Current Context: At the Norway Chess 2025 held in Stavanger, 19-year-old Indian GM D Gukesh scored his first classical win over World Champion Magnus Carlsen, marking a career milestone.

ABOUT :

• Tournament:
  • Norway Chess is an annual elite classical chess event, featuring top-rated GMs.
  • Venue: Stavanger, Norway; format includes round-robin classical
• D Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen:
  • D Gukesh: Age 19, India’s second-youngest GM, known for dynamic play.
  • Magnus Carlsen: Reigning World No. 1, five-time world champion.
• Result: Gukesh triumphed in the classical time control game—his first classical victory over Carlsen.

Current Context: Goa was declared 100 percent literate under the ULLAS Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, becoming the second Indian state to exceed the 95 percent literacy benchmark.

ABOUT Full Literacy & ULLAS

• Significance of Full Literacy:
  • Empowers individuals with reading, writing, and numeracy skills.
  • Enhances socio-economic development, health outcomes, and democratic participation.
  • Aligns with NEP 2020 goal of universal literacy by 2030.
• ULLAS Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (2022–Present):
  • Aim: Achieve adult literacy for individuals aged 15+ who missed formal schooling.
  • Components:
    1. Foundational Literacy & Numeracy: Basic reading, writing, arithmetic.
    2. Critical Life Skills: Health, financial, and social education.
    3. Basic Education: Continued formal curriculum (primary/secondary equivalence).
    4. Vocational Skills: Short-term training for employability.
    5. Continuing Education: Lifelong learning opportunities.

Current Context: After its annual closure for the monsoon, Valley of Flowers National Park (Chamoli district, Uttarakhand) reopened to tourists in June 2025.

ABOUT Valley of Flowers National Park

• Location & Status:
  • In Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, within the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
  • A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005 (paired with Nanda Devi NP).
• Discovery :
  • Discovered in 1931 by British mountaineer Frank S. Smythe.
  • Officially declared a national park in 1982 (87 sq km core) to protect alpine flora.
• Flora & Fauna:
  • Flora: Over 400 species of wildflowers (primulas, poppies, daisies), including endemic and medicinal plants.
  • Fauna: Endangered species such as Snow Leopard, Himalayan Brown Bear, Blue Sheep, and Himalayan musk deer.
  • Birds: Monal pheasant, snow partridge, and other high-altitude avifauna.
• Ecological Significance:
  • Represents a transition zone between the Zanskar and Great Himalaya
  • Provides critical habitat for Himalayan biodiversity and supports glacial meltwater feeding major rivers.

Current Context: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently uncovered one of the earliest Neolithic rock‐sharpening grooves in Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu—evidence of prehistoric tool maintenance.

ABOUT Neolithic Age

• Definition: The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) is the final stage of prehistoric cultural evolution, marked by settled lifestyles, agriculture, and domestication of animals.
• Time Period :
  • Begins around 10,000 BCE (depending on region) and extends until the advent of metal use (Bronze Age).
  • Occurred during the Holocene Epoch (last 11,700 years).
• Features:
  • Polished Stone Tools: Tools shaped by grinding or polishing rather than simple chipping.
  • Agriculture & Animal Husbandry: Cultivation of crops (wheat, barley, rice, millets) and domestication of animals (goats, cattle).
  • Permanent Settlements: Villages with mud-and-reed houses (rectangular or circular).
  • Pottery & Weaving: First appearance of ceramics, woven textiles, and alcohol production.
  • Social Stratification: Status objects (elaborate pottery, carved jades) buried with the elite indicate belief in an afterlife and emerging social classes.
• Important Neolithic Sites in India:
  • Burzahom (Kashmir)—subterranean pit dwellings (around 3000 BCE).
  • Chirand (Bihar)—Neolithic settlement with early ceramics and agriculture.
  • Uttarayan (Andhra Pradesh)—Neolithic tools and habitation evidence.
  • Edakkal Caves (Kerala)—rock art panels with Neolithic petroglyphs.

Current Context: During the June 2025 Gaza conflict, the Israel Air Force used a prototype laser air defense system (adapted from the Iron Beam) to successfully shoot down enemy drones, marking the first operational victory of its kind.

