🗞️ Why in News: A snapshot of the most exam-relevant developments for Sunday, May 31, 2026 — anchored by World No Tobacco Day, the conclusion of Exercise PRAGATI 2026, and the Supreme Court’s Agasthyamalai clean-up order, with shorter notes on governance, defence, economy, and environment.
World No Tobacco Day 2026
🗞️ Why in News: May 31 is World No Tobacco Day; WHO’s 2026 theme is “Unmasking the appeal — countering nicotine and tobacco addiction.”
Key Points
- Targets youth-focused industry tactics: e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, synthetic nicotine.
- India’s laws: COTPA 2003, PECA 2019 (e-cigarette ban); FCTC ratified 2004.
(See the full deep-dive article in today’s edition.)
Exercise PRAGATI 2026 Concludes at Umroi
🗞️ Why in News: India’s maiden 13-nation Army multilateral exercise concluded May 31 at Umroi, Meghalaya.
Key Points
- PRAGATI = Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region.
- 13 nations, 400+ troops, counter-insurgency focus. (Full article in edition.)
Supreme Court Orders Agasthyamalai Clean-Up
🗞️ Why in News: The SC (May 29) ordered eviction of 4,601 encroachers from the Western Ghats’ Agasthyamalai landscape.
Key Points
- Case: A. John Kennedy v. State of Tamil Nadu (2026 INSC 605); CEC monitoring; next hearing Sept 1. (Full article in edition.)
Cotton Import Duty Waived
🗞️ Why in News: India suspended the 11% cotton import duty for June 1–end-October 2026 to aid textile MSMEs.
Key Points
- Second waiver in 12 months; welcomed by CITI, AEPC; mills-vs-farmers tension. (Full article in edition.)
CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) Controversy
🗞️ Why in News: CBSE’s switch to On-Screen Marking (OSM) for Class 12 (2026) and the scrapping of post-result mark verification drew criticism over scanning errors.
Background
- OSM: answer scripts are scanned and evaluated digitally on a secure portal; system auto-totals marks.
- Aimed at fewer totalling errors and faster results; critics cite a rushed, un-piloted rollout.
- Class 10 evaluation remains physical for 2026. CBSE functions under the Ministry of Education.
UPSC Angle
- GS2 governance: digitisation of high-stakes assessment requires piloting, transparency, and grievance redress; links to wider exam-credibility concerns (NTA/CUET).
📌 Facts Corner
- OSM = On-Screen (digital) Marking; CBSE Class 12, 2026; Class 10 stays physical.
BrahMos Export Deal with Vietnam
🗞️ Why in News: India finalised a ~$629 million BrahMos coastal-defence deal with Vietnam, confirmed around the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Background
- BrahMos = India-Russia joint venture (1998); name from Brahmaputra + Moskva rivers; supersonic cruise missile (~Mach 2.8–3).
- First export customer: Philippines (2022); Indonesia negotiations in final stages.
- Aligns with Aatmanirbhar Bharat defence-export goals.
UPSC Angle
- GS3 security / GS2 IR: India’s shift from arms importer to credible exporter; Act East and South China Sea signalling.
📌 Facts Corner
- BrahMos = India + Russia JV; named Brahmaputra + Moskva; 1st export buyer Philippines (2022); Vietnam deal ~$629 mn.
NFHS-6 — India’s Double Burden of Disease
🗞️ Why in News: NFHS-6 data show gains in child nutrition and healthcare access alongside a sharp rise in obesity, diabetes, and C-sections.
Background
- NFHS is conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; NFHS-6 is the sixth round.
- Reveals an epidemiological transition — under-nutrition coexisting with rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
- Women’s digital access and schooling improved, but asset ownership and financial autonomy lag (access ≠ agency).
UPSC Angle
- GS2 social sector: NCD policy (NP-NCD), regulating unnecessary C-sections, women’s economic empowerment.
📌 Facts Corner
- NFHS by IIPS Mumbai under MoHFW; NFHS-6 = 6th round; “double burden” = undernutrition + NCDs.
Air Pollution Cut India’s Solar Output by ~9.6% (2023)
🗞️ Why in News: Research finds aerosols / air pollution reduced India’s solar generation by ~9.6% in 2023 — among the highest losses globally.
Background
- Aerosols scatter/absorb sunlight and soil panels (“solar dimming”), cutting PV yield.
- India targets 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030; clean air directly raises solar returns — a co-benefit with the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP, 2019).
📌 Facts Corner
- India non-fossil target: 500 GW by 2030; NCAP launched 2019; pollution cut solar output ~9.6% (2023).
Sunday Science — Elephants as a Keystone Species
🗞️ Why in News: A 15-year savanna study (published in Science) shows elephant dung is critical to dung-beetle biodiversity — a keystone-species cascade.
Background
- Excluding elephants cut dung-beetle species richness by 23% and biomass by 51%.
- Keystone species — disproportionate ecological impact relative to abundance (concept: Robert Paine, 1969).
- India link: Project Elephant (1992); elephant is India’s National Heritage Animal (2010).
📌 Facts Corner
- Keystone-species concept: Robert Paine (1969). India: Project Elephant (1992); National Heritage Animal (2010).
UPSC Relevance (Combined)
| Paper | Themes today |
|---|---|
| GS2 | Health governance (WNTD, NFHS-6, CBSE OSM); IR (BrahMos exports, mediation) |
| GS3 | Defence (PRAGATI, BrahMos); economy (cotton duty); environment (Agasthyamalai, e-waste gold, solar/pollution, keystone species) |
Facts Corner — Combined Snapshot
📌 Facts Corner — Knowledgepedia
- World No Tobacco Day: May 31; 2026 theme “Unmasking the appeal”; FCTC ratified 2004; PECA 2019.
- Exercise PRAGATI 2026: maiden 13-nation Army drill; Umroi, Meghalaya; IOR counter-insurgency.
- SC Agasthyamalai (2026 INSC 605): evict 4,601 encroachers; Western Ghats; KMTR; next hearing Sept 1.
- Cotton duty: 11% waived June 1–end-Oct 2026; CITI, AEPC; second waiver in a year.
- CBSE OSM: On-Screen Marking, Class 12 (2026); Class 10 stays physical.
- BrahMos-Vietnam: ~$629 mn; India-Russia JV; first buyer Philippines (2022).
- NFHS-6: by IIPS Mumbai under MoHFW; double burden of disease.
- Solar dimming: air pollution cut India’s solar output ~9.6% (2023); 500 GW non-fossil by 2030.
- Keystone species: elephants → dung-beetle biodiversity (Science study); concept by Robert Paine (1969).
Sources: The Hindu, PIB, Indian Express, WHO
Source: Current Affairs Today — May 31, 2026 — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
