Current Affairs – August 27-28, 2025

{GS1 – IS – Population} Census 2027 and Disability Inclusion **

Context (TH): Census 2027, India’s first fully digital census, offers a key opportunity to measure the disability population after 17 years accurately.

Disability exclusion costs India ₹4.5-13 lakh crore annually (4% GDP).

Key Challenges

Employment: Only 23.8% of persons with disabilities (aged 15-59) are employed (compared to nearly 50% of non-disabled individuals), with just 0.4% representation in private sector jobs.
Education: Nearly 46% of persons with disabilities are illiterate, and less than 1% of disabled children are enrolled in schools.
- The situation worsened during COVID, with 75% dropping out due to a lack of accessibility.
Methodology Flaws: Census 2011 relied on binary, medicalised questions, overlooking intellectual, psycho-social disabilities, leading to severe undercounting and data gaps.

Significance

The 2027 Census can mainstream disability in education, jobs, healthcare, and governance.
Aligns with India’s commitments such as SDGs, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwDA).
A step towards “Leave No One Behind” in Viksit Bharat 2047.

Way Forward

Enumerator Training: Recruit Persons with Disabilities, co-opt ASHA/Anganwadi/SHG workers.
Accessible Data: Use Braille, sign language, screen-reader formats, and AI dashboards.
Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with NGOs/CSOs, leverage panchayats, form task forces.
Innovations: Pilot mini-census, ensure privacy shield, create disability internship corps.

{GS2 – Vulnerable Sections – STs} Separate Census Enumeration for PVTGs *

Context (TH): Recently, the Tribal Affairs Ministry wrote to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, seeking a separate enumeration of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in Census 2027.

Who are the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)?

PVTGs are a sub-category of Scheduled Tribes identified as the most marginalised and disadvantaged among tribal communities.
Dhebar Commission (1960s) first recommended a separate category called Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs).
Based on this, the Government of India created PTGs in 1975; the nomenclature was revised to PVTGs in 2006.
At present, India recognises 75 PVTGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes, spread across 18 states and 1 Union Territory (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).

Need for Separate Enumeration of PVTGs

Absence of separate data in earlier Censuses has made PVTGs’ conditions invisible in policymaking.
Clubbing under the larger ST category leads to poor targeting and exclusion from welfare benefits.
Fresh enumeration will provide reliable population figures (E.g., 45.56 lakh under PM-JANMAN) and enable precise, need-based policy interventions.

{GS2 – Governance – Laws} Online Gaming Regulation Act, 2025 **

Context (TH): Recently, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, aiming to ban Real Money Games (RMGs) while promoting e-sports and social gaming.

Key Provisions

Three categories

E-sports: Recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025; prize money permitted.
Social Gaming: Recreational and educational games promoted by the government.
RMGs: Games played for money/stakes (E.g., Poker, Rummy, Ludo variants), completely banned.

Penalties

Offering/Financing RMGs: Up to 3 years jail / ₹1 crore fine / both.
Advertising: Up to 2 years jail / ₹50 lakh fine / both.
Offences are cognisable & non-bailable under BNSS, 2023.
CERT-IN is empowered to block apps; Interpol may be roped in against offshore operators.
No penal action against individual players.

Rationale Behind the Act

WHO links RMGs to addiction, distress, and suicides (32 cases in Karnataka alone in 31 months).
Govt. flagged financial fraud, money laundering, terror funding, and GST evasion (₹30,000 crore).
RMG algorithms found to manipulate engagement and fairness.

Legal and Constitutional Concerns

State vs Centre Jurisdiction: Betting/gambling falls under the State List (Entries 34 & 62).
States such as Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh already have bans.

Supreme Court Intervention

SC previously ruled games like Rummy & Fantasy Sports involve substantial skill.
The Act blurs the line between skill and chance, violating Article 19(1)(g), Right to Trade.
SC has stayed GST notices; its verdict on taxation and classification is pending.

{GS3 – IE – Development} EY Report Projects India as 2^nd Largest PPP Economy

Context (ET): Recent Ernst & Young report projected that India will become the world’s second-largest economy in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms, reaching USD 34.2 trillion in GDP by 2038.

Key Highlights of the Report

Growth Projection: India’s GDP may reach USD 20.7 trillion (PPP) by 2030, behind only China.
MER Projection: India might become the third-largest economy by 2028, surpassing Germany.
India’s Edge: Youthful population with a median age of 28.8 years in 2025 and high savings rates.
Fiscal Outlook: India’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to decrease from 81.3% in 2024 to 75.8% by 2030.

