24 February 2026

• Russia-Ukraine war anniversary: Four years since the February 24, 2022 invasion; reconstruction costs estimated at $558 billion; Russia's inflation at 9 per cent.
• India security: PRAHAAR (India's first publicly articulated national counter-terrorism strategy) analysed.
• Economy: National Monetisation Pipeline 2.0 targets ₹16.72 lakh crore in private investment through FY 2026-30.
• Health: India launches a free HPV vaccination programme for 14-year-old girls; cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Indian women.

GS area: International Relations (Russia-Ukraine, Global order)

The fourth anniversary of the February 24, 2022 invasion prompts a comprehensive assessment.

• Casualties: Estimated 1.2 million Russian military casualties (killed, wounded, missing). Ukrainian casualties are estimated at 5 to 6 lakh.
• Reconstruction cost: $558 billion over a decade, approximately three times Ukraine's 2025 GDP.
• Economic toll on Russia:
  • GDP growth below 1 per cent in 2025.
  • Inflation at 9 per cent in 2025.
  • Bread prices in Russia rose 50 per cent over five years.
• Economic toll on Ukraine:
  • 2 per cent GDP growth in 2025 (supported by Western aid).
  • Government debt at 109 per cent of GDP.
  • Defence spending at 26 per cent of GDP in 2025.
• India's position: India has maintained strategic autonomy: it has not condemned Russia, has continued oil imports, yet has voted for Ukraine sovereignty at the UN General Assembly. India holds the largest share of Russian crude imports among major democracies.
• Grain prices: Wheat and maize in Ukraine rose 15 per cent since 2022, affecting global food prices. Ukraine and Russia together supply about 30 per cent of the world's wheat exports.

Static linkage: India-Russia relations, UN Charter, food security (IR/Economy).

GS area: Security (Internal security, Counter-terrorism)

The Ministry of Home Affairs released PRAHAAR - India's first publicly articulated national counter-terrorism strategy document.

• Seven pillars:
  • Prevention (intelligence-led disruption)
  • Response (rapid reaction forces, protocols)
  • Aggregation of capacities (whole-of-government integration)
  • Human rights processes (lawful interrogation, legal safeguards)
  • Attenuation of radicalization (counter-narrative programmes)
  • Alignment with international cooperation (FATF, SCO RATS)
  • Recovery (victim rehabilitation, community resilience)
• Significance: Previous counter-terrorism frameworks were classified or implicit. PRAHAAR makes them public and provides accountability benchmarks.
• NIA connection: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is India's central counter-terrorism agency, operating under the NIA Act, 2008. PRAHAAR provides the strategic framework within which NIA investigations operate.
• NSG: The National Security Guard (Black Cat Commandos) handles hostage rescue and counter-terrorism operations in urban environments.

Static linkage: NIA, NSG, internal security, counter-terrorism (Security).

GS area: Economy (Infrastructure financing, Public assets)

The government announced NMP 2.0 targeting ₹16.72 lakh crore in private investment through the monetisation of public assets between FY 2026 and FY 2030.

• NMP 1.0 context: The first NMP (2021-25) targeted ₹6 lakh crore from monetising brownfield infrastructure assets. NMP 2.0 is nearly three times larger.
• Private investment component: Of the ₹16.72 lakh crore total, ₹5.8 lakh crore is from private investors.
• Top five sectors by NMP value:
  • Highways: 26 per cent
  • Power: 17 per cent
  • Railways: 16 per cent
  • Ports: 16 per cent
  • Coal: 13 per cent
• Monetisation models: PPP concessions (Toll-Operate-Transfer), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), securitisation of revenue streams, strategic auctions.
• InvIT: An Infrastructure Investment Trust is a SEBI-regulated investment instrument. It allows publicly listed entities to hold, operate and distribute income from infrastructure assets to investors, similar to REITs for real estate.

Static linkage: Infrastructure financing, PPP, InvIT, NMP (Economy).

GS area: Governance (Health policy), Society

India launched a free HPV vaccination programme for girls aged 14 years at government health facilities.

• Vaccine: Gardasil (quadrivalent). Protects against HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Types 16 and 18 cause approximately 70 per cent of all cervical cancers.
• Single-dose efficacy: Global and Indian evidence confirms that a single dose provides durable protection. This makes rollout far more feasible than multi-dose schedules.
• Cervical cancer burden: Approximately 80,000 new cases annually in India. Over 42,000 deaths per year: one death every 8 minutes.
• Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance: India's HPV programme is supported by Gavi. Gavi is a public-private global health partnership providing vaccines to developing countries at subsidised prices.
• National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) parallel: India's HIV programme under NACP covers AIDS, STIs and related infections. HPV is an STI that causes cervical cancer. NACP's infrastructure supports HPV rollout.

Static linkage: National Cancer Control Programme, Gavi, public health (Governance/Social Justice).

GS area: Polity (Constitutional bodies)

The issue of Election Commission independence enters the public domain with 25 lakh voter deletions in Haryana in 2025 attracting judicial scrutiny.

• Article 324: Vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission.
• CEC's removal: The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge: by a parliamentary process requiring a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in each House, followed by Presidential action.
• Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): The Supreme Court directed that the appointment of Election Commissioners should be by a committee including the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India, rather than solely on executive advice. The subsequent Election Commissioner Amendment Act changed this structure, removing the CJI from the committee.
• EC's budget: The Election Commission's budget is charged to the Consolidated Fund of India, not voted upon by Parliament. This insulates it from political pressure on funding.

Static linkage: Article 324, Election Commission, Anoop Baranwal judgment (Polity).

• UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards 2025: Our Lady of Grace Cathedral in Vasai (Maharashtra), built approximately 475 years ago during Portuguese rule, won the Award of Merit for outstanding heritage conservation. Restoration cost: ₹4.5 crore (2023-24).
• ESIC 75th Foundation Year: Employees' State Insurance Corporation was established in 1948 under the ESI Act and inaugurated by Prime Minister Nehru on 24 February 1952. It covers medical care, sickness, maternity and employment injury benefits for organised sector workers.