Table of contents
- No justification for terror, no double standard: Rajnath at SCO
- Jaishankar and Al Nahyan discuss West Asia crisis
- A piece of Mars's moon: Japan's MMX mission to Phobos
- Tunnel boring machines for the bullet train project
- CPI inflation for rural labourers outpaces general price rise
- AI-designed viruses against drug-resistant infection
- How the Army treats adultery despite decriminalisation
1. No justification for terror, no double standard: Rajnath at SCO
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the 25th SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe on 20 October 2026 that terrorism can never be justified and that there can be no double standard in tackling it — with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar seated in the room.
Singh called terrorism one of the gravest threats to peace and development and said the entire ecosystem of terrorism — financiers, supporters and those who provide safe havens — must be dismantled strongly and collectively. He also backed an SCO action plan for multilateral trade and economic cooperation for 2026-2030 and welcomed the Bishkek Summit decisions to make the Universal Centre in Tashkent and the Anti-Drug Centre in Dushanbe permanent SCO bodies.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Event | 25th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) |
| Venue and date | Dushanbe, Tajikistan; 20 October 2026 |
| India represented by | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh |
| Core message | No justification for terrorism; no double standard; dismantle the whole terror ecosystem |
| Economic ask | Action plan for multilateral trade and economic cooperation, 2026-2030 |
| New permanent bodies | Universal Centre, Tashkent; Anti-Drug Centre, Dushanbe (decided at Bishkek Summit) |
SCO basics for Prelims
- Founded 2001 at Shanghai; successor to the Shanghai Five (1996).
- Members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan (2017), Iran (2023), Belarus (2024).
- Two councils matter for the exam: the Council of Heads of State (CHS), the summit-level body, and the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), which deals mainly with economic and budgetary cooperation — this meeting.
- Permanent bodies: the Secretariat in Beijing and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
- The SCO's stated "three evils" are terrorism, separatism and extremism.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 2 (International Relations): India uses plurilateral platforms where Pakistan and China are also present to internationalise its counter-terror doctrine, while separating that from the economic agenda it supports. The pattern — India has earlier refused to sign SCO documents that omitted the Pahalgam attack — is a good example of calibrated multilateralism rather than walkout diplomacy.
2. Jaishankar and Al Nahyan discuss West Asia crisis and peace initiatives {#uae}
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held expanded talks in Mumbai on 20 October 2026 with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, calling the situation in West Asia a matter of deep concern. The two also joined a trilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the same day.
Jaishankar's central ask was the free, safe and unimpeded flow of trade, energy and fertiliser through the region — the clearest statement of what India actually needs from Gulf stability. The meeting followed his own 14-16 October visit to the UAE for the second Raisina Middle East Conference, where he had met Sheikh Abdullah in Abu Dhabi on 15 October.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Meeting | Expanded India-UAE foreign ministers' meeting, Mumbai, 20 October 2026 |
| Also held | India-UAE-US trilateral with Secretary of State Marco Rubio |
| India's stated interest | Free, safe and unimpeded flow of trade, energy and fertiliser |
| Bilateral trade | Crossed USD 100 billion |
| Framework | India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (upgraded 2017) |
| Trade agreement | India-UAE CEPA, in force since 1 May 2022 |
| Recent context | Jaishankar's 14-16 October UAE visit; second Raisina Middle East Conference |
Why West Asia is a core Indian interest
- Roughly 9 million Indians live in the Gulf; the UAE alone hosts about 3.5 million.
- The Gulf supplies a large share of India's crude oil and LNG, and West Asia and North Africa are major sources of fertiliser and phosphates.
- Remittances from the Gulf are a significant part of India's inflow, the largest in the world.
- Chokepoints: Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal. Houthi attacks in the Red Sea push shipping around the Cape of Good Hope, raising freight and insurance costs.
- Connectivity stake: the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced at the 2023 G20 Delhi Summit, runs straight through this theatre.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 2 (IR): India's West Asia policy is one of de-hyphenation — simultaneous warm ties with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel — combined with an economic-security framing rather than a bloc position. GS Paper 3 links run through energy security, fertiliser imports and supply-chain shocks to inflation.
3. A piece of Mars's moon: why Japan has sent a mission to Phobos
JAXA launched its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 am Japan time on 20 October 2026. Its goal is to land on Phobos, scoop at least 10 grams of sub-surface material and bring it to Earth in 2031 — the first sample return from the Martian system and the first landing on Phobos.
