Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Addressing the issues of Students pressure, suicides, reasons and way ahead
Context
- Three students committed suicide within 12 hours in Rajasthan’s Kota, which is regarded as the education and coaching hub of India. Known for producing IITians, doctors and engineers, Kota has been in the news for the last few years because of the students’ suicides and depression they suffer.
What is Suicide?
- Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death.
- Mental and physical disorders, substance abuse, anxiety and depression are risk factors.
- Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying.
- Despite being entirely preventable, India has been increasingly losing individuals to suicide.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India report 2021.
- The report released this year shows that the number of students’ deaths by suicide rose by 4.5 per cent in 2021.
- Maharashtra bearing the highest toll with 1,834 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,308, and Tamil Nadu with 1,246.
- According to the report, student suicides have been rising steadily for the last five years.
- According to a 2012 Lancet report, suicide rates in India are highest in the 15-29 age group the youth population.
- According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in 2020, a student took their own life every 42 minutes; that is, every day, more than 34 students died by suicide.
What are the reasons behind these alarming stats of student’s suicide in India?
- Education is for livelihood more than knowledge: Education in India has been viewed as a gateway to employment and livelihood rather than to knowledge.
- Pressure to get into government jobs or highly paid private sector: Many students and their families dream of the coveted ‘sarkari naukri’ (government job) to escape the precarious social, caste and class predicaments they find themselves in.
- Limited educational infrastructure: The failure of the Union government to improve the country’s educational infrastructure means that exam-oriented coaching had become the norm.
- Coaching centres as prisons for many students: Cashing in on the ‘hope for a better future,’ coaching centres emerged as one of the predominant industries in the education sector. However, these centres are now being seen as prisons for the many youngsters who join them; where their bodies, souls and dreams are tamed.
- Number of factors marginalising students who are already vulnerable: Students from marginalised sections are pushed further to the margins through a number of factors, such as the lack of English-medium education; private institutions charging high fees; poor quality education in government-run schools and institutes; ever-growing economic inequality; graduates not having the adequate skills to secure jobs; and caste discrimination.
- Social ideology of success and failure: The rise of neoliberalism as an economic and social ideology has pushed the youth to blame themselves for their failure to secure their ‘dream job’ while the government continues to shirk its basic responsibility.
- Flawed neoliberal agenda for failure and success: The neo-liberal agenda keeps propagating the belief that it is not that hard to find success if one works hard enough, normalising the notion that the youth should blame themselves for their ‘failures’.
- The myth of the Indian family being supportive also need to be called out: Family, being the primary social unit of the society, shapes the aspirations and dreams of the youth. Family should be supportive in true sense.
- Deeper introspection is needed instead of make shift solutions: Deeper introspection on structural aspects of the education system is the need of the hour. Instead, we take pride in coming up with Jugaad (makeshift solutions) to manage affairs peripherally, without dealing with the root of problem.
- Easing pressure in the students: Others have suggested like the guidelines issued by the Board of Intermediate Education in Andhra Pradesh in 2017 to ease the pressure on students, including yoga and physical exercise classes and maintaining a healthy student-teacher ratio.
- Realising today’s realities and making changes: It is painfully evident that the failure to address the larger issue of a punishing education system that is simply not designed to support young minds or prepare them for today’s economic realities continues.
- Collective responsibility: Not only family plays a significant role in students life, even the society has a huge influence. We as a society should realise true essence of life and not confine students into success and failure tags. Instead support them empathically in realising their true potential.
Did you know this solution? What any sensitive person will think of this?
- Some suggested bordering on the ludicrous, like the Indian Institute of Science’s reported move last year to replace ceiling fans in hostel rooms with those that are wall-mounted.
Conclusion
- Scholars have long linked farmers’ suicides to India’s agrarian crisis; it is time that civil society starts looking at students’ suicides as an indicator of a grave crisis of the country’s educational structure, including the institutional structure, curriculum, and the like. The combination of a large population of young people with rising aspirations and an economy with shrinking opportunities has created a public health crisis that requires urgent attention.
