Current Affairs for 17 December 2025

Dieback Disease

Context

The Forest College and Research Institute (FCRI) in Mulugu, Telangana, has recently been compelled to initiate a comprehensive scientific investigation into the devastating dieback disease following the death of thousands of neem trees. There is virtually no known cure for this disease, posing a serious threat to India's ecosystem and rural economy.

Nature of Dieback Disease

• What it is: It is a serious fungal disease that can affect many types of plants.
• Symptoms: This disease causes wilting and browning of leaves at the branch tips, stem disease, and fruit rot.
• Pathogen: The dieback fungus belongs to the genus Phytophthora.
• History: The first report of this disease in India occurred in the 1990s near Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Disease Transmission and Life Cycle

This disease thrives in warm and humid conditions and spreads rapidly, making it difficult to control:

1. Mode of Transmission: The fungus spreads primarily through the movement of soil and mud, especially by vehicles and shoes. It also spreads in free water and through direct root-to-root contact between plants.
2. Favorable Conditions: The fungus survives in susceptible plant tissues and soil and spreads and reproduces best in warm and humid conditions.
3. Disease Mechanism: When roots become infected, they are unable to provide the water and nutrients necessary for survival, resulting in plant death from dehydration.

Disease Severity

• Plants often begin to show symptoms with the onset of the rainy season and become increasingly severe during the latter part of the rainy season and early winter.
• The effects of dieback disease are not limited to trees; it can have widespread ecological consequences.

Ecological and Economic Threats

• Yield Loss: Severely infected trees can suffer nearly 100% fruit production loss, impacting rural livelihoods dependent on neem.
• Ecological Destruction: The disease can completely destroy the local vegetation in an area where it spreads, severely impacting the ecosystem structure. However, some species may be driven to extinction.
• Difficulty in Detection: The disease is difficult to detect because infected plants often appear to be dying due to drying out, hampering initial prevention efforts.
• Treatment issues: The biggest concern is that there is no known cure for this disease, leaving prevention and transmission control as the only effective strategies. Indeed, FCRI's investigations aim to understand this devastating pathogen and develop effective strategies for its management.
  

Air Pollution in India: Seasonal Crisis or National Problem

Context

Air pollution in India is no longer a seasonal phenomenon confined to the northern plains; it has become a persistent and widespread national public health emergency. From the Indo-Gangetic plains to rapidly growing urban centers, concentrations of hazardous particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the air are affecting every demographic group, impacting child development and invisibly reducing life expectancy in the country.

The Scale of the Crisis: Flawed Indices and Unrealistic Limits

• According to a report by the Centre for Air Quality and Clean Air Research (CREA), 150 out of 256 cities surveyed in 2025 were found to be violating the national PM 2.5 standard (60 µg/m³).
• PM 2.5 levels in the national capital, Delhi, were recorded between 107-130 µg/m³, twice the Indian limit and several times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline (15 µg/m³).

Failure of the Official Index:

• India's official Air Quality Index (AQI) still remains at a threshold of 500, while actual pollution levels are often higher.
• As a result, government platforms group all extreme pollution into a single "severe" category, while international monitoring systems (such as IQAir) regularly show values ​​above 600 and sometimes even over 1,000. However, experts are calling for an immediate readjustment of this outdated and flawed AQI scale and the implementation of a modern monitoring system.

Devastating Burden on Health

The devastating health impact of toxic air directly impacts life expectancy.

• Loss of Life Expectancy
  • According to the University of Chicago's AQLI, approximately 46% of Indians live in areas where air pollution significantly reduces life expectancy.
  • According to WHO standards, exposure to current levels of PM 2.5 in Delhi reduces life expectancy by more than eight years.
• Mortality
  • According to the State of Global Air Report 2025, air pollution will cause approximately two million deaths nationwide in 2023.
  • Pollution-related mortality has increased by 43% since 2000, highlighting the long-term and cumulative risk.

Effects of PM 2.5 on the Body

Cardiovascular Problems

• PM 2.5 particles penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and cause inflammation throughout the body.
• Studies have shown that a 10 µg/m³ increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 leads to an 8% increase in annual mortality.
• It causes hypertension, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke in the human body.

Respiratory Illnesses

• The most obvious consequence of toxic air is respiratory illnesses. About 6% of children in India suffer from asthma.
• Clinical data from AIIMS shows that even a modest 10 µg/m³ increase in PM 2.5 can lead to a 20-40% increase in the number of children presenting to pediatric emergency departments for respiratory problems.

