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New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)

Context: The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) officially expired on February 5, marking the end of the last remaining bilateral agreement constraining the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia. The New START treaty emerged from a period of diplomatic reset between Washington and Moscow in the late 2000s.

• After entering into force on February 5, 2011, New START set up verifiable limits on the strategic offensive arms of both nations, including capping the number of deployed warheads to 1,550, and required both parties to reach these limits within seven years and maintain them thereafter. It also allowed 18 on-site inspections a year, mandated data exchange, and set up a bilateral commission to resolve issues.
• New START was constantly beleaguered. Russia often argued that U.S. missile defense systems undermined the strategic balance, suggesting that if one side could neutralise the other’s retaliatory strike, the ‘mutually assured destruction’ dynamic would be broken. The U.S. expressed concerns over conventional prompt global strike capabilities, where precise conventional warheads are placed on ballistic missiles, systems that New START counted under its nuclear limits.
• Later Russia also unveiled several novel strategic systems, including the Sarmat heavy ICBM and the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. While the U.S. successfully argued that these should be counted under New START, other systems like the nuclear-powered underwater drone Poseidon and nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik remained outside the treaty’s technical definitions.

No binding limits

• The treaty was originally set to expire in 2021. Just days before the deadline, the Biden administration and the Kremlin agreed to a one-time, five-year extension, moving the expiration date to February 5, 2026. But in February 2023, after the conflict in Ukraine escalated and undermined bilateral relations, President Vladimir Putin said he was suspending Russia’s participation in New START because, Moscow said, the U.S. was seeking a “strategic defeat” of Russia and that western aid to Ukraine made on-site inspections in Russia impossible. The U.S. soon followed.
• Today, for the first time since 1972, there are no legally binding limits on the number of strategic nuclear weapons the U.S. and Russia can deploy. The formal channels to verify the locations and status of nuclear forces have ceased to exist, forcing intelligence agencies to rely entirely on satellite imagery and other unilateral methods, which are more error-prone and easier to politicise. Nuclear and non-nuclear strategic systems are also entangled today and that, together with the premium both sides place on non-contact options like cyberattacks, can threaten nuclear command and control without crossing a nuclear threshold. This is why analysts have stressed the loss of predictability rather than the appearance of new warheads alone.
• New START’s expiry also makes the prospect of including China and other nuclear states in a larger nonproliferation regime harder in practice. Washington can now argue that it shouldn’t be the only state constrained while Beijing grows. Moscow can argue that it shouldn’t accept constraints while NATO’s aggregate capabilities shape its security environment. And Beijing has already argued that its arsenal is smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia and that therefore it’s “not fair or reasonable” to demand it enter their disarmament framework now.
• In 2025, Arms Control Association board chairman Thomas Countryman argued that the most realistic near-term path is a regime with three prongs: the U.S. and Russia establishing measures to restore basic level of transparency, the P5 group standardising definitions and modest transparency practices; and setting up of nonproliferation tools such as hotlines, launch notifications, incident prevention, and fissile material security, to involve more states without immediately forcing them to count each other’s warheads.

Source: The Hindu

India, GCC nations sign terms of reference for FTA

Context: Appropriate that we enter a robust trading arrangement for greater free flow of goods and services, and predictability, stability to policy: Goyal

• Representatives of India and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed the Terms of Reference for negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA).
• The GCC countries are together India’s largest merchandise trade partners, with total merchandise trade exceeding that done with even the EU and the U.S.
• The Terms of Reference (ToR) were signed by India’s chief negotiator for the FTA, Additional Secretary Ajay Bhadoo, and his counterpart representing the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Raja Al Marzouki. The signing of the ToR is a necessary precursor for the start of formal negotiations. The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
• “It is most appropriate that we now enter into a much stronger and robust trading arrangement, which will enable a greater free flow of goods and services, bring predictability and stability to policy, help encourage greater degree of investments and take our bilateral relations between the six nation GCC group and India to greater heights,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who presided over the signing, said in his speech.
• Bilateral benefit
• Mr. Goyal pointed out that the two sides could significantly benefit from each other, with India’s workforce both within the GCC countries as well as in India standing to gain from the eventual agreement.
• “The GCC countries can help us with further diversification and growth of our energy sources, opportunities for our youth, and massive amounts of investments that different countries have already committed at different points of time, which will further get an impetus with a free trade agreement between India and the GCC nations,” he added.

Source: The Hindu

Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-led ride-hailing platform

Context: Union Home, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-led ride-hailing platform, after a successful two-month pilot operation.

• The service has been initially launched in Delhi-NCR and Gujarat, and will be expanded across all States and Union Territories within two years.
• “In three years, Bharat Taxi will be rolled out across the country, from Kashmir to Kanniyakumari and Dwarka to Kamakhya.
• The profits will be shared with drivers associated with Bharat Taxi. Customers can hail cars, three-wheelers and two-wheelers through the platform.

