IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Analysis
Archives
(PRELIMS Focus)
Diamondiyne
Science & Technology | Chemistry | Advanced Materials
Why in the news?
Scientists have synthesised diamondiyne, a new three-dimensional allotrope of carbon, in a study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on 14 September 2026. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology and Stockholm University collaborated on the work.
Key facts about Diamondiyne
- Definition: An allotrope of carbon with an expanded, diamond-like three-dimensional network.
- Structure: Combines sp-hybridised and sp³-hybridised carbon atoms.
- Bonding: Contains carbon–carbon triple bonds in diyne groups, alongside single bonds.
- Porosity: Its expanded framework creates voids, making it more porous than conventional diamond.
- Significance: It is the first experimentally synthesised carbon allotrope, other than diamond, reported to form covalent bonds throughout all three dimensions.
How is it synthesised?
- Produced through a controlled cascade reaction at a liquid–liquid interface.
- Copper(II) fluoride helps generate reactive alkyne groups and catalyses their coupling.
- The process produces thin carbon films containing diamondiyne crystallites.
- Researchers used electron microscopy to examine the crystalline structure.
Diamondiyne vs other carbon allotropes
| Allotrope | Structure / bonding |
| Diamond | 3D network; predominantly sp³ carbon |
| Graphite | Layered structure; sp² carbon |
| Graphene | Single layer of sp²-bonded carbon |
| Fullerene | Closed-cage carbon structures |
| Carbon nanotubes | Tubular carbon structures |
| Diamondiyne | Expanded 3D network with sp and sp³ carbon |
Potential applications and limitations
- Its porous framework may offer opportunities in materials engineering, chemical processing and energy-related technologies.
- Its electronic, mechanical and chemical properties remain under investigation; practical applications have not yet been established.
Sources
CORSIA
Environment & Ecology | International Organisations | Climate Change | Aviation
Why in the news?
India is preparing to implement Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blending targets for international flights as the mandatory second phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) begins in 2027. The government has announced indicative SAF blending targets of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% in 2030 for international flights.
What is CORSIA?
- Full form: Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
- Adopted by: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016.
- Objective: Address the growth of CO₂ emissions from international aviation.
- How it works: Airlines monitor and report covered emissions and meet applicable offsetting requirements using eligible emissions units. They can also reduce offsetting requirements through qualifying CORSIA-eligible fuels.
- Baseline: For 2021–2023, emissions were compared with 2019 levels; for 2024–2035, the baseline is 85% of 2019 emissions.
Phases of CORSIA
| Phase | Period | Nature |
| Pilot phase | 2021–2023 | Voluntary participation by states |
| First phase | 2024–2026 | Voluntary participation by states |
| Second phase | 2027–2035 | Participation determined by ICAO criteria, with exemptions |
The second phase is not an unconditional requirement for every state: ICAO rules provide exemptions based on aviation-related and socioeconomic criteria.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
- Meaning: Aviation fuel produced from renewable or waste-derived feedstocks as an alternative to conventional fossil-based jet fuel.
- Feedstocks: Used cooking oils, fats, agricultural residues, biomass and other eligible waste materials.
- Benefits: Can reduce lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions compared with conventional jet fuel, depending on feedstock and production method.
- Compatibility: Approved SAF pathways can be blended with conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) under prescribed technical standards.
- India: In April 2026, the government amended the ATF Control Order to include SAF-blended aviation fuel within the regulatory framework.
CORSIA and India: Important distinctions
- CORSIA applies to international aviation, not domestic flights.
- SAF use is one way to reduce CORSIA offsetting requirements; airlines may also use eligible carbon credits.
- India’s SAF percentages are indicative blending targets, not the same thing as CORSIA’s international emissions-offsetting obligations.
- SAF must meet both technical fuel-quality standards and CORSIA sustainability criteria to qualify as CORSIA-eligible fuel.
Sources:
SUVIKALP Tool
Environment & Ecology | Mineral Resources | Sustainable Development
Why in the news?
The SUVIKALP Mine Repurposing Tool, developed by the Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), received the SKOCH Gold Award 2026 in the category Digital Operational Efficiency – Data Driven Decision Making. The award recognises its role in promoting data-driven and sustainable reuse of post-mining land.
What is SUVIKALP?
- Nature: An in-house, data-driven tool for mine repurposing.
- Developed by: Coal Controller Organisation (CCO).
- Ministry: Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
- Objective: Identify and prioritise suitable alternative uses for closed or abandoned mines through scientific, evidence-based decision-making.
