1 . Bishkek Declaration, 2026
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: International Relations | Regional Groupings | SCO | Terrorism & Security | Connectivity | Multilateralism
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and security organisation; it focuses particularly on regional security, counter-terrorism, economic cooperation and connectivity.
- 2026 marks 25 years of SCO. It was established in 2001 at Shanghai by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- India became a full member in 2017, along with Pakistan. Iran became a full member in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
- Current full members: 10 → China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
- SCO is not a military alliance like NATO; it is primarily a regional cooperation organisation with a strong security/counter-terrorism dimension.
- Permanent bodies: Secretariat – Beijing, China + Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) – Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- RATS is an important SCO mechanism for cooperation against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
- SCO’s official languages: Chinese and Russian. The 2026 summit saw India support inclusion of English as an official language in the SCO Charter.
- Afghanistan: India views peace and stability in Afghanistan as closely connected with Eurasian regional security and has emphasised development and humanitarian assistance.
- 2026 Bishkek Summit: Held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, with the Bishkek Declaration and multiple decisions/MoUs covering areas including climate, nuclear safety, energy conservation and combating drug addiction.
2. Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY)
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Agriculture | Agricultural Productivity | Sustainable Agriculture | Government Schemes
- PM-DDKY targets 100 districts selected on the basis of low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity and low agricultural credit disbursement — i.e. districts with significant untapped agricultural potential.
- The scheme has 6 focus areas:
agricultural productivity; crop diversification & sustainable agriculture; post-harvest storage; irrigation; agricultural credit; governance & service delivery. - Convergence is the key feature: PM-DDKY brings together 36 Central schemes of 11 Ministries/Departments, along with State schemes and private-sector interventions, instead of creating isolated interventions.
- Outcome-based monitoring: 121 indicators are being used — 74 output indicators + 47 outcome indicators. Output performance is ranked monthly through the dashboard, while outcome indicators assess improvement against the baseline.
- Latest progress: The average score of the 100 districts rose from 54 (April 2026) to 38.85 (July 2026), an improvement of 16.31 points.
- District-level planning: All 100 districts have uploaded their District Action Plans (DAPs). This makes implementation more responsive to district-specific agricultural constraints.
- Important new monitoring feature: The Financial Progress Module became operational on 31 August 2026. A Beneficiary Progress Module is planned to track whether interventions actually translate into benefits for individual farmers.
- Capacity building: Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) are being used as technical partners for farmer and extension-worker training and field-level interventions. From January–July 2026, 90 lakh farmers and 88,961 extension workers were trained.
3. Reimagining Governance: Discourse for Excellence (RGDE)
Syllabus Mapping: GS4: Ethics in Governance | Public Service Values | Integrity | Probity | Accountability
- RGDE (Reimagining Governance: Discourse for Excellence) is an initiative of EPFO, organised under the aegis of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDUNASS).
- RGDE provides a platform for reflection, dialogue and learning on excellence in public administration, bringing together civilisational wisdom, institutional experience and contemporary administrative practice.
- The session held on 31 August 2026 was part of the second edition of Season Two of RGDE, involving officers from EPFO and PDUNASS, including field-office officials participating virtually.
- Core theme of the session: Rajdharma as an enduring ethic of public responsibility — connecting the ethical use of public power with integrity, empathy, fairness and non-discrimination.
- RGDE specifically seeks to translate ethical and civilisational ideas into everyday administrative practice, particularly situations involving discretion, competing considerations and citizen grievances.
- A key message was that rules, systems and technology are instruments, but cannot replace sincerity, honesty, self-restraint, cultural awareness and empathy in determining citizens’ experience of government institutions.
- The discussion was linked to EPFO’s role in delivering social security to workers, pensioners and their families, highlighting the need to combine legal compliance with empathy and citizen-centric service delivery.
- Rajdharma is presented as a continuing ethic for technology-enabled governance — digitisation can improve systems and efficiency, but human judgement, empathy and ethical conduct remain indispensable.
4. Semipalatinsk Treaty
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: International Relations | Central Asia | Nuclear Disarmament | Non-Proliferation | Regional Security
- Semipalatinsk Treaty = Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia (CANWFZ).
- It was signed at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, on 8 September 2006 by the five Central Asian republics:
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. - It entered into force on 21 March 2009.
- It established Central Asia as a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) — the first NWFZ in the Northern Hemisphere located entirely and directly bordering two nuclear-weapon States
- The Treaty prohibits its parties from developing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing or testing nuclear weapons, and also prohibits stationing of nuclear weapons on their territories.
- Kazakhstan is particularly significant: the Soviet Union conducted hundreds of nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Kazakhstan closed the site on 29 August 1991, making nuclear disarmament a major part of its national identity.
- The Treaty is also important for environmental and public-health consequences of nuclear testing, especially the legacy of radioactive contamination around the former Semipalatinsk test site.
- Negative security assurances: China, France, Russia and the UK have ratified the Protocol providing legally binding assurances against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against CANWFZ parties; the United States has signed but not ratified the Protocol.
- India is not a party to the Semipalatinsk Treaty, since the treaty is a regional NWFZ arrangement for the five Central Asian states.
5. India’s SECURE Vision for SCO
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: International Relations | SCO | Regional Groupings | Regional Security | Connectivity | Economic Cooperation | Sovereignty & Territorial Integrity | Environmental Cooperation
- PM Narendra Modi introduced the concept of a “SECURE” SCO at the SCO Summit in Qingdao, China, in 2018. Each letter represents a dimension of India’s approach towards regional cooperation.
- S – Security of citizens: Focus on combating terrorism, extremism, organised crime, drug trafficking and other transnational security threats. India emphasises that terrorism must be confronted collectively.
- E – Economic development for all: Regional security should be accompanied by inclusive economic growth, trade, investment and development, so that the benefits of regional cooperation reach all member states.
- C – Connecting the region: India supports greater physical, economic and digital connectivity to facilitate trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges. Connectivity, however, must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- U – Uniting the people: Strengthening cultural, civilisational, educational and people-to-people linkages among SCO countries. India’s SCO presidency also introduced cooperation areas such as Youth Empowerment and Shared Buddhist Heritage.
- R – Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity: Regional cooperation must be based on sovereign equality, territorial integrity, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs. This is particularly important in India’s approach to regional connectivity projects.
- E – Environmental protection: Economic development and connectivity should be pursued alongside environmental sustainability and ecological protection, making environmental security an integral part of regional cooperation.
- India’s SCO Presidency connection: During its 2022–23 SCO presidency, India used SECURE as an organising framework and hosted 130+ institutional meetings/events, including 14 ministerial-level meetings.
- Five new cooperation areas under India’s SCO presidency: Startups & Innovation, Traditional Medicine, Science & Technology, Youth Empowerment and Shared Buddhist Heritage — showing that India’s vision extends beyond conventional security cooperation.
