UPSC Key: India-US trade deal, Portuguese-era arsenal, and the Cholas

Indian Express

4 days ago

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for August 3, 2025. If you missed the August 2, 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: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests.
General Studies-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation, of resources, growth, development and employment.
What's the ongoing story: FOLLOWING US President Donald Trump's tariff sledgehammer, the government has kicked off an exercise to thrash out concessions across sectors that can be offered in the tariff negotiations later this month. Key economic ministries have been asked to see what they can still afford to offer to sweeten New Delhi's deal when the US team is here on August 25.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the rationale given by America for imposing a 25 per cent tariff on India?
• What are the recent agreements signed between India and the USA?
• What are the recent trade agreements signed by India with other countries?
• What is the status of trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia?
• Why does America want India to reduce defence and energy imports from Russia?
• What are the concerns related to GM food crops in India?
• What is trade rebalancing?
• What are Quality Control Orders (QCOs), and what is the purpose of having them?
• What are the TRUST initiatives?
Key Takeaways:
• To reach an agreement, the Trump administration has been demanding much more than what the government has offered in its market access commitments, including lowering of tariffs across the board and removal of non-tariff trade barriers.
• As policymakers grapple with Trump's announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on goods from August 7, alongside an additional but unspecified 'penalty' for its defence and energy imports from Russia, economic ministries have started sending in sectoral tariff concessions in their jurisdictions.
• India was one of the first countries the Trump administration had expected to sign a deal with, but slow progress has been a source of frustration for Washington DC. Like countries around the world scrambling to deal with Trump's tariff threats, India had largely adopted a principled, but non-confrontational, stance in an attempt to balance selective concessions with caution to safeguard its economic growth, and circumvent a backlash from domestic producers.
• What complicates the equation for India is that the Chinese are at an advanced stage of negotiations towards a deal, which could have a favourable tariff rate and potential waivers on secondary tariffs, including possibly the tariff on account of Russian oil imports and the proposed 10 per cent BRICS tariff.
• Tariff rebalancing, if done right, could potentially offer an impetus to the economy, given that the biggest beneficiaries of tariff protection, especially the non-tariff barriers such as an increasing array of QCOs (quality control orders), are the big players. MSME units have been calling for these QCOs to be removed, especially in areas such as steel and textiles.
• Since 1991, New Delhi has gradually reduced its average tariff from nearly 79 per cent in 1990 to around 12 per cent in 2013, following which it has gone back up to 16-17 per cent by 2023. Sectors such as agriculture, dairy and automobiles, continue to be protected, even as the Ministry of Commerce and industry maintains that its trade measures are WTO-compliant.
• Unlike its response during Trump's first term, where retaliatory tariffs were imposed, New Delhi has desisted from retaliating and is working on strategic concessions in sectors that the US is keen to target, while adhering to its own broad red lines. This involves areas symbolic of trade openness, including nuclear energy, fossil fuels and defence procurement.
• Once the official level discussions wrap up, there is a sense that a final call on the deal could come down to a conversation between the two leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump. This is especially so since it is Trump who is the trade negotiator-in-chief.
Do You Know:
• QCOs are a key mechanism through which India is not only raising quality standards to enter the global value chain, but is also restricting imports from China.
Economy: Why US President Donald Trump's 'dead economy' jibe at India fails to stand up to scrutiny
• US President Donald Trump may have referred to India as a 'dead' economy, but the numbers tell a different story.
• The most recent collaboration between India and the US was seen last week as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) placed the NISAR satellite, a first-of-its-kind collaborative project between India and the US, into its intended orbit.
• When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US in February, the two countries announced cooperation on several initiatives including the Transforming Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) initiative — a bilateral initiative for cooperation in the recovery and processing of critical minerals such as lithium and rare earth elements.
• A move towards stronger trade ties was also discussed in detail during Modi's US visit, with the countries agreeing to double their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. India's trade relationship with the US has already been strengthening.