The Market Exchange Rate measures a country’s GDP by converting its output into US dollars at current exchange rates.

Read More> India Becomes 4^th Largest Economy

{GS3 – IE – Employment} Vocational Training System in India

Context (IE): India should prioritise Vocational Education and Training (VET) to enhance productivity amid external sector volatility and demand-driven growth challenges.

India’s Vocational Training Landscape

Institutional Spread: India operates 14,000 ITIs offering 25 lakh sanctioned training seats.
Utilisation Gap: Only 12 lakhs enrolled in ITIs, reflecting just 48% utilisation.
Workforce Skilling: PLFS 2022-23 shows that only 3.8% workers are formally trained.
Placement Outcomes: Only 63% ITI graduates were employed in 2018, reflecting weak absorption.
Funding Constraint: India spends 3% education budget on VET, versus 10–13% in OECD countries.

Significance of Vocational Training

Job Readiness: VET improves employability, simultaneously strengthening workforce formalisation.
Wage Impact: Formal skilling increases average earnings by 11%, enabling upward economic mobility.
Adaptability: Transversal skills from VET cushion automation-driven labour displacement.
Reskilling: Digitalisation requires 50% workforce reskilling, underscoring the critical role of VET.
Equity: Marginalised youth experience 30-70% higher placement rates through vocational skilling.

Associated Challenges of VET

Employment Gap: India’s 63% VET absorption lags OECD’s 80-90%, reducing competitiveness.
Faculty Shortage: 30% vacant instructor posts in ITIs erode training quality and industry relevance.
Curriculum Obsolescence: Outdated syllabi undermine digital skills, weakening graduate employability.
Integration: A lack of school-level VET delays skill development during the formative years.
No Progression: Absence of academic pathways discourages students from pursuing higher education.
Weak Monitoring: Irregular ITI grading and a lack of trainee-employer feedback weaken accountability.
Social Stigma: The prevailing bias against vocational careers significantly deters youth enrolment.

Key Policy Interventions

PMKVY: Flagship scheme funding short-term skilling, linking outcomes with placement incentives.
NAPS: Subsidises employers hiring apprentices, strengthening formal skilling-linked contracts.
Skill Hubs: Provides school-level vocational exposure through shared institutional training infrastructure.
ITI Upgrade: Modernises 1,000 ITIs under PPP, aligning curricula with industry demand.
SANKALP: Builds district skill ecosystems via performance-based funding and capacity expansion.
STRIVE: Improves apprenticeship training quality through World Bank-supported institutional reforms.

Global Best Practices

Dual System: Germany combines schooling with apprenticeships, ensuring structured training.
WSQ Framework: Singapore utilises modular courses that certify skills for industry-wide recognition.
SkillFuture: Singapore provides training credits, enabling lifelong upskilling across multiple sectors.
Red Seal: Canada standardises credentials through national exams, enabling job portability.
Polytechnic Pathways: In Singapore, vocational diplomas can progress into mainstream universities.

Way Forward

Early Exposure: Introduce vocational subjects in schools, aligning with NEP-2020 recommendations.
Credit System: Implement the National Credit Framework for smooth academic–vocational mobility.
Training Quality: Update curricula, expand NSTIs, recruit instructors, and strengthen ITI grading.
PPP Expansion: Scale employer participation to co-finance training infrastructure and design curricula.
Funding Reform: Increase VET expenditure & link grants to placement-driven performance outcomes.

{GS3 – IE – Industry} India Entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution **

Context (ET): An indigenously made semiconductor chip is set for 2025-end launch, marking India’s structured entry into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

About the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Digital Fusion: WEF defines Industry 4.0 as the integration of physical, digital, & biological domains.
Tech Drivers: AI, IoT, and robotics constitute its core, transforming production and governance.
Chip Backbone: Semiconductors underpin Industry 4.0 via automation, connectivity, & computation.
Data Centrality: Big data underpins cyber-physical systems, enabling real-time decisions & innovation.
Global Disruption: PwC projects $15 trillion GDP impact, transforming competitiveness worldwide.

