Current Affairs — 29 September 2026

1. The Pashudhan Bima Portal

Basic Concept

Livestock rearing supports the livelihoods of a very large share of rural Indian households, particularly landless and marginal farmers, but livestock insurance penetration in India has historically stayed low because of paperwork-heavy claim processes, weak record-keeping of animal identity, and poor last-mile awareness. To fix this, the government has been building a digital backbone for animal husbandry, anchored in the Bharat Pashudhan database and the 12-digit ear-tag system under the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM), which gives every bovine a unique, traceable identity. This falls under GS3 (economy: agriculture and allied sectors) and GS2 (welfare schemes for vulnerable groups).

Core Context

The Union Ministry overseeing Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched the Pashudhan Bima Portal, a centralised e-governance platform meant to digitise the entire livestock insurance lifecycle — from a farmer's application, through underwriting, to the final claim payout — on a single online interface.

Latest Developments

• The portal is being rolled out in 13 languages (11 regional languages plus Hindi and English) to widen accessibility for farmers who are not comfortable with English-only digital platforms.

• It is integrated with the Bharat Pashudhan database and the 12-digit ear-tag identification system, so every insured animal's health, ownership, and claim history is auditable in real time.

• By digitising the full insurance lifecycle, the platform is expected to cut claim-settlement delays and reduce fraudulent or duplicate claims, a long-standing complaint under earlier paper-based livestock insurance schemes.

• The move is part of a broader push toward e-governance in the animal husbandry and dairying sector, complementing other Digital India initiatives in agriculture such as the Agri Stack.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Pashudhan Bima Portal digitises the livestock insurance lifecycle from application to claim payout.

• It is available in 13 languages (Hindi, English, and 11 regional languages).

• It is linked to the Bharat Pashudhan database and the 12-digit ear-tag system under the National Digital Livestock Mission.

2. Tackling Food Loss and Waste — India's Opportunity

Basic Concept

The United Nations observes the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September each year, established by the UN General Assembly to highlight the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target of halving global per-capita food waste and reducing food losses along production and supply chains by 2030. A key conceptual distinction in this space is between "food loss," which happens upstream — during harvesting, storage, processing, and wholesale — and "food waste," which happens downstream, at the retail, hospitality, and household level. This is relevant to GS3 (agriculture, food security, and the economy) and touches on India's climate commitments since decomposing food waste is a notable source of methane emissions.

Core Context

Marking this year's observance, an FAO-linked assessment highlighted India's opportunity to convert its food-loss burden into an economic and climate asset, drawing on India's own extensive post-harvest loss data.

Latest Developments

• India is the only country to have conducted three comprehensive national post-harvest loss surveys (2005-07, 2012-14, and 2020-22), and a fourth round is currently underway, giving policymakers an unusually strong evidence base compared to most developing economies.

• India's wholesale agricultural markets (APMCs) collectively generate over 100 tonnes of organic waste every day at major mandis, adding up to an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of wholesale-market food waste annually across the country.

• If diverted from open dumping into composting or biogas generation, this waste stream carries a potential carbon offset of about 3.3 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent annually, valued at roughly $30 million in carbon-credit terms.

• The assessment recommends FAO-SIDBI style green financing partnerships that connect identified "waste hotspots" with concessional capital for cold-chain and compost/biogas infrastructure, since high upfront capital costs are one of the biggest barriers for smallholders and mandi operators.

• Key systemic gaps flagged include inadequate cold-chain coverage, weak downstream (retail/consumer-level) waste legislation compared to upstream loss policy, and underdeveloped markets for food-processing by-products.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is observed on 29 September.

• "Food loss" refers to upstream supply-chain losses (harvest to wholesale); "food waste" refers to downstream losses (retail, hospitality, household).

• India has conducted three national post-harvest loss surveys (2005-07, 2012-14, 2020-22); a fourth is ongoing.

• SDG 12.3 targets halving global per-capita food waste and reducing food losses by 2030.

