About Japan:

• It is an island nation in East Asia, situated in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
• Maritime borders: It is bordered by Pacific Ocean (East), Sea of Okhotsk (North), Sea of Japan (West East) and East China Sea (Southwest).
• Political Structure: Parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy.
• Capital City: Tokyo, located in east-central Honshu.
• Geographical Features of Japan:
  • It comprises a chain of islands.
  • Main Islands(north to south): Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
  • Terrain: Over 80% mountainous, with rugged terrain.
  • Volcanic activity: It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
  • Highest peak: Mount Fuji
  • Major mountain ranges: Japanese Alps
  • Major rivers: Shinano River (longest), Tone River, Kiso River.
  • Climate: It ranges from subarctic in the north to humid subtropical in the south.
  • It is often disturbed by earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions due to tectonic activity. 

Why in news?

Parliament held a special discussion to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, a song deeply woven into India’s freedom movement yet continuously debated for its religious imagery and political interpretations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Lok Sabha debate on this.

The commemoration comes amid fresh political contention over the song’s origins, symbolism, and the decisions made by national leaders regarding its usage.

Once a patriotic hymn in Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, Vande Mataram evolved into a rallying cry for nationalism, though concerns over its later stanzas led the Congress in 1937 to officially adopt only the first two.

In the Constituent Assembly, the song was ultimately accorded “equal honour and status” with the National Anthem.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Origins of Vande Mataram
• From song to slogan: Birth of a nationalist cry
• The song and the Indian National Congress
• Constituent Assembly’s Resolution: Equal Status for Vande Mataram (1950)

Origins of Vande Mataram

• According to a historical account cited by the PIB, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay composed Vande Mataram around 1875.
• The song gained prominence when his novel Anandamath was serialized in Bangadarshan magazine in 1881.
• Sri Aurobindo wrote in Bande Mataram (1907) that the hymn captured the spirit of patriotic devotion.
• Literary Context: Anandamath
  • Anandamath tells the story of the Santanas, ascetic warriors committed to liberating the motherland from oppression.
  • Their loyalty is to Bharat Mata, represented as a personified motherland rather than a religious deity.
• Symbolism of the Three Mothers
  • In the Santanas’ temple, three forms of the Mother are depicted:
    • The Mother That Was – powerful and magnificent
    • The Mother That Is – weakened and suffering
    • The Mother That Will Be – rejuvenated and triumphant
  • These images symbolised India’s past glory, present subjugation, and envisioned future resurgence.

From song to slogan: Birth of a nationalist cry

• By the early 20th century, Vande Mataram transformed from a literary hymn into one of the most powerful rallying cries of India’s nationalist movement.
• Central Role in the Swadeshi and Anti-Partition Movement
  • After Lord Curzon’s 1905 partition of Bengal, the song became the emotional and political heartbeat of mass resistance.
  • It energised:
    • Boycott campaigns
    • Protest marches
    • Newspapers and political groups adopting its name
  • A historic moment came in 1906 at Barisal, where over 10,000 Hindus and Muslims marched together shouting Vande Mataram, demonstrating its early inclusive appeal.
  • Key leaders who popularised it included:
    • Rabindranath Tagore
    • Bipin Chandra Pal
    • Sri Aurobindo, whose writings elevated the phrase into a spiritual and political call for self-rule.
• Colonial Repression Against the Slogan
• Worried by its ability to mobilise masses, the British authorities attempted to suppress it by:
  • Fining students
  • Conducting police lathi-charges
  • Banning public marches
  • Threatening expulsion from schools and colleges
• Across Bengal and the Bombay Presidency, chanting Vande Mataram became an act of bold nationalist defiance.
• Vande Mataram on the Global Stage
  • In 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama unfurled the first Indian tricolour at Stuttgart, with Vande Mataram written across it — marking its symbolic arrival on the international platform.

