UPSC Key: Roadmap on de-escalation, GLP-1 drugs, and Coastline paradox

Indian Express

15 hours ago

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for June 28, 2025. If you missed the June 27, 2025, UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations
What's the ongoing story: Eight months after the disengagement of troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has told his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun that there is need for a 'structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation'. He called for a 'permanent solution of border demarcation'.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is LAC?
• Know the names of the international boundaries between India and neighbouring countries
• What is SCO?
• What are the significance and challenges for India in the SCO?
• What do you understand by de-escalation and disengagement?
• What are the issues and challenges in the India-China relationship?
• What is the defence engagement between India and China?
• What do you understand by 'roadmap for de-escalation'?
Key Takeaways:
• In his talks Thursday with Dong on the sidelines of the meeting of Defence Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Qingdao, Singh underlined the need for 'bridging the trust deficit created after the 2020 border standoff, by taking action on ground'.
• Even after the disengagement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, de-escalation has not happened. An estimated 50,000-60,000 troops are still stationed on either side of the LAC in the region.
• The mention of a 'structured roadmap' for permanent engagement and de-escalation is a new formulation – both sides have been working towards normalising their relationship after the bitter military standoff.
• The previous meetings between the two sides had focused on trust, understanding and confidence-building through engagements and maintaining peace and tranquility along the borders. But there was no talk of a 'structured roadmap', key to the remaining steps for 'de-escalation'.
• It said Singh 'acknowledged the work being undertaken by both sides to bring back semblance of normalcy in the bilateral relations' – the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is a pointer to that.
• This was Singh's second engagement with Dong since October 2024 when both sides agreed to disengage in eastern Ladakh after a military standoff for more than four years.
• Before this, Singh held three bilateral meetings with his Chinese counterparts since 2020 – in September 2020 in Moscow, in April 2023 in New Delhi (both on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting) and in November 2024 at Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus.
Do You Know:
• The origins of SCO lie in the 'Shanghai Five' which was formed in 1996, consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 into 15 independent countries, there were concerns in the region about extremist religious groups and ethnic tensions coming to the fore. To manage these issues, a grouping was created for cooperation on security matters.
• Building on this, SCO was established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai as an international organisation, and also included Uzbekistan as a sixth member. The Charter of the SCO was signed at the St. Petersburg Summit in June 2002 and became effective on September 19, 2003. Additionally, in 2006, the SCO announced plans to combat international drug trafficking as a means to finance global terrorism.
• Today, it consists of 10 member countries- India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. India and Pakistan became full members in 2017.
• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km. It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Line of Actual Control (LAC): Where it is located, and where India and China differ
📍Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) 'Belt and Road Initiative' is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of : (UPSC CSE 2016)
(a) African Union
(b) Brazil
(c) European Union
(d) China
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
'China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia', In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbor. (UPSC CSE 2017)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
What's the ongoing storyDanish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk launched its blockbuster weight-loss injectable semaglutide earlier this week, months after its competitor Eli Lilly's tirzepatide hit Indian markets — and nearly four years after these GLP-1 therapies took the United States by storm.:
Key Points to Ponder:
• What do you know about weight loss drugs? What are the recent developments in this field?
• What is the role of insulin in the body?
• Know the reason and cause of diabetes in the human body?
• What is obesity? How is it defined by the WHO?
• What are the challenges of diabetes in India?
Key Takeaways:
• The bottom line is this: these drugs have been shown to be extremely effective for weight-loss, helping people lose 15% to 20% of their body weight, equivalent to what they would otherwise lose with bariatric surgeries.
• Both semaglutide and tirzepatide belong to a new class of medicines called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists. They are prescribed for the management of type-2 diabetes and obesity.
• These drugs mimic certain naturally-occurring gut hormones called incretins (GLP-1 is one such incretin) produced in the small intestine, and are hence also known as incretin mimicker.
• They work by:
(a) improving the secretion of insulin that allows more of the glucose in the bloodstream to enter cells where it can be used for energy;
(b) inhibiting the secretion of the hormone glucagon that stimulates the liver to release stored glucose into the bloodstream;
(c) slowing down the emptying of the stomach so that the glucose levels in the bloodstream doesn't spike; and
(d) reducing appetite by signalling to the brain that one is satiated.
• Semaglutide and tirzepatide both mimic the action of GLP-1. Tirzepatide additionally also mimics the action of another hormone called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).
• While incretins were known as early as 1906, research into these gut hormones was overshadowed by the discovery of insulin in 1921. The substance produced by the pancreas has been used to manage diabetes for the past century.
