Why in the News?
India has pitched for the supply of the Akash missile system to Brazil.
About Akash Missile System:
- Overview: Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL).
- Type: A short-range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) designed to defend against aircraft, UAVs, and helicopters.
- Operational Users: Inducted by both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force, forming part of India’s layered air defence grid.
- Purpose: Protects vital assets from aerial threats within the short to medium range segment.
- Deployment Mode: Mounted on mobile launchers for rapid positioning, flexibility, and operational agility.
- Comparison: Functionally comparable to Israel’s Iron Dome, though Akash focuses on intercepting larger aerial targets rather than small projectiles.
Key Features:
- Range & Altitude: Effective range 4.5–25 km; altitude coverage 100 m–20 km.
- Engagement Capacity: A single firing unit can engage four targets simultaneously in both autonomous and group modes.
- Speed & Accuracy: Capable of high-speed interceptions with radar-guided precision.
- Propulsion & Dimensions: Length 5.87 m, diameter 350 mm, weight 710 kg; powered by solid-fuel propulsion.
- Automation: Fully automated system ensuring rapid reaction time from detection to neutralization.
- ECCM Capability: Built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) to resist enemy jamming
| [UPSC 2023] Consider the following statements:
1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their fights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight.
2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2* |
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Why in the News?
Indian space-tech start-up GalaxEye, based in Bengaluru, has announced the upcoming launch of Mission Drishti, the world’s first multi-sensor Earth Observation (EO) satellite, in the first quarter of 2026.
About Mission Drishti:
- Objective: To provide high-resolution, real-time geospatial intelligence for governments, defence, and industries across critical domains such as disaster management, infrastructure, agriculture, and national security.
- Developer: Conceived by Bengaluru-based GalaxEye Space, an Indian space-tech start-up founded by IIT Madras alumni.
- Nature: World’s first multi-sensor Earth Observation (EO) satellite, capable of integrating multiple imaging technologies on a single platform.
- Launch Timeline: Scheduled for first quarter of 2026, serving as the first step in GalaxEye’s plan to deploy a constellation of 8–12 satellites by 2029.
- Innovation: Combines Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors for multi-dimensional imaging across all weather and lighting conditions.
- Significance: Marks India’s largest privately built satellite and establishes India’s position in the global EO market with indigenous, high-precision imaging technology.
Key Features:
- Multi-Sensor Payload: Integrates SAR and optical imaging systems on one platform, a first in global satellite technology.
- Resolution and Capacity: Offers 1.5-metre resolution, providing ultra-clear imagery for tactical and analytical applications.
- All-Weather Operation: SAR enables imaging day and night, through cloud cover and adverse weather, ensuring continuous monitoring capability.
- Satellite Specifications: Weighs 160 kg, making it India’s heaviest privately developed EO satellite, designed for spatial, spectral, and temporal precision.
- Constellation Vision: Part of GalaxEye’s long-term plan to deploy 8–12 satellites by 2029 for near-real-time global coverage.
- Applications: Defence surveillance, disaster management, infrastructure auditing, agriculture analytics, and environmental monitoring.
| [UPSC 2019] For the measurement/estimation of which of the following are satellite images/remote sensing data used?
1. Chlorophyll content in the vegetation of a specific location 2. Greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies of a specific location 3. Land surface temperatures of a specific location
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3* |
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Why in the News?
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing an extended-range variant of the Astra Mark 2 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile.
Astra Mark 2 Missile:
- Overview: An indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile by the DRDO, enhancing the Indian Air Force’s long-range interception capability.
- Lineage: Successor to Astra Mark 1 (range ~100 km); marks a leap in India’s self-reliance in advanced air combat systems.
- Integration: Compatible with Su-30 MKI and LCA Tejas, with future integration planned for Rafale, AMCA, and TEDBF.
- Industry Collaboration: Co-developed with over 50 industries, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
Key Features:
- Dual-Pulse Propulsion: Incorporates dual-pulse solid rocket motor (vs. single-pulse in Mk-1) for sustained thrust and high terminal energy.
- Range & Speed: Operational range of 150–200+ km, speed up to Mach 4.5, enabling engagement of fast aerial targets.
- Guidance & Seeker: Equipped with indigenous RF seeker and Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) for precision and survivability.
- All-Weather & Agile: Works in day/night, adverse conditions; supports off-boresight targeting and mid-course data-link updates.
- Stealth & Safety: Uses smokeless propulsion for reduced detectability during launch.
Recent Upgrade:
- Extended Range Variant: DRDO developing version exceeding 200 km, beyond initial 160 km design.
- Strategic Parity: Comparable to Chinese PL-15 and US AIM-120D AMRAAM, reinforcing India’s deterrence capability.
- Future Roadmap: Forms baseline for Astra Mark 3, featuring solid-fuel ducted ramjet propulsion, under Atmanirbhar Bharat in advanced missile systems.
| [UPSC 2023] Consider the following statements
1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their fights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of fight.
2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 * |
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Why in the News?
The Naying Hydroelectric Project (1000 MW), proposed on the Siyom (Yomgo) River in Shi-Yomi district, Arunachal Pradesh, represents a major addition to India’s clean energy expansion under the Decade of Hydro Power (2025–35).
