Glacier Disappearance

• A new study published in Nature Climate Change projects that global glacier disappearance will peak around mid-century, with up to 4,000 glaciers vanishing annually under high-warming scenarios.

Glacier Disappearance

• Glacier disappearance refers to the complete extinction of individual glaciers when their area falls below 0.01 sq km or their remaining ice volume drops below 1% of original levels, due to sustained warming and mass loss.

Key trends

• Mid-century peak: Global glacier extinction is projected to peak between 2041–2055, depending on warming levels.
• Scale of loss: Approx. 2,000 glaciers/year under +1.5°C warming and approx. 4,000 glaciers/year under +4.0°C warming

Regional variation:

• Small-glacier regions (European Alps, Caucasus) see early peaks before 2040.
• Large-glacier regions (Greenland periphery, Arctic Canada) face delayed but prolonged loss.
• High-Mountain Asia: Hosts over one-third of global glaciers and strongly shapes the global mid-century extinction peak.

Key reasons:

• Rising global temperatures increasing melt rates beyond accumulation.
• Prevalence of small glaciers, which respond rapidly to warming.
• Delayed response of large glaciers, leading to sustained long-term loss.
• Insufficient climate mitigation, locking in future ice loss even if emissions stabilise later.

INSV Kaundinya

• The Prime Minister has lauded INSV Kaundinya as it embarks on its maiden voyage from Porbandar to Muscat, symbolically retracing India’s ancient maritime routes.
• Built using the ancient Indian stitched-ship technique, the vessel showcases India’s rich seafaring heritage.

About INSV Kaundinya:

• INSV Kaundinya is an Indian Naval Sailing Vessel recreated on the basis of a 5th-century CE ship depicted in the Ajanta Cave paintings, representing India’s ancient ocean-going traditions.
• Built by: Indian Navy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture

Key features of the ship

• Stitched wooden hull: Wooden planks are stitched together instead of being nailed, reflecting ancient shipbuilding wisdom.
• Traditional materials: Uses coconut coir rope, natural resin and wooden planks, avoiding modern metal fastenings.
• Cultural symbolism: Sails carry Gandabherunda and Sun motifs, bow features a Simha Yali, and deck holds a Harappan-style stone anchor.
• Ocean-going capability: Designed and tested to be fully seaworthy for long-distance navigation across the Indian Ocean.
• Historic identity: Named after Kaundinya, the legendary Indian mariner associated with early maritime links to Southeast Asia.

Ancient Indian stitched-ship technique: What it is?

• The stitched-ship technique is an indigenous Indian method of shipbuilding in which wooden planks are stitched together using natural fibres, a practice once common along India’s coastline and the Indian Ocean

Features

• Stitching instead of nails: Planks are tied with coir rope, allowing flexibility and strength in rough seas.
• Use of organic materials: Natural resins and fibres improve durability while remaining environmentally sustainable.
• Shock absorption: Flexible joints reduce damage from waves, making ships suitable for long ocean voyages.
• Ancient maritime reach: Enabled Indian sailors to trade with West Asia, Africa and Southeast Asia centuries ago.
• Living heritage revival: The technique represents the revival of India’s indigenous knowledge systems in shipbuilding.

Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR-120)

• DRDO has successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR-120) at ITR Chandipur.

Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR-120):

• The Pinaka LRGR-120 is an indigenously developed, precision-guided rocket variant of the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket system, designed for long-range, high-accuracy strikes.
• Developed by: Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), DRDO in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).

Aim:

• To extend the strike range of the Pinaka system
• To provide precision-guided firepower with minimal collateral damage
• To enhance operational flexibility using existing Pinaka launchers

Key features:

• Extended range: Capable of striking targets up to 120 km, significantly increasing battlefield reach.
• Precision guidance: Guided rocket with advanced navigation and control ensuring textbook accuracy on targets.
• In-flight manoeuvrability: Demonstrated planned manoeuvres throughout the flight trajectory.
• Launcher compatibility: Can be fired from the in-service Pinaka launcher, enabling multiple variants from the same platform.
• Indigenous design: Entirely designed and developed within India using domestic technologies.

Significance

• Force multiplier: Enhances the Indian Army’s long-range precision strike capability.
• Operational versatility: Allows seamless deployment of different Pinaka variants without new launch infrastructure.
• Reduced collateral damage: Precision guidance improves target discrimination.

