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15/01/2026

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CA-15/01/2026

• Split Verdict (Jan 2026):
  • A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan) differed on whether Section 17A is constitutional.
  • Justice Nagarathna questioned whether mandatory prior sanction hampers anti-corruption investigations.
  • Justice Viswanathan upheld Section 17A but suggested that sanction should be decided by independent bodies like the Lokpal or Lokayukta.
• Impact:
  • The matter has now been referred to a larger bench for final resolution.
  • This decision could redefine how corruption cases against public servants are investigated in India.

• Introduced in 2018 Amendment: Requires prior approval from the government before investigating public servants for corruption.
• Supporters argue: It protects honest officials from frivolous or politically motivated cases.
• Critics argue: It delays investigations and shields corrupt officials.

• Scope: Applies across India and covers both public servants and those who attempt to influence them.

• Special Judges (Sections 3–6):
  • Empowered to try corruption cases.
  • Can use summary procedures for faster trials.
• Major Offences (Sections 7–13):
  • Section 7: Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration.
  • Section 7A: Taking undue advantage to influence a public servant.
  • Section 8: Bribing a public servant.
  • Section 9: Bribing a public servant through personal influence.
  • Section 13: Criminal misconduct by a public servant (e.g., misappropriation, abuse of position).
• Punishments:
  • Rigorous imprisonment (generally 3–7 years, extendable to 10 years).
  • Fines in addition to imprisonment.
• Investigation (Section 17):
  • Conducted by police officers of a certain rank (e.g., Deputy Superintendent of Police or above).
• Sanction for Prosecution (Section 19):
  • Prior approval required before prosecuting public servants, to prevent frivolous cases.

• RBI stopped issuing new UCB licenses in 2004 due to governance failures and financial instability in the sector.
• After 20+ years, RBI has released a discussion paper (January 2026) to invite feedback on restarting licensing.

• Minimum Capital Requirement: ₹300 crore for new UCBs.
• Track Record: At least 10 years of active operations with a strong financial history.
• Financial Health Norms:
  • Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) ≥ 12%
  • Net Non-Performing Assets (NPA) ≤ 3%
• Governance Standards: Stricter rules for board composition, transparency, and accountability.
• Objective: Strengthen cooperative banking, improve resilience, and restore trust in UCBs.

• High Entry Barriers: Smaller cooperatives may struggle to meet ₹300 crore capital norms.
• Governance Compliance: Ensuring professional management in traditionally community-driven banks could be difficult.
• Sector Consolidation: May lead to fewer but stronger UCBs, reducing local diversity.
• Regulatory Burden: Compliance costs could discourage new entrants.

• Positive: Stronger, well-capitalized UCBs can enhance financial inclusion, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.
• Negative: Smaller cooperative societies may be excluded, potentially limiting grassroots banking.
• Strategic Outlook: RBI aims to balance financial stability with inclusive growth, ensuring UCBs remain relevant in India’s evolving banking ecosystem.

• Target Group: Exclusively for CGHS beneficiaries (Central Government employees, pensioners, and their dependents).
• Family Coverage: Up to six members can be included under one policy.
• Sum Insured Options: Beneficiaries can choose between ₹10 lakh or ₹20 lakh coverage.
• Cashless Facility: Access to a wide hospital network across India with cashless treatment.
• Modern & AYUSH Treatments: Covers both modern medical procedures and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) treatments.
• Co-payment Flexibility: Two options available:
  • 70:30 (insurer pays 70%, insured pays 30%)
  • 50:50 (equal sharing of costs)

• Type of Vessel: Traditional stitched sail ship (no nails used, planks stitched together with rope).
• Historical Inspiration: Based on a 5th century CE ship depicted in Ajanta Cave paintings.
• Induction Date: 21 May 2025 at Naval Base Karwar, in a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Culture.
• Project Origin: Initiated in July 2023 through a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Culture, Indian Navy, and M/s Hodi Innovations, funded by the Ministry of Culture.
• Maiden Voyage: Flagged off on 29 December 2025 from Porbandar, Gujarat to Muscat, Oman.
• Purpose: Revives India–Oman maritime heritage and celebrates India’s ancient oceanic traditions.

• Cultural Revival: It reconnects modern India with its maritime past, showcasing shipbuilding techniques that flourished centuries ago.
• Diplomatic Symbolism: The maiden voyage to Oman highlights historic trade and cultural ties between India and Oman.
• Educational Value: Serves as a living museum on water, teaching naval cadets and the public about India’s maritime heritage.
• Innovation in Tradition: Demonstrates how ancient craftsmanship can be preserved and celebrated alongside modern naval technology.

