UPSC Current Affairs 05 June 2026

• The Father of Yoga: He is widely revered as the "Father of Modern Yoga" for organizing scattered practices into an accessible, logical system.
• Estimated Era: Historians place his lifetime roughly between 500 BCE and 200 BCE.
• The Enigma: He left behind no personal biographical details. Modern scholars continue to debate whether the name represents a single mastermind or a lineage of multiple writers.
• Divine Iconography: In Hindu tradition, he is considered a divine incarnation of Sheshnag (the multi-headed cosmic serpent king). Artworks often depict his lower half as a coiled snake.

• The Yoga Sutras (Mind): A compilation of 196 aphorisms (sutras) split across four chapters. They form the backbone of Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga).
• The Mahabhashya (Speech): A masterclass commentary written on Panini's Ashtadhyayi. It sets down strict rules for proper Sanskrit grammar and linguistic control.
• Ayurvedic Treatises (Body): Traditional texts link him to early medicinal formulations and physical health sciences aimed at purifying bodily health.

1. Yama: Outer social ethics and rules of conduct, including Non-violence (Ahimsa) and Truth (Satya).
2. Niyama: Internal personal disciplines, such as cleanliness and self-study (Swadhyaya).
3. Asana: Steady, comfortable physical postures designed for prolonged meditation.
4. Pranayama: Conscious control and regulation of breath and life-force energy.
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses from external distractions.
6. Dharana: Unwavering, one-pointed mental concentration.
7. Dhyana: Sustained, uninterrupted meditation.
8. Samadhi: Supreme absorption where the self merges into a state of higher consciousness.

• Organiser: Hosted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), a premier Deemed-to-be University under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Central Theme: The official theme is “Managing Business Amidst Worldwide Turbulence”.
• Core Objective: To focus heavily on risk management, digital adaptation, economic resilience, and innovation during times of global geopolitical and trade uncertainties.

• Directors’ Conclaves: Special forums were held targeting the internationalisation of business schools and the integration of AI into modern management education.
• Geopolitical Discussions: A standout session titled “BRICS Amid Geopolitical Turbulence in a Multipolar World” explicitly examined how changing trade architectures impact emerging market economies.
• Academic Disciplines Covered: Research papers presented spanned multiple tracks, including:
  • Global trade and business competitiveness
  • Finance, marketing, and strategic management
  • Operations, logistics, and supply chain management
  • Information technology, public policy, and governance
• Doctoral Colloquium: A dedicated segment designed specifically for advanced Ph.D. scholars to receive direct mentorship and evaluations from domain experts.

• AI & Semiconductor Push: Deliberations underscored that India's future trade leverage depends directly on upgrading indigenous technological infrastructure.
• Evidence-Based Policymaking: Speakers like IIFT Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi emphasized that navigating shifting trade patterns requires rigorous, research-backed evidence over speculative economic models.
• Global Recognition: Outstanding research contributions across all technical tracks are being recognized with official Best Paper and Best Poster presentation awards.

• Century-Old Gap Filled: This discovery marks the first major addition to India's known Eristalinus hoverfly fauna in over 100 years, with the last major update recorded back in 1923.
• Everyday Biodiversity: The findings, published in the European Journal of Taxonomy, prove that highly human-modified areas like the Gangetic Plains still house undocumented life forms.
• Innovative Tracking: Because many hoverflies look nearly identical, the team successfully combined traditional physical analysis with advanced mitochondrial DNA barcoding to confirm the unique species.

• Eristalinus sapphirinus: Named for its distinct, striking metallic sapphire-blue coloration.
• Eristalinus brunettii: Named to honour Enrico Adelelmo Brunetti, a famous entomologist who historically studied Indian flies.
• The Research Team: Spearheaded by researchers Bristi Roy, Oishik Kar, and Jayita Sengupta from ZSI Kolkata.

• Location: Found across multiple districts in the Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India.
• Environment Type: Discovered outside protected nature reserves, thriving directly within human-modified agricultural and everyday landscapes.

