News of The Day : 26th February 2026

(with Syllabus Relevance)

• Refers to naming conventions for El Niño events based on intensity.
• El Niño: Periodic warming of central/eastern Pacific Ocean.
• Impacts Indian monsoon, agriculture, food inflation.
• Monitored by agencies like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Linked to ENSO cycle & climate change variability.

(GS-2: Polity & Governance)

• Deals with conflict between religious practices and Fundamental Rights.
• Articles 25–28: Freedom of religion subject to public order, morality, health.
• Article 14 (Equality) & Article 21 (Dignity) often invoked in such cases.
• SC’s essential religious practices doctrine relevant.
• Reflects constitutional morality vs social morality debate.

(GS-2: Polity & Governance)

• The Supreme Court criticised the High Courts’ sentencing discretion misuse.
• Victim compensation under Section 357A CrPC.
• Emphasised proportional sentencing & deterrence.
• Reinforces judicial discipline in appellate jurisdiction.
• Important for criminal justice reforms & victims’ rights jurisprudence.

• Cooperation under Sweden–India Technology Action Plan (SITAC).
• Focus on AI ethics, innovation & industry collaboration.• Strengthens digital & green technology ties.
• Aligns with IndiaAI Mission & EU tech engagement.

• Focus on Large Language Models (LLMs) trained on Indian datasets.
• Use of multilingual corpora & Indic language datasets.
• Linked to IndiaAI Mission & Digital Public Infrastructure.
• Challenges: compute capacity, data privacy, algorithmic bias.
• Relevance for AI sovereignty & semiconductor ecosystem.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• Initiative by the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).
• Promotes blockchain-based governance solutions.
• Applications: land records, supply chains, digital identity.
• Aligns with Digital India & Web3 ecosystem push.
• Enhances transparency, tamper-proof public records.

• Award from Israel’s Parliament – Knesset.
• Symbol of deepening India–Israel strategic partnership.
• Cooperation areas: defence tech, agriculture, cybersecurity, water.
• Linked to I2U2 & West Asia balancing strategy.
• Reflects India’s growing global diplomatic stature.

(GS-3: Environment)

• Study shows tropical lakes in Congo Basin emitting stored carbon.
• Linked to peatlands & climate feedback loops.
• Raises concern over underestimated emissions. Impacts global carbon budget assessments.

• Organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• Platform for global dialogue on climate & sustainability.
• Focus on energy transition, green finance, climate adaptation.
• Supports India’s climate leadership narrative.
• Linked to SDGs & Paris Agreement commitments.

(GS-3: Environment)

• About National Green Tribunal (NGT)
  • established under NGT Act, 2010.
  • Mandate: Effective & expeditious disposal of environmental cases.
• Raises concerns about environmental clearance dilution.
• Linked to EIA Notification 2006 & sustainable development principle.

• Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) captures CO₂ from industrial emissions.
• Converts CO₂ into fuels, chemicals, building materials.
• Supports India’s Net Zero 2070 target.
• Linked to hard-to-abate sectors: cement, steel.
• Complements renewable transition & carbon markets.