Author: Ramvilas

Albino Hog Deer

Environment

Context

• A rare albino hog deer was recently spotted roaming inside Assam’s Kaziranga National Park.

• • About
  • The albino hog deer is a small cervid native to the region of the Indian subcontinent and Indo-Gangetic Plain. 
  • It is characterised by white fur, pink eyes and pale hooves.
  • Due to a rare genetic mutation known as albinism, the animal entirely lacks melanin pigment.
  • Albinism can make survival difficult in nature as these animals often struggle with camouflage, visibility to predators, and sensitivity to sunlight.
  • Beyond hog deers, India is also home to a variety of albino species, such as the Gaur, Indian cobra and primates like rhesus macaque.
• Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park is famously home to rare albino saltwater crocodiles.

Babesia Infection

Science & technology

Context

• Eight lion cubs have died in Gujarat due to a suspected Babesia infection, raising concerns about the health of the Asiatic lion population.

About

• Babesia is a parasitic disease transmitted through ticks and can cause weakness, fever, coughing and nasal discharge in infected animals.
• It is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can transmit from animals to humans.
• Atovaquone plus azithromycin is used to treat most mild to moderate cases and is usually taken for 7 to 10 days.

Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)

• • It is one of the five big cat species found in India.
  • Physical Characteristics: Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African lions. 

• Males have less developed manes, leaving their ears visible.

• • Prominent longitudinal fold of skin along the belly (a distinguishing feature from African lions).

• Distribution: In India, concentrated in the state of Gujarat in and around the Gir Forest mainly in;

1. Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Paniya Wildlife Sanctuary
3. Mityala Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary

Conservation Status:

1. IUCN Red List status: Endangered
2. CITES: Appendix I
3. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

INS Sudarshini and Lokayan 26 Expedition

Defence

Context

• INS Sudarshini arrived in Antigua and Barbuda after successfully completing a historic trans-Atlantic passage as part of the Lokayan 26 Expedition.

INS Sudarshini

• INS Sudarshini is a sail training ship of the Indian Navy designed to train naval personnel in traditional sailing and seamanship skills.
• The vessel was built by Goa Shipyard Limited and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2012.

Lokayan 26 Expedition

• The Lokayan 26 Expedition is a landmark 10-month, 22,000-nautical-mile transoceanic voyage by the Indian Navy’s sail training ship, INS Sudarshini.
• The expedition aims to promote maritime diplomacy, strengthen relations with friendly nations, and enhance professional sailing skills among naval personnel.
• The voyage marks the first Atlantic crossing by INS Sudarshini, while the last such crossing was undertaken by INS Tarangini in 2007.

About Antigua and Barbuda

• It is a twin-island country in the Caribbean Sea, made up of two main inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, along with a few smaller, neighboring islands.
• The islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.
• Antigua: The larger island is the economic hub, home to the capital city of St. John’s.
• Barbuda: Located about 25 miles north of Antigua, this island is much flatter, less developed, and known for its pristine natural beauty and bird sanctuaries.

White-Bellied Heron Concerns over Kalai-II Hydel Project

Environment

Context

• The Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has granted in-principle forest clearance to the Kalai-II Hydroelectric Project, raising concerns due to its potential impact on the White-Bellied Heron.

Kalai-II Hydroelectric Project

• The project is a 1,200 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project proposed by THDC (Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited) India Limited.
• It is located in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh, near the India–China border.
• The project involves the construction of a 128.5-metre concrete gravity dam and an underground powerhouse.
• Concerns: Around 869 hectares of forest land will be diverted, including the submergence of 638 hectares of forest area.
• Since Arunachal Pradesh has more than two-thirds of its geographical area under forests, compensatory afforestation will be undertaken in Madhya Pradesh.

White-Bellied Heron

• • Scientific Name: Ardea insignis.
  • Significance: The species serves as an indicator of healthy riverine ecosystems.
  • IUCN Status: Critically Endangered.
  • Its global distribution is restricted mainly to Bhutan, India, and Myanmar.