• Tirzepatide, which uses an additional target gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), has been shown to lead to a weight-loss of up to 20% of the body weight. The medicine was also approved for the treatment of obesity-related obstructive sleep apnoea — a condition where a person's breathing stops and starts while they sleep.
• Oral GLP-1 drugs such as orforglipron and danulipron may soon be available as well. Two other drugs, which use two targets GLP-1 RA and glucagon — Survodutide and Mazdutide are also in phase 3 clinical trials.
Do You Know:
• There are two kinds of diabetes. Both are related to the body's ability to synthesise and react to insulin, the hormone that breaks down sugar in the blood to produce energy.
• Type 1 diabetes, which often starts in childhood, occurs when the pancreas do not produce insulin (or enough insulin). Type 2 diabetes sees the cells of the body develop resistance to insulin, meaning greater amounts are reequired that what is produced by the pancreas.
• Both conditions are managed by the administration of synthetic insulin. But this poses a fundamental challenge as the blood glucose levels in the body are not constant. Blood glucose levels falling too much due to the overdosage insulin in the body can be life-threatening
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How 'smart insulin' promises to revolutionise diabetes treatment
Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) Which of the following statements regarding insulin harmone is correct? (UPSC CAPF 2018)
(a) Insulin is a protein hormone which is not produced in human body.
(b) Insulin is a steriod hormone which is produced in human body.
(c) Insulin is a cholesterol-driven hormone given to human
(d) Insulin is a protein hormone which is produced in human body.
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World
Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclones. etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
What's the ongoing story: India's coastline is now far longer than it used to be, almost 50% more than the previous length. This increase has happened not because of any acquisition of territory, but due to more accurate measurements that have recently been carried out.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the significance of the coastline for a country?
• What is the strategic significance of India's location?
• What is the length of India's coastline?
• How has the use of higher resolution technology helped the geospatial sector?
• What is the significance of the GIS software?
• What is the coastline paradox?
• Why is it difficult to measure the coastline?
Key Takeaways:
• Additionally, the number of islands in India has increased slightly. This rise in the number has taken place due to India's reassessment and recount of its offshore islands.
• The increase in the length of the coastline and the number of islands is interesting and significant from administrative and strategic perspectives. However, there has been no change in the ground situation.
• The length of India's coastline used to be 7,516 km, something that was ascertained in the 1970s. But this coastline has now been measured to be 11,098 km, an increase of 3,582 km, or nearly 48%. The main reason for such a big difference is in the scale of data used for measurement.
• The earlier measurement was based on data that were of the scale of 1:4,500,000 (one to forty-five lakh), or smaller. However, with time, much better resolution data has become available, making the measurements more accurate. The recent exercise calculated the length of the coastline using data that had a scale of 1:250,000 (one to 2.5 lakh).
• Coastlines are highly irregular structures. Increasing the resolution of data is like reducing the ruler being used for measurement. A one-km ruler, for example, will ignore many small irregularities in the land structure that a one-metre ruler will be able to map.
• Higher resolution data can capture the coastline, its bends and curves, in more intricate details. In low-resolution data, these details get smoothened out, and appear as straight lines. The loss of bends and curves would shorten the length.
• Also, the previous estimation was a result of more conventional and manual calculations. These have now been replaced with modern GIS software, which is able to capture the irregularities of the landmass much more accurately.
• Another reason for the increase has been the inclusion of coastlines of many off-shore islands that had been left out of previous calculations. Some of these islands were either not visible in smaller-scale data or were omitted due to the practical constraints of manual methods of measurement.
• While the new length of India's coastline is a much more accurate estimate, it is still not the actual length. In fact, the actual length of India's coastline, or any other coastline for that matter, can not be measured. This is the famous coastline paradox.
• Highly irregular features like a coastline do not have a finite length. Their length depends on the scale or resolution at which they are being measured. They can always be observed, and measured, in more detail, which will lead to a longer length.
• The coastline paradox extends to many other similar natural features such as river networks and mountain ranges. The path that a river takes, for example, is very irregular. The banks of a river are not a straight line. Calculating the length of a river along its banks would lead to the same kind of problem as in measuring the coastline. However, river lengths are mostly calculated along the main stream, and not along the banks.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍UN: Growing threat to oceans a global emergency
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) Which of the following statements about the coasts of India is/are correct? (CDS 2022)
1. The West Coast of India is a high rocky, retreating coast.
2. The West Coast of India is dominated by erosional landforms.
3. The East Coast of India, however, is a low sedimentary coast exhibiting depositional forms.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.
What's the ongoing story: Kanti Bajpai writes: The American strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan have brought to the fore three major issues: The success of the strikes, the future of Iran's highly enriched uranium (HEU), and the nature of US-Israel-Iran dealings going forward.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Know the location of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on the map
• What is the current status of the conflict between Iran and Israel?
