Current Affairs – February 04, 2026

{GS1 – Geo} Strategic Rare Earth Corridors **

• Context (PIB | DD): India is planning Dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to build secure supply chains for critical minerals needed in EVs, renewable energy and high-tech manufacturing.

About Dedicated Rare Earth Corridors

• Integrated Mineral Network: Specialised infrastructure corridors linking mining zones, processing units, and downstream manufacturing clusters to ensure uninterrupted mineral movement.
• Objective: Operationalise the National Critical Minerals Mission at the state level.
• Proposed Regions: Focused along the eastern and southern coastal belt covering Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where major rare earth and beach sand mineral reserves exist.

Key Features of Dedicated Rare Earth Corridors

• Magnet Industry Linkage: Aligned with the ₹7,280 crore Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) Scheme targeting 6,000 MTPA domestic capacity.
• State-Centric Clusters: Encourage state-led industrial hubs instead of only centralised policy execution.
• Incentive Support: Offers ₹6,450 crore sales-linked incentives and ₹750 crore capital subsidy for integrated REPM manufacturing units.

About Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPMs)

• Nature: REPMs are the strongest permanent magnets available commercially, made from alloys of rare earth elements (REEs).
• Global Production: China controls about 90% of global production and processing of REPMs.
• Key Applications: They are essential for wind-turbine generators, electric vehicles (EVs), small electronic devices, and medical and defence systems like MRI units and precision-guided weapons.

Significance of Dedicated Rare Earth Corridors

• Import Dependence Risk: India currently imports nearly 85–90% (quantity-wise) & 60-80% (value-wise) of rare earth elements, leaving key sectors highly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
• EV Transition Needs: Each electric vehicle requires around 40–50 kg of critical minerals, while EV demand is expected to cross 10 million vehicles annually by 2030.
• Renewable Energy Push: Wind turbines and solar systems rely heavily on rare earth magnets, with India targeting 500 GW renewable capacity by 2030 and Net Zero by 2070.
• Strategic Manufacturing: Rare earths are vital for defence systems, semiconductors and electronics.

{GS2 – Social Sector} India’s First Evidence-Based Guidelines on Lung Cancer Treatment Released **

• Context (DDN): The Union Health Minister released the ‘Lung Cancer Treatment and Palliation Guidelines’ to standardise cancer care protocols nationwide.

• National Framework: This document is India’s first evidence-based framework on lung cancer, designed to reduce variations in clinical practice.
• Core Objective: It aims to provide a standardised framework for diagnosis and treatment across both the public and private healthcare sectors.
• Coverage Scope: The framework comprises 15 recommendations spanning the entire spectrum of care, from early diagnosis to palliation.
• Indigenous Focus: The protocols are tailored to India’s disease burden and resource settings rather than replicating Western models.
• Palliative Emphasis: It prioritises palliative care to address pain management and psychological support, alongside curative treatments.
• Collaborative Development: The Department of Health Research (DHR) and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) jointly developed these guidelines.

Lung Cancer Landscape in India

• Projected Incidence: The ICMR estimates that India recorded approximately 1.11 lakh new cases of lung cancer in 2025.
• Global Incidence: India ranks 4^th globally in the absolute number of new cases, behind China, the US, and Japan.
  • Mortality: The country also ranks 4^th in total lung cancer-related deaths worldwide.
• Non-Smoker Surge: Recent clinical data indicate that 30% to 50% of Indian lung cancer patients are non-smokers.
  • Morphological Shift: The rising dominance of Adenocarcinoma in cities links the disease more strongly to air pollution than to tobacco alone.
• Geographic Outlier: Aizawl (Mizoram) records the highest age-adjusted incidence rate of lung cancer globally, driven by high tobacco use.
• Diagnostic Challenge: Nearly 29% of lung cancer patients are initially misdiagnosed with tuberculosis due to overlapping symptoms.
• Survival Metrics: The five-year survival rate in India remains critically low at 3.7%, compared with the global average of 17%.
• Domestic Prevalence: Lung cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian men, after oral/mouth cancer.
• Gender Disparity: It has emerged as the sixth most common cancer among Indian women, with incidence rates rising faster than in men.

Read More > Lung Cancer

{GS2 – Governance} Death Penalty Trends in India **

• Context (TH): Findings from an annual death penalty statistics report show that the Supreme Court of India has not confirmed a single death sentence for the third consecutive year (2023–2025).

Key Findings of the Report

• Rising Acquittals: In 2025 alone, 10 death row prisoners were acquitted, the highest in a decade.
• Lower Court Trend: Sessions Courts awarded 1,310 death sentences between 2016 and 2025, including 128 in 2025, despite appellate scepticism
• High Court Outcomes: Out of 842 cases reviewed, only 70 (8.31%) were confirmed, while 285 were acquitted and 411 commuted.
• Death Row Population: India had 574 prisoners on death row by end-2025, the highest since 2016.

