Current Affairs 19 February 2026
Accelerating Drone Adoption in India
- Drone Rules, 2021 and Drone (Amendment) Rules 2022 & 2023: It has significantly liberalised India’s drone ecosystem.
- E.g., Nearly 90% of Indian airspace was declared a Green Zone for drone operations, allowing flights up to 400 feet.
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI): PLI scheme for drones and drone components has an approved outlay of ₹120 crore.
- GST Rationalisation: GST on drones reduced to 5%, replacing earlier 18% and 28% slabs.
- Digital Sky, 2018 and eGCA: The regulatory services such as drone registration, remote pilot certification, Type certification and RPTO authorisation has been migrated from Digital Sky platform to eGCA.
- Ecosystem Development and Capacity Building through Flagship Programmes: E.g., National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR) engages students and researchers.
India-France Relations
- Strategic Partnership: Established in 1998, this was India’s first strategic partnership with a Western nation.
- Horizon 2047 Roadmap: Adopted in 2023, to guide the relationship for the next 25 years.
- Bilateral trade: More than doubled in the last decade to Euros 12.67 billion in 2024-25.
- Joint defence exercises: SHAKTI (Army), GARUDA (Air Force), VARUNA (Navy).
Republic of Ireland (Capital: Dublin)
- India and Ireland agreed to work closely in the field of ICTs through structured engagement, exchange of best practices, capacity building, and industry linkages.
- Political Features
- It occupies greater part of an island lying to west of Great Britain.
- Surrounding water bodies: Atlantic Ocean (west), Celtic Sea (south), and Irish Sea (east).
- Ireland is separated from Great Britain by North Channel, Irish Sea, and St. George’s Channel.
- Geographical Features
- Highest Peak: Carrauntoohil
- Longest river: River Shannon
Bhirrana Site
- Excavated by: Shri L.S.Rao along the paleo-channels of Ghaggar river.
- Period-IA: Hakra Wares Culture: Characterised by well-plastered subterranean dwelling pits dug into natural soil, Ceramic assemblage.
- Period-IB: Early Harappan: Houses constructed with mud bricks, Pottery shows six fabrics similar to Kalibanga-I.
- Period-IIA: Early Mature Harappan: Marked by transformation in city layout, Settlement enclosed by a mud-brick fortification wall.
- Period-IIB: Mature Harappan: Steatite seals, Standard Harappan antiquities
- Antiquities include: Beads of semiprecious stones, Terracotta objects, Copper bangles, bone objects etc.
About the Strait of Hormuz
- Located between Oman and Iran.
- It is a crucial maritime passage that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman & the Arabian Sea.
- It narrows to just 33 km at its slimmest point.
- Strategic Importance: About 20-25% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
About Bharat VISTAAR
- Objective: Promote the use of India’s major AI-powered digital public infrastructure for the agriculture-related needs of farmers.
- Bharat-VISTAAR stands for Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources.
- It provides a multilingual AI-based conversational advisory system, integrating resources from AgriStack, ICAR, various agricultural schemes, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), mandi prices, and state systems into a single digital system.
- Farmers can query the system through phones (including feature phones) to get instant agricultural solutions and market price information.
Royal Indian Navy Revolt 1946?
- About: It was a large-scale insurrection, with over 20,000 naval ratings participating. It involved 78 ships and 20 shore establishments, including HMIS Talwar in Bombay, and spread to naval bases in Karachi, Madras, Cochin, Vishakhapatnam, Calcutta, and the Andaman Islands.
- Sympathetic strikes also occurred in the Royal Indian Air Force in Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Jessore, and Ambala.
- Immediate Triggers and Grievances: The revolt was sparked by ratings at HMIS Talwar in Bombay over poor food quality, low wages, racial discrimination, abuse by superior officers, and the arrest of a rating for scrawling ‘Quit India’ on the ship.
- Broader Political Links: A Naval Central Strike Committee was formed, and they protested against the trials of Indian National Army (INA) prisoners of war and the use of Indian troops to restore French and Dutch colonial rule in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Indian National Army (INA)
- About: INA was a military force formed during World War II by Indian prisoners of war (POWs) to liberate India from British rule, and its subsequent trials sparked nationwide uprisings that hastened the end of the Raj.
- Formation: Initially proposed by Mohan Singh with Japanese support, recruiting 40,000 soldiers. Rashbehari Bose formed the Indian Independence League in Tokyo (1942).
- Subhas Chandra Bose took command on 25th August 1943 and established the Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore (21st October 1943), recognized by 9 countries, including Japan and Germany.
- Campaign & Collapse: Launched ‘Chalo Delhi’ campaign, hoisted flag at Moirang, Manipur. Collapsed after Japan’s surrender (15th August 1945) and Bose’s reported death in a Taiwan plane crash (18th August 1945).
- INA Trials (Red Fort): First trial at the Red Fort (November 1945) of Prem Kumar Sehgal (Hindu), Shah Nawaz Khan (Muslim), Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Sikh) —symbolizing unity. Defended by Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Asaf Ali. Bombay Congress Session (September 1945) supported prisoners.
- Major Upsurges (1945–46): Triggered three violent confrontations i.e., 21st November 1945 (Calcutta), 11th February 1946 (Calcutta against Rashid Ali), and 18th February 1946 (Royal Indian Navy mutiny, Bombay).
What is Forest Rights Act, 2006 and its Provisions?
- Recognition: The Act recognizes and vests the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been residing in such forests for generations.
- Eligibility: Forest rights can also be claimed by any member or community who has for at least three generations (75 years) prior to the 13th day of December, 2005 primarily resided in forest land for bona fide livelihood needs.
- Conservation: It strengthens the conservation regime of the forests while ensuring livelihood and food security of the FDST and OTFD.
- Decentralization: The Gram Sabha is the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of Individual Forest Rights (IFR) or Community Forest Rights (CFR) or both that may be given to FDST and OTFD.
- The Act identifies four types of rights:
- Title rights: It gives FDST and OTFD the right to ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares. Ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family and no new lands will be granted.
- Use rights: The rights of the dwellers extend to extracting Minor Forest Produce, grazing areas etc.
- Relief and development rights: To rehabilitate in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection.
- Forest management rights: It includes the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.
Exercise MILAN
- About: MILAN is a biennial (once every two years) multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy. Launched in 1995 under the Andaman and Nicobar Command with participation from just four foreign navies—Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand—it has since grown into one of the largest maritime engagements in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Core Objectives: Aims to foster mutual understanding, trust, and professional interaction among maritime partners to promote a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based maritime order.
- Structural Phases: Comprises two main phases: the Harbour Phase (seminars, subject-matter expert exchanges, etc.) and the Sea Phase (focusing on interoperability, HADR, anti-submarine warfare, and tactical manoeuvres).
- Policy Alignment: The exercise serves as a key platform for India’s Act East Policy 2014, the MAHASAGAR vision, and its role as a preferred security partner in the Indo-Pacific.