Prelims Current Affairs includes Lok Sabha Expansion Plan: Proposed Constitutional Amendment, Samrat Choudhary To Take Oath As Bihar Cm After Nitish Kumar’s Resignation, Australia Names First Female Army Chief, Upi Completes 10 Years With Massive Growth, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc), Anusandhan National Research Foundation (Anrf) Launches ‘Saral Ai’, The E-Safeher Programme & E-Nam Completes 10 Years

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

1. LOK SABHA EXPANSION PLAN: PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

Current Context: The Union government has proposed a major constitutional reform to expand Lok Sabha strength and revise delimitation rules, potentially enabling earlier seat redistribution and accelerating women’s reservation.

ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION (ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIRST AMENDMENT) BILL, 2026

• Proposed Lok Sabha Strength:Increase from 543 to 850 members
  • Maximum 815 members from States
  • Up to 35 members from Union Territories
• Proposed Changes to Article 81:
• Expand representation based on India’s growing population
• Key Change – Delimitation Before 2026 Census:
  • Currently, delimitation linked to first Census after 2026 (Article 82)
  • Bill proposes removal of this restriction, allowing delimitation based on pre-2026 Census data
• What is Delimitation?
  • Process of redrawing boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies
  • Adjusting seat allocation based on population changes
  • Proposed to replace Delimitation Act, 2002
• Delimitation Commission:Headed by Supreme Court judge, includes election officials
• Women’s Reservation Link:
  • Builds on Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 (33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies)
  • Proposed change allows implementation immediately after delimitation, without waiting for post-2026 Census data
• Background:Last major delimitation in 2002 based on 2001 Census, seat allocation based on 1971 Census

 POLITY & GOVERNANCE

2. SAMRAT CHOUDHARY TO TAKE OATH AS BIHAR CM AFTER NITISH KUMAR’S RESIGNATION

Current Context: Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister of Bihar, marking the end of an era. Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary will take oath as the new Bihar Chief Minister. 

ABOUT THE TRANSITION

• Tenure:Over two decades (since 2005)
• Incoming CM:Samrat Choudhary (current Deputy CM)
• Significance:First BJP Chief Minister of Bihar
• Nitish Kumar’s Legacy:
  • Focus on infrastructure, law and order, social development
  • Improvements in education, health, rural development
• Nitish Kumar’s Legislative Career (Four Bodies):
  • Lok Sabha
  • Bihar Legislative Assembly
  • Bihar Legislative Council
  • Rajya Sabha (newly entered)

APPOINTMENTS

3. AUSTRALIA NAMES FIRST FEMALE ARMY CHIEF

Current Context: Australia has appointed Lieutenant General Susan Coyle as the first woman to head the Australian Army in its 125-year history.

ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT

• Effective from:July 2026
• Replaces:Lieutenant General Simon Stuart
• Expertise:Cyber warfare and strategic operations
• Announced by:Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

ECONOMY

4. UPI COMPLETES 10 YEARS WITH MASSIVE GROWTH

Current Context: India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has completed 10 years since its launch in 2016.

ABOUT UPI’S GROWTH

• Developed by:National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
• Transaction Volume Growth:
• From 1.78 crore to 21,898 crore transactions
• ~12,000× increase
• Transaction Value Growth:
• From ₹6,952 crore to ₹285 lakh crore
• 4,000× growth over the decade

ENVIRONMENT

5. ATLANTIC MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION (AMOC)

Current Context: According to a new study, the complete collapse of the AMOC could lead to the release of large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, particularly from the Southern Ocean.

ABOUT AMOC

• Type:Complex system of ocean currents and eddies forming a huge vertical loop spanning the entire Atlantic Ocean
• One of:16 Earth system climate tipping elements
• Mechanism (Ocean Conveyor Belt):
  • Transports warm water northward at surface
  • Transports cold water southward at bottom
  • Driven by differences in temperature and salinity (thermohaline circulation)
• Reason for Weakening:Rising greenhouse gas concentrations, influx of freshwater from melting Greenland Ice Sheet reduces ocean salinity
• Impact of Weakening:
  • Gulf Stream (part of AMOC) – warm current responsible for mild climate in Eastern North America and Europe
  • Europe would become very cold
  • Decreased rainfall over Europe
  • Effect on El Niño

SCHEMES

6.  ANUSANDHAN NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (ANRF) LAUNCHES ‘SARAL AI’

Current Context: ANRF has developed an AI platform ‘SARAL AI’ to convert complex research publications into simple multilingual social media content including videos.

ABOUT ANRF

• Type:Statutory body established under ANRF Act, 2023
• Under:Department of Science & Technology
• Aim:To seed, grow, and promote R&D and foster research and innovation culture across India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories
• Apex body for:Strategic direction of scientific research as per NEP recommendations

 SCHEMES

7.  THE e-SafeHER PROGRAMME

Current Context: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched e-SafeHER, a massive cybersecurity training initiative designed to empower one million women across rural India.

ABOUT e-SafeHER PROGRAMME

• Framework:Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA)
• Target:Enable one million women across rural India over three years (by 2029)
• Key Features:
  • Cyber Sakhi Model:Trains women to become Cyber Sakhis (cyber friends) as peer educators
  • Multilingual Localization:C-DAC leads development of localized audio-visual modules
  • Leverages SHGs:Works through women’s Self-Help Groups
  • Phased Implementation:Begins in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha
  • Blended Learning:Structured technical training + community-based interventions
  • Vision:Contributes to ‘Cyber Secure Bharat’

 SCHEMES

8.  e-NAM COMPLETES 10 YEARS

Current Context: National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) has completed 10 years since its launch in April 2016.

ABOUT e-NAM

• Type:Pan-India electronic trading platform for agricultural commodities
• Slogan:“One Nation, One Market”
• Implementation Agency:Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)
• Under:Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare
• Integration with e-NWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt):Under Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007, certified by Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)
• Features:Inter-state trade facility, live price dashboard, 12-language interface, single window service, Platform of Platforms (PoP)

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