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India’s Progress in Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination - 38% Decline in Mortality Since 2015
Why in News?
- According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2026, India has recorded a 38% reduction in TB-related mortality between 2015 and 2025, compared with a global reduction of 35%.
- Despite this progress, India remains the country with the highest TB burden, accounting for 25% of global TB cases in 2025.
- The report acknowledges India's progress in reducing mortality, improving treatment outcomes and strengthening domestic financing, while highlighting the continuing challenge of high disease incidence.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- Global and India's TB Burden
- India's Progress in TB Control
- Government Initiatives for TB Elimination
- Challenges in Achieving TB Elimination
- Way Forward
- Conclusion
Global and India's TB Burden:
- An estimated 10.6 million people developed TB globally in 2025, around 75,000 fewer than in 2024.
- The global TB incidence rate declined from 131 cases per lakh population in 2024 to 129 in 2025.
- The global incidence reduction since 2015 was 14%, significantly below the End TB Strategy milestone of 50% by 2025 and the target of 80% by 2030.
- TB remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent and ranks 13th among all causes of death globally.
- Top eight countries contributing to global TB cases (2025): India (25% share of global cases), Indonesia (10%), Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.4%), Nigeria (4.9%), DR Congo (3.9%), and Bangladesh (3.7%).
- These eight countries account for approximately 67% of global TB cases, while 30 high-burden countries together account for 88%.
- Demographic distribution: Globally, 54% of people developing TB in 2025 were men, 35% women and 11% children.
India's Progress in TB Control:
- Declining mortality: Estimated TB deaths declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 18 per lakh in 2025, representing a 38% reduction.
- Treatment success: India achieved a treatment success rate of 94%, reflecting improvements in treatment delivery and patient support.
- Domestic financing: Around 96% of TB programme funding requirements are met through domestic resources, demonstrating sustained national investment.
- Declining MDR-TB: India remains among four countries accounting for more than 50% of global multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB cases, although MDR-TB incidence has been gradually declining.
- Data revision under consideration: The WHO, India's Central TB Division and ICMR are analysing district-level sentinel surveillance data and findings from the nationally representative TB prevalence survey conducted by ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) in 2025.
Government Initiatives for TB Elimination:
- The progress reflects interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), supported by technology, early diagnosis, treatment and community participation.
- TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan:
- Launched as an intensified campaign on December 7, 2024, covering 347 high-priority districts across 33 States and UTs, and subsequently expanding nationwide.
- Achievements (2024 - Nov 2026):
- More than 11 crore chest X-rays conducted.
- Over 3 crore nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) conducted.
- Approximately 48.64 lakh TB cases detected, including 14.97 lakh asymptomatic cases.
- Significance: Detection of asymptomatic cases enables early treatment, reduces transmission and prevents progression to severe disease.
- Technology-enabled TB Management:
- AI-enabled chest X-rays: Improve screening and early identification.
- AI-based hotspot identification: Helps identify geographical areas with high TB vulnerability.
- Predictive AI tools: Identify high-risk patients prone to adverse treatment outcomes.
- Digital interventions: Khushi AI Chatbot and Avatar Videobot support awareness and patient engagement.
- Rapid molecular diagnostics: Enable faster and more accurate detection.
- Nutritional and Community Support:
- Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana: Provides nutritional assistance to TB patients.
- Ni-kshay Mitra initiative: Encourages community participation and nutritional support through individual and institutional donors.
- Integration of TB screening with diabetes, undernutrition and other comorbidities facilitates comprehensive and differentiated patient care.
Challenges in Achieving TB Elimination:
- High disease burden: India continues to account for one-fourth of global TB cases.
- Detection gaps: Asymptomatic and undiagnosed cases contribute to continued transmission.
- Drug resistance: MDR-TB remains a significant public health challenge.
- Socio-economic determinants: Undernutrition, poverty, overcrowding and poor living conditions increase vulnerability.
- Global progress deficit: The worldwide decline in TB incidence remains far below the End TB Strategy targets.
- Data uncertainties: Revision of India's incidence estimates highlights the need for stronger surveillance and reliable disease-burden assessment.
Way Forward:
- Strengthen proactive screening, particularly among vulnerable and high-risk populations.
- Expand access to rapid molecular diagnostics and AI-enabled screening.