Effects on the Nervous System

• PM 2.5 particles can cross the blood-brain barrier, causing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.
• It can also affect children's academic performance, memory, and cognitive development. International meta-analyses show that the risk of dementia increases by 35-49% with every 10 µg/m³ increase in PM 2.5.

Maternal and Newborn Health

High PM 2.5 exposure increases preterm birth, low birth weight, and neonatal mortality, deepening intergenerational health inequalities.

Strategic Problem

• Air pollution also reflects existing social and economic inequalities in India. In fact, lower-income groups often live closest to major sources of pollution, such as roads, industrial areas, construction sites, and landfills, making them most vulnerable.
• Public discussions often focus heavily on stubble burning or Diwali fireworks, while these are merely seasonal factors that exacerbate the situation.
• Source-assignment studies consistently show that year-round structural factors, such as vehicular emissions, industrial processes, construction dust, and informal waste burning, profoundly impact baseline PM 2.5 levels.

Way Forward: Develop a Health-Focused Policy Framework

While the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is pushing for improvements, its targets are not relevant and implementation is weak. However, what is needed now is a multi-sectoral, health-focused strategy that can address air pollution at the grassroots level.

Transportation Overhaul

Large-scale electrification of buses, taxis, and two-wheelers and shifting freight transport to rail and electric fleets

Strict Industrial Regulation

Strict enforcement of pollution control technologies and phasing out coal-based processes

Building Regulation and Waste Management Reforms

Mandating dust-control protocols and ensuring the implementation of decentralized treatment systems to eliminate open waste burning

Health System Integration

Clean air standards should be integrated into routine health care. This should include district-level health advisories based on real-time AQI, lung function testing within school health programs, and proactive screening for COPD and cognitive impairment.

Promoting Clean Air as a Fundamental Right

Clean air, as a fundamental right in India, is essential for inclusive development. Scientific evidence and its irreversible impact on health demand that the protection of clean air now be an unwavering national priority.

Post-Maoist Governance news

Why in News?

As Maoist influence recedes across large parts of central and eastern India, policy discussions are shifting from counter-insurgency to post-Maoist governance. Recent analyses argue that while poverty and underdevelopment were long emphasised, deep governance failures, weak institutions, and poor grievance redressal played a decisive role in sustaining Maoist insurgency—and remain critical challenges even today.

Background and Context

The Maoist movement peaked during the 1990s and early 2000s across India’s Red Corridor, spanning tribal-dominated regions of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The State’s response traditionally followed a two-pronged approach:

• Security operations to contain violence
• Development initiatives to address poverty

However, this framework often overlooked how systemic governance failures—especially in constitutionally protected tribal areas—created conditions for long-term alienation and insurgent mobilisation. As violence declines, the focus is now on whether governance reforms can prevent a relapse and deliver durable peace.

Governance Failures in Scheduled Areas

Concentration in Fifth Schedule Areas

• Maoist insurgency has been most intense in Fifth Schedule areas, which have high Adivasi populations.
• These regions were envisioned by the Constitution as a special governance compact to protect tribal land, culture, and livelihoods.

Constitutional Promise of the Fifth Schedule

The Fifth Schedule provides:

• Tribal Advisory Councils (TACs) with Adivasi representation
• Governor’s discretionary powers to prevent land alienation
• Targeted development funding via the Tribal Sub-Plan

Reality: Persistent Neglect

• Despite safeguards, tribal regions remained among India’s poorest.
• The Planning Commission’s Expert Committee (2008) noted that mineral-rich tribal belts suffered extreme poverty due to governance failure rather than resource scarcity.
• Multidimensional poverty indicators for Adivasis were worse than many Sub-Saharan African regions.

Land Alienation and Structural Governance Deficits

Dispossession Despite Protection

• Land and forest alienation emerged as the most severe grievance.
• Post-liberalisation mining, infrastructure, and industrial projects sharply increased displacement.
• Studies show tribal land alienation peaked after economic reforms, despite constitutional safeguards.

Colonial Administrative Continuity

• Governance structures in Scheduled Areas remained colonial, legalistic, and inaccessible.
• Complex land laws, distant courts, and low literacy excluded Adivasis from justice delivery.
• Constitutional protections existed largely on paper.

