• The boundary between India and Myanmar was originally drawn by the British in 1826 without consulting the local population. This division split communities of the same ethnic and cultural background into two different countries, and the present-day border still follows that colonial demarcation.
• The people living along this border maintain close ethnic, cultural, and family ties. In Manipur’s Moreh, some villages have houses that physically straddle the border, while in Nagaland’s Longwa village, the dividing line even cuts through the residence of the village chief.
• The Free Movement Regime (FMR) was introduced not only to facilitate cross-border interaction but also to boost small-scale trade. For a region historically dependent on local markets and cross-border exchanges, such trade remains crucial for survival in a low-income economy.
• However, the United Naga Council (UNC) recently announced a “trade embargo” from September 8 in protest against the India-Myanmar border fencing project and the suspension of the FMR.
• The FMR, which permitted movement up to 16 km across the border without visas, has become a contentious issue among various ethnic groups. Both the Nagas and Kukis oppose its cancellation and the construction of fencing, with some Kukis even comparing the barrier to the Berlin Wall.
• In contrast, the Meitei community in the Valley claims that the open border and FMR have encouraged illegal immigration and drug trafficking, aggravating the ethnic tensions that have plagued Manipur over the past two years.
• In response, the central government has signed a fresh Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki armed groups. Under this pact, the groups agreed to move their camps away from Meitei-dominated areas and affirm Manipur’s territorial integrity.
• If the Kukis allow freer movement across their areas, the government is expected to pressurize the Meiteis to reciprocate, which could mark a step toward restoring normalcy in a state torn by ethnic violence since May 2023.
• At present, “buffer zones” guarded by security forces separate Kuki-Zo dominated areas from Meitei regions to prevent clashes. The latest SoO deal, signed in New Delhi after a tripartite meeting involving the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Manipur government, and Kuki organisations (KNO and UPF), is valid for one year under revised terms.
• According to the MHA, the new terms require respecting Manipur’s territorial integrity, relocating seven Kuki camps from conflict-prone areas, reducing the number of camps overall, depositing weapons with security forces, and verifying cadres to identify and exclude foreign nationals.
• Currently, Manipur has 14 SoO camps. While many are located deep in the hills, some are near the Valley, leading to accusations from Meitei groups that they have been staging attacks from these bases — a claim that Kuki organisations deny

1.Consider the following pairs: (UPSC 2018)

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only       

(b) 1 and 2 only           

(c) 3 only             

(d) 2 and 3 only

• The Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (15 November 2023) at Khunti, Jharkhand.
• It seeks to benefit 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) by ensuring access to essential amenities such as secure housing, safe drinking water, sanitation, better health and nutrition services, quality education, road and telecom connectivity, and livelihood opportunities.
• The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for conducting the decennial Census. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has written to the RGI, requesting the inclusion of data on PVTG households and individuals, along with their demographic, cultural, and socio-economic characteristics.
• According to the ministry, such information would significantly improve the targeted implementation of schemes like PM JANMAN.
• PVTGs, a distinct subgroup within Scheduled Tribes (STs), are characterized by stagnant or declining population, isolation, dependence on pre-agrarian practices (such as hunting and gathering), low literacy levels, and economic backwardness.
• The category was created on the basis of the Dhebar Commission (1960–61), chaired by U.N. Dhebar, which had highlighted disparities in the conditions of various tribal groups and identified certain communities as more vulnerable.
• Initially, during the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974–79), 52 tribal groups were recognized as PVTGs (then referred to as Primitive Tribal Groups). In 2006, another 23 groups were added, bringing the total to 75 communities spread across 18 states and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• Of these, 40 groups have been classified as “single entry,” meaning they are explicitly listed as Scheduled Tribes under Article 342 of the Constitution.
• In November 2023, the government announced the ₹24,104 crore PM JANMAN scheme to improve the living standards of PVTGs in more than 200 districts. To support its rollout, MoTA and state governments carried out a habitation-level survey to assess PVTG populations and infrastructure deficiencies.
• The survey estimated the PVTG population at 47.5 lakh nationwide. Madhya Pradesh recorded the largest share with 13.22 lakh, followed by Maharashtra (6.7 lakh) and Andhra Pradesh (5.18 lakh).
• Officials emphasized that accurate demographic data would address critical gaps in the delivery of welfare schemes—especially in health and education—and help evaluate whether the criteria used for classifying PVTGs remain appropriate

