15.07.25

Revival of Historic Port: Machilipatnam, an ancient trading hub, is being revived with a new Greenfield port at Manginapudi.

• Why it’s news: This marks a significant return for a port with a rich historical past.

Operational by End-2026: The new port is nearing 50% completion and is expected to become operational by the end of 2026.

• Why it’s news: Provides a concrete timeline for a major infrastructure project.

Ancient Trade Significance: Machilipatnam, historically known as Masulipatnam or Maisolia, was a prominent trading center from the 1st century AD, trading with Rome, China, Persia, and Southeast Asia.

• Why it’s news: Highlights the strategic importance of the location and its historical trading prowess.

Golconda Era Flourishing: Under the Qutb Shahi dynasty, it was a profitable port (Bandar-i-Mubarak), exporting goods across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

• Why it’s news: Underscores its past economic and global connectivity.

Cultural Melting Pot: The ancient port hosted a diverse population of various nationalities.

• Why it’s news: Adds a cultural dimension to the port’s historical significance.

Development Model: The port is being developed under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) using the Landlord Model.

• Why it’s news: Indicates the structure and approach to the port’s construction.

Economic Growth Driver: Expected to handle exports of coal, pharma, cement, fertilizers, and container traffic, with potential for enhanced regional trade via a dry port and freight corridor from Telangana.

• Why it’s news: Signals substantial economic benefits and improved trade connectivity for the region.

Local Benefits: The project is expected to increase land prices and create employment opportunities for local communities.

• Why it’s news: Highlights the positive impact on the local economy and population.

Decline Factors: Past decline was attributed to cyclones and shifting British focus to Madras.

• Why it’s news: Provides context for why the port fell into disuse.

Successful Test-Fire of Astra Missile: DRDO and IAF successfully test-fired the indigenous Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) from a Su-30MKI fighter jet off the coast of Odisha. This is significant as it demonstrates India’s capability in developing advanced air-to-air weaponry.

Indigenous RF Seeker: The Astra missile is equipped with an indigenously developed Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker. This feature is crucial for detecting, tracking, and locking onto targets using radar, ensuring high accuracy and enabling “fire-and-forget” capabilities.

Beyond Visual Range Capability: Astra is India’s first indigenous BVRAAM, designed to engage enemy aircraft beyond visual line-of-sight. It can target supersonic, manoeuvrable aircraft at altitudes up to 20 km and ranges exceeding 100 km.

Advanced Technology: The missile utilizes inertial navigation, mid-course data link updates, and active radar homing. It also features a smokeless solid-fuel engine for enhanced stealth and supports a “buddy launch” mode for operational flexibility.

Su-30MKI Platform: The test was conducted from a Su-30MKI fighter aircraft, a key asset in India’s combat fleet. This successful integration validates Astra’s compatibility with India’s frontline fighter jets.

• Why: Timely and data-rich analysis is crucial for understanding India’s trade performance and navigating global shifts.

• Exports grew by 3% to USD 108.7 billion.
• Imports rose by 6.5% to USD 187.5 billion.
• Why: Shows a growth in exports despite a larger increase in imports, indicating a need to monitor the trade deficit.

• Services surplus of USD 52.3 billion.
• Services exports increased by 17%.
• Why: Highlights the growing global competitiveness and importance of India’s services sector in offsetting merchandise trade deficits.

• High-tech products like aircraft, spacecraft, and parts saw 200% year-on-year growth.
• Electrical machinery and arms/ammunition growing at 10.6% CAGR since 2014.
• Why: Demonstrates diversification of India’s export basket towards higher-value and technologically advanced goods.

• India ranked 5th globally in Digitally Delivered Services (DDS) exports in 2024, with USD 269 billion.
• Why: Underscores India’s strong position in the digital economy and its significant contribution to services exports.

• Shifts in US trade policies present risks and opportunities.
• India has a tariff advantage over competitors in the US market.
• Potential for growth in sectors like pharmaceuticals, textiles, and electrical machinery.
• Why: Crucial for policymakers to leverage these advantages and adapt to evolving international trade dynamics and policy changes.

Why in News: Mizoram is facing a growing refugee crisis, with a significant new influx of around 4,000 from Myanmar’s Chin State in early July 2025 following armed clashes. This adds to existing refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur, straining the state’s humanitarian capacity.

How Mizoram is Managing:

• Ethnic Ties: Mizoram’s Mizo community shares deep ethnic and cultural bonds with the Chin (Myanmar), Bawm (Bangladesh), and Kuki-Zo (Manipur) people, leading to solidarity and support.
• Community Support: Civil society groups like the Young Mizo Association (YMA), churches, and individuals are providing essential aid (food, shelter).
• Government Stance: The Mizoram government cites humanitarian and ethnic reasons for not deporting refugees, though local pressure has led some villages to impose restrictions on refugee movement.
• Central Assistance: The Centre has provided ₹8 crore in relief, deemed insufficient by state authorities.

