UPSC Key: Operation Rising Lion, India-France relationship, and Nuclear reactors

Indian Express

12 hours ago

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for June 14, 2025. If you missed the June 13, 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: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests.
What's the ongoing story: Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure — including its scientists, negotiators, missile bases, and military leadership — marks a dramatic escalation in the long-simmering conflict between these two sworn enemies in the Middle East, with far-reaching implications for regional stability.
Key Points to Ponder:
• Map work: Location of Iran, Israel, and neighbouring countries
• What is the history of the Iran-Israel conflict?
• Operation Rision Lion- know in detail about this
• What are the recent developments around the Iranian nuclear programme?
• What is the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in all this?
• What is the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)? Has Iran signed the NPT?
• What is the role of America in all this?
• What is the radiation leak?
Key Takeaways:
• C. Raja Mohan writes: Unlike previous military exchanges, Israel insists that Operation Rising Lion is not a one-off show of force. Declaring that Israel stands at a 'decisive moment' in its history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the attacks would continue 'for as many days as it takes to remove' Iran's nuclear weapons programme.
• Israel appears determined to roll back Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, ignoring global warnings that such an offensive could plunge the Middle East into a wider conflict.
• Despite its remarkable economic and military resilience over the past five decades — and Tehran's proven ability to retaliate against Israel — it remains uncertain whether Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, can emerge unscathed from this latest confrontation.
• Iran also finds itself politically isolated in the region. Despite its vocal support for Arab and Islamic causes, few stood by Iran when it mattered most — last Thursday, at the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors meeting.
• Amid mounting speculation of imminent Israeli military action, the 35-member board voted 19-3 in favour of a resolution declaring Iran in violation of its legal obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and dangerously close to acquiring nuclear weapons.
• Caught between Israel's efforts to involve the US and the MAGA movement's pressure to keep America out of another Middle Eastern war, Washington quickly distanced itself from the Israeli strikes and warned Tehran not to target US assets in the region.
• Iran faces a stark choice: Escalate by attacking the US and its Arab neighbours, unleash its non-state assets in the region, risking an all-out regional war that could spell the end of the Islamic Republic, or calibrate its response through a mix of force and diplomacy.
• In its attack on Friday early morning, Israel claims to have deployed 200 aircraft — around a third of its active fleet — to hit more than 100 targets across Iran, including both strategic infrastructure and key personnel.
• Natanz nuclear facility: This is Iran's main uranium enrichment facility, where the country produces most of its nuclear fuel. Located in the central province of Isfahan, the Natanz facility is 'the beating heart of the Iranian nuclear programme,' analysts say.
• It is still unclear whether these strikes damaged the all-important centrifuge halls, where uranium is enriched, that are buried deep under the Persian desert and protected by metres of reinforced concrete.
Do You Know:
• Enrichment is the process through which uranium-235, which is used for producing nuclear weapons, is extracted from naturally occurring uranium which is primarily of the uranium-238 variety.
• Established in 1957, the IAEA was created in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the increased use of nuclear technology. It was the result of U.S. President Eisenhower's 'Atoms for Peace' address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953.
• According to the IAEA, there are three types of safeguard agreements and each may be complemented with the Additional Protocol (AP).
(a) comprehensive safeguards agreements with non-nuclear-weapon State parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT);
(b) voluntary offer safeguards agreements with the nuclear-weapon State parties to the NPT; and
(c) item-specific safeguards agreements with non-NPT States.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Israel strikes Iran: Old conflict, new front
📍Knowledge Nugget | International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog: A must-know for UPSC exam
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(1) In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under 'IAEA safeguards' while others are not? (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
Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍'India's relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.' Discuss. (2018)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.
What's the ongoing story: The Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, the worst in decades — more than 240 people lost their lives — leaves us with no words. No lament is enough, as the stories of the deceased and their families fill the newspapers and television channels.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are the reasons for a plane crash?
• What is the role of NDRF in these accidents?
• Why is establishing accountability important in this case?
• What is the mechanism of insurance payout? Know about the Montreal Convention.
• What are the potential risk-reduction strategies and post-disaster requirements for aircraft disasters?
• What is the role of the International Civil Aviation Organisation?
• Learn about the mechanisms and fuel used in aircraft
Key Takeaways:
• Greg Feith (67) is a former senior air safety investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Feith has spent decades examining complex air crashes — including those that, like the Air India tragedy near Ahmedabad on Thursday, unfolded in the brief but critical moments after takeoff.
