Why in the News?

• Maharashtra’s onion farmers are protesting after prices crashed below production costs, demanding compensation, stable export policies, and procurement support.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Onion Production (Introduction, Statistics, Challenges, etc.)
• News Summary (Farmers’ Protests, Demands, Impact, etc.)

Onion Production in India

• India is the world’s second-largest producer of onions, after China, with annual production averaging 25–30 million tonnes.
• Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are the leading producers.
• The country grows three onion crops, Kharif, Late Kharif, and Rabi, with Rabi onions having higher storage potential and accounting for nearly 60% of annual output.
• Maharashtra dominates production due to a favourable climate and large-scale cultivation in districts like Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, and Solapur. However, despite its massive output, the sector faces persistent problems.

Challenges Faced by the Onion Sector

• Price volatility: Onions often witness extreme price fluctuations due to excess production, poor storage, and sudden export restrictions.
• Storage losses: A significant portion of Rabi onions deteriorates due to poor storage infrastructure, leading to wastage and distress sales.
• Export policy flip-flops: Frequent bans and restrictions undermine India’s credibility in global onion markets, leading to competitors like China and Pakistan capturing India’s lost share.
• High production costs: Fertilisers, seeds, storage, and labour raise production costs to Rs. 2,200–Rs. 2,500 per quintal, but farmers often receive far less in the market.

News Summary

• Farmers in Maharashtra began agitating on September 12, 2025, after onion prices fell sharply.
• Currently, they are receiving only Rs. 800-Rs. 1,000 per quintal, less than half the cost of production.
• The crisis worsened because Rabi onions stored in anticipation of higher prices began deteriorating, forcing distress sales.
• Adding to the distress, the government released buffer stocks into the market through the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
• While the buffer stock policy aims to stabilise consumer prices, it further dragged down wholesale rates, aggravating farmers’ losses.
• Farmers’ Demands

• A compensation of Rs. 1,500 per quintal for the losses.
• Immediate halt to the sale of NCCF and NAFED buffer stocks in cities.
• A uniform and stable export policy to restore trust among importing nations.
• Discussions with key buyers like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which were once major markets for Indian onions.

• Impact of Export Policy
  • India exported 25.25 lakh tonnes of onions in 2022–23, but exports fell drastically to 11.47 lakh tonnes in 2024–25.
  • This sharp fall eroded India’s competitiveness, with buyers shifting to China and Pakistan.
  • Experts argue that inconsistent export policies have damaged India’s reputation in global markets.
• Alternative Solutions Suggested

• Farmers and exporters have urged the government to incentivise exports to regain India’s lost market share.
• Replicating Andhra Pradesh’s procurement model, where onions are purchased at Rs. 1,200 per quintal, is being suggested for Maharashtra to ensure a minimum support price.
• Long-term measures such as cold storage expansion and farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) for collective bargaining have been emphasised.

Conclusion

• The onion crisis in Maharashtra reflects the deep-rooted systemic flaws in India’s agricultural pricing and export policies.
• While buffer stock release and price stabilisation policies aim to protect consumers, they often end up hurting farmers.
• The current protests underline the urgent need for structural reforms, from stable export strategies to better procurement models and infrastructure upgrades.
• Without these, India’s onion farmers will remain at the mercy of volatile markets, recurring protests, and policy inconsistencies.

Context:

• Over the past two decades, technology has emerged as the biggest equalizer in India’s governance.
• From Gujarat experiments to nationwide digital public infrastructure, India has mainstreamed technology as a tool for antyodaya—reaching the last person in the queue.

