Current Affairs – April 07, 2026

{GS1 – A&C} Piprahwa Relics to Arrive in Ladakh

• Context (IE): Piprahwa relics will arrive in Leh as part of the “The Light & the Lotus” exposition, marking a significant moment in India’s Buddhist heritage.

About Piprahwa relics

• The relics include Buddha’s bone fragments, crystal and steatite caskets, gold ornaments, and gemstones. A Brahmi inscription confirmed the relics belonged to Lord Buddha of the Shakya clan.
• Discovery: William Claxton Peppé excavated them in 1898 at Piprahwa, Siddharthnagar, U.P., which is identified as the ancient Kapilavastu.
• Transfer: Lord Elgin presented part of the bone relics to King Rama V of Siam (Thailand), while Peppé kept another portion.
• Repatriation: Ministry of Culture secured its return in 2025 by stopping a Hong Kong auction and purchasing the Peppé family collection.
• Cultural Diplomacy: The exposition strengthens India’s ‘Buddhist diplomacy’ by reaffirming its identity as the birthplace of Dhamma and a spiritual centre.

Ladakh’s Significance in Buddhism

• Ladakh stood at the crossroads of the Ancient Silk Road, linking Kashmir–Gandhara Buddhism with Central Asian centres like Khotan and the Tarim Basin.
• It preserves early Buddhist traditions, such as stupas, rock carvings, and the Mulbekh Maitreya statue.
• Canonical Preservation: Ladakhi monasteries preserve Kangyur and Tengyur Buddhist canons, sustaining ancient Indian knowledge systems as living museums.

Read More > Piprahwa Relics

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{GS2 – MoM} Minerals Concession Rules (Second Amendment), 2026

• Context (PIB): Ministry of Mines recently notified the Minerals (Other than Atomic and Hydro Carbons Energy Minerals) Concession (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026.

• Objective: Optimise mineral allocation and operational efficiency to increase domestic production of critical and deep-seated minerals.
• Significance: The amendment complements the MMDR (Amendment) Act, 2025, to cut delays and strengthen India’s mineral self-reliance.

Key Provisions

• Areal Cap: Contiguous area inclusion capped at 10% (Mining Lease) and 30% (Composite Licence), to ensure viable extraction of deep-seated minerals like gold, copper, and lithium.
• Critical Minerals: Mandated that State Governments must approve the inclusion of these minerals within 30 days of application.
• Reclassification: If a major mineral is found in a minor mineral block, the area must be auctioned as a major mineral block.
• Exploration Mandate: Mining leases for minor minerals (excluding sand) require G3 level preliminary exploration proving commercial viability for approval.
• Captive Sales: Removes previous restrictions, allowing surplus mineral sales from captive mines after end-use plant requirements are met.

Read More > MMDR Amendment Bill, 2025 | Key Reforms in India’s Mining Sector

{GS2 – Governance} GeM Strengthens Digital Public Procurement Ecosystem **

• Context (PIB | DDN): The Government e-Marketplace has reached ₹18.4 lakh crore Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), including ₹5 lakh crore procurement in FY 2025–26.

• MSME Participation: MSMEs account for 68% of orders and 47.1% of GMV, with over 11 lakh enterprises actively participating.
• State Participation: Procurement by States and UTs grew by 38.3%, showing wider adoption and deeper penetration of GeM.
• Inclusive Growth: Women-led, SC/ST enterprises and startups have seen significant growth.
• Technology Used: Use of AI, ML, and analytics enables fraud detection, price monitoring, and efficient bidding processes.

Government e-Marketplace

• Launch: In 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a national public procurement platform. Replaced the earlier Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) system.
• Operator: The GeM Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the MoCI operates the platform.
• Objective: It aims to ensure transparency, efficiency, competitive pricing, and timely delivery.
• Legal Framework: Procurement through GeM is mandated under the amended General Financial Rules for government departments.
• Need: Public procurement accounts for 20–22% of India’s GDP, requiring efficient, transparent systems.

