Current Affairs

Thousands were evacuated in the Philippines after the eruption of Mayon Volcano, highlighting volcanic activity and disaster-management measures. The Philippines (capital: Manila) is an island country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific, bounded by the Philippine Sea (east), Celebes Sea (south), Sulu Sea (southwest), and South China Sea (west/north). Main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. Highest point: Mount Apo; major rivers: Cagayan, Mindanao, Agusan; active volcanoes include Mayon, Bulusan, Kanlaon.

India is drafting the New Delhi Declaration ahead of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Global Big Cat Summit (June 1, 2026, New Delhi), envisaged as the first international declaration covering seven big cats: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. IBCA, initiated by India in April 2023 (50 years of Project Tiger), is headquartered in New Delhi, has 22 members, and promotes collaboration, research, One Health, habitat connectivity and wildlife crime prevention.

Gujarat Police developed NARIT AI (Narcotics Analysis and RAG-based Investigation Tool), becoming India’s first state police to deploy an AI tool for narcotics investigations. Built by Western Railway Police, Vadodara division, with a Mumbai-based AI startup, it is a Retrieval Augmented Generation system under the NDPS legal framework. Officers upload FIRs; the tool generates reports, checklists and guidance using NDPS Act, 1985, court judgments, Bare Acts and guidelines. Classified as private AI per Gujarat High Court; no open-internet search. Usable by other agencies, not public.

Japan recognised Tokara Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus amamiensis) as a distinct species after 45 years. Cryptic, it differs from Ijima’s Leaf Warbler (Izu; IUCN Vulnerable) by DNA and song. Endemic to Tokara Islands, southern Japan (active Ryukyu Arc), it breeds on one island; threats include habitat loss, climate change and invasives; recommended Vulnerable. Mount Otake on Nakanoshima is an active volcano.

80th round Household Social Consumption on Health survey: tracks expenditure, access, insurance and disease trends. Out-of-pocket: over half public-hospitalisations ~₹1,100; public outpatient median cost zero. Institutional deliveries 95.6% rural, 97.8% urban. Transition: infections down, NCDs (diabetes, cardiovascular) up. Rural public outpatient use 28% (2014) to 35% (2025). Govt insurance 45.5% rural, 31.8% urban. Enablers: 1.84 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs; PM-JAY ₹5 lakh/family/year; AMRIT, PMBJP; JSY, PMSMA; NHM Free Drugs/Diagnostics.

DRDO launched the Vikram VT 21 project to meet India’s future infantry combat vehicle needs, including the Indian Army’s Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle requirement. It comprises two advanced armoured platforms (wheeled and tracked) with enhanced protection against projectiles, blasts and shrapnel, improved mobility, and integrated weapons and surveillance systems. It offers modular blast/ballistic STANAG Level 4/5 protection (NATO-defined resistance to heavy gunfire, explosions and artillery fragments) and is amphibious.

Light pollution (excessive/misdirected artificial light causing sky glow) is threatening the Atacama Desert’s clear skies in northern Chile (1,600 km along Pacific; driest nonpolar desert due to Andes rain shadow). High-altitude (>3,000 m), dry, isolated conditions with 300+ clear nights support the Photon Valley corridor, Paranal Observatory (European Southern Observatory) and the forthcoming Extremely Large Telescope. Urban expansion, mining, wind farms and industrial lighting are rising; a proposed green power complex near Paranal was cancelled in January 2026. Chile’s science ministry is reviewing environmental regulations amid outdated sky-preservation laws.

Scientists across institutions are exploring cyborg botany, integrating living plants with electronic components to create “living circuit boards.” It is interdisciplinary (biology, materials science, engineering); “cyborg” derives from cybernetic organism. Nanowires and transistors embedded in plant cell walls act as biosensors. Conductive polymers like PEDOT function as living wires carrying signals to external devices, enabling early detection of biotic (pests, disease) and abiotic (drought, extreme temperature) stress for targeted inputs.