Key features
- Project evaluation: Assesses and ranks proposals using technical, environmental, social and economic criteria.
- Sustainable land use: Supports the conversion of post-mining areas into productive assets.
- Implementation support: Works alongside PRISM to help translate selected projects into implementable plans.
- Community benefits: Encourages environmental restoration, alternative livelihoods, local development and economic diversification.
What is PRISM?
PRISM — Post-Mining Repurposing Implementation Strategy Model — supports implementation after a suitable project is identified through SUVIKALP.
It provides:
- Project concepts and implementation approaches.
- Case studies and sample Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
- Tender documents and information on relevant implementing agencies.
Coal Controller Organisation (CCO): Key facts
- Established in 1916; one of the oldest offices in India’s coal sector.
- Functions under the Ministry of Coal.
- Collects and maintains monthly coal-production data.
- Inspects collieries and performs functions relating to coal grades, mine permissions and coal-data reporting.
Sources:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PRID=2325820®=48&lang=2
Centaurus X-3
Science & Technology | Astronomy | Space Science
Why in the news?
On 21 October 2026, the Department of Science and Technology reported a study by scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) revealing evidence that Centaurus X-3 accretes matter through an accretion disk—an unusual mechanism for a high-mass X-ray binary system.
What is Centaurus X-3?
- Nature: A high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) containing a pulsar and a massive companion star.
- Location: Constellation Centaurus, approximately 24,000 light-years from Earth.
- Pulsar: A rapidly rotating, highly magnetised neutron star that emits periodic radiation.
- Companion star: An O-type massive star, with a mass more than 10 times that of the Sun.
- Rotation period: Approximately 4.84 seconds.
- Orbital period: Approximately 2.087 days.
What did the study reveal?
- Research institution: Raman Research Institute, an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology.
- Researchers analysed four secondary emission lines using observations from XMM-Newton, the European Space Agency’s X-ray space observatory.
- Variations in these lines indicated that an accretion stream co-rotates with the pulsar.
- The stream channels matter from the accretion disk towards the neutron star’s magnetic poles.
- The findings suggest that disk-fed accretion occurs in Centaurus X-3, challenging the usual expectation for high-mass X-ray binaries.
Sources:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2326032®=48&lang=2
Agrivoltaics
Environment & Ecology | Renewable Energy | Agriculture | Sustainable Development
Why in the news?
The 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 was inaugurated in New Delhi on 21 October 2026. Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi highlighted that installing agrivoltaic systems on just 10% of India’s technically suitable agricultural land could potentially meet the country’s projected electricity demand up to 2050. The government also announced plans for an ambitious agrivoltaics programme under the next phase of PM-KUSUM.
What is agrivoltaics?
- Definition: The simultaneous use of the same land for agricultural activities and solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation.
- Principle: “One land, two harvests” — food production alongside solar power generation.
- Design: Solar panels are installed above crops or integrated with agricultural activities, allowing cultivation to continue underneath or between panels.
Benefits and challenges
| Benefits | Challenges |
| Dual income from crops and electricity | Higher initial installation costs |
| Reduces competition for land | Requires crop-specific panel height and spacing |
| Can reduce heat stress and water loss | Potential shading-related yield losses in some crops |
| Creates rural jobs and supports decentralised energy | Grid connectivity, financing and farmer safeguards |
Link with government initiatives
- PM-KUSUM: Promotes decentralised solar power plants, standalone solar pumps and solarisation of grid-connected agricultural pumps.
- Next phase of PM-KUSUM: The government has announced plans for a dedicated agrivoltaics programme.
- International Solar Alliance (ISA): Supports international cooperation on solar-energy deployment.
Sources:
eMudhra Limited
Science & Technology | Cybersecurity | Digital Governance
Why in the news?
On 21 October 2026, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory after the private keys of eight intermediate Certificate Authority (CA) certificates associated with eMudhra’s global website-security business were found to be compromised. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) constituted a special team to investigate the incident.
What is eMudhra Limited?
- Nature: Indian digital trust and cybersecurity company headquartered in Bengaluru.
- Established: 2008.
- Core services: Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs), electronic signatures (eSign), website-security certificates and digital identity solutions.
- Role: Issues digital certificates that help verify identities and establish trust in online transactions and communications.
What happened in the security incident?
- Affected certificates: Eight intermediate CA certificates in eMudhra’s global Transport Layer Security (TLS) business.
