4 April 2024

• Defence: India's defence exports hit a record Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023-24, a 31-fold rise over the past decade.
• Economy: RBI completes 90 years of operation in April 2024.
• Energy: India's coal and lignite production crosses one billion tonnes for the first time in FY 2023-24.
• Science: South Korea's KSTAR fusion reactor sustains plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 48 seconds, a new world record.
• Infrastructure: Paradip Port in Odisha overtakes Kandla to become India's top cargo-handling port.

GS area: Economy, Internal Security

India's defence exports reached Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023-24, a 32.5 per cent year-on-year increase and a 31-fold rise over the past decade.

Key facts:

• FY 2013-14 baseline: Defence exports were a fraction of today's figure. The transformation is the result of deliberate policy shifts begun around 2014.
• Private sector share: Approximately 60 per cent of exports now come from private sector defence firms.
• Export authorisations: 1,507 in FY 2023-24.
• Key items exported: Personal protective equipment, offshore patrol vessels, and avionics.
• Recipient nations include: Maldives, Sri Lanka, France, Nepal, Mauritius, Israel, Egypt, UAE, Chile, and Italy.
• Key policy levers:
  • FDI up to 74 per cent under automatic route and 100 per cent by government approval in defence manufacturing.
  • iDEX scheme (Innovations for Defence Excellence) for startups and MSMEs.
  • Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 requires 50 per cent indigenous content.
  • Two Defence Industrial Corridors: one in Uttar Pradesh (Bundelkhand) and one in Tamil Nadu.
  • Domestic procurement budget share raised from 40 per cent to 75 per cent.
  • SRIJAN portal lists items that can be substituted with indigenous products.

The scale of growth matters but so does its composition. Patrol vessels and protective gear are a start; moving toward fighter aircraft and high-end missiles would mark a genuine strategic shift.

Static linkage: Atmanirbhar Bharat, defence industry, economy.

GS area: Economy (monetary policy, banking)

The Reserve Bank of India was established on 1 April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. It turned 90 in April 2024.

Key facts:

• First Governor: Sir Osborne Smith (1935).
• Recommendation: The Hilton Young Commission (1926) recommended a central bank for India.
• Nationalisation: 1949 under the RBI Act.
• Acts administered: RBI Act 1934, Banking Regulation Act 1949, Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999, Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007, and the SARFAESI Act 2002 among others.
• Key achievements at 90:
  • Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework adopted in 2016.
  • CPI target set every five years by the government in consultation with RBI.
  • Gross NPAs of banks reduced to a 10-year low of 3.9 per cent of advances as of March 2023.
  • RTGS, NEFT, and UPI payment infrastructure established.
• Current CPI target: 4 per cent with a tolerance band of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Static linkage: monetary policy, financial sector regulation, banking.

GS area: Economy, Energy

India produced over one billion tonnes of coal and lignite in FY 2023-24, compared to 937 million tonnes the previous year.

Key facts:

• Coal India Limited (CIL): Accounts for over 70 per cent of domestic production.
• Global standing: India holds the fifth-largest coal reserves globally and is the second-largest consumer.
• Imports: India imported 217.75 million tonnes in FY 2023-24, of which 77 per cent was non-coking coal (used for power generation).
• Policy goal: Eliminate coal imports by 2025-26.
• Paradox: Even as India adds record renewable capacity, coal demand continues to grow with industrialisation and rising electricity demand.

Static linkage: energy security, natural resources, Indian economy.

GS area: Science and Technology

South Korea's KSTAR (Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) facility sustained plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 48 seconds, beating its previous record of 30 seconds.

Key facts:

• Temperature context: 100 million degrees Celsius is seven times hotter than the Sun's core.
• Innovation: KSTAR replaced carbon components with tungsten divertors. Tungsten tolerates extreme heat better and produces fewer impurities.
• Target: The goal is to sustain plasma for 300 seconds by 2026.
• ITER project: The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor under construction in France will apply lessons from KSTAR and other experiments. ITER is a collaboration of 35 countries.
• Fusion principle: Energy is released when hydrogen isotopes (deuterium and tritium) fuse at extreme temperatures. The fuel is abundant and the waste is non-radioactive helium.

Static linkage: science and technology, energy, international organisations.

GS area: Geography, Economy (infrastructure)

Paradip Port in Odisha overtook Deendayal Port (Kandla) in Gujarat to become India's largest cargo-handling major port.

Key facts:

• Location: Odisha's East Coast, at the confluence of the Mahanadi River and the Bay of Bengal.
• Post-independence significance: Paradip was the first major port established on the East Coast after independence.
• Administration: Paradip Port Trust (PPT) under the central government.
• Green Hydrogen Hub: Designated along with Deendayal Port and V.O. Chidambaranar Port for green hydrogen development.
• India's port infrastructure: 13 major seaports (12 government-run, one private) and 205 minor or intermediate ports.
• Recent development: Western Dock approved in 2020 for cape-size vessels carrying large cargo loads.

Static linkage: physical geography (India's coastline), infrastructure, trade.

GS area: Internal Security, Polity

As India enters the 2024 election season, shallow fakes pose a new threat to electoral integrity.

Key facts:

• Shallow fakes: Manipulated images, videos, and audio clips created using traditional editing tools without AI. They are distinct from deepfakes, which use artificial intelligence to fabricate content.
• Why they matter in elections: Shallow fakes are easier to produce, spread faster than fact-checks, and exploit partisan audiences.
• Legal framework: Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 require platforms to remove reported content within 72 hours in cases involving national security.
• Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951: Prohibits electoral advertising in the 48 hours before polling.

Static linkage: elections, cybercrime, media.

• Kodaikanal Solar Observatory turns 125: The observatory, established in 1899 in the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu, is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It discovered the Evershed Effect (radial gas flow in sunspots) and has maintained systematic observations since March 1901.
• BIMSTEC Charter ratified by Nepal: Nepal's Lower House endorsed the BIMSTEC Charter. BIMSTEC was established in 1997 and brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The Charter is its foundational governance document.
• Anti-dumping probe on insoluble sulphur: The Directorate General of Trade Remedies opened an investigation into imports of insoluble sulphur (used in rubber vulcanisation) from China and Japan at below-market prices.