04.03.2026 Daily Current Affairs Analysis | UPSC | PSC | SSC | Vasuki Vinothini | Kurukshetra IAS

News 1:Battered Iran Attacks Oil Infra Targets in West Asia; India Has 25 Days of Crude Stock

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Conflict Enters Fourth Day: The U.S.-Israel-Iran war intensified on Tuesday, with Iran stepping up attacks on economic targets, including oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. U.S. embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait were also targeted .
• Energy Infrastructure Hit: Qatar’s state-run energy firm suspended LNG production, sending European energy prices skyrocketing. Explosions were reported in Iraq’s Erbil and across UAE cities (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah) .
• Israel Expands Operations: Israel bombarded targets in Iran and pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle Hezbollah, widening the conflict beyond Iran’s borders .
• India’s Stock Position: The Government of India announced it has sufficient stocks of crude oil for 25 days, and petrol/diesel for 25 days each (cumulatively 50 days of sufficiency), excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) .
• LNG/LPG Position: India has sufficient LNG supplies for 2-3 weeks and is “comfortably placed” on LPG .
• Government Response: The Petroleum Ministry established a 24×7 control room to monitor supply and stock positions, stating “safeguarding interests of Indian consumers is the highest priority” .

Prelims 360

What is Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)?

• A stockpile of crude oil maintained by a country to tackle:
  • Supply disruptions (war, geopolitical tensions)
  • Natural disasters
  • Sudden price shocks
• It ensures energy security.

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🇮🇳 Strategic Petroleum Reserve in India

📌 Nodal Ministry:

• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

📌 Implementing Agency:

• Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL)
  • A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
  • Wholly owned subsidiary of Oil Industry Development Board

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📍 Locations of SPR in India

Phase I (Operational)

1. Visakhapatnam
2. Mangaluru
3. Padur

• Total Capacity: 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT)
• Equivalent to approx. 9–10 days of India’s crude requirement

Phase II (Approved/Under Development)

1. Chandikhol
2. Padur (Expansion)

• Additional capacity planned: ~6.5 MMT

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🛢 Storage Type

• Underground rock caverns
• Located near coast → easy crude import
• Safer than above-ground storage (less vulnerable to attack)

LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas

📌 What is LPG?

• A mixture of Propane (C₃H₈) and Butane (C₄H₁₀)
• Obtained during:
  • Crude oil refining
  • Natural gas processing

📌 Storage

• Liquefied under moderate pressure
• Stored in cylinders

LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas

📌 What is LNG?

• Natural Gas (mainly Methane – CH₄) cooled to –162°C
• Converted into liquid form to reduce volume (~1/600th)

📌 Storage

• Stored in cryogenic tanks
• Requires very low temperature

NEWS 2 : MGNREGS Workers Flag Glitches in Monitoring App

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• New Mandate: From March 1, 2026, the government made facial recognition mandatory for marking attendance under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app .
• Worker Complaints: Several workers, particularly in Rajasthan, have reported glitches with the new feature, including:
  • Inability to download muster rolls
  • Facial recognition failing to authenticate users
  • Lack of response from district and State officials
• Government’s Response: Officials claim that on Tuesday alone, over 22 lakh workers successfully recorded attendance using the new feature. They assert the update was preceded by a pilot in three districts (October 2025), later expanded to one district per State .
• Rationale for Facial Recognition: The measure follows the government’s e-KYC drive aimed at eliminating ineligible beneficiaries and preventing “misuse” of the NMMS platform .
• Criticism: MKSS leader Nikhil Dey questioned the efficacy of the monitoring system, arguing that creating “technological barriers for workers” does not advance the objective, and that engineers supervising sites should be held accountable for malpractices instead .
• Exemptions: Officials stated that exemptions are available in cases of technical difficulty .

Prelims 360

National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App – UPSC Prelims Focus

📌 What is NMMS App?

• A mobile-based application used for real-time attendance monitoring of workers.
• Launched by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Specifically developed for MGNREGA worksites.

👉 It ensures transparency and accountability in wage payments.

Linked Scheme

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
  • Provides 100 days of wage employment to rural households.
  • Legal entitlement under a rights-based framework.

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🏛 Implementing Authority

• Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
• Technical support: National Informatics Centre (NIC)

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📱 Key Features of NMMS App

✔ Geo-tagged attendance
✔ Time-stamped photographs
✔ Captures attendance twice daily
✔ Real-time data upload to central server
✔ Linked with Aadhaar-based payment systems

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🎯 Objective

• Prevent fake/ghost beneficiaries
• Reduce corruption
• Ensure Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) accuracy
• Improve monitoring of worksites

News 3 : UIDAI Finishes 1.2 Crore Biometric Captures of Schoolchildren

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Milestone Achieved: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has completed mandatory biometric updates for 1.2 crore children between the ages of seven and 15 through large-scale drives conducted in schools .
• Legal Requirement: Updating Aadhaar biometrics is mandatory at least once for children between the ages of 7 and 15. The service is free of cost until October 2026 .
• Implementation Scale: The drive covered over 1,03,000 schools across India, using more than 4,000 machines to update children’s biometrics on campus .
• Technology Integration: The mission-mode drive, rolled out in September 2025, involved technological integration with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) application, in partnership with State education departments .
• Purpose of Update: Keeping biometrics updated ensures children can authenticate for:
  • Government scheme benefits
  • Scholarships
  • Competitive exams (NEET, JEE, CUET)
• Alternate Options: Children can also complete the update at any Aadhaar enrolment centre or Aadhaar Seva Kendra .