The scientific prize is the origin question. Phobos and Deimos may be asteroids captured by Mars's gravity, or debris thrown up by a giant impact on Mars. A returned sample settles it, and because Phobos is dusted with material blasted off Mars, it may also carry a free sample of Mars itself. MMX doubles as a technology demonstrator for the round trip that future human Mars exploration will need.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Mission | Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) |
| Agency | JAXA, with NASA, ESA, CNES (France) and DLR (Germany) |
| Launch | H3 rocket, Tanegashima Space Center, 20 October 2026 (JST) |
| Spacecraft | Three modules — propulsion, exploration, return; about 4,480 kg at launch |
| Rover | IDEFIX, 25 kg, built by CNES and DLR, deployed before the main landing |
| Sample target | At least 10 g of Phobos sub-surface material, collected by a robotic drill |
| Timeline | Mars orbit August 2027 · quasi-satellite orbit September 2027 · sampling 2029 · departs Mars 2030 · Earth return July 2031 |
| Landing site | Samples return to Woomera, South Australia |
| Cost | Over 55 billion yen (about USD 345 million) |
| Firsts | First landing on Phobos; first sample return from the Mars system; Japan's first Mars launch in 28 years |
Concepts to revise
- Phobos and Deimos: Mars's two small, irregular moons, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. Phobos is the larger and closer; its surface gravity is roughly one two-thousandth of Earth's, so the 25 kg rover will weigh the equivalent of about 15 grams there. Phobos orbits below synchronous altitude and is slowly spiralling inward.
- Quasi-satellite orbit: MMX will appear to circle Phobos while actually orbiting Mars in step with the moon — a solution to Phobos's gravity being too weak for a conventional orbit.
- Earlier attempts: the Soviet Phobos 1 and 2 probes (1988) failed to meet objectives, and Russia's Phobos-Grunt never left Earth orbit in 2011.
- Sample-return lineage: Japan's Hayabusa (Itokawa) and Hayabusa2 (Ryugu), NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Bennu), China's Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 (lunar far side).
- India link: Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission, 2013-2022) and the planned Mangalyaan-2, which proposes a Mars landing.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 3 (Science and Technology): space missions are a reliable Prelims source — expect questions on which body MMX targets, which agency leads it, and what a quasi-satellite orbit is. For Mains, it fits the theme of international collaboration in space and of sample return as the step beyond remote sensing.
4. Tunnel boring machines, crucial for the bullet train project
The hardest 21 km of the 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor runs underground from Bandra Kurla Complex to Shilphata, and it includes India's first undersea rail tunnel, a 7 km stretch beneath Thane Creek. Five kilometres were cut by the New Austrian Tunnelling Method; the remaining 16 km between BKC and Sawli near Ghansoli needs tunnel boring machines.
The first TBM began its 6 km drive from the Vikhroli shaft towards BKC on 5 July 2026, and a second started from Sawli towards Vikhroli to cut the undersea stretch. These are Mixshield slurry TBMs: pressurised bentonite slurry holds up the tunnel face, which is what allows boring under multi-storey buildings, roads and the Mithi River without the ground above settling. That capability — not speed — is why TBMs rather than drill-and-blast were chosen for suburban Mumbai.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project | Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR), 508 km |
| Implementing agency | National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) |
| Technology partner | Japan; Shinkansen E5 technology, JICA-funded |
| Underground section | 21 km, BKC to Shilphata — 5 km by NATM, 16 km by TBM |
| Undersea tunnel | 7 km beneath Thane Creek — India's first undersea rail tunnel |
| Tunnel profile | Single-tube, 13.1 m diameter, twin track |
| Depth | 25-57 m below ground; deepest point 114 m under Parsik hill |
| Launch shafts | Vikhroli 56 m deep (about 20 storeys); Sawli 39 m (about 12 storeys) |
| TBM type | Mixshield, semi-automatic, slurry-based; India's largest rail TBM |
| Casting yard | Mahape, Thane — 11.17 ha, producing 77,000 segments for 7,700 rings |
| First operations | Surat-Bilimora section targeted for August 2027 |
How a TBM works
- A rotating cutter head excavates the face while the machine advances on hydraulic jacks.
- In a slurry (Mixshield) TBM, bentonite slurry under pressure balances earth and groundwater pressure at the face, preventing collapse and surface settlement. An EPB (earth pressure balance) TBM instead uses the excavated soil itself — better for clays, while slurry suits high groundwater and mixed ground.
- Cut material is pumped out as slurry and separated at a treatment plant; a jaw crusher handles boulders.
- An erector places precast concrete segments behind the shield to form each ring, so the machine excavates and lines the tunnel in one pass. Double-layer EPDM gaskets make the tunnel waterproof.
