UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS — 29 SEPTEMBER 2026
Three Chief Justices to the Top Court: How the Collegium Picks Supreme Court Judges
(Polity and Governance) (NDTV) The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, has recommended three High Court Chief Justices for elevation to the apex court — Justice Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat HC), Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (Delhi HC) and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh (Telangana HC).
The recommendation at a glance
| Recommended judge | Present post | Parent High Court |
| Justice Sunita Agarwal | Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court | Allahabad |
| Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya | Chief Justice, Delhi High Court | Allahabad |
| Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh | Chief Justice, Telangana High Court | Jharkhand |
The recommendation was made at the Collegium meeting of 28 September 2026. The Court’s sanctioned strength now stands at 38 judges (including the CJI), after the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026 raised it from 34; with 34 judges in office, the three elevations would take the working strength to 37.
What is the Collegium?
The Collegium is a forum of senior-most judges that recommends appointments and transfers of judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. The word “collegium” appears nowhere in the Constitution or in any statute — the system is a product of judicial interpretation of Articles 124(2) and 217 (see Composition and Appointment of SC judges).
| Level | Composition | Role |
| Supreme Court Collegium | CJI + four senior-most judges | Recommends appointments to the Supreme Court and transfers of High Court judges |
| Collegium for HC appointments | CJI + two senior-most SC judges | Clears names of High Court judges and Chief Justices |
| High Court Collegium | HC Chief Justice + two senior-most HC judges | Initiates proposals for High Court judges |
The current five-member Supreme Court Collegium comprises CJI Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath, B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh and P.S. Narasimha.
How the system evolved: the Judges Cases
First Judges Case (1981) ➜ Second Judges Case (1993) ➜ Third Judges Case (1998) ➜ Fourth Judges Case (2015)
| Case | Year | What it held |
| S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (First Judges Case) | 1981 | “Consultation” with the CJI does not mean “concurrence”; the executive had the final say. |
| Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (Second Judges Case) | 1993 | Overruled S.P. Gupta; gave primacy to the judiciary and created the Collegium (CJI + two senior-most judges). |
| In re Special Reference 1 of 1998 (Third Judges Case) | 1998 | Expanded the SC Collegium to the CJI + four senior-most judges and laid down norms of consultation. |
| Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (Fourth Judges Case) | 2015 | Struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment and the NJAC Act, 2014, reviving the Collegium. |
Note: The first case is often misquoted as “P. Gupta”; the correct title is S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981), decided by a seven-judge Bench.
How an appointment moves
Collegium recommends ➜ Law Ministry + IB inputs ➜ Government may return once ➜ Reiteration binds ➜ President issues warrant
- Memorandum of Procedure (MoP): The executive–judiciary understanding that governs the steps, time-lines and background checks.
- Reiteration: The Government may send a name back for reconsideration once; if the Collegium reiterates it, the appointment is expected to follow.
- Transfers: Transfer of High Court judges and Chief Justices is made under Article 222 (Tenure, Removal and Transfer of HC Judges).
Strengths and criticisms
| Strengths | Criticisms |
| Insulates appointments from political pressure and protects judicial independence | Opaque — no written criteria or reasons made public for selection or rejection |
| Peer assessment by judges who have watched the candidate’s work | “Judges appointing judges” — no role for other stakeholders |
| Upholds separation of powers, part of the basic structure | Delays when the executive sits on recommendations; uneven diversity on the Bench |
Way forward
- Finalise a revised Memorandum of Procedure with time-bound action by both sides.
- Publish objective eligibility criteria and reasons for key decisions.
- Broaden the pool — women, SC/ST/OBC and minority representation, and eminent members of the Bar.
- Consider a permanent Collegium secretariat for data-driven evaluation of candidates.