• Purpose: To benchmark states and UTs on their ability to promote exports, strengthen infrastructure, and integrate into global value chains.
• Publisher: NITI Aayog, Government of India.
• Framework: Evaluates states across four pillars:
  1. Export Policy – effectiveness of state-level export strategies.
  2. Business Ecosystem – ease of doing business, institutional support.
  3. Export Ecosystem – infrastructure, logistics, and trade facilitation.
  4. Export Performance – actual outcomes in terms of export volumes and diversification.

Category	Top Performers
Large States	1. Maharashtra, 2. Tamil Nadu, 3. Gujarat
Smaller States	1. Uttarakhand, 2. Jammu & Kashmir, 3. Nagaland
Union Territories	Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu, Goa, Tripura

• Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu: Strong industrial base, diversified exports, and robust logistics.
• Gujarat: Port-led infrastructure and strong policy support.
• Uttarakhand: Emerging as a hub for niche exports, leveraging policy and institutional support.
• Policy Emphasis: NITI Aayog highlighted the need for predictable policies, cost competitiveness, and institutional robustness to sustain India’s export trajectory.

• Infrastructure gaps in smaller states and UTs.
• Need for diversification beyond traditional sectors (textiles, gems & jewellery, IT).
• Global headwinds like supply chain disruptions and trade protectionism could affect outcomes.
• Capacity building at district level is crucial, as exports are increasingly shaped by local ecosystems.

• Type: Crewed lunar flyby
• Duration: ~10 days
• Launch Vehicle: Space Launch System (SLS) rocket
• Spacecraft: Orion capsule
• Objective: Validate life-support, propulsion, navigation, and communication systems in deep space with humans aboard.

• Reid Wiseman (Commander) – Veteran astronaut, previously flew on the ISS.
• Victor Glover (Pilot) – First Black astronaut to fly to the Moon; also served on the ISS.
• Christina Hammock Koch (Mission Specialist) – Will be the first woman to travel around the Moon.
• Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist, CSA) – First Canadian astronaut to join a lunar mission.

• System Validation: Ensure Orion’s environmental control, propulsion, and communication systems work with crew aboard.
• Trajectory Test: Perform a lunar flyby, reaching thousands of kilometers beyond the Moon before returning to Earth.
• Safety Assurance: Confirm readiness for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface.
• International Collaboration: Highlight NASA’s partnership with CSA and other global space agencies.

• Launch Schedule: Currently set for no later than April 2026, but delays are possible due to technical readiness.
• Deep Space Hazards: Radiation exposure, communication delays, and spacecraft reliability are critical factors.
• Gateway to Mars: Success of Artemis II is essential for proving technologies that will later support human missions to Mars.

• Establishment: Created in 1978 following the Tenth Special Session of the UN General Assembly.
• Mandate: Current mandate stems from General Assembly decision 54/418 (1999).
• Functions:
  • Advise the UN Secretary-General on arms limitation and disarmament matters.
  • Provide guidance on studies and research conducted under UN auspices.
  • Act as the Board of Trustees of UNIDIR, overseeing its work.
  • Advise on the implementation of the UN Disarmament Information Programme.
• Membership: Appointed by the Secretary-General, typically composed of 15–20 experts from diverse regions and backgrounds.

• Policy Guidance: Offers independent expert advice to shape UN disarmament policies.
• Research Oversight: Ensures UNIDIR’s research aligns with global disarmament priorities.
• Information Dissemination: Supports initiatives to spread awareness about disarmament and arms control.
• Global Representation: Members reflect geographical diversity, ensuring balanced perspectives.

• Cytoskeletal changes: A 2024 study found that accumulation of F-actin in the brain drives age-related decline. Reducing F-actin levels prevented cognitive decline and extended healthspan.
• Gut-brain signaling: Another study showed that neuropeptide F, insulin, and juvenile hormone link dietary signals from the gut to systemic aging. This highlights how nutrient sensing directly influences lifespan.
• Neuronal decay: Research in PLOS Biology demonstrated that microtubule cytoskeleton breakdown accelerates neuronal aging, contributing to neurodegenerative disease models.

