Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
What’s the ongoing story: The administrator of the Panama Canal said Friday that the vital waterway will remain in Panamanian hands and open to commerce from all countries, rejecting claims by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States should take it over.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Read about the Panama Canal. (When and why was the Panama Canal constructed, and which country was responsible for its construction? )
• When and under what circumstances did the United States relinquish control of the Panama Canal to Panama?
• What is the strategic significance of the Panama Canal?
• How is the neutrality of the Panama Canal ensured?
• What challenges does the Panama Canal face?
• Why climate change poses an existential threat to Panama Canal?
• Map work: Locate Panama Canal on world map. (Refer Atlas)
Key Takeaways:
• In an interview with The Associated Press, Ricaurte Vásquez denied Trump’s claims that China was controlling the canal’s operations, and said making exceptions to current rules concerning its operation would lead to “chaos.”
• He said Chinese companies operating in the ports on either end of the canal were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997.
• He added that US and Taiwanese companies are operating other ports along the canal as well.
• Trump has gone so far as to suggest the US should take back control of the canal and he would not rule out using military might to do so. Trump has characterized the fees for transiting the canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as “ridiculous.”
• Vásquez stressed that the Panama Canal was open to the commerce of all countries.The canal can’t give special treatment to U.S.-flagged ships because of a neutrality treaty, Vásquez added.
Do You Know:
• The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts.
• Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.
• The canal depends on reservoirs to operate its locks and was heavily affected by drought during the past two years that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships.
• With fewer ships using the canal each day, administrators increased the fees that are charged all shippers for reserving a slot.
• The canal bisects Panama, running 51 miles end to end. It allows ships to avoid the longer and costlier trip around Cape Horn at the tip of South America.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Climate change and existential threat to Panama Canal
📍The Panama Canal: Trump’s bold claims and the history behind the waterway
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(1) Consider the following statements regarding the Panama canal:
1. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Isthmus of Panama.
2. It was built by the United States in the early 1900s.
3. The United States relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
FRONT
SpaDeX satellites 230 meters apart, ISRO may attempt docking today
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
What’s the ongoing story: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is hoping to get third-time lucky as it is likely to make another attempt at docking the two satellites of the SpaDeX mission in space on Sunday.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Read about the SpaDeX mission
• What is the significance of the SpaDeX mission?
• What are ISRO’s space missions to the moon, sun, and Mars?
• What are the other important missions of ISRO for 2025?
• Why does India want to build a space station?
Key Takeaways:
• The two satellites, called Chaser and Target, were brought together, just 230 metres apart, on Saturday evening and locked in that configuration for further checks.
• Officials told The Indian Express that the final docking manoeuvre may be carried out on Sunday. ISRO had to postpone the docking plans on two occasions earlier, on January 7 and January 9, because the satellites had not been able to achieve the required alignment.
• SpaDeX is a technology demonstrator mission in which ISRO is attempting a docking manoeuvre for the first time. In-space docking is a critical capability for the more ambitious missions that ISRO has planned in the future, including the sample return mission, manned moon mission, and the building and operation of the Bharat Antariksh Station.
• The first actual mission requiring the docking capability is likely to be Chandrayaan-4, which is supposed to bring back lunar samples to Earth. The re-entry module of this mission, which will be designed to withstand the heat of re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, is planned to be launched separately. The transfer module carrying samples from the Moon will dock with the re-entry module in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• The first module of Bharatiya Antariksh Station is expected to be launched in 2028. It is supposed to have five modules, which are expected to be launched separately and brought together in space.
Do You Know:
• Docking two moving satellites in space is a complicated operation, so it is no surprise ISRO is being cautious. Since this is just a technology demonstration mission, getting it right is more important that getting it done on schedule.
• SpaDeX’s success will place India in an elite group of nations with space docking capacity, which currently includes only the US, Russia and China.
• Docking is essential for missions that require heavy spacecraft and equipment that cannot be launched in one go — the International Space Station, for example. SpaDeX is pivotal for India’s space ambitions, including a manned foray to the Moon and the operation of the country’s space station. It could also open up opportunities for India’s space research agency to partner global missions that require docking facilities.
• In the last two years, ISRO has transitioned from an agency that placed satellites in orbit —largely for communications, weather prediction and atmospheric surveys — to an institution that leads planetary exploration.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Express View on ISRO’s SpaDeX mission: A tryst in space
📍Space docking mission takes off, key to India’s future missions
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) Consider the following statements: The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO (UPSC CSE 2016)
1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission
2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA
3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What is India’s plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? (UPSC CSE 2019)
GOVT & POLITICS
In 2nd phase, Genome India project to focus on diseases
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What’s the ongoing story: After completing India’s baseline map by sequencing 10,000 genomes, the Genome India project is set to move into its second phase during which samples of individuals with specific diseases would also be sequenced.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is a genome?
