Current Affairs – February 25, 2026

{GS2 – MoIB} Five OTT Platforms were Blocked for Streaming Obscene Content **

• Context (TH): The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) blocked five OTT platforms for streaming content deemed obscene and vulgar.

• Legal Basis: The blocking was exercised under IT Rules, 2021 and Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.

Obscenity Laws in India

• Obscene Material: Sections 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 penalise the sale, distribution, or public exhibition of obscene books, objects, or digital content.
  • Obscene Acts: Section 296 penalises doing obscene acts or singing obscene songs in public places to the annoyance of others.
• Electronic Obscenity: Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000 punishes publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form.
  • Explicit Content: Sections 67A and 67B of the IT Act, 2000 prescribe stricter penalties for sexually explicit content and child sexual abuse material (CSAM), respectively.
• IT Rules, 2021: These rules mandate OTT platforms follow a Code of Ethics for their curated content. Intermediaries must perform due diligence or risk losing safe harbour protection.
• Women’s Depiction: The Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986, prohibits depictions of women in a derogatory manner that injures public morality.

Judicial Tests for Obscenity

• Community Standards Test: Established in Aveek Sarkar (2014), the test evaluates content from the perspective of an average, reasonable person applying contemporary societal norms.
• Holistic Assessment: Under this test, a work is judged as a whole, including its artistic or social value, rather than isolated excerpts.
• Vulgarity vs. Obscenity: Courts have held that vulgarity alone does not constitute obscenity – content must arouse lustful thoughts or be sexually explicit in a prurient manner.
• Proposed Amendment: MIB has proposed amendments to IT Rules, 2021 to explicitly define “obscene digital content” on the lines of the Cable TV Programme Code.

Read More > Obscene Online Content

{GS2 – Social Sector} India Launches Nationwide Free HPV Vaccination Drive **

• Context (TH): India is launching a nationwide free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive to combat cervical cancer.

• Target Age: The drive prioritises 14-year-old girls, the age at which the HPV vaccine offers maximum preventive benefit.
• Vaccine: It will use Gardasil, a quadrivalent non-live (recombinant) vaccine targeting four HPV types:
  • Types 16 and 18: High-risk strains responsible for ~70% of cervical cancers.
  • Types 6 and 11: Low-risk strains responsible for ~90% of genital warts.
• Dosage: The government has adopted a single-dose regimen, aligned with WHO recommendations, to improve coverage and logistical compliance.
• Access: The vaccine will be voluntary and free at all government health facilities. Rollout will be managed via the U-WIN digital platform.
• Ministry: This multi-ministry programme is jointly led by the MoHFW and the MoWCD under the “Swastha Nari” vision.

Cervical Cancer in India

• India Burden: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India.
• Global Share: India accounts for approximately 20% of new global cases and 23% of global deaths.
• Regional Hotspots: The burden is highest in the Northeast. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh lead in incidence rates.
• Screening Gap: Less than 2% of women aged 30-49 have ever been screened for cervical cancer, far below the WHO target of 70%.
• NP-NCD Screening: National Programme for Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) covers screening for cervical, breast, and oral cancers at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.

Read More > Cervical Cancer

{GS2 – Polity} Alteration of State Name of “Kerala” to “Keralam” **

• Context (PIB): Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to alter the official name of the State from “Kerala” to “Keralam”, initiating the constitutional procedure prescribed under Article 3.

• Article 3 empowers Parliament to alter the name, boundaries, or area of States through legislation.
• The proposal has been examined and concurred with by the Ministry of Law & Justice, confirming its constitutional validity and procedural compliance.
• The President will now refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the State Legislature.

Constitutional Procedure for Altering a State Name

• Presidential Recommendation: A Bill for altering a state’s name can be introduced only on the recommendation of the President.
• State Legislature Consultation: The President must refer the Bill to the concerned State Legislature for expressing its views within a specified period.
• Parliamentary Authority: Parliament retains the final authority irrespective of the State’s opinion.
• Constitutional Amendment: The alteration necessitates modification of the First Schedule of the Constitution, where the names of States are officially recorded.

{GS2 – IR} Evolving Architecture of Contemporary Trade Agreements

• Context (TH): Recent trade agreements signed by the United States under the “Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ART)” framework signal a structural shift in global trade governance.

Multilateral Trade Foundation

• Non-Discrimination Principle: Multilateral trading system, anchored in GATT and the WTO, institutionalised the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rule, ensuring equal tariff treatment across member states.
• Institutional Architecture: The WTO (1995) expanded trade governance beyond goods into services (GATS) & intellectual property (TRIPS) while introducing a rules-based dispute settlement mechanism.
• Developing Country Agency: WTO’s one-country-one-vote structure provides smaller economies with bargaining space despite asymmetries in economic power.

Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs)

• MFN Exception Logic: Article XXIV of GATT permits FTAs and Customs Unions as controlled deviations from non-discrimination norms.
• Coverage Discipline: FTAs must cover “substantially all trade,” ensuring such arrangements function as trade-expansion mechanisms rather than protectionist tools.
• WTO-Plus Expansion: Modern FTAs increasingly incorporate labour, environmental, and investment provisions beyond WTO disciplines.
• Transparency: Mandatory WTO notification allows affected countries to scrutinise PTA provisions.

Erosion of Multilateral Norms in Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs)

• Legal Ambiguity: ARTs operate outside Article XXIV of GATT disciplines, weakening their institutional linkage with WTO oversight and established multilateral compliance frameworks.
• Asymmetric Reciprocity: ART structures frequently combine tariff pressure by dominant economies with expectations of accelerated market access concessions from partner countries.
• Strategic Conditionalities: Several ART provisions embed policy-linked obligations connecting trade concessions with national security or economic safeguard measures.
• Data Governance Concerns: Digital trade clauses restricting customs duties on electronic transmissions may constrain regulatory autonomy.

Implications of Agreements on Reciprocal Trade

• Rule Fragmentation: The rise of ARTs contributes to the diversification of global trade-agreement typologies, complicating coherence within the rules-based multilateral trading system.
• Multilateral Erosion Risk: Parallel bilateral frameworks weaken WTO centrality, increasing the likelihood of power-driven trade arrangements replacing consensus-based governance structures.
• Power Asymmetry Expansion: Smaller economies face heightened vulnerability as trade negotiations increasingly reflect geopolitical leverage rather than efficiency-driven economic integration logic.
• Regulatory Spillover Effects: One-sided or WTO-plus obligations embedded within ARTs may reshape domestic policy flexibility across tariffs, digital trade, and industrial regulation.
• Predictability Challenges: Increased heterogeneity of trade frameworks reduces global trade stability, complicating long-term investment decisions and supply-chain risk assessments.

Read More > USA’s Reciprocal Tariffs & Its Impact

{GS3 – IE} India’s Rising Dependence on Imported Crude Oil

• Context (IE): India’s crude oil import dependency crossed 88.5% during FY26 (April–January), reflecting widening divergence between domestic demand growth and stagnant domestic production.

Drivers of Rising Import Dependence

• Demand Expansion: India remains a major growth centre of global oil demand due to rising transport, industry, aviation and petrochemical use.
• Stagnant Domestic Production: Domestic crude oil production continues to remain subdued, with output declining marginally to about 23.5 million tonnes in FY26 (April–January).
• Refinery Capacity Dynamics: India has about 258 MMTPA refining capacity, with utilisation often above 100%, reflecting strong downstream demand and complex refining capability.

Structural & Economic Implications

• External Sector Vulnerability: Elevated crude import dependency exceeding 88% significantly amplifies India’s exposure to global oil price volatility and exchange-rate fluctuations.
• Trade Deficit Intensification: Crude oil consistently constitutes nearly 25–30% of India’s total merchandise import bill, exerting persistent pressure on the current account deficit (CAD).
• Inflationary Transmission Risks: Fuel and energy components carry a weight of roughly 6.8% in CPI & over 13% in WPI, allowing crude price shocks to propagate across the broader price system.

Way Forward

• Domestic Exploration Push: Accelerating upstream investments to enhance domestic production resilience. E.g., Expansion of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds.
• Energy Diversification Strategy: Scaling alternative fuels & renewable integration to reduce long-term hydrocarbon dependency. E.g., National Green Hydrogen Mission & EV ecosystem incentives.
• Demand-Side Efficiency: Strengthening fuel efficiency norms and modal shifts in transport lowers structural petroleum intensity. E.g., Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFÉ) standards & rail electrification.

{GS3 – Agri} Imports under Trade Deals are Threatening Domestic Apple Producers

• Context (TH): Recent US and EU tariff concessions on apple imports jeopardise the livelihoods of seven lakh J&K farming families.

Vulnerabilities of Domestic Apple Cultivators

• Productivity Gap: Indian orchards yield 7-8 tonnes per hectare, far below 40-70 tonnes in technologically advanced Western farms.
• Fragmented Holdings: Most J&K orchards, averaging 0.40 hectares, are too small for mechanised harvesting or AI-based precision horticulture.
• Import Undercutting: Off-season imports depress domestic apple prices, compounded by inadequate cold-chain infrastructure that forces farmers into distress sales.
• Quality Deficit: Though India introduced globally preferred varieties like Gala, local produce has yet to match import-grade standards in yield, colour, and taste.