📖 Read More: Supreme Court • High Courts in India • SCAORA Case 1993 • SCAORA Case 2015 • Judicial Review
Written Grounds or Release: Supreme Court Tightens the Rules on Arrest and Re-arrest
(Polity and Governance) (SCO) In Jaskaran Jeet Singh Deol v. State of Punjab (2026), decided on 21 September 2026 by a Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and A.S. Chandurkar, the Supreme Court held that grounds of arrest must be given in writing, in a language the arrested person understands, and that police cannot re-arrest at will after an illegal arrest.
The constitutional and statutory framework
| Provision | What it guarantees |
| Article 21 | No deprivation of life or personal liberty except by a procedure established by law that is fair, just and reasonable (Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, 1978). |
| Article 22(1) | An arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as may be, and has the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of choice. |
| Article 22(2) | Production before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, excluding travel time; no detention beyond that without a magistrate’s authority. |
| Section 47, BNSS, 2023 | Police must communicate full particulars of the offence and, for bailable offences, the right to bail (earlier Section 50, CrPC). |
| Section 58, BNSS | Statutory 24-hour limit for producing an arrested person before a magistrate. |
How the law got here
The ruling builds on recent precedent. Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2023) required written grounds under the PMLA (Money Laundering); Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2024) extended this to the UAPA (UAPA, 1967); Vihaan Kumar v. State of Haryana (2025) and Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra (2025) made it a rule for all offences.
What the Court held
- Written grounds, always: Oral communication is not enough. Where giving written grounds at the moment of arrest is impractical, they may be conveyed orally first but must be supplied in writing at least two hours before the accused is produced before the magistrate.
- All statutes alike: The rule applies to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and to special laws such as PMLA, UAPA and NDPS — the gravity of the offence is no excuse.
- Void from inception: An arrest that breaches Article 22(1) is illegal; release in such a case is not a grant of bail but the end of unlawful custody.
- Compensation: High Courts may award monetary compensation as a public-law remedy for such violations, without barring civil remedies.
Re-arrest: the new safeguards
Illegal arrest set aside ➜ Written grounds + necessity placed before magistrate ➜ Superior officer’s endorsement ➜ Judicial approval ➜ Probe moves to new officer
- Judicial imprimatur: Police cannot re-arrest on their own; they must approach the jurisdictional magistrate with written grounds and explain why custody is necessary.
- Superior sign-off: The request must carry the endorsement of the investigating officer’s superior.
- Accountability: The superior must shift the investigation to another officer and order a departmental inquiry into the original violation; adverse findings go into the service record.
- 24-hour breaches: The same procedure applies where a person was held beyond 24 hours without a magistrate’s order in violation of Article 22(2).
Liberty vs. investigation: both sides
| Rights perspective | Enforcement concerns |
| Stops “process as punishment” and arbitrary detention (Articles 14 and 21) | Speed matters in terror, organised-crime and cyber cases where suspects may flee or destroy evidence |
| Written grounds enable a prompt bail plea and meaningful judicial review | Many police stations lack translation capacity for written grounds in local languages |
| Protects poor undertrials who cannot hire lawyers — undertrials form roughly three-fourths of India’s prison population | Multiple FIRs across jurisdictions may make repeat arrests genuinely necessary |
Way forward
- Magistrates as gatekeepers: Reject remand requests that lack clear, translated, written grounds.
- SOPs and digital templates: Standard arrest-memo formats and verified translation tools for police stations.
- Legal aid at remand stage: Assign Legal Aid Defense Counsel System lawyers immediately to indigent accused.
- Police reforms: Separate investigation from law-and-order duties as directed in Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006).
📖 Read More: Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22) • Maneka Gandhi Case • Prakash Singh Case • State Police and Police Reforms • Legal Architecture of Internal Security
Silence Is Not Disrespect: Vande Mataram, Conscience and the Limits of Compelled Patriotism
(Polity and Governance) (The Wire) Hearing a writ petition by Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant observed that no one can be prosecuted for declining, on grounds of conscience or faith, to sing Vande Mataram wholly or partly, if they remain respectful. These were oral observations at the 22 September 2026 hearing, not a final judgment.
