Category: Defence and Security

Context:

• Recently, India sealed a ₹7,995-crore deal with the U.S. as part of “follow on support” package for Indian Navy’s fleet of 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for five years.

About MH-60R Seahawk Helicopter:

• Construction: It is manufactured by US defence major Lockheed Martin.
• Other names: It is often called the “Romeo” is a state-of-the-art naval helicopter.
• Nature: It is an all-weather helicopter designed with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.
• Capability: It is designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), maritime surveillance, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and ship-borne operations.
• Uniqueness: It is one of the world’s best submarine-hunting helicopters, equipped with advanced sensors like the AN/AQS-22 ALFS dipping sonar and sonobuoys.
• Multi-purpose operations: The helicopter can operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers, amphibious ships, and aircraft carriers.
• Suitable for littoral warfare: It is suitable for intense littoral warfare operations for handling numerous contacts in confined spaces, and for open-water operations.
• Radar system: It is combined with electro-optical sensors and radar systems that can identify hostile ships, fast attack craft, or suspicious vessels and neutralise them with precision.
• Advanced features: It also carries the powerful Mk-54 torpedo, allowing it to detect, track, and engage underwater threats. For surface warfare missions, the MH-60R can carry AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, lightweight torpedoes, and machine guns.

Source:

• The Hindu

Category: Government Schemes

Context:

• UGC has instructed the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to select college professors to train school teachers under National Mission for Mentoring (NMM).

About National Mission for Mentoring (NMM):

• • Launch: It was launched on 29th July 2022 in selected 30 Central Schools (15 KVs, 10 JNVs, 5 CBSE) across the country.
  • Objective: It aims to create a supportive environment, enhance mentorship experiences and contribute to individual and collective growth.
  • Nodal ministry: It is the flagship initiative of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.
  • Functions: It provides platforms for professionals and experts where they can share knowledge, skills and expertise as a Mentor with Mentee teachers and help them in their journey to become effective teachers. 
  • In sync with NEP 2020: It is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
  • Implementing authority: National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has been assigned to develop and design the modalities for the mission. NCTE released a comprehensive document on the mission (NMM – The Blue Book) with a detailed roadmap of its framework and implementation strategy.

• Phases of implementation:

• • Pilot phase: It was first tested in 30 Central Schools (15 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 10 Jawahar Navodaya schools, and 5 CBSE schools) with 60 mentors, some even Padma Awardees.
  • Building capacity: Seminars and workshops are conducted to teach “Master Mentors” who can subsequently teach others.
  • Incentivisation: Although participation is voluntary, the NMM manual encourages participants to do so with certificates, performance credits and other incentives.

Source:

• The Hindu

Category: Environment and ecology

Context:

• The Tenkasi district forest division is set to launch ‘Golden Jackal Ambassadors’ scheme in the schools and colleges to address dwindling population of Golden Jackals.

About Golden Jackal:

• • Nature: It is strictly nocturnal in areas inhabited by humans, but may be partly diurnal elsewhere.
  • Other names: It is also known as the common jackal or reed wolf is a medium-sized wolf-like canid.
  • Difference with wolves: Compared to a wolf, these canids are physically thinner and have a slender muzzle. It has a short, yet bushy tail that ends with a tan or black tip.
  • Habitat: They dig caverns for shelter, or use crevices in rocks, or caverns that were dug by other animals. These animals are abundant in valleys and along rivers and their tributaries, canals, lakes, and seashores, but are rare in foothills and low mountains.
  • Mating behaviour: They live in mated pairs and are strictly monogamous. 
  • Uniqueness: They live in a group of 4 to 5 individuals. They hunt together, share their food, groom each other, and jointly defend their territory, which they mark with the scent of their excretion. 
  • Distribution: They are found in North and East Africa, Southeastern Europe and South Asia to Burma. They are quite widespread across India. Right from the Himalayan foothills, down to the Western Ghats, the Golden Jackal has a wide distribution.
  • Food pattern: They are omnivores in terms of eating habits. These opportunistic foragers have a rather diverse diet.

• Conservation Status:

• • IUCN: Least Concern
  • CITES: Appendix III
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.

Source:

• The Hindu

Category: Miscellaneous

Context:

• India has secured third ranking in the Asia Power Index 2025, while the U.S. and China occupy the first and second spots.

About Asia Power Index:

• • Publishing agency: It is published annually by the Australia-based think tank, Lowy Institute.
  • Launch: It was launched in 2018, and it assesses the power dynamics across 27 Asia-Pacific countries.
  • Objective: It assesses the ability of nations, particularly of those in the Asian continent, to influence their external environment.
  • Criteria: It is based on 131 indicators across eight thematic measures, including Military Capability and Defence Networks, Economic Capability and Relationships, Diplomatic and Cultural Influence and  Resilience and Future Resources.

