26 July 2025

• Defence: 26 July is Kargil Vijay Diwas, marking India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War. Operation Vijay lasted from May to 26 July 1999. 545 Indian soldiers were martyred.
• Diplomacy: PM Modi's official visit to the Maldives produced 8 bilateral agreements, a Line of Credit of 4,850 crore rupees and 40% debt relief on Maldivian annual repayments.
• Economy: PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (effective 1 August 2025) replaces the ELI Scheme with a 99,446 crore rupee programme targeting 3.5 crore new jobs.
• Social security: Atal Pension Yojana crossed 8 crore total enrolments, marking its 10th anniversary milestone.
• International: France became the first G7 country to formally recognise Palestine as a state. 144 of 193 UN member states already recognise Palestine.

GS area: Defence (national security, modern military history)

26 July 1999 marks the day India declared victory in the Kargil War after Pakistani infiltrators were expelled from the Kargil-Dras sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Operation Vijay: Launched in May 1999 after Pakistani Army soldiers and militants occupied Indian positions above 16,000 feet altitude in the Dras, Batalik and Kaksar sectors.
• IAF's Operation Safed Sagar: Mirage-2000 aircraft used laser-guided bombs to strike Pakistani supply lines and occupied positions. This was the first wartime use of precision air-to-ground strikes by the IAF.
• Casualties: 545 Indian soldiers were killed. Pakistan officially acknowledged losses of 357 to 453 personnel; independent estimates are much higher.
• Key positions reclaimed: Tololing, Tiger Hill, Point 4875 and Khalubar Ridge were the most significant high-altitude features recaptured.
• Strategic legacy: The Kargil War led directly to the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff position (2020) and the Integrated Defence Staff headquarters, both motivated by the coordination gaps exposed in 1999.

Static linkage: Defence (Kargil War, IAF, CDS, national security).

GS area: International Relations (India-Maldives, Neighbourhood First Policy)

PM Modi's official visit to the Maldives resulted in eight bilateral agreements and concrete financial support.

• Line of Credit: India offered 4,850 crore rupees for infrastructure development.
• Debt relief: 40% relief on Maldives' annual debt repayments to India. The Maldives is one of India's most heavily indebted neighbours.
• Housing handover: 3,300 housing units in Hulhumalé were handed over.
• Defence support: 72 vehicles and defence equipment were gifted, and over 1,500 Maldivian National Defence Force officers have been trained in India since the bilateral relationship deepened.
• Digital payments: UPI and RuPay integration to deepen financial connectivity.
• Strategic context: India-Maldives relations had strained in 2024 when Maldivian President Muizzu sought closer ties with China and asked India to withdraw military personnel. The visit marks a reset.
• SAGAR doctrine: India's Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) framework makes the Maldives central to India's Indian Ocean strategy.
• Historical facts: India recognised Maldivian independence in 1965. In 1988 India launched Operation Cactus to defeat a coup attempt in Male.

Static linkage: International relations (Neighbourhood First, Maldives, SAGAR, Indian Ocean, GS-2).

GS area: Governance (digital infrastructure, industrial policy)

The Draft National Telecom Policy 2025 sets ambitious targets for domestic manufacturing, connectivity and decarbonisation of India's telecom sector.

• Import substitution target: 50% of telecom equipment to be domestically manufactured.
• Connectivity goals: 100% 4G coverage and 90% 5G coverage by 2030. Tower fiberization to rise from 46% to 80%.
• Investment target: 1 trillion rupees of annual investment in telecom infrastructure.
• Employment: 1 million new jobs to be created in the telecom value chain.
• Green telecom: 30% reduction in the telecom sector's carbon footprint.
• Start-ups: Support for 500 telecom technology start-ups.
• 6G objective: India to capture 10% of global 6G-related intellectual property rights.
• Indigenous firms: Policy provides incentives for Tejas Networks and HFCL as domestic equipment providers aligned with Make-in-India.

Static linkage: Governance (digital infrastructure, Make-in-India, PLI, 5G, GS-3).

