Daily Current Affairs Analysis | 15th August, 2026 | Shankar IAS Academy | UPSC | Mains 2026

[music] Hello everyone, welcome to the daily current affair analysis brought by Shankar Academy 15th August 2026. Before getting into the discussion, please make sure that you subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you haven't, please do subscribe and also hit the bell icon to receive ontime updates from the academy. And uh before moving to the topics for today's discussion, we have an important announcement. It is regarding the pre-torming UBSC prelims test series. The first patch for 2027 will be starting on 7th September 2026. So the link for the registration is available on the website. Do register and crack the prelims in 2027. And uh coming to the topics for today's discussion, the first topic is NASA moon base and India's participation. So recently the NASA invited India to become a part of NASA's moonbased project. And the second article is about BCG vaccine and Alzheimer's immunity. So we know that V BCG vaccine is used for tuberculosis treatment and a later study from the muscle charts found that this will provide immunity against the development of Alzheimer's. And the third article is about three new cascade frog species. So recently the researchers found three new cascade frogs from the northeast part of India and also we have discovered five species of cascade tracks from different parts of the country. So in this background we'll be discussing the key features and the new discovery and the fourth article is about the shortage of chemotherapy drugs in India. So we'll be discussing what is the reason behind it and what is the response from the government and finally we'll be discussing the prelims focus for the day. So if all said let's begin the discussion with the first article. Coming to the first article what is NASA's moonbased program and why does it want India to be part of it? Article is taken from the Hindu. So recently the ninth India US civil space joint working group meeting was held in the city of Bangalore and in this meeting NASA formally invited the Indian space research organization to be a part of NASA's moon base project. So in this project NASA is planning to establish a permanent moon base in the lunar surface for further exploration into the space and we can see that this moonbased project of NASA is an extended program under the Armus Accord of 2020 and we know that in 2023 India became the 27th signary to the Armus Accord and recently we saw that astronaut Mr. GC Shukla traveled to the international space station in the Axiom 4 mission. So talking about the moonbased project of NASA. So like I mentioned through this mission through this project NASA is going to establish a permanent moon base in the southern pole of the moon and through this they will explore other aspects of the solar system and also about the deep space. So the project was actually announced in the ignition event of NASA in 2026 in the month of March and the estimated budget for this program is around $20 billion and we can see that they are planning to establish the moon base in the southern pole of the moon and the duration so this entire program that means until setup of this project sorry setup of this base it is going to happen in the three different phases that means you know first phase is about study second phase PH is about deployment of infrastructure and the third phase is about deployment of the researchers and the next is leading group. So definitely NASA is going to lead the project other countries can be a part of it including India if NASA sorry if I isro accepts the offer and the next is goal. So the goal is long-term ensuring long-term croved you know habitat in the lunar surface for exploring the space and other aspects of the solar system. And uh talking about the road map for this uh moonbased project. So like I mentioned it is going to happen in three phases. So the first phase will be from 2026 to 29. Second phase will be from 29 to 32 and the third phase will be from 20 20 uh 2032 onwards. So between this three years that is from 26 to 29 the in the first phase we will study the lunar surface the conditions you know uh for you know uh for uh uh is that suitable to send the people. So we will study the environment. We know that the regalithic you know the dust particles on the moon is not suitable for human human beings because if human people uh sorry if the human beings uh you know inhale those dust particles it can even lead to pulmonary infection. So the condition is that much harsh and also the temperature will you know will be very extreme right. So suddenly the temperature may fall to minus and suddenly it will rise to 54°C. So the temperature is also very extreme. So the we will study the extreme conditions of this moon in the first phase that is from 2026 to 29 and in the second phase we will be deploying the infrastructure in different suba phases and in the third phase that is from 2032 onwards we are planning to deploy the researchers to carry out the research in the uh in the moon. So the this is a road map of the moonbased project of NASA and next is why south pole. So the question is we can see that in the recent time so or since the you know the uh since the research started the researchers the scientists they have more interest about the southern pole of the moon. What is the reason? So we can see that the temperature of this region the temperature