Current Affairs

Scientists from the Raman Research Institute (RRI) analysed rare, repeating bursts of energy from a distant ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). ULXs are accreting systems in which a compact object-black hole or neutron star-pulls matter from a companion star. This accretion process releases enormous energy. Some ULXs exceed the Eddington limit (theoretical maximum brightness) by over 100 times.

Government launched the 11th exploration licensing round (OALP-XI) under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme, offering 21 hydrocarbon exploration blocks within the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) framework. OALP, introduced in 2016 under HELP, allows investors to select blocks using data on the National Data Repository (NDR) without awaiting a formal bid round. OALP-XI provides revenue sharing, reduced royalties, no oil cess, single licence and marketing/pricing freedom.

UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report 2026 (access and equity; countdown to 2030) warns SDG 4 targets remain off-track. In 2024, 273 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school, excluding an additional 13 million in conflict-affected countries. Only two in three students complete secondary education; no country has universal completion, and access may not ensure learning. It recommends compulsory schooling and fee abolition (e.g., Right to Education Act, 2009), equity-oriented public financing, cash transfers/scholarships, and expansion of public infrastructure and open/distance education.

An E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft was reportedly destroyed in a recent Iran–US conflict, underscoring airborne surveillance and command importance. AWACS provides mobile long-range radar surveillance, command, control and communications for air defence in all weather, using modified commercial airframes (e.g., Boeing 707) with a rotating radar dome for 360° coverage. E-3 Sentry (Boeing; introduced 1977) is operated by the US, NATO and allies, detecting targets over hundreds of kilometres.

A Lancet report (2023) estimates 2.4 lakh maternal deaths globally; India accounted for about 24,700. Maternal mortality refers to death during pregnancy or within 42 days of termination due to pregnancy-related causes (excluding accidental/incidental). Measured via Maternal Mortality Ratio (deaths per 1,00,000 live births). SDG 3.1 targets MMR <70. India met National Health Policy 2017 target MMR <100 by 2020. Key causes: haemorrhage, infection, hypertensive disorders; drivers include poverty, low education, delays/referrals. Programmes: NHM, RMNCAH+N, JSY, PMMVY; state efforts: Tamil Nadu EmOC, MP Dastak Abhiyan.

Kerala reported a shigellosis outbreak with multiple cases and one death. Shigellosis is a highly contagious intestinal infection causing acute diarrhoea, due to Shigella bacteria; humans are the only natural reservoir. Transmission occurs via faecal-oral route, direct contact, contaminated food/water and sexual contact. Incubation is 1–4 days; symptoms (often bloody/mucoid diarrhoea) last 5–7 days. No approved vaccine.

NASA launched Artemis II on April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, using the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule. The 10-day, four-astronaut crewed lunar flyby is the first mission to Moon vicinity since Apollo 17 (1972). It follows a hybrid free-return trajectory, travelling ~7,600 km beyond the Moon’s far side, validating life support, navigation, communications, radiation monitoring, re-entry/heat-shield performance, and abort, splashdown, search-rescue and medical-evacuation protocols.

WTO e-commerce moratorium, adopted in 1998 at the Second Ministerial Conference (Geneva), commits members not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions (e.g., software, e-books, music, films, games, streaming). Typically renewed biennially, it was extended at MC13 (2024) for two years but is set to expire at MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. WTO (1995; replaced GATT) is Geneva-based, with 166 members (~98% world trade), consensus decision-making, and roles in negotiations, rule-making, dispute settlement and monitoring; Comoros and Timor-Leste joined in 2024.

Red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga), genus Batagur, is endemic to North India, historically in the Ganga basin, with main surviving population in National Chambal Sanctuary (tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). It inhabits large flowing rivers with deep pools, riffles, sandbanks and rocky outcrops; nests on sandy banks in March; is predominantly herbivorous and a river-health bioindicator. It is IUCN Critically Endangered, in CITES Appendix I and Schedule I, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; threatened by hunting, egg collection, illegal trade, habitat degradation, sand mining, fishing-net entanglement and loss of nesting banks.

