Trump,Nss Europe's Crisis | Three Revolutions Reshaping Us Power | Stepping Stone | India And U.S: 2005 v/s 2025 | Lok Sabha: 100% FDI in Insurance | Rupee Hits 91, Asia’s Weakest | Students Wait, Teacher on Duty | Heed AQI Despair Growing Loud
TRUMP, NSS EUROPE’S CRISIS- The U.S. released a new National Security Strategy (NSS) reflecting a strong America- First, mercantilist orientation.
- Europe is portrayed as a strategic problem, not a natural ally, with focus on cultural decline rather than security threats.
- The document questions NATO’s expansion and signals reduced U.S. willingness to underwrite European security.
- Indicates weakening of the post-1945 rules- based international order.
Key Points
- Priority to the Western Hemisphere; limited strategic attention to other regions.
- NATO described as not indefinitely expandable, indirectly affecting Ukraine’s prospects.
- Europe urged to assume primary responsibility for its defence.
- Criticism of EU migration policies, free speech norms, and supranational institutions.
- Shift from global leadership to transactional engagement.
Static Linkages
- National security doctrines as strategic guidance documents
- Collective security vs balance of power
- Alliance burden-sharing debates
- Liberal international order after World War II
- Sovereignty versus supranational governance
Critical Analysis
- Positives
- Forces Europe to pursue strategic autonomy
- Addresses defence burden imbalance Negatives
- Weakens NATO’s deterrence credibility
- Creates geopolitical power vacuums
- Undermines multilateral institutions
- Encourages identity-based geopolitics
Way Forward
- Develop credible European defence integration
- Reform multilateral institutions for legitimacy
- Diversify strategic partnerships
- Strengthen rule-based coalitions by middle powers
THREE REVOLUTIONS RESHAPING US POWER
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. proposed restructuring the G20 into a smaller elite grouping, indicating dilution of inclusive global governance.
- This coincided with the release of the 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy and a policy blueprint by a major conservative think tank.
- Together, they reflect a deeper ideological shift in U.S. domestic governance, foreign policy, and global economic engagement.
Key Points
- Domestic governance is being securitised through emphasis on ideological conformity and cultural cohesion.
- Independent institutions and civic space are increasingly viewed as obstacles to political will.
- Foreign policy is shifting from stable alliances to conditional, transactional partnerships.
- Multilateral institutions are framed as constraints on sovereignty.
- Global economic governance is moving toward a tiered system dominated by powerful states.
- Economic adjustment costs are expected to be borne disproportionately by weaker economies.
Static Linkages
- Rule-based international order vs power-based order
- Multilateralism and collective decision-making
- Sovereignty and hierarchy in global systems
- Ethics of state responsibility and distributive justice
- Protectionism, reshoring, and deglobalisation
Critical Analysis
- Advantages
- Enhances strategic autonomy
- Reduces external obligations
- Aligns foreign policy with domestic priorities Concerns
- Marginalises emerging economies
- Weakens trust in alliances
- Undermines multilateral rule-making
- Normalises unequal distribution of economic pain
- Risks fragmentation of global order
Way Forward
- Strengthen inclusive multilateral forums
- Promote reforms instead of exclusionary alternatives
- Diversify economic and strategic partnerships
- Enhance South–South cooperation
- Reaffirm ethical burden-sharing in global governance
STEPPING STONE
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Context of the News
- Nuclear power contributes ~3% of India’s electricity (2024–25).
- Target: 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047; ≥5 indigenous SMRs by 2033.
- SHANTI Bill, 2025 introduced to replace Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and CLND Act, 2010.
- Aim: enable domestic private participation while retaining state control over sensitive domains.
Key Points
- Licences for nuclear activities can be granted to:
- Government entities
- Joint ventures
- Other companies (conditional)
- Ends NPCIL monopoly over plant operation.
- State retains control over:
- Proliferation-sensitive activities
- Single statute for safety, licensing,enforcement, dispute resolution.
- Operator liability capped at ₹3,000 crore.
- Centre bears liability beyond cap; may assume full liability in public interest.
- Mandatory insurance for operators; Centre’s installations exempt.
- Supplier liability only via contract or intentional damage.
- Regulator given statutory backing; appointments influenced by Centre/AEC.
Static Linkages
- Union control over atomic energy. Strategic sector liberalisation.
- Absolute vs capped liability in hazardous industries.
- Environmental protection and intergenerational equity.
- Role of independent regulators.
- Energy security and low-carbon transition.
Critical Analysis
- Positives
- Mobilises private domestic capital.
- Shares construction and financial risk.
- Reduces legal ambiguity and transaction costs.
- Faster approvals and commissioning.
- Supports climate and energy security goals.
- Concerns
- Liability cap may be inadequate for large accidents.
- Public exchequer bears residual risk.
- Insurance exemption for Centre needs strong transparency.
- Supplier accountability uneven across projects.
- Regulator’s limited independence may affect trust and safety perception.
Way Forward
- Periodic review of liability caps.
