UPSC Key: Jaishankar-Rubio talks, Gig economy, and Shaksgam Valley

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian Economy.

What’s the ongoing story: A day after US ambassador-designate Sergio Gor struck a conciliatory note in Delhi in an attempt to repair strained ties between the two countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio spoke over phone Tuesday and discussed bilateral trade negotiations, critical minerals, defence, nuclear cooperation, energy and a possible meeting next month.

— What is the status of India-USA relations?

— What are the areas of cooperation between India and the USA?

— Know the key highlights of Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act.

— What is the significance of the SHANTI Act for US-India civil nuclear cooperation?

— What is the Pax Silica initiative? — Read about the India-US trade deal.

— How is India’s relations with the USA and Iran? — What are the areas of cooperation between India and Iran?

(Thought Process: Read about the International North South Transport Corridor, and the Chabahar port.)

— While the trade deal negotiations are key, the importance of the other topics – critical minerals, defence, energy and nuclear – cannot be underestimated. For both Washington and Delhi, these issues are critical for a productive partnership.

— It is not clear whether Rubio and Jaishankar will meet during a bilateral visit, or on the sidelines of a multilateral event, including the AI Impact summit in Delhi next month. Following the discussions, Jaishankar described it as a “good conversation”, while Gor called it a “positive call”.

— Referring to the recently enacted n-energy law, he said, “The Secretary congratulated India on enacting the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill. He expressed interest in capitalizing on this important development to enhance US-India civil nuclear cooperation, expand opportunities for American companies, advance shared energy security goals, and secure critical mineral supply chains.”

— On Monday, when he took charge of the US embassy, Gor said that trade negotiators would speak as early as Tuesday, and that India would be invited to the US-led strategic initiative Pax Silica.

— That the Rubio-Jaishankar conversation took place a day later – and the talking points were similar to what Gor had said – pointed to the willingness to move forward on bilateral ties after months of acrimony.

— In October 2025, Jaishankar held talks with Rubio on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia leaders’ summit in Kuala Lumpur amid chill in the ties that had set in following the 50 per cent tariffs, including a 25 per cent penalty over India’s purchase of Russian oil, closer US-Pakistan ties and Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May last year.

— And in November 2025, the two ministers met on the sidelines of the meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers in Canada, their discussions focusing on trade and supply chains. They also exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East situation and Indo-Pacific.

— This time, the message after the phone call is clear that they spoke on bilateral issues plaguing the relationship, at a time when the trade deal is still to be concluded. India has reduced its Russian oil imports since September 2025, signalling to Washington that the US should take off the 25 per cent punitive tariffs.

— Sources said waiver of the 25 per cent tariff penalty is one that can relieve the relationship stress while the two sides continue negotiating the trade deal to get a reduced tariff on the remaining 25 per cent.

— US President Donald Trump has warned that any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff of 25 per cent on any trade with the US.

— There was no official documentation from the White House of the policy on its website, nor information about the legal authority Trump would use to impose the tariffs, or whether they would be aimed at all of Iran’s trading partners.

— While the fresh tariffs could primarily impact China, which is Iran’s largest trade partner, India, too, has had longstanding trade ties with Iran and considerable investment in Iran’s port infrastructure. However, sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear programme have already weakened trade ties with India over the years.

— In New Delhi, which already faces 50 per cent US tariffs, the assessment is that India is not going to be affected much, with bilateral trade volume minimal as compared to other countries like China — it was $1.6 billion in 2024-25, and is estimated to touch $1.2 billion in 2025-26. Iran is not even among India’s top 50 trading partners.

— Pax Silica is a US-led initiative focused on securing AI and tech supply chains, aimed at bringing “friendly and trusted” countries together to ensure that key technologies are safe, reliable, and not controlled by hostile play, according to the US State Department.

— The initiative aims to build a secure supply chain ranging from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, and does not include India.

(1) With reference to the Pax Silica Initiative, consider the following statements: 1. It is a Russia-led strategic initiative.

