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  • Long-billed Vulture 

    Why in the News?

    The Bombay Natural History Society, along with the Maharashtra Forest Department, successfully tagged 15 long billed vultures at Melghat Tiger Reserve to support conservation and tracking efforts.

    About Long-Billed Vulture

    • An Old World vulture native to the Asian region
    • Also called Indian long billed vulture due to its elongated beak
    • Medium sized, bulky scavenger feeding mainly on animal carcasses
    • Females are smaller than males

    Habitat and Distribution

    • Found in savannas and open landscapes
    • Common near villages, towns, and cultivated areas
    • Native to India, Pakistan, and Nepal

    Conservation Status

    • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
    • Population decline mainly linked to diclofenac poisoning, habitat loss, and food scarcity
    Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to: (2016)

    (a) the destruction of their nesting sites by new invasive species 

    (b) a drug used by cattle owners for treating their diseased cattle 

    (c) scarcity of food available to them 

    (d) a widespread, persistent and fatal disease among them

  • Samudra Pratap

     Why in the News?

    The Indian Coast Guard inducted Samudra Pratap, the first indigenously built Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), under the 02 PCV project of Goa Shipyard Limited.

    About Samudra Pratap

    • First indigenously designed and built Pollution Control Vessel of the Indian Coast Guard
      • Largest ship in the ICG fleet
      • Built to enhance marine pollution response, firefighting, and high-precision operations

    Advanced Onboard Systems

    • Integrated Bridge System (IBS)
      • Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS)
      • Automated Power Management System (APMS)
      • High capacity external firefighting system

    Prelims Pointers

    • Samudra Pratap is a Pollution Control Vessel, not an offshore patrol vessel
       • Built by Goa Shipyard Limited
       • First ICG ship with Dynamic Positioning DP 1
       • Focused on pollution response and firefighting, not combat dominance
    Which one of the following is the best description of ‘INS Astradharini’, that was in the news recently? (2016)

    (a) Amphibious warfare ship 

    (b) Nuclear-powered submarine 

    (c) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel 

    (d) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

  • Thanjavur Painting 

     Why in the News?

    The Department of Posts successfully transported a priceless Thanjavur painting of Shri Ram from Bengaluru to Ayodhya using its Logistics Post service.

    About Thanjavur Painting

    • A classical South Indian painting tradition that originated in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, around 1600 AD
      • Also known as Tanjore paintings
      • Traditionally painted on wooden panels called palagai padam
      • Flourished under the Nayakas of Thanjavur
      • Awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag

    Materials and Technique

    • Base prepared using canvas pasted on wooden planks
      • Wooden boards commonly made from jackfruit or teak wood
      • Binding medium includes Arabic gum

    Prelims Pointers

    • Thanjavur paintings are panel paintings, not mural paintings
      • Gold foil and embossed gesso work are defining features
      • Originated in early modern South India, not ancient period
      • GI tag helps protect traditional knowledge and artisans
    Kalamkari painting refers to: (2015)

    (a) a hand-painted cotton textile in South India 

    (b) a handmade drawing on bamboo handicrafts in North-East India 

    (c) a block-painted woollen cloth in Western Himalayan region of India 

    (d) a hand-painted decorative silk cloth in North-Western India

  • K 4 Missile  

    Why in the News?

    India successfully tested the K 4 submarine launched ballistic missile from INS Arighaat in the Bay of Bengal, strengthening its sea based nuclear deterrence.

    About K 4 Missile

    • Also known as Kalam 4 (K 4)
      • Nuclear capable intermediate range submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM)
      • Designed mainly for deployment on Arihant class submarine
      • Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation
    • Each Arihant class submarine can carry four K 4 missiles

    Key Features

    • Length about 12 metres
      • Weight around 17 tonnes
      • Two stage solid fuel propulsion system
      • Maximum range around 3,500 km
      • Payload capacity up to 2 tonnes, including nuclear warhead

    Prelims Pointers

    • K 4 is an SLBM, not a cruise missile
       • Operates from nuclear powered submarines
       • Uses NavIC for navigation support
       • Part of India’s indigenous strategic weapons programme
    Consider the following statements: (2023)

    1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their flights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight. 

    2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile. 

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

    (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

  • Haka Dance

    Why in the News?

    A Sikh Nagar Kirtan or religious procession in South Auckland, New Zealand, was recently protested through the performance of a traditional haka dance.

