Stubble Burning

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Last Updated: Nov 2024 (Stubble Burning)

Stubble Burning

This article deals with ‘Stubble Burning – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Environment’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles on Environment, you can click here.

What is Stubble Burning?

Stubble burning is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of grains, like paddy, wheat, etc. It is usually required in areas that use the combined harvesting method which leaves crop residue behind.

Why do farmers burn stubble?

  • Time Factor / Cropping Pattern: The paddy wheat system leaves farmers with a sowing time of less than a month between the two crops. Delay in sowing means a decline in yield.  
  • Government Policies: Punjab & Haryana directed their farmers to delay paddy transplantation to save groundwater (under Sub-Soil Water Conservation Acts passed in 2009), but now when they harvest rice, there is no time to grow wheat. 
  • Cost Factor: Straw management equipment is costly, and the government doesn’t consider the cost of stubble management while deciding on MSP. 
  • No Market for Crop Residue: Low commercial and economic value of crop residue, coupled with the high costs of processing, reduces its value for farmers.
  • Farm Mechanization: Earlier, farmers used to cut the paddy close to the ground, and the issue of stubble wasn’t there. But the harvesters cut the paddy from height and leave behind one-foot-tall stalks.
Stubble Burning

Side Topic: Stubble burning leads to the formation of Smog in Delhi because 

The concentration of PM 2.5 particles increases in the air due to stubble burning, which provides condensation nuclei for smog formation.

Problems caused by Stubble Burning

  • Bad for Soil Health: Burning leads to a decline in the bacterial and fungal population in the top 2.5cm of the soil, thus decreasing the soil fertility and increasing farmers’ dependence on fertilizers. 
  • Health Impacts: Stubble burning releases air pollutants, especially particulate matter (PM), CO2 and ash. It impacts the health of the general population, especially pulmonary disorders. 
  • Increase the Cost of Agriculture: According to research conducted by ICRISAT, the nutrient loss from soil caused by stubble burning in Punjab amounts to 220 crores worth of urea. 
  • Impact on Biodiversity: Fires can destroy habitats for various wildlife species, such as insects, birds, and small mammals, which may rely on crop residues for shelter or food.

Carrot & Stick Approach is required

Carrot & Stick Approach of Stubble Management

Carrot Approach 

  • MS Swaminathan suggested commercializing the paddy straw by using it for making cardboards, animal feed, paper, energy generation etc.
  • Government should subsidize farm machinery for stubble management, such as Happy Seeder, Rotavator etc.
  • Economic Survey (2020) suggests setting up Biomass Depots for storing crop residues and making Biochar Briquettes out of them, which can be further used in thermal power plants and coal or as fuel in local industries and brick kilns. 
  • Provide market to farmers to produce electricity from Biomass. For this, Punjab has operationalized the first such powerplant Jalkheri Biomass Powerplant (Patiala District).  
  • Encourage Farmers to change cropping patterns: Government should also procure pulses and oilseeds at MSP.
  • Promote Pelletisation and Torrenisation to provide market to stubble products
    • Pelletisation: Involves shredding, drying, grinding and pellet making.
    • Torrefaction: Thermal degradation of organic biomass.
  • Encouraging Sustainable Alternatives to Crop Residue Management:  These include
    • Mulching: Mulching involves spreading crop residues on the soil surface as a protective layer. 
    • Zero-Till Farming: It minimizes soil disturbance and relies on the direct planting of seeds into crop residues.

Stick Approach

  • Fine those farmers who burn the straw even after that.  
  • Authorities in Punjab plan to use satellite technology to keep a vigil on illegal burning. 

Steps already taken by the Government

1. Crop Residue Management Scheme

  • The scheme provides subsidy for buying In-Situ Crop Residue Management Technologies (like Happy Seeder)
  • The government is giving 50% subsidy to the individual farmers and 80% subsidy to Cooperative Societies to buy In-Situ Crop Residue Management technologies. These technologies include
Happy Seeder With Happy Seeder, the next crop can be sown in the standing stubble.
Rotavator Prepare the land for the next crop by incorporating the stubble into the soil.
Baler Make the bales of stubble

2. PUSA Decomposer

  • PUSA Decomposer is a set of 4 tablets developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa. The tablets contain the fungi strains, which increase the rate of decomposition of paddy straw.

3. Project to convert Paddy Straw into Bio-Energy

  • Punjab Government has signed an MoU with Chennai based company ‘NEWAY‘ under which 400 Plants for converting paddy straw to electricity will be constructed.

4. Making stubble burning a punishable offence

  • Stubble burning has been made a punishable offence under Section 188 of IPC and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981.

5. Crop Diversification Programme (CDP)

  • Since Paddy-Wheat Crop system is the main culprit behind stubble burning, government is promoting crop diversification under Crop Diversification Programme (CDP) which is a sub-scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

6. New Seed Varieties of Paddy

  • New varieties of rice which matures in 120 to 125 days (like PUSA-2090) in contrast to traditional varieties like PUSA-44 which matures in 155 to 160 days can provide farmers 30 days to prepare their field for next crop and don’t indulge in stubble burning.

Air Pollution in Indian Cities

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Last Updated: Nov 2024 (Air Pollution in Indian Cities)

Air Pollution in Indian Cities

This article deals with ‘Air Pollution in Indian Cities – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Environment’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles on Environment, you can click here

Data about Air Pollution

  • A study published in Lancet Journal says that polluted air is a cause of one in eight deaths in India and decreases average life expectancy in the country by 1.7 years. 
  • According to Lancet’s Study, air pollution is linked to type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

Timeline of Delhi Pollution

Air Pollution in Indian Cities



Reasons for the rise in Urban Pollution (Delhi in Particular) 

1. Anthropogenic Causes

  • Stubble Burning in Punjab & Haryana by farmers.  
  • An explosion of personal vehicles.    
  • Burning of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and gasoline for generation of electricity.
  • Burning of garbage waste in open which releases toxins such as soot and carcinogens.
  • Massive-scale construction work, leading to an increase in the concentration of PM 2.5 & PM 10.

2. Geographical Causes

  • Westerlies: North India is under the influence of westerlies in winter, and these winds take pollutants of stubble burning to Delhi NCR. 
  • Due to the degradation of Aravallis, frequent dust storms from the Thar Desert have now started to reach New Delhi.
  • Temperature Inversion creates a sort of blanket and doesn’t allow air to circulate in winter.
  • Delhi is a continental city & situated on a ridge.
  • Change in Weather Patterns: For example, a dip in La Nina  caused the spike in Particulate Matter in coastal cities (including Mumbai).

3. Socio-Economic Factors

  • Population Pressure: Delhi acts as an urban magnet due to the presence of job opportunities. 

4. Faulty Policies / Governance Factors

  • Fuel Subsidy on diesel has distorted people’s preference towards buying diesel cars, although Diesel cars emit 4 to 7X more pollutants. 

5. Reasons for the exponential rise in pollution during winters

  • Dip in Temperatures: Due to temperature inversion in the winters, the pollutants can’t disperse upwards, thus increasing the concentration of pollutants. 
  • Dip in Wind Speed: The winds blow at very moderate speeds during winters compared to summers. Due to stagnant winds, these pollutants get locked in the air and affect weather conditions, resulting in smog. 
  • Biomass burning in neighbouring States: Delhi is landlocked between its adjoining areas. Stubble burning in these states, especially in Punjab and Haryana, is considered a significant cause of environmental pollution. 
  • Combustion caused by Firecrackers may not be the top reason for the smog, but it contributes to its build-up. 

Measures needed

1. Improve Public Transport

  • A massive system of Public Transport needs to be built, including metros, BRTS and Public Buses.
  • Last Mile Connectivity should also be improved. 

2. Change in Tax Regime

  • Congestion Tax should be introduced in the form of high parking rates. The city of London uses this method. 
  • Instead of a one-time registration tax for 15 years, Vehicle tax should be paid annually with registration fees increasing each passing year.    
  • Polluter Pays Principal: : Government should impose more tax on vehicles & factories with higher emission levels.

3. Governance Issues

  • India should adopt yearly registration of vehicles instead of 15 years of registration. 
  • Government should educate people to use public transport. For example, Delhi Government’s Ab Bus Karein—let us take a bus Campaign.

4. Road Design innovations

  • Car Pool Lane (CPL) / High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Facility: CPL formula reserves one lane, the fastest, for cars carrying more than one occupant.  

5. Stubble Burning Management

  • Explained in a separate article (click here)

6. Reform Pollution Control Boards

Following changes are required in Pollution Control Boards. 

  • There is a need for a larger cadre of scientists in the Central and State Pollution Control Boards and more monitoring equipment.  
  • Empower Pollution Control Boards to levy graduated fines depending on the seriousness or repeatability of the offence.

7. Other measures

  • Install flue gas de-sulphurizers in all coal power plants. 
  • Reduce pollution from brick kilns: Kilns should be upgraded to cleaner technologies like Zig Zag kiln.

Initiatives already taken by the Government

1. Air Quality Index

2. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

  • It is applicable in Delhi only.
  • A graded response lays down stratified actions that are required to be taken as and when the concentration of pollutants reaches a certain level.
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

3. Bharat Stage-VI norms from 2020

4. Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

  • It is a statutory body for better coordination and finding solution to pollution problem in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas.
  • Headed by Chairperson with at least 15 years’ experience in the field of environment and pollution or 25 years of administrative experience.
  • Functions of CAQM
    • Coordinate actions on monitoring of air quality.
    • Planning and executing plans to prevent and control air pollution in NCR.
    • Conduct research and development through networking with technical institutions.

5. National Clean Air Program (NCAP)

  • It aims to achieve reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration of 40% by 2027 taking 2017 as the base year.
  • Main provisions of the Program include
    1. 10-point action plan by Delhi government
    2. Stringent norms for coal-based power plant
    3. Technology upgradation in brick-kiln industry

6. Western and Eastern Peripheral Expressway

  • The Peripheral Expressways have been built to divert the traffic destined for Delhi to bypass Delhi without entering the city.

7. Odd-Even Policy

  • Under the policy, when pollution levels become alarming, Odd-numbered vehicles are allowed to run on odd dates and even-numbered vehicles on even dates. 
  • (BUT) Delhi is not the first city to introduce this system & earlier, Mexico city, along with many metropolitans, had introduced this but with bitter results. It is seen that these types of policies work well for a limited time but gradually, people lose their enthusiasm and find loopholes to avoid this.  

8. Tree Sapling

  • After Supreme Courts’ order, New  Delhi will get a tree wall of 31 lakh saplings of specialized trees like pipal, mahua, etc., to get rid of dust storms from its western neighbours due to western disturbances.

9. Other Steps

  • Use of coal in the NCR region has been banned.
  • BS-III petrol vehicles and BS-IV diesel vehicles are banned in Delhi-NCR.
  • The Supreme Court of India has banned the sale of crackers (except ‘green crackers’).
  • Ban on the use of pet coke and furnace oil in NCR
  • Shifting of brick kilns in Delhi- NCR to zig-zag technology (zigzagging the air flow in brick kilns) for reduction of pollution.

Examples from other cities

1. Mexico City: Project Via Verde 

  • Following the alarming levels of Pollution in 2016, Mexico city undertook the initiative of turning its 1000 plus columns supporting flyovers and elevated roads into ‘vertical gardens’.

2. Paris

  • In Paris, a Helium balloon hovers over the skyline and changes colour depending on pollution levels.  

Air Pollution

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Last Updated: March 2025 (Air Pollution)

Air Pollution

This article deals with ‘Air Pollution – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Environment’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles on Science and technology, you can click here

Introduction

  • Air pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the atmosphere, which can cause undesirable changes in the atmosphere.
  • The adverse effects of the pollution include
    1. Respiratory issues for humans and animals
    2. Acid rain by elevated levels of Sulphur and Nitrogen oxides
    3. Ozone layer depletion
    4. Global warming by elevated levels of CO2 (industries, deforestation, and partial combustion)
  • According to World Air Quality Report 2024, India had the fifth worst air quality (followed by Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Congo). New Delhi was ranked the world’s most polluted capital city and Byrnihat (Meghalaya) is the world’s most polluted metropolitan area.

Air Pollutants

Substances present in the air that can adversely affect humans and the ecosystem are known as Air Pollutants.

Sources of Air Pollution

The primary sources of air pollution are:

1. Transport Sources

  • Cars, buses, aeroplanes, trucks, trains etc.

2. Stationary Sources

  • Power plants, factories, oil refineries etc.

3. Area Sources

  • Agricultural: wood, stubble burning and fertilizers.
  • Cities: vehicular pollution, industrial pollution etc. 

4. Natural Sources

  • Wind-blown dust, wildfires, lightning, volcanoes etc. 
Air Pollution

Primary vs. Secondary Pollutants

Primary Pollutants

  • Primary pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere directly through processes such as burning fossil fuel, volcanic eruptions etc. 
  • These include Sulphur Oxides, Nitrous Oxides, Carbon Monoxide etc. 

1. Sulphur Dioxide

  • Sulphur Dioxide is produced in volcanic and industrial processes. 
  • Coal and petroleum have high sulphur content, and their combustion generates sulphur oxide. Although Indian coal has low sulphur content, still this is a significant danger because of its enormous consumption. 
  • Why is Sulphur Dioxide dangerous?
    1. Oxidation of SO2  in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2 forms  Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) and cause acid
      rain.
    2. It is the main reason behind smog formation, and its continued exposure can result in respiratory diseases, including bronchoconstriction and asthma.

2. Nitrous Oxide

  • Nitrous Oxide is a toxic gas that is brown coloured and has a nasty odour. 
  • Sources of Nitrous Oxide include
    1. High-temperature combustion
    2. Thunderstorms by electric discharge
  • In cities, the brown haze dome is due to Nitrogen oxide.
  • It is dangerous as it is the primary cause of Photochemical Smog, and it can cause severe respiratory problems, including intense attacks on people with asthma and old age. 

3. Carbon Monoxide (CO)

  • Carbon Monoxide is a highly poisonous gas. It becomes more dangerous because it is colourless, odourless & non-irritating.    
  • Carbon Monoxide is formed in the incomplete combustion of natural gas and coal. Vehicle exhaust is the primary source of Carbon Monoxide.
  • Carbon Monoxide in the atmosphere interferes with Oxygen transport in the body. Haemoglobin has a higher affinity with Carbon Monoxide. Hence, even a low concentration of Carbon Monoxide inhibits the bonding of oxygen with Haemoglobin, thus causing death due to suffocation.