3. PRAHAAR: India's Counter-Terrorism Strategy Gets a 10-Year Roadmap

Basic Concept

Countering terrorism in a large federal democracy like India requires coordination across multiple layers of government — central intelligence and paramilitary agencies, state police forces, and local administration — since "police" and "public order" are State List subjects under the Seventh Schedule even though terrorism has clear cross-border and national-security dimensions. To resolve this coordination challenge, India adopted PRAHAAR as its first consolidated national counter-terrorism policy and strategy document, built around a "whole-of-society" approach rather than treating counter-terrorism as a purely security-force function. This falls under GS3 (internal security) and touches on Centre-State coordination mechanisms covered in GS2.

Core Context

The Union Home Minister inaugurated a national conference to institutionalise the PRAHAAR framework, announcing a ten-year roadmap to strengthen India's counter-terrorism architecture from national institutions down to the police-station level.

Latest Developments

• PRAHAAR is structured around a seven-pillar approach spanning Prevention, Response, Institutional (internal) capacity-building, Human rights safeguards, addressing the underlying conditions conducive to terrorism, international/regional alignment, and post-incident Recovery and resilience.

• The strategy calls for whole-of-society coordination, extending counter-terrorism awareness and preparedness from apex national bodies down to the grassroots police-station level, rather than concentrating capability only in specialised central agencies.

• A new Extradition Portal has been announced to speed up and streamline the process of bringing fugitives and terror suspects back to India from abroad, addressing long delays that have historically stalled such requests.

• The framework also envisages more automated counter-terrorism response mechanisms, using technology to shorten reaction time during and after an incident.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• PRAHAAR is India's first consolidated national counter-terrorism policy and strategy document.

• It follows a seven-pillar, "whole-of-society" approach extending down to the police-station level.

• A dedicated Extradition Portal has been announced under this framework to speed up fugitive-return processes.

• Police and public order are State List (List II) subjects under the Seventh Schedule, making Centre-State coordination central to any counter-terrorism strategy.

4. Exercise KAZIND-2026

Basic Concept

India conducts a series of bilateral joint military exercises with Central Asian and other partner nations as part of its defence diplomacy, aimed at building interoperability, professional exchange, and shared operational doctrine, especially in counter-terrorism, which is a common security concern in the region. Exercise KAZIND is the flagship bilateral army exercise between India and Kazakhstan, held alternately in each country, and reflects India's wider "Connect Central Asia" policy of deepening strategic and defence ties with the Central Asian Republics. This is relevant to GS3 (defence and security) and GS2 (India's bilateral and regional relations).

Core Context

The latest edition of this exercise, KAZIND-2026, began in Oskemen, Kazakhstan, with a contingent of the Indian Armed Forces joining their Kazakh counterparts for joint counter-terrorism training.

Latest Developments

• A roughly 60-member Indian Armed Forces contingent travelled to Oskemen for the exercise, which is held under a United Nations mandate emphasising joint capability for peacekeeping-adjacent counter-terrorism operations.

• Training focuses on counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain, including cordon-and-search operations, raids, and search-and-destroy missions against simulated terrorist elements.

• The exercise includes securing helipads and Special Heliborne Operations, along with the integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Counter-UAS drills, reflecting the growing role of drone warfare in modern counter-terrorism doctrine.

• Both militaries are jointly establishing a Joint Command Post and an Intelligence and Surveillance Centre during the exercise to practise combined planning and real-time information-sharing.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• KAZIND-2026 is a bilateral India-Kazakhstan military exercise held in Oskemen, Kazakhstan.

• It focuses on joint counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a UN mandate.

• The exercise is held alternately between India and Kazakhstan as part of India's defence engagement with Central Asia.

