UPSC current affairs, 21 September 2026

• Orangutans are protected under CITES, which prohibits their commercial trade.
• In 2022, two baby orangutans were found near the Assam-Mizoram border.
• In India, primates, turtles and lizards are among the most smuggled species, mainly through land routes connecting India and Myanmar.

Wildlife crime as organised crime: its convergence with drug and timber smuggling, plus biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease risk, makes it both a conservation and an internal security issue.

• The U.S. is India's largest export destination, accounting for about 20% of India's total goods exports.
• The potential tariffs would come on top of existing 10% 'forced labour' tariffs and 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Energy security versus trade: the editorial sets out India's options of reducing Russian oil imports, absorbing the tariffs or negotiating a lower rate, with alternatives limited by Hormuz supply constraints and oil above $100 a barrel.

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: Shows a current energy security challenge: a U.S. law allowing 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, which supplied over 51% of India's oil imports as of July 2026.

• The RBI had projected average inflation of around 5% for FY2026-27.
• Bank credit grew 19.1% year-on-year and deposits 17.8%, partly due to the RBI's special FCNR(B) mobilisation scheme.
• The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate adjusted for inflation.

Monetary policy: falling real returns on deposits push households toward market-linked assets or gold (negative real returns in 2010-2013 sharply raised gold demand), and the author argues a timely, smaller repo rise works better than a delayed, larger correction.

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 governs the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs in India.

Drug regulation and patient safety: the case exposes supply chain weaknesses, with risk-based inspections, revised Schedule M and QR code tracking discussed as safeguards for India's pharmaceutical credibility.

• Imports in the top five categories from China, mostly electronics, grew from $19 billion in 2021 to $34.6 billion in 2025.
• The Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP), introduced in 2017, promotes domestic value addition, especially in electronics, through a graded duty structure.
• PM Modi and President Xi Jinping discussed the trade imbalance at the BRICS summit on September 12.

Industrial policy: the author argues that incentivising assembly deepens dependence on Chinese inputs and capital goods, which can turn into strategic vulnerabilities.

• The WIPO Copyright Treaty deals with the protection of works and authors' rights in the digital environment, including software and databases.
• The European Commission has asked EU member states to approve the signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement.

Trade agreements and access to knowledge: the author warns that strict anti-circumvention rules could criminalise legitimate work by students and researchers and stop libraries and archives from bypassing DRM for preservation.

• After the 2015 earthquake, India gave Nepal $250 million in grant assistance and a $750 million Line of Credit.
• Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) provided the initial flood damage estimates.
• The World Weather Attribution Group links climate change, through permafrost thaw and glacial thinning, to higher flood risk in the Himalayas.

India-Nepal relations: development assistance and supply chain connectivity as tools for a reset, alongside India's stated position on Chinese-funded projects in sectors from which it buys electricity.

• The U.S. Court Registry Investment System pools court registry funds to buy U.S. Treasury securities.
• The Law Commission of India is an executive body that advises the government on legal reforms.

Judicial administration: a pooled statutory system for court deposits would protect the time value of litigants' money and cut the routine administrative load on courts and tribunals.

• About 20% of global oil consumption and 25% of seaborne oil trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz annually.
• The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
• Iran's frozen funds, mostly oil revenues, are held in foreign banks due to U.S. sanctions reimposed after the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.

Maritime chokepoints and energy security: the standoff shows how a strait carrying a fifth of global oil consumption becomes leverage in a conflict.

• AASHVAST stands for Assessment and Analysis of Electronic Systems Hardware for Vulnerabilities and Security Threats.
• India has restricted domestic military drone manufacturers from using Chinese parts due to security risks.

Cyber security in defence supply chains: firmware in Army drones was not systematically checked earlier, and the labs aim to prevent enemy interference in contested zones while supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat.

• Sulphur comes mainly from petroleum refining (36%) and natural gas processing (34%).
• India consumes 3.8-3.9 million tonnes of sulphur a year, of which the fertiliser industry uses 2-2.1 million tonnes.
• Russia has banned sulphur exports and China has restricted sulphuric acid exports.

