Current Affairs — 10 September 2026

1. Key Constitutional Doctrines: How the Supreme Court Balances a Living Constitution

Basic Concept

A constitutional doctrine is a judicially crafted principle of interpretation that courts use to resolve ambiguity, settle conflicts between provisions, determine legislative competence, and protect the Constitution's foundational values, without those principles being spelled out word-for-word in the constitutional text itself. Indian courts have developed such doctrines since the 1950s to keep the Constitution workable as a living document while ensuring that Parliament's wide amending power under Article 368, and the states' and Union's law-making powers under the Seventh Schedule, do not override core constitutional values. This is a recurring GS2 (Indian Polity — Constitutional interpretation, Judicial Review, Basic Structure) theme that also underpins several GS2 essay and answer-writing questions on the balance between judicial review and legislative supremacy.

Core Context

A recent televised public-discourse programme on the Constitution's resilience prompted a fresh look at the doctrines the Supreme Court has evolved over seven decades to balance democracy, federalism, fundamental rights and institutional checks — a timely refresher given ongoing debates in 2026 about the appropriate limits of legislative and executive power vis-à-vis judicial review.

Latest Developments

• Doctrine of Basic Structure: Parliament can amend the Constitution under Article 368 but cannot damage its foundational framework (constitutional supremacy, federalism, secularism, separation of powers, judicial review); first laid down in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) and applied in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975).
• Doctrine of Separation of Powers: Distributes authority among legislature, executive and judiciary; Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab (1955) held India does not have a rigid separation but sufficiently differentiated functions; reaffirmed as part of the basic structure in 1975.
• Doctrine of Pith and Substance: Used when a law is challenged for encroaching on another legislature's domain; courts examine its true nature rather than incidental effects (Article 246, Seventh Schedule); illustrated in Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee v. Bank of Commerce (1946).
• Doctrine of Severability: Only the unconstitutional part of a statute is struck down if it can be separated from the valid part, rooted in Article 13(1) and 13(2); applied in A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950) and State of Bombay v. F.N. Balsara (1951).
• Doctrine of Eclipse: Pre-constitutional laws inconsistent with Fundamental Rights are not void from inception but remain dormant until the inconsistency is removed, as in Bhikaji Narain Dhakras v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1955).
• Doctrine of Territorial Nexus (Article 245), Doctrine of Colourable Legislation (Article 246 — tests competence, not motive, per K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo, 1953), the Doctrine of Pleasure (Articles 155, 310, 311) and the Doctrine of Harmonious Construction (reconciling seemingly conflicting provisions, as in Re Kerala Education Bill, 1958) were also revisited as complementary interpretive tools.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Basic Structure doctrine was first propounded in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), a 13-judge Constitution Bench decision — the largest bench in Indian judicial history.
• Article 13(1) and 13(2) declare laws void only to the extent of inconsistency with Fundamental Rights — the constitutional basis of the Doctrine of Severability.
• The Doctrine of Colourable Legislation tests legislative competence, not legislative motive or intention, as clarified in K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo v. State of Orissa (1953).
• Article 311 provides civil servants a mandatory reasonable opportunity of hearing before dismissal, qualifying the otherwise wide Doctrine of Pleasure under Article 310.

2. UNCCD COP17: Drought Resilience and Land Restoration at a Crossroads

Basic Concept

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted in 1994 following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management, aiming to combat desertification and mitigate drought effects, especially in Africa. Its central goal, Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), seeks to ensure the amount and quality of productive land remains stable or improves over time. This is a core GS3 (Environment — Desertification, Land Degradation) topic, alongside India's own National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (NAPCD), first formulated in 2001 and updated in 2023.

Core Context

The 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the UNCCD concluded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme Restoring Land, Restoring Hope, coinciding with the UN's International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, but ended without consensus on a legally binding global drought treaty even as new financing tools and India's own restoration progress were showcased.