Source: The Hindu

Motion of Thanks in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha

Context: Amid continued protests by Opposition, Lok Sabha was adjourned; Speaker says the conduct of some Opposition members in his office was not appropriate, terms it a ‘black spot’

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address before it was passed in the Lok Sabha . In fact, he was not present in the House when the Motion was put to vote.
• The last time that the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was passed without the Prime Minister’s reply was in June 2004, when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not deliver his reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha following BJP protests.
• He had then asked the Lok Sabha to put the Motion to vote without his reply. In his 2005 speech, Dr. Singh mentioned that he had not been allowed to speak the previous year.
• The Rajya Sabha adopted the Motion to Thank President Droupadi Murmu for her Address to the joint session of Parliament. The amendments moved by Opposition MPs were defeated in a voice vote in their absence. The Opposition had walked out of the House during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate.

Source: The Hindu

Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA)

Context: A tripartite agreement for creation of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) was signed between Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), Nagaland government and Union Home Ministry.

• The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. ENPO is an apex body representing eight recognised Naga tribes of the six eastern districts of Nagaland.
• The agreement paves the way for creation of the FNTA for six districts of Nagaland — Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator — and devolution of powers in respect of 46 subjects to the FNTA.
• Mr. Shah said it was a significant day for a dispute-free Northeast. “Eleven years ago, several armed groups and disputes in the Northeast were pushing the region towards fragmentation and disturbing its peace. At the same time, many inter-State disputes were disrupting the peace of the States,” he said.
• Mr. Shah said that since 2019, the Centre has signed 12 important agreements in the Northeast. Mr. Shah said that he wants to assure the representatives of ENPO that the Government of India will assist in the development of Eastern Nagaland and also will shoulder its responsibility. He added that a fixed amount will be determined every year, and the MHA will cover the initial expenditure for its establishment.
• The agreement provides, inter alia, for a mini-Secretariat for FNTA, headed by Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary, sharing of development outlay for the Eastern Nagaland region proportional to population and area. However, this agreement does not affect in any manner, the provisions of Article 371(A) of the Constitution, the Ministry said.

Source: The Hindu

Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026

Context: The State Cabinet has decided to bring an amendment through the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to reintroduce ballot papers in the local body election. The decision was taken to bring transparency and secrecy in elections, a note said, adding that the government had decided to drop EVMs from the election process.

• The Cabinet also decided to bring amendment through Karnataka Police (Amendment) bill, 2026, to allow Police Establishment Board to transfer officials who have been suspended following dereliction of duty, gross negligence and misconduct.
• Currently because of the two-year tenure, the law had not permitted transfer of such officials though being suspended.
• The government has also decided to announce a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for those who had availed themselves of loans from Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation between 2013 and 2019 when about ₹800 crore had been disbursed to beneficiaries under various schemes.

Tackling hate speech with AI

Context: Content on social media and other digital platforms can come under the scanner as the State government will deploy AI-powered Social Media Analytics Solution software to identify hate speech and malicious campaigns in news and advertising.

• Content on social media and other digital platforms could come under the scanner as the Karnataka government will deploy AI-powered ‘Social Media Analytics Solution’ software to identify hate speech, misinformation and malicious campaigns in news and advertising.
• The AI-based software will be used to assess misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and harmful narratives, especially for safety of women, children, and the public.
• The decision to deploy the AI-powered software at the cost of ₹67.26 crore was arrived at during the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister .
• “This is not only for fact checking, but also to identify manipulation on social media platforms and digital media platforms. Right now, the AI software will be deployed to assess. Law will come later and action will be initiated,”
• On the legal standing of screening of content, there is no absolute bar to screen or verify criminal intentions or manipulation.” He also clarified that this would not be applicable to news media outlets. “Fake media banners and houses will, however, not be spared, that there will be no human interference in this, and that no party or government will benefit.
• The Cabinet note said that the software would be developed adhering to guidelines on data sovereignty and data localisation, and cloud architecture would be developed adhering to the guidelines of MeitY. It also pointed out that the Department of IT/BT has after evaluation found the importance of IDTU project in controlling the spread of misinformation ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
• The proposed software will be proprietary algorithm, which will be dynamic and continuously renewed AI/ ML units since there is a threat of misinformation evolving and fixed algorithm was not an answer. There will be real-time alerts and geo-specific threat mapping. It would help in identifying new-age misinformation, hate speech, deep fakes, bot networks, multi-language narratives, and subject-based manipulations.

Source: The Hindu

Denotified tribes seek constitutional recognition, separate Census entry

Context: Denotified tribes, nomadic tribes, semi-nomadic tribes seek ‘separate column’ in 2027 caste census, claiming they have been politically misclassified among SC, ST, OBC groups; they want sub-classification to highlight backwardness within grouping.

• Denotified tribes, nomadic tribes, and semi-nomadic tribes across the country are coming together to push for a “separate column” for themselves in Census 2027 . Their demand is for constitutional recognition of the denotified tribes in a Schedule, on a par with the existing classifications of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• In February 2027, India will conduct a caste enumeration for the first time since 1931. Five years after that 1931 Census, the origins of the Scheduled Castes list came into being in the form of the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936.
• Half a century earlier, in 1871, a colonial law had classified entire communities, particularly nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, as “criminals”. After the law was repealed in 1952, these groups came to be known as “denotified” tribes.
• The Social Justice Ministry has now recommended to the Office of the Registrar-General of India that these denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes be included in the Census. The Office of the RGI has agreed to include them in next year’s caste enumeration exercise, Ministry officials assured community leaders in North India in a virtual meeting on January 30.

