Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 12th Sep 2026

Resplendent Shrub Frog:

A recent survey across the protected areas of the Munnar Wildlife Division found that Eravikulam National Park (ENP) near Munnar in Idukki has emerged as a thriving habitat for the endangered Resplendent Shrub Frog.

• Resplendent Shrub Frog belongs to the family Rhacophoridae.
• It is normally, cold-climate-adapted frogs move to higher elevations as temperatures rise.
• It is endemic to the high-altitude shola-grassland ecosystems of the Anamudi region in Kerala’s Eravikulam National Park.
• It is characterized by pronounced crawling behaviour. It is a ground-dwelling species.
• They are nocturnal and hide from artificial light sources.
• It undergoes direct development, without a free swimming tadpole stage.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered

Eravikulam National Park:

• It is an important protected area located in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
• It is also surrounded by other protected areas like Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Pampadum Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, and Kurinjimala Sanctuary.
• It is most famous for being the largest habitat of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr.
• It is also known as the “Land of Neelakurinji”, a rare flower that blooms once every 12 years.
• It is dominated by high-altitude grasslands and rolling plateaus.
• Anamudi Peak (2695 m), which is the highest peak in South India, often called the “Everest of South India” is present here.
• It consists of three types of vegetation: Grasslands, Shrublands and Shola forests.
• The Park supports a wide range of plant diversity, including grasses, shrubs, and trees adapted to high-altitude conditions.
• Fauna: Elephants, Gaur, Sambar Deer, Leopard, Tiger, Sloth Bear, and Wild Dog.

ORV Sagar Manthan:

The Union Minister for Earth Sciences launched India’s advanced Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) ‘Sagar Manthan’ at Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata.

• ORV Sagar Manthan is an indigenous ocean research vessel.
• It is an all-weather, multidisciplinary platform.
• It is designed, engineered, and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
• It is constructed under Vertical-4 (Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration) of the Government of India’s flagship Deep Ocean Mission (DOM).
• It is engineered to operate in extreme oceanic environments, including the Southern Ocean, with a projected service life of 30 years.
• Key Features:
  • Advanced Equipment: It is integrated with dynamic positioning, multibeam bathymetry, multichannel seismic systems, sub-bottom profiling, weather radar, drop keels, and deployment facilities for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).
  • Research Spectrum: It will support multidisciplinary exploration along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges to identify multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation, establish environmental baselines, collect upper-air data, and undertake CTD profiling.
  • Dual-Class Certification: It is built in full compliance with international regulatory standards under dual-class certification by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB):

The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change recently constituted a 4-member inquiry team from WCCB to investigate the international organized crime linkage in the mysterious appearance of orangutan in the Balasore district.

• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is a statutory body established by the Government of India to combat organized wildlife crime in the country.
• It was constituted under Section 38Y of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It became operational in 2008.
• It is a multidisciplinary body with officials from Police, Forest, Customs, and other intelligence & enforcement agencies.
• It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• Its headquarters is situated in New Delhi.
• There are five regional offices located at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bhopal.
• Functions:
  • Collect and collate intelligence related to organised wildlife crime activities and disseminate the same to state and other enforcement agencies for immediate action so as to apprehend the criminals and to establish a centralised wildlife crime data bank.
  • Coordination of actions by various officers, state governments, and other authorities in connection with the enforcement of the provisions of this Act, either directly or through regional and border units set up by the Bureau.
  • Implementation of obligations under various international conventions and protocols that are in force at present or which may be ratified or acceded to by India in the future.
  • Assistance to concerned authorities in foreign countries and concerned international organisations to facilitate coordination and universal action for wildlife crime control.
  • Develop infrastructure and capacity building for scientific and professional investigation into wildlife crimes and assist state governments to ensure success in prosecutions related to wildlife crimes.
  • Advise the government of India on issues relating to wildlife crimes having national and international ramifications, and suggest changes required in relevant policy and laws from time to time.
  • The WCCB assists in the enforcement of the CITES, to which India has been a party since 1976, and develops capacity through training programmes and species-identification support for frontline officers and prosecutors.
  • It maintains liaison with the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme and the World Customs Organization to track cross-border trafficking routes.
  • It has developed an online Wildlife Crime Database Management System to get real-time data in order to help analyse trends in crime and devise effective measures to prevent and detect wildlife crimes across India.
  • This system has been successfully used to analyse trends, helping put in preventive measures as well as for successfully carrying out operations such as Operation SAVE KURMA, THUNDERBIRD, WILDNET, LESKNOW, BIRBIL, THUNDERSTORM, LESKNOW-II.

Navier-Stokes Equations:

The mathematical community has been rocked by claims that OpenAI leveraged its enormous computing power — and potentially the private user data of academic researchers — to scoop a specific solution to the Navier-Stokes equations problem.

