UPSC Current Affairs 21 September 2026

• IBC Goal: Aims for the time-bound economic revival of a corporate debtor, maximization of asset value, and orderly recovery for financial creditors.
• PMLA Goal: Focuses on penalizing financial crimes, stopping money laundering, and attaching/confiscating illicit wealth ("proceeds of crime").
• The Conflict: Both legislations contain non-obstante clauses (Section 238 of IBC and Section 71 of PMLA), which declare that their respective laws override any other conflicting statutes.

• The IBC Shield: Under Section 14 of the IBC, a moratorium is triggered to halt all civil recovery actions and asset transfers during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
• The PMLA Power: The judiciary (including NCLAT and High Courts) has ruled that the IBC moratorium extends only to legitimately acquired assets.
• No Blanket Immunity: Criminal or penal proceedings like asset attachments by the ED under PMLA operate independently and are not blocked by the civil moratorium.

• Clean Slate Principle: Introduced to insulate the corporate debtor and its assets from prior offenses once a resolution plan is approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
• Condition for Immunity: The immunity applies only if there is a complete change in ownership and management. The new management must not be related to the promoters who committed the alleged money laundering.
• No Escape for Individuals: Section 32A explicitly ensures that the individual wrongdoers, former directors, or promoters remain personally liable for criminal prosecution under the PMLA.

• NCLT Constraints: Insolvency tribunals do not function as criminal courts. They lack the jurisdiction to question the validity of attachment orders issued by the ED.
• Statutory Route: Any grievances or challenges against PMLA attachments must be handled through the designated PMLA Adjudicating Authority and its appellate mechanisms.

• Investor Hesitation: If the ED attaches primary operational assets during insolvency, resolution applicants (buyers) hesitate to bid, which defeats the purpose of corporate revival.
• Creditor Loss: Hard-earned money belonging to secured financial institutions can get locked up indefinitely if public interest criminal proceedings take absolute precedence over debt resolution.
• Harmonious Construction: The judicial trend is moving towards a pragmatic middle ground: allowing PMLA mechanisms to function during insolvency, but strictly prioritizing asset liberation under Section 32A post-approval to protect honest third-party buyers.

• Participating Nations: It is a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lanka Navy.
• Edition & History: This is the 13th edition of the series. The exercise was first conceptualised and initiated in 2005.
• Location: Hosted at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, under the aegis of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
• Participating Naval Assets:
  • India: Represented by INS Kavaratti (an indigenously designed Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette) and INS Jyoti (a Fleet Tanker).
  • Sri Lanka: Represented by the warship SLNS Sindurala.
• Phases of the Exercise:
  • Harbour Phase: Commenced with an opening ceremony and reception onboard INS Kavaratti. It involves professional interactions, cross-deck visits, sharing of best operational practices, sports, cultural activities, and Yoga.
  • Sea Phase: Focuses on practical seamanship evolutions, coordinated tactical activities at sea, and improving operational synergy.
• Strategic Significance:
  • The exercise aligns directly with India's Neighbourhood First policy and the MAHASAGAR (Maritime Heads for Active Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision.
  • It reinforces a mutual commitment to maintaining a secure, stable, and inclusive maritime environment in the Indian Ocean Region.

• The Authority: The NCAA is a specialized arm of the Tanzanian government operating under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT). It is tasked with managing, developing, and protecting the natural resources of the area.
• Location: It governs the Ngorongoro District in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. The reserve spans over 8,292 square kilometres and sits adjacent to the iconic Serengeti National Park.
• Global Recognition: The area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and is classified as a Man and Biosphere Reserve.

• The Ngorongoro Crater: The flagship feature of the reserve is the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater—the world's largest intact volcanic caldera.
• The Great Migration: The reserve plays a critical role in supporting the Serengeti-Mara Great Migration, providing seasonal breeding grounds for millions of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles.
• Home of the Big Five: It holds massive global importance for biodiversity conservation, acting as a sanctuary for the "Big Five" (lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and endangered black rhinos). Tanzania itself holds nearly half of the world's wild lion population.

