12 Nov 2026 - "Daily Current Affairs" Updates

01  Black Sea: geography, straits and security

WHY IN NEWS  Commercial ships near Romania and Bulgaria have come under attack as the Russia–Ukraine conflict intensifies security risks in the Black Sea.

Build the map in your mind

• Six coastal countries: Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania. Moldova is landlocked; Ukraine’s Odesa coast separates it from the sea.

• EU / NATO distinction: Bulgaria and Romania are in the EU; Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye are NATO members.

• Sea route westward: Black Sea → Bosporus → Sea of Marmara → Dardanelles → Aegean Sea → Mediterranean Sea. The Bosporus and Dardanelles together form the Turkish Straits.

• Eastern connection: The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, near the Crimean Bridge.

Why the Black Sea matters

• Montreux Convention, 1936: Gives Türkiye authority over warship passage through the Turkish Straits in wartime. In 2022, Türkiye shut the straits to warships of the warring parties.

• River connections: Danube, Dniester, Dnieper and Southern Bug enter the Black Sea. The Don empties into the Sea of Azov. The Danube Delta in Romania/Ukraine is a UNESCO and Ramsar site.

• Unusual water layers: The Black Sea is meromictic: deep and surface waters mix very little. Below roughly 150–200 m, water is oxygen-poor and rich in hydrogen sulphide, while river inflows make surface water less saline.

• Trade context: The UN–Türkiye-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative began in July 2022 but ended in July 2023; Ukraine now uses its own export corridor.

PRELIMS TRAP  The Don enters the Sea of Azov, not directly the Black Sea. Moldova is not a Black Sea littoral country.

MEMORY LOCK  6 littoral states  |  Bosporus → Marmara → Dardanelles  |  Montreux 1936  |  Deep anoxic waters

GS PAPER II  |  PARLIAMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS

02  Public Accounts Committee (PAC): follow the public money

WHY IN NEWS  Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla opened the All India Conference of PAC Chairpersons at the Kerala Legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram, the first such conference hosted by Kerala. Its theme was “Audit, Accountability and Good Governance: The Evolving Role of the PAC”.

What does the PAC actually do?

• Origin: Created in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919 and the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms; it is Parliament’s oldest financial committee.

• Constitutional status: It is not a constitutional body. It operates under Lok Sabha Rule 308 and examines CAG reports submitted under Article 151.

• Composition: 22 MPs: 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha. Members are chosen every year by proportional representation using the single transferable vote; tenure is one year. Ministers cannot serve.

• Chairperson: Chosen by the Speaker from Lok Sabha members of the PAC. Since 1967, an Opposition MP normally chairs it by convention, not by constitutional command. The source names K. C. Venugopal.

• Core test: Did government expenditure follow law, parliamentary authorisation and the stated purpose? The PAC can identify waste or extravagance, but it does not decide government policy or directly control daily spending. Its recommendations are advisory.

Three financial committees — learn the contrast

Committee

Members

Primary function

Public Accounts Committee (1921)

22 (15 LS + 7 RS)

Examines expenditure already incurred, through CAG audit reports

Estimates Committee (1950)

30 (all LS)

Studies budget estimates and opportunities for economy; earlier standing-committee roots date to 1921

Committee on Public Undertakings (1964)

22 (15 LS + 7 RS)

Examines reports and accounts of public sector undertakings; follows the Krishna Menon Committee

• Kerala’s earlier convention: A PAC existed in the 1933 Travancore Legislative Assembly; Kerala adopted an Opposition chair in 1957, before Parliament did so in 1967.

• CAG connection: The CAG under Article 148 conducts the audit; the PAC examines those audit findings. Union CAG reports go to the President (Art. 151(1)); State reports go to Governors (Art. 151(2)). The CAG is often described as the PAC’s friend, philosopher and guide.

MEMORY LOCK  PAC 22 = 15 LS + 7 RS  |  Chair: Opposition convention  |  CAG audits; PAC examines  |  After spending, not policy

03  Adjournment sine die, prorogation and dissolution

WHY IN NEWS  The 2026 Monsoon Session, the eighth of the 18th Lok Sabha, remained unprorogued for 83 days after adjournment sine die — reportedly a record delay. Critics linked the delay to the possibility of recalling the House for delimitation-related legislation.

First understand what each action ends

Action

Who does it?

What ends?

Pending bills

Adjournment

Presiding Officer

One sitting; next sitting can be fixed

Survive

Adjournment sine die

Presiding Officer

A sitting, without fixing the next date

Survive

Prorogation

President on ministerial advice; Art. 85(2)(a)

A parliamentary session

Survive (Art. 107(3))

Dissolution

President; Art. 85(2)(b)

The Lok Sabha itself (Rajya Sabha is permanent)

Lok Sabha bills generally lapse, with exceptions

• Pending notices: They continue through adjournment and adjournment sine die; on prorogation they generally lapse (except notice to introduce a bill); dissolution ends pending House business.

• Meeting requirement: Article 85(1) requires that no more than six months separate the last sitting of one session and first sitting of the next. Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions are conventions, not a prescribed constitutional list.

• Why delaying prorogation matters: The presiding officer can reconvene the House within the same session, without a fresh summons. Under Article 123, an ordinance can be issued only when both Houses are not simultaneously in session.

• Three exceptions at dissolution: A bill pending only in Rajya Sabha and not passed by Lok Sabha; a bill for which a joint sitting was already notified by the President (Art. 108); and a bill passed by both Houses and awaiting the President’s assent.

• Quorum: One-tenth of the total membership of the House, under Article 100(3).

PRELIMS TRAP  Prorogation ends a session, not a House; dissolution applies to Lok Sabha, not Rajya Sabha. Bills ordinarily do not lapse on prorogation.