Current Affairs 19 July 2025

Content :

1. The Resistance Front (TRF) Designated a Global Terror Threat
2. Work on First Phase of Jungle Safari in the Aravalis to Begin Soon: Haryana Minister
3. Nistar, First Indigenous Diving Support Vessel, Commissioned into Navy
4. India’s Foreign Education Spending Likely to Double by 2030: A Strategic Analysis
5. Yamuna River Pollution: July 2025 Status Report

The Resistance Front (TRF) Designated a Global Terror Threat

What Happened

• The United States has designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as both:
  • A Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO)
  • A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity
• The TRF is a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), based in Pakistan

Relevance : GS 2(International Relations ) , GS 3(Internal Security)

Trigger Event

• April 22, 2025: TRF claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians
• This attack was cited as the basis for the US State Department’s designation

Official Responses

• India’s Reaction:
  • External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called it a “strong affirmation of India–U.S. counter-terrorism cooperation”
  • MEA reaffirmed India’s commitment to hold “terrorist organisations and their proxies accountable” through global partnerships

• U.S. Statement:
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the TRF’s direct link to LeT and its involvement in the April 2025 attack

Why It Matters

• Operational Impact:
  • Designation triggers economic sanctions, asset freezes, and travel restrictions on TRF affiliates
  • Makes it easier for global law enforcement to disrupt funding and logistics networks

• Strategic Implications:
  • Strengthens India’s diplomatic campaign to expose and isolate Pakistan-backed terror proxies
  • Deepens India-U.S. security cooperation, particularly in South Asia
  • Supports India’s long-standing position that proxy terror groups are part of a wider state-sponsored ecosystem

Legal and Diplomatic Context

• FTO designation under U.S. law allows prosecution of any U.S.-based individuals who assist TRF
• SDGT listing blocks U.S. persons from doing business with TRF or its members
• Bolsters multilateral intelligence sharing and terrorist financing controls via FATF mechanisms

The Resistance Front (TRF):

• Origins: TRF emerged in 2019 in Jammu & Kashmir, shortly after the abrogation of Article 370.
• Affiliation: It is widely considered a front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), used to give a local and secular cover to Pakistan-backed terrorism.
• Objective: Claims to fight for the “liberation” of Kashmir from Indian control, but primarily conducts terror attacks and targeted killings, including of civilians and migrant workers.
• Notoriety: Claimed responsibility for several attacks including the Pahalgam massacre on April 22, 2025, killing 26 civilians.
• Designation: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the United States in July 2025.
• Tactics: Uses encrypted messaging, anonymous social media handles, and local recruits to evade counter-terror tracking.
• Global Response: India has been pushing for international recognition of TRF as a proxy of LeT; the U.S. designation reflects growing India-U.S. counter-terror cooperation.

Conclusion

The U.S. designation of TRF as a global terror group marks a major milestone in internationalising India’s counter-terror narrative. It reflects growing alignment between New Delhi and Washington on counter-terror priorities and raises pressure on Pakistan to dismantle state-supported militant networks.

Work on first phase of jungle safari in the Aravalis to begin soon: Haryana Minister

Project Overview

• Name: Aravalli Jungle Safari
• Location: Spread across Gurugram and Nuh districts, Haryana
• Total Area: 10,000 acres
• First Phase: 2,500 acres to be developed
• Modelled on: Vantara Jungle Safari, Jamnagar (visited by CM Nayab Singh Saini and Union Ministers)
• Purpose:
  • Promote green tourism
  • Create a new eco-identity for NCR
  • Boost wildlife conservation
  • Constructed with world-class facilities in four phases

Relevance : GS 3(Environment and Ecology)

Opposition & Criticism

• 37 retired Indian Forest Service officers wrote to PM Modi demanding scrapping of project
• Key Concerns:
  • Project promotes tourism, not conservation
  • Threatens fragile Aravalli ecosystem
  • Ignores the ecological sensitivity of the mountain range
• Activists’ View: It’s a greenwashed real estate venture rather than genuine environmental reform

Strategic & Environmental Implications

• Ecological Sensitivity:
  • Aravallis act as natural green lungs for NCR
  • Any large-scale construction risks biodiversity and aquifer recharge
• Tourism-Development Trade-off:
  • Sustainable tourism is a valid goal, but only when environmental safeguards are strictly enforced
• Governance & Transparency:
  • Concerns over lack of public consultation, EIAs, and long-term forest management plans

Additions

1. Legal & Policy Frameworks Ignored:

• Supreme Court Orders: SC has repeatedly upheld protection of the Aravalli hills under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and has censured illegal constructions (e.g., MC Mehta vs Union of India).
• National Forest Policy 1988: Prioritizes ecological stability over commercial exploitation — the project may contradict this vision.

