UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | 06–12 April 2026

Are you getting ready for the UPSC Prelims 2026? Be sure to stay updated on crucial current affairs insights. Discover details about Japan’s Kabuki theater, Venezuelan crude oil, Kangaech, Himalayan Griffon vultures, FBR at Kalpakkam, and much more.

Art & Culture

Japan’s Kabuki theater

• Handing down a name over generations is a central part of the Japanese traditional theater art of Kabuki, and that ceremony gets celebrated at theaters and special events every few years. Kabuki, dating to the 1600s, is still very much alive in modern-day Japan.
• The ritual is taking place with the eighth Kikugoro, who is having that honor passed down from his 83-year-old father, the seventh Kikugoro, who in turn got that name from his father.
• In the world of Kabuki, a stage name is handed down over generations in a family in a male-only hereditary system and carries a great responsibility and honor. A new successor must live up to the expectations for the style, spirit and skill that the stage name carries.
• Actors usually have three stage names during their Kabuki career as they mature. It is typically passed from father to son, the artform largely limited to Japanese men.
• Kabuki performances feature stylized dancing and makeup, powerful live music, and elaborate costumes and sets. Many popular storylines include star-crossed lovers, suicides and the pursuit of revenge.
• The Kabuki actors specializing in women roles are called “onnagata,” while others like Kikugoro play both men and women.

Event

International Conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS)

• The second edition of the International Conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS) was organised from 8-10 April, 2026 in Bangalore, India.
• The theme of the second edition of the International SMOPs Conference is “Innovative Operations for Smart and Sustainable Space Mission Management – Next Generation”.
• The conference is organised by Isro, the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Economy

Bauxite Mining

• Clashes between tribal villagers and police near Kashipur in Odisha’s Rayagada district left at least 40 police personnel and 25 villagers injured on April 7.  The tribals’ opposition to the construction of a 3 km-long approach road leading to the Sijimali bauxite mine reflects their long-simmering discontent against the bauxite project.
• Sijimali is part of the Eastern Ghats hill ranges and is interspersed with valleys. The bauxite reserve, covering an area of 1,500 hectares, is spread over the Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.
• With an estimated reserve of 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite, Sijimali is located close to Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, capable of producing 5 million tonnes per annum. The mine was handed over to Vedanta Limited in 2023 through an auction.
• Alumina is refined from bauxite ore and used to produce aluminium, which is instrumental in making everything from soda cans to aircraft. Aluminium’s strength, lightness and conductivity allow for a multiplicity of uses.
• It is also the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, and the third most common element, after Oxygen and Silicon.
• According to the Indian Bureau of Mines’ 2022 Yearbook, Odisha alone accounts for 41% of India’s bauxite resources, and was the leading producer in 2021-22, comprising about 73% of the total production.

Bitumen

• Road works under the Public Works Department (PWD), as well as major projects like Barapullah Phase III elevated corridor, have slowed down due to a rise in the price of petroleum-based products, including bitumen, triggered by the war in West Asia, The Indian Express has learnt.
• Bitumen, derived from crude oil, is mainly used as a binder in road construction, where it holds together materials like sand, gravel, and crushed stone to form asphalt. Waterproof, adhesive, and flexible, it helps roads withstand traffic load and weather conditions.

Venezuelan crude oil 

• India is likely to take delivery of around 10-12 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil this month, the highest in over six years, according to data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler.
• The bulk of Venezuelan crude is classified as a heavy sour crude—heavy because it is thicker and denser than the lighter crude oil grades, and sour because of its high sulphur content.
• So, the amount of sulfur it contains determines whether it is sweet or sour. Sweet crude has very low levels of sulfur, well under 1%. Sour crude has as much as 1-2% of sulfur.
• Heavy sour crudes are usually notably cheaper than light sweet crudes, which means that the feedstock cost for the expensive-to-set-up complex refineries is much lower than that of a relatively less complex refinery that cannot handle heavy crude grades.
• That is why the US continues to import significant volumes of the cheaper heavy crudes, while exporting its domestic light crude oil at a premium in the international market.

Background:

India —  specifically private sector refining giant Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) — was a regular buyer of Venezuelan crude prior to the imposition of US sanctions on Caracas in 2019. Following the sanctions, oil imports from Venezuela stopped within a few months.

According to India’s official trade data, Caracas was New Delhi’s fifth-largest supplier of oil in 2019, providing close to 16 million tonnes, or about 117 million barrels, of crude to Indian refiners. The bilateral trade between India and Venezuela was $6.40 billion in 2019-20, of which Indian imports—primarily crude oil—were worth $6.06 billion.

