News 1: Two More Indian Vessels Cross Strait of Hormuz

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Successful Transit: Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Jag Vasant (Great Eastern Shipping) and Pine Gas (Seven Island Shipping), transited through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, carrying nearly 93,000 tonnes of LPG .
• Expected Arrival: The vessels are likely to reach Indian ports between March 26 and 28, 2026 .
• Additional LPG Shipments: A flurry of LPG import shipments in recent days and scheduled for the upcoming week have eased the cooking gas crisis. Foreign-flagged carriers Hellas Gladiator (Netherlands) and Gas Jupiter (U.S.) are expected at Visakhapatnam on March 30 .
• Domestic Production Boost: The government has stated that domestic LPG production has increased by 40% , adding approximately 18,000 tonnes per day to supply, reducing the daily import requirement from 55,000 tonnes .
• Commercial LPG Allocation: The government announced a 20% increase in commercial LPG allocations , bringing total allocation to 50% of pre-war levels , while noting the situation remains “worrisome” .
• Strategic Diversification: The shipment from the Netherlands (Hellas Gladiator) reflects a strategic decision to source LPG from European markets to bypass West Asia supply constraints .
• Long-Term Storage: The SA-LPG cavern project at Visakhapatnam—one of India’s two long-term LPG storage facilities—has handled two ships since February 28, each unloading about 24,000 tonnes .

Prelims 360

Basic Principle of Liquefaction

Gas → Liquid happens by two main processes:

1. Cooling (↓ Temperature)

• When temperature decreases, gas molecules lose kinetic energy
• They move slower → come closer → condense into liquid

2. Compression (↑ Pressure)

• Increasing pressure forces gas molecules closer together
• This helps intermolecular forces pull them into a liquid state

👉 Combination of both cooling + compression is usually used in practice.

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🔹 Key Scientific Concept

Critical Temperature

• The maximum temperature at which a gas can be liquefied by pressure alone
• Above this, liquefaction is impossible even with high pressure

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🔹 Mechanism in Steps

1. Gas is compressed
2. Heat is removed (cooling)
3. Gas reaches saturation point
4. Phase change occurs → liquid forms

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🔹 Real Example: LPG

• LPG (mainly propane & butane) is liquefied by:
  • Moderate pressure
  • Room temperature (no extreme cooling needed)

👉 That’s why LPG cylinders store fuel in liquid form under pressure

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🔹 Real Example: LNG

• Natural gas (methane) needs:
  • Very low temperature (~ -162°C)
  • Because methane has very low critical temperature

What is SA-LPG Cavern Project?

• It refers to the creation of underground rock caverns to store Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) on a large scale.
• These are strategic + commercial reserves to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply in India.

👉 Similar in concept to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), but specifically for LPG.

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🔹 Key Features

• Underground storage in rock caverns (safer than surface tanks).
• Stores LPG in liquid form under pressure.
• Designed for:
  • Strategic reserves (emergency use)
  • Commercial use (buffer stock for regular supply)

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🔹 Locations (Important for Prelims)

Major SA-LPG cavern sites in India:

• Visakhapatnam
• Mangalore
• Padur

📌 These locations are also associated with crude oil SPRs → integrated energy storage hubs.

Major Ports of India (12) – with Key Features

🔹 West Coast Ports (Arabian Sea)

1. Deendayal Port

• Tidal port (important prelim fact)
• Handles crude oil, fertilizers, food grains
• Serves landlocked North-West India

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2. Mumbai Port

• Natural harbour
• Oldest major port
• Handles general cargo & petroleum products

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3. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)

• Largest container port in India
• Handles majority of container traffic
• Highly modern & mechanized

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4. Mormugao Port

• Leading iron ore exporting port
• Important for mining hinterland

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5. New Mangalore Port

• Handles crude oil, LPG, fertilizers
• Important for Karnataka’s industries

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6. Cochin Port

• Natural harbour
• Home to Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal
• Strategic location near international shipping route

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🔹 East Coast Ports (Bay of Bengal)

7. V.O. Chidambaranar Port

• Artificial port
• Handles coal, fertilizers, container cargo
• Closest Indian port to Sri Lanka

