Context

• India is facing a double burden of malnutrition, where persistent undernutrition coexists with rising obesity and lifestyle diseases.
• Increasing cases of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases among young people indicate that these conditions originate much earlier than adulthood.
• Adolescence is a crucial stage for developing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits, making schools the ideal institutions for preventive action.
• By promoting nutrition literacy, healthy eating, and physical activity, schools can play a transformative role in improving public health.

Double Burden of Malnutrition

• Malnutrition is no longer limited to hunger or thinness. India now experiences both stunting and excessive weight gain simultaneously.
• A significant concern is the thin-fat phenotype, where children appear lean but possess high metabolic risk, making them vulnerable to adult-onset diabetes and heart disease.
• This demonstrates that body appearance alone is not an accurate indicator of nutritional health.
• Addressing both forms of malnutrition requires comprehensive interventions that focus on balanced nutrition rather than calorie intake alone.

Promoting Balanced Nutrition in Schools

• Many adolescents consume diets dominated by cereals while lacking sufficient proteins, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
• Such dietary patterns contribute to poor growth, micronutrient deficiencies, and long-term metabolic disorders.
• Schools should strengthen midday meals, introduce healthier canteens, establish school gardens, and encourage the use of seasonal local produce.
• Nutrition education should emphasize balanced meal planning, ensuring that half of every plate consists of fruits and vegetables while providing adequate protein and essential nutrients.

Addressing Sugar, HFSS Foods, and Ultra-Processed Foods

• The growing popularity of High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) foods and Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) has significantly worsened adolescent nutrition.
• Frequent consumption of sugary drinks and processed snacks increases the risk of obesity and chronic diseases.
• Schools should discourage unhealthy food choices by creating UPF-free school zones, displaying information on hidden sugar content, and promoting healthier alternatives.
• Continuous awareness programmes are more effective than one-time campaigns in shaping lasting behavioural change.

Promoting Physical Activity

• Poor nutrition is closely linked with physical inactivity and increasing screen time.
• Reduced participation in sports has contributed to rising obesity across both urban and rural areas.
• Schools should make regular exercise, sports, and outdoor activities compulsory rather than optional.
• Daily physical activity improves physical fitness, reduces the risk of non-communicable diseases, and supports better mental and emotional well-being.
• Healthy diets and active lifestyles must complement each other to produce lasting health benefits.

Policy Support and Public Health Initiatives

• Strong institutional support is essential for sustainable change.
• The Let's Fix Our Food (LFOF) initiative led by ICMR-NIN promotes healthier food environments through evidence-based policies, nutrition education, food-label reading, regulation of unhealthy food advertising, and taxation of sugary beverages.
• Such initiatives empower students to make informed dietary choices while encouraging schools to adopt comprehensive nutrition programmes that extend beyond classroom instruction.

Conclusion

• The growing burden of adolescent malnutrition threatens India's future health and economic productivity.
• Preventing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases requires interventions long before adulthood.
• Schools should evolve into public health-promoting institutions by integrating balanced nutrition, food literacy, healthy food environments, and compulsory physical activity into everyday education.
• Investing in healthier children today will reduce future healthcare costs, improve quality of life, and build a healthier, more productive nation.

Context

• The United Kingdom–India Free Trade Agreement (CETA) marks a significant milestone in bilateral economic relations.
• It aims to strengthen trade, investment, and economic cooperation by expanding market access and reducing trade barriers.
• Designed as a comprehensive and modern trade agreement, it promotes long-term growth, employment, and innovation while balancing economic openness with domestic interests.
• Its provisions extend beyond tariff reduction to include sustainability, digital trade, labour, and governance, making it a model for future trade agreements.