The song and the Indian National Congress

• The Indian National Congress not only appreciated Vande Mataram culturally but also adopted it formally in its national ceremonies.
• 1896: Tagore’s Iconic Rendition
  • At the Calcutta Congress session, Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram, giving the song national prominence and embedding it in the Congress’s cultural identity.
• 1905: Formal Adoption During the Swadeshi Movement
  • In Varanasi, the Congress formally adopted Vande Mataram for all-India events.
  • This came at the height of the anti-partition protests, when the song had already become the anthem of political awakening throughout the country.
• 1937: Congress Working Committee Removes Later Stanzas
  • By the 1930s, debates over the song’s Hindu goddess imagery became more pronounced.
  • To maintain a broad, inclusive national movement, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided in 1937 to use only the first two stanzas, which were considered free of sectarian symbolism.
  • Muslim leaders had objected to the later stanzas, arguing they evoked explicitly religious imagery inappropriate for a national movement meant to represent all communities.

Constituent Assembly’s Resolution: Equal Status for Vande Mataram (1950)

• In 1950, the Constituent Assembly faced no conflict between Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram when deciding national symbols.
• On January 24, 1950, Assembly President Dr. Rajendra Prasad formally declared:
  • Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem.
  • Vande Mataram, due to its historic significance in the freedom struggle, would receive equal honour and status.
• The announcement was met with applause and no objections from any member.
• This dual recognition balanced inclusivity with historical reverence—preserving national unity through the anthem while enshrining Vande Mataram as a pillar of India’s independence movement.

Why in news?

A Parliamentary Standing Committee has sharply criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA), stating that it “has not inspired much confidence” and must urgently improve its functioning.

The panel highlighted repeated delays in exam results, especially CUET, and noted that despite collecting a surplus of ₹448 crore over six years, the NTA has not built adequate in-house capacity to conduct tests independently.

The committee urged the agency to strengthen its systems, infrastructure, and accountability mechanisms to ensure reliable and timely examinations.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About National Testing Agency
• House Panel Flags Serious Concerns Over NTA’s Functioning

About National Testing Agency(NTA)

• It was established in 2017 as an autonomous, self-sustaining organisation under the Education Ministry (formerly HRD Ministry).
• It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and comes under the RTI Act.
• Before its creation, UGC, CBSE, and central universities like DU and JNU conducted their own entrance exams.
• Origins: When Was NTA First Envisioned?
  • The idea for a national exam-conducting body dates back to the 1992 Programme of Action under NEP 1986.
  • In 2010, a committee of IIT directors recommended establishing such an agency through legislation, inspired by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), USA.
  • The government formally announced NTA in 2017, and the Cabinet approved its creation soon after.
• Exams Conducted by NTA
  • NTA conducts India’s major entrance examinations, including:
  • Top Undergraduate Entrance Exams
    • JEE Main – Engineering admissions
    • NEET-UG – Medical admissions
    • CUET-UG – Admissions to undergraduate programmes in central universities
    • Over 50 lakh candidates appear for these three exams annually.
  • Other Major Exams
    • CUET-PG – Postgraduate admissions
    • UGC-NET – Eligibility for assistant professor, JRF, and PhD
    • CSIR UGC-NET – PhD admission in science disciplines
    • CMAT, Hotel Management JEE, GPAT
    • Entrance exams for DU, JNU, IIFT, ICAR, and others