Food security and import dependence: distant conflicts raise fertiliser input costs, while domestic sulphur from refineries and smelters such as Hindustan Zinc and Birla Copper meets only part of demand.

• Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary was notified in 1974 and became India's second cheetah habitat in April 2025; the Chambal River divides it into two parts.
• Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952; the first releases under Project Cheetah were at Kuno National Park in September 2022.

Species reintroduction: second-generation births and a second breeding site test whether Project Cheetah can build self-sustaining populations and restore grassland ecosystems.

• WIPO adopted a treaty in May 2024 on intellectual property, genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.
• The WIPO treaty sets disclosure requirements for patent applicants using genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.
• India's GI Act allows registered proprietors to seek relief for infringement.

Protecting traditional knowledge: cross-border enforcement needs collective legal identity, documented provenance and benefit-sharing, with the government facilitating registration and enforcement while communities retain ownership.

• Recursive self-improvement refers to AI systems increasingly helping researchers build the next generation of AI.
• A 'regulatory moat' is a barrier to entry created by regulation that disproportionately benefits established companies.

Global AI governance: any slowdown faces a US-China race, so agreements would need international verification, and critics fear safety warnings could entrench large firms.

• E20 fuel is a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol.
• Water needed per kg: maize 500-900 litres, sugarcane 1,500-2,500 litres and rice 2,000-3,500 litres.

Energy security versus food and water security: the trade-offs of grain-based ethanol and whether GM feedstock could ease the conflict.

• India's three-stage nuclear power programme was designed by Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
• HALEU is uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% in uranium-235.
• India's 100 GWe nuclear mission by 2047 expects PHWRs to form a major share, supplemented by imported Light Water Reactors.

Nuclear energy and energy security: early thorium irradiation could reduce spent fuel inventory, conserve uranium and, the proposal says, enable Thorium Molten Salt Reactors in about 15 years.

• Earlier NPPA price caps on stents and knee implants reduced costs and improved access.
• AiMeD has proposed a 12-18 month pilot for six device categories, including pacemakers and cardiac catheters, with GST data used for monitoring.
• The Medical Devices Rules, 2017 addressed quality but left pricing under drug-focused structures.

Health care affordability: hospitals choosing devices for margins rather than patient outcomes strengthens the case for device-specific price regulation.

• A 20 MW AC grid-connected floating solar project is being developed at Chilwa Taal, Gorakhpur.
• Coal gasification converts coal into syngas for producing synthetic natural gas, ammonia, urea and methanol.
• Graphite and rare earth elements are among the critical minerals CIL is exploring, with an integrated graphite value chain up to anode material.

Energy transition: a coal PSU using gasification, renewables and critical minerals to support energy security, import substitution and low-carbon development.

• The Central Silk Board is a statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles.
• Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for raw silk production.
• The Ministry of Textiles is integrating AI, GIS and machine learning for quality inspection and production enhancement.

Agriculture-allied livelihoods: declining Chinese output and rising global demand give India an export opening if the value chain from cultivation to weaving is strengthened.

• ODF Plus villages are graded as Aspiring, Rising and Model.
• Under GOBARdhan, which converts organic waste into biogas and manure, 1,314 plants operate across 582 districts.
• Swachhata Hi Seva campaigns promote Jan Bhagidari (people's participation) in cleanliness.

Community participation in governance: the shift from building toilets to sustained use and waste management, run through Gram Panchayats, Village Water and Sanitation Committees and women volunteers.

• Awaas Mitras support PMAY-G, which aims for 4.95 crore houses by March 2029.
• Over 5.33 lakh Village Water and Sanitation Committees (Pani Samitis) are operational under Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Livelihood CRPs include Krishi Sakhis, Pashu Sakhis, Matsya Sakhis and Van Sakhis.

Convergence in welfare delivery: community cadres address livelihoods, health, sanitation and financial inclusion together at the household level.