India’s Competitive Advantages

Youth Workforce: Over 65% Indians below 35 provide a demographic dividend, conditional on skills.
Market Scale: 900+ million internet users accelerate the adoption of digital & emerging technologies.
Design Strength: India contributes 20% global chip design workforce, boosting domestic innovation.
Startup Ecosystem: DPIIT recognised ~1.6 lakh startups, driving AI and robotics breakthroughs.
Strategic Partners: Quad technology group bolsters semiconductor resilience & supply-chain security.

India’s Structural Constraints

Infra Gap: Absence of 300-mm fabs constrains domestic capacity for advanced semiconductors.
Skill Deficit: Projected one-million AI talent shortfall by 2026 threatens India’s digital competitiveness.
Import Dependence: Over 90% chips are imported, exposing the economy to supply disruptions.
Regulatory Lag: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 lacks AI ethics, weakening accountability.
Inequality Risk: The World Bank estimated 69% Indian jobs face automation-driven displacement risk.

Government Interventions

Indian Semiconductor Mission: Launched in 2021, it aims to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem.
PLI Scheme: Incentivises electronics production, boosting India’s manufacturing competitiveness.
Digital India: 2015 programme expands connectivity, accelerating adoption of emerging technologies.
Skill Development: PMKVY 4.0 includes AI and robotics, enhancing workforce preparedness.
Quantum Mission: ₹6,000 crore programme supports quantum research, strengthening sovereignty.
Atal Innovation Mission: AIM promotes research, incubation, & start-ups driving 4IR technologies.
National AI Portal: The portal disseminates knowledge, fostering awareness and policy innovation.

Way Forward

Infrastructure: Develop robust 5G, logistics, and electricity to sustain advanced technologies.
Skilling: Expand AI and robotics training through IndiaAI Mission and PMKVY.
Governance: Enact binding AI laws ensuring accountability, transparency, and ethical deployment.
Alliances: Strengthen Quad cooperation & pursue friend-shoring for resilient technology supply chains.
Inclusion: Provide MSMEs with digital tools and financial access, ensuring participation in 4IR.

{GS3 – IE – Exports} Transforming India into a Product Nation

Context (IE): Rising trade conflicts and tariff pressures highlight India’s vulnerability, strengthening the push to transform India into a Product Nation.

A product nation manufactures and exports high-value, IP-driven goods, establishing itself as a major global producer.

Need For the Transition

Strategic Leverage: Taiwan’s chip monopoly shows how strategic products enhance geopolitical power.
Value Capture: Indigenous design is vital; smartphones show 70% of profits stem from branding.
Employment: Product leadership creates high-skill jobs in semiconductor fabrication & allied industries.
Export Resilience: India’s substitutable exports weaken leverage, while China’s rare-earth control secures global dependence.

Challenges

Design Deficit: Excessive contract design limits IP ownership; India has 20% designers but <10% facilities.
Logistics Costs: India’s logistics cost is roughly 8–9% of GDP, higher than in developed economies.
Standards: Non-compliance with BIS norms leads to recalls, bans, penalties, and damage to reputation.
Skill Gap: NSDC reports a 29 million-worker shortfall in the advanced manufacturing and AI workforce.

Way Forward

Strategic Focus: Prioritise sectors with chokepoint potential and global indispensability for leverage.
R&D Finance: Operationalise ₹1-lakh-crore RDI corpus to lift private research intensity significantly.
Design First: Scale Make in India initiatives, standards, and IP commercialisation pathways.
Clusters/GVCs: Build deep supplier clusters and integrate strategically into trusted value chains.
Talent Pipeline: Align curricula, apprenticeships, and labs with Industry 4.0 competencies nationwide.

Initiatives Taken to Make India a Product Nation

PLI Scheme: Production-linked incentives aim to expand electronics output to $300 billion by 2026.
Semicon India: DLI scheme provides funding for domestic chip design and fabless ecosystem growth.
National Missions: National Quantum, Atal Innovation, and IndiaAI Missions promote deep-tech R&D.
Education Realignment: AICTE promotes academia-industry links to boost IP-driven products.

{GS3 – Agri – Dairy} Dairy Sector of India **

Context (IE): India’s dairy sector, crucial for rural livelihoods, faces competitiveness challenges due to US market liberalisation pressure.

Landscape of the Indian Dairy Sector

India is the world’s largest milk producer, with 239.3 million tonnes produced in 2023–24.
Global Share: The national output makes up nearly 25% of the world’s milk production today.
Economic Weight: Dairy accounts for nearly 3.5% of India’s GDP.
Organised Share: Only about 33% of milk surplus currently flows through organised sector channels.
Farmgate Prices: Indian milk prices remain competitive, slightly below the US and New Zealand.

