GK One-Liners

What: The National Cooperation Policy 2025 sets ambitious targets to triple the cooperative sector’s contribution to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and expand membership to 50 crore (500 million) active participants from the current approximately 30 crore. The policy envisions establishing at least one cooperative society in every village across India’s 6+ lakh villages, while expanding cooperative operations into new sectors including insurance, tourism, renewable energy, and digital services beyond traditional areas like agriculture, dairy, and banking.

How: Implementation strategies include simplifying cooperative registration through online portals reducing bureaucratic delays, providing financial support through NABARD and cooperative development funds for infrastructure and working capital, expanding multi-state cooperative societies to enable operations across state boundaries overcoming jurisdictional limitations, and leveraging digital platforms for governance transparency including computerized accounting and e-voting in cooperative elections. New initiatives focus on women-led cooperatives, producer organizations linking farmers directly to markets, and cooperative models for service delivery in education, healthcare, and housing addressing local community needs.

Why: This is crucial for UPSC Mains GS III (Inclusive Growth, Cooperative Federalism) and questions on alternative economic models. Topics include the cooperative sector’s role in financial inclusion (cooperative banks serve 70+ crore members in rural areas), how cooperatives enable collective bargaining power for small producers against corporate buyers, the constitutional status of cooperatives following the 97th Amendment (Article 43B on state promotion, Part IXB on cooperative governance), challenges of political interference and mismanagement that have undermined many cooperative institutions, and whether the cooperative model can compete effectively with private sector efficiency while maintaining social welfare orientation.

What: India and the United Kingdom signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on July 24, 2025, after years of negotiations that began in January 2022. The agreement removes import duties on a majority of Indian exports to the UK market including textiles, leather goods, jewelry, and automotive components, while India reduces tariffs on key UK products such as machinery, chemicals, scotch whisky, and premium automobiles. The FTA aims to significantly expand bilateral trade from current levels of approximately $65 billion toward the target of $120 billion by 2030.

How: The FTA operates through phased tariff elimination over 7-10 years with sensitive product exclusions protecting domestic industries: India maintains protections for agriculture and dairy sectors while the UK preserves some manufacturing tariffs. Services provisions liberalize market access for Indian IT professionals, healthcare workers, and educational services, while UK financial services and professional firms gain easier entry into Indian markets. The agreement includes chapters on intellectual property protection, government procurement, investment facilitation, and dispute resolution mechanisms ensuring transparent implementation and compliance enforcement through bilateral monitoring committees.

Why: This is relevant for UPSC Mains GS II (International Trade, Bilateral Relations) covering India’s post-pandemic trade strategy. Questions focus on the significance of the UK as India’s gateway to European markets despite Brexit reducing automatic EU access, how FTAs complement India’s participation in multilateral forums versus protectionist concerns about domestic industry vulnerability, the strategic dimension of deepening UK ties as both nations seek new partnerships (India diversifying beyond China, UK beyond EU), and balancing trade liberalization gains against sensitivities in agriculture where small farmer interests require protection from subsidized imports.

What: India achieved 20% ethanol blending in petrol (E20 fuel) in 2025, significantly ahead of the original 2030 target established under the National Biofuel Policy. Ethanol blending involves mixing ethanol—a biofuel primarily produced from sugarcane molasses and damaged food grains—with conventional petrol to reduce petroleum import dependence, lower vehicular emissions, and create additional income streams for farmers through ethanol procurement at remunerative prices set by the government.

How: Achieving E20 required multiple coordinated actions: expanding ethanol production capacity through incentives for distilleries including interest subvention and capital subsidies, modifying petrol retail outlets with blending infrastructure across India’s 75,000+ fuel stations, ensuring vehicle compatibility through BS-VI emission norms mandating flex-fuel engine capabilities, and creating robust procurement mechanisms where oil marketing companies purchase ethanol at government-fixed rates providing assured markets for surplus agricultural production. The petroleum ministry coordinated with agriculture, sugar, and renewable energy ministries ensuring feedstock availability, price stability, and distribution logistics.

Why: This is important for UPSC Mains GS III (Energy Security, Environmental Conservation) and questions on renewable energy. Topics include quantifying import savings (E20 reduces petroleum imports by approximately 5 billion liters annually worth $3-4 billion), emission reduction benefits (ethanol burns cleaner than petrol reducing particulate matter and carbon monoxide), challenges in scaling to E30 or E100 (flex-fuel vehicles) requiring engine redesigns, the food versus fuel debate where diverting grains to ethanol may impact food security, and how biofuel policy aligns with climate commitments under Paris Agreement while supporting farmer welfare through assured ethanol procurement.

