Natural Resources & Industrial Location

A rapid scientific study released in late June 2026 has concluded that human-caused climate change is "unequivocally to blame" for the record-shattering heatwave gripping large parts of Europe — the continent's most severe June heat ever recorded. The study uses a fast-growing field called attribution science to prove the link. This article explains what the study found, how attribution science establishes the climate change fingerprint on a single weather event, why this matters for policy, the meteorology of heatwaves and heat domes, and what it all means for India's own heatwave crisis.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has notified amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945, expanding the QR code-based track-and-trace framework to cover all vaccines, antimicrobials, anti-cancer medicines and narcotic and psychotropic drugs by bringing them under Schedule H2. The move aims to curb counterfeit and substandard medicines and strengthen India's fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This article explains the new notification, India's drug-regulation framework under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the meaning of various drug schedules, how QR-code traceability works, the law on spurious and substandard drugs, and the AMR connection.

Grid Controller of India (Grid-India), the national grid operator, has advised gas-based power stations to plan fuel procurement, anticipating the need for extra gas-fired generation in June 2026. The trigger is a combination of below-normal monsoon forecasts and a West Asia conflict that has disrupted natural gas supplies. This article explains what gas-based power is, why it plays an outsized role in evening peak balancing despite a tiny share in the generation mix, how the weak monsoon and Strait of Hormuz disruptions are squeezing fuel availability, and how India prices, trades and allocates natural gas. It also covers Grid-India, the Indian Gas Exchange, India's gas-based economy target and the larger energy security picture.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 52nd G7 Summit in Evian, France, where India was invited as a partner country. The summit discussed Ukraine, West Asia, the Strait of Hormuz, global growth, AI safety, critical minerals, debt vulnerabilities and development finance, while India highlighted the concerns of the Global South, safe shipping routes, seafarer safety and inclusive technology access.

An Indian liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, Disha, has become the first Indian merchant vessel in nearly two months to transit the Strait of Hormuz, following the announcement of a provisional US-Iran ceasefire deal that is expected to reopen the world's most important oil chokepoint. The transit, carrying Qatari LNG for India, has refocused attention on India's deep dependence on West Asian energy and on the vulnerability of a single maritime corridor. This article explains the geography of the Strait of Hormuz, the 2026 West Asia war that triggered its closure, why the chokepoint is critical for India's crude, LNG and LPG supplies, the international law on straits under UNCLOS, India's response through naval and diplomatic action, and the structural options to reduce this dependence.

An Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam, killing five IAF personnel, while one co-pilot survived and is under treatment. The incident has brought attention to the AN-32 fleet’s role in military logistics, its modernisation history, safety record and India’s larger need for reliable tactical airlift capability.

Amid the 2026 West Asia conflict and the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, global crude prices have surged sharply. A steep fall in China's oil imports has unexpectedly freed up non-Hormuz supplies for India and other Asian buyers, cushioning the shock. This article explains the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, India's oil import dependency, the impact of high oil prices on the current account deficit and inflation, India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, and the government's energy security response — fully explained for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

The Maharashtra government has exempted a large iron-ore mining and processing project in Gadchiroli from wildlife clearance, stating the site does not fall in any tiger corridor — a claim that official maps and the NTCA-approved Tiger Conservation Plan appear to contradict. The project, involving diversion of 9.4 sq km of forest land by Lloyds Metals & Energy, overlaps the ecologically vital Tadoba–Indravati tiger corridor. This article explains what a tiger corridor is, the legal framework under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Section 38-O), Project Tiger, NTCA, the difference between forest, wildlife and environmental clearances, the role of the Forest Rights Act and PESA, and the development-versus-conservation debate this case raises.

The Supreme Court has invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to crack down on rampant illegal sand mining inside the tri-state National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, pulling up Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for "casual and indolent" inaction after two forest guards were killed in 2026. This in-depth explainer covers the Chambal sanctuary's unique ecology, the critically endangered gharial, India's sand-mining laws (MMDR Act, Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines), the Deepak Kumar verdict, denotification controversies, and the constitutional principles of environmental governance — everything a UPSC aspirant needs in one place. Why in News The Supreme Court of India is hearing a suo motu case on large-scale illegal sand mining inside and around the National Chambal (Gharial) Sanctuary, a riverine protected area shared by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In a series of strongly worded orders through April and May 2026, the Court has rebuked the three state governments for administrative apathy, linked their inaction to the killing of frontline forest staff, and invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to issue sweeping enforcement directions. The case has brought national attention to sand mining as an environmental and rule-of-law crisis, and to the survival of the critically endangered gharial, whose last major wild stronghold is the Chambal.

A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the WHO, with cross-border spread to Uganda. With no licensed vaccine or treatment for this strain, and an Indian-linked candidate vaccine in the pipeline, India has activated airport screening and surveillance. This article explains the virus, the PHEIC and IHR (2005) framework, the One Health approach, the vaccine gap, and India's epidemic-preparedness machinery.

The United States has said that China will address American concerns over shortages of rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium and indium. However, the latest White House statement reportedly dropped an earlier reference to completely removing China’s export control regime, indicating that Beijing’s broader restrictions are likely to continue. The issue is important for UPSC because rare earths and critical minerals are linked to semiconductors, defence systems, electric vehicles, renewable energy, telecom, data centres and strategic supply-chain security. This article explains China’s rare earth export controls, the importance of indium, why the US sees the development as only a small gain, and what it means for India’s critical mineral strategy.

Iran has carried out attacks on multiple energy facilities in the Gulf, hitting a major petrochemical plant in the UAE’s Ruwais area, two units in Bahrain and several facilities in Kuwait. At the same time, Israel launched strikes on southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon. These developments mark a dangerous new phase in the ongoing war, directly targeting energy infrastructure and raising fears of even bigger disruptions in global oil and gas supplies.