UPSC Current Affairs 27 October 2026
Contents
1. Patanjala Yoga Sutra: Vibhuti Pada
2. Rugda Mushroom
3. India Study Reveals Melioidosis in High-Risk Patients
4. Indigenous Green Propulsion Technology
5. RBI’s Record-Breaking Dollar Purchases
6. India’s Debate Over Reusing Single-Use Medical Devices
7. Starshield-SpaceX
8. Saidongar-1 Project: Development vs Forest Conservation
Patanjala Yoga Sutra: Vibhuti Pada
Why in News?
The Vibhuti Pada is recently in the news because the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), under the Ministry of Ayush, inaugurated a five-day from 26–30 October 2026, National Workshop on “Patanjala Yoga Sutra: Vibhuti Pada (In the Light of Vyasa Bhashya)”.
Overview and Purpose
- Third Chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
- Contains 55 Sutras.
- Meaning: Special powers, glory, or higher attainments.
- Ultimate Goal: Kaivalya (liberation and self-realization).
- Siddhis are by-products, not the ultimate goal.
Antaranga Yoga (Internal Limbs)
- Dharana: Concentration on a single object or point.
- Dhyana: Continuous flow of attention toward the object.
- Samadhi: Deep meditative absorption.
Samyama
- Combined practice of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.
- Develops extraordinary insight, knowledge, and mental control.
Siddhis (Extraordinary Powers)
- Knowledge: Past, future, previous births, and languages of living beings.
- Physical Powers: Invisibility, extraordinary strength, and walking over water or thorns.
- Bodily Control: Control over hunger, thirst, and vital forces.
- Other Abilities: Entering another person’s body and overcoming the fear of death.
Patanjali’s Warning
- Siddhis can distract practitioners from spiritual liberation.
- They may increase ego and attachment.
- Vairagya: Non-attachment to supernatural powers.
- Viveka: Discriminative wisdom to distinguish the real from the unreal.
- Final Objective: Transcend Siddhis and attain Kaivalya.
Rugda Mushroom
Why in News?
Rugda Mushroom is in news because its short monsoon season, rising demand, high market price, and importance as a livelihood source for Jharkhand’s tribal households have drawn attention to its ecology and conservation.
About Rugda Mushroom
- Scientific name: Astraeus hygrometricus; locally also called rugra, putu, boda, or phutput.
- Type: A wild, edible ectomycorrhizal fungus, not a commercially cultivated mushroom.
- Habitat: Found mainly in the Sal forests of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and parts of West Bengal, especially on the Chhotanagpur Plateau.
- Season: Appears for only a few weeks after the first monsoon showers, generally from late June to early September.
- Growth pattern: It remains underground for most of the year around Sal-tree roots; the visible rugda is its seasonal fruiting body.
Culinary and Livelihood Value
- It is called “vegetarian mutton” because of its firm, chewy, meat-like texture and ability to absorb spices.
- It is traditionally used in tribal cuisines, particularly in curries and seasonal forest-food preparations.
- For forest-dependent communities in Jharkhand and neighbouring states, rugda provides an important seasonal income source and supports local food traditions.
India Study Reveals Melioidosis in High-Risk Patients
Why in News?
A multicentre study published in The Lancet Global Health found melioidosis in 262 of 2,953 high-risk hospitalised adults across 15 Indian tertiary-care centres during 2023–2025. Among confirmed patients, 50 deaths (19.1%) occurred in hospital, highlighting melioidosis as an under-recognised but potentially fatal infection in India.
About Melioidosis
- Melioidosis, also called Whitmore’s disease, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei.
- The bacterium is found in contaminated soil and water, especially in tropical and subtropical regions.
- Humans usually acquire infection through direct contact with contaminated soil or water, especially through cuts or wounds; inhalation of contaminated dust or water droplets can also cause infection.
- It is not generally considered person-to-person transmissible.
- It is known as the “great mimicker” because its symptoms resemble tuberculosis, pneumonia, sepsis, and other common infections, often delaying correct diagnosis.
Why High-Risk Patients Matter?
- People with diabetes mellitus are especially vulnerable; diabetes is a major risk factor for severe melioidosis.
- Other risk groups include people with chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, alcohol-use disorders, immunosuppression, and occupational or environmental exposure to muddy water or soil.
- Farmers, agricultural workers, and people exposed to flooded fields are at higher risk because of frequent soil and water contact.
