UPSC current affairs, 12-18 Oct, 2026

Why in news?

• A missile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, killing 12 people and injuring 309. An injured Indian citizen later died, raising the toll to 13.
• Another projectile struck the airport the next day, marking a sharp escalation in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and disrupting civilian aviation.

Who are the Houthis?

• The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, emerged from the Zaydi Shia community of northern Yemen.
• They seized Sanaa in 2014 and displaced the internationally recognised government.
• A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to restore the government, turning the conflict into a wider regional confrontation involving Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Strategic geography

• Houthi-held territory includes much of northwestern Yemen and the Red Sea coast around Hodeidah.
• Yemen overlooks the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and carries major Asia–Europe shipping routes.
• Missile and drone attacks can therefore affect civilian aviation, Gulf security, Red Sea shipping and global supply chains.

Why the escalation matters

• Direct attacks on passenger infrastructure raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law.
• Retaliation could reopen a major Saudi–Houthi front and weaken efforts towards a negotiated settlement in Yemen.
• The conflict can widen through external military support, maritime attacks and disruption of energy and trade routes.

Why in news?

Sri Lanka's President reiterated that Katchatheevu is part of Sri Lankan territory amid continuing demands in Tamil Nadu for its retrieval and concern over the arrest of Indian fishermen.

About Katchatheevu

• It is a small, uninhabited island in the Palk Strait, northeast of Rameswaram.
• It has no permanent freshwater source and is administered by Sri Lanka.
• Its St Anthony's shrine is visited by pilgrims and fishing communities from both countries.

India–Sri Lanka agreements

Why the issue persists

• The narrow Palk Bay has traditionally supported fishing communities on both sides.
• Indian mechanised trawlers sometimes cross the maritime boundary, leading to arrests, boat seizures and diplomatic disputes.
• Bottom trawling damages the seabed and intensifies competition over declining fish stocks.
• A durable response requires joint fisheries management, humane enforcement, alternative livelihoods and a gradual shift away from destructive trawling.

Why in news?

Accounts from Dalit students and professionals overseas drew attention to the way caste identities and discriminatory practices can travel through migrant networks.

How caste may operate overseas

• Caste may be inferred from surnames, home regions, language, food practices, marriage networks or questions about family and community.
• Exclusion may occur in housing, religious associations, social groups, workplaces or educational institutions.
• Dependence on close diaspora networks can make reporting difficult when the same networks influence employment, accommodation and social support.

Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955

• It gives effect to Article 17 and was originally called the Untouchability (Offences) Act before being renamed in 1976.
• It penalises disabilities imposed on the ground of untouchability, such as denial of access to places of worship, shops, restaurants, hotels, water sources and other public facilities.
• It also covers the enforcement of social and religious disabilities arising from untouchability.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

• It addresses serious, targeted offences committed against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Covered conduct includes public humiliation, dispossession, forced labour, social or economic boycott, specified violence and sexual abuse.
• It provides for Special Courts and Special Public Prosecutors, along with victim protection, relief and rehabilitation.
• It is more stringent than the Protection of Civil Rights Act because it deals with a wider range of caste- and tribe-based atrocities.

Judicial perspective

In Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India (2024), the Supreme Court invalidated prison rules that enabled caste-based segregation and allocation of work, emphasising that discriminatory practices cannot be preserved through administrative labels or custom.

Wider significance

• Indian constitutional and statutory safeguards do not automatically govern conduct in another country.
• Host-country institutions therefore need clear complaint systems, confidentiality safeguards and awareness of caste as a possible form of discrimination.
• Diaspora policy must recognise that migration can change the setting of discrimination without necessarily erasing its social structures.

Why in news?

The second death anniversary of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba renewed debate over prolonged imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the consequences of eventual acquittal after years in custody.

Background

• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was enacted in 1967 mainly to deal with activities threatening India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• Later amendments expanded it into India's principal anti-terror law after the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
• A 2019 amendment allowed the Union government to designate individuals, in addition to organisations, as terrorists.

Principal provisions

• The Union government may declare an association unlawful, subject to confirmation by a tribunal.
• Organisations and individuals may be listed as terrorists, with a process for seeking removal from the list.
• The law criminalises terrorist acts, terror financing, conspiracy, recruitment, training camps and specified forms of support for terrorist organisations.
• It provides special powers relating to investigation, arrest, search, seizure and attachment of property linked to terrorism.
• The time available for investigation before default bail may be extended by a court to 180 days.
• Anticipatory bail is unavailable for offences covered by the anti-terror provisions.
• Regular bail is restricted where the court finds reasonable grounds for treating the accusation as prima facie true.
• Prosecution requires prior government sanction based on a review of the collected evidence by an independent authority.
• Cases may be investigated by State police or the National Investigation Agency, depending on jurisdiction and transfer.

Important Supreme Court judgments

Reform debate

• Anti-terror laws are necessary to prevent serious threats, disrupt financing and prosecute organised violence.
• Vague or overbroad allegations can nevertheless lead to years of incarceration before guilt is established.
• Possible safeguards include narrower definitions, stronger independent scrutiny before sanction, time-bound trials, periodic judicial review of custody and accountability for wrongful prosecution.

Why in news?

The Prime Minister inaugurated the 10th India Mobile Congress on October 8 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.

