Daily News Capsules
1. Trump warns of tariffs on Indian rice
US President Donald Trump signalled he could impose fresh tariffs on agricultural products, including Canadian fertiliser and Indian rice, the latest sign that protracted negotiations with two US trading partners could drag on. Trump spoke Monday at a White House event to announce billions in new aid for US farmers, some of whom said cheaper imports were making it difficult for their products to compete in the marketplace. The president said he would “take care” of alleged dumping of Indian rice into the US. Some farmers have blamed imports for falling rice prices, saying countries such as India, Vietnam and Thailand are undercutting their crops. “They shouldn’t be dumping,” Trump said. “I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can’t do that.” India is the world’s largest rice exporter — expected to sell about 25 million tonnes this season — with much of it heading to nations in Asia and Africa. Global rice prices have been under pressure this year as production stays near a record and major buyer Indonesia seeks to limit purchases. The US sells more rice abroad than it brings in, while the nation’s purchases so far this year are led by imports from Thailand, followed by India, according to US Department of Agriculture data. The Indian Rice Exporters Federation said in a statement that exports to the US remain demand-led, with major American producers not growing a similar crop to Indian basmati. “While the US is an important destination, India’s rice exports are well-diversified across global markets,” it added.
Possible Question
Critically examine how potential US tariffs on Indian rice and fertiliser imports reflect the evolving global trade environment. What strategic options does India possess—bilateral, multilateral, and WTO-consistent—to safeguard its agricultural export interests while managing geopolitical pressures?
2. Oppn MPs move to remove judge as he summons officials
At least 108 lawmakers from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Tuesday submitted a notice in the Lok Sabha seeking the impeachment of Madras high court judge justice GR Swaminathan even as the judge summoned senior Tamil Nadu officials in connection with the continued stand off over a traditional lamp-lighting festival at a hilltop near Madurai. The impeachment notice marks a rare instance when Parliament has seen an attempt to remove a sitting high court judge. To be sure, the Opposition does not have the numbers to carry the motion should the speaker choose to admit it. The move came days after justice Swaminathan’s December 1 judgment allowing the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam atop the Thiruparankundram hills in Madurai, near the Sikkander Badusha dargah. The hilltop, which houses the Subramaniya Swamy temple, the Kasi Viswanatha temple and the dargah, has long been regarded as a sensitive interfaith site. The judge ordered that the Karthigai Deepam be lit on the Deepathoon at the summit, rather than the Deepa Mandapam near the Uchipillaiyar temple where the ritual has reportedly been performed for over a century. The allegation is that this was done to polarise society with an eye on next year’s assembly elections in the state. In the notice, the MPs alleged that the judge’s conduct “raised serious questions regarding impartiality, transparency and the secular functioning of the judiciary,” further accusing him of extending “undue favouritism” to a petitioner and deciding cases on the basis of a “particular political ideology” and “against the secular principles of the India Constitution.”
Possible Question
Discuss the constitutional process and safeguards for the removal of High Court judges in India. In light of the attempt to impeach Justice GR Swaminathan, evaluate how such proceedings impact judicial independence, public trust, and the balance between accountability and insulation from political pressure.
3. ECI’s query not on right to decide citizenship, says SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) did not say it has the right to declare anyone a citizen or non-citizen under the special intensive revision (SIR) but asked if it was within the body’s constitutional powers to conduct an inquiry on doubtful inclusions in voter rolls. The observation by the top court came while hearing arguments on petitions challenging the recently concluded SIR in Bihar. “The ECI has neither said they have a right to declare anybody as a citizen nor do they say I have a right to declare anybody a non-citizen. But if there are inclusions in the electoral roll which are of doubtful integrity, will it not be within the ECI’s Constitutional power to conduct an enquiry which is inquisitorial in nature?” asked a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi. The court was hearing arguments in a petition by activist Yogendra Yadav, who questioned ECI over the deletions in Bihar. Appearing for Yadav, senior advocate Shadan Farasat said that Article 326 of the Constitution provided that a person who is a citizen of India and is not less than 18 years of age will be entitled to be registered as a voter. “The ECI is free to make an enquiry but the decision whether a person is a citizen is to be done as per the procedure prescribed under law.” He stated that the Representation of People Act, 1950 was based on the foundation provided by the Constitution. Sections 16 and 19 of that act list disqualifications and say that anyone who is a resident in a constituency and above 18 years is entitled to be registered on the voter roll. Anyone who clears the Section 16 threshold must stay on the electoral roll till a Section 19 disqualification kicks in — when that individual is held not to be a citizen of India — and till then a presumption of citizenship will operate, Farasat said. But the bench reasoned further. “To say citizenship is to be presumed when residence and age is achieved is incorrect. It is independent of it.” The court explained with an illustration, “Look at a hypothetical example that an illegal migrant residing for long in India for about 10 years, do you say he will be entitled to citizenship?”