RBI’s Monetary Policy

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in its first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for the financial year 2026–27 and the policy stance neutral.
• Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target. The first such MPC was constituted on September 29, 2016.
• Section 45ZB says the MPC shall consist of the RBI Governor as its ex officio chairperson, the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, an officer of the Bank to be nominated by the Central Board and three persons to be appointed by the central government.
• The MPC fixes the benchmark interest rate — or the base or reference rate that is used to set other interest rates — in India. The primary objective of the RBI’s monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.

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RBI on FPI limit in Government Securities

• The RBI has kept the limits for foreign portfolio investment (FPI) investment in Government Securities (G-Secs), State Government Securities (SGSs), and corporate bonds unchanged at 6%, 2% and 15% respectively, of the outstanding stocks of securities for FY27 for the general route.
• Government Securities or G-Sec are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money. The two key categories are treasury bills – short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and dated securities – long-term instruments which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years.
• When foreign portfolio investors make international investments in stocks, bonds, and other financial assets, it is known as FPI. It is different from the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is a direct investment in foreign businesses along with an interest and control over the operations and management.

Environment

Morels or Morchella

• In a major breakthrough, the Sheri Kashmir University of Agriculture and Sciences (SKUAST) in Srinagar has cultivated the most expensive and rare edible mushroom, Morels, for the first time in controlled conditions.
• Morels or Morchella, locally known as Kangaech, that grows naturally in specific high elevation forest ecosystems during a narrow rainy season costs anything between Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000 per kilogram. It is also known as gucchi, and it is a fungus.
• Fungi in various forms (along with bacteria) are principal decomposers of dead organic material, turning it back into nutrients like phosphates and nitrates that are vital for plants. They can be deadly as well, like the death cap mushroom, aka Amanita phalloides.
• Having a high-export value, the cultivation of Morchella under controlled conditions is likely to open new frontiers in high value bioeconomy of Jammu and Kashmir.

Himalayan Griffon vultures

• Forest officials found 25 of the dead raptors near a villager living on the edge of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
• Preliminary findings pointed to a suspected case of secondary poisoning. According to officials, rice laced with pesticides or some artificial chemical may have been left in the open, possibly to target stray dogs. It is suspected that the dogs ate the poisoned rice and the vulture feed on the dead dogs leading to secondary poisoning.
• The raptor (Gyps himalayensis) is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• The population of three species i.e. White-backed Vulture, Slender billed Vulture and Long billed Vulture in the wild has declined drastically over the past decade. All three vulture species were listed by IUCN, the World Conservation Union, in 2000 as ‘Critically Endangered’.

Vultures in India

India has nine species of vultures in the wild. These are the Oriental White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Slender billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), Long billed Vulture (Gyps indicus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Red Headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), Indian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis), Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and Bearded Vulture or Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).

 Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026 

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the new Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026 in January, which come into force on April 1, 2026, replacing the SWM Rules of 2016.
• Four streams of mandatory segregation at source: The government has spelt out a “waste hierarchy” and defined a “four-way” segregation of waste. The hierarchy comprises prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal as the last resort. The segregation system expands the ‘dry-waste-wet-waste’ system by adding sanitary waste and special-care waste.
• Discourage landfills: It imposes higher landfill fees. The new rules intend to make landfills the last stop for garbage disposal and only for non-usable, non-recyclable and non-energy-recoverable waste material.
• Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF): Industries have been given targets to replace solid fuel with refuse-derived fuel, which is obtained from various waste categories, with 6% use initially, and up to 15 % after six years.
• RDF is produced by shredding and dehydrating municipal solid waste with high calorific value. As per the new rule, waste with calorific value of 1500 kg calories or more must be used for energy generation through refuse-derived fuel or for co-processing in cement and thermal plants.

Tar-balls Management Rules 2026 

• The Center for the first time has proposed Tar-balls Management Rules to manage tar balls, the sticky, weathered residue from oil leaks, spills, effluents and accidents that causes on-shore and off-shore marine pollution.
• These tar balls contain toxic contaminants, such as heavy metals, trace elements, and persistent-organic pollutants, and pose environmental and health risks.
• It affects flora and fauna, and the tourism industry due to their deposition on beaches, especially India’s western coast, which sees tar balls wash ashore during monsoon due to strong winds and currents.
• The Rule assigns responsibilities for generation, collection, storage, transport, treatment, and disposal of this pollutant, including its repurposing as fuel in cement production.
• It has been proposed that state governments shall declare pollution in coastal areas due to tar balls as a state disaster, and they have to act under the Disaster Management Act.
• Currently, the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) lays down a framework and responsibilities for responding to oil spills and preparing contingency plans.
• Oil facility owners will be liable to pay environmental compensation as per the ‘polluter pays principle’ if they fail to manage oil in an environmentally sound manner and lead to any oil spill.
• As part of a framework for disposal, the rules have proposed that tar balls having calorific value over 1,500 kilo-calories can be used as a fuel source in industrial processes, mainly in cement industries.

Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026

• As per the Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 published by the International Renewable Energy Agency  (IREA), India is now ranked third globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity, surpassing Brazil.
• As per the Statistics, 2025 saw the largest increase in renewable energy capacity to date – with the addition of 692 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity – expanding the stock of renewable power by 15.5%. Solar power alone accounted for nearly three-quarters of renewable additions, with a record 510 GW added during the year; while 159 GW of wind energy was added.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

• The Government has directed all state and Central authorities to stop granting environmental clearances for new or additional HFC production beyond December 31, 2027.
• India is a party to the landmark Montreal Protocol of 1989 which was brought to tackle ozone depletion through phase-out of CFCs, with a complete ban from 2010.
• Later in 2021, India ratified the Kigali amendment to the protocol, which adopted a plan to phase down controlled applications of HFCs that were being used as a replacement for CFCs. This landmark amendment to the protocol was agreed upon in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2016.
• HFCs are known to be much worse than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. In fact, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the average global warming potential of 22 of the most used HFCs is about 2,500 times that of carbon dioxide.
• It is a Greenhouse gas, not directly impacting the ozone layer which is why they weren’t originally banned.
• The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol seeks to eliminate 80-90 per cent of the HFCs currently in use by the year 2050. This is expected to avoid up to 0.5 degree Celsius of global temperature rise by 2100, while continuing to protect the ozone layer.

Polity

Directing to strengthen forensic science laboratories (FSLs)

• In a push to modernise India’s criminal justice system, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued comprehensive directives to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, directing them to strengthen forensic science laboratories (FSLs), fill vacancies, and clear backlogs within 90 days.
• The MHA has asked all the states to coordinate through the Directorate of Forensic Science Services (DFSS) and align with the new ‘Naveen Sanhitas’ – the trio of criminal laws replacing colonial-era codes.

Subansiri Lower hydel project

• Recently, Assam and Meghalaya have refused to purchase any power in excess of their allocated share from the Subansiri Lower hydro-electric project as this would “unnecessarily inflate their power purchase costs, a burden that ultimately impacts the end consumers.”
• Subansiri Lower hydel project at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border was cleared in 2005.
• According to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Subansiri River originates in Tibet and is the major right bank tributary of Brahmaputra traversing through Arunachal Pradesh.
• There are six major river basins in Arunachal Pradesh viz. Kameng, Subansiri, Siang (Dihang), Dibang, Lohit and Tirap with a large number of their tributaries draining the waters of vast catchment area into the Brahmaputra.
• At a meeting of the North Eastern Regional Power Committee (NERPC) last month, both states have also said they have already made adequate arrangements to meet long-term power needs.
• NERPC was established in 2005 under the Electricity Act 2003. It is a forum of the seven northeastern states for planning, development, and operation of the regional power sector.

Science and Technology

Fast Breeder Reactor

• India’s first indigenous Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu attains criticality.
• Attaining criticality, or going critical, means the initiation of a self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction that will eventually lead to the generation of power by the 500-megawatt electric (MWe) FBR.
• Attaining criticality is a key milestone before full power generation, indicating that the reactor core is functioning as designed and that each fission event in the core now releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series of reactions.
• This is the vital second stage of India’s nuclear programme.
  
  Three-stage nuclear programme
  
  STAGE 1: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use natural uranium-based fuels to generate electricity, while producing fissile plutonium (Pu239), which can be extracted by reprocessing the spent fuel. It uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) both as a coolant and moderator. The programme has been supplemented by the construction of imported Light Water Reactors (LWRs).
  
  STAGE 2: It involves setting up Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) of the kind at Kalpakkam, using plutonium-based fuels, which can enhance nuclear power capacity, and convert fertile thorium into fissile uranium (U233). Reprocessing of the spent fuel is vital for efficient utilisation of the plutonium inventory.
  
  STAGE 3: The third stage will be based on the ThU233 cycle. U233 produced in the second stage can be used for the third stage of the power programme, which consists of advanced thermal and fast breeder reactors, for long-term energy security. The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is proposed for this. Now, the use of molten salt reactors is also seen as an option.

Persons in News

(Just FYI: Noting historical personalities’ anniversaries aids UPSC prep. UPSC often includes such personalities in questions, so revisiting their lives refreshes your static syllabus.)

