Current Affairs – July 15, 2026

{GS1 – A&C} Ravidassia Demand for Separate Religion *

• Context (IE): Ravidassia community has renewed its demand for creation of a separate “Ravidassia religion” category in the Census.

• The community argues that while Ravidassia has evolved into a distinct religious identity with its own places of worship, scripture, symbols and religious practices, there is no dedicated option for followers to record this identity during the Census.

About Ravidassia Community

• The community follows the teachings of Guru Ravidas (15^th–16^th century), a renowned Bhakti Movement saint, social reformer, and mystic poet.
• Core Philosophy: Guru Ravidas advocated social equality, dignity, and the abolition of caste discrimination, and envisioned Begampura, an ideal society free from sorrow, fear, and inequality.
• Population: Punjab has India’s largest concentration of Ravidassias in India and around 32% of the state’s population comprises Dalits.
• Major Institution: Dera Sachkhand Ballan (Punjab) founded in the early 20^th century by Baba Sant Pipal Das is the most influential religious institution of the Ravidassia community.
• Holy Scripture: The community adopted Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji, containing around 200 hymns of Guru Ravidas, as its principal religious text in place of the Guru Granth Sahib in Ravidassia religious places.

Demand For Separate Religion

• A violent attack on a Ravidassia congregation in Vienna, Austria, (2009) resulted in the death of Sant Ramanand, triggering widespread protests and strengthening the community’s separate religious identity.
• Following the incident, Dera Sachkhand Ballan formally declared Ravidassia as a separate religion (2010), ending its historical association with Sikhism.

Read More> Sant Ravidas and the Vision of Begumpura

{GS2 – IR} India-US Defence Technology Relations **

• Context (TH): Successive India-US defence frameworks have produced ambitious political declarations but delivered limited technology transfer and co-production on the ground.

Major India-US Defence Tech Initiatives

• Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI, 2012): Establishes joint working groups on air, land, naval, and aircraft carrier systems, shifting the relationship from arms sales to co-development.
• Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET, 2022): Integrates academic institutions and businesses to collaborate on quantum computing, AI, cybersecurity, and 5G/6G technologies.
• India-U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X, 2023): Operates the India-to-America (I2A) Launchpad to help Indian dual-use technology start-ups enter the US military market.
• GE F414 Fighter Engine Programme (2023): Transfers 80% of American jet-engine technology to HAL for the domestic manufacture of Tejas Mk-II propulsion systems.
• Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA, 2024): Commits both nations to reciprocal priority support for defence goods and services during unanticipated supply chain disruptions.
• COMPACT (2025): Establishes a ten-year framework to deepen co-production of missile, air defence, maritime, and undersea warfare systems, and to streamline export controls.
• Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA, 2025): Provides a framework for joint production of unmanned and AI-enabled defence systems, including drones and maritime autonomous vehicles.

Challenges in India-USA Defence Tech Ties

• Source-Code Lockout: International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) block the transfer of proprietary software required for India’s independent development of high-end strategic systems.
• Offset Friction: American export control laws’ restrictions on technology transfers as offsets (mandatory reinvestment deals) prompted India to scrap the offset requirement for government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in 2020.
• Acquisition Lag: The 4-5-year dual-approval process through the U.S. State Department and the Indian Defence Acquisition Council erodes the technological relevance of transferred systems.
• IPR Veto: The routine withholding of intellectual property rights by American prime contractors forces Indian maintenance and overhaul cycles into permanent dependence on foreign approvals.
• Network Isolation: Indian military’s reliance on Russian platforms for nearly 60% of its inventory prevents the integration of highly secure American tactical data links into the legacy fleet.
• Engine Dependency: American retention of the proprietary single-crystal blade-casting process in the GE F414 deal forces India to import raw cast blades indefinitely.

Significance of US for India’s Defence Tech

• Supply Chain Anchorage: The $20 billion bilateral defence trade secures India’s access to critical military subsystems amid parallel Russian supply-chain disruptions.
• Propulsion Sovereignty: 80% technology transfer under the GE F414 agreement supplies advanced tech like powder metallurgy and hot-end coatings, to support domestic aircraft engine manufacturing.
• Supply Resilience: The 2024 Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) guarantees reciprocal priority delivery of defence goods to circumvent global export-control bottlenecks.
• Tactical Interoperability: American platforms across Indian forces, including C-17, P-8I, and AH-64E Apache, embed highly secure tactical data links into India’s frontline military squadrons.
• Strategic Anchor: India’s unique 2016 designation as a Major Defence Partner provides a formalised crisis-consultation framework that is denied to other non-treaty states.
• Targeting Precision: Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) provides the real-time geospatial intelligence required to track regional submarine deployments.

{GS2 – IR} India Bans Imports of Goods Made Using Forced Labour

• Context (TH I ET): Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has amended the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, empowering the Central Government to prohibit, through separate notifications, the import of goods found to have been produced wholly or partly using forced labour.

