DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

The fifth edition of Exercise Harimau Shakti–2025 recently commenced at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. The exercise marks another important step in strengthening defence cooperation between India and Malaysia.

About Exercise Harimau Shakti

Exercise Harimau Shakti is a joint military exercise conducted between India and Malaysia. The Indian contingent participating in the exercise is represented mainly by troops from the DOGRA Regiment of the Indian Army.

Objectives of the Exercise

The primary objective of the exercise is to jointly rehearse sub-conventional operations under Chapter VII of the United Nations mandate. The exercise focuses on enhancing coordination and interoperability between the two armies during counter-terrorism and peace enforcement operations.

Major Activities and Drills

During the exercise, both armies will practice various tactical operations, including cordon and search missions, search and destroy operations, and heliborne operations. Special emphasis is placed on securing helipads and conducting casualty evacuation during counter-terrorist scenarios.

Key Highlights of Exercise Harimau Shakti–2025

The exercise involves the exchange of views and best practices on a wide range of combat skills. Joint drills are designed to enable participants from both sides to learn from each other’s operational experiences. The sharing of standard operating procedures is expected to enhance mutual understanding and tactical efficiency.

Significance of the Exercise

Exercise Harimau Shakti–2025 will further strengthen defence cooperation between the Indian Army and the Royal Malaysian Army. In addition, the exercise will contribute to deepening bilateral relations between India and Malaysia and improving joint preparedness against evolving security challenges.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that it will conduct Open Market Operation (OMO) purchases of government securities worth ?1 trillion. In addition, the RBI will undertake a three-year dollar–rupee buy/sell swap of $5 billion. These measures are aimed at injecting durable liquidity into the financial system and supporting orderly financial market conditions.

What are Open Market Operations?

Open Market Operations refer to the purchase and sale of government securities by a central bank in the open market with the objective of influencing the money supply and liquidity conditions in the economy. In India, OMOs are conducted exclusively by the Reserve Bank of India.

Role of OMOs in the Indian Economy

The RBI uses OMOs as a key monetary policy tool to manage liquidity, ensure financial stability, and support effective transmission of monetary policy. By influencing the availability of funds in the banking system, OMOs play a crucial role in shaping interest rates and controlling inflation.

Impact of RBI’s OMO Purchases

When the RBI buys government securities, it injects money into the banking system. This increases liquidity, leads to lower interest rates, and encourages banks to lend more freely. Such actions are typically undertaken during periods of economic slowdown or tight liquidity.

Impact of RBI’s OMO Sales

When the RBI sells government securities, it absorbs excess liquidity from the banking system. This results in a reduction in money supply, which generally leads to higher interest rates. OMO sales are used when the RBI aims to curb inflationary pressures or manage excess liquidity.

Objectives of Open Market Operations

Controlling Inflation

By selling government securities and reducing liquidity, the RBI raises interest rates, which helps moderate demand and control inflation.

Boosting Economic Growth

During economic downturns, the RBI purchases securities to inject liquidity. Lower interest rates stimulate borrowing, investment, and consumption, thereby supporting economic growth.

Managing Exchange Rates

OMOs can indirectly influence the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee by affecting money supply and capital flows. This helps the RBI maintain stability during periods of foreign exchange market volatility.

Significance of Recent RBI Action

The recent OMO purchases and dollar–rupee swap reflect the RBI’s commitment to maintaining adequate liquidity, supporting credit flow, and ensuring financial market stability in a changing global and domestic economic environment.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo Airlines a temporary one-time exemption from certain Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms applicable to pilots. This decision was taken to address operational requirements while maintaining overall aviation safety standards.

About the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the regulatory authority for civil aviation in India, primarily responsible for addressing aviation safety and security issues. It functions as an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Mandate and Jurisdiction

The DGCA is responsible for the regulation of air transport services to, from, and within India. It enforces civil aviation regulations, air safety norms, and airworthiness standards to ensure safe and efficient aviation operations across the country.

International Coordination

The DGCA coordinates all regulatory and safety-related functions with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure that India’s civil aviation standards remain aligned with global best practices.

Headquarters

The headquarters of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is located in New Delhi.

Functions and Responsibilities of the DGCA

Ensuring Safety and Compliance

One of the primary functions of the DGCA is to ensure the safety of passengers and crew members on all flights operating within Indian airspace. It conducts regular safety audits and inspections of airlines, aircraft, and aviation infrastructure to verify compliance with prescribed safety standards.

Investigation of Accidents and Incidents

The DGCA investigates aviation incidents and accidents occurring within Indian airspace to identify causes and recommend corrective measures aimed at preventing future occurrences.

Airport Development and Modernisation

The DGCA plays an important role in the development of new airports and the modernisation of existing aviation facilities to meet the growing demands of the aviation sector.

Regulation of Air Traffic

The DGCA regulates air traffic operations in India and works closely with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to ensure that air traffic is managed safely and efficiently.

Air Traffic Control Systems and Technology

The DGCA contributes to the development and implementation of modern air traffic control systems and technologies to enhance the efficiency and safety of Indian airspace.

Licensing and Certification

The DGCA is responsible for issuing licenses and certifications to pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers, and other aviation personnel, ensuring that only qualified professionals operate in the aviation sector.

Recently, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch ‘Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT)’ as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT). This development is aimed at mobilising long-term capital for national highway infrastructure development.

What is an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT)?

