UPSC Current Affairs 08 July 2026

• Financial Outlay: Formally approved with a dedicated budget of ₹5,659.22 crore.
• Timeframe: Set for a five-year implementation window spanning from FY 2026–27 to FY 2030–31.
• Primary Target: Aims to elevate lint productivity from ~440 kg/ha to 755 kg/ha through vertical expansion.
• Production Goal: Seeks to achieve an aggregate national output of 498 lakh bales of cotton by 2031.
• Impact: Directly designed to benefit over 32 lakh cotton farmers across India.

1. Component I (Kapas Kranti): Focuses on research, modern agronomy, and high-density planting led by the Central Institute for Cotton Research.
2. Component II (Value Chain Modernisation): Anchored by the Cotton Corporation of India to upgrade and modernise 1,000 ginning and pressing units.
3. Component III (Alternative Fibres): Promotes sustainable, new-age natural fibres like banana, milkweed, and bamboo.

• 5F Vision Alignment: Integrates the sector from Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign.
• Traceability & Certification: Standardises Indian exports via KASTURI Cotton certification to meet global brand demands.
• Tech-Driven Procurement: Introduces the Kisan Kapas App to eliminate middlemen, handle slot bookings, and guarantee fair Minimum Support Prices (MSP).
• High-Density Plantation (HDP): Replicates high-yield scientific models, particularly scaling successful techniques from Maharashtra to other top-producing states like Telangana.
• Climate Resilience: Prioritizes biotechnology tools to breed pest-resistant and Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton varieties.

• Highest National Honour: It is the pinnacle decoration of the Republic of Indonesia, ranking above all other civilian and military awards.
• Official Institution: The order of merit was formally established by the Indonesian government in 1959.
• Core Criteria: It is strictly reserved for individuals who have rendered exceptional or extraordinary service to the unity, continuity, national integrity, and prosperity of Indonesia.
• Automatic Conferral: The serving President of Indonesia is automatically granted the "Grandmaster" status of this award for the duration of their tenure.

• Leadership Recognition: Awarded specifically to acknowledge PM Modi's strategic leadership in deepening maritime, economic, and cultural bonds between the two democracies.
• Geopolitical Alignment: Celebrates growing cooperation along the vital Strait of Malacca, feeding directly into India's Act East Policy and the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision.
• Defence & Trade Synergy: Coincides with critical bilateral progress, including potential Indonesian procurements of India's BrahMos and Astra missile systems, as well as the joint development of Sabang Port.

• Global Standing: The decoration adds to a growing list of more than 30 top international civilian honours presented to PM Modi by various foreign partners.
• Notable Past Recipients: Historically, the elite medal has been awarded to prominent global leaders including Queen Elizabeth II, Fidel Castro, Leonid Brezhnev, and Josip Broz Tito.

• Missile Export Deals: India confirmed a $630 million deal to supply the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and Astra air-to-air missiles to Indonesia.
• Joint Production: India's Bharat Dynamics and Indonesia’s Republikorp signed an advanced agreement for localized air-to-air missile cooperation.
• Maritime Infrastructure: Progress was made on the joint development of the strategically positioned Sabang Port to enhance maritime safety in the Indian Ocean.

• Supply Chain Security: The nations signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to secure supply chains for critical minerals like nickel, bauxite, and copper.
• Steel Joint Venture: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) partnered with Indonesia’s Krakatau Steel to build a stainless-steel slab-making facility in Indonesia.
• Trade Fast-Tracking: Both leaders agreed to accelerate negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to expand on their $24.78 billion bilateral trade.

• Digital Commerce & UPI: India and Indonesia signed agreements to integrate India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) models and UPI digital payment network with Indonesia's financial systems.
• EVM Support: India committed to supporting Indonesia with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and digital governance systems.

• Global Education Expansion: PM Modi announced the establishment of an international branch campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore in Jakarta.
• Heritage Conservation: Both leaders launched restoration and conservation projects at the Prambanan Temple Compounds, a prominent UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yogyakarta.
• Historic Address: PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to formally address the Indonesian Parliament, stressing shared democratic values and civilizational history.

• Democratic Backbone: Functions as one of the most stable and peaceful democracies in Central America.
• No Standing Army: Abolished its military forces constitutionally in 1948, reallocating state capital into healthcare and high-quality education.
• Current Policy Pivot: The newly elected government is shifting toward hardline security policies to counter growing drug-transit routes across its borders.