Economic Significance of the Agreement

• The agreement is expected to deliver substantial economic gains by increasing bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually and boosting the GDP of both countries.
• India’s position as the fastest-growing G-20 economy and the United Kingdom’s strength as a global investment destination create strong opportunities for mutually beneficial economic integration.
• Enhanced market access enables businesses to expand internationally, generate employment, and improve productivity, reinforcing the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Key Features of India-UK Free Trade Agreement

• Expansion of Trade and Market Access
  • A defining feature of the agreement is extensive tariff reduction. Nearly 99% of UK tariff lines become duty-free for Indian exports, while India removes or reduces tariffs on 90% of its tariff lines for UK products.
  • Indian sectors such as textiles, leather, jewellery, IT, and finance gain improved export opportunities.
  • Similarly, UK industries including aerospace, automobiles, medical devices, and whisky benefit from lower trade costs and increased competitiveness.
  • The agreement reflects the growing importance of both manufacturing and services in international trade.
• Benefits Beyond Major Cities
  • The agreement promotes inclusive development by ensuring that benefits reach businesses beyond major metropolitan centres.
  • Manufacturers, SMEs, innovators, and exporters located in regional industrial hubs can access larger markets with fewer barriers.
  • Simplified customs procedures, reduced administrative costs, and improved logistics enhance the competitiveness of businesses regardless of location.
  • This broader distribution of benefits supports balanced regional development and strengthens local economies in both countries.
• Modern Features of the Agreement
  • The agreement recognizes that modern trade extends beyond tariffs.
  • It includes provisions on digital trade, customs cooperation, services, anti-corruption, gender equality, labour standards, environmental protection, and sustainable development.
  • These measures encourage transparency, predictability, and responsible business practices while promoting social and economic progress.
  • The integration of economic and governance objectives reflects the evolving nature of global trade agreements and strengthens long-term commercial partnerships.
• Protection of Domestic Interests
  • Trade liberalisation is balanced with safeguards for sensitive domestic industries.
  • India continues to protect sectors such as dairy products and edible oils, while the United Kingdom retains protections for sugar, rice, poultry, and eggs.
  • These measures preserve domestic production, support farmers and local industries, and demonstrate that increased trade can coexist with national economic priorities.
  • Such protections enhance political acceptance and ensure a balanced approach to market liberalisation.
• Persuasive Style and Use of Evidence
  • The agreement is presented as a historic, transformational, and win-win partnership supported by economic projections, sector-specific benefits, and practical examples.
  • Quantitative estimates strengthen its credibility by illustrating expected increases in trade, investment, and employment.
  • The optimistic outlook emphasizes future opportunities and positions the agreement as a benchmark for high-quality international trade cooperation.

Critical Evaluation of India-UK FTA

• Despite its significant potential, successful implementation remains essential.
• Increased competition may challenge some domestic industries, while the benefits will depend on effective policy execution, regulatory coordination, and business preparedness.
• External economic conditions and compliance with labour and environmental commitments will also influence long-term outcomes.
• Continuous monitoring and institutional cooperation are necessary to ensure that the gains are broadly shared and sustainable.

Conclusion

• The United Kingdom–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement represents a landmark step toward deeper economic integration.
• Through expanded market access, reduced tariffs, modern regulatory provisions, and domestic safeguards, it seeks to promote prosperity, competitiveness, and sustainable development.
• If implemented effectively, the agreement can strengthen bilateral relations, create new economic opportunities, and serve as a gold standard for future trade agreements by combining economic growth with fairness, innovation, and long-term resilience.

Why in the News?

• The deaths of three Indian seafarers in recent attacks on merchant tankers have raised serious legal questions about whether neutral ships can be lawfully targeted during armed conflict.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Neutral Ships (Internal Law, Legal Frameworks, Merchant Ships, Loss of Protection, Naval Blockades, India’s Legal Options)

Neutral Ships and International Law

• In an international armed conflict, neutral merchant vessels are generally protected from attack. This protection comes from a combination of:

• International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or the law of armed conflict,
• The law of naval warfare, and
• The law of the sea, especially the principles reflected in UNCLOS.

• Together, these legal frameworks regulate how hostilities at sea are conducted, what may be targeted, and how neutral shipping must be treated.