4. Carbon Dioxide

  • Carbon Dioxide is associated with the Green House effect, ocean acidification & is emitted from combustion, factories & respiration of living organisms.

5. VOCs & NMVOCs

5.1 Volatile Organic Compounds

  • The most important VOC is Methane.
  • VOCs are Green House Gases & cause global warming.

5.2 Non-Methane VOC

  • Non-Methane VOCs are aromatic compounds such as Benzene, Toluene, Xylene & other dangerous compounds like 1,3 Butadiene.
  • They have carcinogenic properties.

6. Particulate Matters 

  • Particulate matters are microscopic solid particles lying in suspension form in a gas or liquid.
  • They are of two types, i.e. PM2.5 and PM10
  • Their major sources include the combustion of fossil fuels, fly ash produced in thermal power plants, forest fires, asbestos mining units, cement factories.
  • Repeated exposure to particulates can cause them to accumulate in the lungs & interfere with the ability of the lungs to exchange gases.

7. Fly Ash

  • Fly ash is formed as a by-product of the process of burning pulverized coal in power generation plants. It is the solidified form of coal impurities released from the combustion chamber during combustion. 
  • It has a high percentage of silica and toxic heavy metals such as arsenic.
  • It can cause the following issues
    1. Groundwater contamination
    2. Respiratory problems
    3. Accumulation on leaves, thus reducing the efficiency of trees.

8. Chloro Fluoro Carbons (CFCs)

  • CFCs are released mainly from air-conditioning systems and refrigeration.
  • CFCs are extremely dangerous for the ozone layer. 

9. Ammonia (NH3)

  • Ammonia is emitted exclusively by agricultural sources, including livestock production and nitrogen fertilizers. 
  • Ammonia contributes to several environmental problems, including direct toxic effects on vegetation and eutrophication and acidification of sensitive ecosystems.

Secondary Pollutants

  • Secondary pollutants are not directly emitted into the atmosphere. They are formed when they react with themselves or other components of the atmosphere. 
  • These include Ground Level Ozone, Smog, POPs etc.

1. Smog 

Smog
  • Smog can result in asthma breathing difficulties.
  • Apart from humans, it also negatively impacts the health of plants and animals. 
  • There are two types of smog, and they impact the environment in different ways. These include 

1.1 Sulphurous Smog

  • Sulphurous Smog is also known as London Smog.
  • Sulphurous smog is formed by the use of Sulphur containing fossil fuels, particularly coal.
Sulphurous Smog
  • It is formed in the cool and humid climate.
  • It is chemically reducing and hence known as Reducing Smog.
  • It is characterized by blue colored skies or blue haze.

1.2 Photochemical Smog

  • Photochemical Smog occurs in the warm, dry & sunny climate.
Photochemical Smog
  • It is chemically Oxidizing and hence called Oxidizing Smog.
  • Ozone, PAN (Peroxyacetyl Nitrate), Acrolein & Formaldehyde are produced in it that can cause serious health problems.

2. Ground Level Ozone

  • It is also known as Tropospheric Ozone, as it forms just above the Earth’s surface in the Troposphere.
  • Ground-level ozone is “a colourless and highly irritating gas“.
  • Ozone occurs in two layers: the stratospheric layer and the tropospheric layer. While ozone in the stratosphere is essential for the survival of human beings, tropospheric ozone is considered to be bad.
  • It is the most important secondary air pollutant. It is formed when two primary pollutants, i.e. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), react in the presence of sunlight and stagnant air.
  • New research has found that Air Purifiers emit (Tropospheric) Ozone gas.

Problems caused by Tropospheric Ozone

  • It can cause various health problems, including chest pain, bronchitis, asthma etc.     
  • Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissues.  
  • It also damages vegetation and the ecosystem. 
  • It leads to reduced agricultural and commercial forests yield.

3. Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN)

  • PAN is present in the photochemical smog. 
  • It can decompose into phenoxyethanol radicals and nitrogen dioxide gas, causing eye irritation.

Major Disasters around the world due to Air Pollution

1. Bhopal Disaster

  • Bhopal Disaster happened in 1984.
  • Cause: Due to leakage of Methyl Iso-Cyanate (MIC) Gas.
  • Twenty-five thousand people were killed outrightly & 1.5 to 6 lakh people were exposed.

2. Great Smog of 1952

  • The Great Smog happened in London in 1952.
  • The Great smog was formed due to cold weather combined with anticyclonic & windless conditions that accumulated the air pollutants from burning the coal and forming a thick layer of smog over the city.
  • In 6 days, more than 4,000 people died & 8,000 died within a month.

3. Sverdlovsk, Russia 1972

  • There was accidental leakage of Anthrax spores from the biological warfare lab, resulting in the death of many. 

Impacts of Air Pollution

Air pollution negatively impacts all organisms, depending on the atmosphere for respiration. It can result in irritation in the throat, nose, lungs, and eyes at the individual level. It results in breathing problems and asthma. In addition, polluted air reduces the body’s immunity and decreases the body’s capacity to fight other infections in the respiratory system.

1. Health Impacts

Air pollutants cause a variety of health impacts. For example

  1. Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide and Ozone: Acute respiratory problems 
  2. Carbon Monoxide: Headache, dizziness and even death due to prolonged exposure. 
  3. Ammonia: Lung fibrosis, dermatitis, cataract and glaucoma.
  4. Particulate Matter: Aggravated Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis.

2. Impact on Animals

  • Air pollution also impacts the fauna. 
  • Animals are impacted in the following ways
    1. Excessive UV radiation may cause skin cancer in wildlife.
    2. Affect animals through plants on which they feed. 

3. Impact on Plants and Vegetation

  • Physical injury to leaves. E.g., Ozone produces a speckle of brown spots and Ammonia results in drying out of tissues. 
  • It impacts cell metabolism and results in reduced growth.
  • Particulate matters affect the plant and trees as they block the leaf stomata through which gas exchange takes place for photosynthesis and respiration.

4. Economic Impact

Air pollution has a direct, and a particularly debilitating impact on GDP growth and per-capita income levels due to

  • Reduced worker output
  • Lower consumer footfall in consumption-led services
  • Hampered asset productivity
  • Surge in health expenses and welfare allocations
  • Reduced Agricultural Productivity

5. Acid Rain

  • Acid Rain is the precipitation with a higher concentration of hydrogen ions. 
  • The pH of pure water is 7.0, but even in unpolluted air, there is the presence of some carbon monoxide which dissolves in raindrops to produce rain with a pH of about 5.6. Hence, in normal conditions too, rainfall is quite acidic with a pH of around 5.6. But in some parts of the world, pH as low as 1.5 is observed, resulting in Acid rain. 

5. Global Warming

  • Pollutants like Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide etc., show the Green House Gas (GHG) Effect and thus cause Global Warming. 

6. Ozone Depletion

  • Introduction of pollutants like Chloro Fluoro Carbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere results in the depletion of the Ozone layer. 
  • Ozone depletion is a serious issue as the Ozone layer protects the earth and its inhabitants from harmful UV rays in solar radiation. UV rays can cause skin cancer and impact the ecosystem negatively.

Topic: Steps taken by Government to control Air Pollution

1. National Air Quality Index (NAQI)

  • The National Air Quality Index is a number to indicate the level of pollution in the given area. 
  • It is part of Swatch Bharat Abhiyan Operational since 2014. 
  • Earlier, Government agencies used to publish air-quality data with technical terms like PM2.5, PM10. But it cant be understood by the common person. Hence, the government came up with a New Air Quality Index that uses colour-codes that even a common person can easily understand.  
  • It has 8 gases and 6 colour codes. 

6 colour codes are

National Air Quality Index

8 pollutants monitored are

PM10 – Coarse Pollutants with diameters up to 10 microns.
– It is emitted from dust and smoke. 
– It creates breathing difficulty, particularly among asthma patients and the elderly.
PM2.5 – Respirable pollutants with a diameter up to 2.5 microns.  
– These are dangerous because they can go deep in the lungs and cause chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.
NO2 – Nitrogen dioxide is a lung irritant. 
– It also causes red haze in traffic.
SO2 – Sulphur dioxide can cause respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema etc. 
CO – Carbon Monoxide binds with haemoglobin and can cause death due to suffocation.
O3 – Tropospheric ozone can damage the lungs.
NH3 – Ammonia (NH3) in water leads to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the death of aquatic ecosystems.
Pb – Lead interferes with the functioning of red blood cells.

Sameer App

  • Sameer App made by Central Pollution Control Board provides hourly updates on pollution levels on the National Air Quality Index.

Criticism of NAQI

  • One index for all: There is just one index for the entire India. But there is a need for separate indexes for residential and industrial areas & cities, and villages because pollutants found in these places differ. E.g., Methane is a significant pollutant in villages, but it is not among the gasses under observation
  • Benzene not included: Benzene is a carcinogenic chemical produced during the combustion of fossil fuels. Even European countries and the USA monitors its level. But it is not observed under NAQI. 
  • No Standard Response when dangerous levels reached mentioned: Mere informing the citizens through a colour-coded chart is insufficient. There is a need to include standard responses. For example, if the air quality index reaches a red level in China, they shut down primary schools (Note: Delhi has Graded Response, but the rest of the cities don’t have any standard response mechanism). 

2. Bharat Emission Standards

What are Bharat Emission Standards?

  • Bharat Emission norms are the pollution standards of vehicles in India. All the vehicles sold in India have to comply with these pollution standards for sale. 
  • They are the Indian version of Euro norms applicable in Europe. 

Difference between Bharat Norms & Euro Norms

  • Both are the same in terms of stringency/emission limits
  • India uses Euro Standards with only one modification, i.e. lower maximum speed of 90 km/hr, whereas in Euro norms, it is 120Km/hr. 

Timeline

1981 Air (Prevention &Control of Pollution) Act enacted.
1991 Vehicle emission norms introduced in India.
1999 MC Mehta vs Union of India case
– The Supreme Court observed that Delhi was experiencing a considerable spurt in air pollution.
– Supreme Court ordered the government to introduce Euro like pollution control regime.
2000 onwards Bharat Stage Emission Standard introduced.
2003 – The government of India appointed Mashelkar Committee to formulate Auto Fuel Policy. 
– The Committee gave the timeline for introducing Bharat Stage (BS) Norms II and III in India.
2014 Saumitra Chaudhry recommended introducing BS-IV from 2017, BS-V from 2022 and BS-VI from 2024.
2016 The government announced that it would implement BS-VI norms by 2020 (completely bypassing BS-V). 
2017 After the Smog incident, the Government of India brought forward the date for the rollout of BS-VI for Delhi to 1 April 2018 (from 2020).
2018 BS-VI launched in Delhi
April 2020 BS-VI launched in the whole of India

Bharat Stage Norms in India

Bharat Emission Standards

BS VI: Concept

In Bharat Stage 6, two new components have been added

  1. DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) (actually, DPF is Stage-5 addition)
  2. SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) (SCR is Stage-6 addition)

But since India jumped to Stage-6 from Stage-4, Indian companies have to add these two components simultaneously. 

3. Electric Vehicle (EV)

  • Electric vehicles are automobiles that draw their energy from rechargeable batteries.
  • They can be classified into two types
    • Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs): Completely relying on battery power 
    • Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs): Uses battery power as well as petrol or diesel. 
  • Currently, the market share of electric cars is less than 1% in India, compared to 2% in China and nearly 40% in Norway.

Current status in India

The majority of vehicles in India still use combustion engines. The market share of electric vehicles in India is around 1% compared to world leaders like Norway, where 40% of vehicles are electric.

India should encourage Electric Vehicles because

  • Climate Friendly: The transport sector is the second-largest contributor to GHG emissions. Hence, electric vehicles will help in constraining the GHG emissions of India.
  • Saving Foreign Currency and containing CAD: It will help India contain its Current Account Deficit and foreign currency reserves by reducing the oil imports.
  • Job Creation: It can also help in job creation as India can become the hub of electric vehicle manufacturing. 

But, EVs are not entirely clean

  • Carbon Footprint from embedded emissions in the manufacturing of EVs.
  • Emissions associated with electricity used to charge vehicles.

Steps taken by India to promote Electric Vehicles

1. PM E-Drive

  • Launched in Oct 2024 to replace the FAME Scheme.
  • Under the scheme, the government provides
    • Upfront incentives to purchase e-vehicles
    • Support installation of critical charging infrastructure

2. FAME or Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles

Expired in March 2024, it was the flagship scheme of the Government of India to promote the manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India. The main provisions of the scheme included 

  • Demand incentive in the form of reduced prices to public transport and commercial four-wheeler vehicles and private two-wheeler vehicles.
  • Setting up charging stations to ensure at least one charging station within 3 km in urban areas and within 25 km on highways

3. Electric Vehicle Policy, 2024

Custom Duty on the imported Electric Vehicles will be reduced to 15% in next 5 years (from current rate of 60-100%) if the company meet following conditions

  1. Makes a minimum investment of $500 million.
  2. Setup a factory in India within 3 years
  3. Meets Domestic Value Addition (DVA) target of 25% by the 3rd year and 50% by the 5th year.

Additionally, total of 40,000 cars can be imported by given company in 5 years and price of the imported car has to be higher than $35,000.

4. Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Automobile and Automotive Components (PLI-Auto)

  • The scheme aims provides monetary incentives to boost manufacturing of automative technologies and attract investments in this sector.

5. Taxation Measures

  • Lower GST: The GST on electric vehicles is just 5%. 
  • Income Tax Deductions: The EMI paid for electric vehicles is counted in the additional income tax deductions. 

6. State-specific measures

Various states are taking their own measures to promote electric vehicles in India. E.g.,

  • Delhi: Delhi government has announced its Electric Vehicle Policy to achieve the target of 25% of newly registered vehicles to be electric till 2024 by providing low-interest loans, incentives to scrap old petrol and diesel vehicles to switch over to EVs, no registration fee, building charging points etc.

7. Other Steps

  • Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India: Started in 2024 under the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
  • EV 30 @ 30: Scheme aims to achieve the target of atleast 30% of the sale of new automobiles by 2030 should be EV.
  • Infrastructure Status to EV Charging: Budget 2022 gave infrastructure status to EV Charging Stations.
  • Green Number Plates: Transportation Ministry has announced that Electric Vehicles will have special green number plates.