Gujarat - The Laboratory of Innovation:

• Rural electrification – Jyotigram Scheme (2003):
  • Feeder separation technology ensured 24×7 power to rural households and industries.
  • Reduced groundwater depletion (through scheduled farm electricity), promoted women’s education, and revived rural industries resulted in the reduction of rural-urban migration.
  • Investment of ₹1,115 crore recovered in just 2.5 years.
• Installing solar panels on the Narmada canal (2012):
  • Generated 16 million units annually, powered 16,000 homes.
  • Reduced water evaporation, showcasing a dual-benefit approach.
  • The global adoption by the USA and Spain adds credibility to the innovation’s effectiveness.
• Governance technology:
  • e-Dhara: Digitized land records.
  • SWAGAT: Direct CM-citizen video interactions.
  • Online tenders: Reduced corruption.
  • These initiatives reduced corruption, improved the ease of accessing government service, restoring the trust of people in governance.

National Canvas - From Gujarat to Delhi:

• India Stack and JAM Trinity:
  • Jan Dhan Accounts: It brought over 53 crore people into the banking system, bringing the hitherto financially excluded into the formal economy for the first time.
  • Aadhaar:
    • It gave the citizens a digital identity with 142 crore registrations done so far, making government services more accessible.
    • For example, Aadhaar-based e-KYC is reduced to just Rs 5 per authentication.
  • Mobile (UPI): Over 55 crore users have transacted since its launch. For example, over 20 billion transactions worth Rs 24.85 lakh crore took place in August 2025 alone.
  • Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): It has eliminated middlemen and reduced leakages, resulting in savings of over Rs 4.3 lakh crore so far. This has been diverted to building more schools, hospitals, and infrastructure projects.
• PRAGATI platform:
  • Monthly PM-led project monitoring through video conferences.
  • Ensured real-time accountability in governance.

Technology in Key Sectors:

• Agriculture and healthcare:
  • AI apps for farmers, real-time weather and soil data.
  • PM-KISAN: The scheme delivers direct income support to 11 crore farmers digitally.
  • DigiLocker: It now has over 57 crore users, with 967 crore documents stored digitally.
• Space achievements:
  • Mars Orbiter Mission: It reached Mars on the first attempt and that too with a budget (₹450 crore) smaller than a Hollywood movie.
  • Chandrayaan-3: It made India the fourth country to achieve a soft lunar landing and the first to land on the Moon’s South Pole.
  • Other achievements:
    • ISRO launched 104 satellites in a single mission, setting a world record.
    • The Gaganyaan mission will make India the fourth nation to send humans to space using indigenous technology.
• COVID-19 response: Built in record time, it is a comprehensive digital solution for the world’s largest vaccination drive. The platform managed 200 crore vaccine doses with digital precision (preventing black-marketing and wastage).

Manufacturing and Infrastructure:

• Electronics and semiconductors:
  • Building capabilities step-by-step across value chains.
  • India contributes 20% of global chip design talent.
  • Focus on 2nm, 3nm and 7nm chip design, fabs, and ecosystem development.
• PM Gati Shakti Portal: GIS-based infrastructure planning integrating roads, rail, ports, airports, eliminating silos and reducing delays.
• AI and data:
  • IndiaAI Mission: Over 38,000 GPUs available at one-third of global cost. This has given startups, researchers, and students Silicon Valley-level computing at an average rate of Rs 67 per hour.
  • AIKosh: The platform hosts 2,000-plus datasets, ranging from weather to soil health. These can power indigenous LLMs developed for India’s languages, laws, health systems, and finance.
  • India’s techno-legal framework balances innovation and safeguards (deepfakes, privacy, cybersecurity).

Engineering Marvels:

• Statue of Unity (Kevadia, Gujarat): World’s tallest statue (182 meters), attracts 58 lakh annual visitors, creating jobs and making Kevadia a tourism hub.
• Chenab Bridge: World’s highest railway bridge (359 meters high), connects Kashmir to the rest of India.
• Aizawl Rail Line: It uses the innovative Himalayan Tunnelling Method, passing through tunnels and bridges in very tough terrain.
• The new Pamban Bridge: It replaces a century-old structure with modern engineering (first vertical lift sea bridge in India).

