Transforming India’s Healthcare Landscape

This editorial is based on “Health sector continues to remain neglected” which was published in The Hindu business line on 01/02/2026. This article analyses the structural design, recent policy shifts, and persistent challenges in India’s health sector amid Budget 2026 priorities. It highlights how innovation-led reforms must be matched with sustained public financing and strong primary healthcare to achieve equitable and resilient health outcomes. 

For Prelims:PM-ABHIM, U-WIN Portal,ABDM, PM-JAY,Ayushman Arogya Mandir, One Health Approach. 

For Mains: Health Sector regulatory framework  in India, Current developments in health sector Key issues and Measures to strengthen the health sector. 

India’s health sector stands at a critical inflection point, shaped by an ageing population, rising non-communicable diseases, and post-pandemic stress on public systems. While recent policy signals emphasise innovation, biopharma, and skilled health workforce, public healthcare financing and primary care remain structurally under-prioritised. Persistent high out-of-pocket expenditure and regional disparities underline gaps in access, affordability, and preventive care. A decisive shift from announcement-led reform to expenditure-backed public health strengthening is now imperative. 

What is the Current Regulatory Framework for India’s Health Sector?  

• Constitutional Basis: The Constitution of India lays the foundation for health regulation, distributing powers via the Seventh Schedule: 
  • State List (List II): "Public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries" (Entry 6) is primarily a state subject. States are responsible for the delivery of services. 
  • Concurrent List (List III): Both Centre and States can legislate on: 
    • Medical education and profession (Entry 26). 
    • Prevention of the extension of infectious diseases (Entry 29). 
    • Drugs and poisons (Entry 19). 
• Fundamental Rights & DPSPs: 
  • Article 21: Interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the Right to Health as part of the Right to Life. 
  • Article 47: Directs the State to regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties. 
• Key Regulatory Bodies: The institutional framework is spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), supported by various autonomous and statutory bodies: 

Body	Key Mandate
National Medical Commission	Replaced the Medical Council of India, regulates medical education, practice, and ethics (under NMC Act, 2019).
Central Drugs Standard Control Organization	The national regulatory body for pharmaceuticals and medical devices (under Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940). Approves new drugs and clinical trials.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India	Regulates manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food articles to ensure safety.
National Health Authority	Apex body for implementing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana  (PM-JAY) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority	Fixes/revises prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations, enforces prices and availability of medicines.
Indian Nursing Council	Regulates nursing education and standards.

• Major Legislative Framework: The sector is governed by several critical Acts that define compliance and standards: 
  • Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (and Rules 1945): The backbone of pharma regulation. It establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for the import, manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs and cosmetics. 
    • Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules lays down Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), in line with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. 
  • National Medical Commission Act, 2019: Reformed the medical education sector, introducing the National Exit Test (NExT) and regulating fee structures for private colleges. 
  • Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010: Aims to register all clinical establishments and prescribe minimum standards for facilities and services.  
    • Implementation is patchy as it requires adoption by individual States. 
  • Mental Healthcare Act, 2017: Decriminalized suicide attempts and guarantees the right to mental healthcare. 
  • Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (Amended 2020): Empowers the government to take special measures to control the spread of dangerous epidemic diseases (heavily used during COVID-19). 
  • New Drugs and Clinical Trials (NDCT) Rules, 2019: It streamlined and modernized regulations for new drugs and clinical research. 
    • The Union Health Ministry amended the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to ease pharmaceutical research by replacing the CDSCO test licence requirement with a prior-intimation system for non-commercial research quantities, while high-risk drugs (cytotoxic, narcotic, psychotropic) remain licence-bound. 
  • The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021: Standardizes the education and practice of allied healthcare professionals. 

What are the Key Advancements in India's Health Sector? 

• Launch of "Bio Pharma Shakti" & R&D Pivot: The government has structurally shifted focus from generic manufacturing to high-value innovation by launching the "Bio Pharma Shakti" initiative.  
  • This move aims to capture the global biologics market and reduce dependence on imported complex therapies, signaling a transition from volume to value leadership in the pharmaceutical value chain. 
  • It is expected to boost domestic production of biologics and biosimilars with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore. (Budget 2026-27) 
    • It includes expansion and strengthening of the Biopharma-focused network through the establishment of 3 new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) and the upgradation of 7 existing NIPERs and the strengthening of accredited clinical trial sites to move India up the value chain from "volume" to "value." 
• Ayushman Bharat Expansion for "The Silver Economy": In a major inclusivity drive, the government has operationalized health coverage for the elderly, decoupling eligibility from income status to address the high disease burden of the aging population.  
  • This universalization for senior citizens mitigates catastrophic health expenditure, which historically pushed millions of pensioner households into poverty. 
  • The Budget 2026-27 reconfirmed the universal health coverage for approximately 6 crore senior citizens (belonging to 4.5 crore families) under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY.  
    • Also, The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare outlay for 2026–27 has been raised by nearly 10% compared to FY 2025–26. 
• MedTech Self-Reliance & PLI Maturity: The medical device sector is witnessing a "manufacturing moment" as Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes begin to deliver commercial validation, reducing import reliance for critical equipment.  
  • This strategic localization reduces healthcare delivery costs and secures supply chains against global disruptions, moving India towards becoming a MedTech export hub. 
  • As of early 2026, 22 greenfield projects have commissioned production of 55+ high-end devices (CT/MRI scanners). Further, customs duty cuts on components in Budget 2026 incentivize domestic value addition. 
• Targeted Cost Reduction in Oncology & Rare Diseases: Recognizing the financial toxicity of cancer care, the government has intervened fiscally by rationalizing customs duties, directly lowering the cost of life-saving immunotherapies.  
  • This fiscal health policy complements clinical efforts, making advanced treatments accessible to the middle class who are often excluded from state insurance but cannot afford private care. 
  • Budget 2026-27 exempts 17 cancer drugs (e.g., Ribociclib and Brigatinib) and rare disease medicines from customs duty. This is coupled with the establishment of new Trauma Centers in every district hospital. 
• Structural Shift to Outpatient & Preventive Care: The Economic Survey 2025-26 highlights a decisive pivot where outpatient care (OPD) and screenings are outpacing inpatient admissions, driven by the operationalization of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs).  
  • This transition from "sick-care" to "wellness" reduces the long-term burden on tertiary hospitals by catching Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) early. 
  • Economic Survey 2025-26 notes 42.66 crore teleconsultations and over 506 crore visits to AAMs (December 2025).  
• Digitization of Immunization via U-WIN Portal: Replicating the success of Co-WIN, the full rollout of the U-WIN portal has digitized the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), ensuring real-time tracking of mothers and children.  
  • U-WIN acts as a single source of truth by enabling QR-based anytime-accessible immunisation certificates, automated SMS reminders to reduce dropouts, and ABHA-linked integration that embeds child immunisation data into a lifelong longitudinal health record. 
  • This digital public infrastructure eliminates "zero-dose" children and creates portable vaccination records, critical for India's migrant workforce. 
    • As of early 2026, U-WIN tracks 27.7 crore vaccine doses and 7.43 crore beneficiaries. 
• Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission Acceleration: The mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) by 2047 has moved from launch to aggressive implementation in tribal hinterlands, integrating genetic counseling with mass screening.  
  • This targeted bio-social intervention addresses historical health neglect in tribal belts, combining scientific screening with community-level card distribution. 
  • As of July 2025, more than 6.07 crore  screenings have been done in the 17 identified tribal dominated States. 
• Critical Care Infrastructure Overhaul (PM-ABHIM): Budget 2026 increased funding for the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to pandemic-proof the country.  
  • The focus is on creating a decentralized network of critical care blocks and integrated public health labs, ensuring that future outbreaks are managed at the district level rather than choking metropolitan capitals. 
  • For instance, Budget 2026 allocates ₹4,770 crore to PM-ABHIM (a 67.6% increase).  

