News In Short 01-07-2026

Hul Diwas

Syllabus: GS1/History

Context

• June 30 is observed as Hul Diwas, marking the anniversary of the 1855 Santhal rebellion/ Santhal Hul, one of the earliest peasant and tribal uprisings against the British.

Santhal Hul

• Santhal Hul of 1855 was a revolt against imperialism led by four brothers, Sidho, Kanho, Chand, and Bhairav Murmu, along with sisters Phulo and Jhano. 
• Background: In 1832, the British demarcated a region in present-day Jharkhand, called Damin-i-Koh, as a settlement area for the Santhal tribe.
  • While initially intended for peaceful settlement and agricultural development, the region eventually experienced exploitation by outsiders (dikus), leading to land alienation among the Santhals.
• Santhal Hul: The Murmu brothers led around 60,000 Santhals against the East India Company and engaged in guerrilla warfare.
  • The Santhals also fought against the upper castes, zamindars, darogas, and moneylenders, described by the umbrella term ‘diku’.
  • The British hanged Sidhu in 1855, followed by Kanhu in 1856. 
• Significance: The rebellion led to the enactment of the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act of 1876 and the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908, which aimed to safeguard tribal land rights and cultural autonomy.

Source: IE

FCRA 2.0 Portal and e-OCI Card

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• The Union Home Minister launched the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) 2.0 Portal and the Electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) Card.

FCRA 2.0 Portal

• The Portal has been developed to simplify compliance under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and to strengthen the monitoring and enforcement mechanism.
• All major processes related to applications, renewals, annual returns, and other services have now been made fully digital.
• This portal, hosted on the National Government Cloud (MeghRaj), includes features such as process re-engineering, an integrated dashboard, Aadhaar-based authentication, e-Sign facility, and OCR-based document analysis. 
• The portal is integrated with major government databases and banks, including PAN, Aadhaar, OCI, NGO Darpan, and the ICAI’s UDIN system.

e-OCI Card

• The Electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) Card is a citizen-centric initiative aimed at transforming OCI services for the global Indian diaspora through a fully digital system.
• Under this system, applicants can complete the entire OCI process online – from submitting the application and uploading supporting documents to downloading the digitally generated card after approval.

Source: PIB

Academic Bank of Credits and APAAR

Syllabus: GS2/Education

Context

• The Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) is a revolutionary digital platform by the Ministry of Education and is regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC). 

About

• APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) ID is a unique 12-digit student identification number linked to the ABC system.
  • It was introduced as part of the “One Nation, One Student ID” initiative, and creates a single academic identity for every learner. 
• It aimed to create a flexible, learner-friendly education system in which learning achievements can be recognised, stored, and used throughout a person’s life. 
• It supports the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Credit Framework (NCrF) by enabling credit transfer, multiple entry and exit options, and recognition of learning across different institutions and disciplines.
• It is accessible through DigiLocker, it brings together a student’s educational records from school, higher education, skill development, and other learning programmes onto one platform. 

Source: PIB

Climate Tipping Points 

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment and Ecology

Context

• Climate tipping points emerged as a major area of debate during the Bonn Climate Change Conference held in Germany.

What are Climate Tipping Points?

• A climate tipping point is a critical threshold in the Earth’s climate system, beyond which a small additional change can trigger large, self-reinforcing and potentially irreversible changes.
  • Once a tipping point is crossed, the affected climate system may continue changing even if the original cause is reduced.
• It operates through positive feedback loops, where one change reinforces another.

Major Potential Climate Tipping Points

• Arctic Sea Ice Loss: Continued melting reduces the Earth’s reflectivity (albedo), leading to faster global warming.
• Amazon Rainforest Dieback: Rising temperatures, deforestation and declining rainfall can transform large parts of the Amazon into savannah, reducing one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.
• Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC): Weakening of this major ocean current can disrupt rainfall patterns, agriculture and weather systems across Europe, Africa and Asia.
• Greenland Ice Sheet Melting: Accelerated ice-sheet loss could contribute substantially to long-term global sea-level rise.
• Coral Reef Collapse: Increasing ocean temperatures and acidification can lead to irreversible coral bleaching and biodiversity loss.

Source: TH