Current Affairs

Union minister launched the Smart Border Project for India’s Bangladesh and Pakistan borders, a technology-driven national security initiative under the Ministry of Home Affairs to curb infiltration, smuggling and illegal demographic changes. It deploys drones, radars, modern cameras, watchtowers and smart fencing; prioritises Sir Creek, Harami Nala, Tripura, West Bengal and Bihar; expands BSF jurisdiction 15–50 km; uses a quadrangular grid (public, civil administration, local police, military&BSF) and shifts to a territorial security vision. BSF (1965) has 25 battalions and ~2.7 lakh personnel.

Phantom (limb) pain is a neurological condition where painful sensations are perceived in an amputated/removed part. First described in the 16th century by Ambroise Paré; “phantom limb” coined in 1871 by Silas Weir Mitchell. It can follow limb amputation, breast/eye removal, tooth extraction or rectal surgery. Prevalence: 50–80% globally; 40–70% in India. Symptoms (burning, stabbing, electric-shock) may start soon or months later, peaking at 6–12 months; risk factors include severe pre-amputation pain, poor post-op pain control, nerve injury and PTSD. Mechanism involves retained brain “map” and abnormal nerve signals. No single cure; multidisciplinary care uses gabapentin/pregabalin, antidepressants, mirror therapy, rehab/prosthesis, CBT, acupuncture, with emerging VR and brain stimulation.

Ancient petroglyphs (symbolic images/inscriptions carved on rock) were reported from the Bhondsi stretch of Aravalli forests, Gurugram, Haryana, near the Bhuvneshwari Mata Mandir complex in the Aravalli belt from Delhi Ridge to Gurugram–Faridabad. Made by pecking/incising/drilling/scratching with harder stones, they include cupules, geometric grids, possible stone game boards, a foot-shaped engraving and stone tools; distinct from painted petrographs and often Mesolithic (10,000–8,000 BCE), used for early communication, mapping and markers.

Delhi Bird Atlas 2025, by Delhi Forest Department, Bird Count India, WWF-India and partners, is the first systematic mapping of bird distribution/abundance in NCT Delhi; it ranks Delhi second after Nairobi among capitals for bird diversity, aided by Aravalli edge, Yamuna–Sahibi floodplains and Central Asian Flyway (Arctic–Indian Ocean). Started Jan 2025; 11% area; 6.6×6.6 km grids; 145 random subcells; eBird checklists. Delhi checklist: 471 species; 22 unrecorded since 1975; Year-1: 221 (126 resident; 81 winter, 14 summer migrants); 18 endemics; threatened species include Egyptian Vulture and Black-bellied Tern.

In the 2026–27 rabi season, India will begin wide-scale cultivation of imidazolinone-resistant (IMI-resistant) mustard hybrids, developed via mutation breeding (not GM). A single DNA change makes acetolactate synthase (ALS) resistant to IMI herbicides, enabling over-the-top spraying to kill Orobanche (Phelipanche), a root parasite draining water/nutrients. Mustard is vital in arid North India; India imported 16 million tonnes edible oils in 2024–25 (₹1.6 lakh crore), and labour needs during weeding reduce.

31 gharial hatchlings were released near Bagaha on the Gandak River, Bihar. Gharial (Order Crocodylia, Family Crocodylidae) inhabits deep, clear Himalayan rivers with sandy banks; name from Hindi “ghara” (male snout bulb). Found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan; major populations in Chambal (largest wild), Girwa and Nepal’s Rapti-Naryani; reserves in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan. Piscivorous; mates Nov–Jan, eggs Mar–May. Status: IUCN Critically Endangered; CITES Appendix I; WPA 1972 Schedule I.

Environment (Protection) Second Amendment Rules, 2025 mandate caustic soda plants using Membrane Cell Technology (MCT) to conduct wastewater toxicity testing through laboratory-based bioassay, including a fish-survival test, to measure combined effluent toxicity. MCT uses a special membrane to control the process and is less polluting than older mercury-based processes. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is widely used in soap, detergents, paper, textiles, aluminium, petrochemicals and water purification.

