The Ministry of Corporate Affairs recently notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Amendment Act, 2026.

About IBC amendment act 2026 

• New Creditor-Initiated Insolvency Resolution Process (CIIRP):This is a new, hybrid out-of-court resolution mechanism introduced under Chapter IV-A of the Code.
  • It allows notified classes of financial creditors to initiate early-stage resolution against eligible corporate debtors. 
• Strict timelines: 
  • Application Admission: The National Company Law Tribunal must admit insolvency applications within 14 days of a default.
  • Liquidation Process: Must be completed within 180 days (extendable by a maximum of 90 days).
• Cross-Border and Group Insolvency: The Act provides an enabling framework for managing cross-border and group insolvency cases.
• Reinforcement of the "Clean-Slate Principle": It establishes that once a resolution plan is approved, prior claims against the corporate debtor are extinguished unless otherwise specified.

Recently a study identified Bihar and West Bengal as major aerosol pollution hotspots.

Key highlights

• Expanding Hotspots: Particulate matter (PM) pollution rose by over 20% across Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), Himalayas, and North East (NE) India with Bihar and West Bengal emerged as major hotspots.
• Driving factors: Biomass burning due to cooking and slash and burn agriculture 
• Changing Composition of PM: Organic carbon and sulphate both associated with biomass burning, increased by almost 50%
  • Carbonaceous aerosol remain dominant in Eastern IGP, while dust remained dominant in Western IGP.

About Aerosol 

• Aerosols are small microscopic solid or liquid particles that float in the air. 
• They are emitted by both natural events and human activities.
• Some aerosols (light coloured) cool the climate, and others (dark coloured like black carbon or soot) have a warming effect.

US strikes near Strait of Hormuz in Iran’s Southern Hormozgan raise ceasefire tensions. 

• The US said the strikes were defensive actions targeting missile sites and mine-laying boats to protect American troops.

About Hormozgan Province

• Location: Southern province of Iran along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
• Capital: Bandar Abbas, located on the northern coast of the Strait of Hormuz.
• Strategic Importance: Situated near the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil trade route.

Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment launched PM-AJAY Portal and AJAY Mobile App.

• PM-AJAY Portal will enable real-time monitoring, transparent governance and milestone-linked fund flow for Adarsh Gram, Grants-in-Aid (GIA) and Hostel components under PM-AJAY.

About PM-AJAY (Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojna)

• Launched in: FY 2021-22.
• It is a merger of  3 erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes-
  • Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY)
  • Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP) 
  • Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana (BJRCY).
• Objective: Socio-economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes (SCs).
• Focus areas: Reducing poverty, enhancing educational opportunities, and improving infrastructure in SC-dominated areas 
• Funding:  100% funded by the Central Government.
• Implemented by: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• Coverage: Implemented in 28 States/ UTs

• Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Ladakh& Lakshadweep are not covered under this scheme.

Source:

Taiwan has overtaken India as the world's Fifth-Largest Stock market.

• According to Bloomberg, Taiwan's overall market capitalization rose to $4.95 trillion, while India's market value declined to $4.92 trillion.
• Unlike Taiwan, India does not yet have globally dominant listed semiconductor makers or AI hardware companies.
• World’s Top 4 Stock Markets by Size: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), USA; NASDAQ, USA; Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), China; Japan Exchange Group (Tokyo Stock Exchange), Japan.

India Stock market

• Regulator: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• India primarily has two stock exchanges:  
• Investors can trade on these exchanges for either the short-term (debt investments) or the long-term (equity investments).

• Oldest: Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), established in 1875.
• Largest: National Stock Exchange (NSE, established in 1992.
• Investors can trade on these exchanges for either the short-term (debt investments) or the long-term (equity investments).

China and Pakistan recently agreed to accelerate the development of the upgraded phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0) and develop Pakistan's port of Gwadar.

About CPEC

• It is the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2015.
  • Gwadar Port was officially inaugurated in 2016 as part of the larger CPEC.
• It connects Pakistan's Gwadar Port to Kashgar City in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
• India opposes CPEC as it passes through parts of Jammu & Kashmir illegally occupied Pakistan, violating India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Supreme Court rejects review plea by Tamil Nadu on Mekedatu project.

• The Court in 2025 had rejected Tamil Nadu’ plea challenging the Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu project as "premature."

About Mekedatu Project

• It is a proposed ₹9,000-crore multi-purpose balancing reservoir, designed to provide 4.75 TMC of drinking water to Bengaluru and generate 400 MW of power.
• Location: Located on the Cauvery River near the Sangama confluence of the Arkavathy tributary in Karnataka’s Ramanagara and Chamarajanagar districts.

Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) gets major user-friendly upgrade.

• QR-based login, short-duration plans and standardised hotspot names were introduced to improve accessibility under the scheme.

About PM WANI

• Ministry: Ministry of Communications
• Genesis: Launched by the Department of Telecommunication in 2020.
• Aim: To enhance the proliferation of public WiFi hotspots to create robust digital communications infrastructure in the country, especially in rural areas.
  • Scheme encouraging local entrepreneurs to set up and operate Wi-Fi hotspots based on techno-commercial viability.

Recently Finance minister reiterated the textile target of $100 bn exports and $250 bn production by 2030 during TEXPROCIL Export Awards 2023–24 ceremony. 

About TEXPROCIL

• Origin: 1st Council set up after Independence by the Government of India in 1954.
• Headquarters: Mumbai. 
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Textile.
• Type: government-sponsored, autonomous, nonprofit body.
• Role: It is the international face of cotton textiles from India facilitating exports worldwide.