• In 2024, the total goods trade between the two nations stood at $129.2 billion, with the US' exports to India rising 3.4 per cent to $41.8 billion, while its imports were up 4.5 per cent at $87.4 billion, resulting in a deficit of $45.7 billion for the US.
• India's share in US' smartphone imports surged to nearly 36 per cent in the first five months of 2025, driven mainly by Apple's iPhones, from about 11 per cent in 2024. China, which continues to dominate the category, saw its share drop from 82 per cent to 49 per cent over the same period.
• Trump's often-cited charge against India has been of it being a 'Tariff King', and India in response has made a conscious effort to broadcast the message that it is not. In the Union Budget for 2025-26, presented in February, duties on the top 30 US goods imported by India were reduced.
• Modi and Trump had also agreed to renew the 10-year defence framework, with the American President having mentioned increasing military supplies to India and ultimately providing the F-35 stealth fighter.
• While there are some downside risks to the Indian growth story from Trump's threat of a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods and a 'penalty' for its energy and arms imports from Russia, even a 20-40 bps decline in the growth rate to 6 per cent or so will not stop the economy from being the fastest growing large economy in the world.
• But these hardly make an economy 'dead' — especially one which the IMF estimates as the fifth-largest in the world with a GDP of $3.9 trillion in 2024. And it's only going to get better — by 2028, the IMF expects India to overtake Germany and Japan and rise to the third spot, only behind the US and China.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍What Trump is actually doing — and why India needs to press reform & reset
📍Is India's economy 'dead' as Donald Trump claimed?
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) With reference to the Indian economy, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2022)
1. If the inflation is too high, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to buy government securities.
2. If the rupee is rapidly depreciating, RBI is likely to sell dollars in the market.
3. If interest rates in the USA or European Union were to fall, that is likely to induce RBI to buy dollars.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
'What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India's National self-esteem and ambitions'. Explain with suitable examples. (UPSC CSE 2019)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination:Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues.
What's the ongoing story: The discovery of cannonballs during an excavation process in Goa in March this year has shed more light on a Portuguese-era arsenal, where coins were minted and warships built, a report submitted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the state's Tourism Department shows.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Why did the Portuguese come to India?
• Who were the first Europeans to arrive in India and the last to leave?
• Who led the Portuguese conquest of Goa in the early 16th Century?
• Where did the Portuguese set up their factories?
• Know about the important Portuguese General
• Why did the Portuguese conquer Goa?
Key Takeaways:
• The report, submitted in June, says the 'arsenal' also consisted of a gun foundry, a naval dockyard, and an elephant stable. 'European weaponry and naval equipment were either stored or manufactured on the site,' the report says.
• In March 2025, the ASI Goa circle directed the state's tourism department to halt the excavation work for a project in Old Goa, to allow 'proper documentation' after some cannonballs were discovered at a site.
• As per the report, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) had secured a central government grant to upgrade and provide visitor amenities at the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The work was going on west of the church complex to develop a Heritage Interpretation Centre and a parking lot.
• Citing authors and historians of Portuguese maritime and colonial history, the report concludes that the area of discovery of cannonballs on March 22 is 'analogous with the location of arsenal' identified in the historical accounts over the years.
• 'This arsenal area lies within the city walls of Old Goa, which was the… capital of Portuguese Estado da India (State of India),' the report says.
• As per the ASI report, General Afonso de Albuquerque, who led the Portuguese conquest of Goa in the early 16th Century, initiated the complex's development and 'its grandeur was documented by European travellers'.
• 'Sources suggest that the arsenal may have predated Portuguese conquest and existed during the Adil Shahi period, implying it was a prominent edifice even before Albuquerque's arrival… When Albuquerque entered Goa, he found at the dock 40 large ships, 26 brigs, numerous fustas, and other materials related to warfare,' the report says.
• The arsenal was subsequently restructured. 'By 1540, about 700 workers were employed and the arsenal reached its zenith by the late 16th century,' it said. The report said that French navigator Francois Pyrard de Laval, during his 1608 visit, described it as 'well-fortified and equipped with stone-built rooms for artisans to reduce fire hazards.'
