Hubble’s 35-year journey is a blueprint to understand the cosmos

• From breathtaking snapshots of distant galaxies to game-changing discoveries about the universe’s expansion, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has dazzled humankind for 35 years.
• After launching on April 24, 1990, Hubble overcame early flaws to become one of NASA’s greatest triumphs. Its vivid images and countless scientific breakthroughs have reshaped our understanding of the cosmos, inspiring new generations of telescopes and astronomers. To celebrate Hubble’s majestic journey for more than three decades, NASA recently released a collection of striking images captured by the HST.
• The US astronomer Lyman Spitzer proposed the idea of the Large Space Telescope in the 1940s. NASA and the US Congress approved the project in 1969 but faced budget pressures. Then the European Space Agency chipped in with 15% of the LST’s cost in exchange for 15% of its observation time.
• The HST, named for astronomer Edwin Hubble, was planned in 1979 and built by 20 companies, universities, and the European Space Agency. It was initially scheduled to be launched in 1986 but that was delayed until 1990 due to technical difficulties and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
• The HST first had two cameras: the Wide-Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC) and the Faint Object Camera. It also had two spectrographs: the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) and the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS).
• A high-speed photometer onboard detected light from high-energy sources. Three fine-guidance sensors installed in 1990 made high-precision measurements of the positions of celestial objects.
• The WFPC was the most popular. It consists of two cameras. The Wide-Field camera covered large sky areas while the Planetary Camera magnified and improved image resolution. The Faint Object Camera captured light from distant celestial objects with help from an image intensifier.
• Scientists and engineers took several weeks to check the HST’s control and communication systems before astronomers working at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore could see its first images.
• Shortly after launch, the HST’s photos were blurred, later found to be because the telescope’s mirror had been ground to the wrong shape. Ground team members soon came up with a corrective device: a series of smaller mirrors called COSTAR to compensate for the primary mirror’s defect.
• Astronauts launched in 1993 implemented this fix on the HST, by that time in earth orbit. They removed the high-speed photometer to make way for COSTAR, as well as replaced the WFPC with the WFPC 2, among other upgrades.
• The telescope experienced a similar problem in 1997. The analysis of light is of great importance in space research. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and red light has a longer wavelength.
•  If the frequency of incoming light bluer, it means the light source is moving towards the observer. If the frequency is becoming redder, the object is moving away.
• The HST’s GHRS and FOS devices, which perform this analysis, worked well until 1997. NASA subsequently replaced them with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph that year. This device can analyse frequencies of light from the ultraviolet to the infrared.
• The telescope’s antenna transmits approximately 150 Gb of data a week. According to NASA, the HST has observed almost 52,000 stellar objects in 1.6 million observations since launch.
• One of the HST’s most significant achievements was to get scientists the data with which they estimated the universe’s age. Before the telescope came along, astronomers didn’t know if the universe was 10 billion years old or 20 billion. To get the answer, astronomers looked at the Cepheid variable stars — a type of star that pulsed in a steady way, its brightness varying over periods of days or months.
• Astronomers could determine the distance to such a star using its luminosity and pulsation rate. Based on that measurement, they could then estimate the distances to various other, more distant celestial objects. Finally, based on all the data, astronomers could estimate how fast the universe was expanding, and work back from there to the universe’s age.
• With the HST’s keen observations, they identified more than 800 Cepheid stars in 24 galaxies and thereon that the universe was around 13.8 billion years old.
• Astronomers have also created a 3D map of dark matter using data from the HST and other telescopes. The telescope has also found that gamma-ray bursts, the universe’s most energetic explosions, occur in galaxies with rapid star formation and a low proportion of elements heavier than helium.
• Numerous galaxies had supermassive black holes at their centres — or so astronomers believed by the early 1990s, and the HST the belief’s underlying assumptions. Closer home, the HST helped find two additional moons of Pluto (Nix and Hydra) and observed seasonal alterations on Pluto’s surface.
• Its data helped estimate the mass of Eris, the solar system’s heaviest dwarf planet, and based on that indicated the existence of more such objects in the Kuiper Belt and beyond.
• The HST also first studied the atmosphere of an exoplanet: HD 209458-b, a.k.a. Osiris, a hot world located 150 lightyears away. Osiris was found to be within 6.4 million km of its host star and thus a surface temperature of around 1,100° C.
• The HST was initially expected to operate for 15 years but it has consistently delivered over the last 35 years and continues to do so. Astronomers commemorated the anniversary of its launch with a stunning image of NGC 1333, a star-forming area located 967 light-years away in the Perseus molecular cloud.
• It is impossible to overstate the HST’s pride of place in our understanding of the cosmos. Every pixel of its images has revealed whole new worlds in the great beyond, helping us understand our own place in the cosmos.

