Current Affairs

A multinational team led by Charles Swanton (Francis Crick Institute, London) reported in Cell a 14-protein blood plasma signature (liquid biopsy) predicting lung cancer years before scans. Using AI/ML on 48,000 U.K. Biobank volunteers, it flags inflammatory changes, often triggered by smoking/air pollution that awaken dormant mutant cells. Retrospective CANTOS data showed canakinumab cut lung-cancer risk 50% in 2,300 signature-positive participants, but is toxic and costly.

23rd FIFA Men’s World Cup has begun. FIFA (1904, Paris; HQ Zurich) governs football, with 211 associations; India’s AIFF affiliated since 1948 but has never played it. FIFA World Cup 2026: 48 teams, 12 groups, 104 matches; first tri-nation hosting by USA-Canada-Mexico, and Canada hosts for the first time. FIFA Peace Prize (2025) inaugural to US President Donald Trump.

Jharkhand has received GI tag protection for Bhagaiya silk, Kuchai silk, Munda jewellery and Jharkhand bamboo craft under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. GI protection applies to goods whose quality, reputation or characteristics are linked to a specific origin. Bhagaiya silk is hand-spun Santhal Pargana textile woven by Santhal women; Kuchai (Saraikela-Kharsawan) tasar silk has golden sheen; Munda jewellery uses silver/brass/beads; bamboo craft uses local bamboo.

Death of three Indian seafarers aboard merchant vessel Settebello in the Gulf of Oman after a US military strike highlighted seafarer risks in conflict zones (Persian Gulf, Red Sea), sanctions-linked loss of insurance/port access, weak enforcement under IMO/UNCLOS, and complex jurisdiction (flag/coastal states, owners, crew). Frameworks: UNCLOS 1982, SOLAS 1974, MLC 2006, India’s Merchant Shipping Act; DGMA regulates shipping/certification. Measures: naval patrols/surveillance, mandated risk disclosure, helplines, war-risk cover, international coordination.

India granted legal recognition to E100 fuel, enabling launch of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) running on E20–E100. Ethanol blending mixes ethanol with petrol; blends include E10, E20, E85 and E100. Under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme and National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 (amended 2022), the E20 target for 2025–26 was achieved in 2025. E85 is available at several PSU OMC outlets; EBP saved ₹1.84 lakh crore forex since ESY 2014–15. Feedstocks: sugarcane, maize, damaged food grains, agricultural residues. E85 in FFVs cuts lifecycle GHG ~61% and PM near-zero; ethanol octane 100–105; E85 ~₹20/litre cheaper than petrol.

IndiaAI Mission launched the indigenous ‘Varya’ distilled video model developed by Avataar with IndiaAI Mission support. Varya is a distilled video model aimed at making frontier video AI affordable, accessible and relevant. Using model distillation, it reduces video generation from 50 steps to 4 while maintaining comparable quality. It can generate video at ₹0.48 per second, claiming up to 10x cost efficiency, with an Idea–Video–Story product flow.

Government will build a new ₹13,000-crore greenfield civil-military airport under the Great Nicobar project, instead of expanding INS Baaz. INS Baaz, near Campbell Bay on Great Nicobar (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), was commissioned on 31 July 2012; it is the first in Nicobar and the southernmost Indian Armed Forces air station, under Andaman and Nicobar Command. It supports ISR in the Indian Ocean, overseeing Strait of Malacca and Six Degree Channel, operates Dornier Do 228 and IAF C-130J, with a 3,500-ft (1,100 m) runway.

The Prime Minister’s state visit to Slovakia is the first by an Indian Prime Minister since Slovakia’s independence. Slovakia is a mountainous, landlocked Central European country, bordered by Poland (north), Hungary (south), Ukraine (east), Austria (southwest) and Czech Republic (west). Capital: Bratislava. Member of EU and NATO. Northern-central mountains; southern lowlands; continental climate. Ranges: Ore, Tatra, Carpathians; highest peak Gerlach. Rivers: Danube, Morava, Hron, Hornad, Vah. Resources: iron ore, copper, manganese, magnesite, lead, zinc.

Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026, the 20th edition, has been released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank. It ranks 163 independent states and territories (covering 99.7% of world population) using 23 indicators across societal safety and security, ongoing conflict, and militarisation. India ranks 127th. Top: Iceland (19th consecutive year), New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ireland. Bottom five: Russia, Sudan, DR Congo, Ukraine, Israel.