What are the Key Issues Associated with India's Health Sector?  

• Chronic Underfunding & Public Expenditure Stagnation: Despite recent budgetary increases, India’s public health expenditure remains perilously low compared to global peers, forcing a reliance on the private sector that exacerbates inequality.  
  • This structural underfunding limits the expansion of critical infrastructure, leaving the "Right to Health" as an aspirational rather than practical reality for millions. 
  • For instance, as a percentage of GDP, the Union government’s allocation for health has declined drastically from 0.37% (2020-21 Actual Expenditure) to 0.29% (2025-26 BE).  
• The "Missing Middle" & Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE): While government schemes like Ayushman Bharat cover the poorest and private insurance shields the rich, the massive "missing middle" class faces financial ruin from a single hospitalization.  
  • The high cost of outpatient care and diagnostics, often uncovered by insurance, continues to drive millions into poverty annually. 
  • NHA 2021-22 indicates OOPE is still 39.4% of total health expenditure (down from 62.6% but still high). 
• Rural-Urban Divide & The "Ghost" Specialist Crisis: Primary healthcare in rural India has physically expanded but suffers from a "hollowed-out" workforce where facilities exist without function.  
  • The collapse of the referral chain means rural patients bypass local centers for urban hospitals, overcrowding tertiary care while rural Community Health Centers (CHCs) remain ghost towns. 
  • Rural Health Statistics 2022-23 reveal a shocking nearly 80% shortfall of specialists (surgeons, pediatricians) in rural CHCs, with 17,551 vacancies against the requirement. 
• The "Silent Epidemic" of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): India is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition where the burden of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension is outpacing the system's capacity to treat them.  
  • This "dual burden" of disease requires a shift from acute, curative care to long-term, expensive chronic management which the current public system is ill-equipped to handle. 
  • According to the ICMR-INDIAB-17 national cross sectional study estimates, the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in India is 101 million and 136 million. 
• Regulatory Failures & the "Pharmacy of the World" Reputation Crisis: India’s global standing as a reliable drug exporter faces an existential threat due to weak enforcement of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and fragmented state-level regulation.  
  • Repeated instances of toxic contaminants in exported syrups have exposed a systemic lack of rigorous quality control and punitive accountability for negligent manufacturers. 
  • Recent deaths in Gambia, Uzbekistan, and in Indian states like Madhya Pradesh (2025) linked to Indian cough syrups containing Diethylene Glycol (DEG) have triggered WHO alerts and forced CDSCO crackdowns. 
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)- The Superbug Time Bomb: Rampant, unregulated over-the-counter sale of antibiotics and poor infection control in hospitals have turned India into an epicenter for "superbugs."  
  • This resistance renders life-saving drugs ineffective, threatening to make simple surgeries or infections fatal and undoing decades of medical progress. 
  • ICMR (2024) findings show Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae as dominant pathogens with alarmingly high resistance while Acinetobacter baumannii in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) exhibits high-level resistance to several antibiotic classes. 
• Skewed Workforce Distribution & Human Resource Deficits: The headline doctor-population ratio often masks acute regional disparities, as medical professionals cluster in wealthy urban pockets leaving vast swathes of the hinterland underserved. 
  • The shortage is not just of doctors, but of critical allied health professionals like nurses and technicians who form the backbone of patient care. 
  • While India claims a 1:834 doctor-population ratio (counting AYUSH), state disparity is severe. For example, Bihar and UP lag significantly behind Kerala. 
• Digital Health Gaps & Data Privacy Concerns: The aggressive push for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) faces a "digital divide" where the lack of digital literacy and internet access excludes the most vulnerable from benefits.  
  • Despite nearly 79 crore ABHA IDs created (August 2025), actual usage for health record linkage remains low in rural areas due to internet gaps. 
  • Also, privacy concerns have emerged. AIIMS Ransomware Attack (2022), a major ransomware attack paralyzed the server infrastructure of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), forcing critical services to operate manually. 

What Measures are Needed to Strengthen India’s Health Sector? 

