Current Affairs

Karnataka High Court halted the KPCL Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydropower Project (proposed 2017) in the Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary (Shivamogga, Karnataka) in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats, citing likely felling of ~7,000–8,000 trees and risks to wet evergreen forests and endemic endangered lion-tailed macaque. The 2,000 MW “water battery” uses two reservoirs (70–80% round-trip efficiency) to support solar/wind integration. Sanctuary: 1972; expanded/renamed 2019; 431.23 sq km. Sharavathi originates at Ambutirtha (Thirthahalli), flows ~130 km to Arabian Sea at Honnavar; dams include Linganamakki, Gersoppa, Hirebhaskara (submerged); Jog Falls lies on it.

“Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2025” (UN IGME), released by UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation with UNICEF, WHO, World Bank and UN DESA, estimates 4.9 million under-5 deaths in 2024 (2.3 million newborns) and 2.1 million deaths (5–24 years). Under-5 mortality halved since 2000, slowing post-2015; Sub-Saharan Africa has 58%. India under-5 mortality fell 92 (2000) to ~32 (2024); neonatal 57 (1990) to 17 (2024), aided by UIP, IMNCI and newborn care.

Government identified 4,391 ha degraded forest land for eco-restoration under the Green Credit Programme (GCP), a market-based Central Sector Programme (2023) notified via Green Credit Rules, 2023 under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Nodal ministry: MoEFCC; administrator: ICFRE. It incentivises voluntary actions (LiFE). Credits, mainly from afforestation/restoration using indigenous species, are issued after 5 years with ≥40% canopy density; can be traded/used for compliance via Green Credit Portal; land is identified by State Forest Departments, avoiding double-counting.

Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended expanding PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2021 by restructuring the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, to add a light breakfast and extend coverage beyond Classes 1–8 to Class 10 immediately and Class 12 phased. PM POSHAN serves one cooked meal daily in government/aided schools to ~11.8 crore children, with norms of 450 kcal/12 g protein (primary) and 700 kcal/20 g (upper primary); budget >₹1.3 lakh crore (2021–26) and >100 crore meals/month.

Nor’wester (Kalbaisakhi) are intense convective pre-monsoon thunderstorms (March–May) affecting eastern India (West Bengal, Assam, Odisha) and Bangladesh, with NW–SE winds (50–100 km/h). They arise from strong heating over the Chota Nagpur Plateau, Bay of Bengal moisture, and cold dry NW winds meeting warm moist air; vertical wind shear builds 18–20 km cumulonimbus, often triggered by sea-breeze convergence. They relieve heat and aid crops but cause infrastructure/crop damage and lightning deaths. IMD alerts: Green, Yellow, Orange, Red; they signal pre-monsoon–monsoon transition.

Election Commission of India facilitates postal ballots for inclusive voting by service voters, absentee voters and election duty staff. Service voters include armed forces, CAPF and government employees abroad; absentee voters include senior citizens (85+), PwDs (≥40%), essential services and authorised media. ETPBS digitally transmits ballots to service voters for physical return; home voting covers 85+ and PwDs. Forms: 12, 12D. Legal basis: RPA 1951 Section 60(c), Conduct of Elections Rules 1961; Article 326. DEO/RO supervise; ballots must reach RO by 8:00 AM on counting day; counted before EVM votes.

Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan have heightened bilateral tensions, underscoring Afghanistan’s strategic geography. Afghanistan is a landlocked, mountainous country in Southern Asia, often called the “Gateway to Asia”, with capital Kabul. It borders India (northeast), Pakistan (east and south), Iran (west), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (north), and China (northeast). Major rivers include Amu Darya, Helmand and Kabul; highest peak is Mt. Nowshak. Key ranges: Hindu Kush, Pamir and Safed Koh; minerals include coal, iron ore, copper and uranium.

