News In Short 24-06-2026

Chapekar Brothers

Syllabus: GS1/ Modern History

Context

• On 22 June 1897, the Chapekar brothers assassinated British plague commissioner Walter Charles Rand in Pune.

About 

• The Chapekar Brothers, Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar, and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar, were among the earliest revolutionary nationalists in India’s freedom struggle.
• They were influenced by the revolutionary activities of Vasudev Balwant Phadke and the nationalist ideas propagated by Bal Gangadhar Tilak through his newspaper Kesari.
• Formation of Secret Organisation: They organized an association called “Chapekar Club” for physical and military training which they also called “the society for the removal of obstacles to the Hindu Religion”.
• During the bubonic plague outbreak of 1896–97, the British administration implemented harsh plague-control measures under the leadership of Walter Charles Rand, Chairman of the Poona Plague Committee. 
  • Soldiers conducted intrusive house searches, violated religious customs, and subjected local residents to humiliating inspections.
  • Viewing Rand as a symbol of colonial oppression, the Chapekar brothers planned his assassination.
• Arrest and Execution: Damodar Hari Chapekar was executed in 1898, whereas Vasudeo Hari Chapekar and Balkrishna Hari Chapekar were executed in 1899.

Source: IE

Nirbhay Chetna

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organised a three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on Nirbhay Chetna.

About

• Nirbhay Chetna is a key intervention under the Nirbhay Raho initiative, launched in 2026 by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• It comprises three complementary components:
  • Nirbhay Netri focuses on capacity-building and legal awareness among elected women representatives; 
  • Nirbhay Chetna seeks to sensitise elected male representatives on gender equality and women’s safety; and 
  • Nirbhay Drishti envisages the installation of CCTV cameras at strategic rural locations to strengthen technology-enabled safety infrastructure in Panchayats. 
• Under Nirbhay Chetna, a cadre of 28,500 Master Trainers is being developed at the State, district, and block levels to reach over 17.5 lakh male elected representatives across the country.
  • Master trainers who will engage male elected representatives on gender equality, women’s safety, rights, and leadership within Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Source: PIB

RSS & Legal Entity

Syllabus: GS2/Polity

In News

• Karnataka’s home minister questions the legal status of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

About

• The RSS describes itself as a voluntary socio-cultural organisation and a “body of individuals”.
• It is not a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or a trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, or a Section 8 company established under the Companies Act, 2013. 

What is a Legal Entity?

• A ‘person in law’ means any entity that can have legal rights and obligations. Persons are typically categorised as follows:
  • Natural Person: A human being 
  • Juridical/Artificial Person: A legal entity such as a company, trust, society or statutory body that has legal rights and obligations distinct from those of its members.
• The legislation allows legal individuals to hold property, enter into contracts, and sue or be sued. 

About Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

• It is a Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation created by Dr K.B. Hedgewar in Nagpur in 1925 in response to perceived challenges to Hindu culture and society during the era of British colonial control. 
• It seeks to promote the concept of Hindutva, stressing the cultural and national identity of Hindus. 
• The organisation played a vital role in the social and cultural mobilisation of Hindus in the pre-independence period. It emphasised community service, education and promotion of Hindu ideals. 
• After independence in 1947, the RSS came under criticism, particularly after the killing of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse in 1948. The organisation was briefly suspended and then revived.

Source: TH

TReDS Platform

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued Reserve Bank of India (Trade Receivables Discounting System) Directions, 2026, aimed at simplifying the onboarding process for MSMEs.

What is TReDS?

• Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) is an online platform which helps small businesses auction their invoices or trade receivables to banks and other financial institutions to unlock working capital.
• The platform facilitates financing against receivables due from corporate buyers, government departments, and public sector undertakings (PSUs).

About the RBIs Directions

• RBI fixed a minimum net worth of ₹25 crore and should get it certified by a statutory auditor to provide discounting services. 
• Existing entities providing the service have been given a deadline of March 31 2028 to comply with the networth criterion.

