Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Cyber Security

What’s the ongoing story: The Centre has frozen around 4.5 lakh “mule” bank accounts, typically used for laundering proceeds of cyber crimes, in the past year, The Indian Express has learnt. While such accounts operate across the banking system, the most were found with the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Airtel Payments Bank, sources said.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What are cyber crimes?

• What is money laundering?

• Read about the Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System?

• What is the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)?

• What are the various cyber crimes in India?

• What are the challenges of cyber security in India?

• What measures have been taken by the government to tackle cyber crimes?

Key Takeaways:

• Officials of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs, recently conveyed this to the Prime Minister’s Office in a meeting, where shortcomings of the banking system were discussed. They also highlighted that fraudsters are nowadays withdrawing payments from such “mule accounts” — which are usually created using KYC documents of another person — through cheques, ATMs, and digitally.

• According to sources, the I4C cited records from the Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System, where such complaints are logged.

Do You Know:

• Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of malicious activities, including identity theft, online fraud, financial fraud, hacking, cyberstalking, and the distribution of harmful software, among others. Digital Arrest is a form of online fraud.

• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C):  The I4C, established in 2018, is a department under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tasked with establishing a national-level coordination centre to address cybercrime-related issues.

• In September 2024, four I4C platforms were inaugurated — the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC), the ‘Samanvaya’ platform, a Cyber Commandos programme and a Suspect Registry.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Knowledge nugget: Money Laundering

????Overhaul of cybersecurity framework: To safeguard cyber infra, Govt may push use of made in India products

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Prelims

(1) In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (UPSC CSE 2017)

1. Service providers

2. Data centres

3. Body corporate

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Mains

What are the different elements of cyber security? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy. (UPSC CSE 2022)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance; Environment 

Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation; Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

What’s the ongoing story: Besides resulting in human tragedy and largescale destruction, the two ongoing wars have also been exacerbating the climate change problem, adding significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (CoP)?

• What is carbon footprint?

• What are GHG emissions?

• What were the outcomes of CoP 28 ?

• How do war and armed conflicts harm ecosystems and deplete natural resources?

• What steps should be taken to tackle the challenge of climate change?

• What can be done to hold countries accountable for the environmental consequences of military actions and conflict?

Key Takeaways:

• Emissions from conflicts is an issue that has largely been overlooked in the climate change conversation but may find some resonance in Baku as countries assembled Monday for this year’s climate conference.

• Latest estimates suggest that the first two years of Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, would have contributed over 175 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent of emissions, including projected emissions estimated from reconstruction. The conflict in West Asia could have added at least another 50 million tonnes. Together, emissions from these two wars are comparable to annual emissions from Ukraine, Italy or Poland.

• “Wars do have a significant emissions footprint, not just from the explosives being used, but also from the military supply chains that are extremely energy intensive. Reconstruction has large emissions implications as well,” Lennard de Klerk, a Dutch businessman-turned-climate researcher who, along with other colleagues, has been producing a periodic report on climate impacts of Russia-Ukraine war, told The Indian Express. His report, ‘Climate Damage Caused by Russia’s War in Ukraine’, is set to be presented at the Baku event.

• Interestingly, the report points out that emissions from the weapons that cause damage — artillery, shells, mortars, missiles, rockets — constitute only a tiny fraction, just about 1.5%, of emissions from the warfare activities. Warfare itself comprises only about 29% of the emissions if the full impacts of the conflict, including manufacturing of weapons, iron and steel production and supply chains, rebuilding and reconstruction, are taken into account.

• The bigger sources of warfare emissions are fuels burnt in airplanes or tanks, and the manufacturing of weapons. Even when a war like that in Ukraine or Gaza is not on, the carbon footprint of the world’s military is immense.

Do You Know:

• Wars and armed conflicts generate pollution, exacerbate climate change, damage ecosystems, and cause health issues among local communities that are felt across generations.

• History abounds with lessons on how wars and armed conflicts have cast a long shadow over public health, leaving scars that linger across generations. The use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII exposed local communities to radiation. As a result, survivors and their descendants have faced severe immediate and long-term health issues, including cancers and genetic damage.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Will environmental protections be prioritised over traditional military goals

????Express View: The task at CoP 29

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (UPSC CSE 2021)

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: GS-II: Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.

What’s the ongoing story: The Centre on Monday announced that any NGO involved in anti-developmental activities and forced religious conversions will face cancellation of their registration under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the FCRA?

• What is Non-governmental Organizations?

• How is FCRA registration granted?

• What have been the major amendments to the FCRA?