Two Main Legal Frameworks

• The first is the law of naval warfare, which governs military conduct at sea. It regulates:

• Attack on vessels,
• Visit and search,
• Capture and destruction after capture,
• Naval blockades,
• Rights and duties of belligerents and neutral states.

• The second is the law of the sea, mainly reflected in the UNCLOS. It defines:

• Territorial sea,
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
• High seas,
• International straits,
• Transit passage rights.

• Even where some states are not parties to UNCLOS, many of its rules are treated as customary international law.

Protection of Neutral Merchant Ships

• Under IHL, civilians and civilian objects are generally protected from attack. This includes merchant ships, oil tankers, container ships, pipelines, submarine cables, ships carrying food, fertiliser, or commercial cargo.
• Neutral merchant vessels also benefit from the law of maritime neutrality, which protects neutral commerce from unnecessary interference while requiring neutral states not to directly aid a belligerent’s war effort.
• In areas like the Strait of Hormuz, neutral vessels remain entitled to transit passage, even during conflict.

When Neutral Ships Can Lose Protection?

• This protection is not absolute. Neutral merchant vessels may lose protection in limited circumstances.
• The most widely cited guide here is the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994). It allows action against neutral merchant vessels if they are reasonably believed to be:

• Carrying contraband,
• Breaching a lawful blockade,
• Refusing to stop after a warning,
• Resisting visit, search, or capture,
• Or otherwise making an effective contribution to enemy military action.

• The basic rule is that attacks may be directed only against military objectives. A vessel becomes a military objective when its destruction, capture, or neutralisation offers a definite military advantage and it effectively contributes to military action.
• So, neutral ships do not lose protection merely because they are commercially active. There must be a much stronger legal basis.

Can Oil Tankers Be Attacked?

• Oil may qualify as contraband in certain cases, especially if it is clearly destined for enemy-controlled territory or directly supports a military effort.
• But that does not automatically make every oil tanker a lawful military target.
• The more difficult question is whether a tanker itself qualifies as a military objective.
• Under the traditional view, commercial exports do not become lawful targets merely because they generate revenue for a belligerent state.
• There must be a direct and effective contribution to military action.
• However, some states, especially the U.S., have promoted a broader “war-sustaining” theory, under which objects that generate revenue sustaining an enemy’s war effort may also become targetable. This approach remains controversial in international law.

What About Naval Blockades?

• A blockade is recognised under the law of naval warfare as a belligerent tool, but only if it is:

• Publicly declared,
• Effective,
• Applied impartially to all vessels,
• And enforced according to international law.

• Neutral ships can be stopped or even attacked if they are knowingly breaching a lawful blockade, but this raises an additional legal issue: whether the blockade itself is lawful under the UN Charter.
• That is where jus ad bellum and jus in bello must be distinguished:

• Jus ad bellum concerns the legality of using force in the first place.
• Jus in bello concerns the legality of conduct during war.
• A blockade may satisfy technical rules of naval warfare, but still be unlawful if the broader use of force lacks justification under the UN Charter. Unless there is:

• UN Security Council authorisation, or
• A valid claim of self-defence under Article 51,
• The use of force may itself be unlawful.

• This matters because belligerent rights like blockade enforcement cannot automatically override the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force.

India’s Legal Options

• The deaths of Indian seafarers raise not just a diplomatic issue, but a legal one.
• Under the doctrine of diplomatic protection, a state can take up claims on behalf of its nationals if they are injured by an internationally wrongful act. India, therefore, has the legal standing to:

• Seek explanations,
• Demand accountability,
• Call for an independent investigation,
• Seek compensation,
• And raise the issue in relevant international forums.

• Important legal questions remain:

• What intelligence supported the attack?
• Were the vessels warned adequately?
• Could less intrusive measures, such as boarding, diversion, or capture, have been used?
• Were civilians given a fair chance to protect themselves?

• These questions go directly to the principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and precaution under IHL.

Why in News?