Legal Framework:

• International Law: Refugees flee persecution; asylum seekers await status adjudication. India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
• Indian Law: Refugees are governed by the Foreigners Act, 1946, and other immigration-related laws.
• FMR: The Free Movement Regime allows limited cross-border travel for hill tribes but faces security concerns.
• UNHCR: Registered refugees have limited protection and services, lacking government-issued documents and access to welfare.

Measures Needed:

• Legal Reform: Enact a National Refugee Law and empower local identification mechanisms.
• Institutional Strengthening: Enhance coordination between central and state governments, and with UNHCR.
• Community Integration: Promote inclusive development and protect vulnerable groups.
• Infrastructure: Establish reception centres and refugee data management systems.
• Border Management: Utilize technology while ensuring humanitarian corridors and community engagement.

Denmark’s Deepfake Proposal: Denmark is extending copyright protection to individuals’ facial features, appearance, and voice to prevent deepfake misuse.

What are Deepfakes: Synthetic media using AI to create realistic, fabricated videos, pictures, or audio of people saying or doing things they never did.

How Deepfakes Work: Utilize AI, specifically Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), where two neural networks (generator and discriminator) compete to produce increasingly realistic fake content.

Rising Deepfake Concerns: India saw a 400% rise in reported deepfake crimes (2022-24), and Europol predicts 90% of online content could be synthetic by 2026.

Potential Uses: Entertainment, virtual assistants, education, dubbing, and accessibility.

Key Threats:

• Misinformation/Fake News: Spreading false narratives, blurring truth and fiction.
• Privacy Violations: Superimposing faces onto explicit content without consent.
• Identity Theft: Impersonating individuals, harming reputations.
• Cybersecurity Risks: Facilitating phishing and social engineering.
• Reputation Damage: Manipulating content to harm individuals and businesses.
• National Security: Creating fake political statements to cause diplomatic issues.
• Erosion of Trust: Undermining public faith in media and information.
• Social Engineering/Scams: Manipulating individuals for financial gain.

Legal & Ethical Challenges: Difficulty in assigning responsibility and accountability for creation and dissemination.

Denmark’s Bill Highlights:

• Imitation Protection: Bars public sharing of realistic digital recreations.
• Performance Protection: Covers artistic acts not meeting typical copyright.
• Protection for Performing Artists: Targets digital mimicry.
• Protection for Ordinary Individuals: Extends protection for up to 50 years post-death.
• Consent-Based: Requires individual permission, with consent withdrawable.
• Platform Responsibility: Online platforms liable for takedown; penalties for failure.

India’s Current Legal Framework: Relies on privacy, defamation, and publicity rights (e.g., Bachchan, Kapoor cases).

• IT Act 2000: Sections 66E (privacy), 67 (obscenity).
• IPC Section 469: Forgery to harm reputation.
• Proposed Digital India Act 2025: Aims to define and regulate AI-generated content.

Way Forward: Legal definition and penalties for misuse, AI detection/watermarking tools, public education, and responsible AI development.

Conclusion: Deepfakes are a double-edged sword, requiring a robust legal, technological, and ethical framework in India to combat misuse.

High Grassland Bird Diversity Recorded: Kaziranga National Park recorded 43 grassland bird species in a recent survey. This is significant as wet grasslands are historically less surveyed in India.

Critically Endangered Species Found: The survey identified critically endangered species like the Bengal florican and endangered Finn’s weaver, highlighting Kaziranga’s importance for threatened avian populations.

Vulnerable Species Identified: Six bird species were found in the vulnerable category, including the black-breasted parrotbill and swamp francolin, underscoring the need for continued conservation.

Milestone for Conservation: The survey marks a crucial step in documenting and protecting grassland-dependent birds in the Brahmaputra floodplains, allowing for comparisons with dry grassland ecosystems.

Kaziranga’s Significance: Located in Assam, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is the largest undisturbed representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain and is famous for its one-horned rhinos, often focusing conservation on its “big four” species.

Why in News: India’s limited disaster insurance coverage makes it vulnerable to natural disasters. Catastrophe Bonds (Cat Bonds) offer a strategic solution to improve disaster risk financing and resilience amidst rising climate-induced disasters.

What are Cat Bonds:

• Insurance-linked securities that transfer natural disaster financial risk from governments/insurers to private investors.
• Combine insurance and bond features to raise quick post-disaster relief funds.
• Investors earn high returns for taking on risk but may lose principal if a disaster occurs.
• Primarily bought by institutional investors, increasingly attracting retail investors.