• In India, it is primarily found in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam.

• Concerns: The submergence of forest and riverine areas may destroy the bird’s nesting, feeding, and breeding habitats.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6

Science & technology

Context

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 for the period 2023-24. 

About

• Nodal Agency – International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai 
• Objective – to evaluate India’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Scope: 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts. Manipur was excluded.
• Funding: 100% domestic funding by the Government of India (no external aid).
• Key Exclusions: Omitted previous indicators like anaemia, disability, and cancer screenings.

Major Data Trends: NFHS-5 vs NFHS-6

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): Remained stable at 2.0 (below the 2.1 replacement level).
• Institutional Deliveries: Rose from 88.6% to 90.6%.
• Full Immunisation: Increased from 83.8% to 87.1%.
• Child Stunting (<5 years): Dropped significantly from 35.5% to 29.3%.Health 
• Insurance Cover: Jumped from 41.0% to 60.2% (Ayushman Bharat impact).
• Women’s Internet Use: Surged from 33.3% to 64.3%.

Critical Challenges 

• Lifestyle Disease Surge: Diabetes rose to 20.9% for men and 17.8% for women.
• Obesity Double Burden: Overweight women hit 30.7% globally (42.8% in urban areas).
• High C-Sections: Unnecessary Caesarean deliveries continue to exceed WHO safety limits.
• Data Gaps: Dropping anemia metrics makes long-term policy monitoring difficult.

India’s GDP Base Year Revision

Indian Economy

Context

• India has revised its GDP base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23, resulting in changes to GDP estimates and growth rates to better reflect the current structure of the economy.

Why was the GDP series revised?

• • India periodically revises its GDP base year to reflect changes in the economy’s structure, production patterns, consumption behavior, and data availability.
  • Such revisions are usually undertaken every five years, but this exercise was delayed due to the implementation of GST and the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The objective is to improve the accuracy and reliability of national income estimates.

Connect with the basics – Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• Definition – It is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s domestic territory during a specific period (usually a quarter or a year).
• Released By: National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Calculation of GDP: GDP is calculated using three main methods;

1. The Expenditure Approach: This method sums up all spending on final goods and services in the economy.
2. The Income Approach: This method sums all incomes earned by factors of production (labor, capital).
3. The Production/Value-Added Approach: This method adds up the value added by each industry at every stage of production.

Nominal Vs Real GDP

• Nominal GDP measures a country’s economic output at current market prices, thereby incorporating the effects of inflation and making it useful for assessing the economy’s size in present-value terms.
• Real GDP adjusts for inflation by valuing output at constant base-year prices, providing a more accurate measure of actual growth in production over time.

Base Year

• A base year is a benchmark year used for comparison in economic and statistical calculations. 

• It provides a reference point against which current values of indicators like GDP, CPI, and IIP are measured to track real changes over time.

Abraham Accords

International

Context

• Pakistan’s Defence Minister has said that he is not in favour of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel.

Abraham Accords

• • The Abraham Accords refer to a series of normalisation agreements signed in 2020 between Israel and several Arab countries, brokered by the United States under the Trump administration.
  • For decades, most Arab nations refused to recognise Israel until the Palestinian issue was resolved. 
  • The Abraham Accords marked a major shift in Middle East diplomacy by establishing open relations between Israel and certain Arab states without prior resolution of the Israel–Palestine conflict.
  • UAE became the first Gulf country to normalise relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.

• Countries: USA, Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan.

Main Objectives

• Normalisation of diplomatic relations (embassies, direct flights, trade, tourism, and technology cooperation).
• Security and intelligence cooperation, especially against Iran’s regional influence.
• Economic collaboration in sectors like innovation, agriculture, defence, and renewable energy.
• Promotion of interfaith understanding named after Abraham, the patriarch revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

SARTHAK-PDS Scheme to Modernise Public Distribution System

Economy

Context

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), approved the continuation and integration of two key food distribution schemes under a new umbrella programme titled “Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS” (SARTHAK-PDS).

