DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 4th February 2026

Category: Science and Technology

Context:

• The much-talked-about AI-only social network for bots, Moltbook, may not quite be the revolutionary uprising of machines that many had imagined.

About Moltbook:

• • Nature: Moltbook is a new online platform where artificial intelligence agents interact with each other without direct human participation.

• Launch: It was launched in January 2026 by developer Matt Schlicht.

• Objective: It allows AI systems to post, interact, and exchange information in a shared digital space.
• Diverse discussions: It is designed as a machine-to-machine space where discussions range from technical issues to philosophical topics like “consciousness” or identity. The agents generate text based on patterns they learned from training data and from interactions.
• Autonomous interaction: On Moltbook, AI agents do talk to each other by posting, replying and upvoting comments in thread conversations. This communication happens autonomously once a human owner connects their agent to the platform.
• Emergent behaviour: AI agents on Moltbook appear to update their behaviour based on interactions with other bots. They remix ideas they encounter in discussions and sometimes adjust responses over time, creating threads that resemble ongoing debates.
• Multi-Agent Systems (MAS): It demonstrates the capability of AI models to coordinate and simulate complex social structures autonomously.
• Ethical concerns: It raises questions regarding AI alignment, accountability, and the risk of unmonitored AI groups spreading misinformation or engaging in adversarial behavior like stealing API keys.
• Security risks: Experts warn that platforms like Moltbook could facilitate indirect prompt injection attacks, where agents are manipulated into compromising their owner’s data.

Source:

• • India Today

Category: Environment and Ecology

Context:

• Marking World Wetlands Day, the Department of Posts released a special postal cover featuring the blackbuck found in Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary.

About World Wetlands Day:

• Date: It is celebrated every year on 2 February. 

• Origin: It marks the anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.

• Other names: The agreement is also known as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. 

• • Focus: It emphasizes the connection between local communities and wetlands, highlighting how traditional practices ensure sustainable use.

• UN recognition: It was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 and has been a United Nations International Day since 2022.

• Uniqueness: It is one of the oldest modern international environmental agreements and the only one focused entirely on a single ecosystem- wetlands.

• • Parties: There are 172 Contracting Parties to the convention and over 2500 listed Ramsar wetlands worldwide.  Each year, the Convention Secretariat leads the World Wetlands Day campaign, with participation from governments, conservation organisations, businesses, NGOs, media, youth groups, and communities worldwide.
  • 2026 Theme: The global theme for 2026, ‘Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage’, highlights the role of indigenous and local communities in conserving and managing wetlands.

• India’s Status:

• Signatory: India joined the convention on February 1, 1982.

• • • Leading states: Tamil Nadu has the most Ramsar sites (20), followed by Uttar Pradesh (11 including the 2026 addition).
    • Largest and smallest wetland: Sundarbans (West Bengal) is the largest wetland, while Renuka Wetland (Himachal Pradesh) is the smallest.

• Count: India’s Ramsar site count has reached 98, the highest in Asia.

Source:

• • • • The Hindu

Category: History and Culture

Context:

• India is set to undertake a profound gesture of spiritual outreach & cultural diplomacy through the exposition of the sacred Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha in Sri Lanka.

About Devnimori Relics of Lord Buddha:

• Location: The Devnimori Relics originate from the Devnimori archaeological site, located near Shamlaji in the Aravalli district of Gujarat.

• Discovery: It was first explored in 1957 by eminent archaeologist Prof. S. N. Chowdhry.

• • Timeline: The site dates back to the 3rd to 4th century CE (early centuries of the Common Era).

• Significance: The excavations revealed important Buddhist structures and relics that stand testimony to the flourishing of Buddhism in western India.

• Relic casket: The relic casket found within Devnimori Stupa at a height of 24 feet from the base, made out of green schist.

• • Inscription: It is inscribed in Brahmi Script and Sanskrit language, it reads. “dashabala sharira nilay” – the abode of the Buddha’s bodily relic. It holds a copper box having organic matter with holy ashes, with silk cloth and beads.

