Current Affairs

The Competere Foundation released the “Market Distortions Performance Index 2026” report titled “India’s Next Growth Frontier: Reducing Anti-Competitive Market Distortions to Build on India’s 2010–2023 Reform Progress.” It notes India’s rise from 82nd to 57th (2010–2023), assessed via property rights protection, domestic competition and international competition. It highlights GST, IBC, regulatory improvements and trade facilitation modernisation; finds reduced distortions, urges evidence-based policy, consumer-welfare investment tests, and cooperation with like-minded trading partners on regulatory barriers.

Glaw Lake in Lohit district, Arunachal Pradesh, within Kamlang Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary (Eastern Himalayas), has been added to the Ramsar List as India’s 101st Ramsar Site and the state’s first. A freshwater lake near the Kamlang River, it is an IBA, supports tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard, and is wintering habitat for critically endangered white-bellied heron; sacred to Mishmi. Ramsar Convention (Ramsar, Iran, 1971; in force 1975) promotes conservation and “wise use”; 172 parties; India ratified 1982; India has Asia’s highest and world’s third-highest sites.

India’s domestic coal output exceeded 1 billion tonnes for two consecutive years, with private participation expanding after commercial coal auctions began in 2020. Coal meets nearly 55% of primary energy needs and over 70% of electricity generation. India has the world’s 5th-largest coal resources and is the 2nd-largest producer-consumer; about 5 lakh workers operate 350+ mines. Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 enables transparent reallocation; reforms allow free sale at market prices, revenue-sharing linked to National Coal Index, and 100% FDI via automatic route.

JALDI Initiative released the first Judicial Transparency Index assessing the Supreme Court and 25 High Courts. Findings include generic collegium reasons; 15 High Courts using RTI exemptions beyond RTI Act Section 8; budgets absent in 8 High Courts and audit reports absent across High Courts; live-stream rules in 13 High Courts (over 75% streaming in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Telangana and Guwahati); no bench-allocation criteria; post-2025, 90% Supreme Court judges disclosed assets (Kerala 90%, Madras 11%, Delhi 13.6%). Himachal Pradesh and Tripura led; Meghalaya and Bombay lagged.

Union Cabinet approved a revamped Khelo India Scheme and enhanced Assistance to National Sports Federations for 2026–27 to 2030–31, with nearly 8x higher financial allocation. It ensures a continuous athlete pathway from grassroots talent identification to international competitions and Olympic participation, aligned with Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 and NEP 2020; supports 2030 Commonwealth Games preparation and future Olympic/Paralympic hosting aspirations. Components: NCOEs, KICoEs, STCs, KIAAs, KICs and YSCs (armed forces); expands Fit India, prioritises women/para-athletes/indigenous sports, creates a unified digital sports platform, increases private/corporate collaboration, and strengthens TOPS.

Italy announced a 1-month suspension of Schengen free-travel arrangements with Spain after a mass influx of migrants into Spain’s enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco. The measure mainly targets non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea; Spanish and other EU citizens remain largely unaffected. Italy is coordinating with France on border checks. Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city on Africa’s north coast, with Melilla forms the EU’s only land border with Africa. Schengen permits temporary controls for national security/public safety.

Scientists discovered a new blind, blood-red subterranean eel, Rakthamichthys anchi, in underground aquifers linked to dug-out wells in Goalpara district, Assam. Recorded from two ~7 m deep wells, four specimens were found. Distinct species status was confirmed using micro-CT scanning and DNA analysis. Rakthamichthys is an India-endemic subterranean swamp-eel genus. Finding follows Gitchak nakana, indicating rich, underexplored aquifer biodiversity.

Researchers discovered a new freshwater catfish, Pseudolaguvia khairii, in the Budhabalanga River, Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. It belongs to genus Pseudolaguvia (small hillstream catfishes) under order Siluriformes; the genus occurs in fast-flowing rivers of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. The few-centimetre species shows a unique fleshy protuberance at dorsal-fin base, adapts to strong currents; “Khairi” references a Similipal tigress rescued in the 1970s. Catfishes indicate healthy river ecosystems.

International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) study quantifies India’s road-transport emission health burden: in 2024, linked to one premature death every 6 minutes and one new childhood asthma case every 34 minutes; India accounts for 13% of global premature deaths. NCR has ~25% of asthma cases despite 5% population; Delhi (2024): 2,800 deaths, 1,500 paediatric asthma; NCR NO₂ exceeds WHO 10 µg/m³. Heavy-duty vehicles contribute 79% tailpipe NOx and 64% PM2.5. Full shift to zero-emission transport could avert 1.7 million deaths by 2050; recommend electrifying buses/trucks and retiring high-emitting vehicles.