What is under challenge?
- Penal law: An amendment of 30 July 2026 extended Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 to the National Song — intentionally preventing its singing or disturbing an assembly singing it can attract up to three years’ imprisonment, fine, or both.
- Executive directive: Ministry of Home Affairs instructions making the full six-stanza version compulsory at official and cultural functions.
The song and its journey
Composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1870s) ➜ Part of Anandamath (1882) ➜ Anthem of Swadeshi movement (1905) ➜ CWC adopts first two stanzas (1937) ➜ National Song (24 January 1950)
- Literary origin: The poem appears in the novel Anandamath, personifying the motherland as a mother goddess.
- Freedom struggle: It became a rallying cry during the Swadeshi and Boycott movement against the 1905 Partition of Bengal.
- 1937 compromise: A Congress Working Committee panel that included Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad advised use of only the first two stanzas, which describe the land and nature.
- Constitutional status: On 24 January 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, as President of the Constituent Assembly, declared that Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem and Vande Mataram would be honoured equally as the National Song.
The constitutional questions
| Provision | Relevance |
| Article 19(1)(a) | Free speech includes the right to remain silent — the State cannot compel a citizen to voice words, subject only to Article 19(2). |
| Article 25 | Freedom of conscience; for monotheistic faiths that forbid praise of any deity, singing certain verses may conflict with belief. |
| Article 21 | Privacy and mental autonomy (K.S. Puttaswamy, 2017) — the State cannot extract ideological allegiance. |
| Article 51A(a) | Duty to respect the Constitution, its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem — the National Song is not named. |
The Fundamental Duties were inserted by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 (Fundamental Duties). By naming only the Flag and the Anthem, the text itself distinguishes the National Song’s status. Duties, moreover, are not directly enforceable without a valid law.
The guiding precedent: Bijoe Emmanuel (1986)
Three Jehovah’s Witness children in Kerala were expelled for standing respectfully but not singing the National Anthem. The Supreme Court ordered their readmission, holding that respectful silence is not disrespect and that compelling them to sing violated Articles 19(1)(a) and 25. The 1971 Act punishes preventing the Anthem or disrupting it — not silent abstention.
Two views
| For mandatory participation | For conscientious exemption |
| Shared symbols build civic unity in a diverse country | Forced conformity breeds resentment; real loyalty is voluntary |
| The verses are patriotic allegory, not worship | Some faiths read deity-praise as a theological breach |
| The State may regulate ceremonial protocol | Criminal penalty for silence fails the proportionality test |
Way forward
- Draw a bright line: Penalise only deliberate obstruction or disruption; never peaceful, respectful silence.
- Revisit protocol: The 1937 two-stanza practice offers a tested balance between heritage and pluralism.
- Constitutional patriotism: Build allegiance through justice, liberty, equality and fraternity rather than compulsion (Secularism in Indian Society).
📖 Read More: Right to Freedom of Religion • Right to Freedom • Fundamental Duties • Partition of Bengal & Swadeshi • Secularism in Indian Society
PRAHAAR: India’s Seven-Pillar Playbook Against Terror, Down to the Thana
(Internal Security) (PIB) Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the conference on “PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy” in New Delhi on 28 September 2026, bringing together central agencies and State/UT police leadership. He called for institutionalising the strategy for the next 10 years and also launched a new Extradition Portal to speed up the return of fugitives.
What is PRAHAAR?