Way Forward

  1. Charging Stations: In India, the biggest roadblock in the introduction of electric vehicles is the inadequate number of charging stations. The greatest emphasis should be on setting up charging stations. Government should divert more subsidies to charging stations.
  2. Secure Lithium Supply: Lithium is the most critical component in battery manufacturing. India has to secure this supply by investing in mines in Congo, Chile and Bolivia as done by China. 
  3. Investment in Charging Technologies: The government research organizations and premier institutions such as IITs should invest in developing faster charging in vehicles. 

4. Air (Protection & Control of Pollution) Act ,1981

The Parliament enacted this act to arrest deteriorating air quality.

Notable points from this Act

1. Central and State Pollution Control Boards

The act has the provision for setting up Pollution Control Boards at Central and State levels. 

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Central Level
State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) State Level

2. Role of these boards

These boards have following functions

CPCP

  • Advices Central Government on the matters concerning improvement of air quality
  • Plan and execute a nationwide program for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
  • Provide technical assistance & guidance to State Pollution Control Boards 
  • Lay down standards for quality of air. 

SPCB

  • Comprehensive plan for prevention, control & abatement of air pollution & to secure execution thereof

3. Define Air Pollutant

  • The act defines Air Pollutants as ‘any solid, liquid or gaseous substance( including noise) present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or living creatures or plant or property or environment. 

4. Air Pollution Control Areas

  • The state government, after consultation with SPCB, can declare any area as Air Pollution Control Areas (APCA). 
  • If the state government, after consultation with SPCB, believes that the use of any fuel in APCA may cause air pollution, it may prohibit the use of such fuel. 
  • No person shall, without the consent of SPCB, establish or operate any industrial plant in an APCA. 

5. Scrapping Policy

According to Transportation Ministry, more than one crore vehicles don’t have fitness certificates and are not fit to run. These vehicles have negative externalities in the form of safety risks to commuters and pollution. But vehicle owners don’t go for new vehicles because they don’t get any financial incentive for buying a new vehicle. 

Along with that, vehicle scrapping will lead to the formation of a circular economy. The steel, plastic and rare earth metals used in the vehicles can also be recycled.

Features of Scrapping Policy

  1. The registration certificate for non-commercial vehicles will be valid for 15 years. After 15 years, the vehicle will have to pass a fitness test to get re-registered for the next 5 years.
  2. The fees for re-registration has been increased by 8 to 20 times to encourage them to move towards new and environment-friendly vehicles. 
  3. Those who opt to scrap their vehicle after 15 years will get a certificate that can be redeemed for buying new vehicles along with a waiver. 
Scrapping Policy of India

6. Hydrogen Policy

Hydrogen as Fuel

  • Hydrogen is not found in a free state. Hence, it needs to be extracted from naturally occurring compounds such as water.
  • Although hydrogen is a clean fuel, the process of extracting it, like electrolysis, is energy-intensive.

Types of Hydrogen

There are three types of hydrogen

  1. Grey Hydrogen: Extracted from hydrocarbons and produces carbon dioxide. 
  2. Blue Hydrogen: Sourced from fossil fuel, but the emissions such as carbon dioxide are stored.
  3. Green Hydrogen: Generated using renewable energy in which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Green Hydrogen Policy

  • The policy aims to increase domestic production of Green Hydrogen to 5 million tons by 2030 and make India an export hub.
  • 25-year free transmission of renewable energy from plants set up specifically to provide power to produce green hydrogen. 
  • Key industrial users of hydrogen such as fertilizers, steel etc. will be incentivized to use green hydrogen instead of grey hydrogen. 
  • A single portal for all clearances required to set up green hydrogen facilities will be set up.
  • Port authorities to provide land at a subsidized price to make bunkers of green hydrogen for storing it prior to export.

 It will create 6 lakh jobs, reduce GHG emissions by 50 MMT and reduce crude oil imports worth ₹1 lakh crore

IN 2022,  Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned India’s first 99.999% pure green hydrogen plant in Assam.

7. Other Steps

  • Google Maps has decided to start a feature in which the system will show the most ‘eco-friendly’ route as the default route to the user based on traffic, congestion, road inclination etc. It is part of Google’s effort to fight climate change.

Aviation

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Last Update: Feb 2025 (Aviation)

Aviation

This article deals with ‘Aviation – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Economics’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

  • India’s domestic passengers have almost doubled in the last 5 years owing to the UDAN scheme
  • In 2020, the number of airports in India reached the 100 mark.
  • India has become the 3rd largest domestic aviation market in the world (after USA and China).
  • Aviation sector generates 70 lakh jobs and $35 billion in India’s GDP.

Potential of Civil Aviation Sector

  • The geographical, economic and demographic conditions are such that India can be on the third-largest number of airline passengers. These favourable conditions are listed below.
    • India’s geographical location in the middle of the Eastern and Western Hemisphere
    • India has a robust middle class of about 35 cr Indians. 
    • Rising income due to India being one of the fastest-growing economies globally
    • High tourism potential
  • But strict and outdated regulations have not allowed the sector to achieve its potential.

Aviation Challenges

Aviation

1. Infrastructure Constraints

  • The civil aviation infrastructure, especially in the metros such as Delhi, Mumbai etc., has been operating at saturated levels. Therefore, the government will have to attract large investments in building new and upgrading the existing infrastructure.

2. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)

  • The taxation on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) in India is high. Hence, ATF is priced 60% higher in India compared to the global average. Given the fact that ATF accounts for 40% of the operating costs of airlines, it puts Indian airlines under considerable pressure.

3. Lack of Skilled Workers

  • Given the growth of the aviation sector, India will need 0.25 skilled workers in the aviation sector over the next decade.

4. Limited Capacity of Airlines

  • 90% of traffic is concentrated in the metro cities. Although the potential consumer base is large, airlines have not been able to tap it.

5. Predatory Pricing

  • Indian airlines indulge in Predatory pricing, i.e. sell their tickets at very low prices to bleed the competitors out of business. But in the process, they bleed themselves and make substantial losses.

6. Aviation Safety

  • In India, there were 440 aviation safety violations in 2016 and 340 in 2017, which are quite high compared to global standards.

7. Other Challenges

  • High Airport Charges
  • High aircraft to man ratio

Airlines in India

Public SectorNo Public Sector Airline after Privatization of Indian Airlines
Private Sector – Air India = owned by Tata GroupB
– Jet Airways = Naresh Goyal
– Spicejet = Sun group (of Kalanidhi Maran)
– Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo)
– Go Airlines
Cargo Airlines – Deccan Cargo (Deccan 360) 
– Blue Aviation
– Express Logistics

New players in the Indian market

  • Air Asia (Tata 30%+ Malaysian Airline AirAsia 49% + Telstra 21%)
  • Akasa Airlines (started in 2023 and founded by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala)
  • Quickjet Cargo Airlines

Air India

  • Air India was formed after Air India & Indian Airlines merger in 2007. 
  • It has the largest fleet in India, including new planes. It controls 17% of the Indian Market.
  • But it suffered from a debt of over ₹50,000 Crore. Hence, the government wanted to privatize it. After large discussions, the Tata group has bought the airlines. 
  • In 2025, Air India has rolled out free Wi-Fi internet services on its domestic and international flights on select aircrafts.

Pawan Hans Helicopter ltd

  • It is a government-owned company started in 1985. 
  • Provides helicopter service to
    • ONGC’s offshore drilling platforms
    • Hilly and inaccessible areas
    • Amarnath Yatra
    • Emergency evacuation

Disinvestment of Air India

Timeline of Air India

1932 Tata Airlines begins offering air services in India
1946 Tata Airlines renamed as Air India (AI)
1953 Air Corporation Act passed, and Air India was nationalized along with 7 other private carriers.
1981 Vayudoot, a new carrier, established to act as a regional feeder airline
1986 To boost tourism, private air taxis were allowed to fly with riders.
1993 After suffering an annual loss of ₹200 crores, Vayudoot was merged with Indian Airlines, adding to its debt load.
1994 The Air Corporation Act was repealed, and private carriers were allowed to enter the market again.
2003 Naresh Chandra Committee report calls for the privatization of Indian Airlines and Air India but faces stiff opposition.
2005 Air India signs a purchase agreement for 50 Boeing aircrafts at the cost of ₹ 33,000 crores.
2007 Indian Airlines & Air India were merged to form the National Aviation Company of India Ltd.
2010 The company was renamed Air India
2011 CAG hauls up Air India and Civil Aviation Ministry for reckless purchase of aircrafts
2017 Air India losses mounted to ₹ 50,000 crores forcing the government to move towards privatization.
2021 Tata group bought Indian Airlines from the Government of India.

Debt Causes

Air India had a debt of ₹ 50,000 crores, accumulated for various reasons spanning decades. CAG Report of 2011 too has given detailed reasons for this 

  1. Unprofessionalism in management when compared to world-class airlines. 
  2. Massive fleet expansion 
  3. Free travels by VVIPs like Ministers and Officials
  4. In early 2005, Indian Airlines inducted planes despite no demand for them. These were funded by raising high-interest loans.  
  5. Liberalized policy on international routes like nonstop flights to the US was loss-making.

Pros of disinvestment of Air India

  • Indian Airlines is loss-making. Hence, keeping it afloat under government control would be wasting taxpayers’ money.  
  • The private sector has taken up, and private airlines already cater to over 85% of the air travel demand in the country.
  • It would bring professionalism in management.  
  • Government money that keeps Air India afloat would be better used to fund important social and infrastructure programs. 
  • It will help the government to spend its energy on core governance issues. 
  • The sale of Pawan Hans in 2016 revived the company owing to the infusion of professionalism and better management.

Cons of disinvestment of Air India

  • Many sectors and routes that private airlines may not find economical to operate are handled by Air India. E.g., Private Airlines give limited services to North East. 
  • Air India, which is a sovereign airline, is used by Government in emergency evacuations of Indian nationals from warzones.  

National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016

Key highlights of  Aviation Policy-2016 are as follows

1. 5/20 rule Scrapped

  • 5/20 rule, i.e. the requirement of 5 years of operation and a fleet of 20 aircraft before handling international flights, has been scrapped. 
  • But airlines will have to operate at least 20 aeroplanes or 20% of their planes (whichever is higher) on domestic routes. 

2. Improve Air connectivity to smaller cities 

  • The policy wants to improve air connectivity with smaller cities. 

3. Subsidized Tickets

  • Under the regional connectivity scheme, the maximum price that can be charged is Rs 2500 per hour.
  • A 2% levy is to be charged on all domestic and overseas tickets to subsidize airlines’ losses.

4. Infrastructure

  • Airports in Tier 2 and 3 cities will be operationalized on the ‘No Frills Model’. 

5. Open Skies Policy

  • Under the ‘Open Skies Policy’, foreign airlines can operate unrestricted and unlimited flights in and out of India. It will help India become a regional hub like Dubai and Hong Kong. 

6. Other important

  • Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) don’t have to pay a royalty to airports where they operate, which will help make India an MRO hub. Royalty is up to 20% presently.  

Side Topic: No Frills Airport

  • No Frill Airports are the airports with lesser facilities like no escalators, no AC Lounges etc.
  • These Airports are made in small cities because airports providing high-end facilities are not feasible in Tier II & III Cities.
No Frills Airport

UDAN Scheme

Timeline

2017 Aviation Ministry announced a scheme named UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) to increase air traffic to Tier II & Tier III cities. 
2018 Second phase of UDAN scheme announced.
2019 UDAN (International) scheme launched, under which Guwahati Airport will be connected to Bangkok and Dhaka shortly. 

Under Scheme

  • Capping the fare
    1. Airfare for an hour’s journey of about 500km is capped at ₹2,500. 
    2. In the case of helicopter operations, fares are capped at ₹2,500 for a 30-minute flight.
    3. Seaplanes have also been included in the scheme in the subsequent phases. 
  • Capping of airfare is applicable on half of the flight’s seats.
  • Centre provides subsidy support to airlines via a Viability Gap Fund (VGF), which obtains money by levying cess on non-regional routes. 
  • Airlines get three-year exclusive rights to operate regional flights. 
  • No airport charges for airlines as airline operators complain that airport expenses constitute 25% to 30% of operating costs.
  • The scheme will be operational for a period of 10 years. 

Importance

  • The scheme has brought Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities into the country’s aviation network. 
  • Positive Spillover Effect on Economy: The scheme will make businesses and trade more efficient, enable medical services and promote tourism.
  • Employment Generation: As per the International Civil Aviation Organisation, each job created in the aviation sector creates 6.1 jobs in the economy. 
  • This scheme can help in improving the health of the ailing Aviation Sector. Even if 1 middle-class family buy 1 air trip per year, the Aviation sector can sell 35 crore tickets. 

Issues

  • Misdirection of Subsidy 
    • Even without the subsidy, there was an increase in air flyers.  
    • The subsidy is given to Middle Class when it could better serve some Social Schemes aimed at Lower Class.
  • Against Laisse – Faire: Airlines are given exclusive rights for 3 years, and other airlines cant operate there even if they want to. 
  • Another levy for creating the Viability Gap Fund will impact the already overtaxed Aviation Sector. Taxes on ATF is already among the highest in the world.

NABH (Nextgen Airports for Bharat) Nirman initiative

Aim: Capacity augmentation of the airports because 25 busiest airports of India are operating beyond their capacity.  

What it will do?

  • Expansion of the airport capacity to handle a billion trips a year.  
  • Establish about 100 new airports in the next 15 years at an estimated Rs 4 lakh crore investment. 
  • Increase the economic and tourism activities in the smaller cities by connecting them with airline services.

Side Topic: Wi-Fi Internet Services in Airplane

  • In 2025, Air India rolled out free Wi-Fi internet services on its domestic and international flights on select aircraft.
  • Two technologies can be used, i.e. Air-to-Ground (ATG) technology, which relies on ground-based cellular towers,  and Satellite-based connectivity. Signals in both technologies are received by the special antennae installed on the aircraft, which are  then provided to the passengers using Wi-Fi routers.