- Ensure early treatment initiation, adherence and patient-centred care.
- Strengthen TB preventive treatment and management of drug-resistant TB.
- Integrate TB control with nutrition, diabetes management and poverty alleviation programmes.
- Increase community participation and awareness to reduce stigma and encourage early diagnosis.
- Sustain domestic financing, research and evidence-based policymaking.
Conclusion:
- India's substantial share of global TB cases underscores the need to move beyond mortality reduction towards accelerated prevention, early detection and interruption of transmission.
- A technology-driven, adequately financed and community-centred approach remains essential to achieving the goal of a TB-Mukt Bharat.
PLI Schemes - NITI Aayog Assessment and Key Reforms
Why in the News?
- A joint impact assessment by NITI Aayog and IIM Ahmedabad has found that cumulative disbursements under India's 14 Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes reached only 18.51% of their total approved outlay by March 2026, while recommending reforms to improve their long-term effectiveness.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- PLI Scheme (Performance, Low Disbursements, Key Recommendations of NITI Aayog, Significance, etc.)
Performance of PLI Schemes
- Introduced in 2020 across 14 key sectors, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, automobiles and steel, the PLI schemes have a combined financial outlay of 1.91 lakh crore.
- As of March 2026, the assessment reported:
- Incentive disbursement: 35,351 crore, representing 18.51% of the total outlay.
- Investment attracted: 2.40 lakh crore.
- Production generated: 22.66 lakh crore.
- Employment created: More than 8.49 lakh people.
- Targeted segments: Nearly 70% were broadly on track.
- The report noted particularly strong outcomes in electronics, telecom and pharmaceutical drugs.
Differences in Sectoral Performance
- Disbursement levels vary considerably across sectors.
- Nine schemes, including those for bulk drugs, automobiles and textiles, had disbursements below 10% of their respective outlays.
- Schemes covering drones and drone components, large-scale electronics and food products recorded disbursements ranging from 25% to 77% of their outlays.
- The report cautioned that all schemes did not become operational at the same time and some had longer gestation periods.
Understanding Low Disbursements
- The relatively low disbursement figure is partly linked to the performance-based structure of PLI schemes.
- Incentives are released only after participating companies meet specified investment, production and other eligibility criteria. Payments are therefore not made upfront.
- As companies expand capacity, increase production and meet progressively higher performance thresholds, disbursements are expected to rise over the respective scheme periods.
- However, the assessment also highlighted concerns about the quality and sustainability of industrial growth.
- These include increased imports under certain electronics manufacturing programmes and the limited employment generation associated with mobile phone manufacturing, which has largely been driven by assembly operations.
Key Recommendations of NITI Aayog
- Sector-specific policy design
- A uniform approach may not address the different challenges faced by individual sectors.
- Technology adoption, gestation periods, global competition and capital requirements vary considerably. Future policy design should account for these differences.
- Demand-side incentives
- Existing PLI schemes are largely supply-driven, encouraging companies to expand production and capacity through output-linked financial incentives.
- The report recommends that future schemes incorporate demand-pull mechanisms alongside supply-side incentives to ensure sustained demand for domestically manufactured products.
- Standardised data collection
- Reporting mechanisms across ministries need standardisation. Information on additional revenue, employment, production and exports is currently inconsistent across sectors.
- Clear guidelines should specify what companies must report, reporting timelines and procedures for monitoring annual progress.
- Long-term effectiveness
- The focus must shift from evaluating the initial success of PLI schemes towards strengthening their long-term contribution to industrial transformation.
Significance for India's Industrial Development
- PLI schemes seek to strengthen domestic manufacturing, attract investment, generate employment and improve India's competitiveness in global supply chains.
- The assessment indicates that the schemes have attracted substantial investment and generated significant production.
- However, their long-term success will depend on whether manufacturing expansion translates into deeper domestic value addition, sustainable employment and competitive industrial capabilities.
- A combination of targeted incentives, stronger domestic demand and reliable performance data can improve policy outcomes.
Conclusion
- The PLI framework has contributed to investment mobilisation and manufacturing expansion, but uneven sectoral performance and concerns over employment and import dependence highlight the need for recalibration.
- A shift towards sector-specific policies, demand-side support and standardised monitoring will be important in making future incentive programmes more effective.