India–Oman FTA applies from June 1. India has 15 FTAs covering 27 countries, under scrutiny amid deficits, imports and manufacturing strain. In FY2025, deficit with UAE, Australia, Mauritius and EFTA exceeded $50 billion; average annual deficit with ASEAN, Japan and South Korea over last 3 years was nearly $62 billion, while South Asia surplus was $6.7–20 billion. Issues include tariff asymmetry, 20–30% preference utilisation, inverted duty structure, and “Make in ASEAN, Sell in India”. Way forward: tariff rationalisation, easier rules of origin compliance, boost Make in India.

West Bengal became the 36th State/UT to implement the government-funded Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), launched in 2018 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It provides health cover up to ₹5 lakh per eligible family per year, with no cap on family size, age or gender, and covers pre-/post-hospitalisation, medicines, diagnostics and pre-existing diseases from Day 1, with cashless care at public/empanelled private hospitals. It is entitlement-based for the bottom 40% using SECC data, implemented by NHA/SHAs, with CSS funding (60:40/90:10/100%). Senior citizens above 70 in covered families get an additional top-up up to ₹5 lakh.

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) secured a ₹127 crore contract from Bhutan’s Wangchhu Hydroelectric Power Limited (WHPL) for works on the 570 MW Wangchhu run-of-river project in Chukha District on the Wangchu (Raidāk) river, a Brahmaputra tributary. WHPL is an Adani Power–Druk Green Power Corporation JV (DGPC 51%, Adani 49%); ₹6,000 crore BOOT project, first under May 2025 MoU for 5,000 MW. Peaking plant: 4×142.5 MW; ~2,478.93 GWh/year; meets Bhutan winter peak, exports summer surplus to India.

At the Defence Investiture Ceremony, Rashtrapati Bhawan, the President of India confers Gallantry Awards on personnel of the Armed Forces, CAPFs, and State/UT Police for exceptional bravery, courage and devotion to duty. MoD seeks recommendations twice annually from Armed Forces and MHA; awards are announced on Republic Day and Independence Day. Wartime awards (instituted 26 January 1950): Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra; peacetime (instituted 1952; renamed January 1967): Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra; precedence: PVC, AC, MVC, KC, VC, SC.

Shiveluch Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula (Far East) recently erupted, sending ash plumes up to 10 km and triggering red-level aviation alerts. A major active stratovolcano (60,000–70,000 years old), it has a 3,283 m summit truncated by a 9-km-wide caldera with a lava-dome complex; dome collapses cause debris avalanches. It has ~60 major eruptions in 10,000 years and has erupted continuously since August 1999.

Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) commissioned an emergency study after detecting outward tilting of Bhakra Dam’s main wall beyond permissible limits. The concrete gravity dam spans the Sutlej at a gorge near upstream Bhakra village, Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh), on the Punjab–Himachal border. Built 1948–1963, it is the world’s highest straight gravity dam (207.26 m) and Asia’s second tallest after Tehri (261 m). It forms Gobind Sagar (90 km; 168.35 sq km), India’s second-largest storage reservoir, aiding irrigation, flood control and hydropower.

NFHS-6, released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reports Andaman and Nicobar Islands as India’s lowest-fertility region, with Total Fertility Rate (TFR) 0.9 (replacement level globally: 2.1). TFR declined from 1.4 (NFHS-4, 2015–16) and 1.3 (NFHS-5, 2019–21). Under-5 share fell to 3.7% (5.3%); under-15 to 17.5% (20.8%); 60+ rose to 12.6% (11%); preschool attendance (2–4) dropped to 66.2% (88.5%).

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected 81st President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), defeating Cyprus Ambassador Andreas Kakouris in a contested vote. UNGA, a principal UN organ, was established in 1945 under the UN Charter and is headquartered in New York (USA). It has 193 members (one vote each); key matters need 2/3 majority. It approves the UN budget, elects UN bodies, and under “Uniting for Peace” (1950) can recommend collective measures if the UNSC is blocked.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched nationwide celebrations for “10 Years of PMSMA – A Decade of Care”. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, launched 9 June 2016, provides fixed-day assured antenatal care on the 9th of every month, mainly in 2nd/3rd trimesters. Implemented via National Health Mission at PHC/CHC/district/urban facilities, it standardises ANC to reduce maternal/infant mortality, offers investigations/medicines, flags high-risk (red/green stickers), and enables access through portal/mobile app under RMNCH+A continuum of care.

