India signed its first structured LPG supply deal with the United States to import 2.2 MTPA of LPG (around 10% of India’s demand) for year 2026.

About LPG

• Composition: Contains 50-60% propane and 40-50% butane, varying with season and supply.
• Production & Import: Domestic production is ~12.8 MT (35%); imports exceeded ~21 MT (65%).
  • Import Sources:  Qatar as the largest source, followed by the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
• Households account for over 90% of India's LPG demand.

To tackle rising human-leopard conflict, MoEFCC has granted approval to Maharashtra’s leopard birth control programme (first time in India).

About Leopards (Panthera pardus)

• Habitat Distribution: India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of Pakistan, excluding mangrove forests and deserts.
• Size: It is the smallest of the big cats.
• Prey: smaller species of herbivores, such as the chital, hog deer and wild boar.
• Uniqueness: nocturnal, spends most of its resting time on top of trees, using land only to move locations.

Conservation status:

• IUCN Red List: Near Threatened
• CITES: Appendix-I
• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I

16th Finance Commission Submits 2026-31 Report to the President of India.

About 16th Finance Commission

• Constituted by the President under Article 280 (1) of the Constitution.
• Chairman: Arvind Panagariya (former vice-chairman of NITI Aayog)
• Terms of Reference:
  • Distribution between the Union and States of the net proceeds of taxes and allocation between the States of such proceeds.
  • Principles for governing the grants-in-aid and revenues of the state under Article 275 of the Constitution.
  • Measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities based on state finance commission recommendation.

Precision biotherapeutics are emerging as the next frontier in personalised medicine.

• Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has identified Precision Biotherapeutics as one of the six focus areas under the BioE³ Policy.

About Precision Biotherapeutics

• Definition: Precision biotherapeutics is the targeted application of biological agents (proteins, cells, or gene therapies derived from living systems) tailored to an individual patient’s genetic profile, environment, and lifestyle. 
• Technologies: Includes gene editing, mRNA platforms, monoclonal antibodies and personalised cell-based therapies.
• Advantages: Improves efficacy and reduces adverse effects through targeted intervention, esp. in rare genetic disorders and autoimmune diseases.

Amidst rising digital arrest scams, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to decide on ratifying the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (or UN CyberCrime Treaty).

About UN CyberCrime Treaty

• Overview: It is the first universal legally binding framework for the collection, sharing and use of electronic evidence for all serious offences. 
  • It criminalize cyber-dependent crimes and also offences related to online fraud, online child sexual abuse, non-consensual dissemination of intimate images etc.
  • Convention was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 24 December 2024. 
• Secretariat: UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The eighth edition of the India-UK Joint Military Exercise “Ajeya Warrior-25” commenced in Rajasthan.

• Held biennially since 2011 between Indian Army and British Army. 
• Conducted under a United Nations mandate, it focuses on counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban environment.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has constituted the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC) to unify and streamline governance across its autonomous institutions.

About ESSC

• Purpose: Integrates five autonomous MoES institutes under a coordinated framework to improve governance and collaboration.
• Governance: Chaired by the Union Minister for Earth Sciences to break institutional silos and promote a whole-of-government approach.
• Structure: Institutes retain their mandates but follow common committees, a unified annual report and shared administrative oversight.
• Significance: Strengthens climate services, disaster preparedness, ocean and atmospheric research, and enhances public outreach.

The Sentinel-6B satellite was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a Falcon 9 rocket.

About Sentinel-6B Satellite

• Joint mission between the United States’ NASA, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the European Space Agency.
• Purpose: It is an ocean-tracking satellite with six onboard science instruments that will measure the rising sea levels and its impacts on Earth.
• Expected Benefits:
  • Help scientists understand sea-level rise – crucial information for shaping climate policy and protecting coastal lives.
  • Improve the accuracy of weather forecasts, including storm and flood predictions.

India’s Chief Economic Advisor raised concerns regarding use of Initial Public Offering (IPO) as an exit route for early-stage investors rather than an instrument for raising long-term capital.

About Initial Public Offer (IPO)

• An IPO is the selling of securities of private companies to the public in the primary market (for the first time). 
• IPO transforms a privately-held company into a public company.
• It is the largest source of funds with long or indefinite maturity for the company.
• Types of IPO: Fixed Price Issue and Book Building Issue (no fixed price, but a price band).

Union Environment Minister of India addresses Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) Industry Leaders’ Roundtable at CoP30, Belém, Brazil.

About LeadIT

• Launched jointly by India and Sweden and supported by the World Economic Forum at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.
• Aim: It was the first global high-level initiative aimed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from high-emitting industries by 2050. 
• LeadIT drives just and equitable industry transition by fostering public-private partnerships, mobilising resources and supporting knowledge-sharing.
• LeadIT 2.0 (2024-2026) was adopted at the annual LeadIT Summit at COP28.
• Members: 18 member countries and 27 companies.