Champions of the Earth Award | Deepavali Added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List | World Inequality Report 2026 Released | Aditya-L1 Joins Global Effort To Study the Solar Storm | Global Environment Outlook

Champions of the Earth Award

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• Supriya Sahu, a Tamil Nadu IAS officer honoured with the UN Environment Programme’s 2025 Champions of the Earth Award.

Do you know?

• In 2000, Supriya Sahu launched a campaign called Operation Blue Mountain to eliminate single-use plastic in the Nilgiris.
• She introduced low-cost climate solutions, from painting school roofs white under the Cool Roof Project to restoring mangroves, wetlands, and creating 65 new reserve forests.
• Her nature-first approach has created 2.5 million green jobs and contributed significantly to India’s national emissions-reduction goals.

Champions of the Earth Award

• Launched in 2005
• It is the UN’s highest environmental honor.
• It recognizes outstanding figures from the public and private sectors as well as civil society, whose actions have brought about a positive impact and a transformation on the environment.
• It is awarded across five categories:

1. Policy Leadership
2. Entrepreneurial Vision
3. Science and Innovation
4. Lifetime Achievement
5. Inspiration and Action (Supriya Sahu has been honored in this category).

• Past Indian recipients include: Madhav Gadgil (2024), Narendra Modi (2018), Cochin International Airport (2018) and Afroz Shah (2016).

Deepavali Added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Syllabus: GS1/ Culture

Context

• Deepavali has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, held in New Delhi.
• India is hosting the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2025 in Red Fort complex, New Delhi.

Deepavali

• Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is celebrated on Kartik Amaavasya, which typically falls in October or Novem
• It is followed by Naraka Chaturdashi.
• The third day is the highlight of Deepavali- the sacred Lakshmi-Ganesha Puja.

Popular Legends of Deepavali

• In the Ramayana, it signifies the return of Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and their victory over Ravana, celebrated with lamps lighting their path.
• In the Mahabharata, it marks the return of the Pandavas after their exile.
• Naraka Chaturdashi recalls Lord Krishna’s victory over Narakasura, symbolising the end of evil.
• Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankar, attained Nirvana on Deepavali at Pavapuri. Jain devotees celebrate this festival with enthusiasm as Nirvana Day.
• King Bali’s Return: In Maharashtra, Deepavali marks the visit of King Bali, symbolising justice and generosity.
• Kali Puja: In Bengal, Odisha and Assam, Deepavali coincides with the worship of Goddess Kali for protection and inner strength.

Connect with the basics – Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO defines “intangible” as “expressions that have:

1. Passed from one generation to another.
2. Evolved in response to their environments.
3. Contributed to giving us a sense of identity and continuity.

• According to an official document by UNESCO, ‘intangible cultural heritage’ includes “oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”
• To date, 16 Indian elements have been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List (including Deepavali)

1. Garba of Gujarat (2023)
2. Durga Puja in Kolkata (2021)
3. Kumbh Mela (2017)
4. Navroz (2016)
5. Yoga (2016)
6. Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab (2014)
7. Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur (2013)
8. Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir (2012)
9. Chhau dance (2010)
10. Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan (2010)
11. Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala (2010)
12. Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas (2009)
13. Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre (2008)
14. Tradition of Vedic chanting (2008)
15. Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana (2008)
16. Deepavali (2025) – Recently added

World Inequality Report 2026 Released

Syllabus: GS2/Social Issues; GS3/Inclusive Growth

Context

• The 3rd edition of the World Inequality Report was released by the World Inequality Lab.

Key Findings of Report

• Wealth Concentration: The richest 10% of the global population own approximately 75% of the total wealth

Focus on India

• India is identified as one of the most unequal large economies globally.
• Income: The top 10% of earners capture 58% of the national income, while the bottom 50% receive only 15%.
• Wealth: The richest 10% hold around 65% of India’s total wealth, and the top 1% alone hold about 40%.
• Gender: Female labor force participation remains very low and stagnant at 15.7%

Aditya-L1 Joins Global Effort To Study the Solar Storm

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• India’s solar observatory Aditya-L1 has revealed unusual behaviour of the May 2024 solar storm called “Gannon’s storm”. It was triggered by a series of giant explosions on the Sun known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).

