News In Short 11-09-2026

Demat 2.0 Pilot for Corporate Bond Tokenisation

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have launched “Demat 2.0”.

About Demat 2.0

• It is a pilot programme to test the tokenisation of corporate bonds and quicker settlement using the central bank digital currency and blockchain technology.
• It explores whether distributed ledger technology can integrate the securities and settlement layers to enable faster settlement and automate parts of asset servicing.
• Demat 1.0 was introduced in 1996 and replaced physical share certificates with electronically recorded securities.

How Does the System Work?

• When a corporate bond is issued, it is produced as a digital token on the distributed ledger maintained by the securities depositories.
• When an investor purchases the bond, ownership of the token is transferred on the ledger, while the corresponding payment is made using the RBI’s wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
• The securities and payment legs are linked through the RBI’s Unified Market Interface (UMI).
• This permits atomic settlement, i.e., the bond and the money are exchanged instantaneously rather than via two separate settlement processes.

Source: IE

Mercury May Be Shrinking Faster Than Previously Estimated

Syllabus: GS1/ Geography, GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• A recent study suggests that Mercury may have contracted by up to 23 km in diameter, around 30% more shrinkage than earlier estimates.

Why Is Mercury Shrinking?

• Mercury has an unusually large iron-rich core relative to its overall size, and the gradual cooling of its interior causes the core, mantle and crust to contract.
• As the planet’s interior contracts, its surface area decreases, producing compressional geological features such as wrinkle ridges and thrust faults on the crust.
• This process is comparable to a grape becoming a raisin, where the reduction in internal volume causes the outer surface to develop wrinkles.

About Mercury

• Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet in the solar system. It’s only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon.
• It is the second densest planet, after Earth. It has a large metallic core with a radius of about 2,074 kilometres, about 85% of the planet’s radius.
  • With a radius of 2,440 kilometres, Mercury is a little more than 1/3 the width of Earth.
• Mercury is the fastest planet, orbit around the Sun every 88 Earth days. It takes 59 Earth days for the planet to spin around once.
• Mercury’s surface temperatures are both extremely hot and cold. Because the planet is so close to the Sun, day temperatures can reach highs of 800°F (430°C).
  • Without an atmosphere to retain that heat at night, temperatures can dip as low as -290°F (-180°C).
• Mercury doesn’t have moons and rings.

Source: IE, NASA

Yudh Abhyas 2026

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The Indian and US armies have commenced the 22nd edition of their annual bilateral military exercise, Yudh Abhyas 2026, with counter-drone systems being used for the first time.

About the exercise

• Yudh Abhyas, meaning “Preparing for War” in Hindi, began in 2004 as a counterinsurgency training exchange. Since then, it has been held annually, alternating between India and the USA.
• This year’s exercise is being conducted across Bikaner in Rajasthan and Auli in Uttarakhand, exposing troops to diverse operational environments, including desert and high-altitude terrain. 

Source: TH

Kalinga Ratna Award

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Dipak Misra has been conferred with the Kalinga Ratna Award-2026.

About

• Instituted in 2007, it is an annual state-level civilian honour awarded by Sarala Sahitya Sansad to a worthy person from Odisha for outstanding contributions in any field at the national or international level.
• The award comprises a silver idol of Goddess Saraswati and a citation.
• Past recipients of this award include former Lok Sabha Speaker Srijukta Rabi Ray, former Governor of Andhra Pradesh Biswabhusan Harichandan, and former Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan. 

Do you know?

• Sarala Sahitya Sansad, established in 1982 in Cuttack, Odisha, is a prominent literary and cultural organisation dedicated to promoting Odia language, literature and culture and preserving the legacy of Sarala Das, the 15th-century Adi Kabi (first poet) of Odisha.

Source: AIR

Program Electronic Review Management (USA)

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• The US Department of Labor has suspended IT services giant Cognizant’s filings under PERM.

About 

• PERM, or Program Electronic Review Management, is the system through which employers generally obtain labour certification before sponsoring a foreign employee for an employment-based Green Card. 
• Unlike a visa application, which is primarily made by an individual, the PERM filing is done by the employer on behalf of the worker.
  • Before filing, an employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination for the position and carry out prescribed recruitment. 
  • Once the Labour Department certifies the application, the employer can proceed to the next stage of the Green Card process. 
    • A green card is an official identity document issued by the United States that grants a person the right to live and work in the country permanently.
• The process is intended to establish that hiring a foreign worker permanently will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages or working conditions of US workers. 
• H-1B vs PERM: An H-1B is a temporary, non-immigrant work visa that allows US employers to employ foreign professionals in speciality occupations.
  • PERM, in contrast, is part of the process for obtaining permanent residency.

Source: IE

Bakhira Lake 

Syllabus: GS1/Geography 

In News

• Researchers have reconstructed variability in the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) based on magnetic minerals, grain size, geochemical and clay-mineral records from sediments of Bakhira Lake, Uttar Pradesh. 

Bakhira Lake 

• Bakhira Lake is located in the Ghaghara–Rapti alluvial system and represents a perennial oxbow/floodplain wetland formed through the migration and subsequent cut-off of the Rapti River. 
• It is one of the largest wetlands in Uttar Pradesh, and it was designated as a Ramsar Site in 2022. 
• Its floodplain–lacustrine setting favours the accumulation and preservation of sediments derived from both the lake and surrounding catchment, making it sensitive to changes in monsoon-driven runoff, sediment transport and weathering. 

Latest Study 

• The study provides a unique long-term palaeoclimate record for the Central Ganga Plain and demonstrates the impact of major climatic phases including the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, Bølling–Allerød, Younger Dryas, Holocene Climatic Optimum and late-Holocene droughts on rainfall, weathering, erosion and sediment transport and lake processes.
• The results will advance our understanding of past monsoon behaviour, help to improve future climate models and support better water-resource and agricultural management in the monsoon-dependent Central Ganga Plain.

Source: PIB