8 March 2025

• Society: UN Women's 30-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action showed women's rights weakened in 25 per cent of countries.
• Economy: The US established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve via executive order.
• Defence: India signed a 248 million dollar contract to upgrade engines of its 2,400-plus T-72 tanks.
• Law: The Convention on Cluster Munitions marked Lithuania's first withdrawal from an international disarmament treaty.
• Geography: Djibouti, at the junction of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in focus for geopolitical and humanitarian reasons.

GS area: Society, International Relations

International Women's Day (8 March) was marked by the release of the UN Women's report "Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing."

• Beijing Platform for Action (1995): Adopted by 189 governments. 12 critical areas including poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict and political participation.
• 30-year verdict: Women's rights have weakened in approximately 25 per cent of countries surveyed.
• Global wage gap: Women earn 20 per cent less than men globally across all sectors.
• Violence: 736 million women have experienced physical or sexual violence.
• Parliament: 27 per cent of parliamentary seats held by women globally. 36 per cent of local legislature seats.
• Internet: Women's internet usage rose from 50 per cent to 65 per cent between 2019 and 2024.
• Aid gap: Only 4 per cent of global development assistance explicitly targets gender equality.
• India's Women's Reservation Act (2023): The 108th Constitutional Amendment reserves 33 per cent of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women, effective after the next delimitation exercise.

The Beijing Platform operates through national action plans, not binding treaties. Its implementation depends on domestic political will.

Static linkage: Society (gender equality), international conventions, Indian polity.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Bodies), Society

The National Commission for Women (NCW) announced 21 pre-marital counselling centres across 9 states to address domestic violence, dowry and marriage-related crimes.

• Established: January 31, 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
• Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Statutory powers: Reviews laws relating to women, investigates violations, conducts research, recommends legislative and policy changes.
• Limitation: Not a judicial body. Cannot enforce compliance but can recommend to government and courts.
• Pre-marital counselling: Targets couples before marriage to address consent, domestic violence risks and legal rights.

Static linkage: Polity (statutory bodies, women's issues).

GS area: Economy (Digital Finance), International Relations

The US administration established a government-backed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve via executive order in March 2025.

• Source of Bitcoin: Seized assets from criminal and civil forfeiture cases held by the Department of Justice and Treasury.
• Policy: No immediate sale of seized Bitcoin. Assets held as a long-term reserve.
• Additional assets: The reserve includes other cryptocurrencies seized by the government (Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Cardano).
• Budget-neutral: No new government money used; only existing seized assets.
• India's response: The Income Tax Bill, 2025 already classifies VDAs as capital assets. India has not established a strategic reserve.
• WEF/IMF caution: International financial bodies warn that Bitcoin's volatility makes it unsuitable as a reserve asset compared to gold or foreign exchange.

Static linkage: Economy (digital assets, monetary policy), international relations.

GS area: Economy (Defence Production), International Relations

India signed a 248 million dollar contract for 1,000 horsepower engines for its T-72 tank fleet, replacing the older 780 horsepower units.

• Fleet size: India operates over 2,400 T-72 tanks, the backbone of its armoured forces.
• Specifications: 125mm smoothbore gun, composite and reactive armour, operational range of 460 km on-road.
• Technology Transfer: To AVNL (Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited) at Avadi, Chennai, for domestic production.
• Indigenisation context: Part of India's broader drive to reduce import dependence. T-90 tanks (India operates 1,600) are being upgraded separately.
• India-Russia defence ties: Russia supplies the majority of India's armoured vehicles. SIPRI data shows Russia's share of India's arms imports fell from 72 per cent in 2010-14 to 36 per cent in 2020-24 as India diversifies.

Static linkage: Economy (defence production), international relations (India-Russia).

GS area: International Relations, Security

Lithuania became the first state party to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), citing the security threat from Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

• CCM adopted: 2008. Entered into force: August 1, 2010.
• State parties: 112 countries (as of 2025).
• Prohibition: Bans use, production, transfer and stockpiling of all cluster munitions.
• Destruction obligation: Member states must destroy stockpiles within 8 years of joining.
• Non-signatories: India, USA, Russia, China, Ukraine and Israel have not signed. This is a standard UPSC trap.
• Cluster munitions: Weapons that scatter submunitions over large areas. Many submunitions fail to detonate and become de facto landmines.

The CCM withdrawal is the first by any state party and reflects the tension between arms control commitments and security needs in a conflict-adjacent Europe.

Static linkage: International relations (arms control), internal security.

GS area: Environment, Government Schemes

The Namami Gange Programme showed measurable ecological recovery in terms of fish species and Gangetic dolphin numbers.

• Launch: June 2014. Budget: 42,500 crore rupees.
• Sewage treatment: Over 200 STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) under various stages of construction and operation.
• Village development: 1,674 Ganga Gram villages developed along the river.
• Afforestation: 1.34 lakh hectares afforested along the Ganga basin.
• UN recognition: Listed as one of the Top 10 World Restoration Flagship Initiatives by the UN Environment Programme in 2022.
• Ecological outcome: Increased Gangetic dolphin population and revival of fish species like Hilsa in upper reaches.

Static linkage: Environment (river management, pollution), government schemes.

GS area: Geography, International Relations

Djibouti's position at the entrance of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden made it strategically critical as the Houthi conflict in Yemen disrupted Red Sea shipping.

• Location: Horn of Africa, junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
• Capital: Djibouti City, a major deepwater port.
• Neighbours: Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
• Altitude range: From Lake Assal (155 m below sea level, lowest point in Africa) to Mount Moussa (2,028 m).
• Military significance: Hosts foreign military bases from China, the US, France and Japan. India maintains access arrangements.
• Trade route: About 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait near Djibouti.

Static linkage: World geography (Africa, chokepoints), international relations.

• AI and critical thinking: Coverage of cognitive risks of over-reliance on AI tools in education, drawing on evidence of reduced independent problem-solving.
• Emocracy: Governance shaped by emotional appeal rather than expert-driven policy ("emocracy") discussed in the context of populist governments globally.