TBMs were also used for Mumbai Metro Line 3, the Atal Tunnel and Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail. They are costly and slow to mobilise, cannot easily reverse, and struggle in highly fractured Himalayan rock, which is why NATM remains the method of choice in mountain terrain.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 3 (Infrastructure): a ready case study on technology transfer, project delays and the cost-benefit debate around high-speed rail. GS Paper 1 connects through Mumbai's geography — Thane Creek, the Mithi River and the Parsik hill ridge.
5. CPI inflation for rural labourers outpaces general price increases
In September 2026, inflation measured by the indices built for India's poorest workers ran well ahead of headline retail inflation. CPI for Agricultural Labourers rose 6.30 per cent year-on-year, up from 5.18 per cent in August; CPI for Rural Labourers rose 5.98 per cent, up from 4.83 per cent. Headline CPI inflation was 5.54 per cent.
The driver is food. Food inflation for agricultural labourers jumped to 8.24 per cent from 6.41 per cent, and for rural labourers to 7.84 per cent from 5.97 per cent — both above the general food inflation of 7.74 per cent. The mechanism is the weight of food in the consumption basket: the poorer the household, the larger the share of spending on food, so a food-price shock hits it harder than the average consumer. Engel's Law in a press release.
Key figures, September 2026
| Measure | August 2026 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CPI-AL inflation | 5.18% | 6.30% |
| CPI-RL inflation | 4.83% | 5.98% |
| Headline CPI inflation | 4.83% | 5.54% |
| Rural CPI inflation | 5.24% | 6.08% |
| Urban CPI inflation | 4.31% | 4.88% |
| Food inflation, AL | 6.41% | 8.24% |
| Food inflation, RL | 5.97% | 7.84% |
| General food inflation (CFPI) | 5.97% | 7.74% |
CPI-AL inflation has exceeded headline inflation for five straight months; September 2026 was the first month this calendar year that CPI-RL did so too. Headline inflation at 5.54 per cent is the highest since October 2024 and sits within but near the top of the RBI's 2-6 per cent tolerance band, above the 4 per cent target.
The four CPI series — a standard Prelims trap
| Index | Compiled by | Base year | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI (Combined, Rural, Urban) | NSO, MoSPI | 2024=100 | Headline retail inflation; RBI's inflation-targeting anchor |
| CPI-IW (Industrial Workers) | Labour Bureau | 2016=100 | Dearness allowance for central government employees; minimum wages |
| CPI-AL (Agricultural Labourers) | Labour Bureau | 2019=100 | Revising minimum wages for agricultural labour in states |
| CPI-RL (Rural Labourers) | Labour Bureau | 2019=100 | Revising minimum wages for rural labour |
CPI-AL and CPI-RL are compiled from 787 sample villages across 34 states and union territories. Note that the Wholesale Price Index is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and has no services component — a frequent distinction in Prelims.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 3 (Indian Economy): the gap between headline and labourer-specific inflation is the cleanest way to argue that an aggregate number conceals distributional stress. Link it to rural demand, to the RBI's Rural Consumer Confidence Survey showing pessimism among rural households, to minimum-wage indexation, and to the monsoon-and-reservoir risk hanging over the rabi crop.
6. Scientists turn AI-designed viruses to fight drug-resistant infection
Researchers at Stanford University and the Arc Institute used genome language models to design complete bacteriophage genomes from scratch, then built them in the laboratory. Of 285 designs synthesised, 16 produced working viruses that infected and killed E. coli — including strains that had evolved resistance to the natural phage used as the template.
The template was ΦX174, a small, exhaustively studied bacteriophage with a single-stranded DNA genome of about 5,400 bases. The AI models, Evo 1 and Evo 2, were trained on the genomes of more than two million bacteriophages and treat DNA the way a large language model treats text. The designed phages were not copies: they carried novel mutations, divergent genes and regulatory arrangements not found in nature, and a cocktail of them overcame bacterial resistance that a comparable mixture of natural phages could not.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who | Stanford University and the Arc Institute |
| Published in | Science |
| AI models | Evo 1 and Evo 2 — genome language models (gLMs) |
| Training data | Genomes of over two million bacteriophages |
| Template | Bacteriophage ΦX174 (ssDNA, roughly 5,400 bases) |
| Result | 285 genomes synthesised and tested; 16 viable, functional phages |
| Target | Escherichia coli, including phage-resistant strains |
| Significance | First AI design of complete, functional viral genomes |
| Caveat | Phages infect bacteria only; the same method raises dual-use biosecurity concerns |
Concepts to revise
- Bacteriophage: a virus that infects bacteria, consisting of nucleic acid in a protein capsid. In the lytic cycle it attaches, injects its genome, hijacks host machinery and bursts the cell; in the lysogenic cycle it integrates into the host genome and lies dormant. Discovered by Frederick Twort (1915) and Félix d'Hérelle (1917).