5. India Reaffirms Whale Conservation Commitment at IWC-70

Basic Concept

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is an inter-governmental body established in 1946 under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, originally set up to manage whale stocks as a commercial resource but which shifted decisively toward conservation after adopting an indefinite moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 (effective from 1986). Its secretariat is based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and it meets biennially as the Commission, alongside its Scientific Committee which advises on cetacean population science. This falls under GS3 (environment, biodiversity conservation) and GS2 (India's participation in international environmental governance bodies).

Core Context

India took part in the 70th meeting of the IWC (IWC-70), held in Hobart, Australia, reaffirming its long-standing conservation-first position on cetaceans.

Latest Developments

• India joined the IWC in 1981 and has consistently supported the 1986 commercial whaling moratorium, opposing efforts by some member nations to reintroduce commercial whaling quotas.

• The IWC's mandate today covers regulating catch limits, managing declared whale sanctuaries (including in the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean), permitting limited aboriginal subsistence whaling under strict quotas, and addressing threats such as entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes.

• IWC-70 discussions reflect growing scientific concern over cumulative, non-hunting threats to whale populations — noise pollution, ship strikes, and climate-driven shifts in prey distribution — rather than commercial hunting alone.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The IWC was established in 1946; its secretariat is in Cambridge, UK.

• The indefinite moratorium on commercial whaling was adopted in 1982 and took effect in 1986.

• India joined the IWC in 1981 and supports the whaling moratorium.

• IWC-70 was held in Hobart, Australia.

6. FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO-28)

Basic Concept

The Committee on Forestry (COFO) is the highest statutory forestry body of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), bringing together member countries biennially to set global forest policy direction; it oversees flagship FAO publications such as the State of the World's Forests and the Global Forest Resources Assessment, and coordinates with FAO's six Regional Forestry Commissions. This is relevant to GS3 (environment and forest conservation) and GS2 (India's engagement with UN specialised agencies).

Core Context

India showcased its forest restoration and carbon-sink progress at the 28th Session of COFO, held in Rome alongside World Forest Week, with 128 member countries participating.

Latest Developments

• India highlighted that it ranks 9th globally in total forest area and 3rd in net annual forest area gain, based on the latest global forest assessments.

• India has restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded land so far, moving toward its Bonn Challenge commitment of restoring 26 million hectares by 2030.

• India's forests and tree cover created an estimated carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2021, with a target of 3.5 to 4.0 billion tonnes by 2035, a key metric under India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

• The Aravalli Green Wall initiative, covering 6.45 million hectares identified for eco-restoration along the Aravalli range, was cited as a flagship large-landscape restoration effort.

• India also referenced the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" ("A Tree in Mother's Name") plantation campaign, under which more than 3.5 billion saplings have been planted, and its network of 101 Ramsar-designated wetland sites.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• COFO is FAO's highest statutory forestry body, meeting biennially; COFO-28 was held in Rome.

• India ranks 9th globally in total forest area and 3rd in net annual forest area gain.

• India's Bonn Challenge commitment is to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

• India currently has 101 Ramsar wetland sites.

7. Mandar Gets a GI Tag

Basic Concept

A Geographical Indication (GI) tag, granted in India under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and administered by the GI Registry in Chennai, identifies a product as originating from a specific geographical area and possessing qualities, reputation, or characteristics essentially attributable to that origin. GI protection is especially significant for tribal and folk-art products, since it legally safeguards traditional artisan communities from imitation and helps them capture more value from their craft. This is relevant to GS1 (art and culture) and GS3 (intellectual property rights).

Core Context

The Mandar, a traditional folk percussion instrument of Jharkhand, was granted a GI tag, formally recognising it as a product of Jarjatta village in Gumla district's Raidih block.

Latest Developments

• The Mandar is a double-headed barrel drum with a hollow, cylindrical red-clay shell that bulges slightly in the middle, with asymmetrical drum-heads of unequal size that produce two distinct pitches, tensioned using braided leather cords.

