Current Affairs – March 18, 2026

{GS2 – Vulnerable Sections} Maternity Leave for Adoptive Mothers **

• Context (TH | IE): Supreme Court has held that all adoptive mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, irrespective of the age of the adopted child.

• It struck down Section 60(4) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which limited this benefit only to mothers adopting children below 3 months of age.
• The provision was held unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 (equality) and 21 (right to life and dignity) due to arbitrary classification based on the child’s age.
• The Court also urged the government to introduce paternity leave as a social security measure, recognising that parenthood is a shared responsibility.

Maternity Benefit under Code on Social Security, 2020

• The Code on Social Security, 2020 consolidates maternity benefits under a unified social security framework, replacing the earlier Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

Key Provisions:

• 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two children and 12 weeks for subsequent children.
• 12 weeks to adoptive and commissioning mothers, counted from the date the child is handed over.
• Crèche facility in establishments with 50 or more employees.

• The Code ensures protection against dismissal, discharge, or discrimination during maternity leave.

{GS2 – Governance} CARA Issues Directions to Strengthen Adoption System *

• Context (PIB): Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has issued directions to improve adoption procedures, ensure record safety, and protect children’s identity across India.

• These directions are aligned with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (amended in 2021) and the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
• Legal Compliance: Ensure adherence to procedures under the JJ Act, 2015, before declaring a child legally free for adoption.
• Due Process: Complete inquiry, tracing of biological parents, and restoration efforts within prescribed timelines.
• Reconsideration Period: Follow the mandatory 2-month period for surrendered children before adoption eligibility.
• Record Preservation: Maintain and safeguard physical and digital adoption records and ensure proper transfer of records to designated authorities for long-term safekeeping.
• Protection of Identity: Prohibit disclosure of children’s identity, photos, or personal details and ban sharing of children’s information on any platform, including social media.

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)

• CARA is the central authority for regulating and monitoring in-country (domestic) and inter-country (international) adoption of children in India.
• It was established in 1990 and became a statutory authority under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Operates the CARINGS (Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System) for transparency and tracking.
• Acts as the Central Authority under the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption.

{GS2 – Social Sector} University Affiliation System in Indian Higher Education **

• Context (TH): Despite expanding access to higher education, the university affiliation system has become administratively burdensome and academically rigid.

About India’s University Affiliation System

• The affiliation system is a hub-and-spoke framework in which a parent university oversees a network of affiliated colleges.
• Hub: Affiliating university designs the curriculum, conducts examinations, awards degrees, and ensures regulatory compliance.
• Spoke: Affiliated colleges deliver approved courses, maintain local infrastructure, and provide day-to-day student support.
• Scale: Over 80% of colleges in India operate under the affiliation system and account for 81% of total student enrolment.
• Nodal Body: University Grants Commission (UGC) sets the guidelines and regulations under which universities grant affiliation to colleges.

Significance of University Affiliation Framework

• Quality Benchmarking: Affiliation protocols enforce baseline standards for infrastructure, faculty quality, and regulatory oversight.
• Geographic Inclusion: More than 60% of affiliated colleges are located in rural areas, expanding higher education access in underserved regions.
• Cost Efficiency: The model allows the government to expand higher education without the capital expenditure required to build independent universities.
• Course Uniformity: Standardised curricula facilitate seamless lateral movement for students across diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
• Admin Relief: It relieves smaller institutions from the burden of designing curricula and conducting high-stakes examinations.

Limitations of the University Affiliation Model

• Administrative Burden: Managing hundreds of affiliated colleges turns many state universities into overburdened examination centres.
• Academic Rigidity: Centralised curriculum control prevents colleges from updating courses to meet evolving industry requirements.
• Accountability Gap: The structural divide between degree-awarding universities and teaching colleges blurs responsibility for poor academic outcomes.
• Accreditation Gap: A lack of systemic incentives for quality improvement leaves over 70% of affiliated colleges without NAAC accreditation.
• Research Gap: The separation of teaching and research concentrates academic innovation on university campuses, weakening grassroots research ecosystems.

Key Provisions in NEP 2020 on the Affiliation System

• Phase-out: National Education Policy (NEP) envisages the gradual phase-out of the university affiliation system by 2035.
• Pathways: Every affiliated college must evolve into either an autonomous college or a constituent college of a university.
• Autonomy: Autonomy will be granted through a phased and transparent accreditation framework.
• Mentorship: Universities must mentor affiliated colleges to help them achieve accreditation benchmarks and financial stability.
• Limit: To prevent administrative overload, a single university may affiliate no more than 300 colleges.

