Why in News?

• A 3-year-old tigress (T138) was translocated from Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar, to Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, on 2 October 2026, marking the beginning of a phased tiger reintroduction programme to establish a viable and self-sustaining tiger population in Buxa.

Buxa Tiger Reserve: Reintroduction Programme

• Buxa Tiger Reserve is in West Bengal and was declared a tiger reserve in 1983.
• It lost its resident tiger population because of habitat degradation and fragmentation, land-use change and a decline in prey.
• The recovery work runs under the state’s Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project, supported by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). It has been implemented since 2018.
• T138 will be tracked through telemetry, camera traps and field monitoring to assess her movement, health and adaptation.
• The Buxa landscape links with North Bengal, Assam (Manas) and Bhutan (Phibsoo), which allows wildlife dispersal across a connected landscape.
• A camera trap in 2026 recorded a tiger matched to Manas Tiger Reserve, which shows natural movement in the landscape.

Tiger Conservation and Protected Areas

• Tiger (Panthera tigris): It is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and in CITES Appendix I.
• Project Tiger was launched in 1973 and is a centrally sponsored scheme run by the NTCA.
• NTCA is a statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (added through the 2006 amendment). It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Tiger reserves have a core (critical tiger habitat) and a buffer zone. The core is meant to be inviolate, and the buffer allows regulated human use.
• Valmiki Tiger Reserve is in West Champaran, Bihar, and is the only tiger reserve in the state.

Why in News?

• The Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups expired on 4 September and has not been extended, with the Centre seeking surrender of weapons before renewal amid continuing ethnic tensions in Manipur.

Suspension of Operations: Terms and Background

• The SoO pact is a tripartite agreement between the Union Home Ministry, the Manipur government and the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.
• It was first signed in 2008 with the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), a coalition of 24 insurgent groups.
• It followed Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, which killed hundreds of people.
• Under such pacts, cadres stay in designated camps, their weapons are stored and the security forces conduct regular inspections. The security forces also stop operations against the groups.
• The pact was extended periodically until February 2024, when the Manipur government refused to extend it after the Meitei-Kuki-Zo violence of 3 May 2023.
• A fresh pact was signed on 4 September 2025 on re-negotiated ground rules, for one year.

Constitutional and Peace Process Context

• SoO vs peace agreement: An SoO pact is an interim arrangement that pauses operations while talks continue. It does not settle the political demands.
• Article 355: It makes it a duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.
• Article 356: It allows President’s Rule if the State government cannot function in line with the Constitution. It must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within two months, and it can last up to three years with periodic renewal.
• President’s Rule in Manipur was revoked three days before 7 February, according to the article.
• Other Northeast peace tracks: The Naga talks with the NSCN (IM) run on a separate ceasefire track and the 2015 Framework Agreement. They are different from the Kuki-Zo SoO pact.

Why in News?

• A Supreme Court petition challenges the recognition of the six-stanza version of Vande Mataram as the National Song and seeks recognition of only the two-stanza version.
• The petitioner also opposes compulsory singing, while the Court observed that conscientious objectors cannot be compelled to sing under threat of penal action.

Vande Mataram: History and Constitutional Issues

• Vande Mataram was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and is the National Song of India.
• The petition says the standalone two-stanza song was written in the early 1870s, before the novel.
• The longer version appears in the novel Anandamath, first published in 1881.
• The petitioner argues that the song in the novel is a prayer to Goddesses Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. He says it therefore violates freedom of religion and weakens secularism.
• He also says the two-stanza version praises the motherland as a landscape and is non-theistic.
• The petition says the two-stanza version was treated as the National Song for 79 years, even before it was officially declared so.

Constitutional and Historical Context

• National Song status: The Constituent Assembly accepted Vande Mataram as the National Song on 24 January 1950. The National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana) was adopted on the same day.
• Equal honour: The President of the Constituent Assembly, Dr Rajendra Prasad, said the National Song would have equal status with the National Anthem.
• Early use: Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram at the 1896 Indian National Congress session. It became a rallying song during the Swadeshi Movement after the 1905 Partition of Bengal.
• Article 25: It guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
• Article 19(1)(a): It guarantees freedom of speech and expression, which the Supreme Court has read to include the right not to speak or sing.
• Article 51A(a): It makes it a fundamental duty to respect the Constitution, the National Flag and the National Anthem. The National Song is not named in it.