Latest Developments

• Roughly 40% of the world's land surface is already degraded, threatening billions of livelihoods and global water and food security.
• Host nation Mongolia, where nearly 77% of land is degradation-affected, showcased its Billion Trees Campaign (launched 2021, targeting one billion trees by 2030).
• COP17 launched the world's first AI-powered Drought Resilience Index for vulnerability mapping, and a Drought Resilience Investment Facility co-launched with Luxembourg to de-risk climate-resilient agriculture and water-security investments.
• The conference mobilised $1.3 billion in new and pipeline financing, even as an estimated $278 billion annual drought-resilience financing gap remains unaddressed; parties agreed drought will become a standalone COP agenda item from COP18 onward.
• India unveiled its first-ever policy guide to Open Natural Ecosystems (ravines, the Thar cold and hot deserts, Deccan savannahs), reported 21.76 million hectares restored toward its Bonn Challenge pledge of 26 million hectares by 2030, and highlighted Rajasthan's traditional Orans as pastoral-stewardship models.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• UNCCD was adopted in 1994 (opened for signature after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit) and is the only legally binding UN convention specifically on desertification and drought.
• Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is UNCCD's flagship target concept, adopted globally in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals framework (SDG target 15.3).
• India's Bonn Challenge pledge is to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; as of COP17, 21.76 million hectares had been brought under restoration.
• India's NAPCD (National Action Plan to Combat Desertification) was first formulated in 2001 and updated in 2023 as the nodal umbrella framework for land restoration programmes.

3. Proposed Article 371(K): A New Governance Model for Ladakh

Basic Concept

Part XXI of the Constitution, titled Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions, already houses sui generis (unique) governance arrangements for specific regions — Article 371A for Nagaland and Article 371G for Mizoram — under which certain central laws on land, customs and local traditions apply only with the concurrence of the local legislature. Separately, Article 240 empowers the President to make regulations for certain Union Territories without a legislature. When Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory without any legislative assembly, leaving governance concentrated in the Lieutenant Governor and bureaucracy while its existing Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC Leh and Kargil) were sidelined. This is a high-yield GS2 (Indian Polity — Union Territories, Special Provisions, Centre-State/UT relations) topic.

Core Context

Responding to sustained demands from the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) — who have jointly sought statehood, Sixth Schedule protection, a dedicated public service commission and parliamentary representation since 2019 — the Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed inserting a new Article 371(K) (or Chapter K under Part XXI) to create a directly elected, legislatively empowered governing body for Ladakh, without granting full statehood or Sixth Schedule status.

Latest Developments

• The proposed body would be directly elected by universal franchise and would exercise legislative authority over land rights, transfer of property, culture and language, forests, environment and natural resources.
• It would function concurrently with Article 240 regulations, effectively transferring some presidentially-regulated subjects to the new elected body, while mirroring the protective, consent-based model used in Articles 371A and 371G.
• Critical questions — financial autonomy, budget allocation, executive decision-making, and control over police and public order — remain undecided in the current proposal.
• Separately, a grassroots initiative in Ladakh's Stok village diverted nearly 90 million litres of glacial meltwater a day from a Stok Kangri Glacier-fed stream into existing irrigation canals — about 80 million litres to the Igoo-Phey Canal and 10 million litres to Chuchot — extending irrigation to more than 1,000 acres across 12 villages, illustrating the kind of locally responsive administration that any new Ladakh governance structure would need to formalise.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, unlike the neighbouring UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which retains a legislative assembly.
• Articles 371A (Nagaland) and 371G (Mizoram) are existing special constitutional provisions requiring local legislative concurrence before certain central laws on land and customs apply.
• The Sixth Schedule provides for Autonomous District Councils in tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — a status Ladakh's LAB and KDA have demanded but not yet received.
• Article 240 empowers the President to make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of certain Union Territories, including (until now) Ladakh.

4. Exercise Veer Guardian-2026: India-Japan Air Combat Interoperability

Basic Concept

India and Japan conduct a structured series of service-specific bilateral military exercises as part of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership: Dharma Guardian (Army), JIMEX (Navy), and now Veer Guardian (Air Force), alongside multilateral naval drills like Malabar in which Japan also participates. Such exercises build interoperability — the ability of different militaries to plan, communicate and operate together — a recurring GS2 (bilateral/defence diplomacy) and GS3 (defence and security) theme.

Core Context

The Indian Air Force and Japan's Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) commenced the first-ever edition of Exercise Veer Guardian-2026, a 14-day bilateral fighter-combat exercise at Air Force Station Jodhpur, marking the first time JASDF fighter aircraft have operated from Indian soil for bilateral combat training — a step beyond the traditionally naval- and army-led India-Japan defence engagement.