{GS2 – Social Sector} Expansion and AB-PMJAY and ABDM Schemes

• Context (PIB): Since its launch in 2018, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has become the central pillar of India’s universal health coverage strategy.

Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

• AB-PMJAY is the world’s largest government-funded health assurance scheme, offering ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
• Coverage: The scheme targets 12 crore families representing the bottom 40% of India’s population.
• Identification: Eligibility is primarily based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. All citizens aged 70 years and above are covered regardless of socio-economic status.
  • Expansion: The scheme now covers 37 lakh families of ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers, and Helpers.
• Access: Beneficiaries receive cashless treatment at empanelled public and private hospitals without upfront payments.

Progress Update of AB-PMJAY

• Progress: 43.52 crore Ayushman cards have been issued, and over 11.69 crore hospital admissions authorised, amounting to ₹1.73 lakh crore in medical expenses.
• Network: The empanelled network has expanded to 36,229 hospitals, with public hospitals accounting for 54% of the total.
• Procedures: Health Benefit Packages now cover 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialities.
• Profile: About 49% of authorised admissions involve women beneficiaries, while 82% of beneficiaries live in rural areas.

Read More> Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts | Universal Health Coverage in India | PM-JAY

{GS3 – IE} War in West Asia Threatens India’s Goldilocks Economic Phase

• Context (IE): Escalating conflict in West Asia and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten India’s Goldilocks phase of strong growth and low inflation.

Economic Impacts of the Middle-East War

• Growth Deceleration: Sustained global energy shocks could drag India’s projected 7% GDP growth down to 6.6%.
• Import Bill: Every $10-per-barrel rise in crude prices is estimated to widen India’s annual import bill by $15 billion and increase CPI inflation by 30–40 basis points.
• Currency Pressure: Heightened geopolitical risks and persistent capital outflows are pushing the Indian Rupee toward the ₹100-per-dollar level.
• Subsidy Burden: Excise duty cuts on fuel, and an additional ₹19,230 crore fertiliser subsidy may breach the 4.4% fiscal deficit target for FY26.
• Remittance Risk: Escalating conflict in West Asia threatens a $51 billion annual remittance pipeline from ~10 million Indian workers.
• Fertiliser Vulnerability: Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz choked 40% of India’s imported urea and NPK inputs, pushing domestic food inflation higher.

Government Measures to Mitigate Conflict Impact

• Emergency Allocation: The government invoked the Essential Commodities Act to prioritise natural gas supply for households and CNG transport.
• Obligation Relief: DGFT extended fulfilment deadlines for Advance Trade Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) schemes until 31 August 2026.
• Diversification: India secured a 30-day US waiver for in-transit Russian crude while scaling up the Chennai–Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor.
• Currency Stabilisation: RBI deployed about $12 billion from foreign exchange reserves to stabilise the rupee and curb market volatility.
• Fertiliser Security: Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order 2026 guaranteed fertiliser plants at least 70% of their average natural gas consumption.
• Fiscal Buffering: Parliament approved a ₹1 lakh crore Economic Stabilisation Fund to create a fiscal buffer against unforeseen disruptions to supply chains.

Read More> India’s Strategy Amid West Asia Conflict

{GS3 – IE} Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 2026

• Context (TH): Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approved Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 2026, replacing EPS 1995 without wide stakeholder consultation.

• Introduced as part of reforms linked to the Code on Social Security, 2020.
• Earlier EPS changes reduced benefits:
  • The provision to opt for a pension on higher wages has been removed, reducing flexibility.
  • Pension calculation changed from 12-month to 60-month average, lowering payouts.
  • Higher pension option was restricted earlier and now removed entirely in EPS 2026.
• No revision in wage ceiling (₹15,000) and minimum pension (₹1,000) for over a decade.

Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS)

• It is a social security scheme launched in 1995 and administered by EPFO providing monthly pension after retirement for employees in the organised sector.
• Eligibility: Minimum 10 years of service required to receive pension benefits.
• Funding Pattern:
  • Employer contributes 8.33% of wages (up to ₹15,000 wage ceiling).
  • Central government contributes 1.16% of wages.
  • Employee does not contribute directly to EPS.
• Types of Benefits:
  • Old-age pension (after 58 years)
  • Early pension (from 50 years, with reduced benefits)
  • Family/widow pension in case of the member’s death
• Minimum Pension: Fixed at ₹1,000/month (with government support).

{GS3 – Envi} India Submits First National Report on Nagoya Protocol Implementation **

• Context (PIB): India submitted its 1^st National Report (NR1) on Nagoya Protocol implementation to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) prepared the report in collaboration with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).
• NR1 assesses India’s progress in Access & Benefit-Sharing (ABS) implementation from 2017 to 2025.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Compliance Leadership: India issued 3,556 internationally recognised Certificates of Compliance, representing over 60% of the global total.
• Capacity Building: Over 2.5 lakh individuals were trained through ~3000 programmes.
• Local Governance: India established ~2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), with substantial revenue shared with local communities.
• Non-Monetary Benefits: 395 NBA approvals secured benefits, like collaborative research, shared intellectual property, and technology transfer.

About Nagoya Protocol

• Nagoya Protocol is a legally binding supplementary agreement to the 1992 CBD for implementing ABS.
• It was adopted in 2010 at Nagoya, Japan (COP 10), and came into force in 2014.
• Objective: To establish legal certainty, transparency, and mutual trust between countries providing genetic resources and those using them.
• Key Obligations:
  • Access: Users must obtain Prior Informed Consent (PIC) from the provider country before starting research or commercial utilisation.
  • Benefit-Sharing: Parties must establish Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) to determine benefit-sharing arrangements, whether monetary or non-monetary.
  • Compliance: Member countries must enforce measures preventing illegal acquisition or utilisation of foreign genetic resources.
• Indian Implementation: The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, implements it through a three-tier system including NBA, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs), and local BMCs.

Read More > Access and Benefit Sharing Rules

{Prelims – A&C} Ancient Petroglyphs Discovered in Hyderabad

• Context (DC): Researchers discovered two ancient petroglyphs inside a rock shelter near Beerappa Gudi Temple, Manchirevula, Hyderabad.

• A quartz tool dating from about 40,000 to 10,000 years ago was also recently found at the site. These discoveries indicate human activity in the region from the Upper Palaeolithic to the medieval periods.

About Petroglyphs

• Petroglyphs are a form of rock art created by incising, carving, picking, or abrading with harder stones.
• They are carved into rock, unlike pictographs, where images are painted with pigments.
• Timeline: In India, they appeared in the Upper Palaeolithic–Mesolithic periods, expanded during the Neolithic–Chalcolithic ages, and sometimes continued into early historical periods.
• Significance: Petroglyphs provide evidence of cognitive development, socio-cultural beliefs, economic changes, and environments of early human societies.

{Prelims – Initiatives} Samriddh Gram Phygital Services

• Context (PIB): Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot Initiative was recently launched from Umri village (Guna, Madhya Pradesh).

• Pilot Coverage: Implemented in three villages across Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to test scalability.
• Objective: To demonstrate integrated, technology-driven rural service delivery for socio-economic development.
• Implementing Agency: Department of Telecommunications, with support from Digital Empowerment Foundation for field implementation.
• Phygital Model: Integrates physical infrastructure and digital technology to improve service access.
• Samriddhi Kendra: One-stop centres offering a range of citizen services in villages.
• Connectivity: Built on BharatNet to leverage high-speed internet in rural areas.

{Prelims – IR} Argentina Withdraws from the World Health Organisation *

• Context (TOI): Argentina has withdrawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO) following a one-year notification period.

• Key Reasons: It cited concerns over national sovereignty and dissatisfaction with WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Legal Basis: The WHO Constitution lacks an exit clause; Article 56 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties regulates withdrawals (except for the US).

About World Health Organisation (WHO)

• WHO is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) responsible for international public health.
• Establishment: WHO Constitution was drafted in 1946; it officially commenced operations on 7 April 1948, observed annually as World Health Day.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and functions through six regional offices. India falls under the South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), based in New Delhi.
• Membership: WHO currently has 192 Member States (including India).
• Governance: World Health Assembly (WHA) serves as the main policy-making body; a 34-member Executive Board implements WHA decisions, and a Director-General leads administrative operations.
• Funding Mechanism: It is funded by two primary sources—
  • Assessed Contributions: Mandatory dues paid by Member States based on wealth and population.
  • Voluntary Contributions: Funds from Member States or partners (e.g., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), often earmarked for specific programs.
• India–WHO Cooperation: Includes the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar and the Global Initiative on Digital Health launched during India’s G20 Presidency.

