Current Affairs Quiz 8 June 2026

UNCLOS (1982) is the constitution of the oceans, defining maritime zones such as the territorial sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone (up to 200 nautical miles) and the high seas. The BBNJ Agreement allows the creation of Marine Protected Areas on the high seas, mandates environmental impact assessments, and provides for sharing the benefits of marine genetic resources.
It is central to the global 30x30 target of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. World Oceans Day (June 8), proposed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and designated by the UN in 2008, carried the 2026 theme “Reimagine: Beyond the World We Know, a New Relationship with Our Ocean,” with an action theme on strong Marine Protected Areas.
It links to SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

The Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), approved in 2021 with an outlay of around Rs 4,077 crore, is the flagship of India’s blue economy. Its crewed-submersible programme is named Samudrayaan, with Matsya-6000 as the vehicle.
India holds an exploration contract from the International Seabed Authority for polymetallic nodules (rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper) in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. The DOM is run by the Ministry of Earth Sciences; NIOT (Chennai) is the lead developer.
India’s coastline is about 11,098 km (including islands) and its Exclusive Economic Zone about 2.37 million sq km. A central tension is between extracting deep-sea minerals (vital for the energy transition) and protecting poorly understood, slow-growing marine ecosystems.

The UNFCCC (1992, from the Rio Earth Summit) is the parent climate treaty; the COP is its supreme decision-making body. The SBI reviews how commitments are being implemented, while the SBSTA provides scientific and methodological advice.
SB64 (June 8 to 18, 2026, in Bonn, where the UNFCCC Secretariat is based) sits between COP30 (Brazil) and COP31 (Turkiye). A headline demand this year is to triple grant-based adaptation finance to at least $120 billion a year by 2035, up from the $40 billion goal set at COP26 in Glasgow.
Developing countries, including India, stress the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and prefer grants over debt-creating loans. The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report tracks the shortfall.

The LPAI develops, manages and regulates India’s land ports (Integrated Check Posts). The LPMS is a single-window platform providing clearance, slot booking, digital payments and tracking, and it integrates with ICEGATE (the customs portal) and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP).
India’s 15 land ports lie on borders with Bangladesh (Petrapole, the largest; Agartala; Dawki), Nepal (Raxaul, Rupaidiha, Jogbani), Pakistan (Attari, Dera Baba Nanak), Bhutan (Darranga) and Myanmar (Moreh). Digitising land ports supports the Act East Policy and neighbourhood connectivity, links to PM GatiShakti, and improves oversight at sensitive borders.
Distinguish the LPAI (land ports, under MHA) from port authorities for seaports (under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways).

Bhakra is one of India’s tallest dams and a foundation of the Green Revolution, irrigating Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and generating hydropower. It is managed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
The Dam Safety Act, 2021 created a national framework: the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) as regulator, the National Committee on Dam Safety for policy, and State Dam Safety Organisations. The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), supported by the World Bank, funds dam strengthening.
India operates over 6,000 large dams, many ageing past their design life, with sedimentation and climate-driven extreme rainfall raising failure risk. The Sutlej is one of the eastern rivers allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty.

The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 by Jawaharlal Nehru and Ayub Khan and brokered by the World Bank. India placed the treaty in abeyance in 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack, freeing it to accelerate hydropower projects on the western rivers without the treaty’s procedural constraints.
Kirthai-II is a run-of-river project in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, developed by Chenab Valley Power Projects Limited (CVPPL), a joint venture of NHPC (51%) and the J&K State Power Development Corporation (49%). The Government of India’s position is that Jammu and Kashmir, including areas under Pakistan’s illegal occupation, is an integral part of India and that Pakistan must vacate the territory it illegally occupies.
Other Chenab projects include Pakal Dul, Kiru, Kwar and Ratle.

UNSC Resolution 1325 (2000) was the first to address the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and to stress their role in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. The Military Gender Advocate award was instituted in 2016.
India is among the largest contributors of troops to UN peacekeeping and has championed the deployment of women peacekeepers, who often improve community trust and the protection of vulnerable groups. UNIFIL has operated in Lebanon since 1978.
Major Barak served as an Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point, conducting hundreds of gender-focused field activities. The award reinforces India’s Women, Peace and Security agenda and its peacekeeping leadership.