ISRO to launch earth imaging satellite from Sriharikota on May 18, MPs to witness event

• India will launch an earth observation satellite on Sunday (May 18, 2025) from the spaceport at Sriharikota, boosting its surveillance capabilities from space in all weather conditions.
• A delegation of lawmakers, who are part of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, is scheduled to witness the launch of the EOS-09 satellite onboard the ISRO''s warhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at 5:59 a.m. on May 18, officials said.
• Equipped with a C-band synthetic aperture radar, EOS-09 will be capable of capturing high-resolution images of the Earth''s surface under all weather conditions, day or night.
• This all-weather, round-the-clock imaging is vital for applications, ranging from agriculture and forestry monitoring to disaster management, urban planning, and national security.
• The EOS-09 satellite, weighing around 1,710 kg, will join India''s growing constellation of Earth observation assets, addressing the need for expanded real-time coverage across the country’s vast territory.
• More than two dozen members of Parliament are expected to witness the launch event at the invitation of the Department of Space. After that, in the evening, they will proceed towards Tirupati and visit an important science and technology institute.
• EOS-09 (RISAT-1B) is a follow-on to the RISAT-1 satellite with similar configuration. It complements and supplements data from the Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT-2B Series satellites.

IMAGING CAPABILITY

• EOS-09 features five distinct imaging modes, allowing it to switch between ultra-high-resolution imaging (up to one metre for detecting small objects) and broader scans for large-area observation.
• This flexibility makes it valuable not only for defense but also for civilian uses such as agriculture monitoring, forestry, soil moisture assessment, geology, sea ice and coastal surveillance, object identification, and flood monitoring.
• The satellite is a follow-on to the earlier RISAT-1 and complements India’s growing constellation of earth observation satellites, including Resourcesat, Cartosat, and RISAT-2B series.
• By supplementing data from these satellites, EOS-09 will help provide expanded real-time coverage across India’s vast territory, supporting smarter governance and faster disaster response.
• Meanwhile, the launch will be witnessed by more than two dozen members of Parliament, highlighting its national significance.
• As India continues to invest in satellite-based infrastructure, EOS-09 stands out as a key step in strengthening both the country’s security and its ability to manage natural resources and disasters

India keeps data exclusivity out of UK FTA to protect local drug makers

• India has protected the interest of its generic pharma industry by keeping out data exclusivity provisions from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK. This is the second FTA in recent times where data exclusivity is not part of the trade agreement.
• The UK was pushing for inclusion of Data Exclusivity provisions in the FTA which would have prevented Indian generic drugs manufacturers from using the clinical trial data generated by the pharma patent holders.
• At present Indian laws allow the use of this data by companies to launch copies of the drugs that go off-patent. This reduces time and costs for generic manufacturers to go to the market. If generic companies were to generate same data independently it would delay their launches and give additional time to patent holders to benefit for their innovation.
• “During the negotiations, the UK had asked to include this provision in the trade pact. But India has not accepted that. There is no fear for the Indian generic industry from this agreement. In fact, it is our very important objective to see that the generic drug industry flourishes,”
• By gaining exclusive rights over this data, innovator companies can prevent their competitors from obtaining marketing licence for low-cost versions during the tenure of this exclusivity.
• Earlier, India had also rejected a similar demand from the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in their FTA signed in 2024. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
• Among them Switzerland is the hub for most innovative companies in healthcare and even they did not get it.
• India’s generic drug industry is estimated at about $ 25 billion and the country exports half of its output. An expert said that data exclusivity is beyond the provisions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement under the WTO (World Trade Organisation).
• India and the UK announced the conclusion of the free trade agreement on May six that will substantially liberalise trade between the two countries

Why India must get the Caste Census right 

• The government’s decision to include caste enumeration in the next Census is one that is bold, transformative and commendable. Counting caste is not capitulation to identity politics. It is a mirror to the lived realities of millions.
• It marks a vital step towards evidence-based policymaking to build a more just and inclusive India. A nation that refuses to see itself cannot hope to heal itself.
• Post-Independence, India attempted to abolish caste while simultaneously pursuing social justice — a textbook example of policy schizophrenia, as the two goals are fundamentally incompatible.
• The refusal to count caste in the Census was a corollary of the policy of caste blindness. But the Constitution explicitly mandates the pursuit of social justice through reservations in education, public employment, and electoral constituencies — measures that require precise, disaggregated caste data.
• Although the Constitution uses the term “class”, the Supreme Court of India has repeatedly ruled that caste is a valid, and often necessary, proxy for identifying backwardness and has insisted on detailed caste-wise data to uphold reservation policies.
• In his 1955 essay, ‘Thoughts on Linguistic States’, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar denounced the omission of caste tables from the 1951 Census as an act of “petty intelligence”. Visibility in data is the first step toward meaningful inclusion.
• Caste data collection across all major social groups is essential not only for administering reservations, but also for equity-driven planning, targeted policymaking, and tracking disparities over time. Not collecting it has rendered many of India’s marginalised communities invisible in official statistics.
• Worse, a narrow elite of upper castes and dominant Other Backward Classes (OBCs) has entrenched its grip over wealth, opportunity and power behind the smokescreen of caste anonymity. In hindsight, this ranks among India’s gravest policy failures.

