The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by Parliament.

About Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs
• Objective: Strengthen delayed registration provisions to curb identity fraud, document manipulation, and record misuse, while promoting timely registration and a secure, digital civil registration system.
• Amends: Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
• Delayed Registration:
  • 1–2 years: Registration requires verification and approval by DM/SDM/authorized Executive Magistrate.
  • Beyond 2 years: Registration requires an order from a Judicial Magistrate First Class (earlier, DM/SDM could approve all cases beyond one year).

The government is promoting quality-driven and environmentally sustainable manufacturing through MSME Sustainable (Zero Defect, Zero Effect – ZED) Certification Scheme.

MSME Sustainable (Zero Defect, Zero Effect – ZED) Certification Scheme

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME)
• Launched: 28 April 2022
• Objective: Encourage MSMEs to achieve "Zero Defect" (high-quality products) and "Zero Effect" (minimal environmental impact).
• Certification Levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
• Implementation: Phase I covers manufacturing MSMEs; Phase II extends to service-sector MSMEs.
• Financial Support: Up to 75% subsidy for certification (max ₹50,000), ₹2 lakh for consultancy, and ₹3 lakh for cleaner technologies.
• Women Entrepreneurs: 100% certification subsidy for women-owned MSMEs.

Scientists at ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD) have developed India's first indigenous ASF vaccine.

About the ASF Vaccine

• Vaccine: It is a live attenuated, MA-104 cell line-based vaccine.
• Significance: Enhances disease preparedness, protects pig farmers' livelihoods, supports the swine industry, and strengthens India's veterinary biotechnology capabilities.

About African Swine Fever (ASF)

• Nature: Highly contagious viral disease caused by African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), affecting domestic and wild pigs only.
• Impact: Mortality may reach 100%; no risk to human health but causes severe economic losses.
• Transmission: Spreads through infected pigs, contaminated pork products, fomites, and soft ticks.

A study by the Union Health Ministry and partner organisations says introducing the hexavalent vaccine under the Universal Immunisation Programme could improve India’s immunisation programme.

About Hexavalent Vaccine

• Six-in-One Combination: It is a single combination vaccine designed to protect babies against six deadly childhood diseases in a single course of injections.
• Disease Protection: The vaccine combines protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and poliomyelitis (via inactivated polio vaccine [IPV]).
• WHO Recommendation: The introduction of this combination vaccine follows World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for streamlined childhood immunization
• Key Benefits: Fewer Injections, Programmatic Cost Savings, Improved Immunization Coverage and Reduced Side Effects.

The Supreme Court clarified that a direction banning mining activities within a 10 km radius of the Asan wetland conservation reserve would apply to other wetland conservation reserves across the country for the sake of parity.

• Mining within the 10 km buffer requires prior approval from the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and/or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve

• First Ramsar site of Uttarakhand.
• Located right at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna Rivers.
• It is situated strategically along the Central Asian Flyway, making it a critical habitat for a vast range of resident and migratory birds.

The World Bank’s WDR 2026 highlights AI as a transformative technology to accelerate inclusive economic growth in developing nations.

Key Details of the Report

• Automation vs. Productivity: Only 4.5% of jobs in developing countries face AI automation, while 16.2% will experience productivity amplification.
• Three-Step Strategy: Recommends developing nations to 
  • Adopt existing AI tools, 
  • Adapt them to local contexts (Small AI), and
  • Advance frontier capabilities.
• Emphasizes that basic infrastructure, including reliable electricity, internet, digital public infrastructure (DPI), and skills, is a prerequisite to bridging the global inequality gap.

On International Clouded Leopard Day, India launched the Clouded Leopard Conservation Action Plan (CAP).

About the Conservation Action Plan

• Framework: A Government of India & UNDP-GEF initiative identifying 14 priority Northeast Indian landscapes.
  • Implementation:MoEFCC with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and State Forest Departments.
• Strategies: Uses environmental DNA (eDNA), M-STrIPES, and transboundary cooperation for monitoring and anti-poaching.

About Clouded Leopard

• Habitat: Dense evergreen forests of Northeast India and Southeast Asia.
  • The highest recorded density in Asia is in Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve.
• Striking Habits: Highly arboreal and nocturnal; possesses the proportionally largest canines among all cat species.
• Threats: Large-scale deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and commercial poaching.
• Conservation Status: Included under the Species Recovery Programme of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme.
  • IUCN: Vulnerable; 
  • WPA, 1972: Schedule I; 

CITES: Appendix I.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found signs of ancient disaster on  Neptune’s inner moons (Proteus, Larissa, Galatea).

About James Webb Space Telescope

• International Collaboration:  The telescope is an international partnership between NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency(CSA).
• Orbital Position: Webb orbits the Sun at the second Lagrange point (L2), which is located 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.
• Scientific Mission: To study the first galaxies born after the Big Bang and examine every phase of cosmic history.
• Observation: Specifically observes the infrared spectrum of light.

Supreme Court (SC) recently issued directives to strengthen compliance with Section 146 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (mandating third-party motor insurance) to enforce road safety compliance.  

• Around 56% of vehicles (16.54 crore) are uninsured despite the mandatory insurance requirement.

Key Directions

• Extended Mandatory Cover: 4 years for new cars and 6 years for new two-wheelers.
• Standardized Four-Tier Insurance: Mandatory third-party cover, with optional legal liability, personal accident, and own-damage covers, along with a customer option form.
• Technology-Based Enforcement: Integrate ANPR cameras with VAHAN and Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) databases; enable real-time insurance verification by police.
• Compliance Measures: Explore fuel sales linked to valid insurance through pilot projects.
• Faster Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACTs) Claims: Timely filing of Detailed Accident Reports (DARs) to expedite pending compensation cases.