- Stronger pooled insurance mechanisms.
- Enhance regulator’s functional independence.
- Standardise supplier liability clauses.
- Transparent safety audits and disclosures.
- Clear SMR deployment roadmap with domestic manufacturing.
INDIA AND U.S: 2005 V/S 2025
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Context of the News
- The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy signals a shift from global leadership to burden reduction.
- Earlier U.S. policy (2005) supported India’s rise as a strategic objective.
- The new strategy adopts a transactional, interest-driven approach.
- India is viewed mainly through Indo-Pacific and China-balancing priorities.
- U.S. global engagement is increasingly selective and conditional.
Key Points
- Shift from partnership to burden-sharing.
- Global leadership seen as a cost, not responsibility.
- India treated as a strategic means, not an end.
- Emphasis on minilateral platforms like the Quad.
- Partners expected to manage regional security.
- Strong inward-looking and domestic reassurance tone.
Static Linkages
- Strategic autonomy in foreign policy.
- Balance of power theory.
- Multipolar world order.
- Regional security complexes.
- Evolution of U.S. hemispheric doctrines.
Critical Analysis
- Pros
- Reinforces India’s strategic autonomy.
- Expands diplomatic space for India.
- Reduces reliance on external powers.
- Cons
- Instrumentalisation of India in China strategy.
- Higher regional security burden on India.
- Uncertainty in U.S. commitment credibility.
Way Forward
- Strengthen internal economic and military capacity.
- Pursue interest-based partnerships.
- Diversify strategic engagements.
- Exercise regional leadership responsibly.
- Preserve decision-making autonomy.
LOK SABHA: 100% FDI IN INSURANCE
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Context of the News
- Lok Sabha passed a Bill raising FDI in insurance from 74% to 100%.
- Amends Insurance Act, 1938; LIC Act, 1956; IRDAI Act, 1999.
- Objective: deepen insurance penetration, attract capital and technology.
- Government assured full applicability of Indian laws and regulation by IRDAI.
Key Points
- 100% FDI permitted without mandatory Indian joint venture.
- Expected benefits: capital infusion, better products, global best practices.
- Net Owned Fund for Foreign Reinsurance Branches cut from ₹5,000 cr to ₹1,000 cr.
- Aim: expand domestic reinsurance capacity and level playing field.
- IRDAI empowered to disgorge wrongful gains.
- Penalty cap for intermediaries raised from ₹1 cr to ₹10 cr.
- Govt infused ₹17,450 cr into PSU general insurers.
- Listing of LIC, GIC Re, New India Assurance to improve governance and transparency.
Static Linkages
- Insurance as a risk-management and long-term savings instrument.
- Role of regulation in financial stability and consumer protection.
- Liberalisation as part of post-1991 economic reforms.
- Reinsurance for risk diversification and solvency support.
Critical Analysis
- Advantages
- Boosts capital availability in a capital-intensive sector.
- Improves insurance penetration and product innovation
- Enhances domestic risk-bearing capacity via reinsurance.
- Stronger deterrence improves policyholder protection.
- Concerns
- Risk of foreign dominance in a social security sector.
- Competitive pressure on PSU insurers.
- Need for robust oversight to prevent mis- selling and profit repatriation risks.
Way Forward
- Strengthen IRDAI’s supervisory and enforcement capacity.
- Safeguard policyholder funds through strict solvency norms.
- Improve PSU insurer efficiency and governance.
- Align reforms with Insurance for All @2047.
RUPEE HITS 91, ASIA’S WEAKEST- Rupee breached ₹91/$, touching 91.14, its lifetime low in intraday trade.
- Closed at 90.93, depreciating 16 paise from previous close.
- Became the weakest Asian currency in 2025.
- Fall driven by FPI outflows, global risk aversion, and India–US trade uncertainty.
- RBI allowed controlled flexibility with limited intervention.
Key Points
- FPIs withdrew $2.7 billion in early December, among the highest monthly outflows in 2025.
- Rising US bond yields strengthened the dollar.
- Expected Bank of Japan rate hike led to unwinding of yen carry trade.
- Risk-off sentiment hit EM currencies, equities, and commodities.
- Trade friction over agriculture market access added pressure.
Static Linkages
- Managed floating exchange rate system in India.
- Capital account volatility and exchange rate movements.
- Interest rate differentials and capital flows.
- Trade competitiveness and elasticity approach.
- Forex reserves and RBI intervention tools.
- Macroeconomic trilemma.
Critical Analysis
- Pros
- Boosts export competitiveness.
- Helps current account adjustment.
- Preserves forex reserves.
- Improves market-based price discovery.
- Cons
- Raises imported inflation, especially crude oil.
- Increases external debt servicing burden.
- May worsen volatility if global risks persist.
Way Forward
- Continue calibrated intervention to curb excess volatility.
- Promote currency hedging by corporates.
- Reduce import dependence via export diversification.
- Strengthen domestic financial markets.
- Balance trade talks while protecting farm interests.
