Current Context : Sri Lanka celebrated Poson Full Moon Poya Day, marking the arrival of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE when Arahat Mahinda preached to King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale.

ABOUT POSON POYA

• Significance: Commemorates Buddhism’s introduction to Sri Lanka; second only to Vesak in importance.
• Key Sites: Mihintale (first sermon) and Anuradhapura (early monastic establishments).
• Observances:
  • Devotees light oil lamps, hoist religious pandols, participate in sermons and alms giving
  • Streets and temples are adorned; special transport arranged for pilgrims

Current Context : A year-long camera-trap survey (2024–25) by the Holématthi Nature Foundation, led by Dr Sanjay Gubbi, recorded 80–85 free-ranging leopards around Bengaluru—surpassing Mumbai’s 54—making Bengaluru the ‘Leopard Capital’ of India.

ABOUT BENGALURU LEOPARD POPULATION

Location & Survey Area

• Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) plus adjacent forests and scrublands cover 282 km² (Turahalli, B.M. Kaval, U.M. Kaval, Roerich Estate, Gollahalli Gudda, Sulikere, Hesaraghatta, Marasandra, Manduru).
• 250+ camera traps deployed across government and private lands.

Survey Methodology & Findings

• Camera-trap study from June 2024 to May 2025.
• Total leopards: 80–85 individuals.
  • Inside BNP: 54 leopards (up from 40 in 2019, 47 in 2020)
• Fringe forests: ~30 leopards roaming reserved, deemed, and private forests

Current Context : The World Economic Forum released its 19^th Global Gender Gap Report, showing India slipped to 131st out of 148 countries, down two places from 2024, with an overall parity score of 64.1% despite small gains in the economic and educational subindexes.

ABOUT GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX

• Report Body: Published annually since 2006 by the World Economic Forum.
• Dimensions Measured:
  • Economic Participation & Opportunity
  • Educational Attainment
  • Health & Survival
  • Political Empowerment
• India’s Performance:
  • Overall Rank: 131/148 (down from 129)
  • Parity Score: 64.1%
• Positive Trends:
  • Economic participation score up by +0.9 points to 40.7%
  • Educational attainment at 97.1% parity
• Key Challenge: Political empowerment remains low, with women’s representation in parliament and ministerial posts declining.

Current Context : The UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population Report, titled “The Real Fertility Crisis,” highlights that many Indians cannot have the number of children they want due to financial and social barriers.

ABOUT THE REPORT

• Unintended Pregnancies: Affects 36% of adult Indians; 30% experience unmet desires for more or fewer children.
• Barriers to Reproductive Autonomy:
  • Financial constraints (40%), job insecurity (21%), housing and childcare shortages.
  • Gender norms force unequal caregiving duties.
• Fertility Rates:
  • National TFR at replacement level (2.0), but high in states like Bihar and UP; below replacement in Kerala and Delhi.
• Adolescent Fertility: 1 per 1,000 women aged 15–19, higher than regional peers.
• Modern Challenges: Loneliness, relationship dynamics, and social stigma impede family planning.

Current Context : Recently, Israel carried out its first naval strike on Yemen’s rebel-held Hodeidah Port, targeting docks suspected of facilitating arms shipments.

ABOUT HODEIDAH PORT

• Location: Western Yemen on the Red Sea coast.
• Share of Imports: 70–80% of Yemen’s essential goods
• Strategic Route: Gateway to Bab el-Mandeb strait

• Observed annually on 14 June.
• Aim : to thank voluntary blood donors and highlight the need for safe, sufficient blood supplies
• Theme is “Give blood, give hope: together we save lives.”
• Instituted by WHO and partner bodies in 2004.

Current Context : On 11 June 2025, India, serving as Vice President of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), participated in the 2nd Session of the IALA Council in Nice, France.

ABOUT IALA

• Established: 1957 as an NGO; upgraded to an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) in 2024.
• Membership & Role: Brings together aids-to-navigation authorities, manufacturers, and training institutes to standardize marine navigation aids globally.
• Key Discussions in Nice:
  • Harmonization of marine aids to navigation.
  • Conservation of lighthouse heritage.
  • Development of IoT protocols for visual Aids to Navigation (AtoN).
  • Specifications for a global Maritime Service Registry.

Current Context : India marked the ninth anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in May 2016 to provide clean cooking fuel to vulnerable households.

ABOUT Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• Launch Year & Ministry: 2016 by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Objective: Supply free LPG connections to women in Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to reduce indoor air pollution and health hazards.
• Target Groups:
  • Adult women in BPL households.
  • Priority for SC/ST families, PMAY (Gramin) beneficiaries, forest dwellers, tea-garden workers.
• Achievements: Over 33 crore LPG connections provided nationwide.

Current Context : The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has announced that from early 2026, India’s key economic indicators will be re-benchmarked to more recent base years: GDP and IIP to 2022–23, and CPI to 2024.

ABOUT BASE YEAR REVISION

• Advisory Committee: In 2024, MoSPI formed a 26-member Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics, chaired by economist Biswanath Goldar, to recommend new base years.

GDP:

• Definition: The total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders during a specific period (quarter/financial year).
• Current Base: 2011–12; revision to 2022–23 will better reflect new sectors (digital, services) and price structures.
• New series to be released on 27 February 2026.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• Definition: A monthly index measuring the volume of production in the industrial sector—covering mining, manufacturing, and electricity.
• Composition : Manufacturing ~77%, Mining ~14%, Electricity ~9%.
• New IIP series will roll out from 2026–27 

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• Definition: A monthly index tracking average change in prices paid by consumers for a fixed basket of goods and services.
• Types in India : CPI-Rural (CPI-R), CPI-Urban (CPI-U), CPI-Combined (CPI-C), CPI-Industrial Workers (CPI-IW).
• Components : Food & beverages, Housing, Clothing, Fuel & light, Miscellaneous.
• Base year updated to 2024, with new item basket and weights derived from the Household Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023–24.
• Expected publication from Q1, 2026.

Current Context : On 12 June 2025, the Finance Ministry clarified there is no plan to levy MDR on UPI transactions, dismissing recent speculation as “false, baseless, and misleading.”

ABOUT MDR

• Definition: Fee charged by banks/Payment service providers (PSPs) to merchants for processing digital payments in real time.
• Historical Charge: ~1% MDR on card transactions, waived for UPI since 2020 to promote digital payments.
• Rationale: Maintaining zero-cost transactions encourages wider UPI adoption among merchants and consumers.