PRAHAAR is India’s comprehensive counter-terrorism policy and strategy framework. It rests on seven pillars and a whole-of-society approach, aiming to strengthen prevention, response and recovery across agencies and jurisdictions. Each letter of the acronym stands for one pillar.
| Letter | Pillar | What it means in practice |
| P | Prevention | Intelligence-led disruption of plots, radicalisation and terror financing before an attack |
| R | Response | Swift, automated and coordinated action when an incident occurs |
| A | Aggregating Internal Capacities | Pooling data, skills and assets of central and State agencies |
| H | Human Rights | Operations within the rule of law, proportionality and accountability |
| A | Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism | Addressing grievances, alienation and conditions that feed extremism |
| A | Aligning International Efforts | Extradition, information-sharing and diplomatic coordination |
| R | Recovery & Resilience | Victim support, rebuilding and learning from incidents |
Key directions from the conference
National strategy ➜ State police & agencies ➜ District units ➜ Thana-level protocols
- Thana-level implementation: The tenets of PRAHAAR must percolate to the police station, the first responder in most incidents.
- Automated response: An institutionalised, automated counter-terrorism response mechanism at every level, so action does not depend on individual initiative.
- Continuous learning: Analysing every terror incident to refine capacity-building and resilience over the next decade.
- Extradition Portal: A digital platform to expedite requests for fugitives abroad (International Cooperation).
The meeting drew the Union Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, heads of Central Armed Police Forces, Directors General of Police of several States and Anti-Terrorist Squad chiefs — reflecting the Centre–State and internal–external coordination the strategy demands.
Why it matters
- Closes the intelligence-to-action gap: Common protocols across agencies and States (India’s CT architecture).
- Cooperative federalism: Police and public order are State subjects; a shared national doctrine aligns State forces with central agencies.
- Rights-based security: Explicitly placing human rights among the pillars supports legitimacy and community trust (NHRC and the security–liberty balance).
- External dimension: Better extradition and international alignment address cross-border terror networks (India’s Foreign Policy and Terrorism).
📖 Read More: Countering Terrorism in India • Understanding Terrorism in India • Terror Financing & Crime–Terror Nexus • Development as a Counter to Extremism
KAZIND-2026: India and Kazakhstan Train for Counter-Terror Ops in the Mountains
(Internal Security) (PIB) A 60-member Indian Armed Forces contingent has departed for Oskemen, Kazakhstan, for the 9th edition of the India–Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND-2026, scheduled from 28 September to 11 October 2026.
Exercise at a glance
| Feature | Details |
| Edition | 9th |
| Venue | Oskemen, Kazakhstan |
| Indian contingent | 60 personnel, drawn mainly from a battalion of the Garhwal Rifles, with personnel from other arms and services and the Indian Air Force |
| Kazakh contingent | Similar strength, mainly from Kazakhstan’s Land Forces |
| Aim | Interoperability and joint counter-terrorism capability in a sub-conventional setting under a United Nations mandate |
Training focus
Joint planning ➜ Raids & cordon-and-search ➜ Heliborne insertion ➜ UAS / Counter-UAS drills ➜ Validation exercise
- Terrain: Counter-terrorism in semi-urban and mountainous areas — raids, search-and-destroy and cordon-and-search missions.
- Air mobility: Securing helipads and landing sites; heliborne operations.
- Drone warfare: Integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems and Counter-UAS capabilities (Air Defence).
- Joint command: A Joint Command Post and an Intelligence & Surveillance Centre; the exercise ends with validation against a simulated terrorist threat.
Strategic significance
- Anchor of the Central Asia policy: Kazakhstan is India’s largest trade partner in the region (India and Kazakhstan).
- Shared threat perception: Both face terror and radicalisation risks from an unstable neighbourhood; joint drills build practical trust.
- Multilateral synergy: Complements cooperation under the SCO and India’s wider Connect Central Asia outreach.
📖 Read More: India and Kazakhstan • India and Central Asia • Armed Forces and Internal Security
From Farm Gate to Plate: India’s Opportunity in Cutting Food Loss and Waste
(Economics) (TH) On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (29 September), attention turned to how India can cut losses across its food chain. A joint assessment involving the FAO highlights wholesale mandis as waste hotspots — and as a ready source of clean energy.