Global Leadership:

• Countries like Singapore, France are integrated with UPI.
• The G20 endorsed Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as essential for inclusive growth. Japan has granted a patent for this.
• What started as India’s solution became the world’s template for digital democracy.

Human-Centric Vision:

• The vision of antyodaya drives every digital initiative. For example, UPI works in multiple languages.
• Digital identity and access to services democratized across classes. For example,
  • The poorest farmer has the same digital identity as the richest industrialist.
  • Street vendors and corporate executives use the same UPI platform.

Conclusion:

• Technology as the grammar of governance is India’s defining 21st-century shift.
• From financial inclusion to global space leadership, India’s model integrates scale, speed, and sustainability.
• The challenge ahead lies in -
  • Bridging the digital divide across regions and social groups.
  • Ensuring cybersecurity and data privacy.
  • Building resilient semiconductor and AI ecosystems.
• The current government’s vision demonstrates that when technology meets humanity, nations can leapfrog development stages and provide inclusive, transparent, and efficient governance.

Context

• The publication of the National Sample Survey’s Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (2024), after more than a decade, has enabled new insights into poverty measurement in India.
• According to its report, Poverty and Equity Brief: INDIA (2025), extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $2.15 a day, fell from 16.2 percent in 2011-12 to 2.3 percent in 2022-23.
• Such a finding, if accurate, would represent a remarkable achievement, pointing to the near elimination of extreme poverty in the country.
• Yet, alternative perspectives based on food consumption raise doubts about whether these figures capture the full reality of deprivation.

Rethinking Poverty: The ‘Thali’ Approach

• Traditional poverty measurement in India has relied on a calorie-based standard, wherein income thresholds are tied to the cost of food providing a minimum calorific intake.
• While this physiological approach has merit, it risks narrowing the concept of food security to energy alone, excluding nourishment, dietary balance, and cultural satisfaction.
• An alternative method proposes the thali meal, comprising rice, dal, vegetables, roti, curd, and salad, as a holistic consumption unit.
• Balanced in nutrients, the thali provides a more realistic benchmark for basic food adequacy in South Asia.
• Applying this framework, researchers estimated affordability based on household food expenditure reported in the 2024 survey.
• With the cost of a home-cooked thali at ₹30 (as per CRISIL estimates), they found that half of rural households and one-fifth of urban households could not afford two thalis per day.
• Even when Public Distribution System (PDS) subsidies were factored in, the share of households unable to afford this minimal food standard remained significant: 40% in rural areas and 10% in urban areas.
• This contrast highlights that food deprivation in India persists at levels far higher than those implied by the World Bank’s poverty line. 

The Public Distribution System: Successes and Limitations

• The PDS, central to India’s food security strategy, plays a vital role in offsetting food deprivation.
• However, an analysis of subsidy distribution reveals serious inefficiencies and inequities. In rural India, subsidies are not strongly progressive: individuals in the 90th–95th income fractile receive almost as much subsidy as those in the bottom 5%, despite their far higher purchasing power.
• Urban India shows a more progressive distribution, yet around 80% of urban households receive subsidised cereals, including many who can already afford adequate consumption.
• Moreover, data show that cereal consumption has plateaued across income groups. Both the poorest and the richest consume roughly similar amounts of rice and wheat, suggesting that staple cereal demand has been met.
• This indicates that further expansion of cereal distribution under the PDS, such as the January 2024 policy extending free grain to 800 million people, may no longer reflect actual nutritional needs. Instead, it diverts public resources from other urgent areas.

Pulses as a Nutritional Priority

• Where significant disparities remain is in the consumption of pulses, a key source of protein in Indian diets.
• The poorest households consume only half as much per capita as the richest.
• Unlike cereals, pulses are expensive and often unaffordable for low-income families, despite their importance for balanced nutrition.
• Expanding the PDS to cover pulses would address this gap directly, promoting not only food sufficiency but also nutritional equity.
• A restructuring of the PDS is therefore warranted.
• By trimming excessive cereal entitlements for households already consuming adequate amounts and redirecting resources to supply pulses, the government could achieve two goals simultaneously: reduce fiscal and logistical burdens while raising the nutritional intake of the poorest.
• Such a policy would also bring the food consumption of the most deprived closer to that of the richest, a globally significant equalisation.