A legal and administrative necessity

• Since 1951, the Census has enumerated Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) but excluded OBCs, even though all three groups are constitutionally eligible for reservations in education and public employment.
• The usual justification, that OBCs lack reserved seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies (that SC/ST have) collapsed with the 73rd and 74th Amendments, which mandated OBC reservation (in addition to SC/ST reservation) in electoral constituencies of panchayats and municipalities. Implementing these provisions requires granular, area-wise OBC data.
• With the introduction of reservations in education and public employment for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among upper castes (2019), a comprehensive enumeration of all castes has now become a legal imperative.
• India’s reservation policy currently operates in an evidence vacuum, leaving it vulnerable to arbitrary demands from powerful caste groups and politically expedient decisions by governments. With reliable caste data, the demands of the Marathas, Patidars, Jats, and others can be assessed transparently and on merit.
• The limited data we do have reveal deep inequities. According to submissions made by the Government of India to the Justice G. Rohini Commission, just 10 OBC castes cornered 25% of all public jobs and education seats reserved for OBCs, while a quarter of OBC castes secured 97% of the benefits.
• Shockingly, 38% of OBC castes received only 3% of the benefits, and another 37% got nothing at all.
• Hence, caste enumeration is also an administrative imperative — to prevent the elite capture, enable rational sub-categorisation within social groups, and allow a more precise definition of the “creamy layer”.
• Collection of caste data must go beyond the decennial Census. All periodic government surveys should enumerate OBCs and upper castes alongside SCs and STs. The era of partial counting must end.

Learning from failure and success

• In 2010, Parliament unanimously resolved to count caste in the 2011 Census. The 1931 Census had recorded 4,147 castes (excluding the then-called Depressed Classes). The Anthropological Survey of India has identified 6,325 castes. But the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011, conducted by the United Progressive Alliance-II government, was a debacle. It produced a ludicrous figure of 46 lakh castes and was never released.

What went wrong?

• First, the SECC-2011 was not conducted under the Census Act, 1948 and lacked legal authority. Second, it was conducted through the Union Ministries of Rural Development and Urban Development with no expertise for handling a complex socio-anthropological survey. Third, its open-ended questions about caste created confusion. Undertrained enumerators conflated castes, aliases, sub-castes, gotras, clan names, surnames and broader caste groups. The result was a chaotic, unusable data set. Was it sabotage or incompetence? Either way, a historic opportunity was squandered.
• In contrast, in Bihar’s caste survey, enumerators were given a vetted list of 214 castes specific to the State, with a 215th option for “Other Castes”. The survey was well-planned, well-executed, and showed that a credible caste count is entirely feasible.

Blueprint for a successful Caste Census

• To avoid repeating the SECC-2011 fiasco, here is what must be done.
• First, legal backing. Amend the Census Act, 1948 to explicitly mandate caste enumeration and insulate the process from shifting political agendas.
• Second, the right institution. Entrust the exercise solely to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, and not Ministries that lack domain expertise.
• Third, a standardised questionnaire. Use closed-option questions with dropdown menus covering sub-caste, caste (including aliases), broader caste group, and caste-linked surname (optional). Having ‘caste’ alone as an option can lead to errors since some caste names such as Rao, Naik, Singh or Bhandari span multiple communities. Assign unique digital codes to avoid duplication and semantic confusion (e.g., grouping “Iyer” and “Aiyar” under one code).
• Fourth, State-specific caste lists. Develop draft lists in consultation with State governments, sociologists, and community leaders. Publish them online and invite public feedback before finalisation. Use a similar participatory approach for questionnaire design.
• Fifth, enumerator training. Conduct region-specific training sessions with mock examples, clear dos and don’ts, and guidance on local caste nuances.
• Sixth, digital tools. Equip enumerators with handheld devices that are preloaded with validated caste lists. Restrict data entry to predefined options to minimise human error.
• Seventh, representative staffing. To ensure data integrity, deploy enumerators from diverse communities and in areas where they have no conflict of interest.
• Eighth, independent oversight. Establish district-level committees to audit samples and monitor data integrity.
• Ninth, pilot testing. Run trials in diverse States such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam to refine methodology before nationwide rollout.
• In every Census since 1951, the Government has successfully enumerated nearly 2,000 castes and tribes under the SC/ST categories. Counting the remaining 4,000-odd OBCs and upper castes (most of them State-specific) is not only doable but also long overdue. The delayed 2021 Census offers a rare chance to finally close this data gap. The time for denial and delay is over. The time to get the Caste Census right is now

How is the shipping industry tackling emissions?

• After a decade of deliberations towards decarbonising the maritime industry, at its 83rd session, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC-83) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was faced with the challenge of coming to a consensus on a proposed emissions levy on global shipping. The session’s objective was to adopt a Market-Based Measure (MBM) that balanced environmental effectiveness with economic fairness.