About IMC 2026

Four pillars

Technologies covered

• 5G and 6G: faster, low-latency networks capable of connecting people, machines and critical infrastructure.
• AI-native networks: networks in which artificial intelligence helps allocate capacity, detect faults and automate operations.
• Non-terrestrial networks: satellites and high-altitude platforms that complement ground-based mobile towers.
• Quantum communication: emerging methods that use quantum properties to detect interception and strengthen security.
• Other areas included semiconductors, cybersecurity, electronics manufacturing, enterprise transformation, circular economy and ESG.

The edition also added smart mobility, stadium experiences, industrial robotics and transport technology as new domains.

Why in news?

Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford received the 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences for explaining how the behaviour of households and firms influences the success of policies intended to stabilise the economy.

Robert Hall: household consumption

• Hall studied how households decide how much to consume and save over time.
• A household considers present income, expected future income, existing savings and whether an income change is temporary or permanent.
• A temporary tax rebate may largely be saved if households do not expect their long-term income to rise. A permanent increase in income is more likely to raise consumption.
• His work gave empirical support to the idea that consumption changes substantially when households receive new and unexpected information about their future resources.

Michael Woodford: expectations and monetary policy

• Woodford's New Keynesian models combined household demand, firms' price-setting behaviour, inflation expectations and central-bank policy.
• Because prices and wages do not adjust instantly, monetary policy can affect production and employment in the short run.
• Policy outcomes depend not only on the current interest rate but also on what people expect the central bank to do in the future.
• Credible communication and forward guidance can influence present borrowing, investment, consumption and price-setting.

Why in news?

Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change remained divided over when the principal reports of its Seventh Assessment Report should be completed. Some countries want them ready before the November 2028 UN climate negotiations, while India and several other developing countries have sought more time for adequate participation by researchers from less-resourced countries.

What is the IPCC?

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Its 195 member countries assess published scientific, technical and socio-economic research; the IPCC does not normally conduct original climate research.
• Working Group I examines the physical science of climate change. Working Group II studies impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Working Group III assesses mitigation options.
• A Synthesis Report combines the main findings of all three Working Groups.

Reports produced by the IPCC

Why is the schedule disputed?

• An early deadline would allow updated science to inform the 2028 review of progress under the Paris Agreement.
• A compressed timetable could favour well-funded institutions, reduce developing-country participation and exclude important regional research.
• The disagreement is therefore about balancing timely climate advice with an inclusive and geographically representative assessment.

Why in news?

The 2026 Living Planet Index reported an average 73% decline in the relative abundance of monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2022.

Who prepares it?

The Living Planet Index is produced by the Zoological Society of London in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature. WWF publishes the findings every two years through its Living Planet Report.

What was actually observed?

• 50% of monitored populations were declining, 43% were increasing and 7% were stable.
• The dataset covered 35,803 populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
• It did not include plants or invertebrates.

How is it calculated?

• Researchers collect population data from field surveys, scientific papers, government reports and monitoring programmes.
• They calculate how each population has changed over time and combine these changes using a weighted geometric mean.
• The result can change when additional species, regions or longer time-series are added. It is therefore a biodiversity trend indicator, not a global census of individual animals.

Regional trends

• Latin America and the Caribbean recorded an average decline of about 95%, Africa about 80%, Asia about 49% and Europe about 23%.
• Major pressures include habitat destruction, deforestation, agricultural expansion, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species and climate change.

Why in news?

• Karnataka recorded a rainfall deficit of nearly 35% and declared 217 of its 240 taluks drought-hit.
• Andhra Pradesh recorded a shortfall of about 53% during June–August and declared 388 of its 688 mandals drought-hit.
• Red gram, maize, cotton, sugarcane and horticultural crops were among those affected.

How is drought declared?

A declaration cannot be based only on deficient rainfall. The Drought Management Manual requires States to consider rainfall deviation, sowing, crop condition, vegetation and soil moisture, reservoir and groundwater levels, fodder and drinking-water availability, and village-level field verification.

Relief mechanism

1. The State Disaster Response Fund is the primary source for immediate relief.
2. If the drought is severe and the State needs additional assistance, it submits a memorandum to the Union government.
3. An Inter-Ministerial Central Team assesses crop damage and the relief measures undertaken by the State.
4. Its recommendations are scrutinised before additional assistance may be approved from the National Disaster Response Fund.

Long-term response

• Crop diversification, drought-resistant seeds and micro-irrigation
• Groundwater budgeting and cultivation suited to local rainfall and aquifer capacity
• Crop insurance, fodder banks and restoration of tanks and watersheds
• Income support covering tenant farmers and agricultural workers as well as landowners

Why in news?

India hosted the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi on October 13. Its agenda covered terrorism, transnational organised crime, narcotics trafficking, radicalisation, human trafficking, illicit financial flows and cyber threats.

About BIMSTEC

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation was established through the Bangkok Declaration in 1997.
• Its members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand; its Secretariat is in Dhaka.
• It connects South Asia with Southeast Asia through the Bay of Bengal region.
• India leads its security sector, including counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy.

Significance

Terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking and illicit financial flows operate across borders. The Home Ministers' mechanism can give political direction to intelligence sharing, investigation of criminal networks, cybercrime cooperation and coordination among police and security agencies.