• During the Indian PM’s State Visit to Seychelles (27–29 June 2026), India and Seychelles elevated their strategic partnership by signing multiple agreements.
• The visit also marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and reinforced India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India’s Vision for the Indian Ocean
• Major Outcomes of the Visit
• Maritime Security - Central Pillar of Bilateral Relations
• MAHASAGAR Vision
• Other Highlights
• India–Seychelles Relations
• Conclusion

India’s Vision for the Indian Ocean:

• The Indian PM reiterated India's vision of transforming the Indian Ocean into an "Ocean of Opportunity", founded on:
  • Maritime security and regional stability
  • Sustainable economic prosperity
  • Partnership based on mutual respect and trust rather than size or power
  • Shared responsibility for security, sustainability and development
• India emphasized that the Indian Ocean is a shared strategic space, requiring collaborative action against both traditional and non-traditional security threats. 

Major Outcomes of the Visit:

• Expansion of strategic partnership:
  • The leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across several sectors:
    • Health and healthcare
    • Education and skill development
    • Capacity building
    • Digital transformation
    • Renewable energy
    • Sustainable development
    • Social infrastructure
    • Maritime security and defence
  • Both countries also reviewed progress under India's Special Economic Package for Seychelles.
• Key agreements (MoUs) signed:
  • Several agreements were concluded in the fields of:
    • Unified Payments Interface (UPI) implementation
    • Healthcare
    • Agriculture
    • Banking and Exim Bank cooperation
    • Shipping
    • Space exploration
    • Capacity building
    • Extradition
    • Line of Credit (LoC)
  • These agreements aim to modernise Seychelles' economy while enhancing India's developmental partnership in the region.
• Development assistance:
  • India announced a Special Economic Package worth USD 175 million, comprising USD 125 million (₹1,250 crore) rupee-denominated Line of Credit, and USD 50 million Grant Assistance.
  • The package will support infrastructure development, food security, healthcare, vocational training, maritime security, and defence cooperation.
  • India reaffirmed that its development partnership remains demand-driven and aligned with Seychelles' national priorities.

Maritime Security - Central Pillar of Bilateral Relations:

• Both countries reaffirmed maritime cooperation as the cornerstone of their partnership.
• Areas of cooperation include: Countering piracy, combating illegal fishing, tackling drug trafficking, addressing cross-border maritime crime, maritime surveillance, hydrography, and defence capacity building.
• India further strengthened Seychelles' maritime capabilities through the refit of PS Zoroaster, and gifting of the Fast Attack Vessel PS Lespwar to the Seychelles Coast Guard.
• These initiatives enhance maritime domain awareness and regional security in the Western Indian Ocean. 

MAHASAGAR Vision:

• Seychelles reaffirmed its special place in India's MAHASAGAR vision.
• The initiative seeks to promote collective maritime security, blue economy, disaster resilience, sustainable development, regional connectivity, and inclusive economic growth.
• It represents an evolution of India's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine towards broader regional cooperation.

Other Highlights:

• Parliamentary and diplomatic milestones:
  • PM Modi became the first Indian PM to address the National Assembly of Seychelles.
  • In his address, he highlighted shared democratic values, rule of law, people-centric governance, and the need for stronger parliamentary exchanges.
• Regional and global significance:
  • The leaders exchanged views on major challenges facing the IOR, including piracy; illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime crime, and regional stability.
  • The visit reinforced India's role as a preferred security and development partner for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Indian Ocean.
• Other developments:
  • He received Seychelles' highest honour for environmental leadership—"Guardian of the Blue Horizon"—recognising India's contribution to environmental conservation and sustainable development.
  • Seychelles announced its decision to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), strengthening cooperation on climate resilience and disaster risk reduction.