What were the proposals?

• Five distinct proposals were tabled in the meeting. The first was by the International Chamber of Shipping which advocated for a fixed levy per every tonne of CO₂ emitted. Secondly, China proposed a market-driven approach where ships could trade compliance units and invest in alternative fuels.
• The European Union suggested a fixed Greenhouse Gas (GHG) levy, managed by an IMO-administered fund while India propositioned a ‘bridging mechanism’, which would target only under-compliant ships to bear the financial burden, while rewarding those using Zero or Near-Zero (ZNZ) fuels. Finally, Singapore also joined the fray by proposing an enhanced version of India’s model, involving a GHG Fuel Standard (GFS) and a tiered system rewarding surplus emission units and requiring the purchase of remedial units for underperformance.
• Even before the debate on MBMs could fully unfold in the IMO, geopolitical tensions took centre-stage. The U.S. Trump administration, which had already withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and stripped the agency that responds to disasters from their climate work related responsibilities, did not participate in the IMO deliberations. It warned of “reciprocal measures” if the EU-backed uniform carbon levy were passed.

What was decided?

• The MPEC-83 of IMO voted 63 to 16 in favour of accepting Singapore’s hybrid model based on India’s proposal as the IMO’s Net Zero Framework, making international shipping the first global industry to adopt a mandatory emissions levy framework.
•  Having piloted a compromise formula amidst extremely divergent views, both India and Singapore have claimed credit for the successful outcome.
• However, the decision of the MEPC-83 is not final yet. Despite the vote, the path to implementation is far from straightforward. The MEPC-83’s decision, having approved the Net Zero Framework, now needs to amend Annex VI of the MARPOL convention, which governs air pollution from ships.
• The amendment will undergo a six-month circulation period among all contracting parties to MARPOL. For final adoption, it requires a two-thirds majority of votes from members present and voting; this means that if all 101 parties participate, at least 67 must support the measure. Even if adopted, the amendment could still be blocked, should one-third of the parties — provided they account for at least 50% of global shipping tonnage formally object in writing.
• Currently, with 63 votes in favour, 16 against, and 22 abstentions, the outcome remains uncertain. The process ahead is critical and could reshape the dynamics of global shipping regulation for decades to come.

What other interests were at play?

• The wide range of positions expressed during the MEPC-83 underscores the enduring dominance of national interests in global climate diplomacy. Oil-exporting countries, led by Saudi Arabia, opposed any significant transition to green fuels, prioritising the protection of their fossil fuel markets.
•  In contrast, small island nations and least developed countries advocated for steep carbon levies, seeking to redirect revenues into broader green development initiatives.
• Moreover, China, along with other large shipping nations, pushed for minimal levies to preserve competitiveness while focusing on investments in cleaner fuels. Norway and other Scandinavian countries have been seeking recognition for their early and costly efforts in decarbonising shipping, proposing that these efforts be rewarded through surplus credit systems.
•  Brazil has been advocating for a rapid shift to methanol as a primary marine fuel, while several nations, citing a lack of viable green technologies, hoped for delayed implementation.
• Even after voting, scepticism has lingered among shipowners in traditional maritime powerhouses like Greece, who question the necessity and feasibility of a green levy altogether. The range of these responses illustrates the immense challenge the IMO faces in crafting a universally acceptable emissions framework.

Why does green shipping matter?

• Shipping may seem invisible to most consumers, but it plays an outsized role in global emissions. The sector emits approximately one billion metric tonnes of GHG each year, representing about 2.8% of total global emissions.
• If ranked as a country, international shipping would be the sixth-largest emitter in the world, between Germany and Japan.
• Projections indicate that, without corrective action, emissions from shipping could rise by as much as 50 to 250% by 2050. Even though the sector contributes less than road transport emissions, they face heavier regulatory pressure because of their international nature.
• Therefore, to align with the 13th UN Sustainable Development Goal as well as the Paris Agreement, the IMO began implementing emissions-reduction measures in 2011, followed by the Initial GHG Strategy in 2018 and the updated IMO GHG Strategy in 2023.
• It has also included a technical measure such as the Energy Efficiency Design Index in Annex VI of the MARPOL convention; an operational measure, the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan, for reduction of GHG emissions from ships; and introduced mandatory recording and reporting of fuel oil consumption.
• Consistent with the ‘Paris agreement temperature goals’ it has also adopted ‘levels of ambition’ and ‘guiding principles’.
• Between 2018 and 2023, it has agreed to fix a target for reducing carbon intensity (CO2 emissions per transport work) by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2008 levels, and by 70% by 2040, ultimately achieving net-zero by 2050. This is notably more concrete than the International Civil Aviation Organization, which has only pledged a “long-term aspirational goal” of net-zero emissions by 2050 without setting interim targets.

Is it an equitable distribution?