• OECD Membership: Stands proudly as the only Caribbean or Central American country to join the OECD.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Actively broadening global market reach by opening new Investment Promotion Offices (OPI) in Silicon Valley and Singapore.
• Primary Exports: Commands a high-income profile fuelled by advanced electronic components, specialised medical devices, and corporate service hubs.
• Growth Outlook: The IMF projects a stable GDP growth rate of 3.6% amid tightening global financial landscapes.

• Eco-pioneer: Celebrated as the first tropical country globally to successfully halt and reverse deforestation.
• Renewable Energy Grid: Generates a massive 98%+ of its total electricity from domestic green energy sources like hydro and wind.
• Biodiversity Hub: Occupies a tiny 0.03% of global landmass but actively shelters over 5% of the planet's total biodiversity.

• Borders: Located in Central America, safely bounded by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.
• Natural Wonders: Houses roughly 120 volcanic cones (including five prominent active systems) and expansive cloud forests.
• Expat & Nomad Culture: Features a high quality of living that attracts a booming digital nomad ecosystem under the national "Pura Vida" cultural motto.

• The Points System: Evaluates educational performance out of a total weightage of 1,000 points.
• The Matrix: Comprises 70 key indicators split into 2 categories: Outcomes and Governance & Management.
• The 6 Pillars: Subdivided into six distinct domains:
  1. Learning Outcomes and Quality
  2. Access
  3. Infrastructure & Facilities
  4. Equity
  5. Governance Processes
  6. Teacher Education and Training
• The 10 Grades: Classifies regions into 10 strict grade bands instead of standard numerical ranks. The bands range from 'Daksh' (highest, above 940 points) down to 'Akanshi-3' (lowest, up to 460 points).
• Data Pipelines: Pulls automated metrics from active government nodes including UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan, PRABANDH, PM POSHAN, and the Vidyanjali portals.

• First Place: Chandigarh leads the nation, positioned uniquely in the Uttam-3 performance band.
• Second Place Tiers: Punjab, Kerala, Delhi, and the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu joint-anchored the second spot on the leaderboard.
• The 'Daksh' Vacuum: Strikingly, no State or Union Territory has yet reached the apex grading bands of Daksh, Utkarsh, Uttam-1, or Uttam-2.

• Stagnant Learning Curves: While states showed dramatic point improvements in infrastructure, teacher training, and governance processes, the core learning outcomes domain remained frozen across the board.
• Systemic Gaps: This disparity stems largely from the index carrying over historical test statistics from older PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan metrics, signalling a need for fresh grassroot evaluations.

• Inception & Location: Established in 2022 under Mizoram University in Aizawl.
• Strategic Location: Situated in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.

• Voucher Specimens: Authorized to curate regional flora (pteridophytes, fungi) and fauna (reptiles, amphibians, insects).
• Type Specimens: Researchers must now deposit new species types here.
• Collection Size: Holds over 500 curated biological specimens.
• Taxonomic Expertise: Supported by experts covering seven distinct taxonomic groups.

• Regional Biodiversity Hub: Supports the North-east region, which boasts over 7,500 species of flowering plants and 2,000 unique faunal species.
• Endemic Conservation: Focuses on rare local wildlife, such as the Leptobrachella tamdil amphibian.
• National Role: Fills gaps in studying lower-order taxa like fungi and beetles.
• Logistical Efficiency: Enables localized storage and authentication of samples.

• National Goals: Aligns with National Biodiversity Target 4 (2024–2030).
• Global Frameworks: Supports the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for ex-situ conservation.

• The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways announced that this upgrade allows the deep-water facility to safely accommodate fully laden Capesize vessels carrying up to 1,70,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT).

• Project Scale: Achieved via the successful completion of the Capital Dredging Phase VI project.
• Financial Investment: Completed at a total cost of ₹440 crore.
• Structural Deepening: The project lowered the outer approach channel from 20m to 23m, and the inner entrance channel from 19m to 22m.
• Economic Impact: Enables larger shipping liners to deploy massive vessels, significantly lowering ocean freight costs via economies of scale.

• Second Container Terminal: Secured a development timeline for 2027 for a second terminal valued at ₹4,300 crore.
• Capacity Boost: The upcoming terminal expands logistics to handle 2 million TEUs and allow up to four motherships to dock simultaneously.
• Bulk Terminal Blueprint: Actively reviewing bids for two additional bulk cargo berths under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models.
• Green Shore Power: Pioneering eco-friendly transitions by pushing international cargo ships to use a dedicated 500 KW shore-to-ship power facility to eliminate idling diesel emissions.

