National Affairs & Governance
- The Supreme Court asked states to submit detailed updates on bonded labour abolition and rescue efforts.
- Fresh policy push to strengthen the implementation of the Enemy Property Act, focusing on asset recovery.
- The Railway Board plans to ease land lease norms to accelerate Gati Shakti cargo corridors.
- Jal Jeevan Mission flagged funding gaps; many states are still behind tap water supply targets.
- NDMA teams deployed for flood-hit Bihar and Assam as monsoon intensifies.
- Delhi expands AI traffic camera network for smarter enforcement and automatic challans.
- Central agencies warned states to update their cybersecurity audit for urban smart governance systems.
- PARAKH Survey Report showed Indian students struggle with basic maths, language, and science across Grades 3, 6, 9 — Punjab, Kerala lead; NE states lag.
- Union Mines Ministry launched the Aspirational DMF Programme to align District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds with Aspirational District & Block targets.
- Draft Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules, 2025 proposes green norms: mandatory GHG tracking, carbon capture, site restoration, and integrating renewables into oilfields.
- The Admiralty Act was invoked by Kerala for environmental compensation over a ship sinking — allows High Courts to handle maritime damage claims.
Economy & Infrastructure
- GST collection held steady at over ₹1.6 lakh crore for the seventh month, indicating strong consumer spending.
- India’s June trade deficit widened slightly due to higher oil imports.
- SEBI considers stricter rules for small and mid-cap mutual funds to protect retail investors.
- Coal India proposes expansion of captive green power units for internal energy needs.
- Maize Summit underlined the crop’s potential for ethanol blending and livestock feed security.
- New EPR norms will push for higher recycling of aluminium and copper by 2030.
- Draft Petroleum Rules replace outdated 1949/59 laws — add stabilisation clause for investor confidence, fair pipeline access, and better data governance.
- India eyes more private oil & gas exploration bids via clear lease rules and faster approvals.
- Shadow Banking flagged: FM says NBFCs are no longer ‘shadow banks’ due to stronger regulation.
- Catastrophe Bonds gain attention as India explores climate disaster risk financing tools — payout linked to natural calamity events.
- IN-SPACe cleared Starlink for 5 years — boosts satellite broadband for remote regions.
International & Strategic
- India and Japan discussed scaling green hydrogen pilots as part of Indo-Pacific energy security.
- Indian Navy’s joint anti-piracy drills with ASEAN navies strengthen regional maritime security.
- India reiterated support for the African Union–led Sudan peace process.
- Brazil–India ties deepen with talks on Akash missile co-production for a possible Latin American supply.
- BRICS New Development Bank added Colombia and Uzbekistan, expanding its Global South lending reach.
- PM awarded Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis — Namibia’s top civilian honour — marking deep mineral & digital ties (UPI rollout).
- FATF flagged risks: terror groups now tap crypto, online gaming, shell companies to move funds — urges stronger global monitoring.
- India’s UPI expands globally — Namibia to adopt UPI payments; India targets 20 countries by 2028 for cross-border digital trade.
Science, Health & Technology
- CSIR finalised plans to release affordable genome kits to detect rare diseases at the community level.
- Kerala activated Nipah monitoring units after the WHO flagged new global hotspots.
- CPCB to expand real-time air monitoring in smaller towns under the clean air mission.
- ISRO to collaborate with cities to map urban heat islands using remote sensing.
- IIT study confirmed shifts in flood timing: monsoon peak floods decline in the Ganga basin but rise in Kerala.
- Optical Atomic Clock tests may redefine the SI second — use light frequency for ultra-precise timekeeping.
- India supports private space: IN-SPACe helps firms like Agnikul, Skyroot; aims for deeper satellite internet rollout.
- DRDO’s Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket (ERASR) passed naval trials — boosts India’s underwater strike power with twin rocket motor & electronic time fuze.
- Indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) declared mission-ready — offers accurate long-range guided firepower.
- India cleared a ₹20,000 crore plan to buy 87 MALE drones from domestic firms for better border surveillance and maritime watch.
Environment & Climate
- The latest forest survey shows marginal gains in mangrove cover along the Odisha coast due to replanting.