• In an interview to The Indian Express, he draws on early video footage of the Thursday crash and his decades of experience to explain what may have gone wrong with AI 171, what questions investigators will now be asking, and why patience — not speculation — is essential in the hours and days after a crash. Read the whole interview here.
• Jitender Bhargava writes: Almost every aircraft accident is followed by a familiar knee-jerk response — that flying is unsafe. But an airline should not be judged by a one-off accident. International safety standards — measured via accidents per million passengers, per million takeoffs and landings — are the right way to gauge the record of an airline.
• The government has done well to issue directions pertaining to the inspection of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, including a review of take-off parameters. This will inspire some confidence in the public which may been shaken by the crash.
• In February 1990, an A320 was involved in a gruesome air crash in Bengaluru that claimed the lives of 92 of the 146 people on board. Then-Prime Minister V P Singh ordered the grounding of all A320 Airbuses. Such en masse grounding shouldn't be repeated after Thursday's tragedy unless Boeing issues an advisory.
• It will not be the Indian government alone that decides the course of the investigation. Representatives of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Boeing, and the US's Federal Aviation Administration are likely to be involved in the probe. Officials of the US National Transportation Safety Board could also be part of the investigation committee.
• The probe into Thursday's tragedy must answer such questions. If any of the agencies involved — Air India, DGCA, Boeing — is found culpable, their accountability should be fixed.
Do You Know:
• A black box is simply a flight recorder, with origins in the early 1950s. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Australian jet-fuel expert Dr. David Ronald de Mey Warren was recruited to a special team in 1953 to analyse the mid-air explosions being experienced by the world's first commercial jet aircraft, the de Havilland Comet. It was launched for commercial operations in 1952, but saw major accidents in its initial years.
• The Montreal Convention 1999, or MC99, is formally known as the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air. It was finalised under the aegis of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It provides a comprehensive and unified framework for the international carriage of passengers, baggage, and cargo by air, introducing several elements to balance the interests of travelers and the shippers of cargo and the aviation industry.
• India signed the Montreal Convention on Civil Aviation in 2009 to become its 91st member. The provisions of this convention are implemented through the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act 2009 in India, which was enacted to cover the international carriage of passengers, baggage, or cargo by airlines.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: What is Montreal Convention and why it matters for UPSC aspirants?
📍BLACK BOX
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
What's the ongoing story: S Irudaya Rajan and Andrea M Wojnar wrote: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has released its State of the World Population Report 2025, which focuses on 'Real fertility crises: The pursuit of reproductive agency in a changing world'. As fertility rates decline worldwide, the crisis lies not in population numbers but in unmet reproductive aspirations of women and couples.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are the key highlights of the State of the World Population Report 2025?
• What is the total fertility rate? How is it different from the fertility rate?
• What are the major challenges in achieving the reproductive aspirations of the population?
• Concerns about population shifts are driving demographic anxiety that is undermining the reproductive autonomy of women globally, including in India. Elaborate.
• What is the total fertility rate of India? Know about the fertility rate of other states.
• What is the issue of paid parental leave in India?
• What are the maternity benefits provided by the government to working women?
• What are the challenges of infertility in India?
• What are the changing patterns of childbearing in India?
Key Takeaways:
• It specifically refers to the gap between an individual's or couple's desires regarding children and family size and the social, cultural, or policy-driven expectations placed on them. Concerns about population shifts are driving demographic anxiety that is undermining the reproductive autonomy of women globally, including in India.
• The global fertility rate has decreased from around 5 in 1960 to 3.3 in 1990 and 2.2 in 2024, though significant regional variations exist. Fertility rates less than 2 are becoming the norm, with more than half of the world's countries — accounting for more than two-thirds of the global population — having a fertility rate below 2.1 births per woman (World Fertility Report 2024). Globally, it is projected that all countries will have a fertility level less than 4 by 2054.
• In India, the national fertility rate declined from 2.9 in 2005 to 2.0 in 2020 (SRS, 2020) although large inter-state variations exist. The overall population of children under five peaked in 2004, followed by a peak in the number of children and adolescents under 15 in 2009.
• A central finding was widespread unmet reproductive aspirations: Many individuals face obstacles both in avoiding unintended pregnancies and in having children when they want to.
• In India, over 36 per cent of respondents reported an unintended pregnancy, while over 30 per cent were unable to have a child when they wished to. This reflects a dual challenge: Underachieved fertility, where people have fewer children than desired, and overachieved fertility, where they have more children than they intended.
• Increasingly, women report difficulty in finding a suitable partner and negotiating equitable division of household and caregiving responsibilities. Marriage in India continues to place a burden on women, who are expected to manage cooking, child-rearing, and other domestic duties.