• Adult Stage: Act as vital pollinators for both wild flora and cultivated agricultural crops.
• Larval Stage: Known as "rat-tailed maggots," they live in aquatic environments where they decompose organic waste and recycle critical nutrients.

• The Illusion: Hoverflies (family Syrphidae) mimic bees and wasps with black-and-yellow markings to scare away predators, but they are entirely harmless and do not possess stingers.
• How to Spot Them: They have a single pair of wings (bees have two pairs), very short antennae, large bulbous eyes, and a signature flight style where they hover in place before darting quickly.

• The Site: Situated within the iconic historical city of Hampi inside the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India.
• Riverbank: Built precisely on the southern banks of the sacred Tungabhadra River.
• Global Status: It stands as the crown jewel of the "Group of Monuments at Hampi", which has been a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

• The Deity: Dedicated primarily to Lord Virupaksha, an ancient, principal form of Lord Shiva.
• The Consort: The complex also honours Goddess Pampa (an incarnation of Parvati), closely binding the temple to the local landscape.
• Unbroken Worship: First established around the 7th century AD, it holds the rare distinction of being one of India's oldest continuously functioning temples, operating without interruption for over 1,300 years.

• Evolution: It began as a modest, simple shrine before undergoing massive layout expansions under the Western Chalukya and Hoysala rulers.
• The Golden Era: Reached its ultimate peak of grandeur under the Vijayanagara Empire (14th to 16th centuries) under chieftains like Lakkana Dandesha.
• Royal Patrons: Famous emperors, most notably King Deva Raya II and King Krishnadevaraya, heavily commissioned its expansive central pillared halls and massive entry gateways.
• Architectural Style: Constructed using classic Dravidian architecture, defined by its soaring, tiered pyramid gateways.

• Pinhole Camera Effect: The temple features a famous architectural wonder where the inverted silhouette shadow of its main 165-foot gateway tower is projected through a tiny slot onto an inner wall 300 feet away.
• Vibrant Frescoes: The ceilings of the central marriage hall (Ranga Mantapa) display exquisite 14th-to-16th-century paintings created with natural pigments, depicting scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

• Exact Location: Discovered near Khairi village in the Khairi-Umred Forest range of the Nagpur district in Maharashtra, India.
• The Research Team: Identified by Dr. Rupali Chaudhary, Dr. Jagannath Gadpayale, and Dr. Subhash Somkuwar during field surveys.
• Genus Identity: It belongs to Crotalaria, a large genus of flowering plants commonly referred to as "rattlepods".

• Plant Type: It is classified as an undershrub that grows up to a height of 1.5 metres.
• Branches: Its young, growing branches are distinctly covered in fine, silvery silky hair.
• Flowers: Bears large, vibrant, bright yellow flowers that measure roughly 3.4 to 3.5 centimetres.
• Unique Seeds: Produces pods containing seeds with a highly specific, mottled creamy-olive colour. Researchers noted this exact seed pattern is entirely unique within the Crotalaria genus.

• Flowering Window: The plant enters its blooming phase between November and January.
• Fruiting Window: It develops its seed pods between December and January.
• Closest Relatives: Morphologically, it most closely resembles Crotalaria juncea (commonly known as sunhemp) and Crotalaria shrirangiana, a species found in the Western Ghats.

• Family Group: Belongs to the Fabaceae (legume or pea) family.
• Distribution: Initial observations indicate that this plant has a highly restricted geographic distribution.
• Conservation Status: Because its total population and full range remain unknown, it has been given a preliminary IUCN Red List category of Data Deficient (DD).

• Slogan: Driven by the motto "From Idea to Enterprise".
• The Goal: To provide a structured, national incubation and mentorship ecosystem for small-scale local creators, helping regional proof-of-concepts scale into self-sustaining nationwide businesses.
• Target Audience: Geared toward Indian citizens aged 18 to 55 years living in underserved, remote, or aspirational geographies.

