DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 5th January 2026

Category: History and Culture

Context:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently paid tributes to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth anniversary, remembering her as one of India’s bravest and most visionary rulers.

About Rani Velu Nachiyar:

• Early life: Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730–1796) was the princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of Raja Chellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom.
• Marriage: At the age of 16, she married the prince of Sivaganga, Muthuvadugananthur Udaiyathevar. She was an 18th-century queen of Sivaganga in present-day Tamil Nadu.
• Other names: She is also known as Veeramangai.
• Military skills: She was trained in handling various weapons, horse riding, archery, and traditional martial arts such as Silambam and Valari.
• Polyglot: She was also a distinguished scholar. She was proficient in multiple languages, including Tamil, English, French, and Urdu.
• Strategic alliances: Velu Nachiyar forged strategic alliances with several powerful leaders of the time, including Hyder Ali of Mysore and Gopala Nayaker. 
• Dedicated women army: She raised a formidable army that included a dedicated women’s battalion and the queen named her women’s army “Udaiyaal” in her adopted daughter’s honour.
• First human bomb: Her commander, Kuyili, is considered the “first woman martyr” and the first suicide bomber in Indian history. In 1780, she drenched herself in ghee, set herself on fire, and walked into a British ammunition depot to destroy their weapons.
• Uniqueness: She was the first queen to fight for freedom from the British in India. She granted powers to the Marudu brothers to administer the country in 1780.
• Postal Stamp: A commemorative postage stamp was issued by the Government of India in 2008 to honour her legacy.
• India’s Joan of Arc: Some historians refer to her as “India’s Joan of Arc” for her pioneering role in the anti-colonial struggle.

Source:

• • DD News

Category: Government Schemes

Context:

• The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, recently graced a special function under SOAR Programme at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre (RBCC), New Delhi.

About SOAR Programme:

• Full Form: SOAR stands for Skilling for AI Readiness.
• Nodal ministry: It is an initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Objective: It aims to integrate artificial intelligence learning into India’s school education and training ecosystem, preparing both students and teachers for a rapidly evolving digital world.
• Vision: It has a vision to position India as a global leader in AI by preparing its youth for AI-driven careers and entrepreneurial ventures. It focuses on school students from classes 6 to 12 and educators across India.
• Course: It offers three targeted 15-hour modules for students and a 45-hour module for teachers. These courses introduce foundational AI and machine learning concepts, along with data literacy and the ethical use of technology.
• Funding: To this government provided ₹500 crore to establish a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education.
• Focus areas: The centre will focus on developing AI-based learning tools, promoting multilingual AI resources for Indian languages, and fostering innovative classroom practices.
• Future prospects: It will also strengthen AI curriculum development across technical institutions and complement existing efforts by IITs and AICTE-approved colleges that already offer advanced courses in machine learning, deep learning, and data analytics.

Source:

• • • • PIB

Category: Science and Technology

Context:

• The Ministry of Science and Technology has recently developed new open-source software, PathGennie, for fast tracking of drug discovery.

About PathGennie:

• Nature: It is a novel computational framework developed by scientists that can significantly accelerate the simulation of rare molecular events. It is open source software developed for fast tracking of drug discovery.
• Objective: It is aimed at fast-tracking the drug discovery process by accurately tracking molecular unbinding pathways.
• Development: It was developed by scientists at the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Significance: It addresses a long-standing challenge in molecular simulations, accurately modelling how drug molecules detach from their target proteins. It predicts the potential drugs unbind from their protein targets without the artificial distortions commonly used in standard methods.
• Focus on Residence Time: Unlike standard methods that focus on binding strength, PathGennie predicts a drug’s “residence time”—the duration it stays attached to a protein—which is a more accurate indicator of therapeutic effectiveness.
• Bias-free simulation: It eliminates artificial distortions and biases common in traditional molecular dynamics. Instead, it uses “Direction-Guided Adaptive Sampling,” which mimics natural selection at a microscopic scale to identify productive molecular pathways.
• Works on microscopic scale: It mimics natural selection on a microscopic scale instead of forcing the molecule to move.
• Major applications: It addresses problems such as chemical reactions, catalytic processes, phase transitions, or self-assembly phenomena. It is also compatible with modern machine-learning techniques which ensures integration into diverse simulation pipelines.

Source:

• • • News on AIR

Category: Environment and Ecology

Context:

• Wildlife enthusiasts recently confirmed the presence of an Eastern Imperial Eagle visiting the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) during the winter migratory season.

About Mudumalai Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, spread over 321 sq. km. at the tri–junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Northeastern and Northwestern slopes of the Nilgiri hills, which is a part of the Western Ghats.
• Nomenclature: The name Mudumalai means ”the ancient hill range”. Indeed, it is as old as 65 million years when the Western Ghats were formed.
• Boundaries: It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the west, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the north, the Nilgiris North Division on the south and east, and Gudalur Forest Division on the south-west.
• Establishment: It was a protected area since 1940; but it was declared a National Park in 1990 and a Tiger Reserve in 2007.
• Area: Its total area is approximately 688.59 sq. km.
• Terrain: The terrain is undulating, with the elevation ranging from 960m to 1266m.
• Habitat: A variety of habitats ranging from tropical evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, moist teak forest, dry teak forest, secondary grasslands, and swamps are found here.
• River: The Moyar River flows through the reserve, acting as a natural boundary between Mudumalai and Bandipur.
• Flora: It has tall grasses, commonly referred to as “Elephant Grass”, bamboo of the giant variety, and valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc. It has wild relatives of cultivated plants, viz. wild rice, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, etc.
• Fauna: The faunal assemblage includes: elephant, gaur, sambar, four-homed antelope, spotted deer, barking deer, blackbuck, wild pig, mouse deer, and predators like tigers, leopards, and wild dogs. Around 8% of the total bird species in India can be found in the region.

