1. Human Development Index (HDI)
- Context: India continues its steady rise on the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 130 out of 193 countries in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Key Highlights about the report:
- The 2025 HDR title: ‘A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI’
- It highlights the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping the next chapter of human development, particularly in fast-growing economies, including India.
- HDI value: It increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023
- India remains in the medium human development category
- moving closer to the threshold for high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700).
- India’s life expectancy: It is the highest since the inception of the index, indicating a strong recovery from the pandemic and its impact on life expectancy.
- The life expectancy rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023, the highest recorded since the index began.
- India’s Gross National Income per capita: It rose over four times, from $2167.22 (1990) to $9046.76 (2023).
- 135 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
- Challenge: Inequality reducing India’s HDI by 30.7%, one of the highest losses in the region,
Human Development Index:
- HDI is a composite index that measures average achievement in human development taking into account three indicators:
- Life expectancy at birth (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3)
- Expected years of schooling (SDG 4.3),
- Mean years of schooling (SDG 4.4)
- Gross national income (GNI) (SDG 8.5).
Prelims special:
Q. The Multi-dimensional Poverty Index developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support covers which of the following? (UPSC 2012)
- Deprivation of education, health, assets and services at household level
- Purchasing power parity at national level
- Extent of budget deficit and GDP growth rate at national level
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (a)
2. United Nations Security Council(UNSC)
- Context: The United Nations Security Council members raised tough questions for Pakistan at its informal session in the closed-door UNSC meeting convened on Kashmir.
United Nations Security Council(UNSC):
- The Security Council was established by the UN Charter in 1945.
- It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
- Its primary responsibility is to work to maintain international peace and security.
- The council is headquartered at NewYork.
- The council has 15 members:
- Five(5) permanent members
- Ten(10) non-permanent members elected for two-year terms
- Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of ten in total) for a two-year term.
- The ten non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis.
- The council’s presidency is a capacity that rotates every month among its 15 members.
- Permanent members: United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom
Prelims special:
Q. Consider the following statements regarding the World Toilet Organization:(UPSC 2024)
- It is one of the agencies of the United Nations.
- World Toilet Summit, World Toilet Day and World Toilet College are the initiatives of this organization, to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
- The main focus of its function is to grant funds to the least developed countries and developing countries to achieve the end of open defecation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 2 only
- 3 only
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
Ans: (a)
3. Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
- Context: India and the United Kingdom inked a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after three years of negotiations.
UK-India trade deal:
- Trade boost: The agreement is expected to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion a year, from 2040 onwards.
- Trade between the two nations totalled £42.6 billion in 2024.
- Goods and service: whisky and gin tariffs will be halved from 150% to 75%, before falling to 40% by the tenth year of the deal
- It will benefit Britain’s Scotch whisky industry and making the beverage cheaper in the world’s largest whisky market.
- India will cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
- Other British goods categories which will face lower tariffs include cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits.
- Workers: Indian workers will see increased quotas to work in the UK in certain sectors.
What is an FTA?
- FTA is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.
- Under a free trade policy: Goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
- Protectionism: The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.
- FTAs can be categorized as:
- Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)
- Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
What does FTA cover?
- Tariff reduction impacting the entire manufacturing and the agricultural sector
- Rules on services trade
- Digital issues such as data localisation
- Intellectual property rights that may have an impact on the accessibility of drugs
- Investment promotion, facilitation, and protection.
Prelims special:
Q. The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as(UPSC 2016)
- G20
- ASEAN
- SCO
- SAARC
Ans: (b)
4. Union Carbide
- Context: The incineration of 307 tonnes of waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal has begun in Madhya Pradesh.
Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) (Chemical formula- CH3NCO or C2H3NO):
- It is a Volatile, colorless liquid that is extremely flammable, and potentially explosive when mixed with air.
- Reacts with water, giving off heat and producing methylamine and carbon dioxide.
- Liquid and vapor are toxic when inhaled, ingested, or exposed to the eyes or skin.
- It leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide (now Dow Chemicals), an MNC, in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.
Initiatives taken to tackle Chemical accidents:
- NDMA guidelines on Chemical Disaster Management: Inspection System by Regulatory Bodies, Establish Information networking system with states and districts on priority basis etc.
- Explosives Act, 1884: To control manufacture, possession, use, transportation and importation of Explosives.
- Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules 1996.
Composition of the Waste
- The trial waste included: 4.8 tonnes of excavated waste; 1.6 tonnes of semi-processed residue; 1.3 tonnes of naphthol waste; 1.3 tonnes of carbaryl residue; 0.8 tonnes of reactor residue.
- Naphthol is a precursor for carbaryl, the insecticide produced by the Union Carbide plant.