Alienation Through Administrative Exclusion

Outsider-Dominated Administration

• Bureaucracy, policing, and judiciary in tribal areas were overwhelmingly staffed by non-tribals.
• Limited cultural sensitivity and social bias deepened mistrust between communities and the State.

Institutional Failure of Safeguards

• Bodies like the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, and even Governors failed to assert their protective mandates.
• The Mungekar Committee (2009) observed that Governors rarely exercised discretionary powers under the Fifth Schedule.

PESA: Promise vs Practice

• The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996 aimed to empower Gram Sabhas over land and resources.
• While it increased political representation, its core consent provisions—especially for mining and land acquisition—were routinely violated.

Governance Deficits and Maoist Mobilisation

From Grievance to Insurgency

• Chronic governance failures created fertile ground for Maoist mobilisation.
• Maoists capitalised on Adivasi anger under the slogan “Jal, Jungle, Zameen” (Water, Forest, Land).

Parallel Governance Structures

• In regions like Dandakaranya, Maoists established Janatana Sarkars (people’s governments).
• These provided basic services—healthcare, schooling, food distribution—and swift, though extrajudicial, justice.
• Such parallel systems filled governance vacuums left by the State, deepening insurgent legitimacy.

Reimagining Governance in Post-Maoist Regions

Recent Improvements

• Expanded road connectivity, electricity, telecom, and welfare delivery through DBT and digital platforms.
• Decline in Maoist violence and territorial control.

Persisting Institutional Weakness

• Core institutions—health, education, policing, justice, and revenue administration—remain understaffed and fragile.
• Service delivery quality remains uneven, especially in remote tribal hamlets.

Under-Representation Paradox

• While Adivasis are elected at local levels, real power and finances rest with a largely non-tribal bureaucracy.
• Representation without authority has weakened trust and accountability.

Erosion of Rights-Based Frameworks

• Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006: Dilution through weak implementation, restrictive interpretations, and amendments.
• Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016: Large-scale plantations often undermine forest-based livelihoods.
• PESA: Consent provisions bypassed, especially in mineral-rich States like Chhattisgarh.

Toward a New Governance Charter

• Restore the original spirit of FRA and PESA through political will.
• Reverse administrative under-representation by empowering local tribal officials.
• Grant real financial and decision-making autonomy to Gram Sabhas.
• Consider adapting Sixth Schedule–style Autonomous Councils where appropriate.

India’s Strategic Pivot to FTAs        

Why in News?

India is fast-tracking negotiations and signings of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with partners such as New Zealand, Russia, Oman, the EU, and others, despite evidence that earlier FTAs yielded limited trade benefits.

This renewed push reflects a strategic reorientation, where FTAs are increasingly used as instruments of geopolitics, supply-chain security, and diplomatic alignment, rather than purely as trade-liberalisation tools.

Background and Context

For much of the post-1991 period, India approached FTAs cautiously, prioritising protection of domestic industry and agriculture. Experiences with agreements such as ASEAN-India FTA exposed structural weaknesses—limited export growth, widening trade deficits, and pressure on MSMEs and farmers.

However, the global trading system is undergoing a transformation:

• WTO-led multilateralism is weakening,
• Geopolitics increasingly shapes trade, and
• Supply chains are fragmenting due to US–China rivalry, sanctions, and climate regulations.

In this context, India’s FTA strategy is being repurposed—from market access to strategic insurance in a multipolar world.

Why is India Renewing Emphasis on FTAs?

1. Strategic Realignment in a Multipolar World

• Global power is shifting from a unipolar to a multipolar order amid US–China rivalry.
• FTAs are now tools of strategic engagement in regions such as the Indo-Pacific, West Asia, and Africa.
• Agreements like India-Australia ECTA and India-UAE CEPA act as political safety nets, deepening bilateral trust beyond trade.

2. Decline of Multilateral Trade Architecture

• WTO negotiations, especially the Doha Round, have stagnated.
• Protectionism and unilateral trade measures have reduced faith in global trade rules.
• FTAs allow India to pursue WTO-plus commitments in services, digital trade, and investment.
• Example: India-EFTA TEPA, with a binding commitment of USD 100 billion FDI over 15 years.

3. Diversifying Trade and Supply Chains

• India seeks to reduce dependence on traditional markets like the US, EU, and China.
• FTAs help diversify exports, secure critical minerals and energy, and build resilient supply chains.
• They operationalise the “China Plus One” strategy, positioning India as an alternative manufacturing hub.