About Siyom (Yomgo) River:
- Geography: A right-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra, flowing entirely within Arunachal Pradesh.
- Origin & Course: Arises in West Siang, travels ~170 km, and joins the Brahmaputra near Assam.
- Ecology: Basin supports rich biodiversity, agro-pastoral livelihoods, and lies within the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot.
- Protected Areas: Mouling National Park lies on its eastern bank, part of the Dibang–Siang biosphere landscape.
- Hydrological Role: Ensures irrigation, microclimate regulation, and provides run-of-the-river potential for clean energy, though demanding careful ecosystem balance.
|
About Naying Hydroelectric Project:
- Overview: A proposed 1,000 MW (4×250 MW) run-of-the-river project located in Shi-Yomi district, Arunachal Pradesh.
- Developers: Jointly undertaken by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) and Arunachal Pradesh Hydropower Corporation Ltd (APHCL).
- Design & Output: Features a concrete dam, underground powerhouse, and diversion tunnels, expected to generate 4,966.77 GWh annually.
- Regulatory Approval: Received Central Electricity Authority (CEA) concurrence in 2013; progress slowed by environmental and social concerns.
- Public Consultation: Environmental hearing scheduled for 12 November 2025 at Yapik Community Hall to assess ecological and community impacts.
- Timeline: Construction targeted to start by 2028, with commissioning by 2032.
- Policy Context: Forms part of the state’s Decade of Hydro Power (2025–2035), aiming for 19 GW capacity addition to support India’s net-zero goals.
- Regional Linkages: Among five key hydel projects in the region – Heo (240 MW), Hirong (500 MW), Tato-I (186 MW), and Tato-II (700 MW).
| [UPSC 2022] Consider the following pairs:
Reservoirs – States
1. Ghataprabha — Telangana
2. Gandhi Sagar — Madhya Pradesh
3. Indira Sagar — Andhra Pradesh
4. Maithon —Chhattisgarh
Options:
(a) Only one pair (b) Only two pairs (c) Only three pairs (d) All four pairs” |
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Why in the News?
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has invoked Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the Delhi–NCR as air quality slipped into the ‘poor’ category (AQI 211) after more than three months.
What is Air Quality Index (AQI)?
- Purpose: Quantifies pollution levels and health impact using major pollutants — PM₂․₅, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃, Pb.
- Scale:
-
- 0–50 = Good
- 51–100 = Satisfactory
- 101–200 = Moderate
- 201–300 = Poor
- 301–400 = Very Poor
- 401–450 = Severe
- >450 = Severe Plus
- Interpretation: Higher AQI ⇒ greater exposure risk, particularly for children, elderly, and respiratory patients.
|
About Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP):
- Objective: To ensure anticipatory, graded, and region-wide responses that reduce PM₂․₅ and PM₁₀ concentrations, controlling emissions from vehicles, dust, and industries.
- Coverage: Applies across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other NCR districts, ensuring uniform regional implementation.
- Legal Mandate: Issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, binding on all NCR states and agencies.
- Genesis: Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 (M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India) and notified in Jan 2017 by MoEFCC under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Implementation: Initially enforced by EPCA (till 2020); now implemented by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) established via ordinance in Oct 2020.
- Functioning: CAQM works with CPCB, IMD, and IITM Pune, which provide forecast-based modelling for pre-emptive action.
-
- Stage I (Poor: 201–300): Road sweeping, water sprinkling, dust control at sites, solid-waste removal, old-vehicle enforcement.
- Stage II (Very Poor: 301–400): Hotspot regulation, DG set restrictions, enhanced public transport.
- Stage III (Severe: 401–450): Ban on BS-III petrol & BS-IV diesel cars, construction halt, school closures.
- Stage IV (Severe+ >450): Complete construction ban, truck entry restriction (essentials exempted), curbs on non-essential vehicles.
| [UPSC 2024] According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which one of the following is the largest source of sulphur dioxide emissions?
Options: (a) Locomotives using fossil fuels
(b) Ships using fossil fuels
(c) Extraction of metals from ores
(d) Power plants using fossil fuels* |
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Why in the News?
The Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, inaugurated the “Live Cases” Dashboard under the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
About LIMBS Portal:
- Overview: A centralised, web-based litigation management platform developed by the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, under the Digital India initiative.
- Purpose: Enables real-time monitoring, coordination, and analysis of court cases involving the Union of India, covering all ministries, PSUs, and autonomous bodies.
- Design & Function: Serves as a single digital interface connecting nodal officers, legal cells, and advocates for streamlined case management and reduced duplication.
- Policy Alignment: Implements the Prime Minister’s directive to minimise government litigation, improve inter-ministerial coordination, and enhance transparency and efficiency.
- Scale (2025): Tracks 7.23 lakh live cases from 53 ministries/departments; over 13,000 ministry users and 18,000 advocates actively update records.
- Integration: Linked with national judicial databases for automated case updates and status tracking.
Key Features:
- Dashboard Monitoring: Real-time visual dashboard showing ministry-wise pending, disposed, and contempt cases for trend analysis.
- Court Connectivity: Integration with the Supreme Court, 25 High Courts, District Courts, and 9 Tribunals for live order retrieval.
- Advanced Search: Multi-parameter filtering by court, advocate, ministry, judgment date, or financial value.
