Current Context: The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education has selected 16 teachers from Higher Educational Institutions and Polytechnic Institutes for National Awards to Teachers 2024.

ABOUT NATIONAL AWARDS TO TEACHERS

• Established: 1958
• Purpose: To recognise meritorious teachers and headmasters for improving the quality of education and enriching learning experiences.
• Presented By: President of India / Vice-President of India on 5th September (Teachers’ Day) every year.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Education

ELIGIBILITY

• Teachers & Heads of Schools in:
  • State Govt./UT schools, local body schools, aided schools, and private schools affiliated to State/UT Boards
  • Central Govt. schools (KVs, JNVs, Sainik Schools, AEES, EMRS)
• Service Requirement: Minimum 10 years of service (only regular teachers)
• Exclusions: Retired teachers (except partial service till 30th April of the award year), educational administrators, inspectors, training institute staff, contractual teachers, Shiksha Mitras, and those engaged in private tuition.

Himachal Relevance : SOLAN TEACHER SELECTED FOR NAT 2025

• Awardee: Shashi Paul, teacher from Solan, Himachal Pradesh
• Experience: 14+ years in education
• Contributions:
  • Promoted inclusive education, digital innovations, and community-based school transformation
  • Provided free online classes during COVID-19, enabling 220+ students to secure admission in JNVs and reputed institutions
  • Established science & learning labs in rural schools

Contributed to curriculum design under SCERT Solan and Samagra Shiksha

Current Context: India will host the FIDE World Cup 2025 in Goa from 30 October to 27 November 2025.

ABOUT FIDE WORLD CUP 2025

• Organizer: International Chess Federation (FIDE)
• Participants: 206 top players from 90+ countries
• Prize Pool: $2 million
• Significance: Qualifier for 2026 Candidates Tournament

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

• Structure: 8-round knockout event
• Match Rules:
  • 2 classical games
  • Rapid & blitz tie-breakers if required
• Seeding: Top 50 players get byes into Round 2

Current Context: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched ‘Project Aarohan’ (2025–2026) to support education of toll plaza employees’ children.

ABOUT PROJECT AAROHAN

• Launched By: NHAI Chairman Shri Santosh Kumar Yadav at NHAI HQ, New Delhi.
• Implementation: By SMEC Trust’s Bharat Cares.
• Funding: ₹1 crore (Phase 1: July 2025 – March 2026).
• Focus Areas:
  • Girls from low-income households
  • First-generation learners
  • Students from SC, ST, OBC, minority communities

SCHOLARSHIP FEATURES

• 500 students (Class 11 to Graduation): ₹12,000 annually
• 50 meritorious students (Post-graduation & higher studies): ₹50,000 each
• Objective: To break financial barriers, ensure inclusive education, and nurture future contributors to India’s growth.

Current Context: The Government of India has constituted three high-level committees chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate:

• 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
• 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda
• Birth centenary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee

HONOURING SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL

• Born: 31 October 1875, Nadiad, Gujarat
• Known As: “Iron Man of India”
• Contributions:
  • Integrated 565 princely states into the Indian Union
  • Strengthened India’s unity and administrative framework
  • Guided civil services and democratic institutions post-independence
• Committee Focus: National unity, integration campaigns, leadership awareness.

CELEBRATING BIRSA MUNDA’S TRIBAL LEGACY

• Born: 15 November 1875
• Role: Tribal freedom fighter, leader of Ulgulan (The Great Tumult) Movement
• Significance: Fought against British exploitation and land alienation; symbol of tribal identity.
• Committee Focus:
  • Celebrating tribal heritage and culture
  • Awareness of tribal resistance movements
  • Promoting Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (already observed on 15th November).

MARKING ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE’S BIRTH CENTENARY

• Born: 25 December 1924
• Known For: Oratory, inclusive leadership, poet, and statesman
• Major Contributions:
  • Pokhran-II nuclear tests (1998)
  • Golden Quadrilateral project for infrastructure
  • Good Governance reforms
• Honours: Bharat Ratna (2015); his birthday observed as Good Governance Day.
• Committee Focus: Public campaigns, seminars, cultural events, publications, contests on Vajpayee’s vision and leadership.

Current Context:

The Lithuanian Parliament has officially approved Inga Ruginiene, a Social Democrat and former labour leader, as the new Prime Minister of Lithuania.