Mains Question
Q. There has been a steady increase in student suicides in India over the past few years. What are the reasons and suggest what should be done?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Concept of CAD
Mains level: India's problem of CAD, effects and solutions
Context
- There seems to be considerable optimism about India’s near-term growth prospects now that the major global energy and commodity shocks have subsided. Even if these shocks have subsided, India still faces one big problem of its large current account deficit (CAD). How will this be managed? It turns out that the answer to both questions lies in one word exports.
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What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?
- A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
- This includes a nation’s net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
- A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.
- CAD = Trade Deficit + Net Income from Abroad + Net transfers
- Swelling CAD: Over the past year, the post-pandemic normalisation has caused the current account deficit to swell to exceptional proportions.
- Decline in demand abroad: At home, normalisation has spurred a renewed demand for imported inputs. But abroad, it has had the opposite effect, leading to a decline in demand.
- India’s import soared while exports fell: Foreign households are no longer demanding so many goods now that the lockdowns that kept them in their houses and the fiscal stimuli that gave them the money to spend have both ended. So, India’s imports have soared just at a time when its merchandise exports have started to fall.
- Statistics for instance: The difference between the value of goods imported and exported fell to $54.48 million in Q4FY 2021-22 from $59.75 million in Q3 FY2021-22.
- Service sector is saviour: However, based on robust performance by computer and business services, net service receipts rose both sequentially and, on a year, -on-year basis.
Future projections
- Looking ahead, the situation seems set to worsen: Foreign demand will slow further as advanced countries slip into what now seem like inevitable recessions.
- In the backdrop of recession India’s CAD could widen further: In that case, India’s CAD could widen even further, possibly to four per cent of GDP in 2022-23, double the level that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) traditionally regards as “safe”.
Analysis: How should India respond?
- Attracting foreign capital inflow: Attract foreign capital inflows worth at least four per cent of GDP.
- Is this realistic in time of global uncertainty: The world is currently facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty. Two years of the pandemic, now a land war in Europe, inflation and energy crisis in Europe, interest rate hikes in the history of the US Federal Reserve, slowdown in china, etc. In such an uncertain environment, foreign investors prefer to invest in safe assets such as US government bonds rather than emerging markets like India. As a result, India has witnessed large outflows of foreign capital in 2022-23
- Deploying RBI’s Forex to pay for imports: If India cannot attract the required amount of capital inflows, the RBI’s foreign exchange reserves could be deployed to pay for imports.
- Is this strategy sustainable: The country’s reserves are meant to tide the country over short-term problems, such as commodity price spikes. India’s merchandise exports have been structurally weak, stagnating for the past decade, until the pandemic induced a short-lived boom.
How depreciating rupee could be helpful?
- Price needs to be adjusted by depreciating rupee: This means that something fundamental needs to change. Ultimately, India’s CAD reflects a mismatch between the demand and supply of foreign exchange. To restore balance, first and foremost, the price needs to adjust, that is, the rupee needs to depreciate.
- Exporting becomes more profitable: When this happens, exporting becomes more profitable, inducing more and more firms to explore foreign markets. Meanwhile, foreign demand improves, because the rupee depreciation makes India’s products more price-competitive. As a result, exports increase and the CAD falls.
- Exchange rate depreciation is helpful in sustained growth: The recovery of the Indian economy from the pandemic was largely fuelled by exports. But with exports now declining, this crucial source of growth has now become uncertain for India. Strengthening the export sector is, therefore, critical for sustaining growth.
Way forward
- Allow the rupee to depreciate,
- Encourage foreign firms to produce in India by letting them access their supply chains,
- Encourage domestic firms to step up to the competition, and
- Create a level playing field for all players.
Conclusion
- The large CAD, however, is not a short-term problem: It is a long-term problem requiring a long-term solution. By adopting the discussed strategy, India could potentially solve its two most important macroeconomic problems that are reducing the large CAD and securing rapid, sustained growth.
Mains question
Q. What is Current account deficit (CAD)? In a time of global uncertainty How India can reduce its large CAD and secure sustained growth. Analyze
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Important aspects of the Data protection bill
Context
- On November 18th Government released the fourth iteration of the data privacy legislation: The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 (Bill).
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- The journey towards data protection legislation began in 2011 when the department of Personnel and Training initiated discussions on the Right to Privacy Bill, 2011.
