Government invites public comments on Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025

• The draft Bill seeks to modernize India’s pesticide regulatory framework by replacing the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971.

Key provisions of the Draft

• Central Pesticides Board: A multi-sectorial body to advise the government on safety standards, disposal criteria, and the inclusion of new molecules in the official Schedule.
• Registration Committee: A technical committee tasked with scrutinizing pesticide applications in a mandatory digital mode before granting a certificate of registration.
• Digital Transparency: Provisions for a National Register of Pesticides and online tracking of manufacture, stock, and sales records to curb the distribution of falsified products.
• Deemed Registration: To prevent bureaucratic delays, if committee fails to decide on a complete application for a "generic pesticide" within 18 months, certificate is deemed to have been granted.
• Surveillance and Protection: A defined framework for reporting and analyzing poisoning occurrences and a dedicated plan for medical facilities to handle such exigencies.
• Quality of pesticide: Provides for mandatory accreditation of testing laboratories, ensuring that only quality pesticides are available to farmers.
• Worker Welfare: It mandates standards for training and working conditions for workers involved in handling toxic pesticides, addressing a critical gap in occupational health.

Pesticides and its Usage in India

• Pesticides are used to kill, prevent, reduce, destroy or repel a pest. It broadly constitutes insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, bio-pesticides etc.
• Herbicides (kill/control the growth of weeds) have the largest market share at 44% (as of 2023)
• India''s pesticide consumption is 0.5 kg/hectare (compared to 17 kg/hectare in some countries) (2023)
• States with highest Consumption: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Telangana

Union Government eased rules for private afforestation work on leased forest land

• The change was enacted by amending the consolidated guidelines of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 (formerly the Forest Conservation Act).

Key Amendments

• It allows assisted natural regeneration including afforestation/plantation, carried out by Government or non-Government entities to be treated as “forestry activities”.
• Consequently, on such activities, the requirements of Compensatory Afforestation and payment of Net Present Value (NPV) shall not be applicable to such activities.
• Compensatory Afforestation (CA): CA means afforestation done in lieu of diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
• It compensates the loss of ''land by land'' and loss of ''trees by trees'' and is done on non-forest land.
• Net Present Value (NPV): NPV is a mandatory fee intended to compensate for the loss of ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, water recharge, and biodiversity.
• Funds collected towards CA and NPV are deposited in State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), established under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016.
• State government can devise a framework for utilization of such plantations and for revenue sharing.

Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980

• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, renames the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

Other key amendments include

• Applicability: Limits the Act to the land that has been declared or notified as a forest in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
• Strategic Exemptions: Removes restrictions on forest land within 100 km of international borders for national security projects.
• Permitted Activities: Reclassifies eco-tourism, zoos, and silvicultural operations as "forestry activities," exempting them from certain non-forest use restrictions.

Centre issues notification for first phase of Census 2027

• House listing operations (first phase of Census) will be conducted between April and September 2026 across all States and Union Territories.
• Population Enumeration (second phase of Census) is scheduled for February 2027.
• For the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the population enumeration will be conducted in September 2026.

Key Features in the 16th Census (2027)

• India’s First Digital Census: Enumerators will primarily use mobile apps for data collection.
• Historic Caste Enumeration: This Census will include the first nationwide caste enumeration in independent India (last done in 1931)  for all communities (beyond just Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes).

Digital Features

• Self-Enumeration Portal: A secure platform where citizens can independently complete questionnaires;
• Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS): Digital portal allowing supervisors and district officers to track enumeration progress.
• Houselisting Block (HLB) Creator: A satellite-based web mapping application that enables Charge Officers to create precise digital enumeration blocks.
• Census as a Service (CaaS): Provides ministries with a clean, machine-readable and queryable database to facilitate evidence-based policy planning.

