16 February 2025

• Textiles: PM Modi addressed Bharat Tex 2025 at Bharat Mandapam. India's textile export target is 9 lakh crore rupees by 2030 (currently 3 lakh crore).
• Nuclear: India-US 123 Agreement details and the SMR policy linkage clarified following Budget announcement.
• Technology: Meta's Project Waterworth: a 50,000 km undersea fibre-optic cable connecting the US, India, Brazil and South Africa.
• Governance: Corruption Perceptions Index 2024: India ranked 96th with a score of 38.

GS area: Economy (textiles, trade)

PM Modi addressed Bharat Tex 2025 on February 16 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi:

• Dates: 14 to 17 February 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi (simultaneous event also at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida from 12 to 15 February).
• Organised by: A consortium of Textile Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) under the Ministry of Textiles.
• Scale: Over 5,000 exhibitors; 6,000 international buyers from more than 110 countries; 2.2 million square feet of exhibition space.
• International bodies: 25 leading global textile associations participated, including ITMF, ICAC, EURATEX, Textile Exchange and the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA).
• India's textile sector data:
  • Current textile and apparel exports: 3 lakh crore rupees.
  • Target by 2030: 9 lakh crore rupees (350 billion US dollars).
  • India ranks as the world's sixth-largest textile and apparel exporter.
  • Industry employs 45 million people directly and supports 100 million livelihoods indirectly.
  • Women constitute a large majority of the textile workforce.
• PM's message: Emphasised authenticity of handloom crafts in the age of technology. Called for integrating traditional Indian weaving with modern global supply chains.
• PM MITRA scheme: Seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) parks to be established across India. Aligns with Bharat Tex objectives.

Static linkage: Economy (textiles, MSME, exports, schemes).

GS area: International Relations, Science and Technology

The India-US 123 Agreement (2007) remained in focus alongside the Budget's Nuclear Energy Mission:

• Name origin: Named after Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act 1954, which governs all US civilian nuclear cooperation agreements.
• What it enabled: Ended a 30-year international embargo on nuclear trade with India following India's 1974 Pokhran I test and 1998 Pokhran II tests.
• NSG waiver (2008): The Nuclear Suppliers Group granted India a special waiver allowing nuclear trade despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
• Part 810 authorisation: For US companies to work with India on reactor design and fuel supply, they require Part 810 authorisation from the US Department of Energy.
• CLNDA issue: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010 (Section 17(b)) allows India to seek recourse against suppliers if equipment defects cause accidents. US and French companies argue this makes supply commercially unviable. This remains the key obstacle to operationalising the deal.
• SMR link: The Budget 2025-26 Nuclear Energy Mission proposed amending the Atomic Energy Act 1962 to allow private sector participation. SMRs (below 300 MW) by international companies could become viable if CLNDA concerns are resolved.
• India's nuclear obligations: India agreed to place civilian reactors under IAEA safeguards while retaining military facilities outside safeguards.

Static linkage: International relations (India-US), Science and Technology (nuclear energy).

GS area: Science and Technology (digital infrastructure)

Meta announced Project Waterworth, a private subsea cable initiative:

• Length: Approximately 50,000 kilometres. This would make it the world's longest privately owned subsea cable.
• Route: Connects the US, India, Brazil and South Africa.
• Technology: Fibre-optic cables transmit data as pulses of light. They carry approximately 99 per cent of global internet traffic.
• Depth protection: Deep-sea sections run at 2,000 to 8,000 metres depth, where they are protected from anchors and fishing. Shallow sections near coasts use armoured cables.
• India's undersea cable situation:
  • India currently has 17 international undersea cables landing at Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin and Tuticorin.
  • The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issues International Long Distance (ILD) licences to cable landing station operators.
• Strategic significance: Reduces latency for AI inference, cloud services and streaming. Meta's Llama AI models and cloud infrastructure benefit from lower-latency intercontinental connections.
• Previous risk: The 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption severed a single undersea cable, cutting Tonga off from global internet for weeks. Redundant routes (multiple cables) reduce this risk.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (digital infrastructure, internet governance).

GS area: Governance

Transparency International published the CPI 2024:

• India's ranking: 96 out of 180 countries.
• India's score: 38 (on a scale of 0 = highly corrupt, 100 = very clean).
• Trend: Score declined from 40 (2022) to 39 (2023) to 38 (2024).
• Global average: 43. Over two-thirds of countries score below 50.
• Regional comparison:
  • Pakistan: 27.
  • Bangladesh: 23.
  • Sri Lanka: 32.
  • China: 42.
• Top-ranked countries: Denmark, Finland and New Zealand consistently score above 85.
• Methodology: CPI is derived from at least three of 13 expert-assessment and business surveys. It measures perceived corruption in the public sector, not actual levels of corruption.
• Climate link: Transparency International noted that corruption in climate finance threatens to divert climate adaptation funds away from vulnerable communities.

Static linkage: Governance (international organisations, rankings).

GS area: Science and Technology (biotechnology)

Russia announced availability of its mRNA-based cancer vaccine:

• Technology: Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, adapted from COVID-19 vaccine platforms.
• Type: Therapeutic vaccine (not preventive). It targets tumour-specific antigens in patients who already have cancer.
• How it works: The vaccine delivers mRNA that instructs the body's cells to produce proteins matching tumour antigens. This trains the immune system to recognise and attack cancerous cells.
• Advantage over chemotherapy: Selective targeting of tumour cells reduces systemic side effects (hair loss, nausea, bone marrow suppression).
• Announced: December 2024. Expected availability for Russian patients in early 2025.
• mRNA background: mRNA vaccines were central to COVID-19 responses. The technology was developed by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna. Karikó and Weissman received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for foundational mRNA research.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (biotechnology, health).

GS area: Polity, Social Justice

The Chhattisgarh High Court extended the marital rape immunity to Section 377 (unnatural sex) cases:

• Existing exemption: Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC (and Section 63 BNS 2023) exempts sexual intercourse by a husband with his wife from rape. This colonial-era provision remains in force in India.
• HC ruling: The court held that the marital relationship extends the immunity even to acts under the older IPC Section 377 (unnatural offences against the order of nature).
• Constitutional concerns:
  • Violates Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty, which includes bodily autonomy).
  • Violates Article 14 (right to equality) because married women receive less protection than unmarried women.
• Contradiction with POCSO: If the wife is below 18, the POCSO Act 2012 still criminalises such acts even within marriage. This inconsistency has been flagged by the Supreme Court.
• NFHS-5 data: Approximately 30 per cent of married women in India have experienced spousal violence.
• Pending SC case: The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a constitutional challenge to the marital rape exemption.

Static linkage: Polity (constitutional law, women's rights, criminal law).

• Obscenity laws (India): Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) prohibits obscene acts. Section 67 of the IT Act 2000 covers online obscene content (up to 3 years imprisonment, 5 lakh rupees fine). Indian courts shifted from the British Hicklin Test (1868) to the community standards test after Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014). Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) struck down Section 66A of the IT Act for being overbroad.
• Adultery in India: Decriminalised in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018), which struck down IPC Section 497. It remains a valid ground for civil divorce under personal laws and is still punishable under armed forces service regulations as conduct unbecoming an officer.