UPSC current affairs, 8 September 2026

• The "Correct the Map" resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union, promotes the Equal Earth projection over the Mercator projection.
• The map shows Arunachal Pradesh's southern border with Assam as a "Chinese line" and omits its border with Nagaland.
• Unlike the LoC, the claim lines carry no explanatory note; the map is non-binding but expected to be used by multilateral institutions.

Territorial integrity and diplomacy: a non-binding UN map expected to be used by multilateral institutions shows Indian territory between claim lines, while India insists its territory be depicted as per its official map.

• India will appoint a resident defence attache in Brussels, reciprocating Belgium's move.
• A large part of India-Belgium trade comes from over a century of collaboration in diamonds, with Antwerp a global hub.
• Both sides expect gains from the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, expected in December.

India Europe relations: the editorial presents Belgium as a partner for defence co-development and trade expansion, with Europe increasingly recognising India's stance on strategic autonomy.

2024 · GS2 · 10 marks 'The West is fostering India as an alternative to reduce dependence on China's supply chain and as a strategic ally to counter China's political and economic dominance.' Explain this statement with examples.

How to use it: The editorial says Europe increasingly recognises India's stance on reducing over-dependence on China, and Belgium offers defence co-development and trade expansion, an example of the West engaging India as an alternative.

• The government launched a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation scheme to boost R&D in sunrise and strategic areas.
• Indian corporate research is concentrated in pharmaceuticals and automobiles.

Innovation policy: the article suggests trade shocks could push exposed industries to invest in differentiated products through research, and notes the RDI scheme may not directly help older industries that need to move up the value chain.

• India is the world's second-largest steel producer, with about 160 million tonnes in FY 2025-26.
• Greener routes include steel scrap, Electric Arc Furnaces and Direct Reduced Iron, potentially powered by green hydrogen, in place of the carbon-intensive Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace route.
• The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism has come into effect, affecting India's steel exports to the EU.

Industrial decarbonisation: investment timing in hard-to-abate sectors decides whether coal-based capacity locks in emissions for decades.

• The Aravali Range stretches about 692 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
• The range acts as a barrier against the eastward spread of the Thar Desert.
• ICFRE is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Environmental governance: differing State criteria for defining the Aravalis create gaps in protection, and an earlier elevation-based definition was criticised for excluding parts of the range.

• Delhi had the second or third highest building collapse deaths per million population in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
• Media reports count at least 70 deaths in 20 incidents since January 2025.
• The NCRB, which publishes the ADSI report, is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Urban governance and disaster risk: nearly 8,000 collapse deaths in five years, with Delhi among the worst per million population, put enforcement of building norms in focus.

• Import of nicotine pouches is "restricted" under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.
• PECA does not apply because the pouches are non-electronic and produce no vapour.
• One argument is that the pouches could fall under the definition of "food" in the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Public health regulation: new nicotine products outpace laws written for cigarettes, drugs and e-cigarettes, leaving a governance gap.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the summit with a business delegation.
• Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong recently met Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on trade relations.
• The Chinese Embassy cited resumed direct flights and border trade as signs of positive momentum.

India China economic relations: supply chain dependence on items like rare earth magnets gives China leverage, and India seeks reciprocal market access.

• ISRO currently operates 56 satellites in space.
• The current requirement for satellite launches is around 50 a year.
• ISRO's launch vehicles include the PSLV and the GSLV.

Space sector reform: the chairman's message frames private participation as capacity building for the space economy rather than privatisation of ISRO.

• At 2,367 kg, EOS-05 is the heaviest payload injected into orbit by a standard GSLV configuration; GSLV-F17 was the 19th operational GSLV flight.
• It carries a 700 mm Ritchey-Chretien optical telescope and hyperspectral sensors.
• It can image disaster spots every 5 to 10 minutes and scan the Indian landmass every 30 minutes under clear skies.

Space applications for disaster management and security: persistent observation from geosynchronous orbit tracks fast-changing floods, fires and weather.

• Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) is the initial administrative approval for proposed acquisitions, the first step in the procurement process.
• The Arudhra radar is an indigenous 4D multi-function phased array radar developed by DRDO and made by Bharat Electronics Limited.
• Arudhra radars will replace existing Air Route Surveillance Radars at various Naval Air Stations.

Defence indigenisation: a 98% domestic share in a large approval shows the push to cut import dependence in military procurement.

• In the Bihar pilot phase, 65 lakh names were deleted, later reduced to 45 lakh after judicial oversight.
• The article says draft rolls in the third phase show over 17% deletions.
• Delhi's voter list shrank from 1.56 crore to 98 lakh after the draft SIR.

Electoral integrity versus under-enfranchisement: the article says large, loosely categorised deletions raise questions on the Election Commission's process and accountability.

2026 · GS2 · 10 marks Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the Election Commission of India while undertaking the revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of the voters?

How to use it: The article says SIR deletion categories like "absent" and "unmapped" lack definitions and Bihar's deletions fell from 65 lakh to 45 lakh after judicial review, useful for assessing the ECI's roll revision.

• Dogri was added to the Eighth Schedule in 2003 and became an official language of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in 2020.
• The Dogri Sanstha adopted Devanagari in 1944 to popularise Dogri literature.
• Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language of the Western Pahari group.

Linguistic heritage: reviving an indigenous script in public spaces supports cultural identity of regional language communities.

• Average antibiotic cost for a resistant E. coli infection was about Rs 39,846 per patient, nearly double that for susceptible infections.
• Over 85% of bloodstream infections studied were healthcare-associated.
• Carbapenems are a class of broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics used for severe infections.

Antimicrobial resistance as a public health threat: the study points to infection prevention, timely diagnostics and integrated surveillance to preserve the efficacy of existing antibiotics.

• India imports about 60 to 65% of the LPG it consumes, and historically 80 to 90% of its LPG imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
• The UAE's share of India's LPG imports fell from 37.8% to 13.4%.
• The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016, provides LPG connections to women from BPL households.

Energy security: dependence on a single chokepoint exposes India to supply shocks, making source diversification essential.

2026 · GS3 · 15 marks Explain the key challenges for India's energy security. What measures do you suggest for ensuring energy security along with economic growth and sustainability?

How to use it: India imports 60 to 65% of its LPG, historically 80 to 90% via Hormuz; the disruption and shift to US supplies illustrate a key energy security challenge and diversification as a response.

• Entanglement sudden death is the abrupt disappearance of entanglement before the individual states fully decay.
• The researchers mimicked a two-level quantum system using the polarisation of light, controlled with a waveplate.

Science and technology: the result shows timing as a control resource in quantum systems, relevant to India's National Quantum Mission goals.

• Electric freight vehicle deployments rose from 201 in FY25 to 826 in FY26.
• Over 3,000 electric medium and heavy duty trucks are operating in India.

Clean freight transition: demand aggregation and financing access address the business case for electric trucks, supporting logistics competitiveness and energy security.

• NCAP was launched in 2019, with Rs 16,423.55 crore allocated to 130 cities.
• The PRANA portal and SAMEER app provide air quality data to the public.
• The Air Quality Index has six categories, from Good to Severe, based on eight pollutants.

Air pollution governance: city-level funding with performance tracking through CPCB, CAQM and State Pollution Control Boards shows a multi-sectoral approach.

• The MSP for raw jute for FY 2026-27 is Rs 5,925 per quintal, a 61.8% return over the cost of production.
• The National Jute Development Programme allocated Rs 485.58 crore from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.
• Key interventions include the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act.

Agriculture and allied industry: MSP, the Jute Packaging Materials Act and diversification schemes support a sector concentrated in eastern and northeastern India that sustains 40 lakh farm families.

• The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has approved 9,467 RAS units and 4,573 Biofloc units.
• Biofloc uses beneficial microorganisms to improve water quality and reduce water exchange.
• Inland fisheries and aquaculture output rose 147%, from 61.36 lakh tonnes to 151.60 lakh tonnes, over the last decade.

Blue economy: resource-efficient aquaculture expands fish farming beyond traditional areas, supporting exports, food security and rural incomes.