• Key highlights of Asia Power Index 2025:

• • India has secured third ranking in the Asia Power Index 2025, while the U.S. and China occupy the first and second spots.
  • India ranks third for two measures: economic capability and future resources.
  • India’s economic and military capability have both increased in the 2025 edition of the Asia Power Index. 
  • India’s economy has continued to grow strongly and made small gains in terms of its geopolitical relevance – defined in terms of international leverage, connectivity, and technology.

Source:

• News on AIR

Category: Science and Technology

Context:

• In a significant breakthrough, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently detected electrical activity in Mars’ atmosphere for the first time.

About Perseverance Rover:

• Nature: Perseverance, nicknamed “Percy“, is a semi-autonomous rover the size of a small car designed to explore the surface of Mars. It is part of NASA’s ongoing Mars 2020 Mission.
• Launch: It was launched on July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• Landing site: It successfully landed on the surface of Mar’s Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.
• Uniqueness: It is the first rover to actually land in an ancient Martian river delta, located inside the Jezero crater. It is also the first rover to record sounds on Mars and broadcast them back to Earth.
• Objective: It aims to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth. It will collect samples of rock and soil, encase them in tubes, and leave them on the planet’s surface to be returned to Earth at a future date.
• Design: It is built from the same basic design as Curiosity, which landed on Mars about a decade before Perseverance.
• Structure: It is about 3 metres long, 2.7 metres wide and 2.2 metres tall and its robotic arm is about 2.1 metres long. It weighs only about 1,025 kilograms with all instruments on board.
• Power Source: It has a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) which converts heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium (Plutonium Dioxide) into electricity.
• Instruments: It carries seven instruments, two microphones and 23 cameras in total in order to conduct unprecedented science and test new technology on Mars.
• Creation of oxygen on Mars: It is the first rover to create oxygen on Mars.  Perseverance carries an instrument called MOXIE, which can generate oxygen from Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere.

Source:

• • The New Indian Express

(UPSC GS Paper IV – “Ethics in Governance; Compassion, Empathy and Public Accountability; Moral Philosophy; Probity in Public Life”)

Context (Introduction)

The proposal to formally represent animal interests within democratic institutions challenges deeply embedded anthropocentric assumptions and highlights the ethical need to protect vulnerable beings who cannot articulate their interests in political or administrative processes.

Main Arguments

• Moral Considerability: Animals possess sentience and vulnerability, giving rise to ethical obligations that go beyond charity and require institutional protection grounded in justice.
• Anthropocentric Bias: Modern democracies treat animals as property rather than moral subjects, creating a structural gap wherein their interests are consistently overridden by human economic and political power.
• Duty of Stewardship: Ethical governance demands that humans act as trustees of the voiceless, ensuring decisions on land use, food systems, environment, and security account for animal welfare impacts.
• Equality of Moral Concern: Judging animals by human-centric standards like rationality or cognitive similarity is ethically flawed and excludes most species from protections they morally deserve.
• Preventive Ethics: Existing welfare systems are reactive; ethical institutions must offer ex ante protection to prevent harm before it occurs.

Challenges / Criticisms 

• Institutional Vacuum: Democracies lack dedicated structures to represent non-human interests, leading to systemic neglect and normalisation of cruelty.
• Majoritarian Limitations: Animals have no electoral power, lobbying influence, or economic leverage, making them structurally invisible in democratic decision-making.
• Conflict of Interest: Governments benefit from industries that exploit animals, creating an ethical conflict that undermines impartial protection.
• Weak Fiduciary Bodies: Existing committees often become symbolic, bureaucratic, or captured by vested interests — as seen in the dysfunctional elephant welfare committee.
• Epistemic Constraints: Determining animal interests requires scientific expertise in behaviour and welfare — an area where political institutions are underprepared.

Way Forward

• Fiduciary Guardians: Establish independent bodies with the sole mandate of representing animal interests, similar to institutions that protect children, environment, or data rights.
• Rule-Based Functioning: Create legally mandated procedures requiring animal-impact assessments for policies, urban planning, agriculture, and environmental decisions.
• Independent Oversight: Ensure operational independence through fixed terms, expert appointments, non-political selection processes, and dedicated budgets.
• Transparency & Accountability: Publish all decisions, welfare metrics, and audits to build public trust and enable scrutiny of ethical performance.
• Pilot & Scale Approach: Start with pilot projects — e.g., animal impact reviews in city planning — and gradually institutionalise across ministries and legislatures.