    About Haka Dance

    • Haka is a traditional ceremonial dance of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.
    • It is characterised by vigorous movements, rhythmic stamping, hand gestures, and chanting.
    • A key feature is pūkana, which refers to intense facial expressions including widened eyes and protruding tongue.
    • Haka is not a single dance. It varies by tribe (iwi) and region, with each haka often narrating stories of ancestry, warfare, achievements, or important historical events.

    Global Recognition

    • Gained worldwide fame after being adopted as a pre match ritual by New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, in the early 20th century.
    • In November 2024, haka drew global attention when two lawmakers performed it inside the New Zealand Parliament to protest against a proposed bill.

    Prelims Pointers

    • Haka is not always a war dance. It also conveys respect, mourning, and celebration.
      • It is a key expression of intangible cultural heritage of the Māori people.
      • Facial expressions and vocalisation are as important as physical movements.
    With reference to the famous Sattriya dance, consider the following statements: (2024)

    1. Sattriya is a combination of music, dance and drama. 

    2. It is a centuries-old living tradition of Vaishnavites of Assam. 

    3. It is based on classical Ragas and Talas of devotional songs composed by Tulsidas, Kabir and Mirabai. 

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

    (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 only

  • [24th December 2025] The Hindu OpED: The VB-G RAM G Act 2025 fixes structural gaps

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2023] Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements.

    Linkage: The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 directly addresses structural unemployment and episodic employment by strengthening the statutory employment guarantee. The Act’s emphasis on advance planning, enhanced person-days, and timely payments responds to long-standing concerns over the mitigation of rural unemployment.

    Mentor’s Comment

    The enactment of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 marks a decisive recalibration of India’s rural employment guarantee framework. Amid debates on fiscal withdrawal, centralisation, and dilution of rights, this article examines how the Act addresses long-standing structural and implementation gaps in MGNREGA while preserving its legal core.

    Introduction

    The President’s assent to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 enhances the statutory rural employment guarantee from 100 to 125 days. Contrary to claims of dilution, the Act seeks to correct fragmentation, weak enforceability, episodic employment, and accountability deficits that emerged during earlier phases of implementation.

    Reframing Welfare and Development as Complementary

    1. Conceptual Continuum: Treats income support, asset creation, agricultural stability, and long-term rural productivity as interlinked outcomes rather than competing objectives.
    2. Statutory Anchoring: Retains the justiciable right to employment while strengthening enforceability through procedural reforms.
    3. Design Philosophy: Embeds welfare delivery within durable infrastructure creation and productivity enhancement.

    Expansion and Strengthening of Legal Entitlements

    1. Enhanced Employment Guarantee: Expands guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, reversing stagnation in entitlements.
    2. Removal of Dilutionary Provisions: Eliminates procedural disincentives that earlier nullified unemployment allowance in practice.
    3. Grievance Redressal: Reinforces time-bound grievance mechanisms to address delayed payments and denial of work.

    Institutionalisation of Demand-Based Employment

    1. Worker-Centric Demand: Preserves demand-based employment generation, ensuring work availability when demanded rather than post-distress.
    2. Advance Planning: Anchors employment planning at the village level, preventing administrative denial of work.
    3. Operational Efficiency: Transforms planning into a facilitative tool rather than a demand-suppressing mechanism.

    Correcting Fragmentation through Coordinated Decentralisation

    1. Gram Panchayat Primacy: Retains gram panchayats as primary planning and implementing authorities with approval powers over local plans.
    2. Vertical Integration: Aggregates village plans at block, district, and state levels to enable inter-sectoral convergence.
    3. Decision Authority: Centralises coherence without centralising execution, correcting fragmentation while preserving decentralisation.

    Fiscal Architecture and Equity-Based Allocation

    1. Budgetary Expansion: Increases allocations from ₹33,000 crore (2013-14) to ₹86,000 crore (2024-25).
    2. Enhanced Central Contribution: Raises the Centre’s share from ₹86,000 crore to nearly ₹95,000 crore, countering claims of withdrawal.
    3. Funding Model: 60:40 Centre-State structure for general states; accords 90:10 for northeastern, Himalayan states and Jammu & Kashmir.
    4. Normative Allocation: Ensures equity through rule-based state-wise allocations determined by objective parameters.

    Improved Delivery Outcomes and Financial Inclusion

    1. Person-Days Generated: Increases from 1,660 crore (pre-2014) to 3,210 crore, stabilising thereafter.
    2. Completed Works: Expands completed assets from 153 lakh to 862 lakh, addressing episodic employment
    3. Women’s Participation: Rises from 48% to 56.73%, strengthening gender inclusion.
    4. Payment Efficiency: Achieves 99% on-time fund transfers; links nearly all active workers to Aadhaar Payment Bridge.

