UPSC current affairs, 12 October 2026

• In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan vs Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court recognised peaceful protest as a fundamental right and called for regulation rather than blanket prohibition.
• The BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024, and its Section 163 replaced Section 144 of the CrPC.
• The 2023 law on appointing Election Commissioners set up a selection committee of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

GS2 rights and reasonable restrictions: use it for the argument that blanket prohibitory orders and denial of protest sites undercut the right to assemble under Article 19.

• Navi Pillay, born in Durban in 1941, served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.
• The 1998 Jean-Paul Akayesu judgment recognised rape and sexual violence as acts of genocide.
• The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

GS2 international institutions: an example for answers on the role of international criminal law and courts in a rules-based order.

• The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body under Article 324.
• The ECI set up the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in June 2011.
• The Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) was added by the 52nd Amendment in 1985.

GS2 electoral reforms: a ready list of threats to electoral integrity, from voter rolls and money power to defections and appointments of Election Commissioners.

2018 · GS2 · 10 marks In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India?

How to use it: It lists current challenges to trust in elections, such as disputes over voter roll revision, deepfakes, money power and post-poll defections.

• Doxxing is the publishing of a person's identifying or private information without consent.
• The Netherlands, Germany and the UK Cinema Association are reported to be exploring or applying restrictions on smart glasses.

GS3 technology and privacy: an example of regulating wearable cameras and AI facial recognition to protect bystanders, relevant to the right to privacy debate.

• Gandhi was tried in 1922 under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code for articles in his journal Young India.
• The trial followed the Chauri Chaura incident, after which Gandhi suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• In Anita Thakur vs Government of Jammu and Kashmir (2016), the Supreme Court affirmed peaceful demonstration as a fundamental right.

GS1 national movement and GS2 rights: links Gandhi's idea of non-violent dissent to the constitutional protection of peaceful protest under Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b).

• Census 2027 will be India's first digital census and will enumerate caste for the first time since 1931.
• India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and has no national refugee law.
• Chin refugees came from Myanmar after the February 2021 coup, and Bawm refugees from Bangladesh in November 2022.

GS2 internal security and federal issues: shows how a border State handles refugees in the absence of a national refugee law, and why accurate counts matter for policy.

• The Bab el-Mandeb Strait links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
• A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis (Ansar Allah), who control Sanaa.

GS2 India and West Asia: shows the risks to the Indian diaspora in the Gulf and to energy and trade routes through the Red Sea.

• Under Article 324(5), the CEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge, by a special majority in both Houses on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• In Anoop Baranwal (2023), the Supreme Court ordered a committee of the PM, Leader of Opposition and CJI to select Election Commissioners until Parliament made a law.
• The 2023 Act replaced the CJI on the selection committee with a Union Cabinet Minister.

GS2 independence of constitutional bodies: useful for the debate on the removal safeguard for the CEC and on who should select Election Commissioners.

• The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with fewer than 4,000 mature individuals estimated globally.
• India holds over 90% of the world's wild buffalo population, mostly in Assam.
• The wild buffalo is listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

GS3 conservation: an example of reintroducing a locally extinct species, in a reserve known for conserving the hard-ground barasingha.

• The WDR 2026 finds 4.5% of jobs in low- and middle-income countries highly exposed to generative AI automation, against 14.2% in high-income countries.
• The IndiaAI Mission was approved in March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years.
• The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) was set up under the ANRF Act, 2023.

GS3 technology and growth: supports the argument that AI should augment workers in agriculture, health, education and administration, built on DPI such as Aadhaar and UPI.

• Antyodaya, associated with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, means uplifting the last and most marginalised person.
• Trusteeship is Gandhi's idea that the wealthy hold their assets in trust for society, especially the poor.

GS4 ethics: ready examples from Indian leaders for questions on integrity, courage of conviction and service to the weakest in public administration.

