UPSC Prelims
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Prelims Pinpointer
Prelims Pinpointer — September 20, 2026
Today’s high-yield Prelims facts — PM Modi’s NGT Conference speech on India’s climate targets, the US-Denmark-Greenland security deal, the looming Super El Niño, the 100% tariff threat on Russian oil, drug-resistant Pneumocystis jirovecii, rattlesnake antivenom proteins, and the brain-eating amoeba’s directional memory
🌍 NGT & NDC Targets
🧊 Greenland Deal
🌊 Super El Niño
🛢️ Russia Sanctions Act
🧫 Fungal Drug Resistance
🐍 Rattlesnake Antivenom
🧠 Naegleria fowleri
🌍
India’s Emissions Below Global Average — NGT Conference 2026
News Context
- On 19 September 2026, PM Modi inaugurated the NGT International Conference in New Delhi, highlighting India’s Paris Agreement progress, nuclear reforms under the SHANTI Act, 2025, and launching the NGT Mobile App.
Key Facts for Prelims
- India’s per capita emissions are less than half the global average; solar capacity rose from ~2 GW to over 160 GW in 12 years; non-fossil share stood at 52.57% of installed capacity (Feb 2026), now over 54%.
- Paris Agreement: adopted 12 December 2015 (COP21), in force from 4 November 2016; India signed 22 April 2016, ratified 2 October 2016; goal — well below 2°C, pursue 1.5°C.
- India’s first NDC (2015) targets: 33–35% emission-intensity cut (met early, 36% by 2020); 40% non-fossil capacity (met ~9 years early); 2.5–3 billion tonne carbon sink (in progress).
- NDC 3.0 (2031–2035), Cabinet-approved 25 March 2026: 47% intensity cut, 60% non-fossil capacity, 3.5–4.0 billion tonne carbon sink by 2035.
- NGT: set up under NGT Act, 2010; India is the third country (after Australia, New Zealand) with a dedicated environmental court; Principal Bench New Delhi; jurisdiction over 7 laws, excludes Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Forest Rights Act 2006, Indian Forest Act 1927.
- SHANTI Act, 2025 — Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India; repeals Atomic Energy Act 1962 and CLND Act 2010; allows private participation; target 100 GW nuclear by 2047 (from ~8.8 GW).
Exam trap: India’s climate targets are intensity-based (emissions per unit GDP), not absolute; the non-fossil target is based on installed capacity, not actual generation — a frequently confused distinction.
Source: The Hindu
🧊
US–Denmark–Greenland Security Deal 2026
News Context
- On 18 September 2026, the US, Denmark and Greenland announced a security deal giving the US larger military presence while barring rival countries (China, Russia) from building bases in Greenland.
Key Facts for Prelims
- Greenland: world’s largest island (~2.17 million sq km), ~80% ice-covered; capital Nuuk; autonomous territory of Denmark since 1953; 2009 Self-Government Act recognises path to independence.
- Not in EU — left in 1985; is an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) of the EU; hosts Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), the US’s northernmost military base.
- Arctic Council: set up 1996 by Ottawa Declaration, HQ Tromsø, Norway; 8 members incl. Russia; works by consensus, does not handle military security; India is an observer since 2013.
- India’s Arctic assets: Himadri station (Svalbard, 2008), IndARC observatory (Kongsfjorden, 2014); nodal agency NCPOR, Ministry of Earth Sciences; India’s Arctic Policy (2022) has six pillars.
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express
🌊
Super El Niño 2026 — Impact on Monsoon, Reefs and Forests
News Context
- On 16 September 2026, 188 Indian scientists issued a “Call to Action” warning of a possible strong El Niño, with major impacts expected in India from November 2026 into 2027.
Key Facts for Prelims
- El Niño: abnormal warming of surface water in central-eastern equatorial Pacific; trade winds weaken; Walker Circulation weakens, weakening monsoon flow toward India.
- Southern Oscillation discovered by Gilbert Walker; El Niño + Southern Oscillation = ENSO; measured via Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) in the Niño 3.4 region.
- +0.5°C anomaly = El Niño threshold; “Super” El Niño ≥ +2.0°C — only 1997-98 (+2.8°C) and 2015-16 (+2.6°C) have crossed this so far.
- Vulnerable Indian coral reefs: Lakshadweep, Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kachchh, Andaman & Nicobar; Lakshadweep’s coral cover fell ~50% between 1998-2022.
Source: The Hindu
🛢️
US Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act 2026 — 100% Tariff Threat
News Context
- On 18 September 2026, President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, 2026, allowing tariffs up to 100% on countries buying large amounts of Russian oil/gas, including India and China.
Key Facts for Prelims
- Russia’s share of India’s oil imports jumped from ~2% (2021-22) to over 51% in July 2026; India imports ~85% of its crude oil.
- In February 2026, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s earlier 25% penalty tariff on India over Russian oil.
- Key terms: Primary Sanctions (own citizens/companies), Secondary Sanctions (third-country entities), Unilateral Sanctions (single country, no UNSC), UN Sanctions (via UNSC, binding on all members).
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express
🧫
Fungus Evolves Resistance to a Transplant Drug
News Context
- A new study found Pneumocystis jirovecii has developed resistance to mycophenolic acid (MPA), an immunosuppressant used by transplant patients, via mutations in the IMPDH gene.
Key Facts for Prelims
- P. jirovecii causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), mostly affecting transplant recipients and advanced HIV/AIDS patients; standard drug is co-trimoxazole.
- WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens List (2022): 19 fungi in 3 groups; P. jirovecii is medium priority; critical group includes Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus.
- India’s NAP-AMR 2.0 (2025-29) launched 18 November 2025; follows One Health approach; Kerala’s KARSAP (2018) was India’s first state AMR plan.
Source: The Hindu
🐍 Rattlesnake Antivenom (FETUA Proteins)
A 29 July 2026 PNAS study found FETUA proteins from western diamondback rattlesnake blood can neutralise venom in mice, ~10x more potent than commercial antivenom. First “toxin sponge,” Fetuin-A, was isolated from the Okinawa habu in 1972. India records ~50,000-58,000 snakebite deaths/year; NAP-SE launched 12 March 2024; snakebite made notifiable 27 November 2024.
🧠 Naegleria fowleri
Free-living, heat-loving amoeba causing Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), ~95%+ fatal; enters via nose through the olfactory nerve and cribriform plate. New research (using harmless relative N. gruberi) shows it has directional memory and actively seeks narrow spaces — behaviour evolved for hunting bacteria that incidentally aids nose-to-brain travel.