• Operationalizing "Phygital" Comprehensive Primary Care: We need to upgrade the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs from mere physical outposts to "phygital" hubs that utilize the Unified Health Interface (UHI) for tele-specialist consultations while retaining high-touch community engagement.  
  • A strict "gatekeeping" mechanism must be enforced where tertiary care access is contingent upon primary care referral, decongesting major hospitals and shifting the focus from curative to preventive wellness. This hybrid model ensures continuity of care for chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) by leveraging AI-assisted diagnostics at the grassroots level. 
• Leveraging Public Insurance for Quality and Cost-Efficient Healthcare: The government should move from a passive payer role to a “strategic purchaser”, using the scale of PM-JAY to enforce high-quality, cost-effective services from private providers. 
  • This involves moving away from "fee-for-service" models toward "value-based care" payments, where providers are incentivized based on patient health outcomes rather than the number of procedures performed.  
  • Such financial leverage can regulate private sector pricing transparency and standardization without heavy-handed legislative capping. 
• Legislation of a Dedicated Public Health Management Cadre: To relieve the burden on clinical specialists, India requires the creation of a specialized, non-clinical Public Health Management Cadre (PHMC) responsible solely for administration, epidemiology, and logistics.  
  • This administrative bifurcation allows doctors to focus exclusively on clinical treatment while professional managers handle supply chains, hospital operations, and data analytics.  
  • This structural reform is essential to professionalize district-level health governance and ensure efficient resource utilization during health emergencies. 
• Institutionalizing a "One Health" Governance Architecture: India must move beyond siloed human healthcare to establish a unified "One Health" surveillance grid that integrates human, animal, and environmental health data to predict zoonotic spillover events.  
  • This requires establishing statutory inter-ministerial bodies that can enforce synchronized protocols for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) containment and vector control across agriculture and urban planning sectors.  
  • Strengthening this interface is critical to creating climate-resilient health infrastructure that can withstand the dual threats of emerging pathogens and ecological degradation. 
• Task-Shifting to Allied Health Professionals (AHPs): Addressing the doctor-patient ratio requires aggressive "task-shifting" where mid-level providers, such as nurse practitioners and Community Health Officers (CHOs), are legally empowered to handle routine clinical functions.  
  • By strictly defining and expanding the scope of practice for the Allied and Healthcare Professions, the system can utilize the untapped potential of pharmacists, optometrists, and physiotherapists for primary screenings. This decentralizes care delivery and ensures that highly specialized medical talent is reserved for complex, critical cases. 
• Indigenization of the Bio-Security Supply Chain: Strengthening national health security requires reducing dependency on import-heavy supply chains by incentivizing domestic manufacturing of high-end medical devices and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) for pharmaceuticals.  
  • Policy focus must shift toward "Health Sovereignty" by creating dedicated MedTech parks and enforcing procurement mandates that favor indigenous innovation in genomics and biologics. This creates a self-reliant ecosystem capable of sustaining essential medical supplies during global geopolitical disruptions or trade blockades. 
• Urban Health Missions for Vulnerable Clusters: Unlike rural health, India’s urban primary health structure is fragmented, therefore, a dedicated Urban Health Mission targeting peri-urban slums and migrant clusters is structurally vital.  
  • This involves mapping "health vulnerability zones" within cities to deploy mobile health units and evening clinics that cater to the working-class demographic which cannot access daytime OPDs. Integrating these units with municipal surveillance helps track the epidemiological transition in high-density areas where infectious diseases spread most rapidly. 
• Digital Sovereignty and Interoperable Health Data: The implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) must aggressively pursue "interoperability" to eliminate data fragmentation between private corporate hospitals and public facilities.  
  • By mandating standardized electronic health records (EHR) and creating a federated health data architecture, the state can enable longitudinal patient history tracking without centralizing sensitive data.  
    • This data-driven approach empowers policymakers with real-time analytics to dynamically allocate resources based on regional disease burdens rather than static historical estimates. 

Conclusion:  

India’s health sector demands a paradigm shift from episodic sick-care to resilient, preventive public health systems, anchored in cooperative federalism. Adequate public financing, workforce rationalisation, and primary-care gatekeeping are indispensable to reduce inequalities and catastrophic expenditure. Leveraging digital public infrastructure, indigenous innovation, and One Health governance can future-proof healthcare delivery. Ultimately, health must be treated not as social spending but as foundational economic infrastructure for India’s demographic dividend. 

Drishti Mains Question

India’s health sector reflects a paradox of expanding coverage but persistent inequities. 

Examine the structural architecture of India’s health system and analyse how chronic underfunding and federal asymmetries limit the effectiveness of public healthcare delivery.

 

FAQs

1. Why is health primarily a State subject in India?
Because Public Health and Sanitation fall under the State List (Seventh Schedule), making states responsible for service delivery. 

2. What is the biggest structural weakness of India’s health sector?
Chronic underfunding, with public health expenditure stagnating around ~2% of GDP. 

3. How does Ayushman Bharat differ from public health provisioning?
It offers financial protection for hospitalization, but cannot replace strong primary healthcare and prevention. 

4. Why is antimicrobial resistance a serious threat for India?
Because last-resort antibiotics are rapidly losing efficacy, risking routine infections becoming fatal.  

5. What role do Ayushman Arogya Mandirs play in health reforms?
They shift care from curative to preventive, enabling early NCD screening and continuity of care. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims 

Q. Which of the following are the objectives of ‘National Nutrition Mission’? (2017)

1. To create awareness relating to malnutrition among pregnant women and lactating mothers.  
2. To reduce the incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.  
3. To promote the consumption of millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice.  
4. To promote the consumption of poultry eggs.  

Select the correct answer using the code given below:   

(a) 1 and 2 only   

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only   

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only    

(d) 3 and 4 only   

Ans: (a)  

---

Mains 

Q. “Besides being a moral imperative of a Welfare State, primary health structure is a necessary precondition for sustainable development.” Analyse. (2021)

India–US Trade Deal 2026

For Prelims: US-India COMPACT, Data Localisation, US-India iCET, Generalised System of Preferences, Foreign Direct Investment  

For Mains: Strategic Significance of India–US Trade Relations, Tariff Rationalisation and Export Competitiveness, Strategic Autonomy vs Transactional Diplomacy  

Source:IE 

Why in News? 

The US has slashed the effective tariff on Indian goods to 18%, down from a staggering peak of 50% (which included punitive duties). The deal marks a strategic de-escalation of trade tensions and reaffirms India’s role as a primary US ally and a critical counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific. 

What are the Key Highlights of the India- US Trade Deal? 

• Tariff Reduction: The US has reduced the reciprocal tariff on Indian imports from 25% to 18%.  
  • Crucially, the additional 25% punitive tariff (which was imposed in August 2025 due to India’s purchase of Russian oil) has been effectively removed, bringing the total effective tariff down from roughly 50% to 18%. 
• India’s Commitments:  
  • Energy Shift: In a major diplomatic concession, India has agreed to halt/significantly reduce the purchase of Russian crude oil. 
    • India will pivot its energy procurement to the US and potentially Venezuela. 
  • Market Access: India is expected to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US goods to "zero". 
    •  The US expects a surge in agricultural exports (tree nuts, cotton, and soybean oil) to India’s massive consumer market. 
  • "Buy American" Policy: India has committed to a stronger "Buy American" stance for government and large-scale industrial procurements. 
    • India could buy as much as USD 500 billion worth of US energy, coal, technology, agricultural and other products.