• What are the new changes and new rules under FCRA?

• Who can receive foreign contribution?

• Who cannot receive foreign contribution?

• What are the legislations which regulates the finances of NGOs in India?

• Know the terms and differences between them- Non-Governmental Organization, Non-Profit Organization Charity Organization, Pressure Group and Social Enterprise

Key Takeaways:

• A notice issued on November 8 by Director (FCRA) K Sanjayan said that any NGO whose acceptance of foreign funding may affect social or religious harmony will face cancellation of its FCRA registration.

• “…If an NGO has diverted foreign contribution for carrying out anti-development activities or inciting malicious protests, field inquiry has revealed the likelihood of personal gain by the organisation or by the office-bearers, or the foreign contribution is likely to have been utilised for undesirable activities, linkage with terrorist organisations or anti-national organisations, key functionaries have links with terrorist or radical organisations, their FCRA registration would be cancelled,” the notice said.

• According to the notice, not utilising any foreign funding for projects as per the aims and objectives of the NGO would also invite FCRA cancellation.

Do You Know:

• Foreign funding in India is regulated under FCRA act. It is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The FCRA was enacted during the Emergency in 1976 amid apprehensions that foreign powers were interfering in India’s affairs by pumping money into the country through independent organisations.

• The law sought to regulate foreign donations to individuals and associations so that they functioned “in a manner consistent with the values of a sovereign democratic republic”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: What is FCRA, the law related to NGO funding?

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Examine critically the recent changes in the rules governing foreign funding of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976. (Please refer GS-II Paper, 2015)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interest, Effects of liberalisation on the economy

What’s the ongoing story: After years of negotiating, in November 2019, India chose to stay out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — a trade agreement that includes 15 countries accounting for 30 per cent of global GDP, and around a quarter of world exports. Many had argued, then, that this was a lost opportunity. 

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is RCEP and its objective?

• What are the member countries of RCEP?

• Why did India not become part of RCEP?

• Read about the Look East and Act East Policy.

• Why did India opt not to join the RCEP, and what were its primary concerns?

• How has India’s non-participation in the RCEP affected its economic relations with RCEP member countries?

• What additional initiatives have been taken by the government of India to compensate for its absence from the RCEP?

• Map work: Mark RCEP Member countries.

Key Takeaways:

• The argument was that staying out of such trade agreements, not being deeply integrated with the global value chains that run through these regions, was difficult to reconcile with the objective of becoming a global manufacturing hub, capturing export opportunities and foreign capital. 

• As per a recent report by Oxford Economics, while India has “benefited from US trade rerouting away from China”, the gains have been to “a much lesser extent” when compared to other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

• Further, the report points out that the country has “not been able to attract a notably greater portion of global foreign direct investment, even as FDI flows to China plummeted”. In this context, the recent comments by the CEO of Niti Aayog, BVR Subrahmanyam on trade agreements, are welcome. In this context, the recent comments by the CEO of Niti Aayog, BVR Subrahmanyam on trade agreements, are welcome.

• Subrahmanyam has said that India is missing out on the “China plus one” opportunity and that it should consider joining agreements such as the RCEP and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership. 

• In principle, this is the right approach. Trade policy is now guided, more, by geopolitical and security considerations. Donald Trump’s victory in the recent presidential elections has further sparked uncertainty about the direction of US trade policy — Trump has advocated for a 60 per cent tariff on imports from China, and 10-20 per cent tariff on other imports.

• In this fast changing milieu, India must reevaluate its trade policy. While the country has since signed some trade agreements with countries such as the UAE and Australia, progress on others, such as the agreements with the EU and UK, has been slow.

Do You Know:

• India should be a part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Thursday.

• India pulled out of the RCEP in 2019 after entering negotiations in 2013.

• The RCEP bloc comprises 10 ASEAN group members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners – China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

• CPTPP is a free trade bloc spanning five continents, made up of Pacific rim countries of Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Why Trump’s win and missed China-plus-one export opportunity seem to be prompting a trade policy rethink

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) G20 

(b) ASEAN

(c) SCO 

(d) SAARC

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance; Science and Technology

Mains Examination: GS-III: Science and Technology- developments.

What’s the ongoing story: The world’s first wood-panelled satellite was launched into space on November 5 to test the reliability of timber as a renewable building material for future space travel.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is LignoSat?

• What are the objectives of launching LignoSat into space?

• How could using wood as a building material for satellites impact environmental sustainability and waste management in space missions?

• What are the environmental challenges associated with the conventional satellites?

• What is space debris?