- The study’s focus on high-risk hospitalised adults explains why the detected proportion is high; it does not mean that 1 in 11 people in the general population has melioidosis.
Indigenous Green Propulsion Technology
Why in News?
The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science and Technology, has signed an agreement with Navi Mumbai-based Manastu Space Technologies to provide ₹116 crore under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund for developing indigenous green propulsion technology for satellites and launch vehicles.
Key Information
- The Technology: It is a non-toxic, eco-friendly alternative designed to replace traditional hazardous fuels like hydrazine used in satellites and launch vehicles.
- Propellant Composition: The system primarily uses a hydrogen peroxide-based green propellant blended with proprietary additives.
- Key Components: The architecture includes an integrated engine, an advanced propellant feed system, and an ultra-high-temperature ceramic catalyst bed.
- Scalable Architecture: The technology features a modular design supporting a broad range of thrust requirements—from 5 mN to 300 N—making it viable for both small microsatellites and larger launch vehicle applications.
Key Benefits over Conventional Systems
- Operational Safety: Unlike hydrazine, which is highly toxic, corrosive, and carcinogenic, the green propellant drastically lowers human and environmental health risks during manufacturing, handling, and ground loading operations.
- Cost Efficiency: Eliminating heavy safety protocols and complex transport arrangements significantly reduces overall mission and handling costs.
- Enhanced Performance: The system delivers high performance, reliability, and fuel efficiency suited for low Earth orbit (LEO) tasks like altitude control, orbit keeping, and debris collision avoidance.
Project Development and Ecosystem Support
- Total Project Outlay: The entire commercialisation and deployment initiative is budgeted at ₹277.63 crore.
- Financial Instrument: The government's ₹116 crore funding is structured through Optionally Convertible Debt (OCD).
- Broader Space Ecosystem: This follows previous successful milestones in the sector, such as the Bellatrix Aerospace 1N Class Green Monopropellant thruster, which successfully validated its in-orbit performance under the DRDO's Technology Development Fund (TDF) during ISRO's PSLV-C58 mission.
RBI’s Record-Breaking Dollar Purchases
Why in News?
According to recently data released Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monthly bulletin, the RBI recorded its highest-ever monthly net dollar purchases in August 2026, buying a net $43.26 billion from the foreign exchange market.
Core Data & Figures
- Gross Purchases: The central bank bought a total of $74.47 billion in the spot market during August 2026.
- Gross Sales: Concurrently, it sold $31.21 billion to defend and balance market operations.
- Net Action: The final net buying position concluded at a record $43.26 billion.
- Growth Surge: This represent a 132% month-on-month surge compared to the net purchases made in July.
Key Drivers of the Surge
- FCNR(B) Scheme Inflows: The primary catalyst was capital routed via the RBI’s Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) concessional swap facility.
- Diaspora Mobilisation: This special window heavily incentivised the Indian diaspora and global institutions to funnel foreign deposits and external commercial borrowings (ECBs) into Indian banks.
- Early Window Closure: Due to an overwhelming response where commercial banks mobilised $52.3 billion by August 14, the RBI advanced the facility's closing date to August 31 instead of September 30.
- Routing Mechanism: As these dollars were deposited into the domestic financial ecosystem, they were successfully routed back to the central bank through the designated swap windows.
Market Impact and Financial Adjustments
- Forward Market Implications: Because these spot market transactions were balanced using large foreign exchange sell/buy swaps, the RBI’s outstanding net forward short position reached a historic peak of $200.06 billion at the end of August.
- Forex Reserve Movement: These massive August inflows originally pushed India's overall foreign exchange reserves to a historic high of $785.71 billion in early September 2026.
- Liquidity Balancing Act: By buying massive tranches of dollars, the RBI effectively pumped significant long-term Rupee cash flow into the banking grid, easing local interbank liquidity tightness.
- Policy Stance: The aggressive absorption underscores the central bank's continuing policy strategy under Governor Sanjay Malhotra to curb extreme Rupee volatility rather than target a specific rigid currency level.
India’s Debate Over Reusing Single-Use Medical Devices
Why in News?
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), under the Union Health Ministry of India, issued a strict directive banning the reuse of single-use medical devices (SUDs) and disposable surgical items across all public and private healthcare facilities nationwide.
Core Concerns & Reasons for the Directive
- Hospital Financial Malpractice: The DGHS noted that corporate and private hospitals were actively sterilising single-use consumables but charging patients or government insurance schemes the full price of a brand-new device.
