UPSC Current Affairs 12 July 2026

• Doubling Trade Target: Both countries set an ambitious, aspirational target to double their annual two-way trade in goods and services to NZ$7 billion (approximately ₹35,000 crore) by 2030.
• Free Trade Agreement (FTA): The leaders focused on the effective implementation and early enforcement of the landmark India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement signed in April 2026.
• Investment Boost: The roadmap highlights facilitation for a projected investment pipeline, noting New Zealand's long-term interest in exploring investments up to $20 billion in India over 15 years.
• Agricultural Collaboration: Launch of a Kiwifruit Action Plan, establishing two Centres of Excellence for kiwifruit cultivation in Nagaland and Uttarakhand.

• Maritime Security Dialogue: Launched an annual Maritime Security Dialogue to expand coordination, information sharing, and maritime domain awareness.
• Logistics & Interoperability: Inked a Reciprocal Logistics Support Arrangement between the Indian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force to enhance operational reach in the Indo-Pacific.
• Joint Exercises: Commitment to hold regular bilateral naval exercises and maintain security dialogues at the service and ministry levels.

• Transnational Crime: Agreed to deep collaboration against financial crimes, narcotics smuggling, cyber-enabled offences, and human trafficking.
• Counter-Terrorism Working Group: Established a joint working group to institutionalise intelligence exchanges, aiming to disrupt terror financing networks via closer ties between India’s NIA and New Zealand Police.

• Global Biofuels Alliance: New Zealand officially joined the India-led Global Biofuels Alliance to accelerate sustainable biofuel development.
• Antarctic & Climate Research: Agreed to joint academic exchanges in polar research, focusing on climate change forecasting in the Antarctic region.
• Disaster Management: Implemented a Memorandum of Cooperation between India's NDMA and New Zealand's NEMA for emergency response and capacity building.

• Talent Mobility: Enhanced student mobility, university partnerships, and professional internships under the new educational frameworks.
• Sports Diplomacy: Adopted a joint action plan on sports, focusing on sports medicine and development programs in priority disciplines like Rugby, Athletics, Rowing, and Golf.
• Aviation Links: Pledged to work toward establishing direct non-stop commercial flights to boost tourism and diaspora connectivity.

• Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): New Zealand officially joined the Maritime Security pillar of India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
• UN Security Council Reform: New Zealand reiterated its formal support for India’s candidature for permanent membership in a reformed United Nations Security Council.

• The commissioning ceremony was presided over by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, marking a massive milestone in India's naval modernization and self-reliance drive.

• Project 17A (Nilgiri-class): It is the sixth indigenous stealth frigate built under this specific project, which acts as an advanced version of the older Shivalik-class frigates.
• The Manufacturer: The ship was designed in-house by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.
• Nomenclature: It is named after the prominent Mahendragiri mountain peak located in the Eastern Ghats of Odisha, making it the first naval ship to bear this name.
• Motto: The ship operates under the resolute motto "Mighty, Majestic, Matchless".

• Dimensions & Weight: The advanced warship measures approximately 149 metres in length and features a displacement of roughly 6,670 tonnes.
• Propulsion System: It utilizes a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) configuration. This pairs two gas turbines with two diesel engines to drive Controllable Pitch Propellers.
• Speed & Range: It is capable of cutting through waters at top speeds exceeding 28 knots (approx. 52 km/h) with a maximum range of 5,500 nautical miles.
• Crew Capacity: Fully automated platform monitoring allows the ship to efficiently sustain a crew of 226 personnel.

• Stealth Engineering: Engineered with a ultra-low Radar Cross-Section (RCS) using specialized radar-absorbing coatings, flush-mounted weapons, and infrared signature-reducing exhaust systems.
• Missile Arsenal: It is armed with formidable BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missiles and Barak-8 (LR-SAM) long-range surface-to-air missiles.
• Anti-Submarine Defence: Outfitted with indigenous rocket launchers, specialized torpedo launchers, and an advanced HUMSA-NG sonar system to neutralize underwater threats.
• Electronic Warfare: Features an integrated Combat Management System alongside Kavach decoy launchers for short-range projectile defence.

• 75% Indigenisation: Over 75% of the equipment on the vessel is locally sourced, fulfilling the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) vision.
• Economic Boost: The construction directly involved over 200 domestic firms, including multiple Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), generating thousands of local jobs.
• Multi-Mission Versatility: Beyond multi-domain combat (air, surface, sub-surface), the frigate is fully equipped for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), search and rescue operations, and extended blue-water deployments.

• The Variety: Frequently called Bright Leaf or Virginia tobacco, it is a high-grade commercial crop prized for its bright yellow-to-orange shade.
• The Curing Process: Fresh leaves contain heavy moisture and excess chlorophyll that prevent them from catching fire. They are hung inside tightly closed barns and dried using artificial, controlled heat channelled via metal pipes (flues).
• Chemical Profile: The specialized flue-heating locks in high sugar content, keeps nicotine levels at medium-to-high, and unearths natural tannins.
• Primary Utility: This chemical balance results in a distinctively mild, smooth, and sweet-burning smoke, making it the most vital raw component for the global cigarette manufacturing market.

