Daily Current Affairs Digest | 10th July 2026

Daily Current Affairs Digest | 10th July 2026

1. India Launches Awiqli Once-Weekly Insulin

India has witnessed a major advancement in diabetes treatment with the launch of Awiqli, a once-weekly basal insulin developed by Novo Nordisk.

Awiqli is the brand name of insulin icodec. Unlike conventional basal insulin, which usually requires daily administration, Awiqli is taken once a week. This reduces the annual number of injections from approximately 365 to 52.

Why is it significant?

India has one of the world’s largest populations affected by diabetes and prediabetes. Many patients delay or irregularly follow insulin therapy due to fear of injections, treatment costs, stigma and inadequate medical counselling.

Once-weekly insulin may:

  • Reduce injection fatigue.
  • Improve treatment adherence.
  • Support better blood-glucose management.
  • Make long-term diabetes treatment more convenient.

However, its wider public-health impact will depend on affordability, rural availability, insurance coverage, trained healthcare personnel and effective pharmacovigilance.

Exam Focus

  • Awiqli is a once-weekly basal insulin.
  • Basal insulin provides background insulin coverage between meals and during the night.
  • Diabetes is a non-communicable disease.
  • India’s NCD-control framework includes the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases.
  • Ayushman Arogya Mandirs support screening and primary-level management of non-communicable diseases.

2. Government Plans to Promote E85 Fuel

India is considering a stronger push towards E85 fuel as part of its biofuel and energy-security strategy.

E85 generally contains approximately:

  • 85% ethanol
  • 15% petrol

It is primarily used in flex-fuel vehicles, which are designed to operate on different combinations of ethanol and petrol.

The Union Petroleum Minister indicated that E85 could potentially cost around ₹20 per litre less than E20 petrol, although the actual price would depend on taxation, feedstock costs, production and market conditions.

Why is E85 important for India?

India imports a substantial portion of its crude-oil requirements. Greater use of ethanol-blended fuel can:

  • Reduce dependence on imported petroleum.
  • Protect the economy from global oil-price fluctuations.
  • Create additional demand for agricultural produce.
  • Support farmer income and rural industries.
  • Promote cleaner and diversified transport fuels.

Major Concerns

The expansion of ethanol production also raises important policy questions:

  • Diversion of sugarcane and maize towards fuel production.
  • Pressure on food and animal-feed markets.
  • High water consumption in sugarcane-growing regions.
  • Compatibility of vehicles with high-ethanol fuel.
  • Possible reduction in vehicle mileage.
  • Requirement for dedicated E85 dispensing infrastructure.

India must therefore prioritise second-generation ethanol produced from agricultural residues and lignocellulosic biomass.

Exam Focus

  • E85 is a high-ethanol petrol blend.
  • E20 contains approximately 20% ethanol.
  • Flex-fuel vehicles can operate on multiple ethanol-petrol combinations.
  • The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 provides India’s principal biofuel policy framework.
  • The Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana promotes second-generation ethanol projects.

3. National Bridge Health Monitoring Software Planned

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to establish a centralised National Bridge Health Monitoring Software platform.

The software is expected to be developed through IIT Madras, in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, or C-DAC.

What is bridge health monitoring?

Bridge Health Monitoring Systems use sensors, data loggers and analytical software to continuously assess the structural condition of bridges.

The system may monitor parameters such as:

  • Structural stress and strain.
  • Vibration.
  • Displacement.
  • Temperature.
  • Load behaviour.
  • Development of cracks or structural deformation.

The central software would analyse data collected from sensors installed on bridges. Installation and maintenance of sensors may be undertaken separately through competitive bidding.

Why is it important?

Traditional inspections are often periodic and dependent on manual assessment. They may fail to identify hidden structural deterioration at an early stage.

A real-time digital monitoring system can:

  • Detect structural abnormalities before failure.
  • Enable predictive maintenance.
  • Reduce bridge-collapse risks.
  • Improve accountability among contractors and authorities.
  • Lower expenditure on emergency reconstruction.
  • Strengthen infrastructure-related disaster prevention.