of the southern pole of the moon vary from minus 203°C to 54°C and also this region has certain shadow regions which is protected from the sunlight and also the peaks of this region also you know they constantly receive sunlight. So the condition is extreme volatile and next is know the possibility of water ice. So like I mentioned there are certain craters in this region in the south in the southern pole of the moon we have some craters and within this crater you know the sunlight or the insulation will not reach that much. Okay. So the within this crater there there is a therefore within this crater there's a possibility for the presence of water in the form of ice. That's what we are believing. Okay. So the people have interest about discovering the water in the moon and we believe that this permanent shadow regions in this crater are protected from the sunlight. Therefore there's the possibility for the presence of water in the form of ice. And next is it will provide yes moon you know we we can see that we have discovered uh the Mars rocks from earth. We have discovered earth rocks from moon you know we have discovered the you know the the traces of amino acid from the moon. So uh the moon will definitely understanding more about the moon will give more idea more uh you know in details or insights about the origin of life origin of planets and also the you know the early or the you know early solar conditions and the next is it will it can be used as a launch pad for future missions to Venus and Mars and also through this project NASA is going to anchor the deep space mission for a long time. If they are establishing the moon, if the project becomes successful, then NASA can lead the deep space uh sector for a very long time. So these are the major reasons why the you know we have chosen the southern pole for studying the moon and we can see that recently the NASA block also faced an opposition that is from the China and Russia because recently China and Russia they opened talks for setting up an international lunar research station. So this is also similar to the NASA both NASA and the the Russia China pact they are going to you know establish a permanent base in the moon and we can see that the if you compare these two projects we can see that this plan the NASA's plan was announced in the uh in the March month of 2026 and here the announcement is already done and the progression is the study is everything is going on and recently also we have seen a news about the uh about the meeting between the Russia and China regarding ing this and the cost so NASA's program will cost as per the estimation it will cost around $20 billion and in the case of international lunar research station the cost is not publicly disclosed by China or Russia and framework. So here we have the Armus accord. So we can see that this is an extended program under the Armus accord. Therefore, Arthamus accord is going to guide the it is going to be the guiding principles uh behind the space uh you know uh moon space project of NASA and in the case of Russia China they have the international lunar research station partnership guide and both nations that is both NASA and the Russia China block both are focusing on you know establishing base in the southern part of the moon that is in the south pole of moon and we can see that NASA invited India in in the month of August that is in the 9th India US civil space civil space working group meeting NASA officially invited ISRO and on other side here the invitation is open that means the countries can join you know after consulting with the Russia and China. So we have possibilities to join with the either NASA or Russia China or with both of them. and uh talking about India space journey. So we can see that in the recent time we have done lot of progression in the field of space sector and Indian space uh sector is known for providing good quality services at a very low cost you know and that becomes that is becoming a role model for other space research organizations and this is the uh journey that we are planning uh in the recent time. So from 2023 to 24 we can see that India have lot of plans launches in our schedule right. So in 2023 we joined the armus accord as the 27th nation and uh in 2025 Mr. Mr. Shukla visited the ISR sorry uh the Indian space sorry international space research station international space station and in 2026 you know we received invitation from NASA to join the moonbased project and in 202728 we are planning for Chandrean 4 which is going to be a sample returning mission. So, so far we have studied analyzed the sample in the lunar surface itself through the technology but for the first time we are going to bring the minerals or rocks or particles from the lunar surface back to earth and we can see that in 2025 we have a a great mission that is establishing a bari and station or an exclusive space station for India and in 2040 we are going for even bigger dream that is Indian crewed lunar our mission. So these are the major missions in our schedule and in between we are also planning for Gagan, we are planning for Shukrayan right Gagan we have both crude and uncrrewed mission. So these are the schedules uh in our space journey in the coming days and talking about the benefit of India. So what India is going to get if India joins the NASA block? So first of all we can get lunar expertise that means we can get knowledge we can get more insights from the