14 October 2025

• Blue Economy: NITI Aayog released a strategy paper on deep-sea fisheries. India can sustainably harvest 7.16 million tonnes annually from its EEZ but has only four flag vessels in the high seas.
• Security: The WEF report on Operational Technology cybersecurity warned that 60 per cent of OT networks lack intrusion detection systems.
• Environment: The Great Nicobar Project, a mega transshipment port, airport and township, drew heavy editorial scrutiny over forest diversion, turtle nesting grounds and tribal rights.
• Economy: The LEAPS 2025 awards framework was launched to recognise logistics excellence across 13 categories.
• IUCN: The Indian Wolf was newly classified by IUCN as a potentially distinct species and listed as Vulnerable.

GS area: Environment, Governance, Internal Security (Strategic)

The Great Nicobar Island Mega Project attracted detailed editorial analysis.

• Components: a mega transshipment port at Galathea Bay, an international airport, a township for up to three lakh people and a power plant.
• Location: Great Nicobar, India's southernmost island, about 1,200 kilometres from the mainland.
• Forest diversion: approximately 13,000 hectares of dense tropical evergreen forest; more than one million trees to be felled.
• Turtle nesting: Galathea Bay is one of four major nesting grounds for the Leatherback Sea Turtle in the Indo-Pacific. Leatherbacks are the largest living turtle species. They are Critically Endangered.
• Biodiversity context: Great Nicobar is part of the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot recognised by IUCN. Endemic species include the Nicobar Megapode, Nicobar Macaque and Nicobar Tree Shrew.
• Tribal groups affected: the Nicobarese and the Shompen, a PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group).
• Legal frameworks in question:
  • Forest Rights Act 2006: community rights over forest land.
  • Andaman and Nicobar (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation 1956: protects the Shompen's restricted-contact status.
  • The Niyamgiri precedent (2013 Supreme Court): a Gram Sabha has the right to consent to or reject projects affecting forest-dwelling tribal communities.
• Geological risk: the island is in a high seismic zone and was severely affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
• Strategic rationale: the project aims to position India as a regional maritime hub competing with Singapore for transshipment in the Bay of Bengal and Malacca Strait approaches.

This project is a classic UPSC case study: development, environment, tribal rights and strategic interest in direct tension. Know the legal anchors, the ecology and both sides of the debate.

Static linkage: Constitutional rights (tribal), environment law, strategic geography.

GS area: Economy (Blue Economy, Fisheries)

NITI Aayog released "India's Blue Economy: Strategy for Harnessing Deep-Sea and Offshore Fisheries."

• Sustainable harvest potential: 7.16 million tonnes annually within India's EEZ.
• Current reality: India has only four Indian-flagged vessels operating in the high seas. Sri Lanka has 1,883 and Iran has 1,216 by comparison.
• Legal gap: no specific legislation governs fishing between 12 and 200 nautical miles (the outer EEZ). State jurisdiction covers only up to 12 nautical miles.
• Export earnings: Rs 60,523 crore in FY2023-24 from marine product exports.
• Untapped resources: lanternfish, squids and deep-sea shrimp collectively represent 1.847 million tonnes of untapped sustainable harvest.
• Significance: deep-sea fisheries development requires capital-intensive vessels, cold-chain infrastructure and a specific licensing framework, none of which exist at scale.

Static linkage: Blue economy, maritime law, EEZ.

GS area: Science and Technology (Cybersecurity), Internal Security

The World Economic Forum released a report on Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity.

• OT systems: industrial control systems running critical infrastructure, power plants, water treatment, oil pipelines, transport networks. They differ from IT systems in that they interact with physical processes.
• OT-IT convergence: as OT systems connect to the internet, they become vulnerable to the same cyberattacks as IT systems. Convergence increased 40 per cent between 2020 and 2024.
• 60 per cent of OT networks: lack intrusion detection systems.
• Reference attacks:
  • Colonial Pipeline (2022): ransomware halted fuel supplies along the US East Coast.
  • NotPetya (2017): Russia's attack crippled Ukraine's power systems.
  • Maersk cyberattack (2017): cost the company $300 million.
• India's exposure: power sector, nuclear facilities, railways and port management systems all run OT infrastructure.
• Annual global cost: $10.5 trillion in cyberattack-related losses per year.

Static linkage: Cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, internal security.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity, IUCN Red List)

The IUCN assessed the Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) as a potentially distinct species and listed it as Vulnerable.

• Scientific name: Canis lupus pallipes.
• IUCN status: Vulnerable (2025 assessment).
• Population: 2,877 to 3,310 mature individuals.
• Range: Indian subcontinent and Pakistan.
• Physical characteristics: smaller and leaner than Eurasian and North American wolves; light brown-grey fur; lacks a thick undercoat; adapted to high temperatures and low rainfall, traits of Indian peninsula and Gangetic plains.
• Genetic significance: one of the oldest wolf lineages in the world, possibly the ancestral lineage of all modern wolves.
• Other IUCN status changes in the same assessment cycle:
  • Hooded Seal: elevated to Endangered.
  • Bearded Seal and Harp Seal: elevated to Near Threatened.
  • Green Turtle: downgraded from Endangered to Vulnerable (population recovery).

Static linkage: Biodiversity, IUCN Red List, wildlife protection.

GS area: Economy (Logistics, Infrastructure)

The LEAPS 2025 (Logistics Excellence, Advancement and Performance Shield) framework was launched.

• Occasion: the fourth anniversary of PM GatiShakti.
• Publishing body: DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Application categories: 13 categories covering air, rail, road, maritime, warehousing, MSMEs, startups, academic institutions and e-commerce logistics.
• Registration portal: Rashtriya Puraskar Portal (awards.gov.in).
• ESG focus: the awards specifically recognise green logistics and ESG compliance, reflecting the shift toward sustainable supply chains.

Static linkage: Infrastructure, logistics policy, GatiShakti.

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

GalaxEye Space (a Bengaluru-based startup founded by IIT Madras alumni) revealed Mission Drishti.

• Launch target: Q1 2026.
• Sensors: combines Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors, the world's first satellite to combine both on a single platform.
• Resolution: 1.5 metres.
• Weight: 160 kilograms, India's largest privately built satellite.
• Constellation plan: 8 to 10 satellites over four years.
• Applications: disaster management, agriculture monitoring, infrastructure surveillance, maritime domain awareness.

Static linkage: Space technology, private space sector, In-Space.

• ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross): established in 1863; founder Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman; inspired by the suffering at the Battle of Solferino (1859) in northern Italy. HQ Geneva. The Red Crystal emblem was added in 2005 as a neutral alternative for countries not using the cross or crescent. Currently mediating Gaza hostage exchanges.
• Fare Se Fursat fixed-airfare scheme: Alliance Air (government-owned regional carrier) launched a pilot with a single fixed airfare that does not change with booking date. Pilot: 13 October to 31 December 2025 on selected UDAN routes.
• Maldives triple elimination (follow-up): WHO formally certified the achievement, noting that India's support through vaccine supply contributed to Maldives achieving the targets.