Current Affairs – March 15, 2026

{GS3 – IE} FATF Flags Stablecoins in Illicit Crypto Transactions **

Context (TH): A recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report identified stablecoins as the primary vehicle for illicit virtual asset transactions.

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that maintains stable value by pegging its price to another reserve asset such as a fiat currency, commodity, or other financial asset.

Key Findings of the FATF Report

Illicit Share: Stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit virtual asset transaction volume in 2025.
Shift Reason: Criminals prefer stablecoins over volatile cryptocurrencies to preserve the value of laundered funds.
State Actors: North Korea and Iran-linked groups increasingly favour USDT for sanctions evasion, proliferation financing, and weapons procurement.
AML Gap: A significant share of stablecoin volume moves via unhosted self-custody wallets outside traditional Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls.
Cross-Chain Risk: Bridging stablecoins across blockchains obscures transaction trails and creates regulatory blind spots.
Issuer Weakness: Many stablecoin issuers lack adequate systems to promptly freeze or burn tokens held by sanctioned entities.

Recommended Best Practices

CDD Mandate: Stablecoin issuers must conduct Customer Due Diligence (CDD) during redemption to verify users and detect illegal activity.
Wallet Controls: Regulatory frameworks should mandate stablecoin firms to maintain mandatory deny-lists for illicit wallets and implement allow-lists where appropriate.
Travel Rule: Regulators must enforce the FATF Travel Rule to ensure sender and recipient details are included in all digital asset transfers.
R-15 Compliance: Countries should fully implement FATF Recommendation 15 to impose compliance obligations on stablecoin issuers, intermediaries, custodians, and VASPs.

{GS3 – IE} Electrifying Industrial India **

Context (TH): Rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia threaten the Strait of Hormuz, exposing India’s gas dependence and accelerating the urgency for electrifying industrial heat.

Industrial Energy Landscape

Import Reliance: India imports nearly 50% natural gas, exposing industries to supply disruptions.
Gas Curtailment: The government reduced gas allocation to non-priority industries to 65–80%, disrupting production in industrial clusters.
CST Potential: India has 15 GW potential for Concentrated Solar Thermal industrial heat.
Heat Demand: Industrial heat accounts for 25% of India’s total energy consumption.

Need for Electrifying Industrial India

Energy Efficiency: Conventional gas boilers lose 20–30% energy, whereas induction-based electric heating achieves over 90% efficiency.
Energy Security: Electrification using renewables reduces import dependence and strengthens industrial thermal sovereignty. E.g., India imports ~50% natural gas.
Emission Reduction: Electrifying industrial heat lowers fossil-fuel emissions, supporting India’s climate commitments and net-zero target by 2070.
Cost Competitiveness: Rising global gas prices and declining renewable tariffs make electric heat technologies increasingly economical for industries.

Government Initiatives Supporting Industrial Electrification

National Solar Mission: Promotes large-scale solar power generation to increase the share of renewable electricity available for industries.
PAT Scheme: Perform, Achieve and Trade scheme, implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, to improve energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries.
PLI Incentives: Production Linked Incentive schemes support domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies, such as batteries and renewable energy equipment.
Green Energy Corridors: Expands transmission networks to seamlessly integrate large-scale renewable energy into India’s national power grid.

{GS3 – Envi} Grid Congestion Challenges India’s Clean Energy Transition

Context (TH): India’s expanding renewable capacity now faces grid congestion and power evacuation bottlenecks as key constraints on the clean-energy transition.

Consequences of Grid Congestion in India

Loss Scale: Grid congestion wasted 2.3 TWh of solar electricity across India between May & Dec 2025.
Stranded Capacity: Transmission bottlenecks stranded ~50 GW of renewable capacity as of early 2026.
Curtailment Bias: Grid operators curtail Temporary General Network Access (T-GNA) projects during peak solar hours to safeguard projects with permanent access.
Revenue Erosion: Grid congestion lowers realised tariffs by ₹0.25- ₹0.30 per kWh, directly impacting renewable developers’ revenues.
Consumer Burden: Compensation for curtailed renewable power ($63-$76 million in 2025) increases electricity tariffs.

Factors behind Grid Congestion in India

Timeline Gap: High-voltage transmission lines take 2 to 3 times longer to build than renewable energy projects, delaying power evacuation capacity.
Location Mismatch: Renewable potential sites are distant from major demand centres such as Maharashtra and Delhi-NCR.
Capacity Shortfall: India added 8,830 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines in FY2025, recording a 42% shortfall against the 15,253 ckm target.
Static Operations: Grid operators rely on static security limits instead of Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) systems, reducing real-time transmission utilisation.
Flexibility Gap: Slow deployment of STATCOMs, harmonic filters, and Special Protection Schemes (SPS) limits grid flexibility and power evacuation capacity.

