Global trade is witnessing a shift as countries look for alternatives to the US dollar due to rising geopolitical risks. In this environment, India is pushing for the internationalization of the Rupee to reduce dollar dependence and strengthen economic sovereignty.

About Internationalization of Rupee

• Definition: Internationalization of the Rupee means that countries other than India use the Rupee for their trade and investment.
• Current Limitation: At present, India must convert Rupees into dollars or euros to trade with partners like Germany.
• Aspirational Goal: The goal is for the Rupee to achieve a global status where two foreign countries could settle trade in Rupees.
• Key Requirement: For the Rupee to gain global status, India must deepen trade ties; merely changing rules is not enough.

Need For Internalizing Of Rupee

• Dollar Weaponization: The Russia-Ukraine conflict showed how the US and Europe used the dollar as a geopolitical tool by imposing sanctions.
• Sanctions and Global Concerns: Freezing Russia’s dollar reserves and cutting it off from SWIFT made other countries fear similar treatment.
• Shift Toward Local Currencies: Global institutions such as International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) are increasingly lending in local currencies, signalling a gradual retreat from dollar dominance.

Hard Currency and RBI Efforts

• Refers: Hard currencies (USD, Euro, Yen) are globally trusted and stable; India aims for the Rupee to join this elite group.
• RBI Measures to Promote the Rupee:
  • Rupee Invoicing:  Exporters can bill in Rupees instead of dollars.
  • Rupee Settlement:  Payments can be accepted in Rupees, reducing reliance on hard currencies.
  • Rupee Loans to Neighbours: Indian banks can issue cross-border trade loans in Rupees to Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.

The India–Russia Vostro Account Failure

• Trade Surge: India-Russia trade jumped from $1.5B (2003) to $72B (2023), driven mostly by cheap oil.
• Rupee Settlement Attempt: India created Vostro Accounts for Russia to settle trade in Rupees.
• Reasons For its Failure: Russia refused to accept Rupees, instead demanding Yuan, Ruble, or Dirham.
• Core Problem: Russia accumulated large Rupee balances but had no use for them due to limited Indian exports that Russia wanted.

Barriers To Internalization Of Rupee

• Trade Structure Imbalance: 80% of the trade is crude oil and coal, with almost no intra-industry trade. 
• Unawareness Gap among MSMEs: Many small exporters prefer dollars and are unaware that the Rupee trade is possible.
  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) must conduct awareness campaigns to educate exporters about Rupee-based trade options.

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Way Forward

• Diversify Trade: Trade needs to diversify into higher-value goods and balanced two-way exchanges to make Rupee settlement viable.
• Domestic Messaging System (SFMS): India is developing the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) to reduce dependence on the Western-controlled SWIFT system and should encourage partners like the UAE to use it.
• Local Currency Agreements: India is signing bilateral pacts with countries like UAE, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka to settle trade in Rupee or Dirham.
• UPI Globalisation: India is linking UPI with systems like Singapore’s PayNow and expanding into Europe, reducing dollar conversion costs for tourism and remittances.
• BRICS Opportunity: With India chairing BRICS next year, there is a major opportunity to push for a common local currency settlement framework among BRICS nations.

Conclusion

The goal is to support Viksit Bharat 2047 and achieve $1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030. The local currency trade reduces trade costs and improves ease of doing business.

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Tuberculosis remains one of India’s biggest public health challenges. The latest WHO report shows strong progress, but also highlights deep structural gaps that still hinder elimination efforts.

About Tuberculosis

• Historical Evidence: TB is an ancient disease, with evidence found in Egyptian mummies.
• Social Disease: TB is considered a social disease because it is linked not only to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria but also to poverty, malnutrition, and poor housing. 
  • Medical anthropologist Paul Farmer noted that TB “chooses the poor”.
• Mode of Transmission: TB spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
• Beyond the Lungs: TB is not exclusively a lung disease; it can be extra-pulmonary, affecting the brain, spine, or stomach. 

Key Findings Of WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025

• Decline in Incidence: India’s TB incidence rate fell by 21% from 237 per lakh in 2015 to 187 per lakh in 2024, the highest decline globally.
• Reduced Mortality: Deaths reduced from 28 per lakh in 2015 to 21 per lakh in 2024, saving millions of lives.
• High Treatment Success: Treatment success stands at 90% for new cases and 77% for drug-resistant cases.

Strategies Driving Success of Tuberculosis Treatment

• Advanced Technology: Molecular Diagnosis using the Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) machine gives results in two hours and detects drug resistance. 
  • AI tools are used to scan X-rays and find cases missed by doctors.
• Nutritional Support: The Nikshay Poshan Yojana provides ₹500 per month to every TB patient to ensure nutritious food.
• Newer Therapies: A new treatment regime for Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR TB) called BPaL/M (a combination of drugs like Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, Moxifloxacin) was introduced. 
  • This new combination cures MDR TB in just six months using oral tablets, replacing the need for daily injections over two years, thereby improving patient adherence.

