UPSC Mains Current Affairs for 13 September 2025

Market Reforms 2025: Boosting FPI Access and IPO Flexibility

September 13, 2025

Market Reforms Latest News

SEBI has announced major market reforms, including the SWAGAT-FI framework for foreign investors, relaxed IPO dilution norms, and stronger governance measures for exchanges.

Introduction

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced sweeping reforms aimed at enhancing foreign investment inflows, easing IPO norms for large companies, and strengthening governance within market infrastructure institutions.
These measures come at a time of heightened global economic uncertainty, with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulling out significant capital due to U.S. tariffs, rich valuations, and weak corporate earnings.
The reforms are expected to reinforce India’s reputation as a competitive and investor-friendly market while balancing investor protection and regulatory compliance.

Foreign Investor Access through SWAGAT-FI

One of the most significant announcements is the introduction of the Single Window Automatic & Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors (SWAGAT-FI) framework.
Scope: It covers FPIs and Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs) from categories such as sovereign wealth funds, central banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and regulated retail funds.
Features:
- A unified 10-year registration and KYC cycle (up from 3 years).
- Exemption from the 50% cap on aggregate contributions by NRIs, OCIs, and resident Indians.
- Simplified compliance and reduced paperwork through the India Market Access portal, launched alongside SWAGAT-FI.
Impact: The move aims to restore investor confidence amid record foreign outflows of nearly Rs. 63,500 crore since July 2025.

Relaxed IPO Norms for Large Companies

SEBI has also eased the minimum public offer (MPO) and public shareholding requirements for large issuers:
Companies with Rs. 1-5 lakh crore market cap must now offer 2.75-2.8% of their post-issue market cap, compared with 5% earlier.
MPO size threshold raised to Rs. 6,250 crore for very large issuers.
Public float timeline: Firms with less than 15% public shareholding at listing now get 10 years (up from 3–5 years) to meet the 25% minimum requirement.
Anchor Investor rules:
- Anchor quota raised to 40% from one-third, including allocations for mutual funds, life insurers, and pension funds.
- Minimum allotment size set at Rs. 5 crore.
- Broader anchor investor participation permitted.
These reforms are particularly beneficial for mega-IPOs, where immediate high dilution often deters promoters.

Strengthened Governance in Market Infrastructure Institutions

SEBI has introduced structural changes to improve the governance of stock exchanges and clearing corporations:
- Two executive directors will head separate verticals - critical operations (trading, clearing, settlement) and regulatory compliance (risk management, investor grievances).
- Defined roles for managing directors and key managerial personnel, enhancing accountability and succession planning.
This comes in the wake of past governance concerns in major exchanges, where lapses undermined market trust.

Mutual Fund and Retail Investor-Centric Reforms

To deepen financial inclusion, SEBI has announced measures to improve retail participation, especially from smaller towns and underrepresented groups:
- Exit load in mutual funds has been reduced to 3% from 5%.
- Distributor incentives revised to promote investments from beyond top-30 cities (B-30) and to encourage participation by women investors.
- Enhanced disclosure and compliance norms for related-party transactions (RPTs), with thresholds linked to company turnover.

Significance of the Reforms

For India’s markets: They provide flexibility for large companies tapping equity markets and simplify investment processes for trusted foreign players.
For global competitiveness: SWAGAT-FI positions India as a stable long-term investment hub amid global capital volatility.
For retail investors: The focus on smaller cities and women investors aligns with India’s push for inclusive financial growth.

Source: IE | TOI

Market Reforms FAQs

Q1: What is the SWAGAT-FI framework introduced by SEBI?

Ans: SWAGAT-FI is a single-window system for trusted foreign investors offering a 10-year registration and simplified compliance.

Q2: How have IPO norms been relaxed for large issuers?

Ans: Companies with ₹1–5 lakh crore market cap now need to dilute only 2.75–2.8% public shareholding instead of 5%.

Q3: What changes were made for anchor investors in IPOs?

Ans: The anchor quota has been increased to 40% with allocations for mutual funds, insurers, and pension funds.

Q4: What governance reforms were introduced for stock exchanges?

Ans: SEBI mandated two executive directors to separately handle trading/settlement and compliance/risk functions.

Q5: What steps has SEBI taken for mutual fund investors?

Ans: Exit loads were reduced to 3%, and incentives were introduced for distributors targeting small-town and women investors.

