Parliament recently passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026.

About the Bill 

• All investigations must be concluded within 60 days.
• States to establish Special Fast Track Courts in consultation with Chief Justice of High Courts to complete trials within 3 months.
• Stricter Penalties
  • Persons resorting to unfair means: Imprisonment and fine escalated to 5 to 10 years jail with maximum fine raised to ₹50 lakh.
  • Organized Crime: 7-10 years jail and fine up to ₹10 crore.
  • Service providers: Maximum Fine increased to ₹5 crore; debarment from public exams extended to 8 years.

IN-SPACe has made its approval mandatory for any planned re-entry of a space object by an Indian or non-Indian entity, whether within or outside Indian territory.

About IN-SPACe

• It is a single-window, independent, nodal agency that functions as an autonomous agency in the Department of Space (DOS).
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
• It acts as an interface between ISRO and Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) and assesses how to utilize India's space resources better and increase space-based activities.
• It supervises space activities of non-governmental entities like:

• Building launch vehicles & satellites and providing space-based services.
• Sharing space infrastructure and premises under the control of DOS/ISRO; 

Establishing new space infrastructure and facilities

The Board of Peace has reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

• Hamas  is an armed Palestinian group and political movement in the Gaza Strip.
• Hamas  started as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1987.

About Board of Peace

• It is a United States-led international organisation, initially endorsed by a UN Security Council Resolution in 2025 as a transitional administration to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza.
  • It was subsequently established as a permanent international organisation.
• Members:  28 members including USA, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkiye, UAE, Vietnam etc. 
  • India is not a member. 

Department of Financial Services (DFS) has launched India’s first sovereign-backed Protection and Indemnity insurance product, BMIP.

About BMIP

• It is a government-backed maritime insurance pool with a capacity of $1.5 billion and sovereign guarantee of ₹12,980 crore ($1.4 billion).
• Objective: To facilitate continuous maritime insurance coverage.
• Pool Administrator: General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re)
• Coverage: Major maritime risks, including Hull and Machinery, Cargo, Protection and Indemnity and War risks for- 
  • Indian flagged or controlled vessels.
  • Vessels destined to or starting from India.
• Claims Handling: Up to $100 million (by the Pool); Exceeding $100 million (triggers sovereign guarantee).

India ranked 176th out of 177 countries in the Environmental Performance Index with a score of 22.46%; second-lowest globally (above Laos).

• Estonia topped the index with 74.79%.

About the Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

• Published: Biennially by Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, with CIESIN (Columbia University) and Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions.
• Framework: 3 policy objectives (Environmental Health, Ecosystem Vitality, and Climate Change), 12 issue categories, and 47 indicators.
• Purpose: Measures environmental performance, identifies policy gaps, and tracks sustainability progress.

Recently scientist discovered atmosphere whirling around the Sun spins at a much faster rate than the visible surface.

• Rotation speed increase with height above the Sun's surface and decreases slightly when solar activity, becomes stronger.

About Sun’s Atmosphere 

• Made up of several layers, mainly the Photosphere, Chromosphere, and Corona. 
  • Photosphere: Lowest layer and the visible surface, which is relatively cool than core and is home of sunspots and solar flares. 
  • Chromosphere:  Temperature Anomaly Begins i.e. in the upper levels, temperatures begin to climb instead of falling.
  • Corona (outermost layer): Exponentially hotter (upto 2 million °C) and can only be seen during total solar eclipse. 

The Centre facilitated talks between Odisha and Chhattisgarh for an amicable settlement on Mahanadi Water Dispute.

• Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) was constituted in 2018 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

About Mahanadi River

• Origin: Sihawa Hills, Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh).
• Course: Major east-flowing Peninsular River (~851–909 km), flowing through Chhattisgarh and Odisha into the Bay of Bengal.
• Basin: India's 6th largest river basin; mainly in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• Major Tributaries:
  • Left Bank: Seonath, Hasdeo, Mand, Ib.
  • Right Bank: Tel, Ong, Jonk, Pairi.
• Major Projects: Hirakud Dam, Minimata (Hasdeo) Bango Dam, Ravishankar Sagar Dam, Rudri Barrage, Naraj Barrage, and Mahanadi Barrage.

Recently, 14 nations established a Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

About Multinational Maritime Defense Alliance

• Objective: Protecting shipping in key waterways of West Asia, maritime defence cooperation, protecting freedom of navigation, securing international trade routes and energy supply lines.
• Membership: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia
• Headquarters: Saudi Arabia is the founding and leading state of the coalition and serves as its permanent headquarters

Nature: Purely defensive in nature and in full compliance with international law.