19 January 2026

• Cooperatives: India has 8.5 lakh registered cooperatives covering 98% of rural India; 27% of global total. PACS digitalization project: 2,925 crore rupees.
• Agriculture: Food subsidy: 2.03 lakh crore rupees (FY 2025-26) covering 813 million people. Fertiliser subsidy: 1.67 lakh crore rupees.
• Labour: Supreme Court-directed expert committee concluded separate legislation for domestic workers is unnecessary; existing four labour codes suffice.
• Space: Second Range-wide Dolphin Survey under Project Dolphin; 6,327 riverine dolphins counted in 2021-23.
• International: BRICS Plus Naval Exercise "Will for Peace 2026" hosted by South Africa; India and Brazil did not participate.

GS area: Economy, Governance

India's cooperative sector has a scale that gets under-reported in standard economic analysis.

• Registered cooperatives: 8.5 lakh, representing 27% of the global total.
• Rural penetration: Covering approximately 98% of rural India across 30 sectors.
• Membership: 32 crore members.
• Functional cooperatives: 6.6 lakh active societies; approximately 80,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
• Urban cooperative banks: 1,457 banks holding 7.38 trillion rupees in assets.
• Women integration: 10 crore women linked through Self-Help Groups connected to cooperative networks.

Key initiatives:

• PACS digitalization project: 2,925 crore rupees to deploy ERP software in 14 languages across PACSs. Enables digital accounting, loan management and transparency.
• Three apex cooperative bodies:
  • NCEL (National Cooperative Exports Limited) for export facilitation.
  • NCOL (National Cooperative Organics Limited) for organic product certification and marketing.
  • BBSSL (Bharat Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited) for seed cooperatives.
• White Revolution 2.0: Plans 20,070 new dairy cooperative societies.
• Tax relief: Cooperative surcharge reduced from 12% to 7%.
• UN 2025 context: The UN declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. India is a global leader by membership scale.

Static linkage: Cooperative sector, PACS, rural credit.

GS area: Economy, Agriculture

India's agricultural subsidy system is one of the largest in the world.

• Food subsidy: 2.03 lakh crore rupees in FY 2025-26. Covers 813 million people through the National Food Security Act (NFSA), which guarantees 5 kg of subsidised rice/wheat per person per month.
• Fertiliser subsidy: 1.67 lakh crore rupees. India is 90% import-dependent on potash (K) and 60% import-dependent on phosphate (P).
• Combined agricultural subsidy: 3.71 lakh crore rupees, approximately 8.5% of the Union Budget.
• MSP payouts: 3.33 lakh crore rupees cumulatively disbursed by June 2025, triple the FY16 level.
• Reform measures announced:
  • PM-PRANAM scheme: Incentivises states to reduce chemical fertiliser use by sharing savings in fertiliser subsidies.
  • Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) expansion with fortified fertiliser grades.
  • Mission on Pulses: 100% procurement at MSP, targeting pulse self-sufficiency by 2027.

Static linkage: NFSA, fertiliser policy, MSP.

GS area: Economy, Social Justice

The Supreme Court had directed a committee to examine whether domestic workers need separate legislation. The committee's conclusion was that they do not.

• Committee finding: The existing four labour codes already provide sufficient framework.
• Applicable provisions:
  • Code on Wages 2019: Minimum wage coverage extended to all workers.
  • Industrial Relations Code 2020: Grievance resolution mechanisms.
  • Code on Social Security 2020: Provident fund and maternity benefit eligibility.
  • Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020: Welfare provisions.
• The gap: Implementation rather than legislation is the problem. Domestic workers rarely know their rights and employers rarely comply.
• Scale: India has approximately 5 crore domestic workers (NGO estimates). This is the sector with the lowest unionisation and awareness.

Static linkage: Labour codes, informal economy.

GS area: Environment and Biodiversity

The second phase of Project Dolphin's range-wide survey covers the Ganga from Bijnor to Ganga Sagar and the Indus.

• Project Dolphin launch: 15 August 2020.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Survey coordinator: Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with State Forest Departments.
• Previous survey results (2021-23): Approximately 6,327 riverine dolphins. Highest concentrations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• Ganga River Dolphin: India's National Aquatic Animal. IUCN status: Endangered. Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
• Threats: Entanglement in fishing nets, boat strikes, sand mining, water abstraction reducing dolphin habitat.