Policy Implications

• The juxtaposition of World Bank poverty statistics with thali-based measures of food affordability underlines a crucial truth: income-based poverty lines may obscure deeper forms of deprivation.
• While extreme poverty may be diminishing, widespread food insecurity and nutritional deprivation remain pressing challenges.
• The PDS, though effective in equalising cereal consumption, is no longer sufficient in its current form.
• A restructured PDS, leaner in cereals but expanded in pulses — could be transformative.
• It would target subsidies toward those most in need, reduce wasteful expenditures, and promote dietary balance.
• Importantly, such reforms would align poverty alleviation not merely with survival, but with dignity, nutrition, and human well-being.

Conclusion

• The debate on India’s poverty must move beyond aggregate income thresholds and embrace multidimensional indicators like the thali.
• Only then can policy fully address the realities of deprivation and chart a path toward equitable, sustainable food security for all.

Why in news?

Recently, a lower court issued a sweeping ex-parte gag order restraining several journalists, including Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, from publishing allegedly defamatory content against Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL). The order also directed removal of numerous articles and social media posts.

Following this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued takedown notices, resulting in the removal of 138 YouTube videos and 83 Instagram posts — some being satire or indirect references to Adani.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• SC Guidelines on Defamation Injunctions
• The September 6 Adani Gag Order
• Delhi Court Quashes Gag Order in Adani Defamation Case

SC Guidelines on Defamation Injunctions

• The Bonnard Standard
  • The Supreme Court follows the Bonnard principle (1891, Bonnard vs Perryman).
  • It states that a court can grant an injunction only when it is satisfied that the defendant may not be able to justify the defamation, and not merely when it suspects defamation.
• SC’s Bloomberg Ruling (2024)
  • In 2024, the SC applied this principle while overturning an ex parte injunction ordering Bloomberg to take down an article on Zee Entertainment.
  • The Court stressed that pre-trial injunctions should be rare, granted only when withholding them would cause “greater injustice.”
• Supreme Court’s Caution on Ex Parte Orders
  • The SC has held that ex parte injunctions in free speech cases must only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and only when content is “malicious” or “palpably false.”
  • Otherwise, they risk stifling public debate and undermining the public’s right to know.

The September 6 Adani Gag Order

• A Delhi court issued a blanket gag order restraining Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and others from publishing content about Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), while also authorising takedown of existing material within 36 hours.
• This judgement had serious lacunas:
  • No judicial examination of the allegedly defamatory content was carried out.
  • The order effectively allowed AEL to curate public information about itself.
  • Journalists were restrained from publishing “unverified or defamatory” reports, amounting to prior restraint — unconstitutional under Article 19(1)(a).
• Why Prior Restraint is Problematic?
  • Restrictions on speech are valid only under Article 19(2), covering grounds like sovereignty, security, public order, morality, and defamation.
  • But prior restraint carries a heavy burden of proof and is rarely justified.
  • Journalists must be heard since truth and fair comment are lawful defences in defamation cases.

Delhi Court Quashes Gag Order in Adani Defamation Case

• Later, District Judge of Delhi Court quashed the gag order for four journalists — Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das, and Ayush Joshi — stating the order was unsustainable.
• The court emphasised that the journalists had not been given an opportunity to be heard, violating principles of natural justice.
• It noted that declaring articles defamatory and ordering their removal without defence could lead to irreversible consequences.
  • If later found non-defamatory, restoring removed content would be infeasible.
• Key Highlights of the Judgement
  • The gag order was quashed for being ex-parte and unsustainable.
    • An ex parte order is a court ruling made at the request of one party without the other being present or notified.
    • It is granted only in urgent situations for temporary relief, such as restraining orders, to prevent harm until a full hearing with both parties ensures fairness and due process.
  • The court reaffirmed that defendants must be given a chance to present their defence before sweeping takedown orders.
  • Judge warned against irreversible harm from premature content removal.
  • The ruling narrowed the scope but left other related appeals and the main defamation trial pending.