TEA GARDEN WORKERS NEED LAND
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Assam Assembly passed the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 2025 on November 28.
- Introduces Section 7A to enable settlement of land under tea garden labour lines in favour of resident workers.
- Addresses long-pending demand for pattas for tea plantation workers, historically landless.
- Tea plantations in Assam reflect intergenerational labour dependence and socio-economic marginalisation.
Key Points
- Government empowered to acquire labour-line land and settle it with tea workers.
- Section 17A allows government notifications to decide:
- Conditions of land use and disposal.
- Extent of land per worker family (not specified in Act).
- 20-year lock-in on resale; transfer allowed only within same tea estate.
- Aims to prevent commercial diversion of plantation land.
- No clarity on:
- Individual vs joint ownership.
- Women’s land rights despite their workforce majority.
- Absence of land survey or social mapping raises equity concerns.
- RBI moving away from prolonged implicit peg around ₹83/$.
- Strong growth and moderate inflation give policy space for depreciation.
Static Linkages
- Right to property as a legal right under Article 300A.
- Land reforms as tools for reducing structural inequality.
- Asset ownership linked to social justice and empowerment.
- Plantation labour shaped by colonial economic structures.
- Gender-neutral laws may perpetuate inequality without safeguards.
Critical Analysis
- Strengths
- Improves housing security for tea workers.
- Symbolic correction of plantation-era exclusion.
- Resale restrictions protect against land alienation.
- Limitations
- Excessive reliance on executive discretion.
- Risk of discrimination due to internal community hierarchies.
- Lack of gender-specific safeguards.
- Small plot sizes may reinforce labour dependence.
Way Forward
- Conduct land surveys and social mapping before settlement.
- Mandate joint or women-centric pattas.
- Fix minimum land size enabling livelihood diversification.
- Link land settlement with skill and livelihood programmes.
- Ensure transparent grievance-redress mechanisms.
STUDENTS WAIT, TEACHER ON DUTY
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Context of the News
- Government school teachers are widely deployed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for electoral roll revision and verification.
- Duties involve strict timelines, accuracy, and digital compliance, unrelated to teaching.
- Teacher deployment coincides with academic sessions, disrupting classroom instruction.
- Stress, health risks, and reported fatalities among teachers have raised concerns.
- The practice reflects a long-standing view of teachers as general government staff.
Key Points
- BLO work includes door-to-door verification and voter list updates.
- Government school students disproportionately lose instructional time.
- Private school teachers are largely exempt from such duties.
- Teacher shortages amplify learning gaps in public schools.
- Teaching is subordinated to administrative compliance.
Static Linkages
- Constitutional mandate of free and fair elections
- Legal framework on compulsory education
- Administrative use of local-level state functionaries
- Child rights and continuity of learning
- Classification of government employees
Critical Analysis
- Merits:
- Provides a literate, dependable workforce for elections.
- Supports electoral integrity at the grassroots.
- Concerns:
- Disrupts education in government schools only.
- Undermines professional status of teachers.
- Creates unequal learning outcomes between public and private schools.
- Long-term learning losses at foundational stages.
Way Forward
- Restrict non-teaching duties to minimal, exceptional cases.
- Develop a dedicated electoral support cadre.
- Use technology and temporary trained staff for verification.
- Mandate remedial teaching for academic loss.
- Address teacher shortages and reinforce teaching as a profession.
HEED AQI DESPAIR GROWING LOUD- Delhi entered a “severe” air pollution phase with AQI > 400, without typical triggers like stubble burning.
- Main cause: unfavourable meteorology (low wind speed, shallow mixing layer) trapping local emissions.
- Visible citizen protest highlighted clean air as a democratic and health right.
- Political response marked by short-term measures and debate over WHO air quality norms.
- Call for parliamentary debate reflects the need for coordinated national action.
Key Points
- Average annual AQI (2015–2025): ~235, far above safe limits.
- Health burden: ~1.72 million pollution-related deaths in India (2022).
- Major Delhi sources: Vehicles, construction dust, industry, road dust.
- Institutional mechanisms: NCAP, GRAP, CAQM (for NCR).
- Core issue: Local emissions + weak structural reforms, not just seasonal factors.
Static Linkages
- Article 21: Right to life includes a clean environment.
- Article 48A & 51A(g): State and citizen duty to protect environment.
- Environmental principles: Precautionary principle, polluter pays, sustainable development.
- Urbanisation: Transport growth, land-use change, negative externalities.
Critical Analysis
- Positives
- Institutional framework exists (CAQM, GRAP).
- Rising public awareness and accountability pressure.
- Concerns
- Reactive, seasonal approach dominates policy.
- Weak Centre–State–local coordination.
- Inadequate focus on transport reforms and urban planning.
- Political deflection undermines evidence- based action.
Way Forward
- Move from emergency response to year-round mitigation.
- Curb vehicular emissions; promote clean public transport.
- Integrate scientific, real-time data into policy.
- Align urban growth with sustainable mobility.
- Treat clean air as a public health and rights issue.