• What is highly enriched uranium (HEU)?
• What are the issues regarding Iran's Nuclear Programme?
• What is the role of the IAEA?
• What is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement?
• Understand the nuclear technology
Key Takeaways:
• It is too early to know the extent of the damage inflicted on the Iranian facilities. Of greatest interest is Fordow. Twelve GBU-57 bombs were used against the main ventilation shafts in an attempt to destroy the centrifuges and control centre, which are 80 metres underground.
• If Fordow has effectively been sealed and control over the centrifuges is lost, a direct hit on the centrifuge hall may not matter. The centrifuges will, over time, simply become inoperable. In this sense, the US President may be at least partly right: Fordow may have been obliterated functionally.
• Once the HEU is located, what can the US and Israel do? They could choose to do nothing, on the calculation that Iran will have difficulty in enriching the HEU for the bomb.
• The problem is that any direct strikes on the HEU would be tantamount to unleashing 'dirty bombs', in which radioactive materials are vented without a nuclear chain reaction. The global outcry would be significant were this to occur, and both the US and Israel may be wary of the blowback. Plus, Israel must worry that its own nuclear reactors could be targeted someday to produce a similar result. It may not, therefore, want to legitimate such an action.
• For a new deal to be struck on Iran's nuclear activities, the United States will need to negotiate a successor to the JCPOA. In his comments on the strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump drew a parallel to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks during World War II, seeming to suggest that Iran is similarly prostrate. In fact, the parallel is far from accurate. Iran is not an occupied country.
• The conditions are ripe, therefore, for a new nuclear deal. That said, the ceasefire must hold, and Iran must have an authority figure that can deliver a deal. Neither is certain. In addition, the US may have to sweeten the deal economically by lifting sanctions.
Do You Know:
• Nuclear technology is one of the few innovations that have changed the modern world profoundly and controversially. It involves harnessing nuclear reactions of atomic nuclei through the processes of nuclear fission and fusion.
• Nuclear fission is a process in which a heavy atomic nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei. It is also associated with the process of radioactive decay as heavier nuclear elements decay into lighter ones. In contrast, nuclear fusion is considered a process of creation as it involves the formation of a new, heavier atomic nucleus from the merger of two lighter and smaller nuclei.
• Both processes release a huge amount of energy. While the practical application of nuclear fusion is still under research, nuclear fission has been harnessed for destructive as well as constructive purposes since its discovery in 1938 by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann.
• The first practical application of nuclear fission was the creation of nuclear weapons using Uranium and Plutonium by the US under the Manhattan Project. These weapons were used in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which led to the beginning of the 'nuclear or atomic age'.
• The international regulation of nuclear technology started in 1957 with the establishment of the IAEA as an intergovernmental forum for the peaceful use of nuclear technology. In 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force with the main objectives of non-proliferation, disarmament, and the promotion of peaceful use of nuclear technology.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Understanding nuclear technology in the wake of US attack on Iran
📍Knowledge Nugget | International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog: A must-know for UPSC exam
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under 'IAEA safeguards' while others are not? (UPSC CSE 2020)
(a) Some use uranium and others use thorium
(b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
(c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises
(d) Some are State-owned and others are privately owned
UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What are the risks associated with nuclear energy, and how can they be mitigated through policy and regulation?
What role does the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) play in regulating the peaceful use of nuclear energy?
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country
What's the ongoing story: The Union Cabinet approved a proposal on Wednesday (June 25) to set up a regional wing of the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP), a premier research-for-development organisation with a focus on the potato and sweet potato.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the International Potato Center (CIP)?
• What is the function of CIP?
• What is the position of India in potato production?
• What is the significance of this move?
• Know about potato cultivation in India – type of soil, temperature
• Is potato a tuber or a bulb?
Key Takeaways:
• The proposed CIP-South Asia Regional Center (CSARC) will come up at Singna in Agra district, and cater not only to farmers in India's potato belt states, like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, but also to South Asian countries.
• UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wrote to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on January 20, urging him to direct ministry officials to facilitate the early establishment of the center.
• 'Establishment of this center will boost domestic potato seed production, thereby reducing India's dependence on seed imports from neighbouring countries', the source added.
• The proposed Agra center comes eight years after China set up a similar CIP wing. Known as the China Center for Asia Pacific (CCCAP), it was established in Yanqing, Beijing, in 2017. The center serves China, East Asia and the Pacific regions.
• The proposed CSARC will be the second major international agricultural research institution to set up operations in India. In 2017, the Agriculture Ministry supported the establishment of a regional centre of the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The IRRI-SARC is established in Varanasi.
