Current Affairs

Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its 1,200-km East-West oil pipeline (Petroline) after reported attacks from Iraq, halting exports. The pipeline runs from Abqaiq oilfield to Yanbu port, providing a Hormuz-bypass route; Yanbu shipments to Asia pass Bab el-Mandeb. Disruption affects 4%-5% of global supply. India imports >88% crude; Saudi share 7%-8%. Every $1/barrel adds up to $2 billion to India’s annual import bill; 10% oil rise widens CAD by 0.4% of GDP.

Hundreds of street vendors were evicted from roads around Meenakshi Sundareswarar (Arulmigu) Temple, Madurai (southern bank of Vaigai, Tamil Nadu), to regulate traffic/pedestrian movement ahead of Maha Kumbabishekam. Dedicated to Meenakshi (Parvati), Sundareswarar (Shiva) and Alagar (Vishnu), it reflects Shaivism-Shaktism-Vaishnavism. Built under Kulasekarer Pandya; mentioned by 7th-century Thirugnanasambandar; expanded by Thirumalai Nayak (1623–55). Dravidian 45-acre (254×237 m) complex; 14 gopurams: south >170 ft (1559), east oldest (Maravarman Sundara Pandyan, 1216–38), west model for Tamil Nadu emblem; four entrances (east main). Mandapams include Aayirankaal (985 pillars), built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar (1569), now a museum (artifacts from 8th century onwards); musical pillars; ~33,000 sculptures.

Under the proposed India-EU FTA, India secured country-specific steel tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) of 1,641,470 tonnes annually (MFN 946,616; FTA 694,853), against exports of ~4 million tonnes to the EU. The EU’s new Steel Regulation (from 1 July 2026) provides duty-free quotas of 18.3 million tonnes, imposes 50% duty beyond quotas, and requires “melt-and-pour”; MFN quotas use 2022-24 import shares, with WTO safeguards capped at 8 years. Provisions include non-disadvantage, additional/residual quotas, transparent TRQ administration, and reviews (1 year after entry, then every 5 years).

Ladakh administration launched a project to revive shrinking Tso Kar Lake by diverting about 320 million litres/day of untapped glacier water from the Rupsho Kharnak glacial stream to restore its wetland system. Tso Kar (“White Lake”) is a high-altitude salt lake in Rupshu Valley, Ladakh, at ~15,280 ft (4,660 m), smallest among Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri, and a Ramsar site (2020).

ICAR’s Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur developed new-generation moth bean varieties tolerant to highly variable weather, including prolonged drought and excessive rainfall. Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia; dew bean/matki) is a hardy Fabaceae pulse; creeping annual with fast taproot aiding arid survival. Performs at 24-32°C (tolerates 45°C), needs 500-750 mm rain (survives 200-300 mm), sandy loam; pH 3.5-10, slight salinity. Major states: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana; uses: protein dal, fodder, green manure.

18th BRICS Summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration; India as host/chair reconciled divergent positions. On West Asia it urged restraint, diplomacy, sovereignty/territorial integrity, civilian protection, trade/supply-chain/energy continuity; flagged attacks on IAEA-safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities; on Gaza/Palestine backed ceasefire, humanitarian access, UNRWA, opposed displacement/starvation, two-state (1967 borders, East Jerusalem), self-determination/right of return/full UN membership; called Lebanon ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, Syria transition. Condemned terrorism incl. April 2025 Pahalgam attack (26 killed), CTWG role, financing/safe havens/radicalisation, no identity linkage. Opposed unilateral coercive measures/CBAMs; no common currency; prioritised interoperable payments, local-currency use (Payment Task Force, NDB financing), New Investment Platform, India’s BRICS Risk Lab at GIFT City. On AI sought inclusive, safe, energy-efficient, trustworthy governance; welcomed India-hosted AI Impact Summit (Feb 2026); proposed DPI repository/pilots; BRICS Training Hub Network/mental well-being CoEs with NIMHANS Bengaluru coordinating; India Centre for BRICS Industrial Competencies; growth/development task force, NDB Knowledge Portal, infrastructure-PPP, insurance ecosystem.

Public sector bank employees struck nationwide on September 11 over a proposed Performance-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme; after a September 8 meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Ministry of Finance kept the scheme on hold pending talks. The Department of Financial Services had authorised a revised PLI (November 2024) for 2025-26, limited to Scale IV+ officers, with incentives up to 365 days’ basic pay (vs existing 15 days’ basic pay + DA). The 2020 unions-Indian Banks’ Association agreement linked PLI to bank performance uniformly. Unions also seek a five-day week, pension/NPS-OPS options, revised ex-gratia, and retiree medical facilities; services like cash, cheque clearance and branch work were affected, with further strike threats from September 28-30 and October 26.