Researchers report that daily 300 mg vitamin E improves liver tissue in adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (fatty liver with inflammation and damage). Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin; alpha-tocopherol is the only form used by humans and is stored in fatty tissue and liver. It acts as an antioxidant. Sources: vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, meats, dairy, leafy greens, fortified cereals. Deficiency may occur with fat-malabsorption (pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease), causing retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, reduced immunity.

Central government has invited nominations for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, a national honour conferred annually by the Government of India and organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It recognises excellence in Bravery, Art and Culture, Environment, Social Service, Science and Technology, and Sports. Eligible nominees must be Indian citizens aged above 5 and not exceeding 18 years as on 31 July; achievements must be within two years. Up to 25 awardees (relaxable by National Selection Committee) receive a medal, certificate and citation booklet.

Tamil Nadu Forest Department began the third synchronised survey of the Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiri ibex/Varayaadu), an endangered mountain ungulate endemic to the southern Western Ghats and the only such species in southern India. It inhabits open montane grasslands and sholas at 1,200–2,600 m across a ~400 km stretch in Tamil Nadu and Kerala; Eravikulam National Park has the largest population. IUCN: Endangered; Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I. Threats include deforestation, livestock competition, hydroelectric projects and monoculture plantations.

Excavations at Virli Khandar, a 2,500-year-old megalithic burial site (first reported 2008) in Pauni tehsil, Bhandara, Maharashtra, reveal composite stone circles with menhirs (unlike dolmen burials at Pimpalgaon Nipani, Tirota Kheri), inverted pottery stacks on black cotton soil over lateritic/murum base, and artefacts (copper, iron, etched carnelian, gold earring, bones). Dating: ~500 BCE; radiocarbon sequence 1000 BCE–300 CE. Menhirs include Grand Menhir Brisé, Brittany (20.6 m) and Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya (~8 m).

Anti-defection law gained attention after Raghav Chadha and three others left AAP to join BJP, raising Tenth Schedule disqualification issues. Enacted in 1985 via the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, it applies to Parliament and State Assemblies; Presiding Officer decides on member petitions. Grounds include voluntarily quitting, whip defiance, nominated/independent joining. Merger needs two-thirds (91st Amendment, 2003). Decisions face judicial review; key rulings: Kihoto Hollohan (1992), Ravi S. Naik (1994), Keisham Meghachandra (2020), Padi Kaushik Reddy (2025).

India–New Zealand FTA aligns with Viksit Bharat 2047 for global value chains and inclusive growth (MSMEs, farmers, women, youth). New Zealand offers 100% duty-free access for Indian exports (textiles, leather, footwear, gems) and commits USD 20 billion investment over 15 years. India grants access in 70% tariff lines (95% trade); 30% excluded (dairy, sugar, vegetable products, aluminium). Product-specific rules of origin, student/STEM and skilled mobility (5,000 temporary visas/year), AYUSH facilitation, services access (118) with MFN (139). NZ is India’s 2nd-largest Oceania partner; trade rose 49% to USD 1.3 billion in 2024–25; India has surplus; diaspora ~300,000 (~5%).

Health authorities issued caution after suspected West Nile fever cases in Ernakulam. West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus transmitted mainly by Culex, was first identified in Uganda (1937) and occurs in Africa, Europe, Middle East, North America and Asia. Birds are natural hosts; humans and horses are dead-end hosts. About 80% infections are asymptomatic; <1% develop neuroinvasive disease (meningitis/encephalitis/paralysis). Diagnosis: IgM ELISA, PCR, virus isolation (blood/CSF). No human vaccine/antiviral; supportive care and mosquito control (DEET/picaridin, covering clothing, removing standing water).

The SHP Development Scheme supports Small Hydro Projects (1–25 MW) to expand capacity during FY 2026–27 to FY 2030–31. SHPs are administered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; hydropower above 25 MW falls under the Ministry of Power. India’s SHP potential is 21,133.61 MW; 24.5% (5,171 MW) was harnessed by early 2026. Target: 1,500 MW. Assistance: ₹3.6 crore/MW or 30% (NES/border districts; cap ₹30 crore/project) and ₹2.4 crore/MW or 20% elsewhere (cap ₹20 crore/project).