    Addressing Structural Weaknesses of the Earlier Framework

    1. Episodic Employment: Reduces migration-driven spikes and post-crisis employment volatility.
    2. Weak Enforceability: Strengthens legal backing of unemployment allowance.
    3. Leakages: Addresses duplication, ghost entries, and fake job cards through digital governance systems.
    4. Crisis Resilience: Incorporates flexibility to respond to disruptions such as COVID-19.

    Contextual Flexibility within Cooperative Federalism

    1. Advance Notification: Empowers states to notify employment periods aggregating up to 60 days aligned with agricultural lean seasons.
    2. Local Customisation: Allows differentiated notification at district, block, or gram panchayat level based on agro-climatic conditions.
    3. Disaster Response: Permits temporary expansion of permissible works and employment during natural disasters.

    Lessons from the previous Governance and Fiscal Failures

    1. Wage Stagnation: Caps wages at ₹100 per day from 2009 despite inflation, undermining real income security.
    2. Allocation Cuts: Reduces allocations from ₹40,000 crore (2010-11) to ₹33,000 crore (2012-13) amid rising demand.
    3. Employment Decline: Falls from 7.55 crore workers (2010-11) to 6.93 crore (2013).
    4. CAG Findings (2013): Highlights 4.33 lakh fake job cards, unpaid wages, delayed payments, and misuse of funds across states.

    Conclusion

    The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 represents a calibrated structural renewal of India’s rural employment guarantee framework rather than a retreat from welfare commitments. By expanding legal entitlements, correcting fiscal and governance distortions, institutionalising decentralised planning, and improving delivery outcomes, the Act addresses the core weaknesses revealed through years of implementation experience. In doing so, it reinforces the employment guarantee as a legally enforceable instrument of inclusive growth, rural stability, and cooperative federalism, aligned with both constitutional intent and evolving development priorities.

  • The upskilling gap: why women risk being left behind by AI

    Introduction

    As India moves toward an AI-intensive economic model, access to time for learning and self-development has become a decisive factor in labour market outcomes. Time Use Survey (2019) data reveals that working women in India spend 10 hours less per week on self-development than men, primarily due to disproportionate unpaid care responsibilities. This time deficit risks excluding women from AI-enabled productivity gains, reinforcing occupational segregation and low-wage employment.

    Why in the News?

    The article highlights a first-order structural risk: while AI adoption accelerates, women’s ability to upskill is constrained by time poverty rather than lack of intent or capability. This marks a departure from earlier debates that focused on access to education or labour participation. The scale of the issue is substantial, women work longer total hours per day than men (9.6 vs 8.6 hours) when paid and unpaid work are combined. Yet, women lose out on rest, leisure, and learning time. This creates a persistent disadvantage in an economy increasingly driven by algorithmic efficiency and skill intensity.

    What does India’s Time Use Data reveal about gendered work patterns?

    1. Combined Workload: Working women spend 9.6 hours/day on paid and unpaid work compared to 8.6 hours/day for men.
    2. Unpaid Care Work: Women undertake nearly double the unpaid work of men, especially in childcare, eldercare, cooking, and cleaning.
    3. Age-Specific Burden: The gender gap peaks in the 30-39 age group, coinciding with prime career years and child-rearing responsibilities.

    Why does unpaid work translate into an upskilling disadvantage?

    1. Time Deficit: Women spend 10 fewer hours per week on self-development activities than men.
    2. Opportunity Cost: Reduced time for skill acquisition limits transition to high-value, AI-complementary roles.
    3. Cumulative Effect: Persistent time poverty compounds across years, reinforcing occupational stagnation.

    How does AI intensify existing labour market inequalities for women?

    1. Algorithmic Bias: AI performance metrics penalise career breaks and irregular work histories.
    2. Occupational Traps: Women are overrepresented in low-paid, automation-prone jobs and unpaid family work.
    3. Invisible Labour: Care work remains uncaptured by productivity metrics, excluding women from AI-led recognition systems.

    Why are women more vulnerable to exclusion from AI-led productivity gains?

    1. Skill Transition Barriers: AI rewards continuous learning, which women lack time to pursue.
    2. Sectoral Segregation: Women’s concentration in informal and care-intensive sectors limits AI exposure.
    3. Labour Force Exit: Over 40% of women outside the labour force cite household responsibilities as the primary reason.

    Why is this a macroeconomic and governance challenge, not just a gender issue?