Socio-Economic Significance

Employment Base: The Sector sustains around 80 million rural households with livelihood opportunities.
Farmer Share: Cooperatives transfer over 75% of consumer prices, boosting farmer incomes.
Women’s Empowerment: Cooperatives strengthen women’s income, assets, and decision-making.
Malnutrition Mitigation: With 12% of Indians undernourished, milk provides affordable dietary security.

Structural Challenges

Yield Deficit: Average cow yield is 1.64 tonnes annually, well below Western levels.
Labour Costs: Declining family labour increases production costs compared to corn, soybeans, or wheat.
Fodder Shortage: Green and dry fodder deficits persist across central producing states.
Automation Barrier: High capital and energy costs hinder the adoption of US-style farm mechanisation.
Health Stress: Climate pressure and diseases like lumpy skin decrease yields and incomes.
Scale Limitation: Over 50 million smallholders raise 110 million animals, limiting economies of scale.

Way Forward

Productivity Drive: Raise yields via genetic selection, as in Brazil’s dairy improvement programs.
Genetic Upgrades: Scale AI, IVF, and sex-sorted semen technologies under the Rastriya Gokul Mission.
Mechanisation: Develop affordable milking and chilling technologies, like Japan’s automation models.
Health Safeguards: Strengthen NADCP and adopt climate-resilient housing for livestock productivity.

Scale Solutions: Support producer companies and FPOs, like New Zealand’s cooperative mega-farms.

{GS3 – Envi – UNFCCC} India Sets Up National Authority for Carbon Markets *

Context (TH): The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has set up a National Designated Authority (NDA) to implement carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

It is a 21-member body headed by the Environment Secretary.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Provides framework for carbon markets and emissions trading.
Long-standing contentious issue, finalised at COP29, Baku (2024).
It allows countries to trade emissions to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

India’s Commitments (NDCs)

Reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 (from 2005 levels).
Achieve 50% cumulative power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
Create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes CO₂ equivalent through afforestation by 2030.

{GS3 – DM – Issues} Landslide in Vaishno Devi

Context (NIE): A major landslide occurred near the Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu & Kashmir, triggered by torrential rains, causing significant loss of life and injuries.

About Landslides

Landslides are downslope movements of rock, soil, and debris caused by gravity.
Triggers: Rainfall, earthquakes, deforestation, mining, and construction destabilise slopes.
Impacts: They cause fatalities, destroy infrastructure, disrupt transportation, & degrade the environment.
Vulnerable Regions: The Himalayas, Western Ghats, and the Northeast face frequent landslides.
Mitigation: Slope management, afforestation, land-use regulation, early warnings, and preparedness.

Factors for the Vaishno Devi Landslide

Extreme Rainfall: Intense, prolonged rains saturated slopes, triggering slope collapse.
Fragile Geology: The young Himalayan terrain remains unstable and prone to landslides.
Anthropogenic Stress: The expansion of pilgrimage routes and deforestation reduced slope stability.

{Prelims – Bio – Diseases} Glanders *

Context (PIB): The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has issued the Revised National Action Plan on Glanders with an integrated One Health approach.

Glanders is a life-threatening infectious disease in equines caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei.
It primarily infects horses, mules, and donkeys but can also infect other animals and humans.
Transmission: Spread through contaminated food, water, aerosols, fomites, skin or mucosa contact.
Symptoms: Nodules and ulcers in the lungs, respiratory tract, and skin form called “farcy” in animals.
Status: Glanders is listed as a notifiable disease under the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

The World Organisation for Animal Health, based in Paris, is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving global animal health.

{Prelims} One Liners

In News – Ayurveda Day (PIB): From 2025, Ayurveda Day will be observed annually on 23 September (fixed date), replacing the earlier observance on Dhanvantari Jayanti. Theme 2025: “Ayurveda for People & Planet”.
In News – Project Aarohan (PIB): Scholarship scheme by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for children of toll-plaza employees. A scholarship of ₹12,000/year (Class XI–Graduation) & ₹50,000/year (Postgraduation).
Military Exercises – Exercise Bright Star 2025 (PIB): A biennial multilateral tri-service drill hosted by Egypt and the US since 1980. It will see participation of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force this year.
Sports – FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 (PIB): India will host the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 in Goa, returning after over two decades since the 2002 edition in Hyderabad.