Systemic Concerns in Capital Sentencing

• Non-Compliance: Despite SC directions in Manoj vs State of Madhya Pradesh mandating psychological assessments, ~ 95% of death sentences in 2025 were imposed without following these safeguards.
• Fair Trial Violations: The Supreme Court in Vasanta Sampat Dupare vs Union of India made mitigation hearings a part of Article 21 rights, yet many courts still conduct rushed sentencing.
• Death Row Trauma: Prisoners spend over five years on average awaiting final outcomes, causing severe psychological distress known as “death row phenomenon”.

Death Penalty in India

Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, 1980

• SC upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty but established important guidelines.
• The court emphasised that the death penalty should only be awarded in the “rarest of rare cases” when all alternative options are exhausted and mitigating circumstances have been considered.

Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab, 1983

• SC laid down five categories of cases where the death penalty could be awarded:
  • (a) manner of commission of murder, (b) motive for the crime, (c) anti-social or socially abhorrent nature of the crime, (d) magnitude of the crime, and (e) personality of the victim.

{GS2 – Governance} Atal Innovation Mission Hosts AIM SUMVAAD

• Context (PIB): The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) organised AIM SUMVAAD, its annual incubator conclave in New Delhi.

About AIM SUMVAAD

• It serves as a national platform to align policy intent, institutional capacity, and partnerships to build a high-quality incubation ecosystem.
• The conclave brought together over 100 incubators, industry leaders, and senior government officials.
• It marked the launch of the National Incubator Assessment Framework, a digital repository for benchmarking incubator performance across India.
• It celebrated establishing 100+ incubators supporting 5,000+ startups and creating over 50,000 jobs.

About Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

• NITI Aayog launched the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in 2016 as India’s flagship initiative to promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Objective: To create a culture of innovation at all levels—schools, universities, industries, and MSMEs.
• AIM 2.0: The government launched it in 2024 to expand infrastructure, address ecosystem gaps, and extend the initiative until 2028.

Key Pillars & Initiatives

• ATLs: Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated workspaces in schools (Grades 6–12) to teach STEM concepts.
• AICs: Atal Incubation Centres are established in universities and corporates to provide infrastructure, mentorship, and funding to startups.
• ACICs: Atal Community Innovation Centres focus on underserved areas to promote local innovation.
• ANIC: Atal New India Challenges provides grants of up to ₹1 crore to startups for commercialising solutions to national problems.
• ARISE-ANIC: It promotes research and innovation in MSMEs in collaboration with central ministries.
• LIPI: The Language Inclusive Program for Innovation builds ecosystems across all 22 scheduled languages to break the English-language barrier.

{GS2 – IR} India-Tanzania 4^th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee Meeting

• Context (DDN | ET): India and Tanzania held the 4^th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting in Zanzibar to strengthen bilateral security ties.

Key Highlights of the Meeting

• Air Force: Both nations agreed to initiate cooperation between their Air Forces, expanding upon existing naval and army collaborations.
• Emerging Technologies: Discussions prioritised capacity building in advanced fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, and Electronic Warfare.
• New Avenues: The delegations identified military medicine as a new engagement area and explored deeper ties in counter-terrorism training.
• Strategic Cooperation: The meeting reviewed maritime security while seeking to enhance defence industry collaboration and service-to-service partnerships.

India-Tanzania Bilateral Relations

• The relationship was elevated from traditional development aid to a strategic partnership in 2023.
• SAGAR Vision: Tanzania is a key partner in India’s Security and Growth for All in the Region initiative, acting as a gateway to East and Central Africa.
• Trade: India is Tanzania’s second-largest trading partner with USD 8.6 billion in bilateral trade in 2024-25; both countries trade in local currencies through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA).
• Investment: India is among the top five investors in Tanzania, with about USD 4.08 billion in investments.
• Defence: A five-year defence roadmap (2023–2027) guides partnership; cooperation, includes joint EEZ surveillance and the India-Tanzania-Mozambique (IMT-TRILAT) exercise.
• Development: India established the first overseas IIT campus (IIT Madras Zanzibar) in 2023 and has extended over $1.1 billion in Lines of Credit (LoCs) for large-scale water supply projects.

Read More > India-Africa Relations

{GS3 – Envi} Turtle Trails Initiative **

• Context (TH): The Union Budget 2026-27 introduced the ‘Turtle Trails’ initiative to drive a national push for ecological tourism.

