Current Affairs – January 23, 2026

{GS2 – Polity – IC – Citizenship} One Crore e-Passports Issued **

• Context (IE): Nearly one crore e-Passports have been issued since the nationwide launch in 2024.

• Automatic Adoption: All new passport applications and renewals now automatically receive upgraded e-Passports.
• Transition Target: India aims to complete the national transition to e-Passports by June 2035.

About e-Passport

• Document Nature: An e-Passport is a conventional paper passport embedded with an electronic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip.
• Global Standards: The document complies with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 9303 standard for machine-readable travel documents.
• Implementing Agency: The Ministry of External Affairs implements e-Passports under the Passport Seva Programme Version 2.0.

Key Features of e-Passport

• Data Storage: Embedded 64-kilobyte RFID chip stores demographic details, a digital photograph, and biometric identifiers like fingerprints and iris data.
• Chip Design: The passive RFID chip communicates only with authorised readers via contactless smart card technology.
• Tracking Safeguard: The read-only chip only activates when close to readers, preventing location tracking or remote misuse.
• Security Architecture: Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital signatures protect chip data against forgery and unauthorised modification.
• Access Control: Supplemental Access Control (SAC) prevents unauthorised skimming by requiring a physical passport scan before data release.

Key Advantages of e-Passport

• Border Clearance: Automated e-gates enable faster, contactless immigration clearance.
• Forgery Resistance: The encrypted chip makes the passport highly resistant to physical tampering.
• Identity Accuracy: Biometric attributes prevent impersonation through 1:1 identity verification.

Read More > Indian e-Passport

{GS2 – Governance – Laws} Constitutional Limits on “Protective Custody” under PITA

• Context (IE): Bombay High Court ordered the release of an adult trafficking survivor under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA), holding that “care” cannot become forced confinement.

Key Observations by Bombay High Court

Constitutional Primacy Over Statute

• Liberty First: For an adult, protective home placement must satisfy constitutional liberty standards, not be treated as routine welfare custody.
• Article 19 Weight: Freedom of movement, residence and livelihood does not stand suspended merely because a person has been trafficked.

Procedural Safeguards

• Strict Timelines: Custody limits under PITA reflect legislative intent; 10 days of initial custody and 3 weeks of interim custody must be followed strictly.
• Reasoned Inquiry: Magistrate must conduct an inquiry and record reasons using material evidence, not assumptions about vulnerability or livelihood.

Court’s Test for Care vs Detention

• Care Meaning: Care involves support measures respecting autonomy, counselling, shelter offered with consent, and rehabilitation assistance outside exploitation.
• Detention Meaning: Detention is marked by compulsion, restrictions on movement and choice, with confinement continuing even after refusal.
• Consent Central: For a major, institutional “care” cannot be forced; it must be voluntary, informed, autonomy-respecting, and consistent with constitutional liberty.
• Exit Right: Once an adult clearly expresses a wish to leave, continued stay becomes compulsory detention, not rehabilitation support or protective care.

Evidence Standard Against Detention

• Material-Based Justification: Any restraint on liberty must be supported by specific material placed on record, not vague welfare logic.
• Reject Speculation: “May return to sex work” is vague and cannot justify restricting personal liberty.
• Victim ≠ Offender: PITA targets trafficking networks, so survivors cannot be treated as offenders without any conduct attracting penal provisions.
• Poverty Ground: Lack of income may justify assistance, but cannot be used to curtail liberty.

Narrow Exceptions

• Incapacity Grounds: Detention may be justified only with medical material showing impaired decision-making capacity or inability to consent.
• Public Danger: Restraint needs demonstrable risk, not hypothetical fear.
• Accused Status: Confinement can apply if the person is also an accused in a criminal case.

{GS2 – Governance – Laws} Karnataka HC Limits BNS Section 69 in Consensual Relationships **

• Context (TH): The Karnataka High Court ruled that Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) cannot be misused as retaliation in failed consensual relationships.

Key Rulings of the Court

• Purpose: Section 69 of BNS aims to punish deceit, fraud, and sexual exploitation, not disappointment, failed affection or the collapse of a relationship.
• Retroactivity: The Court rejected retroactive criminalisation of consensual relationships based solely on later allegations.
• Legal Threshold: A ‘false promise of marriage’ is a criminal offence only if dishonest intention is proved to have existed from the beginning.

About Section 69 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

• It criminalises sexual intercourse, excluding rape, when consent is obtained by deceitful means.
• Deceitful Means: Includes false promises of employment or marriage, inducement through fraudulent means, and marriage after suppressing identity (hiding a previous marriage or true name).
• Punishment: Conviction may attract imprisonment up to ten years, along with a fine.
• Legal Status: It is a cognisable, non-bailable, non-compoundable offence triable by a Court of Session.

Read More > Section 69 of BNS | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

{GS2 – IR – Groupings} India’s Dilemma on Joining the Board of Peace

• Context (TH): India was absent from the Board of Peace‘s ceremonial launch despite having received a formal invitation from President Donald Trump.

Significance of Board of Peace for India

• Strategic Partnership: Active participation strengthens the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and reduces the risk of future diplomatic friction.
• Narrative Balance: Having a presence on the board helps counter Pakistan’s influence and curtail the spread of anti-India narratives in West Asian security discussions.
• Economic Access: Membership enables Indian infrastructure and pharmaceutical firms to bid for high-value post-war reconstruction contracts in Gaza.
• Multilateral Bypass: The board offers a pragmatic route to bypass the current deadlock and paralysis within the UNSC.

Challenges with Board of Peace for India

• UN Primacy: Participation in a parallel mechanism risks undermining the authority and centrality of the United Nations system.
• Policy Autonomy: Alignment with a US-led grouping may constrain India’s tradition of independent foreign policy decision-making.
• Governance Norms: Provision for a permanent chairman for life contradicts India’s support for democratic, rules-based global institutions.
• Fiscal Burden: A mandatory one-billion-dollar contribution could divert scarce resources from domestic development priorities.

Way Forward

• Calculated Ambiguity: India should initially seek observer status to assess the Board’s functioning without committing to full membership.
• Selective Engagement: New Delhi can support specific humanitarian and Gaza reconstruction projects without endorsing contentious governance provisions.
• UN Reform Push: India must leverage this development to renew its advocacy for urgent United Nations Security Council reforms.
• Interest Primacy: Final decisions must prioritise India’s energy security and diaspora welfare over external alignment pressures.

Read More> Gaza Board of Peace

{GS2 – IR – Issues} Carney Doctrine **

• Context (TH): In a Davos speech (WEF), Canadian PM Mark Carney pitched a new path in global politics, avoiding U.S.–China rivalry through “values-based realism”.

Core Idea of the “Carney Doctrine”

• Third Path: Middle powers should avoid being forced into U.S.–China camps and instead build a cooperative, independent pathway with real policy impact.
• Rupture Not Transition: Global order is facing a structural “rupture”, with no assured return to earlier liberal stability or predictable rule enforcement.
• Integration Risk: Deep economic and security integration can become long-term subordination, not mutual benefit, when coercion tools are routinely deployed.
• Strategic Autonomy: Sovereignty requires reducing dependency leverage through collective strength, not merely “performing sovereignty” while accepting external pressure.

Operational Approach

• Middle-Power Coalition: Countries “in between” must combine strategically, not compete individually for hegemon favour and short-term concessions.
• Calibrated Engagement: Work with all major powers, including China, but follow risk-managed positioning with clear red lines and safeguards.
• Cooperation Over Fortresses: Reject isolationism; argues that a “world of fortresses” becomes poorer, more fragile and less sustainable over time.
• Economic Diversification: Pursue multiple trade pacts and partnerships to reduce single-partner dependence and improve bargaining capacity in crises.