2. India is a member of this initiative.

3. It aims to build a secure supply chain ranging from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing and semiconductors.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

‘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. (UPSC CSE 2019)

What’s the ongoing story: Amid the ongoing debate about working conditions of gig workers engaged with delivery aggregators such as Blinkit, Swiggy and Zomato, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has intervened to ask the companies to drop the “10-minute delivery” deadline.

— What is the “10-minute delivery”?

— What are the concerns related to the “10-minute delivery”?

— How is gig workers different from formal labour? — What is the significance of the gig economy for India?

— How does the new labour code define the gig economy?

— What are the concerns related to the gig economy in the new Labour code?

— On Tuesday, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met the representatives of leading platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy to discuss concerns related to the delivery timelines, sources said.

— After the meeting, sources said Blinkit had acted on the directive and removed the 10-minute delivery promise from its branding. An industry executive told The Indian Express that Swiggy was also initiating the process for removing it.

— The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) “welcomed and strongly appreciated the timely intervention” of the Labour Minister, which has resulted in major delivery aggregators removing the “unsafe 10-minute delivery deadlines”.

— “The 10-minute delivery model forced delivery partners into dangerous road behaviour, extreme stress and unsafe working conditions…this intervention is a victory for all gig and platform workers, especially in the context of the nationwide flash strike and protests held from December 25-31,” said Shaik Salauddin, founder president, TGPWU and national general secretary, IFAT.

— Thousands of delivery workers went on a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve, demanding better pay, safety protection and social security. Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, and the wider start-up and investor community, then began posting data on X within days, arguing that critics don’t understand how the gig economy works.

— The online arguments reflected the broader debate over India’s gig economy, which employed around 7.7 million people in 2020-21 according to a NITI Aayog report. The figure has likely risen now, and is estimated to touch 23.5 million by 2029-30.

— The government has been taking measures to bring gig and platform workers into the ambit of labour laws to ensure social security coverage for them. Last year, the government notified the Code on Social Security, bringing gig and platform workers under a formal welfare framework for the first time.

— It enables their registration on a national database and opens access to schemes covering health, disability, accident insurance and old-age support. It aims to give millions of workers basic protections despite their non-traditional employment structure.

— The Code envisions the creation of a Social Security Fund for gig and platform workers with contribution from Central and state governments, corporate social responsibility, fines collected due to compounding, etc.

— Aggregators such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato will have to contribute 1-2 per cent of their annual turnover towards this fund, with the total contribution capped at 5 per cent of the amount payable by them to the workers.

— The Indian Express’s SOUMYARENDRA BARIK spent a day each as a delivery worker for Zomato, Blinkit and Swiggy, completing 23 deliveries and earning Rs 782 or Rs 34/hour. That’s the cost of India’s convenience economy: long, punishing hours for precarious earnings.

— For three days last week, I (Soumyarendra Barik) signed up as a delivery worker, navigating Delhi’s traffic and the architecture of India’s gig economy. My experience of working for a day each across Zomato, Blinkit and Swiggy platforms laid bare a grim reality: India’s convenience economy runs on the backs of delivery workers, and the costs – financial, physical, psychological – are theirs alone to carry.

— Across three days, I rode 105 km on a TVS 125 cc scooter to complete more than 20 deliveries and clocked over 15 hours of work. Total earnings: Rs 782. After fuel costs of Rs 250, I was left with Rs 532, or roughly Rs 34 per hour — well below minimum wage standards in most formal sectors.

— With a low base pay (around Rs 35-Rs 55 per order, depending on distance), algorithmic systems that nudge delivery workers to accept more orders and cover longer distances, rising fuel costs, no social security benefits and a largely faceless management, the growth of India’s quick-delivery economy — which is expected to employ over 23 million by 2030 — has come at the cost of increasingly precarious worker earnings.

— Srinath Sridharan writes: India’s gig economy occupies an unresolved legal space. Workers are acknowledged yet inadequately protected. Social security is promised but rarely enforced. The law recognises their presence while withholding certainty of rights. This ambiguity has benefited platforms and transferred risk almost entirely onto labour.