Loss vs. waste: know the difference
| Basis | Food loss | Food waste |
| Where | Upstream — harvest, storage, processing, transport | Downstream — retail, food service, households |
| Main causes | Poor storage, weak cold chain, pests, rough handling | Over-buying, spoilage, strict cosmetic standards, plate waste |
| SDG link | SDG 12.3 — reduce losses along production and supply chains | SDG 12.3 — halve per-capita waste at retail and consumer level by 2030 |
Globally, the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimates that about 1.05 billion tonnes of food — roughly 19% of food available to consumers — was wasted in 2022, while about 13% is lost between harvest and retail. Indian households waste an estimated 55 kg per person a year (SDG 12).
The triple win
Less loss & waste ➜ Food & nutrition security ➜ Lower emissions & resource use ➜ Higher farm incomes
- Nutrition: Saved food feeds more people without expanding cultivated area (Food Insecurity and Hunger).
- Climate: Less embedded water, fertiliser and methane from rotting organic waste.
- Economy: New revenue from compost, biogas and bio-CNG (Biofuels).
India’s evidence base
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has run three national post-harvest loss surveys (2005–07, 2012–14 and 2020–22), with a fourth round under way — a rare, systematic dataset useful for SDG 12.3 reporting. The latest round, conducted through NABCONS, covered 54 crops and commodities (PIB).
| Commodity group | Post-harvest loss (2020–22) |
| Cereals | 3.89% – 5.92% |
| Pulses | 5.65% – 6.74% |
| Oilseeds | 2.87% – 7.51% |
| Fruits | 6.02% – 15.05% |
| Vegetables | 4.87% – 11.61% |
Source of ranges: NABCONS study as reported to Parliament (Down To Earth). Perishables clearly bleed the most — pointing straight at cold-chain gaps (Cold Chain & Value Addition scheme).
Mandis: from waste hotspot to energy hub
- Scale: Large Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yards can generate up to 100 tonnes of organic waste a day; nationally, wholesale markets discard about 3.5 million tonnes a year.
- Circular model: Surat’s 50-tonne-per-day bio-CNG plant is estimated to avoid about 7,500 tonnes of methane emissions annually (Solid Waste Management).
- Finance: An FAO–SIDBI partnership links identified loss hotspots with concessional credit for solar cold rooms, pre-coolers, dehumidifiers and digital traceability — targeting MSMEs and FPOs.
Barriers
- Cold-chain deficit at the farm gate; high capital cost for smallholders.
- No binding national mandate for segregating commercial food waste.
- Thin markets for by-products such as compost and bio-CNG.
Way forward
- Farm-gate value addition: Pack-houses, primary processing and storage close to farms (PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund).
- Mandi-level bio-CNG: Make organic-waste plants standard in large APMC yards.
- Urban food recovery: Formal networks for redistributing surplus food.
- Measure and commit: A national food waste index and inclusion of food-loss cuts in India’s climate pledges under the UNFCCC.
📖 Read More: Food Processing Industry • Food Insecurity and Hunger • Solid Wastes • PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana
Pashudhan Bima Portal: Livestock Insurance Goes Paperless
(Economics) (NOA) Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) launched the Pashudhan Bima Portal in New Delhi on 28 September 2026 (report), a single digital platform for the livestock insurance scheme of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).
What the portal does
Farmer applies online ➜ Policy issued ➜ Animal tagged & recorded ➜ Claim filed & verified ➜ Payout tracked
| Feature | Details |
| Administering body | Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) |
| Coverage of workflow | Application, policy issuance, claim processing, grievance redressal, monitoring and reporting |
| Stakeholders linked | Farmers, State Animal Husbandry Departments, insurers and veterinary officers |
| Languages | Hindi, English and 11 regional languages (13 in all) |
| Identification | Reported integration with the Bharat Pashudhan database and 12-digit ear-tag identification |
Why it matters
- Protects rural incomes: Death of a milch animal can wipe out a small farmer’s savings; quick claims cushion the shock (Livestock Resources & White Revolution).