Way Forward for Grid Reforms

Institutional Mandate: Expand Grid India’s statutory mandate beyond grid stability to include efficient utilisation of transmission infrastructure.
Planning Alignment: Align Central Transmission Utility (CTU) transmission planning with Grid India’s operational requirements to improve coordinated grid expansion.
Congestion Rules: Mandate dynamic reallocation of unused grid capacity and proportionate curtailment rules across renewable projects.
Regulatory Oversight: Implement automatic public audits when major transmission corridors consistently operate below their designed capacity.
Market Mechanisms: Introduce nodal pricing to charge higher rates at congested grid points, discouraging excess power flows into overloaded corridors.

Read More> India’s Power Sector

{GS3 – S&T} Electric Bus Fire in Delhi

Context (DTE): The recent incident of a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) electric bus catching fire has spotlighted safety concerns in India’s growing electric public transport sector.

Since electric buses began operating in Delhi in 2022, around five such fire incidents have been recorded, with most occurring in the last two years.

Causes of Electric Bus Fire

Thermal Runaway: In Lithium-ion Batteries the excess internal heat can exceed the battery’s cooling capacity, triggering a chain reaction that can lead to fire or explosion.
Battery Management System: Inefficient monitoring of battery temperature and performance can cause overheating and increase fire risk.
Short Circuits: Defective wiring, poor insulation, or manufacturing defects can create short circuits that ignite battery components.
Mechanical Stress: Continuous vibrations, shocks from poor road conditions, or collisions can damage battery cells and wiring.
Poor Maintenance: Lack of regular checks on electrical systems, connectors, and battery packs may allow faults to go undetected.

Mitigation Strategies for Electric Bus Fires

Battery Management Systems (BMS): Use AIS-156 compliant BMS with real-time monitoring of battery temperature, voltage and state of health to detect overheating early.
Regular Maintenance: Conduct periodic checks of battery packs, electrical wiring, insulation and connectors to prevent internal short circuits and technical faults.
Thermal Management: Install efficient cooling and heat-dissipation systems to reduce the risk of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries.
Driver Training: Train drivers for early fire detection, safe passenger evacuation, and activation of battery cut-off systems during emergencies.

Automotive Industry Standards (AIS): AIS Certification is a mandatory technical regulation in India, established under Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) to ensure safety and quality for automotive components and vehicles.
AIS-156: AIS-156 certification requires that electric vehicles be equipped with safeguards against short circuits, overloads, and overvoltage.

Read More> PM E-Drive Scheme

{GS3 – S&T} AI and National Security **

Context (TH): Artificial intelligence is increasingly entangled with geopolitics and defence strategy, as recent disputes between U.S. and Chinese AI labs highlight emerging national security concerns.

Key Strategic Features of AI

Dual-Use Technology: AI powers civilian services like medical diagnosis while also enabling military applications such as autonomous drones, surveillance, and battlefield intelligence.
General-Purpose Technology: AI operates across sectors such as fraud detection in banking, traffic optimisation in smart cities, and predictive analysis in defence systems.
Data-Driven Advantage: AI leadership relies on vast datasets, high-performance computing, and advanced chips, giving countries like the U.S. and China a competitive edge.
Private-Sector Leadership: Frontier AI innovation is largely led by firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic rather than state laboratories.

Frontier AI: The most advanced and powerful artificial intelligence systems at the cutting edge of technology, capable of complex tasks like reasoning, coding, and decision-making.

Role of AI in National Security

Autonomous Warfare: AI enables autonomous drones and robotic combat systems. E.g., AI-assisted targeting can shorten the military “kill chain” from hours to minutes.
Intelligence Analysis: AI processes massive satellite and sensor data, like facial recognition and predictive analytics, to help detect threats and monitor borders in real time.
Cyber Defence: AI strengthens cybersecurity by detecting malware and intrusions instantly. E.g., global cybercrime losses may exceed $10 trillion annually by 2025, driving AI-based defence tools.
Information Warfare: AI enables deepfakes and automated propaganda campaigns, influencing elections and conflicts through large-scale misinformation on digital platforms.
Tech Rivalry: AI leadership shapes geopolitical competition; countries like the U.S. and China invest billions annually, while semiconductor controls influence strategic technological dominance.

AI and India’s National Security

Border Security: AI-driven drones and sensors under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System enhance real-time monitoring along the LAC and LoC.
Cyber Defence: AI-based monitoring by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team counters rising cyberattacks, with a doubling from 10.29 lakh (2022) to 22.68 lakh (2024).
Defence Innovation: The Defence Artificial Intelligence Council promotes AI-enabled drones, surveillance systems, and autonomous military technologies.
Tech Dependence: India imports nearly 90% of its semiconductor needs, exposing vulnerabilities in AI hardware supply chains and highlighting the need for domestic chip manufacturing.