— Gig work is a practical response to an economy that struggles to generate enough formal employment and livelihood means. Workers opted for gig work not because it was ideal but because it was available, organised and immediate at a time when unemployment remains a constant worry.

— Under the Code on Social Security, 2020, ‘gig workers’, ‘platform workers’, and ‘aggregators’ have been defined for the first time, as a person who performs work outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship. It envisions the creation of a Social Security Fund for gig and platform workers with contribution from Central and state governments, corporate social responsibility, fines collected due to compounding, etc.

(2) With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2021)

1. All casual workers are entitled for Employees Provident Fund coverage.

2. All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment.

3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account.

Which of the above statements are correct?

Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India. (UPSC CSE 2021)

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: C. Raja Mohan writes: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to India this week was not merely about raising ambitions for a relationship that has long performed below potential.

— What are the major outcomes of the recent visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz?

— What is the significance of Germany for India?

— Know the historical background of India-Germany relationship?

— What are the reasons for increased cooperation between India and Europe in the wake of the current geopolitical situation?

— What is the status of India-EU Free Trade Agreement? — What is the significance of Europe for India?

— What are the various initiatives taken to increase cooperation between India and Europe?

— What is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor?

— India and Europe now define strategic autonomy not as equidistance or defiance, but productive diversification. Elaborate.

— Coming amid the twin disruptions unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s renewed unilateralism and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s assertive statecraft, Merz’s engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was about something larger: Creating new axes of international stability and sketching a fresh strategic geography — what we might call “the Indo-Europe”.

— The limitations of Germany, Europe, and India are well known when set against the scale and power of the two dominant actors, the US and China. Yet, it is precisely by deepening their bilateral partnership — and by embedding it in a wider Indo-European framework — that Delhi and Berlin can secure greater room for themselves.

— Europe is being compelled to rethink long-standing dependencies — on Russian energy, Chinese supply chains, and American security guarantees. India confronts its own set of pressures: US trade coercion, excessive reliance on Russian weapons, and mounting Chinese challenges on its frontiers, in its neighbourhood, and across global institutions.

— The Modi-Merz talks produced tangible outcomes across trade and security. On commerce, both sides reaffirmed their resolve to conclude the long-delayed EU-India free trade agreement by the end of this month, when European leaders will be in Delhi as honoured guests for Republic Day.

— On defence, Modi and Merz agreed to develop a joint roadmap for defence industrial cooperation. Germany has embarked on a massive programme of rearmament in response to Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine and growing doubts about long-term American commitment to European security.

— Over the last four years, Germany has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest defence spender, after the US, China, and Russia. With plans to spend up to 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence, German military expenditure could approach $200 billion annually by the end of this decade, inevitably placing Berlin ahead of Russia in global defence rankings.

— A deeper trade and defence partnership with Berlin also resonates with the long arc of Indo-German engagement. A century ago, Germany figured high in India’s strategic imagination. During World War I, Imperial Germany viewed Indian nationalism as a lever against British imperial dominance.

— The most dramatic episode of that era was the 1915 expedition to Kabul, which helped establish the first Provisional Government of India in exile. The enterprise failed in its immediate objective, but demonstrated the importance of Indian nationalism seeking external partners to secure independence and expand strategic space.

— The contrast with 2026 is sharp, but the underlying logic shows a certain continuity. After sheltering under American dominance for much of the post-war era, Germany is now assuming greater responsibility for Europe’s security.

— Today, a weakened Russia and an assertive China mean Delhi must look to Berlin and Brussels to help stabilise the Eurasian balance and promote a multipolar world.

— Neither India nor Europe can afford to rely solely on an inward-looking US to manage the risks arising from a tightening China-Russia continental alignment. This is where the Indo-European idea acquires real strategic meaning.

— Initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, cooperation on critical minerals and green hydrogen, and enhanced maritime awareness across the western Indian Ocean all point in this direction.

— France is already a big factor in the Indo-Europe geography. Britain, which withdrew from Europe a decade ago, is reconnecting with the old continent and deepening ties with India. Delhi also has much to do with Poland, in Central Europe, and Italy in the Mediterranean. For India, the challenge is to implement the agreements signed and translate understandings with Europe into concrete outcomes.

