UPSC Current Affairs 24 July 2026

• Expedited Trials: Designed to prevent cases from getting stuck in long legal backlogs and ensure swift convictions.
• Strong Deterrence: Delivering rapid, harsh punishments to create a standard of psychological deterrence against examination fraud mafias.
• Restoring Trust: Aimed at safeguarding students' interests and restoring lost credibility to the national examination boards.

• Governing Legislation: These courts will exclusively try offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 along with other connected criminal offences.
• Severe Penalties: Under the active legal provisions, individuals involved in organised paper leaks face up to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fines reaching ₹1 Crore.
• Institutional Accountability: The law permits the freezing, attachment, and forfeiture of properties belonging to any institution or coaching facility found colluding in organized exam fraud.
• Target Agencies: Covers all high-stakes examinations conducted by premier central recruitment and entrance bodies, including the National Testing Agency (NTA), UPSC, SSC, and Railway Recruitment Boards (RRB).

• Delhi Notification: The court of Judicial Officer Anu Grover Baliga has been designated as the "Specially Designated Fast Track Court" operating from Rouse Avenue, Delhi.
• State Expansions: The Madhya Pradesh High Court designated four specific fast-track centers (Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Indore), while the Bombay High Court notified designated special courts in Nagpur and Aurangabad.
• Case Transfers: All existing and pending criminal files under the Anti-Paper Leak Act are being immediately transferred to these specialized branches.
• Procedural Mechanics: Unlike ordinary criminal proceedings, these courts rely on prioritized scheduling, daily continuous hearings, and strict limits on unnecessary adjournments.

• PRASHAD: Piligrim Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive.
• Swadesh Darshan & 2.0: Integrated development of theme-based tourism circuits.
• CBDD: Challenge Based Destination Development.
• SASCI: Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment.

• Kashi Vishwanath Corridor: Connects the historic temple directly to the Ganga River, enhancing tourist mobility and public infrastructure.
• Ayodhya-Varanasi & Bharat Path: A 20-km dedicated stretch (₹900 crore) connecting Bharatkund to the grand Ram Temple.
• Prayagraj-Vindhyachal-Kashi: Integrates primary routes of Shakti and Shiva worship across Uttar Pradesh.
• Guru Gorakhnath Corridor: Newly proposed mega-circuit linking scattered holy sites from Bundelkhand to Gorakhpur.
• Mathura-Vrindavan-Shuk Teerth: Connects sites of the Krishna tradition utilizing the Bundelkhand Expressway.

• Aesthetic & Structural Balance: Upgrades visitor facilities while strictly preserving local cultural, architectural, and heritage identity.
• Economic Boost: Creates local employment opportunities for hospitality staff, tour guides, and traditional artisans.
• Environmental Sustainability: Integrates eco-friendly solar lighting, solid waste management systems, and sewage treatment plants.
• Mega Varanasi Project: The Cabinet cleared the ₹25,446 crore Ganga-Varuna elevated road network spanning 89 kilometres to seamlessly link regional highways to Kashi's holy spots.

• Location: Situated in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, sitting within the mineral-dense Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt.
• Greenfield Status: It remains a completely untouched ("virgin") greenfield block that has never been commercially mined.
• Estimated Reserves: Holds an estimated 207 to 220 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite, making it one of the largest unallotted deposits in the country.
• Dimensions: Spans a massive plateau area of about 9.6 square kilometers (over 3,100 hectares) with a thick ore bed averaging 12 to 15 metres.
• High Quality Ore: Records an exceptionally high alumina content of roughly 45.2% to 47% (primarily gibbsitic mineralogy) coupled with low silica content, allowing for highly efficient extraction via the low-temperature Bayer process.
• Past Legal Hurdles: The Odisha High Court previously halted an auction of this exact block in 2021 due to deep-seated concerns regarding forest degradation, local water streams, and wildlife habitats.

• Full Name: Prime Minister Young Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India.
• Nodal Ministry: Implemented completely by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Primary Objective: To remove geographical and financial barriers, providing inclusive and equitable quality education to marginalized groups.
• Target Beneficiaries: Meritorious students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Backward Classes (EBC), and Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNT).
• Income Eligibility Criteria: The total annual family income of the applicant must not exceed ₹2.50 Lakhs.
• Funding Model: Formulated as a comprehensive centrally-funded scheme with specific sub-components running on a 100% central sector basis.

• Pre-Matric Scholarship: Designed for students in Classes 9 and 10 to receive an academic allowance of ₹4,000 per annum.
• Post-Matric Scholarship: Financial assistance ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 per year depending on the course category to complete post-secondary education.
• Top Class School Education: Covers complete education from Class 9 up to Class 12, offering scholarships up to ₹2 Lakhs per annum for short-listed top schools, including financial provisions for laptops up to ₹45,000.
• Top Class College Education: Full financial grant covering tuition fees, living expenses, and material support for students gaining admission into designated premier institutions.

• Hostel Scheme Integration: Includes a sub-component for constructing safe residential hostels near educational institutes, specifically targeting rural youth to bridge regional access disparities.
• Inclusivity & Reservations: Built-in statutory reservations exist within components, including a mandatory 30% slot reservation for female applicants and 5% for students with disabilities.
• Application Mode: Run entirely online via the integrated portal layout of the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).