Background of India - US Tariff Evolution 

The road to the 18% tariff was marked by aggressive "transactional diplomacy": 

• The "Tariff King" Narrative: US historically criticized India's high import duties. In mid-2025, the US imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff, matching India’s average rates. 
• The Russian Oil Friction: Following India’s continued purchase of Russian crude during the Ukraine conflict, the US added a 25% punitive "extra duty" in August 2025, pushing the total tariff to 50%. 
• Operation Sindoor & Regional Leverage: The US reportedly used tariff pressure as a strategic tool for regional stability following India’s Operation Sindoor (May 2025) against terrorist targets in Pakistan, later claiming that trade leverage helped push a ceasefire. 
• India’s Pre-Deal Moves: To thaw relations, India had already slashed duties in its Union Budget on items like heavy motorcycles and bourbon whisky, and passed the SHANTI Act, 2025 to open up the nuclear power sector.

 India-US Trade Relations

• In FY25, the bilateral trade between India and the US stood at a record USD 132 billion as against USD 119.71 billion in FY24. In FY25, India had a trade surplus of USD 40.82 billion with the US. 
  • In FY25, India’s imports from the US mainly comprised mineral fuels and oils, precious and semi-precious stones and metals, nuclear reactors and machinery, and electrical equipment. 
  • India’s exports to the US were led by electrical machinery, precious and semi-precious stones and metals, pharmaceutical products, machinery and mechanical appliances, mineral fuels, and iron and steel articles. 
• US is the 3rd largest investor in India with cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows of USD 70.65 billion from 2000- 2025. 
• The US-India COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) was launched in 2025. Under this framework, the 'Mission 500' initiative was introduced to increase bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, supported by negotiations for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

What is the Significance of India - US Tariff Rationalization?

For India 

• Boost to Indian Exports: The reduction to 18% restores competitiveness for Indian exporters. Sectors like textiles and apparel (which operate on thin margins) and pharmaceuticals are expected to see an immediate revival in orders. 
• Competitive Edge: At 18%, India now faces a more favorable rate than regional competitors like Vietnam (20%), Bangladesh (20%), and China (30-35%).  
• Economic Stability: The deal removes the uncertainty of a trade war, likely stabilizing the Rupee and encouraging FDI back into Indian manufacturing. 

For US 

• Nuclear & Tech Exports: The deal paves the way for US companies to enter India’s nuclear power sector (enabled by the SHANTI Act, 2025) and defense manufacturing.  
  • This deepens the "US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)." 
• Data Center Dominance: As presented in Union Budget 2026-27, Tax holidays for foreign companies setting up data centers in India directly benefit US tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, cementing their dominance in India's digital infrastructure. 
• Energy Exports: In FY25, India's crude oil import dependence rose to 88.2% compared with 87.4% and 85.5% during FY24 and FY23.  
  • With India pivoting away from Russia, the US energy sector (oil, LNG, coal) gains a massive, long-term customer. This directly benefits US shale oil producers and LNG exporters.

What are the Challenges of the India-US Trade Deal 2026?

• The "Strategic Autonomy" Dilemma: The deal's success is contingent on India halting or significantly reducing Russian oil imports. This risks straining the "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" with Moscow, which remains India’s largest defense supplier. 
  • This also underscores the challenge to India’s de-hyphenated foreign policy, which seeks to maintain independent, multi-aligned relationships rather than aligning exclusively with any single power bloc. 
• Transactional Diplomacy: The "Reciprocal" nature of the deal (matching tariffs to 18%) suggests that the US now views India through a purely transactional lens.  
  • This could set a precedent where every strategic concession requires a massive economic or political "payback." 
• China Retaliation: As India cements its role as a "China Counter," Beijing has already warned of consequences.  
  • Given India’s import dependency on China (especially for Rare Earths and API pharmaceuticals), any retaliatory trade barriers from China could cripple Indian manufacturing. 
• Regional Parity: India remains disadvantaged as competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam enjoy a special GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) concession of about 5%, withdrawn from India in 2019, raising doubts over true regional parity. 
• Economic Risks: US has claimed India committed to reducing tariffs to "zero". Opening India’s dairy and poultry sectors to highly subsidized US agri-products could trigger widespread rural distress and farmer protests, which have historically been protected. 
  • Russian oil was purchased at a discount, providing a cushion against global inflation. Shifting to US or Venezuelan oil might increase India’s import bill, potentially impacting the Current Account Deficit (CAD). 
• Regulatory and Technical Barriers: Even with lower tariffs, US "Sanitary and Phytosanitary" (SPS) standards often act as invisible walls for Indian food and pharma exports. The deal does not yet fully address these technical hurdles. 
  • This deal might eventually require India to align its Intellectual Property laws with US interests, potentially raising healthcare costs. 
• Digital Trade: Issues regarding Data Localisation and the India’s DPDP Act (2023) remain sticking points. The US tech giants seek "free flow of data," which may conflict with India's national security and privacy frameworks. 

How to Leverage the 'Indo-US Trade Pivot' for Viksit Bharat? 

• Balancing Strategic Autonomy with Energy Transition: Recognise the cost of alignment in shifting crude sourcing from Russia to the US. 
  • Accelerate the National Green Hydrogen Mission and expand nuclear energy, especially Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Leverage trade deals for technology transfer to ensure energy security without fiscal slippage. 
• Diversify Export Markets: India should fast-track free trade agreements with Gulf nations and East Asian blocs to help Indian businesses diversify export markets and reduce dependence on US buyers. 
• Protecting Domestic Interests: India needs to calibrate the "zero tariff" commitment carefully to ensure that small-scale farmers and MSMEs are not overwhelmed by cheap US imports. 
  • Finalize the BTA to ease trade tensions, improve supply chain integration in semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and harmonize regulatory standards with US norms to attract investments. 
• Leveraging "Friendshoring": Use the 18% tariff window to move from Assembly in India to Deep Manufacturing. India should use this renewed proximity to the US to attract supply chains moving out of China, pitching the 18% tariff as a stable environment for "Make in India" for the world. 
• Protecting Agri-Livelihoods while Liberalising Trade: Avoid blanket zero-tariff commitments; adopt product-specific safeguards. Promote value-added agri-exports (processed, organic products) over raw commodities. 
  • Prevent rural displacement and ensure favourable terms of trade for farmers. 
• Promoting Innovation-Led Exports: Leverage the iCET framework for collaboration in AI and space technologies.  
  • Align IPR standards for high-tech sectors while retaining public-interest waivers in pharma. Position India as a global R&D and innovation hub supporting knowledge-driven exports.

Conclusion 

The 18% tariff is a "Strategic Window." India’s success will depend on its ability to use this period of American favor to build a self-reliant manufacturing base (Atmanirbhar Bharat) that can eventually compete globally—even if the geopolitical winds shift again. 