4. Unlocking Services and Investment Potential

• India enjoys a comparative advantage in IT, healthcare, education, and fintech.
• Earlier FTAs underperformed in services liberalisation.
• Newer agreements (e.g., UAE-India CEPA) prioritise services mobility, fintech, and capital flows.

5. Supporting Domestic Manufacturing and Value Chains

• FTAs are increasingly aligned with Make in India, PLI schemes, and industrial policy.
• Strategic agreements can attract FDI, technology transfer, and integrate India into global value chains.

6. Correcting Past Asymmetries

• Earlier FTAs largely codified existing trade rather than creating new flows.
• Export shares showed marginal or negative changes with ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea post-FTAs.
• India now seeks balanced, safeguard-rich, services-oriented agreements.

Free Trade Agreements: Key Concepts

What is an FTA?
An FTA is a negotiated agreement between two or more countries to reduce or eliminate trade barriers and promote economic cooperation.

Coverage Includes:

• Tariffs and customs duties
• Rules of Origin
• Non-Tariff Barriers (TBT, SPS)
• Trade remedies
• Services, investment, IPRs, government procurement

Types:

• Bilateral – between two countries
• Plurilateral – among multiple countries
• Multilateral – under WTO

India and FTAs:

• India has signed 20 FTAs/RTAs.
• Recent deals: India-UK CETA, India-EFTA TEPA.
• Ongoing negotiations with US, EU, Canada, SACU.

Concerns with India’s Expanding FTA Network

1. Trade Deficits and Asymmetric Gains

• Imports from FTA partners often rise faster than exports.
• Example: ASEAN imports grew 234.4%, exports only 130.4% (FY 2009–23).

2. Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)

• Developed partners impose stringent IPR, environmental, and SPS norms.
• India’s FTA utilisation rate is only ~25%, compared to 70–80% in developed economies.
• India-EU talks stalled over data localisation and IPR concerns.

3. Impact on Domestic Sectors

• MSMEs, farmers, and labour-intensive sectors face pressure from cheaper imports.
• Inverted duty structures discourage manufacturing and favour imports.
• Example: Rubber farmers affected under ASEAN FTA.

4. Risk of Third-Country Routing

• Weak Rules of Origin enable non-FTA countries to route goods through FTA partners, harming domestic industry.

What Should Be India’s FTA Strategy Going Forward?

• Boost Domestic Competitiveness: R&D, infrastructure, skills, MSME support
• Focus on WTO-Plus Areas: Digital trade, services, green technologies
• Stronger Safeguards: Robust Rules of Origin, safeguard duties, anti-dumping tools
• Institutional Coordination: Align MEA, Commerce Ministry, and NITI Aayog
• Effective Dispute Resolution: Time-bound and independent mechanisms
• Regular Review of FTAs: Impact assessments and stakeholder consultations
• Inclusive & Sustainable Trade: Balance labour and environmental norms with domestic realities

Rural Labour Markets Under MGNREGS

Why in News?

The proposed Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) Bill seeks to replace the MGNREGS and introduces a 60-day suspension of rural employment works during peak sowing and harvesting seasons, to be notified in advance by States.

The move is justified on the grounds that MGNREGS allegedly creates shortages of agricultural labour during peak farm operations—a concern raised periodically by farmers and policymakers, including former Union Agriculture Ministers.

However, recent wage and labour market data challenge this narrative, raising important questions about rural employment, wage dynamics, and the real causes of farm labour shortages.

Background and Context

Since its launch in 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has acted as a rights-based social security programme, guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment to rural households.

Its objectives include:

• Providing income support during distress,
• Creating durable rural assets,
• Reducing distress migration, and
• Strengthening labour bargaining power.

Over the years, critics have argued that MGNREGS diverts labour away from farms, especially during agricultural peak seasons. The VB-G RAM G Bill marks the first formal legislative attempt to structurally align rural employment guarantees with agricultural cycles.

Rural Wages under MGNREGS: What the Data Reveal

MGNREGS is often credited with tightening rural labour markets and improving workers’ bargaining power. However, this has not translated into sustained real wage growth.

