UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 5 SEPTEMBER 2026

Context: Analysis highlighted India’s progress in geothermal energy following the commissioning of the country’s first two 1,000-metre-deep geothermal wells in Puga Valley, Ladakh, under the National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025).

About Geothermal Energy & Its Geological Genesis:

What it is?

• Geothermal energy is low-carbon, renewable thermal energy generated deep within the Earth’s interior through the radioactive decay of naturally occurring isotopes (uranium, thorium, potassium) and primordial heat left over from planetary formation.
• In geologically active zones (tectonic plate boundaries, rift basins, and deep crustal faults), mantle convection drives hydrothermal fluids toward the surface, trapping steam and superheated water in permeable reservoir rocks.
• When drilled, the fluid ascends to spin steam turbines connected to electric generators, after which condensed fluids are reinjected into the reservoir to maintain hydrostatic pressure and avoid depletion.

Key Data & Geothermal Resource Profile:

• Theoretical Capacity: The Geological Survey of India (GSI) estimates India’s theoretical geothermal power potential at approximately 10.6 GW (10,600 MW).
• Geographical Mapping: GSI has mapped 381 natural hot springs across 10 distinct geothermal provinces:
  1. Himalayan Geothermal Province (Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand)
  2. Naga-Lusai Belt (Northeastern fold mountains)
  3. Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Volcanic arc)
  4. Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) Lineament (Central India)
  5. West Coast Province (Konkan geothermal belt)
  6. Cambay Graben (Gujarat rift basin)
  7. Aravalli Province (Rajasthan/Haryana)
  8. Mahanadi Basin (Odisha)
  9. Godavari Basin (Telangana/Andhra Pradesh)
  10. South Indian Cratonic Region
• High-Altitude Puga Milestone: The Puga Valley project sits at an altitude exceeding 14,000 feet in Ladakh’s Changthang region. Two 1,000-metre wells will support India’s maiden 1 MW demonstration-scale geothermal power plant, advancing the Carbon-Neutral Ladakh vision.

Status of Key Government-Supported Projects:

National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025): Key Pillars

• Lease Tenures & Single-Window Clearance: Empowers State and UT governments to award exploration permits (3–5 years) and long-term development leases (up to 30 years) through designated State Nodal Agencies.
• Repurposing Inactive Oil and Gas Wells: Establishes guidelines to convert abandoned, depleted, or sub-commercial hydrocarbon wells into geothermal heat and electricity producers, leveraging ONGC/OIL subsurface datasets.
• Fiscal Subsidies & Market Enablers: Provides up to 100% financial assistance for government R&D and up to 70% for private start-ups under the Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme (RE-RTD); incorporates geothermal under Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) and the Indian Carbon Credit Trading Scheme.
• Promotion of Next-Gen Technologies: Promotes investments in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)—which hydraulically fracture hot dry rocks to create artificial permeability—and closed-loop Advanced Geothermal Systems (AGS).
• National Geothermal Data Repository (NGDR): Integrates subsurface exploration logs, gravity surveys, and thermal gradient maps across GSI, the Ministry of Mines, and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

Strategic Advantages & Applications:

• Round-the-Clock (RTC) Clean Baseload: Unlike weather-dependent solar and wind, geothermal operates at very high Capacity Utilization Factors (CUF > 85%–90%), providing constant baseload without expensive battery storage.
• Decarbonizing Fragile Border Regions: Displaces costly, polluting diesel generators in off-grid Himalayan zones (Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, Tawang), ensuring winter energy security for civilian settlements and military defense outposts.
• Direct-Use Multi-Sector Applications: Beyond power generation, medium-to-low temperature geothermal water (30°C–90°C) is utilized for:
  • District space heating and passive building architecture.
  • Year-round greenhouse farming and aquaculture in sub-zero terrains.
  • Agro-processing, fruit dehydration, and temperature-controlled cold chains.
  • Eco-friendly balneotherapy and geo-tourism.
• Critical Mineral Extraction: Geothermal brines often contain dissolved high-value critical minerals—such as lithium, cesium, rubidium, and boron—which can be extracted as valuable by-products under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