• The DGFT will investigate suspected cases and recommend import bans after due consultation if conclusive evidence is found.
• The change also brings FTP in line with the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930, which defines Forced labour’ as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”
• The move comes as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is examining India’s compliance under a Section 301 investigation, which could result in additional tariffs if concerns remain unresolved. At present, most Indian exports to the US are subject to a 10% tariff.

{GS2 – IR} Trial in Absentia

• Context (TH): Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed is set to face a trial in absentia following the issuance of a non-bailable warrant by a special NIA court in Jammu for his role in the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.

• A trial in absentia under Section 356 of the BNSS, 2023, allows any competent trial court to conduct a criminal trial and pronounce judgment without the physical presence of the accused.
• CrPC, 1973, restricted courts to recording witness statements only when the accused absconded, whereas the BNSS permits a final verdict.
• Eligibility: The provision applies exclusively to proclaimed offenders declared under Section 84 for offences punishable with 10 years, life imprisonment, or death.
• The court must issue two consecutive arrest warrants (at least 30 days apart), publish notices in newspapers, display notices at the accused’s residence and local police station, and observe a 90-day waiting period after filing of charges.
• The trial may continue in the accused’s absence, with witness depositions remaining admissible. If the accused later appears, the trial resumes from that stage, though the court may permit examination of earlier evidence.
• A proclaimed offender cannot appeal unless they appear before the appellate court, and no appeal against conviction is allowed after three years from the date of judgment.

Significance of Trial in Absentia

• Verdict Finality: The upgrade from the Section 299 CrPC evidentiary limit replaces the indefinite suspension of trials with a final, enforceable criminal conviction.
• Extradition Bypass: An in absentia trial for the 71 fugitives abroad in 2024–25 ensures formal adjudication despite stalled diplomatic processes.
• Testimony Shield: The mandate for audio-video recording preserves perishable witness depositions against memory degradation during decadal extradition battles.
• Immunity Breach: The BNSS framework converts the permanent evasion of jurisdiction by cross-border operatives such as Hafiz Saeed into an internationally recordable criminal conviction.

Challenges Associated with Trial in Absentia

• Extradition Block: The absence of an automatic right to a retrial violates Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and hinders the extradition of fugitives from Western jurisdictions.
• Instruction Deficit: Conducting a trial without the accused deprives the state-appointed counsel of the factual evidence and alibi details necessary to mount an effective defence.
• Appeal Forfeiture: The strict three-year appellate limit under Section 356(7) permanently bars judicial review for an individual incarcerated abroad during that window.

{GS2 – Social Sector} Draft National Health Research Policy, 2026

• Context (TH): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the Draft National Health Research Policy, 2026 for public consultation.

• Prepared by the Department of Health Research, the draft is the 1^st attempt at creating a unified national framework for health research.
• The policy seeks to foster a trusted, inclusive, self-reliant and impact-oriented health research ecosystem that is responsive to the healthcare needs of the people.

Key Highlights

• National Target: Increase government spending on health research from the current 0.024% of GDP to 0.072% by 2037 and to 0.15% by 2047.
• National Health Research Agenda (NHRA): It will be prepared periodically to align research effort and investment with national health needs, health-system priorities, equity, preparedness, scientific opportunity, indigenous innovation, and strategic national importance.
• Three-Tier Governance Structure: The National Health Research Stewardship Committee (strategic coordination), the Department of Health Research (nodal implementing agency), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (scientific and technical lead).
• Greater Role for States: It proposes that states prepare their own health research agendas based on local disease patterns while aligning them with national priorities.
• Ethical Oversight: It proposes simplifying ethics approvals for multicentre studies, setting up a National Research Integrity Office (NRIO), encouraging responsible use of AI in health research, and expanding shared access to laboratories, biobanks and other publicly funded research facilities.
• Outcome-Based Research Evaluation: Research performance will be assessed not only through publications, citations, and patents, but also based on its contribution to public policy, clinical practice, indigenous technologies, health programmes, institutional capacity, health equity, and societal impact.
  • The ICMR Impact of Research and Innovation Scale will serve as a national reference framework for multidimensional assessment, alongside other qualitative and quantitative assessments.

{GS3 – IE} First Index of Services Production (ISP) *

• Context (PIB): MoSPI released India’s first trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for April 2026.

• 14 of 19 sub-sectors show double-digit growth, indicating expansion in the formal services sector.
• Accommodation and food services grew 37.2%, followed by retail trade (30.8%), administrative & support (28.7%), real estate (27.7%), and telecommunications (22.8%), while air transport contracted by 13.9%, and railway transport by 0.4%.