2. Aravalli’s Ecological Importance:

• Oldest Fold Mountain System in India (Proterozoic era)
• Prevents desertification from spreading from Rajasthan to NCR.
• Key wildlife corridor for leopards, hyenas, nilgai, and other species.
• Important aquifer recharge zone for South Haryana and Delhi.

3. Risk of Greenwashing:

• “Greenwashing” refers to marketing something as eco-friendly to mask its adverse impacts — a concept from environmental ethics.
• Similar accusations in other cases (e.g., Ken-Betwa River Linking, Draft EIA 2020).

4. Comparative Case:

• Vantara Safari in Jamnagar (private, by Reliance Foundation): Though well-funded and high-tech, critics argue it’s a “zooified” conservation” with restricted real ecological impact.

Recommendations by Experts

• Independent Environmental Audit before clearance.
• Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA), not just standalone EIA.
• Mandatory public hearings and stakeholder consultation.
• Focus on community-based ecotourism (like in Sikkim, Kerala) rather than large-scale safari parks.

Conclusion :

The Aravalli Jungle Safari project reflects India’s broader tension between ecological sustainability and aspirational development. Without robust safeguards, scientific planning, and genuine public participation, such projects risk being ecological setbacks wrapped in green rhetoric.

Nistar, first indigenous diving support vessel, commissioned into Navy

Key Highlights

• Name: INS Nistar
• Commissioned on: July 2025
• Location: Visakhapatnam
• Built by: Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. (HSL)
• Length: 118 metres
• Role: Deep-sea saturation diving, submarine rescue, and salvage operations

Relevance :  GS 3(Defence , Internal Security)

Strategic Significance

• First of its Kind:
  • First indigenously designed and built diving support vessel (DSV) in India
  • Only select navies (e.g., US, UK, Russia) have such advanced DSV capabilities
• Operational Role:
  • Supports Indian Navy and regional partners
  • Acts as “Mother Ship” for Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs)
• Commissioning Statement:
  • Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi:
    “Not just a technological asset but a crucial operational enabler.”

Technological Capabilities

• Diving & Rescue Equipment:
  • Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
  • Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Life Boat
  • Diving Compression Chambers
  • Operates up to 300 metres depth
• Deep Submarine Rescue:
  • Evacuates personnel from submerged submarines in distress

Policy Context

• Aatmanirbhar Bharat Push:
  • Part of India’s broader indigenous defence production strategy
  • All 57 warships in pipeline are being built indigenously
• Defence Minister’s Statement:
  • MoS Defence Sanjay Seth:
    “INS Nistar reinforces Indian Navy as first responder and preferred security partner in the region.”

Regional & Diplomatic Implications

• Enhances India’s maritime diplomacy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)
• Contributes to Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) operations
• Strengthens India’s position as a net security provider

Value Additions

1. Strategic Deterrence & Survivability:

• Enhances second-strike capability support by ensuring rescue and recovery for nuclear submarines (SSBNs) — a critical component of India’s nuclear triad.

2. Force Multiplier in Submarine Operations:

• DSVs like Nistar provide operational assurance during peacetime training and real-time wartime contingencies — protecting high-value assets like Scorpène-class submarines and upcoming SSNs.

3. Doctrinal Shift:

• Reflects India’s move from blue-water aspiration to blue-water capability, enabling full-spectrum naval operations including rescue, salvage, and deep-sea intervention.

Technological Distinctions (vs Other Naval Platforms)

Comparative International Perspective

This places India among an elite group of nations with end-to-end submarine rescue capability.

Conclusion

INS Nistar marks a major leap in India’s maritime self-reliance and undersea rescue capability. Combining cutting-edge technology with indigenous design, it not only fills a critical operational gap but also underscores India’s emergence as a capable and trusted naval power in the Indo-Pacific.