Challenges in Developing Geothermal Energy:

• High Upfront Exploration Risk: Deep exploratory drilling carries high capital expenditure with no guarantee of locating commercially viable permeability or flow rates (resource discovery risk).
• High-Altitude Logistical Friction: Prime prospects like Puga Valley sit above 14,000 feet, where sub-zero temperatures, thin atmospheres, short working seasons, and narrow mountain passes restrict heavy drilling operations.
• Corrosion & Mineral Scaling: Geothermal fluids are laden with dissolved silica, hydrogen sulfide, and salts, causing rapid corrosion, pipe scaling, and mechanical degradation of turbine blades.
• Environmental & Induced Seismicity Concerns: Hydraulic stimulation in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) carries the risk of triggering micro-earthquakes, while improper fluid disposal can contaminate freshwater aquifers with toxic heavy metals.
• Absence of Mature Indigenous Supply Chains: India remains reliant on imported deep-well logging tools, downhole pumps, and binary organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbomachinery adapted to low-to-medium enthalpy reservoirs.

Way Ahead:

• Derisking Private Capital via Viability Gap Funding (VGF): Offer sovereign-backed early-stage exploratory risk insurance and VGF grants to absorb preliminary drilling losses, following the Icelandic and US models.
• Fast-Tracking Multilateral Knowledge Partnerships: Deepen bilateral agreements with global geothermal leaders—specifically Iceland, Australia, and Saudi Arabia—for directional deep-drilling and EGS reservoir stimulation expertise.
• Synergizing Hydrocarbon Data with Geothermal Mapping: Mandate public sharing of legacy seismic, core-sample, and temperature data from ONGC and OIL to identify low-enthalpy aquifers without repeating costly surveys.
• Standardizing District Direct-Use Infrastructure: Formulate municipal building bye-laws encouraging Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) for centralized heating and cooling across urban residential and commercial hubs.
• Enforcing Closed-Loop Reinjection Standards: Require strict environmental oversight ensuring 100% reinjection of extracted geothermal brine to prevent groundwater contamination, prevent surface subsidence, and preserve long-term reservoir pressure.

Conclusion:

As India works toward its Net Zero 2070 goal and targets 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity, geothermal power provides the critical missing link: dependable, round-the-clock renewable baseload power. Integrating targeted fiscal support, advanced EGS drilling, and oil-well repurposing will ensure geothermal energy becomes a permanent, resilient pillar of India’s clean energy landscape.

Context: A new International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) study estimates that faster electric vehicle adoption, combined with domestic battery manufacturing, could reduce India’s annual oil and battery import bill by up to $125 billion by 2050.

About Faster EV Adoption and India’s Import Bill:

What It Is?

• The ICCT study assesses how different levels of EV adoption and domestic battery-cell manufacturing could affect India’s oil and battery import payments between 2024 and 2050.
• It evaluates three EV pathways—Baseline, Momentum and Ambitious—along with different levels of battery manufacturing localisation.

Aim: To assess whether rapid transport electrification and battery localisation can reduce India’s dependence on imported petroleum and batteries while strengthening energy security and domestic manufacturing.

Key Findings:

• $125 Billion Potential Savings: Ambitious EV adoption with high battery localisation could reduce the annual import bill from $153 billion to about $28 billion by 2050.
• EV Adoption is the Main Driver: Faster electrification alone could save around $94 billion annually, even if India continues importing all battery cells.
• Localisation Adds Savings: High domestic battery manufacturing could provide an additional $31 billion in annual savings by 2050.
• Battery Demand to Surge: EV battery demand could reach around 573 GWh annually by 2050 under faster electrification scenarios, making domestic cell manufacturing strategically important.
• Protection from Oil Shocks: Higher global crude prices substantially increase the benefits of electrification by reducing India’s exposure to volatile petroleum import costs.

Significance:

• Reduces dependence on imported crude oil and vulnerability to geopolitical and global oil-price shocks.
• Battery localisation can strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat, domestic value chains, technology capabilities and EV manufacturing.
• Faster electrification can lower transport-sector fossil-fuel consumption and support India’s decarbonisation and net-zero transition.

