UPSC Current Affairs 28 October 2026

• Double-Landlocked Microstate: Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly-landlocked countries in the world, completely surrounded by other landlocked countries—Switzerland to the west and south, and Austria to the north and east.
• Size and Capital: It is an incredibly small nation covering an area of just 160 square kilometres, with Vaduz serving as its capital city and Schaan as its largest municipality.
• Terrain: Situated entirely within the Alps, its highest point is the Grauspitz peak (2,599 metres), and its western border is carved out by the Rhine River floodplain.
• No Airport: The country has no domestic airports or seaports; visitors typically travel by train or vehicle through Switzerland or Austria.

• Semi-Constitutional Monarchy: It is a hereditary principality headed by Prince Hans-Adam II, with his son, Crown Prince Alois, serving as the regent handling day-to-day state matters since 2004.
• Strong Princely Powers: Unlike largely ceremonial constitutional monarchs in Europe, the Prince of Liechtenstein wields substantial political authority, including the power to veto democratic legislation, appoint judges, and dissolve parliament.
• Parliament: It features a unicameral parliament known as the Landtag, composed of 25 democratically elected members.

• Population: It has a tiny population of roughly 40,000 residents.
• Language: German is the official language, though the population predominantly speaks Alemannic regional dialects.
• Religion: Christianity is the predominant faith, with Roman Catholicism established as the official state religion.

• Liechtenstein is one of the four EFTA members—along with Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland—covered by TEPA.
• The agreement provides a framework for improved market access and deeper India–EFTA economic engagement.
• Talks to operationalize and expand TEPA cooperation.
• Discussion of a proposed India–Liechtenstein DTAA, still under examination rather than signed.

Commitment under TEPA	Detail
Investment target	USD 100 billion into India over 15 years
Employment target	1 million direct jobs
Priority sectors	Pharma, biotechnology, machinery, renewable energy; also technology, innovation, financial services, and manufacturing

• Interoperability: The primary aim is to enhance mutual understanding, trust, and tactical cooperation between the elite military wings of both nations.
• Knowledge Sharing: It acts as a platform to exchange crucial operational insights, best practices, and expertise regarding advanced modern weapons and field equipment.

• Indian Side: Represented by highly trained commandos from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), famously known as the Para SF.
• Indonesian Side: Represented by the elite personnel of the Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus).

• Jungle Warfare: The major portion of the physical syllabus focuses on tactics, procedures, and survival strategies for special operations in dense jungle environments.
• Tactical Operations: Training drills cover cross-border combat marksmanship, advanced sniping, close-quarter combat, and obstacle-crossing techniques.
• Airborne & Mobility: Includes high-intensity military mountaineering, air assault training, and combat-hardening operations.

• Validation Phase: The 10-day program will conclude with a comprehensive validation exercise designed to simulate real-world counter-terrorism and operational scenarios to test joint endurance and readiness.
• Historical Timeline: This bilateral military engagement first began in 2012 and has alternate hosting duties between India and Indonesia to reinforce regional security and diplomatic ties.

• Origin: Bay of Bengal.
• Category at landfall: Very Severe Cyclonic Storm.
• Landfall area: Near Narsapur, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh.
• Landfall timing: Early hours of 28 October 2026, around 2–4 am IST as forecast; reports indicate around 3 am.
• Wind speed: Maximum sustained winds of 115–125 kmph, gusting up to 140 kmph; state authorities warned of winds up to 135 kmph in some districts.
• Rainfall: Extremely heavy rainfall of 21 cm or more was likely at isolated places in Andhra Pradesh.
• Storm surge: 1.5–2.5 m above astronomical tide, likely inundating low-lying coastal areas during landfall.
• Flash-flood risk: IMD warned of low to moderate flash-flood risk in several watersheds and neighbourhoods during the next 36 hours.

• Evacuation: More than 84,000 people were shifted to shelters; authorities evacuated people from low-lying and flood-prone areas.
• Cyclone shelters: Over 2,000 shelters were set up across 20 districts; another report cites 2,131 shelter locations.
• Public alerts: Emergency alerts were sent to mobile phones of millions of residents; alerts covered around 2.70 crore people in 18 districts.
• Response forces: NDRF and SDRF teams were deployed or kept on standby.
• Armed forces and Coast Guard: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard rescue and relief teams, ships, and aircraft were kept ready.
• Maritime safety: The Coast Guard guided ships and boats to jetties/shore and alerted remaining vessels to return to the coast; fishing operations were restricted.pib.gov+1
• Administrative readiness: District control rooms were activated, schools were closed in affected areas, and standard operating procedures were enforced.
• Restoration objective: The Cabinet Secretary directed agencies to ensure zero loss of life, minimise property and infrastructure damage, and restore essential services quickly after any damage.