NASA and the vomot of India will receive more training from NASA or along with NASA and that can be useful for both upcoming missions like you know for uh for our Chandrean 4. It can be used for setting up the Indian space station you know it can be used for our 2040 crude lunar mission and all and at the same time we are going for vikasid bar in 2047. So boosting the space station is very necessary and therefore like I mentioned this alliance with the NASA or the alliance with the Russia China is going to benefit India in our 2035 BAS mission and also in our Luna mission of 2014 and also we will get more insights and accessibility to deep space technology and also the area of deep deep space and also strategic balance. So we have options between Russia, China and also NASA. So we know it is a time to take a very good decision right so it's a time to take a strategic decision to make sure that we are cooperating with the both nations because in the case of space missions even though you have advanced technology or if you have lot of budget still the the chance of success is 50/50 so we have to take you know we have to uh study more we have to take a decision based on that and next is global standing so we already have a very good prestige about our space missions in the international community. So therefore if we can join the the the blocks which are going to success in the space mission then it will further enhance the Indian image or Indian position uh in the global community about the space sector. So these are the major benefits India is going to gain if India becomes a member of this moonbased project. And now we have the prelims practice question. The question is with reference to Arthamus Accord and NASA's moonbased program. Consider the following statements. Statement one, India became the 27th country to join the Arthamus Accord of 2023. And statement two, the Moonbase program aims to establish a permanent human presence at Moon's North Pole. And statement three, the International Lunar's Research Station is a joint initiative of Russia's Rosscosmos and China's CNS. And statement four, Chandrean 4 is India's first crude mission to lunar surface planned for 2014. So we can see that here the statement four and the statement two are incorrect. Statement one and three are correct. So the correct answer will be option A 1 and three only. So we know that India became the 27th country. That is correct. In the Arma Accord in 2023 that is correct. And in the statement two we are planning to establish the the the base in the south pole not in the north pole. We are planning to establish the base in the south pole not not in the north pole. And the the third is international lunar station is the joint initiative of Russia and China. That is correct. And the Chandran is going to be India's first crude mission. No. Uh planned for 2040. That is also incorrect. It is going to be the first sample returning mission for India. So the statement four and statement one uh sorry statement uh two are incorrect. So the correct answer is going to be option A 1 and three only. Yes. With this we will move to the next article. Coming to the second article, TB vaccine offers clue to retrain immune system against Alzheimer's. Article is taken from the Hindu. So a recent study conducted at Masoch's General Hospital in United States found that the baselate gu is a vaccine that we are using to treat the tuberculosis. So the study found that this vaccine is effective against Alzheimer's. So the experiment was conducted in 23 older adult and we found that the you know the there is a you know fight against the immune system is fighting against the Alzheimer's and the study regarding this experiment was published in the journal communication medicine. So how this mechanism will work? So we know that Alzheimer's is classified as a neurodeenerative condition. So what causes the Alzheimer's? deposition or accumulation of certain proteins like uh you know amoid and toao. So those proteins will be accumulated in the brain you know as a result the neur the neuron system of the brain will not work properly and eventually the balance will become you know weak. So the person you know will eventually by stage by stage the Alzheimer's will progress in the people. So this is how the Alzheimer's or the neurodeenerative conditions develop in the people. So the accumulation of the tow and amoid. So these are the proteins that causes the uh Alzheimer's in the people and mostly we can see that this al Alzheimer's will be developing you know along with the aging and here comes the term inflammaging. So what is inflammation? Inflammation is the chronic lowgrade inflammation of an aging immune system. So when a person gets older you know his immune system will slowly weak. So as a result when the immune system is weakened the accumulation of this you know protein like tow and amaloid will be accelerated and eventually the person will become vulnerable to uh the Alzheimer's and other neurodeenerative conditions and what we found is that this vaccine give innate immune cell lasting functional memory that means we will train we will retrain this immune system to fight against the Alzheimer's this vaccine will retrain the immune system to fight against the Alzheimer so how this retrain will happen. So it will be targeting the monocytes. So monocytes is a main immune cell that is found in the blood. So we can see that this once this vaccine is injected