- User Hierarchy: Tiered access for Nodal Officers, Admins, and Advocates ensuring accountability and data integrity.
- Document & Fee Management: Digital upload of pleadings, notices, and advocate bills for secure, paperless workflow.
- Accessibility & Security: 24×7 open-source platform with cybersecurity compliance and uninterrupted access.
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Why in the News?
The Crew Escape System is ISRO’s most critical safety innovation for Gaganyaan. This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.
Back2Basics: Gaganyaan Mission:
- Overview: India’s first human spaceflight mission, initiated in 2007, to send 3 astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (400 km) for 3 days, followed by Arabian Sea splashdown.
- Rocket: Human-Rated LVM3 (HLVM3), adapted from GSLV Mk3, certified in 2025 for safe human use.
- Significance: India to become the 4th nation (after US, Russia, China) with crewed spaceflight capability.
- Latest Timeline (as of Sept 2025):
- Dec 2025: First uncrewed mission (G1) with humanoid Vyommitra.
- 2026: Two more uncrewed flights for life-support, avionics, and escape tests.
- Early 2027: First crewed mission – 3 astronauts in orbit for 3 days.
- Progress so far:
- 80–85% development complete: avionics, parachutes, crew safety systems validated.
- Integrated Air Drop Test (Aug 2025): Confirmed crew module deceleration.
- Crew Escape System: Multiple ground and flight tests successful.
- Recovery: Indian Navy and Australian Space Agency conducting splashdown drills.
- Four IAF test pilots shortlisted: Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan.
- All trained in Russia, now in advanced Indian training. Final crew of three will be chosen for maiden flight.
|
What is Crew Escape System (CES)?
- Purpose: A critical safety mechanism in ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission, enabling astronaut rescue in case of launch vehicle failure during the atmospheric ascent phase.
- Placement & Function: Mounted atop the Human-Rated LVM3 (HLVM3) rocket; rapidly separates the crew module and propels it to safety using high-thrust solid motors.
- Performance: Escape motors generate acceleration up to 10 g, using high burn-rate propellants for faster thrust than the launcher. Astronauts withstand this briefly in a “child-in-cradle” posture.
- Safety Systems: Incorporates redundant subsystems, heritage-based design, and real-time health monitoring through the Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) network for millisecond-level response.
- Types of CES:
-
- Puller-Type: Used in Gaganyaan; solid-fuel motors pull the crew module away. Also adopted by Russia’s Soyuz, China’s Long March, and US Saturn V missions.
- Pusher-Type: Used in SpaceX Crew Dragon (Falcon 9); liquid-fuel thrusters push the capsule away.
- Comparison: Puller systems suit high-thrust, short-duration extractions; pusher systems integrate better with reusable modules.
Operational Sequence & Recovery:
- Automatic Activation: On anomaly detection, IVHM triggers CES instantly; escape motors fire, propelling the crew module clear of the rocket.
- Separation & Descent: After reaching safe distance, CES detaches and the module descends under multistage parachutes, drogue, main, and reserve, ensuring controlled speed and stability.
- Splashdown & Safety: The module lands in the sea, impact forces within safe physiological limits, allowing quick recovery.
- Significance: Serves as the core life-saving system of India’s human spaceflight programme, ensuring crew survival during catastrophic launch failures.
| [UPSC 2025] Consider the following space missions:
I. Axiom-4 II. SpaDeX III. Gaganyaan
How many of the space missions given above encourage and support microgravity research?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) All three* (d) None |
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Why in the News?
The Global Tipping Points Report (2025), authored by 160 scientists from 23 countries, warns that warm-water coral reefs have already crossed their thermal tipping point, triggering irreversible dieback.
About Tipping Points:
- Overview: Tipping Points are critical thresholds in Earth’s natural and climate systems beyond which self-reinforcing and often irreversible changes occur.
- Mechanism: Once crossed, feedback loops accelerate transformation — e.g., melting permafrost releases methane, which increases warming and causes more melting.
- Irreversibility: Even if greenhouse gas emissions are later reduced, many systems cannot revert to their original stable state.
- Significance: Tipping Points determine long-term planetary stability, climate predictability, and biosphere resilience.
Important Definitions:
- Climate Tipping Point (IPCC): A critical threshold at which small changes in temperature or forcing cause a large, often irreversible shift in a climate subsystem.
- Feedback Loop: A process where an initial change triggers further effects that amplify the original disturbance (positive feedback).
- Hysteresis: The property of a system where reversing to its prior state requires conditions much different from those that caused the initial change.
- Cascade Effect: A phenomenon where crossing one tipping point triggers others in connected Earth systems, leading to compounded impacts.
- Thermal Tipping Point (for Coral Reefs): The temperature threshold (~1.2°C above pre-industrial) beyond which coral survival and recovery become impossible.
Key Global Tipping Points Identified:
- Ice Sheets: Collapse of Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, committing the planet to multi-metre sea-level rise.
- Coral Reefs: Permanent dieback of warm-water reefs due to ocean warming and acidification, destroying marine biodiversity.
- Amazon Rainforest: Shift toward a savannah ecosystem, reducing carbon storage and regional rainfall.
- Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC): Potential shutdown below 2°C, disrupting global heat distribution and monsoon patterns.