• A tuning paste called "kiran" is applied to the smaller drum-head to refine its tonal quality, and the instrument is traditionally slung over the shoulder, allowing the player to move dynamically during performance.

• Its manufacture has been documented in colonial-era ethnographic records, including studies by Sarat Chandra Roy (1915) and W.G. Archer (1940), underlining its centuries-old cultural continuity among Jharkhand's tribal and non-tribal communities alike.

• The GI tag is expected to protect the livelihoods of Jarjatta's traditional Mandar-making families and adds to Jharkhand's small but growing portfolio of GI-tagged products.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Mandar is a traditional double-headed barrel drum from Jarjatta village, Gumla district, Jharkhand.

• GI tags in India are granted under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, administered by the GI Registry in Chennai.

• A tuning paste called "kiran" is applied to the Mandar's smaller drum-head.

8. Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Three High Court Chief Justices for Elevation to the Supreme Court

Basic Concept

Judicial appointments to India's higher judiciary are made through the Collegium system, a mechanism evolved entirely through Supreme Court judgments rather than being explicitly written into the Constitution. The First Judges Case (1981) held that "consultation" with the Chief Justice of India did not mean "concurrence," giving the executive greater say; the Second Judges Case (1993) reversed this and created the Collegium system, giving primacy to the judiciary; the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Supreme Court Collegium to five members; and the Fourth Judges Case (2015) struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment (which had sought to replace the Collegium with a National Judicial Appointments Commission) and restored the Collegium. This is a core GS2 polity topic on the judiciary and judicial appointments.

Core Context

The Supreme Court Collegium recommended the elevation of three sitting High Court Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court, moving to fill vacancies in the apex court.

Latest Developments

• The Supreme Court Collegium consists of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, while a High Court Collegium consists of the Chief Justice of that High Court and its two senior-most judges.

• Under the current convention, the government may return a Collegium recommendation once for reconsideration, but if the Collegium reiterates the same names, the recommendation becomes binding on the government.

• This recommendation follows a separate, distinct set of appointments made earlier in the year when the Collegium had named new Chief Justices for several High Courts, illustrating the two-tier nature of Collegium-driven appointments (High Court Chief Justice appointments, and separately, elevation to the Supreme Court).

• Timely filling of Supreme Court vacancies is significant for case-disposal rates, given the apex court's substantial pending-case backlog.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Collegium system emerged from the Second Judges Case (1993) and was expanded by the Third Judges Case (1998).

• The Fourth Judges Case (2015) struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

• The Supreme Court Collegium comprises the CJI plus the four senior-most Supreme Court judges.

9. A New Governance Model for Ladakh

Basic Concept

Ladakh became a separate Union Territory without a legislature in 2019, following the reorganisation of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, civil society groups from Leh and Kargil have jointly demanded stronger constitutional safeguards for Ladakh's land, environment, culture, and local employment, most prominently seeking inclusion under the Sixth Schedule (which currently provides autonomous tribal governance arrangements in parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram) or an equivalent special constitutional framework. This is a GS2 topic on Union Territories, federalism, and special constitutional provisions.

Core Context

Talks between the Union Home Ministry and Ladakhi representative bodies — the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance — continued on designing a new, hybrid governance model for the Union Territory that balances local autonomy with the region's border-security sensitivities.

Latest Developments

• Discussions have explored options including a Sixth Schedule-type arrangement and, separately, a special-status framework drawing on Article 371-type protections already used for parts of the North-East and other regions.

• Key demands from Ladakhi groups include statutory protection of land from outside purchase, job reservation for locals, and protection of Ladakh's fragile high-altitude ecology from unregulated development.

• The Centre has cited Ladakh's strategic location along the Line of Actual Control with China as a factor requiring any new governance framework to preserve central oversight over security-sensitive matters even while devolving more local governance powers.

• Progress on these talks remains an evolving story, with periodic rounds of dialogue and occasional stalemates reported over the pace and content of the Centre's proposals.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019 after the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act.

