Current Affairs — 6 September 2026

1. Vibrant Villages Programme-II: Extending Border-Village Development Beyond the Himalayas

Basic Concept

The Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs that reimagines India's border villages as the 'first village' of the nation rather than the 'last village' on a map. Launched in the Union Budget 2022-23 and formally approved in February 2023, VVP-I covered 2,967 identified villages in 46 border blocks of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, with an outlay of about Rs 4,800 crore up to FY 2025-26. It is a saturation-based, 100% centrally funded scheme distinct from the older Border Area Development Programme (BADP, since 1986-87), which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme covering a much wider stretch of border districts with smaller per-village allocations. VVP instead concentrates resources on a curated list of strategically located villages abutting the Line of Actual Control and other international land borders, belonging to the static-syllabus theme of border management and internal security (GS3).

Core Context

With VVP-I nearing the end of its implementation window for the northern Himalayan border, the government has operationalised VVP-II to widen the model to India's other international land borders. This links the day's border-management developments to the broader push for holistic border infrastructure ahead of the 2028-29 completion timeline.

Latest Developments

• VVP-II has been approved as a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs 6,839 crore till FY 2028-29, covering 1,954 selected villages in blocks abutting international land borders other than the Northern Border already covered under VVP-I.
• It spans 17 States/UTs: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• Focus areas of intervention include livelihood generation, road connectivity, energisation, village infrastructure (including health facilities), financial inclusion, youth empowerment and skill development, cooperatives/SHGs/FPOs, tourism and culture promotion, education infrastructure, and television and telecom connectivity.
• The programme is implemented in convergence with State/UT governments and central line ministries, with the Ministry of Home Affairs' Department of Border Management as the nodal agency.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• VVP-I (2022-23 to 2025-26) covered only the Northern Border States/UT — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh; VVP-II covers all other international land border States/UTs.
• VVP is a Central Sector Scheme (100% Union funding), whereas the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme requiring State contribution.
• VVP villages are selected on parameters such as population, area and strategic location, following a 'saturation approach' rather than uniform coverage of all border districts.
• The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Department of Border Management, distinguishing it from schemes run by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region or Ministry of Rural Development.

2. 16th National Meet of State Biodiversity Boards and India's Biodiversity Governance Framework

Basic Concept

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted to give effect to India's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and, later, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), which India ratified. The Act created a three-tier institutional structure: the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a statutory body headquartered in Chennai, at the apex; State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs) at the State/UT level; and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the level of local bodies (panchayats and municipalities). BMCs are tasked with preparing People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) that document local bio-resources, their sustainable use and associated traditional knowledge. This falls under the static-syllabus theme of environmental governance and international conventions (GS3).

Core Context

The NBA convened the 16th National Meet of SBBs and UTBCs in Chandigarh on 6-7 September 2026, bringing the year's institutional review to the fore just as States implement the amended legal framework introduced through the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024.

Latest Developments

• The two-day meet in Chandigarh brought together chairpersons, member secretaries, senior officials, scientists and experts from SBBs and UTBCs across the country.
• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav called for making India's more than 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees functional and effective, and for stronger local-level planning to document biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
• Deliberations focused on aligning State/UT rules and institutional mechanisms with the amended Biological Diversity Act (2023) and Rules (2024), improving the quality and utilisation of People's Biodiversity Registers, and building technical capacity at the local level.
• The meet also stressed combining traditional ecological knowledge and community participation with contemporary scientific approaches to biodiversity conservation.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 operationalises India's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), which entered into force in 2014.
• Institutional hierarchy: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA, statutory, HQ Chennai) -> State Biodiversity Boards/UT Biodiversity Councils -> Biodiversity Management Committees (local bodies).
• Funds collected through Access and Benefit Sharing agreements are credited to the National Biodiversity Fund (at the NBA level) and State Biodiversity Funds.
• The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 eased compliance for the AYUSH sector and cultivators of specified plants, and decriminalised certain offences by converting them into civil/monetary penalties.

3. International Vulture Awareness Day 2026: From Crisis to Recovery for India's Vultures

Basic Concept

Vultures are obligate scavengers that provide a critical, and often underappreciated, ecosystem service by rapidly disposing of animal carcasses, thereby limiting the spread of diseases such as anthrax and rabies via feral dogs and rats. India is home to several Gyps genus vultures — White-rumped, Long-billed and Slender-billed — along with Red-headed, Egyptian, Himalayan Griffon, Eurasian Griffon, Cinereous and Bearded vultures. Between the 1990s and 2000s, India's vulture population crashed by over 97% due to poisoning by diclofenac, a veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock; vultures feeding on carcasses of diclofenac-treated cattle suffered fatal kidney failure. This episode is a recurring GS3 (Environment) and GS3 (Ecology) topic linking pharmacology, food chains and conservation law under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Core Context

International Vulture Awareness Day, observed on the first Saturday of September, fell on 6 September 2026. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav marked the occasion by inaugurating a national workshop themed 'From Crisis to Recovery - Conserving India's Vultures' at Panchkula, Haryana, reviewing two decades of recovery efforts since the diclofenac ban.