Doomsday Glacier (Thwaites Glacier)

• A new scientific study has found rapidly increasing ice fractures in the Thwaites Glacier, indicating possible destabilisation pathways for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

About Doomsday Glacier (Thwaites Glacier)

• The Thwaites Glacier, popularly called the “Doomsday Glacier”, is one of the largest and fastest-changing glaciers on Earth. It acts as a critical outlet glacier draining ice from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into the ocean.

Location:

• Situated in West Antarctica, flowing into the Amundsen Sea
• Forms part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, one of the most unstable ice masses globally

Key features

• Massive scale: Roughly the size of the UK; complete collapse could raise global sea levels by ~65 cm.
• Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS): A floating extension anchored by an undersea ridge (pinning point) that slows ice flow.
• Shear zone fracturing: Study shows fractures developing in two stages—long cracks parallel to ice flow followed by perpendicular cracks.
• Rapid deterioration: Annual fracture length doubled from ~165 km (2002) to ~335 km (2022).

Implications

• Accelerated sea-level rise threatening coastal cities, deltas, and island nations.
• Cascade effects: Collapse could destabilise neighbouring glaciers and the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

The Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS)

Source: PIB

• The Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) marked its 125th Foundation Day (2026), reaffirming its role in mine workers’ safety and welfare.

Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS):

• DGMS is the statutory regulatory authority under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, responsible for occupational safety, health, and welfare of persons employed in coal, metalliferous, and oil mines.
• Established in: 1902, making it one of India’s oldest labour safety institutions.
• Headquarters: Dhanbad, Jharkhand
• Aim: To achieve risk- and hazard-free working conditions in mines and ensure the health, safety, and welfare of mine workers, in line with the vision of “First Safety”.

Key functions

• Administration of mining safety laws: Enforces the Mines Act, 1952 and rules/regulations framed thereunder; also administers allied legislation (e.g., Indian Electricity Act as applicable to mines).
• Regulation & inspection: Conducts inspections, audits, and approvals to ensure uniform safety standards across mining operations.
• Accident prevention & investigation: Identifies hazards, investigates accidents, and prescribes preventive and corrective measures.
• Occupational health oversight: Monitors mine workers’ health, disease prevention, and workplace exposure risks through medical cadres and standards.
• Capacity building & awareness: Promotes safety culture, training, best practices, and adoption of modern technologies for safer mining.

Significance

• Worker welfare: Protects lives and livelihoods in a high-risk sector critical to India’s growth.
• Legal mandate: Central Government responsibility under Entry 55, Union List (Article 246).
• Institutional strength: Recognised as an S&T Institution (1987) with specialist staff and labs.

India becomes first country to commercially produce bio-bitumen

• India has become the first country to commercially produce bio-bitumen for road construction, marking a global milestone in green infrastructure.

What is bio-bitumen?

• Bio-bitumen is a bio-based alternative to conventional petroleum bitumen, used as a binder in road construction.
• It is produced from agricultural residues (especially rice straw) and can partially replace fossil-fuel-derived bitumen without compromising road performance.

Organisations involved:

1. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
2. CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), New Delhi
3. CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun

Key features of bio-bitumen

• Partial fossil replacement: 20–30% of conventional bitumen can be safely replaced with bio-bitumen.
• Performance assured: Successfully tested for rutting, cracking, moisture damage, rheology, and durability.
• Environment-friendly: Reduces emissions from crop residue burning and lowers lifecycle carbon footprint.
• Cost-efficient: Roads built using bio-bitumen have lower construction cost and longer service life.
• Field validated: A 100-metre trial stretch laid on the Jorabat–Shillong Expressway (NH-40), Meghalaya, proved real-world feasibility.

Manufacturing process (Bio-bitumen via pyrolysis)

• Collection of farm residue: Post-harvest rice straw is collected from fields and pelletised to ensure uniform size, easy handling, and efficient thermal processing.
• Pyrolysis: The biomass pellets are heated at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, breaking them down into bio-oil, combustible gases, and bio-char without burning.
• Bio-oil extraction: The bio-oil fraction, which possesses strong adhesive and binding characteristics, is separated and refined for use as a road binder component.
• Blending: The extracted bio-oil is blended with conventional petroleum bitumen (typically 20–30%), producing bio-bitumen suitable for asphalt applications.
• Quality validation: The final product undergoes physical, chemical, rheological, and mechanical tests—including rutting, cracking, and moisture resistance—to ensure it meets national highway performance standards.

Significance

• Supports clean and green highways by reducing fossil fuel dependence and air pollution.
• Converts agricultural waste into high-value infrastructure material, addressing stubble burning.
• Potential to replace ₹25,000–30,000 crore worth of imported bitumen annually.

Earth Observation Satellite EOS-N1 (Anvesha)

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will begin 2026 with the PSLV-C62 mission, launching the advanced surveillance satellite EOS-N1 (Anvesha) along with 18 co-passenger payloads.

Earth Observation Satellite EOS-N1 (Anvesha):

• EOS-N1 (codenamed ‘Anvesha’) is an advanced hyperspectral Earth observation satellite developed primarily to support India’s strategic and civilian remote-sensing needs.
• To be launched in: January 2026, aboard PSLV-C62 from Sriharikota.

Aim:

• To enhance space-based surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities while supporting civil applications such as agriculture, urban planning, and environmental monitoring.

Key functions

• Hyperspectral imaging: Captures data across hundreds of spectral bands, enabling precise identification of materials and surface features.
• Strategic surveillance: Assists in border monitoring, terrain analysis, and threat detection, strengthening national security.
• Agriculture support: Enables crop health assessment, soil moisture analysis, and yield estimation.
• Urban and infrastructure mapping: Supports land-use planning, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster preparedness.
• Environmental monitoring: Tracks ecosystem changes, pollution patterns, and climate-related impacts.

Significance:

• Acts as a high-priority space asset for surveillance, developed in close alignment with requirements of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Demonstrates India’s maturity in hyperspectral remote sensing, a capability possessed by only a few nations.
• Simultaneously serves defence, agriculture, disaster management, and environmental governance.

White dwarf system

• NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer (IXPE) has, for the first time, probed the internal structure of a white dwarf system, revealing unexpected details about gas flows and X-ray behaviour in the binary system EX Hydrae.

White dwarf system:

• A white dwarf system typically consists of a white dwarf—the dense, Earth-sized remnant of a Sun-like star—often paired with a companion star in a binary arrangement.

Discovered / studied by:

• White dwarfs as a class were identified in the early 20th century through stellar spectroscopy.
• The current breakthrough comes from NASA’s IXPE mission, which studied EX Hydrae, about 200 light-years away in the constellation Hydra, by analysing X-ray polarisation, not just brightness.

How it forms?

• A star like the Sun exhausts its nuclear fuel, sheds its outer layers as a planetary nebula, and leaves behind a hot, compact core—the white dwarf.
• In a binary system, the white dwarf’s gravity pulls gas from its companion star.
• In systems like EX Hydrae, known as intermediate polars, the white dwarf’s moderate magnetic field partially disrupts the accretion disc and channels gas along magnetic field lines onto its surface.

Key characteristics

• Extreme density: Mass comparable to the Sun, size similar to Earth.
• Degenerate matter: Supported by electron degeneracy pressure (Pauli Exclusion Principle), not nuclear fusion.
• High-energy emissions: Infalling matter heats to tens of millions of degrees, emitting X-rays.
• Magnetic influence: In intermediate polars, gas forms columns rising thousands of kilometres above the surface.
• Chandrasekhar limit: Maximum mass ~1.4 times the Sun, beyond which collapse or explosion occurs.

Significance:

• IXPE’s polarisation data allowed scientists to estimate the height of hot gas columns and detect X-rays reflecting off the white dwarf’s surface—details previously inaccessible.
• Enables direct testing of theories about accretion, magnetism, and extreme matter.