Current Affairs – September 05, 2025

{GS2 – Governance – Initiatives} Internet Users in India *

Context (LM): India’s internet subscribers crossed 100 crores, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report for March–June 2025 released by the Ministry of Communications.

Key Highlights of TRAI Report

Expanding Penetration: Subscribers increased by 3.48%, rising from 96.91 crore to 100.28 crore.
Broadband Dominance: Broadband users reached 97.97 crore; wireless users 95.81 crore, demonstrating BharatNet’s success.
Narrowing Digital Divide: Urban users stood at 57.94 crore, while rural subscribers totalled 42.33 crore.
Digital Reliance: Monthly data use was 24.01 GB, with a 0.52% growth in mobile users, reflecting the success of the Digital India mission.

{GS2 – IR – India-EU} India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement

Context (TH): India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, effective October 1, 2025.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) consists of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, & Switzerland.

Market Access

EFTA Offer: 92.2% of tariff lines covering 99.6% of India’s exports, with 100% coverage for non-agricultural goods and tariff concessions on Processed Agricultural Products (PAPs).
India’s Offer: 82.7% of tariff lines covering 95.3% of EFTA exports, though over 80% imports are gold.
- Sensitive sectors like pharma, medical devices, and processed food are considered under PLI while extending offers.
Exclusion List: Dairy, soya, coal, and sensitive agricultural products.
Special Gain: Duty-free access for basmati and non-basmati rice without reciprocity.

Key Features

Investment Commitment: EFTA to invest $100 billion in India over 15 years, creating 1 million jobs.
Sustainable Clause: First FTA with binding labour, environment, and human rights provisions.
Legal Certainty: The pact enhances predictability in bilateral economic exchanges and aligns with international obligations.

India and EFTA

In 2023, India was EFTA’s fifth-largest trading partner after the EU, US, UK, and China.
Bilateral trade between India and EFTA stood at $25 billion.
EFTA, with a GDP of over $1 trillion, ranks 9^th in global merchandise trade & 5^th in commercial services.
Over 300 Swiss firms, including Nestlé, operate in India, while Indian IT majors TCS, Infosys, and HCL have a strong presence in Switzerland.

Context (IE): The Ministry of Education released the 10^th edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, adding a new SDG-based sustainability category.

NIRF was established in 2015 under the MoE to rank higher education institutions annually.

Category-Wise Institutional Ranking

Overall: IIT Madras maintained top position for the seventh consecutive year; IIT Delhi ranked second.
Engineering: IITs dominate engineering rankings, with IIT Madras in the top position.
Management: IIM Ahmedabad remained first in management, with IIMB ranked second.
University: IISc Bengaluru ranked first among universities for the tenth year.
Colleges: Hindu College, Delhi, was ranked first in the college category for the second consecutive year.
Medical: AIIMS Delhi continued to be first in the medical category.

{GS3 – IE – Industry} Gig Economy in India **

Context (TH): The gig economy powers India’s digital marketplace with flexibility but leaves workers exposed to algorithmic control and weak labour rights.

Growth Trajectory

NITI Aayog (2022) projects gig workforce to grow from 7.7 million (2020-21) to 23.5 million (2029-30).
India’s digital economy is set to reach $1 trillion in five years, driven by rising online consumerism.
COVID-19 accelerated AI-driven platform jobs, with gig work suiting the youth’s demand for autonomy, diverse income streams, and work-life balance.

Structural Challenges

Precarious Livelihoods: Surveys of gig workers show long hours, low wages, stress, and little social protection.
Algorithmic Management: Workers’ autonomy is constrained by opaque rules of digital platforms.
Legal Safeguards: Absence of strong labour codes to cover gig workers leaves them vulnerable.
Social Erosion: Growing consumerism is eroding human connections, leaving gig workers “faceless” in urban landscapes.

Way Forward

Social Security: Need for contributory schemes, insurance, health coverage, and pension for gig workers.
Framework: Establish tripartite frameworks involving the state, platforms, and workers to define fair working conditions.
Policy Alignment: Develop a data-driven national policy for platform work aligned with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Read More > Changing Employment Sector in India

{GS3 – Envi – Laws} Environment Audit Rules 2025 *

Context (PIB): The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) introduced the Environment Audit Rules 2025 to address compliance gaps and enhance trust-based governance.

