Current Affairs — 7 September 2026

1. The BRICS 'POWER' Framework: Reframing Global South Cooperation

Basic Concept

BRICS began as an informal grouping of large emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China — a term coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe fast-growing markets outside the traditional G-7. The first formal BRIC summit was held in 2009, and South Africa joined in 2010 to make it BRICS. In 2014, the grouping set up the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai, to fund infrastructure and sustainable-development projects in member and other developing countries, offering an alternative to the World Bank and IMF. In January 2024, BRICS underwent its first major expansion, admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE (Saudi Arabia was invited but has not formally joined), creating what is often called 'BRICS+' or 'Greater BRICS'. This belongs to the GS2 (International Relations) theme of India's engagement with multilateral and plurilateral groupings outside the Western-led institutional order.

Core Context

With India hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026 and set to be followed by China's presidency in 2027, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong proposed a 'POWER' framework for the expanded grouping, calling for stronger Global South cooperation, closer India-China coordination and joint work on artificial intelligence and supply chains.

Latest Developments

• The proposed POWER framework rests on five pillars: Principle (sovereign equality and non-interference under the UN Charter), Openness (defending the WTO-centred multilateral trading system), Win-Win (development-centred cooperation and local-currency settlement), Engine (driving growth through AI, digital infrastructure and green technology), and Responsibility (using the successive India-China presidencies for institutional reform of bodies like the UN Security Council and Bretton Woods institutions).
• Greater BRICS now accounts for nearly half of the world's population, close to 30% of global GDP in PPP terms, and about one-fifth of global trade turnover, with the IMF projecting it will grow nearly three times faster than the G-7 through 2028.
• Reflecting a tactical thaw, India and China have resumed five direct commercial flight routes and reopened border trade after a six-year hiatus.
• Key friction points remain: India's trade deficit with China exceeds $85 billion, the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains undelimited, and India sees BRICS primarily as a platform for strategic autonomy and reform, while China and Russia often frame it as an anti-Western counterweight.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• BRICS' founding members are Brazil, Russia, India and China (first summit 2009); South Africa joined in 2010.
• The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by BRICS in 2014, is headquartered in Shanghai and is distinct from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a separate China-led institution headquartered in Beijing.
• BRICS' first expansion round (effective January 2024) added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE, taking the grouping beyond its original five members.
• India holds the BRICS chair in 2026 and is hosting the 18th Summit in New Delhi; China will chair the grouping in 2027.

2. Ten Years of Flexible Inflation Targeting: Does India Need a Rethink?

Basic Concept

Inflation Targeting (IT) is a monetary policy framework in which a central bank publicly commits to keeping inflation within an announced numerical target. India formally adopted Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) through a 2016 amendment to the RBI Act, 1934, following the recommendations of the Urjit Patel Committee (2014). Under this framework, the Reserve Bank of India targets Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation of 4%, with a tolerance band of plus/minus 2 percentage points, and is held accountable to Parliament if inflation breaches the band for three consecutive quarters. The framework is operationalised by the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) — three RBI officials, including the Governor as chair, and three external members appointed by the government — which decides the policy repo rate. This is a recurring GS3 (Indian Economy) topic on monetary policy architecture.

Core Context

As FIT completes a decade in 2026, economists have used the anniversary to question whether India's underlying economic structure — particularly a largely informal labour market and food-dominated inflation — undermines the textbook logic on which interest-rate-based inflation control depends.