- The major fillip to the data protection case was given by the K. Puttuswamy judgment, 2017 where the supreme court held the “Right to privacy” as a fundamental right under Article 21- right to life and personal liberty.
- After the Puttaswamy judgment, the government-appointed B.N Srikrishna committee the drafting of a law for data protection and privacy. This led to the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee report which later on led to the Personal Data Protection Bill of 2019.
Two major stakeholders of the Legislation Data principles and data Fiduciary
- Data Principle: Data principles refers to the subject whose data is being processed. While the Bill lists the “duties” of the Data Principals, these have no bearing on the realisation of the rights provided by the Bill.
- Data Fiduciary: It is an entity that processes this data. The drafters of the Bill seem to be affirming that the Data Fiduciary is responsible for safeguarding the interests of Data Principals.
- What is Data Fiduciary: The use of the term, “fiduciary” whilst referring to a data processor is significant. In different spheres of the law, when one party owes a “fiduciary” duty towards another a trustee, beneficiary, guardian or ward, the relationship between the two is guided by trust, assurance and good faith.
- Obligations of data fiduciaries towards data principles: In line with this philosophy, the rest of the Bill describes the obligations of the Data Fiduciaries towards Data Principals, the rights and duties of the latter and the regulatory framework through which data will be processed.
Two noteworthy aspects of the Bill
- Bill outlined the category of Data fiduciaries: In addition to the general obligations to prevent the misuse of the personal data of individuals, the Bill has outlined a category of Significant Data Fiduciaries, entities that are required to comply with additional measures to safeguard the personal data of individuals.
- Why is this distinction being necessary: This distinction is essential as only companies that process vast amounts of data or have a potential impact on the country’s sovereignty and integrity need to take such stringent measures. Such measures reduce the compliance cost of companies that are at a nascent stage.
- Relaxing Data localisation norms: Onerous provisions on “data localisation” in the previous versions of the Bill, which mandated companies to store user data only within India, have been omitted.
- How this move will maintain balance: The reworked Bill permits the government to notify countries to which data transfers may be permitted. This is a major respite for several tech companies, who have long talked about the infeasibility of the data localisation provisions. A balance has now been struck between the legitimate concerns of businesses and the protection of personal data of individuals.
Where else does this bill need attention?
- Focus remains only on the nature and gravity of the violation: While the Bill is, by and large, comprehensive. Section 25 and Schedule I, that deal with penalties, require elaboration. Section 25 refers to the quantum of financial penalty that must be imposed on a person guilty of non-compliance in matters related to detail. The focus remains only on the nature and gravity of the violation. The proposed legislation does not consider the financial ranking of a company before imposing penalties.
- The bill must take financial ranking of the company in consideration: The Bill must ensure that the penalties imposed are proportionate to the size and operations of a company, to be effective, fines must not drive companies into economic loss.
- For instance: A leaf can be taken from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), amongst other similar regulations, which levies penalties in accordance with the total turnover of companies.
What makes this bill distinct and comprehensive?
- Promoting cooperation: The Bill safeguards individual data, whilst also promoting cooperation between data fiduciaries and the government.
- As per the India’s requirements: While it draws upon the best practices of foreign jurisdictions, such as Europe and Australia, it has been drafted in a manner that is tailor-made to India’s requirements.
- Exemptions are restrictive: Even the exemptions granted to the Centre are extremely restrictive and in sync with past judicial precedents and Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
- Significant shift in drafting legislation: The Bill marks a significant shift in the manner of drafting legislation. Historically, comprehending a piece of legislation in India has usually been akin to the membership of an exclusive club only legal practitioners, policy professionals and a handful of politicians are able to understand and interpret laws.
- Ensures simplification and accessibility to ordinary citizens: This Bill marks a transition from legalese to legal simplification, it realises that it is in our best interests to ensure that all laws especially legislation that have a significant impact on citizens are made accessible to all individuals irrespective of their professional or educational standing.
Conclusion
- The Bill safeguards individual data, whilst also promoting cooperation between data fiduciaries and the government. While it draws upon the best practices of foreign jurisdictions, it has been drafted in a manner that is tailor-made to India’s requirements. Exemptions granted to the Centre are extremely restrictive.