    1. Productivity Loss: Underutilisation of women’s human capital reduces aggregate growth.
    2. Demographic Dividend Risk: Exclusion of women weakens India’s long-term workforce potential.
    3. Inclusive Growth Failure: AI-led growth without gender equity risks widening income and skill inequalities.

    Policy Implications 

    1. Workplace Redesign
      1. Time Recognition: Integrates unpaid care work into productivity assessments.
      2. Flexibility: Supports hybrid work models aligned with care responsibilities.
    2. Infrastructure Support
      1. Care Services: Expands childcare, eldercare, and safe public transport.
      2. Utilities Access: Reduces time spent on water, fuel, and energy collection.
    3. Skill Policy Reorientation
      1. Time-Saving Learning Models: Encourages modular, flexible, and remote upskilling formats.
      2. Targeted AI Skilling: Prioritises women-centric AI and digital training initiatives.
    4. Budgetary Prioritisation
      1. Gender Budgeting: Aligns public expenditure with time-saving social infrastructure.
      2. Outcome Metrics: Tracks women’s skill mobility and wage progression.

    Conclusion:

    An AI-driven growth strategy that overlooks women’s time poverty and unpaid care work risks deepening structural inequalities and weakening India’s human capital base. Integrating care responsibilities into economic planning, skill policy, and public expenditure is essential to ensure that technological progress translates into inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2023] Distinguish between ‘care economy’ and ‘monetized economy’. How can care economy be brought into monetized economy through women empowerment?

    Linkage: The question addresses structural issues of inclusive growth, gender inequality, and human capital formation, which are recurring themes in GS-III (Economy) and GS-I (Society).

  • How exports are concentrated in few states

    Introduction

    India’s export-led growth strategy historically rested on the assumption that expanding external demand would absorb surplus labour and facilitate broad-based industrialisation. However, disaggregated State-level data reveals a core-periphery structure in India’s export geography. Export growth is now driven by pre-existing industrial hubs, while large hinterland regions remain marginal to global value chains. This shift reflects deeper structural constraints related to capital intensity, industrial complexity, and financial asymmetries.

    Why in the News?

    Recent analysis based on the RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States (2023-24) highlights that India’s export growth is increasingly concentrated in a shrinking cluster of States, even as aggregate export numbers remain strong. The top five exporting States, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, now account for around 70% of India’s total exports, up from about 65% half a decade ago.

    Export Geography and the Emerging Core-Periphery Pattern

    Spatial Concentration of Export Activity

    1. Export concentration: Top five States command ~70% of national exports.
    2. Rising market concentration: Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) indicates increasing spatial concentration of exports.
    3. Deceptive aggregation: National export growth masks declining participation of non-core States.

    Regional Divergence

    1. Coastal advantage: Western and southern coastal States integrate more easily into global supply chains.
    2. Hinterland exclusion: Northern and eastern States with large labour pools remain weakly connected to export networks.
    3. Sticky geography: Export growth reinforces existing industrial locations rather than spreading spatially.

    From Labour Absorption to Capital Deepening

    Shift in Factor Intensity

    1. Capital deepening: Rising capital-to-labour ratios across export sectors.
    2. Weak employment response: Employment elasticity of export growth has declined sharply.
    3. Manufacturing stagnation: Manufacturing employment share remains around 11.6-12%, despite export expansion.

    Structural Evidence

    1. Wage compression: Net Value Added (NVA) data shows productivity gains accrue disproportionately to capital.
    2. Limited job creation: New export jobs emerge mainly in capital-intensive hubs rather than labour-surplus regions.

    Changing Nature of India’s Exports

    Transition from Volume to Value

    1. Global slowdown: WTO data indicates deceleration in merchandise trade growth.
    2. India’s ranking: India among top 10 global exporters, accounting for ~5% of global trade.
    3. Higher complexity: Export baskets increasingly shift towards complex, technology-intensive goods.

    Implications for Labour

    1. Barrier to entry: Complex value chains require skilled labour, logistics depth, and supplier ecosystems.
    2. Limited diffusion: Such ecosystems rarely emerge organically in lagging regions.
    3. Bypassing labour-intensive phase: India risks skipping the East Asian pathway of mass industrial employment.

    Capital over Worker: Evidence from Employment Data

    PLFS-Based Insights

    1. Household-led employment: Export boom does not translate into factory-floor job growth.
    2. Factory output without labour expansion: Capital-intensive plants dominate export hubs.
    3. Regional imbalance: Hinterland labour remains disconnected from export-driven growth.