Nominations for Padma Awards 2027 opened on the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal. Instituted in 1954, Padma awards are conferred annually on 26 January by the President. Three tiers: Padma Vibhushan (2nd), Padma Bhushan (3rd), Padma Shri (4th), spanning nine fields. Open to all, including self-nominations (“People’s Padma”); most government/PSU employees excluded except doctors and scientists. Generally not posthumous. Selection: Cabinet Secretary-led committee, PM recommendation, President approval.

A rare endemic freshwater crab, Vela carli, was recorded in Silent Valley National Park (Western Ghats) showing gynandromorphy, with both male reproductive structures and female features such as gonopores in one individual. The species occurs only in the Central Western Ghats, inhabiting forests and streams, including tree holes. This is the first gynandromorphy record in family Gecarcinucidae; attributed to intrinsic development, not pollution.

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) stayed Colonel Purohit’s retirement, underscoring its role in military justice and service disputes. Established under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, it functions under the Ministry of Defence, with Principal Bench in New Delhi and regional benches at Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Mumbai. Benches include retired High Court judges and senior armed forces officers. It covers service matters under the Army Act, 1950, Navy Act, 1957 and Air Force Act, 1950; hears court-martial appeals; can alter sentences and grant bail; excludes BSF/CRPF; follows AFT (Procedure) Rules, 2008; proceedings are in English.

India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), launched in 1985 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aims to raise coverage, strengthen cold-chain systems and achieve vaccine self-sufficiency. It protects against 12 diseases, including diphtheria, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and measles-rubella. Mission Indradhanush (2015) and Intensified Mission Indradhanush target un/partially vaccinated groups; U-Win and eVIN digitise delivery. Coverage rose from 62% (2015) to 98.4% (Jan 2026); zero-dose children fell from 0.11% (2023) to 0.06% (2024). India supplies ~60% of global vaccines.

Rare thread-legged assassin bug Myiophanes kempi (genus Myiophanes; subfamily Reduviidae) was first described in 1924 by British entomologist William Edward China and has been rediscovered after nearly a century. Specimens collected in 2019 from limestone caves in the Andaman Islands were recently identified. A troglobitic species, it completes its lifecycle in darkness, has a slender body with long legs, uses raptorial forelegs to prey on small arthropods, and is linked to cave systems in Meghalaya and Andamans, indicating potential undocumented cave biodiversity.

Union government revoked activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act amid Ladakh’s demand for Sixth Schedule safeguards. Sixth Schedule (Articles 244(2), 275(1)) protects tribal identity, land and customs via Autonomous District Councils (30 members: 26 elected, 4 Governor-nominated) with powers over land/forests (excluding reserved), customs, village courts, and taxation. It currently applies to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Ladakh (~97% Scheduled Tribes) is a Union Territory without legislature; Leh and Kargil Hill Development Councils are statutory and lack Sixth Schedule-type constitutional legislative/judicial powers. Post-2019 concerns include land, jobs and cultural dilution; government cites reservation/domicile rules, Article 371-type safeguards, stronger Hill Councils and cultural protection.

NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), earlier IRNSS, is ISRO’s regional positioning, navigation and timing system designed with 7 satellites (~36,000 km; 3 GEO and 4 IGSO), covering India and 1,500 km beyond, operating on L5 and S bands. It offers SPS (civilian, ~10–20 m) and encrypted Restricted Service, interoperable with GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou. An atomic clock failure in IRNSS-1F leaves only IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01 fully operational; at least 4 satellites are needed for accurate 3D position.