• Furthermore, the Tobacco Board of India slashed the authorized crop size in Andhra Pradesh to 81 million kg to control supply and shield farmers from plunging market prices.

• Geographical Monopoly: FCV tobacco cultivation in India is restricted to just two states: Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
• Soil Preference: It grows predominantly as a rainfed Kharif crop on well-drained, red sandy loam soils. The premium variant harvested in Karnataka is globally designated as "Mysore-style tobacco".
• Export Engine: India sits as the world's second-largest tobacco producer. While FCV constitutes only 25% of total domestic tobacco volume, it generates nearly 70% of India's overall leaf export earnings.
• Regulatory Body: Cultivation limits, auction floors, and market protocols are legally regulated by the statutory Tobacco Board of India, operating under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• Ecological Strain: Traditional flue-curing requires massive amounts of heat fuel. It consumes vast loads of local timber, heavily driving deforestation and carbon emission cycles in growing regions.
• Unauthorised Overproduction: Farmers frequently cultivate tobacco beyond their sanctioned quotas. This recurring excess supply overloads auctions and triggers severe domestic price collapses.
• Crop Vulnerability: The crop remains highly vulnerable to changing rain cycles. Recent disruptions, like the heavy downpours from Cyclone Michaung, frequently ruin leaf texture and downgrade market evaluations.

• Type: An ultrahigh-frequency (UHF; 420–450 MHz) solid-state active aperture phased-array radar system.
• Developer: Built by the American defence contractor Raytheon (now RTX).
• Acronym Meaning: PAVE stands for Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry, while PAWS stands for Phased Array Warning System.
• Primary Mission: Designed during the Cold War to detect and track Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
• Secondary Mission: Supports space surveillance networks by tracking Earth satellites and identifying other space objects.

• Phased Array Technology: Unlike mechanical radars that must physically move, it steers its radar beam electronically by controlling signal phases, scanning massive areas instantly.
• Massive Range: Can detect targets with a radar cross-section of 10 square metres up to a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km).
• Antenna Structure: Contains 1,792 active elements per face within a 72.5-foot (22-meter) diameter. Each element functions as its own transmitter and receiver.
• Coverage: Built using a two-faced configuration where each face covers a 120-degree sector, providing a combined horizontal coverage of 240 degrees.
• Target Diversity: Beyond ballistic missiles, it can monitor low-flying cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, aircraft, and maritime activities.

• The Leshan Asset: Taiwan bought its customized system from the U.S. for $1.4 billion, and it became fully operational in 2013 at the Leshan Radar Station in Hsinchu County.
• Geographical Coverage: Perched at an altitude of 2,600 meters, Taiwan's radar allows it to look deep into mainland China, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula.
• Geopolitical Vulnerability: Because it is the cornerstone of cross-strait early warning detection, experts warn that it would be a top-priority target for destruction by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during a conflict.
• Recent Vulnerability Precedent: Security concerns regarding the radar grew after a structurally similar U.S.-made early warning radar face in Qatar sustained severe damage during regional drone/missile attacks.

• Strict Income Tax Alignment: The Finance Act, 2026 revised the rules so that recognition under the Income Tax Act is strictly limited to PF trusts that hold a formal exemption under Section 17 of the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
• Addressing Status Gaps: Many companies run private PF trusts that are approved under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but lack formal exemption notifications from Central or State governments. The scheme offers a final opportunity to secure retrospective regularisation.
• Streamlining Legal Disputes: The initiative intends to bring unaligned private trusts under a single statutory framework, reduce long-pending court litigations, and waive off specific legal damages for compliant firms.

• Unexempted Trust Operations: Applies strictly to establishments operating a PF trust recognized by the IT Act but lacking central/state government exemption orders.
• Category I Applicants: Firms seeking retrospective regularisation that have already transitioned—or intend to transition—to regular un-exempted compliance under the EPFO
• Category II Applicants: Firms seeking retrospective regularisation while continuing to operate their private trusts under the newer Code on Social Security, 2020.

• Retrospective Regularisation: Exemption status and formal trust recognition are granted from the trust’s very inception up to the cut-off date.
• Waiver of Penalties: Pending legal assessments, demands for damages, and interest claims against the trust will be completely withdrawn and closed.
• Relaxed Criteria: The EPFO has waived standard minimum requirements, such as employee strength thresholds, minimum corpus size, and the three-year prior compliance record.

• Statutory Interest Parity: Member accounts inside the private trust must have received PF contributions and interest at par with or higher than statutory EPFO rates.
• Clean Financial Auditing: All historical dues must be cleared, and orders previously finalized in eligible cases will be treated as void ab initio (invalid from the start).

• Six-Month Window: Applications are actively being accepted for a 6-month duration from the June 29, 2026 notification date.
• Submission Mode: Eligible employers must file a formal application by email directly to their respective jurisdictional Regional EPFO Offices.