- Critical Specialty Risk: The illicit reuse was heavily observed in critical medical departments, including Cardiology (cardiac catheters, guidewires), Nephrology, Oncology, Neurosurgery, and Cardiothoracic Surgery.
- Infection Control: Reprocessing disposable items dramatically increases the risk of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), sepsis, and blood-borne pathogens such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV.
- Material Degradation: Even after rigorous sterilization techniques (like Ethylene Oxide or Plasma), single-use plastics and components degrade, leading to structural device malfunction or reduced clinical performance during operations.
- Statutory Violations: The government highlighted that reusing items designated for single-use violates the Medical Devices Rules (2017), the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (1940), and the Clinical Establishments Act (2010).
In Support of the Ban (Patient Safety Advocates & Regulators)
- Standardizing Care: Aligns Indian healthcare delivery with elite international regulatory safety protocols, boosting global confidence in India's medical tourism sector.
- Accountability: Eliminates the unethical "hidden margins" where hospitals inflate profits by recycling items without patient awareness or consent.
- Reducing HAIs: Targets the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths, as dirty or degraded devices are prime vectors for hospital-acquired sepsis.
Against the Ban / Challenges Raised (Doctors & Healthcare Providers)
- Escalating Costs: Doctors warn that discarding high-end, imported medical consumables after one procedure will exponentially increase the out-of-pocket expenditure for lower-income patients.
- Sustainability and Medical Waste: Enforcing a complete ban on reprocessing runs contrary to global sustainability shifts towards circular healthcare economies, exponentially growing India's biomedical waste crisis.
- Calls for Global Models: Sections of the medical community argue that instead of an outright blanket ban, India should adopt regulated frameworks similar to the US FDA guidelines, which allow authorized, certified third-party facilities to safely reprocess specific high-end devices.
Starshield-SpaceX
Why in News?
SpaceX’s military-grade satellite network, Starshield, became the focal point of a major international geopolitical dispute after sudden operational restrictions severely disrupted the Ukrainian military's drone missions and air defences.
What is Starshield?
- Military-Grade Infrastructure: Starshield is a specialized business unit of SpaceX designed explicitly for national security, intelligence, and defence operations.
- The Technology Foundation: While it relies on the same low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite architecture as the commercial Starlink network, Starshield operates as a separate, highly encrypted, and secure layer.
- Primary Capabilities: Beyond internet broadband, it provides advanced space-based capabilities including optical and radio reconnaissance, earth observation, real-time target tracking, and early missile warnings.
- Sensor Integration: It features an open design architecture that allows government clients to integrate specialized military equipment, weapons tracking systems, and drone payloads directly onto the satellites.
- Primary Customers: Its main developers and clients are the U.S. government agencies, specifically the U.S. Space Force, the Space Development Agency (SDA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
How Starshield Differs from Starlink?
- Offensive vs. Defensive Mandates: According to terms of service, commercial Starlink is legally restricted to humanitarian, civilian, and defensive logistics. Starshield is purpose-built to support comprehensive combat operations, enabling direct offensive sensor integration and tactical drone routing.
- Security & Encryption: Starshield uses ultra-high cryptographic standards and dedicated secure government gateways that far exceed the standard data protection of commercial Starlink.
- Ownership and Control: While SpaceX manufactures and launches the satellites, Elon Musk clarified that Starshield systems used in this capacity are funded, owned, and contractually controlled by the U.S. government, whereas Starlink remains under direct private corporate governance.
The October 2026 Restriction Controversy
- The Drone Throttling: On October 13–14, 2026, Ukrainian forces suddenly lost connectivity for any Starshield terminal moving above 160 km/h. This disabled their capability to intercept incoming Russian hypersonic missiles and coordinate long-range aerial strikes.
- Blame and Confusion: The restriction caused massive diplomatic friction. Elon Musk publicly stated that SpaceX restricted commercial Starlink because Ukraine violated terms by conducting offensive strikes, but noted that any Starshield restrictions were dictated by Washington. Conversely, reporting indicated the instructions originated inside the White House to pressure Kyiv regarding external operations.
- Current Status: Following a week of severe degradation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Starshield and Starlink data speeds have been restored back to normal operations, though global security experts warn the event exposes the intense danger of relying on non-state tech giants during modern warfare.
Saidongar-1 Project: Development vs Forest Conservation
Why in News?
Saidongar-1 is a proposed 3,000 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric project in Karjat, Raigad, Maharashtra. It has become controversial because its clearance permits diversion of 233 hectares of forest land and felling of 48,000 trees, near the ecologically sensitive Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.