Key Findings from Labour Bureau Data

• Based on 25 rural occupations across 20 States, all-India nominal rural wage growth ranged between 3.6% and 6.4% annually over the last decade.
• In four out of ten years (2015–16, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23), wage growth lagged behind CPI inflation, implying a decline in real wages.
• Real wage growth exceeded 1% only once, in 2017–18.
• Agricultural wages outperformed non-farm rural wages in 8 out of 10 years, contradicting claims of farm labour being hollowed out by public works.

Key Insight

Even agricultural wages have largely stagnated in real terms, indicating that MGNREGS has not triggered an inflationary wage spiral.

Why Has Rural Wage Growth Remained Modest?

1. Surge in Female Labour Force Participation

A critical but often overlooked factor is the sharp rise in women’s workforce participation.

• Rural Female LFPR increased from 24.6% (2017–18) to 47.6% (2023–24).
• This near-doubling of female participation significantly expanded rural labour supply, exerting downward pressure on wages.

LFPR measures the proportion of the population (15+ years) that is working or actively seeking work.

2. Role of Welfare Infrastructure

The Economic Survey 2023–24 attributes rising female participation to welfare schemes that reduced unpaid care burdens:

• Ujjwala Yojana (LPG access),
• Har Ghar Jal (tap water),
• Saubhagya (electricity),
• Swachh Bharat Mission (sanitation).

By freeing time previously spent on household chores, these schemes enabled women to enter paid work—expanding labour supply rather than shrinking it.

Questioning the Farm Labour Shortage Narrative

The data weakens the argument that MGNREGS is the primary driver of farm labour shortages:

• Rising female participation may have offset labour drawn into MGNREGS.
• Agricultural wages keeping pace with inflation suggest no acute scarcity-driven wage spike.
• Seasonal shortages do exist, but generalising them nationwide lacks empirical backing.

Thus, imposing blanket employment suspensions during peak seasons may be policy overreach without granular evidence.

Alternative Causes of Farm Labour Shortages

1. Low Farm Wages

• Agricultural wages often remain lower than MGNREGS wages and non-farm alternatives, reducing farm work’s attractiveness.

2. Harsh Working Conditions

• Farm labour involves physically strenuous tasks, exposure to heat, and health risks.
• MGNREGS work is perceived as less exploitative and more regulated.

3. Rural–Urban Migration

• Migration for construction, services, and informal urban jobs predates NREGS and remains a structural driver of labour scarcity.

4. Increased Bargaining Power

• MGNREGS provides a fallback employment option, allowing workers to negotiate higher wages or better conditions, which farmers often interpret as “shortage”.

Policy Implications and Way Forward

• Synchronisation, not suspension: Temporary alignment of MGNREGS works with agricultural calendars must be evidence-based and region-specific.
• Farm-linked MGNREGS activities: Allowing certain MGNREGS works on private farms (soil conservation, irrigation, post-harvest assets) could reduce conflict.
• Improve farm wages and conditions: Long-term labour availability depends on making agriculture economically viable.
• Address structural issues: Mechanisation, crop diversification, and value-chain reforms are crucial.

Project Mausam: Reviving India’s Indian Ocean Heritage

Why in News?

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently organised a National Workshop on Project Mausam, titled “Islands at the Crossroads of Maritime Networks within the Indian Ocean Region”, highlighting India’s renewed focus on maritime heritage and cultural diplomacy.

Background and Context

For centuries, the Indian Ocean functioned as a vibrant space of exchange—connecting South Asia with Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and East Asia through trade, religion, ideas, art, and technology.  India, with its long coastline and maritime traditions, played a pivotal role in shaping these networks.

Recognising the need to systematically document and project this shared heritage, Project Mausam was launched in 2014 as part of India’s broader effort to:

• Reclaim its maritime civilisational legacy
• Strengthen cultural ties with Indian Ocean Region (IOR) countries
• Use heritage as a tool of soft power diplomacy

What is Project Mausam?

Project Mausam is a government-led cultural and maritime heritage initiative of India, launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture.