Why in news?

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a landmark mutual defence pact, formalising a security partnership rooted since the 1960s.

The agreement declares that “any aggression against either country shall be considered aggression against both.” It aims to deepen defence cooperation and strengthen joint deterrence in the region.

The pact, finalised after Israel’s recent strike in Qatar and amid waning US defence assurances, marks the first major defence agreement between an Arab nation and a nuclear-armed state.

While Saudi Arabia maintains close ties with India as well, this development signals a significant strategic shift in regional security dynamics.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Defence Pact and India’s Response
• Deepening Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Defence Ties
• Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Ties with India

Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Defence Pact and India’s Response

• During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact declaring that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
• The agreement builds on nearly eight decades of partnership, rooted in brotherhood, Islamic solidarity, and strategic defence cooperation.
• It aims to strengthen deterrence and promote regional and global security.
• The defence pact signals a strategic shift, particularly as Saudi Arabia balances its close ties with both Pakistan and India.
• It highlights the evolving security and diplomatic landscape in the region.
• India’s Cautious Response to Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact
  • India reacted carefully to the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan mutual defence agreement, with MEA spokesperson noting that the government was aware of the long-standing arrangement.
  • The Ministry of External Affairs said it will study its implications for national security and regional stability, reaffirming India’s commitment to protecting its interests.

Deepening Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Defence Ties

• Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share a long history of military cooperation, beginning with Pakistani troop deployments in the 1960s and special forces support during the 1979 Mecca Grand Mosque crisis.
• Their ties were institutionalised in 1982 through a Bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement, enabling training, advisory roles, and arms sales.
• Pakistani personnel have played a key role in training the Saudi Air Force, while Saudi Arabia has been a major arms buyer.
• Recent meetings have pledged expanded training and exchanges.
• The latest defence pact marks Pakistan’s most significant formal commitment in decades, securing Saudi investment during its fiscal crisis and reinforcing its pan-Islamic security role.
• Analysts suggest Pakistan may now access U.S. weapons through Saudi funding.
• For Riyadh, the pact strengthens defences against Iran, Houthi militias, and instability triggered by Israel’s actions.

Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Ties with India

• Economic Partnership
  • Saudi Arabia is India’s fifth-largest trading partner, while India is its second-largest.
  • In FY 2023-24, bilateral trade reached USD 42.98 billion, with Indian exports at USD 11.56 billion and imports at USD 31.42 billion.
• Political and Strategic Milestones
  • Relations deepened with King Abdullah’s 2006 visit, leading to the Delhi Declaration, followed by the Riyadh Declaration in 2010 that elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership.
  • In 2016, PM Narendra Modi’s visit saw him receive Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour, the ‘King Abdulaziz Sash’.
• Recent Engagements and Crisis Diplomacy
  • High-level exchanges have since continued. During PM Modi’s April 2025 visit, Saudi Arabia swiftly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack.
  • Its Minister of State for Foreign Affairs also visited during Operation Sindoor.
• Balanced Approach on Sensitive Issues
  • Saudi Arabia has maintained measured positions during India-Pakistan tensions — condemning terror attacks like Pulwama, but refraining from criticising India’s Article 370 abrogation or the Balakot strikes.
  • It has often positioned itself as a mediator, engaging with both neighbours.

Context:

• In June 2025, India achieved its best-ever position in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index, ranking 99 out of 167 countries, up from 109 in 2024.
• The improvement reflects steady progress since 2021, particularly in expanding access to basic services and infrastructure.
• However, the SDG Report highlighted persistent challenges in health and nutrition, where progress has been uneven, especially across rural and tribal communities.
• This article highlights India’s progress and challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) — health and well-being — emphasising gaps in maternal mortality, child survival, life expectancy, healthcare access, and the urgent need for systemic reforms and health education.