‘Separate column’

• “But we have no idea how they will do this,” B.K. Lodhi, a community organiser in Uttar Pradesh who was at the meeting, told The Hindu. “If we are not counted in a separate column, a separate code, in the Census forms, we will be lost once again,” said Balak Ram Sansi, 63, a Karnal-based organiser with the All India Denotified Nomadic Tribes Development Council.
• Even as leaders from denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic communities across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and other parts of North India are fighting to have their own Schedule, some leaders have started to stress the importance of recognising “graded backwardness” within this grouping as well.
• They want the demand for sub-classification to go hand in hand with that for a separate Schedule. These leaders, like Dr. Lodhi, are drawing their arguments from an August 2024 judgment, in which the Supreme Court paved the way for sub-classification of SCs and STs.

Denotified tribes

• The Criminal Tribes Act was first enacted in 1871 and then amended in 1924, before being officially repealed on August 31, 1952. The 1871 Act said it was for the “registration, surveillance and control of certain criminal tribes and eunuchs”, describing “criminal tribes” as “tribe, gang, or class of persons” that are “addicted” to committing non-bailable offences. “These communities were among the first to confront the British and sustained the struggle. That is why the colonial government classified us as ‘criminal tribes’,” Mr. Sansi said.
• The previous National Commission for Denotified Tribes, headed by Bhiku Ramji Idate, identified 1,200 such tribes, most of which have been assimilated in the SC, ST, or OBC classifications over the past seven decades. In its 2017 report, however, the Idate Commission listed 267 DNT communities that have not been classified as such. Dr. Lodhi, who served as Deputy Secretary and Director (Research) to the Idate Commission, said, “Most of the DNTs have been amalgamated in the SC, ST, OBC lists and they are not able to compete in these categories because of how marginalised they are.” Mr. Sansi said it was “politics” that led to the DNT communities being “misclassified”.

No caste certificates

• Despite schemes for DNTs run by both the State and the Centre, such as the SEED scheme, only a “miniscule” percentage of people are getting benefits, mainly because governments are not willing to issue DNT certificates, the leaders said.
• The Social Justice Ministry has only spent ₹69.3 crore on the SEED scheme in the past five years (as of December 2025), compared to the planned expenditure of ₹200 crore. “The reason for this is that no State is issuing proper DNT community certificates for us despite reminders from the Centre,” Dr. Lodhi said.

Manipur President’s Rule ends; Khemchand new CM

Context: Will prioritise peace, says the Chief Minister; BJP’s Kuki-Zo member Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho of the Naga People’s Front sworn in as Deputy CMs; two more MLAs take oath as Ministers

• The installation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government, with a Meitei leader at the helm, brought an end to nearly a year of President’s Rule in Manipur.
• Around 6 p.m., Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla administered the oath of office to former Assembly Speaker and martial artist Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the State’s second Chief Minister since the 2022 election.
• The first, Nongthombam Biren Singh, resigned on February 9, 2025, following the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities that broke out on May 3, 2023. The swearing-in ceremony followed the revocation of President’s Rule, which was imposed on February 13, 2025.
• Mr. Khemchand Singh represents the BJP from the Singjamei constituency.
• The BJP’s Kangpokpi MLA, Nemcha Kipgen, from the Kuki-Zo community, and Naga People’s Front MLA Losii Dikho, a Naga leader representing the Mao constituency, were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers. The former took the oath virtually from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi.
• Two other Meitei MLAs — Govindas Konthoujam of the BJP (Bishnupur) and Khuraijam Loken Singh of the National People’s Party (Wangoi) — were sworn in as Ministers at the Lok Bhavan in Manipur’s capital, Imphal. “There will always be challenges. We will prioritise peace and work for the State’s development and growth,” Mr. Khemchand Singh said after swearing in.

Russia sounds alarm as New START treaty is set to expire

Context: The last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow is set to expire tomorrow; Moscow awaiting U.S. response to one-year extension offer; Russian drones strike Ukraine ahead of talks

• The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that the world was heading into a “dangerous” moment as the last U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty is set to expire this week.

• New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is set to expire on Thursday, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers.

• “In just a few days, the world will be in a more dangerous position than it has ever been before,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. The Kremlin, which has offered a one-year extension of the treaty, said “we still haven’t received a response from the Americans to this initiative”.
• If the treaty is not extended, the world’s top two nuclear powers would “be left without a fundamental document that would limit and control these arsenals,” for the first time.
• U.S. President Donald Trump, who cut many international agreements limiting the United States, said in September that an extension of the New START “sounds like a good idea,” but little has changed since then.
• Meanwhile, Russia fired around 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles of various types at Ukraine in a major attack overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
• The barrage came a day before the two countries were due to attend U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi.