Current Affairs – July 8, 2026

GS2 – IR } India-Indonesia Relations **

• Context (PIB): Prime Minister of India undertook a State Visit to Indonesia from 6-8 July 2026.

• During the visit, Indian Prime Minister was conferred the ‘Bintang Adipurna of Republic of Indonesia’ medal of honour, the highest civilian honour of Indonesia.

Key Outcomes of the Visit

• Defence: Elevation of defence cooperation through cooperation on BrahMos Missile System, and Astra Air-to-Air Missile.
  • India welcomed the positioning of an International Liaison Officer (ILO) from Indonesia at Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean region (IFC-IOR) Gurugram.
• Health: Signing of the Implementation Arrangement on Professional Health Workforce Development.
• Infrastructure and Connectivity: Launch of Indonesia Open Network (ION), based on India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for participation of Indonesian MSMEs in digital economy.
• Food security: Agreement on supply of 100 tonnes of high-quality DWR 162 wheat seeds to Indonesia.
• Culture: Inauguration of India-supported project towards restoration and conservation of UNESCO World Heritage Prambanan Temple Compounds by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
  • Commemorate 2026–2027 as “Tagore–Dewantara Year of India–Indonesia Cultural and Educational Diplomacy” marking centenary of Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Indonesia in 1927.
  • Setting up of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore branch campus at Singhasari SEZ, Indonesia

Key Facts on India-Indonesia Relations

• Background: 2024 marked 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. Signed Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018.
• Defence: Formal agreement in Defence Cooperation was signed in 2001 with an MoU signed in 2018.
  • Participate in several exercises like IND-INDO CORPAT, Multilateral Naval Exercises Komodo and Milan, Bilateral Army Exercise Garuda Shakti, Bilateral Naval Exercise Samudra Shakti, Ex Elang Shakti, Ex Super Garuda Shield 2025, etc.
• Bilateral Trade: Indonesia is second largest trading partner of India in ASEAN region.
  • Bilateral trade increased from US$ 4.3 billion (2005-06) to US$ 28.15 billion in (2024-25).
  • India is the largest buyer of crude palm oil from Indonesia.

{GS2 – IR } India and the Indo-Pacific **

• Context (IE | IE): PM Modi’s three-nation visit to Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand reflects India’s evolving Indo-Pacific policy amid geopolitical disruptions.

• The Indo-Pacific is a multipolar, integrated maritime region from eastern Africa across the Indian Ocean to the central and western Pacific Ocean.
• India views the region as an inclusive, free, and open geopolitical space anchored in ASEAN centrality.

Significance of Indo-Pacific

• Trade Centrality: Accounts for nearly 50% of global maritime trade and includes key chokepoints like Strait of Malacca, Sunda & Bab-el-Mandeb.
• Economic Hub: Contributes over 60% of global GDP and drives nearly two-thirds of economic growth.
• Resource Security: Holds vast marine resources, offshore hydrocarbons, and critical minerals needed for clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
• Energy Lifelines: Sustains oil and LNG flows via strategic routes like the Strait of Hormuz and Malacca.
• Indian Leverage: Provides India with a geostrategic buffer and an economic base to pursue ‘Act East’ ambitions and safeguard its Blue Economy.

India’s Key Initiatives in Indo-Pacific

• SAGAR Vision (2015): The core doctrine of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) positions India as a security provider and preferred first responder for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
• IPOI Framework (2019): The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative provides a voluntary framework for collaboration across seven pillars, including security, ecology, and connectivity.
• Minilateral Platforms: India actively participates in regional platforms, like the East Asia Summit and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), for promoting multilateral diplomacy.
• G Minus Two: India is strengthening independent defence and infrastructure ties with middle powers like Indonesia (e.g., developing Sabang Port), Japan, & Vietnam, without relying on US-China binary.

Key Challenges in Indo-Pacific

• China’s Assertiveness: China’s South China Sea posture, String of Pearls strategy, and non-adherence to UNCLOS pose direct security risks.
• Debt Vulnerability: Unsustainable infrastructure financing exposes small island nations to economic pressure and shifts regional power balances.
• Institutional Weakness: Regional bodies like IORA and ASEAN are often divided or lack the capacity to enforce rules like UNCLOS.
• Non-Traditional Threats: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, and sea-level rise endanger vulnerable island nations.
• Chokepoint Vulnerability: The region remains exposed to crises like the 2026 West Asia conflict and Hormuz disruptions, risking congestion, piracy, and blockades near Malacca.

{GS2 – Social Sector} UDISE+ Report

• Context (PIB): Ministry of Education’s UDISE+ 2025-26 report recorded gains in teacher strength, reduced dropouts, and digital infrastructure across India’s school education system.

