7 February 2025

• Defence: Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher ammunition contract worth 10,147 crore rupees signed.
• Railways: South Coast Railway Zone formally established with headquarters at Visakhapatnam.
• Gig workers: Budget's social security provisions for platform workers analysed.
• Bangladesh: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's legacy revisited amid political changes in Dhaka.

GS area: Science and Technology (defence)

A 10,147-crore-rupee contract was signed for Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher ammunition. The Pinaka system is one of India's most important indigenous artillery programmes:

• Partners: Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
• New munitions procured: ADM Type-1 Rockets and HEPF Mk-1 (Enhanced) Rockets.
• Current range: 38 to 75 kilometres depending on the variant.
• Planned upgrades: 120-kilometre and 300-kilometre variants under development.
• Development authority: DRDO's Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune.

The Pinaka system has been exported to Armenia and is under consideration by several friendly nations. It gives the Indian Army a saturation-fire capability against area targets and fortified positions.

Static linkage: Defence technology (science and technology).

GS area: Economy (infrastructure), Governance

The government approved the establishment of the South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) on February 7:

• Headquarters: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Coverage: Parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
• Origin: Split from the existing Waltair Railway Division.
• Second division: Rayagada, Odisha.

This is India's 19th railway zone. Indian Railways currently has 18 zones (after the merger of several earlier zones). New zones are created to improve administrative efficiency and reduce the geographical burden on existing headquarters.

Static linkage: Infrastructure (Indian economy, geography).

GS area: Social Justice, Economy

The Union Budget 2025-26 extended identity registration and health insurance to gig workers. Key facts for prelims:

• Definition: Gig workers are platform-based, app-mediated workers not covered by traditional employment laws.
• Code on Social Security 2020: Section 114 provides the first statutory definition of gig and platform workers in India. They are defined as self-employed, which keeps them outside minimum-wage protections and retrenchment benefits.
• Scale: NITI Aayog projects India's gig workforce at 23.5 million by 2029-30.
• Budget measure: Health insurance under PM Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) and registration on the e-Shram portal.
• Global models: UK mandates minimum wage and paid leave for gig workers; Singapore requires mandatory aggregator contributions; Indonesia provides government-subsidised insurance.

The gig economy contributes to 12 per cent of the global labour market per World Bank data.

Static linkage: Labour and social security (social justice, economy).

GS area: International Relations (Bangladesh)

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is in the news after Bangladesh's political transition in 2024:

• Role: Founding Father of Bangladesh and its first President and Prime Minister.
• Key events: Led the Six-Point Movement for Bengali autonomy (1966). Was the driving political force behind Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971.
• Assassination: Killed on August 15, 1975, in a military coup along with most of his family.
• Title: Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal).

Bangladesh declared independence on 26 March 1971. India recognised Bangladesh on 6 December 1971. The Liberation War ended with Pakistan's surrender on 16 December 1971.

Static linkage: Modern history (India-Bangladesh relations, international relations).

GS area: Geography (river systems)

The Gomti was in the news over pollution levels:

• Origin: Gomat Taal (also called Fulhaar Jheel) in Pilibhit district, Uttar Pradesh.
• Course: Entirely within Uttar Pradesh.
• Major cities on its banks: Lucknow (the state capital), Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Barabanki.
• Tributaries: Sai, Kathina, Chowka and Saryu rivers.
• Confluence: A right-bank tributary of the Ganga.
• Status: Perennial river, but suffers from severe urban waste and industrial pollution from Lucknow and other cities.

Static linkage: Indian rivers and geography.

GS area: Economy, Social Justice

Countries with progressive gig worker protections:

• United Kingdom: Courts have classified gig workers as "workers" (not employees). They receive the national living wage and paid leave.
• Singapore: Mandatory contributions from platform aggregators to gig workers' social security funds.
• Indonesia: Government-subsidised health and accident insurance for platform workers.
• India's gap: The Code on Social Security 2020 defines but does not yet extend the full set of employment protections to gig workers. The Budget 2025-26 measure is an interim step.

Static linkage: Labour law, international comparisons.

• Watershed Yatra Campaign: Under the Watershed Development Component of PMKSY 2.0. Covers 805 projects, 6,673 Gram Panchayats and 13,587 villages across 26 states and 2 UTs. A reward of 20 lakh rupees per top-performing project.
• AI for governance: National Consumer Helpline received 10 times more grievance calls in December 2024 compared to December 2015. Complaint resolution time fell from 66 days in 2023 to 48 days in 2024.
• Donkey route arrests: Delhi police reported a 100 per cent surge in 2024 in arrests of agents facilitating illegal immigration through forged documents via multi-country transit routes.