House Panel Flags Serious Concerns Over NTA’s Functioning

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has sharply criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA), stating that it has “not inspired much confidence” and must urgently improve its performance.
• The panel noted chronic delays, errors, and administrative lapses in major national examinations.
• Repeated Delays and Exam Irregularities
  • The committee observed that NTA delayed CUET results for multiple years, disrupting university admissions and academic calendars.
  • Out of 14 exams conducted in 2024, at least five faced major issues:
    • UGC-NET, CSIR-NET, NEET-PG were postponed
    • NEET-UG faced paper leaks
    • CUET results were delayed
    • JEE Main 2025 had 12 incorrect questions withdrawn after answer key errors
  • The panel warned that such incidents erode students’ trust in the testing system.
• NTA’s Financial Surplus Should Be Used for Capacity Building
  • NTA collected ₹3,512.98 crore in six years and spent ₹3,064.77 crore, leaving a surplus of ₹448 crore.
  • The committee recommended that this money be used to:
    • Build in-house capability to conduct exams independently
    • Strengthen regulatory oversight of outsourced vendors
• Preference for Pen-and-Paper Exams
• Citing CBSE and UPSC’s decades-long track record, the panel expressed support for pen-and-paper exams, noting they have been “leak-proof for several years” — implying computer-based testing may be more vulnerable.
• Recommendation to Recognise Sonam Wangchuk’s Institute
  • The committee encouraged the UGC to evaluate Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, noting its innovative model and potential for replication across India.
• Observation Regarding UGC
  • Draft UGC Regulations 2025
    • Opposition fears they increase the Chancellor/Visitor’s control over Vice-Chancellor appointments.
    • Committee recommended detailed discussions with CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) before finalising rules.
  • UGC Leadership Vacuum
    • The UGC Chairperson post has remained vacant since April 2025
    • Committee urges urgent appointment
  • UGC Equity Regulations 2025
    • Panel noted delays and recommended:
    • Inclusion of OBC harassment under caste-based discrimination
    • Addition of disability as a discrimination axis
    • Clear categorisation of discriminatory acts to avoid subjective interpretation

Context:

• The 23rd India–Russia Summit in New Delhi highlighted the complex geopolitical landscape India must navigate.
• With the Ukraine war straining relations between India’s key partners—Russia on one side and the US and Europe on the other—New Delhi faces a particularly delicate diplomatic challenge.
• Despite these opposing pressures, India has managed to maintain strategic autonomy, balancing ties with both camps.
• Its calibrated approach has positioned it as a country showing the world how to operate amid deep global polarisation.

India–Russia Summit: Strategic Optics and Sensitive Timing

• The warm, high-profile welcome extended to President Vladimir Putin carried deliberate diplomatic signalling.
• For India, the message was one of confidence: reaffirming its long-standing partnership with Russia and removing ambiguity about the relationship at a time of global polarisation.
• For Russia, it underscored India’s continued importance in its foreign policy calculus.
• The timing of the summit was equally significant. With Russia holding a strong battlefield position, Ukraine facing potential defeat, and the U.S. largely disengaged, India’s vocal support for broader peace efforts aligns closely with Washington’s backing of the Trump-led initiative.
• India and the U.S. are therefore converging on the peace process, even as Europe remains the main outlier.
• India’s strategic challenge now lies in ensuring that this deepening Russia engagement does not erode the substantial diplomatic and economic gains it has made with European partners.