Implications for India

• Validates Caution: Supports India’s scepticism about excessive integration in finance, defence, and emerging technology ecosystems with dependency risks.
• Coalition Opportunity: Encourages India to lead middle-power diplomacy through issue coalitions for rules shaping and credible public goods delivery.
• New Trade Space: Carney explicitly mentions trade negotiations with India, strengthening economic engagement without surrendering strategic independence.

Global Implications

• Hard Power Reality: Middle powers remain vulnerable without credible capacity in trade resilience, defence readiness, and strategic technology ecosystems.
• Coalition Coordination: Middle-power unity is hard due to divergent interests, unequal exposure, and conflicting domestic political compulsions.
• Hegemon Retaliation: Greater middle-power coordination may trigger coercive responses like tariffs, sanctions, or financial pressure from big powers.

{GS2 – Argi – Issues} Goldilocks Farm Relief

• Context (IE): The year 2025–26 witnessed a bumper crop due to moderate temperatures & surplus monsoon rainfall, which together helped keep food inflation low.

• Annual consumer food inflation averaged -0.2% in 2025, and fell further to -2.7% during Jul–Dec 2025, indicating supply-led price correction.

Drivers of Reduced Food Inflation in 2025

Supply-Side Farm Conditions

• Reservoir Buffer: Before peak rabi sowing (end-Oct), water in 161 major reservoirs reached 90.8% of full storage, improving irrigation certainty and winter cropping outcomes.
• Wheat Record Sowing: Wheat area rose to 334.17 lakh ha this season, up from 328.04 lakh ha in the same period last year, boosting harvest expectations.
• Rabi Crop Expansion: Mustard increased from 86.57 to 89.36 lakh ha, rabi maize from 23.49 to 25.24 lakh ha, and masoor from 17.66 to 18.12 lakh ha.
• Heat Risk Benchmark: March heat spikes historically damage yields (e.g., 2002 mean anomaly +1.61°C all-India, +3.22°C in NW wheat belt), but current winter conditions reduce this risk.

Price Cooling in the Food Basket

• Potato Price Collapse: Potato wholesale prices in UP mandis fell to ₹600–700/quintal, compared to ₹1,200–1,300/quintal a year ago, reflecting large arrivals.
• Broad Deflation: CPI retail inflation in vegetables was -18.5% (Dec) and pulses -15.1%, showing broad food basket softening not limited to one crop.

Policy & External Cushion

• Govt Stocks High: Rice & wheat stock in government godowns stood at 95.4 million tonnes (Jan 1), nearly 4.5 times the required level, improving price-stabilisation ability.
• Global Supply Strong: 2025–26 projections show record output in major staples like wheat, rice, maize, soyabean and palm oil, reducing imported inflation risk.

{Prelims – Schemes} Extension of Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

• Context (PIB): The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) till FY 2030–31, including funding support for promotion, development, and gap funding.

• The decision ensures old-age income security, enhances financial inclusion, and supports the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.

About APY

• The APY, launched in 2015, is a Central Sector Scheme that provides guaranteed monthly pensions to workers in the unorganised sector.
• Objective: To develop a universal, inclusive social security system for the unorganised sector through voluntary retirement savings.
• Implementation: By the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the National Pension System (NPS) framework.
• Eligibility: Open to non-income-tax payers aged 18 to 40 years with a valid bank account.

Read More > 10 Years of APY | India’s Pension System

{Prelims – A&C} World’s Oldest Known Rock Art Discovered in Indonesia’s Muna Island *

• Context (TOI): Archaeologists discovered the world’s oldest known rock art in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, Indonesia.

• Artwork Type: The artwork is a hand stencil in which the fingers were deliberately narrowed to resemble a claw-like or animal feature.
• Dating Method: Uranium-series dating indicates the calcium carbonate layer covering the artwork is at least 67,800 years old.
• Age Record: This finding surpasses the previous 51,200-year-old record for a wild pig painting discovered in Leang Karampuang cave in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
• Human Timeline: The discovery supports the “long chronology” theory, suggesting modern humans reached Sahul before 65,000 years ago.
  • Sahul was a Pleistocene landmass linking Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania, and the Aru Islands.
• Cognitive Insight: The deliberate modification of hand shape indicates that early Southeast Asian humans possessed complex symbolic thinking far earlier than previously established.