Latest Developments

• The exercise runs for 14 days (9-22 September 2026) at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• The IAF fielded a mixed frontline fleet — the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, the multirole Su-30MKI, and the Dassault Rafale — training alongside JASDF's F-2A multirole fighters.
• Japan's F-2A shares core airframe lineage with the American F-16 Falcon, giving the IAF valuable tactical exposure to an F-16-derivative platform.
• Beyond aerial combat drills, the exercise includes mission-planning conferences, joint debriefs, subject-matter-expert exchanges (SMEEs) and aerospace-maintenance and safety cooperation.
• The exercise builds on the India-Japan defence convergence seen a day earlier in the fast-tracked UNICORN naval antenna project, together signalling a broader shift from symbolic exercises to genuine operational integration across services.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Veer Guardian-2026 is the first-ever bilateral air-combat exercise between the IAF and Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, hosted at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• India-Japan bilateral exercises by service: Dharma Guardian (Army), JIMEX (Navy), Veer Guardian (Air Force); Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving India, the US, Japan and Australia.
• Japan's F-2A fighter shares its core airframe design with the US F-16 Falcon.
• India's LCA Tejas is an indigenous single-engine multirole fighter developed by HAL under the Aeronautical Development Agency programme.

5. ORV Sagar Manthan: Strengthening India's Deep-Ocean Research Capability

Basic Concept

The Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), approved in 2021 and steered by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is India's flagship blue-economy initiative with six technology verticals, including manned submersible development (the Samudrayaan project's Matsya submersible, targeting a 6,000-metre-depth crewed dive) and Vertical-4, Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration, which supports seabed mineral mapping. This is a core GS3 (Science and Technology; also Economy — Blue Economy) topic tied to India's push for Atmanirbharta in ocean science and exploration of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and international seabed claims.

Core Context

India launched ORV Sagar Manthan, an indigenously designed, all-weather, multidisciplinary deep-sea research vessel built under DOM's Vertical-4, at the Rishi Bankim Shipyard of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata — a step that shifts India from importing such specialised research ships to designing and building them domestically.

Latest Developments

• Built by GRSE, Kolkata, at an estimated cost of ₹840 crore, with a projected 30-year service life and capability to operate in extreme oceanic environments including the Southern Ocean.
• Equipped with dynamic positioning systems, underway swath multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic reflection systems, sub-bottom profilers and meteorological weather radar.
• Carries deck-handling gear and drop keels to deploy Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and deep-sea benthic corers.
• Optimised to survey Indian Ocean mid-ocean ridges for polymetallic hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, alongside atmospheric and water-column (CTD) profiling for climate and monsoon research.
• Holds dual classification from the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), meeting rigorous international maritime standards.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Deep Ocean Mission was approved in 2021 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, with Samudrayaan as its manned-submersible component (target: 6,000-metre crewed dive via the Matsya submersible).
• GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers), Kolkata, is a Defence Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence.
• Polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich crusts are found in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, where India holds exploration rights granted by the International Seabed Authority.
• CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) sensors are standard oceanographic instruments used to profile water-column properties.

6. Wildlife Smuggling Alert: Orangutans Rescued in Coastal Odisha

Basic Concept

The orangutan (genus Pongo) is one of the great apes and among humanity's closest living relatives; its name derives from the Malay orang (man) and hutan (forest). All three recognised species — Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) — are IUCN-listed as Critically Endangered and are found naturally only on the islands of Borneo (shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) and Sumatra (Indonesia); no orangutan species is native to India. International trade in such species is regulated by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1973), whose Appendix I bans commercial trade in species threatened with extinction; within India, the statutory Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), established in 2007 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, is the nodal multi-disciplinary body tackling organised wildlife crime. This is a recurring GS3 (Environment — Species in News, Wildlife Protection) topic.

Core Context

Five juvenile orangutans were rescued from a coastal casuarina plantation in Balasore district, Odisha, prompting the Odisha Police Special Task Force and the WCCB to launch an investigation, since the presence of a non-native great ape species in India is itself strong evidence of an international wildlife-smuggling operation rather than a natural occurrence.

Latest Developments

• The five orangutans (three males, two females, aged roughly six to eight months) were found near the Udayapur-Talsari border in a coastal plantation area, a location consistent with a maritime or cross-border smuggling route.
• Investigators suspect prior human handling and possible bottle-feeding, indicating the animals were being trafficked rather than having strayed naturally.
• The WCCB and STF are examining CCTV footage and probable transit routes to trace the smuggling network back to its Southeast Asian source.
• Rescued animals typically undergo quarantine, veterinary assessment, and — where possible under CITES protocols — repatriation to their range states or transfer to accredited rescue and rehabilitation facilities.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• All three orangutan species (Bornean, Sumatran, Tapanuli) are IUCN Critically Endangered and are native exclusively to Borneo and Sumatra — India has no natural orangutan population.
• CITES (1973) Appendix I lists species threatened with extinction and prohibits their commercial international trade.
• The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) was statutorily established in 2007 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, functioning under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Orangutans are the largest arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals, spending over 90% of their life in the forest canopy.

7. Zimbabwe's Lithium Reserves and India's Critical-Mineral Push

Basic Concept

Critical minerals — including lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements — are essential for clean-energy technologies such as electric-vehicle (EV) batteries and grid-scale energy storage, and India has responded with a National Critical Mineral Mission and KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited), a joint-venture public-sector company mandated to secure overseas critical-mineral assets. Lithium occurs either in hard-rock pegmatite deposits (as petalite and spodumene) or in brine deposits, the latter dominant in the Lithium Triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. This is a GS1 (World Geography — physical features and mineral belts of Africa) and GS3 (Economy — critical minerals, energy security) crossover topic.

Core Context

Indian critical-minerals company Lohum dispatched its first shipment of lithium ore from newly acquired mining blocks in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province, part of a wider Indian effort to diversify critical-mineral supply chains that currently remain heavily concentrated in China-led processing.

Latest Developments

• Zimbabwe, a landlocked southern African state bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, has a Highveld-Middleveld-Lowveld plateau structure on an ancient Precambrian granite basement, with the mineral-rich Great Dyke belt yielding chromium, nickel, platinum-group metals and asbestos.
• Lohum's Matabeleland South blocks reportedly hold 30-40 million tonnes of ore, with an estimated 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) potential.
• Zimbabwe restricts export of unprocessed lithium ore, mandating that mining firms establish domestic processing and beneficiation facilities rather than simply exporting raw material.
• The move supports India's National Critical Mineral Mission and its ambitions for EV-battery manufacturing and grid-scale energy storage, reducing reliance on a narrow set of external suppliers.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Zimbabwe's capital is Harare (formerly Salisbury); it gained independence and majority rule in April 1980.
• The Great Dyke is a long mineral-rich igneous belt running across Zimbabwe, a key source of chromium, nickel, platinum-group metals and asbestos.
• The Lithium Triangle (Argentina-Bolivia-Chile) holds the world's largest lithium brine reserves, distinct from Africa's hard-rock (pegmatite) lithium deposits.
• India discovered its own significant lithium reserves in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir, in 2023 — a useful comparative Prelims fact.

8. Science News: ISRO Clarifies Space-Sector Reforms Are Not Privatisation

Basic Concept

India's space-sector reforms since 2020 created IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), a single-window autonomous body under the Department of Space that promotes, regulates and authorises private-sector space activities, alongside NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a public-sector undertaking established in 2019 to commercially transfer ISRO-developed technologies and manufacture launch vehicles and satellites through industry. This distinguishes three roles: ISRO (frontier research and national missions), IN-SPACe (regulation and promotion) and NSIL/private industry (commercial-scale manufacturing) — a core GS3 (Science and Technology — Space) topic.

Core Context

Amid public speculation that ISRO was being sidelined or privatised as private firms take on a bigger manufacturing role, ISRO issued a clarification on 6 September 2026 stating that it will neither be privatised nor see its importance diminished, even as mature and routinely manufactured systems — such as proven launch vehicles and standard satellites — are increasingly handed to industry or PSUs to scale up production.

Latest Developments

• ISRO stated it will remain the bedrock of India's space sector, focusing on frontier research and next-generation national missions rather than routine manufacturing.
• Flagged future ISRO-led missions include the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (targeted around 2035), a crewed Indian lunar mission (targeted around 2040), next-generation launch systems, and continued lunar and planetary exploration.
• India's private space ecosystem has grown from a handful of firms five years ago to more than 450 space startups, with over $600 million in private investment over five years.
• The government has introduced a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund and a ₹500 crore Technology Adoption Fund to support the space startup ecosystem.
• Officials described the changes as ecosystem expansion and capability multiplication rather than privatisation, aiming to grow India's space economy toward an estimated $44 billion by 2033.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) was established in 2020 under the Department of Space to promote and regulate private participation in space activities.
• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), incorporated in 2019, is ISRO's commercial arm responsible for technology transfer and industry-scale production of launch vehicles and satellites.
• The Bharatiya Antariksh Station is India's planned indigenous space station, targeted for around 2035, distinct from the International Space Station.
• India's crewed spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, is the precursor mission whose follow-on goals include a crewed lunar landing targeted around 2040.