NCAER’s “Evolving Landscape of Digital Inclusion in India” report notes India’s internet user base will surpass 1 billion by 2025 but highlights multiple divides: 95% households own mobiles, only 8% computers/laptops; 27.5% households are offline (rural 32.2%, urban 17.2%). Usage is skewed to entertainment (66%) and social media (53.8%), with low education (16.1%) and government services (11.4%); 20.4% need outside help. Working-age women users are 35.6% vs 57.6% men; only 9.4% elderly (60+) are online. It recommends affordable broadband/public Wi‑Fi, digital literacy in schools, assisted service centres with age-friendly vernacular interfaces, and tackling intra-household gender inequality.

Pyroprocessing is a high-temperature industrial technology that physically or chemically transforms solid materials. It is a dry process and highly energy-intensive. Major applications include the cement industry (clinker production), metallurgy (metal extraction from ore), and the nuclear industry, where it recycles used fuel by separating elements in molten salt and is used for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. It was developed in the 1980s–1990s for advanced reactors.

e‑Jagriti (Electronic Justice and Grievance Redressal IT and Innovations) won the Silver Award for Digital Transformation (Government Process Re‑engineering) at the National Awards for e‑Governance. Launched in January 2025, it is an AI‑enabled, paperless unified platform under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, implemented by DoCA, integrating OCMS, e‑Daakhil, NCDRC CMS and CONFONET; enabling OTP-based multilingual filing, chatbot, voice‑to‑text, PwD access, default video hearings (hybrid at NCDRC and 35 State Commissions), Bharat Kosh/PayGov/SBI ePay payments, and overseas access.

Tamil Nadu’s third synchronised Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) estimation (April 24–27, 2026) by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department under Project Nilgiri Tahr, across 14 forest divisions, shows a rise to 1,364 (95% CI: 869–2,465) from 1,303 (2025) and 1,031 (2024): +4.68% YoY, +32% since 2024. Endemic mountain ungulate of Southern Western Ghats; state animal (Varaiaadu); IUCN Endangered, WPA 1972 Schedule I; now fragmented, with Anamalai 44.87% and Nilgiris 29.25%.

Punjabi University, Patiala, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, developed AI-based methods to aid diagnosis of Autoimmune Blistering Diseases (AIBDs), immune-mediated disorders affecting skin and mucous membranes. AIBDs include pemphigus, pemphigoid (bullous pemphigoid common in older adults) and dermatitis herpetiformis (linked to celiac disease). Diagnosis needs specialised tests; gold standards are DIF (perilesional biopsy), IIF and ELISA (serum antibodies).

Major Abhilasha Barak, Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point in UNIFIL (Lebanon), received the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for commitment to UNSC Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security). Launched in 2016 under UN DPO with the Office of Military Affairs, it honours individual UN mission peacekeepers. Indian recipients: Major Suman Gawani (2019), Major Radhika Sen (2023), Barak (2025). UN peacekeeping, authorised by UNSC, deploys military/police/civilians; core principles: consent, impartiality, and non-use of force except self-defence. India is among the largest troop contributors.

NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch reported the 4th global coral bleaching event as the fastest and widest on record, ending by mid-2025 after affecting 84% of reefs across 83 countries; severe bleaching in Western Australia (early 2025) marked its end. Bleaching occurs when stressed corals expel zooxanthellae; cold stress can also trigger it. NOAA’s CRCP, under the Coral Reef Conservation Act, coordinates reef protection.

Under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), India’s digital health ecosystem has issued 90+ crore unique ABHA identity cards; women are nearly half of holders. Implemented by National Health Authority, ABDM supports secure, accessible healthcare via a 14-digit ABHA number, Healthcare Professionals Registry and National Health Claims Exchange, integrating Aarogya Setu and eSanjeevani (world’s largest documented telemedicine linking Health & Wellness Centres with specialists). Key challenges: digital divide, data-privacy risks and infrastructure constraints; it aids UHC, planning and emergency response.