Mains Question
Q. What are the salient aspects of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill? Discuss what makes it unique and inclusive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Uniform Civil Code
States are empowered to enact personal laws that decide issues such as succession, marriage and divorce, in their endeavor to secure a uniform civil code (UCC), Law Minister informed the Rajya Sabha.
What did Law Minister say?
- Personal laws such as intestacy and succession; wills; joint family and partition; marriage and divorce, relate to Entry 5 of List-III-Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
- Hence, the States are also empowered to legislate upon them.
- And many states are announcing the implementation of UCC in the election manifestos.
What is a Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
- A UCC is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
- This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
Basis for UCC
- Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
- These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
UCC vs. Right to Freedom of Religion
- Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion
- Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”
- Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture
Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Religion
- An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other FRs.
- In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
- By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important.
Enacting and Enforcing UCC
- Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of law.
- While Article 44 uses the words “state shall endeavour”, other Articles in the ‘Directive Principles’ chapter use words such as “in particular strive”; “shall in particular direct its policy”; “shall be obligation of the state” etc.
- Article 43 mentions “state shall endeavour by suitable legislation” while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.
- All this implies that the duty of the state is greater in other directive principles than in Article 44.
What are more important — fundamental rights or directive principles?
- There is no doubt that fundamental rights are more important.
- The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles).
- To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
- Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the FRs under Articles 14 and 19.
What about Personal Laws?
- Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws which are an affront to the nation’s unity.
- If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a UCC, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
- “Personal Laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
Various customary laws
- All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians.
- Muslims of Kashmir were governed by a customary law, which in many ways was at variance with Muslim Personal Law in the rest of the country and was, in fact, closer to Hindu law.
- Even on registration of marriage among Muslims, laws differ from place to place.
- In the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws.
- The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
- Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.
Why need UCC?
- UCC would provide equal status to all citizens
- It would promote gender parity in Indian society.
- UCC would accommodate the aspirations of the young population who imbibe liberal ideology.
- Its implementation would thus support the national integration.
Hurdles to UCC implementation
- There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
- The UCC is often perceived by the minorities as an encroachment of religious freedom.
- It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
- Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.
These questions need to be addressed which are being completely ignored in the present din around UCC.
- Firstly, how can uniformity in personal laws are brought without disturbing the distinct essence of each and every component of the society.
- Secondly, what makes us believe that practices of one community are backward and unjust?
- Thirdly, has other uniformities been able to eradicate inequalities which diminish the status of our society as a whole?
Way forward
- It should be the duty of the religious intelligentia to educate the community about its rights and obligations based on modern liberal interpretations.
- A good environment for the UCC must be prepared by the government by explaining the contents and significance of Article 44 taking all into confidence.
- Social reforms are not overnight but gradual phenomenon. They are often vulnerable to media evils such as fake news and disinformation.
- Social harmony and cultural fabric of our nation must be the priority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Social Progress Index (SPI)
Mains level: Read the attached story
Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) will release the Social Progress Index (SPI) for states and districts of India on December 20, 2022.
Social Progress Index (SPI) Report
- SPI is a comprehensive tool intended to be a holistic measure of the Social Progress made by the country at the national and sub-national levels.
- The report has been prepared by Institute for Competitiveness, headed by Dr Amit Kapoor and the Social Progress Imperative, headed by Michael Green.
- It was mandated by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
Objectives of the report
- With state and district-wise rankings and scorecards, the report aims to provide a systematic account of the social progress made at all levels in the country.
- The report also sheds light on the achievements of the districts that have performed well on the index and the role of the states in achieving social progress.
- A special section of the report provides an analysis of the Aspirational Districts of India, leading to a broader understanding of the social progress at the grassroots level.
- The report will act as a critical enabler and tool for policymakers in the coming years for achieving sustained socio-economic growth.
Components of SPI
SPI assesses the performance of states and districts on three dimensions of social progress:
- Basic Human Needs: It assesses the performance of states and districts in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Water and Sanitation, Personal Safety and Shelter.
- Foundations of Wellbeing: It evaluates the progress made by the country across the components of Access to Basic Knowledge, Access to Information and Communication, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Quality.