• The Sixth Schedule currently applies to autonomous tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

• The two main representative bodies negotiating with the Centre are the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.

10. States Stumped by the Demography Panel's Religion-wise Queries

Basic Concept

India's decennial Census, conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and administered by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, is the primary source of demographic data, though it has been delayed beyond its usual schedule this cycle. Collection of religion-based data has historically been sensitive, since Article 14 (equality before law) and India's secular constitutional framework require that any classification exercise avoid appearing to target or profile communities, even while religious demographic data has legitimate uses in welfare-scheme design and constituency delimitation. This is a GS1/GS2 topic touching on population studies, the Census, and Centre-State coordination.

Core Context

Several state governments reported confusion and administrative strain after a demography-related panel sought religion-wise breakdowns of routine data — including the number of vehicles, schools, and registered voters by religious community — without prior detailed consultation with the states on the data's intended use.

Latest Developments

• State officials flagged that combining religion-wise counts with essentially secular administrative categories (vehicle registrations, school records) was methodologically unusual and increased their compliance burden without clear justification.

• Opposition-ruled states, in particular, have raised federalism concerns, arguing that abrupt, centrally-driven data requests without adequate consultation strain Centre-State trust, especially given that the regular decennial Census itself has already been delayed.

• The episode has reignited debate on the appropriate scope of demographic data collection in a plural society, and on ensuring such exercises remain strictly technical/statistical rather than being seen as politically motivated.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Census in India is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

• Census 2021 has been delayed and is commonly referred to in current discourse as the pending "Census 2027" cycle.

• Population and religious-community data collection must be read alongside Article 14's equality guarantee and India's secular constitutional character.

11. Supreme Court's Suo Motu Case on Women's Safety in Delhi

Basic Concept

"Suo motu" (Latin for "on its own motion") cognisance allows a court to take up a matter for judicial scrutiny without a formal petition being filed, typically used in matters of significant public interest or gross rights violations. Delhi's unique administrative structure — where police falls under the Union Government (through the Ministry of Home Affairs) while many civic functions like street lighting and municipal services fall under the Delhi government and municipal bodies — has repeatedly complicated accountability for women's safety measures such as the Nirbhaya Fund-supported CCTV networks and street lighting projects. This is a GS2 topic on judiciary, governance, and women's safety/social justice.

Core Context

The Supreme Court registered a suo motu case concerning women's safety in Delhi following a spate of recent sexual assault incidents, and the bench drew troubling parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case, questioning why systemic safety gaps identified over a decade ago persist.

Latest Developments

• The Court's observations highlighted implementation gaps in existing frameworks, including underutilised Nirbhaya Fund allocations and incomplete rollout of CCTV surveillance and street-lighting projects meant to improve women's safety in public spaces.

• The divided administrative responsibility between Delhi Police (which reports to the Union Home Ministry) and municipal/civic bodies (under the Delhi government) was flagged as a structural bottleneck that dilutes accountability for safety infrastructure.

• The bench sought detailed status reports from relevant authorities and signalled it would monitor compliance with previous court directions on women's safety measures issued after the 2012 Nirbhaya case (which had led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, and the creation of the Nirbhaya Fund).

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Nirbhaya Fund was created after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case to support women's safety initiatives.

• Delhi Police functions under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, not the Delhi state government.

• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, followed the recommendations of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee set up after the 2012 case.

12. AI in Disaster Management

Basic Concept

Disaster management in India operates under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, through a three-tier structure of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), State Disaster Management Authorities, and District Disaster Management Authorities, supported by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for on-ground response. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being layered onto this structure to improve early warning, response speed, and damage assessment, forming an important intersection of GS3 (science and technology) and GS3 (disaster management).

Core Context

Recent flooding in Nepal and parts of India has renewed focus on how AI tools are being used across the disaster-management cycle, from prediction to post-disaster recovery.

