BPSC Bihar Special • Current Affairs30 September 2026
Bihar Current Affairs: Board of Peace, Raisina Dialogue 2026 Pillars, PROBA-3 Solar Mission & Anak Krakatau
Source: UN Security Council / MEA / ISRO-ESA / Geological Survey / DRDO•Exam Target: BPSC 71st & 72nd CCE Prelims
BPSC 72nd Special Dossier — Track B, Day 4
1. Board of Peace (BoP): Architecture & India's Strategic Stance
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Genesis & Concept: Proposed by US President Donald Trump and formally established with a charter signed at Davos on 22 January 2026, the Board of Peace (BoP) is a multilateral crisis stabilization and post-conflict reconstruction body.
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UNSC Mandate: Recognized by the UN Security Council under Resolution 2803 (passed 17 November 2025, 13-0-2, China and Russia abstaining) as a transitional administration framework for Gaza through 31 December 2027.
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Governance Model:
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Donald Trump serves as lifetime Chairman with sweeping powers over membership, appointments, and veto.
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Executive Board includes key envoys and figures such as Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Tony Blair, and Ajay Banga.
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Operational Arms: National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) and International Stabilization Force (ISF, ~20,000 personnel).
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"Pay-to-Play" Membership: Mandates a $1 billion contribution for permanent membership beyond the initial 3-year term.
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India's Diplomatic Calculation: India participated solely as an Observer at the inaugural February 2026 meeting in Washington, declining full membership to uphold UN-centric multilateralism, strategic autonomy, the Two-State solution, and avoid multilateral intervention in bilateral territorial disputes.
2. Raisina Dialogue 2026 (11th Edition): Plenary Pillars & Initiatives
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Dates & Host: Held in New Delhi from 5 to 7 March 2026, jointly hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
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Chief Guest: President of the Republic of Finland, Dr. Alexander Stubb.
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Central Theme: “संस्कार (Saṁskāra) — Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement” (अभिकथन, समायोजन, उन्नति).
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The 6 Plenary Pillars:
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Contested Frontiers: Power, Polarity, and Periphery.
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Repairing the Commons: New Groups, New Guardians, New Avenues.
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White Whale: The Pursuit of Agenda 2030 (SDG acceleration).
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The Eleventh Hour: Climate, Conflict, and the Cost of Delay.
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Tomorrowland: Towards a Tech-topia (AI and ethical governance).
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Trade in the Time of Tariffs: Recovery, Resilience, Reinvention.
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Key Strategic Launches:
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Raisina Science Diplomacy Initiative (SDI): Integrating diplomacy with semiconductors, critical minerals, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
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Raisina Global Innovation Square: Elevating Global South tech startups.
3. PROBA-3 Mission: ISRO & ESA Solar Coronagraph Collaboration
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Launch Execution: Successfully launched on 5 December 2024 by ISRO's reliable PSLV-C59 (PSLV-XL) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, under a commercial contract via NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
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Technological Feat: The world’s first high-precision formation flying mission, consisting of two coordinated spacecraft flying 144 to 150 meters apart with millimeter precision:
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Occulter Spacecraft (OSC, ~200 kg): Blocks the blinding disk of the Sun.
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Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC, ~340 kg): Carries the ASPIICS telescope to image the faint solar corona for up to 6 uninterrupted hours per orbit.
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Orbital Profile: Highly elliptical orbit (600 km perigee × 60,530 km apogee; 19.7-hour period).
4. Vulcanology: Anak Krakatau Eruption in Sunda Strait
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Geographical Setting: An active volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra.
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Eruption Event: Re-entered a violent eruptive phase in September 2026, spewing ash plumes into the upper troposphere.
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Historical Context: Situated along the seismically volatile Pacific Ring of Fire. "Anak Krakatau" (Child of Krakatoa) emerged in 1927 within the caldera formed by the cataclysmic 1883 Krakatoa explosion.
5. Artillery Breakthrough: Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launch System (MBRLS)
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Indigenous Roots: Named after Lord Shiva's divine bow Pinak, designed and developed by DRDO’s Pune-based laboratories: Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).
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Pinaka Long-Range Guided Rocket (LRGR / Mk-III): Successfully completed validation trials at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha in July 2026 (60 km minimum range) following a December 2025 trial hitting 120 km maximum range with GPS/NavIC guidance and sub-50m accuracy.
6. Foundational Education: NIPUN Bharat Mission
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Mandate: National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy launched on 5 July 2021 under NEP 2020 and Samagra Shiksha.
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Core Objective: Ensure every child achieves Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) by Grade 3 by the target year 2026–27.
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Flagship Sub-Components:
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Vidya Pravesh: 3-month play-based school preparation module for Grade 1 entrants.
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NISHTHA-FLN: Nationwide capacity building of primary school educators.
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Jaadui Pitara: Play-based learning-teaching material (LTM) for age group 3–8 years.
7. Maritime Rescue & Economic Indicators: INS Nipun & PPI
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INS Nipun Commissioning: Commissioned on 31 August 2026 at Naval Dockyard Mumbai as the Indian Navy’s second indigenous Diving Support Vessel (DSV) of the Nistar-class, built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam (~80% indigenous content). Equipped for saturation diving to 300m and acts as mother ship for Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRV).
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Transition from WPI to PPI: In June 2026, DPIIT released the Producer Price Index (PPI) with base year 2022-23, initiated to replace the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) over a 5-year transitional timeline. PPI measures factory-gate prices excluding trade margins and indirect taxes and importantly encompasses the services sector.
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