in the people this monocy will turn the genes for faster and more alert response against the infection. And we found that this BCG vaccine is not just reacting strongly to the Alzheimer's. It is reacting to many other infections including the Alzheimer's. And uh talking about the limitations of this uh uh this med this experiment. So first of all we can see that it is conducted only in a limited group of people and the diversity the genetic diversity of those people would have been very limited. So we cannot assure uh that this will become effective in every population. So that is one of the major limitations. So the small sample size. So that itself is a major limitation. Second is you know no placebo that means trial lacked a placebo arm for a controlled comparison between you know uh the the the people who have received the vaccine and the people who are not vaccinated and the cognition. So the cognitive scores barely shifted either way over the year. So we have monitored this people over a period that means nearly one year after this we injected or we vaccinated this people in two phases and after this vaccination we have monitored this people and we found that you know the there was no major cognitive you know uh change changes in the there was no major cognitive changes in the score and the next is timeline so one year is too short for dementia slow disease progress so we can see that this Alzheimer's dementia all this neurodeenerative conditions will take a long time sometimes maybe one year sometimes maybe five or 6 years so we cannot con conclude that you know with the one year study we cannot conclude that this medicine is effective against the Alzheimer's for a long time so these are the major limitations of this you know study and uh the next is clinical and future future implications so we can see that you know first of all if this uh medicine or if this experiment it is effective if it is sustainable then it will reduce the cost. So we know that this mundane anti- amoid therapies are far more expensive. So therefore you know this medicines can uh you know this cost of uh Alzheimer's treatment can be reduced. And second is large trial. So already the banner institution they have sought uh you know at 200 million grand proposal to conduct a large scale trial of this same experiment. And next is preventive angle. So we can see that this uh BCG vaccine for the you know uh for the uh tuberculosis is showing more promise as a prevention rather than a cure. So you know it is for prevention that means we have to administer even before the onset of this condition. So once it is started once the condition is progressed in the people then reversing the condition is a great question. So it is it is another step towards preventing the Alzheimer's or any neurodeenerative condition. And the next is broader scope may help other inflammationdriven neurodeenerative conditions not just Alzheimer's or dementia and future target. So gene activity in the brain immune cells emerges as a new focus. So we can see that now you know from understanding the neuron now we are shifting towards the the genetic of the brain activity. So it is opening a new window in the neurological study. So these are the major you know impact of this experiment. And now we have the prelims practice question. The question is with reference to the baffila culminate guin vaccine and its recently reported role in Alzheimer's research. Consider the following statements. Statement one BCG produces specific antibodies against amaloid beta protein linked to Alzheimer's disease. Statement two trained immunity refers to the long-lasting functional reprogramming of innate immune immune cells after certain vaccinations. And statement three, the BCG vaccine has been historically used in the treatment of bladder cancer. And statement four, trained immunity like responses of monocytes are where seen only in the peripheral blood blood and not within the central nerve system. So which of the statements given above is or are correct? Option A 1 and two only. Option B 2 and three only. Option C 2 3 and four only. And option D 1 2 and four only. So we can see that BCG produces specific antibodies against amaloid beta protein linked to Alzheimer's disease. Uh the statement is incorrect. Actually it is not producing any uh specific uh you know the you know uh antibodies to deal with the amoid that is the protein that is causing the neurodeenerative condition. So the statement one is incorrect and the statement two trained immunity instead of producing antibodies it is training the existing immune system for faster for shifting the gene and faster uh you know response to the infection including the accumulation of tow and amaloid. So the statement two immunity or trained immunity refers to the long-lasting functional reprogramming programming of innate immune cells after certain vaccinations. That is correct. And statement three the BCG vaccine has been historically used in the treatment of gallbladder. So yes uh gallblad it can be used for gallbladder and gallbladder cancer treatment and the statement for trained immunity like responses of monocytes were seen only in the peripheral blood and not within the central nerve system. No see the once this vaccine is given it will train the monocytes. So the monocytes will shift the gene activity to alert the immune system against the accumulation of toao and amaloid or any other infection and immediately they will