SNIPPETS: 25 DECEMBER 2025

SOCIAL ISSUES

• Recent government assessment shows secondary retention remains weak + GER falling at middle and secondary levels + boys leaving due to financial pressure/work + girls leaving for domestic responsibilities + 72% dropouts aged 14–18 + exam failures increasing exclusion + govt using NIOS outreach, incentives, fee waivers, flexible open schooling + risk of missing NEP 2020 100% GER, widening inequality without stronger psychosocial and livelihood support for vulnerable students, address regional gaps, and stabilise long-term human capital outcomes in India
• NITI Aayog roadmap on internationalisation of higher education + proposes Vishwa Bandhu scholarships and fellowships, Erasmus+-like programme, and eased regulations for foreign campuses + aims to correct inbound–outbound student imbalance (1:28 in 2024) + projects 9–11 lakh international students by 2047 + suggests Bharat Vidya Kosh $10 bn fund, updated curricula, and expanded NIRF criteria to meet NEP 2020 goals

ECONOMY  

• India’s exports are increasingly regionally concentrated + Top five States account ~70% with rising HHI + Western–Southern coastal hubs integrate into GVCs while northern–eastern hinterlands lag + Global trade slowdown + capital favouring complexity shrinks labour-intensive windows + Capital deepening > labour absorption with stagnant manufacturing jobs (~12%) + Employment elasticity of exports falling + Credit–human capital gaps widen regional divide + Exports now reflect existing capacity, not inclusive development, demanding investment in skills, logistics, finance, and state capacity across lagging regions.
• Arvind Subramanian argues India’s manufacturing stagnation + unusual Dutch Disease where high public sector wages raised costs, appreciated real exchange rate, hurt competitiveness and exports + imports displaced local industry under freer trade + manufacturing failed to upgrade technologically despite theory of induced innovation + private sector dynamism without wage growth, reliance on cheap labour platforms, weak productivity leap + outcome: limited industrialisation, weak job creation, rising inequality, and services overshadowing manufacturing in growth trajectory.
• India’s startup ecosystem raised $10.79 bn in 2025 (15% decline YoY) per Tracxn, signalling structural correction not collapse + DeepTech, Manufacturing, AI, EnergyTech drove growth + shift from consumer apps to AI infrastructure + FinTech resilient + late-stage funding fell while IPOs rose + unicorn creation slowed, indicating maturity and profitability focus.

ENVIRONMENT

• Science study on rhino conservation shows dehorning sharply cuts poaching + global rhinos <28,000 with horn trade as key threat + Greater Kruger data reveal huge losses despite massive spending + dehorning removes 90–93% horn humanely + results: 75% fall in poaching, up to 95% lower risk + cost-effective (≈1.2% budgets) using Bayesian analysis + not a silver bullet as governance, justice gaps persist + works best within mixed strategy + community inclusion + demand reduction, not standalone.