- Cause: Insufficient cryptographic randomness during private-key generation made the keys recoverable.
- Potential risk: Attackers could use compromised keys to issue fraudulent certificates, impersonate legitimate websites and facilitate man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.
- Response: The affected intermediate certificates were revoked, and browser and operating-system trust programmes took steps to block or distrust the affected certificate chain.
Important clarification: CERT-In and MeitY stated that India’s regulated Digital Signature Certificate and eSign services were not affected. eMudhra also reported that the affected intermediates had not issued end-entity certificates.
Sources:
(MAINS Focus)
On Climate, A Long Road Back to Paris
GS III – Environment / GS II – International Relations
Climate Change, Emissions Gap, and Global Cooperation
Introduction
The writing has been on the wall for at least three years: the Paris Pact’s goal of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels will be unattainable in the near term. The UNEP “Emissions Gap Report 2026” sets out what it would take to return to the Paris threshold by the end of the century. Under a scenario designed to achieve the lowest possible overshoot, global warming would peak at 1.7-1.8°C around 2050 before returning to 1.5°C in the following half-decade. This pathway requires global GHG emissions to fall by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035, and 69% by 2040, relative to 2025 levels.
The Gap Between Pledges and Requirements
UNEP’s Required Pathway
- Peak Warming: 1.7-1.8°C around 2050.
- Return to 1.5°C: By 2055.
- Emissions Reductions (relative to 2025):
- 2030: -18%
- 2035: -45%
- 2040: -69%
Current Paris Pledges (NDCs)
- Full Implementation Would Achieve:
- 2030: only 5-8% reduction.
- 2035: only 11-15% reduction.
- Gap: Well short of UNEP’s suggested reductions.
Technological Pathways
Carbon Storage
- Mentioned: In the report.
- Jury Out: On costs.
Renewable Energy
- Growth Since Paris: Installations increased 2.5 times.
- Requirement: Surge by three times above 2025 levels in the next 10 years.
- Reasons for Optimism: Technological progress and falling costs.
The Harder Task
- Shielding the Market from Geopolitics: Especially to ensure clean energy can be stored.
- Energy Storage: Critical for integrating variable renewables.
Loss and Damage
Immediate Damage Cannot Be Ruled Out
- Climate-Related Damage: At least in the immediate future.
- Question: How to compensate the most vulnerable.
Shortcomings of the Loss and Damage Fund
- Formalised: Three years ago.
- Failure: To aid Nepal after floods in August 2026.
- Implication: The fund’s shortcomings are evident.
Way Forward
Strengthen NDCs
- Greater Ambition: Countries must raise targets.
- Implementation: Move from pledges to action.
- Accountability: Transparent reporting; regular review.
Scale Renewable Energy
- Triple Installations: By 2035.
- Grid Integration: Storage; transmission; flexibility.
- Geopolitical Shielding: Diversify supply chains for critical minerals and clean technologies.
Operationalise Loss and Damage
- Adequate Capitalisation: Contributions from developed countries.
- Swift Disbursement: Expedite access for vulnerable countries.
- Governance: Transparency and accountability.
COP31 (Antalya, November 2026)
- Greater Resolve: Get the Paris Pact back on track.
- Key Issues: Mitigation ambition; adaptation finance; loss and damage; just transition.
Conclusion
The writing has been on the wall: 1.5°C is unattainable in the near term. UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2026 shows that returning to the Paris threshold requires emissions to fall by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035, and 69% by 2040. Current pledges would achieve only 5-8% and 11-15%—well short. Carbon storage remains uncertain on costs; renewable energy offers optimism (installations up 2.5 times since Paris; need to triple by 2035). The harder task is shielding the market from geopolitics, especially for clean energy storage. Climate damage cannot be ruled out; the Loss and Damage Fund’s shortcomings were evident in its failure to aid Nepal after the August 2026 floods. When delegates meet at COP31 in about two weeks, they will need to summon greater resolve than in the past to get the Paris Pact back on track.
Practice Question
- The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2026 shows that current Paris pledges are far short of what is needed to return to 1.5°C; COP31 must summon greater resolve. Critically examine the gap between pledges and requirements, and suggest measures for getting the Paris Pact back on track. (250 words, 15 marks)
ECI's Course Correction is Welcome, Need for Accountability Remains
GS II – Polity and Governance
Election Commission, Electoral Reforms, and Institutional Accountability
Introduction
In recent days, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made decisions that amount to admitting mistakes and atoning for wrongs caused by previous decisions. The article’s central analogy—a school principal who fasted until a culprit confessed, then called the confessor the “hero of our school” because he had the “courage to admit his mistake”—raises a pointed question: Could a similar fate await the ECI or the Election Commissioners? Turning culpability into courage, and making a hero of one who pleads guilty, risks obscuring the need for genuine accountability. Course correction is welcome, but it cannot substitute for accountability for the harm already caused.