Key Objectives

• To study and document the Indian Ocean ‘world’—a historical space shaped by monsoon winds (mausam), maritime routes, and cultural exchanges
• To collate archaeological, historical, and literary evidence of commercial, cultural, and religious interactions across the Indian Ocean
• To identify and prepare transnational World Heritage nominations for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
• To promote the idea of a shared and interconnected heritage among Indian Ocean littoral states

Geographical and Thematic Scope

• Coverage: 39 countries across the Indian Ocean Region
• Focus Areas:
  • Ancient and medieval ports
  • Coastal settlements and islands
  • Maritime trade routes
  • Spread of religions (Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism)
  • Navigation techniques and shipbuilding traditions

• Institutional Framework

• Nodal Agency: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
• Associate Bodies:
  • Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)
  • National Museum

Two Major Units

1. Project Research Unit
   • Conducts archaeological, historical, and interdisciplinary research
   • Organises international seminars and workshops
2. World Heritage Nomination Unit
   • Identifies sites and prepares dossiers for UNESCO nominations
   • Focuses on transnational nominations, emphasising shared heritage

Significance of Project Mausam

Cultural Diplomacy

• Strengthens India’s engagement with IOR countries through heritage cooperation
• Complements initiatives like SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)

Academic and Research Value

• Encourages multidisciplinary research involving archaeology, history, oceanography, and anthropology
• Promotes both scholarly publications and public outreach

UNESCO Engagement

• Enhances India’s presence in global heritage governance
• Introduces a non-Eurocentric narrative of maritime history

Project Mausam vs Mission Mausam

It is important not to confuse Project Mausam with Mission Mausam.

Mission Mausam

• Launched: 2024
• Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences
• Implementing Agencies: IMD, NCMRWF, IITM
• Focus:
  • Advanced weather and climate services
  • Improved forecasting for agriculture, disaster management, and rural development
  • Cloud physics research
• Key Initiative: Setting up India’s first cloud chamber at IITM, Pune

Project Mausam deals with heritage and diplomacy, while Mission Mausam focuses on meteorology and climate science.

Way Forward

• Greater collaboration with Indian Ocean countries for joint heritage nominations
• Integration of Project Mausam with maritime security and economic initiatives
• Enhanced digital documentation and public engagement
• Leveraging the project for tourism, education, and people-to-people ties

Exercise Ekatha 2025: Strengthening India–Maldives Maritime Ties

Why in News?

The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS), Indian Navy, is on an official visit to the Maldives to attend the closing ceremony of Exercise Ekatha 2025, the latest edition of the annual bilateral maritime exercise between India and the Maldives.

Background and Context

India and the Maldives share deep-rooted historical, cultural, and maritime ties, anchored in their shared location in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Given the Maldives’ strategic position astride key sea lanes of communication, maritime cooperation has emerged as a central pillar of bilateral relations.

In this context, Exercise Ekatha, launched in 2017, serves as a key mechanism to:

• Enhance mutual trust between the two navies
• Strengthen capacity-building and interoperability
• Support regional maritime stability under India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision

About Exercise Ekatha 2025

• Nature: Annual bilateral maritime exercise
• Participants:
  • Indian Navy
  • Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)
• Edition: 8th edition (2025)
• Established: 2017

Objectives

• Enhance operational coordination and interoperability
• Improve maritime domain awareness and response capability
• Strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security threats such as piracy, terrorism, and illegal activities at sea

Key Activities and Operational Components

Exercise Ekatha 2025 involved a wide range of complex and high-intensity maritime drills, including:

• Technical and Combat Diving Operations
• Boarding Operations for interdiction of suspicious vessels
• Live Firing Drills to improve combat readiness
• Demolition and Explosive Handling exercises
• Asymmetric Warfare Tactics, focusing on non-conventional maritime threats
• Special Heli-borne Operations, enhancing rapid insertion and extraction capabilities

These activities were designed to sharpen tactical skills, improve joint planning, and ensure seamless coordination during real-world contingencies.

Strategic Significance of Exercise Ekatha

Maritime Security Cooperation

• Enhances joint preparedness to address threats such as piracy, smuggling, and maritime terrorism
• Strengthens security of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) in the Indian Ocean

Capacity Building

• Supports MNDF’s operational capabilities through training and exposure to advanced naval practices
• Reinforces India’s role as a net security provider in the IOR

Diplomatic and Strategic Signalling

• Demonstrates India’s commitment to Maldives’ security and sovereignty
• Reinforces trust amid evolving geopolitical dynamics in the Indian Ocean

Key Facts About Maldives

• Location: North-central Indian Ocean
• Status: Independent island nation
• Area: Asia’s smallest country by land area
• Largest Island: Gan
• Colonial History: Former British protectorate; gained independence in 1965
• Capital: Malé
• Official Language: Dhivehi (Indo-European)
• Other Languages Spoken: Arabic, Hindi, English