UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 10-08-2026

One Liners 10-08-2026

Geography

Mising community – Assam

Mising community is Assam’s second-largest plains tribe, famous for their unique ability to live in harmony with the seasonal floods of the Brahmaputra River.

• Lifestyle of Mising community –
  • Chang Ghar – Houses built using bamboo and wood on raised platforms.
    • Can be easily rebuilt if a catastrophic flood hits.
  • Agricultural cycles align perfectly with the river's natural ebb and flow.
  • Sustainable fishing methods during the monsoon.
• Their animist faith, sowing festival Ali-Aye-Ligang and handloom traditions embody a cultural ecology that offers vital lessons for climate resilience.

The Boro people (also known as the Bodo) are Assam's first-largest plains tribe, making up over 1/3^RD of the state's total scheduled tribe population.

Polity & Governance

13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting

13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting was recently held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

• Hosted by – Ministry of Education under India's BRICS Chairship 2026.
• Theme – "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability".
• Areas of focus
  • Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
  • Skill Development.
  • Research and Innovation.
  • Mutual Recognition of Qualifications.
  • Academic Leadership.
• Outcomes –
  • Member nations signed the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration to implement future-ready, humanity-first education policies.
  • BRICS Network University Expansion – To incorporate traditional and indigenous knowledge as a brand-new International Thematic Group.

E-Samudra platform

Union Minister recently launched the E-Samudra platform in Mumbai to drive the digital transformation of India's maritime governance.

• Developed by – Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW)alongside technology partner CMS Computers India Ltd.
• Objective – To integrate ecosystem transitions maritime administration from a traditional office-based setup into a "Digital First and Faceless Governance" model.
• Capabilities of E-Samudra
  • Single Digital Window – Consolidates essential workflows for ports, shipping companies, and seafarers.
  • Paperless Transactions – Facilitates secure online payments and real-time tracking of requests.
  • Digital Certificates – Automatically generates and issues tamper-proof, verified digital credentials.
  • Vessel Modules – Features dedicated utilities like the Ship Registration Module to expedite administrative approvals
• Broader seafarer welfare ecosystem
  • e-NAVIK – A 24/7 centralized grievance redressal portal designed to resolve seafarer issues seamlessly.
  • d-SEA – The Digital Seafarers Employment Agreement, ensuring transparent contractual safeguards.
  • Tracking Dashboard – A protective tracking utility under development to keep tabs on workforce logistics and deployment.

Independent India’s 1^st caste enumeration

Ladakh is officially set to lead Independent India's first complete caste enumeration as part of the upcoming Census 2027.

• This is the first comprehensive caste-wise enumeration since the British-era 1931 Census.
• Census 2027 will be India’s first digital census, but Ladakh will mainly use paper schedules for security reasons.
  • Paper schedules will help prevent geo-tagging of sensitive defence locations near border areas.
• The 2011 SECC was an independent survey and lacked statutory backing under the Census Act, 1948.
  • Its caste data was not publicly released due to data-quality errors.
• Census 2027 will include an open-ended caste column, enabling nationwide mapping of social demographics.

Economy

India – 300 GW Non-Fossil Fuel Power Capacity

India has officially crossed 300 GW of installed non-fossil fuel-based electricity generation capacity, reaching 300.50 GW as of 2026.

• The clean energy now accounts for more than 54% of India's total electricity capacity (which stands at roughly 552 GW), pushing fossil-fuel-based power below the halfway mark.
• Capacity Breakdown  as per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
  • Solar Power – 164.59 GW (up from 2.8 GW in 2014)
  • Wind Power – 58.14 GW
  • Hydro Power (Large & Small) – 57.24 GW
  • Bio-power – 11.75 GW
  • Nuclear Power – 8.78 GW.

Agriculture

Mithila Makhana

1st-Ever Export of GI-tagged Mithila Makhana has been exported to Australia from Bihar recently.

Mithila Makhna

• It got Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2022 with its origin in Bihar's Mithila region.
• Mithila region accounts for nearly 85% of India’s overall Makhana (fox nut/gorgon nut) cultivation.
• Nutrition –
  • Highly rich in plant-based protein, calcium, magnesium, and antioxidants
  • Low in cholesterol and fat.

Environment

India's first fishermen-driven removal initiative

India's first fishermen-driven removal initiative was launched to combat the ecological crisis caused by invasive alien species in the Ujani reservoir in Maharashtra.

• Launched by – Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)
• The Ujani reservoir on the Bhima River—is infested with invasive species i.e, suckermouth catfish.
• This community-backed project incentivises local fishers to systematically capture and extract destructive invasive fish.
• It blends environmental conservation with micro-economics to protect native aquatic biodiversity and local livelihoods.

Striped Hyena’s elusive life

A recent 2026 study published in the journal Oryx reveals that living alongside wildlife does not guarantee knowing it, demonstrating how the Striped Hyena's (Hyaena hyaena).

• Study conducted by –
  • Human and Environment Alliance League (HEAL)
  • National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS).
• Striped Hyena's secretive lifestyle heavily distorts local perceptions in shared human-dominated landscapes.
• Researchers found confusion over its identity, mixed feelings about its scavenging and stress the need for tailored, informative conservation outreach.

Striped hyena

• Scientific name – Hyaena hyaena
• It is a solitary, nocturnal scavenger native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
• It is the only living species in the genus Hyaena and is Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List,
• Population – fewer than 10,000 mature individuals remaining globally.

Science

EVEREST Rocket Engine

Astrobase Space Technologies unveiled EVEREST, a rocket engine, recently.

• It is India's first privately built 800 kN Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) liquid oxygen and liquid methane rocket engine.
  • India joins Russia, the USA, and China as nations with FFSC capability.
• Engine specifications
  • Thrust – 800 kilonewtons (80-tonne class)
  • Propellant – Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (Methalox).
  • Specific Impulse – 340 seconds
  • Throttle Range – 50% to 110%
  • Application – Reusable medium-lift launch vehicles.

Miscellaneous

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

• Observed on – August 9 (annually).
• Established by – United Nations General Assembly in 1994.
• Commemoration of – First meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982.
• Objective – To promote and protect the rights of indigenous populations worldwide.
• Theme for 2026 – “Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being.”