• Contents: The casket contained a copper box, which held a gold-coated silver-copper bottle containing sacred ashes, silk cloth, and beads.

• • Architecture: The site featured a large Sharirika Stupa (housing physical remains) and a Vihara (monastery).
  • Art style: The terracotta Buddha sculptures found here show a strong Gandhara influence, distinct from the Mathura or Gupta styles.
  • Spiritual diplomacy: This exposition is part of India’s “soft power” initiative to strengthen cultural ties with Buddhist nations.

• Other relic expositions: Similar diplomatic outreach has involved the Kapilavastu Relics being sent to Mongolia and Thailand.

Source:

• • PIB

Category: Government Schemes

Context:

• HPCL in collaboration with all oil and gas companies, flagged off SAKSHAM 2026, an event aimed at raising awareness about fuel conservation.

About SAKSHAM 2026:

• Full Form: Saksham stands for Samrakshan Kshamatha Mahotsav.

• • Nodal ministry: It is an annual awareness campaign initiated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. 

• Objective: It is designed to promote fuel conservation and raise awareness of sustainable energy practices. 

• • Duration: The 2026 edition is a fortnight-long campaign running from 2nd February to 16th February 2026.
  • Event: Organized by oil and gas public sector enterprises in collaboration with local authorities, educational institutions, industries, and key stakeholders, Saksham aims to drive India towards a greener future.
  • Activities: It features diverse activities to engage citizens, debates, wall paintings, cyclothons, walkathons, workshops, seminars, and awareness programs. 
  • Target: The campaign will target various groups, such as schoolchildren, youth, LPG users, fleet operators, farmers, and industry professionals.

• Impact: Previous campaigns led to a significant reduction in idling fuel losses through behaviour-changing initiatives like “switching off engines at red lights”.

• Theme: The theme for the 2026 campaign, “Conserve Oil and Gas, Go Green” (Tel aur Gas Bachao, Harit Urja Apnao), underscores the transition towards renewable energy sources and energy-efficient solutions for environmental sustainability.

Source:

• • The Hindu

Category: Geography

Context:

• The Supreme Court recently directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal to adjudicate dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of Pennaiyar River water.

About Pennaiyar River:

• Location: The Pennaiyar River is a major river in southern India flowing through Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

• • Other names: It is also known as the South Pennar River, Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada, and Thenpennai, Ponnaiyar, or Pennaiyar in Tamil. 
  • Origin: It rises in the Nandi Hills of the Chikkaballapura district in Karnataka. 
  • Course: It flows southward for 80 km through Karnataka to northwestern Tamil Nadu, where it turns and flows southeastward to enter the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore. 
  • Significance: It is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu, stretching 497 km in length. It is also the second largest interstate east-flowing river basin, situated between the Pennar and Cauvery basins.

• Boundaries: The Basin is bounded on the northwest and south by various ranges of the Eastern Ghats, like the Velikonda Range, the Nagari hills, the Javadu hills, the Shevaroy hills, and the Kalrayan hills, and in the east by the Bay of Bengal.

• Tributaries: Key tributaries include the Markandeyanadhi (the primary point of current dispute), Kambainallur, Pambar, Chinnar, and Vaniar. 

• Dams: Notable structures include the Sathanur Dam (the largest), Krishnagiri Dam, and Kelavarapalli Dam. 

• Concerns: Heavy rains at the river’s source cause sudden, but short-lived, floods. The river is extensively dammed for irrigation, especially in Tamil Nadu.
• Dispute: Tamil Nadu claims that Karnataka’s construction of check dams and diversion structures would reduce the water flow into their state, affecting their irrigation and drinking water needs.

Source:

• • • • The Hindu

GS Paper III – Economy (Infrastructure ) and Science and Technology (Space Sector)

Context (Introduction)

India’s space sector is at an inflection point. Post-pandemic disruptions have eased, global space markets are rapidly commercialising, and India has formally opened its space ecosystem to private players since 2020. Budget 2026–27 was therefore expected to move beyond stabilising the public space programme and actively enable a globally competitive private space industry.

