Current Context: Recently, Andhra Pradesh launched the Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyarthi Mitra Kits, supplying free educational kits to 35.94 lakh students (Classes I–X), with a total budget of ₹953.71 crore.

 About the scheme

• Namesake: Honours Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s second President and philosopher, denoting education over politics.
• Coverage: Govt and aided schools; budget shares: ₹778.68 cr (state) + ₹03 cr (centre).
• Kit Components:
  • Uniforms (3 sets), shoes, socks, belt, school bag.
  • Textbooks, notebooks, workbooks; dictionaries: Oxford English-Telugu (Class 6), pictorial (Class 1); regional languages included .

Current Context : NITI Aayog released the second edition of the North Eastern Region (NER) District SDG Index Report (2023–24).

ABOUT NER DISTRICT SDG INDEX

• Prepared by: NITI Aayog & Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MoDoNER) with UNDP support.
• Objective: Monitors SDG progress at district level across 8 NE states.
• Based on: NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index methodology.
• SDG Coverage: Tracks district-level performance on key development goals.
• Index Categories:
  • Achiever: Score = 100
  • Front Runner: 65–99
  • Performer: 50–64
  • Aspirant: <50

KEY FINDINGS (2023–24)

• Total districts covered: 121
• Highest scorer: Hnahthial (Mizoram) – 81.43
• Lowest scorer: Longding (Arunachal Pradesh) – 58.71
• Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura: All districts in Front Runner category.
• Sikkim: Most consistent performance; narrowest score range (5.5).
• Tripura: Highest scores with low intra-state variation (6.5).
• Nagaland, Mizoram: High scores but larger district variation.

Current Context : A recent report highlights a 198.91% increase in the leopard population in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) since 2022.

ABOUT DUDHWA TIGER RESERVE

• Location: Indo-Nepal border, Lakhimpur-Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh.
• Constituents: Includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, and adjoining forest divisions (North Kheri, South Kheri, Shahjahanpur).
• Topography: Part of Terai-Bhabar region, under Upper Gangetic Plains biogeographic zone.
• Rivers:
  • Sharda River: flows through Kishanpur WL Sanctuary.
  • Geruwa River: through Katerniaghat WL Sanctuary.
  • Suheli & Mohana: flow in Dudhwa NP.
  • All rivers are tributaries of
• Vegetation: North Indian Moist Deciduous type; dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta) forests.
• Notable Flora: Terminalia alata, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Adina cordifolia, Mitragyna parviflora, Gmelina arborea.

Current Context: NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Chile recently discovered 3I/ATLAS, making it the third-known interstellar comet.

ABOUT 3I/ATLAS:

• “3I” indicates it’s the third interstellar object, after 1I/’Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019).
• Moving at ~60 km/s on a hyperbolic trajectory.
• Expected to sublimate (release gases and dust) forming a tail as it nears the Sun.
• Not expected to come close to Earth.

Current Context: Paris officially opened the Seine River for public swimming after a century-long ban, following massive clean-up efforts ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.

ABOUT SEINE RIVER:

• Second-longest river in France after the Loire.
• Origin: Near Dijon
• Mouth: English Channel at Le Havre.
• Clean-up: €1.4 billion project to remove coli, improve sewage treatment, and ensure swimmable water quality.
• Part of Olympic legacy projects; new swim zones to boost tourism and public access.

Current Context: Recently, the Government of India marked the 125^th birth anniversary of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, acknowledging his role in Indian politics, education, and national unity.

 ABOUT DR. MOOKERJEE:

• Born in 1901, Calcutta.
• Youngest ever Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta (1934).
• Former Minister for Industry and Supply in Nehru’s interim government.
• Resigned due to ideological differences over Article 370.
• Founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1951), ideological forerunner of BJP.
• Known as the “Lion of Parliament.”
• Key initiatives: Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, industrialisation efforts.

Current Context: IISc launched BHARAT—“Biomarkers of Healthy Aging, Resilience, Adversity, and Transitions”under its Longevity India program.

 About the Bharat Study

• Objective: Create the Bharat Baseline—India-specific biomarker database tracking genomic, proteomic, metabolic, environmental, and lifestyle markers.
• Scope: Multiparametric assessments, advanced clinical checks, multi-omics, and lifestyle integration; addresses diagnostic mismatch with Western standards.
• Outcomes: Aims to improve age-related disease interventions, refine public health diagnostics, and influence national standards for vitamin/mineral markers.

Current Context: Heavy monsoon rainfall in Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) has caused a sudden rise in the Alaknanda River, triggering localized flood alerts.

 About Alaknanda River

• Source & Course: Originates from Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers; flows ~190 km before merging with Bhagirathi at Devprayag to form the Ganges.
• Panch Prayag (Five Confluences): Vishnuprayag (Dhauliganga), Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag (Mandakini), Devprayag.
• Pilgrimage Significance: Fertile bed for Char Dham Yatra—sites include Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, Joshimath.
• Hydro Infrastructure: Projects include Alaknanda (Badrinath), Lata Tapovan, Devsari Dam, Nandprayag Langasu, Vishnugad Pipalkoti.

Current Context: The Green Climate Fund announced approval of over USD 120 million for climate resilience projects in Ghana, Maldives, and Mauritania, via UNEP-developed programmes.

 About GCF

• Established: At COP16 (Cancún, 2010); world’s largest climate-specific fund under UNFCCC .
• Headquarters: Songdo (Incheon), South Korea.
• Mandate: Provide equal funding (~50% mitigation, 50% adaptation), with at least half adaptation funds to SIDS, LDCs, Africa .

 New funding details

• Ghana: US $70 million (US $63 m grant) to strengthen agro-ecosystem and rural livelihoods across 8 districts, aiding ~120 communities.
• Maldives & Mauritania: Nature-based solutions, climate-resilient agriculture, early warning systems, improved water security—benefitting 5+ million people.

Current Context: The World Health Organization launched its ambitious “3 by 35” Initiative, calling on countries to raise the real prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035, aiming to reduce non‑communicable diseases (NCDs) and generate US $1 trillion in public revenue over the next decade.

 About “3 BY 35”

• Purpose: Use health taxes to curb harmful usage and fund health systems ― saves lives, reduces NCD burden, and boosts government revenue.
• Targets: A minimum 50% price increase on each product category (tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks) through excise or health tax instruments.
• Actions:
  1. Mobilisation: Engaging heads of state, ministries, civil society for political will.
  2. Support: Technical aid, evidence-based policy assistance, and global learning.
  3. Partnerships: Advocacy coalitions, cross-sector collaboration, reinforcing sustainable health financing.