UPSC Current Affairs 25 July 2026

• Total Outlay: ₹3,030 crore allocated by the Central Government.

• Core Infrastructure Budget: ₹3,000 crore dedicated entirely to Common Infrastructure Facilities (CIF) and basic utilities.
• Administrative Allocation: ₹30 crore set aside for project administrative expenses.
• Duration: Implemented over a period of 5 years, spanning from FY 2026–27 to FY 2030–31.
• Funding Model: The Centre will provide a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore per park, matching a minimum contribution of ₹500 crore from the respective State Government.

• Selection Mechanism: Parks will be developed by State Governments chosen via a competitive "Challenge Route".
• Land Requirements: Each chemical park must span a minimum contiguous, encumbrance-free area of 8 sq. km. (approx. 2,000 acres).
• Plug-and-Play Infrastructure: Dedicated setups will provide ready-to-use, specialized facilities specifically tailored for the chemical industry.
• Shared Utilities Provided:
  • Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP).
  • Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDF) for hazardous waste management.
  • Centralized water supply, distribution systems, and steam generation networks.
  • Solvent recovery and specialized distillation facilities.
  • Interconnected industrial pipeline networks alongside logistics and warehousing facilities.

• Foundational Industry Boost: Aims to revolutionize the chemical and petrochemical fields similarly to India's recent semiconductor push.
• Value Chain Integration: Targets the simultaneous expansion of upstream, downstream, and ancillary chemical units.
• Cross-Sector Support: Strengthens critical input supplies for downstream sectors including agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, construction, automobiles, and electronics.
• Global Market Competitiveness: Enhances resource optimization to lower logistics costs, scale up exports, and drastically reduce import dependencies.
• Environmental Sustainability: Ensures strict adherence to green regulations through centralized waste processing systems.
• Long-term Vision: Drives massive domestic and foreign direct investments (FDI), creates large-scale employment, and acts as a pillar for Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047.

• Supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the team successfully engineered a patented "nanofluid electrolyte" and a low-cost catalyst.
• This breakthrough solves the long-standing industry problems of anode corrosion, hydrogen gas waste, and slow oxygen reactions without relying on expensive noble metals like platinum or ruthenium.

• Anode: Uses metallic zinc powder as the negative electrode.
• Cathode: Uses a porous catalytic structure that pulls oxygen directly from the surrounding atmospheric air.
• Electrolyte: Employs a non-toxic, water-based (aqueous) alkaline solution, typically potassium hydroxide.
• Chemical Reaction: Electricity is generated via the chemical oxidation of zinc at the anode and the reduction of atmospheric oxygen at the cathode.

• High Energy Density: They can store significantly more energy than traditional batteries because the cathode reactant (oxygen) does not need to be stored inside the cell, saving vast weight and space.
• Exceptional Safety: The water-based chemistry makes them inherently non-flammable, entirely eliminating the thermal runaway and fire risks associated with lithium-ion batteries.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Zinc is highly abundant and easy to source. These batteries cost roughly USD 150 per kWh, compared to USD 200–250 per kWh for lithium-ion systems.
• Sustainability Eco-Friendly: The latest Indian innovation upcycles discarded household water filters and surgical masks into battery carbon materials, making it a stellar green technology.

• Limited Rechargeability: Reversing the oxidation reaction is chemically difficult, often causing uneven zinc replating and dendrite formation that short-circuits the cell.
• Environmental Sensitivity: The cells are prone to drying out or absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, which degrades performance and limits overall battery lifespan.
• Low Efficiency: Heavy charging-to-discharging voltage gaps can lower cycle energy efficiency to around 50% in standard designs.

• Small Electronics: Widely utilized in non-rechargeable button cell forms for hearing aids, medical sensors, and watches.
• Electric Mobility: Being developed for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers via both electrically and mechanically rechargeable (swapping out zinc plates) systems.
• Grid-Scale Storage: Positioned as an ideal alternative for long-duration stationary energy backup and renewable energy integration due to their low cost and complete safety.

• Dinosaur Family: It belongs to the Macronaria clade, a major group of sauropod dinosaurs characterized by large nasal openings. This group later evolved into Earth’s largest land animals, like Brachiosaurus.
• Meaning of Name: The generic name Ceratocaudia blends Ancient Greek and Latin to mean "horned tail", referencing a distinct, horn-like crest found on its tail vertebrae. Antigua translates to "ancient".
• Diminutive Size: Unlike its giant relatives, it was a "dwarf taxon" or comparatively small, measuring roughly 7 metres (23 feet) in length.
• Weaponised Tail: Digital muscle modelling of its highly unique ball-and-socket tail joints indicates it could swing its tail with rapid, powerful side-to-side motions to efficiently deter predators.
• Fossil Completeness: The holotype consists of more than 181 bone fragments, featuring an almost complete tail, limb bones (thighbones and forearms), ribs, and back vertebrae.
• Ancient Environment: It lived roughly 170–180+ million years ago in a brackish, estuarine ecosystem (now the Kaladongar Formation) filled with petrified wood and ancient bivalves.

• Port Modernisation & New Development: Upgrading existing port infrastructure, introducing deep drafts for larger ships, and building new greenfield ports.
• Port Connectivity Enhancement: Deploying multi-modal transport solutions, including new domestic highways, heavy-haul rail lines, and logistics hubs.
• Port-Led Industrialisation: Establishing coastal economic zones, clusters, and smart industrial cities close to ports to reduce domestic logistics costs.
• Coastal Community Development: Generating sustainable local livelihoods through modernized fishing harbours, skill development programs, and coastal tourism.
• Coastal Shipping & Inland Water Transport: Promoting eco-friendly alternative routes via national rivers and coastal waterways to decongest standard roads and railways.