    Urban Concentration

    1. Electronics exports: ~47% year-on-year growth remains concentrated in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Noida.
    2. Supply-chain rigidity: High technological complexity prevents geographic diffusion.

    Financial Architecture and Regional Inequality

    Credit-Deposit Ratio Divergence

    1. Export hubs: Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh record CD ratios above 90%.
    2. Hinterland States: Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh show CD ratios below 50%.
    3. Capital recycling: Savings from labour-surplus regions finance industrial growth elsewhere.

    Institutional Weakness

    1. Financial thinness: Hinterland lacks credit absorption capacity.
    2. State capacity gap: Weak industrial policy execution limits integration into global value chains.

    Rethinking Export-Led Growth as a Development Strategy

    Limits of Export Optimism

    1. Exports as outcome, not lever: Export success reflects prior industrial capacity.
    2. Employment decoupling: Export growth no longer guarantees labour absorption.
    3. Misleading metric: Export growth alone insufficient as a proxy for inclusive prosperity.

    Policy Implication

    1. Industrial policy recalibration: Labour-intensive manufacturing requires deliberate state intervention.
    2. Metric correction: Development assessment must incorporate employment and regional equity indicators.

    Conclusion

    India’s export performance reflects a narrow, capital-intensive growth model concentrated in a few industrial hubs, limiting its capacity to generate employment and reduce regional disparities. Without recalibrating industrial and trade policies towards labour-intensive manufacturing and wider spatial diffusion, export-led growth risks reinforcing jobless growth rather than serving as an engine of inclusive development.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2017] Account for the failure of the manufacturing sector in achieving the goal of labor-intensive exports. Suggest measures for more labor-intensive rather than capital-intensive exports.

    Linkage: It is relevant to GS-III as the article shows India’s export growth has become capital-intensive with weak employment generation. Rising capital-labour ratios and export concentration explain the failure of labour-intensive exports and the need for policy correction.

  • Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI)

    Why in the News?

    The International Monetary Fund has approved USD 206 million in emergency assistance for Sri Lanka under the Rapid Financing Instrument to meet urgent needs caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

    What is Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI)

    • An IMF facility providing quick financial assistance
       • Available to any IMF member country
       • Designed for urgent balance of payments needs
       • Part of the General Resources Account (GRA)
       • Used mainly during crises and emergencies

    Types of Rapid Financing Instrument

    1. Regular Window
       • For urgent balance of payments needs due to:
       • Domestic instability
       • Exogenous shocks
       • Fragility
       • Access limits:
       • Up to 50 percent of quota per year
       • 100 percent of quota cumulative
    2. Large Natural Disaster Window
       • For balance of payments needs arising from natural disasters
       • Damage must be 20 percent or more of GDP
       • Higher access limits:
       • Up to 80 percent of quota per year
       • 133.33 percent of quota cumulative

    Example: If a country’s IMF quota = USD 1 billion. Maximum borrowing in one year = USD 500 million

    Prelims Pointers

    • RFI is different from Extended Fund Facility and Stand By Arrangement
      • It does not require long term structural reforms
      • Access limits depend on the nature of the crisis
      • Linked to IMF quota system
    “Rapid Financing Instrument” and “Rapid Credit Facility” are related to the provisions of lending by which one of the following? (2022)

    (a) Asian Development Bank 

    (b) International Monetary Fund 

    (c) United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative 

    (d) World Bank

  • Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

    Why in the News?

    The Supreme Court of India declined an urgent hearing of a plea challenging the practice of state sponsored ceremonial honours or offering a Chadar by the Prime Minister at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

    Who was Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti?

    • One of the most revered Sufi saints of India
     • Popularly known as Gharīb Nawāz meaning Benefactor of the Poor
     • Born in 1141 CE in Sistan (Persia)
     • Studied Islamic theology in Samarkand and Bukhara
     • Follower of Sunni Hanafi school
     • Disciple of Khwaja Usman Harooni

    Arrival and Life in India

    • Came to India around 1192 AD
     • Settled in Ajmer
     • Contemporary of Prithviraj Chauhan and Iltutmish
     • Established a Khanqah to serve the poor and needy

    Contribution to Indian History

    • Introduced the Chishti Order of Sufism in India
     • Preached: Love and compassion, Religious tolerance, Charity and service and Detachment from materialism.

    Death and Dargah

    • Died in 1236 CE
     • Buried in Ajmer
     • His tomb is known as Ajmer Sharif Dargah
     • One of the most important pilgrimage centres in India

    With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices? (2012)

    1. Meditation and control of breath 

    2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place 

    3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience 

    Select the correct answer using the code given below: 

    (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

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