UPSC Current Affairs 03 June 2026

• Definition: It tracks the average price changes of commodities sold in bulk at the first point of commercial transaction or factory gate.
• Publishing Authority: Compiled and released on a monthly basis by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Taxation Exclusion: The index evaluates basic prices only, explicitly omitting indirect taxes, trade discounts, rebates, and logistics/transportation markups.
• Goods Only: Unlike the Consumer Price Index (CPI), WPI tracks tangible goods only and does not factor in the services sector.

• Manufactured Products: Possesses the highest weightage (~64.2% in the older 2011-12 series). It spans metals, chemicals, machinery, food products, and textiles.
• Primary Articles: Holds the second-largest share (~22.6%). It includes raw food items, non-food agricultural goods, minerals, and crude oil.
• Fuel & Power: Comprises the remaining weight (~13.2%). It tracks electricity, coal, and mineral oils. Notably, new series revisions reclassify solar, wind, and nuclear energy into this dynamic.

• GDP Deflator: The Central Statistical Organisation utilizes WPI data as a primary macroeconomic deflator to compute real GDP estimates.
• Early Inflation Warning: Changes at the factory gate typically transmit downstream to commercial retail; spikes in WPI act as a predictive signal for retail CPI movements.
• Contract Escalation: Businesses and government departments leverage WPI data as a baseline benchmark in long-term infrastructure and supply contracts to calculate automatic payment adjustments for price inflation.

• Global Alignment: Most advanced global economies (including G-20 nations like the US, Germany, and Japan) use a PPI framework instead of a WPI.
• Broader Scope: The upcoming PPI will encompass input prices, output prices, and services, fixing a major data limitation of the old WPI framework.
• Business Advisory: The Department of Expenditure will issue official circulars directing businesses to design future long-term contracts around PPI parameters rather than WPI.

• Supersonic Velocity: Equipped with a solid-propellant motor, the missile achieves a blistering terminal speed of up to Mach 5.5 (over five times the speed of sound).
• Extended Stand-Off Range: It boasts an effective operational strike envelope ranging between 300 km and 350 km, allowing fighter pilots to fire from deep within safe territory.
• Massive Payload: The air-launched system supports a destructive warhead capacity weighing up to 200 kilograms.
• Operational Altitudes: Fighter jets can reliably release the weapon from tactical altitudes spanning 3 km to 15 km above sea level.
• Hybrid Dual-Seeker Guidance: It features an Inertial Navigation System (INS) combined with GPS, alongside a Passive Homing Head (PHH) and an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker for precision terminal guidance.

• SEAD/DEAD Specialization: RudraM-II is purpose-built for the Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defences.
• Radar Hunting: The passive homing head locks onto hostile ground-based surveillance, tracking radars, and communication nodes from over 100 km away.
• Memory Lock Tech: If an enemy turns off their radar system mid-flight to avoid detection, the missile's autonomous internal computer remembers the exact coordinates to impact the target anyway.
• Hard Target Elimination: Beyond electronics, its high velocity and explosive yield make it effective at obliterating aircraft hangars, hardened bunkers, and airstrips.

• Replacing Foreign Inventory: The RudraM series is specifically designed to phase out and replace the aging Russian-origin Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles currently in the IAF inventory.
• RudraM-I: The base variant, test-fired in 2020, functions as a shorter-range system covering 100 km to 150 km at Mach 2 speeds.
• RudraM-II: The current mid-tier variant that doubles the operational range (300+ km) and massively scales up speed and sensor integration.
• RudraM-III: A highly secretive, next-generation hypersonic variant boasting an extended engagement range of 550 km to 600 km, currently under active development by DRDO.
• Multi-Platform Integration: While primarily validated on the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, the IAF is pushing to integrate the RudraM architecture onto other frontline fleets, including the Mirage-2000, Tejas Mk1A, and Jaguar Darin-III.

• Mega Financial Outlay: Backed by a ₹411-crore budget, the mission represents one of the largest single injections of capital into the Northeast’s sericulture sector.
• Mass Household Empowerment: The programme is architected to directly support over 8,000 specific weaving households and economically uplift nearly 2.6 lakh silk rearers, weavers, and entrepreneurs across Assam.
• Income Doubling Strategy: The primary objective is to more than double local returns, aggressively pushing standard farmgate yarn realization from ~₹25,000 per kg to between ₹30,000 and ₹45,000+ per kg.

• Plantation Regeneration: The project plans to regenerate and plant 5,000 hectares of Som and Soalu trees, which are the essential host plants required for Muga silkworms to feed on.
• Industrial Processing Units: The budget funds the establishment of five highly modernized Muga reeling units alongside a dedicated, advanced Muga Spun Mill.
• Grassroots Collectives: The state will establish 30 new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and create 1,180 Farmer Interest Groups to institutionalize the bargaining power of rural weavers.

