Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – India-Israel Relations, ENSO Climate Cycle, AI Models & Carbon Capture | The Hindu Analysis – 26 February 2026
UPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS NOTES
The Hindu Analysis – India–Israel Visit, ENSO, AI Training, Carbon Capture
1. PM Modi’s Israel Visit – Complete Prelims Notes
Why in News
Indian Prime Minister addressed Israel’s Parliament, highlighting terrorism, defence cooperation, and strategic partnership.
Important Terms
Israel Parliament → Knesset
India’s policy → Zero Tolerance Against Terrorism
Key events mentioned → 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, 26/11 Mumbai attack
India–Israel Relations: Historical Background
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1948 | Israel established |
| 1950 | India recognised Israel de facto |
| 1992 | Full diplomatic relations established |
| 2017 | First Indian PM visit to Israel |
Reasons for delay:
Support for Palestine cause
Cold War politics
Dependence on Arab oil
Key Pillars of India–Israel Relations
1. Defence Cooperation
Israel is among India’s top defence suppliers.
Major equipment supplied:
Barak missile systems
Heron UAVs
Phalcon AWACS
Spyder missile system
Surveillance radar
Cooperation areas:
Counter-terrorism
Cyber security
Intelligence sharing
Border management
Important fact: India accounts for a significant share of Israeli defence exports.
2. Trade Relations
Trade increased significantly after 1992.
| Year | Trade |
|---|---|
| 1992 | About $200 million |
| 2023 | Over $10 billion |
India enjoys trade surplus.
Major trade items:
Diamonds
Chemicals
Machinery
Electronics
Defence equipment
3. Agriculture Cooperation
Israel supports India through:
Drip irrigation
Micro-irrigation technology
Water management
Centres of Excellence
Important for food security and dryland farming.
4. Technology Cooperation
Artificial Intelligence
Cyber security
Space technology
Water desalination
Importance for India
Defence modernisation
Counter-terror cooperation
Middle East diplomacy
Technology transfer
Water and agriculture solutions
Possible Prelims Questions
Israel Parliament is called Knesset.
India recognised Israel in 1992.
Major pillar of India–Israel relations is defence cooperation.
2. ENSO – El Niño and La Niña Detailed Notes
What is ENSO
ENSO stands for El Niño Southern Oscillation.
It is a climate pattern in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that affects global weather.
Components of ENSO
El Niño (Warm phase)
La Niña (Cold phase)
Neutral phase
Southern Oscillation (pressure change)
Normal Conditions
Trade winds blow east to west.
Warm water accumulates near Australia.
Cold upwelling occurs near South America.
India receives normal monsoon.
El Niño (Warm Phase)
Central and eastern Pacific becomes warmer.
Causes:
Weak trade winds
Reduced upwelling
Effects:
Weak Indian monsoon
Drought in India and Australia
Heavy rainfall in Peru
Global temperature rise
Example years: 2002, 2009, 2015, 2023.
La Niña (Cold Phase)
Eastern Pacific cooler than normal.
Causes:
Strong trade winds
Increased upwelling
Effects:
Strong Indian monsoon
Floods in Australia
Better fisheries in Peru
Example years: 2010, 2020–2023.
Triple-Dip La Niña
Three consecutive La Niña years (2020–2023).
Rare climatic phenomenon.
ENSO Impact on India
| Phase | Impact |
|---|---|
| El Niño | Weak monsoon |
| La Niña | Strong monsoon |
Importance for UPSC
Agriculture production
Food inflation
Climate change studies
3. Large Language Models – How AI is Trained
Why in News
Indian startups launched indigenous large language models.
What is an LLM
Large Language Model is an AI system trained on huge text data to understand and generate language.
Examples:
Chatbots
Translation systems
Voice assistants
Steps in Training LLMs
Step 1 – Data Collection
Data sources:
Internet
Books
Articles
Websites
Data is the fuel of AI.
Step 2 – Data Cleaning
Remove duplicates
Remove errors
Remove harmful content
Step 3 – Tokenisation
Breaking text into smaller units.
Example:
India is great → India | is | great
Important Prelims definition.
Step 4 – Model Architecture
Uses Transformer architecture developed by Google researchers.
Allows AI to understand context.
Step 5 – Training Process
Predict next word
Compare with correct answer
Update parameters
Repeat billions of times
Important Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Token | Small text unit |
| Parameter | Learning unit |
| Transformer | AI architecture |
| Mixture of Experts | Efficient model system |
Challenges for India
Lack of Indian language datasets
High computing cost
Need for local AI infrastructure
4. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)
What is CCU
Technology that captures carbon dioxide from industries or atmosphere and uses it to create useful products.
Products from Captured Carbon
Synthetic fuels
Fertilisers
Chemicals
Plastics
Building materials
CCU vs CCS
| Feature | CCU | CCS |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon used | Yes | No |
| Storage | Sometimes | Underground |
Why Important for India
India is the third largest CO₂ emitter.
Major emission sectors:
Coal-based power plants
Cement industry
Steel industry
Chemical industry
These are called hard-to-abate sectors.
Role in Net Zero Target
India’s Net Zero target year is 2070.
CCU helps reduce emissions without closing industries.
Challenges
Expensive technology
Energy intensive
Infrastructure needs
5. Other Important Current Affairs Facts
State of the Union Address
Speech by US President to US Congress.
Similar to Indian President’s address to Parliament.
Census Monitoring
India planning real-time digital census monitoring.
Improves transparency and reduces errors.
Countervailing Duty
Import tax imposed to offset subsidies given by exporting country.
Purpose is to protect domestic industries.
CAFE Standards
Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards.
Used to reduce vehicle emissions.
6. High Probability Prelims Questions
Israel Parliament is called Knesset.
India recognised Israel in 1992.
El Niño leads to weak Indian monsoon.
Tokenisation means breaking text into smaller units.
India Net Zero target year is 2070.
Countervailing duty offsets foreign subsidies.
7. One-Page Revision Points
Israel Parliament → Knesset
Diplomatic relations → 1992
El Niño → Weak monsoon
La Niña → Strong monsoon
LLM fuel → Data
Transformer → AI architecture
CCU → Capture and use CO₂
Net Zero target → 2070
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