Prelims special:
Q. In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA safeguards” while others are not? (UPSC 2020)
- Some use uranium and others use thorium
- Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
- Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises
- Some are State-owned and others are privately owned
Ans: (b)
Source: TheHindu1. Human Development Index (HDI)
- Context: India continues its steady rise on the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 130 out of 193 countries in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Key Highlights about the report:
- The 2025 HDR title: ‘A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI’
- It highlights the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping the next chapter of human development, particularly in fast-growing economies, including India.
- HDI value: It increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023
- India remains in the medium human development category
- moving closer to the threshold for high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700).
- India’s life expectancy: It is the highest since the inception of the index, indicating a strong recovery from the pandemic and its impact on life expectancy.
- The life expectancy rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023, the highest recorded since the index began.
- India’s Gross National Income per capita: It rose over four times, from $2167.22 (1990) to $9046.76 (2023).
- 135 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
- Challenge: Inequality reducing India’s HDI by 30.7%, one of the highest losses in the region,
Human Development Index:
- HDI is a composite index that measures average achievement in human development taking into account three indicators:
- Life expectancy at birth (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3)
- Expected years of schooling (SDG 4.3),
- Mean years of schooling (SDG 4.4)
- Gross national income (GNI) (SDG 8.5).
Prelims special:
Q. The Multi-dimensional Poverty Index developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support covers which of the following? (UPSC 2012)
- Deprivation of education, health, assets and services at household level
- Purchasing power parity at national level
- Extent of budget deficit and GDP growth rate at national level
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (a)
2. United Nations Security Council(UNSC)
- Context: The United Nations Security Council members raised tough questions for Pakistan at its informal session in the closed-door UNSC meeting convened on Kashmir.
United Nations Security Council(UNSC):
- The Security Council was established by the UN Charter in 1945.
- It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
- Its primary responsibility is to work to maintain international peace and security.
- The council is headquartered at NewYork.
- The council has 15 members:
- Five(5) permanent members
- Ten(10) non-permanent members elected for two-year terms
- Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of ten in total) for a two-year term.
- The ten non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis.
- The council’s presidency is a capacity that rotates every month among its 15 members.
- Permanent members: United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom
Prelims special:
Q. Consider the following statements regarding the World Toilet Organization:(UPSC 2024)
- It is one of the agencies of the United Nations.
- World Toilet Summit, World Toilet Day and World Toilet College are the initiatives of this organization, to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
- The main focus of its function is to grant funds to the least developed countries and developing countries to achieve the end of open defecation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 2 only
- 3 only
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
Ans: (a)
3. Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
- Context: India and the United Kingdom inked a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after three years of negotiations.
UK-India trade deal:
- Trade boost: The agreement is expected to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion a year, from 2040 onwards.
- Trade between the two nations totalled £42.6 billion in 2024.
- Goods and service: whisky and gin tariffs will be halved from 150% to 75%, before falling to 40% by the tenth year of the deal
- It will benefit Britain’s Scotch whisky industry and making the beverage cheaper in the world’s largest whisky market.
- India will cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
- Other British goods categories which will face lower tariffs include cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits.
- Workers: Indian workers will see increased quotas to work in the UK in certain sectors.
What is an FTA?
- FTA is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.
- Under a free trade policy: Goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
- Protectionism: The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.
- FTAs can be categorized as:
- Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)
- Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
What does FTA cover?
- Tariff reduction impacting the entire manufacturing and the agricultural sector
- Rules on services trade
- Digital issues such as data localisation
- Intellectual property rights that may have an impact on the accessibility of drugs
- Investment promotion, facilitation, and protection.
Prelims special:
Q. The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as(UPSC 2016)
- G20
- ASEAN
- SCO
- SAARC
Ans: (b)
4. Union Carbide
- Context: The incineration of 307 tonnes of waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal has begun in Madhya Pradesh.
Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) (Chemical formula- CH3NCO or C2H3NO):
- It is a Volatile, colorless liquid that is extremely flammable, and potentially explosive when mixed with air.
- Reacts with water, giving off heat and producing methylamine and carbon dioxide.
- Liquid and vapor are toxic when inhaled, ingested, or exposed to the eyes or skin.
- It leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide (now Dow Chemicals), an MNC, in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.
Initiatives taken to tackle Chemical accidents:
- NDMA guidelines on Chemical Disaster Management: Inspection System by Regulatory Bodies, Establish Information networking system with states and districts on priority basis etc.
- Explosives Act, 1884: To control manufacture, possession, use, transportation and importation of Explosives.
- Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules 1996.
Composition of the Waste
- The trial waste included: 4.8 tonnes of excavated waste; 1.6 tonnes of semi-processed residue; 1.3 tonnes of naphthol waste; 1.3 tonnes of carbaryl residue; 0.8 tonnes of reactor residue.
- Naphthol is a precursor for carbaryl, the insecticide produced by the Union Carbide plant.
Prelims special:
Q. In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA safeguards” while others are not? (UPSC 2020)
- Some use uranium and others use thorium
- Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
- Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises
- Some are State-owned and others are privately owned
Ans: (b)