Explore the Daily Current Affairs 22 October 2025, relevant for UPSC exam. Also download quick REVISION NOTES.
Adapting to Global Realities: A Critical Look at India’s Foreign Policy
Context: India’s foreign policy is failing to adapt to the changing global and regional geopolitical landscape. Rooted in outdated diplomatic traditions, India’s foreign policy is seen as inflexible and reactive, rather than proactive and strategic.
Changing global dynamics and key concerns for India:
1. Diminishing Geopolitical Relevance: Despite being among the world’s top five economies, India is becoming increasingly isolated in global diplomacy. India’s absence in the Gaza peace process and low-level representation at key international events reflects its declining influence.
2. Weakening Influence in Neighbourhood: India was a bystander during political unrest in Nepal, indicating a lack of engagement even in vital neighbouring regions. Relationships with Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are becoming strained, and China’s influence is rising in these countries.
3. China and Pakistan Challenge: India appears to be underestimating the long-term threat from China, especially after the 2020 Galwan clash. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s internal consolidation of power poses a renewed security threat, especially with ongoing tensions in Afghanistan.
4. Strategic Setbacks in West Asia: Countries like Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are taking a leading role in West Asia, while India is being sidelined. New defense and diplomatic alliances, such as the Saudi-Pakistan strategic pact, highlight India’s marginalization in the region.
5. Lack of Foreign Policy Ingenuity: The article criticizes India’s lack of agility and innovation in foreign affairs. There is concern over China’s growing soft power (business, academia, cyber space), which threatens India’s traditional spheres of influence.
Mains practice question:
Q1. “Despite growing economic power, India’s geopolitical influence appears to be waning.” Critically examine this statement in the context of recent developments in West Asia and South Asia.
Protecting domestic workers
Context: Supreme Court directed the Union government to enact a comprehensive law to stipulate the rights of domestic workers and set up a committee to look into setting up a framework for it.
Status and Challenges Faced by Domestic Workers:
- India is estimated to have 4 million-90 million domestic workers. A majority of them are women and girls and most of them are from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST).
Subjected to:
- Exploitation by middlemen and brokers.
- Lack of formal contracts or benefits.
- No uniform wage standards.
- Child labour and sexual harassment.
- Isolation at workplace – difficult to inspect or unionize.
2. Despite supporting ILO Convention No. 189 (2011), India has not ratified it.
Constitutional Provisions:
Article 14 – Equality before law
Article 23 – Prohibition of trafficking and forced labour
Article 42 – Just and humane conditions of work
Mains answer practice:
Essay topic 1. “Invisible hands, invaluable work: The plight of domestic workers in India”
Source: The Hindu newspaper (Page no. 7)
India’s declining fertility rate
Context: The recent United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population 2025 report shows that India’s current Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen to 1.9.
What is Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?
Total Fertility Rate is the average number of children a woman would bear if she experiences the current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) throughout her reproductive life (15–49 years).
It is calculated using the synthetic cohort method – assuming today’s age-wise fertility rates remain constant across future generations.
Recent Concern:
India’s TFR is now 1.9, which is below replacement level (2.1). This has shifted discourse from overpopulation to concerns over:
- Ageing population
- Future workforce shortages
- Need to increase fertility
Age-specific fertility rate (ASFR):
The reproductive age is divided into seven five-year age cohorts: 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, and 45-49. For each age cohort, the number of live births per 1,000 women in a given year is calculated; this is known as age-specific fertility rate (ASFR).
Mains practice question:
Q2. India’s falling fertility rate raises more questions than answers. Examine the implications of sub-replacement TFR on India’s demographic and economic future.