Narsapuram Lace Craft

• The Prime Minister highlighted Narsapuram Lace Craft in Man Ki Baat as a model of women-led economic empowerment and cultural continuity.
• The craft’s Geographical Indication (GI) tag has renewed national attention on this traditional livelihood of the Godavari region.

Narsapuram Lace Craft: What it is?

• Narsapuram Lace Craft is a handmade crochet lace tradition, where fine threads are transformed into intricate lace products using a single crochet hook, reflecting high skill and patience.
• Region: West Godavari and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh
• Key centres: Narsapur, Palacole, Razole and Amalapuram

History:

• Introduced in 1844 when lace-making techniques were taught to local women by European missionaries.
• The craft survived major historical shocks such as famines and economic depressions, sustaining women’s livelihoods across generations.
• Over time, it evolved into a globally recognised hand-crafted textile tradition.

Key characteristics

• Raw materials: Uses fine cotton threads, along with silk, rayon or synthetic yarns for decorative and export-quality products.
• Tools: Crafted using crochet hooks of varying sizes to produce different textures and lace densities.
• Technique: Involves looping and interlocking stitches manually to form delicate lace structures without machinery.
• Design motifs: Features floral, paisley and geometric patterns inspired by nature and traditional aesthetics.
• Product range: Includes garments, home furnishings and accessories such as doilies, bedspreads, table linen, cushion covers, stoles and wall hangings.

Significance

• The craft provides regular income to thousands of women, making them primary contributors to household economies.
• It safeguards an indigenous textile tradition passed down through generations.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals worth about ₹79,000 crore to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces.

Key highlights of approved proposals

1. Astra Mk-II air-to-air missile: To sharpen the precision strike capability of the Indian Air Force. It is Indigenous beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) developed by DRDO with a range beyond 100 km.
2. Long-range guided rocket ammunition: For the army’s Pinaka multiple launch rocket system (MLRS).
3. Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System Mk-II: With enhanced range and capacity to target drones, to protect vital assets.
4. SPICE-1000 Long-range Guidance systems: Israeli-designed system made by Rafael Advanced Defense System, It will enable precise air-to-ground strikes at long distances across the border.
5. High Altitude Long Range (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS): Ensures continuous Intelligence, Surveillance and credible Maritime Domain Awareness over the Indian Ocean Region.
6. Indigenous loitering munitions for army: Also known as kamikaze drones/suicide drones. Unlike traditional UAVs that are used for surveillance, these are designed to attack targets directly.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is the highest decision-making body for capital defence procurements in India, responsible for granting in-principle approvals and Acceptance of Necessity for major acquisitions.

• Established:  Set up in 2001 following the recommendations of the Group of Ministers on Reforming the National Security System.
• Chairperson:  Union minister of Defense
• Objective: It serves as the apex body for strategic defence acquisition planning and oversight, ensuring coordinated decision-making across India''s defence establishment.

Functions

• Approval of Long-Term Perspective Plan: Provides in-principle approval to capital acquisitions in the 15-year Long Term Perspective Plan, identifying projects with long gestation periods.
• Acceptance of Necessity (AoN): Grants AoN for capital acquisition projects proposed for inclusion in Five Year Plans, forming the first formal step in procurement.
• Categorisation of projects: Decides whether acquisitions will be Buy, Buy and Make, or Make, promoting indigenisation and domestic capability.
• Monitoring major projects: Reviews progress of key acquisition programmes based on feedback from the Defence Procurement Board.
• Policy coordination: Ensures coordination between operational requirements, financial prudence and indigenous defence production goals.

Significance

• Enables timely acquisition of critical platforms and systems across the three services.
• Streamlines decision-making and reduces delays in defence acquisitions.
• Encourages indigenous development and production under the Atmanirbhar defence framework.
•  The defence acquisition council (DAC) approved purchase of military hardware which will pave the way for more indigenous manufacturing of defense products and boost the military’s combat readiness.

The Santhali Language

• President of India highlighted the role of language and literature in binding communities during the centenary celebrations of the Ol Chiki script and Santali Language Day.

The Santhali Language:

• Santhali is one of India’s most ancient living tribal languages, primarily spoken by the Santhal community and recognised in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Origin:

• Belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family, distinct from Indo-European languages.
• Traditionally transmitted through oral literature, songs, folklore and rituals.
• Acquired its own script, Ol Chiki, in 1925, developed by Pandit Raghunath Murmu, giving the language a written identity.

