the 1970s–90s into numerous groups, many of which operated in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍After the anti-Naxal operation: Time to heal, not conquer

📍What lies ahead as Centre mounts offensive against Maoists

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

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

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

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PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (b)     2. (b)    3. (c)    4. (b)

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