Param Shakti Supercomputing facility Launched

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched ‘Param Shakti’ at Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
• The project has been funded under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

Param Shakti

• It is an indigenously developed and manufactured 3.1 Petaflop supercomputing system.
• It is now among the most powerful computational systems available in Indian academic institutions.
• It is built using Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)’s RUDRA series of servers and runs on an open-source software stack, including AlmaLinux.
• Significance: Its performance is expected to support complex research in aerospace engineering, materials science, climate modelling, drug discovery, and advanced manufacturing.

National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

• Launched: 2015
• Objective: To connect national academic and R&D (research and development) institutions with a grid of over 70 high-performance computing facilities.
• The supercomputers are networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN).
• NSM is steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and MeitY.
• Implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

Guidelines for Reporting Entities providing Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) related Services

• The Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) issued updated guidelines to regulate service provider (SP) dealing in VDAs.
• It effectively brought VDA SPs within the anti-money laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism, Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) regulatory framework, requiring them to comply with due diligence and reporting obligations similar to other reporting entities.
• In 2023, VDA SPs were brought under the ambit of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Key highlight of the Guidelines

• Appointment of Principal Officer (PO): Every VDA Reporting Entity must appoint a Principal Officer.
• Cybersecurity & Data Protection: VDA SP now requires a Cyber Security Audit Certificate issued by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) empaneled auditor.
• Unhosted Wallet Transactions: Reporting entities must collect data on transfers involving unhosted (self-custody) wallets.

What is Virtual Digital Asset (VDA)?

• It is defined under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• Any digitally generated information, code, number, or token (excluding Indian or foreign currency) created using cryptographic or similar means, which:
• Represents digital value,
• Is electronically transferable, storable, or tradable.
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) or similar digital tokens.
• NFT is a unique token that can represent digital collectibles or real-world assets.
• Income from transfer of VDAs is taxable at the rate of 30% (plus surcharge and cess).

The Delhi High Court ruled that forcing a woman to continue an unwanted pregnancy violates her bodily integrity and worsens mental trauma.

Key Highlights of the Ruling

• The ruling reiterated that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act does not require the husband’s consent for abortion.
• It reaffirmed a woman’s right to abortion as part of personal autonomy and liberty under Article 21.
• Marital discord was accepted as a valid ground for termination because of its impact on mental health.
• The judgment stated that MTP Rule 3-B(c) should be interpreted broadly to include any ‘change of material circumstances’ affecting a woman’s mental well-being.

Legal & Constitutional Framework for Abortion in India

• The Indian Penal Code (IPC) (now Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) criminalises ‘causing miscarriage’, except under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
• MTP (Amendment) Act, 2021: It allows abortion up to 20 weeks with one doctor’s advice, and between 20 and 24 weeks with two doctors’ approval.
• Beyond 24 Weeks: Termination permitted only for substantial fetal abnormalities certified by a four-member State Medical Board.
• Life-Saving Clause: Abortion permitted at any stage if necessary to save the woman’s life.
• Article 21: The Supreme Court has interpreted a woman’s reproductive autonomy, right to choose, and bodily integrity as part of her personal liberty.
• Right to Privacy: In the Puttaswamy (2017) judgment, the SC affirmed that the decision to procreate or abstain (including abortion) is a core aspect of the Fundamental Right to Privacy.
• Right to Equality: SC rulings (2022) have struck down distinctions based on marital status in access to abortion, ensuring equal rights.

Inflation Below Comfort Zone

• India’s CPI inflation has fallen below 1% for two consecutive months, far below the RBI’s 4% target, raising concerns that disinflation is becoming a macroeconomic stress rather than a relief.

What is Inflation?

• It is the rise in the general level of prices of goods & services in an economy over a period of time.
• Headline Inflation: Inflation is due to all types of commodities in the economy.
• Core Inflation: Inflation excluding food and fuel items.

Inflation target in India

• Under the RBI Act, the GoI, in consultation with the RBI, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) every five years.
• Current Inflation target is 4% with a band of 2% (2% to 6%).
• CPI-Combined is India’s official inflation indicator for monetary policy under the Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework mandated by the amended RBI Act, 1934.

Why Very Low Inflation Is a Concern?

• Base Effect Distortion: Recent sub-1% CPI prints are partly due to a high statistical base from last year, masking underlying price pressures and limiting policy clarity
• Perception Gap: RBI surveys (Nov 2025) show households perceive inflation at 6.6% currently and 7.6% three months ahead, indicating weak credibility of headline numbers.
• Monetary Policy Dilemma: With inflation low and growth buoyant, rate cuts seem logical; however, a future inflation rebound due to base effects may force policy reversals, unsettling markets.
• Rural Income Stress: Negative food inflation reduces farm realisations; crops like soybean and pulses sold below MSP in Oct–Nov, compressing rural incomes despite good output.
• Manufacturing Margin Pressure: Low WPI and muted core CPI for manufactured goods reflect weak pricing power, squeezing corporate margins even if volumes rise.
• GST Revenue Slowdown: Lower inflation dampens nominal transaction values; GST collections have slowed, partly due to lower price growth and rate rationalisation.
• Fiscal Arithmetic Risk: Nominal GDP growth is barely above Real GDP, unlike the historical 3–4 percentage point gap, complicating deficit targets and FY27 projections.
• Households: Urban consumers may benefit temporarily, but income-linked groups face uncertainty.
• Farmers & MSMEs: Price deflation without income buffers leads to demand compression & debt stress.
• Government: Lower nominal growth weakens tax buoyancy and fiscal space.
• RBI: Managing expectations becomes harder when headline inflation diverges from lived experience.