Why in news?

• The first meeting of BIMSTEC Home Ministers was held in New Delhi.
• The seven members adopted the Delhi Declaration to strengthen regional cooperation against terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking and other cross-border threats.

About BIMSTEC

• BIMSTEC stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
• It was established through the Bangkok Declaration in 1997.
• Its members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its permanent Secretariat is in Dhaka.
• Decisions are generally taken by consensus. Bangladesh currently chairs the grouping.
• BIMSTEC connects South Asia with Southeast Asia and complements India's Neighbourhood First and Act East policies.
• India leads cooperation in the security sector, including counter-terrorism, transnational crime and disaster management.

Delhi Declaration

• Members agreed to improve real-time intelligence sharing against terrorist and criminal networks.
• They committed themselves to fighting radicalisation, terror financing, cybercrime, human trafficking, arms smuggling, piracy, illegal migration and misuse of cyberspace.
• They supported stronger monitoring of narcotic drugs and precursor chemicals that can be diverted to manufacture illegal drugs.
• They called for effective implementation of the BIMSTEC conventions on terrorism and transnational crime and on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
• The declaration supported early completion of proposed agreements on extradition, transfer of sentenced persons and human trafficking.
• Members also supported closer cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, INTERPOL, the Financial Action Task Force and the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

Significance and limitations

• The declaration treats terrorism and organised crime as connected regional threats rather than isolated domestic problems.
• Its effectiveness will depend on intelligence sharing, compatible national laws, prompt extradition and mutual trust.
• Political instability in Myanmar, uneven institutional capacity and bilateral tensions can slow implementation.

Why in news?

A public-health analysis warned that unnecessary tests, medicines and medical procedures are increasing alongside the continuing problem of inadequate access to essential healthcare.

• Overtreatment occurs when a patient receives a test, medicine or procedure that provides little benefit or creates unnecessary risk.
• Unnecessary tests may reveal harmless abnormalities and lead to further tests, anxiety, surgery or lifelong medication.
• Polypharmacy generally means taking five or more medicines simultaneously. It is particularly risky for older people because medicines may interact with one another.
• Indian studies have reported polypharmacy among approximately 49% of older adults. Another study found potentially inappropriate medicine use among around 28.8% of older adults.
• Important causes include fragmented specialist care, commercial health packages, fee-for-service payments, defensive medicine and patient expectations.
• India needs stronger primary care, periodic medication reviews and prescriptions that clearly mention when a medicine should be reviewed or stopped.

Why in news?

An assessment of a prison-based legal-aid programme in Maharashtra showed how timely legal assistance can improve access to bail and reduce prolonged undertrial detention.

Who is an undertrial?

• An undertrial is an accused person detained while investigation or trial is continuing.
• The person has not been convicted and continues to enjoy the presumption of innocence.
• Prolonged detention can turn the legal process itself into punishment, especially for people who cannot afford lawyers or satisfy bail conditions.

National situation

• India had 5,30,333 prisoners in 2023, of whom 3,89,910 were undertrials.
• Undertrials therefore constituted approximately 73.5% of the total prison population.
• India's prisons had an overall occupancy rate of approximately 120.8%, or about 121 prisoners for every 100 authorised places.
• Among undertrials, 23,006 had been detained for three to five years and 10,392 for more than five years as of December 31, 2023.

Constitutional and legal protection

• Article 14 guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws.
• Article 21 protects life and personal liberty and requires any procedure depriving liberty to be fair, just and reasonable.
• Article 22 gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner.
• Article 39A directs the State to provide free legal aid so that economic or other disadvantages do not prevent access to justice.
• The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 created national, State and district legal-services authorities.
• In the Hussainara Khatoon cases, the Supreme Court recognised speedy trial and free legal assistance as essential parts of fair procedure under Article 21.

Maharashtra programme: summarised findings

• The programme operated in eight prisons and assisted more than 22,000 undertrials between 2018 and 2023.
• Approximately 84% of supported bail applications succeeded, compared with about 26% of all bail applications during the comparison period.
• Participants had already spent an average of 171 days in prison before entering the programme and waited another 115 days, on average, before release.
• The comparison was descriptive and did not establish that legal aid alone caused every improvement.

Current protection against excessive detention

• Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provides for bail after an eligible undertrial has completed one-half of the maximum possible sentence.
• A first-time offender may be released on bond after completing one-third of the maximum possible sentence.
• These limits do not apply in the same manner when death or life imprisonment is one of the prescribed punishments.

Why early legal aid matters

• Legal assistance should begin immediately after arrest rather than after several months of imprisonment.
• Support must cover bail applications, communication with families, documents, sureties and address verification until the prisoner is actually released.

Why in news?

Financial regulators are examining how banks use advanced artificial-intelligence systems, particularly autonomous agents, in cybersecurity and operational decision-making.

What is agentic artificial intelligence?

• A conventional artificial-intelligence system usually responds to a specific instruction.
• An agentic system can independently plan several steps, select tools, access databases and perform actions with limited human supervision.
• For example, an agent may detect suspicious activity, block access, modify security settings and communicate with another system.