Current status:

• Included in the Eighth Schedule through the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
• Spoken by about 7 million people in India, mainly across Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar, and also in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Key features

• Distinct script – Ol Chiki: A phonetic and scientific script designed to accurately represent Santhali sounds, unlike earlier borrowed scripts.
• Austroasiatic linguistic traits: Agglutinative structure, tonal elements, and word formation through suffixes, shared with related Munda languages like Ho and Mundari.
• Strong oral tradition: Rich corpus of folk songs, myths and storytelling that preserves Santhal history, ecology and social values.
• Cultural identity marker: Language and script function as symbols of tribal self-respect, cohesion and continuity.

RBI initiates review of scale-based regulation (SBR) for NBFCs

• The review comes as Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) play a growing role in lending (~15% of GDP), amid concerns over their interconnectedness with banks, rising unsecured loans, and potential systemic risks.
• SBR Framework for NBFCs: Implemented by RBI from 2022, it categorizes NBFCs into four distinct layers based on their systemic importance, size and perceived level of risk.

1. Base Layer (NBFC-BL): Consists of non-deposit taking NBFCs with assets below ₹1,000 crore. Includes specific entities like Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms, Account Aggregators (AA), Non-Operative Financial Holding Company. It has a share of 5.2% of total NBFC assets.
2. Middle Layer (NBFC-ML): Includes all deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFC-D) regardless of asset size and non-deposit-taking NBFCs with assets of ₹1,000 crore and above. It accounted for the largest share of 64.6% of total NBFC assets.
3. Upper Layer (NBFC-UL): Comprises NBFCs specifically identified by the RBI as warranting enhanced regulatory oversight based on a set of parameters and scoring methodology. It has a share of 30.2% in total NBFC assets.
4. Top Layer: NBFCs judged to be extreme in supervisory risk perception would be pushed to the Top. There will be enhanced and more intensive supervisory engagement with these NBFCs. Ideally it remains empty.

3 Years of India-Australia Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement (ECTA)

• The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (INDAUS ECTA) is a landmark trade pact signed in 2022, aimed at doubling bilateral trade within five years.
•  It is India''s first agreement with a developed country in over a decade.

Key Features of the India-Australia ECTA

• Trade in Goods: Australia offers 100% duty-free access for Indian exports (textiles, leather, jewellery).
• Trade in Services and Professional Mobility: Extended post-study work visas (2-4 years) for Indian students and quota for "Work and Holiday" visas.
• Safeguards and Regulatory Cooperation: Robust Rules of Origin prevent third-party re-routing. Includes fast-track pharmaceutical approvals.
• Other: Eliminates double taxation on Indian IT offshore income, etc.

India Australia Economic Relations

• Trade Status: In FY25, India was Australia''s 8th largest trading partner, and Australia was India''s 14th largest trading partner.
• Total Bilateral Trade: The bilateral trade between India and Australia in FY25 stood at US$ 24.1 billion.
• Key Indian Exports: petroleum products, engineering goods, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals,etc
• Key Indian Imports: Coal, gold, etc. 

Significance of India Australia Relationship

Strategic and Geopolitical Significance:

• Indo-Pacific Convergence: E.g., Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP)
• The QUAD Pillar: Australia and India are key members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), alongside the US and Japan.
• Defense Cooperation: Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) and high-level military exercises like Exercise Malabar and AUSINDEX
• Multilateral Alignment: E.g., G20, East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
• Supply Chain Resilience: E.g., Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI).
• Critical Minerals Partnership: Australia is a major source of critical minerals (lithium, cobalt) essential for India’s Electric Vehicle (EV) mission and clean energy transition.

Ministry of Jal Shakti releases Dynamic Groundwater Resource Assessment Report 2025

• The assessment was carried out jointly by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States/UTs.

Key Highlights of the report:

• Annual GW Recharge: Total Annual Ground Water Recharge has increased marginally to 448.52 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) from 446.9 BCM (2024).
• GW Extraction: Annual Extractable Ground Water Resources has also increased marginally to 407.75 BCM from 406.19 BCM (2024).
• Further, total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the entire country for the year 2025 has been assessed as 247.22 BCM.
• Stage of Ground Water Extraction (SoE): Measure of Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses over Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is worked out to be 60.63%.

• Categories: Out of the total 6746 assessment units (Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas) in the country.

