DAILY UPSC CURRENT: 26 OCT 2026-𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌: 𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌: 𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬?

External Affairs Minister 𝐒. 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐫 warned that the world is not adequately prepared to tackle 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 while speaking at a conference marking 50 years of the 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐁𝐖𝐂).

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦?

𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 refers to the deliberate use or threatened use of biological agents, such as disease-causing microorganisms or toxins, to harm humans, animals or crops for political, ideological or other objectives.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬:

• 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Terrorist groups or individuals may misuse biological agents.
• 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤: Biological threats can cause disease outbreaks, deaths and disruption of healthcare systems.
• 𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥-𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: Scientific research intended for peaceful purposes may be misused.
• 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Biological threats can cross national borders and require international cooperation.
• 𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: Unequal access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostic facilities increases vulnerability.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐁𝐖𝐂)?

• Adopted: 1972; entered into force in 1975.
• Objective: Prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and retention of biological and toxin weapons.
• Nature: An international disarmament treaty.
• Limitation: It lacks a comprehensive verification system and a permanent technical body to verify compliance.
• India: A State Party to the BWC.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡:

• 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: India proposed a framework covering high-risk biological agents, oversight of dual-use research, domestic reporting and incident management.
• 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Strengthen laws and regulatory mechanisms to prevent misuse of sensitive biological technologies.
• 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲: Improve laboratory safety, surveillance and preparedness for biological incidents.
• 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲: India’s COVID-19 response highlighted the importance of international cooperation and equitable access to vaccines.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥?

• Developing countries may have limited healthcare infrastructure and emergency-response capacity.
• Equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostic technologies improves global preparedness.
• Greater representation enables developing countries to contribute expertise and shape international biosecurity policies.
• Biological threats cannot be addressed effectively by individual countries acting alone.

𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝:

• Strengthen the BWC’s institutional and verification mechanisms.
• Improve international cooperation in disease surveillance and early warning.
• Establish clear rules for dual-use biological research.
• Build laboratory biosafety, biosecurity and emergency-response capacity.
• Ensure equitable access to vaccines, medicines and medical technologies.
• Promote information-sharing between governments, scientists and public-health institutions.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:

𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 is a transnational security and public-health challenge. Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention, responsible scientific research, national preparedness and equitable international cooperation is essential to prevent the misuse of biological agents.