Challenges In the Treatment of Tuberculosis

• Highest Global Burden: India still accounts for 25% of the world’s TB cases and reported the most cases globally in 2024, maintaining its position as the world’s TB capital.
• Geographic Concentration: The highest numbers of TB cases are in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. 
  • Delhi has the highest prevalence rate due to high population density, migration, and slums.
• MDR TB Threat: Multi-Drug Resistant TB is a major concern, as it resists the two most powerful medicines i.e Rifampicin and Isoniazid . 
  • India alone accounts for 32% of the world’s MDR TB cases in 2024.
• Missed Elimination Target: India set an ambitious target to eliminate TB by 2025 (ahead of the 2030 SDG target), but this goal has been missed.
• Insufficient Mortality Reduction: With TB mortality at 21 per lakh against a target of under seven, India still records nearly triple the deaths required to meet its elimination goal.

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Way Forward

• Decentralization of Diagnostics: Molecular diagnosis machines must be installed in Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) in rural areas, as villagers currently often resort to unqualified doctors who prescribe antibiotics, leading to drug resistance.
• Addressing Social Determinants: Since TB is a disease of the poor, medical treatment must be coupled with addressing malnutrition and poor living conditions to boost immunity.
• Effective DOTS Implementation: The DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-course) program must be effectively implemented to ensure patient compliance and prevent the development of MDR TB.
• Supply Chain Governance: Governance failures and drug shortages need to be addressed.
• Active Case Finding (ACF): Instead of passively waiting in hospitals, teams should be actively dispatched to high-risk areas to screen people who have been coughing for over two weeks.
• Private Sector Mandate: Since 50% of patients first consult private doctors, they should be compelled to notify every TB case on the Nikshay portal so the government can handle the situation.
• Scheme Linkage: The fight against TB could be linked to schemes like MNREGA to ensure workers receive food, nutrition, and screening.

Conclusion

India’s National TB Elimination Programme has delivered strong gains in diagnosis, treatment, and nutritional support. However, unless issues like MDR TB, poor living conditions, rural diagnostic gaps, and weak private-sector reporting are addressed, the goal of TB elimination will remain out of reach.

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India’s push for a data protection law went through several failed drafts, and the final DPDP Act 2023 along with the 2025 Rules has now raised significant concerns.

Background

• Origin in the Puttaswamy Case: The Supreme Court’s nine-judge bench in Puttaswamy case declared the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right under Article 21.
• Expanded Understanding of Privacy: The Court clarified that privacy includes autonomy and individual control over personal data and highlighted that privacy governs personal choices, including everyday decisions like what to wear.
• Court-Directed Legislative Action: The Supreme Court instructed the Central Government to create a strong data protection law which set in motion the drafting of multiple versions of the law.
• Multiple Drafts Between 2017–2023: Three draft Bills emerged between 2017 and 2023, none of which satisfied the government or opposition. The 2018 Sri Krishna Committee’s recommended draft was also rejected by the Central Government.
• Passage of the DPDP Act, 2023: Passed by the Parliament, made consent mandatory for social media companies using personal data and offered limited consumer safeguards.

Major Flaws of the 2023 Act

• Excessive Exemptions for Government Agencies: The Act allows government bodies broad powers to process personal data for national security and public order which creates concerns about unrestricted access to citizens’ data.
• Weakness of the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI): The DPBI is responsible for handling complaints and imposing penalties and  was criticised for lacking strength and independence, reducing its ability to enforce protections.
• Removal of Public-Interest Clause: The Act deletes the RTI provision permitting disclosure of personal information when public interest outweighs privacy and now bars release of personal information entirely, even when public good is involved.
• Restriction on Legislative Transparency: The Act removes the clause that allowed information shared in Parliament or State Assemblies to be disseminated publicly. This narrows the scope of transparency and weakens democratic accountability.

Key Concerns with the 2025 Rules

• Uneven Regulatory Treatment: Companies get an 18-month extension to comply, while RTI-diluting provisions were enforced immediately, creating an imbalance between corporate convenience and citizens’ rights.
• Perception of Regulatory Softness:  The long compliance window for Big Tech raises doubts about whether the government is being overly lenient toward powerful platforms.
• Conflict of Interest in Oversight: The DPBI operates under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which has appointed its members, raising questions about its impartiality.

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Conclusion

The Big Tech benefits from a long compliance extension, while citizens face delayed protections and broader data access for the government. The weakening of RTI further reduces transparency for the public.

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