About Saidongar-1 Project
- Scale and Capacity: Planned at 3,000 MW, it is set to be India's largest pumped-storage hydropower facility. It features 10 reversible pump turbines of 300 MW each and an 18 GWh storage capacity.
- Location: Situated in the Karjat taluka of Raigad district, Maharashtra, the project sits adjacent to the ecologically sensitive Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats range.
- The Developer: The mega-project is being developed by Torrent Energy Storage Solutions Private Limited, a subsidiary of Torrent Power Ltd.
- Infrastructure Design: It features an open-loop, two-reservoir system. The upper reservoir will sit on a hilltop (27m dam height), while the lower reservoir (59m dam height) will be constructed across the Pej River.
- Key Approvals: State and central forest departments have already granted the necessary environmental and forest clearances, paving the way for construction.
The Development Perspective (Benefits)
- Grid Stability & Clean Energy: The plant will generate 6,241 GWh of annual energy, acting as a massive green "battery" to balance solar and wind power fluctuations, ensuring round-the-clock grid reliability.
- Carbon Offsetting: Once operational, the clean energy initiative is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4.55 million tons per year, which is equivalent to removing roughly 1 million cars from the roads annually.
- Economic Hub: Proponents argue that the project transforms a remote region into a high-tech energy generation hub, generating local infrastructure, construction contracts, and engineering jobs.
The Forest Conservation Perspective
- Massive Deforestation: The project requires the diversion of 233 hectares of dense forest land. Officially, 32,490 trees are marked for felling, though local activists claim the actual ecological toll could exceed 48,000 to 1,00,000 trees.
- Threat to Endangered Wildlife: The Sahyadri semi-evergreen ecosystem is home to leopards and the Indian Giant Squirrel (Shekru)—the state animal of Maharashtra—whose natural nesting grounds are directly threatened.
- EIA Discrepancies: Environmentalists have heavily criticized the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for misclassifying the dense forest as "shrubland" to downplay the impact on ancient trees and claiming there is "no significant wildlife" despite its proximity to a protected sanctuary.
- Flawed Mitigation Strategy: The government's plan to counter the deforestation involves compensatory afforestation located far away in Ratnagiri district, which activists argue does nothing to restore the destroyed local ecosystem of Karjat.
- Livelihood & Water Risks: Local tribal and agrarian communities in villages like Dhak and Potal are resisting the project out of fear that modifying mountain streams will destroy their water security and traditional farming.
Question & Answer
Q1. The Vibhuti Pada is associated with which of the following texts?
(A) Bhagavad Gita
(B) Patanjala Yoga Sutras
(C) Arthashastra
(D) Nyaya Sutras
Answer: (B) Patanjala Yoga Sutras
Q2. Rugda mushroom, commonly found in the Sal forests of eastern India, belongs to which scientific species?
(A) Astraeus hygrometricus
(B) Agaricus bisporus
(C) Pleurotus ostreatus
(D) Volvariella volvacea
Answer: (A) Astraeus hygrometricus
Q3. Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, is caused by which bacterium?
(A) Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(B) Burkholderia pseudomallei
(C) Salmonella typhi
(D) Streptococcus pneumoniae
Answer: (B) Burkholderia pseudomallei
Q4. Which organisation signed an agreement with Manastu Space Technologies for developing indigenous green propulsion technology?
(A) Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
(B) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
(C) Technology Development Board (TDB)
(D) National Innovation Foundation (NIF)
Answer: (C) Technology Development Board (TDB)
Q5. What was the Reserve Bank of India’s net dollar purchase in August 2026, according to the provided material?
(A) $31.21 billion
(B) $43.26 billion
(C) $52.30 billion
(D) $74.47 billion
Answer: (B) $43.26 billion
Q6. Which Indian regulatory authority issued a directive against the reuse of single-use medical devices in healthcare facilities?
(A) National Medical Commission (NMC)
(B) Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
(C) Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
(D) National Health Authority (NHA)
Answer: (C) Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
Q7. Starshield, a military-grade satellite network, is developed by which company?
(A) Blue Origin
(B) SpaceX
(C) OneWeb
(D) Boeing
Answer: (B) SpaceX
Q8. The proposed Saidongar-1 pumped-storage hydroelectric project is located in which Indian state?
(A) Karnataka
(B) Odisha
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Madhya Pradesh
Answer: (C) Maharashtra
