Daily Current Affairs: July 29, 2026

Today’s issue is about infrastructure that is easy to overlook: the statistical systems used to measure inflation, satellites that provide sovereign positioning and timing, institutions that regulate nuclear expansion, monitoring systems that reveal marine pollution, and digital rails connecting the criminal-justice system.

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High-Yield Topics

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1. CPI rebasing updates the lens through which India measures inflation

A Lok Sabha reply stated that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has revised the Consumer Price Index base from 2012=100 to 2024=100. The new series, released in February 2026, derives its basket and weights from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. It expands the all-India weighted basket from 299 to 358 items and adds price collection from selected online markets.

Rebasing is not a cosmetic change. Consumption patterns, services, retail channels and the relative importance of different goods change over time. A more representative index improves inflation analysis, but it also creates a break in comparability because the basket, weights, market coverage and methodology have changed.

Prelims Hooks

• The CPI measures changes over time in the retail prices of a representative basket of goods and services.
• The new CPI series uses 2024=100 as its base and HCES 2023-24 for basket weights.
• The revised basket contains 358 weighted items: 308 goods and 50 services.
• Monthly collection covers 1,465 rural markets, 1,395 urban markets across 434 towns, and 12 online markets.
• CPI data are produced by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI.
• A base-year revision changes the reference period and normally updates weights, coverage and methodology; it does not mean that prices return to their earlier absolute level.

Mains Angle

A credible CPI should reflect contemporary household expenditure while preserving transparency and continuity. Online prices and a broader services basket improve relevance, yet policymakers must communicate linking factors and methodological breaks clearly. National averages should also be supplemented by State, rural-urban and consumption-class analysis because inflation burdens are unequal. Statistical independence, predictable revision calendars and open metadata are essential when CPI influences monetary policy, wage negotiations, welfare indexation and public expectations.

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2. NavIC shows why sovereign navigation requires constellation resilience

The Department of Space informed the Lok Sabha that NavIC presently has three satellites providing positioning, navigation and timing services—IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01—after IRNSS-1F completed its mission life. At least four operational satellites are required for basic standalone positioning. Consequently, standalone positioning is presently unavailable, although timing service remains functional and users can rely on multi-constellation GNSS.

The reply said NVS-03 is ready for launch, while NVS-04 and NVS-05 are in advanced stages of realisation. The episode underlines that strategic autonomy depends not only on creating a system but also on replenishment, redundancy, ground infrastructure and compatible receivers.

Prelims Hooks

• NavIC was earlier called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.
• PNT stands for positioning, navigation and timing.
• A navigation receiver estimates its position using precisely timed signals from multiple satellites.
• Standalone basic positioning requires signals from at least four suitable satellites to solve for three spatial coordinates and the receiver-clock error.
• NavIC is a regional system; GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou are other satellite-navigation systems.
• A multi-constellation receiver combines signals from more than one GNSS to improve availability and resilience.

Mains Angle

NavIC supports defence, transport, disaster response, telecom timing, fisheries and location-based services. Resilience requires a predictable satellite-replenishment pipeline, launch readiness, monitoring of space and ground segments, indigenous chipsets, receiver mandates where justified, and protection against jamming and spoofing. Multi-constellation use offers practical continuity, but sovereign capability remains valuable during geopolitical or technical disruption.

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3. Nuclear expansion must be matched by credible regulation and waste governance

A Lok Sabha reply set out the Nuclear Energy Mission’s goal of reaching 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047. The expansion strategy envisages indigenous pressurised heavy-water reactors, research and development in small modular and advanced reactors, and additional fast breeder reactors. The reply also reported that the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attained criticality on April 6, 2026.

A separate reply explained the radioactive-waste regime. The Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987 require authorisation from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for regulated discharges. High-level waste from spent-fuel reprocessing is vitrified, while lower-level waste is treated, segregated, volume-reduced and disposed of through engineered, monitored structures.

Prelims Hooks

• A PHWR uses heavy water as moderator and coolant and can use natural uranium as fuel.
• A fast breeder reactor produces more fissile material than it consumes by converting fertile material.
• Criticality means that a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction has been achieved; it is not the same as commercial operation.
• Vitrification immobilises high-level radioactive waste in a stable glass matrix.
• India follows a closed fuel-cycle approach in which useful material in spent fuel is reprocessed.
• The AERB regulates nuclear and radiation safety; the Department of Atomic Energy administers the nuclear-energy programme.

Mains Angle

Nuclear power can provide low-carbon firm electricity and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, but rapid expansion raises questions of finance, liability, regulatory capacity, public trust, water use and waste stewardship. India needs functionally independent and technically strong regulation, transparent incident reporting, credible decommissioning funds, emergency preparedness, long-term waste plans and participatory site selection. New reactor designs should be judged on lifecycle cost, safety evidence and grid need—not novelty alone.

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4. Marine microplastics require source-to-sea governance

The National Centre for Coastal Research reported that synthetic filaments are the predominant microplastic type at selected Indian coastal locations, while river discharge and abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear are major sources. Its Clean Coast Index classified the Thoothukudi coast and Gulf of Mannar as “moderately clean”; sediment samples contained 28-60 particles per 50 grams, with no major hotspot identified on the available evidence.