- Transparency: Paperless, auditable records reduce fraud and delays in claim settlement (E-Governance).
- More insurers, wider cover: Cleaner data lowers risk for insurers and can expand coverage.
- Financial inclusion: Extends formal risk cover to the animal-husbandry economy (Financial Inclusion).
Livestock insurance has been supported by DAHD alongside the National Livestock Mission. It complements crop cover under PMFBY, together forming a safety net for mixed farming households.
📖 Read More: Schemes of Ministry of Fisheries, AH & Dairying • Livestock Resources & White Revolution • E-Governance
Algorithms Against Calamity: How AI Is Reshaping Disaster Management
(Science and Technology) (IE) Recent floods in Nepal and repeated urban flooding in Indian cities have shown how artificial intelligence — machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing — is moving disaster management from reaction to prediction. The technology, however, is only as good as the ground systems behind it.
AI across the disaster cycle
Preparedness & early warning ➜ Response & rescue ➜ Recovery & rebuilding
| Phase | AI application | Example |
| Preparedness | Hyper-local rainfall forecasting with machine learning | IIT Bombay’s climate studies centre — neighbourhood-scale rain forecasts for Mumbai (Urban Floods) |
| Early warning | Flood forecasting combining weather models and terrain data | Google’s Flood Hub — inundation alerts up to seven days ahead |
| Hazard mapping | Merging elevation models and satellite radar | Flood and landslide susceptibility maps (Satellite Systems & Applications) |
| Response | Computer vision on drones with thermal cameras | Detecting heat signatures of trapped people under debris |
| Response | NLP on multilingual distress calls | Flagging urgent medical needs across dialects |
| Recovery | Before–after satellite image comparison; logistics optimisation | Rapid damage assessment; routing relief and choosing helicopter landing zones |
The limits
- Ground-truthing bottleneck: Forecasts are useless without drains, trained NDRF teams and evacuation corridors on the ground.
- Data bias: Models trained on urban, connected populations may miss remote villages and marginalised groups.
- Misinformation: Generative AI can amplify rumours or “hallucinate” during a crisis.
- Fragile infrastructure: Grid failure and severed networks can switch off cloud-based tools exactly when needed.
Way forward
- Public–private partnerships: Institutionalised data-sharing between the NDMA and technology developers (NDMA).
- Edge AI: Run models on drones and local devices so they work offline.
- Traditional knowledge: Blend community early-warning wisdom with AI risk models.
- Human in the loop: Evacuation and rescue decisions must stay with accountable officials (AI in Governance).
These steps align with the priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 — understanding risk and investing in early warning (Sendai Framework).
📖 Read More: Disaster Management Cycle • Legal & Institutional Framework of DM in India • Artificial Intelligence • Floods: A Natural Hazard
Eighty Years of Guarding Whales: India’s Voice at IWC-70 in Hobart
(Environment) (IANS) India reaffirmed its commitment to science-based conservation of cetaceans at the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70) in Hobart, Australia — held from 28 September to 2 October 2026 (IWC), in the 80th anniversary year of the whaling convention.
India’s stand at IWC-70
- Science first: Better data on population status, distribution and threats to guide conservation decisions.
- Cooperation: Closer collaboration among range countries, scientific institutions, governments and local communities.
- Domestic record: All cetaceans in Indian waters enjoy the highest protection under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972; India runs Project Dolphin and prioritises conservation of the Arabian Sea humpback whale.
