Daily Current Affairs (DCA) 29 October, 2026

Context of the News

Richard J. Roberts, the 1993 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, spoke at the second Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) at Bharat Mandapam. He argued that India can develop and own GM crop technology itself.

Why Did He Object to the Term “GM”?

• He called “genetically modified” very misleading
• He preferred “biotechnologically modified” (BM)
• His reasoning: “Every life form on this planet has been genetically modified by evolution”

What Is CRISPR?

• A gene-editing tool
• A guide RNA steers the Cas9 enzyme to a chosen spot in the DNA
• The enzyme cuts there, letting scientists alter or insert genes at that point

What Is India’s Current Position?

• Bt cotton is permitted for commercial cultivation
• No GM food crop is approved

Important Facts for Exams

• Richard J. Roberts — 1993 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, for the discovery of split genes. He spoke at ESTIC 2026, Bharat Mandapam
• CRISPR-Cas9 won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna
• Bt cotton is India’s only commercially approved GM crop, since 2002
• Bt brinjal moratorium imposed in 2010 by Jairam Ramesh
• GM mustard (DMH-11) was cleared by GEAC in 2022; the Supreme Court gave a split verdict in July 2024 and asked for a national policy
• Golden Rice was engineered in 1999 by Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer
• A 2017 PLOS One study found Golden Rice crossed into an Indian variety gave stunted, low-yielding plants
• India’s gene-editing position: SDN-1 and SDN-2 crops are exempt from GM rules, since no foreign DNA is added. SDN-3 remains regulated
• India released its first genome-edited rice varieties in 2025 — DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) and Pusa DST Rice 1

Context of the News

The IUCN released its first global assessment of coral reefs under the Red List of Ecosystems, at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, Armenia. It warns that 96 per cent of shallow-water coral reefs face an extremely high risk of collapse by 2075.

What Are Coral Reefs?

• Underwater structures built by coral polyps, tiny animals that secrete calcium carbonate
• They live in symbiosis with photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae
• These algae provide up to 90 per cent of the coral’s energy and give reefs their colour
• Extreme heat stress kills coral, and the reef can be replaced by algae, rubble and sponges

What Are the Main Threats?

Important Facts for Exams

• IUCN’s first global coral reef assessment under the Red List of Ecosystems, released at the UN Biodiversity Conference, Yerevan, Armenia
• 122 of 127 ecoregions (96 per cent) are Critically Endangered; the Western Galápagos is classified collapsed
• 24 per cent are critically endangered on observed change alone; 96 per cent when projected warming is added
• They absorb up to 97 per cent of wave energy
• Collapse risk is projected by 2075
• IUCN — founded 1948, headquartered at Gland, Switzerland
• India’s coral reefs are found in four main areas: Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kachchh, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Lakshadweep and the Maldives are atoll formations
• Corals are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• The Union Cabinet approved PM-VGSY with an outlay of ₹7,395.55 crore for 2026–27 to 2030–31. It aims to improve the planning and governance capacity of Gram Panchayats.
• The scheme upgrades the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, shifting from separate training for individual schemes to a more integrated approach to village development.
• The Centre will contribute ₹4,869.48 crore and the States ₹2,526.07 crore. It aims to train around 32 lakh representatives and functionaries across 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats.
• The scheme targets the preparation of 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayat Development Plans through eGramSwaraj. Panchayati Raj is linked to the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule containing 29 subjects.

• State Bank of India (SBI) launched CyRIS, a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, in Mumbai in October 2026 to strengthen cybersecurity and improve the financial sector’s ability to respond to cyber threats.
• The centre was inaugurated by Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, in the presence of SBI Chairman C. S. Setty.
• CyRIS operates through three pillars: THINK (policy, education and talent development), INNOVATE (research and security solutions), and DEFEND (threat detection, incident response and cyber defence).
• The initiative aims to strengthen threat intelligence, encourage cybersecurity innovation and improve the resilience of financial institutions.

Context of the News

The World Justice Project released the Rule of Law Index 2026. India ranked 88th out of 143 countries, with a score of 0.48 — down from 86th in 2025.

What Is the Index?

• Published by the World Justice Project
• It is the leading source of independent rule of law data
• The 2026 edition covers 143 countries, accounting for about 95 per cent of the world’s population

Where Does India Stand?

Who Tops the Index?

Which Countries Rank Lowest?

How Is the Index Built?

The WJP measures rule of law across eight factors:

• Constraints on government powers
• Absence of corruption
• Open government
• Fundamental rights
• Order and security
• Regulatory enforcement
• Civil justice
• Criminal justice

Context of the News

The Department of Commerce extended the operational window under Component II of the RELIEF initiative until 31 March 2027.

What Is RELIEF?

• Full form: Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation
• A time-bound financial and risk-mitigation scheme
• It gives exporters a safety net against geopolitical and shipping disruptions
• e.g. Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz are the two chokepoints affecting this route. About 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Red Sea

Why Was It Needed?