What: Prime Minister Narendra Modi became India’s second longest-serving Prime Minister on July 25, 2025, completing 4,078 consecutive days in office since his first term began on May 26, 2014. This places him behind only Jawaharlal Nehru, who served as Prime Minister for 6,130 days (16 years, 286 days) from August 15, 1947, until his death on May 27, 1964. Modi surpassed Indira Gandhi (5,829 days across two non-consecutive terms) and Manmohan Singh (3,287 days) to achieve this milestone.

How: Modi’s extended tenure reflects political success in securing consecutive electoral victories in 2014, 2019, and 2024 general elections with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalitions achieving parliamentary majorities. His tenure is marked by significant policy initiatives including GST implementation, demonetization, abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, COVID-19 pandemic management, infrastructure development under Gati Shakti and PM Awas Yojana schemes, and foreign policy activism through initiatives like Quad and Act East Policy.

Why: This is relevant for UPSC Mains GS II (Governance, Political Developments) and questions on Indian democracy’s evolution. Topics include analyzing factors behind sustained electoral success (Hindutva mobilization, welfare schemes, leadership projection, opposition fragmentation), comparing governance approaches across long-serving PMs (Nehru’s institution-building, Indira’s centralization, Modi’s digital governance), the implications of prolonged single-party dominance for democratic checks and balances, and whether personality-driven politics undermines institutional autonomy in bodies like Election Commission, CBI, and judiciary requiring constitutional independence from executive influence.

What: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the ULPGM-V3 (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Launched Precision Guided Munition, Version 3) at the Integrated Test Range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. This indigenously developed air-to-ground missile features infrared imaging guidance for target acquisition and tracking, two-way data link enabling real-time communication between the UAV and ground control station, and day-night strike capability allowing operations regardless of lighting conditions, significantly enhancing India’s precision strike capabilities from unmanned platforms.

How: The ULPGM-V3 operates by being carried under UAVs like the Rustom-II or CATS Warrior, providing standoff strike capability where the UAV can launch the missile from safe distances beyond enemy air defense range. The infrared imaging seeker locks onto targets using heat signatures, enabling precision strikes on command centers, armored vehicles, and infrastructure. The two-way data link allows operators to update targeting information mid-flight, abort missions if needed, or redirect the missile to secondary targets based on battlefield dynamics. This capability is crucial for surgical strikes requiring minimal collateral damage in counter-terrorism and border conflict scenarios.

Why: This is crucial for UPSC Mains GS III (Defence Technology, Atmanirbhar Bharat) covering indigenous weapons development. Questions focus on the strategic importance of UAV-based precision strike reducing pilot risk compared to manned aircraft, how indigenous development reduces import dependence on Israeli or American systems, the growing role of unmanned systems in modern warfare as demonstrated in Ukraine conflict and Azerbaijan-Armenia war, challenges in developing complex technologies like seekers and guidance systems requiring advanced materials and electronics, and DRDO’s technology absorption from international partnerships while building self-reliant defense manufacturing ecosystems.

What: India’s net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows dropped dramatically to just $35 million in May 2025, down from several billion dollars in typical months, primarily due to higher repatriation of capital by foreign investors and lower gross FDI inflows. Net FDI represents gross FDI inflows minus outflows (repatriation of capital and profits by foreign companies), providing a more accurate picture of actual capital addition to the economy. Despite this sharp monthly decline, India’s foreign exchange reserves remained robust at approximately $696.7 billion, indicating overall macroeconomic stability.

How: The FDI decline reflects multiple factors: profit repatriation by multinational corporations after strong earnings periods, exits by private equity investors harvesting returns from mature investments particularly in technology and consumer sectors, global economic uncertainty causing investors to adopt wait-and-see approaches, and sector-specific regulations affecting enthusiasm (e-commerce rules, data localization requirements). However, the decline must be contextualized within India’s overall FDI trajectory—cumulative FDI equity inflows for FY 2024-25 remained substantial at over $70 billion, with continued interest in renewable energy, manufacturing under PLI schemes, and digital services despite monthly volatility.

Why: This is important for UPSC Mains GS III (Economy, External Sector) and questions on capital flows. Topics include distinguishing between portfolio investment (volatile short-term flows in stock markets) and FDI (longer-term investments in productive assets), the significance of FDI for employment generation and technology transfer versus concerns about profit repatriation draining resources, how regulatory clarity affects investor confidence (retrospective taxation controversies have been addressed but enforcement uncertainty in new sectors persists), and whether India’s growth story remains compelling for foreign investors amid competition from Vietnam and Mexico offering alternative manufacturing bases.