- Permafrost Thaw: Release of methane and CO₂, reinforcing global warming.
- Boreal Forests & Mountain Glaciers: Increased risk of widespread dieback and loss of freshwater reserves.
- Sub-Polar Gyre (SPG): Destabilization in North Atlantic circulation, altering marine ecosystems and heat flow.
Highlights from the Latest Reports (Global Tipping Points 2025):
- Study Scale: Conducted by 160 scientists from 23 countries, assessing multiple Earth-system thresholds.
- Coral Crisis: Since January 2023, 84.4% of coral reefs across 82 nations have suffered bleaching — marking the fourth global mass event, the worst on record.
- Temperature Thresholds: Exceeding 1.5°C global warming risks triggering multiple tipping points; 1.2°C already breached for warm-water reefs.
- AMOC Collapse Risk: Could occur below 2°C, potentially plunging northwest Europe into severe winters and disrupting global food and water systems.
- Amazon Dieback: Widespread collapse possible below 2°C, directly affecting 100+ million people dependent on its ecosystem.
- Interconnected Risk: Earth’s systems form a tipping network — crossing one threshold may accelerate others, creating a domino-like cascade.
- Policy Warning: Current Paris Agreement pledges and net-zero targets are inadequate to limit warming below 2°C.
| [UPSC 2024] One of the following regions has the world’s largest tropical peatland, which holds about three years’ worth of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and the possible destruction of which can exert a detrimental effect on the global climate.
Which one of the following denotes that region?
Options: (a) Amazon Basin (b) Congo Basin* (c) Kikori basin (d) Rio De La Plata Basin |
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Why in the News?
The Delhi government has decided to declare 41 sq. km of the Southern Ridge as a reserved forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, following long-pending directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
About Delhi Morphological Ridge:
- The Delhi Ridge is the northern extension of the ancient Aravalli Range, stretching approximately 35 km from Tughlaqabad to Wazirabad, along the Yamuna River.
- It is composed mainly of quartzite rock, is over 1.5 billion years old, and significantly older than the Himalayas.
- It functions as Delhi’s green lungs, aiding in carbon sequestration, temperature regulation, and air pollution reduction.
- It acts as a natural barrier against desert winds from Rajasthan and supports rich biodiversity, making Delhi one of the world’s most bird-rich capitals.
- It is divided into four zones: Northern Ridge, Central Ridge, South-Central Ridge, and Southern Ridge.
- Key conservation areas include the Northern Ridge Biodiversity Park and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.
Land Use Regulation in the Ridge:
- Although the area shares ecological features with the Delhi Ridge, it is NOT officially notified as forest land, but it enjoys judicial protection.
- A 1966 directive prohibits any NON-forest use or encroachment without court approval.
- Any change in land use must be cleared by the Ridge Management Board (RMB) and the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
- The area is mapped using data from the Delhi Forest Department and the 2006 Seismic Zonation Map.
- Formal notification as a Reserved Forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, is pending due to the absence of ground-truthing.
- In revenue records, it is often marked as “gair mumkin pahad”, meaning uncultivable rocky hill.
- The terrain is ecologically fragile, with shallow soil and rocky outcrops, making it unsuitable for construction.
| [UPSC 2001] The approximate age of the Aravalli range is-
Options: (a) 370 million years (b) 470 million years (c) 570 million years (d) 670 million years |
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Why in the News?
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Memory of Alfred Nobel) was awarded to Joel Mokyr (Northwestern University, US), Philippe Aghion (Collège de France, INSEAD, LSE), and Peter Howitt (Brown University, US) for their pioneering explanations of innovation-driven economic growth.
What is the Nobel Economics Prize?
- Officially called the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, established in 1968.
- It is NOT part of the original Nobel Prizes created by Alfred Nobel in 1895.
- Created by the Swedish central bank to honor Alfred Nobel’s legacy.
- Although not an original Nobel Prize, it is presented alongside the other Nobel Prizes on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
- Includes a diploma, gold medal, and a one-million-dollar prize for the laureates.
Who are the Nobel Laureates for 2025?
- Joel Mokyr (Northwestern University, USA): An economic historian, renowned for studying how scientific knowledge, cultural openness, and institutional change during the Enlightenment triggered the Industrial Revolution.
- Philippe Aghion (Collège de France, INSEAD, LSE): A leading growth theorist, known for advancing the Schumpeterian model of innovation-driven growth and the economics of creative destruction.
- Peter Howitt (Brown University, USA): Collaborator of Aghion, co-developer of the Aghion–Howitt growth model, integrating firm-level innovation dynamics into macroeconomic theory.
Their Contributions:
- Joel Mokyr:
- Demonstrated that before the 18th century, societies possessed “prescriptive knowledge” (how things worked) but lacked “propositional knowledge” (why they worked).
- Showed that the Scientific Revolution merged science with craftsmanship, turning discovery into applied innovation.
- Highlighted that the Enlightenment’s intellectual openness enabled acceptance of “creative destruction,” allowing new technologies to replace old ones without institutional backlash.
- Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt:
- Developed the 1992 Schumpeterian Growth Model, mathematically linking innovation, competition, and economic growth.
- Explained that constant firm turnover—where new innovators replace old incumbents—creates long-term, stable growth.