Benefits and risks

• Agents can monitor millions of transactions and assist with fraud detection, cybersecurity, customer verification and regulatory compliance.
• An agent may exceed its authorised role or make a decision that is difficult to trace.
• Several banks may depend on the same external technology provider, allowing one failure to affect many institutions simultaneously.
• Malicious actors can use agents to automate phishing, vulnerability discovery and attacks on financial infrastructure.
• A disruption of a major payment, settlement or banking service can weaken confidence and spread instability.

Safeguards

• High-risk actions should require human approval.
• Each agent should receive only the minimum system access needed for its task.
• Banks should maintain complete logs of what an agent accessed, decided and changed.
• Institutions need real-time monitoring, transaction limits, emergency shutdown mechanisms and tested recovery plans.
• Regulators should conduct sector-wide simulations covering cyberattacks and failures at major technology providers.

Why in news?

Delhi expanded its air-quality monitoring network and reviewed an artificial-intelligence-enabled command centre for coordinating action against pollution hotspots.

• The Integrated Command and Control Centre combines data on air quality, road dust, construction sites, industrial emissions, stubble burning, noise, complaints and enforcement vehicles.
• Artificial-intelligence cameras and location data can identify violations and help agencies respond more quickly.
• Thirteen new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations increased Delhi's monitoring network from 47 to 60 stations.
• Anand Vihar's main pollution sources include heavy traffic, road dust, construction waste, garbage dumping and open burning. Eleven agencies have been assigned corrective measures.
• The system can improve coordination and accountability, but artificial intelligence cannot reduce pollution independently. Its effectiveness depends on accurate sensors, transparent data and consistent enforcement.

Why in news?

• The Allahabad High Court directed Uttar Pradesh’s State Election Commission to conduct Panchayati Raj elections within three months.
• Andhra Pradesh separately announced rural and urban local-body elections, with completion scheduled by 2 December 2026.

Constitutional framework

• The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments gave constitutional recognition to panchayats and municipalities.
• Their elected bodies ordinarily serve five-year terms, and elections must be completed before those terms expire.

• Following premature dissolution, elections generally must take place within six months. This requirement does not apply when the remaining term is less than six months.
• A body elected after premature dissolution ordinarily serves the remainder of the original term.

Institutional independence

• The Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner.
• The Commissioner cannot be removed except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a High Court judge.
• The Election Commission of India conducts parliamentary and State legislative elections; State Election Commissions conduct local-body elections.

Significance

• Delayed elections weaken public accountability over services such as drinking water, sanitation and local roads.
• Regular elections must be accompanied by adequate functions, funds and staff for local self-government to work effectively.

Why in news?

• The Cabinet approved ₹53,428 crore for continuing the National Social Assistance Programme during 2026–27 to 2030–31.
• It approved renaming the programme and expanding disability-pension eligibility.

Background

• The programme began on 15 August 1995 to assist poor households facing old age, widowhood, disability or the death of a breadwinner.
• It draws on Article 41, which directs the State, within its economic capacity, to provide public assistance in circumstances including old age, sickness and disability.

Approved changes

• Disability eligibility falls from 80% disability to 40% benchmark disability, aligning the threshold with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
• The minimum-age restriction is removed, allowing eligibility from birth.
• Approved disability assistance is ₹375 for beneficiaries aged 0–79 and ₹625 for those aged 80 and above.
• Old-age pensions, widow pensions and family benefits otherwise continue in their existing form.
• The approval is expected to benefit 3.20 crore people. Revised implementation guidelines are to follow within three months.

Concerns

• Inflation reduces the purchasing power of fixed assistance.
• Beneficiary ceilings can exclude eligible households, while inaccessible disability certification can prevent people from receiving benefits.
• Expanded eligibility therefore needs adequate funding, accessible identification and reliable payments.

Why in news?

• The rupee had weakened by approximately 7% during 2026, trading near ₹96.73 per dollar.
• On 10 October, the Reserve Bank of India announced measures to curb speculative activity and maintain orderly foreign-exchange markets.

Why is the rupee under pressure?

• Higher oil prices increase dollar demand. India’s dependence on imported crude means that costlier oil raises the foreign-currency bill.
• Foreign investment outflows add pressure. Investors selling Indian assets may convert their rupee proceeds into dollars.
• Higher overseas yields attract capital. More attractive returns on dollar assets can reduce demand for investments in emerging economies.
• Geopolitical uncertainty strengthens demand for safety. Investors often seek dollar assets during periods of global stress.

Why does depreciation worry RBI?

• Imported inflation: A weaker rupee raises the domestic cost of oil, electronics, edible oils and other imports.
• Foreign-debt servicing: Companies earning rupees need more rupees to repay unchanged dollar liabilities.
• Financial instability: Expectations of further depreciation can encourage additional dollar purchases and capital outflows, reinforcing market pressure.

New derivative-market measures

• A foreign-exchange derivative is a contract whose value depends on an exchange rate.
• Businesses use such contracts to hedge, or reduce uncertainty over future foreign-currency receipts and payments.

What do these terms mean?

• Underlying exposure: An actual commercial obligation, such as an importer’s forthcoming dollar payment.
• Notional value: The reference amount on which a derivative contract is based; it is not the contract’s profit or loss.
• Rollover: Extending protection beyond the original maturity, subject to applicable rules.
• Authorised dealer: A bank or institution permitted to undertake specified foreign-exchange transactions.

