3 June 2025

• Defence: Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web struck deep into Russian territory with 117 drones, targeting Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers at six airbases.
• India-Japan: high-level maritime talks covered port digitalisation, shipbuilding investment by Japan's Imabari group in Andhra Pradesh, and smart island development in the Andaman and Nicobar chain.
• EV policy: India's guidelines for electric passenger car manufacturing set a 15 per cent customs duty and Rs 4,150 crore minimum investment threshold for foreign manufacturers.
• Northeast: Assam floods hit 22 districts affecting 5.15 lakh people. Death toll across the northeast reached 38.
• AI: BharatGen, a multimodal large language model supporting 22 Indian languages, developed at IIT Bombay.

GS area: International Relations, Internal Security (Drone warfare)

Ukraine's Security Service conducted Operation Spider's Web, a long-range drone strike on six Russian airbases deep inside Russian territory. The operation used 117 explosive-laden drones and was planned over 18 months.

• Targets: Russia's long-range aviation bases. Aircraft damaged or destroyed included Tu-95 strategic bombers, Tu-160 strategic bombers, Tu-22M supersonic bombers, and A-50 airborne early-warning aircraft.
• Airbases struck: Belaya (Irkutsk), Olenya (Murmansk), Dyagilevo (Ryazan), Ivanovo Severny, and Ukrainka, among others.
• Estimated damage: approximately $7 billion worth of aircraft, according to Ukrainian intelligence estimates.
• Drone type: the operation used small explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles rather than ballistic or cruise missiles. The choice reflects Ukraine's effort to exploit gaps in Russian air-defence coverage at interior bases.
• Significance: this is the deepest Ukrainian strike inside Russian territory during the conflict. Strategic bomber fleets are Russia's key platform for standoff cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Why this matters for UPSC: the operation introduces the concept of asymmetric air power. A militarily smaller force using drones struck assets of a nuclear power. This is a live example of the concepts in GS Paper 3 (internal security) and GS Paper 2 (international relations) on non-conventional warfare.

Static linkage: Internal Security (drone warfare), International Relations (Russia-Ukraine conflict, geopolitics).

GS area: International Relations, Economy (Maritime, Industry)

India and Japan held high-level bilateral discussions on deepening cooperation in maritime affairs.

• Imabari Shipbuilding: Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding proposed a greenfield shipbuilding project in Andhra Pradesh. Imabari is one of Japan's largest shipbuilders.
• Indian seafarers: India has 1.54 lakh trained seafarers available, a significant workforce asset in bilateral maritime cooperation.
• Smart islands: Japan offered to assist in developing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep as smart islands, covering digital connectivity, clean energy, and port facilities.
• Bilateral trade: India-Japan bilateral trade stood at $21.96 billion in FY 2022-23.
• Investment target: Japan set an investment target of five trillion yen (approximately Rs 3.2 lakh crore) in India by 2027.
• Key frameworks: the Quad (India, USA, Japan, Australia), the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative all provide institutional channels for this cooperation.

Static linkage: International Relations (India-Japan bilateral), Economy (maritime, shipbuilding).

GS area: Economy (Industry, Energy)

The Ministry of Heavy Industries notified the Guidelines for Electric Passenger Cars Manufacturing Scheme, which sets terms for foreign EV makers who want to import vehicles at a reduced customs duty in return for setting up local manufacturing.

• Customs duty on imports: 15 per cent for up to 5 years (against the standard rate of 100 per cent for vehicles above a threshold CIF value).
• Minimum CIF value of imported vehicle: US $35,000 (CIF is Cost, Insurance and Freight, the landed value at Indian port).
• Minimum domestic investment: Rs 4,150 crore within 3 years of approval.
• Annual import limit: up to 8,000 fully built vehicles per year at the concessional duty.
• Domestic Value Addition (DVA): 25 per cent within 3 years rising to 50 per cent within 5 years.
• Eligibility: applicant must have global automotive revenue of at least Rs 10,000 crore and fixed assets of Rs 3,000 crore.
• Cap on duty benefit: Rs 6,484 crore or the actual investment, whichever is lower.
• Purpose: attract global EV players who otherwise avoid India due to high import duties, on the condition that they commit to a phased local manufacturing plan.

Static linkage: Economy (EV policy, FDI, Make in India).

GS area: Science and Technology (AI, Governance)

BharatGen is a multimodal large language model developed at IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems.

• Languages: supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages.
• Capabilities: processes and generates text, speech and image-based outputs.
• Developer: Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) Foundation for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay.
• Funding: National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), a central government scheme.
• Applications: CPGRAMS (public grievance portal), telemedicine platforms, and educational tools in regional languages.
• Significance: most large language models are English-dominant. BharatGen is designed from the ground up for India's multilingual context, making AI applications accessible in local languages.

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

GS area: Science and Technology, Internal Security (Defence technology)

Israel became the first country to deploy a combat laser air-defence system. The system is called Magen (Shield of Light) and is part of the Iron Beam initiative developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

• Operational cost: approximately $5 per laser shot, compared to $50,000 per Iron Dome interceptor missile.
• Targets: drones, UAVs, and low-altitude aerial threats.
• Key advantage: speed-of-light interception with no physical munition cost and silent operation.
• Developer: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel.
• Significance: the cost differential matters in high-volume drone wars. Conventional interceptors at $50,000 each become unsustainable against a swarm of cheap drones costing a few hundred dollars each.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (defence technology), Internal Security (emerging threats).

• Assam floods (3 June): 22 districts affected, 5.15 lakh people displaced. The northeast region reported 38 deaths from flood-related incidents. The Brahmaputra enters Assam at Sadiya and drains 725 km through the state.
• UMEED portal: the Ministry of Minority Affairs announced the launch of UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development) portal on 6 June 2025 for digitised Waqf property registration. A 6-month deadline applies for registration; unregistered properties face referral to Waqf Tribunals.