Key Pillars Strengthening India–Russia Relations

• Programme 2030: Expanding Economic Cooperation
  • India and Russia adopted Programme 2030 to deepen strategic economic ties.
  • Key goals include:
    • Facilitating bilateral trade settlement in national currencies
    • Removing non-tariff barriers
    • Diversifying the trade basket
    • Boosting investments in non-energy sectors
  • Sectors like fertilizers, railways, pharmaceuticals, minerals, and critical raw materials are central to India’s growth, and Russia’s vast resources make it a natural partner.
  • Achieving $100 billion in trade by 2030 is considered feasible if these steps succeed.
• Energy Security: The Core of the Partnership
  • India, as the world’s second-largest fossil fuel importer, sees affordable and reliable energy as a national security priority.
  • Russia’s unmatched energy reserves make it indispensable for India’s long-term energy future.
  • China has already secured dominant access to Russian resources, and U.S. companies are also seeking entry.
  • India risks losing strategic ground unless it strengthens its presence in Russia’s energy sector.
• Emerging Strategic Sectors: Maritime, Arctic & Manpower Mobility
  • Maritime Connectivity - Chennai–Vladivostok Maritime Corridor; Northern Sea Route; Joint development in shipbuilding. These routes expand India’s access to Eurasian markets.
  • Arctic Cooperation - India welcomes Russia’s offer to train Indian seafarers for Arctic operations—an area of rising geopolitical and commercial significance.
  • Export of Indian Skilled Workers - A breakthrough labour mobility agreement will allow Indian skilled workers to fill shortages in Russia, especially in the Far East—driven by:
    • Russia’s demographic crisis
    • Loss of labour due to the Ukraine war
    • Declining Central Asian workforce
    • Russian unease over increased Chinese influence
    • Easier tourist visas complement this growing mobility framework.
• Traditional Strengths: Defence, Space and Nuclear Collaboration
  • India–Russia ties have deep roots in:
    • Defence manufacturing and technology
    • Space cooperation
    • Nuclear energy projects
  • Russia remains a trusted technology supplier with fewer restrictions than Western partners.
  • Example:
    • BrahMos missile — a pillar of India’s strategic capability
    • S-400 system — crucial during Operation Sindoor
    • Increasing levels of localisation, technology transfer, and co-production
  • India will continue to rely on Russia to maintain legacy military platforms while pushing domestic indigenisation.

India–Russia Ties in Perspective: A Relationship Re-Engineered

• The key outcome of the summit lies not in the announcements but in the strategic recalibration of the India–Russia partnership.
• Both nations are consciously reshaping their ties to keep pace with global shifts, especially the evolving power dynamics between the U.S. and China — a factor that increasingly pulls India and Russia closer despite external pressures.
• On Europe, India recognises that lasting peace in Ukraine will require direct engagement between Europe and Russia, not mediation through New Delhi.
• India’s stance is rooted in historical lessons — knowing when to emulate examples of successful diplomacy and when to avoid past mistakes.
• Ultimately, India sees itself as a trusted partner to both sides, capable of maintaining balanced relations even in a deeply polarised world.

Why in the News?

• A recent report discusses how neurotechnology, particularly Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), is emerging as a frontier domain.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Neurotechnology (Concept, Significance for India, Emerging Trends in India, Global Developments, Regulatory & Ethical Challenges)

Understanding Neurotechnology: A New Technological Frontier

• Neurotechnology refers to the use of engineered tools that can record, monitor, or influence neural activity.
• The field sits at the convergence of neuroscience, AI, engineering, and computing, and is rapidly redefining how humans interact with machines.
• At the core is the Brain-Computer Interface, a system that decodes neural signals and translates them into digital actions, enabling users to control prosthetics, wheelchairs, computers or even robotic limbs.
• Neurotechnology is evolving across two broad areas:
  • Diagnostic and Neuroscience Research Tools
    • Devices that map brain activity to study neurological disorders, cognitive function, or behavioural patterns.
  • Therapeutic and Assistive Technologies
    • Systems enabling paralysed patients to move prosthetics, aiding stroke rehabilitation, and stimulating targeted brain circuits for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, depression, or epilepsy.
• Some experimental work globally has gone even further, such as lab experiments connecting the brains of mice to exchange simple information, underlining both the potential and the ethical complexity of the field.

Significance of Neurotechnology for India

• India faces a growing neurological disease burden, with the share of non-communicable and injury-related neurological disorders rising between 1990 and 2019, and stroke emerging as the single largest contributor.
• Key reasons India needs neurotechnology

• High disease burden: Millions live with paralysis, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, or depression, conditions where BCIs and neural stimulation therapies could be transformative.
• Mental health needs: Targeted stimulation could reduce long-term reliance on psychotropic medication.
• Economic & innovation potential: Neurotechnology sits at the intersection of biotech, semiconductors, and AI, three sectors where India is actively expanding capabilities.
• Strategic advantage: Early investments could position India as a global hub similar to how it scaled IT and pharmaceuticals.