How does the new reserve work?

• The Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve applies to specified rupee-linked contracts hedging current-account exposures where customers purchase foreign currency.
• Requiring banks to hold cash raises the cost of providing these contracts.
• Banks may pass part of that cost to customers through higher hedging charges. The trade-off is stronger market discipline alongside potentially costlier risk protection.

Other measures and their mechanisms

Intervention and its limitations

• RBI can intervene through direct currency transactions and derivatives. Over-the-counter contracts are negotiated outside exchanges; non-deliverable forwards settle exchange-rate differences without exchanging the underlying principal currencies.
• A dollar window can smooth demand, but it does not reduce India’s oil-import bill. Dollar sales also draw on reserves.
• Foreign-currency deposits and swaps provide funding today but create future repayment or rollover requirements. Concentrated maturities can produce renewed dollar demand.
• RBI’s objective is to contain excessive volatility, rather than permanently defend one exchange rate against sustained economic pressures.

Why in news?

• An October 12 draft notification proposes stricter BS-VII standards for new cars and sport utility vehicles from 1 April 2029.
• Implementation is proposed in three phases extending to April 2035.

What are Bharat Stage standards?

• Bharat Stage standards regulate pollutants emitted by motor vehicles.
• They influence engine design, exhaust-treatment equipment, fuel requirements and compliance testing.

How vehicles control emissions

• Manufacturers combine better combustion control with equipment such as catalytic converters and particulate filters.
• A catalytic converter promotes reactions that convert certain harmful exhaust gases into less harmful substances.
• A particulate filter traps particles in the exhaust stream.
• Actual emissions also depend on driving conditions, maintenance and deterioration of pollution-control equipment.

Implementation concerns

• Manufacturers and suppliers need time to develop compliant vehicles and components.
• Testing agencies need suitable facilities, while inspection and maintenance must support compliance after vehicles are sold.
• Vehicle-emission limits address local air pollutants; fuel-efficiency requirements also influence fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions.

Status

• The timetable remains a draft proposal.
• Final technical limits and detailed phase-wise requirements must be distinguished from the proposed starting date.

Why in news?

• A proposed opencast bauxite mine covering 147 hectares of forest in Odisha’s Balda hills threatens Jeypore ground gecko habitat.
• The proposed site lies within Nageswari reserve forest.

About the gecko

• It is a small, nocturnal reptile associated with high-elevation forests of the Eastern Ghats.
• It occupies boulder crevices and leaf litter in forests approximately 900–1,400 metres above sea level.
• First documented in 1878, it was rediscovered in 2010 after a long absence from scientific records.
• Four individuals were documented locally over the preceding year. These sightings do not establish the species’ total population.

Why habitat specificity matters

• A range-restricted species occupies a limited geographical area, making it vulnerable when development affects a substantial part of that area.
• Shade, moisture, rock formations and leaf litter can be essential habitat features.
• Planting trees elsewhere may not recreate the conditions required by such a species.

Mining and community concerns

• Bauxite is the principal ore used to produce aluminium.
• Opencast mining removes surface vegetation and overburden to reach the deposit. Roads, dust and altered drainage can extend its effects beyond the excavation.
• Bondo and Porja communities have opposed the proposal and asserted ancestral forest rights.

Conservation priorities

• Environmental appraisal must examine seasonal species surveys, habitat fragmentation and cumulative impacts.
• Decisions must also address forest-dependent livelihoods and whether proposed mitigation can protect the particular habitat at risk.

Why in news?

• The Supreme Court issued notice on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
• The challenge questions whether continuing protection from civil and criminal proceedings is compatible with equality before law.

Main provisions of the 2023 Act

Constitutional provisions: Article 324

• The Constitution establishes the institution and its safeguards; the 2023 Act supplies detailed appointment and service rules.

How do removal protections differ?

• The CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge: proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• This requires an address passed by each House of Parliament, supported by a majority of its total membership and at least two-thirds of members present and voting.
• Other ECs cannot be removed except on the CEC’s recommendation. They do not receive the same parliamentary removal procedure.
• The CEC’s service conditions cannot be changed to their disadvantage after appointment.

What protection does Section 16 provide?

• It bars civil and criminal proceedings against serving or former Commissioners for actions taken, or purportedly taken, while performing official functions.
• Protection continues after leaving office, but concerns official functions rather than every action in private life.
• Personal protection from proceedings must be distinguished from judicial review of the Commission’s decisions.

Why is this controversial?

• Article 14 guarantees equality before law. Special protection must have a reasonable justification connected with its purpose.
• Protection against harassment can support independent decisions, but an excessively broad shield can weaken accountability.
• Article 361 provides constitutional protections to the President and Governors, including protection from criminal proceedings during their terms.
• Articles 105 and 194 protect legislative speech and votes. These protections concern legislative functions rather than unrestricted personal immunity.
• The central question is whether Section 16 strikes an appropriate balance between institutional independence and legal accountability.
• The Supreme Court’s notice begins examination of the challenge; it does not itself invalidate the provision.

Why in news?