Solar Storm

• The solar storm is composed of a series of giant explosions on the Sun, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
• A CME is like a massive bubble of hot gas and magnetic energy thrown out from the Sun into space.
• Impact on earth – When these bubbles hit Earth, they can shake earth’s magnetic shield and cause serious trouble for satellites, communication systems, GPS, and even power grids.

Additional information – Aditya-L1 mission

• Uniqueness – Aditya-L1 is the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun. It will be launched by the PSLV-C57.
• Note – The solar mission will not see the spacecraft actually go to the sun, it will instead create a space observatory at a point from which the sun can be observed even during an eclipse.
• The spacecraft is planned to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1), around 1.5 million km from the Earth, of the Sun-Earth system.

Major objectives of the mission

• The mission will focus on study of the Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics.
• It will also identify what drives space weather, along with the origin, composition and dynamics of the solar wind.

Other missions to Sun

• NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has already gone far closer — but it will be looking away from the Sun.
• Helios 2 solar probe, a joint venture between NASA and the space agency of erstwhile West Germany,was launched to investigate solar processes of the Sun’s surface in 1976.

Global Environment Outlook

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• The Global Environment Outlook, Seventh Edition: A Future We Choose (GEO-7), was released during the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi.

Global Environment Outlook (GEO)

• Published by – United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Mandate – to provide a comprehensive assessment of the planet’s environmental health
• Significance – To bridge the gap between science and policy by providing data-driven insights and policy options to guide global action towards sustainable development
• Latest Edition: The 7th edition, GEO-7, titled “A Future We Choose”, was released in December 2025.

Key Findings of the GEO-7 Report (2025)

• Climate Change & Tipping Points: Global warming is accelerating, with the world already having warmed by approximately 1.3°C.
• Pollution & Health: Approximately 9 million deaths globally are attributed annually to air, water, and soil pollution. Air pollution alone causes millions of premature deaths each year.
• Biodiversity Loss & Land Degradation: One million species are at risk of extinction, and 20-40% of land is degraded, affecting over 3 billion people.

Swahid Diwas

Syllabus: GS1/History; GS2/Governance

In News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the courage of those who participated in the historic Assam Movement on Swahid Diwas.

Swahid Diwas

• It is observed annually on December 10
• Objective – to honour those who sacrificed their lives during the Assam Movement

Assam Movement

• It was a mass agitation launched in 1979 by the Assam Students’ Union (ASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) against large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh.
• The movement culminated in 1985 with the signing of the historic Assam Accord.
• The accord ensures detection and deportation of illegal foreigners and guarantees constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect Assamese identity, culture, and heritage.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

In News

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised India’s growth forecast for FY26 to 7.2%, from 6.5%.
• About ADB
• ADB was established in 1966 as a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
• Its headquarters is in Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines.
• Its membership includes both regional (Asia-Pacific) and non-regional countries, with around two-thirds of UNESCAP members plus developed donor countries participating.
• India joined ADB in 1966 as a founding member.
• Major shareholders include Japan and the United States (15.6% each), followed by China (6.4%), India (6.3%) and Australia (5.8%), reflecting both regional and non‑regional stake.

GlowCas9

Syllabus: GS3/ Science & Technology

In News

• GlowCas9 is a newly engineered variant of the CRISPR Cas9 enzyme that emits light while editing DNA.

GlowCas9

• It is a bioluminescent Cas9 created at the Bose Institute, Kolkata, by fusing Cas9 with a split nano‑luciferase enzyme derived from deep‑sea shrimp proteins.

Connect with the basics – Gene Editing Technology

• It refers to technology that permits the change of an organism’s DNA by allowing genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome.