• What is genome sequencing?
• What is the Genome India project?
• What is the significance of the Genome India project?
• What is the second phase of the project?
• Are there other such projects across the world?
• What are the challenges associated with the Genome India project?
Key Takeaways:
• Genome India is a government-backed project to collect and catalogue the genetic variations specific to Indian populations. India-specific genetic information is not very well reflected in global human genome databases. Such information is valuable for a number of reasons, including diagnosis and treatment of several gene-related diseases.
• Launched in 2020, 10,000 sequences from healthy individuals were collected in the first phase of the project. The second phase seeks to expand the database to one million sequences, including genetic information of people with specific diseases.
• A comparison of the healthy and diseased genome can help researchers identify targets for developing treatments and diagnostic tests. It is the first step towards personalised treatment and medicine, which is supposed to be the future of healthcare.
• The diseases that would most likely be included in the list would be different types of cancers, chronic conditions such as diabetes, and various neurological or neurodegenerative diseases. Rare diseases that are found in Indian populations are also likely to be included in the list of diseases to be studied for the next phase of Genome India project.
• The second phase would also cover many more linguistic and ethnic groups. In the first phase, individuals from 99 population groups were included. But as many as 4,635 different population groups have been identified in India.
• The next phase would have representation of all the states and UTs, most linguistic and ethnic groups, and rural populations, said Prof Y Narahari from the Indian Institute of Science, one of the lead scientists on this project. More than 20 major research institutions are participating in this project.
• One million genomes would put India among a small group of countries that have managed to sequence a large number of genomes to understand genetic variation within their populations.
Do You Know:
• The first Human Genome Project — which was an international consortium funded by the US National Institutes of Health among others — published the world’s first complete human genome in 2003. Since then, the 1,000 genome project — again through international collaboration — published 1,092 sequences in 2012. A UK government project sequenced 100,000 genomes by 2018. There has also been a European effort to sequence 1+ Million Genomes across 24 countries
• Benefits of genome mapping: Besides understanding the susceptibility of people to specific diseases, which can lead to personalised and precision medicine, genome mapping has several other benefits — tracing ancestry and evolutionary history of people, advancing scientific research, and preparing for Covid-like pandemics in future.
• Genome sequencing: The human genome is essentially an instruction manual we inherit from our parents that decides how our body develops and functions. This genetic information determines everything from a person’s height, to the colour of their hair and eyes, to the diseases they may inherit, or the ones they are pre-disposed to. It is a tome written with just four letters A,C,G, and T — the four bases that come together to create the unique genetic makeup of everyone. There are around 3 billion pairs of bases in the complete human genome.
• To sequence the genome, researchers first extract the information from the blood. Handling the entire genome, however, is extremely difficult. So, the researchers cut it up into smaller pieces and tag them. A sequencer is then used to decode these smaller chunks of the genetic material. Once done, it is put together using the tags to create a whole genome — in the same way one would assemble say an Ikea furniture by numbers.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍What is the Genome India project, why it matters
📍Explained: The Genome India project, aimed at creating a genetic map of the country
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) With reference to agriculture in India, how can the technique of ‘genome sequencing’, often seen in the news, be used in the immediate future? (UPSC CSE 2017)
1. Genome sequencing can be used to identify genetic markers for disease resistance and drought tolerance in various crop plants.
2. This technique helps in reducing the time required to develop new varieties of crop plants.
3. It can be used to decipher the host-pathogen relationships in crops.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
EXPRESS NETWORK
PM to open Z-Morh tunnel, which provides all weather access to Sonamarg, tomorrow
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Infrastructure
What’s the ongoing story: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the Z-Morh tunnel Monday. The tunnel is a critical infrastructure project that will not only provide all-weather connectivity to the famous tourist resort of Sonamarg but will also help connect Kashmir and Ladakh throughout the year.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the Z-Morh tunnel?
• What was the need for the tunnel?
• What is the strategic importance of the Z-Morh tunnel?
• How does the Z-Morh Tunnel contribute to infrastructure development in Jammu and Kashmir?
• What are the expected environmental and economic impacts of the Z-Morh Tunnel?
• Read about the other important tunnels in India.
Key Takeaways:
• A 6.4-km bi-directional tunnel with an approach road of 5.6 km, Z-Morh joins Gagangir in Ganderbal with Sonamarg health resort, which will help to boost winter tourism.
• Developed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the Z-Morh is a 6.412 km-long tunnel that connects Sonamarg with Kangan town in the central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
• Constructed near Gagangir village near Sonamarg, a famous tourist destination on the Srinagar-Leh highway, the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to it as well as Ladakh, which is important for strategic and military reasons.