The reply also noted that a draft National Marine Litter Policy has been prepared for consultation. This matters because marine litter crosses municipal, river-basin and coastal jurisdictions: beach cleaning addresses the visible stock but not the upstream flow.

Prelims Hooks

• The National Centre for Coastal Research functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• Microplastics are generally plastic particles smaller than 5 millimetres.
• Primary microplastics are manufactured at small size; secondary microplastics result from fragmentation of larger plastic items.
• ALDFG means abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear.
• The Gulf of Mannar lies between south-eastern India and Sri Lanka and contains a marine biosphere reserve.
• Extended Producer Responsibility assigns producers responsibility for specified post-consumer plastic-packaging obligations.

Mains Angle

India needs harmonised sampling methods, long-term coastal and river monitoring, disclosure of polymer types and pathways, fishing-gear recovery systems, stronger municipal collection and enforcement of producer responsibility. Policy must distinguish litter abundance from ecological and human-health risk: the absence of a measured hotspot does not establish the absence of harm. Source reduction, reusable systems and interception upstream are more durable than repeated clean-ups.

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5. Digital criminal justice can reduce delay only if rights travel with the data

A Rajya Sabha reply mapped the government’s technology stack across the criminal-justice chain. CCTNS digitises police processes; the Interoperable Criminal Justice System enables data exchange among police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution; e-Sakshya supports capture and management of primary digital evidence; and e-Summons, e-Forensic, e-Prison, e-Prosecution and NAFIS address specialised workflows.

Interoperability can reduce duplicate entry and missing records. It also expands the scale at which inaccurate or unlawfully collected data can move, making auditability, purpose limitation and procedural safeguards central rather than optional.

Prelims Hooks

• CCTNS stands for Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems.
• ICJS connects the major pillars of criminal justice: police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution.
• NAFIS is the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
• e-Sakshya is designed to capture and manage primary digital evidence.
• A digital record’s evidentiary value depends on authenticity, integrity, lawful collection and an auditable chain of custody.
• Police and prisons are primarily State subjects, while criminal law and criminal procedure are in the Concurrent List.

Mains Angle

Digitisation should be evaluated against case duration, error correction, access to counsel and fairness—not the number of records uploaded. Necessary safeguards include role-based access, tamper-evident logs, data minimisation, retention limits, security audits, correction mechanisms, disclosure to the defence and human review of automated matches. Connectivity and training gaps must not turn procedural rights into privileges available only in better-resourced districts.

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Revision Snapshot

• CPI now uses 2024=100; its basket weights draw from HCES 2023-24 and direct comparison with the old series is limited by methodological changes.
• NavIC currently cannot provide standalone positioning with three service satellites, though timing and multi-constellation use continue.
• The Nuclear Energy Mission targets 100 GW by 2047; criticality is distinct from commercial power generation.
• NCCR identifies river discharge and discarded fishing gear as important microplastic pathways along monitored coasts.
• ICJS links police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution; interoperability must be paired with privacy and due-process safeguards.

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Practice Questions

Prelims

1. With reference to the revised Consumer Price Index series, consider the following statements:

   1. Its base year is 2024.
   2. Its basket weights use HCES 2023-24.
   3. Inflation rates under the old and new series are directly comparable without adjustment. Which of the statements given above are correct?

2. Consider the following statements about satellite navigation:

   1. Four suitable satellite signals are ordinarily required for a standalone three-dimensional position fix and receiver-clock correction.
   2. NavIC provides positioning, navigation and timing services.
   3. A multi-constellation receiver can use signals from more than one GNSS. How many of the statements given above are correct?

3. Consider the following pairs:

   1. Vitrification — immobilisation of high-level radioactive waste in glass
   2. Criticality — start of a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
   3. ALDFG — abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear How many pairs are correctly matched?

4. Which one of the following platforms is intended to enable data exchange among police, courts, prisons, forensics and prosecution?

   • (a) CCTNS
   • (b) ICJS
   • (c) NAFIS
   • (d) e-Summons

Mains

1. Why is periodic rebasing necessary for a credible inflation index? Discuss the benefits and communication challenges of changing CPI methodology. (150 words)
2. “Sovereign satellite navigation is a question of resilience, not merely technological prestige.” Examine. (250 words)
3. Nuclear energy can support India’s low-carbon transition only when expansion is accompanied by trusted regulation and lifecycle waste governance. Discuss. (250 words)
4. Marine-plastic policy must move from beach cleaning to a source-to-sea approach. Explain. (150 words)
5. How can India obtain the efficiency benefits of an interoperable criminal-justice system without weakening privacy and due process? (250 words)

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Source Notes

• PIB / MoSPI — Consumer Price Index base revised from 2012=100 to 2024=100, July 29, 2026
• PIB / Department of Space — Operational status of NavIC constellation, July 29, 2026
• PIB / Department of Atomic Energy — Nuclear Energy Mission, July 29, 2026
• PIB / Department of Atomic Energy — Radioactive wastes, July 29, 2026
• PIB / Ministry of Earth Sciences — NCCR studies on microplastic pollution, July 29, 2026
• PIB / Ministry of Home Affairs — Technology-based justice system, July 29, 2026