India’s Emerging Strengths in Neurotechnology

• Academic Contributions

• IIT Kanpur recently unveiled a BCI-based robotic hand, aiding stroke rehabilitation.
• The National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, and the Brain Research Centre at IISc Bengaluru are serving as major neuroscience research nodes.

• Industry and Start-up Landscape

• The start-up Dognosis is using neurotechnology to study brain signals in trained dogs, hoping to apply scent-recognition neural patterns toward early human cancer detection, a novel application highlighted in the report.

• These developments reflect a budding ecosystem that can be strengthened with policy, funding, and industry collaboration.

Global Developments and Their Implications for India

• United States
  • The BRAIN Initiative, launched in 2013, is one of the strongest global programmes.
  • Neuralink, in 2024, received FDA approval for human trials and has demonstrated early restoration of prosthetic-driven motor movement in paralysed individuals.
• China
  • The China Brain Project (2016-2030) focuses on cognition research, brain-inspired AI, and treating neurological disorders.
• Europe & Latin America
  • The EU and Chile are pioneering neuro-rights legislation, recognising the potential risks of brain-data exploitation and autonomy loss.
• For India, these trends underscore the need to develop both technological capacity and an ethical, regulatory architecture suited to its social and economic context.

Regulatory and Ethical Challenges for India

• Without adequate regulation, neurotechnology could bring risks such as:

• Privacy violations (brain data is the most intimate data known)
• Manipulation of neural activity
• Misuse for surveillance or military advantage
• Inequitable access, worsening health disparities

• The study stresses the importance of:

• Public engagement to understand societal concerns
• Tailored regulatory pathways depending on whether BCIs are diagnostic, therapeutic, or enhancement-oriented
• Ethics frameworks ensuring user autonomy and data consent
• A specialised regulatory pathway that evaluates BCIs on both technical safety and ethical dimensions is essential for responsible innovation.

Context:

• A recent government move to re-examine guidelines for doctoral degrees seeks to align PhD research topics with “emerging needs and national priorities.”
• While relevance and accountability of public spending on research are important, overemphasis on immediate applicability risks undermining India’s long-term STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) potential.
• The debate is crucial for India’s ambition of becoming a knowledge economy and innovation hub. 

Core Argument:

• India cannot fulfil its STEM potential by narrowly focusing on short-term, application-oriented research.
• Instead, it must support basic research, ensure humane research conditions, and strengthen the foundations of higher education and research.

Analysing the Argument:

• Applied vs basic research - A false dichotomy:
  • Basic research often precedes applied breakthroughs by decades.
  • Example: Nobel Prize in Physics (2023) recognised work from the 1980s that enabled quantum computing, an application unimaginable at the time.
  • Bell Laboratories’ (American industrial research company) success illustrates how curiosity-driven basic research, backed by institutional freedom, leads to transformative technologies (transistor, laser, optical fibre).
• Limits of targeted and mission-mode research:
  • India already supports applied areas like renewable energy, battery technology, sustainable agriculture, and healthcare through national missions.
  • Over-directing funds only to “currently obvious” areas can be short-sighted and superficial.
  • True innovation requires supporting indirect, interdisciplinary and exploratory research, even without immediate outputs.
  • Hence, measuring relevance only by short-term impact is flawed.
• Structural problems in India’s PhD ecosystem:
  • Irregular and delayed fellowships (by DST, UGC, etc.) — scholars are often unpaid for months.
  • Transfer of fellowship payments directly to bank accounts helped curb corruption but did not solve disbursement delays.
  • Many non-NET PhD scholars receive stipends (~₹8,000/month), below minimum wage, unchanged since 2012.
  • Scholars are forced into excessive teaching or temporary jobs, reducing research productivity.
• Weak industry–academia linkages:
  • Industry-funded PhDs are rare in India, especially outside elite institutions like IITs.
  • Historical disconnect and limited institutional capacity reduce collaborative research and technology transfer.
  • Without improving administrative efficiency and advisory capacity, such collaborations cannot scale.
• Neglect of humanities and social sciences:
  • Policy focus on “emerging needs” risks sidelining philosophy, history, sociology, political science.
  • Unbiased inquiry in humanities is essential for democracy, ethics, and social understanding.
  • Valuing only STEM applications impoverishes the broader knowledge ecosystem.