ABOUT Israel’s Laser Weapon System

• Iron Beam (Magen Or)
  • Developer: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
  • Type: High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) – a Directed Energy Weapon (DEW).
  • Power Rating: 100 kW class.
• Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)
  • Definition: Weapons that emit focused energy (electromagnetic or particle) to destroy or disable targets, without conventional projectiles.
• Key Capabilities
  • Multiple Threat Engagement:
    • Rockets, Artillery, Mortars (RAM)
    • Cruise missiles
    • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones)
  • Operational Range: Up to 10 km.
  • Speed of Engagement: Speed of light, enabling near-instantaneous target neutralization.
  • Precision: Minimizes collateral damage and environmental impact.
  • Cost Efficiency: Negligible cost per shot compared to missile interceptors.

Current Context: The Delhi High Court issued an order upholding the personality rights and publicity rights of the founder of Isha Foundation, restraining unauthorized use of his name and image.

ABOUT Personality Rights

• Definition: The right of an individual to control and protect their name, image, likeness, and identity against unauthorized commercial or public use.
• Types of Personality Rights in India:
  1. Right to Publicity (Article 19(1)(a)) : Protects commercial exploitation of one’s identity and ensures any public use is with consent.
  2. Right to Privacy (Article 21) : Implicitly protects against intrusion, misuse of personal information, and unauthorized publicity.
• Legal Provisions:
  1. Trademark Act, 1999: Allows celebrities to register their names or images as well-known marks.

Copyright Act, 1957: Protects photographs, videos, and artistic representations of persons.

Current Context: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged USD 10 billion to support India’s urban development programs and metro rail expansion, alongside aiding the Urban Challenge Fund to catalyze private investment.

ABOUT Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• Establishment & Mandate: Established in 1966 to foster inclusive, resilient, and sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific.
• Headquarters: Located in Manila, Philippines.
• Membership :
  • Total Members: 69 (50 from Asia-Pacific; 19 from elsewhere).
  • Five Largest Shareholders:
    1. Japan – 15.6 %
    2. United States – 15.6 %
    3. China – 6.4 %
    4. India – 6.3 %
    5. Australia – 5.8 %
  • Key Functions:
    • Provides loans, grants, and technical assistance for projects in infrastructure, education, health, and environment.

Promotes public-private partnerships via facilities like the Urban Challenge Fund to unlock private capital for urban initiatives

Observed annually on 4 June.

Aim : to highlight the plight of children worldwide who suffer physical, mental, and emotional abuse during armed conflicts.

• Established By: UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-7/8 (1982).
• Purpose:
  1. Acknowledge the pain suffered by children in conflict zones.
  2. Reaffirm UN commitment to protect children’s rights under Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

Current Context: ‘Yashoda AI: Your AI Sakhi’ initiative was launched at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly to improve AI literacy among women.

ABOUT Yashoda AI

Organisers

• Launched by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with Future Shift Labs (FSL).

Objectives

• Empower rural and semi-urban women with AI, cybersecurity, and digital safety knowledge.
• Conducts sessions on AI-driven crimes, digital privacy, and practical safety strategies.

Target Groups

• Engages students, educators, women police officers for community-led digital awareness.

ABOUT National Commission for Women (NCW)

Establishment & Structure

• Statutory body set up in 1992 under NCW Act, 1990.
• Comprises Chairperson, 5 Members, and a Member-Secretary (all nominated by the Central Government).
• Powers : Functions like a civil court for summoning, evidence collection, and issuing commissions.
• Role : Protects and promotes women’s rights and ensures legal safeguards are effectively implemented.

Current Context: Recently, New unified headquarters of the Quality Council of India (QCI) was inaugurated at the World Trade Centre, New Delhi.

ABOUT Quality Council of India

Establishment & Structure

• Established: 1997 as a non-profit autonomous body.
• Joint initiative of GoI and Indian industry associations – ASSOCHAM, CII, FICCI.
• First Chairman: Ratan Tata.
• Works under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce.

Functions

• Acts as national accreditation body.
• Promotes quality standards in services, products, and systems.
• Leads the National Quality Campaign for awareness.

Boards Under QCI

• NABL, NABH, NABET, NABCB, NBQP – each functionally independent.

Significance

• Ensures independent third-party assessments, certification, and quality promotion across sectors.