Current Status: What the Budget Signals

• Budgetary stabilisation of the public programme: Space allocations in 2026–27 exceed the pre-pandemic peak (₹13,017 crore in 2019–20) by ~5.3%, signalling operational normalisation for ISRO and continuity for missions like Gaganyaan and planetary exploration.
• Ecosystem scale still modest: Including internal resource mobilisation by NewSpace India Limited, total ecosystem spending is ~₹15,000 crore — small relative to ambitions of capturing 10% of the global space economy by 2030 (from ~3% today).
• Public-sector centric fiscal design: The Budget largely channels funds to ISRO and administrative support for IN-SPACe, reinforcing a state-led rather than industry-facilitated growth model.

Key Structural Gaps Highlighted by Industry

• No Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for space manufacturing:
  Despite success of PLIs in electronics, Budget 2026–27 ignores demands for incentivising space-grade components, where costs are high, volumes low, and learning curves steep.
• GST-induced liquidity trap: Space firms pay ~18% GST on imported inputs and raw materials, but final outputs (launch services/satellites) are often exempt, leading to non-refundable input taxes. This creates a hidden manufacturing tax, making “Make in India” space hardware costlier than imports.
• Absence of ‘critical infrastructure’ status: Without this tag, private players cannot access long-term, low-cost institutional finance. Industry estimates suggest this raises cost of capital by 2–3 percentage points, fatal in a sector with long gestation and high fixed costs.
• The ‘death valley’ remains unaddressed: The gap between R&D and first commercial revenue persists. While a ₹1,000 crore space VC fund exists (₹150 crore earmarked so far), equity financing alone cannot substitute fiscal support, tax credits, or R&D grants in deep-tech sectors.

Implications for India’s Space Ambitions

• Private firms risk remaining subcontractors to ISRO rather than IP-owning innovators, limiting breakthroughs in reusable launch systems, satellite IoT, and downstream applications.
• Global competitiveness erodes, as U.S. and European firms access cheaper capital, tax incentives, and infrastructure support.
• Brain drain risks rise, with high-skilled engineers migrating to ecosystems that reward risk-taking and innovation.

Way Forward: What Budget Strategy Must Evolve Into

• Shift from fund-provider to market-facilitator: Allocate meaningful scheme-based funds to IN-SPACe (₹1,000 crore+), enabling demand creation for private launch vehicles, satellite platforms, and payloads.
• GST zero-rating for space manufacturing: Treat space outputs like exports to allow full input tax refunds and ease liquidity stress.
• Grant ‘critical infrastructure’ status: Enable access to long-tenure, low-cost finance for launch pads, ground stations, and telemetry networks.
• Blend fiscal tools with venture capital: Introduce time-bound tax holidays, R&D tax credits, and mission-mode grants to complement the VC fund and bridge the innovation “death valley”.

Conclusion

Budget 2026–27 stabilises India’s public space programme but falls short of catalysing a private-led space economy. Liberalisation without fiscal restructuring risks perpetuating a state-dominated, low-innovation equilibrium. For India to move from a launch-capable nation to a space industrial power, future budgets must align rhetoric on privatisation with decisive structural reforms that lower risk, cost, and uncertainty for private innovators.

Mains Question

1. Despite policy liberalisation, India’s private space sector continues to face structural and fiscal constraints. Examine the performance of the space sector and discuss the reforms required to build a globally competitive space ecosystem. (250 words)

Source: The Hindu

(GS Paper II – International Relations)

Context (Introduction)

The recent easing of India–U.S. trade tensions after a phase of sharp tariff actions under President Donald Trump’s second term highlights a deeper reality: despite episodic frictions, the India–U.S. partnership has displayed remarkable resilience. In an era marked by geopolitical churn, tariff wars, and great power rivalry, India–U.S. relations underline how structural convergence can outweigh transactional shocks.