FDI in Aviation

FDI in Aviation

Bodies related to Aviation Sector

Ministry of Civil Aviation

  • Ministry of Civil Aviation mainly looks after the Aviation sector in India 

Airport Authority of India

  • AAI is a PSU of Miniratna category. 
  • Sovereign Air traffic controller of India.
  • It manages international airports, domestic airports, and custom airports.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

  • DGCA is the regulatory body of Civil Aviation. 
  • Its functions include 
    • Registrar of civil aircrafts
    • Laying down airworthiness requirement 
    • Gives license to pilots
    • Investigation of minor accidents 
    • Implements Chicago Convention

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)

  • Initially, it was a cell in DGCA setup in 1976 on the recommendation of the Pandey Committee after an aircraft hijack in 1976. It has been restructured now an independent department under the Ministry of civil aviation, after Kanishka Tragedy in 1985
  • BCAS is the regulator of the security of civil aviation. 
  • Under Aircraft Security Rules, 2022, BCAS can impose penalties of up to ₹1 crore on airports and airlines for violation of security measures. 

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

  • ICAO is a specialized agency of the UN and was set up under the provisions of the Chicago Convention of 1944.
  • It is headquartered in Montreal, Canada and India is a member of ICAO since its inception.
  • ICAO ensures the operation of airlines between different countries.

Railways

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Last Update: Feb 2025 (Railways)

Railways

This article deals with ‘Railways – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Economics’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

General Information

Timeline

1853 First Train started in India (from  Mumbai to Thane (34kms))
1924-25 Rail budget was separated from general budget (based on the Acworth Committee Report of 1921)
2015 Bibek Debroy Committee on railway restructuring gave recommendations.
2016 India’s first Railway University opened in Vadodara, Gujarat
2017 Railway Budget was merged with General Budget.

Share of Railways in the transportation of goods

In the US, 44% of goods are transported through railways, but in India share has been decreasing each passing year  (65% in 1970, 30% in 2007 & 25% in 2020)

Railways

Benefit of Railways wrt other modes of transport

  • Cheaper: The transportation cost of goods using railways is low (₹2/ton/km).
  • Low Carbon Footprint: Railways are a greener mode of transportation as they consume 20% less energy.
  • Integrate India with world markets: Railways can help to expand & integrate markets as they did in Europe and the USA. 
  • Spur economic activity: According to Economic Survey, 1 rupee invested in the railways increases GDP output by 5 rupees.

Railway gauge size

Gauge Size
Broad – 1,676 mm
– British used it to send raw material from Indian hinterland to port cities
Meter 1,000 mm 
Narrow 762 mm
Lift  610mm
  • Ranking track length in India: broad > meter > narrow
  • Under the Project uni-gauge, Railways has converted selected routes into broad gauge.

Railway Undertakings

Indian Railway has 14 undertakings. Important ones are 

  • IRCTC (provides catering services)
  • CONCOR (Container Corporation of India)
  • Railtel

Railway Zones

  • Indian Railway has 18 zones.
  • 18th Zone i.e. South Coast Railway Zone was created in 2025.
  • Zones Include
Northern Railways 1. Northern: New Delhi
2. North Western: Jaipur
3. North Central: Prayagraj
4. North Eastern: Gorakhpur
5. North East Frontier: Guwahati
Western Railways6. Western: Mumbai
7. West Central: Jabalpur
Central Railways8. Central: Mumbai
Eastern Railways9. Eastern: Kolkata
10. East Central: Hajipur
11. East Coast: Bhubaneshwar
12. Kolkata Metro: Kolkata
Southern Railways13. Southern: Chennai
14. South Western: Hubali
15. South Central: Secundrabad
16. South Coastal: Visakhapatnam
17. South East Central: Bilaspur
18. South Eastern: Kolkata

Statistics about Indian Railways

Statistics about Indian Railways
Operational Ratio of Indian Railways

UNESCO World Heritage: Indian railways

  1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways
  2. Nilgiri Mountain Railways
  3. Kalka Simla Railway
  4. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) (It was designed by British architect FW Stevens in  Gothic Style)

National Rail Plan for India, 2030

Under this plan, the government of India wants to achieve the following

  1. Increase Indian railway’s share in freight transportation to 45% and average speed of freight transportation to 50% by 2030.
  2. Achieve 100% electrification of all train routes.
  3. Increase the speed of Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes to 160 km/hr.
  4. Identify and develop new Dedicated Freight Corridors and High-Speed Rail Corridors.
  5. Improve the safety of railway tracks in India.

Railway Budget merged with General Budget

Railway Budget vs General Budget

  • 1924-25: British separated rail budget based on the recommendations of Acworth Committee (1921).
  • Indian constitution didn’t provide for a separate railway budget or budget in parts. But Parliamentary rules of procedure permitted it.
  • 2017: Railway Budget was merged with General Budget.

Arguments for merging Railway Budget with General Budget

  1. Economic Reasons:
    • Saving funds of financially starved Railways: Indian Railways need not pay the annual dividend of ₹10,000 crores to the Government. 
    • Railways will be better equipped to raise funds on the strength of the sovereign instead of being restricted to the Indian Railway Finance Corporation.
  2. The situation is different from 1924:  In 1924, the railway’s expenditure was more than the expenditure of all other administrative expenses. It has presently reduced to just 6% of total government spending.
  3. Any other country does not follow this system. 
  4. Politicization of Railways: This provision was used by politicians for populist reasons.   
  5. Bibek Debroy Committee too has suggested separating the railway budget from the general budget.

Why should there be a separate budget for the Railways?

  1. Indian Railways is different from other central ministries due to its size and scope. Whereas other ministries just spend, Railways is an operational ministry as it earns and spends. 
  2. Bibek Debroy Committee has recommended separating the railway budget from the general budget. But it wasn’t a standalone measure.

Metros / Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS)

  • Rapid transit, also known as the metro or subway, is high-capacity public transport. Unlike buses & trams, they are electric & operate on an exclusive right-of-way. 
  • First Metros was started in Kolkata in 1984 from Dum Dum to Tollygunge. 

Benefits

  1. Reduced traffic density on the roads
  2. Reduced vehicular emission leading to decreased air pollution
  3. Reduced fatalities due to road accidents
  4. Reliable & safer journey
  5. Decreased fuel consumption
  6. Decreased vehicular operating cost

Metro Rail Policy, 2017

Metro Rail Policy, 2017

Indian Government has announced its Metro Rail Policy with PPP as the centre of the scheme. 

  • PPP is the centre of the scheme. The PPP component has been made mandatory for availing assistance from the central government.
  • The new policy mandates Transit Oriented Development (TOD).
  • Power to set up Fare Fixation Authorities has been vested with states. 
  • States can raise low-cost debt capital through the issuance of corporate bonds. 
  • Empowers state to charge a “betterment levy” in areas that will benefit from the metro rail projects. 

Problem with the Policy

  • The main problem is with the PPP model. PPP model has failed in Delhi Metro’s airport line — and is faltering in the Mumbai and Hyderabad metro rail projects. Due to various positive externalities of Metro, these projects must be subsidized by the government. In  Delhi Metro, the Centre and state government have footed much of the bills. Even E Sreedharan has opined that the PPP model is not suitable for Metros as private players expect more than 12% return from metro projects while no metro project can yield more than 3 per cent.

MetroLite or MetroNeo

  • MetroLite or MetroNeo is the model for Metros in smaller cities such as Nashville in the USA and Indian cities of Jammu, Coimbatore, Srinagar etc.
  • It was announced in the budget of 2021. 
  • These are a lighter version of conventional metro rail and can be set up at a lesser cost (2/3rd to 1/3rd cost of the normal metro).

Issues that Indian Railways is facing

1. Cross Subsidisation

  • Railways keep passenger tickets low –> Indian Railways suffer the loss of 23 paisa/passenger/km.
  • To compensate for the loss, Indian Railways keep freight prices higher.

2. Operating ratio of Indian Railways

  • The Operating Ratio of Indian Railways is just 98.4%, i.e. Indian Railways spend 98.4 rupees out of 100 rupees earned. Hence, only 1.6 rupees are left in surplus. 
  • It is a problem because Indian Railways left with no capital for expansion. 

3. Rail Safety / Large accidents

  • A large number of rail accidents such as derailments and collisions take place in India.

4. Congestion of Tracks

  • Indian railways has an overstretched  infrastructure  with 60 per cent plus routes being more than 100 per cent utilized,  leading to a reduction in the average speed of passenger and freight trains

5. Organisational Structure

  • Due to complex and outdated organizational structure, project approval and completion take extraordinarily long.

6. Other

  • Delay in execution of new projects.
  • Aging infrastructure (rail tracks and coaches)
  • Poor terminal facilities

Steps already taken to improve Railways

  • Tariff rationalization of fares has already been completed.
  • Indian Railways is focussing on Non-Tariff Earnings such as advertisement revenue.
  • Rail Budget has been merged with General Budget. 
  • Amrit Bharat Station Scheme has been started to enhance station amenities.
  • One Station One Product Scheme provides sale opportunity to the local artisans.
  • The government has constituted the Rail Development Authority (RDA).
  • New delivery models like Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) services have been started.
  • Adarsh Station Scheme has been started to develop railway stations.
  • 100% FDI is allowed in the Railway sector.
  • Indian Railways have changed the accounting system  to Accrual Based Accounting from Cash Based Accounting 
  • Indian Railway Finance Corporation has issued Masala Bonds to gather funds.
  • Kayakalap Council under the Chairmanship of Ratan Tata has been constituted

Side Topic: Accrual Based Accounting

Accrual Based Revenues are reported on Income Statement when they are earned
Cash Based Revenues are reported on Income Statement when they are received

Non-Tariff Earning

  • Indian Railways has decided to increase its focus on non-tariff earning
  • All the budgets since 2016 have emphasized on non-tariff earnings, and Indian Railways unveiled its first non-fare revenue policy in 2017.
  • Indian railways earn a minuscule amount from non-tariff revenue compared to their counterparts in other countries. E.g., Indian railways earn 5% of all its earnings from non-tariff revenue compared with 25-30% in Japan. 

How

  • Selling spaces on railway stations and railway containers for advertising hoardings and billboards.  
  • Leasing out spaces at platforms to ATMs. 
  • Selling branding rights of trains and stations. 
  • Leasing the land around tracks for horticulture purposes

Bibek Debroy Committee  on Railway Restructuring

Bibek Debroy is a noted economist & member of NITI AYOG. The committee was formed under Bibek Debroy to suggest measures to restructure railways. 

Suggestions of Committee

Bibek Debroy Committee on Railway Restructuring

The committee does not recommend the privatization of Indian Railways. However, it does endorse private entry with the provision of an independent regulator.

1. Reform in Human Resource Management

  • There are 8 services in Railways with different cadres, thus reducing the administrative efficacy. 
  • Recommendations: Unify the Cadre System for optimal utilization of human resources.  

2. Outsourcing

  • Outsource non-core areas, i.e. Police force, schools, hospitals, water bottling, museums etc. 

3. Regulator

  • The Committee has recommended that the Independent RAILWAY Regulator. 
  • Railway Board should continue only as an entity for the management of Indian Railways (PSU).
  • 2018 Update: Rail Development Authority has been constituted with the following functions
    1. Recommend tariff “commensurate with costs.” 
    2. Benchmark service standards
    3. Frame guidelines for track access charges on dedicated freight corridors.

4. Towards entry of private players

  • It recommended separating railway track construction, train operations, and rolling-stock production units under different entities to enable open access to private operators. 

5. Other Recommendations

  • Merge rail budget with General Budget.

Sanjeev Sanyal Committee Report (2021)

The main recommendations of the Committee include

  1. Wind up organizations such as Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) etc.
  2. Merge Rail Vikas Nigam into IRCON, Railtel into IRCTC and takeover of Braithwaite and Co. Limited by RITES as their functions overlap.
  3. Outsource the non-core functions. 

Private Train Operators

On selected routes, Private train operators will Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO Model) their own private trains on government tracks  & charge market-linked fares. . Government (Indian Railways) will provide track and signalling infrastructure to them in return for which Private train operator will share a percentage of its revenue with Government.

Timeline of Rail Privatization

2011 Sam Pitroda Committee Attract private investment in building railway infrastructure. 2015 Bibek Debroy Committee Allow entry of private railway operators in goods and freight services 2021 Bharat Gaurav Policy Allowed Private Operators to run trains on theme based circuits

Benefits of Rail Privatization

  • It will lead to improved efficiency as private players will bring superior management, technology and amenities.
  • It will lead to a lack of political interference in the railway operations, and decisions will be taken on sound economic principles.
  • Increased competition: The entry of private players will ensure improved quality of service with competitive fares. 
  • Prevent Government’s loss: The revenue generated by the Indian Railways is low and keeps the system always at losses. 
  • Reducing the supply-demand deficit: Since waitlisted passengers comprise ~15% of the reserved passengers. 
  • Private investment: According to estimates, railway infrastructure needs an investment of ₹50 trillion between 2018 and 2030. Given the FRBM restrictions, involvement of private capital is required.  
  • Economic Growth: Private investment in the railways will also lead to economic growth due to its positive spillover effects.

Challenges with Rail Privatization

  • Private monopoly: Privatization in railways might create a private monopoly that might seek to set higher prices and exploit consumers.  
  • Coverage Limited to Lucrative Sectors: With privatization, less popular routes could be eliminated, thus hurting connectivity and rendering some parts of the country virtually inaccessible.  
  • Apprehension among railway employees about job-loss, if Government reduces the number of Government trains.
  • Fragmentation in the railways: Rail privatization broke unified railway operations into infrastructure management and train operating companies in the UK. It led to the absence of clear demarcation of responsibility.

Bharat Gaurav Trains and Bharat Gaurav Policy

  • Bharat Gaurav Trains are private trains that will operate on theme-based circuits (e.g., Ramayana Express connecting places associated with Lord Ram).
  • The operator can lease the train and coaches from the Indian railways and change the interiors provided they comply with the safety norms.
  • The tenure of arrangement can vary from a minimum of two years to the life of the coach. 
  • The operator can also decide the halts, sell advertisement rights etc.

Railway Safety

Main categories of Railway Accidents

  • Derailment of Trains is the primary cause of railway accidents, constituting 50% of railway accidents.
  • Accident on unmanned level crossing gates (36%)
  • Train collisions
  • Rail Fire 
  • Persons standing on railway tracks (e.g., In 2018, 61 people were crushed to death in Amritsar).
  • Natural Causes such as floods, landslides etc. 