Drishti Mains Question:

Assess the opportunities and risks for India arising from the recent India–US trade deal.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What is the new effective US tariff rate on Indian goods under the 2026 trade deal? 
The effective tariff has been reduced to 18%, down from nearly 50%, which earlier included a 25% reciprocal tariff and a 25% punitive duty.

2. Why was a 25% punitive tariff imposed on India in August 2025? 
The US imposed the additional duty due to India’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil during the Ukraine conflict.

3. Which Indian export sectors benefit the most from the 18% tariff reduction? 
Textiles and apparel, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods, which operate on thin margins, gain immediate competitiveness.

4. How does the 18% tariff compare with India’s regional competitors? 
India now faces a lower tariff than Vietnam and Bangladesh (20%) and significantly lower than China (30–35%), though some competitors still enjoy GSP benefits.

5. What energy-related commitment has India reportedly made under the deal? 
India is expected to significantly reduce or halt Russian crude imports and pivot energy purchases toward the US and potentially Venezuela.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Mains

Q. ‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s National self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable examples. (2019)

Charting India’s Developmental Path: Economic Survey 2025–26

Source: ES 

Why in News?  

The Economic Survey 2025–26 outlines India’s medium- to long-term economic strategy amid global fragmentation, supply-chain realignments, technological disruption, and climate stress. It introduces a new policy vocabulary focused on strategic sobriety, institutional quality, and long-term capability building, aligned with the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.

How Does the Economic Survey 2025–26 Chart India’s Developmental Path Amid Global Uncertainty? 

Macroeconomic Strategy 

• Strategic Sobriety: The Survey advises a policy stance of "strategic sobriety rather than defensive pessimism" to handle global volatility.
• Strategic Resilience vs. Strategic Indispensability: Moving beyond just absorbing shocks (resilience) to becoming a "source of reliability, capability, and value for others" (indispensability).
• Running a Marathon and Sprint: A metaphor used to describe India's need to prioritise long-term growth (marathon) while managing short-term shocks (sprint) simultaneously.
• Buffer and Redundancy: Emphasising the creation of resource buffers and supply chain redundancy as strategic assets in a fragmented world.
• Institutional Quality: Defined as a key component of national power alongside productive force and strategic concentration.
• Fiscal Credibility: Achieved through a deliberate shift toward capital formation and human capital rather than just deficit reduction.

State Capacity and Governance

• From 'Ruler's Raj' to 'Citizen's Raj': A shift in governance philosophy where the state moves from a controller to an enabler, empowering citizens.
• The Entrepreneurial State: Moving the state from "compliance to capability" and from "low-value policing toward coordination, facilitation, and problem-solving".
• Regulatory Capacity: Framing deregulation not as the withdrawal of the state, but as "institutional reorientation" to reduce friction.
• Contextual Compliance: A concept explaining that civic behaviour is context-dependent; good outcomes emerge when design, incentives, and norms align (e.g., orderly conduct in Metro rail vs. disorderly conduct elsewhere).
• Trust-based Compliance: Replacing inspection-based control with trust-based systems to enhance the ease of doing business.
• Delayed Gratification: The need for the mature mind (and nation) to choose Śreya (enduring good) over Preya (fleeting comfort) to build long-term national strength.

Industry, Manufacturing, and Trade

• Strategic Indigenisation: A tiered framework to reduce external vulnerability while integrating into global value chains.
• Servicification of Manufacturing: The increasing integration of services into the manufacturing value chain, enhancing value addition.
• Friendshoring & Nearshoring: Global trends of re-routing supply chains to politically aligned or geographically closer nations.
• Product Complexity Index (PCI): A measure of the sophistication of productive know-how; India aims to shift from low/mid-complexity to high-complexity goods.
• Investment Development Path (IDP): The trajectory where a country transitions from being a net recipient to a net source of foreign direct investment.
• Orange Economy: Referring to the creative economy (media, entertainment, arts) as an emerging lever for growth.
• Intelligent Indigenisation: A nuanced approach to import substitution. Instead of a blanket ban on imports, it advocates for a "Tiered Framework"—focusing indigenisation efforts only where strategic vulnerability is high or economic feasibility is clear.
• Institutional Stress Test: Use this to describe manufacturing exports. The Survey argues that competing in global markets acts as a "stress test" for the state, exposing weaknesses in logistics, regulation, and infrastructure that sheltered sectors (like services) might hide.
• National Input Cost Reduction Strategy: A proposed strategy to treat input costs (energy, logistics, raw materials) like infrastructure. Lowering these costs is essential for competitiveness.
• China Plus One -> Strategic Diversification: Instead of just "China Plus One," use terms like "Geostrategic Globalisation" or "Friendshoring" to describe supply chain realignments.
• Dead Capital: Used in the context of urban land. Restrictive land-use regulations turn land into "dead capital" that cannot be used productively.

Technology and Artificial Intelligence

• Bottom-up AI Strategy: Unlike the West’s "frontier model" approach, India requires a bottom-up strategy focusing on distributed innovation and application-specific AI.
• AI-OS Initiative: A proposal for the sovereign to be a shareholder in AI infrastructure (like UPI/Aadhaar), treating AI as a "public good".
• Frugal AI: Developing AI solutions that are resource-efficient and adapted to local constraints.
• Data Stewardship: Balancing the openness of data flows with the need to retain economic value from domestic data within India.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): Leveraging digital platforms (like e-Shram, Udyam) to formalise the workforce and enhance productivity.
• Sovereign AI / Compute Capacity: Emphasizes the need for domestic capacity in Artificial Intelligence infrastructure.
• Physical-Digital Fusion: Integrating physical infrastructure (roads, ports) with digital layers (ULIP, GatiShakti) to improve logistics efficiency.

Agriculture and Rural Development

• Nutrient Imbalance: Referring to the distorted N:P:K ratio (currently 10.9:4.1:1 against the ideal 4:2:1) due to excessive nitrogen use, requiring a re-orientation toward soil health.
• Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Promoting crop diversification and "Per Drop More Crop " to handle water scarcity and weather shocks.
• Lab to Land: Bridging the gap between agricultural research and practical application to improve productivity.
• Social Capital: Converting community trust and networks (like SHGs) into sustainable livelihood outcomes.
• Rights-based Entitlement: The shift in rural employment schemes (like the Viksit Bharat–G RAM G Act, 2025) to reinforce legal entitlements to work.

Urbanisation and Infrastructure

• Agglomeration Economies: The benefits of clustering (reduced interaction costs, knowledge spillovers) that underpin the logic of urbanisation.
• Polycentric Growth: Developing multiple centres of activity (like new townships around RRTS stations) to relieve pressure on core cities.
• Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Integrated planning of land use and transport to create high-density, mixed-use zones around transit hubs.
• Endowment Effect: The concept that citizens feel responsibility for assets they feel they "own"; lacking in public spaces due to poor service delivery.
• Financialization of Infrastructure: Using instruments like InvITs and REITs to monetise assets and finance new projects.
• 8-80 Philosophy: A principle for urban design—streets should be safe and accessible for everyone from an 8-year-old to an 80-year-old.

Environment and Climate Change

• Greenium: The yield advantage (lower interest cost) of green bonds over comparable conventional bonds.
• Mission LiFE: Lifestyle for Environment; emphasising behavioural changes and citizen participation in climate action.
• Adaptation-led Development: Shifting focus from just mitigation (emissions reduction) to adaptation (resilience against risks like heatwaves and floods).
• Dispatchable Power: The need to maintain reliable power sources (like thermal/nuclear) to back up intermittent renewables.
• Circular Economy: Moving from "take-make-dispose" to recycling and resource recovery (e.g., waste-to-energy).

Social Sector (Health & Education)

• Double Burden: Facing both communicable diseases and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like obesity.
• Demographic Dividend: The economic potential of a large working-age population, which depends on skilling and health.
• Pink Tax: The extra cost women pay for safer mobility or specific products, acting as a barrier to labour force participation.
• Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF): A key driver of the obesity epidemic requiring regulatory and behavioural interventions.
• Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): The primary focus of educational reforms to ensure future employability.
• Bridging the Power Gap: India has a "Power Gap" (the difference between its resources and its influence). Bridging this requires converting economic size into strategic influence.
• Delayed Gratification: A cultural/behavioral attribute necessary for nation-building. The Survey argues that looking for shortcuts (in sports, infrastructure, or policy) undermines long-term capability.
• Psychological Safety in Governance: Creating an environment where bureaucrats are not punished for honest errors, encouraging decision-making under uncertainty.

Finance and Banking

• Financialisation: The growing dominance of financial markets and instruments in the economy, which India has largely avoided to its benefit.
• Crowding Out: The risk of government borrowing or spending reducing the availability of resources for the private sector.
• Evergreening: Strategies to keep bad loans from turning non-performing, which regulatory reforms aim to prevent.
• Credible Consolidation: Describes the government's fiscal path—reducing deficits while maintaining high capital expenditure (Capex).
• QE Infinity Trap: A concept warning that prolonged monetary easing (Quantitative Easing) by developed nations creates dependency, distorts asset prices, and traps economies in low growth.
• Refining the Regulatory Touch: A keyword for the financial sector, advocating for regulation that balances stability with innovation.
• NUDGE (Non-intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable): A data-driven, behaviorally informed approach designed to boost voluntary tax compliance.

Conclusion 

The Economic Survey 2025–26 marks a shift from a survivalist to a possibility-oriented vision, embracing strategic sobriety to build strategic indispensability. Through physical–digital fusion, frugal AI, and a transition from Ruler’s Raj to Citizen’s Raj, it positions India on the path to Viksit Bharat by 2047. 

Drishti Mains Question:

The Economic Survey 2025–26 advocates a shift from strategic resilience to strategic indispensability. Examine the implications of this shift for India’s global economic positioning.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What is meant by Strategic Sobriety in the Economic Survey 2025–26? 
It refers to a calm, realistic policy approach that acknowledges global uncertainty without overreacting to external shocks. 

2. How does the Survey define Strategic Indispensability? 
It is India’s transition from merely absorbing shocks to becoming a reliable source of global capability, value, and stability.

3. What is Intelligent Indigenisation? 
A selective, tiered import substitution strategy focusing on strategic vulnerability while remaining integrated with global value chains.

4. What is the AI-OS initiative proposed in the Survey? 
It envisages AI infrastructure as a public good, similar to UPI and Aadhaar, supported by sovereign compute capacity. 

5. Why does the Survey warn against the QE Infinity Trap? 
Prolonged monetary easing can distort asset prices, create dependency, and lock economies into low-growth trajectories.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Mains

Q. Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced a V- shapes recovery? Give reasons in support of your answer.(2021) 

Q. Among several factors for India’s potential growth, savings rate is the most effective one. Do you agree? What are the other factors available for growth potential?(2017) 

Q. “Industrial growth rate has lagged behind in the overall growth of Gross-Domestic-Product(GDP) in the post-reform period” Give reasons. How far are the recent changes in Industrial Policy capable of increasing the industrial growth rate?(2017) 

Consumer Confidence in India

For Prelims: Rationalised GST, Disinflation, Retail Inflation, CPI, Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS), Deflation, Inflation, K-shaped Pattern, Minimum Support Price (MSP), MSMEs, Capital Expenditure (Capex).

For Mains: Factors supporting consumer confidence in India and associated challenges. Steps needed to maintain a sustainable consumer confidence in India.

Source: IE 

Why in News? 

Following major policy reforms—lower income tax rates and a rationalised GST—consumption, the bedrock of economic growth, appears resilient, though underlying stresses continue to persist beneath the surface of renewed consumer confidence. 

Summary 

• Policy-led disinflation and tax reforms have temporarily strengthened consumer confidence. 
• Household debt, weak income growth, and inequality threaten demand sustainability. 
• Inclusive growth, wage expansion, and financial resilience are essential for durable consumption-led growth.

What Factors have Supported Consumer Confidence in the Recent Past?

• Surge in Durable Goods: GST rate cuts helped push headline retail inflation to a record low of 0.25% in October 2025, making goods and services cheaper. As a result, during the Dussehra-Diwali festival window in 2025, demand for consumer durable loans was about 1.5 times higher than the previous year, signalling renewed consumer confidence. 
• Rising Rural Wages: After averaging zero for 3 years, real rural wage growth (adjusted for inflation) rose to 4.1% in Q1 (April-June) of 2025-26. This rebound was primarily driven by a sharp fall in rural CPI inflation to 2.4% (April-June 2025), down from 5.5% a year ago. Nominal wage growth was 6.5%—the highest since mid-2023. 
• Urban Wage Growth: A proxy for urban wages—the growth in staff costs of listed companies—showed real growth of 5.7% in July-September 2025, the highest in over 2 years. Again, this was aided by low urban inflation (2.1%).   
• Existing Support in the Pipeline: The 125 basis points of RBI rate cuts in 2025 are still transmitting through the economy, which will continue to support demand. 