Do You Know:
• The potato is the third most available food crop in the world, after rice and wheat, while sweet potato is in the 6th position after maize and cassava. Though India is the second largest potato producer in the world, followed by China, its average yield is 25 tonnes per hectare — about half of its potential of over 50 tonnes per hectare. A major reason for these low numbers is a lack of availability of high-quality seeds.
• India's sweet potato yield is just 11.5 tonnes per hectare, which is much less than the potential of 30 tonnes per hectare. With the establishment of the CSARC, India will have access to the largest global collection of germplasm (the cells or tissues from which a new organism can be generated) available with the CIP, a source said.
• China is the top potato producer and consumer in the world, followed by India. In 2020, China's production was recorded at 78.24 million tonnes, while India produced 51.30 million tonnes. Both countries together accounted for over one-third of the global potato production (359.07 million tonnes).
• In India, Uttar Pradesh (15 million tonnes), West Bengal (15 million tonnes) and Bihar (9 million tonnes) were the top three potato producers in 2020-21. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab also have significant production.
• As of now, at least two different ICAR centres work on tuber crops. While the Shimla-based ICAR-CPRI (Central Potato Research Institute) is working on the potato, the Thiruvananthapuram-based ICAR-CTCRI (Central Tuber Crops Research Institute) is working on the sweet potato.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Nod for South Asia unit of International Potato Center in Agra
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment
What's the ongoing story: The country's current account balance recorded a surplus of $13.5 billion, or 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in January-March 2025 quarter as against $4.6 billion, or 0.5 per cent of GDP, in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is GDP? How is it calculated?
• What is the difference between the current account and the capital account?
• What is the current account deficit?
• If the CAD of the country increases, what does it tell about the economy?
• What is the FDI? Why is it important for the economy?
• What is the FPI? How is it different from FDI?
• What do you understand by the external commercial borrowings (ECBs)?
Key Takeaways:
• For the fiscal 2024-2025, the country's current account deficit was $23.3 billion, or 0.6 per cent of GDP, compared to $26 billion, 0.7 per cent of GDP during 2023-24, primarily due to higher net invisibles receipts.
• The current account deficit is the difference between exports and imports of goods and services. It is a key indicator of the country's external sector.
• In the financial account, foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded a net inflow of $0.4 billion in January-March 2024-25 as compared to an inflow of $2.3 billion in the corresponding period of FY2024. Net inflow under FDI at $1 billion during 2024-25 was lower than $10.2 billion during 2023-24.
• Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) recorded a net outflow of $5.9 billion in Q4 FY2025 as against a net inflow of $11.4 billion in the same quarter of FY2024. During FY2025, FPI recorded a net inflow of $3.6 billion, lower than $44.1 billion a year ago.
• Net inflows under external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to India amounted to $7.4 billion in Q4 FY2025, as compared to $2.6 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.
• Non-resident deposits (NRI deposits) recorded a net inflow of $2.8 billion in fourth quarter of FY2025, lower than $5.4 billion a year ago.
• There was an accretion of $8.8 billion to the foreign exchange reserves (on a Balance of Payment basis) in Q4 FY2025 as compared to an accretion of $30.8 billion in Q4 FY2024.
Do You Know:
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an important macroeconomic indicator that measures the economic growth of a country. It is also an easy parameter for comparing the growth of a country with that of other countries in the world.
• GDP is the sum of the market value of all the final goods and services produced within the geographical boundaries of a country each year. If a country produces 'n' commodities each year with quantities represented by q₁ to qₙ and their corresponding market prices denoted as p₁ to pₙ, then GDP is calculated by multiplying the price per unit with the total quantity produced and summing it across all goods and services. This is indicated in a mathematical format below:
GDP = (q₁​×p₁​)+(q₂​×p₂​)+(q₃​×p₃​)+…+(qₙ×pₙ​)
• GDP accounts for the value of only newly produced goods – goods produced during the year for which GDP is being calculated, normally taken as the financial year. For example, the price obtained from the resale of a house is excluded from GDP, as the house was not constructed in the year of estimation
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Why is GDP considered a key measure of economic growth?
📍Three approaches to measuring GDP and why they matter
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(5) With reference to the gross domestic product (GDP), consider the following statements:
1. It is the market value of all the final goods and services produced within a country in a specific time period.
2. Real GDP refers to the value of goods and services evaluated at current market prices without factoring in inflation.
3. Nominal GDP refers to the value of goods and services evaluated after adjusting inflation or deflation.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for June 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at [e-mail]🚨
Khushboo Kumari is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She has done her graduation and post-graduation in History from the University of Delhi. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. She holds experience in UPSC-related content development. You can contact her via email: [e-mail] ... Read More