India’s Foreign Education Spending Likely to Double by 2030

Key Data Points

• Projected Spending by 2030: $91 billion
• Current Spending (2024): $44 billion
• Increase: More than 100% over six years
• Remittance Fees Lost by Indian Families (2024): $200 million (approx. ₹1,700 crore)
• Bank Markups on Currency Conversion: 3–3.5%
• Estimated Fee Losses by 2030: Could approach $500 million annually

Relevance : GS 2(Education ) ,GS 3(Economy , Remittance)

Structure of Foreign Education Remittances

• Total Education Remittances (2024): ~$11 billion
• Source of Funds:
  • 95% sent directly from India
  • Remainder from earnings and scholarships abroad
• Primary Channel: Traditional banking (high markup and delay)
• Exchange Rate Costs: Significant contributor to overall remittance burden

Regulatory & Market Developments

• RBI Concern: High remittance costs have prompted focus on reducing fees and time delays
• World Bank Data: Global average cost of remitting money stood at 6.62% in Q3 2024
• Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS):
  • Year-on-year decline of 21% in education remittances (April 2025)
  • $874 million spent during Jan–Apr 2025 — indicates subdued demand

Policy Innovation: The Role of Digital Infrastructure

• UPI–PayNow Linkage:
  • 19 Indian banks now connected with Singapore’s PayNow
  • Enables real-time, low-cost remittances
• Cross-Border UPI Strategy:
  • Aimed at bypassing high-cost banking intermediaries
  • Significant potential to reduce friction and foreign exchange loss

Strategic Implications

• Economic:
  • Rising overseas education spending adds pressure on India’s current account
  • Lower remittance costs can save billions over the next decade
• Social:
  • Continued preference for overseas education reflects trust deficit in domestic institutions
• Policy:
  • Urgent need to scale digital payment corridors globally
  • Strengthen Indian higher education quality to retain talent and reduce remittance burden

Conclusion

India is poised to witness a dramatic rise in foreign education expenditure by 2030. While this reflects rising aspirations and income levels, the associated costs from traditional banking channels are economically inefficient. Strengthening digital remittance infrastructure and reforming the domestic education system are necessary to mitigate this outflow and align with long-term national interests.

Yamuna River Pollution: July 2025 Status Report

Key Findings from DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee)

• Faecal Coliform (FC) at ITO Bridge:
  • 92,000 MPN/100ml
  • 4,000 times above CPCB safe limit of 2,500 MPN/100ml
• Zero Dissolved Oxygen (DO) recorded at:
  • ISBT Bridge
  • ITO Bridge
  • Nizamuddin Bridge
  • Okhla Barrage
  • Agra Canal
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels (safe limit: 3 mg/L):
  • Highest: 70 mg/L at ITO Bridge
  • All locations exceed safe limits

Relevance : GS 1(Geography) ,GS 3(Environment and Ecology)

What the Indicators Mean

• Faecal Coliform (FC):
  • Indicates contamination by untreated sewage
  • Safe limit: 2,500 MPN/100ml
  • Recorded values:
    • 92,000 at ITO, 39,000 at Wazirabad, 38,000 at Okhla, etc.

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD):
  • Measures organic pollution load
  • Higher BOD = more oxygen required = poorer quality
  • Sharp jump in BOD across almost all sites from June to July

• Dissolved Oxygen (DO):
  • Essential for aquatic life
  • Safe limit: 5 mg/L or more
  • Most sites have DO = 0 or near 0 (extremely poor condition)

Comparison with June 2025

• Palla (upstream):
  • BOD rose from 6.3 to 8 mg/L
  • DO dropped from 6.3 to 4.4 mg/L
  • FC increased from 2,100 to 2,700 MPN/100ml

• Wazirabad:
  • DO dropped to 3.4 mg/L
  • FC increased to 39,000 MPN/100ml

• Asgarpur:
  • FC: 7.9 × 10⁴ MPN/100ml
  • BOD: 24 mg/L

Causes Identified

• 22 of 32 major drains empty untreated sewage into the river
• Only a few drains are tapped or partially treated
• Poor waste management, rapid urbanisation, and ineffective sewerage systems contribute

Policy & Compliance

• DPCC submits monthly water quality reports for National Green Tribunal (NGT) compliance
• Despite repeated monitoring, no significant improvement in pollution trends

Implications

• Ecological Collapse Risk:
  • Near-total oxygen depletion renders river stretches inhospitable for aquatic life
• Public Health Hazard:
  • Sky-high FC levels indicate risk of waterborne diseases and unsafe human contact
• Systemic Failure:
  • Persistent pollution despite year-round clean-air and water initiatives suggests failure in sewage infrastructure and urban governance

Conclusion

The July 2025 report reflects a severe decline in Yamuna’s water quality, with multiple parameters breaching safe thresholds by huge margins. The river is now biologically dead in stretches through Delhi, demanding immediate structural reforms, real-time effluent monitoring, and enforced accountability on municipal bodies.