RBI’s Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) 

• About: The Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) is a bi-monthly survey (every alternate month) conducted by the RBI to measure consumer sentiments regarding the prevailing and expected economic conditions. 
• Coverage: Historically and in its primary form, the CCS has been an urban-focused survey, conducted among households in major metropolitan and urban centres (typically 13–19 cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and others). 
  • The RBI has introduced a separate Rural Consumer Confidence Survey (RCCS) to complement the urban survey.  
  • The RCCS specifically targets rural and semi-urban households across 31 states/ UTs, providing a more inclusive national picture of household sentiments. 
• Main Parameters:  
  • General economic situation 
  • Employment scenario 
  • Overall price situation / inflation 
  • Own household income 
  • Current and planned spending 
• Significance & Usage: Helps the RBI and policymakers understand household sentiment, which has important implications for monetary policy stance, aggregate demand, retail sales and consumer durables outlook  

What Concerns are Associated with Consumer Confidence in India? 

• Deteriorating Household Balance Sheets: Household financial liabilities rose from 3.9% of GDP in 2019-20 to 6.2% in 2023-24, before a slight decline to 4.7% in 2024-25. Net financial assets had hit a multi-decade low of 4.9% of GDP in 2022-23. Between FY09 and FY23, real personal bank debt rose 2.9 times while industrial wages rose only 1.9 times.   
  • This has strained household balance sheets, leading to higher debt servicing costs and reduced capacity for consumption, particularly in urban areas. 
• Unsustainable Income Growth: The recent rebound in real rural wages is largely due to a sharp fall in inflation, not a strong rise in nominal incomes. If food prices remain in deflation, farmers' incomes could suffer, undermining demand. Nominal urban wage growth has been stuck at the same level since mid-2023.  
  • This limits disposable income and constrains spending on both essentials and discretionary items.  
• Income and Consumption Inequality: India's economic recovery exhibits K-shaped pattern, where affluent households drive premium and discretionary spending, while lower- and middle-income groups face stagnation or declining purchasing power. It narrows the broad consumer base and limits overall demand expansion. 
  • A K-shaped pattern is an uneven economic recovery where some sectors or income groups grow rapidly while others continue to decline, worsening inequality. 
• Broader Structural Issues: Declining household savings rates, reduced spending shares on education (potentially impacting future employability), and reliance on debt-financed consumption raise sustainability concerns. Additionally, shifts toward ultra-processed foods and health-related expenditures reflect changing patterns with potential negative implications for well-being. 

What Steps are Needed to Maintain a Sustainable Consumer Confidence in India? 

• Secure & Boost Household Incomes: Shift policy to labor-intensive exports, ensure real wage growth via productivity-linked hikes, and strengthen farming beyond Minimum Support Price (MSP) with supply chain investment to boost job quality and incomes. 
• Rebuild Household Financial Buffers: Incentivize financial savings for positive real returns, enforce RBI's macroprudential norms on unsecured loans and financial literacy, and expand social security coverage (health, pensions) to reduce precautionary saving. 
• Ensure Price Stability & Predictability: Maintain a benign inflation regime with proactive food price management and ensure transparent, stable tax policy (GST, direct taxes) for long-term household planning. 
• Foster Broad-Based, Inclusive Growth: Bridge the rural-urban divide with targeted infrastructure and support MSMEs via credit and global value chain integration to counter a K-shaped recovery. 
• Strategic & Credible Fiscal Policy: Balance capital expenditure (capex) with human capital investment, commit to fiscal prudence to build buffers for counter-cyclical measures, and catalyze private investment with policy certainty. 

Conclusion 

While recent policy stimulus and low inflation have buoyed short-term consumption, India’s consumer confidence faces long-term stress from eroding household savings, rising debt, and uneven income growth. Sustainable confidence hinges on structural reforms that boost secure incomes, rebuild financial buffers, and ensure broad-based, inclusive economic expansion. 

Drishti Mains Question:

The resilience of India's consumption story is often questioned due to deteriorating household balance sheets. Suggest measures to ensure sustainable consumer confidence in the Indian economy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What recent policies have supported consumer confidence in India? 
Lower income tax rates, GST rationalisation, and RBI rate cuts reduced inflation and borrowing costs, boosting short-term consumption. 

2. Why is recent rural wage growth considered fragile? 
It is driven mainly by low inflation, not strong nominal income growth, making it vulnerable to future price rises. 

3. What does a K-shaped recovery mean for consumption? 
It indicates uneven recovery, where affluent households spend more while lower-income groups face stagnant demand. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQ) 

Mains

Q. Among several factors for India’s potential growth, the savings rate is the most effective one. Do you agree? What are the other factors available for growth potential? (2017)

Gujarat Reclaims 'Tiger State' Status

Source: IE 

Gujarat is set to regain its tag as a tiger-bearing state following the sustained presence of a Royal Bengal Tiger in the Jambughoda and Ratanmahal forest ranges, marking a significant milestone in India's wildlife conservation history. 

• Unique Biodiversity Status: With the confirmation of the tiger's presence, Gujarat claims the distinction of being the only state in India to host three major big cats: Asiatic Lions, Royal Bengal Tigers, and Leopards. 
• Migration Corridor: The tiger migrated approximately 60 km from Katthiwada Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to the Kanjeta range and Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. 
  • The 90-km corridor connecting Kanjeta, and Jambughoda is identified as a thriving forest patch with natural caves and water sources, suitable for tiger conservation. 
  • The state forest department is coordinating with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to introduce a female mate, aiming to establish a stable tiger population in the region. 
• Prey Base Augmentation: To sustain the tiger and prevent human-animal conflict, a Herbivore Breeding Centre has been established near Kada dam to breed spotted deer (chital) and sambar to release into the wild. 
• Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary: It is a biodiversity hub characterised by dry southern tropical, dry deciduous, and secondary forests interspersed with grasslands and medicinal herbs.  
  • The landscape is dominated by thickets of Teak, Mahua, and Bamboo, providing dense cover for a rich variety of fauna.  
  • The sanctuary supports a significant population of Leopards, alongside Sloth Bears, Chausinghas (four-horned antelope), Nilgais, and Hyenas, making it a critical ecological corridor in the region. 
• Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in Gujarat along the border with Madhya Pradesh, the Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary (est. 1982) is a critical habitat renowned for hosting the state's highest population of Sloth Bears.  
  • The sanctuary features dry teak and mixed deciduous forests interspersed with Bamboo, Mahua, and Jamun trees, which provide essential forage for the bears.  
  • Beyond its rich fauna, which includes a significant density of Leopards, the area holds strategic ecological importance as the catchment for the River Panam, sustaining water conservation efforts for the Dahod and Panchmahal districts.