Between 2012-2018, a total of 600 rail accidents happened.

Reasons for Railway Accidents

  1. Lack of anti-collision technologies that automatically halts the train if it overshoots a red signal.  
  2. Inappropriate maintenance of tracks: Khanna Committee on Railways Safety commented that nearly 25% of the total railway track in India is overaged.  
  3. Poor Rolling stock: Most trains’ locomotives are not equipped with the Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches. LHB coaches are more secure than ICF due to the lower centre of mass, preventing it from toppling, turtling, and telescoping.
  4. Rail Fractures: Railway Tracks are made up of strong and durable steel, which can withstand extreme weight and fluctuations in temperature. But Railway fractures do occur due to many reasons like defects during manufacturing, defects during installation and lack of maintenance. These Rail fractures are also among the frequent reasons for derailments.
  5. Government Negligence: Government has formed committees such as Sam Pitroda Committee, Khanna Committee and Bibek Debroy Committee. But all these reports kept on lying dormant and recommendations un-implemented.  

Steps taken by Government

  • Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh was created with a corpus of 1 lakh crores to promote railway safety.   
  • TCAS (Train Collision Avoidance System): TCAS is based on a combination of railway signalling data, global position, radio frequency identification devices (RFID), software and logic. 
  • Tri-Netra System: Tri-Netra or Three Eyes system is made up of (1) Optical video camera, (2) Infrared video camera and (3) Radar-based terrain mapping system. It will help in avoiding collisions even during the fog.
Tri-Netra System
  • Changing to LHB: Indian Railways is replacing the ICF (Integral Coach Factory) coaches with German-made Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. 
  • Setu Bharatam Project: Under the Setu-Bharatam project, unmanned railway crossings are eliminated. 
  • Elimination of Mechanical Signalling: Indian railways is replacing the mechanical signalling with Electric and Electronic Interlocking Systems.

Way Forward: An independent body like Railway Safety Authority should be constituted to set the standards for Rail Safety and find the reasons and persons responsible for it in case of an accident.

Dedicated Freight Corridors 

Dedicated Freight Corridors are railway corridors designed to rapidly and efficiently transport goods and commodities. They are characterized by high speed and high capacity. 

Freight operations on the Indian Railways are set to witness a paradigm shift with the completion of its two dedicated freight corridors.

Eastern & Western DFC

Eastern & Western Dedicated Freight corridor
  Eastern corridor Western corridor
Start Ludhiana in Punjab Dadri in Uttar Pradesh
Funded by World Bank JICA
End Dankuni in West Bengal Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai
Length 1760 Km 1468 Km
StatusFully completed in Oct 2023Partially Completed

Why DFCs?

  1. Segregate Passenger and Freight Operations: It will segregate freight infrastructure passenger transport. It will remedy the issue faced by freight trains, i.e. unpredictable and low speeds of around 25 km per hour. These trains can run at the average speed of 50-60 kph on the Dedicated Freight Corridors, thus leading to faster transport of raw material & finished material from factories to ports and vice versa. 
  2. Ease Pressure on Existing Routes: DFCs will reduce the congestion on existing routes as existing routes are already saturated. 
  3. Allow Passenger Trains to run at Faster:  Indian railways run fast passenger trains, slow trains, goods trains all on the same track. Hence trains like Rajdhani, which can achieve speeds up to 130kmph, run at an average of 70kmph.  
  4.  Reduce Logistic cost: At present, the logistic cost is about 14% GDP which is 30-40% higher than global benchmarked logistics cost.
  5. Combating Inflation: According to study by New South Wales University published in Elsevier journal in 2024, commodity prices have reduced by 0.5% owing to Dedicated freight Corridors owing to lower logistic costs and travel times.
  6. Increase Railways Share in Freight: DFCs will help India in containing the railway’s falling share of goods traffic, which is 44% in the US and 47% in China compared to just 25% in India.
  7. Impetus to Industrial Activity: DFCs will facilitate fresh industrial activity along the corridors.
  8. Environmental Benefits: DFC will help reduce congestion on highways and lower greenhouse  emissions. Carbon emission reduction may help India to claim carbon credits.

Issues / Constraints

  • Issue of Land Acquisition: Due to route alignment, the railways have to acquire large swathes of private land that are already developed, making the construction of the corridor difficult.
  • Double stack vs single stack: The project has adopted different technical standards for WDFC and EDFC. WDFC would have moving dimensions made for double-stacked containers, and moving dimensions for EDFC are being made for single stack container operations. This makes the seamless movement of double-stack trains from WDFC to EDFC impossible.  
  • Not enough bidders: Given the conditions set by the Japanese government (which is giving soft loans) and which stipulates the involvement of a Japanese partner, the total number of bidders has been low for the Western corridor.

High-Speed Rails (HSR)

High-Speed Rail Corridor Plan (Diamond Quadrilateral)

  • Under the High-Speed Railway Corridors (HSR) plan, the Railways intend to run trains at the average speed of 200- 300 Kmph.
  • Ministry of Railways has selected the following six corridors
    1. Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar
    2. Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad
    3. Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai
    4. Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam
    5. Howrah-Haldia
    6. Delhi-Agra-Lucknow – Patna

Ahmedabad-Mumbai HSR

  • Work on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai line has already been started.
  • It’s details are as follows
Length 508 km
Time to travel 2 km (compared to 7 hours taken by fastest train now)
Top Speed 350 km / hr
Cost of project ₹ 1lakh 8 thousand CRORE
Technology Used Japanese Shinkansen (Bullet Train) Technology
Current Status47.17% completed as of October 2024
Ahmedabad-Mumbai HSR

Why should India go towards HSR ?

  • Globally, India’s railway network is the fourth largest. Hence, India should build High-Speed Railways to move forward on the learning curve.
  • It has a multiplier effect. 
    1. Improved specialization in construction technologies (as done by China)
    2. The emergence of large MNCs like Alston of France and Hitachi of Japan
  • The development of HSR will have benefits on real estate & facilitate balanced urbanization. For example, the Beijing-Tianjin HSR line helped the growth of Tianjin’s real estate & commercial industry.  
  • Although High-speed railways directly compete with economy class tickets of an airline but have the following benefits vis-a-vis road and airlines.
    1. These rail systems have 30% less land requirement in comparison to expressways. 
    2. Energy consumption is 1/3 less than private cars & 5 times less than aeroplanes.
  • HSR system is highly safe. No accident has been reported in the entire history of the Japanese High-Speed Rail.

New Trains

1. Vande Bharat

  • It was formerly known as Train -18.
  • It was made and designed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) based in Chennai under the Make in India Initiative 
  • These are semi high-speed trains that run at a speed of 160 Kmph (fastest in India).
  • It is an Engineless train running on Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) Technology.
  • The train has state of the art facilities like onboard WiFi, CCTVs, Rotating Chairs, disabled friendly, intelligent braking system etc. 
  • As of 2024, more than 100 Vande Bharat Trains are in operation.

2. Bharat Gaurav Trains

  • Bharat Gaurav Trains are theme-based trains launched in 2021.
  • E.g., Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train (to explore Buddhist places), North East Circuit Train (to explore North Eastern States) etc.

3. Gatiman Express

  • Gatiman Express is a semi-high speed train.
  • It runs on electricity.

4. Antyodaya Express

  • Antyodaya Express is a fully unreserved superfast train that runs on dense routes. 

5. Tejas Express

  • Tejas runs at 130 Kmph and provides advanced amenities such as WiFi services.

6. Uday Express

  • Uday is a double-decker train running on busy routes. 

Roads

by

Last Update: March 2025 (Roads)

Roads

This article deals with ‘Road (UPSC Notes).’ This is part of our series on ‘Economics’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

Roads
  • Roads are used to transport over 65% of the total goods and 85% of the passenger traffic.  
  • With about 63.4 lakh km of the road network, India has the second-largest road network in the world. 
  • The cost to transport with roadways is ₹ 26/ton/km.
  • Presently, India is the fastest highway developer globally, with 27 km of highways built each day.
  • Roads supplement the other modes of transport through last-mile connectivity to the country’s far-flung regions.

Bodies for Road Development

Ministry of Road Transport & Highway

  • Ministry of Road Transport and Highway is responsible for road development.
  • Issue: Why separate ministries for Road, Railway, Aviation etc. It leads to a silos approach.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)

  • Functions of NHAI includes
    • Develop, maintain and manage the National Highways.
    • Collect fees on National Highways
    • Regulate plying of the vehicles (vehicles of which size and weight can be allowed on a given highway)
    • Develop and provide consultancy and construction services in India and abroad
    • Carry on research activities in relation to highways
  • NHAI runs two main programs
    • National Highway Development Project (NHDP)
    • Bharat Mala 

Border Roads Organization (BRO)

  • BRO is mainly concerned with building border roads in accordance with military requirements.
  • Apart from that, it has been entrusted with the construction of roads in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Types of the Roads

National Highways

  • The responsibility to construct and maintain national highways is that of the Union Government.
  • Three agencies are involved in this, i.e. NHAI, BRO(under defence ministry) and State Public Works Department (PWD)  
  • National Highways connect state capitals. It consists of 1,15,455 km as of 2017 (~2%), but it serves 40% of traffic. Hence, these are highly saturated.

Expressways

  • Expressways are constructed using Special Purpose Vehicles (usually made through Public-Private Partnership).
  • Expressways are 6 to 8 lane highways that are used to serve high-speed traffic using bridges and underpasses. 
  • Examples include Ahmedabad – Vadodara Highway made by SPV consisting of NHAI and IRB Infra Developers. 

State Highways

  • The responsibility to construct and maintain state highways is that of the State Government.
  • State Highways are used to connect the state capital and district headquarters.

District Roads

  • The responsibility to construct and maintain district roads is that of Zila Parishad.
  • District Roads are used to connect district headquarters with tehsil and block.

Village Roads

  • The responsibility to construct and maintain village roads is that of Gram Panchayats.
  • Village Roads are used to connect villages with neighbouring towns.
  • Village Roads constitutes 61% of all roads.

Note: India’s road density at 1.66 km/sq.km of area is the highest among BRICS countries (but the quality of roads is the main issue)

Programs to develop Road development in India

1. National Highway Development Program (NHDP)

  • NHDP started in 2000, and presently it is in phase 6 (from 2012).
  • It has the following sub-components
    1. Golden Quadrilateral connecting 4 major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai)
    2. North-South & East-West Corridor connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari (NH 44) and Silchar to Porbandar (NH 27) 
    1. Road connectivity of all major ports of country to National Highways 
    2. Other National Highway stretches.

Where does NHAI get money from?

  • Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) was created to fund NHAI. It gets funds from CESS imposed on Petrol and (high speed) Diesel. Apart from that, NHAI also raise funds via debt and from development agencies such as World Bank, JICA, ADB etc. From 2020, NHAI is also using Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) to fund various projects. 
  • Before 2018, the fund was solely used to build National and State Highways and rural roads under PMGSY. But presently, Central Road and Infrastructure Fund is used to fund 
    1. Rural roads through PMGSY
    2. NHAI’s NHDP
    3. Inland Waterways Development 
    1. Railway infrastructure 
    2. Social infrastructure, including education institutions
National Highway Development Program ( NHDP)

2. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

  • It was launched on 25th December 2000.
  • It works under Rural Ministry. 

Under PMGSY, all-weather road connectivity is to be given to 

Ordinary Areas Villages having a population of 500 people.
Tribal, North East, Scheduled Areas Villages having a population of 250 people or more.
Naxal Area Villages having a population of 100 people or more.
  • New in PMGSY: Emphasis is on the use of local and green technologies, e.g. waste plastic, geo-textile, iron slag, fly ash etc.
  • It is Core Scheme with Centre to State Sharing = 60:40 for ordinary states and 90:10 for the Special Category States.

3. Bharatmala Project

  • Target: constructing 35,000 km of National Highways in the next five years. 
  • It is an umbrella program that includes the development of
    • Coastal Roads and Port Connectivity
    • Border Roads and International Connectivity
    • Feeder Routes 
    • Greenfield Expressways 
    • Roads for improving National Corridor Efficiency
    • Roads to balance NHDP works 
  • The scheme is funded via debt, private investment, central road fund and toll collection.  

Side Topic: Parvatmala / National Ropeways Development Program

  • Parvatmala Scheme was announced in Budget 2022. 
  • The Indian government has decided to develop a network of ropeways, instead of roadways, to improve connectivity in the hilly regions. 
  • It is preferred over roadways because it is an ecologically sustainable alternative in difficult hilly areas. 

4. Setu Bharatam Yojana

  • The Bharatmala project has been started to make all national highways free from railway level crossings by 2019. 
  • Under the project, 208 new railway over & under bridges will be built. 
  • Also, 1500 old bridges will be reconstructed.

5. Char Dham Mahamarg Pariyojna

  • Road project to connect all four dhams through highway with total length of 825 km.
  • Proposed routes include
    1. Rishikesh-Gangotri
    2. Rishikesh-Yamunotri
    3. Rishikesh-Badrinath
    4. Rishikesh-Kedarnath

6. FDI & Tax Reliefs

  • 100% FDI in the road sector is permitted in the road sector.
  • Private developers are given the right to collect and retain toll.

It has facilitated several foreign companies entering into partnerships with Indian players to capitalize on the sector’s growth.

7. Highways in Troubled Areas

Special Accelerated Road Development Program in North East (SARDP-NE)

  • It envisages road connectivity to state capitals, district HQ and remote places in the North East region.

Road Requirement Plan (RRP) for improvement of road connectivity in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)

  • The government approved the plan in March 2015 to develop road networks in the LWE affected areas of 34 Districts in 8 States in India.

8. FasTag Project

  • The system uses RFID technology to pay the toll.
Fastag
  • The government is working on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based Tolling System to replace FasTag as a next step. But as of 2025, the project is facing some issues due to privacy concerns.

9. GIS-based Software for Real Monitoring of Waiting Time at Toll Plazas

  • System is developed by Indian Highway Management Company Limited, a subsidiary of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
  • It is a GIS-based software that monitors the waiting time at toll plazas in real-time. Based on the data, steps such as a change in lane distribution can be made to ensure a faster flow of traffic.