{Prelims – Species} Two New Ant-Fly Species Discovered in Delhi and Western Ghats *

• Context (TH): Researchers discovered two new hoverfly species (colloquially known as ‘ant flies‘), Metadon ghorpadei and Metadon reemeri.

• Discovery Locations: M. ghorpadei was found in Delhi’s Northern Ridge Forest, while M. reemeri was recorded at the Siruvani Hills in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
• Taxonomic Group: Both species belong to the Microdontinae subfamily, known for myrmecophily.
  • Myrmecophily: The larvae live within ant colonies and feed on ant brood (eggs and larvae).
• Metadon ghorpadei: Characterised by pale brown antennae, yellow legs, and a body covered in shimmering golden hair.
• Metadon reemeri: It has blackish antennae, a rugged body, and deep black upper hind legs.
• Life Cycle: Both species spend most of their lives hidden within ant colonies and rarely visit flowers.

{Prelims – S&T} India’s First Privately Manufactured C-295 Aircraft *

• Context (CNBC): India’s first indigenous and privately manufactured C-295 aircraft will soon roll out of the Vadodara manufacturing facility.

• It is being built by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in partnership with Airbus Defence and Space.
• This marks a shift from public-sector dominance to private-sector participation in defence manufacturing, advancing the Make in India defence initiative.

About Airbus C-295

• The Airbus C-295 is a medium-range, twin-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.
• The aircraft will replace the Avro-748 fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• Payload Capacity: It can carry up to 10 tonnes of cargo at a cruising speed of 480 km/h.
• Range & Endurance: The aircraft offers a ferry range of 5,000–5,630 km with 11–13 hours endurance.
• Operational Flexibility: It features Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) capabilities, enabling operations from short, unpaved, and semi-prepared airstrips.
• Multirole Design: It supports troop transport, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), maritime patrol, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and disaster response.
• Unique Feature: Indian-built units will integrate an indigenous Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL).

{Prelims – PIN} Honouring Subhas Chandra Bose on Parakram Diwas

• Context (IE | PIB): PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary, observed as Parakram Diwas.

• January 23 was declared Parakram Diwas in 2021 to honour Bose’s courage and his selfless service.

Subhas Chandra Bose

• Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Odisha.
• He resigned from the Indian Civil Service (ICS) in 1921 to join the freedom struggle.
• He considered Chittaranjan Das as his political mentor and Swami Vivekananda as his spiritual guide.
• Ideology: Advocated Socialism and Purna Swaraj; rejected the 1928 Nehru Report’s Dominion Status.
• INC Presidency: Presided over the Haripura Session (1938) & established the National Planning Committee. Re-elected at the Tripuri Session (1939), he later resigned due to an ideological rift with the INC.
• Forward Bloc: Founded the Forward Bloc in 1939 to unite radical-left nationalists.
• INA Leadership: He assumed command of the Indian National Army in Singapore in 1943 and established the Rani of Jhansi Regiment as the INA’s women’s combat unit.
• Azad Hind: He proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore in 1943.

Read More > Subhas Chandra Bose

{Prelims – Awards} Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026 *

• Context (PIB): The Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026 for the Institutional and Individual categories has been announced.

• Institutional Category: Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) is selected for its community-centric disaster resilience model and preparedness practices.
• Individual Category: Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke is awarded for leading humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations during the 2024 Wayanad landslides and floods.
  • She supervised the 190-foot Bailey bridge construction at Chooralmala to restore connectivity.

More About the Award

• It is a national award instituted to recognise the exemplary service and contributions of individuals and institutions in the field of Disaster Management.
• The award is announced annually on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• The award is administered by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Prize Details: The institutional award includes a certificate and ₹51 lakh, while the individual award includes a certificate and ₹5 lakh.
• Eligibility: Only Indian nationals and institutions are eligible; self-nominations are allowed.

Read More > Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar