UPSC Key: Neighbourhood first policy, SpaDex-2 mission and Iran-Israel conflict

Indian Express

4 hours ago

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for June 22, 2025. If you missed the June 21, 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: In a major diplomatic outreach to its neighbours, India said Saturday it will evacuate nationals of Nepal and Sri Lanka who are stranded in Iran and want to leave the country.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the Neighbourhood First policy?
• What is the status of India's relationship with the neighbouring countries?
• Read about India's bilateral ties with Nepal and Sri Lanka.
• Read about the recent escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict.
• What is the Gujral doctrine?
• How do domestic affairs shape the foreign policy of a nation?
• What are the significance and challenges of India's neighbourhood-first policy?
• What is the Operation Sindhu?
• What initiatives have been taken by the government to promote the neighbourhood first policy?
• Map work: India and its neighbouring countries and bordering states.
Key Takeaways:
• Officials in Delhi framed it as an example of India's 'neighbourhood first policy' — of helping its neighbours in times of crisis, be it conflict, natural calamity or pandemic. This announcement came on the day two more flights, operated by the Iranian Mahan Air, landed in Delhi.
• Nepal's Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba expressed Kathmandu's gratitude. In a post on X, she thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar 'for India's swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran'. 'India's support in Nepal's evacuation efforts is a reflection of the strength of Nepal-India ties,' she said.
• Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post, said, 'Sri Lanka extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of India for the timely assistance to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals from Iran alongside Indian citizens. This act of solidarity exemplifies the strong and enduring partnership between Sri Lanka and India, and is deeply appreciated by the people of Sri Lanka.'
• This is not the first time that Delhi has stepped in to evacuate citizens of its neighbours. In the early days of the Ukraine war, India evacuated nationals of neighbouring countries along with its own.
• On Wednesday, India announced the launch of Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals from Iran.
• India's ties with Iran and Israel puts it in a delicate spot, where it has to do some diplomatic balancing act. Delhi has strategic stakes with Iran – from Chabahar port to shared concerns on Pakistan and Afghanistan. So, it has been very careful in its statements. It has a very strategic security and defence partnership with Israel as well.
Do You Know:
• Neighbourhood First policy guides India's relations with countries in its immediate neighbourhood. It focuses on creating mutually beneficial, people-oriented, regional frameworks for stability and prosperity through the building of physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Yogendra Yadav writes: Is India really 'neighbourhood first'?
📍External Affairs Ministry gets Rs 20,516 crore, emphasis on 'Neighbourhood First' policy
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) Consider the following pairs: (UPSC CSE 2016)
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 3 only
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
What's the ongoing story: After successfully bringing together two satellites in space, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are drawing up plans for a second SpaDeX mission — this time to dock two satellites in an elliptical orbit.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the SpaDeX mission?
• What is docking?
• Read about the Bharatiya Docking System.
• What is the significance of the SpaDeX mission for India?
• Read about the proposed experiment in SpaDeX-2 mission.
• What is elliptical orbit?
• What is the Chandrayaan-4 mission?
• How is docking in elliptical orbit different from docking in a circular orbit?
• How is the SpaDeX-2 mission important for the Chandrayaan-4 mission?
• What are the other important missions of ISRO for 2025?
Key Takeaways:
• The ability to join two satellites in space, known as docking, is critical for India's upcoming Chandrayaan-4 mission and the proposed Bharatiya Antariksh Station, the country's planned space station.
• In the first SpaDeX mission, two 220-kg satellites were launched into a 470-km circular orbit. With a small relative velocity introduced between them, the satellites were allowed to drift apart before being progressively brought closer. On January 16, they successfully docked. The experiment also demonstrated power sharing between the satellites and their ability to receive commands as a single composite unit.
• With this, India became only the fourth country, after the US, Russia, and China, to demonstrate in-space docking capabilities. However, the feat was carried out in a relatively easier circular orbit.
• 'Docking in a circular orbit is much easier than docking in an elliptical orbit. This is because the trajectory and velocity of the satellites remain constant in a circular orbit, whereas they keep changing on an elliptical orbit. What this essentially means is that calculations done for one point will not be relevant after a few minutes,' said a scientist in the know of the matter. 'This is, however, what the SpaDeX-2 experiment will attempt.'
• This capability is likely to play a vital role in future missions, such as Chandrayaan-4, where multiple modules may be launched separately, and docking and undocking will be required in both Earth and lunar orbits.
