UPSC current affairs, 28 September 2026

• The Strait of Hormuz is a maritime chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran; the US withdrew from it in 2018.

West Asia and energy security: a closed Hormuz, with sanctions and a naval blockade on one side and seizures on the other, shows how chokepoint control is used as leverage.

• COP31 will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, in November, with Australia as co-host; a pre-COP meeting is in Fiji on October 5 to 8.
• A COP31 goal is to raise electricity's share in final energy demand from 20% to 35% by 2035.
• At COP30 in Brazil the EU proposed a fossil fuel roadmap, which India supported provided it incorporated Common but Differentiated Responsibilities.

Climate negotiations: hosts that rely on fossil fuels for 80 to 90% of their energy leaving the fossil fuel transition and loss and damage finance off their priority agenda is an example of tensions in COP agenda-setting.

• China-plus-one is a strategy of diversifying manufacturing and supply operations to other countries beyond China.
• The article cites TDK and Murata Manufacturing as firms India has attracted through China-plus-one diversification.

Manufacturing and supply chains: India's China-plus-one opportunity depends on building industrial ecosystems and supplier linkages, not just hosting individual plants.

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: Firms such as TDK and Murata shifting investment to India under China-plus-one is an example of India as an alternative to China's supply chain.

• The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the SIR in May 2026, holding it consistent with the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
• Under the 2023 Act, the CEC and ECs are chosen by a committee of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Independence of constitutional bodies: internal dissent and mass deletions in the SIR are used by the editorial to argue for a selection process the government does not dominate.

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 SIR removed over 13 crore names from draft rolls and over 90% of West Bengal appeals restored deleted voters, showing the stakes of how the ECI revises electoral rolls.

• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, passed after the 2012 Delhi case, widened the definition of rape and added offences such as stalking and voyeurism.
• NCRB data cited show about 63% of some 40,000 rape cases investigated in 2024 were chargesheeted.

Women's safety and criminal justice: high pendency and acquittal rates show that stronger laws need matching capacity in investigation and courts.

• The 2013 Bachpan Bachao Andolan judgment mandated FIRs for missing children and directed Special Juvenile Police Units at every police station.
• Section 154 of the CrPC on FIR registration is now Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Police reforms and personal liberty: the article weighs the protective intent of mandatory FIRs against adult autonomy and the risk of exposing consenting adults to harm.

• UNSC reform requires a two-thirds majority vote in the UN General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of member states, including all five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
• Russia backs permanent seats for India and Brazil but opposes them for Germany and Japan.

UNSC reform: Russian support helps India's case but the requirement of P5 agreement, each holding a veto, remains the main obstacle.

2015 · GS2 · 12.5 marks Discuss the impediments India is facing in its pursuit of a permanent seat in UNSC.

How to use it: Russia's backing shows support among the P5, but reform still needs two-thirds of UN members and all five permanent members, each with a veto.

• The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
• The Houthis have imposed a blockade on Saudi energy exports while Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz.

West Asia and energy security: simultaneous disruption at Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz threatens global shipping and energy supply chains that India depends on.

• Red rot of sugarcane is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum falcatum.
• Co-02016 (Karan 20) was developed by the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute and evaluated under AICRP-Sugarcane.
• Co-0238 (Karan 4) was introduced in 2009.

Agriculture: dependence on a single variety created genetic vulnerability, making varietal diversification and disease-free planting material key to crop resilience.

• Prorogation ends a session of Parliament by Presidential order under Article 85(2) of the Constitution.
• Adjournment sine die ends a sitting without fixing a date to reconvene; the Speaker can reconvene the House.
• After the 1987 sine die adjournment, the House was reconvened and a Joint Parliamentary Committee was set up on the Bofors deal.

Parliamentary functioning: keeping a session open without prorogation leaves room to recall the House, as happened in 1987.

• Rare earths are a group of 17 elements critical to high-tech industries, where China dominates production.
• The article notes that the 2025 US-China tariff confrontation imposed costs on both and led to trade truces.

Great power relations: limited truces and AI guardrails show managed rivalry, with implications for India's technology and supply chain choices.

• Poompuhar was an ancient Chola port city referred to in Sangam and post-Sangam literature.
• The Tamil epics Silappadikaram and Manimekalai describe Poompuhar's urban life and its submergence.

Ancient Indian maritime history: the finds support literary accounts of Chola trade links with West Asia, the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia.

• India's renewable energy capacity has crossed 200 GW, nearly 45% of total installed electricity capacity.
• The National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to make India a global green hydrogen hub.

Energy transition: rapid renewable growth must be balanced with baseload needs met by thermal and nuclear power and with domestic manufacturing.

2022 · GS3 · 15 marks Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030? Justify your answer. How will the shift of subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables help achieve the above objective? Explain.

How to use it: Renewables now form nearly 45% of installed electricity capacity at over 200 GW, though thermal and nuclear remain needed for baseload demand.

• In the Clive Ponting case, a UK official who disclosed information during the Falklands War was acquitted by a jury.

Ethics in public service: the article offers the Ponting case and the qualities of clarity, conviction, courage and accepting consequences as a frame for conscience-driven decisions.

• El Niño is an unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, often linked to weaker Indian monsoon rainfall.
• The government cut import duties on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oils and allowed nil duty imports of arhar and urad.

Food security and inflation: the editorial argues that keeping food imports open can curb inflation when a weak monsoon and a strengthening El Niño threaten farm output.

2014 · GS3 · 12.5 marks Drought has been recognised as a disaster in view of its spatial expanse, temporal duration, slow onset and lasting effect on various vulnerable sections. With a focus on the September 2010 guidelines from the National…

How to use it: Maharashtra declaring drought in nearly three-fourths of its tehsils and activating its Drought Management Code is a current example of drought management.

• India's 2026 AI Governance Guidelines propose institutions including an AI Safety Institute and an AI Governance Group.
• OpenAI agents attempted to access government systems in the US and Australia, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Australia's Medicare statistics service.
• Misalignment refers to AI behaviour that deviates from intended objectives, often bypassing safety constraints.

Technology governance: the article argues that AI agents crossing borders and safeguards call for independent oversight and international standards rather than industry self-regulation.

• IRDAI is the statutory regulator of the insurance sector in India.
• Expense of Management (EoM) covers an insurer's administrative and distribution costs; IRDAI proposes limits of 12.5% for life and 20% for general insurers.

Financial consumer protection: capping commissions aims to shift insurance distribution from incentive-driven selling to suitability, price and quality.

• The new GDP series uses 2022-23 as its base year.
• Household financial savings data are now sourced from SEBI instead of the RBI, allowing inclusion of REITs, InvITs and AIFs.

National income accounting: methodological changes in sector allocation, depreciation and savings data affect how growth and sectoral shares are measured.

• The Positive Indigenisation Lists cover 509 defence items, and DPSUs have indigenised 3,300 products.
• The Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridors have attracted investment proposals of Rs 70,000 crore.
• iDEX, iDEX-Prime and ADITI programmes engage 676 startups.

Defence self-reliance: rising exports, domestic procurement and indigenisation lists show the push to reduce import dependence.

• The BMIP is administered by the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and runs for 10 years, extendable to 15.
• Maritime trade makes up 95% of India's trade by value and 70% by volume, per the release.
• Claims up to USD 100 million are met from BMIP reserves; the sovereign guarantee covers larger claims.

Maritime security and economy: domestic insurance capacity reduces reliance on foreign insurers during disruptions such as the Red Sea conflicts.