Latest Developments

• Data from April 2012 to March 2026 show an almost flat relationship between output and inflation (a 'flat Phillips curve'), suggesting that raising interest rates to cool growth does not reliably bring down inflation in India.
• Nearly 92% of India's workforce is informally employed, where wage bargaining power is weak, undercutting the standard assumption that a tightening labour market pushes up wages and prices.
• The RBI's own household surveys show people expect inflation to run about 4 percentage points higher than the RBI's projected path, indicating expectations are poorly anchored to the central bank's messaging.
• Food and beverages make up 45.86% of the CPI basket, so supply-side shocks such as crop failures often drive inflation in ways that a higher policy rate cannot fix.
• Defenders of FIT point out that headline inflation has, on average, been lower and far less volatile since 2016 than during the double-digit inflation episodes of 2009-2013, which has helped anchor bond yields and shield the Rupee.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• India's FIT framework (since 2016) targets CPI inflation of 4%, with a tolerance band of ±2% (i.e., 2%-6%), reviewed once every five years.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has six members — the RBI Governor (chair), two other RBI officials, and three external members appointed by the Central Government; decisions are taken by majority vote, with the Governor holding a casting vote in case of a tie.
• The Phillips Curve describes an inverse (trade-off) relationship between inflation and unemployment/output gap; a 'flat' Phillips curve implies this trade-off has weakened.
• India's current CPI base year is 2011-12; food and beverages are its single largest weighted component.

3. The Jhiram Ghati Massacre Verdict and India's Counter-LWE Strategy

Basic Concept

Left Wing Extremism (LWE), commonly called Naxalism after the 1967 peasant uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal, refers to the armed insurgency led by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) — formed in 2004 through the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre. The affected districts, concentrated along a swathe of central and eastern India often called the 'Red Corridor', are addressed through the National Policy and Action Plan (2015), which combines security operations, development, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, and local resource/livelihood support — summarised in the government's SAMADHAN doctrine. This is a core GS3 (Internal Security) topic on non-state armed threats.

Core Context

A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Jagdalpur convicted ten accused in the 25 May 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre, one of the deadliest Maoist attacks in Indian history, renewing attention on how the attack reshaped India's counter-LWE approach.

Latest Developments

• The Jhiram Ghati ambush targeted a convoy of Congress leaders, including senior party functionaries, returning from a 'Parivartan Rally' in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, marking a shift from Maoist attacks on security forces to direct targeting of political leadership.
• The attack came against the backdrop of the controversial Salwa Judum anti-Maoist mobilisation (2005), which the Supreme Court restrained in 2011 from arming tribal youth as Special Police Officers.
• Since the attack, security forces have increasingly followed a 'Clear, Hold and Develop' approach — securing Maoist-held territory and then extending roads, telecom and public services into it.
• The NIA's conviction of the ten accused, more than a decade after the attack, reflects the long investigative and judicial timelines typical of complex insurgency-linked prosecutions.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004 by the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India.
• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was established under the NIA Act, 2008, enacted after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, to investigate scheduled offences with national and cross-border ramifications, including LWE-related cases.
• SAMADHAN is the Ministry of Home Affairs' doctrine for tackling LWE — covering Smart leadership, Aggressive strategy, Motivation/training, Actionable intelligence, Dashboard-based KPIs, Harnessing technology, Action plan for each theatre, and No access to financing.
• The Supreme Court's 2011 verdict in Nandini Sundar & Ors vs State of Chhattisgarh held the arming of tribal youths as Special Police Officers (under the Salwa Judum campaign) unconstitutional.

4. The CCPA Cracks Down on Misleading '100%' Marketing Claims

Basic Concept

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replaced the older 1986 law and introduced the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) as an apex regulatory body, constituted in July 2020 under Section 10(1) of the Act. Unlike the earlier framework, which relied purely on individual consumers approaching District, State or National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions after harm had occurred, the CCPA can act suo motu — that is, on its own initiative — to protect consumers as a class, before or without individual complaints. This belongs to the GS2 (Polity/Governance) theme of regulatory bodies safeguarding public and consumer interest.

Core Context

The CCPA has stepped up scrutiny of food companies that use unverified '100% natural', '100% pure' or similar absolute marketing claims, using its investigative and enforcement powers to test the underlying evidentiary basis of such advertising.