• Project Scale: Out of 845 identified projects valued at ₹6.06 lakh crore, 315 projects worth ₹1.57 lakh crore have been fully completed.
• Efficiency Gains: Average vessel turnaround time dropped drastically from 96 hours in 2014 to under 50 hours.
• Global Standing: Sustained modernization has pushed 9 Indian ports into the global Top 100, with Visakhapatnam breaking into the top 20 container terminals.
• Digital Transformation: Digital frameworks like Sagar Setu and e-Samudra have shifted standard cargo clearance to paperless, real-time tracking.

• Shanghai Five (1996): Began as a minor security group between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to resolve border demilitarisation.
• Official Launch (2001): Rechristened as the SCO on June 15, 2001, after Uzbekistan joined as a founding member.
• Geographic Scale: It stands as the world's largest regional organisation, covering 24% of the global land area and representing over 42% of the global population.

• 10 Full Member States: China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus.
• Expansion Milestones: India and Pakistan joined simultaneously in 2017, followed by Iran (2023) and Belarus (2024).
• Partnership Network: Features remaining observer nations like Afghanistan and Mongolia, alongside 15+ Dialogue/SCO Partners (such as Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Egypt).

• The "Three Evils": Formulated primarily to battle terrorism, separatism, and extremism across Eurasia.
• Multilateral Integration: Drives active coordination in trade, technology, transport infrastructure, energy corridors, and environmental policy.
• Geopolitical Balance: Aims to balance Western geopolitical influence by establishing a multipolar international order.

• SCO Secretariat: Based in Beijing, China, to manage executive administration.
• RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure): Headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to coordinate joint counter-terrorism intelligence and operations.

• Definition: A gas turbine engine that generates propulsive thrust by accelerating a continuous stream of air through an exhaust nozzle.
• Working Principle: Operates on the thermodynamic Brayton cycle via four stages:
  • Intake: Sucks atmospheric air into the engine.
  • Compression: Raises air pressure and temperature using rotating blades.
  • Combustion: Mixes fuel with pressurized air and ignites it to release massive energy.
  • Exhaust: Forces hot gases through a turbine (to spin the compressor) and out the rear nozzle at extreme speeds to produce forward thrust.
• Performance: Highly efficient at high speeds and high altitudes, making it ideal for supersonic military aircraft and missile systems.
• Comparison with Turbofans: Unlike commercial turbofans which bypass air around the engine core for fuel efficiency at low speeds, a pure turbojet directs all airflow through the core, prioritizing high absolute thrust and compact size.

• Design and Authority: Developed entirely by DRDO-GTRE based in Bengaluru.
• Manufacturing Partner: Produced by Hyderabad-based Azad Engineering in a rapid 24-month timeline.
• Technical Architecture: Features a single-spool setup including a 4-stage axial-flow compressor, an annular combustor, a single-stage uncooled axial turbine, and a fixed exit nozzle.
• The "Expendable" Factor: Designed as a single-use engine optimized for low cost, light weight, and high reliability during one-way strategic missions.
• Primary Applications: Tailored to power long-range cruise missiles, naval anti-ship weapons, loitering munitions, and target attack drones.
• Strategic Advantage: Drastically extends weapon range and speed (up to 450 kmph) compared to traditional solid-fuelled rocket motors, allowing precision strikes without deploying manned aircraft.

• Target Entities: The code strictly applies to pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, medical representatives (MRs), distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and pharma industry associations.
• Pharma and Devices: While UCPMP governs drugs, a sister framework called the Uniform Code for Marketing Practices in Medical Devices (UCMPMD) covers the medical device sector.

• No Gifts: Pharma companies and their agents are strictly prohibited from offering, promising, or supplying gifts, pecuniary advantages, or benefits in kind to healthcare professionals (HCPs) or their families.
• No Travel and Vacations: Extending domestic or international travel facilities—such as air tickets, rail tickets, cruise packages, or paid vacations—to HCPs and their families is completely banned.
• Speaker Exceptions: Travel and hospitality can only be covered if the medical professional is an active speaker at a conference or workshop.

• Prescription Restriction: Free samples can only be handed out to individuals fully qualified to prescribe the drug.
• Caps and Limits: A healthcare professional can receive a maximum of 12 sample packs per year.
• Caps on Sample Value: The total financial value of distributed samples must not exceed 2% of the company's annual domestic sales.

• Marketing Approvals: No pharmaceutical product can be promoted or advertised before receiving formal marketing approval from the competent authorities.
• Restriction on "Safe" and "New": The word "safe" cannot be used without qualification, and companies cannot claim a drug has zero side effects. The word "new" cannot be used for any drug that has been available in India for over a year.
• Endorsement Restrictions: Using names or photographs of healthcare professionals in promotional media or public advertisements is entirely prohibited.

• CEO Accountability: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a pharmaceutical company is directly held responsible for compliance. CEOs must submit a mandatory annual self-declaration confirming adherence to the code.
• Ethics Committee Setup: All pharma associations must set up a 3-to-5 member Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (ECPMP) to handle violations.
• Penalties: Established breaches can lead to recovering the value of unethically gifted items, official suspension or expulsion from the industry association, or direct referral to government agencies for statutory legal action.

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