• A major fire broke out on June 9, 1753, damaging part of the arsenal. 'It was renovated and expanded in 1773. However, with the decline of Portuguese influence, the arsenal lost its importance and was closed in 1856,' the report adds.
• In the book, The Portuguese in India [volume 1], British civil servant Frederick Charles Danvers wrote that when Albuquerque entered Goa in 1510, 'accompanied by his captains, about 1,000 Portuguese and 200 Malabarese' and received the keys of the fortress from the Governor and principal Moors of the city, he found 'a large quantity of artillery and stores, besides forty ships and sixteen fustas, quantities of merchandise, and some spacious stables containing 160 horses…'.
Do You Know:
• Portugal's first direct contact with India was when the explorer Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, today's Kozhikode in Kerala, in May 1498. da Gama had traversed a long and arduous way — setting sail from Portugal, he had circled Africa through the Cape of Good Hope to finally reach the Malabar coast.
• It was this journey, and the full discovery of the prosperous trade flourishing along the entire route, that fuelled the Portuguese determination to dot the Indian Ocean with military posts. The desire for riches, as well as rivalry with the Muslims, who were in power along this route, were the reasons for this.
• A mere six years after da Gama, the Portuguese State of India had been established. The first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, was based in Fort Manuel, in today's Kochi.
• Among the Portuguese possessions in India was the island of Bom Bahia — later Bombay and today's Mumbai — until it was given as Catherine de Braganza's dowry to Charles II of England in 1661.
• Albuquerque, who had come to succeed Almeida, had been asked to conquer the ports of Hormuz, Aden, and Malacca by his King. However, he realised that a permanent base in Goa, then under the Sultan of Bijapur, would be very helpful to the Portuguese ambition of controlling maritime trade routes of the East.
• Albuquerque's decision of conquering Goa also came on the advice of one Timoji or Timmayya, on whose motivations as well as identity some debate exists. What is known, however, is that Timmayya and his men fought alongside Albuquerque.
• Albuquerque's first conquest of Goa in February-March of 1510 was almost a walkover. The Sultan's rule was unpopular among the Hindus of Goa, who were happy to back the Portuguese against him. However, the Sultan's forces soon drove Albuquerque and his men out.
• After enduring a tough monsoon stranded in the river Mandovi, the Portuguese forces, replenished by more men and ships from the homeland, launched a fresh assault in November, and retook the city.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How Portuguese saved Daman from the Mughals
📍The Portuguese conquest of Goa: Here are 3 key parts of that story
UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) Consider the following fruits: (UPSC CSE 2025)
I. Papaya
II. Pineapple
III. Guava
How many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All the three
(d) None
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity
What's the ongoing story: Using technology 'thoughtfully and inclusively…can bridge the persistent gaps in our justice system', said Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant Saturday, and underlined that it cannot, however, replace the human element and 'the heart of justice must remain human'.
Key Points to Ponder:
• How can technology bridge the gaps in the justice system?
• What are the problems facing the judicial system of our country?
• What are the tech initiatives that are implemented in the justice delivery system?
• What are the challenges in the use of technology?
• How is artificial intelligence being implemented in the judicial system?
• What are virtual Lok Adalats?
Key Takeaways:
• Justice Kant said: 'With the right vision and safeguards, technology can break geographical barriers, democratise legal awareness, and bring legal aid to the doorstep — or rather the palm of every citizen. If harnessed thoughtfully and inclusively, it can bridge the persistent gaps in our justice system.'
• Emphasising the need 'to address the challenges faced by linguistic and cultural minorities,' Justice Kant said that 'digital platforms must not only be multilingual but also culturally nuanced' and 'when citizens see their own stories, customs, and worldviews reflected in legal education content, barriers of alienation and mistrust crumble, making way for genuine engagement and confidence in the system.'
• Justice Kant called for holding virtual Lok Adalats by harnessing secure video platforms but cautioned that 'the excitement of technology must be tempered with restraint. The digital divide is very real.'
• 'No technology is neutral. The tools we build reflect the values we embed in them. As we digitise legal aid, we must design systems with built-in ethics. Privacy must be paramount…' he said.