• The Navier-Stokes equations are a set of partial differential equations that describe the motion of viscous fluids.
• They are named after the French mathematician and physicist Claude-Louis Navier and the Irish mathematician and physicist George Gabriel Stokes, who developed them in the 19th century.
• The Navier-Stokes equations are based on the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy.
• They use Newton’s second law of motion (F = m x a) to describe how fluids move.
• Importantly, they treat a fluid as a continuous medium rather than tracking individual molecules.
• Navier-Stokes equations have been used to model a wide variety of fluid flows, including the flow of water in pipes, the flow of air around airplanes, and the flow of blood in the human body.
• The Navier-Stokes equation is used in a wide variety of applications, including:
  • Weather forecasting
  • Climate modeling
  • Ocean circulation
  • Aerodynamics
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Hydraulics
  • Lubrication
  • Combustion
  • Chemical engineering
  • Biomedical engineering
• There are a number of challenges associated with solving these equations, including:
• The equations are nonlinear, which means that they cannot be solved using linear methods.
• The equations are coupled, which means that they cannot be solved independently of each other.
• Whether smooth solutions in three dimensions continue to exist for all time — the problem of global existence and smoothness — is still an unsolved mathematical question.
• The Navier-Stokes equation is one of the most important unsolved problems in mathematics.
• In 2000, whether smooth, reasonable solutions to the Navier-Stokes equation in three dimensions exist was designated a Millennium Problem, one of seven mathematical problems selected by the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., for a special award.
• The solution for each Millennium Problem is worth $1 million.
• Despite these challenges, there has been significant progress in solving the Navier-Stokes equations in recent years.
• This progress has been due in part to the development of new numerical methods and the use of high-performance computers.

What is Narcolepsy?

Two researchers who did groundbreaking work on narcolepsy, the neurological disorder that triggers sudden sleep attacks, won a prestigious science award recently.

• Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden “sleep attacks”.
• It affects brain’s ability to control when one falls asleep and wakes up.
• Narcolepsy is uncommon. But it’s a manageable lifelong condition.
• There are two main types:
  • Narcolepsy type 1: This type causes sudden muscle weakness (cataplexy) and/or very low levels of a brain chemical called hypocretin/orexin (helps control wakefulness and rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep).
  • Narcolepsy type 2: This type causes daytime sleepiness like type 1, but without cataplexy.
    A separate condition called secondary narcolepsy can happen due to a brain injury, lesion, or other medical or genetic disord
  • It often comes with more severe symptoms and longer sleep times.
• The exact cause of narcolepsy is not known.
• People with type 1 narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin, also called orexin. Hypocretin is a chemical in the brain that helps control being awake and entering REM sleep.
• There’s no cure for narcolepsy.
• But treatment can help you manage symptoms and improve daily life.

INS Mysore:

Strengthening maritime cooperation and enhancing interoperability, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Mysore arrived recently at Lumut Naval Base in Malaysia to participate in the bilateral exercise Samudra Laksamana.

• INS Mysore (D60) is a Delhi-class guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy.
• It was built at Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai. It was commissioned in 1999.
• It is designed for multi-role naval operations, including air defence, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and fleet escort missions.
• It has a speed of 32 knots and a range of 5,000 miles.
• It is equipped with state-of-the-art radar, communications, and sensor equipment, as well as a hull-mounted variable depth sonar system.
• Weapons include a mix of rocket and projectile-guided weapons.
• Four quadruple launchers service a stockpile of 16 SS-N-25 Surface-to-Surface MissileS (SSM) and two SA-N-7 Surface-to-Air MissileS (SAM) launchers to counter air threats from afar.
• There is a conventional 100 mm deck gun and 4 x AK-630 series 30 mm Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs) and turrets.
• In addition, the warship is equipped with two RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) launchers and torpedoes, deployed in quintuple launchers.
• Exercise Samudra Laksamanais a joint naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMB).
• The exercise aims to strengthen bonds and enhance interoperability between the Indian and Royal Malaysian Navy.
• INS Mysore, along with RMN Ships KD Lekir and KD Gagah Samudera, will participate in the 2026 edition of the exercise.

India–Sri Lanka Defence Cooperation:

India’s Defence Minister concluded a historic three-day visit to Sri Lanka, marking the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to the island nation in 38 years. During the visit, India and Sri Lanka signed three key Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to bolster bilateral defence cooperation and regional security.

