News In Short 14-07-2026

Paizhen Fault 

Syllabus:GS1/Geography 

In News

• Chinese geologists have expressed concern about the structural stability of China’s hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river in Tibet due to the Paizhen Fault.

Paizhen Fault 

• It is part of a network of tectonic faults in the eastern Himalayan region created by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. 
• It is located within the reservoir area of the Yarlung Tsangpo downstream hydropower station.
• It has remained active since the Early Pleistocene and continues to exhibit strong activity during the present Holocene epoch. 
• Dating of ancient lake sediments suggests the fault remained active as recently as 9,500 years ago.

Source : TH

UMANG Portal

Syllabus: GS2/ Government Initiatives

Context

• Researchers have identified security vulnerabilities in India’s UMANG Portal, raising concerns about personal data.

About UMANG Portal

• UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is a flagship initiative under the Digital India Programme. It offers a single window access to a wide range of services delivered by the Central Government, State Governments and local bodies through a unified mobile application. 
• It enables citizens to access services such as EPFO, healthcare, pensions, LPG bookings, certificates, and several other citizen-centric services through a single platform. 
• It was launched in November 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 5th Global Conference on Cyberspace in New Delhi. 
• As of February 2026, UMANG offers 2,446 services from 240 government departments, including 80 Central Government Departments and 160 departments across 30 States and Union Territories. 
• UMANG supports 23 Indian languages, including Hindi, English, Nepali, and Sanskrit. 

Source: TH

Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)

Syllabus: GS3/Economy 

In News

• The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) absorbed 1.67 lakh crore rupees through the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF).

Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)

• It is a tool with RBI for liquidity management to suck out excess liquidity from the banking system and to control inflation.
  • In 2018, the amended Section 17 of the RBI Act empowered the central bank to introduce the SDF — an additional tool for absorbing liquidity without any collateral.
• It has replaced the Fixed Rate Reverse Repo (FRRR) as the lower bound of the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) corridor. 
• It enables banks to park their surplus funds with the RBI without collateral, thereby fortifying the conduct of monetary policy and supporting financial stability.
  • Under the SDF, the eligible entities can place deposits with the RBI on an overnight basis. 
  • The RBI, however, retains the flexibility to absorb liquidity for longer tenors under the SDF with appropriate pricing, as and when the need arises. 
  • It is available throughout the year along with the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF).

Source:  Air

Eärendil-1

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized a company named Reflect Orbital to launch and operate a test satellite named Eärendil-1.

About

• Eärendil-1 is named for a character in the Tolkien fantasy epic The Silmarillion.
• It will be a single satellite in a non-geostationary orbit fit with a “deployable, highly specular thin-film reflector”.
  • The reflector will be motorised and can be steered to different orientations. 
  • The satellite will operate at an altitude of around 625 km with a high inclination of 88°. 
• Its purpose is to reflect sunlight towards specific spots on the earth at nighttime. 
  • It intends to use this technology to extend the usable hours for solar panels and provide light during “critical operations” like emergency or humanitarian missions.
• The FCC has granted a limited two-year license for the test.
• The project has raised questions about governing orbital debris, ownership of reflected energy, and light pollution.

Source: TH

Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

In Contex

• As per the study, nearly 81 per cent of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi-NCR originate from facilities exempted from installing pollution control systems.

About 

• Sulphur dioxide is a colourless gas with a sharp, choking smell.
• It forms whenever fuel containing sulphur is burnt, and it’s one of the oldest air pollutants tracked by regulators, dating back to the days of London’s coal-smoke smogs.
• The single biggest source in India is coal-fired thermal power plants. Oil refineries and metal smelting units (especially copper and zinc smelters) add to the load.
• SO2 has health concerns and once released, it reacts with oxygen and moisture in the air to form sulphate particles, which are a component of PM2.5, and sulphuric acid. 
• Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) system is a technology to remove SO2 from coal plant emissions using limestone slurry, producing gypsum as a by-product. 

Source: DTE

Global Liveability Index 2026

Syllabus:Miscellaneous

Context

• The Economist Intelligence Unit has released the Global Liveability Index 2026.

Major Highlights

• The index is compiled annually by the EIU, the research and analysis arm of The Economist Group, it scores 173 cities on 30 indicators. 
• These are grouped under five categories: Stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
• Copenhagen (Denmark) remains the world’s most liveable city, edging out Vienna (Austria) and Melbourne (Australia), which are in second and third place.
• New Delhi is ranked 120, followed by Mumbai (121), Chennai (123), and Bengaluru (127).
  • Neither this year’s report nor last year’s names a single Indian city in the top or bottom ten, or among the biggest movers.
• Western Europe is still the strongest region for liveability, but its average score has stagnated, while Asia’s has risen. 
• Karachi stayed pinned at 170th place two years consecutively, Dhaka held at 171st, Damascus (Syria) remains the world’s least liveable city for a second consecutive year.

Source: TOI