Current Affairs 18 January 2026
Constitutional Provisions Related to removal of Judges
- Article 124 and 218 deals with removal of judges of SC and High Court(HC) respectively
- Grounds for removal: Proven misbehavior and incapacity (Not defined in the Constitution).
- Procedure is regulated by Judges Enquiry Act (1968).
- Note: There is no mention of word impeachment for removal of judges in the constitution.
BBNJ Agreement
- Adopted in 2023 by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction convened under the auspices of the United Nations.
- It becomes third implementing agreement to UNCLOS, in addition to 1994 Part XI Implementation Agreement and 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement.
- Objective: Ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).
- It addresses four main issues:
- Marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
- Measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas
- Environmental impact assessments
- Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology
- It establishes a funding mechanism and sets up institutional arrangements, including a Conference of the Parties, a Clearing-House Mechanism and a secretariat.
- Members: 83 nations have ratified the treaty. India signed the agreement but is yet to ratify.
India Japan Relations
- Strategic partnership: Upgraded to Special Strategic and Global Partnership (2014).
- Economic cooperation: India–Japan CEPA (2011), bilateral trade of US$ 22.85 billion (FY 2023–24), and India–Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership (2021).
- Trade structure: India imports nuclear reactors, copper and electrical machinery, while exporting organic chemicals, vehicles and reactor-related components.
- Security and defence cooperation: Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, defence pacts, 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, and joint exercises such as JIMEX, Dharma Guardian, MALABAR and MILAN.
- Development cooperation: Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project and India–Japan Act East Forum supporting development of India’s Northeast region.
Coconut
- Climate: Prefers humid, tropical climates, typically in coastal areas
- Temperature: 20°C to 32°C.
- Rainfall: 1000 mm is sufficient.
- It requires plenty of sunlight.
- Soil: Red sandy loam, laterite and alluvial soils
- India is the third largest coconut-producing country. (2021-22)
- Major Producing States: Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc.
Bio-Safety Level (BSL)
- BSL are individual safeguards designed to protect laboratory personnel, as well as the surrounding environment and community.
- Four Bio-Safety Levels:
- BSL-1: Low-risk agents; basic lab practices and standard PPE.
- BSL-1 applies to laboratory settings in which personnel work with low-risk microbes that pose little to no threat of infection in healthy adults.
- BSL-2: Moderate-risk agents; restricted access, biosafety cabinets and enhanced PPE.
- BSL-3: High-risk airborne pathogens; controlled airflow, sealed labs and advanced PPE.
- BSL-4: BSL-4 labs work with highly dangerous and exotic microbes.
- Infections caused by these types of microbes are often fatal and come without treatment.
Chabahar Port
- It is located in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province on the Gulf of Oman.
- It is Iran’s sole deep-sea port directly connected with the Indian Ocean.
- There are two terminals in Chabahar Port project i.e. Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari.
- The port is part of the proposed International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
- INSTC is a 7,200 km multimodal corridor connecting India with Russia and Europe through Iran and the Caspian Sea