About the IWC
| Feature | Details |
| Founding treaty | International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), signed in Washington, D.C. on 2 December 1946 |
| Mandate | Conservation of whales and management of whaling; now also dolphins and porpoises |
| Secretariat | Impington, near Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| India | Member since 1981; consistently opposes commercial whaling |
| Decision rule | Amendments to the binding Schedule need a three-fourths majority |
Milestones
ICRW signed (1946) ➜ Indian Ocean Sanctuary (1979) ➜ Commercial whaling moratorium adopted (1982) ➜ Moratorium in force (1986) ➜ Southern Ocean Sanctuary (1994)
- The Schedule: Sets catch limits, sanctuaries such as the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean sanctuaries, and hunting restrictions (Indian Ocean).
- Aboriginal subsistence whaling: Permitted under strict regulation for indigenous communities.
- Scientific Committee: Assesses whale stocks; the Commission also works on entanglement, ship strikes, underwater noise, climate change and whale-watching guidelines.
Why whales matter
Whales recycle nutrients from the deep ocean to surface waters, fertilising plankton that absorb carbon. Their bodies also lock away carbon when they die and sink. Protecting them therefore supports both marine food webs and climate goals (UNCLOS & marine governance).
📖 Read More: International Whaling Commission (IWC) • Global Wildlife Conservation Efforts • Species of Conservation Concern: Mammals
Greening Commitments on Show: India at FAO’s Committee on Forestry (COFO 28)
(Environment) (PIB) India showcased its forest and landscape restoration progress at the 28th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO 28) in Rome, Italy (28 September – 2 October 2026), and offered to help shape the proposed UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation (2027–2036).
What is COFO?
COFO is FAO’s highest statutory intergovernmental body on forestry. It brings together 128 FAO member nations every two years in Rome to review global forest issues and advise the Organization (UN specialised agencies).
- Reporting: To the FAO Council on programme and budget matters, and to the FAO Conference on policy and regulatory issues.
- Regional link: Six Regional Forestry Commissions feed regional priorities into its agenda; it also oversees a Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems.
- Flagship reports: The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) and the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA).
- Global alignment: UN Strategic Plan for Forests, the Kunming-Montreal GBF (CBD) and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (Major UN Initiatives).
India’s scorecard at COFO 28
| Area | Achievement / target |
| Global ranking | 9th in forest area; 3rd in net annual forest-area gain (FRA 2025) |
| Green cover | 82.74 million hectares — 25.17% of geographical area; this figure is total forest and tree cover (forest cover 21.76% + tree cover 3.41%) as per the India State of Forest Report 2023, not forest area alone |
| Bonn Challenge | 21.76 million ha restored against a target of 26 million ha of degraded land by 2030 (GPFLR & Bonn Challenge) |
| Carbon sink (NDC) | 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂e additional sink created by 2021; new target of 3.5–4.0 billion tonnes by 2035 |
| Aravalli Green Wall | 6.45 million ha of degraded land identified for restoration across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi (Aravalli Range) |
| Wetlands | 101 Ramsar sites designated |
| Mangroves | MISHTI — Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes |
| People’s movement | Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam — over 3.5 billion saplings planted |
Significance
- Climate diplomacy: Positions India as a restoration leader ahead of the next round of NDC reviews (ISFR 2023 & India’s commitments).
- Land degradation: Restoration targets also serve India’s land degradation neutrality goals under the UNCCD (Indian initiatives).
- Caution: Tree-cover gains in plantations and orchards do not equal restoration of natural, biodiverse forests — quality must match quantity.
📖 Read More: India State of Forest Report 2023 • International Initiatives for Biodiversity Conservation • Ramsar Sites in India • Forest Governance & Legal Frameworks
The Beat of the Chotanagpur Plateau: Jharkhand’s Mandar Earns a GI Tag
(History) (NIE) Jharkhand’s traditional folk drum, the Mandar, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai. The application, filed in 2021 by the Raidih Mandar Producer Company Limited of Gumla, relied on documentation going back to 1915 (UNI).