Do You Know:
• Lok Adalats are an alternative dispute redressal mechanism, where the aim is to settle or compromise cases amicably. While litigants get the benefit of swift justice and substantially reduced litigation costs, as per the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the decision of the court is binding and it cannot be appealed against.
• According to NALSA, under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.
• If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.
• When a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat, the court fee is not payable. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded to the parties.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Justice at your fingertips: How AI is helping Delhi's judges, lawyers deal with caseload
📍Tech integration must not be at cost of right to be heard: Supreme Court judge
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) In India, Legal Services Authorities provide free legal services to which of the following type of citizens? (UPSC CSE 2020)
1. Person with an annual income of less than Rs. 1,00,000
2. Transgender with an annual income of less than Rs. 2,00,000
3. Member of Other Backward Classes (OBC) with an annual income of less than Rs. 3,00,000
4. All Senior Citizens
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 and 4 only
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
What's the ongoing story: With Odisha and Chhattisgarh having BJP governments, both the states are likely to go for an 'amicable solution' in the long-standing dispute over Mahanadi water sharing.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What do you understand by the interstate water dispute?
• What are the constitutional mechanisms to deal with river water disputes in India?
• What are the major river water disputes between states?
• What is the Central Water Commission?
• What is the inter-state water tribunal?
• What are the challenges in resolving the water disputes between states?
Key Takeaways:
• The issue is pending with the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal formed by the Centre in March 2018 following a Supreme Court direction.
• Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who chaired a meeting over the issue on July 23, wrote a letter to his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai two days later seeking a 'mutually beneficial settlement'. Sai responded to Majhi on Friday saying the former's proposal is under 'active consideration'.
• In his letter, Majhi proposed a joint committee led by officials of the Central Water Commission and comprising officials from both the states to facilitate dialogue and technical negotiations to reach a 'mutually beneficial settlement'.
• River Mahanadi that flows through Chhattisgarh and Odisha is a major source of water for agriculture, industry and hydropower generation.
• Official sources said the Mahanadi has a total catchment area of 141,600 square kilometres, of which 53.9 per cent is in Chhattisgarh, 45.73 per cent in Odisha and a very small part in Madhya Pradesh.
• As the river caused massive flooding, Odisha in 1953 had constructed a massive 25-km long earthen dam at Hirakud in Sambalpur district to reserve water for irrigation facilities in western region of the state and for power generation. Odisha in 2016 claimed a minimum flow of 12.28-million-acre feet of Mahanadi water at Hirakud dam.
• The neighbouring states locked horns over Mahanadi water since 2016 after Odisha alleged 'unilateral' construction of multiple barrages by Chhattisgarh in the upper catchment areas that resulted in reduction of flow into Odisha, the lower riparian state, during non-monsoon seasons.
Do You Know:
• Article 262(1) of the Constitution states that 'Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution, or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-State river, or river valley'.
• Parliament passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act of 1956. It allows for the referral of such a disagreement to Tribunals upon receipt of an application from a State if the Union Government is persuaded that the dispute 'cannot be settled by negotiations'.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Explained: Why rule change in BBMB has become a flashpoint between Centre and Punjab
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Constitutional mechanisms to resolve the inter-state water disputes have failed to address and solve the problems. Is the failure due to structural or process inadequacy or both? Discuss. (2013)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement
Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
What's the ongoing story: Arup K Chatterjee writes: Once again, public discourse is abuzz with the legacies of the Cholas — thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, their erstwhile capital.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Who were the Cholas?
• What are the specific features of the temple architecture of the Cholas?
• Who are the important Chola leaders?
• Who established the Chola dynasty?
• What are the major historical sources to understand the Chola dynasty?
• What is the three-tiered system of the Chola polity?
• Know about the meaning of: Ur, Nadu, and Brahmadeya.
Key Takeaways:
• The Cholas occupy a hallowed space in Indian imagination for their pioneering experiments in democracy, but one needs to look beyond their basilica-like monuments, gilded Natarajas and temple vimanas (the towering structure above the inner sanctum) piercing the skylines of Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, and Darasuram.
