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Current Affairs 2 March 2026

Lunar Eclipse

  • About: A lunar eclipse is a celestial event that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in a straight line (syzygy) during a full Moon phase, and the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow. Earth’s shadow structure comprises: 
  • Umbra: The darker, inner cone where direct sunlight is completely blocked.
  • Penumbra: The lighter, outer region where sunlight is only partially obstructed.
  • Types of Lunar Eclipses:
  • Penumbral: Moon passes only through the penumbra, causing a subtle dimming (often difficult to detect).
  • Partial: Only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra, causing part of the lunar disk to darken.
  • Total: The entire Moon enters the umbra, leading to the most dramatic effect.
  • Observational Features: Visible from anywhere on Earth’s night side where the Moon is above the horizon. Safe to observe with the naked eye, unlike solar eclipses.
  • Blood Moon Phenomenon: During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon often appears reddish or coppery. This is due to Rayleigh scattering—Earth’s atmosphere scatters shorter blue wavelengths while refracting (bending) longer red wavelengths toward the Moon, illuminating it indirectly with the light of all of Earth’s simultaneous sunrises and sunsets.

Tribunals

  • About: Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies established by statute to adjudicate specific categories of disputes, functioning as an alternative mechanism to the traditional court system. 
  • They aim to deliver speedy, cost-effective, and expert resolution in specialized domains such as administrative service matters, taxation, environment, labour, corporate affairs, and other technical or regulatory issues.
  • Constitutional Basis: Tribunals derive their constitutional recognition from the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. It inserted Article 323A and Article 323B and added a new Part XIV-A to the Constitution.
  • Article 323A specifically empowers Parliament to establish Administrative Tribunals for service matters of public servants. 
  • Article 323B empowers both Parliament and State Legislatures to establish tribunals for other specific matters like taxation, land reforms, and elections.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

  • The UNHRC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, established in 2006 and headquartered in Geneva, mandated to promote and protect human rights globally.
  • It replaced the UN Commission on Human Rights and is supported by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for technical and secretariat functions.
  • The UNHRC has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis.
  • India has been elected unopposed to the UNHRC for the 7th time for a three-year term (2026-28), reaffirming commitment to human rights.

National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC)

  • NICDC, incorporated in 2008 (formerly Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (DMICDC)), is responsible for planning and implementing the NICDP. 
  • Inspired by global corridor models such as Tokyo–Osaka and Boston–Washington D.C., NICDC promotes economic growth by developing smart cities, industrial clusters, and multimodal logistics hubs, while creating business-friendly, sustainable ecosystems with plug-and-play infrastructure, seamless connectivity, and modern urban standards to strengthen manufacturing and boost exports.
  • National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT):
  • NICDIT, formerly known as the DMIC Trust, functions as the primary financing mechanism and investment vehicle for the NICDC. 
  • It facilitates project funding, negotiates loans, and mobilizes resources for infrastructure development, acting as an intermediary for establishing industrial smart cities.
  • The Rs 3,000 crore allocated in the 2026-27 budget will be funneled through this trust to ensure the timely completion of trunk infrastructure.

Planetary Boundaries

  • About: The Planetary Boundaries framework defines the safe limits within which humanity can operate without destabilising Earth’s life-support systems. 
  • First proposed in 2009 by scientists led by Johan Rockström and updated in 2023, it identifies nine critical Earth system processes that regulate planetary stability. 
  • Crossing these limits increases the risk of abrupt, irreversible environmental changes that threaten ecosystems, economies, and human survival.
  • These boundaries are interconnected, meaning disruption in one system can trigger cascading impacts across others.
  • They help policymakers and scientists assess whether human activities are pushing Earth beyond its safe operating space.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

  • About: He was a revolutionary nationalist, political ideologue, and social reformer, and influenced by leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Bipin Chandra Pal. He was also known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar.
  • Revolutionary Nationalism: Founded the Mitra Mela in 1899, which later evolved into the Abhinav Bharat Society in 1904. He also established the Free India Society in London (1906). He was closely associated with India House (founded by Shyamji Krishna Varma in London), a hub for revolutionary activities.
  • Trial and Kala Pani: He was arrested for conspiring to murder the Nashik collector (Nasik Conspiracy Case, 1910). He famously attempted to escape the British while being transported via Marseilles (France) but was recaptured. 
  • After trial, he was sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment and deported to the infamous Cellular Jail (Kala Pani) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1911. He was eventually released in 1924 after writing multiple mercy petitions (1911–1920).

IndiaAI Mission

  • Launched in March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore, the IndiaAI Mission aims to build a comprehensive AI ecosystem in India. 
  • Under the mission, the government has commissioned over 36,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)  in Indian data centres and is expanding capacity by adding 20,000 more, targeting over 100,000 GPUs by the end of 2026.
  • Startups such as Sarvam AI have received subsidised access to compute infrastructure for AI training and inference. Sarvam AI was granted access to 4,096 GPUs from the common compute cluster, with subsidies amounting to nearly Rs 100 crore.
  • The mission also supports talent development for over 13,500 students, is establishing India Data and AI Labs, and promotes sovereign foundational models trained on Indian datasets, with financial assistance covering compute and related costs to boost open-source innovation and startup growth.

What is PRAHAAR?

  • PRAHAAR: The strategy is an acronym representing the core pillars of India’s proactive defense mechanism:
  • Prevention of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests;
  • Responses, which are swift and proportionate to the threat posed;
  • Aggregating internal capacities for achieving synergy in a whole-of-government approach;
  • Human rights and ‘Rule of Law’ based processes for mitigation of threats;
  • Attenuating the conditions enabling terrorism, including radicalization;
  • Aligning and shaping the international efforts to counter terrorism;
  • Recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach.

What is the Constitutional Procedure for Renaming a State?

  • Parliamentary Authority: Under Article 3 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament holds the exclusive power to form new states or alter the area, boundaries, or name of any existing State by law.
  • State Resolution: The process practically begins when a State Assembly passes a resolution for the name change and sends it to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
  • Clearance and No Objection Certificates: The Ministry of Home Affairs examines the request and seeks No Objection Certificates from various stakeholders such as the Ministry of Railways, the Intelligence Bureau, the Department of Posts, Survey of India, and the Registrar General of India to ensure the name change does not conflict with existing administrative, geographical, or security records.
  • The Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, have concurred with the proposal for the alteration of the name of the State of ‘Kerala’ as ‘Keralam’.
  • Prior Recommendation: Once the Ministry of Home Affairs clears the proposal, the Bill can then only be introduced in Parliament with the prior recommendation of the President.
  • State Legislature’s Views: If the Bill affects the name or boundaries of a State, the President must refer the draft Bill to the respective State Legislature.
  • Time-Bound Process: The State Legislature is asked to express its views within a specific period designated by the President. 
  • Parliament is not strictly bound by the views of the State Legislature; it may accept or reject them.