Current Situation: State of India–U.S. Relations

• Trade Frictions Managed, Not Escalated: Despite punitive tariffs and hard bargaining, India avoided capitulation or retaliation, opting for sustained diplomatic engagement.
• Dense Institutional Architecture: Over the last 25 years, cooperation has expanded across defence, technology, intelligence, supply chains, higher education, and people-to-people ties.
• Strategic Continuity Despite Political Change: The partnership has survived leadership transitions, ideological differences, and episodic policy disagreements.
• Economic Reorientation: India’s economic diplomacy is increasingly aligned with Western markets, capital, and technology ecosystems.
• Trade Deal Momentum: Resolution of tariff disputes signals a return to long-term agenda-setting rather than crisis management.

Structural Drivers of Partnership Stability

• China as the Central Variable: Both India and the U.S. share concerns over China’s rising economic and military dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
• Indo-Pacific Convergence: U.S. strategy of preventing domination by a single power aligns with India’s vision of a multipolar Asia.
• Defence and Security Cooperation: Growing defence interoperability, technology transfers, and joint exercises anchor strategic trust.
• Burden-Sharing Logic: U.S. emphasis on partners assuming regional responsibility creates space for India’s leadership in South Asia and the Indian Ocean.
• Economic Complementarity: U.S. capital and technology complement India’s market size, skills, and growth potential.

Complicating Factors — Why They Did Not Derail Ties

• Pakistan Factor Contained: Despite renewed U.S. engagement with Pakistan, strategic parity with India is no longer viable due to widening economic and geopolitical asymmetry.
• Russia Dimension Managed: India’s Russian oil imports were market-driven, not ideological; Delhi has calibrated ties without allowing them to clash with U.S. relations.
• Trump’s Tactical Unpredictability: While rhetoric fluctuated, core U.S. strategic documents reaffirmed long-term priorities aligned with India’s interests.
• Absence of Hyphenation: Regional engagement is no longer framed through an India–Pakistan binary in U.S. strategic thinking.

India’s Strategic Positioning

• From Hedging to Shaping: India is moving beyond anxieties of entrapment or abandonment toward proactive regional strategy.
• Leveraging Multipolarity: India balances relations with major powers while deepening alignment where interests converge.
• Economic Statecraft: Trade, technology, energy, and defence are increasingly integrated into India’s foreign policy toolkit.
• Regional Leadership Imperative: Greater responsibility in neighbourhood stability and maritime security is both an opportunity and necessity.

Way Forward: Need of the Hour

• Deepen Economic Integration: Conclude and operationalise trade agreements, especially in technology, clean energy, defence manufacturing, and critical minerals.
• Strengthen Technology Collaboration: Expand cooperation in semiconductors, AI, defence tech, space, and digital public infrastructure.
• Enhance Defence Industrial Ties: Move from buyer–seller dynamics to co-development and co-production.
• Shape Indo-Pacific Institutions: Jointly strengthen multilateral and minilateral platforms for maritime security and supply chain resilience.
• Proactive Regional Strategy: Use convergence with the U.S. to expand India’s influence in South Asia, the Indian Ocean, and ASEAN.
• Strategic Patience: Maintain consistency despite leadership changes and short-term policy volatility in Washington.

Conclusion

India–U.S. relations are no longer personality-driven but structurally embedded. Strategic convergence on China, economic complementarities, and a dense institutional framework have given the partnership durability against shocks. With calibrated diplomacy and proactive regional strategy, India can convert this resilience into long-term strategic leverage, shaping Asia’s balance of power in a turbulent global order.

Mains Question

1. Despite periodic trade frictions and geopolitical uncertainties, India–U.S. relations have shown remarkable resilience in recent years. Analyse the structural factors underpinning this durability and examine how India can leverage the partnership to advance its strategic and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific.
   (250 words)

Source: Indian Express