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8. Chennai Port

• Artificial port
• Oldest port on east coast
• Handles automobiles, containers

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9. Kamarajar Port

• First corporatized port in India
• Handles coal, petroleum, automobiles
• Satellite port of Chennai

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10. Visakhapatnam Port

• Deepest landlocked natural harbour
• Handles iron ore, petroleum
• Strategically important naval base nearby

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11. Paradip Port

• Major iron ore & coal port
• Key for eastern mineral belt

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12. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port

• Only riverine major port (on Hooghly River)
• Divided into:
  • Kolkata Dock System
  • Haldia Dock Complex

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🔹 Classification (Very Important for Prelims)

✔ Natural Ports

• Mumbai, Cochin, Visakhapatnam

✔ Artificial Ports

• Chennai, Tuticorin (VOC), Ennore

✔ Riverine Port

• Kolkata (only one)

✔ Tidal Port

• Kandla (Deendayal Port)

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🔹 Key Mapping Insights

• West coast → more natural harbours
• East coast → more artificial ports
• Ports near mineral belts → Paradip, Vizag, Mormugao

News 2 : Centre Launches AI Skilling Drive with Google, YouTube

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Three Initiatives Unveiled: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday unveiled three new initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s media, broadcasting, and digital sector and promoting the “orange economy” (creative economy) . The initiatives are:
  1. National AI Skilling Initiative in partnership with Google and YouTube through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT)
  2. MyWAVES, a citizen creator platform on WAVES OTT
  3. Advanced Electronic Programme Guide and in-built satellite tuners in television sets for enhanced access to DD Free Dish services
• AI Skilling Initiative Details: Approximately 15,000 youth will be trained without any fee. The programme will be conducted in two phases: Phase I (March 23 – June 30, 2026) focusing on foundational AI learning, and Phase II (July – December 2026) involving advanced, project-based specialisation for the creative industry .
• Curriculum: Phase I includes Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud Generative AI learning paths (AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, Introduction to Generative AI, Generative AI Leader Path). Phase II includes modules on storytelling, YouTube best practices, and advanced training using AI tools such as Gemini 3 and Vertex AI .
• MyWAVES Platform: A citizen creator platform on WAVES OTT that enables content creators to create, upload, and share content, showcasing India’s rich culture and regional diversity .
• DD Free Dish Enhancement: In-built satellite tuners and advanced Electronic Programme Guide will allow citizens to access DD Free Dish content easily without additional equipment .
• Orange Economy: The initiatives aim to promote the creative economy—industries where economic value is generated primarily from creativity, culture, technology, and intellectual property .

Prelims 360

National AI Skilling Initiative (India)

🔹 What is it?

• A national-level effort to build AI-related skills among students, professionals, and government officials.
• Aims to prepare India’s workforce for the AI-driven economy.

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🔹 Key Stakeholders

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) – nodal ministry
• NASSCOM – industry partner
• National e-Governance Division – implementation support
• Global tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Intel, etc.)

MyWAVES Platform

🔹 What is MyWAVES?

• MyWAVES stands for “My World Audio Visual & Entertainment System”.
• It is a digital platform launched by the Government of India to support the media & entertainment (M&E) sector.

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🔹 Launched by

• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

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🔹 Objective

• To create a single integrated platform for:
  • Content creators
  • Industry professionals
  • Government stakeholders

👉 Aims to boost India’s creative economy & digital media ecosystem

Orange Economy (Creative Economy)

🔹 What is Orange Economy?

• It refers to the economic activities based on creativity, culture, and intellectual property (IP).
• Includes industries where ideas, talent, and creativity generate value.

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🔹 Concept Origin

• Popularized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Through the book “The Orange Economy: An Infinite Opportunity”

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🔹 Why “Orange”?

• Orange is associated with:
  • Creativity
  • Culture
  • Identity

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🔹 Key Sectors Covered

🎬 Cultural & Creative Industries

• Film, TV, OTT
• Music, dance, theatre
• Publishing

🎮 Digital & Creative Tech

• Gaming
• Animation & VFX
• Digital content creation

🖌️ Heritage & Arts

• Handicrafts
• Museums
• Cultural tourism

News 3 :Benchmark Indices Fall 2.5%, Nifty Likely in ‘Bear Grip’

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Market Meltdown: Benchmark stock indices fell 2.5% on Monday (March 23, 2026) as concerns over the ongoing West Asia conflict spiked crude prices and fuelled fears of high inflation. The BSE Sensex fell 2.46% to 72,696 points, while NSE Nifty 50 shed 600 points (2.6%) to 22,513 points—its lowest level since April 9, 2025 .
• Bear Grip: Vinay Rajani, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, noted that Nifty is “firmly in the bear grip” after a steep 15% correction from its all-time high of 26,373, now marching towards its 52-week low of 21,743 .
• Sectoral Carnage: All sectoral indices closed lower, with brutal declines in consumer durables, metals, realty, financial services, and PSU banks. Nifty Midcap 100 tumbled 3.9%, and Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 3.94% .
• Market Breadth: The BSE advance-decline ratio shriveled to a dismal 0.16, reflecting extremely weak market sentiment .
• Rupee Volatility: The rupee hit a record intraday low of 94.11 against the U.S. dollar , battered by fears of an escalating West Asia conflict. Likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) helped stabilise it at 93.53 .
• Expert Warning: Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research at Kotak Securities, warned that USD-INR could test the 96-97 zone in a worst-case scenario if disruptions persist .

Prelims 360

Bull vs Bear in Stock Market

🔹 🐂 Bull Market

✔ Meaning

• A bull market is when stock prices are rising or expected to rise.

✔ Characteristics

• Investor confidence is high
• Economy is generally growing
• High demand for stocks → prices go up
• Positive sentiment

✔ Why “Bull”?

• A bull attacks upward (horns up) → symbolizing rising prices 📈

✔ Example

• Post-COVID recovery phase (2020–2021) saw strong bull trends in many markets.

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🔹 🐻 Bear Market

✔ Meaning

• A bear market is when stock prices are falling or expected to fall.

✔ Characteristics

• Investor confidence is low
• Economic slowdown or uncertainty
• Selling pressure → prices fall
• Negative sentiment

✔ Why “Bear”?

• A bear swipes downward (claws down) → symbolizing falling prices 📉

✔ Example

• During the 2008 financial crisis → global markets were in a bear phase

News 4 : New Way Helps Superconductor Break Temperature Record

Preliminary Facts (For Mains Answer Introduction)

• Record-Breaking Achievement: Scientists have raised the ambient-pressure superconductivity temperature of a copper oxide material (Hg1223) by 18°C to -122°C , breaking a record that had stood since 1993. The result was achieved using a new technique called pressure quenching .
• Methodology: The team led by physicists Liangzi Deng and Ching-Wu Chu at the University of Houston developed a pressure-quench protocol (PQP) —a three-stage process designed to freeze a high-pressure superconducting state in place by removing pressure fast enough and at a low enough temperature .
• Key Findings: Across five tests, the team consistently retained the transition temperature between -122°C and -134°C at ambient pressure. Roughly 78% of the material’s volume became superconducting , confirming bulk superconductivity rather than a surface or filamentary effect .
• Stability: The quenched phase was stable for at least three days when stored in liquid nitrogen . Warming above -73°C reduced the effect, while room temperature partially reversed it .
• Significance: This is the first time a high-pressure superconducting state has been preserved at ambient pressure, potentially opening the door for scientists to “stabilise” exotic electronic properties in other materials under ordinary conditions .

Broader Context: Since 1993, the record for ambient-pressure superconductivity has been stuck at -140°C. While researchers have achieved much higher temperatures (up to -13°C) in recent years, they required pressure equivalent to that near the earth’s core and disappeared when pressure was released

Prelims 360

What is Hg1223?

• A cuprate superconductor (mercury-based copper oxide)
• One of the highest Tc superconductors known

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🔹 Pressure Quenching Technique

✔ What is it?

• Material is:
  1. Subjected to high pressure
  2. Then rapidly brought back to normal pressure
  3. While retaining structural changes

✔ Result

• Enhances superconducting properties without continuous pressure

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🔹 Scientific Significance

• Moves closer to room-temperature superconductivity
• Helps understand:
  • Electron pairing mechanism in cuprates
  • Crystal structure tuning

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🔹 Applications of Superconductors

• MRI machines
• Maglev trains
• Power transmission (zero loss)
• Quantum computing