- Introduced the idea of “general equilibrium in innovation”, connecting household savings, financial markets, R&D investment, and production into a single dynamic framework.
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Why in the News?
RBI Governor has unveiled the Unified Markets Interface (UMI) a next-generation financial market infrastructure developed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
What is Unified Markets Interface (UMI)?
- Overview: The UMI is a next-generation financial market infrastructure conceptualized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to tokenize financial assets and settlements using the wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
- Purpose: It aims to modernize India’s financial markets by enabling blockchain-based asset transactions, improving market transparency, and streamlining settlements through digital automation.
- Significance: The UMI represents India’s entry into asset tokenization, the conversion of real-world financial instruments into digital tokens, thereby integrating CBDC, smart contracts, and digital public infrastructure within a single interoperable ecosystem.
Features of UMI:
- CBDC-Enabled Settlement: Uses the wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to execute high-value settlements instantly and securely.
- Asset Tokenization: Converts traditional financial assets into digital tokens on blockchain, allowing fractional ownership and seamless transferability.
- Unified Infrastructure: Creates an integrated, interoperable market interface linking banks, investors, and financial intermediaries on a single digital framework.
- Smart Contract Automation: Employs programmable contracts for real-time clearing, settlement, and compliance, reducing manual intervention.
- Transparency and Efficiency: Blockchain ensures immutable transaction records and enhances traceability, reducing fraud and settlement delays.
Back2Basics: Asset Tokenization
- Definition: The process of converting real-world assets, such as bonds, real estate, commodities, or equities, into digital tokens stored on blockchain networks.
- Mechanism: Each token represents fractional ownership, enabling smaller investors to participate in high-value assets traditionally limited to institutions.
- Technology Base: Built on blockchain and smart contracts, ensuring transparent, secure, and automated transactions.
- RBI’s Application: Tokenized financial assets under UMI will settle through wholesale CBDC, providing real-time, tamper-proof, and traceable transactions.
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Why in the News?
The National Book Trust has released a book on highlighting physicist Anna Mani’s pioneering ozone and pollution studies in Pune decades before “climate change” entered discourse.
Who was Anna Mani (1918–2001)?
- Overview: Indian physicist and meteorologist from Peermade, Kerala; pioneered India’s meteorological instrumentation and atmospheric science.
- Alma mater: Studied physics at Presidency College, Chennai (1939); trained at Imperial College, London; joined IISc Bengaluru under C.V. Raman, publishing five crystallography papers.
- Professional Career: Joined the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in 1948; later headed its Instruments Division; earned the title “Weather Woman of India.”
Key Contributions:
- Meteorological Instrumentation: Designed and standardized 100+ weather instruments, including India’s first pyranometers and sunshine recorders, ending dependence on imports. Established the Regional Instrumentation Centre, Pune, for nationwide calibration.
- Measurement Infrastructure: Created a national network of solar, wind, and radiation observatories; introduced WMO-grade calibration; data later used for India’s first Wind Energy Atlas.
- Ozone & Atmospheric Research: In 1964, developed India’s first ozonesonde balloon measuring ozone up to 35 km; integrated into the WMO Global Ozone Mapping Programme. Her studies on ground-level ozone and urban aerosols anticipated modern air-pollution science.
- Instrument Design & Ethics: Innovated with glass and Teflon components to remove chemical errors in ozonesondes; upheld the credo “wrong measurements are worse than none.” Her Pune lab became a model of scientific precision.
- Publications: Authored “Handbook for Solar Radiation Data for India” (1980) and “Wind Energy Resource Survey in India” (1992), both still reference standards for renewable-energy studies.
- Environmental Vision: Warned early about CFC emissions and ozone depletion; connected industrialization to atmospheric alteration, foreshadowing the Anthropocene concept.
- Legacy: Her datasets form India’s earliest continuous record of ozone, radiation, and aerosol change, anchoring present-day climate-model validation and policy research.
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Why in the News?
The Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru team has mastered the Leggett–Garg Inequality (LGI)–based quantum randomness certification technique.
What is Quantum Randomness?
- Overview: Quantum randomness means true unpredictability, results that even nature or science cannot predetermine. They arise from the laws of quantum physics, not from computer programs or hidden causes.
- Ordinary Computers: In normal computers, random numbers come from formulas called pseudorandom generators. They look random but can be predicted if someone knows the starting point (the “seed”).
- Quantum Systems: In quantum physics, when you measure something tiny, like the spin of an electron or the path of a light particle (photon), the result is decided only at the moment of measurement. No one, not even nature, “knows” the answer before that.
- Why it Matters: True randomness is important for data security, safe online transactions, scientific research, and encryption, where predictability can lead to hacking or errors.
What has RRI achieved?
- Discovery: Scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, led by Prof. Urbasi Sinha, have found a way to create and verify true quantum randomness using a regular cloud-based IBM quantum computer.
- Why it’s Important: Earlier, proving quantum randomness needed expensive lab equipment. Now it can be done remotely and cheaply, accessible to anyone with internet and quantum cloud access.
- How it Works: The RRI team used just one qubit (the quantum version of a computer bit) to show that the randomness came from quantum effects, not from hardware noise or computer errors.
- Key Finding: This demonstrates that even imperfect quantum computers can still generate trustworthy and verifiable random numbers, a capability that classical computers cannot achieve.