• Location: Located along the Coromandel Coast in Ennore, roughly 24 km north of Chennai Port.
• Unique Corporate Structure: It remains the only corporatised major port in India registered explicitly as a public company.
• Ownership: Owned by Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL), where the Chennai Port Trust holds a controlling 100% stake.
• Primary Commodities: Acts as a major hub for Thermal Coal, Automobiles, LPG, POL, and project cargo.

• National Goals: Directly contributes to the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 frameworks.
• Trade Efficiency: Aims to establish the port as a global mega-gateway to optimize India's Export-Import (EXIM) trade.

• A specialized Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), led by NITI Aayog Distinguished Fellow Debjani Ghosh, recommended a phased rollout beginning with trial indices.

• The Counterpart to IIP: Serves as the service sector's direct equivalent to the long-standing Index of Industrial Production (IIP) used for manufacturing.
• Statistical Gap Bridging: The services sector contributes nearly 53% to India’s Gross Value Added (GVA), but previously lacked high-frequency monthly tracking, relying instead on lagged quarterly GVA datasets.
• Base Year Designated: Formulated with 2024–25 as its baseline statistical year.
• Reporting Frequency: Will be published monthly by the National Statistical Office (NSO) with an operational lag of 60 days from the end of the reference month.

• GSTN Reliance: Driven primarily by real data pulled from the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) database on outward taxable supplies.
• Administrative Inputs: Supplemented with operational data from key regulatory bodies, including Indian Railways, civil aviation, banking, and insurance regulators.
• Survey Baseline: Uses structural data points gathered via the new Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE).
• Inflation Deflators: Volumetric adjustments will rely on the non-food Consumer Price Index (CPI) and tailored, sector-specific CPI trackers.

• Initial Sub-sectors Included: Tracks over 40 formal sub-sectors, including wholesale/retail trade, transport, telecom, hospitality, real estate, professional services, and entertainment.
• Temporary Exclusions: Health and education services are excluded for now, pending deeper baseline data incorporation from ASISSE.
• Structural Omissions: Excludes the informal services sector due to existing data gaps.
• Non-Market Omissions: Excludes non-market public segments like national defence, public administration, social work, and central banking.

• Policy Guidance: Arms policymakers, economists, and corporate entities with actionable, high-frequency data for better business cycle analysis.
• Pricing Transformations: Integrates structurally with India's long-term macro transition away from the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) toward a modern Producer Price Index (PPI) framework.

• Joint Site Visit: PM Narendra Modi and President Prabowo Subianto made a high-profile visit to the temple complex.
• Technological Integration: The restoration will utilise anastylosis (rebuilding using original stone fragments) alongside modern Artificial Intelligence and digital mapping to catalogue scattered stones.
• Broader Cultural Ecosystem: The plan addresses the wider landscape, ensuring structural preservation also covers nearby historically linked sites like the Sewu and Plaosan temples.
• Tagore-Dewantara Year: Marking the event, both nations declared a joint "Cultural and Educational Diplomacy Year" celebrating the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore’s 1927 visit to Indonesia.

• Era of Construction: Built in the 9th century AD (around 856 CE) during the peak of the Mataram Kingdom under the Sailendra and Sanjaya dynasties.
• Founding Context: Commissioned by King Rakai Pikatan and expanded by King Lokapala to mark the return of a Hindu ruling dynasty in Central Java after a period of Buddhist dominance.
• Original Names: Historically referred to in the ancient Shivagrha inscription as Shiva-grha (House of Shiva) or Shiva-laya (Realm of Shiva).

• Scale of the Site: Sprawls as the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and one of the largest in Southeast Asia.
• Original Blueprint: Originally comprised 240 large and small temples organized in concentric zones.
• The Trimurti Dedication: The inner zone features three grand towers dedicated to the Hindu trinity: Shiva (the Destroyer), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Brahma (the Creator).
• The Central Apex: The central Shiva temple stands 47 metres (154 feet) high, dominating the Yogyakarta landscape.
• Intricate Bas-Reliefs: The walls are covered in masterpieces of stone carving depicting the Javanese adaptation of the Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana.

• Peaceful Coexistence: It serves as a historical example of religious harmony, with the massive Hindu Prambanan situated right next to contemporary Buddhist complexes like Candi Sewu.
• UNESCO Status: Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 for representing the peak of classical Shaivite art in the region.
• Active Worship: It is not just an archaeological park; it remains a vibrant site of active worship for local Hindus, drawing thousands for festivals like Maha Shivaratri.
• Past Vulnerabilities: Over centuries, the site suffered catastrophic collapses due to volcanic eruptions from Mount Merapi and devastating tectonic events, most notably the 2006 Java earthquake.

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