The Context: SIR and Its Discontents
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
- Scale: Over 1.3 crore names deleted from draft rolls across 30 States/UTs—about 13% of India’s electorate.
- Rationale: ECI says the exercise aims to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
- Opposition Allegation: Mass deletions of eligible voters, benefiting the ruling party.
Internal Dissent
- Two Election Commissioners: Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly raised at least 14 written objections over 10 months.
- Concerns: Decisions issued without their knowledge; changes to Form 6; database access centralised to Delhi IT; West Bengal appeals filed without their knowledge; software issues causing eligible voters to be missed.
- ECI’s Response: Internal disagreements are normal deliberation; final decisions, including SIR, were unanimous.
The Accountability Question
- Course Correction: ECI has recently reversed some decisions.
- The Analogy: Is reversal “courage” or an admission of error that requires accountability?
Why Course Correction Alone Is Insufficient
The Harm Already Caused
- Deleted Voters: Many may not have been able to vote in the 2026 Assembly elections.
- Appeals Backlog: In West Bengal, 38 lakh appeals were filed; only 82,782 disposed; 75,443 names restored—but many remain unresolved.
- Lost Votes: A remedy that comes too late results in a lost vote.
The “Hero” Trap
- Turning Culpability into Courage: Admitting a mistake should not be framed as heroism.
- Accountability: Those responsible for hasty or flawed decisions must be held accountable—not celebrated for reversing them.
Institutional Trust
- Public Confidence: Trust must be earned through evidence, clarity, and the willingness to correct mistakes—but also through accountability for errors.
- Selective Transparency: ECI released detailed statistical reports for some elections but not for SIR, raising questions about selective disclosure.
The Broader Concerns
Institutional Independence
- Selection Committee: Government controls two of three keys (PM, Cabinet Minister, LoP) after 2023 Act replaced the CJI.
- Internal Dissent: If commissioners are overruled or bypassed, institutional integrity is compromised.
Transparency
- Data Disclosure: Pending appeals, tribunal outcomes, and deletion patterns should be public.
- AI Oversight: ECINet could flag anomalies—unusual spikes in deletions, inconsistent SOP application, rejection trends linked to officials.
Electoral Integrity
- Victory Margins: 49 Assembly constituencies reportedly recorded victory margins lower than the number of voters awaiting inclusion appeals.
- Post-Election Scrutiny: Supreme Court observed that relief for many may come only in future elections.
Way Forward
Accountability Mechanisms
- Independent Inquiry: Into the SIR process—deletions, appeals, tribunal functioning.
- Fix Responsibility: For hasty decisions; for bypassing commissioners; for software failures.
- Transparency Reports: Publish pending appeals, tribunal outcomes, deletion patterns.
Institutional Reforms
- Selection Committee: Restore bipartisan balance; ensure independence is both real and apparent.
- Internal Processes: Decisions must be collective; dissent must be recorded and addressed.
- AI Oversight: Deploy ECINet for anomaly detection—fairness metrics, audit trails.
Voter-Centric Safeguards
- Verifiable Records: Every deletion request—applicant, evidence, decision.
- Timely Appeals: Robust portal; hearings; name restoration before elections.
- Remedies: Ensure no voter loses their franchise due to administrative error.
Conclusion
The ECI’s course correction is welcome—but it is not enough. The school principal’s fast turned culpability into courage, making a hero of one who pleaded guilty. Could the ECI face a similar fate? Course correction must be accompanied by accountability for the harm already caused—the deleted voters, the unresolved appeals, the lost votes. Institutional independence, transparency, and voter-centric safeguards must be strengthened. Trust must be earned through evidence, clarity, and the willingness to correct mistakes—but also through accountability for errors. Turning culpability into courage risks obscuring the need for genuine reform.
Practice Question
- The ECI’s course correction is welcome, but turning culpability into courage risks obscuring the need for accountability. Critically examine the challenges of the SIR process and suggest measures for ensuring electoral integrity and institutional accountability. (250 words, 15 marks)