India-Seychelles Relations:

• Overview:
  • Multifaceted, time-tested partnership: Rooted in maritime security, historic kinship, and shared strategic interests in the Western Indian Ocean.
  • People-to-people ties:
    • Indians have a long history in the archipelago, with the first group arriving as early as 1770.
    • Today, the vibrant Indian diaspora plays a vital role in the country's socio-economic and professional landscape.
  • Joint exercises: The two nations hold the biennial joint military exercise LAMITYE, which has been continuously running since 2001.
  • Historical support: India has a history of stepping in to protect Seychelles' sovereignty, notably deploying naval assets during a coup attempt in 1986 (Operation Flowers are Blooming).
• Why Seychelles matters for India?
  • Strategic location in the Western Indian Ocean along key Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs).
  • Critical partner in India's maritime security architecture.
  • Supports India's Blue Economy and Indo-Pacific strategy.
  • Important for monitoring maritime threats (seaborne terrorism and piracy), ensuring regional stability and countering China's expanding influence in the Indian Ocean.
  • Serves as a key partner in India's development diplomacy towards SIDS.

Conclusion: The visit reaffirmed India's commitment to a secure, inclusive, prosperous and rules-based Indian Ocean Region, while strengthening its position as a trusted partner for island nations in the Indo-Pacific.

Why in news?

Google DeepMind has released a new security framework for managing the risks of autonomous AI agents. In a blog post titled "Securing the future of AI agents," it outlined an "AI control roadmap."

The core argument: traditional AI alignment techniques alone are not enough to manage highly autonomous systems.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What Are AI Agents
• The Core Idea: Defence-in-Depth
• Three Categories of Risk
• How the Framework Works?
• Preparing for More Powerful AI
• Conclusion

What Are AI Agents?

• AI agents are AI-powered software systems that can independently plan, reason, and act across multiple tools or applications to complete tasks with minimal human supervision.
• They are being deployed in software development, cybersecurity, scientific research, and business operations.
• The stakes are large: in the US alone, AI agents could create $2.9 trillion in economic value by 2030.

The Core Idea: Defence-in-Depth

• DeepMind calls its approach a "defence-in-depth" strategy. It adds multiple layers of security beyond conventional model training.
• The key warning is blunt: developers should not assume AI systems will always stay perfectly aligned with human goals. As agents gain access to tools, files, codebases, and enterprise systems, they must be governed like any other powerful insider — not treated as ordinary software.
• Why "Insider Threats"?
  • The framework borrows directly from cybersecurity.
  • Instead of seeing AI only as software, DeepMind proposes treating advanced agents as potential "insider threats" — much like organisations guard against rogue employees who already hold access to sensitive systems.
  • The roadmap is built around a hypothetical: a highly capable agent develops goals different from its operators' and tries to act on them.

Three Categories of Risk

• DeepMind identifies three broad risks:
  • Loss of control — the agent creates unauthorised deployments or operates outside approved oversight.
  • Work sabotage — it quietly degrades safety research or introduces flaws into critical processes.
  • Direct harm — theft of sensitive assets, destruction of data, or similar damaging actions.

How the Framework Works?

• Two principles anchor the approach.
  • Graduated permissions. DeepMind uses the analogy of a driving instructor with dual controls. The instructor trusts the student but stays ready to intervene. Likewise, agents should earn access gradually, based on demonstrated behaviour — not receive unrestricted access from the start.
  • Continuous monitoring. Trusted AI systems act as supervisors, analysing an agent's reasoning, plans, and actions for signs of deviation. If something looks suspicious, these supervisors can block or restrict the action before damage occurs.

Preparing for More Powerful AI

• DeepMind stresses that safety must evolve with capability. Today's safeguards may not suit tomorrow's systems.
• It flags two future challenges:
  • Evading monitoring. Current oversight often examines a model's visible reasoning (chain-of-thought). But future systems may hide their reasoning or use processes that are not easily observable. Developers may then need to inspect behavioural patterns or even the model's internal workings.
  • Severity of harm. For low-risk activities, delayed reviews and after-the-fact fixes may suffice. For high-risk scenarios like major cyberattacks, real-time intervention is essential — harmful actions must be stopped before they execute, not corrected afterwards.

Conclusion

DeepMind's roadmap marks a shift in how AI safety is framed — from trusting that systems will behave to assuming they might not.