• For moon missions, ISRO typically launches spacecraft into an elliptical Earth orbit, gradually raising the apogee (farthest point) through engine burns at perigee (closest point) to use minimal fuel. This process sets up a slingshot trajectory toward the Moon, making docking in elliptical orbits a practical requirement for complex missions.
Do You Know:
• Docking is a process by which two fast-moving spacecraft are brought to the same orbit, brought closer to each other manually or autonomously, and finally joined together. This capability is necessary for carrying out missions that require heavy spacecraft that a single launch vehicle may not be capable of lifting off with
• Several types of docking mechanisms have been used by space agencies over the years, including some interoperability. The spacecraft that go to the International Space Station follow the International Docking System Standard (IDSS), which was first baselined in 2010.
• The docking mechanism being used by India is androgynous — meaning the systems on both the Chaser and Target satellites are identical. This is similar to the IDSS used by other agencies but uses two motors as compared to the 24 used in IDSS.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍ISRO Docks SpaDeX Satellites in Space: What was done and how – and why does it matter?
UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme:
(2) In which of the following missions, ISRO successfully docked a satellite in space for the first time?
(a) GSAT-N2
(b) Proba-3 mission
(c) Air Breathing Propulsion System
(d) SpaDex mission
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What is India's plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? (UPSC CSE 2019)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: International Relations, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests.
What's the ongoing story: Israel's Military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, and announced it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Read about the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
• How has the relationship between Iran and Israel evolved, from cooperation to conflict?
• What key events or factors led to the current escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict?
• What are the potential consequences of the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict?
• What can be the impact of the Iran-Israel conflict on India?
(Thought Process: Build on the following points – India has invested in a strategic relationship with major Arab countries, Iran, and Israel- India's economic interests are tied to energy security, the West Asia region contributes to India's 80 percent of oil supplies- Risk to the Indian community that is based in the region.)
• Understand India's relationship with countries in West Asia. What is India's Middle East policy?
• How is India's relations with Israel and Iran?
• Read about Iran's Nuclear Programme.
• Read about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
• What is the 'axis of resistance'?
• Who are Houthis?
• Map work: Locations in news related to the Israel-Iran conflict such as: Isfahan, Fordow, Haifa, Natanz, etc.
Key Takeaways:
• The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US.
• The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced the U.S. has begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first such flights from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
• Israel's military said it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks as it pursued its goal to destroy Iran's nuclear program. Smoke rose near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed Israeli strikes damaged the facility.
• The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military said. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the attack and said the facility – also targeted in the war's first day – was 'extensively damaged,' with no risk seen of off-site contamination.
• Iran again launched drones and missiles at Israel but there were no reports of significant damage.
• U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing active U.S. military involvement in the war, and was set to meet with his national security team Saturday evening. He has said he would put off his decision for up to two weeks.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said U.S. military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' He spoke on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkey.
• Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. The U.S. has only configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force.
Do You Know:
• The Houthis are Zaydi Shias. Zayadism is a sub-sect of Shia Islam which believes in following the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad's family as the political leader of the state.
• They have been engaged in a civil war for more than a decade now, with the balance tilting in their favour in recent years. They control Yemen's capital Sanaa. Iran, a Shia-majority country, is believed to back the Houthis, while its regional rival, the Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia (along with Western allies like the US) backs the Yemen government.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | How did the Israel-Iran conflict escalate? A look from history to its impact
📍Knowledge Nugget: Red Sea shipping route and Suez canal — What you must know for UPSC Exam
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) The term 'two-state solution' is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of (UPSC CSE 2018)
(a) China
(b) Israel
(c) Iraq
(d) Yemen
(4) What is the importance of developing Chabahar Port by India? (UPSC CSE 2017)
(a) India's trade with African countries will increase enormously.
(b) India's relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened.
(c) India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
(d) Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India.
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
'India's relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.' Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2018)
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.
What's the ongoing story: The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was passed by the US Senate on Wednesday with a 68-30 vote. The bill sets guardrails for stablecoins with proposals for compliance to ensure prevention of money laundering, full backing of cryptocurrencies by reserves and monthly audits.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are Stablecoins?
• What are cryptocurrencies?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrencies?
• What is the difference between cryptocurrency and digital currency?
• What are the key concerns associated with crypto?
• How do Indian laws govern cryptocurrency?
• How might the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act influence global crypto governance?
• What is the role of stablecoins in the contemporary global financial system?
• Compare the key provisions of the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act.
Key Takeaways:
• The next stage for the GENIUS Act will be passage in the US House of Representatives, where members have readied their own version of a stablecoin regulation bill, the STABLE Act.
• Stablecoins, or commodity-backed cryptocurrencies, have witnessed a surge in market capitalisation to $251.7 billion so far in 2025, marking a 22 per cent rise this year, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing industry data.
• The passage of the GENIUS ACT Bill in the US Senate is backed by multiple actions taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump — from the announcement of a strategic crypto reserve to the promotion of cryptocurrency sympathiser Paul S Atkins as chairperson of the US markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act places oversight of stablecoins, or reserve backed cryptocurrency under the purview of the Office of the Comptroller the Currency in the US, similar to the GENIUS Act.
• However, STABLE Act differs from the GENIUS Act in terms of limiting reserve backing requirements to a clutch of assets such as US Treasuries apart from restricting who can issue stablecoins, according to Jeff Reundlet, head of accounting strategy at Cryptio, provider of ledger services for cryptocurrencies.
• The stablecoin route is expected to energise the dollar by promoting the use of cryptocurrency pegged to the greenback. It remains to be seen whether this will be adopted across the globe.
Do You Know:
• A cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange, such as the rupee or the US dollar, but is digital in format and uses encryption techniques to both control the creation of monetary units and to verify the exchange of money.
• It is based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. It is nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralised networks based on blockchain technology.
• In traditional financial transactions involving fiat money, a third-party organisation—usually a central bank—ensures that the currency is authentic and that the transaction is properly recorded.
• In contrast, with cryptocurrencies, a network of private computers is continuously engaged in authenticating the transactions by solving complex cryptographic puzzles. Those who successfully solve these puzzles are rewarded with cryptocurrencies. This process is known as mining. At the backend of these transactions is a technology called 'blockchain'.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍How are cryptocurrency and blockchain technology relevant to the UPSC exam?
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (UPSC CSE 2019)
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.
What's the ongoing story: The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Saturday, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel's strikes against Iran. It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the status of the Israel-Iran conflict?
• What are B-2 Spirit stealth bombers?
• Know about the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
• Read about Iran's nuclear programme and issues associated with it.
• What can be the impact of U.S. military cooperation with Israel on the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict?
• How can US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict influence India's foreign policy approach towards West Asia?
• What advantages do stealth bombers offer in high-risk, precision-targeted operations?
• What are the military and ethical considerations surrounding pre-emptive strikes on nuclear infrastructure?
• Can pre-emptive strikes on nuclear infrastructure be legitimised under international law?
• Map work: Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.
Key Takeaways:
• The B-2 can be equipped to carry America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran's nuclear program, including Fordow.
• The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose any further details. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved.
Do You Know:
• US President Donald Trump said the American military has completed airstrikes on three sites in Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict with Israel. The airstrike included a key uranium enrichment site, Fordo that was unscathed in Israeli attacks so far and is believed to be key to Iran's nuclear programme.
• Israel's best chance at destroying the facility at Fordo required a never-before-used American bomb — the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP — which is extremely heavy and can only be dropped using the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber aircraft of the US Air Force.
• The 'bunker buster' MOP is designed to attack 'deeply-buried facilities and hardened bunkers and tunnels' and is meant to destroy targets in well-protected facilities. Israel, or any country other than the US, does not have any non-nuclear weapon systems that can penetrate a site as deep as Fordo.
• The MOP measures about 20.5 feet in length and 31.5 inches in diameter and weighs about 13,000 kgs, according to the US Air Force. The bomb is a 'bunker buster'—a type of munition capable of penetrating and hitting targets secured in underground facilities. The MOP is widely believed to be the most powerful non-nuclear weapon.
• According to the US Air Force fact sheet, the MOP 'is a weapon system designed to accomplish a difficult, complicated mission of reaching and destroying our adversaries' weapons of mass destruction located in well protected facilities'. It is more powerful than its predecessor, the BLU-109.
• It is designed to penetrate up to 60 metres of earth before exploding. The warhead is encased in a special high-performance steel alloy, which is meant to enable it to carry a large explosive payload while maintaining the penetrator case's integrity during impact, according to an Air Force fact sheet. The Fordo site is about 90 metres in depth. It is not clear how much damage the bombings have done in Fordo.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍'Bunker-buster' MOP and B-2: Why US bomb, stealth bomber were Israel's best chance at destroying Iran's Fordo nuclear facility
📍US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities: The radiation leak threat, explained
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Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. She has over five years of work experience in ed-tech and media. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. Her interests lie in national and international affairs, governance, economy, and social issues. You can contact her via email: [e-mail] ... Read More