Source: TH, MoneyControl

India’s ABS Framework Delivers Rs 145 Crore to Beneficiaries

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment and Ecology

Context

• India’s Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 has mobilized more than Rs 266 crore since 2008, with around ₹145 crore disbursed to beneficiaries.

What is Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)?

• ABS refers to the framework through which benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge are shared fairly and equitably with the communities that have conserved these resources.
• It is a principle under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• India operationalizes ABS through the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and its recent amendment the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023.

Significance

• India’s ABS framework is advancing the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol, supporting the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024-2030, and contributing to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 13 on fair and equitable benefit sharing.

Source: PIB

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Syllabus: GS3/Space

Context

• The discovery of 3I/ATLAS, only the third known interstellar object, has provided scientists with a rare opportunity to study material from an ancient planetary system.

What is 3I/ATLAS?

• 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever detected passing through our Solar System. Interstellar refers to anything located, moving, or occurring in the space between stars within a galaxy.
  • It is a comet about 2.6 km in diameter.
  • The name “3I” denotes the third identified interstellar object.
  • It was formed when the Universe was only about 13% of its current age.
  • It contains water with about 30 times more deuterium (heavy hydrogen) than comets in the Solar System.
  • Carbon isotope ratios differ significantly from those found in Solar System objects.
• The two other interstellar objects ⁠previously observed were comets called 1I/’Oumuamua, detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019.
• 3I/ATLAS is now approaching the ⁠orbit of the planet Saturn and is expected to pass beyond the dwarf planet Pluto’s orbit in 2029 and exit the solar system’s outer boundary in around 2035.
• Significance: Scientists estimate that it formed 10–12 billion years ago, making it possibly the oldest object ever observed in the Solar System.
  • It predates the formation of the Solar System, which is about 4.5 billion years old.
  • It likely originated in a different planetary system and was later ejected into interstellar space.

Source: TH

Ras Laffan Gas Facility

Syllabus: GS3/DM

Context

• An explosion at the Barzan gas facility in Ras Laffan, Qatar, claimed the lives of 12 Indian workers.

Indian laws/rules Applicable to such Accidents

• The Factories Act 1948 applies to almost all the accidents as it addresses the operator’s duties to prevent fires and explosions, mandate safeguards and disclosures, and have emergency plans when dealing with hazardous processes.
• The 1989 Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules under the Environment Protection Act 1986 aims to prevent vapour cloud explosions and other chemical mishaps.
• The 2010 Central Electricity Authority Regulations may apply if any sources of ignition or electrical equipment interact with a flammable gas or mix of gases.
• The Boilers Act 1923 and the various State boiler rules address the inspection and certification of boilers and pressure systems, conditions of safe operations, the qualifications of operators, and periodic inspections.

HAZOP and LOPA to Calculate a Safety Instrumented System

• HAZOP: HAZOP is short for ‘hazard and operability study’, a systematic way to identify deviations from a facility’s design intent.
  • HAZOPs typically focus on steady-state operations and evaluate how a pipe would behave if there is no flow inside it. 
  • For transient operations, engineers use procedural HAZOPs, where they analyse every single step of the startup manual.
• LOPA: Layer-of-protection analysis, or LOPA, is likewise a semi-quantitative tool that operators use to check if there are enough independent protection layers to prevent an accident.
  • One layer could be the operator, another could be an alarm, a third could be a relief valve, a fourth could be a blast wall, and so on.

Source: TH

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP)

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has invited nominations for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) 2026. 

About Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) 

• The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is conferred annually by the President of India on Veer Bal Diwas (26 December). 
• Instituted in its present form in 2019, the award recognises children aged 5–18 years for exceptional achievements in six categories: Bravery, Art & Culture, Environment, Science & Technology, Social Service and Sports.
• To be eligible, a nominee must:
  • Be an Indian citizen residing in India; 
  • Not have received the award previously; and 
  • Have achieved the recognised accomplishment within the two years preceding the nomination deadline. 
• While the award is generally not conferred posthumously, exceptional cases may be considered. 
• This award is the highest civilian honour for children in India. Each awardee of PMRBP is given a medal, a certificate and a citation booklet.

Source: DD News