Current Affairs

NTPC and Clean Core Thorium Energy are exploring deploying thorium-based ANEEL fuel in India’s Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to improve efficiency and cut waste. ANEEL uses thorium blended with small amounts of enriched uranium (HALEU) and can be used in existing PHWRs. It may lower power cost 20–30% from ~Rs 6/kWh and reduce waste >85%, improving safety/proliferation resistance. Thorium (atomic no. 90) is a fertile element convertible to U-233; Indian reserves occur in monazite sands (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat) and inland deposits (Jharkhand, West Bengal). SHANTI Act, 2025 allows private/JVs to build, own, operate and decommission nuclear plants, repealing Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.

ISRO (established 1969 under Department of Space; HQ Bengaluru) provides satellite-enabled services for development and security: agriculture (CROP system; support to PM Fasal Bima Yojana), disaster management (glacial-lake monitoring, flood mapping, lightning nowcasting, Satellite Integrated Landslide Assessment and Alert System), fisheries safety (Vessel Communication and Support System under PMMSY), climate (GeoAI air-quality monitoring; GHG quantification for land-use change), welfare (monitoring WDC-PMKSY, PMAY-Urban via Bhuvan Geoportal), and defence (MOSDAC-IN portal). Launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV, LVM3; missions: NISAR, Aditya L1, Chandrayaan-3.

Japan restarted the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station (KNPS) in Niigata Prefecture, on western Honshu, after its shutdown following the 2011 tsunami and the severe accident at Fukushima Daiichi on Japan’s Pacific side. Fukushima was rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. KNPS covers about 4.2 sq km and has seven reactor units with 8.212 million kW capacity.

MoUs for 85 projects were signed with 55 companies under the 3rd round of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 1.2 for specialty steel. Launched in 2021, the scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Steel to promote domestic manufacturing of special steel grades, enhance technology maturity, and move up the value chain. Coverage includes super alloys, CRGO, stainless steel long/flat, titanium alloys, and coated steels.

Scientists filmed the rare giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea) alive in the South Atlantic off Argentina at ~250 m depth. First collected in 1899 and recognised as a distinct species 60 years later, it inhabits the midnight zone (to ~13,000 feet) under low-food conditions. Among the largest jellyfish, it has a ~1 m bell and ~10 m arms, catching plankton/small fish; it shelters fish and shows symbiosis (pelagic brotula, Centrolophus). Observation highlights deep-sea biodiversity and conservation needs.

Union Minister of Cooperation told Lok Sabha about National Cooperation Policy, 2025 (launched 2025; nodal: Ministry of Cooperation), a national framework with 16 objectives to strengthen cooperatives: triple sector GDP contribution by 2034, cover 50 crore people, and ensure at least one cooperative in every village; core focus on Dalits, Adivasis, women. Institutions: NUCFDC, Sahakar Sarathi Ltd, Tribhuvan Sahkari University, NCEL, BBSSL, NCOL. MSCS Act, 2002 amended (2023) for transparency; PACS computerisation linked to NABARD, SCBs, DCCBs; promotes mobility (Bharat Taxi), sustainability cooperatives, and National Cooperation Database (gender/weaker-section data). Constitutional basis: Union List Entry 44, State List Entry 32, Articles 19(1)(c), 43B, Part IXB (97th Amendment). International Day of Cooperatives: 5 July.

Gujarat Forest Department conducted a Mugger crocodile census in Vadodara’s Vishwamitri River after flood-mitigation works. Vishwamitri is a non-perennial, highly meandering river between Mahi and Narmada; originates in Pavagadh hills, flows west through Vadodara, joins Dhadhar and Jambuva, and drains into the Arabian Sea via Gulf of Khambhat; supports crocodiles over 18 km. Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) is IUCN Vulnerable and Schedule I, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2025 by Portulans Institute (Washington DC, USA) ranks India 45th of 127 countries (up 4 places), with score rising from 53.63 (2024) to 54.43 (2025). It assesses digital transformation via 4 pillars (Technology, People, Governance, Impact) and 53 indicators. India ranked 2nd among lower-middle-income countries; top overall: US, Finland, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden.

