Daily Briefing Current Affairs

GS-3HIMALAYAN CRYOSPHERE AND DISASTER GOVERNANCE

Nepal's Langtang Avalanche Was Not a Freak Storm - It Was a Compound Crisis Years in the Making

The WWA released its rapid attribution study on the Langtang Lirung avalanche that caused last month's deadly Nepal-Tibet flash floods. The study is significant for naming a new category of Himalayan disaster - the "compound crisis" - where climatic and geological factors interact, rather than a single cause explaining the event. It has direct implications for how India and its neighbours monitor and prepare for…

Sub TopicCOMPOUND GEOHAZARD CASCADES IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYASourceINDIAN EXPRESS, WORLD WEATHER…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views30,774
Read Analysis
GS-3PRIVATE SECTOR ENTRY INTO NUCLEAR ENERGY

BARC in Talks with Reliance, Adani for Rs 9,000-Crore Modular Nuclear Reactor

This marks the first concrete corporate step toward commercialising India's Small Modular Reactor technology since the SHANTI Act opened the door to private capital and tests how a legal and safety framework built entirely around a state monopoly adapts to private ownership stakes in a strategic, high-risk sector.

Sub TopicLIABILITY AND SAFETY OVERSIGHT IN A POST-SHANTI ACT…SourceINDIAN EXPRESS, FINANCIAL…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views32,596
Read Analysis
GS-3DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE SUSTAINABILITY

UPI's New 0.4% Merchant Fee Sparks Political Row Over Who Funds Digital Public Infrastructure

The fee ends UPI's zero-MDR model that has held since 2020, forcing a genuine policy choice about who funds the roughly Rs 20,000 crore annual cost of running India's dominant digital payments rail and has become entangled with a separate political dispute over U.S. trade pressure. The NPCI's decision to levy a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI payments to merchants over Rs 2,000 sparked political opposition and…

Sub TopicWHO PAYS FOR A ZERO-COST DIGITAL PUBLIC GOODSourcePIB, THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views40,816
Read Analysis
GS-3CROSS-BORDER TERROR FINANCING AND UAPA

Centre Bans Pakistan-Based Shahzad Bhatti Network Under UAPA

The UAPA designation of the SBN formalises India's legal response to a terror network that does not fit the older template of a single ideological outfit - it combines a Pakistan-based gangster, UAE-based operations, digital recruitment and a locally created proxy front, testing how well existing counter-terror law adapts to this structure.

Sub TopicUAPA'S ORGANISATION-BANNING TOOL AGAINST DECENTRALISED…SourcePIB, THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views23,949
Read Analysis
GS-3LEFT-WING EXTREMISM AND JUDICIAL DETERRENCE

Jhiram Valley Verdict: NIA Court Awards Death Penalty to All 10 Convicts in 2013 Maoist Attack

The NIA special court's death sentence to all 10 convicts closes the trial phase of one of India's deadliest Left-Wing Extremism attacks, but has reopened debate on whether India's counter-Naxal strategy, which combines prosecution with surrender incentives, delivers complete justice. A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh sentenced 10 Maoists to death for their role in the 2013 Jhiram Valley massacre, which killed 27 people…

Sub TopicNIA PROSECUTION AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY GAP IN ANTI-NAXAL…SourceNATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY…
UPSC Relevance9/10
Time to Read3 min read
Total Views42,510
Read Analysis