Context : The rapidly evolving ecosystem of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) has emerged as the most promising area of collaboration for India and UK as they sign the historic  Free Trade Agreement on July 24.

What are GCCs?

Global Capability Centres (GCCs), are mainly offshore centres established by global level firms to provide various specialised services to their parent organisations such as IT services, technological solutions, Research and Development (R&D), talent pool, customer support and other business tasks.

Benefits of Establishing a GCC:-

India’s Potential 

• India has firmly established itself as a global leader in the GCC sector as substantiate by following facts:-
• As per EY, India consisted of 55% of the world’s GCC centres in 2022, 1,580 centres in 2023. 
• By 2024, India’s GCC industry employed over 1.9 million professionals and contributed $64.6 billion to the economy, accounting for more than 1% of India’s GDP.
•  The number of GCCs in India is expected to grow from 1,700 to over 2,400 by 2030, with potential expansions reaching 2,550 centres, creating over 2.5 million jobs. 

Factors contributing to India’s GCC growth

• Initiatives like GIFT city.
• Economic growth – India becoming the fourth largest economy of the world wuth huge marjet makes it a lucrative destination for investors.
• Talent Hub with diverse pool of talent with expertise especially in technology and finance.
• Hub of IT services– Banglore known as the silicon valley of India.
• Hub for managing complex tax operations- According to a white paper released by Deloitte India, the country is making strides in the global GCC game, as India-based GCCs have emerged as strategic hubs for multinational companies to manage complex global tax operations, transfer pricing, and litigation.
• Conducive Policy Environment – The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has formed an industry-led panel to design the national GCC framework outlined in Budget 2025. Its goal is to guide States in promoting GCCs, improving talent, infrastructure, innovation. and legal facilitation.
•  Uttar Pradesh  hosted GCC conclave to attract investors and launched GCC policy.

What can INDIA-UK FTA offer?

• Overcome Double Taxation challenges.
• Easing regulatory barriers.
• Facilitating smoother movement of professionals via smart mobility solutions.
• Harmonising digital and misaligned data governance standards such as data localisation mandate.
• The agreement can support the expansion of GCCs that serve U.K.-headquartered businesses – or leverage British expertise to serve global markets from India.
• Pave way for robust Intellectual Property Frameworks.

Win win for both

India – Greater U.K. investment and collaboration in the GCC space aligns perfectly with its digital economy ambitions, skilling objectives, and goal of becoming a global hub for high-value services while addressing the unemployment challenge.

UK- The FTA is a timely opportunity to secure access to one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, while reinforcing its global services and innovation footprint post-Brexit.

What should India do to leverage this potential?

• Adopt global best practices from governance perspective to achieve its economic Ambitions set for GCCs.
• Evaluate the need for a dedicated National GCC policy.
• Hone the talent skills and diversity.

The future of trade lies not just in goods but also in the services, skills and technology that power the new global economy. The GCCs stand at the intersection of all three. The UK India FTA must become an enabler for GCCs shaping a resilient, knowledge-based corridor between the U.K. and India.

Context : A little more than 50,000 candidates have so far accepted the 1.53 lakh offers made by companies under the PMIS, according to data provided by the government to the Lok Sabha. About 6% have so far joined the respective companies as interns.

What is PMIS?

•  Announced in Budget 2024-25.
• Launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
• Objective:  The scheme aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in top 500 companies in five years for a stipend of 5000 per month.Through this Scheme, youth will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environment, across varied professions and employment opportunities.

Benefits:-

• Monthly assistance of ₹4500/- by Government of India and ₹500/- by Industry 
• One-time Grant of ₹6000 for incidentals Insurance coverage for every intern under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana by Government of India.

Eligibility :-

• The candidate belongs to Indian nationality.
• The candidate’s age should be between 21 to 24 years (as on the last date for submission of the application).
• The candidate enrolled in online/distance learning programmes are eligible to apply.
• The candidate should have completed High School, Higher Secondary School, possess a certificate from an ITI, hold a diploma from a Polytechnic Institute, or are graduates with degrees such as BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BCA, BBA, B.Pharma, etc.
• The candidate family income less than ₹8,00,000/-. 

Exclusion/ Ineligibility :- 

• If any member of the family is a permanent/regular government employee.
• Graduates from IITs, IIMs, National Law Universities, IISER, NIDs, and IIITs.
• Those having qualifications such as CA, CMA, CS, MBBS, BDS, MBA, any master’s or higher degree.
• Those who are full-time employed.
• Those engaged in full-time education
• Those undergoing any skill, apprenticeship, internship or student training programme under Central Government or State Government schemes.
• Those who have completed apprenticeship, training under National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) or National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) at any point.
• If the annual income of any of the family members of the candidate exceeds ₹8 lakhs.

Context : NISAR, the first joint satellite of NASA and ISRO, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 30.