Major Challenges Identified and Way Forward:

• Over-instrumental view of research relevance: Encourage curiosity-driven research alongside mission-mode projects. Evaluate impact over longer time horizons.
• Chronic delays in scholarships and salaries: Ensure timely and automatic disbursement of fellowships. Update stipends to reflect inflation and minimum wage norms.
• Inadequate PhD stipends and poor working conditions: Treat payment delays as a serious governance failure, not a minor administrative lapse. Build supportive institutional cultures that motivate scholars.
• Weak industry–academia collaboration: Incentivise industry-funded PhDs and joint research. Build administrative and mentoring capacity in universities.
• Marginalisation of non-STEM disciplines: Recognise humanities and social sciences as integral to national development. Avoid political or utilitarian interference in academic inquiry.
• Treat systemic issues (funding, academic freedom, etc) rather than symptoms (new priorities).

Conclusion:

• India’s STEM ambitions cannot be realised through narrowly defined relevance or short-term priorities.
• The real crisis lies not in a lack of “emerging topics” but in the neglect of foundational issues — humane basic research, respect for all domains of knowledge, etc.
• Getting the basics right is the prerequisite for innovation. Without fixing these roots, India risks stunting the very scientific and intellectual capacity it seeks to harness.

Context

• The question of what constitutes proof of citizenship lies at the centre of India’s democratic governance.
• The Indian passport and electoral rolls are often viewed as indicators of belonging, yet neither document conclusively proves citizenship, as both can be forged.
• This tension between evidence of status and the status of evidence frames the current debate around the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• The controversy raises deeper questions about how states define and verify membership in a political community.

The Legal Dispute: Institutional Authority and Procedural Limits

• Challenges to the ECI’s SIR rest on three key arguments. The ECI has no legal authority to determine citizenship, a power reserved for the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• No law permits a nationwide, en masse SIR, and voter roll revisions are meant to be selective.
• Finally, decisions on foreigner status belong to bodies constituted under the Foreigners Act, not the ECI.
• The ECI argues that its constitutional duty to prepare accurate electoral rolls requires verifying an applicant’s citizenship, even if this does not amount to a formal citizenship determination.
• The dispute unsettles a long-standing democratic presumption: that all residents are citizens unless proven otherwise.
• With the burden shifting toward individuals, the nature of the state’s relationship to its people becomes central.

The Quest for a ‘Master Document’ and the Burden of Proof

• India lacks a single document with the legal status of definitive proof of citizenship.
• The Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2003 provide for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Identity Cards, but these frameworks remain incomplete.
• The National Population Register (NPR), which lists all residents, is intended to feed into the NRC, which includes only those who have proven their citizenship.
• A critical principle governs this regime: when citizenship is questioned, the burden of proof rests on the individual, not the state.
• Past exercises, such as the 2010 NPR and the 2008 Multipurpose National Identity Card pilot, reflect efforts to build comprehensive identification systems.
• Political hesitation remains evident, particularly as the NRC disappeared from the 2024 election manifesto.
• The interplay between policy ambition and political caution continues to shape India’s approach to documenting citizenship.

Evolving Conceptions of Indian Citizenship

• India’s early citizenship framework leaned toward jus soli or birth-based citizenship.
• Over time, elements of descent-based citizenship (jus sanguinis) grew stronger, introducing multiple caveats to citizenship by birth.
  • Those born before July 1, 1987 are citizens by birth without condition.
  • Between 1987 and 2004, one parent must be a citizen.
  • After December 3, 2004, one parent must be a citizen and the other must not be an illegal migrant.
• The 2003 amendments introduced the category of illegal immigrant, excluding such persons and their children from birth-based citizenship.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 further altered the landscape by introducing a religion-based path to citizenship, marking a significant shift in the principles governing membership in the national community.