Relevance in UPSC Examination Syllabus

• GS Paper III – Economy:
  • Energy security, import dependence, manufacturing, infrastructure and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
  • Electric mobility, climate-change mitigation, clean energy transition and decarbonisation.
• Essay: Sustainable development, energy transition, technological self-reliance and green growth.

Context: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena approved a notification extending Autonomous Hill Development Councils to all seven districts of the Union Territory.

• This move expands elected local self-governance from Leh and Kargil into the five newly carved districts: Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar, and Drass.

About Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs):

What it is?

• Decentralized, elected statutory district-level governance bodies established to provide local self-rule, plan socioeconomic development, and manage land and resources in Ladakh’s mountainous terrain.

• History:
  • Conceived on the pattern of West Bengal’s Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council following prolonged agitations by the people of Ladakh for regional autonomy.
  • Formally enabled by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1995 (later consolidated under the LAHDC Act, 1997).
  • LAHDC Leh was established in 1995, followed by LAHDC Kargil in July 2003 under the J&K coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
  • With the reorganization of Ladakh into a Union Territory in 2019 and the creation of five new districts in 2026, the governance framework was expanded to cover all seven districts.
• Governance Structure:
  • Council Composition: Typically consists of 30 members serving a five-year term: 26 directly elected through universal adult suffrage and 4 nominated by the Lieutenant Governor/administration to represent women and principal religious minorities.
  • Executive Hierarchy: Led by a Chairman designated as the Chief Executive Councillor (CEC), holding the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister, assisted by four Executive Councillors with the rank of Deputy Ministers.
  • Administrative Interface: The Deputy Commissioner of the district acts ex-officio as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the council to direct administration, enforce law and order, and oversee the execution of development works.

Key Functions:

• Land Allocation & Resource Use: Exercises executive control over the allotment, occupation, and use of land vested in the council, as well as the management of un-demarcated forests.
• District Planning & Scheme Implementation: Formulates annual budgets, prioritizes centrally sponsored schemes, and oversees local rural development programs tailored to high-altitude terrain.
• Essential Public Services: Administers primary and secondary education, vocational institutes, public health centers, sanitation, and local road networks (excluding national highways).
• Agrarian & Livestock Development: Oversees agriculture, water canals, fisheries, pasture management, and veterinary care for regional livestock, such as pashmina goats and yaks.
• Cultural & Heritage Preservation: Designs regulations and initiatives to promote eco-tourism, safeguard indigenous languages, and preserve local traditions and monastic heritage.

Context: The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders’ meeting faced sharp diplomatic turbulence and diminished leadership attendance amid escalating geopolitical pressure from China over Taiwan’s regional participation

About The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF):

What it is?

• The premier intergovernmental organization and political grouping in the Pacific, representing 18 island nations and territories across Oceania to enhance regional cooperation, trade, and collective diplomacy.

Established in: Founded in August 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand, initially under the name South Pacific Forum (SPF) before being renamed the Pacific Islands Forum in 1999 to reflect its broader North and South Pacific scope.

Members (18): Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Aim: To foster regional peace, harmony, and social inclusion under the vision of “One Blue Pacific Continent,” driving shared economic prosperity and presenting a unified voice on existential challenges like climate change and maritime security.

Key Functions:

• Regional Policy Harmonisation: Coordinates common positions on global platforms regarding sustainable development, fisheries, ocean governance, and regional resilience.
• Regional Security and Peacekeeping: Mobilizes collective stabilization missions and security cooperation under the mandate of the historic Biketawa Declaration.
• Climate Advocacy: Amplifies Pacific leadership on global climate action, advocating for low-lying island nations threatened by sea-level rise and environmental degradation.
• Economic Integration and Trade: Oversees technical programs to facilitate inter-island shipping, trade facilitation, renewable energy transitions, and tourism infrastructure.
• Post-Forum Dialogue (PFD): Serves as the primary multilateral interface to engage external development partners (including the US, EU, China, Japan, and India) through structured ministerial-level talks.

