Prelims Current Affairs includes International Day Of Non-Violence, Un Adopts First Declaration On Sea-Level Rise And Continuity Of Island Statehood, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Becomes Morocco’s First Woman Prime Minister, Pragati-50 Initiative Launched For 50 Model Cities, Vasundhara Lake Early Warning System, Pramaan Certificate & Us Launches Fortress America Defence Security Initiative

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE

Current Context: International Day of Non-Violence is observed annually on 2 October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to disseminate the message of non-violence through education and public awareness.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE

• 2 October is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat.
• Established by: United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• Established in: 2007 through UNGA Resolution.
• First observed: 2 October 2007.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. UN ADOPTS FIRST DECLARATION ON SEA-LEVEL RISE AND CONTINUITY OF ISLAND STATEHOOD

Current Context: The UN General Assembly adopted its first Political Declaration on sea-level rise at a high-level meeting in New York. The declaration addresses the growing impacts of sea-level rise on coastal communities, infrastructure, development and vulnerable island states

ABOUT THE POLITICAL DECLARATION

• Nature: Political Declaration, providing a common international political commitment rather than creating a new legally binding treaty.
• The negotiations were co-facilitated by Australia and Cabo Verde.
• The UN General Assembly President noted that around 900 million people live in low-lying coastal zones, while more than 1 billion people could be exposed to coastal hazards by 2050.

Key Feature

• The declaration affirms the importance of the stability of maritime zones established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• This is significant because sea-level rise can physically alter coastlines and baselines.
• Stability of maritime zones provides greater certainty regarding territorial seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and other maritime rights
• ABOUT UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)
• Adopted: 10 December 1982 at Montego Bay, Jamaica.
• Entered into force: 16 November 1994.
• UNCLOS is a comprehensive international legal framework governing oceans, seas, maritime zones, navigation and marine resources.

APPOINTMENT

3. FATIMA EZZAHRA EL MANSOURI BECOMES MOROCCO’S FIRST WOMAN PRIME MINISTER

Current Context: Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri was appointed Prime Minister of Morocco by King Mohammed VI.

ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT

• She became the first woman to hold the office of prime minister in Morocco.
• She is the second woman prime minister in the Arab world after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
• Her appointment followed the parliamentary election of 23 September 2026, in which the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 of 395 seats.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

4.  PRAGATI-50 INITIATIVE LAUNCHED FOR 50 MODEL CITIES

Current Context: The PRAGATI-50 initiative was launched on 29 September 2026 in New Delhi by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs.

ABOUT PRAGATI-50

• PRAGATI-50 is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to develop selected cities as clean role-model cities for other urban centres.
• The 50 cities have been selected from 24 States and include major cities, cities of cultural importance, tourism destinations and economic centres.
• The initiative operates within the framework of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).

KEY FEATURES

• 50 Model Cities: The selected cities will demonstrate higher and sustained standards of urban cleanliness.
• KPI-Based Approach: Cities will work through measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rather than relying only on routine sanitation activities.
• Regular Review: Union Minister Manohar Lal stated that he would personally chair review meetings every two months to monitor progress.
• City as a Whole Approach: The initiative brings together Urban Local Bodies, government departments, partners and other stakeholders for planning and implementation.
• A PRAGATI-like digital review mechanism has been established on the Swachhatam Portal for monitoring and supervision.

STATES IN NEWS

5. VASUNDHARA LAKE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

Current Context: Uttarakhand is installing its first glacial lake early-warning system at Vasundhara Tal in Chamoli district to monitor the lake and its surrounding conditions in real time.

• Location: Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, in the Dhauliganga Basin.
• It is a high-altitude proglacial lake associated with the Raykana Glacier.
• Vasundhara Tal has been identified among Uttarakhand’s high-risk glacial lakes by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and technical institutions.
• Scientific studies have shown that the lake has expanded considerably, increasing the importance of continuous monitoring. A Lok Sabha document notes that its area increased from about 14 sq km in 1968 to 0.59 sq km in 2021.

WHAT IS A GLOF?

• GLOF = Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.
• A GLOF occurs when a large volume of water stored in a glacial lake is suddenly released, often because of the failure of a natural ice, rock or moraine barrier.
• It can cause rapid downstream flooding and damage settlements, roads, bridges, hydropower projects and other infrastructure.

SCHEMES AND INITIATIVE

6. PRAMAAN CERTIFICATE

Current Context: The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister handed over India’s first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS) in New Delhi.

ABOUT PRAMAAN

• PRAMAAN stands for Programme for Recognition and Accreditation of sustainable Management practices for Agroforestry And Natural forestry resources.
• It is the certification framework under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS).
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Operating Agency: Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal.
• The parent IFWCS was launched in December 2023 as India’s national forest certification scheme.

THREE TYPES OF CERTIFICATION UNDER IFWCS “PRAMAAN”

• Forest Management (FM) Certification:For recorded forest areas and forest plantations.
• Trees Outside Forests (TOF) Management Certification:For agroforestry systems and private plantations.
• Chain of Custody (CoC) Management Certification:Ensures traceability of timber and non-timber forest products.

DEFENCE

7. US LAUNCHES FORTRESS AMERICA DEFENCE SECURITY INITIATIVE

Current Context: The U.S. Department of War launched the FORTRESS America initiative through a memorandum, focusing on strengthening the resilience and self-sufficiency of U.S. military installations and defence supply chains.

ABOUT FORTRESS AMERICA

• FORTRESS stands for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability.
• It is designed to ensure that U.S. military installations can continue operating during major attacks, cyberattacks, infrastructure failures or disruptions to global supply chains.

FIVE PILLARS

• Energy independence
• Supply-chain and defence-industrial base resilience
• Strategic defence reserve
• Installation hardening and cyber resilience
• Resilience in space and spectrum

KEY FEATURES

• Mandates reshoring of critical defence supply chains: rare earth elements, specialty metals, semiconductors, propellants.
• Includes deep strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, medicine and blood.
• A dedicated FORTRESS America Program Office to be established within 30 days.

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