Latest Developments

• The CCPA is empowered under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to order the modification or complete withdrawal of misleading advertisements and to impose penalties on manufacturers, endorsers and advertisers.
• It has a dedicated Investigation Wing, led by a Director-General, that can conduct suo motu inquiries or act on complaints and government references.
• The Authority can also order product recalls, refunds, and discontinuation of deficient services where consumer safety is at risk.
• Its guidelines have separately targeted practices such as 'dark patterns' in e-commerce, surrogate advertising, and hidden service charges.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The CCPA was constituted in July 2020 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Unlike the District/State/National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (which adjudicate individual grievances), the CCPA has a regulatory, class-protection mandate and can act suo motu.
• Section 21 of the 2019 Act empowers the CCPA to order corrective advertising and impose penalties for misleading ads; repeat offences attract enhanced penalties.
• The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 were notified under the same Act to regulate online marketplaces and inventory-based e-commerce entities.

5. Totaliser Machines and the Voter-Secrecy vs Targeted-Governance Debate

Basic Concept

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in India consist of a Control Unit and a Ballot Unit, and since the 2019 general election, every EVM is paired with a Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) — a supplementary system directed by the Supreme Court in Dr. Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India (2013) to let voters visually confirm their vote before it is recorded electronically. Counting of votes and related procedures are governed by the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, framed under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This is a recurring GS2 (Polity/Elections) topic on electoral administration and technology.

Core Context

A three-judge Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed the Central Government to clearly state its position on introducing totaliser machines for counting EVM votes, reviving a long-pending demand aimed at protecting voter secrecy at the booth level.

Latest Developments

• A totaliser is hardware, jointly developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), that can connect the control units of about 14 EVMs from different polling booths and display only the combined, pooled vote count for each candidate.
• By pooling results across a cluster of booths, a totaliser eliminates booth-wise vote disclosure, making it harder to identify how a specific locality or community voted.
• The Election Commission of India first proposed totalisers in 2008 and supported their introduction before the Supreme Court in 2018, primarily to prevent post-election victimisation of voters or areas based on how they voted.
• The Central Government has resisted the move, citing the value of booth-level data for targeted governance and welfare delivery, along with technical concerns about de-sealing EVMs to connect them to a totaliser.
• Introducing totalisers would require amending the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, and could complicate VVPAT verification and reconciliation with Form 17C (the statutory record of votes polled at each booth).

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• VVPAT was introduced nationwide following the Supreme Court's 2013 directive in Dr. Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India.
• Form 17C is the statutory account of votes recorded at each polling station, used to cross-check EVM/VVPAT counts.
• A totaliser aggregates results from roughly 14 EVMs (i.e., 14 polling booths) into a single combined count, masking booth-level voting patterns.
• Any move to introduce totalisers would require amendment of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, framed under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

6. The Rajghat Excavation and the Rise of Kashi as a Mahajanapada

Basic Concept

Between roughly 600 and 300 BCE, ancient India's Gangetic plains saw the consolidation of numerous small tribal territories (janapadas) into sixteen large, more organised kingdoms or oligarchies known as the Mahajanapadas — a list preserved in early Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya. This period coincides with the Second Urbanisation of the Indian subcontinent (the first being the Indus Valley Civilisation), marked archaeologically by the spread of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) pottery, the use of iron tools, growth of trade guilds, and the rise of towns as political and commercial centres. Kashi, with its capital traditionally identified at Varanasi on the Ganga, was one of these sixteen Mahajanapadas. This is a recurring GS1 (Ancient Indian History) theme on early state formation and urbanisation.

Core Context

Ongoing excavations at Rajghat in Varanasi — a site first scientifically excavated by A.K. Narain and colleagues from Banaras Hindu University between 1957 and 1969 — have now documented close to 4,000 artefacts out of an estimated 10,000 since a renewed documentation drive began in January 2026, with the settlement's earliest layer dated to around 800 BCE.