Significance:

• Equips vulnerable atoll nations with collective bargaining power on the global diplomatic and climate financing stage.
• Represents a critical maritime theatre in the Indo-Pacific where major global powers compete for security access, diplomatic recognition, and development pacts.

Context: The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has become India’s first school education board, and Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, the first university, to onboard UIDAI’s Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE) framework.

About The Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE) Framework:

What it is?

• A secure, regulatory framework established by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that authorizes eligible organizations to carry out local, offline identity verification of individuals using verifiable digital credentials rather than querying central identity databases.

Nodal Organisation: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Aim: To provide a tamper-evident, contactless, and privacy-preserving identity verification ecosystem that reduces operational costs, eliminates physical document submissions, and prevents identity fraud across sectors.

How it Works?

• An authorized organization initiates an offline verification request through a web portal, kiosk, or QR code trigger.
• The user authorizes the request and explicitly consents to share specific credentials via the official identity application.
• Verification takes place locally on the device (which can include offline biometric/face-match checks) without establishing a live connection to UIDAI’s Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR).
• The consented, digitally signed credentials are then securely returned to the verifying organization’s system via a secured callback URL.

Key Features:

• Zero Dependency on Central Databases (No CIDR Query): Verification occurs locally through encrypted, verifiable credentials, eliminating the need for real-time lookups on central servers and shielding central databases from system loads.
• Strict Consent and Selective Sharing: Users maintain complete control over what information is revealed, retaining the option to share either full or selective demographic credentials based on necessity.
• Privacy by Design (No Number Storage): Verifying entities are strictly prohibited from retaining plain national identity digits; data must be masked or redacted, minimizing data-leak exposure.
• Enterprise-Ready Interoperability: Easily connects to mobile apps, enterprise portals, self-service kiosks, and physical counters via standardized API protocols and application-to-application intent calls.
• Proof-of-Presence Integration: Incorporates secure, on-device face authentication and digital signatures to confirm physical presence without transmitting raw biometrics across the network.

Significance:

• Eliminates the circulation and photocopying of physical documents, directly addressing privacy risks and identity theft in public and private institutions.
• Eliminates repetitive physical document verification and manual data entry, dramatically speeding up institutional lifecycles like school admissions, exam registrations, and certificate issuance.

Context: President Droupadi Murmu extended greetings across the nation on the eve of Teachers’ Day, observed annually on September 5.

• The day marks the birth anniversary of celebrated philosopher, educationist, and former President of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan:

Who He Was?

• A distinguished philosopher, scholar, author, and statesman who served as the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India (1962–1967).

Early Days and Education:

• Born on September 5, 1888, in Tiruttani (near Madras), he spent his formative years in pilgrimage towns like Tirupati.
• He earned his Master’s Degree in Arts from Madras University, presenting a pathbreaking dissertation titled “The Ethics of the Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presuppositions”, which defended the ethical depth of Indian philosophical thought.
• He started his academic career in 1909 at Madras Presidency College, later serving as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore and occupying the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta.

Contributions to India:

• Institutionalizing Higher Education: Led Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as Vice-Chancellor from 1939 to 1948, protecting academic integrity and nationalist ideas during critical freedom movement years.
• Radhakrishnan Commission (1948–1949): Chaired the University Education Commission, which established the foundational policy architecture for modern higher education in post-independence India and led to the creation of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• Diplomatic Service: Represented India as the leader of its UNESCO delegation and served as India’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1949–1952) during early Cold War tensions, securing vital geopolitical respect for non-aligned India.
• Constitutional Leadership: Upheld democratic principles with non-partisan authority while serving a decade as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Vice President) and subsequently as President of India during the 1960s wars.

Major Achievements and Honors:

• Inaugural Bharat Ratna (1954): Conferred India’s highest civilian honor in the first year of its institution.
• Global Academic Recognition: Appointed the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University and elected Fellow of the British Academy (1939).
• International Honors: Awarded the German Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts (1954), Goethe Plaque (1959), Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1961), and the Templeton Prize (1975).
• Knighthood (1931): Knighted by the British Crown for his scholarly contributions, later setting it aside post-independence.