• Relatively forgotten by nationalists, the Cholas underwent an image makeover around the 1930s. Kanisetti says Sastri and Majumdar found romanticised examples of enlightened Chola imperialism to counter Britain's pride in its Roman past.
• Unsurprisingly, Kalki Krishnamurthy's novel Ponniyin Selvan (1950-54) edified Chola king Rajaraja I as an amalgamation of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and C Rajagopalachari.
• While most historians date the Cholas between the 9-13th century, ambitious ones have gone back to the Sangam period (between 350 BC and 1279 AD). In the latter periodisation, the Tamil confederacy was defeated by Kalinga in 155 BC, and re-emerged in 850 AD under Vijayalaya, who, with Pallava approval and Velir solidarity, seized Thanjavur.
• History enthusiasts are generally captivated by Chola polity's three-tiered system, constituted by nadu (supra-village), ur (village) and brahmadeya (Brahminical agrahara) assemblies, with nagarams (merchant-towns) governed by nagarattars. Simultaneously, Chola temples emerged as economic hubs endowed with devadana (land grants), and empowered as rheostats of irrigation and artisanal production.
• Much euphoria has revolved around the concept of Chola elections by kudavolai (lottery) among the local committees. These offered a democratic veneer, but the franchise remained narrowly circumscribed within clannish coteries, while state commissioners retained veto power.
• Chola patronage of merchant guilds (ayyavole and manigramam) forged expansive trade-relations with South-East Asia and Sung China, while ships requisitioned from those guilds enlarged Chola warrior fleets. Revenues were reploughed for naval expansion in a commercial empire spanning over 2,200 miles — from Bengal to Sri Lanka and the Malay Archipelago.
• Chola naval ascendancy clubbed martial hegemony with mercantile collaboration, provisioning warships, recruiting mariners and amassing siege-equipment without democratic will. This was at odds with the dharmic ideal of righteous rule. Though 11th-century Chola navies realigned trade from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, their profits were not redistributed for the upkeep of coastal nagarams.
• The Cholas were not classical democrats. The real reason behind their return to public discourse is not democracy but the same political impulse that led Margaret Thatcher to turn to the Victorians, or the Victorians to turn to the Greeks.
Do You Know:
• Three royal temples – the Tanjore Brihadēśvara, Gangaikoṇḍacōl̥apuram, and Darasuram Airavatēśvara – built between the 11th and 12th centuries CE, are the finest examples of the Cholas' artistic brilliance. These temples were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the 'Great Living Chola Temples' in 1987. These state temples were laid out in a manner that they served as focal points of their capitals. These shrines not only outweigh the earlier shrines in terms of their spatial elaboration, but also in their overwhelming monumentality.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27 unveiled a commemorative coin and inaugurated an exhibition on Rajendra Chola's northern conquest. Rajendra I, the maritime monarch of the Chola dynasty, inherited a powerful kingdom from his father Rajaraja I and expansion of the Chola empire continued under him.
• To commemorate his successful northern expedition, Rajendra Chola, also known as Rajendra the Great or Gangaikonda Chola (the Chola who conquered Ganga), established Gangaikonda Cholapuram and ceremonially poured Ganges water brought back by his army into a vast man-made reservoir known as the Cholagangam tank, locally referred to as Ponneri.
• After establishing his dominance within India, Rajendra Chola I then led several successful maritime campaigns, extending the boundaries of his empire and the reputation of his dynasty as one of the foremost Naval powers of India. He has campaigns from the Ganga to Suvarnadwipa (an ancient term for islands in Southeast Asia, including Java and Sumatra) that turned the Cholas into a pan-Asian maritime empire.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Why Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple
📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | Revisiting Chola dynasty and Rajendra I's achievements: Insights into governance, society, architecture, and more
Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) Which of the following parts of a temple structure is not correctly matched?
(a) entry hall : mukhamaṇḍapa
(b) pillared hall : ardhamaṇḍapa
(c) vestibule : gopuram
(d) sanctum : garbhagṛha
UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple architecture. Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2013)
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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