• Zero-Casualty Mission: The administrative priority remains zero loss of human life through aggressive preventive evacuation.
• Real-time Grievance Redressal: Systems like Andhra Pradesh's Mana Mitra platform are being actively leveraged to allow citizens to report local infrastructure damage, such as waterlogging or power lines down, directly to relief teams.
• Agricultural Mitigation: Implementing immediate barricading and drainage measures to prevent heavy storm surges (predicted at 1 to 1.5 metres) from inundating low-lying agricultural fields and destroying standing crops.

• Ambiguity in Bench Selection: Justice Oka pointed out that because the same subject matter is routinely assigned to five or six different Benches, it is impossible for a litigant to predict where a freshly filed petition will go.
• The Registry Dilemma: He raised a foundational accountability query: If a single subject is mapped to multiple benches, who actually decides the exact destination of a petition? Is it the CJI personally, or an official operating inside the Supreme Court Registry?
• Excessive "CJI-Centricity": The judge observed that the Indian Supreme Court functions in a hyper-centralized, "CJI-centric" manner. He warned that concentrating vast, unchecked administrative power in a single office fosters institutional "hero-worship"—a danger Dr. B.R. Ambedkar explicitly cautioned against.
• Lack of Automated Listing: To secure objective public trust, the former judge stressed that the court must transition to a fully automated, rule-based listing framework that bypasses manual alterations.
• High Court Committee Model: He suggested that the top court adopt the collective decision-making models utilized by several state High Courts, where administrative governance is dispersed via judicial committees rather than relying solely on the Chief Justice.

• Legal Definition: By constitutional convention and supreme court precedent (reiterated in cases like State of Rajasthan v. Prakash Chand), the Chief Justice of India holds exclusive prerogative over the constitution of judicial benches and the allocation of all legal disputes.
• First Among Equals: On the judicial side, the CJI's vote carries the exact same weight as any other judge (making them "first among equals"). However, on the administrative side, the CJI acts as the absolute manager of the court's docket.

• Opacity and "Bench Cherry-Picking": Critics of the status quo argue that absolute roster authority gives a single individual the capacity to influence the eventual outcome of politically sensitive or constitutional matters by selectively assigning them to preferred benches.
• Historical Echoes: This debate builds upon deep-rooted internal institutional tensions, most notably echoing the unprecedented 2018 press conference held by four senior sitting Supreme Court judges who publicly voiced alarm over the non-transparent allocation of crucial cases by the then-CJI.
• Recent Friction: The issue has resurfaced amidst parallel public complaints regarding instances where the top court's registry deleted or reassigned listed cases, overriding ongoing judicial proceedings.

• Demanded Predictable Finance: India strongly advocated that developed countries must provide adequate, predictable financial resources, capacity building, and technology transfer to the Global South to successfully implement nature goals.
• National Priorities First: The implementation of the global framework must align strictly with individual national priorities, local circumstances, and domestic legislation.
• Support for the Cali Fund: India supported the multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from Digital Sequence Information (DSI) on genetic resources, emphasizing the utilization of international tools like the Cali Fund.
• Precautionary Science Governance: India highlighted its science-based, risk-proportionate, and precautionary approach to managing synthetic biology and biosafety.
• Global Alignment: Reaffirmed its commitment to multilateral cooperation to halt and reverse biodiversity loss under the philosophy of "One Earth, One Family, One Future".

• Expanding Network: India now boasts 1,134 protected areas, 103 Ramsar wetland sites, 57 biodiversity heritage sites, and 18 biosphere reserves.
• Wildlife Revival: Demonstrated significant population growth of apex species, bucking global trends for tigers, rhinos, and Asiatic lions.
• International Alliances: Leading the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) to secure global habitats for the world’s seven major big cat species.

• Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam & Mission LiFE: Promoting personal environmental responsibility and sustainable lifestyles.
• MISHTI Initiative: Aimed directly at extensive mangrove restoration across vulnerable shorelines.
• Amrit Dharohar: Focused on the sustainable, community-led management and conservation of wetlands.
• Soil Health Card Scheme: Ensuring sustainable soil management and preserving essential micro-biodiversity in agricultural lands.

• Pure Biofuel: E100 refers to standalone, almost 100% pure bio-ethanol fuel sourced primarily from renewable agricultural feedstocks like sugarcane, maize, and damaged foodgrains.
• Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs): These are uniquely engineered vehicles with single fuel tanks that can adapt dynamically to varying petrol-ethanol blends—ranging all the way from E20 up to E100.
• Engine Re-engineering: E100 requires corrosion-resistant fuel lines, specialized injectors, and advanced Engine Control Units (ECUs) to adjust for ethanol’s unique chemical properties.
• Strict Compatibility Rule: Conventional vehicles or those built strictly for standard E20 blends cannot use E85 or E100 fuel, as doing so would cause heavy engine corrosion and severe technical failure.