• The lack of supportive workplace policies such as paid parental leave, flexible hours, and childcare facilities further discourages women from balancing careers with family life. There is also the fear of career setbacks or discrimination due to pregnancy.
• It is important to address infertility, an issue stigmatised in India, where marriage is often equated with childbearing. Despite advances in healthcare, many women still face barriers in accessing maternal care and reproductive health information.
• It is important to address infertility, an issue stigmatised in India, where marriage is often equated with childbearing. Despite advances in healthcare, many women still face barriers in accessing maternal care and reproductive health information.
• According to NFHS-5, 4 per cent of currently married women aged 15–49 report unmet needs for spacing. This is shaped by social norms that discourage contraceptive use and a preference for male children.
• The moment calls for a proactive perspective to engage women, families and communities around their reproductive autonomy through informed choices. The future lies in building a country's capacity to anticipate, adapt to, and take advantage of demographic changes within a human rights framework.
Do You Know:
• Replacement-level fertility is commonly defined as 2.1 births per woman, which is the rate at which a population size remains the same from one generation to the next. India has reached the replacement-level fertility of 2.0, but the report pointed out that many people, especially women, still face significant barriers to making free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives and significant disparities persist across regions and states. These barriers create what the report identifies as India's 'high fertility and low fertility duality.'
• Fertility has fallen below the replacement level (2.1) in 31 states/UTs, but remains high in Bihar (3.0), Meghalaya (2.9), and Uttar Pradesh (2.7). Urban-rural gaps persist, and seven states have yet to reach replacement TFR in rural areas. In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Delhi, many couples delay or skip childbirth due to costs and work-life conflict, especially among educated middle-class women. This duality reflects differences in economic opportunities, access to healthcare, education levels, and prevailing gender and social norms.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: UNFPA State of World Population Report 2025 – Must-know insights for UPSC
📍Maternity benefits integral to right to life, health and equality
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(2) The total fertility rate in an economy is defined as: (UPSC CSE 2024)
(a) the number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year.
(b) the number of children born to couple in their lifetime in a given population.
(c) the birth rate minus death rate.
(d) the average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space? (UPSC CSE 2019)
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What's the ongoing story: The Axiom-4 mission, set to carry Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station, is scheduled to be launched on June 19, said ISRO in a statement. The Axiom-4 mission will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 19 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What is the Axiom-4 mission?
• What is the reason for the delay?
• How is Shukla's experience going to help India in future space missions?
• How is India planning to exploit the space market?
• What is the significance of the International Space Station?
Key Takeaways:
• Shubhanshu Shukla is set to create history through the Axiom-4 mission by being the second Indian astronaut to go to space. Shukla will travel to the ISS with the Ax-4 crew, where the team will conduct multiple experiments focused on microgravity and living science.
• The launch of the Axiom-4 mission has been delayed four times previously, due to unfavourable weather conditions and technical snags. The astronauts were originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29, which was put off to June 8, June 10 and June 11, when SpaceX, the providers of the launch rocket and the space capsule, detected a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket.
Do You Know:
• Earlier, the mission was delayed due to the leak. Liquid oxygen is a critical component in rocket propulsion as it allows the combustion of the main fuel, highly refined kerosene in this case. Oxygen attains liquid state at very low temperatures, well below -180 degree Celsius. The leak can happen either in the storage chamber of the rocket or in the pipelines that supply the LOx to the rocket's engine. In the best case scenario, a leak reduces the amount of LOx available for enabling combustion of the main fuel. In the worst case, it could trigger a fire or an explosion.
• The Axiom 4 mission is being operated by private US space company Axiom Space, in partnership with NASA and SpaceX. Notably, the mission will carry the first astronauts from Hungary and Poland to the space station.
• The Ax-4 mission features an international crew from the United States, India. Poland and Hungary. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, will command the commercial mission, and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The private mission also carries ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Axiom-4: The leak that led to mission delay, how launch windows are decided
📍Knowledge Nugget: Axiom-4 mission — What you must know for UPSC Exam
Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(3) With reference to the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), consider the following statements:
1. Ax-4 is a private spaceflight to the ISS operated by Axiom Space, using the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
2. The mission will carry an all-Indian crew on its journey.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
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.
What's the ongoing story: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held wide-ranging discussions with French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot on a range of issues and the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, security, space and civilian-nuclear collaboration.
Key Points to Ponder:
• How has the India-France relationship evolved over the past few years?
• What is the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor?
• What are the areas of cooperation (like renewable energy, nuclear energy, terrorism) between India and France?