• Installation of automatic weather stations and rain gauges has fallen behind schedule, with over 96% of the sensors covered by the reviewed implementation contracts still pending.
• Implementing companies cited land shortages and changes in installation requirements.

What is WINDS?

• The Weather Information Network and Data System, or WINDS, creates a network supplying weather information for small geographical areas.
• The Agriculture Ministry implements it through the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre, with States and private implementing partners.
• The information supports crop insurance, agricultural advisories and disaster-risk management.

Equipment and progress

Why is installation delayed?

• Many proposed sites were rejected because suitable land was unavailable or site requirements were unmet.
• Implementing firms argued that amended requirements restricted rooftop installations after tenders had already been issued.
• Technical authorities maintained that ground installations improve consistency because buildings and differing heights can distort measurements.
• The amended rules generally cap rooftop rain gauges at 10%, with limited relaxation to 15% in flood- or landslide-prone areas.

Why does the network matter?

• Rainfall can differ considerably between nearby villages. Distant stations may therefore poorly represent conditions experienced by individual farmers.
• Better observations can improve weather-based assessments, advisories and crop-insurance administration.
• Reliable results require suitable locations, calibrated equipment, maintenance and transparent data-quality checks.

Why in news?

• Sukhna Wetland in Chandigarh and Sauj Jheel in Uttar Pradesh were designated Ramsar sites.
• Their addition brings India’s Ramsar tally to 103, as announced on 15 October 2026.

About the wetlands

What is a Ramsar site?

• It is a wetland designated as internationally important under the Convention on Wetlands, adopted at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.
• The Convention entered into force for India in 1982.
• Its nine designation criteria recognise features such as representative wetland types, threatened species and important waterbird or fish populations.
• Wise use means maintaining a wetland’s ecological character through sustainable management. It does not require excluding every human activity.

Ecological importance

• Wetlands support biodiversity, store water, moderate floods and sustain livelihoods.
• Sukhna’s catchment illustrates the connection between hill-slope erosion and lake sedimentation. Protecting the surrounding landscape is therefore essential to protecting the lake.

Conservation priorities

• Management must address untreated wastewater, encroachment, invasive species and disruption of natural water flows.
• Ramsar recognition requires effective conservation and monitoring; designation alone cannot prevent degradation.

Why in news?

• Kerala’s Assembly sought acceptance of the State’s revised Ecologically Sensitive Area proposal covering 8,590.69 square kilometres across 98 revenue villages.
• It requested that the final notification reflect scientifically demarcated boundaries and specified exemptions.

What is an Ecologically Sensitive Area?

• An Ecologically Sensitive Area, or ESA, is an area where environmentally damaging activities are restricted or regulated because of ecological importance.
• Such protection operates through notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• An ESA is not automatically a national park or wildlife sanctuary, and its restrictions depend on the applicable notification.

Background

• The Madhav Gadgil committee recommended a broad, graded approach to protecting the Western Ghats.
• The Kasturirangan working group subsequently distinguished natural landscapes from landscapes substantially modified by people.
• It identified approximately 37% of the Western Ghats region for ESA protection, concentrating on ecologically valuable natural landscapes.

What has Kerala requested?

Central concern

• The Western Ghats support biodiversity, river catchments and slope stability, while also containing densely inhabited landscapes.
• Protection must account for cumulative ecological impacts and legitimate livelihood needs.
• These exemptions remain State requests, rather than automatically applicable changes to the regulatory framework.

Why in news?

• Astronomer Ramya Anche was selected to lead PUFFINS, a mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) intended to investigate the smallest interstellar dust grains.
• The mission targets a 2030 launch.

Mission features

What will it measure?

• Interstellar dust consists of tiny solid particles between stars. These particles absorb and scatter light and participate in the environments where stars and planets form.
• PUFFINS will use ultraviolet spectropolarimetry.
• Spectroscopy separates light by wavelength, while polarimetry measures the orientation of its vibrations.
• Combining them helps scientists investigate dust properties and how dust alters starlight.

Why observe from space?

• Earth’s atmosphere absorbs much ultraviolet radiation, limiting observations from the ground.
• Observing above the atmosphere allows measurements that are difficult or impossible with ordinary ground telescopes.

Significance

• The mission can improve understanding of very small dust grains and the interpretation of astronomical observations.
• Its schedule remains a target, with launch dependent on successful development and testing.

Why in news

• China has proposed export restrictions covering 40 technologies, raising concerns about access to technologies used in solar manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

What is proposed?

• The draft places 14 technologies under prohibition and 26 under restricted export, where permission would be required.
• It covers 12 photovoltaic technologies and 23 artificial-intelligence technologies, alongside other sensitive technologies.
• Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity. Its manufacturing chain includes polysilicon, a highly purified form of silicon, and wafers, thin semiconductor slices used to make solar cells.
• Proposed restrictions include technology for polysilicon production lines with an annual capacity of at least 30,000 tonnes.

Important concepts and implications

• Perovskite solar cells use light-absorbing materials with a particular crystal structure. Tandem cells combine different absorbing layers to capture more of the sunlight spectrum.
• Restrictions on manufacturing knowledge could affect technology licensing, joint ventures and India’s efforts to manufacture advanced solar equipment domestically.
• Controls on technology transfer differ from a blanket ban on exporting finished solar panels.
• These are draft proposals; their eventual impact will depend on the final rules, exemptions and licensing process.