• There has been a gradual erosion of the guiding principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’ (CBDR-RC) incorporated in the 2018 initial GHG strategy.
• The CBDR-RC is a core principle enshrined in climate agreements like UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. It acknowledges that all nations must address climate change but recognise historical responsibility and unequal capacities.
•  Developed nations, with their longer industrial histories, are expected to bear greater burdens. However, recent IMO proceedings reflect an effort by wealthier nations to shift responsibility onto developing economies, despite stark differences in income and consumption.

How does India benefit?

• While the carbon levy and GHG targets set by the IMO may pose short-term challenges for certain sectors of the Indian economy, India is likely to emerge as a long-term beneficiary of the new MBM framework. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the impact of the MBM on India’s maritime logistics costs will be modest in the near term — ranging from 4.98 to 7.29% on imports and 5.92 to 8.09% on exports by 2030. By 2050, these figures are projected to rise to about 33 to 35%. However, the actual impact on trade volumes is expected to be minimal.
• India currently operates nearly 236 ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, with only 135 involved in international voyages. Since MBMs apply only to international shipping, India’s coastal fleet remains unaffected.
• At present, India spends roughly $400 million per year on fuel for its international fleet. The MBM is projected to increase this by approximately $108 million by 2030 — a manageable rise given the scale of India’s maritime economy.
• Perhaps the most exciting implication of the MBM framework is the potential for India to become a global hub for clean energy exports.
• As the world’s third-largest importer of fossil fuels, India is now investing heavily in green hydrogen through its National Hydrogen Mission. Industrial giants such as Reliance, Adani, and JSW are planning to scale up production, while three Indian ports are preparing to offer green hydrogen bunkering services.
• Under the mission’s guidelines, Indian green hydrogen must meet a well-to-wake greenhouse gas fuel intensity of no more than 2 kg CO₂e per kilogram of hydrogen, translating to about 16.7 grams of CO₂ equivalent per megajoule.
• This standard positions Indian hydrogen well within the IMO’s reward thresholds, which are capped at 19.0 g CO₂e/MJ until 2034 and 14.0 g CO₂e/MJ thereafter. This alignment creates a significant opportunity for India to export green fuels globally and capitalise on international incentives.
• Global shipping now stands at a transformative moment. Despite persistent disagreements and uncertain implementation pathways, the adoption of a MBM by the IMO represents a milestone in the journey toward decarbonisation. If successful, this framework could make shipping the first truly global sector to operate under binding climate goals, setting a powerful precedent for others to follow

Scientists create first ‘pangenome’ of Asian rice

• Scientists have assembled a first of its kind ‘pangenome’, a kind of reference genome, by stitching together key parts of genomes from 144 varieties of wild and cultivated varieties of rice from Asia.
•  Much like the Human Genome Project in 2003 mapped genomes from a range of individuals, expressing the genetic diversity of the human species, the rice pangenome allows researchers to develop new rice cultivars and introduce new traits for disease-tolerance as well as resilience against climate shocks.
• Rice is staple for nearly two-thirds of the globe. It is the primary crop grown in India over the monsoon months of June-September.
•  In 2024-25, India produced a record 220 million tonnes of rice over 51,000 ha with an average yield of 4.2 tonnes/ha. Several studies over the years have warned that rising temperatures due to climate change would not only affect yields but also increase arsenic uptake among several rice varieties.
•  India’s average temperature has increased by 0.7º C since 1901. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with the average minimum temperature 0.9º C above the long-term average.
• Earlier this month, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) announced the development of two varieties of genome-edited rice, Samba Mahsuri and MTU 1010, that reportedly promise higher yields and better drought resistance. These however are yet to be released into farmer fields.
• To develop the pangenome, the scientists — nearly all associated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences — report undertaking a “deep analysis of complex gene flows” both within cultivars (domesticated) and between cultivars and wild rice, highlighting the evolutionary and domestication pathways of various rice types.
• This study reinforced support for the hypothesis that all Asian cultivated rice had an evolutionary origin from a wild variety called Or-IIIa, the ancestor of japonica.
• Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) was domesticated from its wild progenitor O. rufipogon, and is one of the most important food crops in the world. Or-IIIa is a variant of O. rufipogon.
• While reference genomes of a species generally confine themselves to identifying the characteristic genes that make up a species, a ‘pangenome’ has the common genes as well as maps out the unique genes found in the individual rice varieties. It presents a more complete understanding of the genetic variation present in rice.
• Primarily using ‘PacBio high-fidelity’(HiFi) sequencing technology and computational methods, their analysis revealed 3.87 billion base pairs of novel genetic sequences absent from the single acknowledged reference genome, O sativa ssp japonica.
• They identified 69,531 genes collectively spanning the pangenome, with 28,907 core genes and 13,728 wild-rice-specific genes.
• Population genetics studies have earlier shown that ancient japonica rice was first domesticated from the O. rufipogon group IIIa (Or-IIIa) population in China, and that indica rice was subsequently domesticated when ancient japonica spread southward and westward in Asia and crossed with the local O. rufipogon group I (Or-I) population.
• Another key finding of the study was that of the 69,531 genes identified, about 20% were specific to wild rice. These genetic resources can improve understanding of rice environmental adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and regeneration potential. “By bridging the gap between wild and cultivated rice genetics, our study opens new avenues and provides useful wild rice resources for developing superior and more productive rice varieties,” the authors note.
• “These improved varieties could incorporate valuable traits from wild rice species, potentially enhancing their resilience to rapid environmental changes.”