Know the instrument
| Aspect | Details |
| Type | Double-headed, barrel-shaped folk drum — a membranophone (Avanaddha Vadya) |
| Region | Chotanagpur plateau; traditional production centred on Jarjatta village, Raidih block, Gumla district |
| Body | Hollow shell of red clay with a bulge in the middle |
| Heads | Animal-hide membranes of unequal size — the narrower right head gives a higher pitch, the broader left head a deep bass |
| Tuning | Braided leather lacing and a black tuning paste that controls resonance |
| Playing style | Slung from the shoulder, letting the drummer dance while playing |
Cultural roots
- Communities: Integral to the music and dance of the Oraon, Munda, Santhal and Ho communities (Tribal Dances of India).
- Occasions: Seasonal crop celebrations, nature festivals such as Sarhul and Karma, weddings and community dances.
- Documentation: Recorded by ethnographers Sarat Chandra Roy (1915), Tarak Chandra Das (1931) and W.G. Archer (The Blue Grove, 1940), and in Patna Museum records.
What a GI tag does
Application to GI Registry ➜ Examination & hearing ➜ Registration ➜ Authorised users protected ➜ Market premium & heritage
A GI identifies a product whose quality or reputation comes from its place of origin. It is a form of intellectual property right under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and prevents imitations from using the name.
- Livelihoods: Protects tribal artisans from cheap imitations and supports fair prices.
- Heritage: Encourages transmission of craft skills to younger artisans.
- Branding: Adds to Jharkhand’s GI basket and promotes tribal craftsmanship nationally and abroad (Folk Music).
📖 Read More: Musical Instruments • Folk Music • Tribal Dances of India • Intellectual Property Rights
A Pyramid in the Sand: Roman-Era Tomb Unearthed in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis
(Geography) (TOI) (SIS) An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a mud-brick, pyramid-shaped tomb of the Roman period — about 1,700 years old — at Bir Al-Shaghala in the Dakhla Oasis, Egypt. It is believed to have been built for a married couple.
The find
- Date: Late third or early fourth century AD (Ahram Online).
- Inscription: A funerary stele commemorates one Pisechtes, possibly a judge, with a 19-line lament in ancient Greek.
- Coin: A bronze coin bearing Emperor Constantine was also recovered.
- Architecture: Mud-brick pyramidal superstructure, a sandstone entrance with Egyptian elements and a 14-step staircase.
Locating Dakhla
| Feature | Details |
| Country / region | New Valley Governorate, Egypt — in the Western Desert (the eastern part of the Libyan Desert) |
| Position | About 350 km west of the Nile, between Farafra (north-west) and Kharga (east) |
| Size | About 80 km east–west and 25 km north–south |
| Status | One of the seven oases of Egypt’s Western Desert |
| Key settlements | Mut (administrative centre), Al-Qasr, Balat |
Why an oasis exists here
Ancient rainfall recharges sandstone ➜ Water stored as fossil groundwater ➜ Artesian springs & deep wells ➜ Irrigated fields in a hyper-arid desert
Dakhla survives on the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, the world’s largest known fossil-water aquifer, shared by Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Chad. Its water was recharged in wetter phases thousands of years ago, making it a non-renewable resource — a classic case of a desert oasis within the Sahara.
Layers of history
- Prehistory: Human presence in the Pleistocene and early Holocene, when the region had lakes and marshes; the Sheikh Muftah culture occupied it in the third millennium BCE.
- Pharaonic era: At Balat (Ayn Asil), about 500 clay tablets record Sixth Dynasty administration.
- Graeco-Roman era: Bir Al-Shaghala is part of the necropolis of ancient Mut, the oasis capital in Ptolemaic and Roman times; its tombs blend Egyptian and Hellenistic–Roman styles.
- Medieval town: Al-Qasr, a fortified settlement of multi-storey mud-brick houses, narrow lanes and defensive towers.
Significance
The find shows how Egyptian burial traditions absorbed Greek language and Roman influence in a remote desert outpost. Dakhla, on historic caravan routes, remains a textbook example of human adaptation to aridity (Major Deserts of Africa).
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