UPSC CARE Mains Practice 9th September 2025
Topic – Critical infrastructure - undersea fibre optic cables
Q1. The recent Red Sea undersea cable cut disrupted internet services across Asia. What are undersea cables, why are they important, and what vulnerabilities do they face? Discuss their economic, strategic, and security significance. (15 marks, 250 words)
Introduction
Undersea fibre optic cables, often unseen and underappreciated, are the backbone of the global internet. They transmit nearly 95–98% of international digital traffic, enabling instantaneous communication across continents. The September 2025 Red Sea cable cut, which slowed services in India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, underscores both their indispensability and their fragility.
Body
- Nature and Evolution of Undersea Cables
- Importance for Global Connectivity
- Vulnerabilities and Risks
- Strategic and Security Dimensions
- Policy and Future Challenges
Conclusion
The Red Sea outage highlights that the internet’s virtual flow rests on vulnerable physical infrastructure. For India and the world, submarine cables are as vital as oil pipelines or shipping lanes. Securing them through technology, cooperation, and resilience measures is essential to safeguard both digital economies and national security in the 21st century.
UPSC Syllabus
Critical infrastructure & cyber security
Why was this question asked?
Q. Discuss the advantages and security implications of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in-house machine-based hosting for government businesses. (2015)
Introduction
Undersea fibre optic cables, often unseen and underappreciated, are the backbone of the global internet. They transmit nearly 95–98% of international digital traffic, enabling instantaneous communication across continents. The September 2025 Red Sea cable cut, which slowed services in India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, underscores both their indispensability and their fragility.
Body
Nature and Evolution of Undersea Cables
- Submarine cables are long, insulated fibre optic wires laid on seabeds, transmitting data as light pulses. Each cable carries terabits of information per second.
- Their origin lies in 19th-century telegraph lines like the 1850 England–France connection and the 1858 trans-Atlantic cable.
- Today, more than 400 cables covering 1.4 million km link continents, with multiple protective layers safeguarding the thin glass fibres at the core.
Importance for Global Connectivity
- These cables underpin everyday services — financial transactions, e-commerce, banking, weather forecasting, and military communication.
- International phone calls and cross-border trade settlements also flow through them.
- For South Asia, cables through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea are lifelines; disruption leads to latency and slower internet speeds.
- Increasingly, Big Tech firms such as Meta (Project Waterworth, 50,000 km) and Google (Equiano, Dunant) own major cables, shifting control from governments to corporations.
Vulnerabilities and Risks
- Natural hazards include earthquakes, tsunamis, and strong currents. A 2006 Taiwan earthquake disrupted several Asian cables.
- Human activity is the largest risk: ship anchors, trawlers, and dredging cause nearly 200 incidents annually (CNN, 2019).
- Cases of sharks biting cables and accidental breakages show their exposure. Repairs are complex and expensive, requiring specialised cable ships.
Strategic and Security Dimensions
- Cable chokepoints such as the Red Sea, Malacca Strait, and South China Sea are geopolitically sensitive.
- Australia blocked Huawei from building a Pacific cable citing surveillance risks.
- Submarine cables also carry sensitive defence and diplomatic data, making them potential targets in cyber warfare or conflict.
- Rival powers like Russia and China are suspected of mapping cables for possible disruption, intensifying global security concerns.
Policy and Future Challenges
- Diversifying routes and building redundancy will reduce over-dependence on chokepoints.
- Stronger enforcement of UNCLOS protections, regional cooperation, and naval monitoring are required.
- India must expand domestic landing stations, build indigenous cable-laying capacity, and use satellites as backup for emergencies.
- Global governance is needed to ensure that a handful of corporations do not monopolise the physical backbone of the internet.
Conclusion
The Red Sea outage highlights that the internet’s virtual flow rests on vulnerable physical infrastructure. For India and the world, submarine cables are as vital as oil pipelines or shipping lanes. Securing them through technology, cooperation, and resilience measures is essential to safeguard both digital economies and national security in the 21st century.