9. Prelims Bytes: Quick-Fire Facts

Prelims Bytes: Quick-Fire Facts

• Former Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra was conferred the Kalinga Ratna Award 2026 by Sarala Sahitya Sansad, Cuttack, an honour instituted in 2007 and given annually alongside the Sarala Samman literary award (won this year by Dr Ramachandra Behera for over six decades of contribution to Odia literature).
• India will host the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 12-13 September 2026, concluding India's 2026 BRICS chairship under the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability; the expanded 11-member bloc accounts for nearly half the world's population and about 40% of global GDP, with cross-border UPI-linked digital payments among the agenda items.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Sri Lanka and met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, with the two countries signing three MoUs on defence cooperation, including upgrading L70 air-defence guns and strengthening ties between defence institutions.
• As of July 2026, the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme, launched on 7 September 2022, has selected 13,092 schools across 36 States and Union Territories, covering roughly 90% of its target of over 14,500 schools.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the President's Colour to the Goa Police at a ceremony in Panaji, recognising over 80 years of the force's service in protecting the state's coastline, tourists and internal security.

10. Practice MCQs

Practice MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding constitutional doctrines evolved by the Supreme Court of India:
1. The Doctrine of Basic Structure was first propounded in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).
2. The Doctrine of Severability allows courts to strike down only the unconstitutional portion of a statute while preserving the valid portion.
3. The Doctrine of Colourable Legislation examines the motive behind a legislature enacting a law.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 2 and 3 only
• (c) 1 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: Kesavananda Bharati (1973) indeed established the Basic Structure doctrine, and the Doctrine of Severability does allow courts to sever only the unconstitutional portion of a law. However, the Doctrine of Colourable Legislation examines legislative competence, not motive, as clarified in K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo v. State of Orissa (1953), making statement 3 incorrect.

Q2. With reference to the UNCCD COP17 held in 2026, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
2. Parties reached consensus and adopted a legally binding global drought treaty.
3. India's Bonn Challenge pledge is to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

• (a) 1 and 3 only
• (b) 2 and 3 only
• (c) 1 and 2 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: COP17 was indeed held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and India's Bonn Challenge target is 26 million hectares by 2030. However, parties failed to reach consensus on a legally binding global drought treaty, deferring the matter despite a large financing gap, making statement 2 incorrect.

Q3. The proposed Article 371(K), recently in the news, seeks to provide a special governance mechanism for which of the following Union Territories?

• (a) Jammu and Kashmir
• (b) Ladakh
• (c) Puducherry
• (d) Chandigarh

Answer: (b) Ladakh

Explanation: Article 371(K) has been proposed under Part XXI of the Constitution to create a directly elected, legislatively empowered governing body for the Union Territory of Ladakh, which has had no legislative assembly since its creation under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.

Q4. Consider the following pairs of India-Japan bilateral defence exercises and the service branch they primarily involve:
1. Dharma Guardian — Army
2. JIMEX — Navy
3. Veer Guardian — Air Force
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

• (a) Only one pair
• (b) Only two pairs
• (c) All three pairs
• (d) None of the pairs

Answer: (c) All three pairs

Explanation: Dharma Guardian is the India-Japan Army exercise, JIMEX is the naval exercise, and Veer Guardian-2026 was the first-ever bilateral Air Force exercise between the IAF and Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, held at Jodhpur in September 2026 — all three pairs are correctly matched.

Q5. With reference to India's Deep Ocean Mission, consider the following statements:
1. It is steered by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
2. ORV Sagar Manthan was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
3. The Samudrayaan component targets a crewed dive to a depth of 6,000 metres.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only
• (b) 2 and 3 only
• (c) 1 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation: All three statements are correct. The Deep Ocean Mission is steered by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, ORV Sagar Manthan was built by GRSE Kolkata under the mission's Vertical-4, and the Samudrayaan project's Matsya submersible targets a crewed dive to 6,000 metres depth.