What is the Leggett–Garg Inequality (LGI)–Based Test?
- Basic Idea: The Leggett–Garg Inequality (LGI) is a scientific test that checks whether something behaves like everyday objects (predictable) or like quantum systems (unpredictable).
- How it was Used: The RRI scientists measured one qubit at three different times to see if its behavior followed normal physics or quantum rules.
- Two Conditions Checked:
- LGI Violation – confirmed the qubit was behaving in a truly quantum way.
- No Signalling in Time – ensured that each measurement was independent and not influenced by the previous one.
- Result: Meeting both tests proved that the numbers generated were certified as truly random, coming purely from quantum physics, not from any background noise or interference.
Real-life Applications:
- Cybersecurity: Such randomness can make unbreakable encryption keys, protecting sensitive data from hackers.
- Cloud Computing: People using quantum computers online can now access trusted random numbers for research or secure systems anywhere in the world.
- Testing Quantum Machines: Helps scientists check the quality of quantum computers, since randomness shows how genuinely quantum the machine is.
- Better Science: Used in simulations, artificial intelligence, and data analysis where unpredictability makes results more reliable.
- Big Scientific Message: Confirms that the quantum world is truly uncertain, proving one of the most fascinating truths of modern science, that randomness is built into nature itself.
| [UPSC 2025] Consider the following statements:
I. It is expected that Majorana 1 chip will enable quantum computing.
II. Majorana 1 chip has been introduced by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
III. Deep learning is machine learning.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) I and II only (b) II and III only (c) I and III only * (d) I, II and III |
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Why in the News?
The Finance Ministry has approved the establishment of Maitri II, India’s newest Antarctic research station, to be built in eastern Antarctica by January 2029.
About Maitri II Research Station:
- Objective: Advance research in climatology, glaciology, seismology, biology, and atmospheric sciences while maintaining eco-compliance.
- Overview: India’s upcoming 4th Antarctic base, to be completed by January 2029 near Schirmacher Oasis, eastern Antarctica, replacing the aging Maitri (1989) which will operate as a summer camp.
- Implementing Agency: Executed by National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES); estimated cost ₹2,000 crore.
- Design & Technology: Features AI-enabled systems, automated sensors, solar and wind power, and upgraded modular accommodation with strict environmental standards.
- Construction Phases: Prefabrication in India → shipment via Cape Town → transport to Indian Barrier (120 km from Maitri) → on-site assembly during Antarctic summer.
Back2Basics: India’s Polar Programmes
- Antarctica Programme: Began in 1981; coordinated by NCPOR.
- Dakshin Gangotri (1983) – first base, now decommissioned.
- Maitri (1989) – inland station near Lake Priyadarshini.
- Bharati (2012) – modern coastal station 3,000 km east.
- Maitri II (2029) – to be India’s largest and greenest base.
- Research covers ice-core climate records, marine ecosystems, space weather, and climate modelling.
- Arctic Programme (2007): Also led by NCPOR; permanent station Himadri at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard, Norway) studies Arctic warming, polar-monsoon linkages, biodiversity; India holds Observer Status in the Arctic Council (since 2013).
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Key Laws & Treaties governing Polar Expeditions:
- India Antarctica Act 2022: Implements the Antarctica Treaty (1959); creates Central Committee on Antarctica Governance; bans mining, nuclear activity, non-native species; introduces permit system and Antarctica Fund; severe penalties (up to 20 years).
- Antarctica Treaty (1959): 54 members (India joined 1983); ensures peaceful scientific use, bans territorial claims and military activity, upholds environmental cooperation.
- Madrid Protocol (1991): Declares Antarctica a “natural reserve for peace and science”; forbids mineral extraction; mandates Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
- Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR, 1982): Conserves Antarctic marine biodiversity, regulates fishing and resource use to maintain ecosystem balance.
| [UPSC 2015] The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of Options: (a) an indigenously developed radar system inducted into Indian Defence
(b) India’s satellite to provide services to the countries of Indian Ocean Rim
(c) a scientific establishment set up by India in Antartic region
(d) India’s underwater observatory to scientifically study the Arctic region * |
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Why in the News?
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the Indian Express.
About the Volga River:
- Overview: The longest river in Europe (about 3,500 km), originating in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow and flowing southeast to the Caspian Sea at Astrakhan.
- Drainage Basin: Covers around 1.35 million sq. km, among Europe’s largest river systems, with major tributaries, Kama, Oka, Vetluga, and Sura.
- Historical Role: Served as a critical front during the Battle of Stalingrad (World War II) and remains central to Russian historical and strategic narratives.
- Cultural Significance: Revered as “Mother Volga”, symbolising Russian unity, resilience, and identity, deeply embedded in folklore and national consciousness.
- Economic Importance: It contributes one-fourth of Russia’s agricultural output, supports industrial fishing, and sustains key industries, oil refining, shipbuilding, hydroelectric power.
- Navigation & Connectivity: Linked to the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas through an extensive network of canals and reservoirs, forming the backbone of Russia’s inland transport system.
- Urban & Industrial Corridor: Major cities like Kazan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, and Volgograd lie along its course, forming Russia’s industrial-agricultural heartland.