Challenges

Implementation will require reliable sensors, secure data transmission, trained engineers, standardised alert protocols and protection against cybersecurity threats.

Exam Focus

  • C-DAC stands for the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.
  • Predictive maintenance identifies risks before infrastructure failure.
  • Structural health monitoring combines sensors, data analytics and engineering assessment.
  • The initiative is relevant to infrastructure governance and disaster-risk reduction.

4. Letters of Authorisation Introduced for High-Seas Fishing

India has launched a national programme for issuing Letters of Authorisation, or LoAs, to Indian-flagged vessels engaged in fishing or fishing-related activities in the high seas.

The authorisation will be:

  • Vessel-specific.
  • Non-transferable.
  • Linked with the ReALCraft Fishing Vessel Registration Portal.

What are the high seas?

The high seas are maritime areas located beyond national jurisdiction. A country’s Exclusive Economic Zone generally extends up to 200 nautical miles from its baseline.

Activities beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone must comply with international maritime law, conservation obligations and relevant regional fisheries-management mechanisms.

Importance for India

India’s coastal waters face increasing pressure from intensive fishing. Properly regulated high-seas fishing can:

  • Diversify fishing opportunities.
  • Reduce pressure on nearshore resources.
  • Increase marine exports.
  • Generate employment.
  • Support fisheries cooperatives and Fish Farmer Producer Organisations.
  • Strengthen India’s blue-economy ambitions.

The authorisation system will also improve vessel traceability and help prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, commonly called IUU fishing.

Sustainability Concerns

Unregulated expansion can result in:

  • Overfishing.
  • Destruction of marine biodiversity.
  • Excessive bycatch.
  • Unsafe working conditions for fishers.
  • Concentration of benefits among large fishing companies.

India must therefore adopt scientific catch limits, vessel-tracking systems, digital logbooks and species-wise monitoring.

Exam Focus

  • High seas are located beyond national jurisdiction.
  • An Exclusive Economic Zone normally extends up to 200 nautical miles.
  • IUU means illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
  • ReALCraft is associated with fishing-vessel registration.
  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is the major international framework governing ocean activities.

5. India, Australia and Canada Launch ACITI Partnership

India, Australia and Canada have launched the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership, known as ACITI.

The partnership will focus on:

  • Artificial intelligence.
  • Green-energy technologies.
  • Critical minerals.
  • Resilient supply chains.
  • Innovation and research cooperation.

Strategic Importance

Modern technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, wind turbines, solar equipment and defence systems depend heavily on critical minerals.

India, Australia and Canada possess complementary strengths:

  • India: Digital talent, market scale and manufacturing potential.
  • Australia: Large critical-mineral resources and strategic Indo-Pacific location.
  • Canada: Mineral resources, research institutions and advanced technology networks.

The partnership reflects the growing importance of minilateralism, where a small group of countries cooperates on specific strategic and economic objectives.

Benefits for India

ACITI can support India’s:

  • National Critical Mineral Mission.
  • IndiaAI Mission.
  • Semiconductor manufacturing programme.
  • National Green Hydrogen Mission.
  • Electric-mobility transition.
  • Supply-chain diversification strategy.

It may also reduce excessive dependence on a single country for mineral processing, advanced components and strategic technologies.

Challenges

The partnership may face obstacles related to India-Canada political tensions, intellectual-property protection, data governance, environmental concerns in mineral extraction and inadequate domestic processing capacity.

India must focus not only on mineral imports but also on refining, recycling, value addition and advanced manufacturing.

Exam Focus

  • ACITI stands for the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership.
  • It includes India, Australia and Canada.
  • Critical minerals are important for clean energy, electronics, defence and advanced manufacturing.
  • Minilateralism involves cooperation among a limited number of countries for defined objectives.