Static linkage: Ganga River, wildlife conservation, Project Dolphin.

GS area: International Relations

The BRICS Plus naval exercise was hosted by South Africa at Simon's Town, Cape Town.

• Active participants: China, Russia, Iran, UAE and South Africa.
• Observers: Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
• Non-participants: India and Brazil (opted out of active role).
• Exercise theme: "Joint Actions to Ensure Safety of Key Shipping Lanes."
• India's non-participation rationale: India's strategic autonomy means it does not participate in exercises that could signal alignment with Russia-China axis. India participated in QUAD exercises in the same period.
• Significance: Highlights a divergence within BRICS between economic cooperation (where India is active) and security frameworks (where India is cautious).

Static linkage: BRICS, India's strategic autonomy, naval exercises.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

The UN Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) entered into force after 60 ratifications were achieved in September 2025.

• Framework: Legally binding treaty under UNCLOS for protecting biodiversity in the high seas (waters beyond national jurisdiction).
• Target: Protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 ("30 by 30") through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in international waters.
• Key provisions:
  • Environmental Impact Assessments mandatory for activities in high seas.
  • Marine Protected Areas can be designated in international waters.
  • Fair and equitable sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources.
  • Technology transfer to developing nations.
• Why it matters: About 64% of the ocean is beyond any national jurisdiction. Until this treaty, marine biodiversity in the high seas had no binding protection framework.

Static linkage: UNCLOS, marine biodiversity, international environmental law.

GS area: Science and Technology, Economy

The C2S Programme completed its fourth year since its 2022 launch.

• Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Outlay: 250 crore rupees over 5 years.
• Outcomes to date: 56 student-designed chips produced; 75-plus patents filed.
• Training targets: 200 PhDs, 7,000 M.Tech graduates in VLSI design, 8,800 M.Tech in related areas and 69,000 B.Tech graduates.
• Infrastructure: National ChipIN Centre at C-DAC Bengaluru; SMART labs in participating institutions; shared EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools.
• Objective: Create an indigenous semiconductor design talent pipeline to support India's semiconductor mission.

Static linkage: India Semiconductor Mission, VLSI design.

GS area: International Relations

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) marked its 80th anniversary on 23 January 2026.

• Established: 1945 under the UN Charter. First meeting: 23 January 1946, London.
• Membership: 54 nations elected by the General Assembly for 3-year terms.
• Headquarters: New York.
• Decision-making: Simple majority vote; non-binding resolutions.
• Functions: Coordinates social, economic and environmental work of the UN system. Supervises 14 UN specialised agencies and 5 regional commissions. Oversees 6,500-plus NGOs with consultative status.
• Governance role: Elects governing boards of UNICEF, UNDP and UNHCR.
• HLPF: ECOSOC organises the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the primary global platform for SDG review.

Static linkage: UN system, SDGs, multilateral governance.

GS area: Environment and Biodiversity, Science

A new genus and species of microscopic crustacean was discovered in Kavaratti Lagoon, Lakshadweep.

• Name: Indiaphonte bijoyi.
• Classification: Copepod (Laophontidae family); part of the meiofauna (organisms smaller than 1 mm).
• Size: 518 to 772 micrometres.
• Naming: Genus honours India; species honours marine scientist S. Bijoy Nandan.
• Ecological role: Meiofauna copepods are base-level decomposers and food-web components in marine sediments. They are indicators of ecosystem health.
• Lakshadweep significance: Kavaratti is the capital of Lakshadweep (Union Territory). The lagoon's clear, oligotrophic waters support rich but fragile coral and associated biodiversity.

Static linkage: Marine biodiversity, Lakshadweep.

• First open-sea marine fish farming project: Located at North Bay, Sri Vijaya Puram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Implemented by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and NIOT (National Institute of Ocean Technology). Features indigenous open-sea cages and deep-water seaweed cultivation.
• Andaman Sea facts: Marginal sea of approximately 7.98 lakh sq km in the northeastern Indian Ocean. Borders Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. Gateway to the Strait of Malacca. Active seismic zone (Andaman-Nicobar Ridge).