• A Unique Concept: Established in 1959, the reserve operates under a "Multiple Land Use" philosophy. It is one of the few protected spaces in Africa meant to integrate human development with natural resource conservation.
• The Indigenous Inhabitants: The region is historically home to the semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists, who graze their traditional livestock alongside the native wildlife.
• The Population Dilemma: The human footprint in the area has scaled drastically, rising from approximately 8,000 residents in 1959 to over 100,000. This exponential growth has exerted immense pressure on grazing land and shared water resources, fuelling severe human-wildlife friction.

• Human-Wildlife Conflicts: Predators like lions are routinely targeted or accidentally poisoned in retaliation for attacking pastoralist livestock.
• Eviction Policies: To safeguard the declining ecosystem, the Tanzanian government initiated a voluntary relocation and eviction program. Over 6,000 residents have been relocated to areas like Handeni, causing high friction and sporadic clashes between local communities and security forces.

• Battery System: The basic cells, modules, and packs that chemically store energy (historically Lithium-ion, with emerging options like Sodium-ion and Flow batteries).
• Battery Management System (BMS): The internal monitoring brain that tracking cell temperature, voltage, and current to prevent safety hazards like thermal runaway.
• Power Conversion System (PCS): The bi-directional inverter that converts AC power from the grid to DC for charging, and back to AC during discharging.
• Energy Management System (EMS): The overarching software that determines when to intelligently charge or discharge based on electricity costs and grid demand.
• Thermal Management System (TMS): HVAC or liquid cooling setups that maintain an optimal internal temperature (usually 20°C to 40°C).
• Fire Detection & Protection System: Advanced multi-level sensors and aerosol suppression mechanisms to isolate and contain thermal issues immediately.

• Energy Arbitrage: Charging batteries when electricity prices are low (or when solar output is peak) and selling/using it when prices peak.
• Renewable Integration: Buffering the inherent intermittency of green power (e.g., supplying power even when the sun sets or the wind stops blowing).
• Peak Shaving & Load Shifting: Reducing stress on power grids during extreme peak hours by handling the maximum load through stored battery reserves.
• Microgrids & Emergency Backup: Providing uninterrupted ancillary services, black-start capabilities, and frequency regulation to critical facilities like hospitals and data centers.

• Grid Stability: Responds to power fluctuations within milliseconds, dramatically reducing blackouts and brownouts.
• High Scalability: Due to their modular container design, extra blocks of batteries can easily be integrated into existing setups to scale capacity seamlessly.
• Rapid Deployment: Unlike traditional pumped-hydro storage systems that take close to a decade to construct, large-scale BESS facilities can be built and commissioned in under two years.
• Emissions Reduction: Maximises clean energy utilization, actively reducing reliance on fossil-fuel-based "peaker" plants.

• Supply Chain Dependency: High reliance on imported raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel exposes markets to geopolitical volatility.
• Safety & Thermal Runaway: Despite advancements, the risk of high-intensity fires and toxic chemical outgassing remains an engineering challenge.
• Degradation Over Time: Batteries experience efficiency drop and capacity fading over extended charge-discharge cycles, raising lifetime replacement costs.
• Recycling Frameworks: Global infrastructure still struggles with proper environmental disposal and circular economy pathways for massive utility-grade cells.

• Geographical Roots: Named after the town of Bidar in Karnataka (erstwhile part of the Hyderabad State).
• Patronage: The craft flourished under the Bahmani Sultans in the 14th and 15th centuries. Sultan Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani invited the Persian craftsman Abdulla-bin-Kaiser from Iran to decorate the royal palaces.
• Cultural Fusion: The art represents a seamless blend of Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and native Indian styles.
• Sufi Connection: Historical accounts suggest the craft was originally brought to India on utensils by the prominent Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti.

1. The Base Alloy: The objects are cast from an alloy of roughly 90% zinc and 10% copper, creating a dull white/grey brass base.
2. Engraving: A temporary black coat is applied to the alloy, and intricate patterns are etched onto it using a metal stylus and sharp chisels.
3. Silver Inlay: Pure silver wire or sheets are carefully hammered into the engraved grooves.
4. The Magic Soil Layer (Oxidisation): The final and most unique step involves treating the heated object with a special paste of ammonium chloride and soil taken from the ruins of the 15th-century Bidar Fort.
5. The Reaction: This fort soil contains unique chemicals (sheltered from rain and sun for centuries) that chemically react to turn the zinc alloy jet black while leaving the silver inlay completely untouched and brilliantly shining.

• Tarkashi: Delicate wire inlay work.
• Tehnashin: Deep engraving where the silver is flush with the metal surface.
• Zarnashin / Zarbuland: Low or high-relief inlays that create a 3D, sculptural effect.
• Aftabi / Mehtabi: A time-consuming reversal style where the background is carved out, making the design appear as black patterns on a silver background.
• Common Motifs: Strongly influenced by Islamic art, incorporating Persian calligraphy, geometric layouts, and stylized flowers or leaves.

• Geographical Indication: To protect the craft from counterfeits and preserve its geographic legacy, Bidriware was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2006 (Registered under the Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation).

• Labor Intensive: A single small vase can require up to eight artisans working for 15–20 days, making short-notice mass production impossible.
• Economic Strain: Escalating costs of raw materials (especially silver) coupled with low compensation for everyday artisans have pushed the younger generation away from the family trade.
• Counterfeits: Cheap, chemically painted imitations sold in local markets dilute the value of the authentic, handcrafted items.

• Single-Celled Organism: It is a microscopic, free-living amoeba.
• Habitat: It thrives in warm freshwater environments such as lakes, rivers, ponds, hot springs, and unchlorinated swimming pools. It can also survive in soil and municipal tap water if poorly managed.
• Only Human Pathogen: While there are multiple species of Naegleria, Naegleria fowleri is the only one known to infect humans.

• The Nasal Entry Way: Infection only occurs when contaminated water enters forcefully through the nose (e.g., while swimming, diving, or nasal rinsing).
• Migration to the Brain: Once inside the nasal cavity, the amoeba attaches to the olfactory mucosa, travels along the olfactory nerve, and enters the brain.
• Brain Destruction: In the brain, it actively consumes neural tissue, leading to massive inflammation, hemorrhage, and cerebral edema.
• Key Misconception: You cannot get infected by drinking contaminated water, as stomach acid kills the amoeba.
• Non-Communicable: It does not spread from person to person.

• Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM): This is the severe central nervous system infection caused by the amoeba.
• Incubation Period: Symptoms generally appear within 1 to 12 days after nasal exposure.
• Early Symptoms: Mimic viral or bacterial meningitis, including severe headache, high fever, nausea, and vomiting.
• Advanced Symptoms: Rapidly progress to a stiff neck, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, loss of balance, and coma.
• Fatality Rate: Over 97% to 99% of cases are fatal, with death usually occurring within 1 to 18 days after symptoms start.

• Diagnostic Challenges: Early identification is difficult because the symptoms present like common meningitis. Many cases historically were only diagnosed post-mortem.
• Combination Drug Therapy: While there is no single cure, standard management utilizes aggressive combinations of amphotericin B, miltefosine, azithromycin, fluconazole, and dexamethasone to reduce swelling and attack the pathogen.

• Eligibility Criteria: The system is initially tailored for residential plots measuring up to 50×80 feet (approx. 4,000 sq. ft.) allowing the construction of up to four dwelling units.
• Automated & Zero Human Intervention: The platform completely eliminates manual scrutiny and physical verification by civic officials. Approved plans are generated purely through digital compliance checks.
• 30-Minute Approval Window: Once a qualified or empanelled architect or engineer submits a compliant plan online, the software scans it against urban bylaws and issues an automatic approval within 15–30 minutes.
• e-Khata Integration: Property owners no longer need to manually upload land titles or Khata documents. By entering an e-Khata number, the platform automatically fetches basic ownership data from the government's e-Aasthi database.
• Advanced GIS Verification: The platform is linked with the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC) to automatically verify master plan land use, road width, storm-water drain alignments, and buffer zones.
• Digital Payment & QR Delivery: The applicable building license fees are calculated dynamically online. Once paid through the portal, a sanctioned building plan featuring a secure QR code is instantly issued to both the owner and the architect.
• "Trust, but Verify" Model: The portal runs on mutual trust with certified professionals. However, the government has warned that any deliberate violations or misuse of the automated system will attract stringent penalties and legal action.
• Phased Rollout: The project is currently active on a pilot basis in select areas of Bengaluru. Following performance evaluations, it will be expanded across the entire GBA jurisdiction, with future phases exploring automated approvals for commercial spaces.

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