India’s Struggles with SDG 3: Health and Well-Being

• India’s progress on SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and well-being for all by 2030, remains off-track despite some gains.
• The Maternal Mortality Ratio is 97 deaths per 100,000 live births, above the target of 70.
• The under-five mortality rate is 32 per 1,000 live births, compared to the target of 25.
• Life expectancy stands at 70 years, below the target of 73.63.
• Out-of-pocket health expenditure is 13% of household consumption, nearly double the goal of 7.83%.
• Immunisation coverage, though strong at 93.23%, still falls short of the universal 100% target.

Reasons Behind the Slow Progress

• Key barriers include inadequate access to quality healthcare due to weak infrastructure and economic constraints.
• Non-economic factors such as poor nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, and lifestyle choices further worsen outcomes.
• Cultural practices, stigma around health issues, and low awareness often prevent communities from using available services.

Steps Required to Accelerate Progress on SDG Goal 3

• Accelerating progress requires a three-pronged strategy:
  • Universal Health Insurance to reduce financial burdens and improve equitable access, as shown by global experiences.
  • Robust Primary Health Centres with better coordination across primary, secondary, and tertiary care to detect diseases early and lower costs.
    • The World Health Statistics 2022 by WHO emphasises that robust primary healthcare systems enable early disease detection, lower hospitalisation costs, and deliver better long-term health outcomes.
  • Leveraging Digital Health Tools like telemedicine and integrated records to bridge rural access gaps. Global evidence, including from The Lancet Digital Health Commission, highlights how digital innovations improve maternal care and vaccination coverage — lessons India can adapt.

Health Education in Schools: A Key to Prevention

• Prevention is more cost-effective than treatment, and school-level health education is vital for shaping lifelong habits.
• Teaching children about nutrition, hygiene, sanitation, reproductive health, road safety, and mental health can improve behaviours early, with long-term benefits.
• Educated girls, as future mothers, can better advocate for family health, helping reduce maternal mortality, under-five deaths, and road accidents, while improving life expectancy and immunisation.
• Global examples strengthen this case: Finland’s 1970s reforms reduced cardiovascular diseases, while Japan’s compulsory health education improved hygiene and longevity.
• A structured, progressive curriculum in India could deliver similar transformative outcomes.

Need for Collective Action to Achieve SDG Goals

• Closing India’s SDG gap requires joint efforts from policymakers, parents, and citizens.
• Policymakers must embed health education in school curricula, expand universal health coverage, and strengthen primary healthcare.
• Parents should ensure schools cover physical, mental, and social health, and push for reforms if needed.
• While India’s improved SDG ranking is encouraging, only 17% of global targets are on track for 2030.
• Educating youth in healthy behaviour, backed by robust healthcare systems, can lay the foundation for sustainable progress.
• Looking beyond 2030, embedding health education is key to realising the vision of a healthier, stronger Viksit Bharat 2047.

About National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):