also inform the central nerve system. So they will also inform the central nerve system and that is one of the features of this experiment. So the statement four is uh you know incorrect. they are not only found in the peripheral blood and not within the central nerve system. Here the statement is going incorrect. So they they they are playing a crucial role in alerting the central nerve system against uh this infection or any accumulation of the protein. So the statement four is incorrect. So the correct answer will be option B 213 only. Yes. With this we will move to the next article. Coming to the third article. Three new cascade frog species discovered in northeast India. one named in the honor of Kerala social worker Patmini article is taken from the Hindu. So recently we have discovered three species three new species of cascade frogs in the northeast part of India after 15 years of research and also we have discovered other five species of cascade frogs in different parts of the country for the first time and the study regarding this uh research was published in the peer-reviewed bulletin of museum of comparative zoolology. So talking about the newly discovered species from the northeast part of India. So the first species is Amachi's cascade frog or scientifically known as Amaloth Amachi. So this was found in the Jamui hills of Tribura and the name was given in the honor of the social worker and philanthropist Pathmini working. And we can see that the second species is Sandenu cascade frog scientifically known as Amalop Sandenu. And they are uh they were discovered in the uh state of Nagaland and named after the village centen. This is the village where we have discovered this species. And the next is uh beautiful cascade frog. This was a scientific name is Amalob's Bella and this was discovered in the state of West Bengal and it is named for its distendive green body with a mosaic like pattern. And the next the newly discovered SP five species from other parts of the country. The first is Amalops Afghanas. So it is a marbled cascade frog. And the second is Amalops Nepalus. So it is a Nepal cascade frog. And next is Amalop's Wangali. So it is it is a Wangial cascade frog. And the next and the next is Amalop Meadow Genesis medok cascade frog. And the next is Amalop's Belulus. So it is the Pinama cascade frog. These are the other five species of cascade procs that we have discovered from India in the recent time and these three are discovered from the northeast part of the uh India. So what is the significance? So we can see that across the world the scientists have studied nearly 300 plus population geographic populations of the cascade frogs and we used different techniques like DNA analysis, morphological comparison of adult prog and morphology of the know morphological comparison of the tpoles and the developments to classify them into different you know species and we found that using the DNA based dating uh you know using the DNA based dating we found that major diversification of this rock happened around 32 million years ago that is during the eosen oligosen transition. So this is indicating the radiation of or the you know diversification of one sorry diversification of many species from one common ancestor and that happened in the 32 million years ago. So this is pointing towards what? This is pointing towards the climate condition you know changes in the geography at the time. So uh talking about geography and evolution. So the cascade frogs in inhabit fast flowing forest streams. So the spor streams are very important for their meeting you know their food and also for the development healthy development of the tros. So therefore this cascade frogs are mostly found in the fast flowing forest streams and the and we can see that their present distribution is indicating the upliftment of Himalayan region multiple waves of west to east colonization across Asia climatic and geological changes during the EOS and oligos and transition. So we can see that you know for example if you take the case of uh you know human evolution we can see that you know the the changes the climate conditions in the mosen you know that is one of the major reasons behind the diversification of primate population right or the homminate population. So in the same way through understanding the you know the uh this diversification of the frog species we can understand that between the eosen and oligosen time there was changes in the you know uh in the climate condition there was changes in the topography for example the upliftment of the Himalayan region and there was changes in the in the flowing pattern of the rivers you know there was changes in the in the in in the food availability so all these things can be studied using this you know frog population. And now we have the prelim practice question. The question is, consider the following statements regarding recently discovered cascaded frogs in northeast India. Statement one, cascade frogs of genus envelopes are primarily associated with the fast flowing corrines. Yes. And statement two, the newly discovered species were identified solely on the basis of their external morphological characteristics. No, we have studied their genetics. No, and we have traced their DNA. All these things are studied. So the statement two is incorrect. So if the statement two is incorrect means we can come to the answer that is option B 1 three and four only. Statement three. The