10. Automated & Intelligent Machine-aided Construction (AIMC) System

  • Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH)  is using the AIMC system to address the issue of delays in the completion of National Highway projects and improve their quality.
  • AIMC System consists of a number of “intelligent road construction machines” like GPS-aided Motor Grader and Intelligent Compact Roller designed to
    • Improve the durability and longevity of roads built
    • Give real-time data on the state of each  stage of the project (further, the generated data is sent in real-time to stakeholders, including the MoRTH)
    • Boost productivity.

North-East Infra Projects

In the recent past, many projects (road, tunnels and bridges) have been made in North East.

Some of the main projects include

1. Bogi-Beel Bridge

  • Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge connects Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The bridge is on the Brahmaputra.

2. Sela Pass Tunnel

  • Sela Pass is situated in Arunachal Pradesh and connects Twang (on Border) and West Kameng district.   

3. Dhola Sadiya

  • Dhola Sadiya is India’s longest bridge measuring 9.15 km.  
  • It is situated on the Lohit River (Tributary of Brahmaputra). 
  • It connects Assam & Arunachal Pradesh.

4. Diffo Bridge

Diffo bridge is built over Diffo River in Arunachal Pradesh.

North-East Infra Projects

Jammu – Kashmir Infra Projects 

In the past 4-5 years, a large number of projects (road, tunnels etc.) have been made in J&K.  Some of the most critical projects are

Chenani Nashri Tunnel (Connects Jammu & Kashmir)

  • It is Asia’s Longest Tunnel- 9.2 Km in length
  • It has reduced the travel between Jammu and Kashmir valley by 41 km.

Zozila Tunnel (Connects Kashmir and Ladakh)

  • Length: 14.15 Km (will be largest in Asia when completed beating Chenani Nashri Tunnel (9.2km)
  • It will connect Kashmir valley with Ladakh.

Chenab Bridge

  • Chenab is the world’s highest Railway Bridge, situated on the Chenab river in Jammu & Kashmir. 

Rohtang Tunnel

  • Rohtang Tunnel is 9 km tunnel cutting through the Pir Panjal range.
  • The tunnel has reduced the distance between Leh and Manali by 46 km and made the area accessible around the year.

Sonamarg/Z-Morh Tunnel

  • 6.4 km tunnel situated at altitude of 8500 feet connecting Sonamarg (famous tourist place) with Ganderbal district.
  • Z-Morh name is due to z-shaped road where tunnel is constructed.
  • The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Sonamarg (famous tourist place).
Jammu - Kashmir Infra Projects

International Roads

India Myanmar Thailand (IMT)  Highway

  • IMT Highway starts from the Indian city of Moreh (Manipur) up to Mae Sot in Thailand. 

Delaram-Zaranj Highway

  • BRO has completed 215 km Delaram-Zaranj road in Afghanistan despite various threats.

Project Dantak

  • India constructs the roads in Bhutan under Project Dantak.

Other steps taken by the Government

  • The government has adopted the ‘Hybrid annuity model‘ for highway projects.
  • Infrastructure Investment Fund (InvIT): NHAI has been given the mandate to set up an InvIT to monetize its completed stretches of public-funded national highways to mobilize additional resources through capital markets.
  • PMO has started the PRAGATI program. 
  • The government has allowed 100% FDI in the road sector through automatic routes.
  • Government is installing Advanced Traffic Management system on the National Highways for efficient traffic management and emergency response.
  • Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to set up Land Acquisition cells across the country to resolve issues related to land acquisition and ensure speedy compensation disbursal.
  • NHAI has signed MoU with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under ISRO to use spatial technology to monitor and manage National Highways. 

National Highway numbers: Important ones only

National Highway Numbers in India
National Highway Numbers in India (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Until 2010: Old System was used as listed in the National Highways Act of 1956. 

After 2010: The government decided to rationalize numbers as old numbering wasn’t scientific and did not indicate its location and direction. In the new system,

  • east-west highways —> odd numbers —> number increases from north to south
  • north-south highways —> even numbers —> number increases from east to west 

Important National Highways in India

NH 44 Kanyakumari to Srinagar (via all major Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Agra, Delhi, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jallandhar)
NH 27 Silchar to Porbandar
NH 48 Bangalore to Mumbai to Delhi
NH 16 Chennai to Kolkata
NH 19 Delhi to Kolkata

Note: Presently, NH 44 is the longest Highway.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

Why new bill?

  • 1988: Motor Vehicle Act came to force. 
  • But it has outlived its utility as
    1. A large number of people die in road accidents because they don’t get medical help at the time.
    2. Urban areas have too many vehicles and congested roads.
    3. Lack of effective vehicle standards leads to pollution and accidents.
    4. Juvenile road rashes.
    5. No protection to good Samaritans.
    6. Entry of digital aggregators and no law to regulate them.
    7. Penalties are too small to act as a deterrent.

Provisions of the Act

1. Agency for Road Safety

  • National Road Safety Board (NRSB) has been constituted (as recommended by Sundar committee).  

2. Offences and penalties

  • Penalties have been increased. E.g., Fine for Drunk & Drive has been increased to ₹10,000  (earlier ₹2,000)

3. Juvenile

  • The act has recognized the offences committed by juveniles. 
  • The Guardian and owner of the motor vehicle are also made liable.

4. License and Registration

The act has brought the harmony of registration and licensing process by creating 

  • National Register for Vehicle registration 
  • National Register for Driving Licence

5. Protection of good Samaritans

  • Samaritans are not liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury or death of an accident victim. 

6. Care for road accident victims

  • Under the provisions of the act, the road accident victims will be provided with cashless treatment during golden hour (hour following a traumatic injury).

7. Aggregator services

  • The act requires aggregators (like Uber, Ola etc.) to obtain licenses. 

8. Transportation schemes

The act requires state governments to make transportation schemes that provide for  

  • last-mile connectivity 
  • reducing traffic congestion 

Issues with the Act

  • Anti-federal in Character (according to state parties): Although Road is in the Concurrent List and it is within the legislative jurisdiction of Union, States are raising concern over Sections 66A and 88A, which will empower the Centre to form a National Transportation Policy through a process of consultation, and not concurrence. Hence, the Centre can also make Policy on Rural Mobility, Private Bus Sector in State and Last Mile connectivity in States. But all local leaders have private bus companies, and auto drivers are big vote banks plaguing the whole system. Hence, they don’t want these subjects under Union Government. 
  • Just increasing the fine is not enough. According to IIT Delhi’s research, the deterrent impact depends upon the swiftness and probability of getting caught and penalized.  

Side Topic: Road Accidents  Deaths

go Economic cost of World's Road accidents happen accidents to Indian in India GDP civilspedia.com

In 2023, 4.8 lakh road accidents happened in India, resulting in 1.7 lakh deaths. Globally, India ranks first in the number of road accidents and fatalities.

Reasons

  • Poorly designed roads and blind curves cause a large number of accidents.
  • Poorly maintained roads with a large number of potholes on highways.
  • Lane indiscipline and driving on the wrong side
  • Negligence on the part of drivers due to drunk driving & overspeeding.
  • Traffic police are unprofessional.
  • Corruption in Licensing of drivers.
  • Due to harassment by Police, Good Samaritans don’t come forward to help the victim. 
  • Hospitals lack the proper infrastructure to provide proper care during Golden Hour.
  • Lack of effective policy because India doesn’t have robust data collection systems to ascertain the causes of crashes and does not have a scientific accident investigation agency. 

Steps already taken

  • Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP): It is a star rating system for vehicles to assess their safety in case of collision. It is modelled on Global NCAP and has some modifications. Currently, this testing is voluntary, but car-makers are encouraged to offer it. Bharat NCAP will help to reduce casualties and injuries in road accidents.
  • iRAD: iRAD is the central database that hosts data related to all the accidents in India gathered by various agencies. It will help in better policy formulation to improve road safety in India.: iRAD is the central database that hosts data related to all the accidents in India gathered by various agencies. It will help in better policy formulation to improve road safety in India.
  • Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3.6) urged nations to take necessary actions to reduce road crash deaths by 50%. 
  • Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Sadak Yojana has been started to eliminate dangerous spots on highways.
  • Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019  has various provisions like protection to good Samaritans, Free Hospitalisation in Golden Hour etc.
  • The government has made it mandatory for all vehicles to have front seat airbags. 
  • Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) has been made mandatory for manufacturers.
  • 10% of the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) can be used for undertaking road safety measures.
  • India has signed the Brasilia declaration to reduce road accidents and fatalities by half. 
  • Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIP-C)’ with a focus to produce state-of-the-art knowledge to address road transport and traffic safety in India will be opened in IIT Delhi.
  • Stringent Vehicular Standards: The government has made stricter vehicular standards like
    1.  Trucks are prohibited from carrying protruding rods.
    2. Antilocking Brake System (ABS) made mandatory on Heavy Vehicles.
    3. Car Crash Standards to be made mandatory w.e.f. 1st April 2018
    4. AHO (Automatic Headlight On) was made mandatory to make them more conspicuous
    5. Truck Body Code for safe cabins to drivers and other road users

Suggestions

Briefly, the 1960s were also a period of paradigmatic change in thinking about road safety in many High Income Countries. In the US, for instance, this period was one in which the problem (and hence the potential solutions) shifted from being driver-oriented to a more balanced approach, known as the ‘Safe System’ approach. It included interventions focusing on vehicles, road infrastructure, and post-crash care in a broad view of the environment in which crashes happen.

  • Introduce road safety as part of the school curriculum. 
  • KS Radhakrishnan panel on road safety advocates the Zero tolerance policy towards drunk driving & accidents caused by speeding. 
  • Implement Supreme Court Judgement wrt Good Samaritans in letter and spirit and ensure they aren’t harassed. 
  • To get real data to make effective policy, India can learn from Cambodia that combines data from both police and hospitals to get authentic data of accidents.
  • Adopt Tamil Nadu Model: Tamil Nadu has taken the following steps to reduce road accidents.
    • Enforcement of traffic rules about using a mobile phone while driving, wearing a helmet, seat belt etc., strictly.
    • Use of ICT to dispatch ambulance & police rapidly in case of an accident.
    • Highway liquor shops have been closed.
    • The quality of roads has been increased, and warning boards at dangerous turns have been installed. 

UAVs

by

Last Updated: Jan 2025 (UAVs)

UAVs

This article deals with the ‘UAVs.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

  • UAV is an aerial vehicle without a pilot on board.  
  • UAVs can be remote-controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot on the ground) or fly autonomously based on the program. 

Applications of UAVs

Applications of UAV
  • UAVs can be remotely controlled. Therefore, it saves any loss of soldiers. 
  • In modern warfare, Armies use them in operations to have a view from above and coordinate the movement of Soldiers. 
  • Police are using them during rioting and monitoring people’s assembly during Strikes. E.g., Chandigarh Police  
  • Border Security: UAVs can be used for real-time surveillance of rugged terrain.
  • Companies like Facebook plan to use it for internet delivery (Aquila).
  • Logistic companies are making drones to deliver products. E.g., Zomato is working on a hybrid drone for food delivery. Earlier, Amazon too tested such drones. 
  • Healthcare: Drones can be used for improving the delivery of medicines. E.g., the Telangana government’s ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project under which medicines (especially vaccines) will be transported from district headquarters to PHCs using a drone named Marut.
  • Agriculture: Drones have application in agro-management, especially in spraying pesticides, crop nutrients etc. In an experiment conducted in Brazil, the use of drones helped in reducing the use of pesticides.
  • Tool for ‘Psychological Warfare’: The constant presence of UAVs in conflict zones creates a sense of unease and helplessness among enemies, creating psychological pressure.

Challenges

  • Regulatory loopholes: There are policy and legal loopholes wrt the regulation of drones in India.
  • Quality Control: Most of the drones are imported in India.
  • Privacy Issues: Drones can collect images and data of common citizens infringing their right to privacy.
  • Use by Terrorists: These drones can be easily procured and used by terrorists for carrying out their nefarious activities. For example, drones are to drop weapons and drugs along the Punjab border. 
  • Issue with Air Traffic Management: Drones cant be detected by conventional radars and puts conventional air traffic in danger.

UAVs as a threat to National Security

Drones have changed the ways wars are fought and have posed new challenges to security agencies.

Recent developments in this regard include

  1. Insurgents in North East India are using drones to drop explosives. 
  2. In 2021, Kashmiri terrorists dropped IEDs over Indian Airforce Base using UAVs.
  3. Pakistan use drones to smuggle drugs to India.
  4. In 2021, Azerbaijan defeated Armenia’s much more potent force using drones, which have completely changed the ways warfare is fought.
  5. Iran supported Shia Houthi rebels attacked oil facilities of Saudi Aramco and oil refinery in UAE, bypassing sophisticated missile defence systems.
  6. The US killed Iranian General Qasim Soleimani in a drone attack.

Ways to defend drone attacks 

The best way to defend is the installation of Anti-Drone systems. These includes

  1. Foreign Anti-Drone systems such as Iron Dome (of Israel), S-400 (of Russia), DroneHunter (of USA) etc.
  2. India is also making indigenous anti-drone systems. These include
    • D4 System (Drone, Detect, Deter and Destroy)
      • It is an Indian Anti-Drone system developed by DRDO.
      • It can detect, track and identify rogue drones within a 5 km range.
      • It can jam micro drones (soft kill) and use laser-based kill mechanism to destroy drones (hard kill)
    • DRDO’s ‘Anti-Drone System” can neutralize detecting the drones in the range of 3 km and destroy using laser technology.
    • Grene Robotics of Hyderabad has developed Anti-Drone System named ‘Indrajaal’. 
    • Naval Anti Drone System (NADS): First indigenously developed comprehensive anti-drone system developed by DRDO.  It has capabilities for both hard kill (attacking vital drone components) and soft kill (misguiding, signal jamming etc.). 
    • Israel’s SMASH 2000 Plus System: Being used by Indian Navy, this system is installed mainly on assault rifles providing hard kill option.

Drone Rules, 2021

  • Guidelines by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for use of civil drones.
  • Places restrictions on operating drones in certain areas (Red Zones). 
  • Provides for registration and licensing of drones and training of operators. 
  • It follows the principle of No Permission – No Take-off (NPNT) and permission is required before every operation of a drone.