CRISPR Cas9 Technology

• Acronym – Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.
• Significance – With the use of the gene editing technique CRISPR, researchers can modify the DNA of living things.
• An enzyme called Cas9 functions as molecular scissors, guided by RNA molecules created to precisely match a certain DNA sequence.
• GE (Genome Editing): Involves precise modification of specific genes within an organism’s genome without introducing foreign genes, resulting in targeted genetic changes.
• GM (Genetically Modified): Involves the insertion of foreign genes from unrelated organisms into an organism’s genome to confer specific traits or characteristics.

Regulatory Bodies

• GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee): It is a regulatory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).GEAC is responsible for evaluating and approving genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB): Ensures safe handling of GMOs that may impact biodiversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur.

CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP20)

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) has concluded in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, marking the 50th anniversary of the Convention.

CITES

• Abbreviation – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora & Fauna
• CITES was conceptualized in 1963 at a meeting of the (IUCN) International Union For Conservation of Nature.
• Establishment – It came into force in 1975 and consists of 183 member-countries
• Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland,
• Administered by – United Nations under its UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Wing.
• CITES is legally binding on the Parties; it does not take the place of national laws.

Appendices

• Appendix 1 – It lists species that are threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade.
• Appendix 2 – This list includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
• Appendix 3 – It contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.

Great Barrier Reef

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

In News

• A combination of extreme heat stress and a rare coral disease has wiped out 75 per cent of Goniopora colonies at a site on the Great Barrier Reef.

CORAL REEFS

• Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse ecosystems of the planet.

Formation & Symbiotic relationship – (Coral polyps + zooxanthellae)

• They are formed when Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, develop a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae, which live in its tissues.
• Formation – Coral reefs begin to form when free-swimming coral larvae attach to submerged rocks or other hard surfaces along the edges of islands or continents.
• The coral provides a protected environment and the compounds zooxanthellae need for photosynthesis.
• In return, the algae produce carbohydrates that the coral uses for food, as well as oxygen. The algae also helps the coral remove waste.

FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR FORMATION

• Warm tropical oceans with minimum temperature of 20 degree (30 degree north and 25 degree south latitudes)
• Oceanic water free of sedimentation
• Transparent parts of ocean bodies
• Relatively low salinity ocean bodies

TYPES OF REEF FORMATIONS

• Fringing reefs – They are the most common, projecting seaward directly from the shore, forming borders along the shoreline and surrounding islands.
• Barrier reefs – Grow at border shorelines, but at a greater distance. They are separated from their adjacent land mass by a lagoon of open, often deep water.
• Atoll – If a fringing reef forms around a volcanic island that subsides completely below sea level while the coral continues to grow upward, an atoll forms. Atolls are usually circular or oval, with a central lagoon.

DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA

• The Gulf of Kutch

1. The West Coast of India
2. The Lakshadweep Islands
3. The Gulf of Mannar
4. Palk Bay
5. Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands

THREATS

• Destructive fishing practices, Overfishing, Careless tourism, Pollution, Sedimentation, Coral mining, Climate change.

CORAL BLEACHING

• When corals face stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. This phenomenon is called coral bleaching.

Causes of Coral Bleaching

Western Tragopan

Syllabus: GS3/Species

In News

• Recent studies show that suitable habitats of western tragopan exist in Jammu & Kashmir but human disturbance and fragmentation still threaten the bird’s survival.

Western Tragopan

• It is one of India’s rarest pheasants and Himachal Pradesh’s state bird.
• It now survives only in small fragmented pockets across the western Himalayas.
• The IUCN estimates only 3,000–9,500 mature individuals remain
• Threats: It faces threats due to habitat loss, hunting, and other anthropogenic factors.
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened species classified it as
• Conservation efforts – The Sarahan pheasantry in Shimla has over the years seen successful captive breeding of western tragopan.