By borrowing the logic of insider-threat management, graduated trust, and continuous supervision, it treats control as seriously as capability. The deeper lesson is that the biggest near-term risks may come not from rogue AI, but from capable agents that simply misread what we ask of them.

Why in news?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued revised guidelines on what qualifies a company as an Upper Layer NBFC (NBFC-UL).

The change is significant because it could remove the main regulatory trigger that has kept alive the possibility of a mandatory IPO by Tata Sons, the holding company of the $180 billion Tata group. As of now, the RBI has not clarified whether Tata Sons will still qualify.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Upper Layer NBFC under the Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) Framework
• Background: Why Tata Sons Faced a Mandatory Listing
• What Has Changed Now?
• The Key Concept: "Qualifying Assets"
• What Will Finally Settle Tata’s Position?
• Conclusion

Upper Layer NBFC under the Scale-Based Regulation Framework

• The RBI introduced the Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) framework in October 2021 to regulate NBFCs in proportion to their size, activity, and risk.
• The logic is simple: a small NBFC and a systemically large one cannot be regulated identically. The bigger and more interconnected an NBFC, the stricter the rules applied to it.
• The Upper Layer sits near the top of this pyramid. It is meant to capture NBFCs that are so large and interconnected that their failure could threaten the wider financial system — in effect, the NBFC equivalent of "systemically important" institutions.
• These are identified by the RBI through an annual review and notified in a published list.
• Once notified, an NBFC-UL remains in that layer for a minimum of five years, even if it later falls below the threshold.

Background: Why Tata Sons Faced a Mandatory Listing?

• In 2024, the RBI classified Tata Sons as an Upper Layer NBFC under its Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) framework, citing its size and systemic importance.
• Under RBI rules, an NBFC-UL must:
  • List on a stock exchange within three years of being notified, and
  • Comply with stricter governance and disclosure norms.
• This classification put Tata Sons on a path to a public listing from September 2025, unless the RBI changed the rules or granted relief. (In the RBI's NBFC-UL list, Tata Sons is categorised as a Core Investment Company.)
• A Boardroom Split Over Listing
  • The IPO question has divided the Tata camp:
  • In favour of listing: Two Tata Trusts trustees, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, back it for greater transparency and accountability. The Shapoorji Pallonji group (18% stake) also wants a listing to monetise its holding.
  • Against listing: Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts (which holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons), wants the company to stay unlisted. Former Tata Sons directors — N.A. Soonawala, R. Gopalakrishnan and Ishaat Hussain — share this view.

What Has Changed Now?

• The RBI has replaced its earlier methodology for identifying NBFC-ULs with a single, simpler criterion: only NBFCs with assets of Rs 1 lakh crore or more will be classified as Upper Layer NBFCs.
• This is a major policy shift. Crucially, the RBI has not exempted Tata Sons outright — instead, it has changed the eligibility threshold.
• If Tata Sons no longer crosses the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, the listing requirement would simply cease to apply, removing the biggest regulatory reason for an IPO.

The Key Concept: Qualifying Assets

• The decisive factor is qualifying assets — the specific assets that count towards the Rs 1 lakh crore threshold.
• This is a narrower measure than it might appear:
  • It is not the total consolidated assets of the Tata group, nor even Tata Sons' total assets as a holding company.
  • For Tata Sons, qualifying assets broadly cover the NBFC business balance sheet — loans and advances, investments tied to NBFC operations, and other financial assets held by the NBFC.
  • It excludes the value of Tata Sons' stakes in listed group firms like TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel or Titan — unless those holdings are treated as financial assets under the applicable NBFC framework.
• This distinction is central: Tata Sons' headline size is enormous, but its qualifying NBFC assets may be far smaller.

What Will Finally Settle Tata’s Position?

• The deciding event will be the RBI's next annual identification of Upper Layer NBFCs:
  • If Tata Sons appears on the list, it remains an NBFC-UL and the listing requirement stands.
  • If it does not appear, it would signal that the company no longer meets the revised threshold, effectively removing the RBI-driven listing obligation.