— Both India and Europe continue to see the US as an indispensable partner in securing Europe and balancing Asia and the Indo-Pacific. What the Indo-Europe seeks is resilience: The capacity to hedge against volatility without surrendering agency.

— India and Germany may differ on several issues, not least in their respective approaches to Russia in the wake of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Yet amid the geopolitical disruptions unleashed by the American president nearly a year into his tenure, both New Delhi and Berlin recognise the need to find common ground.

— For Germany, the challenges range from phasing out its energy dependence on Russia to the US role in Europe’s security architecture vis-à-vis Ukraine. India, meanwhile, has to contend with high US tariffs, sustained Western pressure to curb its purchase of Russian oil, and the problems posed by China in the neighbourhood and with respect to critical minerals and supply chains.

— Germany is India’s largest trading partner within the European Union but its trade volume with China is at least five times larger. In their joint statement, PM Modi and Chancellor Merz reiterated their support for concluding the India-EU Free Trade Agreement at the upcoming EU-India Summit to be held on January 27.

— Strengthening people-to-people ties was also a key focus of the Modi-Merz meeting, particularly in the area of skilled labour mobility, given Germany’s labour shortage and rising demand for healthcare professionals amid a shrinking workforce and ageing population. In this context, the Joint Declaration of Intent on the Global Skills Partnership is a welcome development.

— At a time when the US is increasingly tightening even legal pathways for skilled immigration, Germany — along with other EU countries — offers an attractive alternative. It is clear that India and Germany are determined to deepen their partnership, even as differences over Russia persist. The real test, however, will be implementing what is on paper effectively.

Source: ‘India’s Arab-Mediterranean Corridor: A Paradigm Shift in Strategic Connectivity to Europe’, a paper by Michael Tanchum published by National University of Singapore and Institute of South Asian Studies. Issue No. 14, August 2021.

— The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a connectivity project that seeks to develop a seamless infrastructure of ports, railways, roads, sea lines and pipelines to enhance trade among India, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean region and Europe. The IMEC aims to capitalise on the existing trade routes between India and the Arab Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe and build the missing infrastructure to link the Gulf and Mediterranean regions.

— The project is an outcome of the growing diplomatic and political convergence between India, the Arab Gulf monarchies, Israel, the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) with a common understanding for the need to enhance sea and land connectivity towards greater economic exchanges among these regions.

— The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the IMEC was signed in September 2023 in New Delhi during the G-20 summit by India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Germany, Italy, the US and the EU. In addition to the signatories of the MoU, Israel and Greece are two major nodal points in IMEC and have expressed enthusiasm about joining the project.

To what extent can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars? Discuss critically (UPSC CSE 2015)

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

What’s the ongoing story: On a day when the United States threatened nations trading with Iran, including India, with a 25 per cent additional penalty tariff, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke Tuesday of shared challenges and India’s objective of global welfare.

— Who are the member countries of BRICS? — What is the significance of BRICS for India?

— Who is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit? — What were the major outcomes of the 17th BRICS Summit?

— Speaking in New Delhi in the context of India’s BRICS presidency this year, Jaishankar highlighted how the current global environment is laced with uncertainties and complications.

— “The current global environment presents complex and interlinked challenges, geopolitical uncertainties, complicated economic landscapes, climate-related risks, technological changes, and persistent development gaps continue to affect countries across regions,” he said, while launching the logo and official website of BRICS 2026, the 18th summit of the now 11-nation forum.

— “BRICS remains an important forum that encourages dialogue and cooperation and practical responses, taking into account national priorities at different stages of development,” he added.

— Jaishankar also spoke of “four broad priorities” guiding India’s BRICS 2026 chairship, stating that “resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability” are the precedents that will lead the 18th summit of the grouping, to be held later this year.

— These priorities will provide a coherent framework across the grouping’s three foundational pillars: “Political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

— For its year-long BRICS presidency, India will follow the model of its 2023 G20 Presidency and hold meetings and host delegations in all 28 states and nine Union Territories. Besides the leaders’ summit, there will be around 100 other meetings, including ministerials, forums and working groups, held across 60 Indian cities, officials say.

