23 May 2025

• International: The World Health Assembly (WHA78) adopted the first-ever global Pandemic Treaty in Geneva.
• Economy: India's infrastructure investment reached Rs 11.11 lakh crore in FY25 under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
• Defence: India formally withdrew from the Indus Waters Treaty under the Integrated Water Management (National Security) Act, 2025.
• Environment: CITES CoP20 opened in Geneva with India proposing enhanced protection for star tortoises and water monitor lizards.
• Science: ISRO's Chandrayaan-4 sample return mission cleared its Preliminary Design Review.

GS area: International Relations, Health, Global Governance

The World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Treaty.

• WHA78 context: 78th session of the World Health Assembly, Geneva, May 2025. WHA is the decision-making body of WHO. All 194 WHO member states are represented.
• Key provisions:
  • Mandatory pathogen sharing with equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics (PABS system: Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing).
  • Pandemic Supply Chain Network for medical countermeasures.
  • Strengthened International Health Regulations (IHR) compliance.
  • One Health approach: integrating human, animal and environmental health.
• India's role: India pushed for intellectual property waivers during pandemics and technology transfer to developing countries.
• Negotiation history: Talks began 2021 post-COVID. India and other developing nations resisted IP provisions that would restrict generic medicine production.
• Significance: First binding international legal instrument specifically for pandemics.

Static linkage: WHO, global health governance, TRIPS waiver, pandemic preparedness.

GS area: International Relations, Water, Polity

India formally invoked provisions to withdraw from the Indus Waters Treaty under new domestic legislation.

• Indus Waters Treaty (1960): Brokered by the World Bank. Divides six rivers: Eastern rivers (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi) exclusively to India; Western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) primarily to Pakistan with India retaining limited use rights.
• Integrated Water Management (National Security) Act, 2025: New legislation passed by Parliament in May 2025 allowing India to suspend or withdraw from international water-sharing arrangements when national security is threatened.
• Grounds cited: Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism; Pahalgam attack; Operation Sindoor.
• World Bank's role under IWT: Provides a formal dispute resolution mechanism. India had previously used the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
• Pakistan's reaction: Approached International Court of Justice and issued a formal demarche.
• Impact on Pakistan: Pakistan derives 80 per cent of its agricultural water from western rivers. Withdrawal would threaten irrigation in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

Static linkage: International water law, India-Pakistan relations, World Bank, IWT provisions.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity, International Relations

India presented two proposals at the 20th Conference of the Parties to CITES, Geneva.

• CITES overview: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Adopted 1973 (Washington D.C.). Entered force 1975. 183 parties. Secretariat: Geneva, Switzerland.
• Three appendices: Appendix I (most endangered, commercial trade banned); Appendix II (trade regulated); Appendix III (protection requested by specific country).
• India's Proposal 1: Move Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) from Appendix II to Appendix I. India is one of the world's largest sources of this species in the illegal pet trade.
• India's Proposal 2: Move Water Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator) to Appendix I. Heavy demand for its leather and meat.
• India's CITES status: India has over 130 species listed in CITES appendices. Key listings include tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hoolock gibbons, pangolins.

Static linkage: CITES, biodiversity, wildlife trade, endangered species.

GS area: Science and Technology, Space

ISRO's Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission completed its Preliminary Design Review.

• Mission objective: Collect and return lunar regolith (soil) samples to Earth. If successful, India joins USA, USSR/Russia and China as the only nations to have returned lunar samples.
• Launch vehicle: LVM3 (GSLV Mk III). Two launches: one for the ascent and descent module, one for the re-entry and propulsion module (docking required).
• Docking technology: Requires Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) capability, demonstrated in January 2025.
• Target site: South polar region, building on Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander site (Shiv Shakti Point, 69°S).
• Timeline: Target launch: 2027-2028.
• Sample science: Lunar regolith from the south pole may contain water ice and help reconstruct the early solar system's conditions.

Static linkage: ISRO, space science, lunar exploration, India's space programme.

GS area: Economy, Infrastructure, Governance

India's infrastructure investment under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan reached Rs 11.11 lakh crore in FY25.

• PM Gati Shakti NMP: Launched October 2021. A digital platform integrating data from 44 ministries for coordinated infrastructure planning. Uses GIS-based mapping to identify bottlenecks, optimise routes and avoid duplication.
• Capital expenditure in Union Budget FY25: Rs 11.11 lakh crore, 3.3 per cent of GDP. A 17 per cent increase from FY24. Highways: Rs 2.78 lakh crore; Railways: Rs 2.52 lakh crore.
• Multiplier effect: Infrastructure capex has a fiscal multiplier of 2.5-3x in India, meaning every rupee invested generates 2.5-3 rupees of GDP.
• National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP): Rs 111 lakh crore investment plan for 2019-2025. 43 per cent funded by Central Government, 24 per cent by State Governments, 33 per cent private.
• Logistics performance: India's Logistics Performance Index (LPI) improved from rank 44 in 2018 to 38 in 2023.

Static linkage: Infrastructure, fiscal policy, capital expenditure, supply-side reform.

• World Turtle Day (23 May): Highlights Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles nesting in Odisha. Gahirmatha is Asia's largest olive ridley nesting beach.
• First Ever Volcanic Lightning Observatory: India's IMD announced plans to set up a network near Barren Island (Andaman), India's only active volcano, to study volcanic lightning phenomena.
• Global Food Policy Report 2025: IFPRI report highlighted food insecurity concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. India's rank on the Global Hunger Index remains contentious with India disputing the methodology.