• Next Stage of the Roadmap: Following the nationwide rollout of E20 (20% ethanol blending), E100 represents the definitive next horizon of India’s alternative fuel strategy.
• Slashing Crude Oil Imports: India imports roughly 88.5% of its crude oil requirements. Transitioning to domestic E100 serves as a critical buffer against global oil price shocks and geopolitical vulnerabilities.
• Foreign Exchange Savings: The national ethanol blending strategy has already saved India over ₹1.4 lakh crore in foreign exchange outlays since 2014.
• Economic Boost for Farmers: Crop diversion to distilleries provides a secondary market for farmers, having already injected billions into the rural economy.
• Near-Zero Particulate Emissions: NITI Aayog classifies high-blend ethanol FFVs as zero-emission equivalents, offering an effective tool to counter dense urban air pollution.

• Lower Energy Density: Ethanol contains roughly 30% less energy per gallon than conventional petrol. Consequently, high-ethanol vehicles deliver fewer kilometres per litre, lowering overall fuel mileage.
• The "Water Math" Conundrum: Sugarcane is a highly water-intensive crop, taking roughly 3,000 litres of water to yield just a single litre of ethanol. Experts highlight that excessive blending plans risk driving up severe localized water stress.
• Food vs. Fuel Debates: Heavy reliance on food stocks (like maize and grain) can trigger food inflation risks and impact wider land-use and agricultural biodiversity.
• Infrastructure Bottlenecks: While manufacturers like Suzuki, Toyota, Tata, and Hyundai are engineering E100 vehicle models, deploying dedicated E100 fuel pumps nationwide remains an expansive logistical hurdle.

• Geographic Placement: Located in the Kokrajhar district in the extreme western part of Assam, falls entirely within the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
• Proximity: Lies roughly 53 km from Kokrajhar town and sits adjacent to the state border of West Bengal.
• Water Boundaries: Bounded naturally by the Sankosh River to the west, the Saralbhanga River to the east, and the Pekua River along its southern boundary.
• Riverine & Canopy Topography: Nestled in the southern foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, its elevation spans dynamically from 85 metres to 1,042 metres above sea level.

• Assam's 6th National Park: Declared a full national park on World Environment Day (June 5, 2021).
• Carved from Reserves: Formed by upgrading the northern section of the Ripu Reserved Forest, which historically suffered from severe insurgency and habitat degradation.
• Transboundary Conservation Corridor: Adjoins Bhutan’s Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. Along with West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve and Manas National Park, it forms a massive transboundary conservation landscape exceeding 2,400 sq km.
• Historical Name: Named after Raimona, a historical capital linked to the ancient Bijni royal estate.

• Home of the Golden Langur: The park is a major stronghold for the endangered Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei), which serves as the official mascot of the entire Bodoland region.
• Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve: It forms a critical integral block of the mega Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve, ensuring safe seasonal migratory paths for Asian elephants moving through Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Other Major Fauna: Safe haven for Bengal tigers, clouded leopards, gaurs (wild bison), wild water buffaloes, Chinese pangolins, and hand-raised leopard cats.
• Avian & Flora Abundance: It is a recognized Important Bird Area (IBA) sheltering hornbills and rare species like the white-bellied heron. It also features over 380 varieties of unique plants and orchids.

• Massive Population Mosaic: India is home to more than 1.4 billion people divided into over 4,600 distinct ethno-linguistic and anthropological groups.
• Endogamy and Genetic Isolation: Centuries of localized marital practices (endogamy) have resulted in unique, isolated genetic sub-populations exhibiting distinct founder mutations and profound homozygosity.
• Amplified Disease Insights: This isolation makes it much easier for scientists to isolate rare genetic mutations and trace the direct hereditary roots of complex conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
• Filling the Global Blindspot: Currently, over 80% of global genomic databases are derived from individuals of European ancestry. India's database introduces previously missing South Asian genetic maps to the global stage.

• The GenomeIndia Dataset: A mega consortium of 20 premier national research institutions successfully mapped the whole-genome sequences of healthy individuals across the biogeographic spectrum of India.
• Uncovering New Variants: The mapping initiative successfully identified over 129 million genetic variants, including 44 million variants completely new to science and absent from all pre-existing global databases.
• Advancing Precision Medicine: The findings will steer the medical landscape away from generic medical treatments, allowing pharmaceutical firms to craft targeted diagnostics tailored specifically to an individual's unique genomic heritage.
• Clinical Trial Transformation: Experts like Dr. Seema Pai at clinical forums noted that India is shifting from just a low-cost testing hub to a primary driver of diverse, robust, and scientifically sound global clinical evidence.

• Strengthening Gene Synthesis: The government highlighted an urgent need to build domestic, end-to-end gene synthesis capabilities to eradicate reliance on overseas equipment suppliers.
• Data Privacy Guardrails: To ensure ethical usage, all genomic data repositories use rigorous numerical coding rather than identifiers like caste or tribe, forcing third-party research entities to clear strict independent panel reviews.
• Commercial Scalability: Proposals are under review for extensive multi-crore national frameworks to turn these biological archives into self-sustaining biotech economic assets via data licensing and diagnostic services.

• Core Definition: SMA is a severe, rare genetic neuromuscular disorder that causes the progressive loss of motor neurons (nerve cells in the spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement).
• Mechanism of Muscle Wasting: Because motor neurons fail to send signals, voluntary muscles become entirely inactive, leading to severe atrophy (shrinking and weakening).
• Inheritance Pattern: It is an autosomal recessive condition. A child only inherits SMA if both parents are asymptomatic carriers who pass on a defective gene.
• The Genetic Cause: The vast majority of cases are caused by a mutation or deletion in the SMN1 (Survival Motor Neuron 1) gene, resulting in a critical deficiency of the SMN protein needed for nerve survival.

Type	Onset Age	Physical Capacity	Life Expectancy / Impact
Type 0	Prenatal (Before Birth)	Cannot sit; decreased movement in utero	Severe respiratory failure at birth; fatal within weeks
Type 1 (Werdnig-Hoffmann)	0 to 6 months	Can never sit unsupported; trouble swallowing/breathing	Historically fatal by age 2 without treatment; top genetic killer of infants
Type 2 (Dubowitz)	6 to 18 months	Can sit unsupported but cannot stand or walk	Variable; shortened lifespan but can survive into adulthood with proper care
Type 3 (Kugelberg-Welander)	After 18 months	Can stand and walk independently, may lose ability later	Normal life expectancy; progressive muscle weakness
Type 4	Adulthood (20s–30s)	Fully mobile; mild proximal muscle weakness	Normal life expectancy; slowest progression

• Voluntary Weakness: Severe weakness in muscles closest to the center of the body (proximal muscles), particularly the shoulders, hips, thighs, and upper back.
• Respiratory Distress: Wasting of intercostal muscles leads to shallow breathing, poor coughing mechanisms, and frequent life-threatening lung infections.
• Skeletal Deformities: Weak back muscles frequently lead to the development of severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine).
• Intact Intellect: Crucially, SMA does not affect sensory nerves or cognitive function; children with SMA often display very high intelligence.

• Risdiplam (Evrysdi / Natsmart): An oral, daily at-home liquid medication that dynamically modifies the SMN2 backup gene to produce more functional SMN protein.
• Onasemnogene Abeparvovec (Zolgensma): A revolutionary one-time intravenous gene replacement therapy that delivers a fully functional human SMN1 gene directly into the patient's cells. It is famously known as one of the most expensive drugs in the world.
• Nusinersen (Spinraza): An antisense oligonucleotide administered directly into the spinal fluid (intrathecally) to boost SMN protein production.

• The Government of India designated 15 November as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in 2021, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• It commemorates the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, popularly called “Dharti Aaba” (Father of the Earth).
• The day honours tribal heroes’ contributions to India’s freedom struggle and recognises tribal communities’ role in India’s cultural, spiritual, and social life.
• It also celebrates tribal knowledge, art, traditions, and communities’ harmony with nature.

• Birsa Munda was a tribal freedom fighter and leader from the Munda community of the Chhotanagpur region.
• He is remembered for resistance against colonial exploitation and for defending tribal rights over land, forests, and customary ways of life.
• His 150th birth anniversary was observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh in 2024–25, with over 2 lakh activities and more than 3.8 crore participants.

• 12 November: Around 200 Eklavya Model Residential School students will interact with the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• 12–13 November: National Tribal Literary Festival at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, with tribal writers from across the country.
• 12–13 November: National workshop at IIT Delhi on strengthening Adi Vaani as a tribal living heritage and national tribal-language repository.
• 14 November: Rani Durgavati Adivasi Mahila Sammelan, bringing together 500 tribal women entrepreneurs from 30 States/UTs to improve market linkages.
• 1–2 November: Tribal Healers capacity-building conclave in Hyderabad; about 1,500 traditional healers from 9 States/UTs will be trained.
• 15 October–15 November: Swasthya–Poshan Sewa Sangam will conduct health, nutrition, and scheme camps for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) at PM-JANMAN Multi-Purpose Centres.

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