- Ecological Richness: Supports about 260 bird species and 70 fish species, making it a key biodiversity hotspot within Eurasia.
| [UPSC 2020] Consider the following pairs: River Flows into
1. Mekong: Andaman Sea
2. Thames: Irish Sea
3. Volga: Caspian Sea
4. Zambezi: Indian Ocean
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Options: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only (c) 3 and 4 only * (d) 1, 2 and 4 only |
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Why in the News?
President Droupadi Murmu met members of Gujarat’s Siddi Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) community and praised their 72% literacy rate as a sign of social progress.
About the Siddi Community:
- Overview: An Afro-Indian tribal group descended from Bantu-speaking peoples of Southeast Africa, brought to India via the Indian Ocean slave trade (7th–19th centuries).
- Arrival in India: First arrived at Bharuch port (628 CE) with Arab traders; major influxes during Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest (712 CE) and later under Portuguese and British.
- Migration & Settlement: Brought as soldiers, sailors, slaves, and servants; some escaped bondage to form independent forest settlements.
- Genealogy: Studies show 60–75 % African admixture mixed with Indian and Portuguese ancestry accumulated over two centuries.
- Geographic Distribution: Concentrated in Karnataka (Uttara Kannada, Belgaum, Dharwad) and Gujarat (Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Saurashtra); smaller groups in Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh; total population 40 k–2.5 lakh.
- Historical Role: Served in Deccan Sultanate and Nizam armies; most famous figure, Malik Ambar (1600–1626), Ethiopian-origin prime minister of Ahmadnagar (now Ahilyanagar).
Cultural and Demographic Features:
- Social Status: Recognised as Scheduled Tribe (ST) in five regions and as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
- Language & Culture: Speak regional languages, Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi, Kannada, but retain African musical and spiritual traditions, notably the Goma/Dhamaal dance rooted in Ngoma drumming and ancestral worship.
- Religion: Predominantly Muslim (≈ 99 % in Gujarat) with Hindu and Christian minorities; practices blend Sufi, African, and Indian folk elements.
- Livelihoods & Economy: Depend on agriculture, forest labour, crafts, and daily wage work; socio-economic deprivation and limited access to education, health, housing persist.
- Cultural Continuity: Maintain African-Indian fusion in music, attire, and cuisine; Marfa music in Hyderabad and Dhamaal dance near Sasan Gir remain iconic.
- Sports & Identity: Active in boxing and football, using sport for youth empowerment and social mobility.
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Why in the News?
The Centre has notified the first legally binding Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) Target Rules, 2025 for four high-emission sectors: aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, and pulp & paper.
This marks a critical step in operationalising the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023.
Back2Basics: Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI)
- Overview: GEI is the amount of GHGs emitted per unit of product output or economic activity; for example, the emissions released in producing one tonne of cement, aluminium, or steel.
- Unit of Measurement: Expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) per unit of product.
- Composition:
- Primary gases: Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O).
- Synthetic gases: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆).
- Purpose: GEI helps measure the efficiency of industrial production in terms of emissions.
- Policy Significance: Reducing GEI aligns industrial operations with national and global climate commitments, particularly under the Paris Agreement (2015), where India has pledged to cut its emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 (from 2005 levels).
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About Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) Target Rules, 2025:
- Notification: Issued by the MoEFCC on October 8, 2025, these are India’s first legally binding emission intensity targets for industries.
- Objective: To limit greenhouse gas emissions per unit of product output in high-emission sectors, thereby promoting low-carbon industrial growth and aligning with India’s Paris Agreement commitment to reduce emission intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 (from 2005 levels).
- Coverage: Applies to 282 industrial units across four sectors– cement (186 units), aluminium (13), chlor-alkali (30), and pulp & paper (53).
- Compliance Period: 2025–26 and 2026–27; emission limits expressed in tCO₂e (tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) per unit of product.
- Mechanism:
- Units achieving targets earn carbon credits (certified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency).
- Non-compliant units must buy credits or face environmental compensation under CPCB oversight.
- Purpose: To operationalise India’s domestic carbon market, encourage technology upgrades, and institutionalise market-based climate compliance.
- Outcome: Marks transition from voluntary energy-efficiency drives (PAT Scheme) to a legally enforceable carbon-intensity regime, integrating emission monitoring, trading, and compliance.
What is the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023?
- Launched by: Ministry of Power in 2023 to establish a domestic carbon trading market under India’s Energy Conservation Act framework.
- Objective: To create a structured mechanism for generating, certifying, and trading carbon credits earned through verified emission reductions.
- Administered by: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which issues Carbon Credit Certificates (CCC) to compliant industries.
- Framework:
- Industries meeting or exceeding GEI targets receive tradable credits.
- Entities failing to meet targets must purchase credits to offset excess emissions.
- Credits are traded on the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) platform.
- Purpose: To make emission reduction economically incentivised, transforming carbon from a cost burden into a market asset.
- Global Parallel: Similar to the EU Emissions Trading System (2005) and China’s National Carbon Market (2021).
- Significance: Integrates energy efficiency, emission control, and fiscal instruments to drive India’s net-zero transition through a market-based, transparent, and measurable approach.
| [UPSC 2025] Consider the following statements:
I. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in India are less than 0.5 t CO₂/capita.