• Drosophila is increasingly used to study thermal tolerance and climate resilience.
• Its short life cycle allows rapid observation of evolutionary adaptation to temperature shifts, making it a model for predicting how species may respond to global warming.
• Studies focus on heat shock proteins, metabolic flexibility, and genetic variation that enable survival under changing climates

• Model organism: Proposed for research in 1901 and has since become central to genetics, physiology, and developmental biology.
• Genetics: Helped uncover fundamental principles like inheritance, mutations, and gene mapping.
• Space research: First animal launched into space in 1946.
• Human relevance: Shares ~60% of genes with humans, making it crucial for studying diseases, neurobiology, and aging.

• Life cycle: Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult (completed in ~10 days at 25°C).
• Physical traits: Small body (~3 mm), red compound eyes, transparent wings.
• Reproduction: Females lay hundreds of eggs; rapid generational turnover aids experiments.
• Behavioral studies: Used to study circadian rhythms, courtship, learning, and memory.

• Leadership: The project is spearheaded by CENIA (Chile’s National Center for Artificial Intelligence), with contributions from over 30 strategic partners across Latin America.
• Open‑Source Mission: Latam‑GPT is explicitly open‑source, aiming to democratize access to advanced AI tools in the region.
• Scale: The model is being trained with 50 billion parameters, putting it in the same league as commercial‑grade LLMs.
• Infrastructure: A new supercomputing center in Chile supports training, featuring 12 nodes with 8 NVIDIA H200 GPUs each.
• Regional Dataset: Training uses a multi‑terabyte dataset curated from Latin American sources to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance.
• Applications: Focus areas include education, healthcare, and agriculture, with the goal of producing AI that reflects local realities and needs.
• Philosophy: The initiative emphasizes technological sovereignty, ensuring Latin America has local control over AI infrastructure and development.

• Scale vs. Competition: While 50 billion parameters is impressive, global models often exceed this, meaning Latam‑GPT may face performance gaps in some tasks.
• Funding & Sustainability: Maintaining supercomputing infrastructure and continuous training requires significant investment.
• Adoption: Success depends on whether governments, universities, and startups in Latin America actively integrate Latam‑GPT into their workflows.
• Global Recognition: Competing with entrenched players like OpenAI and Google will require strong branding and demonstrable regional advantages.

• Reason for Inclusion: Reflects Washington’s intent to deepen strategic cooperation with India in critical minerals, semiconductors, and AI supply chains.
• Shift in Policy: India was initially left out of Pax Silica’s launch in December 2025, but growing recognition of India’s role in global technology ecosystems prompted the invitation.
• Strategic Context: Seen as part of the U.S. effort to align major democracies in securing resilient supply chains for silicon and critical minerals, echoing the “economic security consensus for the AI era.”

• Technology Ecosystem Boost: Membership could accelerate India’s semiconductor and AI infrastructure ambitions.
• Global Positioning: Strengthens India’s role in shaping supply chain resilience alongside the U.S. and other allies.
• Economic Security: Offers India access to collaborative frameworks for critical minerals, reducing dependence on single-source suppliers.
• Diplomatic Leverage: Signals trust and recognition of India’s growing importance in the global technology order.

• Capability Gap: India still lags in semiconductor fabrication compared to East Asian economies.
• Implementation: Translating membership into tangible benefits requires rapid domestic capacity building.
• Geopolitical Balancing: India must manage ties with other major players (e.g., China, Russia) while aligning with U.S.-led frameworks.

• Name Origin:
  • Pax (Latin) → peace, stability, prosperity.
  • Silica → silicon dioxide, precursor to silicon, the base material for semiconductors.
• Launch: December 2025, with a founding summit in Washington, D.C..

• Supply Chain Security: Reduce vulnerabilities in semiconductor and AI infrastructure supply chains.
• Economic Security Consensus: Align trusted partners on a shared vision for technological and economic resilience.
• Innovation Ecosystem: Support advanced computing, chip manufacturing, and AI infrastructure development.
• Global Cooperation: Build coalitions among allies to ensure prosperity and stability in the AI-driven economy.

• Geopolitical Competition: Control over semiconductor supply chains is a major arena of global rivalry.
• Resource Dependence: Critical minerals (like rare earths) are concentrated in few countries, creating risks of monopolization.
• Implementation Complexity: Aligning diverse economies and industries under one framework requires sustained diplomacy.
• Technology Race: Ensuring innovation while balancing security may create tensions between openness and protectionism.

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