• Nodal Ministry: Operating directly under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Implementing Agency: Handled on the ground by the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).
• Technical Knowledge Partner: Supported by the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi.

• Agritech (Agriculture and farming support tools).
• HealthTech & Wellness.
• EdTech & Skilling.
• Climate Action & Sustainability.
• Rural Commerce & Retail.
• MSME Enablement.

• Flexible Criteria: Unlike rigid tech accelerators, individuals do not need a pre-registered company or a complete product; ideas in the basic validation or early-prototype stages are fully welcome.
• 1-Year Structured Incubation: Winners undergo a year-long business cycle featuring expert webinars, regulatory compliance guidance, and Intellectual Property (IP) structural mapping.
• Direct Access: Offers face-to-face networking windows with prominent venture capital investors, policymakers, and industry veterans.
• National Visibility: High-potential ventures will be spotlighted through dedicated digital platforms, specialized ministerial podcasts, and a culminating National Showcase Event.

• The Name: AGM-114 Hellfire stands for Heliborne Laser, Fire-and-Forget Missile.
• Origin & Manufacturer: Developed in the United States and manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
• Original Purpose: It entered active military service in 1984 during the Cold War. It was originally designed to destroy heavily armoured Soviet tank formations.

• Physical Size: Measures between 1.63 and 1.75 metres in length and features a standard 17.8-centimetre diameter.
• Weight: A lightweight design weighing between 45 kg and 49 kg.
• Propulsion & Speed: Driven by a single-stage, solid-fuel rocket motor that accelerates the missile to supersonic speeds of Mach 1.3 (approx. 1,600 km/h).
• Operational Range: Effectively engages designated targets at a distance between 7 and 11 kilometres.

• Targeting Options: Features diverse guidance packages including semi-active laser tracking, millimeter-wave radar, and imaging infrared (IIR) systems.
• Warhead Versatility: Carries an 8 kg to 11 kg modular explosive payload. It accommodates High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) shapes, blast-fragmentation charges, or thermobaric configurations based on the mission.
• The "Ninja" Variant: A notable specialized model (AGM-114R9X) swaps explosive elements for six deployable internal blades to eliminate high-value human targets while avoiding collateral damage.

• Multi-Platform Deployment: It can be fired from attack helicopters like the AH-64 Apache, unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) such as the MQ-9 Reaper, fixed-wing aircraft, naval ships, and mobile land units.
• International Export: The missile system is operated by more than 30 U.S. allies. Major international partners using the platform include the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and India.

• The Vision: Aligned heavily with the overarching governance blueprint of building a Viksit Bharat @2047.
• Nodal Framework: Driven by the Department of Youth Affairs (MY Bharat) in structural collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• On-Ground Security Partner: Executed alongside active logistical assistance from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
• Immersion Window: Operates as a focused, high-impact 7-day residential program inside isolated frontier settlements.

• Primary Regions: The ongoing 2026 deployment targets critical frontier communities across Leh-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir.
• Strategic Intent: Aims to reverse demographic border migration, transforming isolated frontier outposts into self-reliant, prosperous, well-connected "first villages" of India.

• Socio-Economic Audits: Conducting extensive, door-to-door household surveys to map out resource deficiencies.
• Governance Integration: Actively participating in grassroots Gram Sabha assembly meetings to assist with local developmental blueprint planning.
• Climate & Eco-Action: Launching environmental cleaning operations and mapping renewable infrastructure avenues.

1. Swadeshi Products: Spurring the commercial adoption of domestic, locally produced goods.
2. Natural Farming: Introducing and advocating eco-friendly, chemical-free agricultural methodologies.
3. Local Tourism: Promoting unique regional heritage to position frontier towns as vibrant travel circuits.
4. Fuel Conservation: Encouraging shared public transit systems and resource preservation.
5. Healthy Cooking: Creating awareness regarding clean, modern, and nutritious culinary practices.

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