The SIR Exercise is Also a Technology Failure
Context
- The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 2025–26 has raised concerns regarding the autonomy of the Election Commission of India (ECI), documentation requirements and voters' eligibility.
- However, an equally significant issue is the role of technology in determining electoral inclusion and exclusion.
- For the first time, a revision of this scale has been conducted through a centralised digital platform.
- Despite India's achievements in digital infrastructure, the SIR has exposed weaknesses in software design, algorithmic decision-making and institutional accountability, raising questions about technology, democracy and constitutional rights.
Digital Transformation and Its Contradictions
- India's Digital Public Infrastructure
- India has established itself as a global leader in digital infrastructure through Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, IRCTC and income-tax e-filing.
- Their success resulted from years of piloting, testing, continuous improvement and transparent technical specifications.
- Failure to Apply Established Practices
- Adequate testing and validation against India's diverse demographic and linguistic conditions were missing.
- Since electoral administration directly affects citizens' voting rights, technological errors can produce serious democratic consequences.
Age and Name Discrepancies
- Inappropriate Algorithmic Filters
- ERONet, the ECI's electoral roll management platform, generated logical discrepancy flags using parameters such as parent-child age differences and the number of children linked to one parent.
- These filters ignored India's social realities, particularly approximate birth records among older citizens.
- An analysis of Delhi's draft electoral roll found that family-size checks flagged Muslim electors at a significantly higher rate, raising concerns about algorithmic discrimination.
- The Supreme Court clarified that it had not finally ruled on the legality of this category, having permitted its use in West Bengal only as an interim arrangement.
- Linguistic and Data-Matching Problems
- Matching present voters with relatives recorded in historical electoral rolls created further difficulties.
- In West Bengal, Bengali-language records from 2002 were digitised and converted into English, reportedly using machine tools. Consequently, several correct names became distorted.
- More than 1.3 crore entries were flagged in West Bengal, with over half the logical discrepancy cases reportedly involving name variations. Similar problems emerged in Telangana and Karnataka.
- India's linguistic diversity and transliteration differences make automated name matching difficult.
Overarching Power and Weak Digital Governance
- Frequent Changes in Software
- De-duplication software, previously considered unreliable by the Commission, was reintroduced in certain States and Union Territories.
- Another algorithm checking voters' mapping to relatives on historical rolls required Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to repeat completed work.
- These developments exposed the absence of an effective change-management framework, increasing administrative pressure and confusion.
- Lack of Written Instructions and Transparency
- New software procedures were communicated through demonstration videos, video conferences and WhatsApp groups rather than formal written instructions.
- This left Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and BLOs implementing changing rules without adequate documentation.
- Centralised control also restricted officials' discretion, weakening accountability and citizens' ability to challenge adverse decisions.
Disconnect Between Digital Workflows and Legal Frameworks
- Non-Statutory Requirements in Digital Forms
- The online Form 6 introduced a mandatory declaration concerning applicants' parents and grandparents, although this requirement was absent from the statutory form.
- The Supreme Court clarified that it had not approved this modification.
- In Delhi, existing voters whose enumeration forms were not received were directed to submit Form 6, ordinarily intended for first-time voters.
- The Court described this as a structural incongruity.
- Technology Must Remain Subordinate to Law
- Digital platforms must faithfully implement statutory requirements rather than introduce additional obligations.
- Software cannot independently create legal requirements, and citizens must not face exclusion because of unauthorised digital procedures.
Questions of Timing and Administrative Readiness
- Unrealistic Deadlines
- In Delhi, the Supreme Court questioned the need for tight deadlines when elections were not imminent.
- Tamil Nadu and West Bengal faced greater pressure, with approximately six weeks for enumeration and final rolls scheduled for February ahead of April elections.
- West Bengal's final roll contained more than half a crore names under adjudication.
- Electoral Timelines Versus System Readiness
- The SIR's deadlines were driven largely by electoral schedules rather than technological preparedness.
- Large-scale digital projects require sufficient time for testing, correction, training and grievance redressal.
- Prioritising procedural completion over accuracy risks electoral exclusion.
Lessons for Digital Governance and Democratic Institutions
- The SIR demonstrates the importance of several safeguards in digital governance:
- Pre-deployment testing against real demographic and linguistic data.
- Pilot projects across diverse geographical and social settings.