Key Takeaways:

• The tiny Japanese spacecraft named LignoSat, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on November 5 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. After a month, it will be released into orbit above the Earth, where it will remain in orbit for six months.

• LignoSat measures just 4 inches (10 centimeters) on each side, and weighs 900 grams. The satellite is named after the Latin word for wood, with panels built from a type of magnolia tree, using a traditional Japanese crafts technique without screws or glue to hold it together.

• The satellite will test the durability of wood in the extreme environment of space where temperatures fluctuate from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes, even as objects traverse through sunlight and darkness. According to Deutsche Welle, the satellite will also gauge timber’s ability to reduce the impact of space radiation on semiconductors.

• The use of wood is not entirely new either. Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata told Reuters, “Early 1900s airplanes were made of wood. A wooden satellite should be feasible, too.” This was corroborated by Dr Simeon Baker who told the BBC that wood, specifically cork, is used on the outer shells of spacecraft to help them survive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

• However, LignoSat is not entirely made of wood. The satellite uses traditional aluminium structures and electronic components in a wood panel casing. Its sensors will monitor how the wood reacts to the extreme space environment in the six months it will orbit the Earth.

Do You Know:

• Conventional satellites, made primarily of aluminium, tend to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their lives and generate aluminium oxides. These gases can damage the planet’s protective ozone layer.

• Space debris can include natural space debris such as meteoroids, or man-made ones which can include defunct spacecrafts and satellites, stages of rockets which have launched payloads, dead satellites, satellite explosions and collisions.

• According to NASA, “more than 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm are known to exist” as space debris and the estimated population of particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter is approximately 500,000. According to NASA’s estimates, as of January 2022, the amount of material orbiting the Earth exceeded 9,000 metric tons.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: What do we know about the space debris

Previous year UPSC Prelims/Mains Question Covering similar theme:

(3) With reference to the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2018)

1. IRNSS has three satellites in geostationary and four satellites in geosynchronous orbits.

2. IRNSS covers entire India and about 5500 sq. km beyond its borders.

3. India will have its own satellite navigation system with full global coverage by the middle of 2019.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) None

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: Canada has announced the closure of its Student Direct Stream (SDS) program for students from 14 countries, including India, China, and Pakistan, effective November 9 onward.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the history of India-Canada bilateral relations?

• What is Student Direct Stream (SDS) programme?

• What are the main causes of the tensions between India and Canada?

• What is the significance of Canada for India?

• What could be the implications of an escalating India-Canada diplomatic row especially on Indian disapora?

• What kind of anti-India activities have been seen in Canada?

Key Takeaways:

• Concerns have since been raised about the prospects of Indian students who had hoped to benefit from the program. However, immigration experts said the regular visa route provides ample opportunity to secure approval. Canada largely remains a favourable destination for Indians seeking education abroad.

• The SDS program allowed for faster processing of student visa applications. It was launched in 2018 for admission into post-secondary Designated Learning Institutions (DLI), which are colleges approved by the Canadian territorial or provincial government for hosting international students.

• It had strict requirements, such as paying one year’s tuition fee in advance and providing a mandatory Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) worth $20,635 as proof of funds. It was a popular program for many Indian students, who must now fall back on the regular visa route.

Do You Know:

• Under the SDS programme, students could secure study permits in just 20 working days, even as processing times under the standard route often extend to around eight weeks for Indian applicants.

• India is Canada’s largest source country of foreign students with an estimated 4.27 lakh Indian students studying there in 2023.

• The SDS programme was available to residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam.

• The Canadian government said it was looking to reduce the number of temporary residents in the country, after hosting a record 8 lakh study permit holders last year, with the need to alleviate pressures on housing and services.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????UPSC Issue at a Glance | India-Canada Diplomatic Row

????Canada Govt ends fast-track student visas for India, 13 other countries

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

‘Indian diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (UPSC CSE 2020)

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Indian Economy, Effects of liberalisation on the economy

What’s the ongoing story: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday directed foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to obtain necessary approvals from the government and concurrence from the investee companies when their equity holdings go beyond the prescribed limits and they reclassify the holdings as foreign direct investment (FDI).

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is FDI?

• What is the difference between FDI and FPI?

• What is the significance of FPI?

• How do domestic and international factors affect the FPI in India?

• What are the different routes through which India gets FDI?

• How is FDI regulated in India?

• Which are the sectors that come under the 100% automatic route and government route category? 

• Which sectors are prohibited under FDI? 

• Where does India rank as per FDI and FPI inflows?