- Phage therapy: treating bacterial infection with phages. Its advantage over antibiotics is specificity — it spares the rest of the microbiome — and its difficulty is matching the right phage to the right strain, plus regulatory questions around personalised, patient-specific therapies.
- Genome language models: AI trained on biological sequence rather than text, able to generate novel functional DNA. This marks a shift from AI analysing biology to AI designing it.
- AMR context: antimicrobial resistance is among the WHO's top global health threats. India is a high-burden country, with heavy over-the-counter antibiotic use, antibiotic use in poultry and livestock, and pharmaceutical effluent. Relevant Indian measures: the National Action Plan on AMR (NAP-AMR 2.0), Schedule H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, the Red Line campaign on antibiotic packs, and ICMR's AMR surveillance network.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 3 (Science and Technology, Biotechnology): this is the best current example of the convergence of AI and synthetic biology. It also carries a clean GS Paper 4 / Essay angle on dual-use research: the same capability that designs a phage to save lives could design a pathogen, and existing biosecurity oversight was written for editing known organisms, not generating new ones. Expect a Mains question framed as "regulation lags innovation".
7. How the Army treats adultery, despite decriminalisation
The Armed Forces Tribunal's Principal Bench in New Delhi, headed by Justice Rajendra Menon with Lt Gen C.P. Mohanty, declined on 14 October 2026 to stay proceedings to terminate an Army Major accused of relationships with the wives of two fellow officers. The case is the standing illustration of a point candidates often get wrong: adultery is no longer a crime in India, but it remains a service offence in the armed forces.
The Chief of Army Staff issued a show-cause notice on 10 August 2026 under Army Rules 19 and 14, asking the officer why his service should not be terminated administratively, a court-martial having been judged inexpedient in the circumstances. The matter began with a complaint by the officer's then-wife to the Additional Directorate General of Discipline and Vigilance in August 2023; a court of inquiry followed, and HQ 11 Corps at Jalandhar initially considered a court-martial. The tribunal directed him to raise his objections in his reply, and ordered the Army to give him the court of inquiry findings.
The legal position in four steps
- Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018): a five-judge Constitution Bench struck down Section 497 IPC, which criminalised adultery, as unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary. The section treated the wife as her husband's property, let only a man be prosecuted, and let the husband's consent make the act lawful. The Court held that adultery may be a moral wrong and a ground for divorce, but not a crime.
- The Army Act route: the Army Act, 1950 nowhere uses the word "adultery". It instead uses Section 45 — unbecoming conduct for an officer — and Section 63 — any act prejudicial to good order and military discipline. Internally such conduct is described as "stealing the affections of a brother officer's wife".
- The 2023 clarification: after the Armed Forces Tribunal quashed some disciplinary proceedings relying on Joseph Shine, the Centre sought clarification. On 31 January 2023, a five-judge bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph held that the 2018 judgment concerned only Section 497 IPC and did not touch Sections 45 and 63 of the Army Act or the corresponding provisions of the Navy Act and Air Force Act. Disciplinary action therefore survives decriminalisation.
- The constitutional basis: Article 33 empowers Parliament to restrict or abrogate the fundamental rights of armed forces personnel to ensure proper discharge of duties and maintenance of discipline. The government's argument is that personnel serve long periods away from families, that unit cohesion and the command structure depend on trust, and that unlike Section 497 the service provisions are gender-neutral — women officers are equally liable.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Forum | Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi; order of 14 October 2026 |
| Bench | Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen C.P. Mohanty |
| Action | Administrative termination under Army Rules 19 and 14, not court-martial |
| Notice issued | 10 August 2026, by the Chief of Army Staff |
| Governing provisions | Sections 45 and 63, Army Act, 1950 |
| Governing precedent | Joseph Shine v. UoI (2018); clarification of 31 January 2023 |
| Constitutional hook | Article 33 |
| AFT established under | Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 |
Note the distinction the case turns on: a court-martial is a criminal trial under military law, while administrative termination is a faster route decided by the competent authority — but it still requires notice and an opportunity to reply, which is where natural justice enters.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS Paper 2 (Polity and Governance): Article 33, the special legal regime for the armed forces, and the Armed Forces Tribunal as a specialised tribunal. GS Paper 4 (Ethics): the tension between individual privacy and autonomy, affirmed in Puttaswamy and Joseph Shine, and the institutional requirements of discipline, cohesion and trust — a reliable case-study prompt.