- Algorithmic transparency through published rules and decision-making criteria.
- Effective change management before introducing new software features.
- Written Standard Operating Procedures for officials.
- Legal compliance between digital workflows and statutory provisions.
- Human oversight to correct automated errors.
- Accessible grievance redressal to protect citizens' rights.
Conclusion
- The SIR demonstrates that digital transformation requires more than technological sophistication or administrative centralisation.
- When algorithms determine electoral eligibility and access to hearings, technological errors can become instruments of democratic exclusion.
- The ECI must ensure that technology remains subordinate to constitutional principles and legal safeguards.
Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot Declared Bankrupt: Understanding India’s Personal Insolvency Framework
Why in news?
Recently, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) declared Venugopal Dhoot, former promoter and director of Videocon Industries, bankrupt — holding him personally liable as guarantor for loans worth ₹12,668 crore extended by the State Bank of India (SBI).
This is a rare occurrence in India, as very few loan default cases reach the stage of personal bankruptcy. Once a business titan, Dhoot now stands to lose control over his companies and personal assets, unless an appellate authority stays or sets aside the order.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- Understanding Insolvency and Bankruptcy
- How the Recovery Process Works?
- Timeline of the Dhoot Case
- What Happens to Dhoot Now?
- The Data Tells the Story
Understanding Insolvency and Bankruptcy
- Insolvency: Occurs when a person or company cannot repay debts as they fall due.
- Bankruptcy: The formal legal process through which an insolvent individual is declared bankrupt, enabling asset distribution among creditors.
- Governed in India by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 — used by banks for loan recovery, and promoted by the government as a rescue mechanism for financially distressed companies.
How the Recovery Process Works
- Three Sequential/Simultaneous Mechanisms:
- Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP): Creditors approach NCLT to recover dues from a defaulting company; failure leads to liquidation.
- Personal Insolvency Resolution Process (PIRP): In force since December 2019 — banks can pursue a personal guarantor (promoter) who guaranteed company loans.
- Bankruptcy: The final stage — triggered only when both CIRP and PIRP fail to recover dues; effectively the liquidation of the personal guarantor.
- Key rule: If a company owes ₹100, the bank’s total claim across CIRP and PIRP combined cannot exceed ₹100 — the processes can run simultaneously or sequentially, but recovery is capped at the actual debt.
Timeline of the Dhoot Case
- 2010-2012: SBI and associated banks (merged with SBI in April 2017) granted loans to Videocon Industries Ltd and Videocon Telecommunications Ltd; Dhoot provided an unconditional personal guarantee.
- February 2018: Companies defaulted; SBI issued demand notices to Dhoot — yielding no recovery.
- June 2018: CIRP admitted by NCLT; eventually 12 more Videocon group companies were brought under the process. Creditors claimed ₹72,078 crore, of which ~₹65,000 crore was admitted.
- June 2021: NCLT approved a resolution plan by Twin Star Technologies Ltd.
- January 2022: NCLAT set aside this plan, as it offered creditors only ₹2,962 crore — a haircut of over 95%. Matter remanded to the Committee of Creditors; Twin Star’s Supreme Court challenge remains pending.
- Result: Videocon’s dues to banks remain largely unresolved even today.
- May 2021 onwards: SBI (largest lender) filed for PIRP against Dhoot; the tribunal initiated PIRP in April 2026 after Dhoot failed to submit a repayment plan.
- Dhoot’s offer of ₹600 crore was rejected, as it was contingent on a future Siliguri project with no upfront payment.
- July 2026: PIRP terminated — leading directly to bankruptcy declaration in November 2026.
What Happens to Dhoot Now?
- His entire estate vests with a bankruptcy trustee appointed by NCLT.
- He must disclose all assets, income sources, and net worth.
- Assets will be sold (similar to liquidation) to repay creditors, with limits even on retaining residential property.
- A bankrupt individual cannot hold a company directorship.
- Why Personal Bankruptcy Cases Are Rare
- Personal guarantor bankruptcy remains “largely untested” under the IBC — it takes very long to reach this stage, and recovery is typically low, since discovering an individual’s actual net worth is harder than recovering from a company’s tangible assets.
The Data Tells the Story
- As per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI):
- Bankruptcy Applications: Only 310 filed since 2019.