Government Initiatives in AI for National Security

IndiaAI Mission: It is a ₹10,300-crore national programme to build AI computing infrastructure, datasets, and research capacity for strategic sectors, including defence and cybersecurity.
Defence AI Council: Established by the Ministry of Defence in 2019 to integrate AI across military services through over 70 defence AI projects in surveillance, logistics, and warfare.
iDEX Initiative: The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme funds startups developing AI-enabled drones, surveillance platforms, and autonomous defence technologies.
CIBMS Deployment: The Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System deploys AI-powered sensors, drones, and thermal cameras for real-time monitoring along sensitive borders like the LoC.
Army AI Centre: The Indian Army’s AI Centre (AIC) develops AI solutions for predictive maintenance, battlefield analytics, and intelligence processing to strengthen operational efficiency.

{Prelims – Geo} Tephra Fallout from Kīlauea Volcano Eruption

Context (USGS): Kīlauea volcano’s episodic eruptions have renewed focus on tephra fallout and its impact on nearby communities.

About Tephra

Tephra describes all broken solid volcanic materials ejected during an explosive eruption.
Landforms: Heavy tephra accumulation around volcanic vents forms cinder cones (steep conical hills).
Climate Impact: Large tephra clouds can lead to temporary global cooling called a volcanic winter.
Hazards: Airborne tephra damages aircraft engines, harms respiratory health, disrupts infrastructure, and may cause roofs to collapse.
Agricultural Benefit: Weathered volcanic ash forms fertile soils known as Andisols, aiding farming.
Geological Dating: Researchers utilise chemically distinct tephra layers to date fossils, artefacts, and past environmental changes.

About Kīlauea Volcano

It is one of Earth’s most active volcanoes, located on the southeastern shore of Hawaiʻi Island.
Type: Kīlauea is a shield volcano with broad, gentle slopes and frequent basaltic eruptions.

Key Feature: The summit has a caldera housing the active Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater with a lava lake.

{Prelims – Eco} CHAKRA Initiative

Context (IE): State Bank of India (SBI) has launched CHAKRA – Centre of Excellence (CoE) to support financing in eight sunrise sectors that are expected to drive India’s future economic growth.

Objective: The initiative aims to strengthen financing support, develop sectoral expertise, and improve risk assessment for new and capital-intensive industries.
Sunrise Sectors: CHAKRA targets eight key sectors: renewable energy, advanced cell chemistry and battery storage, data centre infrastructure, smart infrastructure, electric mobility, green hydrogen, semiconductors, and decarbonisation.
Investment Potential: These sectors are expected to attract about ₹100 lakh crore investment over the next five years.
Debt Financing: The platform will provide debt capital to companies after they invest their initial equity to scale up projects.
Global Partnerships: SBI has signed MoUs with around 21 financial institutions, including international banks such as MUFG Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Strategic Significance: The initiative aims to boost innovation, sustainable growth, and technology-driven development in India.

{Prelims – S&T} ISRO Expanding Student Participation in Space Missions

Context (PIB): ISRO has launched several initiatives to involve students and young researchers in satellite development and space missions.

Student Satellite Programme: ISRO allows university students to design and build satellites with mentoring from scientists.
Research & Internship: ISRO provides internships, project trainee programmes, and research opportunities for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students.
Space Technology Incubation Centres (STICs): These centres promote collaboration between universities and ISRO scientists, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
RESPOND Programme: ISRO provides financial & technical support to universities for space research.
Model Rocketry Competition: A national CanSat and Model Rocketry competition was organised in Kushinagar, U.P. by IN-SPACe.
Space Education Promotion: The All-India Council for Technical Education approved a Space Technology Course under the Indian Space Policy 2023.

CanSat: It is a miniature satellite the size of a soft drink can.
It is used in student competitions and training programmes to teach satellite design, sensors, communication, and data transmission.

{Prelims – S&T} GPS Jamming *

Context (IE): The West Asia conflict has caused a rise in electronic interference near the Strait of Hormuz, affecting commercial maritime traffic.

Electronic Interference: Disruption of electronic devices due to unwanted electromagnetic signals; common methods include GPS jamming and spoofing.
GPS Jamming: A transmitter (jammer) emits a strong radio signal that blocks Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, causing receivers to lose location data.
GPS Spoofing: A spoofer emits fake signals that mimic genuine ones, leading navigation receivers to display incorrect locations or routes.

GNSS is a satellite network providing worldwide Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services. Major systems include GPS (USA), Galileo (EU), GLONASS (Russia), and NavIC (India).

{Prelims – Governance} SC Rejects Plea on Menstrual Leave *

Context (NDTV): Supreme Court declined a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a nationwide policy mandating menstrual leave for women.

The Court observed that legally mandating menstrual leave might discourage employers from hiring women and impact their career prospects.
Preventing Discrimination: Chief Justice of India cautioned that compulsory leave might reinforce stereotypes about women’s workplace capability.

Menstrual Leave provides time off for women experiencing menstrual pain; Bihar introduced a two-day paid leave policy in 1992, while Kerala extended it across universities and institutions in 2023.