Latest Developments

• The workshop was held at Panchkula in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Central Zoo Authority, the Haryana Forest and Wildlife Department, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC) at Pinjore.
• The Minister noted that vultures have vanished from nearly 72% of their historically known nesting sites across India and called for the creation of more Vulture Safe Zones.
• Vulture Safe Zones are geographic areas (typically around a 100-km radius) where the veterinary use of vulture-toxic NSAIDs is monitored and restricted, ensuring a safe food supply for foraging and released birds.
• Discussions covered vulture-safe veterinary practices, captive breeding and release protocols, and technical capacity-building for rebuilding viable wild populations of resident and migratory vulture species.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• India banned the veterinary use of diclofenac in 2006; meloxicam is the recommended vulture-safe alternative NSAID for livestock treatment.
• The Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre at Pinjore (Haryana) is one of India's key vulture breeding centres, alongside those at Rani (Assam) and Rajabhatkhawa (West Bengal), run in partnership with BNHS under the SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction) consortium.
• Three of India's Gyps vultures — White-rumped, Long-billed and Slender-billed — are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• All vultures found in India are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, according them the highest degree of legal protection.

4. Raksha Mantri's Three-Day Visit to Sri Lanka: Defence Diplomacy in the Neighbourhood

Basic Concept

India's engagement with Sri Lanka is anchored in the 'Neighbourhood First' policy and the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, articulated in 2015, which frames India's maritime and security cooperation with Indian Ocean littoral states. Bilateral defence cooperation with Sri Lanka includes Exercise Mitra Shakti (Army), Exercise SLINEX (Navy), and the trilateral Exercise Dosti involving the Coast Guards of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This is a recurring GS2 (International Relations) theme covering India's neighbourhood diplomacy and maritime security architecture in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Core Context

It was announced that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake an official three-day visit to Sri Lanka, leading a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs, in a visit that comes against the backdrop of India's continued economic and strategic support to Sri Lanka since its 2022 financial crisis.

Latest Developments

• The visit will involve consultations with Sri Lanka's leadership on maritime security, joint military exercises, intelligence sharing and defence technology cooperation.
• The Raksha Mantri is also scheduled to interact with the Indian diaspora in Colombo during the visit.
• The visit builds on India's civilisational, defence, economic and trade ties with Sri Lanka, and follows India's extension of lines of credit worth several billion dollars to Colombo during its 2022 economic crisis.
• It comes amid continuing regional attention to Chinese-linked infrastructure investments in Sri Lanka, including the Hambantota Port and the Colombo Port City project.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) is India's maritime strategic doctrine for the Indian Ocean Region, articulated in 2015.
• Exercise Mitra Shakti (India-Sri Lanka Army), Exercise SLINEX (India-Sri Lanka Navy), and Exercise Dosti (India-Sri Lanka-Maldives Coast Guard) are the key bilateral/trilateral defence exercises to remember.
• Hambantota Port was leased to China Merchants Port Holdings for 99 years in 2017, a frequently cited case study in the 'String of Pearls' debate on Chinese port investments in the Indian Ocean.
• India extended financial assistance of roughly $4 billion to Sri Lanka (credit lines, currency swap and food/fuel assistance) during its 2022 sovereign debt crisis.

5. Coal Supply to Punjab's Power Plants: Understanding Captive Coal Mining

Basic Concept

Captive mining allows a company to mine a coal block exclusively for its own end-use — typically power generation, steel or cement — rather than for open-market sale. Until 2015, captive coal mining was permitted under specific exceptions to the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973; following the Supreme Court's 2014 cancellation of 204 coal block allocations (the 'Coal Block Allocation' or 'Coalgate' case) for arbitrariness, Parliament enacted the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, which re-allocated blocks through auctions and later permitted commercial coal mining without end-use restrictions from 2020 onward. Coal linkages for power plants are separately governed by the SHAKTI policy (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyla Transparently in India), 2017. This belongs to the GS3 (Economy/Infrastructure) theme of energy security and coal-sector reform.

Core Context

Amid claims of a coal shortage affecting Punjab's thermal power plants, the Centre issued a clarification stating that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited's (PSPCL) plants have adequate coal stock, drawn from PSPCL's own captive mine and supplementary allocations from Coal India subsidiaries.