diversification of cascade frogs has been linked to the upliftment of Himalayas and also east to west biogeographical movement across Asia and statement for the northeast forms a part of both the eastern Himalayas and Indobma biodiversity hotspot. Yes. So uh the diversification of cascade frogs is linked to the east to west biogeographical expansion or the movement of the frogs and also the using this we can understand about the upliftment of Himalaya. So we know that upliftment of Himalaya is led to the emergence of you know river system in this region and this river system eventually formed you know uh this streams. Therefore we can understand about this using the cascade props. Therefore the statement three is correct and statement four the northeast India forms a part of both the eastimalas and indogerma biodiversity or sport. So it's a general environmental question. So the uh statement four is definitely correct. So the correct answer is going to be option B 1 three and four only. Yes with this we will move to the next article. Coming to the fourth article why vital chemotherapy drugs are in short supply in India. Article is taken from the Hindu. So now the Indian health sector is facing a crisis that is the shortage of drugs like cisplatin and caroplastin. So this two drugs are used widely for chemotherapy but now these two drugs are facing a shortage and this is raising concern about you know about the cancer patients in India. So in this background let us understand more about this article. So talking about cis platin this is a first generation platinum based drugs for solid tumors and blood cancer treatment and next is carboplatin. It is a second generation platinum compound to treat treating multiple solid tumors and we can see that this is widely used in the chemotherapy especially for you know ovarian lungs breast test testicular gallbladder and the headnock cancers and we can see that this drugs are also very important for treating pediatric cancers such as neuroblastoma retinolastoma and the hepto blastto. So this neuroblastoma it is you know it is a cancer found in the immature nerve system that is mostly or commonly it is seen in children and the next is retinol blastoma. Retinoblasttoma it is a type of cancer in the eyes in the retina. So this is also usually found in the children and next is the heptoblastoma. It is a rare type of cancer which is uh which is usually you know diagnosed in the river sorry in the liver. So in this way we can see that this this uh two medicines cyl cisplatin and carboplatin these are very important for cancer treatment especially you know it is used for you know many cancers found in the children and we can see that they are the backbone of chemo radiation therapy for several cancers and now we can see that you know the uh we can go for substitutes but the problem is there are concerns about high cost and also side effect and India is facing this crisis for the last seven years and why the shortage is a concern. So we can see that over 1.5 million new cancers have diagnosed in India annually on an average. So we can see that the population is high. you know the the the lifestyle is changing and also we can see that currently 60%age of the death in India is caused because of non-communicable diseases right so there the the the you know the the cancer role uh in this uh non-communicable disease related death are also increasing right so near on an average nearly 1.5 million new cancer cases are diagnosed in India annually therefore it is a big concern and we can see that this limited supply of cyplatin and caroplatin is disrupting the on-time chemotherapy radiation chemo radiation therapy and higher cost. So we can see that second and third generation drugs can be used but there are concerns about know cost and also there is a you know possibility of higher side effect and we can see that India is facing this uh issue this crisis for the last 7 months and talking about the roots of crisis why there is a shortage or why there is a shortage of the you know cancer treatment drugs first of all the platinum search so we can see that global raw material prices for platinum have uh you know have increased the more than double and we can see that the outdated caps so we can see that you know the price there's a price capping uh for uh drugs so this will uh this has benefit and also this has a negative impact because benefit means it will ensure affordability to everyone but at the same time if the price cap is too low then it can limit the supply of drugs so that is why now the government is revising ing the uh the the price ceiling. Okay. And shipping routes. So we can see that the vestation crisis has already disrupted the global supply chain. Therefore you know the fertilizer, chemical, all these prices are going up uh going higher. And we can see that India is heavily depending on you know narrow set of global platinum suppliers. So we don't have wide platinum suppliers. If these countries are facing any problem then there is a possibility for reduced or shortage of drugs. And next is production halt. So the Indian generic makers temporarily slowed or stopped output. So the reason is lower price ceiling. And next is weak you know uh API based that means act we we do not have a pharmaceutical that much we we do not have that much control on the pharmaceutical uh active pharmaceutical ingredients. So that is also uh you know raising concerns about the constant