Why in News?

• On 2 October 2026, the G7, under France’s 2026 presidency, agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel through the IEA and avoid energy export restrictions among member countries.

G7: Structure, Members and Working

• The G7 is an informal grouping of advanced democracies that coordinates on the global economy, security, energy and development.
• Its members are the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.
• The European Union takes part in meetings but is not a formal member.
• The G7 has no permanent secretariat, no headquarters and no founding treaty.
• The presidency rotates every year among members. The host country sets the agenda and holds the annual summit.
• Its decisions are political commitments and are not legally binding.

Evolution and India’s Engagement

• Origin: G7 started as G6 in 1975 at Rambouillet, France, after the oil crisis and Bretton Woods crisis.
• Canada: Joined in 1976, making it the G7.
• Russia: Joined in 1997 to form G8 but was suspended in 2014 after Crimea’s annexation.
• India: Not a G7 member, but is often invited as an outreach partner.
• Energy: The IEA was created in 1974 after the oil crisis and manages emergency oil-stock coordination.

Global Economic, Energy and Strategic Significance

• Economic coordination: The G7 brings together major advanced economies, so its decisions on trade, finance and energy can shape global markets.
• Energy security: Coordinated action through the IEA can ease oil price shocks, as the 2026 stock release shows.
• Agenda-setting: G7 positions on climate finance, technology and supply chains often carry into the G20, the IMF and the World Bank.
• Political signalling: Joint statements show unity among major democracies, as in the suspension of Russia in 2014.
• Flexibility with limits: The G7 can act quickly because it is an informal forum, but its commitments are political and not legally binding.

Why in News?

• Underwater exploration off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, by the State Archaeology Department and Indian Maritime University has recovered West Asian pottery, torpedo jar fragments, ring wells and submerged structures, indicating that parts of the ancient port lie underwater.

Poompuhar: Ancient Chola Port

• Poompuhar, also called Puhar and Kaveripoompattinam, is an ancient port at the mouth of the Cauvery (Kaveri), where the river meets the Bay of Bengal.
• It is believed to have been the capital and chief port of the early Cholas.
• The project aims to map the extent of the port, find possible shipwrecks and study changes in sea level and the Cauvery’s course.
• The torpedo jar is a long-distance transport vessel used in Indian Ocean trade. It is believed to originate in West Asia.
• The jar fragments have not been given a firm date, because torpedo jars circulated for several centuries.

Historical & Maritime Trade Context

• Sangam age is roughly 300 BCE to 300 CE, and the three Tamil kingdoms were the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.
• The main Sangam ports were Puhar (Cholas), Muziris (Cheras, Kerala) and Korkai (Pandyas, at the Thamirabarani mouth).
• Silappadikaram (by Ilango Adigal), Manimekalai and Pattinappalai describe Puhar as a cosmopolitan trading city.
• Pattinappalai is a Sangam poem from the Pattuppattu collection.
• Yavana originally meant Ionian Greeks. In Indian usage it came to include people from the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean world and other western foreigners.
• Indo-Roman trade brought gold and wine into south India. India exported pepper, pearls, ivory and textiles.
• The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a 1st-century CE Greek sailors’ guide that mentions Indian ports.

Why in News?

• Russian strikes targeted Kyiv’s Southern Bridge for the second consecutive day, disrupting traffic on three bridges over the Dnipro River, which divides Kyiv into its eastern and western banks.

Dnipro River: Course, Tributaries and Significance

• The Dnipro (also spelt Dnieper) is the fourth-longest river in Europe, after the Volga, Danube and Ural.
• It is about 2,200 km long.
• It rises in the Valdai Hills in Russia and flows through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
• It drains into the Black Sea through the Dnieper estuary near Kherson.
• It is the longest river in Ukraine and is central to the country’s water supply, shipping and hydropower.
• Major cities on its banks include Smolensk (Russia), Kyiv, Dnipro city, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson (Ukraine).
• Its major tributaries include the Pripyat, Berezina, Desna and Sozh.

Why in News?