About ISP

• ISP is a monthly high-frequency indicator measuring short-term changes in the real output of India’s formal services sector, serving as the counterpart to the IIP.
• It covers around 60% of the services economy across 19 formal sub-sectors and will be released within 60 days of the reference month.
• Developed under a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), ISP uses 2024–25 as the base year and a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index formula based on GVA to separate real growth from price distortions.
• Data Source: Aggregated GST data for market services, administrative records for sectors like railways, aviation, banking, and insurance, and upcoming ASISSE data for health and education.

• Significance: IIP tracks manufacturing monthly, but the service sector—contributing over 55% of India’s GVA—lacked a similar indicator.

Significance and Limitations of ISP

{Prelims – IS} NAMASTE Day

• Context (PIB): Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment celebrated the 3^rd NAMASTE Day on July 14, marking three years since the launch of the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme in 2023.

• NAMASTE Day is dedicated to honouring sanitation workers including sewer and septic tank workers, waste pickers and former manual scavengers for their vital role in safeguarding public health and environmental sanitation.

Read More> NAMASTE Scheme

{Prelims – Polity} Atmanirbhar Panchayat Program *

• Context (PIB): Ministry of Panchayati Raj promotes Financial Self-Reliance of Panchayats under the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Program.

• It is a national challenge programme by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) that helps eligible Gram Panchayats (GPs) and Block Panchayats (BPs) develop financially viable, revenue-generating projects.
• The programme operates under the broader umbrella of the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).

Key Features

• Eligibility: To participate, Gram Panchayats must have a minimum OSR of ₹50 lakh, and Block Panchayats must have an OSR of ₹1 crore, with at least three years of their tenure remaining.
• Written documentation of Gram Sabha’s consent is a mandatory requirement for submission.
• Total Proposal: 50 projects in Year 1, and 100 each in Years 2, 3, and 4. A maximum of 10 projects per state in Year 1 and 20 per state in Years 2–4.
• Reward: Winner panchayats receive end-to-end technical assistance to develop & implement the project.

{Prelims – S&T} Qualification Tests for Gaganyaan Crew Module System

• Context (TH): ISRO completed 3 major qualification tests for the Gaganyaan crew module systems to guarantee astronaut safety, structural integrity, and smooth operation during re-entry and landing:

1. Crew Module Uprighting System (CMUS): Uses a stored cold-gas system to automatically return the capsule to a safe, upright position after splashdown.
2. Crew-Service Module Connect Disconnect System: Automates separation of the electrical and hydro-pneumatic umbilical links between the crew and service modules before re-entry.
3. Apex Cover Separation System: Shields the parachute and detaches before parachute deployment.

Read More> Gaganyaan Mission

{Prelims – S&T} Tritium Filtration

• Context (TH): Researchers have developed a Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-based material that separates tritium from nuclear wastewater by replacing trapped tritium with ordinary hydrogen using chromium-oxygen clusters and nitrogen-hydrogen groups.

• It offers an affordable way to address Fukushima’s advanced treatment system (ALPS) challenge, which removes 62 radioactive elements but not tritium.

About Tritium

• Tritium (³H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with two neutrons, a half-life of 12.3 years, and emits low-energy beta radiation. In nuclear reactors, it combines with oxygen to form tritiated water (HTO).
• Sources:
  • Natural: Cosmic rays interact with atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen, producing tritium that enters the global water cycle through precipitation.
  • Artificial: Produced in nuclear reactors as a by-product or by neutron irradiation of lithium or boron.

• Use: As fuel for next-generation nuclear fusion reactors with Deuterium and as a booster for nuclear warheads to increase their explosive yield.
• Filtration Challenge: Tritiated water is chemically similar to ordinary water, so conventional filtration methods like RO and ALPS can’t separate tritium.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

• IR – India-U.K. CETA (TH): The India-U.K. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and Double Contribution Convention (DCC) came into force on July 15. The India-U.K. CETA and the DCC were signed in July 2025.
• IR – Manas and Mahabharata Centre (TOI): International Centre for Civilizational Studies in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, launched jointly by Kyrgyzstan’s Manas National Academy and India’s Centre for Studies of International Relations (CSIR) to foster comparative research on the Kyrgyz epic Manas and the Mahabharata.
• Agri – Paraquat Dichloride (TH): Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a draft order imposing a nationwide ban on its manufacture, import, transport, distribution, sale, and use, joining over 70 countries, including EU members and China, that have banned or restricted paraquat. It is a non-selective herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds and grasses and as a crop desiccant or defoliant, but even small exposures to it cause irreversible organ failure and death, with no known antidote.
• In News – Bihar Heli-Tourism and Air Tourism Service Scheme 2026 (TH): Launched by Bihar’s Tourism Department and the Directorate of Civil Aviation, the scheme connects Patna to key ecological, historical, and religious sites like Valmikinagar, Rajgir, and Maa Mundeshwari Temple via subsidised small aircraft and helicopters, making travel affordable. It aims to make Bihar a global tourism hub.