Working Mechanism/Key Features:

• High Returns: Compensate investors for principal risk.
• Diversification: Cat bond risks are uncorrelated with financial markets.
• Quick Capital Mobilization: Facilitate faster post-disaster payouts.
• Multi-Year Coverage: Provide long-term disaster protection.
• Fiscal Buffer: Reduce pressure on government finances.
• Investor Vigilance: Encourages disaster preparedness.

Significance for India:

• Addresses India’s high vulnerability to climate disasters.
• Can supplement the government’s annual disaster mitigation allocation.
• India can partner with institutions like the World Bank or ADB for issuance.
• India could lead a South Asian Cat Bond initiative for transboundary risks, spreading risk and reducing costs.

Disadvantages:

• Poorly designed bonds might not pay out despite significant damage.
• Cost-effectiveness needs comparison with historical reconstruction costs.

• Why in News: This action is significant as it involves the highest judicial leadership positions in the High Courts, directly impacting the administration of justice.

• Why in News: This highlights the constitutional process involved in judicial appointments, with the President acting on government advice.

• Why in News: The collegium system for judicial appointments is a frequently debated topic, and these decisions reflect its ongoing application.

• Why in News: This reinforces the constitutional framework within which these judicial personnel decisions are made.

• Why in News: This provides context on how the current system for judicial appointments has evolved and the reasoning behind it.

• Why: Deep-rooted societal notions, workplace safety concerns, pay inequity, and inadequate policies for life transitions (marriage, childbirth, caregiving) deter women from sustaining STEM careers.

• Why: Increased female participation directly correlates with economic growth and development.

• Why: Government policies aim to equip women with skills, increase access to technical education, and support entrepreneurship and safety.

• Why: Industry can bridge the gap by providing mentorship, flexible policies, skill upgradation, and ensuring workplace safety. Initiatives like UN Women’s WeSTEM Programme demonstrate this by linking training to placements and engaging communities.

• Why: These measures address practical challenges, provide career guidance, and create an inclusive environment for women to thrive in STEM fields, ultimately contributing to national development.

MGNREGS Attendance Manipulation: The Union government has informed states that the digital attendance system (NMMS) for MGNREGS workers is being manipulated. This is a significant issue because it undermines the integrity of the employment guarantee program.

NMMS Flaws Exposed: Despite a digital system requiring geo-tagged photos twice daily, various “misuses” have been discovered, indicating loopholes in the existing monitoring.

Introduction of Analog Monitoring: To address the manipulation, the Centre has introduced four new layers of analog monitoring to supplement the digital NMMS platform. This is a response to the failure of the purely digital system to prevent fraud.

Editing Muster Rolls Allowed: States are now permitted to edit muster rolls before making wage bills, a change from the previous system where only District Collectors could do this and take action on complaints. This could be a way to correct errors but also potentially a loophole for manipulation if not strictly overseen.

Multi-Level Verification Mandated: States are directed to ensure verification of worker attendance and photographs at Gram Panchayat (100% physical verification), block, district, and state levels, with decreasing physical verification percentages at higher levels. This aims to create a more robust audit trail and accountability mechanism.

MGNREGA’s Importance: MGNREGA is a crucial rural employment program guaranteeing 100 days of work, emphasizing women’s participation and minimum wages, and acting as a right to work. The manipulation of its attendance system directly impacts its effectiveness and the livelihoods of rural workers.

• Cause: An RNA virus from the Paramyxoviridae family, genus Henipavirus.
• Transmission: Zoonotic (animal to human), via contaminated food, and direct human-to-human contact.
• Hosts: Initially found in pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and sheep.
• Fatality: High case fatality rate, ranging from 40% to 75%.
• Symptoms: Fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, leading to coma and death.
• Diagnosis: RT-PCR on bodily fluids and antibody detection via ELISA.
• Prevention: No vaccines are currently available for humans or animals.

Expansion to Tier 2 & 3 Cities: STPI is shifting focus from metro hubs to smaller cities for inclusive IT growth, aiming to trigger entrepreneurship in software, products, and Business Process Management (BPM) nationwide.

• Why in News: This signifies a strategic move to decentralize IT development and spread economic opportunities across the country, fostering growth in emerging regions.

Driving Digital Transformation & Product Innovation: STPI is repositioning to lead the next wave of digital transformation, encouraging product innovation under the National Policy on Software Products (NPSP) 2019.

• Why in News: This highlights a proactive approach to evolve the IT sector beyond services towards building a strong software product ecosystem, crucial for future economic competitiveness.

Supporting Startups and MSMEs: STPI provides incubation facilities, infrastructure, training, mentoring, funding, and market connect to support startups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

• Why in News: This demonstrates STPI’s role as a key enabler for new ventures, fostering job creation and economic growth in nascent tech hubs.

Significant Contribution to Software Exports: STPI-registered units contributed $110 billion to India’s total software exports of over $200 billion in FY 2024-25.

• Why in News: This reaffirms STPI’s historical importance and continued impact on India’s foreign exchange earnings and global IT standing.

Focus on Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoEs): STPI has established 24 CoEs to cultivate a startup culture specifically in the product development domain.

• Why in News: This signifies a targeted effort to boost India’s capabilities in creating proprietary software products, a sector where India currently lags.

Sluggish IIP Growth: India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth hit a nine-month low of 1.2% in June 2025, indicating weak industrial activity and raising concerns about growth and employment.

Weak Demand is the Primary Driver: Despite government support like corporate tax cuts and interest rate reductions, corporate investment remains sluggish because of persistently weak consumer demand.

• Reason: Profits have increased post-tax reforms, but low demand disincentivizes companies from expanding capacity. Firms fear poor returns if they borrow and invest. Capacity underutilization also discourages new investment.

Lower Investment to GDP Ratio: The corporate investment to GDP ratio has declined significantly compared to previous growth periods, indicating reduced confidence in long-term growth prospects. This is insufficient to achieve India’s ambitious growth targets.

Limited Impact of Government Capex: While the government has increased infrastructure spending, its multiplier effect on private investment is limited due to long project timelines, high import content, and low job creation from machine-heavy projects, which curtails consumption boosts.

Delayed Loan Disbursements: The disbursement of loans, especially for large infrastructure projects, is slow. Credit growth to key infrastructure sectors has lagged, while personal loans show strong growth, highlighting a disconnect between household demand and industrial investment appetite.

Global Trade Headwinds: Protectionist global policies, particularly tariff regimes in major markets, have weakened export-led investment opportunities.

Government Measures: India has implemented schemes like Make in India, PLI, and GatiShakti, along with Ease of Doing Business reforms, to boost investment.

Policy Recommendations: To revive investment, policies should focus on boosting aggregate demand through social sector spending and rural employment, reforming factor markets, de-risking private investment, supporting green and digital transitions, and enhancing corporate confidence through stable inflation and fiscal transparency.

Assam Initiates DNA Profiling of 2,573 Rhino Horn Samples: The Assam Forest Department, with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has begun DNA profiling of these samples, collected from horns destroyed in 2021.

Purpose: Strengthen Conservation & Crime Investigations: The initiative aims to create individual DNA profiles for a national forensic database under the RhoDIS (Rhino DNA Index System) India programme. This will aid in tracking illegal rhino horn trade and understanding population genetics.

Samples from Public Burning: The samples are from rhino horns seized or from naturally deceased rhinos, retained during the public burning of a large number of horns on September 22, 2021. Tiny samples were kept from all but those involved in court cases.

RhoDIS India Program: Launched in 2016, RhoDIS India is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), rhino-range states, WII, and WWF-India. It standardizes DNA profiling for rhinos.

Significance for Assam & India’s Rhinos: Assam holds 80% of the global one-horned rhino population. The DNA profiling will support the genetic conservation planning and scientific management of this vulnerable species, whose population has significantly increased due to conservation efforts.

Technical Process: Samples were verified at Kaziranga National Park and sent to WII, Dehradun, for analysis following a protocol approved by the MoEFCC. The repackaging process was independently observed and recorded.

Abuse of Free Speech on Social Media: The Supreme Court observed that the right to free speech is being increasingly abused, particularly on social media platforms. This highlights a growing concern about the misuse of online platforms for harmful or divisive purposes.

Need for Self-Restraint and Regulation: The Court emphasized the necessity for self-restraint and potential regulation to address this abuse. This indicates the judiciary’s recognition that the unfettered exercise of free speech can have negative consequences, prompting a discussion on control mechanisms.

Reasonable Restrictions Apply: The Supreme Court reminded that the right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute and comes with reasonable restrictions as per Article 19(2) of the Constitution. This reinforces the legal framework that allows for limitations to protect public order, security, and other societal interests.

Curbing Divisive Content: The Court specifically pointed out the need to curb the use of free speech to instigate divisive tendencies on social media. This signals a judicial intent to tackle speech that undermines social harmony and national unity.

Court May Frame Guidelines: The Supreme Court is considering framing guidelines to regulate abusive and divisive social media posts. This suggests a proactive approach by the judiciary to establish clearer rules for online discourse.

Fraternity to Reduce Hatred: Justice Viswanathan remarked that greater fraternity among citizens is essential to reduce mutual hatred, underscoring the social and ethical dimensions of online interactions. This points to a belief that fostering positive relationships is crucial for a healthier public sphere.

Focus Beyond the Petition: The Court indicated its intention to delve deeper into the issue of social media abuse beyond the scope of the current petition, implying a broader concern for the impact of online speech on constitutional values like fraternity, secularism, and individual dignity.