{GS2 – Social Sector} CBSE’s AI Curriculum and Student Preparedness

• Context (TH): CBSE has introduced a Computational Thinking (CT) and AI curriculum for Classes 3–8 from 2026–27, raising concerns about student preparedness.

• The curriculum integrates these into conventional subjects through games, puzzles, and storytelling, avoiding standalone subjects.
• Core Focus: Developing pattern recognition, logical reasoning, and problem-solving as foundational computational thinking skills.

Student Preparedness and Implementation Challenges

• Literacy Gap: National surveys like ASER 2024 show 50% students cannot read Class 2-level text, affecting AI learning readiness.
• Digital Divide: Many rural students share a single household smartphone, resulting in double disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts.
• Policy Mismatch: NIPUN Bharat Mission targets universal literacy by 2026–27, coinciding with AI curriculum rollout; lack of sequencing, risk to student adaptation capacity.
• Infrastructure Gap: Many schools lack reliable electricity, internet access, and the modern hardware required for AI-enabled learning platforms.
• Teacher Preparedness: Around 85% teachers lack AI tool exposure, while programs like NISHTHA remain largely theoretical in training delivery.

Read More > CBSE Introduces Third Language & Skill-Based Curriculum Reforms

{GS2 – Social Sector} Paediatric Cancer in India **

• Context (IE): Infectious diseases have historically dominated India’s child mortality, but childhood cancer is now emerging as a leading cause of death.

India’s Paediatric Cancer Burden

• Global Burden: India bears one of the highest paediatric cancer burdens globally, with 50,000–75,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
• Mortality Rank: Cancer ranks as the tenth leading cause of death among children in India.
• Global Share: Childhood cancers form only 3-5% of all cancer cases in the country, but India accounts for ~20% of global paediatric cancer cases.
• Most Common: Leukaemia (particularly lymphoid leukaemia) is the leading cancer type, followed by lymphomas and Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours.
• Highest Burden: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh are the five states with the largest absolute number of cases.
• Highest Incidence: Delhi consistently reports the highest age-adjusted incidence rates, at 203.1 per million among boys and 125.4 per million among girls.
• Survival Gap: The overall survival rate for childhood cancers in India stands at 40%, compared to over 80% in high-income countries. 17,000 children died from cancer in India in 2023.

Factors for India’s High Paediatric Cancer Burden

• Demographic Driver: India’s youth population, with nearly one-quarter of citizens under 15, drives a high absolute volume of paediatric cases.
• Late Diagnosis: Subtle early symptoms are frequently mistaken for common childhood infections, leading to advanced-stage presentation in many patients.
• Treatment Abandonment: High out-of-pocket costs and long travel distances cause many families to discontinue life-saving therapy prematurely.
• Environmental Link: Rising levels of air pollution and pesticide residues in food and water are increasingly linked to paediatric leukaemia and brain tumours.
• Policy Absence: India lacks a dedicated national childhood cancer policy, leaving most paediatric initiatives to fragmented NGO and private efforts.

Read More> Cancer as Notifiable Disease

{GS3 – S&T} India’s Indigenous Insulin Production Push

• Context (DDN): Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh recently stated that India is scaling up indigenous biosimilar insulin production to strengthen domestic biomanufacturing.

Need for Indigenous Production

• Supply Vulnerability: Three multinationals dominate around 90% of the global supply, creating supply and pricing risks.
• Production Shift: Major firms are prioritising new GLP-1 therapies (1.5–3 times costlier), reducing traditional insulin availability and affordability.
• Disease Burden: India has the second-largest diabetic population, with ~10.1 crore people living with diabetes in 2023.
• Logistical Fragility: Insulin needs continuous temperature-controlled storage and transport; failures can lead to wastage and shortages.
• Strategic Need: Domestic insulin manufacturing reduces external supply shocks and strengthens India’s role as a medicine supplier for the Global South.

