29 June 2024

• Cricket: India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, defeating South Africa by 7 runs in the final at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. India's first ICC title in 11 years.
• Economy: India's forex reserves at 653.711 billion US dollars as of 21 June, providing over 10 months of import cover.
• Health: FATF plenary in Singapore placed India in the "regular follow-up" category, confirming robust anti-money laundering compliance.
• Post-victory: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja announced retirement from T20 internationals after the win.

GS area: International Relations (soft power), Governance (sports)

India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating South Africa by 7 runs in a thrilling final at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

• Score: India batted first and posted 176/7. South Africa fell short at 169/8, losing by 7 runs.
• Player of the Match: Virat Kohli scored 76 runs off 59 balls, steadying India's innings after early wickets.
• Jasprit Bumrah: took 2 wickets in the final and was the standout bowler throughout the tournament. He became the Player of the Tournament.
• Unbeaten tournament run: India won every match in the tournament without defeat. Group stage, Super 8 stage, semi-final, and final.
• 11-year drought: India's previous ICC title was the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. This was India's first ICC trophy in 11 years.
• Previous T20 title: India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa under MS Dhoni. The 2024 title is the second T20 World Cup for India.
• Retirements: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20 internationals immediately after the final, passing the format to a new generation.
• BCCI significance: the Board of Control for Cricket in India is one of the wealthiest sports organisations in the world. India's T20 World Cup win reinforces the BCCI's influence in ICC governance and the IPL's status as the world's premier T20 league.

Static linkage: international relations (soft power).

GS area: International Relations, Economy, Governance

The FATF plenary (26-28 June 2024) formally adopted India's Mutual Evaluation Report and placed India in "regular follow-up," the highest compliance category.

• FATF Mutual Evaluation Report (MER): a comprehensive assessment of a country's anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) framework. Assesses both technical compliance (laws and regulations) and effectiveness (whether the system actually works).
• India's strengths identified: strong legal framework (PMLA 2002, FEMA 1999, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act); robust financial intelligence unit (FIU-India); effective real estate and precious metals regulation.
• India's areas for improvement: international cooperation on asset recovery; prosecution of complex money laundering cases; coverage of non-profit sector oversight.
• FIU-India: the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Ministry of Finance. Collects, analyses and disseminates financial intelligence related to money laundering and terrorism financing. Connected to FATF's Egmont Group of FIUs.
• PMLA 2002: the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Defines the offence of money laundering and empowers the Enforcement Directorate to investigate and prosecute.
• Egmont Group: a network of 166 Financial Intelligence Units that share financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. India's FIU-India is a member.

Static linkage: international relations, economy, governance.

GS area: Health, Governance

The InsightsOnIndia analysis on antenatal healthcare confirmed gaps in India's maternal health delivery.

• Recommended antenatal visits: WHO recommends at least 8 antenatal contacts (changed from 4 in 2016). India's national guidelines recommend 4. Only 34.1 per cent of Indian mothers attend the recommended number of check-ups.
• Postnatal care gap: 16 per cent of mothers receive no postnatal care after delivery.
• Institutional delivery rate: risen to over 89 per cent nationally due to JSY incentives, but quality of care in facilities remains uneven.
• Gestational diabetes prevalence: India has high rates of gestational diabetes, partly due to the genetic predisposition of South Asians to insulin resistance at lower BMI levels.
• HbA1c test recommendation: point-of-care HbA1c testing can be done by frontline health workers (ASHA, ANM) without the infrastructure required for OGTT. This makes screening scalable across rural India.
• ASHA workers: Accredited Social Health Activists. Village-level frontline health workers under the National Health Mission. They facilitate awareness, link communities to health services and track maternal and child health outcomes.

Static linkage: health, governance.

GS area: International Relations

India's T20 victory came in Barbados, which has a significant Indo-Caribbean population, connecting cricket success to India's diaspora diplomacy.

• Indo-Caribbean diaspora: approximately 40 per cent of Trinidad and Tobago's population and approximately 40 per cent of Guyana's population are of South Asian origin, descended from indentured labourers brought to the Caribbean after the abolition of slavery in 1834.
• Indentured labour system: between 1838 and 1917, approximately 238,000 Indians arrived in Trinidad and Tobago under indenture contracts. They were bound to work on sugar plantations for 5-year periods.
• CARICOM connection: India maintains warm relations with CARICOM countries partly through this historical diaspora link.
• Sports diplomacy: cricket is a powerful soft power instrument connecting India to the West Indies, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and other cricket-playing nations.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: a biennial convention organised by the Ministry of External Affairs to engage the Indian diaspora globally. CARICOM diaspora leaders participate.

Static linkage: international relations, India's foreign policy.

GS area: Economy

India's forex reserves at 653.711 billion US dollars put it in the top five globally.

• Global ranking: India's reserves are among the top five globally, after China, Japan, Switzerland and the European Union. The US holds less in reserves because the dollar is the global reserve currency.
• Gold in reserves: India holds approximately 822 tonnes of gold as part of its reserves, making it the 9th largest national gold reserve globally. Recent years saw the RBI increase gold holdings significantly.
• SDR allocation: India received approximately 17.86 billion US dollars in Special Drawing Rights as part of the IMF's general SDR allocation in 2021 to help countries recover from COVID-19.
• Reserve adequacy: the Guidotti-Greenspan rule suggests reserves should cover at least one year of short-term external debt. India's reserves cover multiple years of short-term debt.
• Currency intervention: the RBI intervenes in forex markets to prevent excessive volatility. India's rupee has remained relatively stable at 83 to 84 per dollar in 2024, supported by reserve adequacy and strong capital inflows.

Static linkage: economy.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity, Science and Technology

The Rhisotope Project's methods were confirmed safe and the first injected rhinos continued to be monitored.

• Verification status: the radioactive isotopes used are low-level radiation (not dangerous to most wildlife or humans who contact the rhino). Measured at the horn, levels are approximately 50 to 100 times below the level requiring safety precautions under South Africa's nuclear regulations.
• Global rhino status:
  • Southern White Rhinoceros: Near Threatened. Population approximately 15,000 to 20,000.
  • Northern White Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered, functionally extinct. Only two females remain, both in captivity in Kenya.
  • Black Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered. Population approximately 6,000.
  • Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros: Vulnerable. Approximately 3,700 worldwide. Kaziranga holds about 2,600.
  • Sumatran Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered. Fewer than 80.
  • Javan Rhinoceros: Critically Endangered. Fewer than 80, all in Ujung Kulon National Park.
• Poaching driver: traditional Asian medicine demand, particularly from Vietnam and China, for rhino horn (claimed, without evidence, to cure fever and cancer).

Static linkage: environment, biodiversity.

• India's 11-year ICC title drought: after winning the 2013 Champions Trophy (also led by MS Dhoni), India lost the 2014 T20 final (Sri Lanka), the 2016 T20 semi-final, the 2017 Champions Trophy final (Pakistan), the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final, the 2021 T20 group stage, and the 2023 ODI World Cup final (Australia). The 2024 win ended the drought.
• Rohit Sharma's captaincy record: as T20 captain, Rohit had a win percentage above 65 per cent. His leadership in the T20 format ends with the World Cup title.