China enters Indus Water Treaty war, makes big plan to help Pakistan, not good news for India due to...
Amid the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan over the Indus Water Treaty, China has extended an olive branch to Islamabad. India put into 'abeyance' its participation in the 1960 treaty, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, after 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir were killed in what Delhi described as an act of terror. The treaty had guaranteed water access for 80% of Pakistan's farms through three rivers originating in India.
Did Pakistan plead before China?
Amid the ongoing tussle over the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has turned to China for diplomatic and strategic support. In response to India's suspension of the treaty, China and Pakistan have accelerated the construction of a major dam project that will provide water and electricity to parts of Pakistan, reports The Conversation.
Why is China getting involved in this?
It says that Beijing's involvement raises concerns. Beijing has long wanted to increase its influence in the region and compete with India. There is concern in New Delhi that Beijing can obstruct the flow of rivers flowing from its territory to India. In such a situation, any interference by Beijing on the Indus Water Treaty threatens to increase regional tensions.
How has China came forward to help Pakistan?
China also sees itself as a stakeholder in the Indus Water Treaty. The Chinese media has described India as aggressive in this dispute and warned of the danger of using 'water as a weapon'. It has also pointed out that the Indus River originates in China's western Tibet region. This is a kind of threat. Meanwhile, China announced that it will expedite the Mohmand Hydro Project on a tributary of the Indus in Pakistan.
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(UPSC CSE 2018) Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Government policies and interventions, Environment, Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. What's the ongoing story: The All India Deep Sea Fishers' Association has come out against the Union Fisheries Ministry's decision to allow large vessels to operate in deep-sea areas beyond India's sovereign maritime zone. Key Points to Ponder: • Read about the blue economy policy of the Union government. • What is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)? • What are the key differences between small-scale and large-scale fishing practices? • What is sustainable fishing? • Why is sustainable fishing important for marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods? • What are the concerns raised by small-scale fishing communities regarding the deep-sea vessels? • What can be the potential ecological and economic implications of allowing large vessels in India's EEZ? • The Government of India's Blue Economy policy aims to harness ocean resources for economic growth. What are the challenges and opportunities of the Government of India's Blue Economy policy? 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Under Article 145 (3), when the President makes a reference for the court's opinion, it is placed before a five-judge bench. • On April 8, the Supreme Court had set a timeline for Governors to act on pending Bills, and for the first time, prescribed that the President should take a decision on the Bills, reserved for consideration by the Governor, within three months from the date on which such reference is received. Under Article 201 of the Constitution, no timeframe has been set for a President's decision. • The SC had said that 'in case of any delay beyond this period, appropriate reasons would have to be recorded and conveyed' to the state concerned. • In her reference to the SC, President Murmu sought to know: 'Is the exercise of constitutional discretion by the President under Article 201 of the Constitution of India justiciable? In the absence of a constitutionally prescribed timeline and the manner of exercise of powers by the President, can timelines be imposed and the manner of exercise be prescribed through judicial orders for the exercise of discretion by the President under Article 201 of the Constitution of India?' • 'Is the exercise of constitutional discretion by the Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution of India justiciable? Is Article 361 of the Constitution of India an absolute bar to judicial review in relation to the actions of a Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution of India? In the absence of a constitutionally prescribed time limit, and the manner of exercise of powers by the Governor, can timelines be imposed and the manner of exercise be prescribed through judicial orders for the exercise of all powers under Article 200 of the Constitution of India by the Governor?' • The President also asked: 'Can the exercise of constitutional powers and the orders of/by the President / Governor be substituted in any manner under Article 142 of the Constitution of India?' 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It is a power that the President has invoked on at least 15 occasions since 1950. • Article 143(1) states the court 'may, after such hearing as it thinks fit, report to the President its opinion thereon'. The word 'may' indicates that it is the court's prerogative to answer the reference. The SC has so far returned at least two references without answering. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: SC to hear President's reference to it on timeline to assent to bills 📍The President's reference 📍Before Murmu, other Presidents and their references to SC 📍Governor vs. State: Supreme Court draws the line Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: (3) Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past? (UPSC CSE 2019) (a) First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966) (b) Rajamannar Committee (1969) (c) Sarkaria Commission (1983) (d) National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000) (4) Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State? (UPSC CSE 2014) 1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President's rule 2. Appointing the Ministers 3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India 4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government Select the correct answer using the code given below (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 2, 3 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 (5) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2010) 1. In appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has exclusive power to adjudicate upon disputes involving elections of the President and the Vice President. 2. In advisory jurisdiction, the President has the power to seek an opinion from the apex court under Article 143 of the Constitution 3. In original jurisdiction, the Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts. Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 only (c) 3 only (d) 2 and 3 only Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Main Examination: General Studies-I, II: Indian history, Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers. What's the ongoing story: Nikhila Henry writes-'The governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have in the past called the three-language formula proposed by the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, a covert move to impose Hindi on the southern states. They allege that the Centre's Hindi push goes against the idea of a federal polity. While the debate goes on, with the southern states often pitted as anti-Hindi, away from the noise of political debates, the language and its speakers have had a long history in the region.' Key Points to Ponder: • Read about the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha. • How did the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha contribute to the spread of Hindi in southern India? • India speaks in many languages — but what does the Constitution say about it? • What are the constitutional provisions related to Hindi? • Is Hindi India's national language? How widely is Hindi spoken in India? • What role has the media played in India's linguistic integration? • How do regional literature and translation initiatives foster linguistic harmony in a multilingual country like India? • How did Mahatma Gandhi contribute to the spread of Hindi in South India? • What is the 'three-language formula'? • What are the benefits and challenges of implementing a three-language formula? Key Takeaways: • 'Scholars say Hindi actively began to make its presence felt in the South around the Independence movement, with Mahatma Gandhi establishing the first Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in Madras (now Chennai) in 1918. The objective was to teach Hindi to a non-Hindi-speaking populace as a link language for the freedom movement.' • 'Learning Hindi was one way of feeling that one is participating in the Indian national freedom movement,' says Prof J Atmaram of the University of Hyderabad's Hindi Department. • 'In 1922, the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha conducted its first preliminary exam to test basic Hindi proficiency. The first undergraduate examination, Rashtrabhasha Visharad, was conducted in 1931. In the other southern states where the Sabha had its regional centres — Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Kochi and Gulbarga — Hindi learning gained in popularity. 'For example, Andhra Pradesh acted as a corridor between Hindi and other southern languages. The state welcomed Hindi learning, be it in Hyderabad or Vijayawada,' says Atmaram.' • 'In Karnataka and Kerala too, there wasn't much opposition to Hindi. 'Tucked away in Ernakulam south stands the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, active since the 1930s,' he said' • 'Hindi grew more organically with the advent of mass media — radio and TV. 'At radio stations in Madras and Trichy, Hindi programming, along with regional languages, continued in independent India,' said Atmaram.' • 'By the 1970s, Doordarshan had reached homes in the South with its Satellite Instruction Television Experiment (SITE). The experiment, which began in 1975, focused on Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where instructional programming with shows dedicated to agriculture and education would have one visual component and two language components. For instance, a person in Andhra watching one of these programmes could opt to do so in Telugu. 'But while instructional programming had a language option, mass media programming, including news and entertainment which were aired through SITE, were mainly in Hindi,' says Prof B P Sanjay, who worked on SITE and was former director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.' • 'In the 1970s and '80s, another phenomenon contributed to the spread of Hindi — magazines published in Hindi. For instance, Dakshinanchal Hindi Samiti translated Bhakti literature into southern languages and vice versa.' • 'These magazines gave writing in Hindi a push. The focus was on schooling students in Hindi and the NEP of 1968 paved the way with its recommendation of a three-language policy which foregrounded Hindi and English along with the regional languages. Except for Tamil Nadu, which followed the two-language (English and Tamil) policy in government- and aided-schools, all other southern Indian states had adopted the three-language policy.' Do You Know: • Article 351 of the constitution of India says 'It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India'. • However, the provision says, this must be done 'without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule'. • The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue. The next highest is Bengali, the mother tongue for 9.7 crores (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi's count. • In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country. Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍2-language policy or 3?: After Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, Karnataka wades into debate 📍UPSC Issue at a Glance | India's Linguistic Landscape: From constitutional safeguards to endangered languages 📍Knowledge Nugget: What makes Tamil Nadu's recent protest against NEP relevant for UPSC Exam? UPSC Prelims Practice Question Covering similar theme: (6) With reference to the Three-Language Formula in India, consider the following statements: 1. The Three-Language Formula was first introduced in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 2. Tamil Nadu has historically opposed the Three-Language Formula and follows a Two-Language policy. 3. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 mandates the learning of Hindi as a compulsory language in all states. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3 Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Main Examination: General Studies-II, III: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests, Effects of liberalisation on the economy. What's the ongoing story: In the 12th round of negotiations that concluded earlier this month, India and the European Union managed to close the digital trade chapter 'in principle' and made substantial progress on the text dealing with 'services and investment', marking a significant step forward in concluding the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that both sides aim to sign by the end of this year. Key Points to Ponder: • Read about the European Union (EU) — History, Member countries. • India-EU bilateral relations—Know the background • What are the key areas of cooperation between India and the EU? • What are the contentious issues between India and the EU? • How have India-EU trade negotiations progressed since 2007? What are the key hurdles in finalising India-EU free trade agreement? • What is the significance of the India-Europe partnership? • How can India and Europe enhance their security and defense cooperation in the wake of shifting U.S. policies? • Amid global geopolitical fragmentation, strained transatlantic ties, and the European de-risking strategy towards China, how the India-EU FTA present an attractive opportunity for the EU? Key Takeaways: • The digital trade chapter of the FTA discussions covers crucial segments such as cross-border data flows, where trade partners decide on commitments to regulate movement of data across borders, which is important for e-commerce and global services. • To be sure, the textual positions taken by both sides have not yet been made public. However, bridging the regulatory gap in services between India and the EU would open the door for the Indian services sector to integrate more deeply, scale up, and attract greater investment. This is important since the EU is the largest investor globally, and services represent over 70 per cent of the EU's foreign direct investment (FDI) abroad. • Regulations on cross-border data flows are among the most contentious topics in trade agreements with the Western countries, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Effective AI systems — seen as the cornerstone of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — require diverse datasets from multiple countries. This has sparked a fierce race for data among Silicon Valley firms. • India has traditionally resisted altering its stance on data localisation under any plurilateral agreements at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to preserve policy space. It has also tightened norms, notably in April 2018, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it mandatory for payment system providers such as Mastercard and Visa to store payment data of Indian residents within the country. • The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also highlighted the potential benefits of data localisation, including encouragement to foreign investment in domestic digital infrastructure, enabling enforcement of national laws, as well as safeguarding privacy and cyber sovereignty. Countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines have implemented such measures to promote local capabilities and protect infant industries. • The EU status report on the trade talks also stated that negotiators made substantial progress on the investment text. The negotiators had made very good progress on rules for state-to-state mediation, it added. Movement on dispute settlement is significant since it suggests a breakthrough on long-standing EU concerns regarding investment protection in India. Do You Know: • According to the EU, The European Union is a group of 27 countries in Europe. These countries came together to make things better, easier and safer for people. They agreed to work together and help each other. • India established diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community — the first pillar of the future European Union — back in 1962. The Joint Political Statement signed in 1993 and the Cooperation Agreement of 1994 paved the way for the strengthening of ties between India and Europe. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Amid Trump's tariff threats, India-EU FTA presents crucial economic opportunity 📍India-EU trade deal would be largest of its kind Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: (7) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023) The 'Stability and Growth Pact' of the European Union is a treaty that 1. limits the levels of the budgetary deficit of the countries of the European Union 2. makes the countries of the European Union to share their infrastructure facilities 3. enables the countries of the European Union to share their technologies How many of the above statements are correct (a) Only one (b) Only two (c) All three (d) None (8) 'European Stability Mechanism', sometimes seen in the news, is an (UPSC CSE 2016) (a) agency created by EU to deal with the impact of millions of refugees arriving from Middle East (b) agency of EU that provides financial assistance to eurozone countries (c) agency of EU to deal with all the bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade (d) agency of EU to deal with the conflicts arising among the member countries Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: The expansion and strengthening of NATO and a stronger US-Europe strategic partnership works well for India. What is your opinion about this statement? Give reasons and examples to support your answer. ( UPSC CSE 2023) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at 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: ... Read More
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First Post
40 minutes ago
- First Post
RIC redux: How India should navigate old groupings in a new world order
Growing interest in RIC among Indians is not about rejecting the US or embracing China—it's about building leverage through diversified partnerships, given today's fragmented global order further disrupted by Trump-era unpredictability read more In recent times, there has been a noticeable resurgence of interest among Indians in the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping. This renewed attention stems in large part from a growing sense of unease—if not disillusionment—with the United States, particularly during the Trump presidency, where abrupt policy shifts and erratic rhetoric left New Delhi confused, concerned, and confounded. Once regarded as a staunch ally of New Delhi, Donald Trump's sudden, unpredictable tilt toward Islamabad—his public praise for Pakistan's military and even his offer to mediate on Kashmir, a diplomatic red line for India—was seen as either dangerously naïve or strategically duplicitous. 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Playing Both Sides, Committing to None Given today's fragmented global order—further disrupted by Trump-era unpredictability—India must resist aligning fully with any single bloc. This isn't about returning to Nehruvian non-alignment, but about pursuing interest-based alignment rooted in realism. India must engage all major powers—but on its own terms. From the West, India can leverage defence technology, economic investment, and support on global platforms. And from Russia and China, it can secure energy cooperation, regional stability dialogues, and support for a multipolar global order. This two-track diplomacy should not be viewed as indecision but as pragmatic statecraft. In this scheme of things, no one is a pariah. What matters is India's supreme national interest—a fact that the Ministry of External Affairs reminded Nato's secretary-general of this week when he threatened New Delhi with 'secondary sanctions' over its ties with Moscow. 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India must recognise that while partnerships are helpful, its rise will largely depend on its own internal strength—economic resilience, military modernisation, and political stability. The truth is that neither Washington nor Beijing truly wants New Delhi to emerge as a rival power. Both offer engagement—but often attach strategic strings. Recognising this reality is essential. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In today's volatile global order, which is akin to a 3D chessboard of overlapping alliances and competing interests, India must therefore act like a fox rather than a hedgehog. The fox, as the old saying goes, knows many things, while the hedgehog knows one big thing. India cannot afford to get locked into any singular worldview or alliance structure. It must embrace complexity and prepare for multiple contingencies. In this scenario, India's best bet is to stay pragmatic and relentlessly focused on its own interests. The growing interest of Indians in RIC must be viewed through this lens. It is not about rejecting the US or embracing China—it's about building leverage through diversified partnerships. A Lonely but Glorious Rise This stand comes with a price. India often finds itself alone in a bloc-oriented world order. Both sides see it as suspect. Recently, following the Brics summit in Brazil, some geopolitical analysts went so far as to call India an outlier—or worse, a Trojan horse in the grouping. Conversely, the US-led West finds India's engagement with countries like Russia and Iran, as well as its presence in Brics and the SCO, problematic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What both sides don't realise is that it is the presence of a country like India that helps keep the volatility of the world in check—whether political or economic. It helps maintain some degree of balance in a bloc-based global order. India's journey toward great-power status may be lonely—but it can also be glorious, provided it is navigated with strategic wisdom and restraint. The world respects strength and consistency—not dependence or ideological rigidity. New Delhi must continue to walk its own path: open to all, beholden to none. In the global power game, there are no permanent friends or enemies—only permanent interests. This, however, does not mean that India's foreign policy should become unethically Nixonian in nature. For India, a civilisational state steeped in dharmic consciousness, foreign policy must be more than transactional—dictated largely through the wider lens of dharma. It is this timeless principle that must guide India's foreign policy. And in this worldview, there's always space—and scope—for both Quad and RIC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