• The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: Discuss the significance and challenges for India.
• What are the major defence partnerships between India and France?
• What are the challenges in the India-France relationship?
Key Takeaways:
• Jaishankar also expressed India's 'deep appreciation' to France for strong condemnation of the cross-border terrorist attack in Pahalgam and thanked Paris for its 'steadfast support for India's right to defend itself against terrorism'.
• He said the two sides also discussed global and regional issues like the situation in the Indian subcontinent, the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
• 'Defence, security, space, civilian nuclear cooperation, I think we agreed to intensify all of these through very concrete measures and projects in the time to come,' he added. Jaishankar said his conversations with Barrot also covered the IMEEC, and 'our triangular development cooperation, how do we take forward some of our trilateral mechanisms, we have one with the UAE, and with Australia'.
Do You Know:
• For New Delhi, trust also stems from the fact that France was among the few Western nations that refrained from imposing sanctions on India following the Pokhran-II nuclear tests of 1998. Since then, the two countries have collaborated closely at nearly all multilateral forums, including the UN Security Council. There has also been convergence in security and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific.
• France is a pioneer in civil nuclear energy, with around 70% of its electricity being derived from nuclear power.
• Both leaders stressed that nuclear energy is an 'essential part of the energy mix' to enhance energy security and transition towards a low-carbon economy. France has offered to build nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra.
• The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a connectivity project that seeks to develop a seamless infrastructure of ports, railways, roads, sea lines and pipelines to enhance trade among India, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean region and Europe.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Defence to energy, deepening of India-France ties amid geopolitical shifts
📍India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: Significance and Prospects for India
UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
How will the I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and USA) grouping transform India's position in global politics? (UPSC CSE 2022)
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: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
What's the ongoing story: Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), a public sector undertaking (PSU) of the Ministry of Railways, is in discussion with Russia's state-owned atomic energy company Rosatom to build Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to fulfill the energy requirements of its four ongoing mega projects, including the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag line.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What are SMRs?
• What are the steps taken by the government to achieve net-zero by 2030?
• What is the Nuclear Energy Mission of India?
• What are the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)?
• What are the Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs)?
• What is the three-stage nuclear programme of India?
• What are the challenges in utilising nuclear energy for civilian purposes?
• What is the science behind nuclear energy production?
Key Takeaways:
• A senior RVNL official said that a meeting was held on Thursday with the Russian company in this regard. He further said that push towards nuclear energy is part of this year's Budget announcement to develop SMRs to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and Indian Railways' target to achieve net-zero by 2030.
• SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 MW per unit and require less area for installation. The official said SMRs are also part of RVNL's plan to expand its interest and work in the energy sector.
• 'If everything works out, we have decided to build SMRs for the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag line, Bhanupali-Bilaspur railway line, Yavatmal-Nanded railway line and Indore-Budni Railway line' said, the official.
• Union Budget 2025-26 launched a Nuclear Energy Mission, which is focused on research and development (R&D) of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The government has allocated Rs. 20,000 crore for this initiative, aiming to develop at least five indigenously designed and operational SMRs by 2033. The government has set an ambitious target of 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047, positioning nuclear energy as a major pillar in India's energy mix.
Do You Know:
• India owes the vision of the three-phase programme of nuclear power to ensure energy security to Dr Homi J Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme, and Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who recognised the need for developing FBRs, as these reactors generate more nuclear fuel than they consume due to the gainful conversion of fertile isotopes into fissile material.
→ STAGE 1: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use natural uranium-based fuels to generate electricity, while producing fissile plutonium (Pu239), which can be extracted by reprocessing the spent fuel. It uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) both as a coolant and moderator. The programme has been supplemented by the construction of imported Light Water Reactors (LWRs).
→ STAGE 2: It involves setting up Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) of the kind at Kalpakkam, using plutonium-based fuels, which can enhance nuclear power capacity, and convert fertile thorium into fissile uranium (U233). Reprocessing of the spent fuel is vital for efficient utilisation of the plutonium inventory.
→ STAGE 3: The third stage will be based on the ThU233 cycle. U233 produced in the second stage can be used for the third stage of the power programme, which consists of advanced thermal and fast breeder reactors, for long-term energy security. The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is proposed for this. Now, the use of molten salt reactors is also seen as an option.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Knowledge Nugget: India's three-stage nuclear programme — A must-know for UPSC exams
Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
(4) Consider the following statements:
1. Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) are envisioned as the third stage of India's three-stage nuclear programme.
2. Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a coolant.
3. Thorium-bearing monazite is an example of fissile material.
How many of the above statements is/are incorrect?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
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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