Source:

• • • The Hindu

GS-III: Internal security challenges and their management, and linkages between development and the spread of extremism.

Context (Introduction)

India’s long-running Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) challenge has witnessed a decisive shift in recent years. Government data indicate nearly a 90% decline in Maoist violence since 2010.  A key factor behind this transformation, has been the establishment of security camps in remote and previously Maoist-dominated areas.

Core Idea

Security camps have altered the strategic landscape of counter-insurgency by ensuring permanent state presence in inaccessible regions. Unlike episodic operations, these camps integrate security, governance outreach, and development, thereby dismantling Maoist influence over territory, population, and narratives.

Challenges that Sustained Maoism Earlier

• Rugged terrain and administrative vacuum: Dense forests and inaccessibility in regions like Abujhmad (Bastar) kept civil administration absent, enabling Maoists to establish territorial control.
• Low police–population ratio and delayed response: Policing remained confined to district headquarters, allowing Maoists to strike and withdraw before security forces could respond.
• Alienation of tribal communities: Poor access to welfare, healthcare, and grievance redressal fostered distrust, which Maoists exploited by projecting themselves as tribal protectors.
• Parallel Maoist administration: Maoists ran jan adalats, levied informal taxes, and regulated forest produce, filling governance gaps left by the state.
• Weak intelligence penetration: Fear of reprisals and limited state contact prevented HUMINT generation, allowing Maoist networks to operate undetected.

Why Security Camps Matter

• Enhanced Security Footprint: Permanent camps deter Maoist mobility and end operational impunity.
• Faster Response & Better Intelligence: Reduced reaction time and improved HUMINT through civilian confidence.
• Psychological Impact: Visible state presence reassures locals while demoralising Maoist cadres.
• Governance Penetration: Civil administration leverages camps to deliver services, with collectors, tehsildars, and line departments reaching villages for the first time.
• Developmental Spillovers: Roads, mobile towers, and welfare access reshape daily life and weaken insurgent legitimacy.
• Capability Attrition of Maoists: Declining recruitment, funding, and arms access have led to surrenders and neutralisation of leadership.

Way Forward: From Security to Sustainable Peace

• Institutionalise rights-based governance through PESA and Forest Rights Act implementation

• Transition from security-led control to civilian administrative leadership

• Strengthen local self-governance and livelihood opportunities
• Integrate a long-term regional development plan aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision

Conclusion

Security camps have proven to be more than tactical installations; they are instruments of state legitimacy in India’s counter-Maoist strategy. However, enduring peace depends on converting security gains into constitutional governance, inclusive development, and tribal empowerment—ensuring Maoism fades not just militarily, but socially and politically as well.

Mains Question: 

1. “Counter-insurgency success depends as much on governance as on force.” Discuss in the context of India’s experience with Left-Wing Extremism. (250 words)

The Hindu

GS-III: (Major crops, cropping patterns, agricultural marketing, issues related to farm incomes, and inclusive growth.)

Context (Introduction)

Doubling farmers’ incomes has remained elusive despite policy emphasis, as conventional approaches focused on input subsidies and MSPs have delivered limited gains. The Beed experiment in Maharashtra, offers an evidence-based pathway to income enhancement through crop diversification, institutional support, and market integration.

Core Idea

The Krishikul initiative under the Global Vikas Trust demonstrates that shifting from low-value traditional crops to high-value fruit crops, combined with scientific farming and assured market linkages, can significantly raise farm incomes. Independent evaluation by TISS (2024) shows per-acre incomes rising nearly ten-fold within a short transition period.

Challenges in India’s Farm Income Strategy

• Low-productivity cereal cropping: Rain-fed paddy–wheat dominance in central and eastern India keeps yields and incomes structurally low.
• Fragmented landholdings: Sub-1-hectare holdings limit access to quality seeds, irrigation, and mechanisation.
• Weak post-harvest systems: Poor cold chains and processing cause distress sales and high losses in fruits and vegetables.
• Credit and risk constraints: Inadequate formal credit pushes farmers to avoid high-value crops due to income risk.
• Weak market linkage: Reliance on APMC mandis exposes farmers to price crashes in perishables like tomato and onion.

Why the Beed Model Matters

• Income Diversification: Fruit crops like guava, pomegranate, and custard apple generated cumulative returns far higher than soybean or cotton.
• Human Capital & Trust: Continuous engagement, training, and confidence-building were central to adoption.
• Natural Resource Management: Aquashaft-based groundwater recharge raised water tables by up to 350 feet, ensuring irrigation sustainability.
• Institutional Synergy: Integration of NGOs, banks (through FLDG), and research institutions reduced risk and enhanced scalability.
• Economic Logic: Higher value realisation, stable demand, and reduced distress migration strengthened rural economies.

Way Forward

• Promote region-specific crop diversification aligned with agro-climatic conditions
• Scale public–private–NGO partnerships for extension and credit support
• Invest in aggregation, grading, cold chains, and processing to capture value
• Shift policy focus from production targets to income and value-chain outcomes

Conclusion

The Beed experience shows that farmers’ income growth is not achieved by price support alone but by restructuring agriculture around value, markets, and institutions. Replicating such integrated models can transform Indian agriculture from subsistence-oriented production to income-driven growth.

Mains Question

1. Why has income enhancement in agriculture remained elusive despite rising production? Discuss with reference to value-chain and institutional constraints. (250 words)

The Indian Express