• It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• It was established in 2006 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (WPA 1972).
• Objectives:
  • Providing statutory authority to Project Tiger so that compliance with its directives becomes legal.
    • The ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, providing funding support to tiger range States for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves.
  • Fostering accountability of the Center-State in the management of Tiger Reserves by providing a basis for MoU with States within the federal structure.
  • Providing for an oversight by Parliament.
  • Addressing livelihood interests of local people in areas surrounding Tiger Reserves.
• NTCA Composition:
  • Minister in charge of MoEFCC (as Chairperson),
  • Minister of State in MoEFCC (as Vice-Chairperson),
  • three members of Parliament, the Secretary (MoEFCC), and other members.
• Power and Functions:
  • Powers and functions of the NTCA as prescribed under the WPA 1972, as amended in 2006, are as under:
    • to approve the tiger conservation plan prepared by the State Government.
    • evaluate and assess various aspects of sustainable ecology and disallow any ecologically unsustainable land use, such as, mining, industry, and other projects within the tiger reserves.
    • lay down normative standards for tourism activities and guidelines for Project Tiger from time to time for tiger conservation in the buffer and core area of tiger reserves and ensure their due compliance.
    • provide for management focus and measures for addressing conflicts of men and wild animals and to emphasize coexistence in forest areas outside the National Parks, sanctuaries, or tiger reserves, in the working plan code.
    • provide information on protection measures, including future conservation plans, estimation of the population of tiger and their natural prey species, status of habitats, disease surveillance, mortality surveys, patrolling, reports on untoward happenings, and such other management aspects as it may deem fit, including future conservation plans.
    • Approve and coordinate research and monitoring on tigers, co-predators, prey habitat, related ecological and socio-economic parameters, and their evaluation.
    • ensure that the tiger reserves and areas linking one protected area or tiger reserve with another protected area or tiger reserve are not diverted for ecologically unsustainable uses, except in the public interest and with the approval of the National Board for Wild Life and on the advice of the NTCA.
    • facilitate and support the tiger reserve management in the State for biodiversity conservation initiatives through eco-development and people’s participation as per approved management plans and to support similar initiatives in adjoining areas consistent with the Central and State laws.
    • ensure critical support, including scientific, information technology, and legal support, for better implementation of the tiger conservation plan.
    • facilitate ongoing capacity building programme for skill development of officers and staff of tiger reserves, and
    • perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act with regard to conservation of tigers and their habitat.
  • The NTCA may, in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions under this Chapter, issue directions in writing to any person, officer or authority for the protection of tiger or tiger reserves and such person, officer or authority shall be bound to comply with the directions.

About Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation Bill) 2025:

• Released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation Bill) 2025 proposed provisions such as mandatory registration, safety and security features, as well as insurance, amongst other requirements for unmanned aircraft systems’ (UASs) operations in the country.
• The law covers individuals and entities engaged in drone ownership, operation, design, manufacture, import, export, leasing, training or maintenance, but excludes unmanned aircraft used by the armed forces or those weighing over 500 kilograms, which will be governed under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam.
• DGCA Retained as Regulator:
  • It retains the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as the primary regulatory authority.
  • The draft mandates that no drone will be allowed to operate without registration and issuance of a Unique Identification Number (UIN) by the DGCA.
  • Similarly, manufacturers would be required to obtain a type certification from DGCA before their drones can be sold or operated in India.
• Safety, Security Features Compulsory:
  • No person shall manufacture or assemble, offer for sale, transfer or cause to transfer, operate or cause to operate any UAS that does not incorporate the mandatory safety and security features as prescribed by the central government or unless the UAS is exempted from such requirement.
  • These features are intended to ensure airworthiness, prevent tampering, and enable traceability of drone operations.
• Compulsory Insurance for Operators:
  • Notably, provision for insurance has been made compulsory, with third-party coverage required for all operators unless specifically exempted by the government.
  • The insurance company shall, upon receiving information of the accident, either from the claimant or through an accident information report or otherwise, designate an officer to settle the claims relating to such accident.
• Digital Sky Zones Retained:
  • Draft retains the concept of a ‘Digital Sky’ online platform of zoning that will segregate skies into green, yellow, and red zones.
  • While operations in green zones will be freely permitted, flying in yellow zones will require clearance from air traffic control.
  • No person shall operate an UAS in a red zone without prior permission from the central government and the red zone creating agencies.
  • Violations in restricted airspace have been classified as cognisable and non-compoundable offences, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment or fines extending to ₹1 lakh.
• Compensation for Victims Proposed: The owner of the UAS or the authorised insurer shall be liable to pay, in the case of death or grievous hurt due to any accident arising out of the use of unmanned aircraft system, a compensation of a sum of 2.5 lakh rupees in case of death or one lakh rupees in case of grievous hurt to the legal heirs or the victim, as the case may be.
• Claim Tribunals to Handle Drone Cases: The ‘Motor Accident Claim Tribunals’ has been proposed to be designated as the claim tribunal for the purpose of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in respect of accidents involving the use of UASs.
• Punishment:
  • Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall be punishable with a fine up to ₹50,000 or an imprisonment which may extend to three months or both, and for any second or subsequent offence with a fine up to ₹1 lakh or an imprisonment which may extend to six months or both.
  • Any offence involving carriage of dangerous goods by a civil UAS, or use of a civil UAS as a weapon, shall be cognizable and non-compoundable.
  • The Director General or any other officer authorised in this behalf may seize and confiscate the UAS, documents, records, devices or things which may be useful for, or relevant to, the investigation of such offence.

About Qatar:

• Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia.
• It is located on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
• It has a total area of 11,586 sq.km.
• It shares a sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south and is surrounded by the Persian Gulf on all other sides.
• The Gulf of Bahrain separates Qatar from the Kingdom of Bahrain.
• Doha is its capital and largest city.
• Languages: Arabic is the official and English is the common language in the country.
• Official Currency: Riyal (QAR)
• Qatar has been ruled by the House of Thani family since 1868.
• It was a British protectorate from 1916 and became fully independent in 1971.
• Landscape:
  • The landscape of Qatar is primarily flat and barren desert.
  • Sand dunes dominate the southern part of the country, especially in the area known as the Khor al Adaid, or the “Inland Sea”.
  • To the north and west, the terrain turns slightly rockier and features low-rising limestone formations.
  • Qatar has wadis, which are valleys that remain dry except during the rainy season when they can briefly turn into rivers.
  • One of the most distinct geographical features of Qatar is its salt flats or sabkhas. They form as a result of the country's high evaporation rates, which leave behind salt deposits.
  • It includes a number of islands in the coastal waters of the peninsula. Hawar Archipelago, Halul and Al Bashiria are the most well known among these.
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Qatar was originally settled by Bedouin nomads from the central part of the Arabian Peninsula.
  • Qatari citizens, however, constitute only a small portion—roughly one-ninth—of the total population
  • Economic growth beginning in the 1970s created an economy dependent on foreign workers—mostly from Pakistan, India, and Iran—who now far outnumber nationals.
  • Few Qataris retain a nomadic lifestyle.
• Economy:
  • The Qatari economy is, to a very large extent, dependent on income derived from the exploitation of oil, natural gas and subsidiary industry, which accounts for more than 90 percent of annual exports.
  • It has the third largest reserves of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world.
  • Doha, the capital city, is a regional financial hub, home to various international banks, financial institutions, and investment firms.

About Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI):

• DRI was constituted in 1957 as the apex anti-smuggling intelligence and investigation agency.
• It works under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• DRI enforces the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and over fifty other allied acts, including the Arms Act, NDPS Act, COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities), Wildlife Act, Antiquities Act,
• It is tasked with detecting and curbing smuggling of contraband, including drug trafficking and illicit international trade in wildlife and environmentally sensitive items, as well as combating commercial frauds related to international trade and evasion of customs duty.
• It has a country-wide network of zonal, regional, and sub-regional units and intelligence cells.
• DRI collects, analyzes, and disseminates intelligence to the field formations, helps in investigations, and keeps statistics of seizures and prices/rates, etc, for watching trends of smuggling and movement of other contraband and suggest remedies for fixing loopholes in existing laws and procedures.
• The DRI has also been designated as the lead agency for S-CORD, the national anti-smuggling coordination centre.
• DRI has also been at the forefront in international Customs collaboration through Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements of CBIC with over 60 other countries, where the thrust is on information exchange and learning from the best practices of other Customs administrations.