🔆 Current Affairs– 03 SEPTEMBER 2026
📍 HISTORY, ART & CULTURE
🔆 LiDAR Survey – Lakkundi’s Hidden Monuments
🟢 DAMH signs an MoU with the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru for a LiDAR survey of Lakkundi, Gadag district.
🟢 Objective: Locate concealed monuments, wells and temples from the 10th–12th century CE hidden by vegetation.
🟢 Technology: LiDAR, GIS mapping, remote sensing, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), drones and photogrammetry.
🟢 Process: NIAS will study old photographs, scan the area and identify potential sites for excavation; a Joint Coordination Committee will oversee the project.
🟢 Heritage: Lakkundi, known as Lokki-Gundi in inscriptions, occupies an important place in Indian architectural history.
🟢 Architecture: Conserved monuments belong to the Kalyana-Chalukya period and display the Vesara style, blending Nagara, Dravida and Bhumija styles.
🟢 Significance: Supports sustainable conservation and strengthens the proposal for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
📍 ENVIRONMENT
🔆 Zero Legacy Waste – Depalpur
🟢 Indore and Depalpur achieve Zero Legacy Waste under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
🟢 System: Four-bin segregation, 100% door-to-door collection and peer learning through Swachh Shehar Jodi.
🟢 Operation: 1,250 MT of legacy waste remediated with the participation of 500 ragpickers and heavy machinery.
🟢 Outcome: 4.5 tonnes of recyclables recovered; 50–60 tonnes of RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) sent to the NEPRA plant and cement factories.
🟢 Community Action: Dumpsite revived through plantation, wall art and plastic-free zones.
🟢 Impact: First city under the initiative to completely erase its dumpsite; the site will be used for sports, citizen programmes and social gatherings.
🔆 Liocheles gracilipalpus
🟢 New scorpion species discovered in the Shivalik Hills, Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir, at an elevation of 1,655 m.
🟢 Family: Hormuridae.
🟢 Name Origin: Gracilis means slender, while palpus refers to the pedipalp.
🟢 Features: Long, slender pedipalps; body length 34.8–43.2 mm; greyish to dark-brown body with lighter legs and tail.
🟢 Sexual Dimorphism: Clear differences in pedipalp structure between males and females.
🟢 Habitat: Found beneath flat rocks, man-made walls and wood-storage sheds across 600–1,655 m elevation.
🔆 Tetragonula nagalandensis
🟢 New stingless honey bee species discovered in Medziphema, Nagaland, and named after the state.
🟢 Count: Brings India’s total number of stingless bee species to 19.
🟢 Features: Around 5 mm long; male reproductive anatomy shows a C-shaped notch and sharply curved penis valve.
🟢 Habitat: Subterranean; builds compact brood clusters under soil, protected by wax and organic layers.
🟢 Ecological Role: Important pollinator of local crops and wild vegetation, supporting biodiversity and agriculture.
🔆 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
🟢 An exceptionally rare visitor to India, highlighting the biodiversity of Delhi-NCR wetlands.
🟢 Identification: Bold white supercilium, rufous-streaked cap, rusty-brown scalloped feathers and diffused breast markings.
🟢 Range: Breeds in northern Siberia and migrates mainly to Australia and New Zealand.
🟢 Conservation: Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; population declined by 45% in 15 years due to habitat loss.
🟢 Ecology: Forages in coastal and inland wetlands, feeding on seeds, worms, molluscs, crustaceans and insects.
🔆 5th Edition – Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar
🟢 Preparations reviewed at a high-level meeting of science ministries at CSIR-Science Centre, New Delhi.
🟢 Campaign: Major coastal cleanliness drive under Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar.
🟢 Focus: Greater coordination among scientific institutions and integration of technology, public participation and inter-departmental collaboration.
🟢 Outreach: Digital campaigns, documentaries, infographics and success stories to showcase India’s scientific achievements.
🟢 Significance: Reflects a strong science-society partnership for environmental protection and innovation.
🔆 New Zealand Kākāpō Population
🟢 The world’s heaviest parrot, Kākāpō, increased from 51 birds in 1995 to 325 after a record 90 chicks in 2026.
🟢 Conservation: Intensive recovery through predator-free islands, genetic management and continuous monitoring.
🟢 Challenges: Flightless and highly vulnerable to cats, rats and stoats; breeds only during rimu mast years, every 2–4 years.
🟢 Breakthroughs: Rapid DNA sex testing, nest monitoring and chick care improved survival.
🟢 Status: Still Critically Endangered, despite its remarkable recovery.
📍 INDEX
🔆 V-Dem’s Democracy Index 2026
🟢 V-Dem Institute reports that India’s democracy has steadily declined since 2009, reaching its lowest index score since the 1975 Emergency.
🟢 Concerns: India is described as “autocratising”, with concerns over weakening democratic institutions.
🟢 Indicators:50-year low in judicial accountability, Election Management Body autonomy and public administration impartiality.
🟢 Context: The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also raised concerns over reports of human-rights violations, including the exclusion of Muslim voters from electoral rolls.
📍 MISCELLANEOUS
🔆 National Departmental Summit on Water 2026
🟢 The Ministry of Jal Shakti hosts the first Departmental Summit on Water at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan.
🟢 Vision: Supports Cooperative Federalism, a Water Secure India and Viksit Bharat 2047.
🟢 Focus: Timely water infrastructure projects, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari–Catch the Rain, source sustainability and rural water-supply O&M under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
🟢 Process: Centre and States share best practices, address challenges and agree on time-bound actions.
🟢 Significance: Creates a new model of Centre-State collaboration, strengthening the Team India approach.
🔆 International Workshop on Tiger Landscapes
🟢 A two-day international workshop inaugurated by the Union Environment Minister.
🟢 Organisers:International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
🟢 Focus: Conservation, bioeconomy and ecotourism as pillars of livelihood, income generation and ecological security.
🟢 Key Highlight:IBCA and ADB signed an MoU for collaboration on landscape conservation, sustainable financing and capacity building.
🟢 Participants: Experts and officials from India and tiger-range countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal and Vietnam.
🟢 Significance: Recognises tiger landscapes as natural capital and promotes integrated landscape management, community-based ecotourism and traditional knowledge for sustainable development.
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