• Objective: The scheme aims to develop strictly regulated tourism circuits centred on sea turtle conservation and ethical wildlife observation.
• Project Sites: Selected project sites include major rookeries like Gahirmatha and Rushikulya in Odisha, the Karnataka coast, and the Kerala coast.
• Target Species: Conservation efforts will prioritise the Olive Ridley turtle to leverage the global appeal of the Arribada mass nesting event.

Significance of Turtle Trails

• Niche Tourism: Promoting niche tourism diversifies India’s travel portfolio by catering to nature and wildlife enthusiasts.
• Green Jobs: The scheme will create direct jobs by training local communities to work as nature guides and conservation stewards.
• Public Sensitisation: Regulated access fosters public awareness of marine biodiversity and the fragility of coastal ecosystems.
• Infrastructure Development: Budgetary allocations will improve last-mile connectivity and eco-sensitive facilities in remote coastal villages.

Key Concerns of Turtle Trails

• Ecological Disturbance: Unregulated tourist footfall poses a risk to sensitive Arribada events that require minimal human interference.
• Light Pollution: Hatchlings face lethal disorientation caused by artificial lighting, as they rely on natural moonlight cues to reach the sea.
• Habitat Degradation: Commercialising nesting beaches often leads to plastic waste accumulation and noise pollution.
• Regulatory Gaps: Enforcing seasonal “No-Go Zones” remains challenging amid growing demand for commercial tourism access.

Way Forwards

• Visitor Management: Determine and enforce a strict “daily visitor cap” for every nesting beach to prevent overcrowding.
• Tech Integration: Deploy satellite telemetry to track migration routes and identify high-risk zones for fishing-net entanglement.
• Community Stewardship: Incentivise locals through the “Turtle Guardian” model to protect nests rather than merely facilitating mass tourism.
• Zoning Regulations: Demarcate inviolate Core Zones for nesting and separate Buffer Zones for tourism to minimize direct human-wildlife conflict.
• Activity Restrictions: Restrict tourism activities to daylight hours and enforce a complete ban on artificial lighting near nesting beaches.

{GS3 – Envi} Arunachal Pradesh Failed to Comply with Compensatory Afforestation for Subansiri LHE Project

• Context (IE): The MoEFCC has flagged Arunachal Pradesh’s continued non-compliance with compensatory afforestation conditions for the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP).

• Implementation Lag: The state government has not yet undertaken plantations on the mandated 31.83 sq km of land despite receiving forest clearance in 2004.

Compensatory Afforestation (CA)

• Statutory Mandate: Compensatory Afforestation is a statutory mechanism under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, to offset forest land diversion.
• Financial Framework: The funds are managed under the provisions of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016.
• Economic Valuation: The “Net Present Value” (NPV) quantifies the economic loss of intangible ecological services (e.g., carbon sequestration, water recharge) over 50 years.
• Payment Liability: The User Agency must deposit the calculated NPV and the cost of new plantations into the CAMPA fund prior to project execution.
• Non-Forest Norm: The primary rule requires afforestation on an equivalent area of non-forest land to maintain the total area under vegetation.
  • Exception: For Central PSUs, or where non-forest land is unavailable, afforestation is permitted on degraded forest land covering twice the area of the diverted land.
• Fund Sharing: The collected funds are divided between the State and National CAMPA authorities in a fixed 90:10 ratio.
• Digital Monitoring: The e-Green Watch portal is an integrated web-based platform that monitors the real-time progress of plantations and fund utilisation.
• Accredited Afforestation: The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022, introduced Accredited Compensatory Afforestation (ACA) to enable developers to use pre-existing private plantations for compliance.
• Land Inventory: State governments are required to establish land banks to expedite the identification of suitable non-forest land for future diversions.
• Rights Settlement: The process aligns with the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, which mandates that the State Government settle forest dwellers’ claims before the land handover to the User Agency.
• Ecological Restoration: The guidelines emphasise planting native species to restore biodiversity rather than establishing monocultures of commercial timber.

Read More > CAMPA

{GS3 – Envi} Maharashtra Grants Clearance for an Iron Mine in a Critical Wildlife Corridor **

• Context (TQ): The Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) granted wildlife clearance for an open-cast iron-ore mining project in Lohardongri, Chandrapur district.

• Critical Location: The site covers 35.94 hectares of reserved forest in a wildlife corridor connecting the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) with the Brahmapuri-Gadchiroli landscape.
• Advisory Override: The Board approved the proposal despite its expert committee’s recommendation to reject it, citing “irreversible damage” to the environment.

