Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 05 February 2026

Content

1. Urban India Running — Social Change, Loneliness & Urbanisation
2. Farmers & Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

---

Urban India Running — Social Change, Loneliness & Urbanisation

---

Urbanisation & Social Structure

Shift from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft

• Classical sociology (Ferdinand Tönnies): cities move from community-based ties (Gemeinschaft) to contractual, impersonal relations (Gesellschaft), weakening kinship bonds and increasing emotional isolation.
• Rapid urban growth (India ~35% urban, Census projections rising) produces high-density but low-social connectedness, where proximity does not translate into social belonging.

Nuclearisation of Families

• Census and NSS trends show rise of nuclear households and solo living, reducing traditional emotional support systems once provided by joint families and neighbourhood networks.
• Migration-driven urban jobs detach youth from native social capital, creating “rootless urbanism” with limited trust-based relationships.

Loneliness as a Public Health Issue

Psychological Dimensions

• WHO recognises loneliness as a risk factor for depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular diseases, comparable to smoking and sedentary lifestyles.
• Urban professionals face time poverty, work stress, and digital dependence, shrinking meaningful offline interactions.

Lifestyle Disease Link

• ICMR notes rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) linked to inactivity; running culture promotes preventive health and stress regulation.
• Early-morning running reflects behavioural adaptation to pollution, congestion, and work schedules.

Running as Social Capital Formation

Emergence of “Third Places”

• Ray Oldenburg’s concept: beyond home and workplace, cities need neutral social spaces; running clubs informally serve this role.
• Parks, tracks, and promenades become interaction nodes, compensating for declining community spaces.

Collective Identity Formation

• Group runs create shared routines, discipline, and accountability, strengthening weak ties into stable social networks.
• Participation cuts across class segments but often dominated by young urban middle class, reflecting aspirational lifestyle shifts.

Urban Design & Public Space

Built Environment Impact

• Jane Jacobs emphasised walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods for social vibrancy; Indian cities remain car-centric, limiting safe pedestrian activity.
• Poor sidewalks, pollution, and safety concerns reduce outdoor activity, making structured clubs safer alternatives.

Gendered Access to Space

• Women’s participation in early-hour running reflects negotiation with safety constraints, reclaiming limited safe time–space windows in cities.
• Highlights need for gender-sensitive urban design and surveillance-based safety infrastructure.

Digital Mediation of Fitness Culture

Social Media & Quantified Self

• Fitness apps track distance, pace, calories, converting health into measurable achievement, reinforcing motivation through gamification.
• Online communities transform solitary exercise into networked social performance.

FOMO & Behavioural Nudges

• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) sustains participation; public sharing of milestones creates peer accountability loops.

Environmental Context

Pollution & Timing Choices

• AQI concerns push runners to dawn hours, reflecting environmental constraints shaping lifestyle behaviour.
• Running culture indirectly raises awareness about urban air quality and green space deficits.

Green Urbanism

• Urban ecology studies show access to parks improves mental wellbeing and social cohesion.

Governance & Policy Linkages

Health Promotion

• Aligns with Fit India Movement, Khelo India, and SDG-3, promoting preventive healthcare over curative spending.

Urban Planning

• AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission stress open spaces and non-motorised transport, but implementation gaps persist.
• Need integration of active mobility planning into Master Plans.

Conclusion

• Running culture reflects deeper urban sociological transformation, where citizens self-create community amid anonymity.
• Sustainable response requires people-centric urban planning, accessible public spaces, and preventive health policy.
• Urban success must be measured not only by GDP and infrastructure but by social connectedness and mental wellbeing.

---

Farmers & Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

---

Conceptual Basics: FTAs & Agriculture

What are FTAs?

• Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are treaties reducing or eliminating tariffs, quotas, and non-tariff barriers on goods/services to boost bilateral or regional trade and investment flows.
• Agriculture is a sensitive sector in FTAs because it directly affects food security, rural incomes, and political economy of livelihoods.

Agriculture in Trade Theory

• Comparative advantage theory (David Ricardo): countries export goods where they are relatively efficient; however, agriculture often involves subsidies and protections distorting pure market logic.
• WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) recognises domestic support, export subsidies, and market access as key pillars affecting farm trade competitiveness.

Structure of Indian Agriculture

Employment vs Output Paradox

• Agriculture employs ~45% workforce but contributes only ~15–16% of GDP, indicating low labour productivity and disguised unemployment.
• Small and marginal farmers constitute ~85% of holdings (Agriculture Census), limiting scale efficiency and export competitiveness.

Subsistence Orientation

• Majority holdings are <2 hectares, leading to low marketable surplus, weak bargaining power, and vulnerability to price volatility.
• Farming acts as a livelihood safety net, not purely a commercial enterprise, shaping India’s cautious trade stance.

Political Economy of Farm Protection

Food Security Imperative

• India’s experience of food shortages in the 1960s shaped a policy bias toward self-sufficiency and MSP-backed procurement.
• Public Distribution System (PDS) and NFSA create structural dependence on domestic production stability.

Electoral & Social Sensitivity

• Large rural electorate makes farm distress politically salient; sudden import competition risks price crashes and social unrest.
• Farm unions and cooperatives exert policy influence, especially on dairy and cereals.

FTAs and Indian Concerns

Import Surge Risks

• FTAs can trigger import surges in edible oils, dairy, or plantation crops, depressing domestic prices.
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards of developed countries also restrict India’s agri-exports.

Asymmetry in Subsidies

• OECD countries provide high Amber/Green Box subsidies, lowering global prices and disadvantaging Indian farmers with limited fiscal support.
• This creates a non-level playing field despite tariff reductions.

Sector-Specific Sensitivities

Dairy

• India is the world’s largest milk producer, dominated by smallholders; exposure to subsidised dairy imports threatens cooperative models like AMUL-type structures.

Plantation Crops

• Tea, coffee, rubber face competition from ASEAN countries with lower labour and compliance costs.

Developmental Perspective

Structural Transformation Theory

• Simon Kuznets & W. Arthur Lewis: development requires labour shift from low-productivity agriculture to industry/services.
• India’s slow non-farm job creation traps surplus labour in agriculture, increasing FTA sensitivity.

Global Experience

• East Asian economies liberalised agriculture after industrialisation, not before, sequencing reforms with safety nets.

Balancing Protection and Integration

Need for Gradualism

• Tariff liberalisation must be phased and product-specific, with trigger safeguards for import surges.
• Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) debates at WTO reflect this concern.

Competitiveness Reforms

• Improve value addition, food processing, logistics, and export standards.
• Promote Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for scale aggregation.

Way Forward

• Shift labour from agriculture to manufacturing and rural non-farm sectors to reduce overdependence.
• Move from price support to income support and risk insurance.
• Invest in agri R&D, irrigation, and supply chains for export competitiveness.
• Negotiate FTAs with long tariff phase-outs and exclusion lists for sensitive crops.

Conclusion

• India’s cautious FTA stance in agriculture reflects livelihood protection, food security, and structural constraints, not mere protectionism.
• Long-term solution lies in structural transformation and competitiveness, allowing India to integrate into global agri-trade without jeopardising farmer welfare.

---