Key Findings of the Report

• Total student enrolment marginally increased to 247.2 million in 2025-26, reversing three consecutive years of decline. The total number of schools declined marginally to 14.67 lakh.
• Gender Parity: Girls account for 48.4% of the 24.72 crore students enrolled. Women constitute 54.9% of India’s 1.03 crore school teachers.
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Improved across all school stages: 10 (foundational), 12 (preparatory), 17 (middle), and 21 (secondary), all well below the NEP 2020 benchmark of 30:1.
  • Single-teacher schools declined by 3%, while zero-enrolment schools fell sharply by 29%.
• Infrastructure: Computer access in schools reached 69.9%, and internet connectivity expanded to 67.4%. Grid electricity now covers 95.0% of schools.
  • 98.5% of schools have girls’ toilets and 99.5% ensure safe drinking water. 58.2% have disability ramps, though the availability of playgrounds declined to 81.9%.
• Retention: Secondary-stage student retention rose to 51.9%, and the dropout rate fell to 7.0%. The middle-to-secondary transition rate improved to 88.3%. Foundational and preparatory retention declined marginally in 2025-26, after three consecutive years of improvement.

{GS3 – IE} World Bank’s Income Group Classification *

• Context (MC): Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Delhi have surpassed the World Bank‘s upper-middle-income threshold of $4,636 per capita income.

• India remains a lower-middle-income economy with a national per capita income of $2,760.
• The Gini coefficient of per capita income across Indian states rose from 0.230 in 1994-95 to 0.261 in 2025-26, signalling deepening inter-state economic divergence. Middle-income states grew 36.7 times since 1994-95, outpacing the richest states (28.3x) and the poorest (26.6x).

About Income-Group Classification

• World Bank classifies countries into 4 income groups annually on July 1, based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita using the Atlas method.
  • Atlas Method: It averages exchange rates over three years and adjusts for inflation differences between the domestic economy and international rates.

{GS3 – Infra} Report on India’s Energy Statistics Framework

• Context (PIB): MoSPI released the Dr Rangan Banerjee Committee report that aims to address data inconsistencies and develop an internationally comparable energy statistics framework for India.

Key Data Gaps Identified

• Biofuel Blindspot: Firewood, dung cake, crop residue, and modern biofuels make up 31%-34% of India’s annual energy use, but the country lacks a national database and depends on UN models.
• Coal Misclassification: Imported and auctioned coal account for nearly 20% of consumption but are categorised as ‘miscellaneous’ and not tracked separately by sector.
• Unmeasured Captive Power: Heavy industries generate off-grid electricity for self-use, but this captive power largely remains outside national electricity statistics.
• EV Demand Gap: Electric Vehicle electricity consumption merges with domestic and commercial grids, preventing separate estimation of transport-sector electricity demand.

Major Recommendations

• Global Alignment: Transition to international standards such as ISIC Rev. 5, National Industrial Classification 2025 (NIC-2025), and Standard International Energy Product Classification (SIEC).
• Methodological Consistency: All energy ministries should apply uniform energy conversion factors to ensure comparable inter-ministerial reporting.

• Industrial Coal Mapping: Use the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) framework to identify sector-wise consumption of imported and auctioned coal.
• Efficiency Benchmarking: Expand the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) database to capture industry-specific energy-efficiency data.
• Subnational Governance: Create annual State and Union Territory energy statistics to strengthen decentralised planning and renewable-energy deployment.

Read More > India’s Energy Sector

{Prelims – Envi} Mizoram University NHM: 21^st Designated Repository

• Context (PIB): Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified the Natural History Museum (NHM) at Mizoram University, Aizawl, as India’s 21^st Designated Repository.

• NHM is located in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, specialises in lesser-studied taxa (like pteridophytes and macrofungi), and documents rare endemic species from Northeast India.

About Designated Repository

• A Designated Repository, notified under Section 39 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, is a scientific institution authorised to receive, preserve, and maintain biological specimens in safe custody.
• MoEFCC notifies these repositories in consultation with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).
• Researchers discovering a new taxon (species or subspecies) are legally required to deposit the Holotype and corresponding voucher specimens to secure scientific validity and legal traceability.
• Physical specimens housed in these repositories give the NBA the evidentiary basis to enforce Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) norms against commercial exploitation and bio-piracy.

{Prelims – Infra] Kamarajar Port

• Context (PIB): Kamarajar Port became the second Major Port of India, after Visakhapatnam Port, to offer a draft capability of 18 metres.

• It makes Kamarajar Port a deep-water, Cape Compliant port (capable of handling fully laden Capesize bulk carriers) with cargo carrying capacity of up to 1,70,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT).

About Kamarajar Port

• Formerly Known as Ennore Port, located on East Coast about 24 km north of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
• Declared a Major Port under Indian Ports Act, 1908 in March 1999 and was incorporated as Ennore Port Limited under the Companies Act, 1956 in October 1999, later renamed Kamarajar Port Limited.

