Current Affairs – March 02, 2026

{GS2 – IR} U.S. and Israel Launched a Joint Offensive against Iran **

• Context (TH): United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran under Operation Epic Fury (U.S.) and Operation Lion’s Roar (Israel).

• Outcome: The coordinated strike in Tehran killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and around 50 senior Iranian officials.
• Retaliation: Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. and Israeli interests in Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.
• Proxy Escalation: Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel following Khamenei’s death.
  • Counter-Strike: In response, Israel launched intensive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Factors behind the US-Israel Joint Attack on Iran

• Talks Breakdown: Nuclear talks in Geneva collapsed over U.S. demands that Iran dismantle the Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities and permanently ban uranium enrichment.
• Shia Crescent: Iran’s attempt to build a Tehran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon land corridor alarmed U.S.-backed allies over a shift in the regional power balance.
• Proxy Strategy: By backing the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran opened multiple pressure fronts against Israel and challenged U.S.-protected Red Sea routes.
• Power Alignment: Iran’s closer ties with Russia and China raise Western concern over a potential nuclear-backed strategic alignment.
• Sectarian Divide: Shia-majority Iran and the U.S.-aligned Sunni Arab bloc remain locked in a long-standing contest for dominance in West Asia.
• Existential Threat: Iran’s rejection of Israel’s legitimacy makes Tel Aviv treat any Iranian military buildup as an immediate survival threat.

Implications of US-Israel Joint Attack on Iran

• Energy Shock: An Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would push Brent crude prices upward and trigger a global energy crisis.
  • India imports 40% of its crude oil and nearly 50% of its natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Proxy Escalation: Iran’s mobilisation of regional proxies could widen the conflict into a multi-front war across the Levant and the Red Sea.
• Humanitarian Fallout: Sustained military operations risk economic collapse and a large-scale refugee exodus into neighbouring West Asian states.
• Containment Breakdown: Decapitation strikes against state leaders signal the erosion of the post-Cold War containment model that restrained direct inter-state conflict.
• Normalisation Strain: The conflict pressures Abraham Accords signatories to balance Western security ties against rising domestic anti-war sentiment.

Read More> Iran Drone Attacks on Israel

Current Affairs A-Z @50% OFF

{GS2 – IR} Pakistan Declared Open War on Afghanistan’s Taliban Government

• Context (IE): Pakistan and Afghanistan entered a state of open war after the escalation of long-standing border tensions.

• Operation: Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, targeting Afghan military installations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia.
• Afghan Retaliation: Afghanistan conducted air strikes on Nur Khan Airbase (Rawalpindi) and 12^th Division headquarters (Quetta).
• India’s Stand: India condemned Pakistan’s military actions and reaffirmed support for Afghan sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.

Factors Behind Afghanistan-Pakistan Open War

• TTP Sanctuary: The Afghan Taliban’s alleged sheltering of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has allowed the group to launch cross-border attacks on Pakistan.
• Border Dispute: By refusing to recognise the Durand Line, the Taliban keeps the colonial border a live flashpoint between the two countries.
• Fence Clashes: Afghan forces’ resistance to Pakistan’s 2,600 km border fencing has escalated into direct military clashes at disputed checkpoints.
• Lost Leverage: The Taliban’s post-2021 diplomatic and economic proximity to India has eroded Pakistan’s strategic influence over its western neighbour.
• Backfired Pressure: Repeated closures of the Torkham crossing have pushed Kabul toward Iranian trade routes, deepening the bilateral rift.

Key Implications for India

• LoC Relief: Escalation along the western border may compel Pakistan to reduce infiltration pressure along the Line of Control (LoC).
• Terror Spillover: Prolonged instability risks allowing Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) to regroup and expand its footprint across South Asia.
• Connectivity Risks: Ongoing conflict jeopardises India’s access to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and its Central Asian trade outreach.
• Refugee Pressure: A full-scale conflict risks a mass Afghan refugee inflow, putting direct pressure on India’s borders and foreign policy.

Read More > Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Clashes

{GS2 – IR} Re-engaging India’s Globally Positioned Talent

• Context (TH): Shifts in global migration policies have intensified India’s need for a structured strategy to attract, reintegrate, and retain highly skilled professionals positioned abroad.