PM’s BRICS leaders’ welcome backdrop featured Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram Island, Tamil Nadu. A Shiva temple, Puranic tradition links Rama’s post-Ravana victory worship of a Shivalinga; “Rameswaram/Ramanathaswamy” relate to this consecration. Built first in 12th century by Cholas, expanded by Pandyas, Vijayanagar (Krishna Deva Raya gifts, 1513), later Nayakas-era Sethupatis, and completed by Sethupatis. It is one of 12 Jyotirlingas (only one in south) and a Char Dham shrine (only Shiva among four). Dravidian style with gopurams, four-side madil, India’s longest temple corridor (197 m E-W, 133 m S-N), granite carvings, and 22 holy wells.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels reportedly captured Yemen’s Mayun (Perim) Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, southern entrance to the Red Sea, near the 26 km-wide narrowest point. The 13 sq km volcanic, rocky island (65 m) splits the strait into two channels, giving control of the eastern channel. It has a natural harbour and military airfield. Britain held it 1857-1967; coaling station failed in 1935; joined independent Yemen (Aden) in 1967.

SAWEN member countries adopted the “Kathmandu Declaration” to strengthen regional cooperation against illegal wildlife trade and related transnational organised crime. SAWEN is an intergovernmental law-enforcement support body of eight South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; launched in 2011 at Paro (Bhutan), with a Secretariat in Kathmandu (2011). It promotes cooperation, capacity building, law/policy harmonisation, trend documentation, partnerships, and National Action Plans. Governance: General Assembly (ministers), Executive Committee (focal persons), Secretariat led by Secretary General.

Scientists recorded the rare high-altitude Himalayan fish Schizopygopsis waddellii for the first time in India from Pangkang Teng Tso Lake, a natural lake in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, at about 12,800 feet. Earlier known only from the Tibetan/China Plateau (including Yamdrok Lake, Tibet), it belongs to family Cyprinidae and is adapted to harsh high-altitude freshwater ecosystems, expanding its distribution and India’s freshwater fish fauna.

Genomic studies in India show Aedes aegypti has high gene flow and genetic similarity across eco-climatic zones despite distance, driven by human transit (railways, highways, logistics) passively moving mosquitoes and drought-resistant eggs across states. Unplanned urbanisation, water storage and construction sites aid breeding; anthropophilic niches buffer climate extremes, enabling interbreeding. Pyrethroid fogging/sprays select knockdown-resistance mutations. Native to West Africa; spread via maritime trade; day-biting, breeds in clean stagnant water in containers; co-occurs with A. albopictus (suburban/rural vegetation).

Miniature lunar-orbit observatories, UK-led CosmoCube and India’s proposed PRATUSH, aim to detect redshifted 21 cm (1420 MHz) hyperfine “spin-flip” neutral hydrogen signals now at 10–100 MHz over ~13.5 billion years, probing Cosmic Dark Ages (380,000–150 million years post-Big Bang), Cosmic Dawn, Hubble tension and dark matter-baryon interactions. Moon’s far side provides radio-quiet shielding; Earth’s ionosphere blocks <30 MHz. CosmoCube (Cambridge, STFC RAL Space) uses RFSoC radiometer; PRATUSH (RRI Bengaluru, supported by ISRO, DST) uses precision wideband radiometer.

Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) published in Mammalian Genome the first complete mitochondrial genome of the Malabari goat (Kerala). It places the breed in rare haplogroup B1 (~3% of domestic goats; most Indian breeds are haplogroup A), showing maternal affinity with Omani, Surti (Gujarat) and Iraqi Meriz goats, tracing ancestry to Bezoar (Capra aegagrus). It reports a novel heteroplasmic MT-TL2 tRNA substitution (first goat mitochondrial tRNA mutation), supporting Indian Ocean Spice Route livestock exchange and aiding targeted conservation breeding.

UNEP’s “Limiting Overshoot” report warns global warming will overshoot 1.5°C in coming years due to high emissions; current policies/pledges imply peak warming of 1.8°C to over 2°C. Overshoot is a multidecadal pathway temporarily exceeding 1.5°C before falling back, not preferred but seen as remaining option. It heightens heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, sea-level rise; risks tipping points; threatens SIDS, water security, and up to 14% food output loss by 2050. It recommends deep mitigation (CO₂ and methane cuts), transformational adaptation, and responsible CDR to complement reductions.

In Geneva, 128 countries under the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW/Inhumane Weapons Convention) agreed a non-binding framework on autonomous weapons systems (AWS), informally “killer robots”, which detect, identify and engage targets without human approval per attack. CCW seeks to prevent inhumane injuries and civilian harm; it has five protocols: Non-Detectable Fragments; Mines/Booby-traps; Incendiary Weapons; Blinding Laser Weapons; Explosive Remnants of War. Concerns include civilian casualties, accountability gaps, human control and rapid AI-led advances.