Key Highlights of the Visit:

Three Strategic Defence MoUs:

• Upgradation of L70 Guns: India will fund the upgradation of six 40mm L70 anti-aircraft guns operated by the Sri Lankan Air Force under a Government of India grant, significantly enhancing Sri Lanka’s air-defence architecture.
• National Defence Colleges (NDC): Academic cooperation and knowledge sharing between the NDCs of both nations to foster long-term strategic learning and institutional linkages.
• National Cadet Corps (NCC): Formalization of a youth exchange programme, strengthening people-to-people ties and military youth engagement.
• Infrastructure & Disaster Relief: Both leaders virtually inaugurated three Bailey bridges constructed by the Indian Armed Forces in Sri Lanka’s Kurunegala and Batticaloa districts, restoring connectivity in areas severely affected by Cyclone Ditwah. The initiative forms part of India’s humanitarian assistance under Operation Sagar Bandhu.
• Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, India has provided emergency relief and initiated a USD 450-million reconstruction package to support Sri Lanka.
• Security Assurances: Sri Lankan reiterated that Sri Lankan territory would never be used for activities inimical to India’s security interests.
• Maritime Engagement: The Indian Navy’s indigenously built multi-role stealth frigate, INS Udaygiri, arrived at Colombo port for an Operational Turnaround (OTR), symbolizing strong maritime ties.
• Fisheries Issue: The long-standing fisheries dispute in the Palk Strait was discussed, with Sri Lanka seeking support to safeguard local fishermen’s livelihoods against destructive bottom trawling by Indian counterparts.

DRC’s Sovereign Control Over Geological Data:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced plans to tighten state control over its geological data by creating a comprehensive national databank for critical minerals. This move aims to extend state influence over future mineral discoveries, direct billions of dollars in mining exploration, and safeguard the nation’s “strategic interests”.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) located in Central Africa, it is the 2nd-largest country in Africa (after Algeria) and the 11th largest in the world.
  Capital: Kinshasa, situated on the banks of the Congo River.
• The DRC shares land borders with nine countries: Republic of the Congo (northwest), Central African Republic (north), South Sudan (northeast), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania (east), Zambia (southeast), and Angola (southwest).
• The Equator passes directly through the northern part of the country.
• It is the 2nd-longest river in Africa (after the Nile) and uniquely crosses the equator twice. It boasts massive hydroelectric potential, most notably harnessed through the Inga Dam complex and the proposed Grand Inga Dam project envisioned to become one of the world’s largest hydropower projects) situated on the Inga Falls in the DRC.
• It is the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world (after the Amazon), acting as a crucial global carbon sink.
• Its eastern border is flanked by the African Great Lakes, including Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika (world’s second-deepest lake after Lake Baikal in Siberia), and Lake Mweru.
• The eastern highlands feature the snow-capped Ruwenzori Mountains (highest peak: Margherita Peak) and active volcanoes like Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira in the Virunga volcanic chain.
• The southern region, particularly the Katanga Copperbelt, is world-renowned for its exceptionally high-grade copper and cobalt deposits.
• The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt (holding reserves estimated at 6 million tons) and it is Africa’s largest producer of copper.
• It also hosts rich deposits of lithium, tantalum, germanium, and gold.

Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security:

India officially endorsed the ‘Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security’, joining a United States-led coalition of 26 like-minded governments to shape next-generation telecommunications networks.

• A multilateral, government-to-government policy and security initiative dedicated to coordinating the development, deployment, and governance of secure, open, interoperable, and resilient 6G wireless communication networks.
• Spearheaded by the United States through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the US Department of Commerce, formally released in July 2026 under the US G20 Presidency.
• In India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) leads domestic and international engagement.
• Participating Members (26 Governments): Includes India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay, and others.
• Aim is to establish early democratic governance over the 6G architectural stack, secure trusted telecom supply chains, mitigate emerging cyber and national security risks, and prevent authoritarian monopolization over next-generation global connectivity standards.

Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025:

The National Statistics Office (NSO), operating under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), released India’s first-ever comprehensive district-level estimates for the unincorporated non-agricultural sector.

• Drawing from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025, the report establishes a granular statistical portrait across 757 districts to support decentralized, evidence-based economic planning.
• The unincorporated non-agricultural enterprise landscape covers informal and small-scale business units operating outside corporate frameworks across three core sectors: Manufacturing, Trade, and Other Services.
• Ownership types encompass proprietorships, partnerships (excluding LLPs), cooperatives, and trusts/societies. Because these informal units employ a major portion of India’s non-farm labor force, granular district-level metrics—measuring enterprise concentration, Gross Value Added (GVA), emoluments, and labor productivity—are critical to identifying sub-state regional disparities.

