Prelims Current Affairs includes India’s Ramsar Sites Reach 103, World Health Summit 2026, Henley Passport Index October 2026, Jwala Missile , North Korea Tests Ai-Enabled Zam-2.0 Torpedo, Scl Das Appointed Chairman Of Financial Services Institutions Bureau (Fsib) & Baramasa – Kangra Painters And The Twelve Months

ENVIRONMENT

1. INDIA’S RAMSAR SITES REACH 103

Current Context: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced that India’s Ramsar site tally reached 103 following the designation of Sukhna Wetland in Chandigarh and Sauj Jheel in Uttar Pradesh.

ABOUT SUKHNA WETLAND (CHANDIGARH)

• It is a major peri-urban man-made reservoir and freshwater wetland.
• Location: At the edge of the Union Territory of Chandigarh at the foothills of the Shivalik range.
• Originally created in 1958 by damming the seasonal Sukhna Choe stream, planned by architect Le Corbusier and Chief Engineer P.L. Verma.
• It is a vital stopover on the Central Asian Flyway for migratory

ABOUT SAUJ JHEEL (UTTAR PRADESH)

• It is a perennial, shallow floodplain lake and an internationally recognized Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA).
• Location: Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh (near Kishni), within the Indo-Gangetic floodplain.
• It is close to the Saman Bird Sanctuary (declared a Ramsar Site in 2019).
• Its addition makes Mainpuri the first and only district in India to host two Ramsar sites, bringing Uttar Pradesh’s total Ramsar wetland tally to 14.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS / HEALTH

2. WORLD HEALTH SUMMIT 2026

Current Context: The World Health Summit 2026 was held in Berlin, Germany, under the theme “From Crisis to Resilience: Innovating for Health.”

ABOUT THE SUMMIT

• Purpose: To promote scientific exchange, international cooperation and evidence-based solutions for improving health worldwide.
• Organizer: World Health Summit Foundation.
• The summit was established in 2009 and is conducted annually in

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

• €250 million Program for Women’s Health in Bangladesh: Joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to improve women’s health and healthcare infrastructure; expected to serve nearly 47 million women and girls.
• $100 million Initiative to Reduce Stillbirths: Joint initiative between the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap, launched as “Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention Program”; seeks to reduce stillbirths by 50% over a decade in selected countries.
• Threats to Global Health: A Lancet commission found that misuse of artificial intelligence and nuclear warfare are among the threats with the potential for leading to human extinction in the 21st century.
• Decreasing Confidence in Science: The Wellcome Global Monitor 2026 report suggested that public confidence in science has reduced compared with pre-COVID-19 levels.
• Social Media and Emotional Well-being: Gallup, in collaboration with the World Health Summit, shared the State of the World’s Emotional Health 2026, finding a complex link between social media use and emotional well-being.

REPORTS / INDICES

3. HENLEY PASSPORT INDEX OCTOBER 2026

Current Context: India ranks 84th in the Henley Passport Index October 2026, tied with Algeria and Mauritania.

ABOUT INDIA’S RANKING

• India’s access score fell to 55 destinations, down from 57 in October 2025.
• India’s rank improved from 85th in October 2025 to 84th in October 2026, although the number of visa-free destinations decreased.
• The decrease is partly attributed to changes in entry terms with regard to Iran and Bolivia.

TOP RANKINGS

ABOUT THE INDEX

• Published by: Henley & Partners, a global residence and citizenship advisory firm.
• The Henley Passport Index ranks passports based on the number of destinations accessible without a visa or with visa-on-arrival, visitor’s permit or electronic travel authorization (eTA).
• The index covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.
• A country can move up in the ranking even if its number of accessible destinations falls, because ranking is relative to other passports.

DEFENCE

4. JWALA MISSILE

Current Context: IG Defence is developing JWALA-MK1, an indigenous micro-missile for counter-drone operations.

ABOUT JWALA-MK1

• Type: Short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM).
• Purpose: Anti-drone defence; a hard-kill anti-drone interception tool.
• Manufacturer: IG Defence, a privately-owned Indian company.
• Operational concept: Intended to provide a relatively affordable hard-kill option, meaning the drone is physically intercepted rather than merely disrupted electronically.
• Reported range: 2–5 km.
• Launcher: Truck-mounted multi-canister launcher.

DEFENCE

5. NORTH KOREA TESTS AI-ENABLED ZAM-2.0 TORPEDO

Current Context: North Korea conducted an underwater test of the Zam-2.0, a new high-speed precision-guided torpedo system.

ABOUT THE TEST

• Announced by: KCNA (North Korea’s state news agency) on 17 October.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) was used for target detection and guidance.
• The test examined AI-assisted target detection and guidance, as well as propulsion technology developed through more than 180 tests over five years.

ABOUT TORPEDOES

• A torpedo is a self-propelled underwater weapon designed to strike ships or submarines.
• A precision-guided torpedo uses guidance systems to adjust its course towards a target.
• AI-enabled target detection involves processing information to identify a potential target, while guidance systems control a weapon’s movement towards it.

APPOINTMENTS

6. SCL DAS APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF FINANCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS BUREAU (FSIB)

Current Context: The Union government reconstituted the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), appointing retired IAS officer SCL Das as chairman.

Appointed chairman of FSIB for a term of three years.

ABOUT FSIB

• It is an institutional setup within the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance.
• Main role: Recommending suitable candidates for senior-level appointments in designated public sector financial organizations, including full-time directors and non-executive chairmen in public sector banks, financial institutions and public sector insurance companies.
• It replaced the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) in 2022.

HIMACHAL NEWS

7.  BARAMASA – KANGRA PAINTERS AND THE TWELVE MONTHS

Current Context: Baramasa, the poetic celebration of all 12 months, found its most evocative visual expression in the hands of the Pahari painters of Kangra.

ABOUT BARAMASA

• Among the finest examples is a set of 12 paintings dating back to around 1790, during the reign of Raja Sansar Chand when Kangra miniature art was at its artistic zenith.
• The series is still in the collection of the Raja of Lambagraon and draws upon the tenth chapter of Kavipriya, the celebrated work of Hindi poet Keshav Das.
• The paintings narrate the changing moods of the year from Chaitra (March-April) to Phalguna (February-March), through the voice of a ‘nayika‘ (woman) pleading with her beloved ‘nayak‘ not to undertake a journey.
• Style: Delicate lines, lyrical landscapes, graceful figures, soft colours and detailed representations of nature.
• Important themes: Radha-Krishna, Gita Govinda, Bhagavata Purana, Bihari Satsai, Ragamala and Baramasa.
• In the Kangra interpretation, the landscapes, settlements and architecture recall Tira-Sujanpur, Alampur and the countryside along the Beas passing through the Guler valley.
• Radha and Lord Krishna occupy the foreground, their attire changing with seasons.
• Native vegetation, animals, water, clouds and human activity respond to the changing temperature and weather.

Download Pdf | Study Material | Downloads | Daily Quiz  | FREE Youtube Videos