Possible Question
The Supreme Court observed that while the Election Commission cannot decide citizenship, it can inquire into doubtful voter entries. Analyse the constitutional and statutory basis for this power. How should India balance the need for accurate electoral rolls with preventing arbitrary exclusion?
4. Thai-Cambodia clashes spread
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia spread to new parts of their contested border on Tuesday, forcing a mass exodus of civilians from the disputed frontier as a Trump-brokered truce was derailed by deadly new hostilities. At least 10 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides in the latest spate of fighting, officials say, while more than 140,000 civilians have fled the areas near where jets, tanks and drones are waging battle. Thailand and Cambodia dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-km frontier, where competing claims by both sides to historic temples can spill over into armed conflict. This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed — in large part owing to intervention by US President Donald Trump. Both sides blame each other for sparking the renewed clashes which had on Tuesday expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts. Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen said his country retaliated against Thailand, after Phnom Penh initially denied firing back for two days as Thailand announced air strikes and tank barrages. The Thai army said three soldiers have been killed and 29 wounded since Monday, while Cambodia’s defence ministry said seven of its civilians have been killed and about 20 wounded. Cambodia is open to immediate bilateral talks with Thailand to bring a halt to a raging border conflict, Suos Yara, senior adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, told Reuters in a video interview from Phnom Penh. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ruled out dialogue and said the military had a plan that it would carry out in full.
Possible Question
Using the Thailand–Cambodia clashes as a case study, analyse why ambiguities in historical treaties and cultural claims continue to trigger armed conflict. How effective are existing mechanisms such as the ICJ, ASEAN frameworks, and UN diplomacy in resolving such disputes?
5. Microsoft steps up India AI game with $17.5 billion
Microsoft Corp. chief executive Satya Nadella on Tuesday marked the year’s second visit to India with a commitment to invest $17.5 billion in data centres, hours after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. That brings Microsoft’s total India investment commitments in 2025 to $20.5 billion, including a $3 billion initiative announced during Nadella’s January visit to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and provide skilling. The US tech giant said this was its largest investment in Asia to date, but did not specify the total capacity for its data centres in India. The plan includes a new data centre in Hyderabad, set to open by June 2026, alongside the expansion of its three existing data centres in Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune. The company also announced the formal rollout of its sovereign cloud offerings, which cater to both government clients and private enterprises. As part of its new investment, Microsoft will train an additional 10 million people in AI skills to bring the total number of people trained in Microsoft’s AI tools to 20 million, the company said. India’s AI and data centre opportunity is drawing Big Tech giants. On October 14, Microsoft’s rival Google announced a $15-billion investment for an AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, with a planned capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW). Google had said at the time that this would be its largest AI infrastructure outside of the US. On January 23, Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest cloud services provider, also announced that it would invest $7 billion to build data centres in Telangana, in addition to its existing investments in other Indian states previously announced. OpenAI, the world’s largest AI startup, is also expected to spend nearly $7 billion for its own 1GW data centre in the country, although a formal announcement hasn’t been made yet. Domestic conglomerates, too, have stepped up their efforts.
Possible Question
Analyse how India should design its regulatory and industrial-policy framework to balance innovation, competition, national security, sovereign cloud requirements, and equitable access to AI capabilities.