PM Modi’s Manipur Visit: Key Challenges in the Conflict-Hit State

September 13, 2025

PM Modi Manipur Visit Latest News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manipur on September 13, his first trip since ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo erupted in May 2023.
Over 27 months, the state has endured violence, mass displacement, weakened law and order, the rise of armed groups, President’s Rule, and national elections.
While tensions have eased somewhat, five key issues — displacement, security, governance, inter-community trust, and political resolution — remain central to Manipur’s fragile recovery.

Rehabilitation of Manipur’s Displaced Population

Over 57,000 people remain in 280 relief camps across Manipur, displaced for over two years due to ethnic clashes.
Displacement occurred mainly in two ways:
- Kuki-Zo people forced out of Imphal and valley towns, and Meiteis from border and hill towns like Moreh, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur; and
- those from “fringe areas” at the valley-hill frontiers fleeing attacks or threats.
In July, Manipur govt announced a three-phase resettlement plan to close all relief camps by year-end, beginning with phased return of fringe-area residents, followed by prefabricated housing for others once normalcy is restored.
While around 5,000 people had returned before the plan, progress has since been slow.

Restricted Movement and Buffer Zones in Manipur

During the conflict, sharp boundaries between the valley and hill districts have turned into “buffer zones” manned by security forces, blocking safe passage between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas.
Meiteis remain confined to the valley without highway access, while Kuki-Zos cannot reach Imphal or use key facilities like the airport.
After President’s Rule in February, the Centre attempted to enforce “free movement” on highways, but violence erupted, leaving one dead and many injured.
Currently, Kuki-Zo groups permit only essential goods to reach the valley but refuse Meitei movement across buffer zones.
Meanwhile, no reciprocal arrangement exists for Kuki-Zo passage in Meitei-dominated areas.

Lack of Dialogue and Ethnic Tensions in Manipur

Over 250 people have died in Manipur’s ethnic violence, the last major outbreak in November 2024.
While large-scale clashes have ebbed, officials warn the state remains fragile, as both Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities are heavily armed and lack inter-community dialogue.
The Centre continues separate talks with both sides, recently renewing a Suspension of Operations pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.
These groups agreed to uphold Manipur’s “territorial integrity,” but still demand a Union Territory with legislature, contradicting the pact’s spirit.
Meitei groups see the agreement as legitimising insurgents, while Kuki-Zos allege past bias by ex-Chief Minister Biren Singh’s government favouring Meitei militias, fuelling mistrust.

Political Transition and President’s Rule in Manipur

Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned in February after opposition from both Kuki-Zo and many Meitei BJP MLAs.
Soon after, President’s Rule was imposed, fulfilling a key Kuki-Zo demand and initially welcomed across communities.
However, nearly two months later, valley-based and Naga MLAs began pressing for restoration of an elected government, citing public pressure.
Despite this, the Centre has shown no urgency to lift President’s Rule, preferring stability over political transition in the conflict-hit state.

Border Tensions and Fencing with Myanmar

Manipur’s porous border with Myanmar remains a flashpoint, with Meiteis blaming illegal Chin immigration for fueling unrest.
In response, the Centre scrapped the Free Movement Regime — which allowed cross-border tribal travel up to 16 km — and announced fencing.
This decision has angered both Kuki-Zo and Naga communities, who share deep ethnic, social, and economic ties across the border.
Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, the United Naga Council protested by imposing a “trade embargo” on major supply routes but has since suspended it temporarily.

Source: IE | MC

PM Modi Manipur Visit FAQs

Q1: What is the significance of PM Modi’s Manipur visit in 2025?

Ans: It marks his first visit since ethnic clashes began in May 2023, highlighting displacement, buffer zones, political instability, and cross-border tensions.

Q2: How many people remain displaced in Manipur?

Ans: Over 57,000 people live in 280 relief camps, displaced for more than two years due to violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.

Q3: What are buffer zones in Manipur?

Ans: Buffer zones are security-controlled boundaries between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas, restricting free movement and dividing the state socially and geographically.

Q4: Why is Manipur under President’s Rule?

Ans: After CM Biren Singh’s resignation in February 2025, President’s Rule was imposed, fulfilling Kuki-Zo demands but raising calls for restoring an elected government.

Q5: Why is the Manipur-Myanmar border a flashpoint?

Ans: Scrapping the Free Movement Regime and fencing the border angered Kuki-Zo and Naga groups with close cross-border ethnic and economic ties.