Latest Developments

• Rajghat is identified by archaeologists as the ancient capital of the Kashi Janapada, later one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas.
• The site's oldest excavated layer contains pre-NBPW pottery associated with an early Iron Age phase, pushing back scientifically documented evidence of settlement at the site to around 800 BCE.
• The original BHU-led excavations (1957-1969) were conducted in four phases over twelve years; the current renewed documentation drive is compiling and cataloguing artefacts recovered across these phases and subsequent work.
• The findings strengthen the archaeological case for Varanasi's continuous habitation across nearly three millennia, making it one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The list of sixteen Mahajanapadas is preserved in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya; examples include Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti and Kashi.
• Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), datable roughly from 700-200 BCE, is an archaeological marker of India's 'Second Urbanisation' in the Gangetic plains, distinct from the earlier Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture (c. 1200-600 BCE).
• Rajghat (Varanasi) is identified as the capital of the ancient Kashi Janapada/Mahajanapada.
• India's 'Second Urbanisation' (from around the 6th century BCE) followed the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation's urban phase and was centred on the Ganga valley.

7. AYUSH Enters the Global Trade Mainstream via CEPA and FTA

Basic Concept

AYUSH is the umbrella term for India's traditional and complementary systems of medicine — Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (with Sowa-Rigpa also recognised) — administered by a dedicated Ministry of AYUSH, carved out of the Department of AYUSH in 2014. Under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), trade in services (including health and traditional-medicine services) can occur through four modes: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons (Mode 4, i.e., practitioners physically working abroad). A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are both bilateral trade pacts, typically differing in scope — CEPAs usually cover services, investment and broader economic cooperation alongside goods, while FTAs may be more narrowly focused on tariff reduction on goods, though usage varies by country. This is a recurring GS2/GS3 (International Relations/Economy) theme on India's services and health diplomacy.

Core Context

The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, operationalised in June 2026, and the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement have together given AYUSH systems their most formal treaty-level recognition yet, moving traditional medicine from a cultural export to a regulated trade-in-services opportunity.

Latest Developments

• The India-Oman CEPA carries what the government describes as India's first comprehensive trade commitment on traditional medicine across all four GATS modes of supply.
• The India-New Zealand FTA includes a dedicated health and traditional-medicine annex, along with a specific visa quota enabling Ayush practitioners, yoga instructors and related professionals to work in New Zealand for extended periods.
• These provisions give AYUSH practitioners a treaty-backed basis for licensing, quality standards and professional mobility abroad, rather than relying only on informal cultural popularity.
• The move builds on India's broader traditional-medicine diplomacy, including hosting the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Ministry of AYUSH was created in 2014 by upgrading the earlier Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H, established 1995, renamed AYUSH in 2003).
• The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is headquartered in Jamnagar, Gujarat, inaugurated in 2022 — the first and only WHO global knowledge centre for traditional medicine.
• Under GATS, 'Mode 4' refers to trade in services via the temporary movement of natural persons (e.g., professionals working abroad) — relevant to AYUSH practitioner mobility.
• India introduced a dedicated 'Ayush Visa' category in 2024 to facilitate foreign nationals travelling to India specifically for AYUSH treatment.

8. The Equal Earth Projection and the UN's 'Correct the Map' Resolution

Basic Concept

A map projection is any systematic method of representing the curved surface of the Earth on a flat plane, and every projection necessarily distorts at least one of area, shape, distance or direction. The Mercator projection, devised in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation, is a conformal (shape-preserving) projection that keeps compass bearings as straight lines but severely inflates the size of regions near the poles relative to those near the equator. The Gall-Peters projection (popularised in the 1970s) corrected this area distortion but produced visually stretched, less recognisable continental outlines. This is a recurring GS1 (Geography) theme on cartographic techniques and their real-world implications.

Core Context

The United Nations General Assembly passed a 'Correct the Map' resolution by an overwhelming 164 votes in favour, formally endorsing wider adoption of the Equal Earth projection as a fairer alternative to the long-dominant Mercator map.