- Opportunity: It focuses on aspects of Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusiveness, and Access to Advanced Education.
(This newscard will be updated once the report is published.)
Need for SPI
- GDP is not a holistic measure of a nation’s development: It would be incorrect to state that the economic progress is completely divorced from progress made in areas mentioned above.
- Social outcomes of developmental economics: The primary goal of the SPI is to provide a rigorous tool to benchmark progress and stimulate progress within countries.
- No single holistic parameter available: Several indicators, like GHI and HDI, go beyond GDP, but none captures social progress as finely as SPI.
- Doing away with biased reports: India does not display a respectable position in the index, as even the small neighbours like Nepal have a better rank. India is also the lowest rank holder in BRICS.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CPJ Report
Mains level: Freedom of press
The number of journalists jailed around the world for practicing their profession has touched a record high, with 363 reporters deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022, according to the 2022 prison census released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
About Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- The CPJ is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world.
- CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.
- It is often called as the “Journalism’s Red Cross.”
- Since late 1980s, the organization has been publishing an annual census of journalists killed or imprisoned in relation to their work.
Key highlights of CPJ report
- This year’s top five jailers of journalists were Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively.
- New ‘fake news’ laws, criminal defamation, and abuse of judiciary are also tactics used to clamp down on press freedom.
- This year’s top five jailers of journalists were Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively.
- These govt aimed to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
- In China, too, another ‘worst offender’, many imprisoned journalists were Uighurs from Xinjiang.
What did it say about India?
India continues to draw criticism over its treatment of the media, in particular its use of-
- Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act,
- Preventive detention law- to keep journalists behind bars after they were granted court-ordered bail in separate cases,
- Terrorism-related Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to investigate and charge the journalists.
Why does this report matter?
- Earlier this year, India has reached 150th position in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping further from its last year’s 142nd rank out of 180 countries.
- The safety of journalists is a grave concern in the Indian media landscape.
Conclusion
- The right occasion to deliberate about the much-needed reforms in the media ecosystem in the country is due.
- Establishing plurality in ownership, better legal frameworks to protect journalists, and steps to reduce the influence of vested interest groups in Media operations are the immediate steps required.
Back2Basics: Freedom of Press and Constitutional Provisions
- The Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar v. the State of Madras, 1950 observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.
- It is guaranteed under the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
- Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution.
- The freedom of the press is also not absolute.
Reasonable restrictions
- A law could impose only those restrictions on the exercise of this right, it faces certain restrictions under article 19(2), which is as follows:
- Sovereignty and integrity of India
- Security of the State,
- Friendly relations with foreign States
- Public order, decency or morality
- Contempt of court
- Defamation
- Incitement to an offence
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Agni Missiles
Mains level: LAC skirmishes
India successfully carried out the night trials of the Agni V nuclear-capable ballistic missile days after Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Why in news?
- It was a midnight test fire.
- And there are rumours about the increased range and stealth capabilities of Agni-V missile.
Agni Missiles
- Agni missiles are long range, nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missile.
- The first missile of the series, Agni-I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) and tested in 1989.
- After its success, Agni missile program was separated from the IGMDP upon realizing its strategic importance.
- It was designated as a special program in India’s defence budget and provided adequate funds for subsequent development.
Variants of Agni missiles
- Agni I: It is a Medium Range Ballistic Missile with a Range of 700-800 km.
- Agni II: It is also a Medium Range Ballistic Missile with a Range more than 2000 km.
- Agni III: It is also an Inter-Medium Range Ballistic Missile with Range of more than 2,500 Km
- Agni IV: It is also an Inter-Medium Range Ballistic Missile with Range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road mobile launcher.
- Agni-V: Currently it is the longest of Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.
- Agni- VI: The longest of the Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of ICBM 11,000–12,000 km.
Strategic significance of Agni Missiles
- The success of AGNI missiles is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’.
- What makes Agni 5 agile is that it is a “canisterised” missile. It means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace.
- The canisterisation also gives the missile a longer shelf life, protecting it from the harsher climatic conditions.
- While India is among the handful of nations with ICBM capability.
- The next generation of the missile, Agni VI, under development, is expected to have a range of around 8,000 km.
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