• Unified Brand Identity: All verified, pure Assam Muga silk products will enter domestic and international luxury fashion corridors under the unified "Senehjori" brand banner.
• GI Authentication: To eliminate fake blending and piracy, the mission mandates strict Geographical Indication (GI) tracking, aiming for automated GI authentication for over 80% of all traded Muga silk.
• Digital QR Traceability: The supply chain will implement end-to-end digital tracking. Global buyers will be able to scan QR codes on products to instantly verify the exact weaver and rural village that crafted the textile.

• Cluster-Based Approach: Implementation is concentrated across prime traditional silk hubs, focusing heavily on districts like Jorhat, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Majuli, and Sualkuchi.
• The Muga Silk Trail: To cultivate an experiential cultural economy, the government is introducing a Silk Tourism Park and mapped heritage routes to attract international travellers.
• Annual Muga Utsav: A massive annual heritage festival will be launched to regularly pitch the textile directly to premium fashion designers and textile buyers.

• The scheme aims to reverse brain drain by bringing 120 global Indian-origin scientists/researchers back to India's premier institutions over 5 years
• It offers substantial research grants (up to ₹14 crore for top researchers) to attract distinguished talent

• Attracting Global Talent: To bring highly accomplished Indian-origin researchers, scientists, technologists, and industry leaders working in foreign universities or laboratories back to India.
• Institutional Reinforcement: To increase the institutional research capacity and boost the domestic patent and Intellectual Property (IP) ecosystem in premier Indian institutes.
• Research Quality Upliftment: To cultivate an elite environment of mentorship, knowledge creation, and cross-border academic collaboration.

• Eligible Personnel: Indian nationals residing abroad, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO).
• Target Profiles: Professionals with exceptional tracking records in research, high-end innovation, and commercializable technology development.

1. Lead Institutions: Seven premier administrative core hubs have been designated to drive the standard implementations:
   • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
   • IIT Bombay
   • IIT Madras
   • IIT Kanpur
   • IIT Hyderabad
   • IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
   • Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru
2. Host Institutions: Government Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) ranking in the top 100 overall/engineering list under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), top 50 Research institutions, and designated national labs.
3. PMRC Fellows: The individual global researchers selected to carry out frontier research.

• Total Intake: The scheme will strategically offer 120 high-level research positions rolled out over a five-year execution period.
• Three Engagement Categories: Positions are tiered to accommodate varying experience levels:
  • Young Research Fellows: Tailored for early-career overseas researchers.
  • Senior Research Fellows: Aimed at highly experienced global researchers.
  • Research Chairs: Reserved for world-class, globally accomplished research leaders.

1. Advanced Computing (Artificial Intelligence, Supercomputing, and Quantum Computing)
2. Semiconductors
3. Space & Defence Tech
4. Next-Generation Communications
5. Cybersecurity
6. Energy, Sustainability & Climate Change
7. Manufacturing & Industry 4.0
8. Healthcare & MedTech
9. Biotechnology
10. Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals
11. Agriculture & Food Technologies
12. Blue Economy (Deep-sea exploration)
13. Atomic Energy

• Financial and Infrastructure Incentives: PMRC Fellows receive multi-year institutional fellowships, robust research grants, relocation financial assistance, and access to state-of-the-art laboratory ecosystems.
• Autonomy: High levels of operational and administrative independence are granted to the fellows to maintain high-impact output.
• Strict Evaluation: Applications and periodic progress reviews are directly managed by an Empowered Committee chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.

• Nodal Agencies: The program is an integrated joint initiative of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The "MAHA" Umbrella: It is a part of ANRF’s overarching mission-mode programs designed to bridge the gap between fundamental laboratory research and real-world deployment across critical national sectors (like EVs, Drones, and 6G).
• Space Technology Integration: The Department of Space/ISRO has partnered to provide crucial geo-spatial intelligence, remote sensing, and satellite imagery for real-time water mapping and management.

• Total Project Outlay: The scheme has a designated national budget of ₹200 crore distributed over a five-year timeline.
• Individual Consortia Grants: Selected multidisciplinary teams can receive substantial funding of up to ₹20 crore.
• Utilization Scope: Financial grants are specifically earmarked for high-impact technology development, prototype validation, field trials, and large-scale deployment.

• Startups and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• Universities and academic research institutions.
• National laboratories and independent scientific organizations.
• Private industry partners forming multidisciplinary consortia.

1. Water Resource Assessment & Sustainable Management: Mapping surface and groundwater reserves securely.
2. Drinking Water Solutions: Enhancing clean water availability and safe local distribution networks.
3. Water Quality & Ecological Health: Developing scalable purification, wastewater treatment, and pollution tracking methods.
4. Water-Use Efficiency & Circular Economy: Incentivizing greywater recycling, industrial water reuse, and optimizing agricultural irrigation.
5. Climate Resilience & Adaptation: Engineering smart water infrastructure capable of mitigating floods, droughts, and changing weather patterns.

• Citizen Engagement: Alongside the mission, the government launched the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari, Citizen Tracking and Reporting (JSJB-CTR) Portal and App.
• Purpose: This portal digitizes public participation by allowing everyday citizens to track, log, and report local water conservation efforts and geo-tag local water bodies.