Latest Developments

• The Equal Earth projection is an equal-area, pseudocylindrical map created in 2018 by cartographers Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny, designed to preserve true relative landmass sizes while keeping visually pleasing, recognisable continental shapes (drawing on the aesthetic of the earlier Robinson projection).
• On the Mercator map, Greenland appears roughly the same size as Africa, even though Africa is actually about 14 times larger — a distortion campaigners say has long minimised the perceived scale and significance of Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
• Unlike the Gall-Peters projection, the Equal Earth map keeps parallels of latitude as straight horizontal lines and can be re-centred on different meridians, allowing region-specific views (for instance, Pacific-centred maps) instead of a default Greenwich-centred layout.
• Supporters argue the resolution addresses a long-standing 'visual and cognitive bias' in classrooms, textbooks and media that has understated the Global South's true geographic and demographic weight.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Mercator projection (1569) is a conformal projection — it preserves angles/shapes and is still used for marine navigational charts because it keeps compass bearings as straight lines (rhumb lines).
• The Gall-Peters projection (popularised in the 1970s) is an equal-area projection that corrects Mercator's size distortion but distorts continental shapes.
• The Equal Earth projection (2018) is a newer equal-area, pseudocylindrical projection designed to balance accurate area representation with recognisable continental outlines.
• No single map projection can simultaneously preserve area, shape, distance and direction — cartographers must always trade off one property against another.

9. Prelims Bytes: Quick-Fire Facts

VPN Restrictions in Doda, Jammu & Kashmir

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district imposed a two-month ban on the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — the provision that replaced Section 144 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure, empowering magistrates to issue orders in urgent cases of apprehended danger or public nuisance. A VPN encrypts and routes internet traffic through a remote server, masking a user's real IP address and location.

Shekhawati Havelis on UNESCO's Tentative List

The fresco-adorned merchant havelis of Rajasthan's Shekhawati region — spread across Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu districts and built by wealthy Marwari merchants between the 18th and early 20th centuries — have been added to UNESCO's Tentative List, the first formal step towards eventual World Heritage nomination.

Bhitarkanika National Park's Crocodile Hatching Season

Hundreds of saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) hatchlings have emerged from over a hundred nesting sites in Odisha's Bhitarkanika National Park, a Ramsar wetland site in Kendrapara district that hosts India's second-largest mangrove ecosystem and lies adjacent to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, a globally important Olive Ridley turtle mass-nesting site.

Constitutional Note: Transfer of High Court Judges

This week's reports on judicial administration in a High Court are a good prompt to revise the constitutional process for transferring High Court judges. Under Article 222 of the Constitution, the President may transfer a judge from one High Court to another after consultation with the Chief Justice of India; in practice, such transfers are initiated through the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium, a convention evolved through the Second and Third Judges Cases (1993 and 1998).

10. Supreme Court Sets a Deadline for the Aravalli Expert Committee

Basic Concept

The Aravalli Range is among the oldest fold mountain systems in the world, formed in the Precambrian era hundreds of millions of years ago, stretching roughly 800 km from Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana up to Delhi. Highly eroded and now more a chain of low hills and ridges than a continuous mountain range, the Aravallis play an outsized ecological role: they act as a green barrier that slows the eastward creep of the Thar Desert, support regional groundwater recharge, and host distinctive dry-deciduous forest and scrub biodiversity. Because the Aravallis lack a single, legally codified boundary, protecting them from unregulated mining and construction has long depended on judicial intervention under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Supreme Court orders, rather than a dedicated standalone statute. This is a recurring GS1 (Physical Geography) and GS3 (Environment/Conservation) theme.

Core Context

A Supreme Court Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India rejected a request from the High-Powered Committee — set up by the Court to holistically examine the Aravalli Range's definition and mining regulation — for a six-month extension, instead fixing 30 November 2026 as the deadline for its final report.

Latest Developments

• The Committee had sought time until February 2027, citing the scientific complexity of precisely delineating the Aravalli Range across Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi, but the Bench declined, directing it to work 'day and night' to meet the November deadline.
• The Court simultaneously stressed that the Committee must complete a genuine, comprehensive stakeholder consultation before finalising its findings, explicitly naming tribal communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat whose livelihoods and land rights could be affected.
• Environmental groups have flagged a tension between the tight deadline and the need for thorough consultation, warning that a rushed assessment could compromise the quality of the eventual protection framework.
• The matter is next listed for hearing on 2 December 2026, when the Court is expected to examine the Committee's report and any objections arising from it.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Aravalli Range is considered one of the oldest fold mountain ranges in the world (Precambrian origin) and its highest peak is Guru Shikhar, located on Mount Abu in Rajasthan.
• The Aravallis act as an ecological barrier limiting the eastward spread of the Thar Desert into the Indo-Gangetic plains.
• Unlike specific protected areas, the Aravalli Range as a whole has no single dedicated statute; its protection has relied on Supreme Court orders and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The Aravalli Range runs through four States/UT: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