SARTHAK-PDS scheme 

• It integrates two existing initiatives;

1. Assistance to State Agencies for intra-State movement of foodgrains and FPS dealers’ margin under NFSA and 
2. Scheme for Modernization and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System (SMART PDS) with the objective of strengthening implementation of the National Food Security Act.

• Significance- The scheme proposes the use of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Blockchain to modernise and optimise PDS operations.

Additional Information – PDS System

• The Public Distribution System (PDS) is a food security mechanism in India through which essential food commodities are distributed to eligible beneficiaries at subsidised prices through Fair Price Shops (FPSs).
• The system primarily distributes rice, wheat and coarse grains to economically weaker sections of society.
• The PDS is a joint responsibility of the central and state governments. 
• The central government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), procures, stores, transports, and allocates food grains to the states.

India–US Critical Minerals Framework

Science & Technology

Context

• India and the United States signed a major framework agreement to strengthen cooperation in the supply, mining, processing, recycling, and management of critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs).
• The initiative follows concerns over China’s 2025 export controls on REEs, which disrupted global technology supply chains.

List of Critical Minerals

• A total of 30 minerals were found to be most critical for India : Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.

India’s Policy Push for Mineral Exploration

• • Domestic Reserves: India has vast untapped mineral potential, with lithium in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Rajasthan, and REEs in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
  • Policy Initiatives: National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), 2016 and Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2021 have accelerated exploration through private participation and advanced surveys.

• KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Ltd) is acquiring overseas mineral assets to ensure supply security.

• National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) – It aims to strengthen the value chain from exploration to recovery.

Additional Information – Rare Earth Elements (REEs)

• REEs are a group of 17 metallic elements, including the 15 lanthanides along with scandium and yttrium.
• They are widely used in consumer electronics, defence systems, renewable energy technologies, EVs, communication systems, and nuclear energy.
• India has the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves, mainly found in monazite minerals.

‘Pax Silica’

• launched in – December, 2025

• It is a coalition comprising the United States, Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and now India.
• Objective – It is a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain from critical minerals.
• The term ‘Pax Silica’ derived from Latin ‘Pax’ (peace) and ‘Silica’ (a core compound in semiconductors).
• Significance – It symbolizes the pursuit of technological peace and prosperity through resilient, transparent, and cooperative supply chains.

Oreshnik Missile

Defence

Context

• Russia used its powerful Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile in an overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine.

Oreshnik 

• It is an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon believed to be based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh system. 
• It can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. 
• Its strike range is estimated between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometres, allowing it to target large parts of Europe.
• It is almost impossible for modern air defence systems to intercept the missile owing to its speed of Mach 10, or nearly 2.5–3 kilometres per second.

Algoza

Culture

Context

• Taga Ram Bheel of Jaisalmer was honoured with the Padma Shri 2026 for preserving and promoting traditional Rajasthani folk music through the ancient instrument called the Algoza.

Algoza

• The Algoza is a traditional folk wind instrument associated with Rajasthan, Punjab, Sindh, and parts of western India and Pakistan. 
• It consists of two wooden flutes played simultaneously — one creates the melody while the other provides a rhythmic base.
• What makes the instrument unique is the use of circular breathing, a difficult technique that allows musicians to produce continuous music without stopping for breath.
• Often called the soul of Thar Desert folk music, the Algoza has traditionally been played during festivals, weddings, storytelling sessions, and devotional gatherings.

Khajuraho

Art & Culture

In News

• World Heritage Site Khajuraho, is set to host the 25-day countdown event for the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2026.

Khajuraho

• The Khajuraho Group of Monuments, a group of Hindu and Jain temples located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. 
• The temples are famous for their nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculptures.

Historical records:

• Most Khajuraho temples were built between 950 and 1050 CE by the Chandela dynasty. 
• Historical records note that the Khajuraho temple complex once had 85 temples spread across 20 square kilometres. 
• At present, only about 25 temples have survived, spread over six square kilometres.