What will be impact of India-U.K. trade deal?

• The  After nearly three-and-half years, India and the U.K. finally gave their nod to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this week. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the pact would set a new benchmark for “equitable and ambitious trade between the two large economies”.
•  Though the fineprint has not yet been made public, domestic industry has welcomed the announcement, amid concerns about the potential impact on agriculture and medium and small enterprises (MSMEs). The deal is likely to be signed after three months, and will take over a year to implement

Why is the deal significant for both nations?

• The U.K. is India’s 16th largest trading partner and India is the U.K.’s 11th largest partner. Their bilateral trade is about $60 billion with India enjoying a positive trade balance, which is expected to double by 2030, according to the Indian government’s estimates.
• The new trade deal, as assessed by the British government, would increase the bilateral trade by another $34 billion. The agreement comes in the backdrop of global trade reeling under uncertainty triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.
• The trade agreement is also of much significance to the Labour government in U.K. It is among the major trade deals ratified by 10 Downing Street since it exited the European Union. Conservative Party Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss had failed to facilitate its passage, notwithstanding assertions about Diwali deadlines last year.

What specifics do we know about the deal?

• While the particulars of the deal are yet to be published, a British government release informed India will slash tariffs on 90% of products, with 85% of the overall pie expected to become “fully tariff-free” within a decade.
• Based on data from 2022, the U.K. estimated India could cut tariffs of more than $534 million when the deal is enforced.
• On the other hand, New Delhi expects to benefit from tariffs being eliminated from 99% of its imported goods. It expects an increase in export opportunities for sectors such as textiles, leather, footwear, auto parts, engineering, as well as gems and jewellery.
• It is worth noting that the British government particularly mentioned tariff benefits on whiskey and gin alongside automotive tariffs. Both sectors had found themselves on dismal shores in the U.S. President’s tariff regime.
• With the FTA, tariffs on alcoholic beverages entering India would be halved from 150% to 75% before they are reduced to 40% in a decade after the deal is enforced.
• Additionally, automotive tariffs have also been reduced from over 100% to 10%. Both would be subject to a certain quota, that is, a cap on the number of units that can benefit from the tariff rate.
• The other more notable development concerns services. India has secured an exemption for Indian workers temporarily in the U.K. and for their employers from paying social security contributions for three years under the Double Contribution Convention.
• This is expected to ease mobility of professionals and business visitors in formal and informal sectors as IT/ITeS, financial services, professional services, alongside other business and educational services.
• However, immigration was among the most contentious concerns of the U.K. government during the negotiations. Even after the deal was announced, Conservative Party MP Andrew Griffith voiced concerns about a “surge in immigration and a discount for Indian companies who choose to hire from India than the U.K.

What are the expectations from the FTA?

• While the details are yet to be published, the British government said it would benefit from India agreeing to slash tariffs on 90% of the product categories for export, with 85% of them becoming “tariff-free” within a decade. Further, basing its assessment on 2022 prices, it estimated that $534 million worth in tariffs would be saved when the deal is enforced.
•  On the other hand, New Delhi expects to benefit from tariffs being eliminated on 99% of its export product categories. It expects an increase in export opportunities for sectors such as textiles, leather, footwear, auto parts, engineering as well as gems and jewellery, among others
• The British government mentioned about curtailed tariffs on automotives, whisky and gin, sectors which had been hit by Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Alcoholic beverages from the U.K. will now have a 75% tariff rate, from the present 150%.
• This would be further reduced to 40% within a decade. Tariffs on automobile exports too stand reduced from over 100% to 10% albeit with a certain quota based on price for conventional combustion engine vehicles and capacity for electric vehicles.
• With respect to services, India has secured an exemption for Indian workers temporarily in the U.K. and for their employers from paying social security contributions for three years under the Double Contribution Convention. Immigration was among the major points of contention during negotiations with the erstwhile Conservative government.
• The FTA will also seek that visa processes remain “transparent” and no “unnecessary” obstacles are created in professional travel

How has domestic industry responded?