Lyriothemis keralensis (Slender Bombardier), a new odonate (order Odonata) dragonfly, has been formally identified from Kerala after over a decade of misidentification as Lyriothemis acigastra (Little Bloodtail). First spotted in 2013 at Varappetty near Kothamangalam, Ernakulam, it occurs in Kerala’s low-lying coastal plains, inhabiting vegetated pools and irrigation canals in shaded pineapple/rubber plantations. About 3 cm long, it is seasonally visible during the Southwest monsoon (late May–August), is vulnerable to land-use change outside protected areas, and highlights odonates as wetland bioindicators.

India hosted the International Exchange Initiative on Regulating E-Waste and Engaging Tech Companies in New Delhi to strengthen global e-waste governance and circular economy practices for electrical and electronic products. Organised by the International Telecommunication Union with APC Colombia and the Department of Telecommunications, it involved Colombia, Dominican Republic, India, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. It stressed Extended Producer Responsibility, peer learning and long-term collaboration. Globally, 62 million tonnes e-waste is generated annually; 22.3% is formally recycled; 81 countries have policies and 67 include EPR.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship informed Parliament on pilot implementation of Swavalambini (Women Entrepreneurship Programme), launched in 2025 to promote enterprise creation among female students in selected HEIs. Nodal ministry works with NITI Aayog; implemented by NIESBUD, Noida and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati. Pilot targets 30+ women-led enterprises in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, aiming 10% EDP trainees to start businesses, with EAP/EDP/FDP, 21-week hybrid mentorship and “Award to Reward”.

Chandrayaan-4, India’s fourth lunar mission, has identified Mons Mouton as the lander’s landing site. The mission aims to demonstrate takeoff from the lunar surface after collecting samples and returning them to Earth, with a planned timeline of 2027. Mons Mouton, near the Moon’s south pole, is informally called Leibnitz Beta, named after NASA mathematician-computer programmer Melba Roy Mouton; it is flat-topped (~100 km) and rises ~6000 m.

NITI Aayog released three study reports outlining a roadmap for Viksit Bharat 2047 and India’s Net Zero target, assessing macroeconomic and financing implications. The vision targets a developed India and USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, and Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070. It projects a shift to capital-intensive investment-led growth, industry GVA ~33% by 2050, declining fuel-import bill (4% GDP to 0.2% by 2070), Mission LiFE/circular economy scaling, grids-urban-EV-logistics investment, Green-Digital Skills Stack, public-private R&D, and DISCOM/regulatory reforms.

Government emphasised modernising border management to achieve zero infiltration, addressing drone incursions, cyber risks, electronic warfare, and terrain gaps. India has a 15,106.7 km land border with seven nations and 11,098.89 km coastline. Under MHA’s Department of Border Management (One Border, One Force), BSF guards Pakistan/Bangladesh, ITBP China, SSB Nepal/Bhutan, Assam Rifles Myanmar; smart fencing (CIBMS, BOLD-QIT), anti-drone systems, secure communications, and Vibrant Village Programme are key.

India and Malaysia issued a joint statement on regional stability, economic integration and technological cooperation; ties were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in August 2024. Mechanisms include a Strategic Affairs Working Group and Su-30 Forum; 5th Harimau Shakti exercise held. They reaffirmed zero tolerance for terrorism, energy cooperation (solar, green hydrogen, net-zero), semiconductor collaboration, diversified trade, INR–MYR settlement (RBI–Bank Negara), palm oil value chain, CDRI support, UN reforms with India’s UNSC permanent seat, Indo-Pacific cooperation (ASEAN centrality, AOIP, IPOI, UNCLOS 1982). Malaysia is India’s 3rd largest ASEAN trading partner; hosts ~2.75 million PIOs, ~2.9 million Indian diaspora and ~20,000 Hindu temples/gurudwaras.