supply of medicines and what is the response from government. So how the government is responding to the crisis. First we can see that the government invoked uh the the price revision. So uh you know uh uh that means now the government is going for the price revision that means we have raised the the ceiling from 7 rupees to 10 rupees per millm of this pl this platin. And we can see that for the caroplatin the price ceiling got raised from 60 rupees to 90 rupees per millm. So we know that if the price of commodity is sealed at very low then the production also will be very low. That means you know the over period of this will ensure affordability but over period of time you know the the the the supply will not be you know this will not uh encourage the producer or this will not encourage the supplier. So now the government is going for higher price. So what happens more supply can be ensured. Okay. So this is this is a major response from the government and also the government cited that this is this price revision is because of the public public interest and then we can see that the government hospitals in the state levels they are stabilized uh in you know uh with the limited supply of you know through providing adequate supply of this medicine and we have the health ministry they are maintaining or they are monitoring the the supply chain as of now. So these are the major response from the government and way forward. So how we can ensure drug security in India. So first is you know uh you know the adverse event can happen anytime. Therefore we have to make sure we have strategic reserve of medicines and also the ingredients for certain medicines especially for drugs like uh you know sisl cisplatin and caroplatin. And next is pushing for more domestic production. So we have to diversify our production chains especially we have to focus on the rare diseases like cancers and within this cancer we have to identify the rare cases and we have to give focus on that. Next is active pharmaceutical ingredients has to be produced or they have to we have to diversify the supply chain that means we have to reduce the dependence on imported active active pharmaceutical ingredients. And next is central procurement that means consolidate hospital level demand into national tenders. So this will ensure you know proper supply to every hospital in India. And second is constant monitoring and policy prioritization. So we can see that constant monitoring of the drugs their supply their reserve is very important. So if there is any sudden fall then we can give immediate or early warning to address this issue. So we can address a short know a long-term shortage of this. uh we we can reduce the long-term shortage of uh you know certain drugs including this platin and caroplatin. Next is policy prioritization that means treat oncology drug access as a national healthcare priority. So we know that because of this lifestyle changes you know the the disease pattern has shifted. Therefore this is the time to make changes in the health policy. Therefore we have to give more priority to cardiovascular cancers and pulmonary diseases and within this cancer we have to identify the rare cancers or common cancers you know and then we have to give focus for each of them. So these are the major changes that we can you know uh incorporate in our in our upcoming health policy or in our considerations to address the problem of drug shortage in India. And uh coming to the mains practice question, the question is India's recurring shortages of essential oncology drugs such as fis cysplatin and caroplatin have exposed deep structural vulnerabilities in the country's pharmaceutical supply chain. Critically examine the underlying causes of these shortages and suggest a comprehensive drug uh drug security framework to safeguard equitable drugs access uh to life-saving cancer medicines. So it's a 15 marks question and you have to write around 250 words. So we know that you know you can start with the data that is approximately 1.2 million cases are diagnosed annually. So this can be your introduction. So you can give a substantiating uh you know uh a data with a more substant more substanti substantiation and next you can address what are the causes behind the shortage or what are the structural vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain. So we have only limited control over active pharmaceutical ingredients. We do not have you know that much you know we limited changes in the healthcare policy and heavy dependence on imported drugs and the narrow suppliers. So these are the structural vulnerabilities in the country's pharmaceutical supply chain and also the the the low price ceiling. Okay the low price ceiling. So these are the major vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain. So what are the uh measures that we can suggest? The measures includes diversifying the supply chain, revising the price you know and also uh uh changing the healthcare policy according to the shift in the disease pattern. There you can site data from the national health account. So we can see that currently 50%age of the uh the out of pocket expenditure is around 50%age and the 60%age of death is caused by non-communicable diseases. So you can link these two no and then you can give a suggestions like we have you know we then you can talk about certain initiatives taken by the government. For example last year there was a mass allocation