— Highlighting the significance of the newly unveiled BRICS logo — a lotus in the colours of the BRICS nations — he said it reflects India’s approach to its chairship by combining elements of “tradition and modernity”.

— The BRICS grouping also includes Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Indonesia, while Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan are partner countries.

— BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the original five members who were large, non-Western economies. In January this year, Indonesia officially joined the BRICS as a full member taking total membership to 10.

— Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates are also part of the bloc. The organisation now represents almost half the world’s population and almost one-quarter of the world’s economy. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join.

— BRICS claims to be a platform for those countries that didn’t have a seat at the table when the post-war world order was designed. The group presents itself as a voice for the Global South. It talks about fairer development, more inclusive trade rules, and reforms in global institutions. It also backs concrete alternatives.

— The New Development Bank offers loans without the political strings often attached to IMF or World Bank funding. BRICS countries are exploring joint investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

(4) With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2014)

1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.

2. South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping. Which of the statements given above is / are correct?

(5) The ‘Fortaleza Declaration’, recently in the news, is related to the affairs of (2015)

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and economic development.

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment, Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

What’s the ongoing story: Two decades after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped granting licenses for new urban co-operative banks (UCBs), the central bank has proposed reopening the licensing window. The move would favour granting UCB licenses to co-operative credit societies.

— Read about the RBI and its role in India’s banking system.

— What are the urban co-operative banks (UCBs)? — How do UCBs differ from co-operative credit societies?

— Why is capital mobilisation a challenge for UCBs? — Who regulates credit societies?

— Why did the RBI put a freeze on licensing new urban co-operative banks two decades ago?

— What is the capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) and net non-performing assets (NNPA)?

— Know the recommendations of the Committee on Urban Co-operative Banks, which was led by R. Gandhi.

— What are the regulatory and supervisory challenges associated with urban co-operative banks?

— Considering the fact that most of the failures of UCBs have been of smaller banks, if licensing is resumed for UCBs, it may be prudent to license only large co-operative credit societies, the RBI said in a discussion paper.  “A large co-operative credit society will have a longer track record. It would have established its governance and put in place sound management practices,” it said.

— Credit societies are regulated by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, and not by the RBI. They can accept deposits only from its members and lend only to its members. They can’t issue cheques payable to the public or offer full banking services like online fund transfer.

— It has been two decades since the licensing of UCBs was put on hold by the RBI as it was found that a large number of the newly licensed UCBs became financially unsound within a short period.

— The High-Powered Committee on Urban Co-operative Banks — led by R Gandhi — recommended UCB licenses only for financially sound and well-managed co-operative credit societies having a minimum track record of five years.

— “Five years may be too short a period to judge the performance of a co-operative society. Hence, active operations for at least 10 years and a good financial track record of at least five years are desirable from a co-operative credit society to apply,” the RBI note said.

— To analyse the financials, assessed capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) should not be less than 12 per cent and the net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio should not be more than 3 per cent at the time of grant of license to the eligible applicant, it said.

— However, the paper listed several factors against granting new UCB licences. “Capital raising remains a problem. The distinct characteristics of shares of UCBs, in terms of refundability and their linkage to borrowing, add to the volatility of such capital and undermine the concept of capital as a loss absorber for the entity. This also challenges the very concept of perpetuity of share capital,” it said.

— It said that the concept of one member one vote, regardless of shareholding, has been a deterrent in attracting growth capital into the sector and resolution of weak banks.

— Though there have been amendments to Banking Regulation Act, 1949, multiple legal challenges to these amendments and related RBI circulars in various courts have slowed the process of strengthening governance in UCBs.

— Directors on boards and senior management in UCBs are often found to lack adequate domain knowledge and expertise. Often, UCBs are being penalised for director related lending which is prohibited, the paper said.

— The Reserve Bank of India’s Urban Banks Department is responsible for regulating and monitoring main (urban) cooperative banks, often known as Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).

— Under Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Cooperative Societies), primary (urban) cooperative banks must acquire authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India before creating branches.

