Explore the Daily Current Affairs 26 September 2025, relevant for UPSC exam. Download quick REVISION NOTES.
India’s Exports:
Context: The editorial explain India’s export economy.
Key highlights:
- India’s export economy is heavily centralised. The four States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka account for more than 70% of all merchandise exports.
- In North-East, Eight States, with over 5,400 kilometres of international borders, account for just 0.13% of national exports.
Despite sharing borders with five countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Myanmar), these eight NE states are underperforming in terms of border trade and connectivity-led economic development. There is no operational trade corridor linking them to foreign markets.
| Scheme/Initiative | Purpose |
| PM Gati Shakti | Multimodal infrastructure to reduce logistics cost |
| Act East Policy | Strengthen connectivity with ASEAN via NER |
| Bharatmala Pariyojana | Highway development, includes NE roads |
| North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) | Improve infrastructure & trade facilitation in NER |
| PM-DevINE | PM’s Development Initiative for NE Region |
| Border Area Development Programme (BADP) | Security & development along border areas |
Mains practice Question:
Q1. Borders are not merely lines, but opportunities. Discuss with reference to India’s Northeast.
Saudi-Pakistan deal
Context: Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) announced recently, contains a mutual defense clause: aggression against one is aggression against both. This poses a new set of challenges for Indian foreign policy.
Impact of the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership on India:
1. Diplomatic Setback for India:
- India’s efforts to diplomatically isolate Pakistan after terror attacks, like the 2025 Pahalgam incident, are weakened.
- Saudi Arabia’s strategic alignment with Pakistan challenges India’s narrative of Pakistan as a global pariah.
- India’s longstanding friendly ties with Saudi Arabia are now tested, complicating India’s Gulf diplomacy.
2. Security Concerns:
- The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement implies military cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
- This could mean increased military aid, intelligence sharing, and potentially logistical support to Pakistan’s armed forces.
- It emboldens Pakistan’s strategic posture, especially along the India-Pakistan border and Kashmir.
- Saudi backing may indirectly enhance Pakistan’s conventional and unconventional warfare capabilities.
3. Geopolitical Realignment in West Asia:
- Saudi Arabia’s tilt signals a multipolar and pragmatic Gulf foreign policy, reducing India’s influence.
- India faces greater competition in West Asia, a region critical for energy security and trade.
- The ideological (Sunni Islam) and historical ties between Saudi and Pakistan limit India’s ability to wedge them apart.
4. Strategic Autonomy and Foreign Policy Challenges:
- India’s traditionally risk-averse and idealistic strategic culture may need revision.
- The pact underscores the necessity for India to pursue more assertive, risk-aware diplomacy.
- India may need to diversify its alliances in the Gulf (e.g., UAE, Israel, Iran) to offset Saudi-Pakistan closeness.
5. Internal Security Ramifications:
- Enhanced Saudi-Pakistan defense cooperation could provide Pakistan with resources or political backing to support proxy groups active in Jammu & Kashmir.
- This may complicate India’s counter-terrorism efforts and border security management.
6. Economic and Diaspora Impacts
- Potential pressure on India’s large diaspora in the Gulf due to shifting Saudi foreign policy.
- Energy security could be indirectly affected if regional tensions escalate.
The Right to Cooling:
Context: Rising temperatures and frequent heatwaves in India and the Global South pose serious public health and economic challenges.
Government efforts (like India’s 2025 AC efficiency standards) address energy use but often overlook unequal access to cooling.
1. Importance of Cooling as a Public Health and Adaptation Measure:
- Cooling access protects vulnerable groups (children, elderly, outdoor workers) from heat-related illnesses and deaths.
- WHO estimates ~489,000 global deaths (2000-2019) due to heat exposure; India alone recorded >20,000.
- Heat resilience depends on infrastructure: thermally secure housing, reliable electricity, and cooled healthcare facilities.
- Lack of cooling undermines emergency care, vaccine storage, and neonatal services in low-income regions.
2. Inequitable Access to Cooling in India and the Global South:
- Only 5% of Indian households own ACs; 13% urban, 1% rural. Ownership heavily concentrated among urban rich (top 10% own 72%).
- Global divide: developed countries have near-universal cooling (90% US/Japan) vs. low access in Global South (6% SSA).
- Cooling deficit is both an energy and a social equity issue — poor and rural populations remain highly vulnerable.
3. Policy Responses and Challenges:
- India’s AC efficiency standards (20°C-28°C, default 24°C) aim to save energy and reduce emissions but do not address access gaps.
- Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in Indian states provide early warnings, heat shelters, and awareness but face underfunding, weak coordination, and legal shortcomings.
- Cooling access must be integrated into labour protection laws, social safety nets, and urban planning.
4. Broader Implications: Climate Justice and Global Responsibilities:
- Cooling is a right, not a luxury, crucial for equitable development and climate resilience.
- Developing countries face a double burden: rising heat and lack of infrastructure, while developed countries have high per capita cooling energy use.
- International financing and technology transfer are needed to build cooling infrastructure in the Global South.
- Current global discourse often treats cooling in the South as a mitigation problem but accepts it as adaptation in the North, this is a form of climate injustice.
Mains practice Question:
Q2. “The right to cooling is emerging as a critical development and climate justice issue in the Global South. Analyze the implications for India and suggest ways forward.”
India’s Urban definition
Context: This article highlights how India’s outdated urban classification system fails to capture the growth and complexity of emerging towns.
Key Issue: Outdated Urban Definition:
India’s Census (2011, still used officially) defines an urban area using these criteria:
- Statutory towns: Places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board, or notified town area committee.
- Census towns (non-statutory):
- Population ≥ 5,000
- Population density ≥ 400 persons/sq. km
- ≥75% of male main workers engaged in non-agricultural activities
Problem: The third criterion: “75% male main workers in non-agricultural work” is outdated and exclusionary.
It ignores:
- Female workforce participation
- Informal, home-based, or part-time urban work
- Changing occupational patterns in peri-urban and transitioning areas
Mains practice question:
Q3. “India’s current definition of urban areas fails to capture the pace and nature of urbanisation in the country.” Critically examine in the context of emerging census towns and peri-urban growth.