The ocean covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface, produces a large share of the planet’s oxygen, absorbs significant carbon dioxide, and regulates climate. World Oceans Day raises awareness of its role and the threats it faces, from overfishing and plastic pollution to acidification and warming.
The 2026 action theme focuses on strong Marine Protected Areas, aligning with the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), which entered into force in January 2026, and the 30x30 target. World Oceans Day links to SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
India’s ocean engagement includes the Deep Ocean Mission, a long coastline (about 11,098 km), a large Exclusive Economic Zone (about 2.37 million sq km), and “blue carbon” ecosystems such as mangroves.

CBDR-RC is a foundational principle of the UNFCCC (1992) and the Paris Agreement (2015). It recognises that developed countries, having contributed most to historical greenhouse-gas emissions and having greater financial and technological capacity, should take the lead on mitigation and provide finance and technology to developing countries.
At Bonn 2026, the demand was to triple grant-based adaptation finance to $120 billion a year by 2035, up from the $40 billion COP26 goal. Adaptation finance helps vulnerable countries cope with locked-in impacts (floods, heat, sea-level rise), as distinct from mitigation finance to cut emissions.
India consistently stresses CBDR-RC, climate justice, and the preference for grants over debt-creating loans, and points to the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report.

The Dam Safety Act, 2021 was enacted to address the safety of India’s large dams, many of which are ageing. It establishes a two-tier institutional structure at the national and state levels, mandates regular inspection and risk classification, and requires emergency action plans for specified dams.
The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) is the regulator and resolves inter-state disputes on dam safety; the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) frames policy; and State Dam Safety Organisations operate at the state level. The Central Water Commission is the technical advisory body on water resources but is distinct from the NDSA. The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), supported by the World Bank, funds the physical strengthening of dams.
India has over 6,000 large dams.

Indonesia comprises thousands of islands and sits astride the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok straits, through which much global trade and energy flows. India and Indonesia share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and are both members of the G20, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the East Asia Summit.
Indonesia’s capital is Jakarta, with a new capital, Nusantara, being developed. Cooperation spans defence, maritime security, trade, critical minerals (Indonesia is a major nickel producer), fintech and health.
India’s Indo-Pacific vision is articulated through SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and its successor framing, MAHASAGAR, and the broader Act East Policy. The Joint Commission Meeting is a ministerial mechanism to review the whole relationship.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replaced the 1986 Act and created the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to regulate matters relating to consumer rights, unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, along with rules for e-commerce. Consumer disputes are heard by a three-tier structure: District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, State Commissions, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). e-Jagriti integrates legacy systems, enables virtual hearings, and improves disposal rates, widening access to consumer justice including for remote and NRI litigants.
The National Awards for e-Governance are given by DARPG, the nodal department for administrative reforms. Watch for the digital divide and data-privacy safeguards as such platforms expand.

Ethanol blending is a pillar of India’s biofuel strategy under the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 (amended 2022). The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme blends ethanol (largely from sugarcane and grain) with petrol to cut oil imports, support farmers and reduce emissions.
India advanced its E20 target, and E85 (for flex-fuel vehicles, which can run on a range of ethanol blends from E20 to E100) is the next step, launched at a small number of outlets with plans to expand. Ethanol blending can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions substantially and cuts the oil-import bill, though it raises questions about water use and the food-versus-fuel balance in feedstock choice.
The nodal ministry is the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Polymetallic (or manganese) nodules form on the deep-sea floor over millions of years and contain manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper and traces of rare elements. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), established under UNCLOS, regulates mineral activities in the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction (the “Area,” considered the common heritage of mankind) and allocates exploration contracts.
India was among the first countries designated a “Pioneer Investor” and holds rights in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. Extracting these minerals is technologically challenging and ecologically sensitive, since deep-sea ecosystems are fragile and poorly understood, which is the central tension of deep-sea mining.
The Deep Ocean Mission, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, pursues both resource assessment and deep-sea biodiversity study via the Matsya-6000 submersible built by NIOT.