- PIRP Applications: 5,186 filed; only 64 resulted in approved repayment plans — creditors realised just ~1% of admitted claims.
- Corporate CIRP (since 2016): 9,166 applications admitted; 1,484 resolution plans approved, 3,074 liquidations ordered, 1,333 withdrawn (Section 12A), 1,410 closed/settled, 1,865 ongoing.
- Recovery Comparison: Resolution plans yielded an average 30.52% recovery for creditors; liquidation yielded only ~4% — far higher than personal insolvency recovery rates.
Conclusion
The Dhoot case illustrates both the IBC’s reach and its limitations — while the law empowers creditors to pursue personal guarantors, actual recovery remains minimal and the process painfully slow.
With recovery rates far lower than corporate insolvency, India’s personal bankruptcy framework needs stronger enforcement mechanisms to make guarantees a genuine deterrent against loan defaults.
Climate Finance: Why It Remains a Perennial Flashpoint at UN Summits
Why in news?
As negotiators gathered in Antalya, Türkiye, for COP31, the familiar dispute over climate finance resurfaced once again.
While wealthy nations highlight rising sums mobilised for climate action, developing countries raise a harder question: how much money actually reaches them, on what terms, and how quickly?
For India and the Global South, this isn’t mere accounting — it concerns protecting farms, cities, and lives from climate impacts while expanding clean energy access.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- The Widening Gap Between Need and Availability
- The Unfinished Bargain: Origins of the Dispute
- Why the Headline Numbers Mislead?
- The 2024 Azerbaijan Agreement: Progress, But Unresolved
- India’s Position
The Widening Gap Between Need and Availability
- The UN Environment Programme’s 2026 Adaptation Gap Report estimates developing countries will need ~$305 billion/year by 2035 for climate adaptation.
- In 2024, developed countries provided only $28.2–$31.7 billion in public adaptation finance.
- Even if the Brazil summit’s goal to triple this finance by 2035 is achieved, it would cover only 20-29% of the estimated need.
The Unfinished Bargain: Origins of the Dispute
- Under the UN Climate Convention, developed nations accepted an obligation to provide financial resources to developing countries — reaffirmed by the 2015 Paris Agreement (nearly 200 nations committed to limiting warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C).
- This principle reflects historical responsibility: nations most responsible for emissions and with greater financial capacity should support those with fewer resources.
- 2009 Copenhagen Summit: Wealthy nations pledged $100 billion/year by 2020 — a target missed until 2022, finally reaching $136.7 billion in 2024 (per OECD), exceeding the target for the third consecutive year.
Why the Headline Numbers Mislead?
- The OECD’s total includes public finance, multilateral development bank contributions, export credits, and private investment linked to public interventions — counting the full-face value of loans, not just grants.
- 2024 breakdown: Loans = $68.5 billion (67%); Grants = just $29.7 billion (29%).
- Why This Matters: A grant doesn’t need repayment; even a low-interest loan remains debt. A loan for a revenue-generating power project isn’t equivalent to a grant for flood protection or heat action plans.
- Disbursement Gap: Pledged money isn’t necessarily disbursed — approval procedures can delay fund transfers for years.
- No Common Accounting Standard Exists: OECD counts face value of loans, while Oxfam estimates the real 2024 figure at just $32.7–$44.7 billion using a narrower, discounted measure — exposing deep disagreement over what counts as real support.
- Private Investment Limitations: Easier to attract for profitable projects (solar, wind), but far harder for public needs like coastal protection, urban drainage, or early warning systems — which prevent losses but generate no direct financial return. Public funding, especially grants, remains essential.
The 2024 Azerbaijan Agreement: Progress, But Unresolved
- Developed countries agreed to lead in providing at least $300 billion/year by 2035.
- A broader ambition was set to scale finance (public + private) to $1.3 trillion/year.
- Key Gap: These are different commitments — the agreement didn’t specify how much should be grants vs loans vs direct government support.
India’s Position
- India has formally called for at least $1 trillion/year from developed countries, primarily as grants and low-cost loans.
- India insists support must be affordable, predictable, and accessible — not a rejection of private investment, but recognition that private capital cannot replace the financial responsibility wealthy nations accepted, especially for non-commercial mitigation/adaptation projects.