Conclusion

The RBI's shift to a single Rs 1 lakh crore asset threshold simplifies NBFC-UL classification, but it also quietly reshapes a high-profile corporate question.

Whether Tata Sons must go public now hinges not on group size or politics, but on a technical measure — its qualifying NBFC assets — and on the RBI's next classification list.

The episode shows how a regulator's calibration of definitions can determine outcomes for even India's largest business houses, and underlines the tension between transparency through listing and the autonomy of unlisted holding structures.

About Dal Lake:

• It is an urban freshwater lake located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is surrounded by the Pir Panjal mountains.
• It is integral to tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is named the “Jewel in the crown of Kashmir” or “Srinagar’s Jewel”.
• It is the second-largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir after the Wular Lake.
• It is one of the world’s largest natural lakes and also known as the Lake of Flowers.
• The lake gets its water mainly from the Telbal stream. This stream flows from the Jhelum River.
• The wetland is divided by causeways into four basins: Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal, and Nagin (although Nagin is also considered an independent lake).
• Lokut-dal and Bod-dal each have an island in the centre, known as Rup Lank (or Char Chinari) and Sona Lank, respectively.
• The floating gardens, locally known as “Rad,” are a spectacular highlight of the lake.
  • These are patches of land that float on the water.
  • Farmers grow vegetables and flowers on them.
  • It blossoms with lotus flowers during July and August.
• It is also popular for the floating market, where vendors have their own Shikaras/wooden boats and approach tourists.

About e-Sushrut@Clinic:

• It provides a lightweight, cloud-based Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) for outpatient clinics.
• This government-backed HMIS is designed specifically for small and medium healthcare providers, including general practitioners, specialists, clinic administrators, pharmacists, and lab technicians.
• It can also be used by allied health workers and staff for administrative tasks.
• The platform includes modules for outpatient management, pharmacy, and nursing, and is designed to digitise patient records, prescriptions, and billing.
• It marks a pivotal step in expanding the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)
• Features:
  • Any healthcare provider can onboard it from his/her laptop/mobile on a webpage through their Health Facility Registry (HFR) and Health Professionals Registry (HPR).
  • If the healthcare provider is not registered on HFR/HPR, they would be able to register on eSushrut@Clinic itself.
  • The platform enables small clinics, sub-centres, and medium-sized hospitals to digitize patient records, prescriptions, and billing with minimal technical overhead.
  • The system supports both online and offline functionalities for seamless clinic operations.
  • It delivers essential functionalities at a low per-user cost.
  • The system also integrates several services from the ABDM, including the AIIMS Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) for hypertension and diabetes, which are provided free of charge for all ABDM-integrated software.
    • This CDSS helps improve patient care by supporting doctors in making better diagnoses and treatment.

About Bharat Taxi:

• Bharat Taxi is India’s first cooperative-led, driver-owned, ride-hailing platform registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
• It is a government-supported initiative developed under the Union Ministry of Cooperation and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).
• It differs from private ride-hailing platforms by treating drivers as “Sarathis” and making them shareholders in the cooperative instead of merely service providers.
• Developed by Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited, Bharat Taxi is backed by eight major cooperative institutions -- NCDC, GCMMF (Amul), NDDB, NAFED, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NABARD, and NCEL.
• Features:
  • Driver-Owned Fleet: Drivers can purchase shares and become cooperative members, giving them transparency and decision-making power.
  • Zero Commission: Unlike private cab aggregators that take a large cut, Bharat Taxi transfers the full fare to the driver.
  • Transparent, No-Surge Pricing: Fares will remain predictable, with no surge charges.
  • Platform Integration & Technical Architecture: Integration of the Bharat Taxi platform with national digital platforms such as DigiLocker, UMANG, and API Setu.
  • Security, Compliance & Infrastructure: Ensuring adherence to Government of India’s data protection norms and cybersecurity standards and advising on robust technical infrastructure.
  • Bharat Taxi would provide support to Sarathis through loans, insurance, and business expansion opportunities.