Key Takeaways:

• FEM (NDI) Rules, 2019 prescribe that investment made by the FPI should be less than 10 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital on a fully diluted basis.

• Any FPI investing in breach of the prescribed limit should have the option of divesting their holdings or reclassifying such holdings as FDI within five trading days from the date of settlement of the trades causing the breach, the RBI notification said.

• According to the RBI, the FPI should have concurrence of the Indian investee company concerned for reclassification of the investment to FDI to enable such company to ensure compliance with conditions pertaining to sectors prohibited for FDI, sectoral caps and government approvals, wherever applicable, under the rules.

• In case the FPI intends to reclassify its foreign portfolio investment into FDI, the facility of reclassification will not be permitted in any sector prohibited for FDI.

• The FPI should clearly articulate its intent to reclassify existing foreign portfolio investment held in a company into FDI and should provide the copy of the necessary approvals and concurrence to its Custodian. The Custodian should then freeze the purchase transactions by such FPI in equity instruments of such Indian company, till completion of the reclassification.

Do You Know:

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is defined as an investment in which a company takes controlling ownership of a business entity in another country. Therefore, foreign companies get directly involved with day-to-day operations in other countries. It is generally made in open economies that have a skilled workforce and growth prospects. This is significant as they are bringing money, knowledge, skills and technology along with them.

• India gets FDI through two routes:

• A) Automatic route: Under this route, the non-resident or Indian company does not require a prior nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the government of India for FDI.

• B) Government route: Under this route, the government’s approval is mandatory. The company will have to apply through Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, which facilitates single-window clearance. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, issues the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the processing of applications under the existing FDI policy.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????The reclassification of excess FPI stake as FDI: What does this mean for foreign investors?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(4) With reference to Foreign Direct Investment in India, which one of the following is considered its major characteristic? (UPSC CSE 2020)

(a) It is the investment through capital instruments essentially in a listed company.

(b) It is a largely non-debt creating capital flow.

(c) It is the investment which involves debt-servicing.

(d) It is the investment made by foreign institutional investors in the Government securities.

 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: Prasenjit K Basu writes— “Despite a shared history, India has neglected its eastern neighbours over the past six decades. On October 20, a vital maritime neighbour, Indonesia, saw a potentially climactic power transition. The avowedly nationalist Prabowo Subianto succeeded the affable Joko Widodo as president, with the latter’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka providing continuity as vice president.”

 Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the history of India-Indonesia relations? 

• Read about the Non-Aligned Movement. 

• What are the areas of cooperation between India and Indonesia?

• What is the significance of Indonesia for India?

• What is India’s Act East Policy?

• How can the new Indonesia political dynamic reshape maritime security in the Indian Ocean region?

Key Takeaways:

• “China is the first country President Prabowo is visiting, despite a Chinese coast guard ship having intruded into Indonesian waters on October 26. Prabowo’s relations with the US remain wary because of his human rights record. India must embrace President Prabowo before yet another key neighbour joins the Sinosphere despite Indonesian wariness about China’s overbearing business and geopolitical influence.”

• “Sukarno hosted the Bandung Conference in April 1955 which was to flower into the Non-Aligned Movement that India and Indonesia were instrumental in creating.”

• “Indonesia’s mineral-rich economy is among the world’s largest exporters of thermal coal, rubber, palm oil, nickel (vital for EV batteries) and tin, and a significant exporter of natural gas. This makes it naturally complementary to India’s expanding manufacturing sector. Opportunities for deeper cooperation exist for India’s service professionals to help Indonesia reduce its business costs.”

• “Indonesia’s turbulent modern history shouldn’t obscure the deep civilisational links that bind our two nations. The Arjuna Wijaya statue (depicting Arjun and Krishna) built by Suharto at Jakarta’s Merdeka (Independence) Square symbolises the depth of those links. Let us embrace President Prabowo, and deepen the natural links with ASEAN’s largest nation before it too falls (like Myanmar) into China’s lap through our benign neglect.”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????What India can expect from Indonesia’s new government

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Evaluate the economic and strategic dimensions of India’s Look East Policy in the context of the post-Cold War international scenario. (UPSC CSE 2016) 

While the 4B movement originated in South Korea a few years ago, not having sex with men as a political protest is not a new idea. 4B stands for four bis, or no in the Korean language: bihon, bichulsan, biyeonae, and bisekseu, meaning the refusal of (heterosexual) marriage, childbirth, romance, and sexual relationships, respectively.

The WMO report, titled ‘Statement of Climate 2024’, was released at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) that got underway at Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.

 

For your queries and suggestions write at roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com

The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the October issue of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.