Topic – Information technology
Q 2. India recently unveiled its first indigenous microprocessor, Vikram 3201. Discuss the significance of semiconductor chips in the modern economy and explain how indigenous capability in chip design and manufacturing can contribute to India’s strategic autonomy. (15 marks, 250 words)
Introduction
Semiconductor chips are the foundation of the digital age, powering devices from smartphones to defence systems. Their control has emerged as a critical determinant of economic strength and geopolitical influence. India’s launch of Vikram 3201, its first fully indigenous microprocessor in 2025, marks a strategic step towards self-reliance in this high-value technology domain.
Body
- Role of Semiconductors in the Modern Economy
- Strategic and Security Significance
- India’s Indigenous Capability – Vikram 3201
- Economic and Industrial Implications
- Challenges and Way Forward
Conclusion
The launch of Vikram 3201 marks more than a scientific milestone; it is a declaration of India’s intent to secure its place in the global digital order. By combining indigenous innovation with international collaboration, India can achieve semiconductor self-reliance, strengthen national security, and position itself as a technology leader of the 21st century.
UPSC Syllabus
Emerging Technologies in India
Why was this question asked?
Q. Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of Indian Government’s Mission on Nanoscience and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country. (2016)
Introduction
Semiconductor chips are the foundation of the digital age, powering devices from smartphones to defence systems. Their control has emerged as a critical determinant of economic strength and geopolitical influence. India’s launch of Vikram 3201, its first fully indigenous microprocessor in 2025, marks a strategic step towards self-reliance in this high-value technology domain.
Body
Role of Semiconductors in the Modern Economy
- Semiconductor chips are indispensable in consumer electronics, automobiles, healthcare systems, and communication networks, forming the invisible backbone of modern life.
- They drive innovation in artificial intelligence, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and renewable energy solutions, linking them directly to productivity and competitiveness.
- By enabling automation, efficiency, and data-driven operations, semiconductors contribute to global GDP and are central to Industry 4.0.
Strategic and Security Significance
- Defence applications such as missile guidance, secure communication systems, and electronic warfare are chip-dependent, making them a matter of national security.
- Sovereign control over chips reduces cyber vulnerabilities and ensures digital sovereignty in critical infrastructure.
- The US–China technology rivalry illustrates how semiconductor supply chains are now instruments of geopolitical power and influence.
India’s Indigenous Capability – Vikram 3201
- The Vikram 3201 chip, developed by ISRO’s Semiconductor Laboratory, demonstrates India’s ability to design and manufacture advanced processors domestically.
- It reflects the progress made under the India Semiconductor Mission (2021), which has encouraged chip fabrication units and research hubs.
- This milestone shifts India from being a consumer and importer of chips to a potential producer, boosting confidence in technological self-reliance.
Economic and Industrial Implications
- Indigenous production reduces import dependence, with India currently spending over $25 billion annually on semiconductor imports.
- Domestic chip development stimulates R&D ecosystems, creates high-value employment, and supports the growth of electronic manufacturing clusters.
- It strengthens the “Make in India” initiative by embedding chips into industries like electric vehicles, mobile manufacturing, and consumer durables.
Challenges and Way Forward
- The establishment of semiconductor fabs is capital-intensive and requires advanced technology transfer, areas where India still lags behind.
- A shortage of highly skilled semiconductor engineers and dependence on global raw material supply chains remain critical hurdles.
- India must focus on public–private partnerships, strategic alliances with chip leaders like Taiwan and the US, and incentives to attract global investors.
- Building an end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem — from raw materials and design to packaging and testing — will be essential for sustainable progress.
Conclusion
The launch of Vikram 3201 marks more than a scientific milestone; it is a declaration of India’s intent to secure its place in the global digital order. By combining indigenous innovation with international collaboration, India can achieve semiconductor self-reliance, strengthen national security, and position itself as a technology leader of the 21st century.