Read more: Tiger Returns to Gujarat After Three Decades 

India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Source: TH

Amidst preparations for India's Prime Ministerial visit to Israel, India hosted the India-Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting and held a key security dialogue with Saudi Arabia, showcasing a nuanced diplomatic balancing act in West Asia. 

Key Developments in West Asia Diplomacy 

• Security Engagement with Saudi Arabia: The 3rd India-Saudi Arabia Security Working Group meeting was held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and agreed to enhance cooperation against terror financing, cyber-terrorism, and the crime-terror nexus.  
  • It is a bilateral security dialogue mechanism established under their Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) instituted in 2019. It operates under the Political, Consular and Security Cooperation Committee of the SPC. 
• Balancing Act with the Arab World: This meeting was followed by the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting in Delhi, attended by Palestine's Foreign Minister among others. 
  • India expressed support for international efforts to restore peace in Gaza, referring to the Sharm-el-Sheikh Peace Summit (2025) and UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which backed a transitional administration and an International Stabilisation Force for Gaza. 
  • However, India has not yet responded to the US invitation to join the Board of Peace for Gaza tasked with overseeing the maintenance of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and reconstruction of Gaza. 
  • India highlighted broader instability in West Asia, including Libya, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and flagged concerns over maritime security and its UN peacekeeping role in Lebanon. 
• Diplomatic Outreach to Iran: Concurrently, India’s Deputy National Security Advisor visited Tehran for meetings with Iranian security officials, amid regional tensions over a potential US-Israel strike on Iran.

Read More: Strengthening India-West Asia Ties 

Expert Panel for Transgender Healthcare

Source: TH 

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formed a multidisciplinary panel of medical experts to provide technical and policy guidance on healthcare issues specific to transgender persons. 

• The government has acknowledged that transgender persons have distinct healthcare needs due to hormonal, physiological, and psychological differences. 
• This move aligns public health policy with constitutional values of dignity, equality, and non-discrimination under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21. 
• The step follows a Supreme Court directive in the Jane Kaushik vs Union of India case, 2025, where an advisory committee was set up after allegations of workplace discrimination against a transwoman. 
• India’s transgender population stands at around 4.88 lakh as per the 2011 Census, with the largest populations in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. 

Timeline of Reforms for Transgender Persons 

• Election Commission's Directive (2009): Registration forms were updated to include an "others" option, allowing transsexual individuals to avoid male or female identification. 
• Supreme Court Ruling (2014): In National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India case, 2014, the Supreme Court recognized transgender people as the "Third Gender," emphasizing it as a human rights issue. 
• Legislative Efforts: Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 was enacted to protect transgender rights.

Read more: The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 

Raising Day of ICG

Source: PIB 

The Prime Minister greeted all ranks of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on their Raising Day, lauding them as a steadfast shield of India’s shores for their role in maritime security, disaster response, and marine ecosystem protection. 

• Formation & History: The ICG was established on 1st February 1977 to ensure safety and law enforcement in Indian waters. Its formation was based on the recommendations of the Nag Committee (1970) and the Rustamji Committee (1974–75). 
  • It was formally inaugurated as an independent armed force of the Union Government under the Coast Guard Act, 1978, with the motto “Vayam Rakshamah” (We Protect). 
• Strategic Necessity: The force was created to counter sea-borne smuggling, protect offshore assets like Mumbai High, and police India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). 
• Organizational Structure: It is headed by the Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGCG) exercising his command from headquarters in New Delhi. 
  • India’s maritime zones are divided into Eastern and Western Seaboards, covering five Coast Guard Regions (North-West, West, East, North-East, and Andaman & Nicobar) with headquarters at Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Port Blair. Each region is commanded by an Inspector General. 
• Mandate: The ICG safeguards offshore resources, enforces maritime laws, assists mariners in distress, and protects the marine environment. It also collects scientific data and supports the Navy during war.

Read more: Raising Day of ICG 

Minimum Import Price on Penicillin G

Source: ET 

Recently, the Union government has imposed a minimum import price (MIP) on key pharmaceutical inputs, Penicillin G and its salts, 6-APA, and amoxicillin to regulate imports. 

• The move aims to curb low-cost imports, especially from China, which threaten the sustainability of domestic  Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) producers. 
  • China currently supplies around 70% of raw materials used by India’s pharmaceutical industry, valued at $10–12 billion, highlighting India’s import dependence. 
• The MIP will remain in force for one year, but exemptions apply to 100% export-oriented units (EOUs), Special Economic Zone units, and imports under advance authorisation, provided inputs are not sold in the domestic tariff area. 
  • MIP is a government-mandated temporary floor price below which specific goods cannot be imported, aimed at protecting domestic industries from cheap, predatory or dumped imports. 
• The measure builds on earlier steps such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the November MIP on sulphadiazine, balancing domestic manufacturing support with affordability by restricting only imports for local consumption without affecting exports. 

Penicillin G 

• Benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G) is a narrow-spectrum antibiotic used to treat infections caused by sensitive bacteria.  
• Due to poor oral absorption, it is given intravenously or intramuscularly, and in some cases is also used for preventive (prophylactic) treatment against susceptible organisms. 

Read more: Penicillin G and PLI Scheme 

Bharat Parv 2026

Source: PIB 

Bharat Parv 2026, a six-day national cultural and tourism festival, was organised by the Ministry of Tourism from 26th–31st January 2026 at the  Red Fort, New Delhi, as part of the Republic Day celebrations. 

• Organised annually since 2016, the festival serves as a major platform to showcase India’s cultural, artistic, culinary and spiritual heritage, reflecting the country’s unity in diversity. 
• Bharat Parv 2026 commemorated 150 years of “Vande Mataram”, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, while actively promoting the national initiatives like “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” and “Dekho Apna Desh.” 
• A key attraction was the display of 41 Republic Day tableaux from States, Union Territories and Central Ministries, allowing visitors to view the narratives of culture, development and innovation up close. 
• The festival featured 48 folk and classical cultural performances by State troupes and cultural institutions, along with 22 performances by Armed Forces and paramilitary bands, adding a strong patriotic dimension. 
• A pan-India food court with over 60 stalls showcased regional cuisines, millet-based dishes and tribal food traditions, emphasising culinary heritage, sustainability and local practices. 

Read more:  Republic Day 2026