ABOUT INGA RUGINIENE

• Political Party: Social Democrat
• Previous Role: Minister of Social Security and Labour
• Significance: First time a former trade union and labour leader has risen to the post of Prime Minister in Lithuania.

ABOUT LITHUANIA

• Official Name: Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika)
• Location: A country in the Baltic region of Europe, along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
• Borders: Latvia (north), Belarus (east and south), Poland (south), and Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast (southwest).
• Capital: Vilnius
• Official Language: Lithuanian (one of the oldest Indo-European languages still spoken).
• Currency: Euro (€) (since 2015)

Current Context: India has announced training and equipment support to upgrade Fiji’s maritime security.

ABOUT FIJI

• Location: South Pacific Ocean, surrounding the Koro Sea; northeast of New Zealand and southwest of Hawaii.
• Type: Island nation (archipelago).
• Islands: 300 islands + 540 islets (only ~100 inhabited).
• Capital: Suva, located on the largest island Viti Levu.
• Geography:
  • Viti Levu accounts for half of Fiji’s land area.
  • Rugged terrain with Mount Tomanivi (1,324 m) as the highest peak.
  • Formed through volcanic activity, sedimentary deposits, and coral formations.
  • 50% area forested; dry grasslands in western large islands.
• Demography: Majority Melanesian-Polynesian, with significant South Asian minority.
• Languages: English (official), Fijian.
• Currency: Fiji Dollar.

Current Context: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has invited nominations for the National Youth Award (NYA) 2024.

ABOUT NATIONAL YOUTH AWARD

• Ministry: Sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
• Purpose:
  • To recognize and motivate Indian youth for their outstanding work in social service and national development.
  • To encourage responsibility, leadership, and citizenship among youth.
  • To honor voluntary organizations working with youth.
• Eligibility: Individuals aged 15–29 years and organizations involved in youth-centric development activities (health, culture, sports, human rights, art, tourism, traditional medicine, research, etc.).
• Award Categories:
  • Individual Category – Up to 20 awards annually.
  • Organisation Category – Up to 5 awards annually.
• Prize Money:
  • Individual: ₹1,00,000 + Medal + Certificate.
  • Organisation: ₹3,00,000 + Medal + Certificate.
• Ceremony: Conferred usually during the National Youth Festival.

Current Context: China has agreed in principle to resume trade through Shipki-La Pass in Himachal Pradesh after Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India.

ABOUT SHIPKI-LA PASS

• Altitude: 3,930 metres.
• Location: Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh; border pass between India and China.
• Features:
  • Motorable pass, one of the highest in India.
  • Sutlej River (Langqen Zangbo in Tibet) enters India here.
  • Historically a major India–Tibet trade corridor.
• History:
  • Earlier called Pema La or Shared Gate/Pass.
  • Became part of Line of Actual Control (post-1962 war).
  • Named Shipki La by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
• Significance:
  • Boosts tourism and trade in border districts (Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti).
  • Aims to promote economic growth along the 240-km India–China frontier.

Current Context: The Indian Army conducted the maiden Exercise Aarogya Setu at Rupai, Doomdooma, in Tinsukia district, Assam.

ABOUT EXERCISE AAROGYA SETU

• Organised by: Indian Army
• Venue: Rupai, Doomdooma, Tinsukia district, Assam.
• Type: Civil–military medical fusion exercise (first-of-its-kind in the region).
• Participants:
  • Army Medical Corps.
  • Civil doctors from reputed hospitals.
  • Primary Health Centres (PHCs) of Tinsukia.
  • Northern Frontier Railway Hospital doctors.
• Focus Areas:
  • Joint response during disasters and war-like situations.
  • Train ambulances concept for large-scale casualty evacuation.
  • Strengthening cooperation between military and civilian medical systems.

Current Context: India issued a flood warning to Pakistan about a possible rise in Tawi River water levels, calling it a “humanitarian gesture”.

KEY FACTS

• Communication Channel: Through diplomatic channels, not via the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
• Background: IWT remains suspended after the Pahalgam attack.

ABOUT TAWI RIVER

• Origin: Kailash Kund (Kali Kund) glacier, near Bhaderwah in Doda district, J&K.
• Tributary: Left-bank tributary of Chenab River.
• Importance: Known as the “Lifeline of Jammu city”.