A study analysed magnetic minerals in sediments beneath Bakhira Lake over 25,000 years to reconstruct past climate change in northern India and impacts on rainfall, weathering, sediment transport and lake processes. Bakhira Lake, in the Ghaghara-Rapti alluvial system, is a perennial oxbow/floodplain wetland formed by Rapti River cut-off; among Uttar Pradesh’s largest wetlands; Ramsar Site (2022); key waterfowl habitat. Oxbow lakes form from meander cut-offs, are shallow, nutrient-rich, may silt up; common in Ganga plains.

Iran-aligned Houthis took control of Mocha (Mokha), a historic port city in southwestern Yemen on the Red Sea, marking a strategic advance along the Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Mocha is the chief port on the strait’s northern approach, about 75 km north of Perim (Mayun) Island. A modern port (1955) serves minor logistics/military roles between Aden and Hodeidah; Mocha is linked to coffee exports.

UNESCO presented the 2026 International Literacy Prizes at the International Literacy Day global ceremony in Chiapas, Mexico, themed “Literacy for people, the planet, and prosperity”. Awarded since 1967, they promote literacy for lifelong learning, equity and sustainable development. Eligible applicants include individuals, NGOs and governments with measurable, theme-aligned impact. Six annual awards: 3 King Sejong (Republic of Korea support since 1989; mother-tongue/multilingual) and 3 Confucius (PRC support since 2005; functional literacy in rural/out-of-school youth via technology); each laureate gets medal, diploma and US$30,000.

India’s UNESCO Tentative List has 73 sites after four new cultural additions announced by the Permanent Delegation. A site must remain on the Tentative List for at least one year before World Heritage Committee consideration. Tentative List is a State Party’s 5-10 year inventory of potential nominations with “Outstanding Universal Value”, aiding transparency and conservation priorities; listing doesn’t ensure inscription. India has 45 World Heritage Sites (37 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed-Khangchendzonga); latest: Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath. ASI (Ministry of Culture) is nodal for cultural nominations. UNESCO HQ: Paris; World Heritage Convention: 1972.

Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), an attached office under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, signed an agreement at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, to implement the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) in a State under the State-led model. Formerly USOF, DBN is governed by the Telecommunication Act, 2023, supports universal telecom access, R&D and pilots; contributions go to CFI; balance is non-lapsable; administered by a Central Government-appointed Administrator selecting implementers via bidding/applications.

The 18th BRICS Summit will be held in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026, marking 20 years since BRICS’ formalisation (2006), with India as host. BRICS has 11 members: South Africa (2010); Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE (2024); Indonesia (Jan 2025). First summit: Yekaterinburg, Russia (2009); consensus-based. NDB proposed by India (2012); by mid-2026 approved ~$44 billion across 141 projects.

Department of Consumer Affairs notified Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, amending 2020 rules under Consumer Protection Act, 2019; effective January 1, 2027. Mandates price-cut display with “prior price” (lowest in preceding 30 days), search neutrality, public ranking parameters, distinct sponsored labels, dark-pattern compliance (Guidelines 2023) with annual self-audit and Compliance Certificate, NCH convergence (2025: 17.71 lakh grievances; e-commerce ~29%/5.11 lakh), recorded complaint copy, affirmative-consent data use limits, ban bundled unrelated fees, and enhanced product/expiry, return-refund, warranty, origin/importer disclosures.

DRDO has invited private firms under the Technology Development Fund to join SHIELD (S-band High-Power Microwave Integrated Evaluation System for Lethality and Damage) to develop high-power microwave systems for testing drone vulnerabilities. SHIELD provides controlled test-and-evaluation to quantify microwave lethality on drones, sensors, radars, communication nodes and command links. It is non-kinetic, using electromagnetic energy, and integrates indigenous GaN solid-state amplifiers (5–10× GaAs power density; 70–80% efficiency) for counter-drone, electronic hardening and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Resplendent Shrub Frog (family Rhacophoridae), 2–3 cm, boldly patterned with shorter limbs, is endemic to the high-altitude shola–grassland ecosystem of the Anamudi region in Eravikulam National Park (Western Ghats, Kerala). It is ground-dwelling, nocturnal, shows pronounced crawling, avoids artificial light, and has direct development (no free-swimming tadpole). IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered. Eravikulam NP: >2000 m grasslands/plateaus, Anamudi Peak 2695 m (highest in South India), vegetation grasslands–shrublands–shola forests; surrounded by Chinnar WLS, Pampadum Shola NP, Anamudi Shola NP, Kurinjimala Sanctuary; largest Nilgiri tahr habitat; “Land of Neelakurinji” (12-year bloom); fauna include elephant, gaur, sambar, leopard, tiger, sloth bear, wild dog.