MoSPI’s PLFS Report 2025 shows unemployment declining to 6.5% (7.0% previous year). PLFS, launched by NSO (2017) and released by MoSPI, measures labour indicators (LFPR, WPR, UR) for age 15+, giving urban quarterly and national annual estimates; status: usual (365 days) and current weekly (7 days). Reported: overall UR 3.1%; educated UR (secondary+) 6.5%; urban female UR 6.4%; youth (15–29) UR 9.9%; LFPR 59.3% (male 79.1, female 40.0); WPR 57.4%; regular wage 23.6%, self-employed 56.2%; sector shares: agriculture 43.0%, manufacturing 12.1%, services 13.1%; highest female wage growth 8.8% (self-employed). Method changes: monthly bulletins, quarterly rural coverage, sample ~2.72 lakh households.

Ministry of Heavy Industries extended subsidies for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers under PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE). Launched in 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore, the scheme accelerates EV adoption and develops charging infrastructure and a manufacturing ecosystem. It covers e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-ambulances, e-trucks and emerging categories, with demand incentives and capital support for e-buses, charging networks and testing-facility upgrades.

Indian Navy hosted the IONS Maritime Exercise Table Top Exercise 2026 in Kochi, as India assumed the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) chairmanship for 2026. IONS is a voluntary initiative for maritime cooperation among navies of Indian Ocean Region littoral states. Membership applies to nation-states with territory abutting or lying within the Indian Ocean; IONS has 25 members. Chairmanship rotates every two years by consensus.

IIM Kozhikode entered the global top 100 in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. Quacquarelli Symonds publishes QS rankings annually, using academic and employer reputation, overall score and employment outcomes, via a framework of lenses, indicators and metrics. India recorded 120 new entries (fourth globally; behind US, China, UK) and has the fourth-largest institutional presence. Six Indian institutions are in top-100 computer science. IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and IIM Ahmedabad ranked 21; strengths include mineral and mining engineering, and business management and marketing.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced in Lok Sabha, amends the 2019 Act. It narrows “transgender” to socio-cultural identities and congenital intersex variations, excluding self-perceived identity and trans man/woman. It clarifies “appropriate government” (Centre, State, UT Administrator under Article 239), mandates a medical board, and makes District Magistrate certification compulsory, including for gender change with surgery details. It alters National Council representation, expands offences with penalties up to life imprisonment and heavy fines, provides no Consolidated Fund expenditure, and enables rule-making for procedures.

Water samples from Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra) show rising toxicity, signalling pollution and habitat degradation in this Ramsar site (2022). Notified Wildlife Sanctuary in 2018 under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; managed by Maharashtra Forest Department. Estuarine Arabian Sea inlet with Ulhas freshwater and saline inflow; mangroves, mudflats and tidal creeks. IBA (BirdLife); Central Asian Flyway; >1 lakh Greater/Lesser flamingos and ~200 bird species; migrants Oct–May (peak Feb–Mar), breed in Kutch. Threats: high TDS/BOD/COD, sewage, plastic, urbanisation, habitat loss, climate change.

A study finds beavers (genus Castor: Castor canadensis, Castor fiber) can turn riverbeds into carbon sinks by creating wetlands that trap organic matter and store carbon. Semi-aquatic rodents, they are ecosystem engineers and keystone species, second-largest rodent after capybara. They inhabit temperate/boreal river corridors and occur in Europe, North America, parts of Asia; India had Manipur beaver (Trogontherium cuvieri) till ~1905. Dams alter hydrology/sedimentation, filter nitrates/phosphates, aid flood–drought–wildfire buffering; threats include dam dependence, seasonal carbon release and human conflict. Both extant species are IUCN Least Concern.