Latest Developments

• Machine-learning models are being used for hyperlocal meteorological "nowcasting" — very short-term, highly localised rainfall forecasts that are more actionable for immediate evacuation decisions than traditional broad-area weather forecasts.

• Drone-mounted thermal cameras with AI-based detection are being deployed for search-and-rescue operations, helping locate survivors in debris or flooded terrain where visual search is difficult.

• AI-driven comparison of pre- and post-disaster satellite imagery is being used for automated damage assessment, speeding up the process of identifying the worst-hit areas for relief prioritisation.

• Key challenges include "ground-truthing" bottlenecks (verifying AI predictions against real conditions), data bias that can under-represent marginalised or remote populations, AI "hallucinations" that risk generating and spreading misinformation during a crisis, and the fragility of digital infrastructure itself during large-scale disasters when power and connectivity often collapse.

• Experts recommend public-private innovation partnerships, "edge AI" deployment (running AI models directly on drones or local devices rather than depending on continuous connectivity), integrating traditional/indigenous ecological knowledge with AI systems, and maintaining human-in-the-loop safeguards so critical decisions are not left entirely to automated systems.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Disaster Management Act, 2005, created the NDMA, State DMAs, and District DMAs as India's three-tier disaster management structure.

• "Edge AI" refers to running AI models on local devices rather than relying on constant network connectivity — useful when disasters disrupt infrastructure.

• The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is India's specialised disaster response force.

13. India's Reservoir Storage Slips to a Decade Low

Basic Concept

The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage levels in 178 major reservoirs across India and publishes a weekly bulletin comparing current storage to both the previous year and the 10-year average for that time of year — a key indicator for assessing drinking-water security, irrigation planning, and hydropower generation ahead of the dry season. The south-west monsoon (June-September) supplies more than 70% of India's annual rainfall, so any significant shortfall directly threatens reservoir replenishment. This is a GS1 (geography/climatology) and GS3 (water resources, agriculture) topic.

Core Context

Latest CWC data shows that live storage across India's 178 monitored reservoirs stood at about 70% of total capacity, below the 10-year average of roughly 76.6% for this time of year and well short of the 79% recorded at the same point in 2025.

Latest Developments

• Cumulative south-west monsoon rainfall this season has run about 12% below normal, with June recording the steepest shortfall (35.4% below average), August a 16.3% deficit, and the first 28 days of September still showing a 5% shortfall.

• South India has been hit hardest, with reservoirs at only about 50% of capacity (27.926 billion cubic metres), a sharp fall from 87.25% at the same time in 2025; Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have all recorded rainfall around 23% below normal.

• North India's reservoirs stand at about 62% of capacity (down from 92.3% in 2025), while the West/Central zone is comparatively better placed at about 85.6% and the East/North-East zone stands at roughly 73% amid a regional rainfall deficit of about 25%.

• Meteorologists attribute the shortfall partly to strengthening El Nino conditions disrupting normal monsoon circulation patterns, with knock-on risks for rabi-season irrigation, drinking-water supply in reservoir-dependent cities, and hydropower output over the coming months.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage in 178 major reservoirs across India.

• The south-west monsoon supplies over 70% of India's annual rainfall.

• South India has recorded the sharpest year-on-year decline in reservoir storage this season.

14. Rare-Disease Drugs: India's Next Pharmaceutical Frontier

Basic Concept

A "rare" or "orphan" disease is typically defined as a condition affecting a very small proportion of the population, making drug development for such conditions commercially unattractive under normal market incentives since the patient pool is too small to recover R&D costs through standard pricing. India's National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD), 2021, was framed to address this market failure by providing financial assistance and encouraging local manufacturing of otherwise expensive orphan drugs. This is a GS2 (health policy) and GS3 (pharmaceutical economy, science and technology) topic.

Core Context

Recent commentary has highlighted rare-disease drug manufacturing as an emerging growth opportunity for India's pharmaceutical industry, building on the existing policy framework and India's established generic-drug manufacturing base.