Apple Cultivation in India

• Global Rank: India is the world’s fifth-largest apple producer, with annual output around 2.5 million metric tonnes.
• Regional Concentration: Jammu & Kashmir contributes 70% of India’s total apple production, followed by Himachal Pradesh (20%) and Uttarakhand.
• Climatic Requisites: A temperate climate with winters below 7°C and summers of 21–24°C is optimal for apple cultivation.
• Soil Preferences: Well-drained, deep loamy soils with a slightly acidic pH of 5.5-6.5 are ideal; waterlogged or heavy clay soils are unsuitable.
• Altitude: Commercial cultivation thrives in Himalayan regions at 1,500-2,700 metres above sea level.
• Yield Deficit: Indian apple yields average 6-8 tonnes per hectare, far below the global standard of 40-60 tonnes per hectare.

Read More > Himachal Pradesh Demands 100% Import Duties on Foreign Apples

{GS3 – Envi} Him-CONNECT in the World Sustainable Development Summit

• Context (PIB): The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is organising ‘Him-CONNECT’ during the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2026 in New Delhi.

Him-CONNECT

• It is a platform connecting scientific research and entrepreneurship to scale innovations in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).
• The initiative focuses on commercialising ecological innovations developed under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS).
• Key Sectors: Include waste-to-wealth, climate-resilient infrastructure, water management, bio-resource utilisation, and green energy.
• Significance: It repositions the Himalayas from vulnerability to green growth, advancing India’s solution-driven climate diplomacy and strengthening South-South cooperation.

World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2026

• The WSDS is an annual event organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to discuss sustainability and the environment.
• It is the only independently convened international sustainable development summit of Global South.
• The 2026 edition marks the Silver Jubilee (25^th edition) of this international summit.
• Theme: “Parivartan | Transformations: Vision, Voices, and Values for Sustainable Development.”
• Focus Areas: It prioritises climate finance, just energy transitions, and alignment with India’s Net-Zero goals and the ‘Viksit Bharat‘ vision.
• Significance: The event mobilises world leaders to translate dialogue into on-the-ground policy implementation and equitable resource allocation.

{GS3 – S&T} Artificial Intelligence Transforming Rural India **

• Context (PIB): AI is increasingly positioned as a structural driver of inclusive rural development, supported by national governance frameworks and multilingual AI platforms.

Need for AI in Rural Transformation

• Service Delivery Efficiency: AI-driven automation can significantly reduce welfare leakages; E.g., DB systems have already saved over ₹2.7 lakh crore by improving targeting efficiency (GoI estimates).
• Agricultural Risk Mitigation: AI-based predictive advisories stabilise farm outcomes under climate variability; E.g., climate-related factors contribute to nearly 15–25% crop losses annually in India (ICAR).
• Governance Precision: AI-enabled data analytics improves decentralised planning accuracy; E.g., over 2.44 lakh Gram Panchayats preparing Plans require evidence-based prioritisation (MoPR data).

Key Institutional Tools Driving AI-Led Rural Transformation

Administrative Modernisation

• Administrative Automation: SabhaSaar reduce documentation gaps and procedural delays by converting Panchayat meeting audio/video into structured minutes.
• Fiscal Transparency: eGramSwaraj enhance expenditure tracking and monitoring reliability.
• Evidence-Based Planning: Gram Manchitra strengthen infrastructure prioritisation by linking GIS mapping with asset, demographic, and environmental datasets.
• Innovation Scalability: Shared AI repositories like AIKosh accelerate governance solution development by providing reusable datasets and pre-trained AI models.

Sectoral Transformation

• Agriculture Productivity: National Pest Surveillance System and Crop Health Monitoring strengthen risk mitigation through early advisories, while Kisan e-Mitra improves farmers’ access to schemes.
• Human Capital: NCERT’s DIKSHA platform enhances accessibility, complemented by Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI (YUVAI), building foundational AI and socio-technical skills.
• Social Protection: AI-driven outreach tools such as Madhya Pradesh’s Suman Sakhi WhatsApp Chatbot expand last-mile maternal and newborn health awareness.

Digital Accessibility Expansion

• Language Barrier Reduction: BHASHINI enhance governance accessibility by enabling translation and voice-first interaction capabilities across public digital service ecosystems.
• Multilingual Intelligence: BharatGen strengthens rural digital participation by supporting text, speech, and document-processing capabilities across multiple Indian languages.
• Tribal Connectivity: AI-enabled language platforms such as Adi Vaani address deep communication exclusion by facilitating governance access through native tribal language interfaces.

{Prelims – Polity} Lok Sabha Speaker Constitutes Parliamentary Friendship Groups

• Context (TH | NDTV): The Lok Sabha Speaker constituted 64 Parliamentary Friendship Groups (PFGs) to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation.