In 2024–25, Indian agriculture contributed nearly one-fifth of GVA and employed ~46% workforce. Foodgrains hit 357.73 MT; horticulture 362.08 MT. India ranked 1st in pulses, millets, dry onion (25% global), coconut, spices; 2nd in cereals, rice, wheat, fruits-vegetables, sugarcane, cotton, tea. Exports rose to $51.1 bn (FY25) from $34.5 bn (FY20); processed share 20.4% (FY25) vs ~15% (FY18). PM-KISAN support exceeded ₹4.27 lakh crore (Mar 2026); PMFBY covered 4.19 crore farmers (2024–25); 7.72 crore KCC accounts; missions on nutrition, pulses, edible oils; ~25 crore Soil Health Cards (2025), 6.85 lakh seed villages; 1.8 crore farmers on e-NAM; 10,000 FPOs by Feb 2026.

Union Government approved continuation of the central sector, fully Union-funded Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) Scheme for 2026–2031 (launched May 2010). Nodal ministry: MHA; implemented by NIC with MHA. It modernises immigration, visa issuance and foreigners registration via integrated tracking, linking immigration posts, FRRO/FRO and adopting emerging technologies. Key outputs include e-Visa, Fast Track Immigration e-gates at 13 airports (~30 seconds), mandatory registration for certain visa holders staying >180 days within 14 days on FRRO portal, and Form C reporting by hosts via Bureau of Immigration portal, strengthening security and facilitating travel/business.

The Supreme Court directed grant of permanent commission and pensionary benefits to eligible women officers in the armed forces, reiterating equal service opportunities for women. It reaffirmed the 2020 Babita Puniya judgment, which held women officers eligible for permanent commission and command posts. It noted denial stemmed from institutional bias and structural inequality, and said ACR-based evaluation and cut-off systems need review for future batches.

Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 introduced in Lok Sabha, referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee; amends Companies Act, 2013 and LLP Act, 2008 to streamline regulation and decriminalise minor offences via monetary penalties. CSR profit threshold: Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore; 2% of 3-year average profits; unspent transfer: 90 days (from 30). Expands “small company” definition, relaxes auditor/fee/CSR norms; permits AGMs/EGMs via VC/AV with one physical AGM in 3 years; replaces affidavits with self-declarations; allows SEBI/IFSC-registered specified trusts’ conversion into LLPs.

Patent expiry of semaglutide in India has enabled multiple generics, cutting prices by 70–90%, improving access for obesity (BMI ≥30) and type 2 diabetes (India: ~77–101 million adults). Semaglutide is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist mimicking GLP‑1 to reduce hunger and increase satiety; tirzepatide is dual GIP/GLP‑1. Generics (bioequivalent) are regulated by CDSCO. Patents get 20-year TRIPS protection; Patents Act, 1970 Section 3(d) curbs evergreening. PMBJP (Jan Aushadhi) supports affordable generics. Variants include Semanat, Semafull, Semaglyn, Mashema, Alterme, Noveltreat; injector devices include Semanext, Livarise, Sembolic.

Iran reportedly employed Qader cruise missiles in recent hostilities targeting a U.S. aircraft carrier. Qader is a medium-range anti-ship cruise missile, an upgraded system based on Iran’s Noor missile (itself derived from China’s C-802). It has ~300 km range, ~200 kg high-explosive warhead, sea-skimming low-altitude profile with low radar cross-section, inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing, and can be launched from land, sea, and air to hit naval vessels and coastal targets.

National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), established in 2007 under the 11th Five Year Plan, is a Ministry of Culture initiative implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India to create national registers of unprotected monuments and antiquities through digitised, standardised records (20 parameters for monuments; 21 for antiquities). It has documented 1.84 lakh monuments and 17.20 lakh antiquities, aligns with UNESCO conventions, and supports retrieval of antiquities.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has undertaken digitisation of historical and religious sites and antiquities, reinforcing heritage conservation and archaeological research. Established in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, ASI is headed by a Director General in New Delhi and operates through 24 circles, museums and specialised branches. It is governed by the 1958 Act and the 1972 Act, and maintains over 3,690 nationally important monuments.