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UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 07-03-2026

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March 07, 2026

One Liners 07-03-2026

History, Art and Culture

Nazca Civilization

  • Located in – Southern Peru, South America.

  • Created between – 200 BC and 650 AD.

  • Nazca Lines – It remains one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries.

  • These enormous desert patterns depict animals, plants, geometric shapes, and human figures, visible only from the air.

  • Decades of study have yet to explain why the Nazca civilisation created these designs.

  • AI – “Archaeologists use AI to uncover hidden Nazca geoglyphs; in 6 months, 303 new figures were found, nearly doubling known sites.

  • This marks a 3rd era of discovery such as ancient builders, aircraft revealing scale, and now AI mapping the bigger picture.”

Return of Thirumangai Alvar Statue

  • Origin – Sundararaja Perumal Temple, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu.

  • Period – 16th century bronze statue of Saint Thirumangai Alvar.

  • Acquisition by – Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, in 1967 from private collector J.R.Belmont.

  • Discovery – Independent French scholar linked the bronze to a 1957 photograph from the temple archives.

  • Return – Ashmolean Museum returned the statue to the Government of India (High Commission in London) after detailed provenance research.

Geography

Red Sand Dunes of Theri Kaadu

  • Theri Kaad is a little-known desert of striking red sand dunes formed by iron-rich soil.

  • Located in – Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu.

  • Unlike Rajasthan’s golden sands, these dunes glow rust-red under the sun.

  • The landscape, dotted with palm trees and small villages, creates a rare coastal-desert contrast.

Social Issues

UN Report on Women

  • Key findings

    • Women hold only 64% of men’s legal rights.

    • No country has achieved full legal equality for women and girls.

    • 54% of nations lack consent-based rape laws.

    • 3 in 4 countries still allow child marriage.

    • 44% of countries lack equal pay laws.

  • Highlight – The rising digital violence and sexual violence in conflicts, which increased 87% in two years.

  • Urgent action – At 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), UN Women is urging decisive measures under the theme ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.’

Women Empowerment – Gender Empowerment Casebook

  • Legal Aid – NyayaSakhi (SWATI, Maharashtra) AI-supported legal assistant for domestic violence survivors, offering guidance on rights, remedies, and case timelines.

  • STEM Promotion – AtenIA (Peru) – “Phygital” mentoring model (books + conversational AI) that redirects biased prompts to highlight women’s leadership in STEM; intention to pursue STEM rose from 9% to 76%.

  • Digital Literacy – YASHODA AI Empowers rural and semi-urban women to spot AI-driven harms such as deepfakes and financial scams.

  • Agricultural Advisory & Credit – MetsaQ (Odisha) – Voice-based advisories via small language models, partnered with SHGs; 42% women users, with 34% farmers accessing formal credit.

Pad Yatras

  • Held under – Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

  • Organized at – 30+ locations across India with thousands of participants.

  • Objective – To raise awareness about affordable, quality generic medicines.

  • Awareness – Medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras cost 50–80% less than branded alternatives, reducing healthcare expenses without compromising quality.

Global Burden of Disease data (1990–2023)

  • India’s burden (2023)

    • Type 2 diabetes – ~21 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), 5.8 lakh deaths.

    • High systolic BP – ~3.8 crore DALYs, 15.7 lakh deaths.

    • Rising risks – High BMI (2.7–2.9% annually), LDL cholesterol, MASLD.

  • Regional trends –

    • India overtook China in DALYs for diabetes, topping the list.

    • For other risk factors, India ranks second but is closing the gap with China.

    • Together, both countries represent the heaviest global burden.

Polity & Governance

Appointment of Lieutenant Governor (LG)

President appointed Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, succeeding Vinai Kumar Saxena.

  • Constitutional Basis

    • Articles 239-241 – Part VIII governs Union Territories (UTs).

    • Article 239 – Every UT is administered by the President of India through an Administrator appointed by him, with a designation specified by the President.

  • Appointment Process

    • Article 239AA – Specifically mandates that Delhi’s Administrator shall be designated as the LG.

    • Article 74 – President acts on the aid & advice of the Council of Ministers, Central Government recommends LG.

  • Tenure & Removal

    • Holds office “during the pleasure of the President.”

    • No fixed term or constitutional grounds for removal.

    • Central Government can advise the President to transfer, remove, or seek resignation of an LG at any time.

Agriculture

Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture (Casebook)

  • Yield Prediction – MapMyCrop utilizes multi-sensor satellite imagery to forecast sucrose peaks in sugarcane, resulting in a 57% improvement in yield.

  • Soil Chemistry – Chemistry-Aware Crop Yield Prediction employs physics-guided machine learning with satellite data to identify toxicities and nutrient imbalances, facilitating a 28% reduction in nitrogen use while increasing yields.

  • Advisory Systems – MahaVISTAAR (Maharashtra) and FarmAdvice (Africa) utilize natural language processing and voice-first interfaces to provide expert-reviewed guidance in local dialects regarding pest outbreaks and weather anomalies.

Science

Linking Patients' Digital Health Records (ABHA-IDs)

National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed medical colleges to link all patients’ ABHA) IDs.

  • Objectives –

    • To ensure objective verification by eliminating fake patients.

    • To increase transparency in medical college evaluations.

    • To strengthen the digital health ecosystem with secure, paperless records.

  • Additional directives –

    • Submit Health Facility Registry (HFR) IDs of hospitals.

    • Confirm integration of hospital software with the ABDM platform and PM-JAY portal.

  • Notes

    • ABHA-ID – A unique 14-digit number under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) that enables digital health record linkage for Indian patients.

    • HFR serves as a centralized repository of public and private healthcare facilities in India.

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