Key Macro Highlights & Sectoral Data:

• The top 10 districts (concentrated across Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) generate roughly one-tenth (10%) of all establishments, workers, and GVA.
• The top 50 districts (distributed across 12 states) drive nearly one-third (~33%) of the entire sector’s total establishments, aggregate workforce, and Gross Value Added.
• Roughly one-third of all districts host over 1,00,000 unincorporated establishments each.
• Around 9% of districts have fewer than 10,000 units.
• Only 16 mega-districts host more than 5,00,000 units each (8 in West Bengal, 3 in Maharashtra, 2 in Gujarat, and 1 each in Karnataka, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh).
  Productivity &GVA Benchmarks:
• In 280 districts, economic productivity exceeds the national benchmark, recording a GVA per worker higher than the all-India average of ₹1,56,539.
• In 331 districts, labor productivity remains clustered in the range of ₹1,00,000 to ₹1,50,000 GVA per worker.
• In 237 districts, women comprise at least one-third (33.3%) of the unincorporated workforce.
  In 25 districts, female workers represent more than 50% of the labor force.
• In Mizoram, female-owned proprietary units account for at least 50% of all establishments across every single district.
• Districts in Telangana, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram lead nationally in both female-headed ownership and female labor participation.
• Top Contributing Districts Across Major States (By Share of State Establishments):
  • West Bengal: North 24 Parganas accounts for 15.99% of the state’s total units.
  • Telangana: Rangareddy contributes 23.53% of all state establishments.
  • Gujarat: Surat leads with a 19.43% share within the state.
  • Punjab: Ludhiana represents 14.74% of state units.
  • Karnataka: Bengaluru (Urban) commands 12.83% of the state total.
  • Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram leads the state at 12.38%.
  • Rajasthan: Jaipur accounts for 11.70% of units.
  • Maharashtra: Pune contributes 9.14% of the state establishment base.
  • Bihar: Patna captures 8.23% within the state.
  • Tamil Nadu: Chennai represents 7.13% of state units.
  • Uttar Pradesh: Prayagraj leads the state at 5.77%.

The Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Jan Seva Award 2026:

Shri Kishor Makwana, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), was conferred the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Jan Seva Award 2026 during the 16th Sansad Ratna Awards ceremony in New Delhi.A distinguished civil society recognition instituted under the aegis of the Sansad Ratna Awards platform to honor eminent leaders, public servants, and institutions for outstanding public service (Jan Seva), defense of constitutional mandates, and dedication to social justice. Conferring Organisation: Instituted and nominated by the Prime Point Foundation alongside the Jury Committee of the Sansad Ratna Awards.

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026:

The Department of Consumer Affairs notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, tightening norms on dark patterns, search manipulation, price transparency and grievance redressal from January 1, 2027.A regulatory update notified under the statutory framework of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, amending the primary Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 to govern both marketplace and inventory-based digital commerce entities operating in India. Aim is to address emerging deceptive practices in the digital economy, enhance marketplace transparency and algorithmic accountability, institutionalize robust grievance redressal, and balance consumer welfare with Ease of Doing Business (EoDB).

Jute Sector in India:

India’s Jute sector has gained attention as the country continues to lead global raw jute production, producing 76 lakh bales of raw jute and 12.80 lakh MT of jute goods in FY 2025-26, while supporting millions of livelihoods.Government interventions, technological innovations and product diversification are strengthening the jute value chain, positioning jute (the Golden Fibre) as a biodegradable and sustainable alternative to synthetic materials with growing global potential.Jute is one of India’s most important natural fibres, known for its strength, durability, biodegradability and wide range of applications in packaging, textiles, construction and technical products. Due to its golden colour and silky lustre, jute is popularly known as the “Golden Fibre”.In trade and industrial usage, jute and mesta are collectively classified as raw jute due to their similar end uses.Mesta is a bast fibre crop cultivated as a cost-effective alternative to jute, particularly in relatively drier agro-climatic regions.Global Position of India: India is the world’s largest producer of raw jute. According to the Third Advance Estimate (2025-26), jute and mesta production increased from 88.02 lakh bales in 2024-25 to 94.03 lakh bales in 2025-26.India is also a global leader in jute goods production, accounting for around 75% of world production (July 2026), with domestic output largely meeting national demand and ensuring self-reliance in jute goods production.Jute cultivation is concentrated mainly in eastern and northeastern India due to suitable agro-climatic conditions. West Bengal accounts for the largest share of raw jute cultivation in India, followed by Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand.Jute is generally sown during March-April and harvested within 100–110 days. It requires a hot and humid climate with around 700–1,500 mm rainfall during the growing period.

Each One Teach One Initiative:

Assam geography teacher Rajesh Bordoloi received the National Teachers Award 2026 for his innovative “Each One Teach One” initiative, which turns students into tutors for their mothers.An innovative community-based education initiative launched at Adarsha Tribal Higher Secondary School in Kalbari, Jorhat district, Assam, where Class 10 students teach their mothers basic literacy and digital skills.Students become teachers at home, helping their mothers learn to read and write, operate smartphones, make UPI payments, use online banking and access essential digital services. Smart boards are also used during parent-teacher meetings to familiarise mothers with technology.