Key Government Initiatives

• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes incentivise biopharmaceuticals and medical devices manufacturing, including Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems.
• Biopharma SHAKTI was announced in the Union Budget 2026–27 to boost domestic production of biologics and biosimilars.
• National Biopharma Mission by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) subsidises R&D and funds shared infrastructure for biomanufacturing and biosimilars.
• Bio-RIDE and BioE3 Policies integrate Bio-AI Hubs and Biofoundries to support bio-based product development and commercialisation.

Read More > India’s Healthcare & Biopharma Globalisation Push

{GS3 – S&T} Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam Achieved Criticality **

• Context (TH): India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, attained first criticality by achieving a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

• Stage Entry: This marks India’s formal entry into the second stage of its indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme.
• Rank: India is only the second country, after Russia, to operate a commercial-scale fast breeder reactor.

About Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)

• PFBR is a 500 MWe reactor built indigenously by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited) under the Department of Atomic Energy.
• Fuel Type: It uses Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel, a combination of plutonium and uranium, to sustain fission.
• Waste Reduction: The reactor reprocesses spent fuel from Stage I to make MOX fuel, reducing nuclear waste volume and long-term radio-toxicity.
• Blanket Mechanism: The reactor core is surrounded by a U-238 blanket that breeds Plutonium-239.
• Breeder Function: PFBR produces more fuel than it consumes by converting the Uranium-238 blanket into Plutonium-239 during operation.
• Neutron Type: Unlike conventional reactors that use slow thermal neutrons, it uses high-energy fast neutrons to sustain fission without a moderator.
• Coolant: The reactor uses liquid sodium as the coolant instead of water due to its high thermal conductivity without slowing fast neutrons.
• Energy Yield: It extracts 60 times more energy from natural uranium compared to Stage I Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
• Pool Design: A pool-type design contains the entire primary radioactive sodium circuit within a single main vessel, minimising external leak risk.
• Safety Feature: The reactor’s negative power coefficient causes the nuclear reaction to slow naturally if the core overheats, preventing meltdowns.

India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme

Read More > India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme

{GS3 – Envi} India Hits Record Wind Power Addition **

• Context (PIB | ET): India has achieved a record wind energy addition of 6.05 GW in FY 2025–26, marking a 46% increase over the previous year.

• Total Installed Capacity: India’s cumulative installed wind power capacity has crossed 56 GW.
• Leading States: Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra were the major contributors to capacity addition.
• Expansion is supported by wind-solar hybrid projects and green energy open access initiatives.

Be Prelims Ready!

Wind Energy Potential in India

• India holds massive wind energy potential, estimated at over 695.5 GW at 120 metres and 1,164 GW at 150 metres above ground level.
• 2030 Targets: Wind expected to contribute 140 GW towards India’s 500 GW non-fossil capacity goal.
• India has the 4^th largest installed wind power globally and is 3^rd largest renewable energy producer.

Issues with Wind Energy in India

• Intermittency of Wind: Wind energy is variable and unpredictable, which affects the consistency of power generation and grid stability.
• Grid & Transmission Issues: Inadequate transmission infrastructure and delays in grid connectivity hinder the transfer of generated power.
• Land Acquisition: Difficulty in acquiring suitable land and clearances in high wind potential areas.
• Tariff Issues: Low tariffs from competitive bidding reduce profitability & discourage private investment.

{Prelims – A&C} Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur *

• Context (PIB): PM Modi paid tribute to Guru Tegh Bahadur on the occasion of Parkash Purab.

• Parkash Purab or Gurpurab marks the birth anniversary of a Sikh Guru; the term “Parkash” signifies the spiritual light entering the world at his birth.

About Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

• He was the ninth Sikh Guru, born as Tyag Mal in Amritsar to Guru Hargobind and Mata Nanki Ji.
• He earned the title “Tegh Bahadur” at 14 for his bravery in the Battle of Kartarpur against Mughal forces.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur founded Anandpur Sahib (originally Chak-Nanki) and composed 116 hymns that are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
• He is called “Hind-di-Chadar” for shielding Kashmiri Brahmins from Aurangzeb’s religious oppression.
• Ideology: Promoted “Fear none, frighten none,” advocating for a society based on moral courage and universal human rights.
• Martyrdom: Aurangzeb publicly executed him in Delhi for defending religious freedom. His martyrdom is annually commemorated as Shaheedi Divas (24 November).
• Memorial: Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the execution site and the cremation site, respectively.

{Prelims – Species} Indian Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) *

• Context (IE): Sixteen Indian Softshell turtles were rescued in Greater Noida from a suspected smuggler.
• Indian Softshell Turtle is a large freshwater turtle species native to South Asia.
• Appearance: It has a flat olive-green carapace and black streaks on the head.
• Snout: The species has a tubular, snorkel-like snout that allows it to breathe surface air while buried in riverbed mud.
• Habitat: It thrives in deep, turbid, slow-moving rivers and canals with sandy or muddy bottoms.
• Distribution: The turtle occurs throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan, mainly in the Indus, Ganges, and Mahanadi basins.
• Diet: It is an opportunistic omnivore feeding on fish, amphibians, molluscs, aquatic plants, and carrion.
• Predator: The turtle is an ambush predator that conceals itself in riverbed sand and aestivates (dormancy) during dry seasons.
• Ecological Role: It acts as a river scavenger, consuming dead organic matter and regulating prey populations to sustain the freshwater ecosystem.
• Key threats: Poaching, habitat loss, sand mining, and fishing net entanglement.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered; CITES: Appendix I; WPA: Schedule I.

{Prelims – Disease} Obstructive Sleep Apnea Linked to Cardiovascular Diseases

• Context (DDN): People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular diseases or all-cause mortality compared to non-OSA individuals.

• Obesity significantly amplifies the risk, with a large proportion of OSA patients being overweight or obese.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• OSA is a sleep disorder where the upper airway repeatedly gets blocked during sleep, causing interruptions in breathing.
• It involves repeated pauses in breathing (apnea) and reduced airflow, leading to disrupted sleep cycles.
• Symptoms: Loud snoring, choking or gasping during sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Risk Factors: Strongly associated with obesity, ageing, and anatomical factors that narrow the airway.
• Health Impacts: Increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes.
• Diagnosis: Diagnosed through a sleep study (polysomnography) that monitors breathing/sleep patterns.
• Treatment: Managed through weight loss, lifestyle changes, and sometimes surgery.

{Prelims – In News} Sādhana Saptah 2026 *

• Context (PIB): Sādhana Saptah 2026 is being organised as a nationwide civil services capacity-building exercise to promote citizen-centric governance.

• SĀDHANA stands for Strengthening Adaptive Development and Humane Aptitude for National Advancement, signalling a competency-driven administration.
• Nodal Agencies: Capacity Building Commission (CBC), Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and Karmayogi Bharat are organising it under the Mission Karmayogi.
• Three Themes: It focuses on Technology, Tradition, and Tangible Outcomes—to build responsive, future-ready governance systems.
• AI Integration: The initiative promotes digital upskilling through the AI Daksh training program on the iGOT Karmayogi platform.

{Prelims – In News} World Health Day 2026

• Context (ET): World Health Day is observed every year on 7 April to focus global attention on major public health priorities.

• It commemorates the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 7 April 1948, with official annual observance starting in 1950.
• The day mobilises governments, international agencies, and communities to strengthen health systems.
• It is one of WHO’s global health campaigns, alongside World Tuberculosis Day and World AIDS Day.
• The 2026 theme, “Together for health. Stand with science,” emphasises scientific collaboration and a One Health approach to emerging threats.

• Strategic Vision: It transitions bureaucracy from rule-based operations to a role-based system aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Read More > Mission Karmayogi