Need for a Structured Talent Re-engagement Strategy

• Brain Circulation: With Indian nationals accounting for ~ 71% of H-1B approvals in FY2024, external policy disruptions create a window for converting brain drain into productive brain circulation.
• Innovation Deficit: India’s R&D expenditure remains at just 0.64% of GDP, significantly lower than that of advanced economies, underscoring the urgency of attracting globally trained researchers.
• Retention Constraints: Mobility studies indicate that wage incentives alone are insufficient, as long-term talent retention depends on networks, family support systems, and institutional ecosystems.
• Global Competition for Skills: Advanced economies increasingly deploy targeted migration and research policies, intensifying the race for high-end human capital.

Key Initiatives Supporting Talent Re-engagement

• GATI: Global Access to Talent from India is designed to strengthen engagement with globally positioned Indian professionals by facilitating cross-border innovation linkages.
• eMigrate V2.0: A digital migration governance platform improving transparency, worker protection, and skill-matching efficiency across overseas employment ecosystems.
• VAJRA: Visiting Advanced Joint Research is a faculty scheme that allows overseas scientists and academicians to work as adjunct faculty in Indian institutions, converting “brain drain” into “brain gain”.
• KIP: Know India Programme is a diaspora engagement initiative fostering cultural, economic, and institutional linkages between India and young overseas Indians.

Read More > India’s Diaspora

{GS3 – IE} PM Inaugurates Semiconductor Plant in Gujarat *

• Context (NOA): PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

• It was founded through a collaboration between Micron Technology (United States) and Tata Projects.
• This facility is the first large-scale project carried out under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
• Operations: The plant will assemble, test, and package advanced memory and storage solutions using wafers from Micron Technology’s global network.
• Significance: The facility supports India’s target of a $100 billion semiconductor ecosystem by 2030, decreases import reliance, and enhances India–US relations.

Read More > India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem | India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0

{GS3 – S&T} Prachand Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) *

• Context (PIB): President Droupadi Murmu undertook a sortie in the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter Prachand at Air Force Station Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
• Prachand is India’s first indigenous multi-role Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• Purpose: It is engineered for high-altitude warfare and thin-air operations in the Himalayan terrain.
• Altitude: Prachand is the only attack helicopter in the world capable of landing and taking off at 5,000 metres with a full combat load.
• Engines: It is powered by twin Shakti turboshaft engines, co-developed by HAL and France’s Safran.
• Performance: The helicopter has a maximum speed of 268 km/h and a combat range of 550 km.
• Stealth Features: It has a low radar cross-section, radar-absorbing materials, and an infrared suppressor.
• Armament: The LCH is designed to carry a 20 mm nose-mounted turret gun, laser-guided rockets, Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missiles, and Mistral-2 air-to-air missiles.

{Prelims – Initiatives} Government Bank Dashboard and Manual Initiatives

• Context (PIB): Ministry of Finance launched Government Bank Dashboard and the Government Bank Manual to improve governance in banks handling government transactions.

• Government Bank Dashboard is a centralised digital platform for real-time tracking of government banking transactions and fund utilisation.
• Government Bank Manual prescribes standardised procedures, reporting obligations, and strict reconciliation timelines for public and private-sector banks.
• Objective: The initiatives aim to reduce procedural ambiguity, mitigate operational risks, and establish uniform benchmarks among participating banks.
• Significance: The initiatives shift oversight from reactive corrections to proactive, real-time performance monitoring and institutional accountability.

{Prelims – Initiatives} Football for Schools (F4S) Initiative

• Context (PIB): Union Minister of State for Education presided over a football distribution event in West Bengal as part of the Football for Schools (F4S) initiative.

• The F4S is a global initiative launched by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 2019 in collaboration with UNESCO.
• Objective: Integrate football into education to improve access and support children’s education, development, and empowerment.
• India’s Implementation: Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) acts as the nodal agency under the Ministry of Education, supported by All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Sports Authority of India (SAI).
• Target: F4S aims to benefit nearly 700 million children globally, with 50% female participation; India has committed to reaching 25 million children.
• Policy Alignment: It aligns with India’s NEP 2020 and with global frameworks, including the UN SDGs and WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA).

{Prelims – Species} Nine Cheetahs from Botswana Translocated Under Project Cheetah *

• Context (TH): Nine cheetahs from Botswana arrived at Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh, under Project Cheetah.

• This is the third African cheetah batch translocated to India, after 8 from Namibia (2022) and 12 from South Africa (2023).
• Population: With six females and three males added, India’s total cheetah population has reached 48.
  • Kuno National Park houses 45 cheetahs, including 28 India-born cubs.
  • Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh has 3 translocated adult cheetahs.