Amaravati is being developed as a hub for quantum research and innovation under the National Quantum Mission (NQM). NQM aims to seed, nurture and scale scientific and industrial R&D in quantum technology (qubits). It has ~₹6,000 crore (2023–24 to 2030–31) to build 20–50 physical-qubit systems in 3 years and scale to 1,000 qubits in 8 years, enable 2,000 km satellite secure communication and inter-city QKD, develop magnetometers, atomic clocks, and superconductors/topological materials, strengthening defence and digital infrastructure.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (enacted February 1976) abolishes all forms of bonded labour, cancels bonded debts, mandates immediate release, and protects freed labourers from eviction from occupied land. Constitutional safeguards include Articles 21, 23 and 24. Enforcement is through District Magistrates and Vigilance Committees; rehabilitation is supported via Central/State assistance (land, housing, livelihood). Section 143, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 penalises trafficking/forced labour. Around 3,00,000 freed/rehabilitated since 1978; persistence linked to poverty, informal exploitation, caste hierarchies and low convictions.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its annual report on global electricity systems and markets, Electricity 2026, forecasting global electricity demand, generation mix and power-sector CO2 emissions through 2030. Demand is projected to grow 3.6% annually, outpacing GDP, driven by electric vehicles, data centres and air conditioning. Low-emissions sources (renewables and nuclear) are set to meet all additional demand and provide nearly half of generation by 2030, with emissions expected to plateau.

A team led by a US-based scholar reported a largely intact human burial from Neolithic and later periods in Ballari district, Karnataka. Neolithic Age is the final Stone Age stage, marked by polished/ground stone tools, domesticated plants and animals, permanent villages, pottery and weaving; it was contemporary with Harappan, Chalcolithic and microlithic hunter-gatherers. Indian sites include Burzahom (Kashmir); Vindhyan Prayagraj–Mirzapur–Belan valley; north Bihar; central-east; Assam/sub-Himalayas; peninsular India.

A third tigress was released into the wild at Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), western Maharashtra, to strengthen tiger conservation. Located in the Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats, STR is the northernmost tiger habitat in the Western Ghats, the first tiger reserve of western Maharashtra and the state’s fourth. It comprises Koyana Wildlife Sanctuary and Chandoli National Park, with Shivsagar (Koyana) and Vasant Sagar (Warana) reservoirs.

Chichón, a stratovolcano in southern Mexico, shows unusual crater-lake changes and shallow low-magnitude seismicity, indicating an active hydrothermal system; monitoring continues under Yellow alert, phase 2 (abnormal but non-eruptive). Part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, it overlies Cocos Plate subduction beneath the North American Plate. The crater lake formed after the 1982 eruption. UNAM uses drones and remote sensing; hazards include phreatic blasts and toxic gases.

Government told Rajya Sabha it is regulating seed quality to curb spurious seeds through Seed Inspectors (States), licence cancellation, seizure, stop-sale and prosecution, with end-to-end traceability via SATHI portal. Farmers may save/use/exchange/sell farm-saved seeds. Traditional varieties are protected under PPVFR Act, 2001 and Biological Diversity Act, 2002; dealer licensing under Seeds (Control) Order, 1983; cotton seed prices under 2015 Order (ECA, 1955). Support includes 50% subsidy under NFSNM, incentives, community seed banks (₹50 lakh), National Gene Fund (up to ₹15 lakh), ICAR/SAU aid, and >3000 varieties released since 2014–2025-26 (2996 climate-resilient).

Supreme Court allowed termination of a minor’s 30-week pregnancy, beyond the 24-week limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 (amended 2021), reaffirming reproductive autonomy under Article 21 (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, 2017). MTP permits up to 20 weeks with one doctor’s opinion, 20–24 weeks with two, and beyond 24 weeks via Medical Board for specified categories. NFHS-5: only 10% women decide independently on health; hospitals seek husband’s consent; adolescents need parental consent; rural areas face specialist shortages and limited contraception.

Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovered two new polychaete marine worm species along West Bengal’s coast, termed ‘bio-warriors’ for thriving in extreme, polluted marine environments. Namalycastis solenotognatha occurs in sulfide-rich mudflats and decaying mangrove wood. Nereis dhritiae, named after Dhriti Banerjee (ZSI’s first woman Director), lives inside wooden dock piles on sandy beaches, including high-tide submerged areas.