Prelims 360

What is UIDAI?

UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) is the statutory authority responsible for issuing Aadhaar numbers to residents of India.

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🏛 Legal Status

• Established in 2009 (initially as an executive body).
• Became a statutory authority under:
  • Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016
• Functions under:
  • Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

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🎯 Objective

• Provide unique 12-digit Aadhaar number
• Ensure:
  • Targeted delivery of subsidies
  • Elimination of duplicate/fake beneficiaries
  • Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

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🧾 Composition

• Chairperson
• 2 Part-time Members
• CEO (Member-Secretary)

Appointed by the Central Government.

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🔐 Aadhaar – Key Features

✔ 12-digit random number
✔ Based on biometric + demographic data
✔ Voluntary (but often required for welfare benefits)
✔ Applicable to residents, not just citizens

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) – UPSC Prelims Focus

📌 What is UDISE+?

• An online data collection system for school education in India.
• Covers pre-primary to Class XII.
• Collects data from all recognized schools (government & private).

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🏛 Nodal Ministry

• Ministry of Education
  (Earlier Ministry of Human Resource Development)

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🎯 Objectives

✔ Create a real-time database of schools
✔ Improve planning & policy-making
✔ Track school infrastructure, teachers, and enrolment
✔ Ensure transparency and accountability

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📊 What Data Does UDISE+ Collect?

• School infrastructure (toilets, electricity, drinking water)
• Teacher data (qualification, training)
• Student enrolment (gender-wise, category-wise)
• Dropout rates
• Transition rates
• Learning facilities (ICT labs, libraries)

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🔄 Evolution

• Earlier system: DISE (District Information System for Education)
• Upgraded to UDISE+ (Digital & real-time platform)
• Introduced unique school ID system

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📌 Key Features of UDISE+

✔ Web-based data entry
✔ Data validation & verification
✔ GIS mapping of schools
✔ Integrated with other platforms (like scholarships & DBT systems)

News 4 : Cable Cuts Lead to Disruptions in Bharti Europe Net Traffic

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Nature of Disruption: Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s network has faced disruptions in Europe-bound traffic for multiple weeks, leading to “packet loss” at large scale and increased latency for cloud providers .
• Cause: The disruptions were caused by an undersea cable cut off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, likely impacting the MENA SCS cable system (connecting Mumbai to Italy via Oman and Egypt) .
• Impact on Cloud Providers: Major cloud providers, including Digital Ocean and Oracle Cloud, have started routing traffic via other cable systems (e.g., Tata Communications) to maintain service quality .
• Compounding Factor: This disruption compounds an earlier issue from September 2025 involving multiple subsea cables in the Red Sea, which are yet to be repaired. Repair operations may be on hold due to the ongoing Iran conflict making waters near Saudi Arabia unsafe .
• Consumer Impact: The disruptions do not appear to have had a noticeable impact on mobile data and broadband consumers so far .

Network Response: Some European networks (e.g., RingCentral) issued advisories to avoid Bharti for Europe-India routes .

Prelims 360

Undersea (Submarine) Cables

📌 What are Undersea Cables?

• Fiber-optic cables laid on the ocean floor
• Carry ~95–99% of international data traffic
• Used for:
  • Internet
  • Financial transactions
  • Government communication
  • Cloud data transfer

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🔧 Key Features

✔ Made of fiber optics
✔ Transmit data using light signals
✔ Faster and cheaper than satellites
✔ Vulnerable to:

• Natural disasters (earthquakes)
• Ship anchors
• Sabotage / geopolitical tensions

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🌍 Strategic Importance

• Critical digital infrastructure
• Backbone of global economy
• Important for:
  • National security
  • Digital sovereignty
  • Financial stability

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🇮🇳 India & Undersea Cables

India connects globally through landing stations in cities like:

• Mumbai
• Chennai
• Kochi

India is also involved in projects like:

• India-Middle East-Europe connectivity initiatives.

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☁ Cloud Providers

📌 What is Cloud Computing?

Delivery of computing services (storage, servers, databases) over the internet.

Instead of storing data locally → data stored in remote data centers.

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🌍 Major Global Cloud Providers

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud

These companies operate massive global data centers connected by undersea cables.

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🇮🇳 Indian Context

• Government cloud initiative:
  • MeghRaj (GI Cloud)
• Supports:
  • Digital India
  • E-Governance services
  • Data localization policies

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🔗 Link Between Undersea Cables & Cloud Providers

✔ Cloud data travels internationally through submarine cables
✔ Cloud companies invest heavily in building/owning undersea cables
✔ Disruption in cables → cloud outages

Example: Outages in global cables can affect banking & UPI services.

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🔎 Prelims-Oriented Key Points

✔ Submarine cables carry majority of global internet traffic (not satellites)
✔ They are privately owned consortium projects
✔ Cloud providers depend heavily on these cables
✔ Critical infrastructure under national security framework