Global uranium production has rebounded post-pandemic; major suppliers are Kazakhstan 39%, Canada 24%, Namibia 12%, Australia 8% and Uzbekistan 7%. Uranium (U; atomic no. 92) is an actinide occurring widely in nature. Natural isotopes: U-235 (0.72%; fissionable), U-238 (99.3%; breeds Pu-239) and U-234 (0.005%; raises radiation hazard on enrichment). Power reactors use 3–4% U-235; weapons need ~90%. Th-232 converts to fissile U-233; central to India’s 3-stage nuclear programme. Reprocessed uranium (RepU) recycles spent fuel.

PM and Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing visited the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, Bodh Gaya (Bihar), a key Buddhist site and UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002), located 115 km south of Patna and 16 km from Gaya. Asoka built the first shrine (3rd century BCE); present 50 m brick temple dates to 5th–6th century CE (late Gupta), with shikhara, amalaka, kalasha, and a 5+ ft gilded Buddha. Asoka’s Vajrasana marks Buddha’s meditation site. Seven sacred-week sites: Bodhi Tree-Vajrasana, Animeshlochan Chaitya, Ratnachakrama, Ratnaghar Chaitya, Ajapala Nigrodh Tree, Muchalinda Lake, Rajyatana Tree; authenticity is textually documented and architecture largely unaltered.

India’s three-stage nuclear programme: Stage I PHWRs (natural uranium; heavy water moderator/coolant; 220–700 MW). Stage II FBRs (fast neutrons, no moderator; breed U‑238→Pu‑239 and Th‑232→U‑233; 500+ MW). Stage III AHWRs (thorium with small U‑233/U‑235; heavy-water moderation, boiling light-water coolant; 300–700 MW). Globally, SMRs (30–300 MWe, 3–4% U‑235, modular/passive) and conventional PWR/BWRs (3–4% U‑235; 600–1300 MW) remain key.

A study on African grey foam-nest tree frog (Chiromantis xerampelina) in South Africa reports communal nesting on tree branches overhanging pools, improving offspring survival. During rainy season (October–February), female fluid is frothed by male and female hind legs into aerial foam nests; eggs hatch inside and tadpoles drop into water. Dozens of males can form nests up to three times larger; DNA shows shared paternity. Larger nests retain moisture but may attract predators, spread disease, and enable cheater females.

The Ministry of Defence signed a contract to procure 20 Enhanced Capability Global Navigation Satellite System (ECGNSS) jammers for the Indian Navy. Indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by Accord Software and Systems Pvt. Ltd., with minimum 75% indigenous content, these mobile electronic warfare systems disrupt, degrade or deceive hostile GNSS via jamming and spoofing, enabling soft-kill against anti-ship PGMs and covering GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo; aligned with Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make-in-India.

Union Defence Minister termed DRDO’s indigenous Project Kusha a “game changer” for India’s security architecture. Under DRDO, it is a long-range surface-to-air missile system with three interceptor variants: M1 (150 km), M2 (250 km) and M3 (350–400 km). It targets fighters (including stealth), drones, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and certain ballistic threats; design comparable to Russia’s S-400. It aligns with Mission Sudarshan Chakra for a multi-layered air and missile defence shield by 2035.

Researchers in Japan identified a self-perpetuating interaction between immune-cell types that may sustain autoimmune activity in Sjögren’s disease (Sjögren’s syndrome). It is a long-term autoimmune disorder attacking moisture-producing glands (tears, saliva, sweat), sometimes involving organs such as liver and kidneys. Common after 40; ~90% adult patients are women; may coexist with lupus/RA. Symptoms include dry eyes/mouth and facial-neck gland swelling; rare lymphoma; no cure, only symptomatic moisture management.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) tightened standards for tea bags, banning epichlorohydrin, a chlorinated epoxide (chlorinated cyclic ether): clear, volatile, highly flammable, water-soluble; on heating releases toxic fumes (incl. hydrochloric acid). Exposure irritates eyes/skin/respiratory tract and may cause chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema and renal lesions. BIS, under BIS Act 2016, is India’s national standards body under Ministry of Consumer Affairs; successor to ISI (1947); represents India in ISO/IEC; HQ New Delhi.