- Access remains a universal concern: complex applications, limited technical capacity, and lengthy project preparation processes prevent many developing nations — not just India, but also least developed countries and small island states — from using funds that are nominally available.
Conclusion
The recurring climate finance dispute reflects an unfinished bargain at the heart of global climate action.
Until funds become genuinely additional, predominantly grant-based, and easily accessible, developing nations cannot simultaneously transform their economies and cope with escalating climate costs — making this issue central to any credible, equitable climate agreement.
India-UK Climate Partnership: Turning Ambition into Action
Context:
- Mumbai is set to host the largest-ever Earthshot Prize edition, bringing together innovators, investors, policymakers, and young people to scale environmental solutions, with five winners each receiving £1 million.
- The event highlights India’s growing clout in clean growth and climate innovation, while spotlighting the deepening India-UK climate partnership amid intensifying global climate challenges.
- This article highlights the growing India-UK climate partnership and its role in translating climate commitments into practical action through clean energy, innovation and sustainable financing.
- It examines India’s progress in renewable energy, the UK’s contribution to climate finance, and joint initiatives in electricity market reforms, offshore wind and disaster risk reduction.
The Earthshot Prize and India’s Role
- Founded by The Prince of Wales in 2020, the Earthshot Prize seeks transformative environmental solutions.
- India has produced more Earthshot finalists and winners than any other country — 9 finalists, including 4 winners since inception.
- This year, 2 of the 15 global finalists are India-based, underscoring the country’s rising innovation footprint in climate solutions.
Why Climate Action Needs Urgent Acceleration?
- This year’s climate crisis has been worsened by El Niño, compounded by conflict-driven global energy shocks.
- Accelerating the shift to clean energy is framed as essential for both energy security and economic growth.
- Lessons from the Montreal Protocol (which successfully phased out ozone-depleting substances through global cooperation) show collective action can solve planetary-scale problems — though climate change is a far bigger, more complex challenge.
The India-UK Climate Partnership in Practice
- India’s Progress
- Non-fossil fuel sources now account for over 50% of India’s installed power capacity — achieved five years ahead of its 2030 target.
- India aims for 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
- India shapes global climate response through platforms like the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
- UK’s Progress
- The UK has cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% since 1990, while simultaneously growing its economy.
- The UK was a partner country at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026.
- Joint Institutional Collaboration
- India’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and UK’s Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) are collaborating on electricity market reform.
- A joint offshore wind taskforce supports sector development in India.
- The UK is learning from India’s energy data-sharing systems (“energy stack”).
- Climate and clean energy cooperation form a core pillar of the UK-India Vision 2035.
- Financing the Clean Energy Transition
- The India-UK Climate Finance Initiative (launched last year) aims to scale climate investment and unlock green growth opportunities in both countries.
- The UK’s £330 million capital investment portfolio (with the Government of India) has leveraged over £3.5 billion for green and inclusive businesses and clean-tech startups.
- British International Investment (BII) has backed 600+ businesses and committed $1.1 billion to climate-focused investments in India since 2022 — making India its largest market.
- This financing supports visible, everyday initiatives: electric buses, grid-scale batteries, and clean-tech startups.
Climate as a Global Security Issue
- At the UN General Assembly (September 2026), UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband co-convened foreign ministers to discuss climate and nature crises as national security challenges.
- India and the UK co-chaired the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Senior Officials’ Meeting in New Delhi (October 2026).
- India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and UK’s Centre for Disaster Protection are jointly strengthening disaster risk financing, including exploring a sovereign disaster risk pool.
Looking Ahead: COP31
- The Earthshot Prize event coincides with COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, where nations will focus on implementing the Paris Agreement’s goals.
- The UK and India plan to jointly accelerate electrification of transport and industry, unlock climate finance, and work toward keeping the 1.5°C warming limit within reach.
Conclusion
- From Mumbai to Antalya, India and the UK demonstrate that climate ambition can translate into measurable delivery — through clean energy milestones, joint financing, and shared security frameworks.
- Their partnership proves that genuine climate action is built through sustained collaboration, not mere rhetoric.
Exercise Sea Vigil-26
The Navy recently kicked off the fifth edition of 'Sea Vigil-26', the country’s largest coastal defence exercise.

About Exercise Sea Vigil-26:
- It is the fifth edition of the pan-India Coastal Defence Exercise.