Who Determines Citizenship? The Administrative Paradox

• A fundamental paradox sits at the heart of citizenship governance: while a democracy derives legitimacy from the people, the state controls the mechanisms that define who the people are.
• In practice, citizenship determinations are made by frontline officials, clerks, constables, border agents, and local administrators, whose decisions shape political inclusion and exclusion.
• Whether conducted under the ECI or the MHA, exercises such as SIR, NPR, or NRC rely on the same local bureaucracy.
• Institutional location does not resolve the deeper contradiction, for the state retains authority to determine membership in the very polity that legitimises it.

Assam: A Case Study in Bureaucratised Citizenship

• Assam offers the only example of a completed draft NRC, created under Section 6A following the Assam Accord.
• The 2019 draft identified 19 lakh individuals as D-voters or doubtful citizens, based on their inability to establish lineage or residency beyond reasonable doubt.
• Reliance on decades-old legacy documents placed immense burdens on individuals, and political reactions intensified when large numbers of excluded individuals were found to be Hindus.
• Being marked a D-voter can result in loss of voting rights, proceedings before Foreigners Tribunals, and potential deportation.
• Assam demonstrates the human and administrative complexity inherent in large-scale citizenship verification.

The Democratic Dilemma

• Efforts to verify citizenship reveal a core democratic tension: a democracy presupposes that people create the state, yet the state decides who counts as the people.
• With individuals bearing the burden of proof and the state exercising decisive authority, the balance between administrative control and democratic inclusion remains fragile.
• Without resolving this paradox, initiatives such as SIR, NPR, or NRC will continue to shape anxieties over identity, belonging, and the meaning of citizenship in India.

Conclusion

• India’s ongoing contestation over citizenship verification sits at the intersection of law, politics, and philosophy.
• While administrative accuracy in electoral rolls is essential, the mechanisms used to determine citizenship must balance state interests with constitutional guarantees of fairness, transparency, and democratic inclusion.
• The unresolved question remains: how can a democratic state verify its citizenry without undermining the very principle that the people precede and authorise the state?

Why in news?

India has a long-standing problem with its current account deficit (CAD) — the part of the balance of payments that tracks what the country earns from the world versus what it pays out.

In the last 25+ years, India has recorded a current account surplus only four times: 2001–02; 2002–03; 2003–04; 2020–21. Every other year, India imported more goods and services than it exported, leading to a deficit.

The CAD hit record highs of $78.2 billion in 2011–12 and $88.2 billion in 2012–13. In most years since then, it stayed below $50 billion, except in 2018–19 ($57.3 billion) and 2022–23 ($67.1 billion), when it rose again.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India’s Current Account: The Role of the Invisible Hand
• CAD Is Not the Problem — Capital Flows Are