General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), New Delhi (apex performing-arts body; established 1953; Ministry of Culture) announced awards for 2024–25/2024–2025. President confers Akademi Ratna and Puraskar; Chairman confers Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. Akademi Ratna: highest honour, ordinarily 50+, capped at 40 living; 7 fellows (Ramlal Bareth, A.V. Anand, Rita Ganguly, Puru Dadheech, Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Pasumarthi Rattaiah Sarma, Sudharani Raghupathy); ₹3 lakh + Tamrapatra, Angavastram. Puraskar: instituted 1951, renamed 1953; 108 artists; ₹1 lakh. Yuva Puraskar: 106 artists; ₹25,000.

Pfizer’s investigational Berobenatide, an ultra-long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist peptide, showed promising mid-stage results in the VESPER-3 trial for chronic weight management and type 2 diabetes. It mimics gut hormones to reduce appetite, slow gastric emptying and improve blood sugar; albumin binding prolongs action, enabling a 0.5 mL once-monthly injection. Side effects include nausea and vomiting. Obesity: BMI ≥30; associated risks include cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancers.

Supreme Court set aside Telangana High Court relief permitting an accused to travel abroad for medical treatment in a 2014 suspicious-death case (FIR under IPC Sections 306, 120B). After repeated relief and LoC suspension, the accused left India in 2017, returned in 2025, and was arrested at Hyderabad airport. SC held comparable medical facilities exist in India; passport release is not automatic travel permission. Article 21 right to travel abroad is subject to reasonable, proportionate restrictions, balanced with speedy trial, victim’s rights and effective criminal justice, using harmonious construction.

Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil (1897–1927), born in 1897 in Uttar Pradesh, is remembered on his birth anniversary for revolutionary and literary contributions. Associated with Arya Samaj, he drew inspiration from Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s Satyarth Prakash. He was linked to the 1918 Manipuri controversy (looting government funds), founded Matrivedi with Genda Lal Dixit, and co-founded HRA (1924) with Sachindranath Sanyal and Jadugopal Mukherjee. The Kakori train robbery (1925) led to his death sentence with Rajendra Lahiri, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh. He wrote Urdu-Hindi poetry under Ram, Agyat and Bismil; Man ki Lahar is his poem collection.

On World Environment Day, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched E85, a high-ethanol fuel blend (80–85% ethanol, 14–19% petrol). Ethanol is produced mainly by fermenting biomass such as corn and sugarcane. E85 is exclusively for Flex-Fuel Vehicles, which automatically adapt from E20 to E100; non-FFVs risk engine damage. It offers cheaper per-litre pricing and 61% lower greenhouse-gas emissions, supports energy security by reducing crude imports, boosts sugarcane-linked demand, and aligns with 100% Made-in-India FFVs; Brazil has used E85 for decades.

Union Minister of Food Processing Industries inaugurated SAPLING Dialogue 2026 in Ahmedabad. SAPLING is a World Bank Group-led regional platform for South Asia to strengthen food processing ecosystems, promote value addition, reduce post-harvest losses, generate employment and build resilient food systems, aligned with the World Bank Group’s AgriConnect initiative. Themes include Think Big, Act Local; Farm to Factory; formalizing informal processors; smart tech (cold chain, digital traceability, sustainable packaging); safe food and markets; finance; shared food future.

Election Commission allots symbols under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968: recognised national/state parties get reserved symbols (BJP: lotus; Congress: raised hand); unrecognised parties/independents choose from periodically revised “free symbols”, with some state/UT restrictions (apple is free except in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka). Since 1990s, animals are not allotted; Maneka Gandhi cited 1989 Tamil Nadu rooster mistreatment. BSP retains elephant (pre-ban); thus cockroach symbol not allowed.

Project 18 is an Indian Navy programme for next-generation destroyers/cruiser-sized warships, designed by the Warship Design Bureau with MDL and GRSE. Expected displacement 11,000–13,000 tonnes and ~180 m length (Visakhapatnam-class ~7,500 tonnes). Envisaged as a multi-domain command platform for manned/unmanned assets; Integrated Electric Propulsion lowers acoustic signature, improves stealth, enables laser weapons/advanced radars. Up to 144 VLS cells: BrahMos, BrahMos-II, LR-LACM, SMART, Project Kusha, ABM interceptors. Features DRDO indigenous S-band AESA radar (>500 km), advanced EW/battle-management, UAV/USV/XLUUV control, 50–100 kW lasers; strengthens blue-water Indo-Pacific capability and Atmanirbhar Bharat.