- States asked to use drones and GIS tools to curb illegal encroachment in reserved forests.
- Rajasthan invites bids for mega solar park expansions, aligned with India’s 500 GW renewable goal.
- SECI’s total green energy contracts now exceed 60 GW — mostly solar and hybrid plants.
- WWF study found phasing out single-use plastics could save $4.7–8 trillion globally by 2040 — calls for bans on polystyrene, PVC.
- Tarragona (Spain) wildfire burnt 3,000 hectares; heatwaves, dry winds worsen Mediterranean fire risks.
- The Mahisagar (Mahi) River bridge in Gujarat collapsed, highlighting India’s aging infrastructure challenges.
Social & Welfare
- Midday meal kitchens under PM POSHAN to be upgraded with digital fund tracking.
- The Law Ministry discussed witness protection amendments for sensitive terror and crime cases.
- States advised to update data on community forest rights mapping to empower local gram sabhas.
- WHO called for higher ‘health taxes’ on sugary drinks and processed food to curb lifestyle diseases.
Culture & Mapping
- Newly uncovered temple site in Odisha could reveal deeper links to the early medieval Somavamshi dynasty.
- Seine River, Paris, reopened for swimming ahead of the Olympics after a major clean-up drive.
- International archaeologists found ancient city ruins in Peru’s coastal belt, expanding Andean history.
- Lake Turkana in Kenya yielded 20-million-year-old proteins — the world’s biggest desert lake, the Omo River feeds it.
- Sierra Leone’s Turtle Islands face heavy sea rise — 2/3rd area lost.
- INS Nistar, India’s new Deep Sea Diving Vessel, joins the Navy — capable of 300m dives, sub rescue.
- The Mahisagar River crosses the Tropic of Cancer twice — rare among India’s west-flowing rivers.
National Population Register (NPR)
Context: The Centre has not yet decided if it will update the National Population Register (NPR) along with Census 2027; this is significant as NPR is linked to the NRC and has political and administrative implications. The upcoming Census, delayed since 2021 due to COVID-19, will be India’s first in 16 years.
Key Highlights
- NPR was first created in 2010 and last updated in 2015–16.
- NPR is the first step towards creating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) under the Citizenship Rules, 2003.
- NPR holds household-wise data that can be shared with Central and State governments, unlike Census data, which is aggregated.
- Census 2027’s first phase will begin in April 2026; training for enumerators starts in July 2025.
- For the first time, enumerators will use mobile apps for data collection.
- A pre-test of Census processes will be done in August–September 2025.
- Unlike the last Census plan (2021), this time the pre-test will only cover household amenities — no NPR or caste questionnaire will be trialled.
- The second phase in February 2027 will include caste enumeration — the first caste count in India’s Census since Independence — but the methodology is still pending finalisation.
New Study Unveils Cosmic ‘Cooling Valve’
Context: New research shows how small organic molecules called PAHs can survive harsh starlight in interstellar space by shedding excess energy through a “valve” mechanism — recurrent fluorescence — helping them persist and possibly seed planets with prebiotic carbon.
Key Highlights
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carbon-hydrogen ring molecules believed to hold about 20% of all cosmic carbon.
- They are thought to have reached Earth via meteorites, contributing to the origin of life.
- In Taurus Molecular Cloud 1 (TMC1), more small closed-shell PAHs exist than theory predicts, despite intense starlight that should destroy them.
- A study tested the indenyl cation (C₉H₇⁺), a fragment of indene PAH, to investigate its survival mechanism.
- Researchers at Stockholm University used ion storage rings to measure how these ions shed excess vibrational energy.
- Results showed that closed-shell PAHs can cool quickly through recurrent fluorescence, preventing their breakup.
- This cooling works alongside infrared emission and bond dissociation, with fluorescence acting as an efficient “pressure valve.”
- The findings help astronomers refine models of how small PAHs grow into larger molecules that might deliver carbon to planets.
- Understanding PAH survival strengthens hypotheses on how life’s building blocks could be distributed across the universe.
