DAILY PRELIMS CA — 19 SEPT

Context: NHAI rolled out the OneTag service to enable nationwide bank portability for FASTag users.
Nodal Agency: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) | Operates under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Developed By: Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) + National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
App: Integrated into the official Rajmargyatra mobile application for user initiation.
Core Feature: Enables switching issuer banks without replacing the physical windshield RFID tag or Tag ID.
Cooling Period: Enforces a mandatory 6-month interval between consecutive porting requests to maintain transaction stability.
Balance Transfer: Legacy wallet balances and deposits are not automatically transferred + refunded directly by previous issuer.

Context: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs reported that the criteria for classifying Census Towns are outdated.
Nodal Agency: Classified by the Registrar General of India | Criteria remain unchanged since 1981.
Administration: Managed as rural settlements | Governed by Panchayati Raj institutions instead of urban local bodies.
Population: Must have a minimum resident population of 5,000 persons.
Employment: Minimum 75% of the male main working population must engage in non-agricultural pursuits.
Density: Requires a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometre.
Gender Bias: Criteria exclude women by only counting male main workers in non-farm activities.
Regional Issues: Uniform density and population thresholds disadvantage hilly and North-Eastern states.

Context: Concluded the 5-day CORE Programme 2026 in New Delhi.
Nodal Agency: Instituted by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) in September 2025.
Nature: Permanent, high-level civil-military strategic training and evaluation initiative on national security.
Participating Ministries: Tri-services along with Ministry of Defence (MoD), External Affairs (MEA), and Home Affairs (MHA).
Objective: Foster jointness and support India’s shift towards Integrated Theatre Commands.
Focus Areas: Multi-domain conflicts, emerging technologies like AI, and non-kinetic warfare.

Context: ECI froze a political party's name and symbol under Paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968 ahead of by-elections.
Nature: Statutory order promulgated by Election Commission of India | governs political party recognition and symbol allotment.
Legal Authority: Derived from Article 324 + Section 29A of RPA, 1951 + Rules 5 & 10 of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
Paragraph 15: Empowers ECI as sole authority to adjudicate intra-party splits and decide rival claims over party identity.
Test of Majority: Primary benchmark assessing numerical support across Legislative Wing (MPs/MLAs) and Organisational Wing.
Fallback Mechanism: ECI relies exclusively on support of elected legislators if organisational membership rolls are contested.
Interim Freezing: ECI can freeze original symbols + allot temporary names and free symbols pending final resolution.
Symbol Types: Reserved symbols for recognised National/State parties | Free symbols for unrecognised parties and independents.
Splinter Groups: Defeated faction loses recognised status + must register afresh under Section 29A of RPA, 1951.

Context: India was ranked first in business climate among 41 global markets in the 2026 survey.
Released By: Jointly published by Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India (SCCI) and Business Sweden.
First Launched: Year 2020 | Tracks operational performance of Swedish multinational corporations globally.
Top Performers: India ranked first overall | Followed by Ireland and Vietnam in the top three.
India's Performance: 73% of surveyed Swedish companies rated India's operating climate as good or very good.
Growth Leaders: India, the Philippines, and Poland recorded the highest global revenue and growth projections.

Context: National electrical grid suffered a total collapse, causing a nationwide blackout.
Location: Largest and most populous island in the Caribbean Sea | Situated in the West Indies.
Capital: Havana, situated on the northwestern coast of the island.
Maritime Borders: Bounded by Straits of Florida, Windward Passage, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
Topography: Sierra Maestra range in southeast contains the highest peak, Pico Turquino (1,974 m).
Karst Landscape: Western Viñales Valley features distinctive limestone hills called mogotes.
Wetlands: Zapata Peninsula hosts Caribbean's largest wetland ecosystem + Includes the Bay of Pigs.
Hydrology: Cauto River is the longest river | Laguna de Leche is noted for its milky-white water.

PRELIMS CA 19 SEPT 2026