An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is a collective investment scheme, similar in structure to a mutual fund, that enables individual and institutional investors to invest directly in revenue-generating infrastructure projects. InvITs allow pooling of funds to finance large infrastructure assets.

Purpose and Objective of InvITs

The primary objective of InvITs is to provide retail investors access to infrastructure investment opportunities that were previously limited to large institutional investors. At the same time, InvITs help infrastructure developers unlock capital, reduce debt, and recycle funds for new projects.

Structure of Infrastructure Investment Trusts

InvITs are typically established as trusts and are registered with SEBI. They involve four key entities:

• Trustee

• Sponsor(s)

• Investment Manager

• Project Manager

The sponsor, usually an infrastructure company or private equity firm, sets up the InvIT and transfers ownership of the underlying infrastructure assets to the trust.

Role of Trustee and Sponsor

The trustee, who must be certified by SEBI, is responsible for overseeing the performance and compliance of the InvIT. The sponsor acts as the promoter of the InvIT and plays a key role in its establishment and asset transfer.

Issuance of Units to Investors

Once the assets are transferred, the InvIT issues units to investors, which represent proportionate ownership in the trust and the underlying infrastructure assets. Investors earn returns primarily through periodic distributions from the cash flows generated by these assets.

Regulatory Framework

InvITs are governed by the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, which lay down guidelines for registration, governance, disclosures, and investor protection.

Significance of the Recent Approval

The approval of Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) is expected to support infrastructure financing, promote asset monetisation, and deepen the capital markets, particularly in the road and highways sector.

India’s electoral integrity is increasingly under strain, not because of an absence of reforms, but due to the introduction of potentially deformative measures such as Delimitation, One Nation One Election (ONOE), and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While these measures are presented as administrative or efficiency-driven reforms, they raise serious concerns about fairness, inclusiveness, and federal balance in India’s electoral democracy.

About India’s Electoral Democracy

India is the world’s largest electoral democracy, operating under a parliamentary system as laid down in the Constitution of India, 1950. Elections are administered by the Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional authority established under Article 324, which oversees elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice President.

India’s electoral system has long been praised for its vibrancy, scale, and inclusiveness. However, growing concerns over recent electoral changes threaten to create institutional weaknesses that could undermine the credibility and integrity of elections.

Key Pillars of Concern

1. Delimitation Based on Population

The proposed delimitation exercise after the 2026 Census could significantly alter the balance of political power among states. States in southern and eastern India that have successfully controlled population growth may be penalized, while states with higher fertility rates—particularly in the northern Hindi-speaking belt—could gain disproportionate representation.

Such population-based seat allocation risks gerrymandering, undermines the principle of federalism, and may distort the representative character of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

2. One Nation, One Election (ONOE)

The proposal to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies is projected as an efficiency-enhancing reform. However, it risks magnifying incumbency advantage and centralising political narratives.

In synchronized elections, national issues tend to overshadow local concerns, benefiting dominant national parties and reducing voter autonomy at the state level. Moreover, concentrating elections into a single five-year cycle increases the manageability and potential manipulability of the electoral process by those in power.

3. Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, particularly in states such as Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, has raised concerns of selective disenfranchisement. The process, if influenced by strong organizational control over local officials, can disproportionately affect minority and marginalized communities.

Recent reports from Bihar, where nearly 44 lakh names disappeared from voter lists, suggest a worrying national pattern. Projections indicate that over five crore voters may be excluded, potentially constituting the largest instance of voter disenfranchisement in democratic history.

Global Contexts

India’s experience reflects a broader global phenomenon often described as electoral authoritarianism, where elections remain procedurally intact but substantively hollow. The International IDEA Global State of Democracy Report has flagged India for democratic backsliding, particularly in the area of credible elections.

Concepts such as abusive constitutionalism and autocratic legalism, observed in countries like Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, increasingly find resonance in the Indian context, where legal reforms are used to entrench power rather than deepen democracy.

Way Ahead

Addressing Delimitation

Delimitation is governed by Articles 82 and 170 of the Constitution and the Delimitation Act, 2002. Parliament must ensure a fair population-to-seat ratio that does not penalize states with effective population control. This may require a constitutional amendment to preserve inter-state equity.

A new Delimitation Act must be enacted after the 2026 Census, while safeguarding the federal balance and resisting purely population-based redistribution of seats.

Reassessing One Nation One Election

Implementing ONOE would require constitutional amendments to Articles 83, 85, 172, 174, and 356, passed by a special majority. Since state elections fall within the federal domain, Parliament must ensure extensive consultation with states, possibly through an Inter-State Council or all-party committee.

Parliament must critically scrutinize both the intent and long-term impact of synchronized elections on federalism and voter choice.

Reforming Special Intensive Revision (SIR)

The SIR process is conducted under Section 25 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with the objective of removing duplicates and including eligible voters. Parliament should provide legislative backing and funding for secure digital integration of voter rolls across states.

It must also oversee Aadhaar–EPIC linkage, ensuring strict compliance with data privacy norms, and mandate annual electoral roll reviews aligned with Census data. Transparency, accountability, and protection against systemic disenfranchisement must be central to the process.

Conclusion

Preventing electoral deformities is an ongoing process that requires a combination of institutional integrity, parliamentary oversight, civic vigilance, and technological accountability. India’s electoral democracy must evolve toward greater transparency, inclusivity, and equity to preserve public trust and democratic legitimacy in the long term.