• Three-Tier Architecture: The system uses a modular, scalable design featuring three distinct interceptor missiles built on a common core:
  • M1 Interceptor: Covers a range of 150 km.
  • M2 Interceptor: Extends the range to 250 km.
  • M3 Interceptor: Reaches long-range boundaries between 350 km and 400 km.
• Diverse Target Clearance: Engineered to detect, track, and destroy a massive array of aerial threats. This includes stealth fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, armed swarm drones, large surveillance aircraft, and precision-guided weapons.
• Unified Infrastructure: Unlike the Russian S-400 which requires separate designs for different roles, Project Kusha follows a unified architecture. This makes software updates, deployment, and structural maintenance significantly cheaper and easier.
• The Backbone of Mission Sudarshan Chakra: Project Kusha will serve as the premier weapon network inside India's upcoming Sudarshan Chakra national air defence shield, aimed at securing all strategic facilities by 2035.
• Massive Manufacturing Plan: Industrial partners like Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited are rapidly ramping up facilities. They intend to mass-produce 300 to 400 missiles per year by 2032, serving at least eight Indian Air Force squadrons under a ₹40,000 crore project blueprint.
• Elite Global Tier: With this breakthrough, India enters an exclusive global group of only a handful of nations possessing sovereign, homegrown long-range interception technology.
• Often referred to as India’s "Desi S-400," it is designed to completely eliminate India's reliance on foreign long-range air defence imports.

• Spear Corps Leadership: The operation is actively spearheaded by dedicated Flood Relief Columns of the Red Shield Division, operating under the Indian Army's Spear Corps.
• Ground Support: Regular ground troops are reinforced by the Assam Rifles and specialized military Engineer Task Forces (ETFs).
• Air Support on Standby: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and military helicopters are on high alert, providing aerial surveillance and ready for critical evacuations in fully isolated locations.

• Worst-Hit Districts: Primary deployment is focused heavily across the severely inundated districts of Upper Assam, specifically Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat.
• Tactical Bases: Relief columns are physically operating out of local hubs like Gargaon College, Sonari, and Mariani to rapidly navigate waterlogged terrains.

• Joint Network: The military does not work in isolation; it functions in total synchronization with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

• High-Tech Tracking: Rescue teams are integrating drones alongside traditional satellite communication arrays to map submerged pockets and locate stranded victims.
• Evacuation Fleet: Dozens of specialized military rescue motorboats are being utilized to navigate fast-flowing flood currents.

• Successful Evacuations: Hundreds of stranded civilians—including a high volume of vulnerable groups like children and the elderly—have been successfully moved clear of the flood lines.
• Essential Supplies: Alongside physical rescue, the operation includes setting up temporary shelters, administering vital medical aid through military medical units, and distributing essential food rations and clean drinking water.

• Definition: An arrangement where a mobile subscriber automatically links up with a competitor's cellular network within their same "telecom circle" (geographical region) if their primary network fails.
• Architecture: Users leverage the Radio Access Network (RAN) of a partnering telco while remaining authenticated through their original home network core.

• Automatic Switching: Once active, mobile devices search and lock onto the strongest available telecom signal nearby, regardless of the SIM card operator.
• Universal Access: The emergency protocol applies to all local subscribers as well as incoming domestic travelers visiting the affected districts.
• Participating Telcos: Prominent providers including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and BSNL temporarily open up infrastructure gates to route external calls and data.

• Automatic Mode: Subscribers must keep "Automatic Network Selection" enabled within their smartphone's mobile network settings.
• Manual Override: If the phone remains dead, users can manually choose an alternative active operator by routing to Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Operators.

• Global Pricing Benchmark: Brent crude serves as the leading international benchmark, setting or guiding the price for roughly 78% of the world's physically traded crude oil.
• Chemical Profile: It is classified as a "light" oil (low density with an API gravity around 38°) and a "sweet" oil (low sulfur content under 0.5%), making it cheap and easy to refine into petrol, diesel, and jet fuel.
• Geographic Origin: It is a waterborne blend of petroleums extracted from major oilfields in the North Sea, located between the United Kingdom and Norway.
• Logistical Advantage: Unlike landlocked, regionally trapped alternatives, its seaborne nature gives it direct access to global shipping lanes, port capacities, and global refinery markets.
• Brent vs. WTI: While Brent tracks international seaborne markets, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is sourced from landlocked U.S. fields and serves primarily as the North American benchmark.

• Indian Fuel Pressure: Skyrocketing Brent costs immediately squeeze Indian refining margins, causing retail petrol to hover around ₹102.12/litre and diesel at ₹95.20/litre in Delhi.
• Balance of Payments: Sustained $100+ oil directly widens India's trade deficit and severely worsens domestic Balance of Payments (BoP) concerns.
• Freight and Rerouting: Avoiding the Red Sea forces tankers to circumnavigate Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, adding immense transit time and steep maritime freight costs.
• Stock Market Tumbles: Volatility in the energy corridor triggered institutional equity sell-offs, dragging the Indian Nifty down to the 23,800 zone and causing major corrections in global indices.

Download Pdf