• What makes it a "Blue Moon"? It refers strictly to timing, not colour. It is a "calendar blue moon," which is the second full moon to occur within a single calendar month. May 2026 had its first full moon (the Flower Moon) on May 1, and its second on May 31.
• What makes it a "Micromoon"? It refers to the moon's physical distance from Earth. It occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon's apogee—the absolute farthest point in its elliptical orbit around Earth.

• Distance from Earth: During the peak of this event, the Moon sat at a distance of approximately 252,360 miles (406,134 km) from Earth. For comparison, the average Earth-Moon distance is roughly 238,900 miles (384,472 km).
• Apparent Size & Brightness: Because it was positioned so far away, the Moon appeared roughly 5% to 6% smaller and about 10% dimmer than an average full moon.
• Visual Perception: To the naked human eye, the slight dip in size and brightness is incredibly subtle and difficult to distinguish from a regular full moon without professional telescopic equipment.

• Optical Illusion vs. Reality: The Moon did not turn blue. When rising near the horizon, it actually took on a warm golden or orange hue due to Rayleigh scattering (the filtering of light wavelengths by Earth's atmosphere).
• True Blue Moons: The physical moon can only ever look blue under extreme environmental conditions, such as atmospheric saturation from massive volcanic eruptions (e.g., Krakatoa) or heavy wildfire smoke filtering out red light waves.

• The Definition: It is an authentic bank or payment gateway account operated by an individual (known as a "money mule") who transfers illegally acquired funds on behalf of transnational syndicates.
• Weaponized Identities: Fraudsters systematically source these accounts by buying or borrowing the identities of real individuals to make "dirty money" appear completely clean.
• The Vulnerable Target Pool: Scammers primarily target students, gig workers, delivery agents, and low-income individuals in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.

1. Recruitment: Criminals lure victims via social media, fake job postings, or casual acquaintances, promising "easy commissions" just for receiving and forwarding bank transfers.
2. Identity Misuse: In many cases, identity documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards are stolen or rented to open ghost bank accounts without the actual owner's explicit knowledge.
3. Layering & Rapid Transfer: Stolen funds from digital fraud victims are deposited into the mule account and immediately broken down via bulk payouts, ATM withdrawals, or conversion into cryptocurrency to permanently erase the digital money trail.

• High Fraud Share: Mule account operations account for approximately 55% of all digital financial fraud reported across India.
• Bulk Payout Exploitation: Cybercriminals exploit the commercial bulk payout features offered by banks to instantly route illicit money to thousands of unique beneficiaries.

• MuleHunter.ai™: The Reserve Bank of India has scaled up this specialized, centralized Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning framework across 26 major commercial banks to track network analytics and flag transaction loops.
• AI Risk-Scoring System: FinTech platforms and traditional banks are implementing automated systems powered by the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC) that tag every transaction as Low, Medium, or High Risk in real-time.
• Pratibimb Module: Law enforcement agencies now use the national "Pratibimb" tool to geo-map the locations of active fraudsters and physical infrastructure linked to known mule operations.

• Strict Criminal Charges: Allowing a bank account to be used as a money mule—even completely unknowingly—is a serious offense punishable under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and digital tax codes.
• Immediate Financial Sanctions: Once a mule account is flagged by law enforcement, the individual faces an immediate freezing of all associated personal bank accounts, permanent degradation of credit scores, and blacklisting from accessing any standard commercial banking facilities in the future.

• The Definition: Formed on September 15, 2021, AUKUS is a trilateral security and military technology partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US.
• Primary Objective: To counter the rapid military expansion and growing geopolitical influence of the People's Republic of China in the strategically critical Indo-Pacific region.
• Industrial Integration: The alliance links the defence-related science, supply chains, industrial bases, and technology sharing of the three member nations.

1. Pillar I (Nuclear Submarines): Supports Australia in safely acquiring its first fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs). It will make Australia only the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear-powered submarines.
2. Pillar II (Advanced Capabilities): Focuses on rapid joint development and intelligence sharing across cutting-edge technologies. These include cyber systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum computing, hypersonic weapons, and undersea warfare assets.

• Defending Seabed Infrastructure: The project responds directly to a surge in attacks and cuts on subsea infrastructure. It is explicitly designed to monitor and protect critical undersea internet cables and energy pipelines.
• Deployment Timeline: The partner nations will begin testing and deploying these multi-mission UUV payloads across all three militaries by 2027.
• Interoperable Payloads: The sensors, electronic warfare tools, and weapon systems developed will be fully interchangeable across the uncrewed fleets of the US, UK, and Australia. The UK government has immediately backed this deployment with a £150 million funding commitment.

• China's Stance: The Chinese government strongly opposes the pact, consistently labelling it an outbreak of "Cold War mentality" that threatens regional peace and triggers an unnecessary naval arms race.
• Impact on India: Indian defence analysts widely view AUKUS as a net strategic positive. While India is not a member, AUKUS adds hard military weight against China in the Indian Ocean, directly complementing the diplomatic and maritime security efforts of the Quad Alliance (comprising India, Japan, Australia, and the US).

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