Houthis
Why in News?
U.S. President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis
Background
History of the Houthis?
In the late 1990s, the Houthi family in northern Yemen started a movement to revive the Zaydi sect of Shi’ite Islam. This sect had once ruled Yemen but had become poor and overlooked.
As tensions with the government in the capital, Sanaa, increased, the Houthis fought several guerrilla wars against the national army and had a brief conflict with Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim country.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, built a strong force that challenged powerful countries. The group now has tens of thousands of fighters and a large stock of armed drones and missiles. The Houthis are part of the “Axis of Resistance,” which is an alliance of groups that oppose Israel and the West. This group includes Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, all supported by Iran.
The Houthis’ slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
How much of Yemen was brought under the control of Houthis
A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. Worried by the growing influence of Shiah Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015, which intervened in support of the Saudi-backed government.
The Houthis established control over much of the north and other large population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in the port city of Aden.
Iran champions the Houthis, the Houthis deny being puppets of Iran, and Yemen experts say they are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda.
Why attack ships?
The Houthis have joined the Gaza conflict by attacking shipping routes in the Red Sea to show their support for the Palestinians and Hamas, which controls Gaza.
They also claim to have attacked ships they say are linked to Israel in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. These Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to take longer and more expensive routes around southern Africa.
Although the militia claims to target only vessels connected to Israel, shipping industry sources say all ships are at risk.
In response, the United States and Britain have carried out airstrikes against the Houthis to help restore safe trade along a key route between Europe and Asia, which accounts for about 15 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic.
A period of calm began in January with a ceasefire in Gaza, but then the Houthis warned in March that they would restart their naval operations if Israel did not lift its blockade on aid into Gaza.
On March 12, the Houthis announced they would resume attacks immediately. On March 15, 2024, President Trump ordered military strikes against the Houthis due to their attacks on shipping, commencing with airstrikes that killed at least 31 people.
The Bodoland Territorial Council
Why in News?
Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Assam on 16th March said the Congress had mocked him after he signed the third Bodo Peace Accord, but it had sustained to prove the party wrong.
| SIXTH SCHEDULE of the Constitution of India deals with Provisions as to the Administration of Tribal Areas in [the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram] |
About Bodoland
Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been the site of various insurgencies since the mid-1980s. The conflict has significantly impacted the region’s social, economic, and political landscape, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues and a strategic approach to fostering stability and development.
Districts of Bodoland Territorial Region- Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri.
The Bodoland Territorial Council was constituted under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India in the year 2003 after the signing of the Memorandum of Settlement on 10th February 2003 between the Government of India, the Government of Assam and Bodo Liberation Tigers, to fulfil economic, educational and linguistic aspiration and the preservation of land-rights, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos;
The Executive Council
There is an Executive Council comprising of not more than 14 Executive Members, one whom shall be the Chief and another one the Deputy Chief of the said Executive Council.
There shall be adequate representation for the non-tribal members in the Executive Council.
The Chief and the Deputy Chief of the Council shall have the status of equivalent to the Cabinet Minister and the other Executive Members equivalent to the Minister of State of Assam for protocol purposes in the BTC area.
Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly
As per the Memorandum of Settlement, 40 members are elected to the General Council from 40 constituencies. Besides this 6 Members are nominated by the Governor of Assam from un-represented communities, out of which two should be women.
The Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly consists of a Speaker, Deputy Speaker and other elected MCLAs of the Bodoland Territorial Council.
The Council has legislative powers in respect of subjects transferred to it.
India- New Zealand Trade Agreement
Why in News?
After a gap of about 10 years, India and New Zealand on 16th March announced the resumption of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) to boost economic ties.
India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after 10 rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in February 2015.
| What are Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)?FTAs are arrangements between two or more countries or trading blocs that primarilyagree to reduce or eliminate customs tariffs and non-tariff barriers on substantial trade between them. FTAs normally cover trade in goods (such as agricultural or industrial products) or trade in services (such as banking, construction, trading etc). FTAs can also cover other areas such as intellectual property rights (IPRs), investment, government procurement and competition policy etc. |
The two nations are now pleased to announce the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
The India-New Zealand FTA negotiations aim to achieve balanced outcomes that enhance supply chain integration and improve market access.
Common ground
New Zealand’s average import tariff is only 2.3%, with over half of its tariff lines already duty-free, meaning Indian goods already have substantial access to its market. In contrast, India’s average tariff stands at 17.8%, meaning it would have to make significant reductions, making a traditional FTA less attractive for India.
New Zealand was demanding greater access to India’s dairy market, which India resisted to protect its domestic dairy industry that supports millions of farmers.
Currently, India’s dairy imports from New Zealand are minimal, and while India may consider limited imports of value-added dairy products, it remains firm against allowing raw dairy imports.
India was also reluctant to lower tariffs on New Zealand’s dairy, meat, and wine exports, while New Zealand pushed for more favourable trade terms.
Pressure from the U.S. to open India’s dairy and agriculture sectors may also influence negotiations.
India’s main interest has been in making gains in the services sector and pushing hard to get more work visas for skilled workers.
India’s key exports to New Zealand include pharmaceuticals, precious metals and gems, and textiles.
India’s key imports from New Zealand are iron and steel, aluminium, forest products, wool, fruits, and nuts.
India exported goods and services worth $0.91 billion to New Zealand. New Zealand exports goods worth $0.84 billion during 2023
Starlink
Why in News?
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have signed distribution pacts with SpaceX Corp.’s Starlink service to bring satellite internet access to India.
About Starlink
Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming online gaming, video calls and more. Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world.
Starlink is ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable.
How Starlink Works
Most satellite internet services come from single geostationary satellites that orbit the planet at 35,786 km. As a result, the round trip data time between the user and satellite—also known as latency—is high, making it nearly impossible to support streaming, online gaming, video calls or other high data rate activities.
Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that orbit the planet much closer to Earth, at about 550km, and cover the entire globe. Because Starlink satellites are in a low orbit, latency is significantly lower—around 25 ms vs 600+ ms.
As of Feb. 27, 2025, there are 7,086 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 7,052 are working,
Impact of Starlink on Indian broadband companies
Starlink’s satellite broadband services are unlikely to pose a major threat to Indian telecom giants Jio and Bharti Airtel, as home broadband plans offer better pricing, higher speeds, and unlimited data.
Starlink’s service is expected to complement telcos’ existing networks, helping to expand high-speed internet access to remote and rural areas.