Understanding America’s Gun Obsession: History, Culture, and Violence

September 13, 2025

America’s Gun Obsession Latest News

Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old American conservative leader who once defended gun rights despite yearly deaths, was killed by a sniper in Utah.
His death underscores the irony and tragedy of America’s entrenched gun obsession, reigniting the divisive debate that many believe is tearing U.S. society apart.

America’s Gun Crisis in Global Perspective

The United States has more guns than people, with 1.2 guns per person—far higher than any other nation.
Though home to less than 5% of the world’s population, Americans own 45% of civilian firearms globally.
This widespread access fuels staggering violence: in 2023, the U.S. recorded 46,728 gun deaths—128 daily, with over half suicides.
The gun homicide rate stands at 4.38 per 100,000, 26 times higher than other wealthy nations, compared to under 0.05 in the UK and virtually zero in Japan.

Guns and the Myth of Freedom in America

America’s deep-rooted gun culture is tied to historical myths of firearms as protectors of liberty, from the Revolution to the Wild West.
The Second Amendment (1791) enshrined this belief, framing arms as safeguards against tyranny.
Founding Father James Madison even argued that armed citizens could topple oppressive governments, unlike Europe’s monarchies.
Historian Richard Hofstader observed in 1970 that many Americans stubbornly saw guns as essential to democracy, a notion echoed by Charlie Kirk in 2023, who defended the Second Amendment as protection against government overreach.

The Making of America’s Gun Culture

A 1969 U.S. Justice Department report highlighted the explosive rise of guns — doubling from 45 million in 1945 to nearly 90 million by 1969, even as population grew by less than 50%.
By 2018, gun numbers were ten times higher than 1945, while the population grew only 2.5 times.
Historians trace this culture to racism: firearms enabled White slave owners to control Black slaves, and post-Civil War fears of retribution spurred groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
In the 20th century, crime, immigration, and Cold War anxieties intensified gun demand.
Abundant post-WWII weapon supplies, with Europe’s surplus arms flooding the U.S. market, created a mass gun economy, embedding firearms deeply into American society.

America’s Romantic Obsession with Guns

In the U.S., gun culture has been shaped by powerful advocacy groups like the NRA and gun capitalism, which transformed firearms into symbols of identity and freedom.
Historian Andrew McKevitt notes that 19th-century gunmakers sold not just weapons but stories, imbuing guns with cultural meaning — a case of “commodity fetishism.”
- Commodity fetishism means giving an object (like a gun, phone, or brand item) a kind of “magical” value, while forgetting how and why it was actually made.
- For example, instead of seeing a gun as just metal and parts made in a factory, people treat it as a symbol of freedom, power, or identity.
This fetishization distorts America’s gun debate, unlike other countries that embraced strict gun control.
For example, Australia reduced gun deaths from 2.9 per 100,000 in 1996 to 0.88 in 2018 after reforms.
The U.S., however, loosened laws, with the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Columbia v. Heller affirming individual gun ownership rights, fueling further resistance to restrictions.

The Deadly Link Between Guns and Everyday Violence

NRA advocates claim “a good guy with a gun” stops violence, but historian Dominic Erdozain notes even “good people” can act aggressively, creating risks.
Data disproves the simple good-versus-bad binary. Research revealed most U.S. gun homicides stemmed from arguments with friends or spouses, often under alcohol’s influence.
It showed that keeping a gun at home significantly raised homicide risk.
As experts warned in 2008, the real danger is not strangers but those with “a key to the house.”

Source: IE | PRC

America’s Gun Obsession FAQs

Q1: Why is America considered obsessed with guns?

Ans: The U.S. has 1.2 guns per person, more than any nation, with deep cultural, historical, and political roots reinforcing firearm ownership.

Q2: What role does the Second Amendment play in gun culture?

Ans: Ratified in 1791, it enshrines the right to bear arms, linking guns to liberty, self-defense, and protection against tyranny in American imagination.

Q3: How did racism shape America’s gun culture?

Ans: Firearms enabled White slave owners to control slaves; post-Civil War fears of Black retaliation further entrenched gun ownership and fueled groups like the KKK.

Q4: What is meant by ‘commodity fetishism’ in the U.S. gun debate?

Ans: It’s the cultural glorification of guns beyond their function — turning them into symbols of freedom and identity, distorting rational policy discussions.

Q5: How does U.S. gun violence compare globally?

Ans: With 46,728 gun deaths in 2023 and a homicide rate 26 times higher than other wealthy nations, U.S. violence far exceeds global levels.