Sahitya Akademi announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards for the most outstanding books of literary merit in 24 Indian languages recognised by it. The awards were established in 1954 and first awarded in 1955; eligibility requires the author to be an Indian national. Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, promotes literature in 22 Scheduled Languages plus English and Rajasthani, and is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Indian Naval warships are escorting Indian-flagged merchant vessels Shivalik, Nanda Devi and Jag Laadki from the Gulf of Oman under Operation Sankalp. Launched on 19 June 2019, it aims to ensure safe passage of Indian-flag vessels and protect India’s maritime trade and energy supply lines. The operation covers the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf; about 20% of global oil trade transits the Strait, vital for India’s energy security.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee report examined MeitY’s Demand for Grants 2026-27, assessing performance, financial allocations and execution of the IndiaAI Mission. Launched in 2024 by MeitY, the mission aims to foster AI innovation by democratising computing access, improving data quality and developing indigenous AI capabilities. It is implemented by IndiaAI (an Independent Business Division under MeitY), runs for five years and has seven pillars, including Innovation Centre, compute capacity and FutureSkills.

NHAI (MoRTH) revised FASTag Annual Pass fee to ₹3,075 for FY 2026–27 (from ₹3,000), under National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) (Amendment) Rules, 2025 mandating annual revision. Launched 15 August 2025 for non-commercial vehicles with functional FASTag, it covers ~1,150 NH/NE plazas; valid 1 year or 200 crossings, then reverts. Excludes State Highway/local plazas. Over 50 lakh users; available via Rajmargyatra app and NHAI website.

Kharg Island is a strategic coral-limestone island (8 km × 4 km) in Iran’s Bushehr Province, northern Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz. Inhabited over 2,000 years, it was a trading post under Achaemenid/Sassanid rule, had a Nestorian monastery, Dutch presence (1753–1766) and brief British occupation (19th century); a 2,400-year Old Persian cuneiform inscription was found (2007). Heavily guarded by IRGC, it handles ~90% of Iran’s crude exports, stores 28–30 million barrels, and sits near a chokepoint carrying ~one-fifth of global petroleum liquids.

Election Commission of India is a constitutional body under Article 324, comprising the CEC and Election Commissioners as decided by the President. Appointments are made by the President on a Selection Committee’s recommendation (PM, a Cabinet Minister, LoP/leader of largest opposition party), aided by a Cabinet Secretary-led Search Committee. Eligible persons must be/have been Secretary (or equivalent). Tenure: 6 years or till 65; no reappointment; pay equals Cabinet Secretary. Under Article 324(5), CEC removal (proved misbehaviour/incapacity) mirrors a Supreme Court judge: motion passed by both Houses with two-thirds of members present and voting. Other ECs are removed by the President on CEC recommendation. The 2023 Act governs service conditions.

DISHA (Department of Justice Integrated Scheme for Holistic Access to Justice) is a Central Sector Scheme (100% Union-funded), launched April 2021 for 2021–26, by the Ministry of Law and Justice/Department of Justice, pan-India. It advances Articles 39A, 14 and 21 via Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu, e-Courts MMP (Phase III, 2023–27), digital courts (SUPACE, LegRAA; virtual traffic courts; paperless district court at Kalpetta, Kerala), Nyaya Sahayaks (2024), and NALSA under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

Navratna NMDC, a CPSE under the Ministry of Steel, became India’s first mining company to produce 50 million tonnes of iron ore in a single financial year. Incorporated in 1958 and headquartered in Hyderabad, NMDC is India’s largest iron ore producer. It also explores minerals such as copper and limestone, and is India’s only organised diamond producer from the Majhgawan mine, Panna (Madhya Pradesh).

The Indian Army launched a major bridge project in Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu. The operation, initiated in November 2025, provides urgent Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) support to Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Ditwah. It is guided by India’s Neighbourhood First policy and Vision MAHASAGAR, reflecting India’s regional outreach during emergencies.

Wildlife Institute of India is conducting a feasibility study on turtle tourism in Kerala for conservation and sustainable management of Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), a small, abundant sea turtle. India’s largest mass nesting occurs on Odisha coast: Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, Rushikulya and Devi river mouths; nesting November–May (peak Feb–Mar), including arribada. Status: IUCN Vulnerable; CITES Appendix I; WPA 1972 Schedule I. Threats include bycatch; mitigated via Operation Olivia and Turtle Excluder Devices.