News In Brief 06-11-2026

BAHAMAS JOINS ISA

Syllabus: GS2/International Organisations

Context

• The Bahamas has joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as its 116th member.

What is the International Solar Alliance?

• The ISA was jointly launched by India and France on the side-lines of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was held in Paris in 2015. 
• It is Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana.
• The alliance aims to accelerate the global adoption of solar energy through its ‘Towards 1000’ strategy, which seeks to:
  • Mobilize USD 1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030.
  • Facilitate the installation of 1,000 gigawatt (GW) of solar energy capacity.
  • Provide clean energy access to 1,000 million people.
  • Help reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 1,000 million tonnes annually.
• Initially focused on countries between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the ISA opened its membership to all UN member states following an amendment to its Framework Agreement in 2020.

Source: AIR

Supreme Court’s Remark On ‘Arrest’, ‘Detention’ And 24-Hour Deadline

Syllabus: GS2/ Polity

Context

• In Sujit Das and Others v. Union of India (2026), the SC held that the 24-hour deadline for producing an arrested person before a magistrate begins from the actual time of detention, not from the formal recording of the arrest.

Supreme Court ruling

• The court held that any attempt to draw an artificial distinction between ‘arrest’ and ‘detention’ would dilute or negate the fundamental protection guaranteed by the Constitution under clause (2) of Article 22.
• It also directed that, while computing the 24-hour deadline, no other time can be excluded therefrom except for the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the magistrate court.
• The Court held that the stringent bail conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985, cannot override the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 22.

Source: IE

Anubhav Platform

Syllabus: GS2/Governance 

In News 

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched Network Anubhav.

Anubhav Platform 

• It is a geospatial and analytical platform that allows consumers to view location-specific network test results and access Do Not Disturb (DND) services through a web interface.
• It brings together consumer-generated data from TRAI’s MySpeed and MyCall apps and findings from its independent drive tests, providing information to users, telecom service providers and the regulator.
• The platform allows consumers to view cellular and fixed broadband test results by service provider and technology, including download and upload speeds. 

Source:DD

Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme

Syllabus: GS3/Infrastructure

Context

• The Union Cabinet approved a new viability gap funding (VGF) scheme to promote grid-scale energy storage systems with a financial outlay of Rs 17,500 crore from 2026-27 to 2030-31. 

About

• Under the scheme, the government plans to promote energy storage capacity of 92 gigawatt-hour (GWh). 
  • Out of this, 30 GWh will be Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), 60 GWh will be pumped hydro storage (PHP) and another 2 GWh will focus on emerging storage system technologies.
• The scheme is expected to support new storage capacity equal to 170% of the country’s existing grid-scale energy storage system capacity.
  • India currently has around 54 GWh of grid-scale energy storage capacity and has set a target of 411 GWh by 2031-32.
• Energy storage capacity will be allocated through a tariff-based competitive bidding process. 
• BESS projects under the scheme will be subject to a minimum domestic content requirement (DCR) of 40%. 
  • The requirement is aimed at promoting indigenous manufacturing, reducing dependence on imported components and creating opportunities for Indian industry.

BESS and PHP

• BESS is an energy storage technology which stores electricity chemically and discharges it when needed.
  • Lithium-ion batteries, particularly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, are currently the dominant technology for grid-scale storage because of their falling costs, high efficiency and long operational life.
• PHP uses surplus electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher one.
  • When electricity demand peaks, it releases the stored water downhill through turbines to generate power.

Significance

• Energy storage systems are becoming vital as India rapidly scales up its renewable energy capacity to meet its climate goals. 
• Energy storage systems can store excess renewable electricity during periods of high generation and discharge it when demand rises but power generation remains low.

Source: IE

Pralay Missile

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the successful flight test of quasi-ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.

About Pralay Missile

• Development: Developed by the Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, along with other DRDO laboratories.
• Nature: It is an indigenously developed, solid-propellant, quasi-ballistic, surface-to-surface missile.
• Range and Payload: It has a strike range of approximately 150 to 500 km, depending on its payload weight. It can carry a 1,000-kg payload over 350 km, while a lighter 500-kg payload extends its range to approximately 500 km.
• Mobility: It can be launched from a road-mobile launcher, providing operational flexibility and enabling rapid deployment.
• Nuclear Capability: Pralay is designed primarily as a conventionally armed tactical missile.
• Pralay complements India’s existing missile inventory, which includes the BrahMos and Prahaar, offering enhanced capabilities for standoff missile strikes.

Source: AIR

CERT-In Issues Security Guidelines for Agentic AI Systems

Syllabus: GS3/Science & Technology/Cyber Security

Context

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Auditing Guidelines: Framework for Secure, Ethical, and Auditable Artificial Intelligence Systems.

About Agentic AI

• Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can independently plan, make decisions and execute multi-step tasks to achieve specified objectives with limited human intervention.
• Unlike conventional AI systems that primarily respond to user prompts, agentic AI can:
  • Autonomous task execution: Independently perform multiple steps to complete a task.
  • Tool integration: Access external software, databases, APIs and execute code.
  • Persistent memory: Retain information from previous interactions and tasks.
  • Task delegation: Assign tasks to other AI agents or systems.

Key Provisions of CERT-In Guidelines

• The framework calls for testing whether an AI agent can exceed its authorised permissions, use tools without approval, bypass approval mechanisms, or misuse its credentials.
  • It also identifies unsafe delegation of tasks and the effectiveness of emergency-stop mechanisms as areas that auditors should examine.
• It address the risks associated with an agent’s memory and the information it retains from earlier interactions or tasks.
  • They call for testing whether this memory can be manipulated and whether information belonging to one user can leak to another.
• The framework separately addresses systems in which multiple AI agents work together and pass tasks between one another.
  • It calls for each agent to have a unique identity and clearly defined permissions. 
• Delegation Controls: Organisations must also have controls to detect and limit repeated delegation of tasks, uncontrolled creation of new tasks and loops in which agents keep assigning work to one another.
• Audit Trails: The guidelines call for records that allow auditors to reconstruct what happened within a multi-agent system. 
• Emergency Controls: For high-risk systems, the framework also specifies the ability to suspend an individual agent or an entire workflow and revoke its access credentials.
• The guidelines also call for organisations to maintain an inventory of the components used in production AI systems, including models, training data, software and external tools. 

Source: TH

Malabar Tree Toad

Syllabus: GS 3/Environment, Species in News

In News 

• Malabar Tree Toad is officially declared as the State Amphibian of Karnataka.

Malabar Tree Toad (Pedostibes tuberculosus)

• It is also known as Malenadina Mara Gantikappe. It was discovered in 1876.
• Habitat: It is semi-arboreal species generally associated with montane moist evergreen forest on lateritic plateaus. 
• Distribution: It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it has a very fragmented range.
  • It occurs in the states of Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra
• Characteristics: It is one of the toad species in the world which can climb trees . 
  • Unlike other amphibians, its breeding cycle is from March to June, before the onset of monsoon. 
• Ecological role: It is also an important indicator species for the health of the evergreen forests. 
• Protection status: It is an amphibian species to be listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
  • It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 
  • Karnataka has become the first state in the country to have an officially declared state amphibian

Source:IE