Objectives

Strengthening Compliance: To ensure independent third-party verification for transparency, accountability and Ease of Doing Business.
Framework Integration: To align with emerging instruments like the Green Credit Program, Eco-mark Certification, and Extended Producer Responsibility.
Regulatory Capacity: To develop a pool of certified professionals for enforcement in high-risk areas.
Data-Driven Oversight: To create digital records for disclosure, decision-making, and early corrections.

Key Features

Certification: The rules establish the Environment Audit Designated Agency for certification and registration of Environmental Auditors based on qualifications, experience, or a national examination.
Auditing: Only Registered Environmental Auditors (REAs), who are randomly assigned projects for independence, can conduct audits, check compliance, and verify Green Credit obligations.
Oversight: A new MoEFCC Steering Committee oversees implementation and addresses challenges.
Regulators: CPCB, SPCBs, and MoEFCC regional offices continue inspections and monitoring support.

{GS3 – Envi – Species} Northern Migration of India’s Big Four Snakes *

Context (DTE): A recent study titled “Future of Snakebite Risk in India” projects climate-driven shifts in the ranges of India’s Big Four snakes.

About India’s Big Four Snakes

Key Species: Common Krait, Russell’s Viper, Saw-scaled Viper, and Spectacled Cobra.
Snakebite Share: Known as “Big Four,” causing nearly ninety percent of Indian snakebites.
Fatality Risk: Most fatalities result from inadequate antivenom availability against these snakes.

India records 58,000 annual deaths, nearly half worldwide, making it the most snakebite-affected country.

From Left to Right: Common Krait, Russel’s Viper, Saw-Scaled Viper, Spectacled Cobra

Credit: Wikipedia

Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus)

Feature: Slender nocturnal snake with neurotoxic venom causing respiratory paralysis.
Habitat: Found in grasslands, crop fields, scrublands, and village peripheries.
Range: Widespread across Indian plains and river valleys, absent in the Himalayas.
Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern; WPA: Schedule IV

Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii)

Feature: Heavy-bodied viper with hemotoxic venom causing coagulopathy and kidney failure.
Habitat: Occupies farmlands, scrub jungles, grasslands, and sugarcane or paddy belts.
Range: Distributed across the Indian lowlands, excluding dense forests and high altitudes.
Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern; WPA: Schedule II (Part II)

Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus)

Feature: Small, aggressive viper producing a warning “sizzling” sound by scale friction.
Habitat: Inhabits deserts, rocky plains, dry scrub, and thorn forest landscapes.
Range: Concentrated in arid western India, the Deccan plateau, and semi-arid regions.
Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern; WPA: Schedule IV

Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja)

Feature: Distinctive hooded snake with spectacle mark, symbolically revered in Indian culture.
Habitat: Found in forests, wetlands, agricultural fields, and peri-urban settlements.
Range: Widely present across Indian plains, scarce in the high Himalayas and deserts.
Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern; WPA: Schedule II (Part II); CITES: Appendix II

Findings of the Study

Range Change: Southern habitats of the Big Four snakes decline as ranges shift northward.
State Gains: Suitable habitats are projected to expand across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Assam.
Northeast Surge: Northeastern states project over a hundred per cent increase in habitat suitability.

Reasons for Shift

Rising Temperatures: Global warming drives habitat shifts towards cooler northern latitudes.
Rainfall Variability: Altered monsoon patterns reduce habitat stability in southern regions.
Land-Use Change: Agriculture and urbanisation fragment and transform existing ecological niches.

Read More > Snakebite Envenoming in India

{GS3 – IS – Initiatives} India’s Theatre Command Plan **

Context (IE): India is creating integrated theatre commands to unify Army, Navy, and Air Force control in specific regions under one command, led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Reform aims for joint operational efficiency and is the largest military overhaul since Independence.

Rationale for Theatre Commands

Prepares forces for multi-domain warfare, including cyber, space, UAVs, and precision-strike systems.
Avoids duplication of resources and ensures faster decision-making during conflicts.
Enhances jointness in planning, procurement, training, and operations.