Jotirao Phule

• The bicentenary year of Mahatma Jotirao Phule—marking 200 years since his birth on April 11, 1827—began on April 11, 2026.
• Phule was born on April 11, 1827, and belonged to the Mali caste of gardeners and vegetable farmers. He was bestowed with the title of Mahatma on May 11, 1888 by a Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar.
• Phule along with his followers formed Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 which meant ‘Seekers of Truth’ in order to attain equal social and economic benefits for the lower castes in Maharashtra.
  
  Note: The original edition incorrectly stated that the Satyashodhak Samaj was formed in 1848. This has now been corrected to reflect the accurate year.

• The Satyashodhak Samaj dedicated towards the removal of the socio-economic backwardness of Dalits was even supported by Chhatrapati Shahu, the Maratha ruler of Kolhapur state.
• In 1840, Jotirao Phule got married to Savitribai when he was merely 13 years old and Savitribai was 9 years old.
• The couple went on to open a school for girls in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1848. This became the country’s first girls’ school. Many more such schools were opened for girls, Shudras and Ati-Shudras (the backward castes and Dalits, respectively) in Pune, leading to discontent among Indian nationalists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Asha Bhosle

• Legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle died in Mumbai on 12th April at the age of 92.
• She was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001.
• She won her first Filmfare Awards for “Garibon Ki Suno” (Dus Lakh, 1967) and “Pardes Mein Rehne Do” (Shikar, 1969).
• She has also won National Film Awards for her work in films like Umrao Jaan and Ijaazat.

Places in News

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)

India’s first gourami fossil- Saharanpur district of UP

• This is the first time that scientists have discovered freshwater fish fossils from the Siwalik foothills in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, including the first fossil record of gourami in India and only the second known globally.
• This indicates a well-structured and complex freshwater ecosystem in the Himalayan region during the Pliocene Epoch, some 5 million years ago.
• According to a peer-reviewed research study undertaken by multiple scientists, the set of otoliths (calcium carbonate structures for hearing and balance) is the first from the Pliocene period in this region in Saharanpur’s Mohand, and helps scientists understand ancient freshwater fish in northern India.
• The presence of snakeheads, gouramis, and gobies shows a clear food chain, with smaller fish as prey and snakeheads as predators.
• Siwalik Group, which ranges in age from 18.3 to 0.22 million years old, is a freshwater deposit exposed along the length of the Himalayan foothills that stretches from the Potwar Plateau of Pakistan in the west to Assam in the east.

Sports

(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)

Asian Boxing Championship

• The Asian Boxing Championships were held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. India finished its campaign with 16 medals
• India finished second on the table with five gold, one fewer than Kazakhstan, but claimed the most medals overall.
• In the women’s competition, all 10 Indian boxers finished with a medal.
  • Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), and Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) bagged Gold
  • Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Alfiya Pathan (+80kg) took Silver
  • Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Ankushita Boro (65kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and Pooja Rani (80kg) clinched Bronze

• In the men’s competition, Asian Wrestling Championship, 6 Indian boxers finished with a medal
  • Vishvanath Suresh defeated Daichi Iwai of Japan to win gold in the men’s 50kg category, becoming the only Indian man to clinch gold at this edition of the continental event.
  • Sachin Siwach lost 2-3 to Orazbek Assylkulov of Kazakhstan, the reigning world champion, in the men’s 60kg final to clinch Silver
  • Harsh Choudhary (90kg), Akash (75kg), Lokesh (85kg) and Narender (+90kg) – settled for Bronze

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

1. With reference to “Gucchi” sometimes mentioned in the news, consider the following statements : (UPSC CSE 2022)
   
   1. It is a fungus.
   2. It grows in some Himalayan forest areas.
   3. It is commercially cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of north-eastern India.
   
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   (a) 1 only
   (b) 2 only
   (c) 1 and 2 only
   (d) 2 and 3 only
   
   
2. Consider the following:
   
   1. It is a greenhouse gas.
   2. The Kigali amendment provides for its phasing out.
   3. It is not a ozone depleting substances (ODS).
   
   The above characteristics are the description of which of the following?
   (a) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
   (b) Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
   (c) Halons
   (d) Methyl bromide
   
   
3. Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to (UPSC CSE 2012)
   
   (a) the destruction of their nesting sites by new invasive species
   (b) a drug used by cattle owners for treating their diseased cattle
   (c) scarcity of food available to them
   (d) a widespread, persistent and fatal disease among them.

Prelims Answer Key

1. (c)    2. (a)    3. (b)

If you missed the UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past few weeks : Click Below Links

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | 30 March – 5 April 2026 read it here

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UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | 02– 08 March 2026 read it here