OPEC+ will increase oil output from Sept 2026. OPEC (Vienna, Austria) is a permanent-intergovernmental body of 11 developing-nations: Algeria, Rep.-of-Congo, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi-Arabia, Venezuela; India not a member; ex-members Ecuador, Indonesia, Qatar, Angola, UAE. Created at 1960 Baghdad-Conference by Iran/Iraq/Kuwait/Saudi-Arabia/Venezuela to coordinate petroleum policy for fair, stable producer prices. OPEC+ (2016) added Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South-Sudan, Sudan after price falls from higher US shale output.

China issued management measures for the Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve around Scarborough Shoal, mandating routine patrols and strict action against unauthorised fishing/resource extraction, and held military drills nearby. The South China Sea is a strategic marginal sea of the Western Pacific, bordered by Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, linking Pacific–Indian oceans via Malacca. China’s 1947 nine-dash line (~90%) was invalidated by 2016 PCA (UNCLOS), rejected by China. Paracels (~130) controlled by China since 1974; claimed by Vietnam/Taiwan. Spratlys (incl. Second Thomas Shoal) are multi-claimed. Scarborough lies in Philippines’ EEZ but is claimed by China.

Government unveiled Nuclear Energy Mission roadmap targeting 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047, including five indigenous Small Modular Reactors by 2033. BARC is developing BSMR-200 (220 MW), SMR-55 (55 MW) and HTGCR (up to 5 MW thermal) enabling hydrogen via thermochemical processes (copper-chlorine cycle). SHANTI Act, 2025 opens generation/research to private firms, promotes indigenous advanced reactors, grants statutory status to AERB and strengthens its independence. Safety adopts redundancy, diversity and defence-in-depth; oversight by NPCIL and AERB. Waste management follows 1987 Rules and AERB codes, with segregation, treatment, engineered storage and continuous monitoring.

In June 2026, 672 captive-bred Asian Houbara bustards (Chlamydotis macqueenii) were released in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan in the Aral Sea–Aralkum Desert region, under a multi-nation initiative to restore degraded drylands around the former Aral Sea. Bred at a UAE (Sheikh Mansour) facility in Kazakhstan, releases were supervised by Uzbekistan’s National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change and CITES experts. The Vulnerable species is listed under CITES and CMS Appendix I; key threats include Aral desiccation (Soviet river diversions since the 1960s), poaching and loss of stopovers.

During Exercise Valiant Shield 2026, the U.S. Army conducted its first forward deployment of the Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) to Guam (Western Pacific), placing a ground-launched hypersonic system within striking distance of China’s eastern seaboard. Dark Eagle is a conventional, two-stage boost-glide missile (>Mach 5; ~2,775–3,500 km) using the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body. A battery has four TEL trucks (eight missiles) and a mobile operations center, enabling rapid strikes on high-value targets across the Taiwan Strait/South China Sea; China fields DF-17 and DF-27.

IREL (India) Ltd, DMRL and BARC assessed India’s Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) demand as the REPM Scheme targets a fully integrated domestic ecosystem for high-strength sintered magnets, reducing 90–95% import dependence (mainly China). Outlay ₹7,280 crore includes ₹6,450 crore sales-linked incentives (5 years) and ₹750 crore capital subsidy. It creates 6,000 MTPA capacity, allocated to 5 beneficiaries (up to 1,200 MTPA) via global competitive bidding, over 7 years (2-year gestation + 5-year incentives), mandating the oxide–metal–alloy–finished magnet value chain. Demand is projected at 8,220 MTPA by 2030, driven by EVs (3,250), wind (1,800), BLDC fans (980), electronics/smartphones (600); strategic risks affect missiles, drones, radars, clean energy and advanced electronics, including aerospace and defence equipment.

Government of India uses satellite/geospatial technologies in Ladakh to monitor glaciers, glacial lakes, snowfall, water resources and landslides; ISRO/Department of Space has run multiple projects over the last 5 years for monitoring, modelling and alert generation. Key initiatives: Cryosphere Science and Applications Programme (CAP); Ladakh Specific Modelling and Space Applications (LAMA); SILAAS since 2023 under ISRO-DMSP; National Hydrology Project (2017–2025) under Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Geo-Ladakh SDI geoportal/database with capacity building.