• PERM is a US Department of Labor process for employers to obtain labour certification for the permanent employment of foreign workers.
• India's software, business and other services exports were $221 billion in 2025-26.
• India took 37% of Russia's crude exports between December 2022 and August 2026, second to China.

GS2 India-US relations: an example of how immigration, sanctions and trade policy combine to pressure India.

• The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 allows US tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas, with a presidential waiver.
• OFAC, in the US Treasury, administers US economic and trade sanctions.
• G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude and products from emergency reserves.

GS2 and GS3 energy security: shows the leverage India can use to defend discounted Russian crude purchases against US secondary sanctions.

• Orangutans are critically endangered great apes found in the wild only on Borneo and Sumatra.
• Official figures show over 202,000 hectares burned from January to July.
• Transboundary haze is air pollution, mainly from forest and peatland fires, that crosses national borders.

GS3 disaster and environment: an example of how El Nino, land clearing and fires combine to threaten biodiversity and public health across borders.

• A qubit, unlike a classical bit, can exist in a superposition of 0 and 1.
• Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) refers to encryption algorithms designed to resist attacks by quantum computers.
• The Digital Threat Report 2025-26 by CERT-In, CSIRT-Fin and SISA indicates Harvest Now, Decrypt Later strategies are in use.

GS3 cybersecurity: supports arguments for crypto-agility and early migration to PQC in the financial sector.

2022 · Prelims Which one of the following is the context in which the term 'qubit' is mentioned? (a) Cloud Services (b) Quantum Computing (c) Visible Light Communication Technologies (d) Wireless Communication Technologies

How to use it: The article explains that qubits, which can hold 0 and 1 in superposition, are the basic unit of quantum computing.

• The FERR requires banks to keep a reserve with the RBI against eligible rupee-linked forex derivative contracts.
• The RBI is lowering the threshold for unhedged derivative transactions from $100 million to $5 million.
• The 2013 Taper Tantrum was the market reaction to the US Federal Reserve's plan to reduce quantitative easing.

GS3 external sector: a case study of the tools a central bank uses to defend a currency, and their limits given the balance of payments.

2019 · Prelims Which one of the following is not the most likely measure the Government/RBI takes to stop the slide of Indian rupee? (a) Curbing imports of non-essential goods and promoting exports (b) Encouraging Indian borrowers to…

How to use it: The RBI is defending the rupee by tightening, raising the repo rate and curbing speculation, which shows an expansionary monetary policy is not a measure to stop a slide.

• The offshore-to-onshore employee ratio of Indian IT firms, historically 70:30, is projected to reach 85:15 by FY27.
• HCLTech says about 80% of its US workforce are local hires.

GS3 services exports: shows how the Indian IT model is adapting to immigration curbs in a key market.

• The private sector provides nearly 60% of in-patient and 70% of outpatient care in India.
• The Clinical Establishments Act and Rules allow the government to regulate procedure prices, but implementation is uneven.
• A trade margin is the gap between a distributor's purchase price and the product's MRP.

GS2 health: evidence for regulating private healthcare prices, with the cardiac stent case showing how hospitals shift charges when one item is capped.

• The mission targets production of 350 lakh tonnes and a yield of 1,130 kg per hectare by 2030-31, and plans to expand the area under pulses by 35 lakh hectares.
• NCCF and NAFED are authorised for 100% assured procurement of tur, urad and masoor for four years, 2025-26 to 2028-29.
• The SATHI portal provides seed traceability from production to certification.

GS3 agriculture and food security: an example of a value-chain approach to cutting import dependence and raising farm incomes.

• VOC Port is at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
• According to the release, India's metro network grew from 5 cities and about 250 km in 2014 to 25 cities and over 1,100 km.
• PM Matsya Sampada Yojana is the flagship scheme for the fisheries sector, and fishermen can get working capital through Kisan Credit Cards.

GS3 infrastructure and blue economy: an example of port-led development and urban transport investment.