Read More > WHO | US Exit from WHO

{Prelims – IR} Force Majeure

• Context (AJ): Several Gulf energy producers have formally declared force majeure on deliveries of oil and natural gas after major disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

• Force majeure is a legal term that refers to extraordinary events beyond a party’s control that prevent them from fulfilling contractual obligations.
• Purpose: Protects parties from liability when performance becomes impossible or impractical due to circumstances they could not foresee or prevent.
• Examples: Natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, wars, riots, terrorism, epidemics or pandemics, government actions or restrictions
• Key Features:
  • Unforeseeable: Cannot be predicted at the time of contract.
  • Beyond Control: The affected party cannot prevent it.
  • Makes Performance Impossible: Temporarily or permanently.
  • Exemption from Liability: Party affected is typically not liable for non-performance.

{Prelims – Species} Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

• Context (DTE): A recent study has found that spotted hyenas can help reduce urban waste, emissions, and sanitation risks through their natural scavenging behaviour.

• Spotted Hyena, also called the laughing hyena, is the largest and most socially complex hyena species.
• Appearance: They have a sandy yellowish-brown coat with dark spots, a sloping back, and rounded ears.
• Unique Traits: Females have a pseudo-penis and lack an external vaginal opening.
  • They are the only mammal to mate, urinate, and give birth through one appendage.
• Habitat Preference: The species thrives in savannas, grasslands, semi-deserts, and open woodlands; it avoids dense rainforests and true deserts.
• Distribution: It is widespread across Sub-Saharan Africa, with large populations in the Serengeti (Tanzania) and Kruger National Park (South Africa). The spotted hyena is not found in India.
• Social Structure: It lives in large, female-led clans of up to 130 with inherited matrilineal social rank.
• Ecological Role: The species eats entire carcasses, including bones, which helps prevent disease spread.
• Key threats: Human persecution, habitat loss, and declining prey populations.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern.

Source: IUCN, Zoo.CH

{Prelims – Disease} Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

• Context (CNBC): Sentynl Therapeutics has licensed the experimental drug Progerinin to develop an oral therapy for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS).

• HGPS, also called Progeria, is a rare genetic disorder characterised by rapid premature ageing in children, with onset typically within the first two years of life.
• Cause: A mutation in the LMNA gene that produces an abnormal protein called progerin, leading to structural defects in the cell nucleus.
• Symptoms: HGPS causes growth retardation, hair loss, aged skin, joint stiffness, prominent veins, and heart issues. It does not affect intelligence or motor skills.
  • The most severe complication is early-onset cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis).
• Treatment: No definitive cure exists, but research explores gene therapy & molecular interventions.

{Prelims – Awards} Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 *

• Context (DDN): Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 announced 24 winners for outstanding literary works across recognised Indian languages.

• Notable Winners: Navtej Sarna for the English novel ‘Crimson Spring’, Mamta Kalia for the Hindi memoir ‘Jeete Jee Allahabad’, and N. Prabhakaran for the Malayalam novel ‘Maayaamanushyar’.
• The Awards are conferred annually by Sahitya Akademi, the National Academy of Letters.
• It is given to Indian citizens for literary works in 24 languages—the 22 Eighth Schedule languages, along with English and Rajasthani.
• Prize: Each winner receives a copper plaque, a traditional shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1 lakh.

Read More > Sahitya Akademi Awards

{Prelims – In News} Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)

• Context (PIB): Union Home Minister praised the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on their Raising Day for promoting a drug-free India.

• NCB is India’s apex law enforcement and intelligence agency responsible for fighting drug trafficking and substance abuse.
• It was established in 1986 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
• It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is headquartered in New Delhi.
• Global Coordination: NCB acts as India’s main agency for intelligence exchange and operational cooperation with INTERPOL, UNODC, and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
• Preventive Outreach: It leads national awareness campaigns such as Mission SPANDAN & e-pledge initiative to promote a Drug-Free India.

Read More > Narcotics Threat in India