{Prelims – IR} Teesta River Dispute

• Context (TH): Bangladesh and China agreed to expedite a joint feasibility study for the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP).

• India has raised security concerns about Chinese infrastructure and personnel near the Siliguri Corridor, the only land link between the Indian mainland and its northeastern states.

About Teesta River Dispute

• The transboundary Teesta River dispute between India and Bangladesh centres on equitable sharing of water, particularly during the lean or dry season (December to March).
• Bangladesh seeks an equitable 50-50 share during the dry months, whereas India has claimed a 55% share to sustain massive irrigation networks and drinking water needs in West Bengal.
• Water diversion from the upstream Gazoldoba Barrage in West Bengal allegedly caused crop losses in northern Bangladesh, where districts are heavily reliant on Teesta for irrigation.
• A draft 2011 treaty allocating 37.5% to Bangladesh and 42.5% to India during the dry season was stalled by political opposition from West Bengal to protect farmers of Northern West Bengal.

Read More> Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh

{Prelims – PIN} Girish Bharadwaj

• Context (IE): Girish Bharadwaj, popularly known as ‘Bridge Man of India’ passed away in Karnataka.

• Known for constructing low-cost hanging bridges in remotest parts of India, he built his first hanging footbridge over Payaswini River at Aramburu in Sullia (1989).
• Honoured with the country’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2017.
• Conferred with honorary doctorates by Institutions like University of Mysuru; and a biopic titled ‘Sethu Bandhu’ on his life’s work announced by filmmaker Santhosh Kodenkeri.

{Prelims – S&T} Akash Tarang

• Context (TH): The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of Akash Tarang, and the Fixed-Wing High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (FW-HAPS).

• It also approved the procurement of Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) systems, Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) weapon systems, Very Short-Range Air Defence Systems (V-SHORADS), and jet-based Kamikaze drone systems.

Key Features of Akash Tarang

• It is an indigenous Anti-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Electronic Warfare System, designed to provide effective protection against hostile drones.
• Unlike kinetic “hard-kill” systems that physically blast targets using ammunition or missiles, Akash Tarang neutralises drones by targeting their radio frequencies. The platform works by detecting, tracking, and jamming the essential control signals of invading drones.
• Akash Tarang functions as a key digital pillar in India’s broader “Sudarshan Chakra” layered airspace network, operating closely alongside new systems like MRSAM and V-SHORADS.

{Prelims – S&T} Quasars *

• Context (TH): The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope detected two of the earliest known quasars formed when the Universe was about 670 million years old (Epoch of Reionisation).

• A quasar is the extremely bright core of a distant galaxy powered by a supermassive black hole consuming nearby gas and dust. They emit energy as radio waves, visible light, UV rays, X-rays, and gamma rays.
• Significance: Serve as cosmic lighthouses, enabling scientists to study intervening gas and trace the structural evolution of the early Universe.

{Prelims – Sci} SpudCell *

• Context (TH): Researchers have developed SpudCell, the World’s first synthetic cell assembled entirely from non-living chemical components.

• SpudCell is a bottom-up synthetic cell, meaning it is built from non-living chemicals rather than by modifying an existing living cell. It is composed of a lipid membrane (liposome) enclosing synthetic DNA, enzymes, and other cellular components.
• It can perform several fundamental cellular functions, including Taking in nutrients (“feeding”); Growing; Replicating its DNA and Dividing into daughter cells.
• It helps scientists understand minimum requirements for life and the possible origin of living cells on Earth & has potential applications in drug delivery, vaccine development, disease modelling, and biotechnology etc.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

• Sports – Durand Cup (PIB): President unveiled the three trophies of the Durand Cup Football Tournament 2026 – The Durand Cup (original prize), The Shimla Trophy (first presented by residents of Shimla in 1904) and The President’s Cup (first presented by Dr Rajendra Prasad). Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third-oldest operational football competition, established in 1888 in Shimla by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, then Foreign Secretary of British India.
• S&T – WD 1856 b (TH): An exoplanet with 4.3-10.9 Jupiter masses, orbiting a white dwarf star roughly 80 light-years away at a distance of just 0.02 astronomical units, with an orbital period of ~34 hours.
  • James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) transmission spectroscopy of WD 1856 b confirmed the first atmospheric detection of a dead-star planet, revealing a carbon-enriched envelope containing ~7% methane and aerosols.

• Social Sector – Vepdegestrant (TH): World’s first PROTAC (proteolysis-targeting chimaera) therapy approved by the U.S. FDA for adults with advanced or metastatic ER+, HER2− breast cancer harbouring an ESR1 (estrogen receptor gene) mutation, after at least one prior endocrine therapy.
  • Unlike conventional endocrine therapies, this oral PROTAC simultaneously binds the oestrogen receptor (ERα) and cereblon (a protein-tagging enzyme), directing the ubiquitin-proteasome system (the cell’s protein disposal machinery) to degrade the receptors driving cancer growth.