Latest Developments

• Under the NPRD 2021, patients with certain categories of rare diseases can receive financial assistance of up to Rs 50 lakh for treatment, funded through the Umbrella Scheme for Rare Diseases.

• Since India already has a very large generic-drug manufacturing base (often called the "pharmacy of the world"), commentators argue it is well positioned to produce affordable versions of costly orphan drugs domestically rather than relying entirely on expensive imports.

• Proposed dedicated incentives to attract R&D investment in this space include tax breaks specific to orphan-drug development, extended market exclusivity periods for companies that develop treatments for rare conditions, and streamlined regulatory review pathways.

• Challenges include the very high cost of clinical trials for conditions with extremely small patient populations, and the need for better rare-disease registries and diagnostic capacity so patients can even be identified for treatment.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• India's National Policy for Rare Diseases was notified in 2021.

• Under the NPRD, financial assistance of up to Rs 50 lakh is provided for eligible rare-disease treatment.

• "Orphan drugs" are medicines developed for rare diseases, where small patient populations make normal market-based R&D economically unviable.

15. Supreme Court Questions Government's Power to Levy UPI Merchant Fees

Basic Concept

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), became the backbone of India's digital-payments ecosystem partly because person-to-merchant UPI transactions have carried a "zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)" since 2020 — meaning merchants pay no transaction fee, unlike with card payments. This zero-MDR policy massively boosted merchant adoption, especially among small traders, but has also meant that payment-service providers and banks absorb the full cost of running UPI infrastructure at scale. This is a GS3 topic on the digital economy and financial-sector regulation.

Core Context

The Supreme Court declined to stay the reintroduction of a Merchant Discount Rate on certain UPI transactions but directed the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to explain the statutory basis and rationale for the move.

Latest Developments

• Petitioners have questioned whether the government possesses clear statutory authority to reintroduce MDR on UPI transactions given the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 framework and past policy commitments to keep UPI transaction costs at zero for consumers and small merchants.

• The zero-MDR policy has been credited as a major driver of UPI's rapid adoption among small and micro merchants who could not otherwise absorb card-processing-style fees, so any change carries significant implications for financial inclusion.

• The financial sustainability of running UPI's payment infrastructure without merchant fees has been repeatedly flagged by banks and payment companies, creating tension between the goal of digital-payment penetration and the commercial viability of the ecosystem.

• The Court's request for a government explanation, rather than an outright stay, keeps the matter under judicial scrutiny while allowing policy deliberation to continue.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

• Person-to-merchant UPI transactions have had a zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) since 2020.

• The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, provides the legal framework for regulating payment systems in India, with the RBI as the designated authority.

16. Coast Guard Averts Major Oil Spill off the Odisha Coast

Basic Concept

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), established under the Coast Guard Act, 1978, functions as India's principal maritime law-enforcement and safety agency and is designated the Central Coordinating Authority for responding to oil spills in Indian waters under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP). Odisha's coastline is ecologically sensitive, home to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (the world's largest nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles) and the Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem, making maritime pollution incidents in this stretch especially high-stakes. This is a GS3 topic spanning maritime security, disaster management, and environmental conservation.

Core Context

The Indian Coast Guard averted a major oil spill after the Belize-flagged tanker MT Seagull 9, carrying palm oil, suffered engine failure and rapid ballast-tank flooding roughly 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip, putting it at risk of capsizing.

Latest Developments

• ICGS Vishwast, along with a specialist damage-control team, boarded the stricken vessel and used submersible de-flooding pumps to arrest the flooding, while two damaged seawater pipelines were blanked (sealed) to stop further ingress.

• A dedicated Pollution Control Vessel and an Offshore Patrol Vessel were diverted to the site, while a Dornier surveillance aircraft provided real-time aerial monitoring of the vessel's condition and any visible slick.