The Ministry of Mines instituted a ₹5,000 crore incentive scheme under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) for FY 2026–27. It targets mine operationalisation, higher mineral production, enhanced State revenue collection, and improved mining governance. Coverage includes implementation of mining reforms, mine operationalisation, and State Mining Readiness Index-based reforms. SASCI is a Central Sector Scheme, with Ministry of Finance as nodal ministry, providing States 50-year interest-free loans for capital expenditure.

Skyroot Aerospace, which flew a single-stage sub-orbital rocket in 2022, flagged off Vikram-1 payload fairing, starting its launch campaign. Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed multi-stage orbital launch vehicle authorised by IN-SPACe, is to launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It uses solid (Kalam), liquid (Raman) and cryogenic (Dhawan) propulsion, carries 350 kg to LEO and 260 kg to sun-synchronous orbit, with carbon-composite structure and indigenous 3D-printed engines.

As BRICS Chair in 2026, India issued a Chair’s summary expressing deep concern over the West Asia conflict, amid differing member positions. BRICS is an intergovernmental cooperation forum; term coined by Jim O’Neill (Goldman Sachs) in 2001; first BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meet held at UNGA, New York (2006); South Africa joined in 2010. Chair rotates annually (Jan 1–Dec 31); pillars: political-security, economic-financial, cultural. BRICS has no permanent secretariat/charter; NDB set up at Fortaleza Summit (2014), HQ Shanghai; CRA provides BoP liquidity via swaps. Full members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Indonesia; partners: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal gave Odisha and Chhattisgarh a final chance for amicable settlement in their inter-state water-sharing dispute (since 2016), involving Chhattisgarh’s barrages and downstream impacts. Mahanadi, India’s third-largest east-flowing peninsular river, rises in Sihawa hills (Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh), flows through both states to Bay of Bengal (851–900 km; catchment 1,41,600 sq km). Tribunal was constituted in 2018 per Supreme Court; Article 262 and Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (2019 amendment) govern adjudication.

Archaeological Survey of India has begun drilling into the Jagamohana of the Konark Sun Temple, Odisha, to remove sand packed during the British era as part of structural conservation. Located near the Bay of Bengal, the Surya temple, also called the Black Pagoda, forms Odisha’s Golden Triangle (Bhubaneswar–Puri–Konark). Built c.1250 CE by Narasimhadeva I (Eastern Ganga), it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1984) in Kalinga (Nagara) style; the deul/shikhara have collapsed, while the Jagamohana remains intact.

Scientists discovered three new dragonfly species in Northeast India: Clouded Boghawker (Sarasaeschna nuboides), Siang Boghawker (Sarasaeschna sigotaayo) and Long-tailed Boghawker (Sarasaeschna dosdewaensis), order Odonata, family Aeshnidae. Clouded and Siang Boghawkers are endemic to Siang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh; Long-tailed Boghawker to Karimganj, Assam. Dragonflies (Anisoptera) indicate freshwater ecosystem health and prey on mosquitoes; eyes may have up to 30,000 facets.

Rising sea levels due to climate change may submerge much of Tuvalu by century-end, risking climate-induced displacement. Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation in the west-central Pacific between Australia and Hawaii, comprising nine islands (four reef islands, five coral atolls); capital is Funafuti Atoll. Entirely low-lying (highest point 4.5 m), it became independent from the UK in 1978, uses a Tuvalu dollar pegged to the Australian dollar, and is strategically courted by Australia, China and the US; migration occurs to New Zealand and Australia under special agreements.

Ministry of Panchayati Raj observes National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April (since 2010), marking 33 years of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave PRIs constitutional status, inserted Part IX (Articles 243–243O) and the 11th Schedule (29 subjects; agriculture, health, education). Gram Sabha (all registered voters) approves plans/budgets and social audits. 16th Finance Commission recommended 84% higher grants to Rural Local Bodies (80:20 basic:performance). Digital platforms: e-GramSwaraj, SabhaSaar. Panchayat Advancement Index 2.0 aligns with 9 SDG themes; indicators cut 516 to 150; 97.3% participation across 33 States/UTs. Panchayat Dharohar monographs: Tripura, Tirupati, Uttarkashi.