II. In terms of CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion, India ranks second in Asia-Pacific region.
III. Electricity and heat producers are the largest sources of CO₂ emissions in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Options:
(a) I and III only (b) II only (c) II and III only * (d) I, II and III |
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Why in the News?
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the transfer of technology for agricultural and environmental solutions developed under the Agricultural and Environmental Electronics (AgriEnIcs) Programme.
What is AgriEnIcs Programme?
- Overview: A national initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) integrating electronics, IT, and digital technologies into agriculture and environmental management.
- Objective: To promote research, development, deployment, and commercialization of advanced tools for precision agriculture and sustainable resource monitoring.
- Nature of Programme: Serves as a national R&D and technology translation platform connecting academia, industry, and government for innovation-driven solutions.
- Implementing Agency: Led by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata as nodal agency, with participation from IITs, ICAR institutes, and private entities.
- Development: All technologies designed and tested in India for affordability and rural scalability.
- Strategic Vision: Strengthens India’s push toward AI- and IoT-enabled agri-systems, aligning with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India.
Key Features:
- Integrated Tech Approach: Combines AI, IoT, machine vision, and sensor networks for intelligent agricultural and environmental systems.
- Collaborative Framework: Operates through partnerships among MeitY, C-DAC, academic, and industrial institutions to speed up technology transfer.
- Multi-Domain Focus: Addresses dairy health monitoring, crop quality estimation, odour detection, and waste-management automation.
- AI & ML Applications: Enables predictive diagnostics, real-time data analytics, and automated decision support in farm operations.
- Sensor-Based Systems: Deploys wearable sensors, vision devices, and automated analyzers for livestock, grain, and environment monitoring.
- Scalable Architecture: Interoperable with AgriStack, Ayush Grid, and other government data platforms for nationwide expansion.
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Why in the News?
The Ministry of Ayush has launched the Digitized Retrieval Application for Versatile Yardstick of Ayush Substances (DRAVYA) portal the largest digital repository of Ayurvedic ingredients and formulations.
About DRAVYA Portal:
- Developed By: Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) under the Ministry of Ayush.
- Purpose: To build a centralized, open-access knowledge platform integrating classical Ayurveda with modern scientific data for global research and policy use.
- Launch: Released on 10th Ayurveda Day (23 September 2025) at Goa, marking a major digital step in traditional medicine.
- Phase I Coverage: Includes data on 100 medicinal substances, updated through a dedicated entry system ensuring precision and authenticity.
- Integration Goal: Designed to connect with the Ayush Grid and allied Ministry databases for coordinated digital governance and research.
- Scope: Merges textual, botanical, pharmacological, and chemical information for cross-disciplinary validation and innovation.
Key Features:
- AI-Ready Design: Built with artificial intelligence capability for analytics, discovery, and predictive research.
- Open-Access Repository: Consolidates validated data from classical texts, scientific literature, and field studies in searchable form.
- Comprehensive Profiles: Details each substance’s pharmacotherapeutics, botany, chemistry, pharmacology, and safety aspects.
- QR-Code Integration: Enables standardised display of plant data in gardens, repositories, and institutions.
- Advanced Search Filters: Sorts substances by rasa (taste), virya (potency), vipaka (post-digestive effect), and therapeutic use.
- Dynamic Database: Continuously updated for authenticity and scientific rigour.
- Global Accessibility: Serves as a credible digital reference for researchers, policymakers, and innovators worldwide.
- Future Expansion: Will interlink with Ayush Grid, National Medicinal Plants Database, and Ayush Drug Policy for an integrated digital health ecosystem.
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Why in the News?
Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for defending democracy in Venezuela; President Trump praised her but criticised the Nobel Committee.
About Nobel Peace Prize:
- Origin: Instituted in 1901 under the will of Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and philanthropist, to honour outstanding contributions to peace and humanitarian cooperation.
- Administered By: Managed by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member body appointed by the Parliament of Norway, distinct from Sweden’s Nobel institutions.
- Purpose: Awards individuals or organisations advancing disarmament, peace negotiations, democracy, human rights, and a stable global order.
- Expanded Focus: Now includes climate change, environmental protection, and global justice as integral to sustainable peace.
- Prize Components: Laureates receive a gold medal, diploma, and 11 million Swedish krona (≈ US $1.2 million, 2025).
- Venue: Presented in Oslo, Norway, the only Nobel Prize awarded outside Sweden, symbolising Norway’s neutral and humanitarian tradition.
- Global Significance: Remains the world’s most prestigious peace honour, mirroring contemporary geopolitical and ethical realities.
These trivial facts are too unlikely to be asked in the CS prelims but may hold importance for CAPF and other exams.
US Presidents who won Nobel Peace Prize:
- Theodore Roosevelt (1906): Mediated the Russo–Japanese War settlement; first US President to win the prize.
- Woodrow Wilson (1919): Recognised for ending World War I and founding the League of Nations, precursor to the UN.
- Jimmy Carter (2002): Cited for human-rights mediation and the Camp David Accords, plus global work via the Carter Center.
- Al Gore (2007): Shared with the IPCC for elevating climate change as a global peace and security issue.
- Barack Obama (2009): Honoured for efforts toward nuclear disarmament and renewed international diplomacy; only US President got awarded while in office.
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