UPSC Current Affairs 15 July 2026

• Founding Date: Established on 5 September 2000.
• Institutional Nature: Registered as an autonomous society under the Meghalaya Societies Registration Act, 1983.
• Joint Initiative: Formed as a collaborative setup between the Department of Space (DOS) and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
• Headquarters Location: Located at Umiam, near Shillong, Meghalaya.
• Primary Motto: "Space technology in the service of human kind".

• President of the Society: The union home minister serves as the President of the NESAC Society.
• Governing Council: Coordinated closely with the Chief Secretaries of all eight North Eastern states, who serve as members of its Governing Council to align regional public policies.
• Center Director: Functioning under the leadership of current Director, Dr. S.P. Aggarwal.

• Remote Sensing & GIS: Providing operational natural resource information baselines to support infrastructure planning and mineral discovery.
• Disaster Management Support: Actively managing early warning systems and monitoring services for regional threats like floods, heavy storms, and lightning.
• Satellite Communication (SATCOM): Implementing Tele-Education and Telemedicine programs across remote areas in collaboration with state governments.
• Atmospheric & Space Science: Conducting specialized observation and numerical modelling to track climate change drivers and improve regional weather forecasting.
• UAV Remote Sensing: Deploying advanced drone systems for evidence-based agro-advisory services and infrastructure mapping (e.g., airport extension surveys).

• Border Demarcation: Undertaking scientific border tracking using high-resolution satellite imagery to settle complex boundary conflicts.
• NER-Shield Platform: Developing the digital twin system known as NER-Shield to maximize disaster resilience.
• Capacity Building & Outreach: Running specialized training, academic project traineeships, and hosting ISRO's signature Young Scientist Program (YUVIKA) to foster future aerospace skills in the region.

• Bridging Skill Gaps: Equip unemployed or raw youth with instant, industry-demanded vocational capabilities.
• Boosting Employability: Shift focus from theoretical certification to immediate, active employment pipelines.
• Standardising Vocational Education: Provide national recognition to food-processing workforce skills through systematic certification.
• Strict Placement Mandates: States like Uttar Pradesh have recently mandated that skill training centers must provide jobs to graduates within 90 days.
• Focus on New-Age Sectors: Alongside traditional food processing, parallel short-term schemes (like the CM's STEP in Maharashtra) are pushing fast-track certification in Drone Technology, AI, and Green Hydrogen.

• NIFTEM-T as the Awarding Body: NIFTEM-Thanjavur operates as a National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) recognized Deemed Awarding Body.
• NSQF Compliance: The course curricula (e.g., Assistant Baking Technician) align directly with Level 3 of the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
• Time-Bound Batches: The inaugural pilot batch runs as a focused sprint from July 7 to August 20, 2026.
• Ministry-Backed Support: Fully monitored under the strategic national mission of building an industry-ready workforce by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).

• Founding & Parent Bodies: Established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), holding its initial session in 1963.
• Primary Mandate: A specialized United Nations entity tasked with formulating international food standards to defend consumer health and mandate fair international food trade.
• Headquarters Location: Permanently located in Rome, Italy.
• Global Membership: Combines 188 Member Countries, 1 Member Organisation (the European Union), and over 240 Observer Organisations.
• Legal Standing: While Codex specifications remain legally voluntary, WTO utilizes them as supreme benchmarks to settle global trade disputes.

• Indian Delegation: The team was spearheaded by Shri Rajit Punhani, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• Chairmanship Standards: CAC49 adopted dedicated international quality standards for Dried Coriander Seeds and Fresh Curry Leaves created under Indian chairmanship.
• Co-Chairmanship Standards: Five additional texts co-led by India were approved, spanning quality benchmarks for Vanilla and Large Cardamom.
• Food Safety and Hygiene: India co-drafted global guidelines on water use/reuse in food production and protocols to control Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat.
• Cashew Kernels Proposal: The forum overwhelmingly backed India's pitch to create the first-ever comprehensive global standard for Cashew Kernels.
• Future Tech Role: India was elected Co-Chair of the Electronic Working Group targeting New Food Sources and Production Systems (NFPS).

• Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL): New benchmarks will modernise labels like "may contain nuts" to ensure worldwide consistency.
• Bakers' Yeast Milestones: Passed the first-ever commodity standard crafted explicitly by the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA).
• Additive Level Cuts: Drastically slashed permitted use levels for 19 specific polyglycerol ester food additives to lower dietary exposure risks.

• Foundation: Established in 1991 by the renowned liquid crystal scientist, Prof. S. Chandrasekhar, FRS.
• Evolution: Initially called the Centre for Liquid Crystal Research, it was renamed the Centre for Soft Matter Research in 2010, and finally changed to its current name in 2014 to integrate intensive nanotechnology research.
• Parent Governance: It functions autonomously under the DST, Ministry of Science and Technology, and receives direct financial mentoring via India’s national Nano Mission.
• Headquarters Location: Operating from its serene, eco-friendly 'Arkavathi' campus in Shivanapura, Bengaluru North, Karnataka.

• Metal & Semiconductor Nanostructures: Engineering materials at atomic levels to drive the future of microelectronics.
• Soft Matter Materials: Deep scientific exploration into the complex dynamics of liquid crystals, gels, membranes, polymers, and hybrid material structures.
• Energy Devices: Fabricating energy-harvesting and storage technologies like smart windows, solar cells, and energy-efficient electronics.

• "Greenhouse" Project: Houses a dedicated Technology Laboratory and a Technology Business Incubator created to transition laboratory-level scientific research into mass-market industrial applications.
• Academic Outreach: Heavily drives programs like "Nano for Youth" and co-organizes high-tier conferences, including the flagship Bengaluru INDIA NANO 2026.

• Centuries-Old Craft: The tradition of handcrafting these ethnic leather shoes dates back nearly 200 years in the Marwar region.
• Royal Patronage: Originally designed exclusively for Rajput rulers and emperors, it slowly evolved into a broader community identity.
• The Jinagar Community: The craft is traditionally kept alive by the Jinagar (or Jingar) community.
• Evolution of Skill: The Jinagars were historically royal saddle maker (jeen) and sword-scabbard makers (myaan) before transition into elite shoemaking.

• 100% Handcrafted: No machines are utilized; every single piece is cut, assembled, and stitched by hand.
• Natural Raw Materials: Artisans source authentic hides strictly from camel, goat, cow, and buffalo.
• Climatic Adaptability: Designed deliberately to be airy, highly flexible, and tough to complement the hot desert climate of Rajasthan.
• Artistic Detailing: Distinctly identified by rich ethnic embroidery, vibrant silk threads, or metallic zari work.

• Livelihood Generation: The industry sustains over 35,000 active artisans residing in roughly 5,000 local households.
• Current Market Evaluation: The domestic trade is valued at approximately ₹100 crore, with ongoing exports hitting ₹10 crore.
• Projections for Growth: Market specialists estimate that the newly issued GI shield will help double the entire industry's business in just two years.

• Governing Body: Registration is handled under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Statutory Act: Governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
• Validity Period: The certificate is legally binding for a period of 10 years, requiring standard renewal cycles thereafter.

• Full Title: "Capacity Building for Human Resource Development in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drone and Allied Technologies)".
• Nodal Ministry: It is a flagship national initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Launch & Timeline: Approved in July 2022 with an implementation period spanning five years.
• Financial Outlay: Funded with a total central budget of approximately ₹90 crore (₹89.87 crore).
• Ultimate Vision: To establish a self-reliant domestic drone industry, perfectly aligning with India’s target to become a Global Drone Hub by 2030.
• Operational Model: Implemented using a Hub-and-Spoke model comprising 30 premier academic and R&D institutions across India, including IITs, IISc, C-DAC, NITs, and NIELIT Centres.
• Five Key Work Themes:

• Aeromechanics
• Drone Electronics
• Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Algorithms and Simulation
• Drone Applications
• Allied Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Technologies

• Target & Achievement: The initiative is designed to roll out 1,500+ capacity-building activities. To date, it has successfully trained more than 51,000 professionals in drone engineering and operations.
• Strategic Dual Use: Technology generated through the challenge directly scales to both civilian uses (precision agriculture, disaster management) and national defence applications.
• Dual-Track Challenge:

• Track 1 (Drone Innovation): Student teams must design autonomous swarm drones capable of locating disaster survivors without external communication networks.
• Track 2 (Component Innovation): Teams are challenged to engineer a flight controller and autopilot entirely around the Indian-made VEGA microprocessor.

