Recently, Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) were sighted in Gurez Valley for the first time in over 25 years, indicating ecological improvement.

• Gurez Valley is located in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district and lies near the Line of Control (LoC).
• It is known for its scenic beauty, meadows, and high-altitude passes.
• The valley was historically a part of the ancient Silk Route connecting Kashmir with Central Asia.
• The Kishanganga River, a tributary of the Jhelum, flows through the valley, providing water resources and supporting biodiversity.
• Kaobal Gali, at an elevation of 4,167 meters, is the highest pass in Gurez and connects it to the Mushkoh Valley in Drass, Ladakh.

National Opera Day is celebrated on 8th February every year to recognize the significance of opera in Indian culture.

• The day holds special meaning for music enthusiasts, theatre lovers, and art connoisseurs.
• The origins of opera trace back to the 17th century, with its earliest performances occurring in Venice, Italy, in the 1630s.

Tshego Gaelae a native of Soweto, Johannesburg in , South Africa, has made history as the first Black woman to be crowned Mrs World 2025 at the grand finale in Las Vegas.

• She is the first Black woman to win Mrs World in 40 years and Second South African winner after Candice Abrahams (2016).
• She plans to use this platform to champion women’s empowerment while representing South Africa on a global stage.

General Studies Paper -3

Context: The Union government is considering allowing private sector participation to achieve 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047.

About

• Traditionally, nuclear power plants in India have been owned and operated only by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and its fully-owned subsidiary Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI).
• To allow private sector participation government has proposed amendments to key legislations;
• Atomic Energy Act, 1962, a framework for nuclear energy development and regulation.
• Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, ensuring compensation mechanisms for nuclear incidents.
• The government will enter into partnerships with the private sector with the motive of;
• Setting up Bharat Small Reactors,
• Research & development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor, and
• Research & development of newer technologies for nuclear energy.

Status of Nuclear power capacity in India

• The current installed nuclear power capacity in the country is 8,180 MW, spread across 24 nuclear power reactors.
• Capacity Expansion: 10 new reactors (totaling 8 GW) under construction across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.
• Approval for a 6×1208 MW nuclear plant in Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with the USA.

Benefits of Private Sector Involvement

• Faster Capacity Expansion: Private investment will help bridge the financial gap needed for rapid nuclear power growth.
• Technological Advancement: Collaboration with private companies drive innovation and bring in global expertise.
• Cost Efficiency: Competitive bidding and private participation will help reduce project costs and delays.
• Energy Security: Increased nuclear power generation helps India reduce dependence on fossil fuels and meet clean energy goals.

Concerns to Private Sector Entry

• Regulatory Hurdles: Amendments to existing laws are required to enable private sector participation.
• High Capital Requirement: Nuclear power projects involve long gestation periods and large upfront investments, which deters private players.
• Liability Concerns: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act imposes high liability on operators, making private investment risky.
• Safety and Security: Nuclear energy requires strict safety protocols, and allowing private firms to operate reactors necessitates robust regulatory oversight.
• Public Perception: Concerns over nuclear safety, waste management, and radiation risks will face public resistance.

Government steps

• India had announced a Rs 20,000 crore R&D mission for development of small modular reactors (SMRs).
• India is also targeting the deployment of at least five of these indigenously developed reactors by 2033.
• NPCIL and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) have signed a supplementary Joint Venture agreement to develop nuclear power facilities in the country.

Way Ahead

• Clear Regulatory Framework: Establish a robust regulatory environment to ensure safety, compliance, and transparency, addressing concerns about accountability and national security.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Promote partnerships where the government maintains oversight, while private players handle operations, innovation, and investment, ensuring a balance of interests.
• Gradual Implementation: Start with pilot projects and small-scale initiatives to test private sector involvement, ensuring risk management before large-scale implementation.

The  Union  Minister for Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani launched the Haj Suvidha App for the benefit of Indian Haj Pilgrims.

• Haj Suvidha App has been developed by Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• The App offers solutions to common problems faced by the pilgrims during their journey and will be a boon especially to those performing Haj for the first time in their life.
• The Haj Suvidha App was launched to provide essential information and access to crucial services like Flight details, Accommodation information, Emergency helpline &Health services.
• The Haj Guide-2024 was released to educate pilgrims about various aspects of the journey, with a focus on utilizing the app effectively. It is published in 10 languages for widespread accessibility.

An eight-year-old girl from Kottakkal in Malappuram district of Kerala died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, recently after undergoing around two months of treatment for brucellosis.

• Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria belonging to Brucella species, which mainly infect cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
• It is also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever.
• Symptoms include fever, sweats, anorexia(psychological disorder in which one eats less due to fear of weight gain), headache and muscle pain.
• It is usually treated with antibiotics, including rifampin and doxycycline.
• Precaution includes avoiding unpasteurised dairy products and taking safety precautions such as wearing rubber gloves, gowns or aprons, when handling animals or working in a laboratory.

Other preventive measures include cooking meat properly, vaccinating domestic animals.

The Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Krishan Pal Gurjar.

• The university will be established on the campus of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)in Anand, Gujarat.
• IRMA will be incorporated as a Centre of Excellence for rural management while maintaining its autonomy.
• It will offer technical and management education focused on the cooperative sector, including training, research, and development.
• The university aims to meet global standards of excellence and strengthen India’s cooperative movement.
• It will establish sector-specific schools dedicated to areas like dairy, fishery, banking, sugar, and rural credit.

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope, set to launch on February 27, 2025 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

• The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• SPHEREx stands for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx).
• SPHEREx’s main goal is to search for the fundamentals of life — water and organic matter within the Milky Way.
• The telescope will take 600 images daily, completing four full sky scans in 27 months.
• SPHEREx will map 450 million galaxies, revealing how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
• It will also study 100 million Milky Way stars, tracing life’s building blocks in space.
• This new mission will complement the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)by offering a comprehensive all-sky survey in infrared light. SPHEREx will collect data across 102 different infrared colours.
• SPHEREx is designed to survey the entire sky, Unlike JWST, which focuses on specific targets.

The first U.S. military flight deporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay landed in Cuba on February 6, 2025.

• The C-17 military plane took off from El Paso, Texas, carrying migrants to the high-security facility.
• Guantanamo Bayis located in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Havana, Cuba.
• The Platt Amendment (1903)granted the U.S. a perpetual lease to the bay for use as a naval base.
• The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base remains operational under U.S. control.
• The Guantanamo Bay detention camp was established in January 2002 by President George W. Bush.
• It was created to hold terrorism suspects and “illegal enemy combatants” during the Global War on Terrorism after 9/11 attacks.

The Surajkund Mela is an international craft fair, which will be celebrated at Surajkund, District Faridabad, Haryana from 7th February to  23rd February 2025.

• Theme will feature unique crafts, textiles, and cuisines from regions like Thailand, Egypt, Nepal, Belarus, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, etc.
• The folklore group ‘Zhyvitsa’ (Grodno region) and four folk craftsmen of Belarus will perform from the Belarusian side to participate in the crafts festival and represent the culture of the Republic of Belarus.
• The Mela is jointly hosted by Union Ministries of Tourism & Culture, External Affairs; Textiles, Indian Council for Culture Relations (ICCR ) and the Govt. of Haryana. State: Odisha and Madhya Pradesh as the theme states.
• The fair