1. 73.4 % assessment units are categorized as ‘Safe’.
2. 10.5 % assessment units are categorized “Semi-critical’’,
3. 3.05 % assessment units, have been categorized as ‘Critical’ and
4. 11.1% assessment units have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’.

• Concentration of Over-exploited units: North West (Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Western UP); West (Rajasthan, Gujarat); South (Karnataka, TN, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh).
• 1.8% assessment units have been categorized as ‘Saline’

Srimanta Shankar Dev

• The redevelopment project of Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev Ji, has been inaugurated.

Srimanta Shankar Dev (1449–1568)

• Born in Aali-pukhuri situated in Nagaon district of Assam.
• He was a saint-scholar, polymath, and social-religious reformer.

Key Contributions

He pioneered the new form of Vaishnavism (Eka-Sarana Hari-Nama Dharma), a monotheistic faith centered on Lord Krishna.

• He established monastic institutions like namghars and sattras, which became centers for cultural and religious activities.
• Social Reforms: Anti-caste movement, Women rights, etc.
• He was a prolific writer, dramatist, and composer, his literary works include Kirtana Ghosha (devotional verses), Bhakti Pradipa, etc.
• He is known for initiating Borgeets (music), Sattriya (classical dance), Ankia Naat, Bhaona (Theatrical performance)
• Values: Equality, Humanism, spiritualism etc.

Port Blair Tricolour Hoisting

• PM Narendra Modi highlighted the contributions of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the 82nd anniversary of his hoisting the tricolour at Port Blair.
• Bose’s hoisting of the Indian tricolour at Port Blair in 1943 symbolised the Azad Hind Government’s assertion of Indian sovereignty over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

• He was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack (Odisha); he studied at the Presidency College, Calcutta, later at Cambridge University (UK), and joined the Indian Civil Service (ICS) in 1920.
• He resigned from the ICS in 1921 to join the Indian National Congress, and was elected its President at the Haripura Session (1938) and Tripuri Session (1939).
• He advocated armed struggle in contrast to Gandhi’s emphasis on non-violence, while continuing to acknowledge Gandhi as the “Father of the Nation.”
• He assumed leadership of the Indian National Army (INA) in 1943 and established the Azad Hind Government in exile, calling for military advance towards India under “Delhi Chalo.”
• He reshaped the freedom struggle through militant nationalism and foreign alliances; he is believed to have died in a 1945 plane crash in Taipei, though inquiries have left the issue debated.

Optical Frequency Comb

• Recent advances in precision optics have highlighted the importance of Optical Frequency Combs in metrology and high-accuracy measurement systems.
• Metrology is the science of measurements, ensuring standardisation, calibration, and traceability for accurate and uniform measurements.

About Optical Frequency Comb

• Overview: It is a specialised laser that functions as an ultra-precise “ruler” for light, and its development was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics.
• Mechanism: It emits many discrete, equally spaced spectral lines (resembling the teeth of a comb), and by comparing light signals to a known “teeth”, scientists can measure its properties.
• Types: Mode-locked Lasers (most prevalent), Kerr Microcombs (most compact), Electro-optic (EO) combs (highest repetition rates), Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) combs (infrared sensing).
• Applications: Optical atomic clocks, exoplanet detection, and fibre-optic communications.

Maglev Technology

• China successfully tested the world’s fastest superconducting magnetic levitation (maglev) technology by accelerating a tonne-class vehicle to 700 km/h in just two seconds.
• Maglev technology uses magnetic forces to lift, propel, and guide vehicles (primarily trains) above a track, eliminating the need for wheels and minimising friction.
• The tracks, known as guideways, contain powerful electromagnets, and the vehicles use superconducting magnets or electromagnets for motion control.
• Levitation: Magnetic forces create a ‘cushion’ lifting the vehicle about 1–10 cm above the guideway, overcoming gravity.
• Propulsion: Linear motor systems generate moving magnetic fields that pull the train from the front and push it from the rear.
• Guidance: Lateral magnetic forces keep the vehicle centred on the guideway during high-speed movement and turns.

Primary Types

• Electromagnetic Suspension: EMS uses magnetic attraction to lift the train toward a ferromagnetic rail, allowing levitation even at rest.
• Electrodynamic Suspension: EDS uses magnetic repulsion from superconducting magnets, enabling the world’s highest speeds; it requires wheels at low speeds.
• Inductrack: Passive EDS uses an array of permanent magnets on the train and wire loops in the track, enabling fail-safe, energy-efficient levitation.