- The exercise is being coordinated by the Indian Navy as the lead agency.
- Objective: To assess and strengthen the country’s maritime security and coastal defence
- Exercise Sea Vigil was conceptualised in 2018 to validate the measures instituted to strengthen maritime security in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
- The 2026 edition will cover the entire Indian coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), involving all coastal states and Union Territories, along with various maritime stakeholders, including fishing and coastal communities.
- It is the first since India's coastline was officially re-measured at 11,098.81 km, nearly 48 percent longer than the 7,516.6 km figure used for decades.
- The exercise is being conducted in two phases. The Coastal Defence and Security Readiness Evaluation (CDSRE) phase, followed by the Sea Phase on November 18 and 19.
- The exercise will bring together personnel and assets from the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard, Coastal Security Police, Customs, and other maritime agencies.
- The exercise is being facilitated by the Ministries of Defence; Home Affairs; Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, along with other central government agencies and coastal states and Union Territories.
- Sea Vigil also serves as a precursor to the Indian Navy’s biennial Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX).
- Together, Sea Vigil and TROPEX address the entire spectrum of maritime security challenges, from coastal defence to operations on the high seas.
What is Coal Gasification?
The government's ₹37,500-crore coal gasification scheme attracted only two applications in its second round, with experts citing financing constraints, uncertain demand and logistical costs.

About Coal Gasification:
- It is a thermo-chemical process that converts coal into syngas.
- Contrary to what the name of the process suggests, coal gasification does not burn coal directly.
- It heats crushed coal with limited oxygen and steam at very high temperatures (typically around 800–1,600°C) and pressure, producing syngas.
- Syngas typically contains:
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Hydrogen (H₂)
- Methane (CH₄)
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
- Water vapor (H₂O)
- Trace gases (e.g., sulfur compounds)
- Syngas can then be converted into:
- Methanol
- Ammonia
- Urea
- Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG)
- Hydrogen
- Liquid fuels and chemicals
- Process of Coal Gasification:
- Preparation: Coal is finely crushed to increase surface area.
- Drying: Moisture is removed from the coal.
- Pyrolysis: Coal is heated in the absence of oxygen to release volatile gases.
- Oxidation: A controlled amount of oxygen or air is added to partially combust the coal, generating heat.
- Reduction: Steam reacts with hot carbon to form syngas through water-gas reactions.
- Advantages of Coal Gasification:
- Fuel Flexibility: Can utilize low-grade coal and waste coal.
- Cleaner Combustion: Lower SOx, NOx, and particulate emissions than direct coal combustion.
- Feedstock for Chemicals: Syngas can be converted into ammonia, methanol, or synthetic fuels.
- Power Generation: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants convert syngas to electricity more cleanly.
- Hydrogen Production:
- Provides a source of hydrogen for fuel cells and other industrial applications.
- With carbon capture and storage, coal-based hydrogen production can have substantially lower carbon emissions.
Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve
A tiger has recently been found dead in Maharashtra’s Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in a suspected case of electrocution, prompting forest authorities to detain a farmer and seven other persons.

About Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve:
- It is situated in the Gondia and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra.
- It lies in the heart of the central Indian tiger landscape, which contributes almost 1/6 of the total tiger population of the country.
- Officially notified as the 46th Tiger Reserve of India in 2013, it covers an area of approximately 1894.90 sq.km, out of which 656.36 sq.km. forms the core area.
- It comprises the notified areas of Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It has linkages with Kanha, Pench, and Tadoba Tiger Reserves.
- Topography: The topography is undulating, and the highest point, viz., ‘Zenda Pahad’, is around 702 m above Mean Sea Level.
- It acts as a critical catchment area for the Vainganga, Chulbandh, and Gadvi rivers.
- Vegetation: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous
- Flora: The towering Teak (Tectona grandis) dominates the landscape, standing tall alongside Ain (Terminalia tomentosa), Haldu (Adina cordifolia), Dhaora (Anogeissus latifolia), and Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus).
- Fauna:
- Tigers and leopards are the main predators, with sloth bear, dhole (wild dog), jackal, and hyena also recorded.
- Herbivores include gaur, sambar, chital, nilgai, barking deer, and wild boar.
- It is a good birding destination, with notable species like the Red-collared Dove, Spotted Dove, and Black-Winged Kite found in the reserve.