Shekatkar Committee (2015) recommended three integrated theatre commands: Northern (China border), Western (Pakistan border), and Southern (Maritime Security).

Key Challenges

IAF Concerns: The Air Force has flagged concerns over division of limited assets, doctrinal compromises, and increased decision-making complexity.
Resource Allocation: The Army dominates budgets, which concerns the IAF and Navy, as they fear dilution of operational effectiveness.
Doctrinal Concerns: Risk of over-centralisation, longer decision chains, or ignoring unique operational doctrines of services.
Comparative Caution: Blind replication of foreign models may not suit India’s unique security environment.

Way Forward

Phased Implementation: Adopt phased implementation with pilot theatre commands to test structures before full rollout.
Doctrinal Harmony: Theatreisation must respect the independent roles of each service
Civil-Military Dialogue: Institutionalise civil-military consensus through continuous dialogue between CDS, service chiefs, and the government.

Read More > Defence Modernisation in India

{GS3 – S&T – AI} Bridging Skill–Industry Mismatch

Context (TH): Artificial Intelligence is driving structural transformation, replacing traditional jobs, necessitating urgent skilling for inclusive adaptation.

Disruption Dynamics of AI

Structural Churn: Automation redistributes labour, exemplified by lights-out factories in China.
Dual Impact: WEF forecasts 92 million job losses and 170 million new jobs, needing new skills.
Vulnerable Occupations: Repetitive roles, along with white-collar jobs like teachers and doctors, face automation risks that could shorten work weeks within the next 20 years.

Imperative of Skilling

Demographic Dividend: With 65% under 35, India’s advantage fades without industry-specific skilling.
Future Skills: Adaptability, empathy, and emotional intelligence sustain employability.
Skill–Industry Gap: One-third of CEOs prioritise skills over experience, while graduates use short courses and apprenticeships to address employment mismatches.

Way Forward

Digital Skilling: Skill India Digital, Meta VR centres, and AI assistant expand accessible training.
Partnership Models: Align PMKVY with NEP 2020 using CSR investments for inclusive apprenticeships.
Applied Learning: Use AI modules to train trainees, easing role transitions in retail and BFSI sectors.
Future Readiness: Through entrepreneurship, ethics education, and India’s 1M1B AI Youth Lab.

1M1B (One Million for One Billion) AI Youth Lab, an UN-accredited non-profit initiative in India, aims to build future-ready youth.

Read More > AI and the Indian Workforce

{Prelims – PIN World – Africa} Darfur Region

Context (TH): A devastating landslide nearly erased Tarasin village in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Location: Darfur spans western Sudan and borders Chad, Libya, and the Central African Republic (CAR).
Highest Mountain Range: The volcanic massif, Jebel Marra, also known as the Marrah Mountains.
Conflict Zone: Darfur experiences ongoing ethnic violence between Arab and African communities.

Sudan

Sudan in northeast Africa, is bordered by Egypt (north), Eritrea and Ethiopia (east), South Sudan (south), the CAR and Chad (west), Libya (northwest), and the Red Sea (northeast maritime boundary).
It is Africa’s third-largest country, with Khartoum serving as its capital.
Sudan’s geography includes the Sahara Desert, Jebel Marra, and the Nile system, with the White Nile joining the Blue Nile at Khartoum.
Sudan is the world’s top producer of Gum Arabic, vital for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Credit: ISS

{Prelims – In News} BHARATI Initiative

Context (PIB): APEDA launched BHARATI (Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Enablement) initiative to achieve $50 billion agri-food exports by 2030.

Nodal Agency: It is being implemented by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Startup Cohort: It will train 100 agri-food startups on product development, compliance, & exports.
Focus Areas: GI-tagged and AYUSH-linked exports with AI quality checks and IoT cold storage.

{Prelims – In News} Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Context (PIB): The birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is commemorated as Teachers’ Day on 5 September to honour educators.

He was India’s first Vice President (1952–62) and later served as the second President (1962–67).
His lifelong contributions earned him a knighthood in 1931 and the Bharat Ratna in 1954.