Daily Current Affairs 04 July 2025 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 04 July 2025 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

India Trinidad & Tobago Relations

Source: PIB
GS II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. What are the outcomes of the visit?
3. India Trinidad & Tobago Relations
4. Trinidad & Tobago Explained with Map 

Why in the News?

Recently Prime Minister visited Trinidad & Tobago.

News in Brief

• Official Visit to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from 3 to 4 July 2025 at the invitation of the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
• First bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 26 years.
• It has great significance as it coincided with the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Indian immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago in 1845.
• The two Prime Ministers held comprehensive discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

What are the outcomes of the visit?

MoUs / Agreements signed

• MoU on Indian Pharmacopoeia
• Agreement on Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs)
• Programme of Cultural Exchanges for the period 2025-2028
• MoU on Cooperation in Sports
• MoU on Co-operation in Diplomatic Training
• MoU on the re-establishment of two ICCR Chairs of Hindi and Indian Studies at the University of West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago

Announcements made by the Hon’ble PM

• Extension of OCI card facility up to 6th generation of Indian Diaspora members in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T): Earlier, this facility was available upto 4th generation of Indian Diaspora members in T&T
• Gifting of 2000 laptops to school students in T&T
• Formal handing over of agro-processing machinery (USD 1 million) to NAMDEVCO
• Holding of Artificial Limb Fitment Camp (poster-launch) in T&T for 50 days for 800 people
• Under the ‘Heal in India’ program, specialised medical treatment will be offered in India
• Gift of twenty (20) Hemodialysis Units and two (02) Sea ambulances to T&T to assist in the provision of healthcare
• Solarisation of the headquarters of T&T’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Caribbean Community by providing rooftop photovoltaic solar panels
• Celebration of Geeta Mahotsav at Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation in Port of Spain, coinciding with the Geeta Mahotsav celebrations in India
• Training of Pandits of T&T and the Caribbean region in India

India Trinidad & Tobago Relations

• India and Trinidad and Tobago established diplomatic relations on 31 August 1962 when they get independence.
• Trinidad and Tobago has a diplomatic Mission in India.
• Indian PM paid a State Visit to Trinidad and Tobago in February 1999.

Economic & Commercial Relations

• Trade Agreement was signed between India and T&T in January 1997, accords Most Favoured Nation (MFN).
• potential for growth of bilateral trades in IT and IT-Enabled Services, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture and Agro-Biotechnology, Renewable Energy (Wind & Solar), Tourism (including Medical Tourism), Textiles and Garments, Higher Education, Automobiles, Ayurveda and Wellness and Films, Music, etc.
• Major items of India’s exports to Trinidad & Tobago are: Vehicles, Rolling Stock, Parts and Accessories; Iron and Steel; Pharmaceutical Products; Plastic and Articles, etc.
• Major items of India’s Imports from T&T are: Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes; Iron and Steel; Ores, Slag & Ash; Aluminium etc.

People-to-People Relations

• More than 250 members of Diaspora have visited India under the Know India Programme (KIP), including 41 during 2023-24 and 24 in 2024-25.
• The Mission has been engaged in active cultural diplomacy through its Cultural Wing, Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation (MGICC).
• A series of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)-sponsored cultural troupes have visited T&T in recent times, giving performances across the country.

Trinidad & Tobago Explained with Map 

• The southernmost island country in the Caribbean.
• The capital city is Port of Spain.
• Trinidad for centuries prior to Spanish colonisation.
• Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.
• Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
• Indians lasted from 1845 to 1917, during which time more than 147,000 Indians came to Trinidad to work on sugarcane plantations.

Chemical Industry: Powering India’s Participation in Global Value Chains

Source: PIB
GS II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. Detailed Report
3. Conslusion

Why in the News?

NITI Aayog released its report “Chemical Industry: Powering India’s Participation in Global Value Chains”.

News in Brief

• This report offers an extensive analysis of India’s chemical sector, highlighting both opportunities and challenges.
• Also, outlining a pathway for positioning India as a key player in global chemical markets.
• The global chemical industry is undergoing a major transformation, driven by shifting supply chains, demand for speciality and green chemicals, and heightened focus on innovation and sustainability.
• India’s chemical sector, while significant in size and GDP contribution, remains fragmented and constrained by infrastructure gaps, regulatory inefficiencies, and low R&D intensity.

Detailed Report

• India’s 3.5% share in global chemical value chains and its chemical trade deficit at USD 31 billion in 2023, underscore its high dependence on imported feedstock and speciality chemicals.
• However, targeted reforms encompassing a comprehensive range of fiscal and non-fiscal interventions will enable India to have a USD 1 trillion chemical sector and achieve 12% GVC share by 2040, thus becoming a global chemical powerhouse.

Challenges

• A key issue is the country’s heavy reliance on imported feedstock, which contributed to a USD 31 billion trade deficit in 2023, stemming from limited domestic backwards integration.
• Infrastructure gaps, outdated industrial clusters, and high logistics costs have created a cost disadvantage compared to global peers.
• Compounding this, India’s low investment in R&D, with only 0.7% of investment against the global average of 2.3%, hampers indigenous innovation in high-value chemicals.
• Regulatory delays, especially in environmental clearances, further stifle industrial agility.
• Additionally, the sector is hampered by a 30% shortfall in skilled professionals, particularly in emerging areas such as green chemistry, nanotechnology, and process safety.

Interventions for Growth

• Empowered committee at the Central level along with creation of a Chemical Fund under the empowered committee with a budgetary outlay for shared infrastructure development, VGF, etc.
• Composition of a Chemical Committee for ports to advise on and address infrastructural gaps in chemical trading at ports.
• Opex subsidy scheme :
  • Incentivize incremental production of chemical based on import bill, export potential, single source country dependence, end-market criticality etc.
  • The scheme proposes for incentives on incremental sales to selected participants for a fixed number of years
• Enhance self-sufficiency and foster innovation
  • Disbursement of R&D funds to drive innovation with enhanced collaboration between industry and academia through creation of an interface agency in collaboration with DCPC and DST.
  • Acquiring access to specific technologies available outside India through fostering MNC partnerships
• Fast-track environmental clearance
  • Fast-track environmental clearance with transparency and accountability.
  • Simplify and fast-track EC clearance process through setting up an audit committee under DPIIT to monitor timelines and compliance and publish periodic reports and give more autonomy to EAC.
• Talent and skill upgradation

Vision for 2030

• The vision for 2030 is for India to become a global chemical manufacturing powerhouse with a 5%-6% share of the global chemical value chain.
• The sector aims to double its current production levels and reduce the trade deficit significantly from USD 31 billion in 2023 to reach a Net Zero trade balance in Chemicals.
• The initiative will generate an additional export of USD 35-40 billion generating around 7 lakh skilled jobs.
• This growth will be supported by the development of world-class chemical clusters, advanced technology adoption, streamlined regulatory processes, and a highly skilled workforce, positioning India among the top global leaders in the chemical industry.

Conclusion

• India has significant potential to become a global leader in the chemical industry.
• Achieving this goal requires focused efforts from the central and state governments, as well as industry stakeholders.
• By addressing the existing challenges and leveraging the proposed interventions, India can enhance its competitiveness, attract investments, and build a robust chemical sector capable of leading the global value chain.

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