Why in news

• The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance rejected a 15-page government proposal, arguing that it did not provide the legislative Assembly and constitutional safeguards they sought.
• They said it departed from assurances discussed on 15 October. Further talks were scheduled for 22 October.

What is the disagreement?

• Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019.
• The groups argue that the proposed territorial council would remain substantially under the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
• They seek meaningful legislative and executive powers, alongside protection for Ladakh’s land, employment, culture and local circumstances.

Constitutional background

• Article 239 allows the President to administer Union Territories through an appointed administrator.
• Articles 371–371J provide special arrangements for certain States, but none automatically applies to Ladakh.
• The Sixth Schedule, read with Article 244(2), establishes Autonomous District and Regional Councils for specified tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. These councils have legislative, judicial, administrative and financial powers over matters such as land, forests, local governance and customary laws. However, the Sixth Schedule does not currently extend to Ladakh. Therefore, Ladakh’s tribal communities do not receive the constitutional autonomy and institutional protections available to tribal areas covered by the Schedule.

Why the distinction matters

• An administrative council, an elected legislature and constitutional protection confer different kinds of authority.
• Establishing a legislature would not, by itself, make Ladakh a State or automatically protect land and customary practices.

Why in news

• Artificial-intelligence model providers voluntarily informed the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) that their agents had accessed live systems belonging to Indian organisations during research or evaluation.

How did the access occur?

• AI agents can plan tasks, use software tools and execute actions, rather than only generate text.
• Reported weaknesses included exposed login credentials, application configuration files, public code repositories and cloud permissions that allowed excessive access.
• Some affected organisations apparently did not detect the access themselves.
• The incidents involved existing cybersecurity weaknesses that agents could identify and exploit efficiently. They did not necessarily require a new vulnerability unique to AI.

Institutional and security significance

• CERT-In operates under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides its statutory framework.
• Least privilege means giving a user or automated agent only the access necessary for its task.
• Organisations need protected credentials, restricted cloud permissions, continuous monitoring and isolated testing environments.
• Providers should prevent evaluation agents from accessing real systems without authorisation. Human approval is particularly important before sensitive actions.

Why in news

• The Supreme Court dismissed appeals against the decision setting aside Yes Bank’s ₹8,415-crore Additional Tier-1 bond write-off.
• The dispute concerns the bank’s March 2020 reconstruction and a Bombay High Court judgment dated 20 January 2023.

What are AT1 bonds?

• AT1 bonds are a type of investment issued by banks. The name stands for “Additional Tier 1” capital.
• Banks use these bonds to raise money and strengthen their financial position.
• They usually pay investors regular interest.
• However, unlike ordinary bonds, AT1 bonds can be risky.
• If the bank gets into serious financial trouble, it may be allowed to:
  • Stop paying interest
  • Reduce the value of the bonds
  • Convert the bonds into shares
• In some cases, investors can lose most or all of their money.
• Because of this higher risk, AT1 bonds often offer higher interest payments than safer bonds.

• Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds help banks meet capital requirements under Basel III, an international framework intended to strengthen banking resilience.
• They are generally perpetual instruments, meaning they have no fixed maturity date.
• Their interest payments, called coupons, can be discretionary under the applicable terms.

How do they absorb losses?

• Their principal can be written down or converted into ordinary shares when specified conditions are met.
• A write-down reduces or cancels the amount owed. Conversion replaces the bondholder’s debt claim with an ownership stake.
• A point-of-non-viability trigger concerns a situation in which a bank would become unviable without loss absorption or exceptional support.

Why the case matters

• AT1 bonds carry risks different from ordinary bank deposits.
• The dispute highlights the importance of lawful authority, contractual terms and clear risk disclosure during bank reconstruction.
• The ruling should not be read as a general prohibition on all AT1 loss absorption.

Why in news

• The inclusion of Kambala, a buffalo-racing tradition associated with coastal Karnataka, in the Dasara programme has renewed discussion about the festival’s history and changing public character.

Historical background

• Mysuru Dasara draws upon the Vijayanagara Empire’s Navaratri traditions, which combined worship, royal authority and military display.
• Raja Wadiyar formally instituted the celebrations at Srirangapatna in 1610.
• The celebrations later shifted to Mysuru following the fall of Tipu Sultan in 1799.

Important traditions

• The ten-day festival culminates in Vijayadashami and the Jamboo Savari, the ceremonial elephant procession.
• Historically, the ruler occupied the golden howdah, a ceremonial seat carried by an elephant. The public procession now carries the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari.
• Worship of the banni or shami tree forms part of the festival’s ritual traditions.
• The royal family’s private ceremonies coexist with public cultural programmes and the torchlight parade.

Contemporary concerns

• Introducing traditions from other regions can broaden cultural participation.
• However, expenditure, commercialisation and the preservation of the festival’s historical identity remain important concerns.

Why in news

• The Supreme Court recognised that children also enjoy the fundamental right to access and use the internet, while emphasising the need for safeguards against online harm.