of budget to the tertiary cancer research. Right? So in this way that can be your conclusion also. So using this hints try to answer the question post it in the comment section. We will review and we will reply for your answer. Now it's time to move to the next article. Coming to the prelims focus for the day. The first topic is Sangamage irrigation structure at Kolidam. So recently we discovered bricks and stone structures or stone remains on the riverbed of Kolidam in Triti. So we can see that according to the interpretation of the archaeological survey of India this brick and stone remains or this structure dates back to 3rd or 4th century CE and this is possibly an inlet. That means it is a part of the water management existed during the time of pangam age and the key features of the structure include semic-ircular wall par parallel submerged walls and also large bricks. So we can see that you know such structures or such irrigation system is indicating a strong government. That means through this we can understand about the government and the architecture or the you know the architecture style of the culture. For example, if you take the case of the indust valley, we can see that the bricks were uh in similar size, right? And the construction style was almost similar or it had a uniformity. So all this is pointing towards existence of a strong government to implement this. So this is this structure from the the sungum age is indicating or it is giving more insights into the sungum age governance and also about the architecture style existed in the southern part of India during the sungum age and uh talking about the next topic it is the let river of ice sansar glacia so we can see that the sanskar Himalayan glacier is flowing by 2.4 million sorry 2.4 4 meter per year per decade since 1992. So the ice is thinning. The ice is thinning. So we know that the the the glacier is the source of water in the Himalayan rivers, right? But now we can see that the the glacier the Sanskar glacier is slowly thinning since 1992. And therefore this will reduce the driving force and slows the glacier flow and eventually the rivers originating from the glacier will also experience a fall in the water level. So the rapid melting can increase the water level for a short period of time but in long term the rivers will experience a fall in the water level and this will affect the agriculture and other human activities in this region. So in the case of the Himalayan rivers especially in the case of the Indas river basin you know both India and Pakistan will be affected and we can see that according to the studies this trend is seen in regions of Alps glaciers of Arctic and also in the Tibetan region. So it is not just a localized phenomena across the world we can see the thinning of glacia. If the glacier is thinning, the river system will experience a fall in the water level and in long-term the agriculture and other activities in this region will be affected. And the next topic is India world's leading ship recycling nation. So we can see that the ship recycling share of India rose to 35%age in 2025 from 30%age in 2024. And we can see that India is handling around 2.9 million gross ton of uh ship uh you know ship recycling or steel in a year. That means within this year India handled that means from 2024 to 2025 India handled approximately 2.299 million gross t of steel. And we can see that we enacted the ship recycling act of 2019 which aligns with the Hong Kong convention about uh about the ship recycling and uh uh talking about the important facility in India we have the along so region or along so facility of Gujarat and this facility handles approximately 98%age of India's ship recycling activity and the output. So we can see that through this recycling we produced approximately 3.2 million metric ton of steel without exploiting the natural resources and also we now we are planning to improve the capacity to 9 million light displacement t. So that's all about the recycling capacity of India and moving to the prelims practice question. The question is consider the following statements with reference to the India's ship recycling industry. Statement one, India's global ship recycling share rose to 35.4%age in 2025 up from 30 30.1%age in the previous year. Yes. So the statement one is correct. And statement two, the Alamosia facility in Gujarat conducts approximately 98%age of India's ship recycling activity. That is also correct. And statement three, India's ship recycling act of 2019 was enacted to give effect to the provisions of basil convention. It's incorrect, right? It is for the Hong Kong convention, not the basil convention. Hong Kong convention. So the statement three is incorrect. So the basil convention is about the management of chemicals and pesticides not about ship recycling. So the statement three is incorrect which means the correct answer will be option A. The correct answer will be option A 192 voltage. Yes, with this we are coming to the conclusion for today's current affair analysis. With this we are coming to the conclusion for today's current affair analysis. If you like the video, hit the like button, give your feedbacks as comments and share this content with your friends. And before leaving this channel, don't forget to subscribe and also hit the bell icon to receive on time updates from the academy. Thank you for listening to us. Thank you for listening to me. Have a nice day. >> [music]