11. Science News: ISRO's Semi-Cryogenic Engine Clears a Key Full-Thrust Test

Basic Concept

Rocket engines are broadly classified by their propellant combination: solid-fuel motors (used in ISRO's S200 boosters), liquid-fuel engines (using storable propellants such as refined kerosene or hydrazine derivatives with an oxidiser), and cryogenic engines (using super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which must be stored at extremely low temperatures). A semi-cryogenic engine sits between these — it burns refined kerosene (a dense, storable, easy-to-handle fuel) with cryogenic liquid oxygen, offering higher thrust efficiency and lower operating costs than a purely cryogenic stage while avoiding the handling complexity of liquid hydrogen. ISRO's current heavy-lift launcher, the LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk III), uses two S200 solid boosters, an L110 liquid core stage, and a C25 cryogenic upper stage. This falls under the GS3 (Science & Technology/Space) theme of India's launch vehicle development.

Core Context

ISRO successfully conducted a hot test of its Semi-Cryogenic Engine Power Head Test Article (PHTA) at the full rated thrust level of 200 tonnes at the ISRO Propulsion Research Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu — the ninth hot test in the series and the first to reach 100% of the engine's rated performance.

Latest Developments

• The engine under development, designated SE2000, belongs to the 2,000 kN (200-tonne) thrust class and will power the new Semi-Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (SC120).
• The SC120 stage is intended to eventually replace the existing L110 liquid core stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle, boosting its payload capacity to Low Earth and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits.
• A higher-capacity LVM3 would support India's long-term human spaceflight ambitions, including sustaining the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (India's planned space station) and future heavier interplanetary missions.
• The Power Head Test Article tests the most complex, integrated part of the engine — the turbopumps, pre-burner and associated plumbing — ahead of full engine-level and stage-level testing.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• A semi-cryogenic engine uses refined kerosene + liquid oxygen, distinguishing it from a fully cryogenic engine (liquid hydrogen + liquid oxygen) and from solid or storable liquid-fuel engines.
• The ISRO Propulsion Research Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, is ISRO's dedicated facility for testing liquid, cryogenic and semi-cryogenic propulsion systems.
• LVM3 (formerly called GSLV Mk III) is ISRO's current heaviest-lift, human-rated launch vehicle, used for Chandrayaan-3 and planned for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight missions.
• The SE2000 semi-cryogenic engine and SC120 stage are being developed to eventually replace LVM3's existing L110 liquid stage, increasing its payload capacity.

12. Science News: BIO-NIVESH — Channelling Private Capital into India's Bioeconomy

Basic Concept

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is India's nodal department for biotechnology research and policy. Its dedicated public sector undertaking, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), was set up in 2012 as a Section-8 (not-for-profit) company to bridge the gap between biotech research and industry by funding early-stage innovation, incubation and industry-academia partnerships. India's 'bioeconomy' — the value generated from biology-based products and services across biopharmaceuticals, bioagriculture, bioindustrial products, and bio-IT/bioservices — has been identified as a priority growth sector under the National Biotechnology Development Strategy. This is a GS3 (Science & Technology/Economy) theme on innovation financing and the biotech ecosystem.

Core Context

The DBT, through BIRAC, launched BIO-NIVESH, a structured, recurring engagement platform designed to bring biotechnology innovators and private investors together on a continuing basis, aiming to mobilise greater private capital into India's biotech sector.