• Two captive-bred Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chicks are set to be released in Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, on 4 October 2026, marking the rebuilding phase of Project GIB, launched in 2013.
• With only about 140 birds left in the wild, the GIB remains Critically Endangered.

Great Indian Bustard: Conservation & Breeding Programme

• The Great Indian Bustard is a large ground-dwelling bird of arid and semi-arid grasslands. It is a keystone species of open natural ecosystems and the flagship species of the Thar landscape.
• The chicks are two male birds aged four to six months. They will be radio-tagged to track their movement and behaviour.
• The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) runs the conservation breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra in Jaisalmer.
• At least 98 bustards have been bred in captivity. Of these, 40 were raised by artificial incubation of wild-collected eggs (from 2019), and 57 were born to birds that mated in captivity.
• The “jumpstart” method replaces infertile eggs of wild females in Kutch, Gujarat, with viable eggs from the Rajasthan breeding centre. One chick hatched this way has survived its first three months.
• Rajasthan holds about 130 (±20) of the wild birds. A further 5-6 birds are spread across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

GIB Status, Threats & Habitat

• Scientific name: Ardeotis nigriceps.
• Status: Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and Appendix I of CITES and CMS.
• State bird: It is the state bird of Rajasthan.
• Key threats: Habitat loss, poaching, predation of eggs and birds, and collision with overhead power lines from renewable energy projects.
• Desert National Park is in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, in the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts.

Why in News?

• Satellite images show China building a full-scale runway and wharf on Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracel Islands, potentially expanding its military reach in the South China Sea.

Antelope Reef and Paracel Islands

• Antelope Reef is a coral reef in the Paracel Islands, in the northwestern South China Sea.
• The Paracels are known as Xisha in China and Hoang Sa in Vietnam.
• They are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. China has controlled them since 1974, after a clash with South Vietnamese forces.

South China Sea: Geography, Disputes & India’s Interests

• The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the western Pacific, bordered by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
• It has two main island groups in dispute: the Paracels and the Spratlys.
• Fiery Cross Reef is in the Spratly Islands, and China has converted it into a military airbase with a long runway.
• Woody Island is the main Chinese-held island in the Paracels and already has a runway.
• China’s nine-dash line claim was rejected by the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal under UNCLOS in the case brought by the Philippines. China does not accept the ruling.
• The sea carries a large share of global trade, and it connects to the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca.
• India’s link: India supports freedom of navigation and UNCLOS-based settlement of disputes. ONGC Videsh has an oil block in Vietnamese waters.

Why in News?

• 2 October 2026 marked the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi (1869) and Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904), highlighting Gandhi’s influence on Shastri’s political life, from the 1916 BHU speech to the 1966 Tashkent Declaration.

Shastri’s Political Journey and Tashkent Declaration

• Shastri first heard Gandhi at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916, where Gandhi criticised British oppression and the subservience of the princes.
• In 1921, Gandhi spoke at Benaras, at the invitation of Madan Mohan Malaviya, and asked students to leave government-aided institutions during the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Shastri was 16 at the time. He left his government-aided school just before completing his course and joined the Congress as a volunteer.
• As Prime Minister, Shastri faced the 1965 India-Pakistan war, which lasted 22 days and ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire.
• The Soviet Union mediated the talks at Tashkent, and the Tashkent Declaration was signed on 10 January 1966.
• Shastri died on 11 January 1966, a day after signing, of a sudden cardiac arrest.

Shastri’s Role in India’s Freedom Struggle and Nation-Building

• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) was launched by Gandhi after the Khilafat issue, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Rowlatt Act. It included boycotts of government schools, courts and foreign cloth.
• Shastri studied at Kashi Vidyapith, a nationalist institution set up during this movement. He received the title “Shastri” there, and it is a degree title and not a surname.
• He later joined the Servants of India Society (known as the Lok Sevak Mandal), founded by Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Shastri became the second Prime Minister of India in June 1964, after Jawaharlal Nehru. His slogan was “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan“.
• As Railway Minister, he resigned in 1956 after a railway accident, which is often cited as a model of ministerial responsibility.
• He promoted the White Revolution (milk cooperatives and the National Dairy Development Board) and backed the Green Revolution.
• Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1966.