Editorial Snapshots
A. Beyond China’s trade gains
The Chinese growth story has always been recognised as an export-led one. It started decades ago. But what is now becoming starker by the day is the scale of Chinese export dominance, even though its growth is a somewhat pale shadow of what it used to be. China’s January-November 2025 merchandise trade surplus crossing the $1 trillion threshold — no country has ever achieved this — is yet another reminder of its export prowess. That this feat was achieved in a year when Donald Trump tried to fight a trade war with China and initially imposed triple-digit tariffs on it, only proves Chinese resilience even further. There is good reason to believe that the US has also allowed Chinese imports to be redirected via other countries. Sure, not all of the Chinese export resilience is thanks to pure and benign competitiveness. A lot of the US’s backdown on tariffs was because the Chinese threatened to hold back the supply of critical rare earths that are indispensable for modern manufacturing. But what is also equally true is that completely decoupling from China today is easier said than done for any country. The fact that the Trump administration has done away with even sector-specific restrictions imposed by the previous regime — Trump’s approval for selling H200 Nvidia chips to China is the latest example — shows that even most cutting-edge companies might be lobbying on behalf of China in other countries. Does all of this mean China has some sort of invincible position in today’s world? Nothing can be further from the truth. It is a country in demographic decline, past its peak growth, and struggling to make consumption the anchor of its growth. There are also concerns about debt overhang and huge excess capacity in the economy. However, the point is not to read these fault lines and predict a preordained implosion of the Chinese economy. Rather, the focus should be on ironing out other countries’ concerns about Chinese trade in multilateral forums, most of which, unfortunately, are almost comatose today. Trade can work for everyone when it is fair, not just free.
Possible Question
China’s record trade surplus reflects both competitive strength and structural distortions in global trade. In this context, critically analyse India’s strategy for integrating into global value chains while reducing overdependence on China. What reforms in trade policy, logistics, and standards are necessary for long-term competitiveness?
B. More than just a sexual assault case
The 2017 case involving the abduction and gangrape of an actress shook up Kerala because of its links to multiple cinema stars, especially Dileep, a top actor, who was also influential as a producer, distributor, and theatre owner. The victim of the assault, too, was an A-list actress, and so were two others linked to the case, Dileep’s current wife, Kavya Madhavan, and his ex-wife, Manju Warrier, whom he held responsible for his arrest in his first remarks after a local court in Kerala acquitted him on Monday. Though the court convicted the first six accused, there is lack of closure for the victim because the prosecution failed to establish any conspiracy behind the assault: The abduction and assault of the actress by a bunch of people linked to the film industry had raised questions about their motive and if they acted at the behest of others with economic might and political connections. A significant outcome of the case was that it initiated a conversation about the underbelly of the Malayalam film industry, with implications for work relations in other language cinemas as well. Four top actresses walked out of a powerful forum of film artists, AMMA, in an act of solidarity with the victim, which led to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a first-of-its-kind platform in India, to articulate the concerns of female workers. The WCC soon emerged as a moral voice and was successful in forcing the government to acknowledge the absence of basic work norms, including adherence to the Vishaka guidelines on sexual harassment, in the industry. The government set up the Justice Hema Commission to probe complaints by female artistes, but it yielded little as powerful vested interests in the cinema industry closed ranks against providing redress or acknowledging the anti-women attitudes that define its work culture. Independent of the developments in the present case — the government is set to appeal against the order — the conversation on gender rights in the film industry must continue, and not merely in Malayalam cinema, but across the many regional cinema worlds in India.
Possible Question
The Malayalam film industry’s response to the 2017 assault case exposed deeper structural issues in workplace safety, gender norms, and informal labour relations. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks in addressing gender-based vulnerabilities in informal and creative industries in India.
Fact of the day
Districts ‘most affected’ by LWE down to 3, says Govt: The number of districts “most-affected” by Maoists insurgency has consistently gone down in the country from 126 to just three between 2018 and 2025, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said in to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “LWE, which has been a serious challenge to the internal security of the nation, has been significantly curbed in recent times and has been constricted to only a few pockets,” Rai said. Sharing data, Rai said the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)- related violent incidents have reduced from a 1,936 in 2010 by 89% to 218 in 2025. “Resultant deaths of civilians & security forces personnel have also come down from 1,005 in 2010 by 91% to 93 in 2025. In 2025 (till 1 December), security forces have neutralized 335 Maoists, arrested 942 and facilitated 2,167 surrenders, Rai said in the reply. The Centre has vowed to eliminate LWE from the country by March 31, 2026. He added that the Centre is implementing a comprehensive policy for the development of the insurgency affected areas. “To address the LWE menace holistically, a National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE was approved in 2015. It envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc,” he said in response to a question by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Janardan Singh Sigriwal. He added that the Centre has commissioned 9,050 towers for cell phone connectivity in the LWE hit areas. The minister said since 2019, at least 1,106 Maoists have been killed, and 5,571 have surrendered.
