Why Are Protests Erupting Over SUMP?

• The All Adi Youth Association has demanded the withdrawal of CAPF and State Police from the Siang region after clashes between protesters and security forces during surveys for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
• The group also says that the MoUs signed with some villagers do not represent the views of all 27 affected villages.

SUMP: Scale, Purpose & Concerns

• The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) is a proposed mega hydropower and storage project in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The project is estimated to generate at least 11,000 MW, which would make it India’s largest hydropower project.
• The government says it will act as a buffer against flash floods and water-flow manipulation from China’s Medog (Motuo) project (about 60,000 MW) on the Yarlung Tsangpo.
• Protesters, mainly from the Adi community, fear submergence of villages, forests, farmland and wildlife habitats.
• The Adis traditionally resolve disputes through the Kebang, a customary village council.

Geography, Tribal Rights & River Diplomacy

• The Yarlung Tsangpo rises in Tibet, enters India in Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang (also called Dihang), and becomes the Brahmaputra after meeting the Dibang and Lohit in Assam.
• In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra is called the Jamuna.
• The Siang flows through the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot.
• Arunachal Pradesh is home to Adi, Nyishi, Apatani, Galo and Mishmi communities, among others.
• Arunachal Pradesh is not under the Fifth or Sixth Schedule.
• Tribal rights are protected through Article 371H, local customary laws and the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• Under Article 371H, the Governor has a special responsibility for law and order in Arunachal Pradesh.
• India and China have an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers, and India has no comprehensive water-sharing treaty with China.
• India has the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) with Pakistan, and the Ganga Water Treaty (1996) with Bangladesh.

Prelims Pointer

• Medog (Motuo) is located on the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
• The Brahmaputra is a transboundary river shared by China, India and Bangladesh (Bhutan is in the basin).
• The Forest Rights Act, 2006 requires Gram Sabha consent for diversion of forest land in areas where rights are recognised.

Why in News?

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Surya (FSS-1), the Indian Navy’s first indigenous Fleet Support Ship, at Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, and laid the keel for FSS-5.
• He also called for Indian shipyards to move from self-reliance to global competitiveness in shipbuilding and marine technology.

Surya: Features & Strategic Role

• Fleet Support Ship (FSS): An auxiliary ship that supplies fuel, ammunition, stores and other essentials to warships at sea, extending their operational range.
• Surya: First of five FSS ships being built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), with 82% indigenous content.
• HSL: A Defence Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• FSS-5: The keel of the fifth and final ship in the series was also laid during the event.
• Strategic Importance: Strengthens India’s indigenous naval capability, supports Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and helps the Navy operate far from home ports.

Know the 3 Navy Commands

Why in News?

• Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh were sworn in as Supreme Court judges by CJI Surya Kant on 6 October 2026.
• With these appointments, the Court’s working strength has risen to 37 against the sanctioned strength of 38, leaving just one vacancy.
• Note: The sanctioned strength is now 38, including the CJI. This was increased from 34 to 38 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026.

Constitutional Framework of Supreme Court Judges

• Article 124: Provides for the Supreme Court, appointment and qualifications of judges.
• Qualifications: A person must be an Indian citizen and have 5 years as a High Court judge, 10 years as an advocate, or be a distinguished jurist.
• Retirement: Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years.
• Removal: Judges can be removed by Parliament through a special majority for proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Collegium System: Not mentioned in the Constitution; it evolved through the Judges Cases. The Supreme Court Collegium consists of the CJI and four senior-most judges.
• NJAC: The 99th Constitutional Amendment and NJAC Act, 2014 were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
• CJI Appointment: The President appoints the CJI, generally following the seniority convention.
• Other Facts: Judges’ salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, and Article 130 provides for the Supreme Court’s seat in Delhi or other places as decided under the Constitution.

Why in News?

• Nearly 2.1 lakh bales of Indian cotton were certified as Kasturi Cotton Bharat in the cotton marketing season that ended on 30 September 2026.
• More than 10 lakh bales are now on the Kasturi Cotton Bharat blockchain, as global buyers in the US and Europe demand traceability in textile supply chains.

Key Facts – Kasturi Cotton Bharat

• Kasturi Cotton Bharat is a branding, certification and traceability initiative for Indian-grown cotton under the Ministry of Textiles.
• It assures buyers about the origin, quality and purity of Indian cotton. Blockchain enables tracking from cotton to the final textile product.
• By 2031–32, India may produce about 498 lakh bales, of which around 132 lakh bales could qualify as Kasturi Cotton.
• Cotton Basics: It is a Kharif crop, mainly grown in black soil. Major producers include Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
• Cotton Season: 1 October–30 September; 1 bale = 170 kg.
• Species: Four major species—G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G. hirsutum and G. barbadense.
• Bt Cotton: India’s only commercially approved GM crop, introduced in 2002.
• MSP: Kasturi Cotton Bharat is not an MSP scheme; the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) handles MSP operations.
• Importance: Traceability helps Indian cotton and textiles meet global sustainability and export-market requirements.

Geographical Conditions for Cotton

Why in News?

• Two papers, published in Cell and Science, report a new family of bacterial reverse transcriptases called DRT3.
• One enzyme of this family, DRT3b, makes a DNA strand without any template, as the protein itself dictates the sequence.

Key Facts – Defence-Associated Reverse Transcriptase (DRT)

• DRT: Defence-associated Reverse Transcriptases are bacterial enzymes that help defend against bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria).
• DRT3 System: Has two enzymes—DRT3a and DRT3b. DRT3a makes the first DNA strand using an RNA template, while DRT3b makes the second strand without a template, producing a repeated CACACA… sequence.
• Defence Mechanism: The accumulated DNA puts the infected bacterial cell into a dormant state, preventing the phage from completing its replication.
• Central Dogma: Genetic information generally flows DNA → RNA → Protein. Replication, transcription and translation are key processes.
• Reverse Transcription: RNA → DNA, carried out by reverse transcriptase. It was discovered in retroviruses and is used by HIV.
• Important Distinction: TdT can also add DNA nucleotides without a template, but does so randomly, unlike DRT3b.

Why in News?

• The 2026 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Physiology or Medicine recognised major scientific breakthroughs.
• Francis Halzen was honoured for the IceCube neutrino observatory and the study of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, while Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were recognised for optogenetics, which uses light to control nerve cells.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2026

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026