• The United States is India’s top trading partner, with bilateral trade in FY24 touching nearly $120 billion, marginally above India’s trade volume with China. Unlike the trade imbalance with China, India enjoys a favourable trade equation with the US, making it an important source of foreign exchange.
• Reflecting the frequent policy swings in Washington, former US President Donald Trump stated at the Oval Office on Friday that India and the US share a “special relationship” and that there was “nothing to worry about.” Hours later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded by saying he “deeply” valued and fully endorsed Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of bilateral ties.
• This marked Modi’s first direct remark since Trump announced his global tariff plan, which had earlier imposed a 25% duty on Indian goods in April, followed by another 25% in response to India’s purchase of Russian oil.
• Trump’s latest executive order on tariff exemptions extends relief to just $15 million worth of Indian exports, according to an analysis by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
• The Friday order expanded the exemption list by adding 44 new items, covering industrial goods such as nickel, gold, other metals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and chemicals.
• However, these newly exempted products accounted for only $15.2 million of India’s 2024 exports to the US, a negligible portion of the overall trade, said GTRI co-founder Ajay Srivastava.
• With these inclusions, the total value of India’s tariff-exempt exports now stands at $28.4 billion, which is 31.3% of India’s $91.2 billion total exports to the US in 2024, GTRI noted.
• The organisation underlined that while Washington continues to use tariffs as an instrument of trade and security policy, the latest changes carry limited commercial impact for India due to the small scale of the newly exempted shipments

• The story of India–US relations has been one of constant change—sometimes warm, sometimes strained, but always significant. When India gained independence in 1947, the United States was among the first nations to recognize it.
• However, the relationship in the early years was cautious rather than close. India, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, adopted a policy of non-alignment during the Cold War, trying to steer clear of both the US-led Western bloc and the Soviet bloc.
• The US, meanwhile, was keen on building strong alliances in Asia to contain communism, which often led to friction with India’s independent stance.
• The 1950s and 1960s saw moments of both cooperation and distrust. While the US did extend food aid through the PL-480 program and offered developmental assistance, it grew uneasy about India’s growing closeness to the Soviet Union.
• Tensions heightened after the 1962 Sino-Indian war, when the US briefly supported India against China, but relations soured again as Washington developed stronger ties with Pakistan, a key US ally in the Cold War.
• The 1970s marked a particularly low point. India’s 1971 war with Pakistan, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, strained ties severely because the US sided with Pakistan, even sending the Seventh Fleet into the Bay of Bengal as a show of force.
• In 1974, India’s first nuclear test at Pokhran further deepened the rift, as Washington responded with technology sanctions.
• The Cold War alignment between the US and Pakistan on one side, and India’s growing closeness to the USSR on the other, kept relations cool for much of this period.
• With the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the dynamics began to shift. India’s economic liberalization in 1991 opened new avenues for trade and investment, and the US started to see India as a promising market and a potential partner in Asia.
• However, relations were jolted again in 1998 when India conducted a series of nuclear tests, prompting US sanctions.
• Yet, this also created an opportunity for dialogue: by the early 2000s, both countries had begun to recognize their shared strategic interests.

• A turning point came during the presidency of George W. Bush and the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, when the India–US Civil Nuclear Agreement (2005–08) was signed.

• This landmark deal ended decades of nuclear isolation for India and symbolized a new era of trust and cooperation. Around the same time, defense ties began to grow, and the US gradually emerged as one of India’s biggest suppliers of defense equipment.
• In the 2010s, relations expanded beyond defense and nuclear energy. Economic and technological cooperation grew, people-to-people ties flourished thanks to the large Indian diaspora in the US, and both nations found common ground in areas like counter-terrorism, climate change, and maritime security.
• The US began to openly endorse India’s role as a rising global power, supporting its aspiration for a greater say in institutions like the UN Security Council.
• More recently, under leaders like Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, the partnership has taken on an even broader scope. Strategic frameworks such as the Quad grouping (India, US, Japan, Australia) highlight their shared interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s rise.
• Economic ties have deepened, with the US becoming India’s largest trading partner. At the same time, differences remain over issues such as tariffs, visas, and India’s ties with Russia, but these disputes have not derailed the overall upward trajectory