MAINS Current Affairs includes India Slips to Sixth Spot in World Economy & Indian Space Situational Awareness Report 2025 (ISSAR-2025)

Economy

1. India Slips to Sixth Spot in World Economy

Context: According to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India has slipped to the 6th-largest economy in the world in nominal GDP terms.

• India’s GDP is estimated at $4.15 trillion in 2026, behind the United Kingdom and Japan.

How Global GDP Rankings Are Calculated

• TheIMF ranks economies based on nominal GDP in US dollar terms.
  • It depends on GDP measured in local currency, and exchange rate vis-à-vis the US dollar.
• Any adverse movement in these variables can affect rankings even if real growth remains strong.

Reasons for India’s Decline in Ranking

• Revision of GDP Estimates: India revised its GDP series with a new base yearin 2026.
  • Nominal GDP for 2025–26was reduced from ₹357 lakh crore to ₹345 lakh crore, indicating earlier overestimation.
  • This revision lowered India’s GDP in dollar termsfrom around $4.1 trillion to $3.9 trillion.
• Depreciation of the Indian Rupee: The Indian rupee depreciated significantly against the US dollar in the past year.
  • Since GDP rankings are calculated in dollar terms, currency depreciation reduces India’s relative economic size.
• Exchange Rate Asymmetry: The British pound and Japanese yen strengthened relative to the rupee, widening the gap between India and economies such as the United Kingdom and Japan.
  • This led to both countries overtaking India despite modest or even declining growth in their own economies.
• Close Clustering of Major Economies:After the United States and China, the next four economies are closely clustered around the $4 trillion mark. Small changes in data or exchange rates can easily alter rankings within this group.

Implications of the Ranking Shift

• Limited Impact on Economic Fundamentals: The decline in global ranking does not indicate any structural weakness in the Indian economy.
  • India’s growth trajectory remains strong, as reflected in its real GDP growth projections of 7.4% in FY26(domestic estimates) and 5% for FY27 as projected by the International Monetary Fund,
• Impact on Perception and Global Positioning:Global GDP rankings play an important role in shaping investor sentiment and international confidence.
  • A lower ranking may create a temporary perception of relative economic slowdown, even when fundamentals are stable.
• Delay in Strategic Economic Milestones: India’s transition to becoming one of the top three global economies may take longer than previously anticipated.
  • India is projected to overtake Germany by 2031, thereby becoming the third-largesteconomy in the world.

Science & Technology

2. Indian Space Situational Awareness Report 2025 (ISSAR-2025)

Context

• Recently, the Indian Space Situational Awareness Report for 2025 (ISSAR-2025) was released by ISROduring the inaugural session of the 2nd international conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2026) at Bengaluru.

Key Findings of ISSAR-2025

• Rising Space Congestion: Around 1.6 lakh close approach alerts globally, with over 1.5 lakh alerts for Indian satellites.
  • Growth of mega-constellations (Starlink, Kuiper, etc.) likely to further increase collision risks.
• Collision Avoidance Measures (CAMs): Total CAMs for Indian satellites include 14 manoeuvres (including NISAR mission) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), 4 manoeuvres in Geostationary Orbit (GEO),and 2 special adjustments for Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter.
  • Orbit manoeuvre optimisationused to avoid dedicated CAMs wherever possible.
  • It reflects growing dependence on Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
• Record Space Activity in 2025: 328 launch attempts(highest ever), and 315 successful launches;
  • 4,198 operational satellites added; and total 4,651 new space objects added
  • These show exponential increase in space utilisation and commercialization.
• Atmospheric Re-entries: 1,911 objects re-enteredEarth’s atmosphere in 2025 that include 1,002 spacecraft, 657 debris, 108 rocket bodies, and 144 unidentified.
  • It is lower than 2024 due to reduced de-orbiting, and lower solar activity.
• Growth of Satellite Constellations: Large constellations (e.g., Starlink, Kuiper) rapidly expanding. By the end of 2025, 9,396 Starlink satellites are still in orbit.
  • Active satellites may outnumber space debris, increasing coordination complexity.
• Solar Activity Impact: Peak of Solar Cycle 25caused higher orbital decay rates, and increased early-year re-entries.

Indian Space Scenario

• Total 144 Indian spacecraft launchedtill 2025.
  • Operational satellites: 22 in LEO; and 31 in GEO
  • Active deep space missions: Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter; and Aditya-L1
• 5 launches from Sriharikotain 2025; NASA-ISRO (NISAR) successfully launched; PSLV-C61 failure (suborbital anomaly); SpaDeX mission demonstrated docking capability.

Implications for India and the World

• Increasing Space Traffic Management Needs: More satellites lead to higher collision probability, and active satellites may outnumber debris.
• Threat to Critical Infrastructure: Satellites support communication, navigation (NavIC), weather forecasting, and defence.
  • Any collision can disrupt essential services.
• Kessler Syndrome Risk: Increasing congestion may lead to space traffic management challengesand risk of Kessler Syndrome.
  • Cascade of collisions leading to unusable orbital zones.

India’s Response and Preparedness

• ISRO’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Initiatives: Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) for continuous monitoring and risk mitigation.
  • ISRO System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management (IS4OM)as nodal SSA body.
  • Indigenous radar & telescope systems under development.
  • Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM)target: debris-free missions by 2030
• Efficient Manoeuvre Planning: Adjusting routine orbit corrections to avoid separate Collision Avoidance Measures (CAMs); and optimizing fuel and mission life.
• ISRO engages with private actors, in synergy with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), for handholding and experience sharing for best practices related to spaceflight safety.
• International Collaboration: Data sharing with global agencies (e.g., US Space Command)
  • India participates in Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), and UN space sustainability initiatives
  • Coordination with international agencies for space safety

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