India’s Current Account: The Role of the Invisible Hand

• The current account in the BOP has two subcomponents. The first is merchandise trade — exports and imports of physical goods.
• The second one is called invisibles subcomponent. The “invisibles” trade has to do with the global flows of services, people, data and ideas, as opposed to the movement of tangible stuff (“visible”) across national borders through sea and by air.
• Merchandise Trade Deficit Keeps Widening
  • India has always imported more physical goods than it exports, leading to a persistent merchandise trade deficit.
  • Key trends:
    • $91.5 billion deficit in 2007–08
    • Peaked at $195.7 billion in 2012–13
    • Narrowed to $102.2 billion in 2020–21
    • Jumped to $286.9 billion in 2024–25
  • At the current pace, the 2025–26 deficit may cross $300 billion.
• Invisibles: The Surplus That Saves India’s Current Account
  • India consistently earns large surpluses here due to:
    • High private remittances
    • Strong IT and business service exports
    • Skilled professional services (finance, design, consulting, medicine, etc.)
  • These surpluses offset India’s payments for:
    • Interest and dividends to foreign investors
    • Royalty payments
    • Education of Indians abroad
• Invisibles Surplus Has Grown Dramatically
• India’s invisibles surplus has risen strongly:
  • $75.7 billion in 2007–08
  • $150.7 billion in 2021–22
  • $263.9 billion in 2024–25
• This year, it is likely to exceed $280 billion — a new record.
• Why India’s CAD Doesn’t Blow Up?
  • Even though India’s merchandise trade deficit is massive, the invisibles surplus almost balances it out, preventing the current account deficit (CAD) from becoming unsustainable.
  • This explains why India’s CAD has often remained manageable despite weak goods exports.
• India as the “Office of the World”
  • India’s rising invisibles surplus reflects its global economic role:
    • Just as China is the “factory of the world”,
    • India has become the “office of the world”, exporting white-collar skills — software engineers, accountants, doctors, designers, auditors, and other professionals.
  • These service exports act as an economic stabiliser, cushioning the impact of India’s large goods imports.

CAD Is Not the Problem — Capital Flows Are

• India’s current account deficit (CAD) has actually declined, falling from $25.3 billion (Apr–Sep 2024) to $15.1 billion (Apr–Sep 2025).
• Despite this improvement, the rupee has weakened sharply against major currencies.
• The real culprit is not the CAD but the capital account, where inflows have dried up.
• Rupee’s Slide Driven by Weak Capital Inflows
  • Over the past year, the rupee has depreciated significantly against the:
    • US dollar (84.73 → 89.92)
    • Euro (89.20 → 104.82)
    • British pound (107.76 → 120)
    • Yen (0.5658 → 0.5815)
    • Chinese yuan (11.66 → 12.72)
  • This fall is linked to shrinking foreign investments, not excessive import bills.
  • Foreign capital inflows hit a record $107.9 billion in 2007–08, consistently exceeding the CAD and boosting forex reserves for many years.
  • But now:
    • 2024–25: Net capital inflows crashed to $18 billion, lower than the CAD
    • 2025–26 (Apr–Sep): Only $8.6 billion of inflows, again below the CAD
  • This mismatch is directly pressuring the rupee.
• Sharp Decline in Foreign Investment
  • Direct and Portfolio Investment Have Both Weakened.
    • Foreign investment (overall): $80.1 bn (2020–21); $21.8 bn (2021–22); $22.8 bn (2022–23); $54.2 bn (2023–24); $4.5 bn (2024–25); $3.6 bn (Apr–Sep 2025).
    • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): $44 bn (2020–21); $38.6 bn (2021–22); $28 bn (2022–23); $10.2 bn (2023–24); Collapsed to $959 million (2024–25); Slight recovery in 2025–26 (Apr–Sep): $7.7 bn.
    • Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI): From 2021–22 onward, only one year (2023–24) saw net inflows.
    • Most years recorded massive outflows: –$18.5 bn (2021–22); –$5.1 bn (2022–23); –$14.6 bn (2024–25); –$4.3 bn so far in 2025–26.
• Why This Is Surprising Given India’s Growth?
• India’s economy has been growing at 8.2% annually (2021–22 to 2024–25) and 8% in the first half of 2025–26 — a level of growth that should normally attract significant foreign capital.
• Yet, paradoxically, foreign investors have pulled back, leaving India with a capital account deficit.
• Capital Dry-Up Is the Main Driver of Rupee Weakness
  • The rupee’s current slump is not due to rising imports or CAD pressure.
  • Rather, it is caused by the sharp fall in foreign capital inflows, which reduces dollar availability and weakens the currency.
  • The capital account, not the current account, is where India’s external vulnerability now lies.