• Launched on 19 March 2026, under the Export Promotion Mission
• It responds to:
  • Rising shipping surcharges
  • Trade-lane diversions
  • Transit risks across the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and wider West Asian shipping routes

Who Runs It?

• Formulated by the Department of Commerce
• Implemented through the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC)
• Operated through the ECGC digital portal

• Women’s share among apprentices under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) increased from 11.8% in 2018–19 to 32.4% in 2025–26, before reaching 29.5% of 1.35 million apprentices in 2026–27 so far.
• Women remain underrepresented in technical trades: their participation is reported at 6% among electricians and 2.6% among fitters, with zero participation reported in welding, diesel mechanics and lineman trades.
• After vocational training, the employment rate is reported at 83.3% for men compared with 51.4% for women. Rural women also have greater concentration in unpaid family work and lower representation in regular wage employment.
• Under NAPS-2, the government provides 25% of the minimum stipend, capped at ₹1,500 per month. The figures highlight the need to improve women’s access to technical training, childcare and better-paying jobs.

• On 26 October 2026, the Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) to preserve and digitise India’s manuscript and documentary heritage.
• The partnership brings together the Gyan Bharatam Mission, National Archives of India, National Library in Kolkata and BnF to identify and digitise Indian-origin manuscripts held in France.
• Cooperation will cover digital repositories, conservation technologies, cataloguing standards, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) for Indian scripts.
• The Gyan Bharatam Mission focuses on identifying, documenting, conserving, digitising, translating, researching and sharing India’s manuscript heritage.

• PM-DAKSH, launched in 2020–21, provides skill development training to eligible people from Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Weaker Sections, De-Notified Tribes and Safai Karamcharis, including waste pickers.
• The scheme targets beneficiaries aged 18–45 years and aims to improve their employability through skill training.
• It is implemented through the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) and National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC).
• The supplied figures report 1.87 lakh people trained and 96,162 placed. These figures and the reported expenditure should be checked against official records before exam use.

• The 11th edition of the India–Indonesia joint Special Forces exercise began at Banyuwangi, Indonesia, on 27 October 2026 and is scheduled to continue until 6 November 2026.
• The exercise aims to improve interoperability, coordination and mutual understanding between the Special Forces of both countries.
• India’s contingent comprises troops from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), while Indonesia is represented by its Special Forces.
• Training focuses on special operations in jungle environments, helping both forces strengthen their ability to operate together.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs assigned Sanjay Singhal, Director General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), additional charge as Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), effective 31 October 2026.
• Singhal is a 1993-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
• He is scheduled to take over from Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor, who is due to retire on 31 October 2026.

• Air Marshal Vikram Gaur was appointed Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) under the Ministry of Defence.
• According to the supplied material, he is the first Indian Air Force officer to hold this position.
• Before the appointment, he served as Joint Secretary (Air and Staff Duties) in the DMA from October 2024.

• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is observed on 27 October to raise awareness about preserving films, recordings and other audiovisual materials.
• UNESCO proclaimed the observance in 2005.
• The supplied 2026 theme is “Your Window to the World.”

• International Animation Day is observed on 28 October to commemorate Émile Reynaud’s public screening of projected animated images in Paris on 28 October 1892.
• The Association Internationale du Film d’Animation (ASIFA) established the observance in 2002.
• The 2026 poster was created by Japanese animator Yoriko Mizushiri, according to the supplied material.

• The United Nations observes the International Day of Care and Support on 29 October to highlight the importance of care work, gender equality and strong care systems.
• The day was proclaimed through UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/77/317 on 24 July 2023, and the first observance took place on 29 October 2023.
• The supplied theme for 2026 is “Building Sustainable Care and Support Systems through Decent Work.”
• The observance highlights the role of care work and care systems in social and economic development.

• The championships were held in Budva, Montenegro, from 16 to 27 October 2026. India won four medals: one gold, one silver and two bronze.
• Aditya won gold in the men’s 55 kg category after defeating Russia’s Islam Magomedov 4–1 in the final.
• India’s other medal winners were Megha Sheokand (silver, women’s 80 kg), Harshika (bronze, women’s 65 kg) and Prachi Tokas (bronze, women’s 80+ kg).
• Russia topped the medal table with five gold and five silver medals, according to the supplied figures.

• The European Chess Club Cup was held in Budva, Montenegro, from 17 to 23 October 2026, with 130 teams participating.
• India’s Nihal Sarin and Koneru Humpy won individual gold medals, as reported in the supplied material.
• Bayegan Pendik of Turkey won the open team title, while Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo of Monaco won the women’s team title.

• An English translation of The Story of Vande Mataram was launched by former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
• The original Malayalam work was written by Ranga Hari and translated into English by Dr Mercy Jill.
• The book discusses the history and cultural significance of Vande Mataram, India’s national song.

• Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan, died in Tokyo at the age of 90, according to the supplied material.
• He served as Prime Minister from September 2007 to September 2008 and resigned amid political deadlock and declining public approval.
• Before becoming Prime Minister, he served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2000 to 2004.
• His foreign policy placed importance on relations with Asian neighbours, particularly China.