Conclusion

Institutionalising animal representation is an ethical evolution of democracy — moving from compassion-based voluntarism to rights-based stewardship. It expands the moral horizon of public institutions by ensuring that even beings without voice are protected through independence, accountability, and scientifically informed decision-making.

Mains Question 

1. What moral obligations do democracies have toward those who lack political voice or agency? Which ethical principles should guide our view in this regard? (10 marks, 150 words)

Source: The Hindu

(UPSC GS Paper II – “Parliament and State Legislatures”; GS Paper IV – “Ethics in Public Life, Accountability & Integrity”)

Context (Introduction)

As Parliament reconvenes, concerns deepen about its shrinking sittings, weakened oversight, rigid party whips, and executive dominance — raising fundamental questions about legislative independence, democratic deliberation, and constitutional morality.

Main Arguments

• Declining Parliamentary Sittings: Lok Sabha sittings have fallen from 135 days (1952–57) to just 55 daysrecently, indicating a shrinking space for deliberation and accountability.
• Anti-Defection Distortion: The Tenth Schedule, meant to prevent opportunistic floor-crossing, now curtails conscience and constituency-based voting, reducing MPs to numbers bound by party diktat.
• Eroded Oversight Functions: When members cannot vote independently, core constitutional duties — financial scrutiny, impeachment, legislative review — lose credibility and meaning.
• Executive Dominance: Systematic dismissal of Opposition notices, rushed legislation, and disregard for committee processes tilt the balance heavily in favour of the executive.
• Weakening of Neutral Offices: Constitutional authorities meant to be impartial guardians of parliamentary privilege have increasingly acted as instruments of discipline rather than neutrality.

Challenges / Criticisms 

• Majoritarian Monologue: Parliament risks becoming an approval chamber where debate is stifled and accountability sidelined.
• Committee System Dilution: Parliamentary committees, crucial for cross-party, evidence-based legislative scrutiny, are bypassed or weakened.
• Opposition Marginalisation: When discussions are blocked, disruption becomes the only tool left — a symptom, not the cause, of parliamentary dysfunction.
• Loss of Westminster Spirit: India’s model is diverging from mature democracies like the UK, Canada, and Australia, where executive accountability mechanisms remain robust.
• Democratic Erosion: Reduced legislative independence undermines constitutional morality, weakening checks on concentrated power.

Way Forward

• Limit the Anti-Defection Law (UK/Canada Model): In the UK and Canada, party discipline is applied only to budget and confidence motions, allowing MPs to vote independently on policy matters; India should similarly confine whips to core confidence issues to restore legislators’ autonomy.
• Mandated Parliamentary Sitting Days (UK/Australia Model): The UK Parliament meets 120–150 days annually, and the Australian Parliament follows a pre-announced, mandatory session calendar; India needs a statutory minimum sitting requirement to prevent executive control over when Parliament meets.
• Strengthened Committee System (U.S./UK Model): U.S. Congressional committees have the power to summon senior officials, demand documents, and hold public hearings, while UK Select Committees routinely question ministers; India must empower its committees with compulsory referrals and ministerial accountability.
• Prime Ministerial Question Time (UK Model): The British PM must answer questions directly every Wednesday in a televised session; India should institutionalise a weekly Prime Minister’s Questions segment to enhance direct executive accountability.
• Neutral Presiding Officers (New Zealand/Australia Model): The Speakers of New Zealand and Australia resign from their party positions upon election and operate under strict neutrality norms; India should adopt similar safeguards to ensure impartial handling of parliamentary business.
• Independent Parliamentary Budget Office (U.S./Canada Model): The U.S. Congressional Budget Office and Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer scrutinise government finances independently; India should create an autonomous fiscal watchdog reporting directly to Parliament.
• Stronger Opposition Rights (Germany Model): Germany reserves committee chairs and agenda-setting rights for the opposition, ensuring checks on majority power; India must secure guaranteed discussion time and procedural tools for the Opposition.
• Mandatory Public Consultation for Bills (Nordic Model): Sweden, Norway, and Finland require open public consultations before major laws are passed; India should adopt compulsory pre-legislative scrutiny for all significant bills.

Conclusion

Legislatures decline when dissent is penalised, debate is curtailed, and executive power overwhelms constitutional checks. Reviving Parliament’s role requires structural reforms, political restraint, and a renewed commitment to the original spirit of India’s democratic architecture.

Mains Question 

1. Why is the Indian legislature increasingly losing its deliberative and oversight functions? Discuss the constitutional and ethical concerns arising from the dominance of the executive. (250 words, 15 marks)

Source: Indian Express