19 February 2025

• India-Qatar: Relations elevated to Strategic Partnership. Qatar Energy signed a 20-year LNG deal with Petronet LNG. Qatar Investment Authority pledges 10 billion dollars in Indian infrastructure.
• Space: ISRO and CMTI developed world's largest solid propellant mixer. Capacity 10 tonnes per batch.
• Textiles: India targets tripling textile exports to 9 lakh crore rupees by 2030. PM MITRA parks in focus.
• Capital punishment: Rarest of Rare doctrine and its evolution from Bachan Singh (1980) revisited.

GS area: International Relations

India and Qatar elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership:

• Trade target: Double bilateral trade from 14 billion US dollars to 30 billion by 2030.
• Energy agreement: Qatar Energy and Petronet LNG signed a 20-year LNG supply agreement covering 2028 to 2048.
• Investment commitment: Qatar Investment Authority pledged 10 billion US dollars in Indian infrastructure.
• Current LNG flows: Qatar supplies 10.91 million metric tonnes of LNG and 4.92 million metric tonnes of LPG to India per year (FY 2023-24). Qatar is India's largest LNG supplier.
• Digital integration: UPI is being rolled out in Qatar.
• Diaspora: 830,000 Indians work in Qatar. India is the largest expatriate community in Qatar.

Qatar is a small peninsula in the Persian Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia. It holds the world's third-largest proven natural gas reserves.

Static linkage: International relations (energy security, West Asia).

GS area: Science and Technology (space)

ISRO and the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) developed the world's largest Vertical Planetary Mixer for solid rocket propellant:

• Capacity: 10 tonnes per batch.
• Weight: 150 tonnes.
• Dimensions: 5.4 metres by 3.3 metres by 8.7 metres.
• Control system: Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) with SCADA automation.
• Significance: Enhances India's indigenous capacity to manufacture large quantities of solid propellant for rockets and missiles. Reduces dependence on imported propellant manufacturing equipment.

Solid propellant rockets are used in PSLV's strap-on boosters, the GSLV Mk III and India's ballistic missiles. CMTI is a scientific institution under the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (space, defence manufacturing).

GS area: Polity (judiciary)

The doctrine governs when courts may impose the death penalty in India:

• Origin: Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980). A five-judge Constitution Bench upheld the constitutional validity of capital punishment and ruled it is reserved for the "rarest of rare cases."
• Framework: Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab (1983) established five categories of murder that might qualify: manner of murder (brutal), motive (extreme depravity), social status (murder of vulnerable persons), magnitude (multiple victims) and personality of victim (public servant, child, woman).
• Mitigation vs aggravation: Courts must weigh aggravating circumstances against mitigating ones (mental illness, age, background) before reaching the rarest of rare threshold.
• Current application: The Supreme Court has increasingly scrutinised and commuted death sentences, finding delays in execution, procedural lapses and failure to consider mitigation as grounds for commutation.

Static linkage: Polity (judiciary, fundamental rights).

GS area: Science and Technology (environment)

TrailGuard AI was deployed at Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha:

• Developer: Nightjar Technologies, a Gurgaon-based company.
• Technology: AI-powered wildlife surveillance that transmits 40-second alerts to rangers.
• Cost: 50,000 to 53,000 rupees per unit.
• Battery life: 6 months to 1 year.
• Impact at Similipal: 80 per cent reduction in poaching incidents.

Similipal Tiger Reserve is located in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. It was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2009. Its highest point is Khairiburu peak at 1,515 metres.

Static linkage: Environment (wildlife conservation, science and technology).

GS area: Governance, Science and Technology

NAKSHA (National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations):

• Implementation: 152 Urban Local Bodies across 26 states and 3 union territories.
• Budget: 194 crore rupees. 100 per cent government-funded.
• Technology: Drone-based surveys with a Web-GIS platform for digital land records.
• Purpose: Accurate urban land mapping to resolve boundary disputes, improve property tax collection and enable better urban planning.

Geospatial data governance is under the National Geospatial Policy 2022. ISRO and Survey of India provide the technical backbone.

Static linkage: Governance (urban development, technology).

GS area: Geography (world geography)

The Caspian Sea in Central Asia is notable:

• Classification: The world's largest inland water body. Despite its name, it is a lake by the conventional definition.
• Bordering nations (5): Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
• Largest freshwater contributor: Volga River (Russia).
• Salinity: Approximately 1.2 per cent. Less saline than the ocean but saltier than most lakes.
• Legal status: The 2018 Caspian Sea Convention (Aktau Convention) defined it as a special legal body: neither a sea (which would trigger UNCLOS rights) nor a lake (which would require equal division).

The Caspian is rich in oil and natural gas reserves in its northern and central sections.

Static linkage: World geography (water bodies, Central Asia).

GS area: Economy (textiles, manufacturing)

India's textile export ambition:

• Current global position: 8.21 per cent share in global textile trade (2023-24).
• Target: Triple textile exports from 3 lakh crore to 9 lakh crore rupees by 2030.
• Employment: 45 million direct jobs. Over 100 million indirect livelihoods.
• PLI scheme: 10,683 crore rupees under the Production Linked Incentive scheme for textile manufacturing.
• PM MITRA (Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) parks: 7 parks being developed with an expected 10 billion US dollar investment.

PM MITRA parks are being set up in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Static linkage: Indian economy (manufacturing, employment).

• Delhi earthquake: Magnitude 4.0 earthquake with epicentre at Dhaula Kuan in Delhi-NCR. Delhi falls in Seismic Zone 4 (highly susceptible). Active fault lines near Delhi: Delhi-Hardwar Ridge and Mahendragarh-Dehradun Fault.
• Humpback Whale: Scientific name Megaptera novaeangliae. A baleen whale classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. Grows to 12 to 16 metres and weighs up to 36 metric tonnes. Known for unique bubble-net feeding technique and complex songs.