• Indian industry is upbeat about the announcement and expects a spike in exports. Textiles are among the major items of export to the U.K.
• Mithileshwar Thakur, secretary-general at the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), told The Hindu that exports are expected to “grow exponentially”. He said India would now enjoy duty-free access to U.K. markets like their main competitors Bangladesh and Vietnam. On competition, he clarified that there was “hardly any” import from the U.K. in this sector.
• The Indian automobile industry feels it will benefit from the deal. C.S. Vigneshwar, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), contended that the FTA would ensure the the U.K. has better access to India’s premium (vehicle) segment markets, and Indian makers would serve the U.K.’s mass segment markets.
•  “We do not expect the U.K.’s mid-segment cars to be competitive to Indian vehicles because the cost of production and labour is lower in India,” .
• Bringing to a conclusive end negotiations that lasted for nearly three-and-half years, India and the United Kingdom agreed to move ahead with the free trade agreement (FTA).
• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the trade agreement would set a new benchmark for “equitable and ambitious trade between two large economies”. He also underlined it as a potential catalyst to spur trade, investment, growth, innovation and for creating jobs in both economies. The Prime Ministers of the two countries are expected to meet in India soon to officially ratify the deal.

What about smaller manufacturers?

• The FTA announcement has earned much enthusiasm among small-scale stakeholders. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an assembly of Indian farmers from across the country, has apprehended as with trade treaties of the past, the latest agreement could deepen the realisation crisis in the country’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
• It held that the FTA could allow financial capital from outside to prey on the sectors.
•  “There have been instances in the past (globally) where, notwithstanding a WTO framework envisaging multilateralism, import dependency grew because of unsuitable industrial policies,”
• Unrelatedly, Pallavi Bakhru, partner and U.K. Corridor Leader at Grant Thornton Bharat, underlined the agriculture sector and MSMEs could be impacted since it is not easy for them to bring in capital (to upscale and compete) as large companies. However, she held, the paradigm may be the “tug” of companies to become competitive.
• “If you look at the U.K., the bulk of the industry is MSME, and it is not MSMEs (in both countries) are subpar in terms of the products they make, they are of international standards,” she stated, adding that the government may also come up with policies to protect them.
• Agneshwar Sen, Trade Policy Leader at EY India further said that FTAs by their very nature create a mutually beneficial enabling environment. “A country like the U.K. would come with their technological know-how, this with our advantage of skilled manpower, would create efficiencies that would diffuse within the larger economy, creating globally competitive companies. Thus, the technological injection would lead to investment as well.

 Are there concerns?

• There are concerns in primarily two sectors, agriculture and MSMEs. Vijoo Krishnan, general secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha, points to a previous FTA with Sri Lanka having led to a price crash in similar products produced by Indian farmers like spices and tea, among others.
• He also cites the case of the lasting impact of the ASEAN FTA’s impact on rubber which stood at ₹230/kg in 2011 compared to ₹170/kg in 2025. He observes that FTAs have paved “unequal” paradigms for Indian farmers and MSMEs. “The Indian farmers hold small lands, a good number of them being less than five acres. This is not the case with advanced countries,” he stated.
• Mr. Krishnan further points to the World Trade Organization’s contention about minimum selling price in India. “Given the number of farmers we have, the cumulative amount of subsidies is huge though per-capita pales in comparison to European farmers.
• Also, WTO considers the base price from the late 1980s,” he states, elaborating, “there has been much escalation of costs since then and farmers must be given commensurate increase in prices, incentives and subsidies”.
• Ajay Srivastava, founder of the India-based Global Trade Research Initiative, said permitting foreign firms to compete on an equal footing in India could weaken the policy tools India needs to build local capacity in vital sectors such as defence, renewables, health systems and infrastructure.
•  “It also threatens the ecosystem of MSMEs that rely on protected access to government contracts to stay viable,” 
• On public procurement, the U.K. held that the FTA would allow their companies to bid for government procurement contracts on “better terms and with greater access to the relevant information to support their bids”.
•  According to Dinesh Abrol, adjunct faculty at the Transdisciplinary Research Cluster on Sustainable Studies at JNU in Delhi, this could lead to a growing import dependency.
• The other unaddressed aspect in the FTA concerns the U.K.’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which would impose a “carbon price” on goods bearing greenhouses being imported into the country.
•  This would be of particular consequence to Indian aluminium and steel exports. Although unrelated to the U.K., Mr. Goyal warned that India too would retaliate with likewise taxes should Europe go ahead with the carbon pricing mechanism, suggesting a cause for potential uncertainty.

 What is IMF, its Bailouts, and Extended Fund Facility (EFF)

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cleared a $1-billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its $7-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) lending program and $1.3 billion tranche under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in its board meeting held Friday.
• India abstained from voting in the meeting as it raised concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes for Pakistan given its “poor track record” and also on the possibility of “misuse of debt financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism”, an official release by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, said. In this context, let’s know about the IMF from a broader perspective.
• Set up in 1945 , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 191 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increase productivity, job creation, and economic well-being.
• 2. It has three critical missions:
• (i) Furthering international monetary cooperation,
• (ii) Encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth, and
• (iii) Discouraging policies that would harm prosperity.
• According to official website of IMF, “Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects. Instead, the IMF provides financial support to countries hit by crises to create breathing room as they implement policies that restore economic stability and growth. It also provides precautionary financing to help prevent crises.”