Latest Developments

• The inaugural BIO-NIVESH event selected 20 startups to pitch to roughly 50 investors, marking the platform's first structured innovator-investor dialogue.
• India's bioeconomy was valued at around Rs 4 lakh crore (about $50 billion) in 2024, with the government setting an aspirational target of Rs 20 lakh crore by 2030.
• The platform is intended to operate as a recurring (not one-off) engagement mechanism, addressing the persistent funding gap between early-stage biotech research and commercially scalable ventures.
• It complements other DBT/BIRAC initiatives such as incubator networks and seed-funding schemes aimed at converting laboratory-stage biotechnology into market-ready products.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council), set up in 2012, is a Section-8 not-for-profit company under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology.
• DBT is distinct from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); all three fall under different administrative structures within India's science and technology governance.
• India's bioeconomy is broadly segmented into biopharmaceuticals, bioagriculture, bioindustrial products, and bio-IT/bioservices.
• The National Biotechnology Development Strategy sets long-term targets for India's bioeconomy, including the aspirational Rs 20-lakh-crore goal by 2030.

13. Practice MCQs

Practice MCQs

Q1. With reference to BRICS, consider the following statements:
1. Brazil, Russia, India and China were the founding members, with South Africa joining in 2010.
2. The New Development Bank, set up by BRICS, is headquartered in Beijing.
3. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE joined BRICS in its first expansion round, effective January 2024.
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: Brazil, Russia, India and China founded BRIC in 2009, with South Africa joining in 2010 to form BRICS, making statement 1 correct. The New Development Bank is headquartered in Shanghai, not Beijing, so statement 2 is incorrect. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE joined in BRICS' first expansion, effective January 2024, making statement 3 correct.

Q2. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which decides India's policy repo rate, is composed of how many members, and who chairs it?

• (a) Three members, chaired by the Finance Secretary
• (b) Six members, chaired by the RBI Governor
• (c) Five members, chaired by the Chief Economic Adviser
• (d) Six members, chaired by the Deputy Governor (Monetary Policy)

Answer: (b) Six members, chaired by the RBI Governor

Explanation: The MPC has six members — the RBI Governor (who chairs it), two other RBI officials, and three external members appointed by the Central Government — and decides the policy repo rate to meet India's Flexible Inflation Targeting mandate of 4% CPI inflation, with a ±2% tolerance band.

Q3. A 'totaliser', recently in the news in the context of Indian elections, is used for which of the following purposes?

• (a) Verifying voter identity through biometric authentication
• (b) Aggregating and displaying combined vote counts from a cluster of EVMs to preserve booth-level secrecy
• (c) Transmitting real-time election results to the Election Commission's central server
• (d) Cross-checking VVPAT slips against Form 17C at each polling booth

Answer: (b) Aggregating and displaying combined vote counts from a cluster of EVMs to preserve booth-level secrecy

Explanation: A totaliser connects the control units of about 14 EVMs from different polling booths and displays only their combined, pooled vote count, thereby preventing the disclosure of how any single booth voted and protecting voter secrecy at the local level.

Q4. The archaeological site of Rajghat, recently in the news for fresh excavation findings, is traditionally identified as the ancient capital of which Mahajanapada?

• (a) Magadha
• (b) Kosala
• (c) Kashi
• (d) Avanti

Answer: (c) Kashi

Explanation: Rajghat, located in present-day Varanasi, is identified by archaeologists as the ancient capital of the Kashi Janapada, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas listed in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. Excavations there have revealed pre-Northern Black Polished Ware pottery dating the settlement to around 800 BCE.

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the Equal Earth map projection:
1. It is an equal-area projection, unlike the Mercator projection, which is conformal.
2. It was developed after the Gall-Peters projection, partly to address the latter's distorted continental shapes.
3. It cannot be re-centred on any meridian other than the Greenwich Prime Meridian.
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 Equal Earth projection (2018) is an equal-area projection, while the Mercator projection is conformal, making statement 1 correct. It was designed after the Gall-Peters projection specifically to combine accurate area representation with more visually recognisable continental shapes, making statement 2 correct. However, the Equal Earth projection can be constructed with different central meridians, allowing region-specific centring rather than being fixed to the Greenwich Prime Meridian, making statement 3 incorrect.