(6) With reference to the Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), consider the following statements: 1. It can issue equity shares and preference shares.

2. It can issue unsecured debentures.

3. UCBs does not require permission from the Reserve Bank of India for opening branches.

4. They monitor compliance with the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

What’s the ongoing story: In response to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, a Chinese government spokesperson reaffirmed the country’s claims to the Shaksgam Valley.

— What is the history of India-China relations?

— What is the Shaksgam Valley and what is its strategic importance for India?

— What is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)? — Know about the China and Pakistan boundary agreement.

— What are the other border disputes of India? — What are the challenges in India-China relations?

— Map work: Locate Shaksgam Valley, Siachen glacier and Hunza-Gilgit region on map.

— Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing on Monday (January 12) that “It’s fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory. China and Pakistan in the 1960s signed a boundary agreement and delimited the boundary between the two countries, which is the right of China and Pakistan as sovereign countries.”

— During the MEA’s media briefing on Friday, a reporter asked about Chinese infrastructure build-up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and in the Shaksgam Valley.

— Jaiswal replied, “Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement that happened in 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid. We do not recognize the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either, which passes through Indian territory that is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan.”

— He added, “The entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. This has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and the Chinese authorities several times. We have consistently protested with the Chinese side against attempts to alter the ground reality in Shaksgam Valley. We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests.”

— Shaksgam Valley, or the Trans Karakoram Tract, is part of the Hunza-Gilgit region occupied by Pakistan and lies to the north of the Siachen glacier. Spread over more than 5,000 sq km, its terrain and climatic conditions make it difficult for human habitation. While it is claimed by India, Pakistan used to control it.

— Pakistan ceded it to China in 1963, but China has attempted to assert itself in this region even earlier. Although India has always considered Aksai Chin to be part of J&K, in the 1950s, the Chinese built a highway connecting Tibet with Xinjiang through the region, which was more easily accessible to the Chinese than to the Indians. China has since claimed Aksai Chin to be part of Hotan county of its Xinjiang province.

— The China-Pakistan boundary agreement came at a time when the China-Pakistan relationship, often described as “ironclad” by the countries today, was deepening. Despite its Cold War alliance with the United States, Pakistan sought to leverage ties with China, which had fought a war with India in 1962.

— Article 6 of the 1963 agreement stated that “the two Parties have agreed that after the settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the sovereign authority concerned will reopen negotiations with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, on the boundary as described in Article Two of the present Agreement, so as to sign a formal Boundary Treaty to replace the present agreement”.

— Shaksgam has assumed renewed significance given its proximity to the CPEC, which was launched in 2015. The China-funded infrastructure project was planned to connect the Gwadar port of Pakistan with the Chinese city of Kashgar in Xinjiang. For China, this would offer an alternative to the import of oil from the Middle East, compared to the Malacca Strait route.

— Additionally, projects ranging from coal plants to highways were planned along the CPEC route, with total Chinese investments standing at over $62 million. However, progress has been patchy, with issues ranging from Baloch militants attacking the projects to Pakistan’s broader economic issues.

— India has consistently objected to the CPEC, arguing that its route passes through PoK, or “territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan”. It has criticised the project for infringing upon its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

— The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km. It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.

‘China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia’, In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbor. (UPSC CSE 2017)

Under the guidelines, state police authorities must ensure that organisers of events drawing massive crowds, submit comprehensive plans outlining duties for crowd control, emergency evacuations, medical aid, and surveillance.

Additionally, DGPs have been asked to regularly document post-event reviews, including logistical arrangements, security deployments, and any incidents encountered.

The government said this in a status report to the Supreme Court.

The controversial provision was introduced in the Act through an amendment in 2018 and was challenged before the top court by the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).

The bench is hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise being undertaken in various states.

“Under Article 326 and also The Representation of People Act, 1950, and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, all taken together, the EC, of course not (by) itself but through the officer who is designated… the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is competent to take a view,” Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi appearing for the poll body told a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

northern city of Aleppo a “closed military zone,” potentially signalling another escalation between government forces and fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

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