Rules of Origin Current Affairs for UPSC

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is examining a separate, standalone law to regulate artificial intelligence in India, rather than continuing to govern AI through the Information Technology Act, 2000. Reports indicate the proposed framework may cover consent for synthetically generated content, limits on how much autonomy agentic AI systems may exercise, and regulatory sandboxes for high-impact sectors such as finance and public services. Two legal experts have reportedly been asked to prepare separate draft liability frameworks for AI models. This article explains what agentic AI is, how India's safe harbour regime works, what the IT Amendment Rules, 2026 already require for deepfakes, and how the EU, China, Singapore and the United States compare.

The debate over the future of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), 1960 has intensified, with India keeping the treaty in abeyance since the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan raising the issue at international forums, and Pakistan yet to respond to India's formal notices of 2023 and 2024 seeking modification and renegotiation. Analysts argue that river systems are dynamic and the 1960 treaty is inadequate for contemporary challenges like climate change, groundwater, and water quality. This article explains the treaty's allocation design, the abeyance and arbitration developments, global treaty practices, the Mekong comparison, and the case for and against renegotiation for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the companion Double Contribution Convention (DCC) entered into force on 15 July 2026, operationalising India's first comprehensive free trade agreement with a major developed economy. The UK has eliminated tariffs on 99% of Indian tariff lines, while India has cut duties on around 90% of products, including first-ever FTA concessions on cars and Scotch whisky. This article explains what CETA is, its negotiation journey, sector-wise gains and concessions, the DCC for professionals, the new self-declaration rules of origin, the steel quota arrangement, the CBAM concern, and CETA's place in India's FTA strategy.