Current affairs that connectnews to the UPSC syllabus

The inaugural meeting of the **India**-Kuwait Joint Defence Committee (JDC) was held in New Delhi. Both countries agreed to further strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation across a wide range of areas, including training, military exercises, military medicine, staff talks, defence industry, and Research and Development. The first meeting of the JDC marked an important step towards operationalising the objectives outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation signed in 2024.

Context: **India** has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the United States to procure the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route under emergency procurement powers. The FGM-148 Javelin is an American-made, shoulder-fired, man-portable third-generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) system. It is widely recognized as one of the world’s premier precision infantry weapons designed to neutralize heavily armored main battle tanks (MBTs), armored fighting vehicles, fortified bunkers, and low-flying helicopters.

Meta is set to introduce new default restrictions for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook in the US after signing an $18 billion settlement with 52 state attorneys general that requires new safety measures for young users. The settlement comes amid a set of lawsuits over alleged harms caused by social-media platforms to children and teenagers. The states alleged that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to keep young people compulsively engaged, knew about serious risks and misled the public about them.

There are substantial gaps in per capita income and development across states in **India** while it has emerged as one of the world’s largest economies since the 1991 economic reforms. **India**’s Growth: From the 1991 Reforms Till Now The LPG Reforms 1991 (liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation) integrated **India** more closely with the global economy and accelerated growth.

MoS for Commerce & Industry Jitin Prasada co-chaired the 7th Session of the **India**–Morocco Joint Commission in Rabat on 24–25 August 2026. **India** and Morocco agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade within five years and constituted a Joint Working Group to examine the feasibility of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). Bilateral trade was around US$4 billion in 2025.

At the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a new global drought resilience architecture was officially launched. This framework aims to transition global drought management from reactive emergency response to proactive technological preparedness. The launch introduces two world-first instruments: the Drought Resilience Index (DRI), a comprehensive technical monitoring metric and assessment tool powered by AI analytics, and the Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF), a global catalytic financing platform dedicated to de-risking and scaling drought resilience projects worldwide.