Latest Developments

• As on 4 September 2026, coal stock at PSPCL's plants stood at around 117% of the normative requirement, reflecting more-than-adequate availability.
• PSPCL operates three thermal power stations — Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Station (Lehra Mohabbat), Goindwal Sahib Thermal Power Plant, and Ropar Thermal Power Station — with a combined capacity of about 2,300 MW.
• Coal is supplied to PSPCL's plants from its captive Pachhwara Central Coal Mine in Jharkhand, subject to fulfilment of statutory payment obligations to the Jharkhand government.
• Utilisation of coal from the Pachhwara mine has also been enabled for independent power producers not owned by PSPCL — Nabha Power Limited (Rajpura) and Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (Mansa) — up to 50% of annual production after meeting specified end-use plant requirements.
• Coal India subsidiaries Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) have also offered additional coal quantities to these independent power producers under the Rail-cum-Road (RCR) sale mode, though lifting has lagged behind bookings.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 followed the Supreme Court's 2014 cancellation of 204 coal block allocations and enabled auction-based allocation of coal blocks.
• The SHAKTI policy (2017) governs the transparent allocation of coal linkages to power generation companies.
• Coal India Limited's subsidiaries include Central Coalfields (CCL), Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), Eastern Coalfields (ECL), Western Coalfields (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields (SECL), Northern Coalfields (NCL) and Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL).
• Commercial coal mining without end-use restriction was opened up to private players in 2020, marking the end of Coal India's decades-long monopoly over commercial coal mining.

6. RISE Conclave 2026: Spotlighting India's Tier-2 and Tier-3 Startup Ecosystem

Basic Concept

Startup India, launched in January 2016, is the Union Government's flagship initiative to build an ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as the nodal department for startup recognition and incentives. Complementary initiatives such as the Atal Innovation Mission (under NITI Aayog, which runs Atal Tinkering Labs and incubation centres) and CSIR's network of national laboratories aim to convert publicly funded research into market-ready technologies — a process often called 'lab-to-market' translation. This is a recurring GS3 (Science & Technology policy/Economy) theme on innovation governance.

Core Context

The sixth edition of the RISE Conclave (Research Industry Start-up Entrepreneurship Conclave) opened in Kolkata, bringing together startups, researchers, industry representatives, investors, incubators and policymakers, with Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh underlining the need to recognise the innovation potential of India's smaller cities.

Latest Developments

• Dr Jitendra Singh noted that over 50% of India's startups now originate from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities rather than metropolitan hubs.
• He called for a new industry-R&D partnership model, urging that 'industry partners be brought on board from Day One' of research projects rather than only at the commercialisation stage.
• The conclave discussed better connecting smaller-city innovation ecosystems with scientific institutions, industry and investors to accelerate the journey of indigenous technologies from laboratories to the marketplace.
• The Minister separately called for wider awareness of the Rs 1-lakh-crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme corpus among stakeholders, to ensure the right beneficiaries can access support.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Startup India was launched on 16 January 2016; DPIIT recognition confers tax and compliance benefits on eligible startups.
• The Atal Innovation Mission operates under NITI Aayog and runs Atal Tinkering Labs in schools and Atal Incubation Centres.
• The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, with a Rs 1-lakh-crore corpus, was announced to catalyse private-sector investment in high-impact research (announced in the Union Budget 2025-26).
• 'Lab-to-market' or 'bench-to-bedside' translation refers to converting publicly funded scientific research into commercially viable products or services.

7. Prelims Bytes: Quick-Fire Facts

Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh was re-elected Secretary-General of the Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) for a second consecutive term. APPU is a regional restricted union under the Universal Postal Union (UPU, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland), with its own secretariat based in Bangkok, Thailand; India is a founding member of APPU, which promotes cooperation and technical assistance among postal administrations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sarang Helicopter Display Team

The Indian Air Force's Sarang Helicopter Display Team reached Egypt to participate in the El Alamein International Airshow. Sarang flies the indigenously developed HAL Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) in aerobatic formation displays, and is one of the IAF's two aerobatic teams alongside the fixed-wing Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team, which flies the HAL Kiran trainer aircraft.

Vice-President's North-East Visit

The Vice-President began a four-state visit covering Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh from 6 to 9 September 2026, reflecting continued high-level political engagement with India's North-East under the Act East Policy framework.

8. Science News: GSLV-F17 Ends ISRO's Seven-Month Launch Pause with the EOS-05 Earth Observation Satellite

Basic Concept

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is ISRO's launch vehicle designed to place heavier payloads into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, using an indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) — a capability India built after cryogenic engine technology was denied to it by Russia under pressure from the US-led Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in the 1990s. India's Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) series covers a range of remote-sensing satellites; unlike most Earth observation satellites that orbit in Low Earth or Sun-synchronous polar orbits (roughly 500-800 km altitude), the GISAT-class EOS satellites operate from Geostationary orbit (about 36,000 km altitude), enabling near-continuous, high-frequency imaging of a large, fixed swath of the Indian landmass. This falls under the GS3 (Science & Technology/Space) theme of India's launch vehicle and satellite programmes.

