Daily UPSC Current Affairs

On March 27, 2026, industry experts speaking at Semicon China in Shanghai warned that the ongoing conflict in West Asia has tightened global helium supply, and this shortage has already started affecting tech supply chains. Helium is critical for chipmaking, and companies are now facing delays in production, longer delivery times and higher costs. The news comes as Qatar, which supplies nearly one-third of the world’s helium, faces disruptions, leaving the semiconductor, electronics, automobile and medical device industries scrambling for alternatives.

On March 27, 2026, the government released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for the full calendar year 2025. The numbers show that women saw higher year-on-year wage growth than men in all three major job types — salaried, self-employed and casual labour — even though women continue to earn less overall. This is the first time such a clear trend has appeared across every category, and it comes at a time when the government is focusing on improving women’s participation in the workforce.

On March 27, 2026, the government introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to amend 79 central acts administered by 23 ministries and proposes to decriminalise 717 minor procedural offences while removing or changing 67 more provisions. This is the second edition of the Jan Vishwas initiative after the 2023 Act. Congress members raised strong objections during introduction, but the government rejected them, saying there is no precedent for sending such bills to a parliamentary committee at this stage.

On March 27, 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave the green signal to major defence purchases worth Rs 2.38 lakh crore. The biggest item is the approval to buy five additional S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Russia for the Indian Air Force. The clearance also covers medium transport aircraft and remotely piloted strike aircraft. This comes after the S-400 systems proved their worth in Operation Sindoor and is part of India’s ongoing effort to strengthen air defence amid rising regional threats.

On March 25, 2026, India released its third set of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, setting fresh climate goals for 2035. The new targets include a 47% reduction in emissions intensity of GDP, 60% share of non-fossil sources in electricity capacity, and creation of an extra 3.5-4 billion tonnes of carbon sink. This update comes at a time when global climate action is slowing due to policy shifts in the United States and lack of enough money from rich countries for climate projects in developing nations.

The ongoing West Asia conflict, which began on February 28, 2026, with US-Israel strikes on Iran, has led to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, halting crude oil supplies from key West Asian countries to India. This disruption prompted a 50% surge in India's Russian oil imports in the first 11 days of March 2026, reaching 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), as refiners sought alternative sources to maintain supply stability. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also engaged in diplomatic talks with Russian and EU counterparts to address the crisis.

On March 11, 2026, the Supreme Court directed the Centre, states, Union Territories, universities, and public institutions receiving government funds to immediately disassociate three experts—Professor Michel Danino (chairperson of the NCERT social science curriculum committee), Suparna Diwakar, and Alok Prasanna Kumar—from any role in preparing school curriculum or finalising textbooks using public funds. This came after a suo motu case over a withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook chapter discussing "corruption in the judiciary," which the court called an attempt to demean the institution and harmful to impressionable students. The court also ordered formation of an expert committee to review legal studies content and barred publication of any rewritten chapter without domain expert approval.

The Supreme Court on March 11, 2026, dismissed the Centre's appeals against judgments from three High Courts—Delhi, Madras, and Kerala—ruling that creamy layer status for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations cannot be based only on parental income. This decision came in cases involving UPSC civil services candidates whose parents work in public sector undertakings (PSUs) or private firms, emphasizing that social status and job equivalence must also be considered to avoid unfair treatment among similar OBC groups.

Israeli airstrikes on March 7-8, 2026, targeted oil storage facilities in Tehran and Alborz province, causing massive fires that released harmful pollutants into the air. This led to "black rain" falling over Tehran on March 8, a mix of rain and toxic particles that has raised serious health and environmental concerns, with the World Health Organization warning of long-term risks like respiratory issues and ecosystem damage.

The Supreme Court, on March 11, 2026, approved the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for 32-year-old Harish Rana, who has remained in a persistent vegetative state for over 13 years following a severe head injury. This decision represents the first real-world use of India's passive euthanasia guidelines, highlighting the need for clear rules on end-of-life care to allow individuals to pass away naturally when medical treatment offers no hope of recovery.

On January 3, 2026, the United States conducted a military strike in Venezuela, leading to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking charges. President Donald Trump invoked the 1823 Monroe Doctrine to justify the action, rebranding it as the "Donroe Doctrine" in the US National Security Strategy released in December 2025. This marks a bold reassertion of US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, aimed at countering foreign influences like China and Russia, sparking international condemnation and debates on sovereignty and great power competition.

The United States has eased some sanctions on Venezuela, allowing American companies like Chevron to increase imports of its heavy crude oil. This move, highlighted in recent reports, aims to match the needs of US Gulf Coast refineries while keeping global oil prices stable amid rising domestic production of light oil. Venezuela, with the world's largest heavy oil reserves, is seeing a revival in exports to the US after years of restrictions, signaling a pragmatic shift in US energy policy in 2026.