Drones of India

#1. Indian Drones

1.1. Rustom

  • Rustom is developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of Bangalore under DRDO.
  • It comes in two versions – Rustom 1 and Rustom 2.
  • Use: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) 

Features of Rustom

  Rustom-1 Rustom-2
Weight 95 Kg 350 Kg
Endurance 12-15 hour 24 hour
Range 250 km 250 km
Speed 125-175 km/hr 125-175 km/hr

1.2 Nishant

  • It is developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of Bangalore under DRDO.
  • Primary use: Intelligence gathering, surveillance, target designation and damage assessment.
  • Features
    1. Endurance: 4 hours and 30 minutes.
    2. It has a range of 100 Km.
    3. It can reach up to a speed of 216 km/h.
    4. It is launched using a catapult and doesn’t need a runway.
    5. It has day and night flying capability.

1.3 Panchi

  • It is the wheeled version of Nishant. 

1.4 Lakshya-I

  • Lakshya-1 is pilotless target aircraft.
  • It is manufactured by HAL.
  • Primary use: Used to perform discrete aerial reconnaissance of battlefield and target acquisition.
  • Features
    1. Maximum Speed: 0.7 Mach
    2. Range: 150 km
    3. Its launch is rocket-assisted, while recovery is made using a two-stage parachute.
  • Later, the Nirbhay missile was also made from its design.

1.5 NETRA

  • It is a Mini-UAV. 
  • It is developed by DRDO.
  • Its use includes following
    1. CRPF will use it to fight Naxals. 
    2. BSF in counter-insurgency. 
  • It has the following specifications
    1. Range of 4 to 5 km.
    2. Endurance of 40 to 60 minutes.
    3. It weighs around 6 kg.
Indian UAVs

#2. Foreign UAVs bought by India

2.1 Guardian Drone

  • India has bought  Guardian Drones (naval & unarmed version of Predator UAVs).
  • It has provided enhanced Indian capabilities in maritime defence.  
Guardian Drone

2.2 Predator Drones

In 2024, US has approved sale of 31 Predator drones to India.

Features

  • Can carry lethal and non-lethal payloads (armed version of Guardian)
  • Can fly continuously for 35 hours
  • Can fly 2,000 miles without refuelling
  • Can carry payload of 1,700 kg.

2.3 Heron TP

  • It is an Israeli Armed UAV.
  • India has bought this UAV.  
  • It is India’s first armed drone, significantly expanding the aerial offensive capabilities of the military.
Heron TP

2.4 Harpy and Harop

  • These UAVs are bought from Israel.

Side Topic: Swarm Drones

  • The Indian Army has inducted swarm drones
  • Swarm drones are several UAVs operating in coordination. These are useful in combat operations for surveillance inputs and undertaking close reconnaissance. 

Indian Air Force

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Last Updated: May 2023 (Indian Air Force)

Indian Air Force

This article deals with the ‘Indian Air Force.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Airforce

  • Indian Airforce with 1.27 active personnel defends the Indian airspace.
  • At present, the Indian Airforce (IAF) has 34 fighter squadrons. But to be effective against China and Pakistan, India needs at-least 45 squadrons.
Indian Air Force

Aircrafts of India

Combat Aircraft

Dassault Rafale 26
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 272
HAL Tejas 22
Mig-29 66
Mirage 2000 49
Jaguar 120
MiG-21 Bison 107 (retire in 2025)

Reconnaissance Aircraft

Boeing 707 1
Global 5000 2
Gulfstream 2

Tanker Aircraft

Il-78 : 6

Transport Aircraft

Ilyushin IL-76 17
Boeing C-17 Globemaster 11
C-130J Super Hercules 12
Antonov A-32 104
Dornier 228 50

Helicopters

HAL Light Combat Helicopter Attack Helicopters
HAL Rudra Armed
HAL Dhruv Utility
Boeing Apache Attack Helicopters
Mi-24 Attack Helicopters
Chinook Heavy Transport

UAVs

Harop Loitering Munition
Heron Surveillance
Searcher Surveillance
DRDO Lakshya Target Drone

Side Topic: Generations of Aircrafts

  Period Features Examples
1st Gen Fighters 1940s-50s – Turbojet Engines Mig-15 and Mystere-IV
2nd Gen Fighters 1950s-60s – Delta Wings
– Guided and Beyond Visual Range Missiles 		Mig-21, Su-7 and F-104
3rd Gen Fighters 1960s-70s – Improved Radars, Missiles and Avionics Mig-25 and F-4 Phantom
4th Gen Fighters 1970s-90s – Fly by wire controls
– Multi-role capabilities 		Mirage-2000, Mig-29, Su-27, F-16 Fighting Falcon
4.5th Gen Fighters 1990s onwards – Some stealth features
– Advanced avionics 		Su-30 MKI, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16 Desert Falcon
5th Gen Fighters In development – Advanced Stealth
– Highly sophisticated avionics
– Thrust Vectoring
– Supersonic cruise without the use of afterburners 		F/A-22 Raptor, F-35 and Sukhoi T-50

Detail of Combat Aircrafts in news

1. Rafale & MMRCA

Rafale is 4.5 generation Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) aircraft made by Dassault Aviation of France.

Rafale and India

Main features of Rafale

  • 4.5 generation Multirole combat aircraft, i.e. can be used for ground support, in-depth strike, and anti-ship strike.
  • Rafale is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
  • Equipped with precision air to air and air to surface missiles.
  • Range: 3,700 Km
  • Max Speed: 1,389 Km/hr
  • Load Carrying Capacity: 9,500 Kg

Rafale Acquisition: Chronology of Events

2007 Tender for MMRCA was invited, and various bidders such as  Eurofighter (of British Aerospace), F-16 (of Lockheed Martin), MiG-35 (of Russia) and Rafale (of Dassault (France)) applied for the bids.  
2011 Rafale was shortlisted. It was decided that India would buy 126 Rafale. In this, 18  were to be purchased in fly-away condition, and the rest 108 were to be made by HAL under Transfer of Technology.  
2015 But the issue was Dassault was not prepared to guarantee the performance of aircraft manufactured in India. The plan was changed, and the government decided to buy 36 Rafale in the ready-to-fly condition given to India in two years.
2018-19 The case went to Supreme Court to increase the cost per aircraft and give offset contract to Reliance instead of HAL.  
2020 Delivery of Rafales started. The first batch of 5 aircraft was delivered to India.

Issues

  • The stealth system of Rafale is outdated compared to other competitors in the same class.
  • Rafale doesn’t have STOVL (Short take-off and vertical landing) capability, present in other competitors.
  • Brazilian Airforce was earlier interested in buying Rafale but later changed to Swedish Gripen jet.

2. Tejas / HAL’s LCA

  • HAL Tejas or Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is a 4th Generation fighter aircraft made by India.
  • It is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).
  • The program to build indigenous Indian combat aircraft started way back in the 1980s. After long delays, the first Tejas was delivered to the Indian Airforce in 2015. In 2021, the Indian government announced to procure 83 Tejas.
  • Tejas is going to replace India’s ageing MiG 21 aircraft.
  • Features of HAL Tejas
    1. It has ~60% indigenous content.
    2. Maximum Speed: 1,350 Kmph.
    3. Its radius of action is 400 Km without refuelling.
    4. It can carry a weight of up to 12 tonnes. 
    5. Delta wing configuration 
    6. Numerous integrated technologies like Fly by wire flight control system, advanced digital cockpit, digital avionics, advanced composite material structure etc.
    7. It is equipped with operational capabilities like Beyond Visual Range Missile and Air to Air Refueling.
    8. It has STOBAR (Short Takeoff But Arrested Recovery) capability.
Tejas

Side Topic: (LCA) Kaveri

  • Kaveri is the name of Tejas’s engine that was to be used, but India couldn’t make it on time to be used in the plane.
  • It would have been India’s first indigenous gas turbine engine.

3. Sukhoi T-50 (Fifth Generation)

Sukhoi T-50 is an Indo-Russian collaborative project to make 5th generation fighter aircraft. It is a joint venture of Russia’s Sukhoi and India’s HAL.

It will have the following characteristics

  1. Stealth features like specially designed airframes, engines intakes, and radar absorbing material
  2. Thrust vectoring nozzles
  3. One or two seated
  4. 30 mm cannon
  5. Eight weapon internal points and eight external points.
  6. Max speed of 2 Mach.
  7. Fuel capacity of 10,300 kg.

But in 2018, India has conveyed its unwillingness to Russia to go ahead with this project due to the high costs involved. 

Sukhoi T-50

Detail of Transport Aircrafts in news

1. C-17 Globemaster

  • It is a large military transport aircraft of US origin developed by Boeing. 
  • Indian Airforce has 11 Globemasters.
  • It can be used for
    1. Transporting troops.
    2. Maintaining supplies and carrying equipment to small airfields in remote and harsh terrain (E.g., Ladakh)
  • Its main features include
    1. Ability to take off from very high altitudes
    2. Land on paved as well as unpaved airfields during day and night.
C-17 Globemaster

Helicopters

Important Made in India Helicopters

1. Dhruv (ALH)

Dhruv Helicopter

Dhruv features of this helicopter

  • Dhruv was designed for the military as well as civilian purposes.
  • It is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
  • It can play multiple roles: logistics, rescue and attack for Army, Navy, Airforce and Coast Guard.

History

  • The project was first announced in 1984 & was designed in assistance with MBB of Germany.
  • First flew in 1992 but developments prolonged due to budget restrictions and various restrictions placed on India after Pokhran 2 in 1998.
  • Entered into service in 2002. 
  • First exported to Nepal & Israel & is on order by several other countries.

2. LCH Prachand

  • LCH Prachand is indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
  • It is a multi-role combat helicopter. With this, India has become the seventh country to make attack helicopters. 
  • Features of LCH Prachand
    1. Range: 550 Km
    2. Endurance: 3 hours
    3. Maximum height at which it can fly: 6.5 Km
    4. It is the only combat helicopter in the world which can land and takeoff at an altitude of 5,000 m.
    5. Equipped with a ‘COUNTERMEASURE DISPENSE SYSTEM‘ to protect it from enemy radars and missiles.
LCH Prachand

Foreign Helicopters bought by India

1. Chinook

Chinook
  • Chinooks are the heavy-lift helicopters used by the US Army. 
  • India decided to buy 15 Chinook helicopters from the USA in 2016, and the first batch was delivered in 2019.
  •  Features of Chinook Helicopters
    1. Twin Engine with Tandem Rotor.
    2. Can carry up to 35 troops or 24 stretchers with 3 attendants or 10,500 kg payload.
    3. Advanced Avionics. 
    4. Advanced M240 Machine Gun

2. Apache

  • Apache is USA’s most advanced ‘attack helicopter’. 
  • India has bought 22 Apache Helicopters.
  • Features of Apache Helicopters
    1. Twin Turboshaft Engines
    2. Armed with missiles like Hellfire, Spike and Stinger missiles
    3. Armed with advanced M230 Chain Guns
    4. Night vision systems
    5. Advanced avionics

3. Mi-17

  • Mi-17 is a Russian origin transport helicopter manufactured by Kazan Helicopters.
  • It is one of the most advanced transport helicopters equipped with advanced features such as 
    1. Advanced self-defence system equipped with 23 mm cannon and heat-seeking missiles
    2. Twin-engine single rotor
    3. Highly sophisticated navigation and avionics system
    4. Maximum speed of 250 km/hr
    5. Range of 675 Km
    6. Payload capacity of 4,000Kg
    7. Capacity to transport up to 36 troops.
  • It is used for the transportation of VVIPs, including PM and army chiefs.

Indian Navy

by

Last Updated: Jan 2025 (Indian Navy)

Indian Navy

This article deals with the ‘Indian Navy.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Structure of Indian Navy

  • Indian Navy protects the territorial waters, coast and Indian geopolitical interests.
  • It has 58,000 active personnel.
  • It has 3 operational commands
    1. Eastern Command – Vishakhapatnam
    2. Western Command – Mumbai
    3. Southern Command – Kochi

Side Topic: Blue Water navy

  • It is a mighty navy that can operate across the deep waters in open oceans. E.g. US Navy.
  • Indian Navy also wants to be a Bluewater navy. The purchase/induction of Vikramaditya, nuclear submarines, fifth-generation air crafts etc., are part of that strategy.

Why Indian Navy needs to be modernized?

  • India has a vast and long coastline of 7,500 km that needs to be defended by a strong and modernized navy.
  • The majority of India’s international trade is carried through the Indian ocean. Hence, a strong and modernized navy is necessary to protect Indian interests.
  • A modernized navy is the need of the hour to counter the Chinese String of Pearls strategy against India.

Naval Ships

How are Naval Ships named?

Different countries follow different conventions

Corvettes

  • Corvette is the smallest class of ships that can be considered a proper warship.
  • Their main use includes
    1. Coastal Patrol
    2. Fast Attack
  • In India, Corvettes are named after personal arms. Eg : INS Khukri, INS Kirpan and INS Khanjar. 

Frigates

  • Frigates are warships with mixed armaments.
  • In India, they are named after mountains or rivers or weapons. E.g., INS Sahaydri, INS Shivalik, INS Satpura, INS Talwar, INS Teg etc.

Cruise or Destroyer

  • Destroyer is a fast, highly manoeuvrable ship with long -endurance. Generally, it escorts a fleet of vessels intending to protect them.
  • In India, they are named after a state capital, a large city, or a great king or warrior from India’s history. E.g., INS Delhi, INS Kolkata, INS Mysore, INS Mumbai, INS Rana and INS Ranjit.

Submarines

  • In India, Submarines are named after a predatory fish or an abstract name associated with the ocean. 
  • INS Arihant and INS Chakra are nuclear submarines; the conventional ones have had names from INS Sindhughosh and INS Sindhukirti to INS Shalki and INS Shankul.

Aircraft Carriers

  • Aircraft Carrier is the highest class of warships whose presence can provide strategic advantage. They are used to carry aircraft to carry operations away from home shores.
  • These are very expensive and generally escorted by destroyers, frigates, submarines etc.
  • There is a special procedure to name such special ships. A committee is formed that invites the name and decides to name it. For Example,
    1. INS Vikramaditya: It is named after Vikramaditya meaning Sun of Prowess, a name taken after many Indian sovereigns.
    2. INS Vikrant: It is named after India’s first Aircraft Carrier, which India bought from the UK in 1957.
  • Importance of Aircraft Carriers for India
    1. It enhances the Navy’s capabilities to carry operations away from its shores.
    2. It is essential to convert the Indian Navy to Blue Water Navy.