Core Context

ISRO successfully launched GSLV-F17 carrying the EOS-05 satellite (earlier designated GISAT-1A), marking the organisation's return to the launch pad after a seven-month operational pause that followed the failure of the PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 mission in January 2026.

Latest Developments

• EOS-05/GISAT-1A, weighing approximately 2,367 kg, was placed into Geosynchronous orbit, making it India's latest dedicated high-frequency Earth observation satellite from geostationary altitude.
• The satellite is designed for near-real-time imaging of large areas of the Indian landmass, supporting applications such as natural disaster monitoring, agriculture and forestry surveillance, and other ground-based change detection.
• The mission ends ISRO's nearly seven-month gap in launches since the PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 failure, restoring operational momentum to India's launch programme.
• The Prime Minister congratulated ISRO on the successful launch, reflecting the mission's significance for India's earth-observation and remote-sensing capacity.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• GSLV uses an indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), developed after cryogenic technology transfer from Russia was blocked in the 1990s under MTCR pressure, pushing India toward self-reliant cryogenic engine development.
• GISAT/EOS-05-class satellites operate from Geostationary orbit (~36,000 km), distinguishing them from the majority of India's Earth observation satellites, which use Sun-synchronous polar orbits (~500-800 km).
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), is ISRO's primary satellite launch centre.
• GSLV Mk-II (with an indigenous cryogenic stage, roughly 2.5-tonne GTO payload capacity) should be distinguished from GSLV Mk-III/LVM3, ISRO's heavier-lift, human-rated launch vehicle being used for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.

9. Practice MCQs

Practice MCQs

Q1. With reference to the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), consider the following statements:
1. VVP-I covered border villages only in States/UT along India's northern Himalayan border.
2. VVP is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme requiring matching State funding.
3. VVP-II extends the scheme to border blocks along international land borders other than the Northern Border.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: VVP-I (2022-23 to 2025-26) covered border villages in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh (the Northern Border), so statement 1 is correct. VVP is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Union funding, not a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, so statement 2 is incorrect. VVP-II extends coverage to 1,954 villages in 17 States/UTs along international land borders other than the Northern Border, so statement 3 is correct.

Q2. The veterinary use of which of the following drugs was banned in India primarily to protect vulture populations from fatal kidney failure?

• (a) Meloxicam
• (b) Diclofenac
• (c) Ivermectin
• (d) Oxytocin

Answer: (b) Diclofenac

Explanation: Diclofenac, a veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), caused fatal kidney failure in vultures that fed on carcasses of treated livestock, driving a population crash of over 97% in Gyps vulture species. India banned its veterinary use in 2006; meloxicam is the recommended vulture-safe alternative.

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding institutions under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002:
1. The National Biodiversity Authority is a statutory body headquartered in Chennai.
2. Biodiversity Management Committees are constituted at the level of local bodies such as panchayats and municipalities.
3. People's Biodiversity Registers are prepared exclusively by State Biodiversity Boards.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is indeed a statutory body headquartered in Chennai, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are constituted at the local-body level. However, People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) are prepared by BMCs, not by State Biodiversity Boards, making statement 3 incorrect.

Q4. Which of the following best explains why India's GISAT/EOS-05 class satellites are placed in Geostationary orbit rather than the Sun-synchronous polar orbit used by most Earth observation satellites?

• (a) Geostationary orbit reduces launch cost by requiring a smaller launch vehicle
• (b) Geostationary orbit allows near-continuous, high-frequency imaging of a fixed area of the Indian landmass
• (c) Geostationary orbit is mandatory for all satellites launched by GSLV
• (d) Sun-synchronous orbit cannot be achieved by any Indian launch vehicle

Answer: (b) Geostationary orbit allows near-continuous, high-frequency imaging of a fixed area of the Indian landmass

Explanation: Placing a satellite in Geostationary orbit (~36,000 km) keeps it fixed relative to a point on Earth, enabling high-frequency, near-real-time imaging of a large, constant swath of the Indian landmass — useful for disaster monitoring and agricultural surveillance. This differs from Sun-synchronous polar orbit satellites, which pass over different areas at fixed local times but do not offer continuous coverage of one region.

Q5. The SHAKTI policy, sometimes seen in the news in relation to India's coal sector, deals with which of the following?

• (a) Auction of coal blocks for commercial mining
• (b) Transparent allocation of coal linkages to power generation companies
• (c) Rehabilitation of coal-mine-affected communities
• (d) Phasing out of thermal power plants under India's Net Zero commitments

Answer: (b) Transparent allocation of coal linkages to power generation companies

Explanation: SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyla Transparently in India), notified in 2017, governs the transparent allocation of coal linkages — i.e., long-term coal supply agreements — to power generation companies, replacing the earlier discretionary linkage system.