GS area: Science and Technology (green transport), Infrastructure

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai developed India's first hydrogen-powered train.

• Power output: 1,200 HP, making it the world's most powerful hydrogen train engine at development.
• Configuration: 10-car rake.
• Emissions: Zero direct emissions. The only exhaust is water vapour.
• Cost: 80 crore rupees per train; 70 crore rupees for route infrastructure.
• Pilot route: Jind to Sonipat in Haryana.
• Mechanism: Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen. No combustion takes place.
• Indian Railways target: Indian Railways has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Hydrogen trains support this for routes not yet electrified.

Static linkage: Science and technology (hydrogen fuel cells, green transport), infrastructure (Indian Railways, GS-3).

GS area: Economy (employment, formal sector growth)

PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) replaces the Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme from 1 August 2025.

• Outlay: 99,446 crore rupees over 2025 to 2027.
• Jobs target: 3.5 crore new formal sector jobs.
• First-time focus: 1.92 crore of those jobs are targeted at workers entering formal employment for the first time.
• Employee incentive: First-time employees receive one month's EPF contribution up to 15,000 rupees in two instalments.
• Employer incentive: Employers receive 1,000 to 3,000 rupees monthly per new employee, based on the salary tier of the worker.
• Manufacturing preference: Manufacturing sector employers receive a four-year incentive tenure. Other sectors receive two years.
• Formalisation logic: The scheme addresses the fact that India's fast-growing economy is generating jobs largely in the informal sector, depriving workers of social security benefits.

Static linkage: Economy (employment policy, EPF, formalisation, GS-3).

GS area: International Relations (Middle East, self-determination)

France became the first G7 country to formally recognise Palestine as an independent state.

• Current recognition count: 144 of 193 UN member states now recognise Palestine.
• Recent recognisers: Spain, Ireland and Norway recognised Palestine in 2024.
• India's position: India recognised the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1974 and the State of Palestine in 1988. India has long supported a two-state solution.
• UN General Assembly: In 2024, the UNGA passed a resolution granting Palestine expanded observer rights, including the right to sit with full member state delegations.
• Gaza context: The recognition comes during the Gaza conflict, with 2-plus million people facing acute food insecurity described by WHO as man-made mass starvation.
• Legal significance: Recognition has political weight but does not by itself confer statehood under the Montevideo Convention (which requires defined territory, permanent population, government and capacity to enter relations).

Static linkage: International relations (Palestine, Middle East, UN, self-determination, GS-2).

GS area: Science and Technology (space science, astronomy)

India's AstroSat space observatory detected high-frequency X-ray oscillations in the black hole binary system GRS 1915+105.

• Location: 28,000 light-years from Earth in the Aquila constellation.
• Mass: Approximately 12 times the mass of the Sun. GRS 1915+105 is a stellar-mass black hole in a binary system with a companion star.
• Oscillation frequency: 70 Hz (high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations detected in X-ray emission).
• Discovery: The plasma corona around the black hole oscillates between a compact-hot state and an expanded-cool state. This oscillation drives the X-ray variability pattern.
• AstroSat: India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, launched in 2015. Operates in ultraviolet, optical and X-ray bands.
• Significance: Understanding coronal dynamics in black hole binaries tests general relativity in strong gravity regimes.

Static linkage: Science and technology (AstroSat, black holes, X-ray astronomy, ISRO).

• Atal Pension Yojana at 10: APY crossed 8 crore total enrolments in 2025. Launched on 9 May 2015, it targets unorganised sector workers aged 18 to 40 with fixed post-retirement pensions of 1,000 to 5,000 rupees monthly. PFRDA administers the scheme. 39 lakh new subscribers enrolled in the current financial year.
• Rajendra Chola I's naval legacy: The 12th Chola ruler launched a naval expedition in 1025 CE against the Srivijaya Empire (modern Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand), extending Chola influence to Southeast Asia. He built the Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and the Cholagangam Tank irrigating 1,500-plus acres. The merchant guilds Manigramam and Ayyavole flourished under his patronage.