Upcoming Challenges for ISRO

• After landmark missions like Chandrayaan-3 (2023), Aditya-L1 (2024) and NISAR (2025), ISRO faces the challenge of converting mission success into routine, large-scale capability.

Reasons for the Shift in Challenge for ISRO

• Rising Complexity: ISRO is preparing human spaceflight, advanced science missions and a heavy-lift launcher simultaneously, stretching institutional capacity.
• Expectation Reset: Reliable PSLV/GSLV launches and lunar landing success have raised expectations from occasional excellence to consistent delivery at scale.

Upcoming Challenges for ISRO

1. Operational Bottlenecks

• Low Launch Cadence: ISRO carried out only 5 launches in 2025 against a projected 8, indicating congestion due to parallel big-ticket missions like Gaganyaan and NGLV.
• Single-Point Bottleneck: ISRO continues to act as designer–integrator–operator for most missions; a delay in one mission often cascades across timelines of others.
• Infrastructure Constraint: Limited integration bays and test stands restrict parallel processing, slowing launch turnaround despite rising mission complexity.

2. Governance and Legal Gaps

• No Space Law: India lacks a comprehensive national space law, creating ambiguity over authorisation.
• Role Confusion: Despite reforms, functional separation between ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL remains weak.

3. Competitiveness Constraints

• Capital Shortage: Investment in India’s space sector fell sharply in 2024, mirroring a ~40% global decline in space-tech funding, reflecting long gestation risks of hardware-heavy ventures.
• Manufacturing Depth: India still imports over 50% of high-end space-grade electronics and avionics, limiting the rapid scaling of launch vehicles and satellite production.

Way Forward

• Capacity Expansion: Build parallel integration and test infrastructure to raise launch frequency; E.g., expansion under the ISRO–Industry Consortium model for launch vehicle integration.
• Role Separation: Insulate ISRO’s frontier R&D from routine operations; E.g., operational missions routed through New Space India Limited (NSIL).
• Industrial Scaling: Strengthen domestic manufacturing for space hardware; E.g., IN-SPACe Technology Adoption Fund to move firms from prototype to production.
• Global Benchmark: Adopt high-cadence, reusable launch practices; E.g., SpaceX-style industrial launch workflows adapted to India’s public–private ecosystem.

Weimar Triangle

• Poland backed India amid US tariff threats over Russian oil imports, expressing satisfaction over India’s import cutbacks during India’s first engagement with the Weimar Triangle.

About the Weimar Triangle

• Formation: Established in 1991 by France, Germany, and Poland to promote European integration and political reconciliation in the post–Cold War era, especially between Western and Central Europe.
• Core Objective: Serves as a high-level forum for political dialogue and strategic coordination, especially on European security and Russia–Ukraine issues.
• Areas of Cooperation: Focuses on foreign policy, defence coordination, economic ties, and cultural exchanges, complementing EU and NATO processes.
• Relevance for India: India’s engagement marks outreach beyond bilateral ties, signalling strategic convergence with key European powers on geopolitics and global governance.

Other Trilateral Groupings in World Politics

• RIC Trilateral: Russia–India–China forum aimed at promoting a multipolar world order, coordination on global governance, and strategic stability.
• AUKUS: A defence partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US, focused on nuclear-powered submarines and advanced defence technologies in the Indo-Pacific.
• ANZUS: A Cold War-era security treaty linking Australia, New Zealand, and the US, aimed at collective defence in the Pacific region.
• Trilateral Commission: An informal forum connecting North America, Europe, and Japan to discuss global economic governance and political coordination.

National Environmental Standard Laboratory (NESL)

• CSIR-National Physical Laboratory established two apex levels Calibration Facilities- NESL and National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration.
• CSIR-NPL is the apex institution for metrology and custodian of India’s national standards.
• National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration brought India among a select group of global leaders in photovoltaic measurement standards.

About NESL

• Apex national facility for testing, calibration and certification of air pollution monitoring instruments.
• Considered as world’s second NESL.
• At present, only the UK has such a laboratory.
• Benefits: Develop India-specific standards, ensured credible data for the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), industrial emission audits, etc.

Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD)

• Union Home Minister chaired the 9th Apex Level NCORD meeting in New Delhi to review national anti-drug efforts.

About NCORD

• Established: 2016 (restructured in 2019) under Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Mandate: Coordinating Central and State drug law enforcement in controlling drug trafficking and abuse in India.
• Structure: Four-tier framework (Apex, Executive, State, and District Committees)
• Helps enforce the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985
• Initiatives linked to NCORD:NCORD Portal by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) provides information related to drug law enforcement; MANAS 24x7 toll-free helpline (1933); NIDAAN offender database, etc.