Context: The Northern Goshawk (Baaj), Punjab’s state bird, has re-entered the political spotlight ahead of state assembly elections after rival political leaders claimed sightings of the bird, interpreting them as divine symbols of protection and blessing.

About The Northern Goshawk:

What it is?

• A medium-to-large raptor in the family Accipitridae (historically classified as Accipiter gentilis, and recently reclassified as Astur gentilis for the Eurasian goshawk). Known as a “true hawk,” it is widely celebrated for its speed, maneuverability, and prowess in falconry.

Habitat: Primarily inhabits mature temperate and boreal woodlands, including mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. It is widely distributed across Eurasia and North America, ranging from Scandinavia, northern Russia, and the Mediterranean to the Himalayas, eastern China, and Canada.

IUCN Status: Categorised as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

Key Characteristics:

• Forest-Adapted Morphology: Possesses relatively short, broad wings and a long tail, providing aerodynamic agility to navigate dense tree canopies and make rapid sharp turns while chasing prey.
• Distinctive Plumage and Eye Colour: Features slate-grey to dark brownish-black upperparts with finely barred white-and-grey underparts. Juveniles have pale yellow irises that mature into bright orange or striking deep red eyes in adults.
• High-Speed Pursuit: Known for an aggressive and reckless hunting style, diving through thick brush and reaching horizontal chase speeds of up to 40 miles per hour (approx. 64 km/h).
• Broad Diet: An opportunistic apex predator hunting a diverse array of animals, including gamebirds, grouse, hares, squirrels, and other smaller raptors like owls and kestrels.
• Fierce Nest Defense: Exhibits strong nest fidelity by reusing the same nesting sites across multiple years, defending its territory aggressively against large intruders, including humans.

Significance:

• Deeply revered in Sikh history and culture as the avian companion of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who is traditionally depicted carrying a white hawk on his wrist. It serves as a spiritual emblem of sovereignty, courage, and justice.
• Designated as the official State Bird of Punjab, making its legal protection and conservation an emblem of regional and cultural pride.

Context: Kenyan President William Ruto ordered Tata Chemicals to halt its soda ash operations at Lake Magadi in Kajiado County, alleging the company failed to generate sufficient local value-addition, jobs, and industrial investment.

About Kenya:

What it is?

• A sovereign, multi-party democratic republic in East Africa, bisected by the Equator and recognized as an economic, logistics, and diplomatic hub for the region.

Capital: Nairobi.

Border Nations: Bordered by five countries: South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda and Lake Victoria.

Key Geological Features:

• The Great Rift Valley (Central Rift): A major tectonic trench splitting the Kenyan highlands from north to south, bounded by the Mau Escarpment to the west and the Aberdare Range to the east.
• Rift Valley Lake Basin System: A chain of internal drainage lakes sitting across volcanic valley floors, including Lake Turkana in the arid north, freshwater Lake Naivasha, and highly saline, mineral-rich soda lakes such as Lake Magadi, Nakuru, and Bogoria.
• Volcanic Highland Formations: Dominated by extinct volcanic massifs and high plateaus, headlined by Mount Kenya (5,199 meters, the country’s highest peak) and Mount Elgon along the Ugandan border.
• Eastern Plateau Forelands & Coastal Lowlands: Ancient crystalline basement rocks that slope downward east of the Rift highlands into a narrow, coral-fringed Indian Ocean coastal belt and fertile alluvial river valleys (Tana and Galana rivers).

History of Tata Chemicals in Kenya:

• Colonial Origins: Soda ash extraction at Lake Magadi began in 1911. A 1928 lease granted extraction rights, later extended until 2053.
• Tata Acquisition (2005): Tata Chemicals acquired Brunner Mond and renamed its Kenyan operation Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited (TCML), becoming a major African soda ash producer.
• Legal Disputes: TCML faced disputes with Kajiado County over land rates, royalties and community funds. In 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled in Tata’s favour against county closure orders.
• 2026 Crisis: Kenya suspended operations over regulatory and local-processing concerns. In September 2026, President Ruto called for Tata’s exit in favour of firms undertaking domestic mineral processing, while Tata maintained that it complied with regulations.