• Concurrent cargo transfer operations helped stabilise the tanker, after which the Paradip Port Authority's tug, Dolphin, towed it safely to anchorage, averting what could have been a significant marine-pollution event in an ecologically sensitive stretch of coastline.

• The incident is a practical illustration of the Coast Guard's statutory role as the Central Coordinating Authority for marine oil-spill response and of multi-agency coordination (Coast Guard, port authority, and pollution-control assets) in maritime disaster management.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Indian Coast Guard was established under the Coast Guard Act, 1978.

• The ICG is the Central Coordinating Authority for oil-spill response under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan.

• Gahirmatha (Odisha) is the world's largest nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles.

17. Practice MCQs

Practice MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the Pashudhan Bima Portal:
1. It digitises the livestock insurance lifecycle from application to claim payout.
2. It is integrated with the Bharat Pashudhan database and the 12-digit ear-tag system.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 only

• (b) 2 only

• (c) Both 1 and 2

• (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Explanation: The Pashudhan Bima Portal digitises the full livestock insurance lifecycle and is linked to the Bharat Pashudhan database and the ear-tag identification system under the National Digital Livestock Mission.

Q2. The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is observed on which of the following dates?

• (a) 16 October

• (b) 5 June

• (c) 29 September

• (d) 22 April

Answer: (c) 29 September

Explanation: The UN General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, linked to Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3.

Q3. With reference to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), consider the following statements:
1. It was established in 1946 and its secretariat is located in Cambridge, UK.
2. India joined the IWC in 1981.
3. The indefinite moratorium on commercial whaling adopted by the IWC took effect in 1986.
Which of the statements given above 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 IWC was set up in 1946 with its secretariat in Cambridge; India joined in 1981; and the moratorium adopted in 1982 became effective in 1986.

Q4. The Collegium system for judicial appointments in India evolved primarily through which of the following?

• (a) A constitutional amendment enacted by Parliament

• (b) An executive order of the President

• (c) A series of Supreme Court judgments, including the Second and Third Judges Cases

• (d) A recommendation of the Law Commission of India accepted by the Cabinet

Answer: (c) A series of Supreme Court judgments, including the Second and Third Judges Cases

Explanation: The Collegium system was judicially evolved, not enacted by Parliament — the Second Judges Case (1993) created it and the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded it to a five-member Supreme Court Collegium; the Fourth Judges Case (2015) later struck down the NJAC and restored the Collegium.

Q5. Consider the following statements about Ladakh's constitutional status:
1. Ladakh is a Union Territory with a legislature.
2. Civil society groups in Ladakh have demanded inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 only

• (b) 2 only

• (c) Both 1 and 2

• (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only

Explanation: Ladakh is a Union Territory without a legislature, created in 2019. The Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance have jointly sought Sixth Schedule-type protections or an equivalent special constitutional framework for the region.

Q6. Which of the following best describes the "zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)" policy on UPI transactions in India?

• (a) Banks are barred from offering UPI services to merchants

• (b) Merchants pay no transaction fee on person-to-merchant UPI payments

• (c) The RBI directly subsidises all UPI transactions for consumers

• (d) MDR applies only to international UPI transactions

Answer: (b) Merchants pay no transaction fee on person-to-merchant UPI payments

Explanation: Since 2020, person-to-merchant UPI transactions in India have carried zero MDR, meaning merchants are not charged a transaction fee, a policy widely credited with driving UPI's rapid adoption among small traders.

Q7. The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, mentioned in the context of Coast Guard operations off Odisha, is significant as:

• (a) India's largest coral reef ecosystem

• (b) The world's largest nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles

• (c) India's first marine biosphere reserve

• (d) The site of India's first offshore wind energy project

Answer: (b) The world's largest nesting site for Olive Ridley sea turtles

Explanation: Gahirmatha, on the Odisha coast, is recognised as the world's largest nesting site (rookery) for Olive Ridley sea turtles, making the surrounding waters ecologically sensitive to maritime incidents such as oil spills.