• Atomic Profile: Helium (He) holds atomic number 2 and is the first element in the noble gas group.
• Weight & Abundance: It is the second-lightest and second-most abundant element in the observable universe.
• Inert Nature: It is completely colourless, odourless, non-toxic, non-flammable, and chemically unreactive.
• Ultra-Low Boiling Point: It has the lowest boiling point of any element (-268.9°C), allowing it to remain liquid at near absolute zero temperatures.
• Earth Escapability: Because it is so light, once released into the atmosphere, it escapes Earth's gravity and bleeds permanently into space, making it a non-renewable, unrecoverable resource.

• Semiconductor Manufacturing: Crucial for heat management and lithography equipment cooling when printing circuitry on advanced tech and AI chips.
• Healthcare (MRIs): Acts as the exclusive coolant for superconducting magnets inside Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners.
• Aerospace & Rockets: Used to pressurize liquid fuel tanks and maintain structural stability in rocket engines under extreme cold.
• Quantum Computing: The ultra-rare isotope Helium-3 (³He) is essential for the extreme dilution refrigeration needed to run quantum processors.
• Deep-Sea Diving: Mixed with oxygen (Heliox) to prevent decompression sickness ("the bends") in deep-sea operations.

• Primary Producers: The world’s supply is heavily concentrated in just a few nations: the United States (43%), Qatar, Russia, and Algeria.
• U.S. Privatisation Faultline: In 2024, the U.S. privatized its Federal Helium Reserve, removing a crucial supply buffer that used to absorb geopolitical shocks.
• India's 100% Import Dependence: India lacks domestic commercial production and relies entirely on imports—mainly from Qatar—maintaining a fragile 7 to 10 days of inventory.
• Emerging Discoveries: To decouple from volatile oil-and-gas markets, aggressive new "primary helium" mining exploration projects are underway in Tanzania and Minnesota, USA.

• Location: Located in the Satara district of Maharashtra, India.
• Proximity: Situated roughly 24 kilometres west of the popular hill station, Mahabaleshwar.
• Altitude: Stands tall at 1,080 metres (3,543 feet) above sea level in the Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats.
• Strategic View: Built over a mountain spur, the fortification looks directly over the historical trade paths of the Par Pass and the banks of the Nira and Koyna rivers.

• Origin: Commissioned by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and built under the oversight of his Prime Minister, Moropant Trimbak Pingle, the fort was completed in 1656.
• The Battle of Pratapgad: The fort served as the backdrop for the definitive Battle of Pratapgad on 10th November 1659. It was here that Shivaji Maharaj outmanoeuvred and killed Afzal Khan, the powerful general of the Bijapur Sultanate.
• Maratha Empire Rise: This victory served as a turning point that established the Marathas as an independent and formidable force in the Deccan region.
• Later Succession: Control of the fort passed over to the British East India Company in 1818 following the Maratha defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War.

• Dual Fortification: The stronghold is structurally divided into two separate zones: the Upper Fort and the Lower Fort.
• The Upper Fort: Built on the flat crest of the hill, this section forms a rough square roughly 180 metres long on each side and features a Mahadev Temple.
• The Lower Fort: Located on the southeastern slopes, it spans 320 metres in length and is protected by massive defensive bastions and walls scaling 10–12 metres high.
• Bhavani Mata Temple: Positioned on the eastern side of the lower fort, it houses an eight-handed (Ashtbhuja) idol of Goddess Bhawani.
• Modern Landmark: A prominent 17-foot bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj stands inside the complex, which was inaugurated by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1957.
• Afzal Tower & Tomb: Located just outside the primary walls is the Afzal Buruj (tower) and the nearby tomb of Afzal Khan.

• Full Name: Sistla Sreeramamurthy Janaki.
• Born: April 23, 1938, in Pallapatla, Repalle, Guntur district (present-day Andhra Pradesh).
• Popular Titles: "Nightingale of South India" and "Queen of Expressions".
• Active Career: 1957 to 2016 (nearly six decades).
• Debut Film: The Tamil movie Vidhiyin Vilayattu (1957).

• Unparalleled Versatility: She is celebrated as one of the most versatile and influential playback singers in Indian history, with a rare gift for voice modulation that allowed her to seamlessly sing in child, youthful, or elderly personas.
• Vast Discography: Over her 60-year career, Janaki Amma recorded an estimated 48,000 songs across multiple mediums including films, albums, television, and radio.
• Linguistic Brilliance: She recorded music in over 20 languages, predominantly singing in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. She also contributed to Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Tulu, Punjabi, and Urdu tracks.
• Iconic Collaborations: She forged legendary on-screen musical partnerships with singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and master composer Ilaiyaraaja, shaping the musical identity of South Indian cinema.
• Retirement: She officially retired from singing in late 2016, performing her final song for a Malayalam movie named 10 Kalpanakal.

• National Recognition: Won four National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer.
• State Recognition: Received an unprecedented 33 State Film Awards across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. She achieved the highest number of state awards for playback singing in Malayalam cinema history.
• Civilian Honours Controversy: She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002. In 2013, she famously declined the Padma Bhushan award. She asserted that the recognition came too late in her life and stated that South Indian artists were historically undervalued, noting that her lifetime work deserved India’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna.
• Prominent Tributes: She received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award (2014), the Kalaimamani Award (Tamil Nadu), and an honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore.

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