Board of Governors

• 1. It is the highest decision-making body of the IMF. It normally meets once a year.
• 2. It consists of one governor and one alternate governor for each member country. The governor is appointed by the member country and is usually the minister of finance or the governor of the central bank.
• 2. All powers of the IMF are vested in the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Board all except certain reserved powers.

Executive Board

• 1. As per the IMF, the Executive Board is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of the IMF.
• 2. It is composed of 25 Directors, who are elected by member countries or by groups of countries, and the Managing Director, who serves as its Chairman.
• 3. The Board usually meets several times each week. It carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff.

What are IMF bailouts?

• In a general sense, a bailout means extending support to an entity facing a threat of bankruptcy. Countries seek IMF bailouts when they are facing macroeconomic risks, currency crises and need assistance to meet external debt obligations, to buy essential imports and push the exchange value of their currencies.
• According to the IMF website, inappropriate fiscal and monetary policies, which can lead to large current account and fiscal deficits and high public debt levels; an exchange rate fixed at an inappropriate level, which can erode competitiveness and result in the loss of official reserves, and a weak financial system, which can create economic booms and busts are among factors that lead to economic crises. Political instability and weak institutions also can trigger crises, as can insolvent financial institutions.
• The IMF lends money to the economies in peril in the form of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which is a basket of five currencies — US dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen and British Pound. It can be executed in the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stock purchases.
• The lending is done through programs designed according to purpose. According to the IMF, these include standby arrangement, standby credit facility, extended fund facility, extended credit facility, rapid financing instrument, rapid credit facility, flexible credit line, short term liquidity line, precaution and liquidity line, resilience and sustainability facility, staff monitored program, policy support instrument and policy coordination instrument.

What are the conditions applicable to an IMF bailout?

• 1. Among the conditions laid down for a country seeking financial assistance from the IMF could be certain structural reforms, such as fiscal transparency, tax reforms and reforms in state-owned enterprises.
• 2. Conditions for IMF lending also relate to macroeconomic variables, like monetary and credit aggregates, international reserves, fiscal balances, and external borrowing, as per the IMF.

What is Extended Fund Facility (EFF)?

• An EFF is a financial assistance package offered by the IMF to countries facing serious medium-term balance of payments problems because of structural weaknesses that require time to address.
• Notably, the assistance under the EFF is in the form of a loan that has to be paid back, and not in the form of a grant or aid.  The IMF states: “To help countries implement medium-term structural reforms, the EFF offers longer program engagement and a longer repayment period.”
• The term “extended” means that these countries need more time than usual to pay back the money because they need to bring about “structural” changes.

World Economic Outlook

• The IMF releases the World Economic Outlook twice every year, in April and October, apart from updating it twice — in January and July.
• In the recently released IMF World Economic Outlook April 2025, the global growth forecast has been marked downwards by 0.5 percentage points to 2.8 per cent for 2025 and by 0.3 percentage points to 3 per cent for 2026 compared to this year’s January edition.
• Presently positioned as the fourth-largest economy globally, on par with Japan, the IMF forecasts India to be the fastest-growing major economy over the next two years, maintaining a significant advantage over both global and regional competitors despite the adjustment in growth projections.

Global Financial Stability Report

• 1. The Global Financial Stability Report provides an assessment of the global financial system and markets, and addresses emerging market financing in a global context.
• 2. It focuses on current market conditions, highlighting systemic issues that could pose a risk to financial stability and sustained market access by emerging market borrowers. It draws out the financial ramifications of economic imbalances highlighted by the IMF’s World Economic Outlook

India’s ‘new normal’: 3 doctrines mentioned by PM Modi in first speech on Operation Sindoor

• “Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal,” the PM said in his speech.
• Referring to the brutality of the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people were killed, Modi added: “Innocent civilians spending holidays were killed in front of their families and children after being asked their religion. This caused me great pain.”
• In his 22-minute speech, the Prime Minister reiterated that this suspension of Operation Sindoor is not a conclusion—India will continue to assess Pakistan’s every move in the coming days, ensuring that its future actions align with its commitments.

India’s ‘New Normal’: Three Doctrines from Operation Sindoor

Decisive retaliation on India’s terms

• “If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given. We will give a befitting response on our terms only. We will take strict action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge,” PM Modi said.

No tolerance for nuclear blackmail

• “Secondly, India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail,” he added.

No distinction between terrorists and their sponsors

• “Thirdly, we will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism. During Operation Sindoor the world has again seen the ugly face of Pakistan, when top Pakistani army officers came to bid farewell to the slain terrorists.
• This is strong evidence of state-sponsored terrorism. We will continue to take decisive steps to protect India and our citizens from any threat,” he said.

What is Operation Sindoor?

• Operation Sindoor is India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. In a multi-pronged campaign, India targeted nine major terrorist hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), eliminating over 100 terrorists, as per the government. Among the sites hit were the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke and the Jaish-e-Mohammed base in Bahawalpur — both long accused by India of masterminding attacks on Indian soil.