Government is expanding integrated technology-based justice systems to improve speed, efficiency and transparency across police, evidence, courts, prisons, prosecution and forensics. CCTNS computerises FIR-to-charge-sheet and criminal records with Nyaya Sanhita compliance alerts; ICJS enables electronic exchange among police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution; ITSSO tracks sexual-offence investigations; e-Sakshya preserves digital evidence; e-Summons digitises process service; MedLEaPR supports medico-legal/postmortem reporting; Nyay Shruti enables video-conferencing; e-Forensic automates labs; e-Prison is cloud-based; e-Prosecution aids coordination; NAFIS provides real-time fingerprint matching.

Danube River levels in northern Bulgaria hit a historic low, exposing the riverbed and mammoth remains. Europe’s 2nd-longest river after the Volga, it runs 2,850 km from the Brigach–Breg confluence near Donaueschingen (Black Forest, Germany) through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, draining to the Black Sea via the Danube Delta (4,300 sq km, Tulcea, Romania), a young UNESCO World Heritage Site growing 24–30 m/year. Tributaries: Inn, Drava, Sava, Tisza, Prut, Siret; capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade; Rhine–Main–Danube Canal links Rotterdam to Sulina (3,500 km inland waterway).

Supreme Court quashed the Centre’s 2021 Office Memorandum permitting ex post facto environmental clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It held any future amnesty must be through a statutory notification, not an administrative order, and be a narrow, time-bound, supervised window only for projects of supervening public interest under the 2006 EIA framework mandating prior EC. OM failed proportionality; violated Articles 14 and 21. Ruling is prospective under Article 142.

MoSPI has revised the Consumer Price Index (CPI) base year from 2012=100 to 2024=100, expanding market coverage and using updated consumption weights from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. CPI 2024 series inflation data will be available from January 2026; CPI 2012 series data up to December 2025. Direct comparison across series is not feasible; rural house rent is newly included. CPI is India’s headline retail inflation indicator used by RBI.

Venezuela formally notified the UN of its “irrevocable” decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), while ongoing probes and proceedings, including alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela, continue unaffected until withdrawal takes effect. Chad also announced plans to exit, after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. ICC (seat: The Hague) was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute core international crimes under specified jurisdictional conditions.

Comet 10P/Tempel 2, a periodic comet discovered in 1873, has returned and is again observable from Earth after about 5.5 years; it completes one orbit around the Sun every 5.5 years and was last sighted in 2021. Visibility depends on its closeness to Earth and position relative to the Sun. Brightness peaks near the Sun as ice vaporises, forming coma and tail. Best viewing: dark, clear, moonless night away from city lights.

Malvi camel, one of India’s 9 officially recognised camel breeds, is near extinction with only 102 animals. Animal geneticists treat breeds with <300 breeding females as endangered; Malvi, Mewari and Mewati fall in this category. Malvi is white-coated, smallest, yields ~4–5 kg milk/cycle, used for draft/transport/light farming, found in Malwa (MP) and Hadoti–Kota belt (Rajasthan). Threats include mechanisation, livelihood shifts and loss of grazing commons.

Henley Passport Index 2026 (20th Anniversary Edition) ranks 199 passports across 227 destinations using IATA data, by visa-free access including visa-on-arrival and ETA; standard e-visas needing prior approval are excluded. July 2026: Singapore ranks 1 (192); Japan, South Korea and UAE joint 2 (188); Afghanistan last (25). India ranks 81 with 55 visa-free/VOA (down from 56 after Cape Verde removal); 2026 ranks: Jan 80, Feb 75, Jun 80, Jul 81; 2006 rank 71; lowest 90/91 in 2021.

Andhra Pradesh ranked 2nd in India in mangrove plantation under the Centre’s MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes) scheme. The state is undertaking large-scale mangrove development through the Great Green Wall of Andhra Pradesh initiative and using the Fish Bone Technique to improve tidal water circulation, raise survival rates, and enhance ecological resilience. Andhra Pradesh has a 1,053-km coastline.

NASA selected PRAXIS (Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling) for NIAC 2026 Phase I funding. The concept enables in-situ sampling by touching, collecting and analysing millimetre-to-centimetre ring particles around Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and ringed Centaurs (Chariklo, Chiron). To avoid collision hazards in dense ring planes, it uses autonomous robotics and AI to graze the ring plane, bridging Cassini’s lack of direct particle analysis. Phase I supports simulations/design refinement; Phase II prototypes.