Regulatory Framework for Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Areas

• Zero-Mining: Commercial mining is legally prohibited in National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Safety Buffer: The Supreme Court mandates a pan-India ban on mining activities within a 1-km radius of the boundary of any National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Public Consultation: The EIA Notification (2006) mandates a public hearing for major mining projects to record objections from affected local communities.
  • Strategic Exemption: Projects for ‘critical and strategic’ minerals (e.g., lithium, uranium) are exempt from mandatory public hearings.
• Clearance Protocol: Mining proposals near protected areas require two clearances, first from the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) and then from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
• Cluster Assessment: In regions with multiple mines, regulators mandate a “Cluster EIA” to measure cumulative environmental load rather than assessing each mine in isolation.
• Democratic Consent: Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, diverting forest land for non-forest purposes (like mining) is invalid without the prior informed consent of the local Gram Sabha.
  • Procedural Dilution: The Forest Conservation Rules, 2022, allow the Centre to grant preliminary forest clearance (Stage-I) before obtaining the mandatory Gram Sabha consent.
• Financial Restitution: The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (CAMPA) mandates that miners pay the “Net Present Value” (NPV) of diverted forest land to finance restoration efforts.
• Financial Liability: Mining without valid clearances attracts a mandatory penalty of 100% of the market value of the illegally extracted ore.
• Benefit Sharing: The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) collects a mandatory share of royalties to fund welfare projects for communities displaced or affected by mining activities.

Read More> National Mineral Policy 2019

{Prelims – A&C} Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha *

• Context (PIB): India is exhibiting the sacred Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha in Sri Lanka at Gangaramaya Temple from 4–10 February 2026 as part of cultural diplomacy outreach.

About Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha

• Origin Site: The relics were discovered at the Devnimori archaeological site near Shamlaji in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, an important ancient Buddhist centre.
• Excavation History: The site was first scientifically explored in 1957 by Prof. S. N. Chowdhry.
• Historical Significance: The findings indicate the strong presence and spread of Buddhism in western India during the early Common Era.
• Spiritual Value: The relics symbolise Lord Buddha’s teachings of peace, compassion and harmony.

Key Archaeological Discoveries at Devnimori

• Relic Casket: A carefully crafted stone casket made of green schist was discovered inside the Devnimori Stupa at around 24 feet from the base level.
• Sacred Inscription: The casket carries inscriptions in Brahmi script and Sanskrit reading “Dashabala Sharira Nilaya”, signifying the abode of Lord Buddha’s bodily relics.
• Copper Container: The copper box featured a flat base and a slip-on lid fitted onto a rim ledge, ensuring safe preservation of sacred deposits.
• Inner Offerings: Inside the container were silk cloth fragments, holy ashes, black clay covering and a gold-coated silver-copper bottle.
• Amphora Bottle: The miniature gold-coated bottle had a cylindrical body, narrow neck and screw-type lid, resembling ancient amphora-style vessels.
• Desiccator Storage: The relics are now preserved in an air-tight glass desiccator to prevent moisture exposure and material deterioration.

{Prelims – S&T} Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) Technology *

• Context (PIB): The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur.

• This achievement places India among an elite group of nations with advanced air-breathing missile propulsion systems.
• The SFDR functions as an air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion, without rotating compressors.
• Air-Breathing: It extracts oxygen from the atmosphere instead of carrying an internal oxidiser, reducing missile weight while increasing fuel capacity.
• System Design: The system utilises a solid propellant that reacts with high-pressure air from the intake ducts to provide sustained high speed.
• Initial Acceleration: SFDR technologies generally use a nozzleless booster to accelerate the missile to the supersonic speeds required for ramjet operation.
• Key Benefits: SFDR missiles provide supersonic propulsion for extended-range and superior terminal agility, expanding the point of no return for long-range targets.

{Prelims – Diseases} World Cancer Day 2026 *

• Context (TOI): World Cancer Day is observed annually on 4 February to raise awareness and promote prevention, detection, and treatment.

• This year marks the second phase of a three-year campaign (2025–2027) with the theme “United by Unique“, led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
  • The UICC, headquartered in Geneva, is the oldest and largest organisation dedicated to reducing the global cancer burden.
• World Cancer Day was founded in 2000 at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, under the Charter of Paris.
• The observance supports SDG Target 3.4, which aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third by 2030.

Read More > Cancer in India | Cervical Cancer | Breast Cancer among Indian Women

{Prelims – In News} SAKSHAM 2026

• Context (TH): The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas flagged off SAKSHAM 2026.
• It is a fortnight-long campaign to promote fuel conservation and sustainable energy practices.
• The initiative is a joint effort by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and other major oil and gas PSUs.
• The primary goal is to inspire the nation to adopt energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and greener energy habits.
• The 2026 campaign theme, “Conserve Oil and Gas, Go Green”, emphasises the shift to renewable energy and reducing carbon footprint.
• The event features cyclothons, walkathons, fuel-saving pledges, “nukkad nataks” (street plays), and quiz competitions for students.