Read More > Reintroduction of Cheetahs in India

{Prelims – S&T} Meningococcal Infection *

• Context (TH): Meghalaya issued a public health advisory after two Agniveer trainees died from suspected meningococcal infection in Shillong.

• Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis.
• It primarily affects the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges) and can also lead to severe blood poisoning (septicemia).
• Transmission: The pathogen spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets or saliva and has no animal vector.
• Symptoms: Include sudden high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, photophobia, and a non-blanching purpuric rash.
• Fatality: The disease can become fatal within 24–48 hours without immediate intervention; 10–15% of patients die even with treatment.
• Treatment: It is preventable with vaccines and treatable with high-dose intravenous antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or penicillin.
• Disease Burden: The ‘Meningitis Belt’, a region in sub-Saharan Africa stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia, bears the highest global burden.
• Global Target: The WHO roadmap “Defeat Meningitis by 2030” aims to eliminate epidemics, reduce vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis cases by 50%, and cut related deaths by 70%.

{Prelims – S&T} Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

• Context (RE): Scientists have developed antibodies that successfully inhibit Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in preclinical trials.

• EBV, also known as Human Herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is a double-stranded DNA virus that infects almost 95% of the global adult population.
• Transmission: It primarily spreads through saliva, and also via blood transfusions or organ transplants.
• Primary Infection: EBV commonly causes Infectious mononucleosis, marked by fever, sore throat, fatigue, and lymph node swelling.
• Associated Diseases: It is a potential prerequisite for Multiple Sclerosis and is linked to Burkitt lymphoma (blood cancer), as well as gastric and nasopharyngeal cancers.
• Unique Feature: The virus remains lifelong in B lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) in latent form after primary infection. It can reactivate due to stress or a weak immune system.

{Prelims – S&T} New Study on Evolutionary Shift in Malaria Vectors

• Context (TH): A recent genetic study found that certain malaria-transmitting mosquitoes began biting hominins around 1.8 million years ago.

• Geographic Origin: This evolutionary shift occurred in the Anopheles leucosphyrus group in Southeast Asia, on Sundaland.
• Evolutionary Trigger: The emergence of human-feeding behaviour (anthropophily) coincided with the arrival of Homo erectus in the region.
• Comparative Timeline: This adaptation predates similar human-feeding behaviour in African Anopheles gambiae by over one million years.
• Significance: The study offers biological evidence of early hominin migration into Southeast Asia, supporting the scarce fossil record.

Read More > Malaria | GM Mosquitoes to control Malaria

{Prelims – Defence} Nyoma Air Base *

• Context (WION): India’s upgraded Mudh-Nyoma Air Force Station is now the world’s highest operational fighter-capable airfield.

• Location: The airfield is in the Changthang region of Eastern Ladakh, at an elevation of 13,700 feet, about 23–35 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Executing Agency: Border Roads Organisation (BRO) upgraded the airfield under Project Himank.

• Strategic Access: It enables swift mobilisation to sensitive zones such as Pangong Tso, Demchok, and Depsang Plains along the eastern Ladakh frontier.
• Operational Features: Includes an all-weather runway capable of handling advanced fighter jets, heavy transport aircraft, Apache helicopters, and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).
• Significance: The base strengthens India’s rapid military response to China while supporting disaster relief and regional connectivity in Ladakh.

{Prelims – Defence} Chungthang–Lachen Axis and Taram Chu Bridge *

• Context (PIB): Recently, the Government of India inaugurated the restored Chungthang–Lachen Axis and the 400-ft “Bailey Suspension” Taram Chu Bridge in North Sikkim.

Just-Released Books!

Chungthang – Lachen Axis

• Location: Situated in North Sikkim, a strategically sensitive Himalayan district.
• Length & Connectivity: A 28 km critical road stretch restoring access between Chungthang & Lachen.
• Strategic Significance: Restores a vital border-logistics corridor to forward areas in North Sikkim, enabling rapid troop mobilisation and civilian relief movement in disaster-hit terrain.

Taram Chu Bridge

• Type & Structure: A 400-foot Bailey Suspension Bridge constructed across the Taram Chu River.
• Restoration Role: Rebuilt as part of post-disaster infrastructure recovery following severe landslides.
• Significance: Provides all-weather, disaster-resilient crossing over a flash-flood/landslide-prone river, ensuring uninterrupted supplies, evacuation and security force access.