Next-Generation Optical Atomic Clocks
Context: Scientists have completed the world’s largest intercontinental comparison of next-generation optical atomic clocks to prepare for redefining the SI unit of time — the second — with much higher precision by around 2030. This could replace the current caesium-based standard and impact technologies like GPS, climate science, and astronomy.
Key Highlights
- The second is currently defined by caesium-133 atomic clocks, which count 9,192,631,770 microwave cycles per second.
- Optical atomic clocks are far more precise, measuring time using visible light frequencies up to 10,000 times higher.
- Optical clocks can define a second to about 18 decimal places and drift by only one second in 15 billion years.
- The new test involved 10 optical clocks based on atoms like strontium, ytterbium, and indium, spanning six national labs in Europe and Japan.
- Clocks were linked by optical fibre, advanced GPS methods, and backup clocks to ensure continuous measurement over 45 days.
- Researchers produced 38 precise optical frequency ratios, including four never directly measured before.
- Results showed most clocks agreed within tiny margins (10¹⁶ to 10⁻¹⁸), proving fibre and GPS links can support ultra-precise global timekeeping.
- Small errors, like a signal glitch at an Italian lab and minor offsets in some strontium clocks, were detected and need correction before redefinition.
- This comparison will guide the transition from microwave to optical clocks for the SI second, expected to become the global time standard by 2030.
- India’s National Physical Laboratory maintains caesium clocks for national time but could adopt optical clock standards in the future.
Tapes Link Bangladesh’s Ex-PM Hasina to Deadly Protest Crackdown
Context: Audio recordings analysed by the BBC suggest Bangladesh’s fugitive former PM Sheikh Hasina directly ordered security forces to shoot protesters during the deadly 2024 crackdown for which she now faces trial in absentia.
Key Highlights:
- Up to 1,400 people were killed during the July-August 2024 protests against Hasina’s government.
- BBC forensics found leaked audio where Hasina allegedly ordered forces to “use lethal weapons” on protesters.
- Experts say the tape shows no signs of editing or AI manipulation; Bangladesh police confirmed its authenticity.
- Hasina, 77, fled to India during the uprising; Bangladesh’s interim government has asked India to extradite her.
- India received Bangladesh’s formal request in December 2024 but has not responded publicly.
- Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus urged India to act with “moral clarity” on the extradition.
- Hasina’s Awami League party denied that she ordered killings, blaming undisciplined security personnel for the deaths.
- Hasina’s lawyer claims the charges are politically motivated and is seeking to dismiss them in court.
- The trial in Dhaka opened on June 1, 2025, with Hasina being tried in absentia for crimes against humanity.
- The crackdown began when university students protested public job quotas, escalating into mass anti-government unrest.
India’s lithium-ion battery recycling industry
Context: A new report by ICEA and Accenture says India’s lithium-ion battery recycling industry could reach a value of $3.5 billion by 2030 if the country adopts supportive policies and infrastructure.
Key Highlights (points):
- India currently recycles only 1% of its end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
- This low recycling rate poses both an environmental threat and an economic opportunity.
- Recovering and recycling batteries can help meet India’s rising demand for EVs, consumer electronics, and energy storage systems.
- India’s electronics recycling sector is mostly informal and limited to repairs and spare parts reuse.
- The report calls for domestic cell manufacturing capacity to absorb recycled materials.
- Recommends building hydrometallurgical processing capabilities for efficient material recovery.
- Suggests reforming trade policies to enable battery material reuse.
- Emphasises the need to revamp reverse logistics for effective e-waste collection and recycling.
- Comes as China restricts exports of key rare earths used in EVs, increasing India’s urgency to secure supply chains.
IN-SPACe boosting its plans
Context: Starlink has received another key approval — this time from IN-SPACe — boosting its plans to launch satellite broadband services in India, though security and ownership concerns remain hurdles.
Key Highlights:
- IN-SPACe, under the Department of Space, granted authorisation for Starlink’s satellite operations in India.
- This follows Starlink’s earlier GMPCS licence from the Department of Telecommunications.
- Starlink aims to provide broadband access in remote and rural areas lacking mobile connectivity.
- Government fascination with satellite internet is tempered by national security and foreign ownership concerns.
- The approvals mark steady progress for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to enter India’s broadband market.