• Z-Morh has acquired its name for the Z-shaped road stretch that was previously at the place where the tunnel is being constructed. The stretch was situated at an altitude of over 8,500 feet and was prone to snow avalanches in the winter, thus closing the Sonamarg road for most part of the winter.
• Meanwhile, the construction of the Zoji-la Tunnel, which connects Sonamarg in Kashmir to Drass in Ladakh, is still underway and is expected to be completed by December 2026.
• The Z-Morh project was originally started by the Border Roads Organisation in 2012. While the BRO awarded the construction contract to the Tunnelway Ltd, the project was later taken over by NHIDCL.
• In 2019, the NHIDCL retendered the project and the contract was bagged by the APCO Infratech, which executed the project under APCO-Shri Amarnathji Tunnel Private Limited. While the project was expected to be completed by August 2023, it was delayed.
• The soft-opening of the tunnel was carried out in February last year but the UT’s Assembly elections delayed the project’s official inauguration.
Do You Know:
• Beyond its strategic military importance, the Z-Morh Tunnel is poised to bring significant economic benefits to the region. Tourism is one of the main drivers of the local economy in Sonamarg, and the tunnel’s ability to keep the resort town accessible year-round will help revive businesses that have long suffered due to the seasonal closure of roads.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How the Z-Morh Tunnel will be a strategic & vital link between Kashmir and Ladakh
Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:
(4) Consider the following statements regarding Z-Morh tunnel:
1. It is a 6.412 km-long tunnel that connects Sonamarg with Kangan town in the central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
2. The tunnel has acquired its name for the Z-shaped road stretch at the place where the tunnel is being constructed.
3. The Z-Morh tunnel is part of the Zojila tunnel project.
How many of the statements given above are true?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
OPINION
Lessons learnt from free India’s first Maha Kumbh
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Art and Culture
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Art and culture
What’s the ongoing story: Shyamlal Yadav writes– “Over 70 years ago, Allahabad hosted Independent India’s first mela, from January 14 to March 3, 1954. Instead of being known for its record turnout of nearly 40 lakh devotees — all of whom took a dip at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — the mela is remembered for a stampede on February 3, 1954, that claimed the lives of nearly 800 pilgrims. However, government estimates put the figure at half that number.”
Key Points to Ponder:
• Know in detail about the Mahakumbh Mela.
• What is the historical, cultural, and religious significance of the Mahakumbh Mela in India?
• What is the difference between Maha Kumbh and Kumbh?
• What is Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)?
• Read about the UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• What are the challenges of organizing the Mahakumbh Mela?
• Evaluate the impact of large-scale gatherings, like the Mahakumbh, on river ecosystems.
• What is a stampede? What are the factors leading to stampedes?
• How can AI technology and digital platforms significantly enhance the management and outreach of the Mahakumbh Mela in the 21st century?
Key Takeaways:
• Twelve years earlier, in 1942, a Maha Kumbh was held in Allahabad under the shadow of World War II. Organised by the British, the number of pilgrims at the 1942 mela were restricted due to “security concerns”.
• An Ardh Kumbh (half Kumbh) was held in the city in 1948, but Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in New Delhi on January 30, 1948, cast a pall over the event. Six years later, in 1954, the Maha Kumbh was held in Allahabad.
• Just as it is being done for the 2025 Kumbh, in 1954 too, Kumbh Nagar was named as a temporary district. Allahabad District Magistrate (DM) J N Ugra served as the DM of Kumbh Nagar too, while IPS officer J P Tripathi was designated as the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).
• The 1954 Maha Kumbh was special on many counts. As per the Hindu calendar for that year, the Kumbh would coincide with many auspicious days: January 14 (Makar Sankranti), February 3 (amavasya or the new moon day), March 3 (Shivratri), seven snan (bath) days, Paush Purnima (full moon day) on the intervening nights of January 18-19 and a constellation that would appear after over a century.
• Even advisories from the state health department related to a cholera epidemic, effective between January 7 and February 8, 1954, directing persons not inoculated against cholera to not come within 10 miles (around 16 km) of Allahabad, failed to dampen devotee enthusiasm.
• On February 3, 1954, the day of the stampede, President Rajendra Prasad, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Uttar Pradesh Governor K M Munshi, Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant, Punjab Governor C P N Singh, West Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy and Madhya Bharat (now Madhya Pradesh) Chief Minister Ravi Shankar Shukla were in Allahabad. Save for the Punjab Governor, who visited the site that afternoon, and West Bengal CM, most VIPs went to the Sangam in the morning.
