UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 09-07-2026

One Liners 09-07-2026

Polity & Governance

Female Enrolment in Higher Education

India’s higher education sector recorded significant growth in 2023-24 and women accounting for nearly half of all students.

All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report

• Female enrolment is 2.24 crore (nearly 50% of total 4.5 crore) in 2023-24.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), in the 18-23 age group, is 31.2 %.
  • GER measures enrolment in higher education as a percentage of the population.
• Higher Female GER – Female GER standing at 31.2 % compared to 28.9 % for males.
• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has risen to 1.02 crore in 2023-24 (from 91.5 lakh in 2014-15).

International Relations and Issues

NATO Summit 2026

• Venue – Ankara, Turkey.
• Objective – To discuss defence spending, Ukraine assistance, regional security and strategic partnerships with key allies.
• Participation – 32-member countries of NATO.
• NATO leaders’ announcements for 2026 –
  • Allies pledge €70bn in military equipment.
  • Assistance and training for Ukraine.
  • Affirm their sovereign ​commitments to sustaining at least equivalent levels in 2027.

BRICS Women's Working Group Meeting

• India commenced the BRICS Women's Working Group (WWG) Meeting in Kochi, Kerala, under its BRICS Chairship 2026.
• Under India's BRICS Chairship Theme – "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
• Four priority areas –
  • Building a more resilient BRICS through women's governance and leadership
  • Advancing financial and digital inclusion as catalysts for change.
  • Promoting women's entrepreneurship and skill development.
  • Strengthening women's role in climate action, food security and nutrition.

Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund has named Silvana Tenreyro, as its new chief economist and Director of the Research Department.

• Maria Silvana Tenreyro is a British-Argentine economist and professor of economics at the London School of Economics.
• Gita gopinath from India previously served as chief economist of IMF.

Economy

Country’s First 6-Lane Runway Underpass

Varanasi airport to get country’s first 6-lane runway underpass.

• The country’s first 6-lane underpass beneath an active runway is coming up at the new terminal of Varanasi airport.
• Jointly executed by –
  • National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
  • Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Indian oil imports

• Russia’s share in Indian oil imports crossed 40% in May 2026, highest in nearly two years.
• Russia charged India a premium for its oil, while U.S. and UAE sold India oil at lower-than-average prices.
• India is trying to diversify its sources of oil, including importing oil from Iran and Venezuela.
• India’s total oil imports stood at 218.2 lakh tonnes in May 2026 (12% higher than April 2026).
• Because the price of oil that India imported stood at $106 per barrel in May 2026 as compared to $64 a barrel in May 2025.
• Value of oil imports from Russia grew 83% in May 2026 over its level in May last year, the actual volume of oil imported from Russia fell by 2%.

Agriculture

Jalbhara

The 220-year-old Bengali sweet Jalbhara got GI tag.

• Place – Chandannagar, West Bengal.
• Name literally translates to "filled with liquid" (from the Bengali words “jol” for liquid and “bhora” for filled).
• It is famed for its soft, outer shell of fresh chhena that hides a burst of liquid filling.
• Originally, the sweet was made with rosewater or nolen gur (date palm jaggery) syrup as the core.

Balagarh’s Traditional Boats

Balagarh boats recently received GI tag.

• Location – Balagarh, West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
• It is believed to be over 600 years old entrenched in Bengal’s cultural and commercial heritage.
• The craft finds mentioned in –
  • Writings of Mughal chronicler Abul Fazl (1551–1602)
  • Devotional literature of the Mangal-Kavya (between the 13th and 18th centuries).
• In the 17^th century, even Portuguese bandits purportedly used Balagarh-made boats.
• Boat-makers are expected to benefit from central schemes such as PM Vishwakarma.

Environment

Satkosia Tiger Reserve Restoration

Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve has been a tough lesson for the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) big cat conservation programme.

• Programme aim – To establish a founder population and initiate natural breeding within the reserve.
• It was done across 12 tiger reserves in less than two decades.
• The first such exercise was the reintroduction of two female and a male tiger from Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
• The last exercise was in 2024, when 2 female tigers were reintroduced from Maharashtra.
• The two-female-one-male experiment has been more successful in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve.
• Satkosia had one tiger when a male and a female were introduced from Kanha and Bandhavgarh, both from Madhya Pradesh.
• This protected area in the Eastern Ghats recorded none in 2026.

Security

Pinaka Long-Range Guided Rocket

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on successfully conducted a flight test of the Pinaka long range guided rocket.
• The rocket executed all planned in-flight manoeuvres and hit the designated target with high precision.
• Designed by – Armament Research and Development Establishment.
• The test flight demonstrates the system’s ability to fire different variants of the Pinaka rocket family with varying ranges from the same launcher.