Side Topic: Nations and Number of their Aircraft Carriers

USA 11 Operational
China 2 Operational (2 will be commissioned soon)
India 1 Operational (1 will be commissioned soon)

Indian Aircraft Carriers

1. INS Vikramaditya

It is an Indian Aircraft carrier. It is of Soviet origin and was known as Admiral Gorshkov. India bought this from Russia in 2004, and it was finally delivered to India in 2013.

INS Vikramaditya

2. INS Vikrant or IAC-1

  • INS Vikrant is the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier. India has joined the elite club that can manufacture its aircraft carriers (others include the US, Russia, France, the UK and China). It was delivered to the Indian Navy and commissioned on 15 August 2022, marking 75 years of Indian independence. 
  • It is designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). Hence, it is a ‘Made in India’ ship. With this, India has joined the group of six nations which have this capability.
  • Its features include
    1. Weight = 19,500 Kg
    2. Displacement of 40,000 tonnes.
    3. Speed of 28 knots
    4. It will carry 24 Russian MiG-29 aircraft and Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R Seahawk Helicopters and Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).
    5. Two runways.
    6. It has STOBAR capability (i.e. Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery)
    7. Long-range surface to air missiles.
    8. It has crew capacity of 1600
    9. Cost to built = Rs. 20,000 crore

Note: It is named after decommissioned INS Vikrant, India’s first Aircraft carrier, and was bought from Britain in 1961. It played an essential role in the Indian victory over Pakistan in 1971.

INS Vikrant

3. INS Vishal

  • INS Vishal is the proposed name of India’s third aircraft carrier.
  • It will be a 65,000-ton vessel, bigger than both INS Vikramaditya and Vikrant.
  • It is not yet approved by the Government of India. However, it will be India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier when approved. 

Other Warships

1. Kolkata Class (Project 15-A)

  • Kolkata class is a group of destroyers made under Project 15A. These are a class of guided-missile destroyers constructed for the Indian Navy. 
  • There are three ships built under the Kolkata class.
    1. INS Kolkata
    2. INS Kochi 
    3. INS Chennai
  • These are built at Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) in India and are the largest destroyers to be operated by the Indian Navy. 

2. Vishakhapatnam Class (Project 15-B) 

    • The destroyers of this class are more advanced than the Kolkata class and have stealth capabilities.
    • There are four ships built under this Vishakhapatnam Class
      1. INS Vishakhapatnam
      2. INS Mormugao 
      3. INS Imphal
      4. INS Surat
    • INS Surat, which was commissioned in January 2025, is an AI-enabled warship. It can use AI to enhance its operational efficiency.

    3. Nilgiri Class (Project 17-A)

    • Nilgiri Class is a group of frigates made under Project 17A. 
    • There are seven frigates made under Nilgiri Class (all named after hills)
      1. INS Nilgiri
      2. INS Himgiri
      3. INS Udaygiri 
      4. INS Dunagiri
      5. INS Taragiri
      6. INS Vindhyagiri
      7. INS Mahendragiri 
    • These are built at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in India.
    • These are follow-on vessels of the Shivalik Class (Project 17).

    4. Talwar or Krivak Class

    • It is a class of Indian Stealth Frigates being built in Russia.
    • Total four frigates are to be built under the project, two of which have already been built
      1. INS Tushil
      2. INS Tamala 
      3. 2 more are under construction.
    • Features of this class include
      • Stealth features with low radar and underwater noise signatures
      • Installed with Surface to Surface Missiles
      • Equipped with Surface Surveillance Radar and Sonars

    5. Kamorta Class (Project 28)

    • Kamorta class is a group of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built under Project 28 by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
    • There are four corvettes built under Kamorta Class.
      1. INS Kamorta
      2. INS Kadmatt 
      3. INS Kiltan
      4. INS Kavaratti
         

    6. INS Astradharini

    • India’s first indigenously designed (95%) and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV). 
    • It is an advanced replacement for Astravahini. 

    Side Topic: Decommissioned Ships

    INS Vikrant

    • The warship was decommissioned in 2014.
    • Initially known as HMS Hercules, India purchased it from Britain in 1961. It played a strategic role in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
    • Now Bajaj is using its steel in making motorcycles.

    Submarines

     Submarines are of three types & India need the correct mix of all three  

    1. Conventional Submarines (SSK)

    • They use the diesel-electric engine as their source of power & have to surface daily to get oxygen for fuel combustion.
    • India needs atleast 18 SSKs and with the induction of INS Arighaat, it has 18 Submarines now
      1. 7 Sindhughosh Class (Russian Kilo Class) 
      2. 4 Shishumar Class (German Type 209) 
      3. 5 Scorpene Class Submarines inducted from Project 75
      4. 2 SSBN Submarines

    India had plans under Project 75 & Project 75(I), under which the intention is to build two production lines in collaboration with two foreign submarine builders to build 6 submarines each. In the meantime, the Navy would come up with indigenous designs to produce 6 submarines immediately, each on these production lines producing a total of 24 subs by 2030. Although the project is behind schedule, we have made 5 subs under Project 75.

    Project 75

    5 Subs (out of 6) under Project 75 has been made (Scorpene-Class Submarines made by French Maker DCNS ) 

    1. INS Kalvari

    • It was inducted in 2017 (5 years behind schedule).
    • It is the first submarine constructed under Project 75. 
    • The literal meaning of “Kalvari” is ‘ Sea Tiger.’  

    2. INS Khanderi

    • It was inducted in 2018.
    • Khanderi is the name of Maratha Island Fort.  

    3. INS Karanj

    • It was inducted in 2019. 
    • The name ‘Karanj’ is derived from Karanja island, a town in the Raigad district. 

    4. INS Vela

    • It was inducted in 2021.
    • The name ‘Vela’ is derived from the name of a predatory fish. It was also the name of one of India’s decommissioned submarines of Soviet origin. 

    5. INS Vagir

    • It was inducted in 2023
    • Vagir is the name of sandfish (a predatory variety of fish).

    6. INS Vagsheer

    • It was inducted in January 2025.
    • It is the sixth and final submarine developed under Project 75.

    In 2023, India decided it would build 3 additional Scorpene Class Submarines.

    2. Nuclear Submarines (SSN)

    • These are powered by nuclear reactors (but they can’t launch Ballistic Missiles). As a result, they can remain submerged for months.
    • Given the security needs of India, the Indian Navy needs 6 SSNs. 
    • MoU was signed with Russia to provide 2 Akula Class SSNs on lease for 10 years. India got one in 2012 (INS Chakra)  & the other one has still not reached India.

    3. Nuclear Submarines with Ballistic Missiles (SSBN)

    • They are nuclear-powered submarines along with the capability to launch Ballistic Missiles with nuclear warheads.  
    • These Submarines act as the third leg of the nuclear triad. 
    • India needs 3 to 5 SSBN but has 2 (with latest addition of INS Arighaat in 2024). 
    • India is the 5th country after the US, Russia, China and France to have such capability.

    INS Arihant

    • INS Arihant is India’s first nuclear submarine which was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2016, thus establishing India’s Nuclear Triad.
    • Other Features
      • 6000 tonne submarine powered by  Pressurized Light Water Reactors
      • Armed with K-15 and K-4 nuclear missiles

    Arihant Submarine

    INS Arighaat

    • INS Arighaat is India’s second nuclear submarine. It was commissioned into Indian Navy in 2024.
    • It is nuclear powered with the capability to launch ballistic missiles, thus strengthening India’s nuclear triad.
    • Other Features
      • 6000 tonne submarine powered by Pressurized Light Water Reactors
      • Armed with K-15 missiles with range of 700 Km.
      • It has 60% indigenous content (improvement from INS Arihant which has 30%)
    INS Arighaat

    INS Aridhman (S4)

    • It is currently going sea trials.
    • Other Features
      • 75% indigenous content.
      • Equipped with K4 missiles.

    Side Topic: Nuclear Triad

    Nuclear Triad means the 3-pronged capability to launch a nuclear strike

    1. Land-launched nuclear missiles (e.g., Agni Missiles of India).
    2. Nuclear-missile-armed submarines (INS Arihant and INS Arighaat are SSBN).
    3. Strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles (Su 30 MKI can be integrated with Brahmos).
    Indian Navy

    Torpedo

    Torpedoes are underwater weapons fitted in warships and submarines with the aim to destroy enemy ships.

    How Torpedoes Work
    How Torpedoes Work?

    List of Indian Torpedoes

    Varunastra Anti-Submarine Torpedo (India’s first indigenous torpedo)
    Shyena Anti-Submarine Torpedo
    SMART Long Range Torpedo

    Navy Aircrafts

    Indian Navy has aircraft for reconnaissance and attack purposes.

    List of Naval Aircrafts

    1. Reconnaissance Naval Aircrafts

    P-8I US Aircraft manufactured by Boeing
    Dornier 228 German origin reconnaissance aircraft
    IL 38 Russian origin reconnaissance aircraft

    2. Attack Naval Aircrafts

    MiG 29: Russian origin attack planes posted on INS Vikramaditya    

    Side Topic: P-8I

    • P-8I is the maritime surveillance, coastline defence, search and rescue and anti-submarine aircraft.
    • Manufacturer: Boeing
    • India has been using these since the delivery of the first aircraft in 2013. Presently, India has two squadrons of P-8I.

    Tanks, Artillery and Guns

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    Last Updated: Jan 2025 (Tanks, Artillery and Guns)

    Tanks, Artillery and Guns

    This article deals with the ‘Tanks, Artillery and Guns.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

    Tanks and Artillery

    1. Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1)

    • Arjun or MK-1A is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured tank.
    • Manufacturers: DRDO & CVRDE (Combat vehicle research & development establishment).
    • The latest batch of Arjun tanks, delivered to the Indian Army in 2021, has ~55% indigenous content. 

    Timeline

    1972 Arjun Main Battle Tank Project initiated by DRDO
    1996 Mass production began
    2004 The first batch of 16 Arjun tanks was delivered to the Indian Army.
    2009 Arjun Regiment consisting of 45 tanks was made.
    2011 The number of in-service Arjuns crossed 100.
    2021 118 more Arjuns inducted into the Indian Army.

    Features of Arjun Tank

    • All-terrain mobility.
    • 120 mm calibre gun.
    • Computer-controlled integrated fire control system with 360 degrees and day and night view.
    • Machine gun and an anti-aircraft gun.
    • Missile firing capability.

    2. Bhishma (T-90)

    • T-90 is the ‘third generation’ Russian main battle tank. Bhishma is the Indian version of Soviet T-90 tanks.
    • India has 310 Bhishma tanks, of which almost half are Russian made, and half were manufactured in India. 
    • They are the improved version of T-72 and have been used by the Indian Army since 2001.
    • Features of Bhishma tank
      1. 125 mm gun
      2. Range of 6 km
      3. Automatic loader
      4. Day and night sighting system
      5. Thermal imaging device.

    3. Ajeya (T-72)

    • Ajeya or T-72 are the Soviet main battle tanks.
    • India has ~2,000 Ajeya Tanks in the Indian Army, and they are the backbone of the armoured division of the Indian Army.
    • Initially, they were ordered from the Soviet Union, but since 1980, India has been manufacturing it at Avadi (Tamil Nadu).
    Tanks, Artillery and Guns

    4. Pinaka

    • Pinaka is India’s indigenous multiple rocket launcher.
    • It is developed by DRDO. 
    • It has a maximum range of 40 km and can launch 12 rockets in 44 seconds. 
    • It can be mounted on Tatra Truck for mobility.  
    • Pinaka rockets played a vital role in the Kargil war, where they successfully neutralized enemy positions on the mountain tops. 
    • Pinaka-Extended Range (Pinaka-ER), successfully tested in 2021, has a range of 70 km.
    • India has started to export Pinaka. Armenia has placed the first export order for Pinaka.
    Pinaka

    5. Pinaka Mark – II

    • The earlier version of Pinaka was an unguided rocket system. It has now been transformed into a guided version- Pinaka Mark-II, with a navigation, guidance and control kit. 
    • Pinaka-II has a range of more than 70 km (compared with Pinaka-I, which has a range of 40 km). 
    • It can fire 12 rockets within 40 seconds. 

    6. Bofors

    • It is a 155mm Howitzer gun.  
    • India has bought it from Sweden.
    • Bofors has played an essential role in Indian victory during Kargil War.
    • Note: Howitzers are important in hilly terrain because Tanks can’t be used there. 
    Bofors 155mm Howitzer

    7. Dhanush

    • It is an indigenous Howitzer of India with 81% local components. In 2019, Ordnance Factory Board made the first delivery of Dhanush to the Army.
    • It is an upgraded version of Bofors with a maximum range of 38 km.
    • It is also a 155 mm calibre gun.
    • It can fire 15 rounds in 3 minutes.

    8. M-777

    • India has bought M-777 from the USA (Deal is for 145 guns. 25 will come from BAE Systems, and the rest will be assembled in India with Indian Partner).
    • It is an ultra-light howitzer (ULH). 
    • Calibre = 155 mm
    • M-777 can be easily transported to any battlefield using a helicopter-like Chinook.
    M-777

    9. K9 Vajra T

    • It is a Korean made Howitzer.
    • It was inducted into the Indian army in November 2018.

    Rifles in Service in India

    Following rifles are used by the Indian forces

    1. INSAS

    • INSAS=Indian Small Arm System.
    • It is a 5.56 mm Self Loading Rifle (SLR). 
    • It is the main rifle used by the Indian Army.
    • It was designed and developed by DRDO.
    • It has been decided that INSAS Rifle will be decommissioned shortly. 

    2. Dragunov

    • Russian origin sniper rifle used by Indian forces.

    3. AK-203

    AK-203
    • India is importing 70,000 AK 203 Assault Rifles from Russia. Later, these will also be manufactured indigenously at Korwa Defence Factory (UP) by a joint venture between India and Russia named Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited. The total requirement of the Indian Army is 7.7 lakh. 
    • These are very advanced versions of famed AK-47 or Kalashnikovs.
    • AK 203 will replace INSAS Assault Rifles. 
    • Main Characteristics of AK 203
      1. Highly reliable, durable and easy to maintain.
      2.  Weighs 3.8 Kg.
      3. Range: 800 m
      4. 30 round standard magazine.