• The newly formed groups include more than 700 Members of Parliament (MPs) from over 60 countries.
• Objective: To promote parliamentary diplomacy for continuous political, social, and cultural engagement between the Indian Parliament and foreign legislatures.
• Framework: The PFGs operate under the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG); the Lok Sabha Speaker appoints the President of each Group.
• Composition: Each group comprises 11 sitting MPs from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, representing various political parties.
• Significance: The mechanism enhances India’s soft power by facilitating candid legislative dialogue beyond traditional diplomatic channels.

{Prelims – Eco} RoDTEP Scheme

• Context (BS): Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has reduced duty benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme by 50% with immediate effect.

About Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme

• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) launched the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme in 2021.
• Policy Shift: It replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), whose flat export subsidies were deemed trade-distorting under WTO norms.
• Core Principle: The scheme is built on the international trade principle that ‘taxes and duties should not be exported’. This ensures that Indian goods reach foreign markets at their true production costs.
• WTO Compliance: Unlike the subsidy-based MEIS, RoDTEP operates on a remission model. It refunds embedded taxes based on the notified average rates.
• Dual Administration: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under MoCI notifies eligible items and rates. The Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance disburses the rebates.
• E-Scrip: The government issues benefits as transferable e-scrips through the ICEGATE portal. Exporters can use these to pay Basic Customs Duty or sell them in the open market.

Read More > Extension of RoDTEP Export Incentive Scheme

{Prelims – Species} Contarinia icardiflores

• Context (ICAR): Scientists at ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, Pune, have identified a new midge species, Contarinia icardiflores.
• C. icardiflores is a blossom midge species that infests commercial jasmine crops.
• Key Traits: It measures 1.5-2 mm in length and completes a full life cycle within 16-21 days.
• Distribution: The midge has been reported from major jasmine-growing states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
• Larval Feeding: Hatched larvae burrow into the flower bud and feed on internal tissues. They remain beyond the reach of surface-applied pesticide sprays.

{Prelims – Species} Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca) *

• Context (TH): A female Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca) was sighted at Amoor Lake near Chennai, marking only the second recorded occurrence of the species in the region.
• Ferruginous Pochard, also known as the white-eyed pochard, is a migratory diving duck native to the Palearctic region.
• Appearance: Adults have rich chestnut plumage with a distinctive white triangular undertail patch.
• Dimorphism: Drakes have a piercing white iris, while females have a brown iris.
• Habitat: Unlike most diving ducks that favour open water, the Ferruginous Pochard prefers shallow freshwater bodies with dense submerged and floating vegetation.
• Breeding Range: Its range spans from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa through Europe and Central Asia to Western Mongolia.
• Winter Visitor: The species is a widespread winter visitor across India, especially in West Bengal and Rajasthan, but is rare in the extreme south.
• Behaviour: Unlike most other pochards, it is less gregarious and typically moves in small groups or pairs.
• Diet: The duck is omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, seeds, and tubers, supplemented by molluscs, aquatic insects, and small fish.
• Ecological Role: It contributes to nutrient cycling and regulates aquatic invertebrate populations.
• Key Threats: Habitat loss, water pollution, illegal hunting, and invasive grass carp.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Near Threatened; WPA: Schedule II.

{Prelims – Exercise} Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR

• Context (PIB): The 16^th edition of the India-US Joint Special Forces Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR is underway at the Special Forces Training School in Himachal Pradesh.

• It is an annual military exercise hosted alternately by India and the United States.
• Objectives: To promote military cooperation, enhance interoperability, and facilitate the mutual exchange of special operations tactics.
• Focus Areas: The 2026 edition primarily focuses on mountain warfare, joint mission planning, and high-altitude tactical drills.
• Significance: The exercise serves as a critical institutional pillar for deepening the strategic defence partnership and strengthening India-US relations.

{Prelims – PIN World} Takeshima Dispute *

• Context (FP): South Korea protested Japan’s government-backed “Takeshima Day”, objecting to Tokyo’s renewed sovereignty assertions over disputed islets.

• South Korea rejects dispute characterisation, while Japan continues diplomatic and symbolic assertions, including Takeshima Day (Feb 22).

About Takeshima

• Nomenclature: Known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
• Alternative Name: Internationally referred to as the Liancourt Rocks, named by French whalers in 1849.
• Location: A cluster of small rocky islets located in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), positioned between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago.
• Historical Background: Dispute rooted in the legacy of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea (1910–1945).
• Geographical Position: Lying broadly between both nations, the islets are physically closer to South Korea’s Ulleungdo (~87 km) than Japan’s Oki Islands (~157 km).
• Composition: Consists of two principal volcanic islets, Dongdo (East Island) and Seodo (West Island), characterised by cliffs, sea caves, and harsh maritime climatic conditions.
• Fisheries Significance: Highly productive fishing zones where warm and cold ocean currents converge.
• Resource Potential: Possible presence of natural gas hydrate deposits (“fire ice”) beneath the seabed.
• Administration: Under South Korea, with a coastguard detachment stationed since 1954.