• Around 9 am, a stampede would end up killing hundreds. UP Advocate General Kanhaiya Lal Mishra too got caught up in the stampede. Despite rumours of his death, he managed to get to safety. News of the tragedy was broadcast by All India Radio (AIR) four hours after the incident.
• The report of the enquiry committee set up to look into the stampede suggests that preparations for the event of this scale moved at a rather sluggish pace as of the first week of September 1953. The report of the committee, headed by Justice Kamalkant Verma, notes, “This is late even for an ordinary Kumbh Mela, to say nothing of a Kumbh of the type of the 1954 Kumbh.” However, preparations were made rapidly after that.
Do You Know:
• One of the biggest religious events in the world is the Maha Kumbh Mela. This mega-festival, which takes place every 12 years at four different locations in India—Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayagraj), Nashik, and Ujjain—attracts millions of pilgrims, devotees, and visitors from all over the world. The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is scheduled to commence on January 13, 2025, with the Paush Purnima Snan, and will conclude on February 26, 2025.
• Maha Kumbh Mela is one of the largest and most sacred gatherings in Hinduism. It is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and is considered an opportunity for devotees to absolve sins and attain Moksha, or liberation.
• In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was declared India’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ by UNESCO. The event was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UN body. The list describes Kumbh Mela as “the festival of the sacred Pitcher” where pilgrims bathe or take a dip in a sacred river. The list includes forms of expression that testify to the diversity of the intangible heritage and raise awareness of its importance.
• The UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003, defines intangible cultural heritage as the practices, representations, expressions as well as knowledge and skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | How to prevent stampedes at mass gatherings — 4 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains
📍Knowledge nugget of the day: Maha Kumbh Mela 2025
📍ISRO to BARC, agencies pitch in for the big clean-up at Maha Kumbh
UPSC Previous year Mains Question Covering similar theme:
Safeguarding the Indian art heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss (UPSC CSE 2018)
Crowd management is an important tool for safety of citizens especially at religious places. Unfortunately crowd disasters still happen. What are the major reasons behind such disasters. Suggest strategies to avoid crowd disasters.
ECONOMY
Microfinance delinquencies nearly double to over Rs 28,000 crore in a year
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Economic and Social Development
Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
What’s the ongoing story: India’s microfinance sector is experiencing a notable rise in delinquencies, particularly in the top ten states, despite the banking sector’s celebration of a 12-year low in non-performing assets (NPAs). Microfinance loans to low-income groups saw a significant surge in portfolio at risk (PAR) — loans with an overdue of 31-180 days — doubling to `28,154 crore by September 2024 from `14,617 crore a year ago.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is microfinance?
• What are non-performing assets (NPAs)?
• What is the Reserve Bank of India’s household loan limit for loans to qualify as microfinance?
• What role does over-leveraging play in the increase of delinquencies in the microfinance sector?
• What factors have hindered loan recovery efforts within the microfinance sector?
• How might the rise in delinquencies impact the growth of the microfinance sector?
• What measures can be taken to address the issue of delinquencies in microfinance?
Key Takeaways:
• MFIs also cut down their exposure from `4.32 lakh crore to `4.14 lakh crore during the three months ended September 2024, CRIF report said.
• Several factors contributed to this decline in portfolio quality. MFIs were lending to over-leveraged borrowers and they were taking on too much debt, leading to repayment difficulties. Further debt-waiver campaigns by states and politicians to waive off debts have disrupted the repayment cycle. There was high field-staff attrition with frequent changes in field staff, affecting the quality of loan disbursal and collection.
• Elections and extreme weather conditions hindered loan recovery efforts. This rise in delinquencies may push up the credit cost for NBFC-MFIs, potentially impacting the microfinance sector’s growth.
• The slowdown in the economy has also contributed to the indebtedness and stress in the microfinance sector. The Reserve Bank of India has set a common household limit of `300,000 for loans to qualify as microfinance. This limit applies to all entities in the microfinance sector.
Do You Know:
• All advances given by banks are termed “assets”, as they generate income for the bank by way of interest or instalments. However, a loan turns bad if the interest or instalment remains unpaid even after the due date — and turns into a nonperforming asset, or NPA, if it remains unpaid for a period of more than 90 days.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍As small and micro loans come under pressure, stress on small finance lenders could dent consumption further
📍Das cautions banks against hiding stress, governance issues
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) Which of the following statements best describes the term ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)’, recently seen in the news? (UPSC CSE 2017)
(a) It is a procedure for considering ecological costs of developmental schemes formulated by the Government.
(b) It is a scheme of RBI for reworking the financial structure of big corporate entities facing genuine difficulties.
(c) It is a disinvestment plan of the Government regarding Central Public Sector Undertakings.
(d) It is an important provision in ‘The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code’ recently implemented by the Government.
For your queries and suggestions write at roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com
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