30 May 2025

• Economy: India's fiscal deficit for FY25 stood at 4.9 per cent of GDP, in line with the revised estimate, per Controller General of Accounts data.
• Polity: The Goa Liberation Day anniversary (December 19) debate: the Centre clarified that geostrategic areas designated as Scheduled Areas need fresh review.
• Environment: A new species of catfish (Sperata species) was discovered in the upper Brahmaputra drainage basin in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Defence: India successfully test-fired the Agni-Prime (Agni-P) ballistic missile from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.
• International: India ratified the High Seas Treaty (Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, BBNJ).

GS area: Environment, International Relations, Law of the Sea

India ratified the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), known as the High Seas Treaty.

• BBNJ Treaty: Adopted at the UN in March 2023. The first ever legally binding international agreement for the protection of biodiversity in the high seas (areas beyond any national jurisdiction).
• Coverage: The high seas cover about 64 per cent of the ocean surface area. Currently, only about 1.2 per cent is protected.
• Key provisions:
  • Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the high seas.
  • Environmental Impact Assessments for deep-sea activities.
  • Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) for marine genetic resources.
  • Capacity building and technology transfer for developing countries.
• UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982): The BBNJ is an implementing agreement under UNCLOS. India ratified UNCLOS in 1995.
• Entry into force: Requires 60 ratifications. India's ratification contributes towards this threshold.

Static linkage: UNCLOS, high seas, marine biodiversity, international law.

GS area: Defence Technology, National Security

India successfully test-fired the Agni-Prime (Agni-P) ballistic missile from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.

• Type: New generation, canisterised medium-range ballistic missile. Replaces the older Agni-I and Agni-II in India's nuclear triad.
• Range: 1,000-2,000 km.
• Canister storage: The missile is stored in a sealed canister, allowing road and rail mobility. Reduces launch preparation time significantly compared to non-canisterised missiles.
• Technology: Two-stage solid propellant. MaRV (Manoeuvring Reentry Vehicle) capability to evade ballistic missile defences.
• Strategic significance: Provides India with a quick-reaction medium-range nuclear deterrent against Pakistan. Complements Agni-V (ICBM class, 5,000+ km) for deterrence against China.
• APJ Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island): India's primary missile testing range, Odisha. Named after India's former President and missile scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Static linkage: Nuclear doctrine, DRDO, India's missile programme, strategic deterrence.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity, Science

Zoologists from Gauhati University and ZSI discovered a new catfish species in the upper Brahmaputra drainage.

• Species: Sperata arunachalensis (proposed). Family: Bagridae (bag catfishes).
• Location: Dibang River (a major tributary of the Brahmaputra), Lohit district, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Distinguishing features: Distinct colour pattern; specific number of fin rays and vertebral count; morphometric measurements differentiating from known Sperata species.
• Northeast India's biodiversity hotspot: The Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Arunachal Pradesh has the highest fish species diversity in India.
• Brahmaputra drainage: One of the most biodiverse river systems in the world. Over 200 fish species documented. The Brahmaputra flows through Tibet (Yarlung Tsangpo), Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and joins the Ganga-Meghna system in Bangladesh.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, Eastern Himalaya hotspot, river systems, ZSI.

GS area: Economy, Fiscal Policy, Governance

India's fiscal deficit for FY25 stood at 4.9 per cent of GDP, in line with the revised estimate.

• Fiscal deficit definition: Excess of government expenditure over revenue receipts plus non-debt capital receipts. Financed by market borrowing.
• FY25 performance: Absolute deficit: approximately Rs 16.13 lakh crore. GDP at current prices: approximately Rs 329 lakh crore.
• FRBM Act target: 3 per cent of GDP (medium-term). FY26 target is 4.5 per cent.
• Revenue measures that helped: Buoyant GST collections; strong dividend from RBI (Rs 2.11 lakh crore in FY25); income tax buoyancy.
• Expenditure side: Capital expenditure remained at Rs 11.11 lakh crore despite the revenue shortfall. Social sector spending maintained.
• Comparison: India's fiscal deficit is higher than China (3.0 per cent) and USA (6.5 per cent), but lower than most G20 emerging markets.

Static linkage: Fiscal responsibility, FRBM, Centre's fiscal management.

GS area: Environment, Science, International Relations

A UN Environment Programme report highlighted the accelerating threat to deep ocean biodiversity from human activities.

• Deep ocean: Areas below 200 metres depth. The hadal zone (below 6,000 metres) is the deepest.
• Threats identified: Deep-sea mining (polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts, seafloor massive sulphides); bottom trawling; ocean warming and acidification; plastic pollution (microplastics found at 11,000 metres depth in Mariana Trench).
• India's Deep Ocean Mission: Rs 4,077 crore, launched 2021. Develops deep-sea mining and research capabilities. The manned submersible Matsyakaya targets 6,000 metres depth.
• ISA (International Seabed Authority): Regulates deep-sea mining in international waters (the "Area"). Headquarters: Kingston, Jamaica. India holds exploration rights for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
• UNCLOS Article 136: Declares the resources of the Area as "Common Heritage of Mankind."

Static linkage: Deep ocean, UNCLOS, ISA, India's resource interests, marine pollution.

• Goa Liberation Day (19 December): Marks Operation Vijay in 1961 when the Indian Army ended Portuguese colonial rule over Goa (451 years). Goa became a Union Territory in 1961 and India's 25th state in 1987.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Crop insurance scheme. Uniform premium: 2 per cent for Kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for Rabi crops, 5 per cent for commercial/horticultural crops.
• National Science Day (28 February): Marks the discovery of the Raman Effect (28 February 1928) by CV Raman. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.