• Massive Incentives: The competition has introduced an expanded prize pool of over ₹65 lakh alongside startup incubation, corporate internships, and cloud credits.

• Classification: CHPV is an enveloped, bullet-shaped, negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus.
• Family: It belongs to the Vesiculovirus genus of the Rhabdoviridae family—the same viral family that contains the rabies virus.
• Discovery: First isolated by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in 1965 during a febrile outbreak in Chandipur village, Maharashtra, India.
• Target Demographics: It almost exclusively impacts children under the age of 15 due to their developing immune and nervous systems.
• High Lethality: It exhibits an alarming case fatality rate (CFR) ranging from 56% to 75%.

• Primary Vector: Transmitted through the bite of infected sandflies, specifically Phlebotomus spp.
• Secondary Vectors: Ticks and certain mosquito species (like Aedes aegypti) can also act as carriers.
• No Human-to-Human Spread: The virus cannot be transmitted directly from person to person through casual contact or coughing.
• Environmental Factor: Poor sanitation, rural mud walls, and open drainage create massive breeding grounds for sandflies.

• Rapid Progression: Symptoms escalate violently within an extreme critical window of 24 to 48 hours.
• Initial Phase: Sudden high-grade fever, severe flu-like body aches, headaches, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Neurological Phase: The virus breaches the blood-brain barrier, attacking neurons and triggering Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
• Advanced Complications: Severe convulsions (seizures), altered mental states, respiratory distress, coma, and rapid death.

• Diagnostic Test: Infection is definitively confirmed using real-time Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) testing.
• No Specific Cure: There is no approved antiviral drug and no licensed vaccine available globally.
• Supportive Management: Treatment relies entirely on emergency intensive care, including managing brain swelling (edema), seizure control, fluid balance, and mechanical ventilation.
• Vector Control: Prevention involves indoor residual insecticide dusting, wearing full clothing, using sandfly-netting, and eliminating stagnation around homes.

• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that after a decade of removing nearly 2,000 obsolete rules, India’s public sector is embedding Artificial Intelligence (AI), agentic digital systems, and cybersecurity directly into the core of its administrative machinery.
• Simultaneously, states like Jharkhand have made headlines by launching comprehensive roadmaps (such as the Jharkhand AI Policy 2026–31) to transform physical and digital public service infrastructures.

• Proactive Governance: Administrative engines are shifting from reactive troubleshooting to predictive prevention by analysing vast public data sets.
• Eradicating Bureaucratic Delays: AI agents automate repetitive paperwork, data processing, and document verification to clear backlogs.
• Plugging Welfare Leakages: Algorithms analyze public spending patterns, monitor welfare schemes, and flag duplicate files to maximize direct benefit target precision.
• Language Democratisation: Generative AI provides 24/7 multilingual and voice-based virtual assistants, breaking literacy barriers for rural citizens.
• Judicial Assistance: Courts utilize language models to categorize legal cases and translate transcripts, directly addressing massive judicial backlogs.
• Smart Infrastructure Tracking: Real-time traffic, environment, and electricity grids are optimized autonomously to adjust to sudden usage spikes or natural crises.

• The "Black Box" Dilemma: Algorithms lack transparency, making it difficult for citizens to understand how an AI arrived at an administrative denial or decision.
• Vast Digital Divide: High-tier AI deployments rely on seamless internet access, risking the exclusion of remote or digitally disconnected populations.
• Sophisticated Cyber Threats: Criminal entities are using advanced phishing and AI-driven deepfakes to impersonate administrators or breach secure state databases.
• Bureaucratic Friction: Deeply entrenched work cultures often resist transitioning from physical oversight to algorithmic collaboration.
• Evolving Data Regulation: Aligning dynamic machine-learning models with tight compliance standards like the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act remains complex.

1. It was established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
2. Its headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
3. WTO recognizes Codex standards as international benchmarks in food trade disputes.

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