Current Context: India’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO announced that seven new sites have been added to India’s Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, taking the total to 69 sites (49 cultural, 3 mixed, 17 natural).

ABOUT THE UNESCO TENTATIVE LIST

• Purpose: A prerequisite for nomination to the final UNESCO World Heritage List
• Significance: Indicates international recognition of a site’s Outstanding Universal Value

7 NEW NATURAL HERITAGE SITES ADDED

1. Deccan Traps (Maharashtra): Ancient volcanic formations of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar.
2. St Mary’s Island Cluster (Karnataka): Columnar basaltic lava formations near Udupi.
3. Meghalayan Age Caves (Meghalaya): Geological network from the Meghalayan age in East Khasi Hills.
4. Naga Hill Ophiolite (Nagaland): Rare oceanic crust rocks in Kiphire.
5. Erra Matti Dibbalu (Andhra Pradesh): Red sand dunes near Visakhapatnam.
6. Tirumala Hills (Andhra Pradesh): Biodiversity-rich hills of Tirupati.
7. Varkala Cliff (Kerala): Coastal laterite cliff with fossil-rich sediments.

Current Context: Rocket Dreams by Christian Davenport explores the rivalry between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, revealing the politics, power, and personal ambitions shaping the private space race.

ABOUT THE BOOK

• Full Title: Rocket Dreams: Musk, Bezos, and the Inside Story of the New, Trillion-Dollar Space Race
• Author: Christian Davenport (journalist)
• Publisher: Crown Currency

Current Context: Vivekanand Gupta from Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has been selected for the World Bank–Milken Public Financial Asset Management (PFAM) Program 2025–26.

He is the first officer from EPFO and India to join this elite global financial cohort.

ABOUT THE PFAM PROGRAM

• Organised by: World Bank and Milken Institute
• Participants: 16 members from 13 countries
  • 11 from Central Banks
  • 3 from Sovereign Wealth Funds
  • 2 from major Pension Funds
• Focus Areas:
  • Capital market operations
  • Strategic long-term asset management
  • Governance frameworks for public financial institutions
• Objective: To build leadership in managing public financial assets efficiently and sustainably.

Observed every year on 17 September.

• Objective: To raise awareness about patient safety and urge global solidarity and action to reduce patient harm.
• Established by: World Health Organization (WHO)

Current Context: Albania appointed “Diella” — an AI-generated bot — as the world’s first AI Minister to handle and award public tenders for government projects.

ROLE OF AI IN GOVERNANCE

• Improves efficiency in urban planning, healthcare, disaster relief
• Reduces corruption through automation
• Enhances citizen service delivery (chatbots, multilingual apps)
• Challenges:
  • Risk to democracy, accountability, and transparency
  • Data privacy issues, bias and discrimination
  • Lack of legal framework for AI errors

Current Context: India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue.

ABOUT NEW YORK DECLARATION

• Calls for:
  • Immediate ceasefire in Gaza
  • Establishment of an independent, sovereign, economically viable Palestinian State
  • Disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance
  • Normalisation of ties between Israel and Arab states
  • Collective security guarantees for all parties

Current Context: Delhi High Court passed an interim order protecting actor Abhishek Bachchan’s personality rights, stopping misuse of his name, image, voice, or persona for commercial gain without consent.

ABOUT PERSONALITY RIGHTS

• Give individuals exclusive commercial control over their identity.
• Covers name, image, voice, behaviour, and unique personal attributes.
• Not defined by statute in India, but protected under:
  • Common law
  • Article 21 (Right to Privacy)
  • Intellectual Property laws

Current Context: India participated in the 4th Coast Guard Global Summit in Rome and bid to host the next edition in 2027.

ABOUT INDIAN COAST GUARD

• Established: 1977
• Under: Ministry of Defence
• Motto: Vayam Rakshamah — “We Protect”
• Roles:
  • Protect ocean and offshore wealth (oil, fish, minerals)
  • Assist mariners in distress
  • Enforce maritime laws against poaching, smuggling, narcotics
  • Preserve marine environment and ecology
  • Collect scientific data and support Navy during wartime

Current Context: MoEFCC has approved the translocation of 8 tigers (3 males, 5 females) from Tadoba-Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Legal basis: Section 12 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
• Aim: Revive tiger population in the northern Western Ghats
• Earlier approved by: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

BENEFITS

• Restores predator-prey balance
• Reduces human-tiger conflict in overcrowded reserves
• Rewilds habitats where tigers were locally extinct

CONCERNS : Local protests, territorial disputes with existing tigers, poor prey base, weak forest management

ABOUT SAHYADRI TIGER RESERVE

• Established: 2010 (by merging Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary)
• Location: Sahyadri ranges, Western Ghats, Maharashtra (northernmost tiger habitat in the Western Ghats)
• Reservoirs: Shivsagar (Koyna River), Vasant Sagar (Warana River)
• Fauna: Wild dog, leopard, gaur, sambar, mouse deer, hornbills, Indian river tern

Current Context: Union Government has announced the annual licensing policy for opium cultivation for 2025–26 under NDPS Rules, 1985.

ABOUT OPIUM & CULTIVATION POLICY

• Opium poppy produces opium gum rich in morphine, codeine, thebaine (medicinal alkaloids).
• India is the only country allowed by UN (1961 Single Convention) to produce gum opium.
• Cultivation permitted in: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (notified tracts).
• Licensing Authority: Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Gwalior (Ministry of Finance).
• Farmers must sell entire produce to CBN at government-decided price.