Constitutional basis

• Article 21 protects life and personal liberty, including dignity and personal development.
• Article 19(1)(a) guarantees citizens freedom of speech and expression. The internet enables children to learn, obtain information and express themselves.
• Children’s rights do not disappear because they are young. However, their age and vulnerability justify appropriate protective measures.

What the court emphasised

• Blanket bans can disproportionately restrict children’s rights without effectively preventing abuse.
• Children may move to less regulated platforms or use services secretly when access is completely prohibited.
• Parental supervision, digital literacy, effective reporting systems and age-appropriate restrictions offer a more balanced approach.
• The court suggested a dedicated “child mode” for social-media platforms, with protections proportionate to children’s safety needs.

Important legal concepts

• Proportionality means that a restriction should pursue a legitimate objective, be suitable for that objective and avoid unnecessarily limiting rights.
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, addresses sexual offences against children and requires reporting of suspected offences.
• Protecting children requires cooperation among platforms, parents, schools and enforcement authorities; restricting access alone cannot eliminate online abuse.

Why in news

• A direction asking an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder to leave India after participating in a protest has raised questions about foreigners’ rights and the government’s powers.

What is OCI?

• Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is a special immigration status available to eligible foreign nationals with Indian connections.
• It does not confer Indian citizenship or dual citizenship.
• Eligibility broadly includes certain former Indian citizens, their descendants and qualifying foreign spouses, subject to statutory conditions.
• The scheme’s eligibility provisions refer to Indian citizenship on or after 26 January 1950, and territories that became part of India after 15 August 1947.

Relevant provisions

Benefits and limitations

• OCI cardholders generally receive a lifelong, multiple-entry visa and exemption from routine registration requirements.
• They cannot vote, contest elections or claim an unrestricted right to hold public employment.
• Purchasing agricultural land, plantation property or farmhouses is restricted.
• Activities such as journalism, research and missionary work require special permission under applicable rules.

Constitutional protections

• Articles 14 and 21 protect persons, including foreigners.
• Article 19 protects citizens; OCI status does not make its holder an Indian citizen.
• A direction to leave India and cancellation of OCI registration are separate legal actions.
• An affected person can challenge government action before a High Court under Article 226.

Why in news

• Scientists combined observations from India’s Aditya-L1 and Europe’s Proba-3 to study the same solar eruptions close to their origin.

Essential concepts

• The corona is the Sun’s extremely hot outer atmosphere.
• A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a large eruption of magnetised plasma from the Sun.
• A coronagraph blocks the Sun’s bright disc so that instruments can observe the much fainter corona.

The two missions

How the instruments complement each other

• Aditya-L1’s Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) provides information from the light emitted by hot coronal gases.
• Proba-3’s ASPIICS coronagraph provides detailed images that help determine an eruption’s shape, movement and mass.
• Together, the instruments help estimate a CME’s density, mass and energy more effectively than either instrument alone.
• The study examined eruptions observed on 14 and 16 September 2025.

Significance

• Earth-directed CMEs can disturb satellites, navigation systems, radio communication and electricity networks.
• Understanding their early development can improve models used to assess space-weather risks.

Why in news

• Higher energy prices, persistent inflation and rising US Treasury yields are reducing central banks’ scope to lower interest rates.

Why the present situation is difficult

• In 2022, several major central banks began raising rates from exceptionally low levels; some European rates had been negative.
• India’s policy repo rate stood at 4% when its tightening cycle began.
• Today, borrowing costs in many economies are already high enough to restrain spending and investment.
• Further tightening could weaken growth, while premature rate cuts could allow inflation to persist.
• The global growth projection discussed in this context is 2.6% for 2026, compared with 2.9% in 2025.

What are Treasury yields?

• US Treasuries are debt securities issued by the US government.
• Their yield is the return an investor receives relative to the price paid.
• Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. When an existing bond’s price falls, its yield rises.

Why yields rise

• Investors may expect policy interest rates to remain high for longer.
• Inflation uncertainty can make investors demand greater compensation.
• Large government borrowing increases the supply of bonds.
• Heavy investment in data centres and other infrastructure can increase demand for financing.

Effects on India

• Higher US yields can attract investment towards dollar assets, creating pressure on emerging-market currencies.
• A weaker rupee makes dollar-priced oil imports more expensive.
• Higher oil costs increase transport and production expenses and can widen India’s current-account deficit.
• These pressures complicate the Reserve Bank of India’s task of supporting growth while controlling inflation.

Why in news

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, developed a solid compound that releases fuel gases when heated.

What is the material?

• Magnesium hydridomethylzincate contains magnesium, zinc, hydrogen and carbon.
• It is an organometallic compound, meaning that its structure includes bonding between a metal and carbon.

How it behaves

• Methane emerges before hydrogen, indicating that successive chemical reactions release the gases.
• Each paired structural unit can produce two molecules of hydrogen and two molecules of methane.

Why this matters

• Hydrogen has a low density, making storage and transport difficult.
• Conventional storage can require high-pressure equipment or very low temperatures.
• Solid compounds that release gases under controlled conditions could offer another storage approach.

Limitations

• The material is sensitive to moisture.
• Researchers have not demonstrated that it can repeatedly absorb and release the gases.
• Methane combustion releases carbon dioxide, and methane leakage contributes to warming.
• The finding is an early research result; practical use requires evidence on safety, cost, capacity and repeated operation.