NISAR or NASA – ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

• The first satellite to observe the earth with a dual frequencySAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar).
  • NASA – L Band
  • ISRO – S Band
• Launch vehicle – GSLV- F16
• Orbit – sun synchronous
• Observe earth with high spatial resolution based on Sweep SAR technology for the first time and can detect even small changes on earth’s surface.
• Operate in all weather, day and night.
• Provide data at 12 day intervals.
• Most expensive earth observation satellite in the world with a cost of $1.5 Billion.

Applications of NISAR –

• Observe retreat of  glaciers
• Observe movement of sea ice sheet
• Observe path of storm and storm characterization.
•  Vegetation dynamics and forest cover
• Movements during earthquakes and volcanoes
• Ground deformation
• Observe soil moisture levels 
• Mapping and monitoring of surface water resources.
• Sea classification
• Shoreline monitoring
• Disaster Response.

What is an SAR?

Unlike optical imagery or cameras, SAR systems send out microwave pulses and record the echoes that bounce back from the ground, ocean, ice or buildings which are intercepted to turn these signals into high resolution sharp images even when it is dark or cloudy.

Context: In A surprise late-evening development, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar announced on Monday that he was stepping down from his post, two years to go for the end of his five-year tenure, citing health concerns. His resignation, addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, was with immediate effect, and hence it is unlikely that Dhankhar will be presiding over the Rajya Sabha in his capacity as its ex-officio Chairman.

Vice President

• It night has created a rare mid-term vacancy in the country’s second-highest Constitutional office.
• He is only the third Vice-President in India’s history to resign before completing his term, after VV Giri and R Venkataraman-both stepped down to contest presidential elections

Who performs the Vice-President’s duties now?

• The Constitution does not provide for an acting Vice-President.
• However, since the Vice-President is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman, currently Harivansh Narayan Singh, will preside over the House in his absence.

When will election be held?

• In the case of the President, the Constitution requires that a vacancy be filled within six months.
• But for a Vice-Presidential vacancy, there is no such fixed deadline. The only requirement is that the election be held “as soon as possible” after the post falls vacant.
• The Election Commission will announce the schedule.
• The poll is conducted under the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952. As per convention, the Secretary General of either House of Parliament is appointed as the Returning Officer, in rotation.

How long will the new Vice-President serve?

The elected candidate will serve a full 5-year term from the date of assuming office – not just the remainder of Dhankhar’s tenure.

How is a new Vice-President elected?

• Electoral college is made up of (Article 71)
• members from both Houses of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• including nominated members.
• Unlike in a presidential election, state legislatures do not participate.
• Voting is held in Parliament House, by secret ballot, using the system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
• Each MP casts a vote by ranking candidates in order of preference.
• All votes carry equal value.
• To be declared elected, a candidate must reach a required minimum number of votes called the quota.
• This is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by two and adding one.
• If no candidate crosses the quota in the first round, the one with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the remaining candidates based on second preferences.
• The process continues until one candidate crosses the quota.

What are the eligibility criteria for candidates?

• Must be a citizen of India,
• At least 35 years old,
• Qualified to be elected to the Rajya Sabha,
• Registered as an elector in any parliamentary constituency.
• They must not hold any office of profit under the central or state governments, except positions like President, Governor, or Minister.

Important Provisions

• Article 63: Establishes the Vice-President as the second highest office in India.
• Modelled on the American Vice-President.
• Dispute Resolution: Addressed by the Supreme Court; acts performed before a void declaration remain valid.

Nomination

• Requires 20 proposers and 20 seconders.
• Security Deposit: ₹15,000 to the RBI.
• Oath of Office: Administered by the President or an appointed representative (Article 69).
• Conditions of Office:
• Cannot be a member of Parliament or state legislature; vacates seat upon assuming office.
• Emoluments, Allowances, and Privileges:
• The Constitution does not specify emoluments for the Vice-President in this role. Receives salary as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Term of Office (Article 67)

• Term: 5 years; eligible for re-election.
• Resignation to be submitted to the President. (Article 67(a))
• Holds office until a successor is in place.

Removal:

• Impeachment Not Required: Can be removed through a Rajya Sabha resolution passed with effective majority, requiring a simple majority in the Lok Sabha.
• 14 days notice needed; no grounds specified for removal.

Vacancy

• Causes: Expiry of term, resignation, removal, death,disqualification, or void election.
• Elections to fill vacancies must occur before term ends.

Powers

• Ex-Officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Article 64): Similar powers to the Speaker.
• Acts as President (Article 65) when there’s a vacancy, for a maximum of six months until a new President is elected.
• When the President is unable to function, the Vice-President performs duties, with the Deputy Chairman taking on Rajya Sabha responsibilities.

Comparison with American Vice-President

The Indian Vice-President acts as an acting President until a new President is elected. The American Vice-President succeeds directly and serves the unexpired term.