Current Context: President Droupadi Murmu conferred the 58^th Jnanpith Award at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya and poet‑lyricist Gulzar.

About Jnanpith Award:

• Instituted: 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a cultural trust founded by the Sahu Jain family.
• Purpose: India’s highest literary honour, recognising outstanding contributions by living authors.
• Eligibility: Writers in any of the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, plus English.
• Selection Process:
  • Language‑specific juries shortlist candidates.
  • Final awardees chosen by a central Selection Board.
  • No posthumous conferrals.

First Awarded: 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup for his Malayalam collection Odakkuzhal

58th Awardees:

• Jagadguru Rambhadracharya
  • Born 1950; lost his eyesight at two months but became a foremost Sanskrit scholar.
  • Authored four Sanskrit epics, including Geet Rāmāyaṇa and Daśāvatāra Carita.
  • Continues to serve literature and society through teaching and social work.
• Gulzar (Sampooran Singh Kalra)
  • Born 1934; acclaimed poet, lyricist, and film director in Hindi cinema.
  • Known for immortal lyrics like “Chaiyya Chaiyya” and deeply philosophical poetry.
  • Could not attend the ceremony; the President conveyed her wishes for his speedy recovery.

Current Context: The Indian Army’s Trishakti Corps conducted Exercise Teesta Prahar to validate joint combat operations across riverine, mountain, and mixed terrain environments in the Lower Himalayan region.

About Exercise Teesta Prahar:

• Corps: Trishakti Corps specializing in operations along the India–China border in Sikkim and north Bengal.
• Training Focus:
  • River crossing under fire.
  • Mountain warfare tactics in sub-zero conditions.
  • Coordination between infantry, artillery, and aviation assets.

Current Context: In Assam, the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force conducted Exercise Raahat, a large-scale humanitarian assistance and disaster relief simulation to improve joint response to floods and earthquakes.

About Exercise Raahat:

• Participants: Indian Army units (including medical teams) and National Disaster Response Force battalions.
• Scenario: Simulated flood-affected region requiring search, rescue, medical aid, and logistics support.
• Objective: Enhance interoperability between civil and military agencies in the Northeast, an area prone to annual monsoon flooding and seismic activity.

Current Context: Cambodia and China have launched their largest joint military exercise, Golden Dragon 2025, involving land, sea, and air operations at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.

About Golden Dragon 2025:

• Inception: Annual bilateral drills since 2016 to deepen military cooperation and regional security.
• Theme: Counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian relief, underlining peace-building objectives.
• Venue: Ream Naval Base, Sihanoukville, Cambodia—recently expanded with Chinese naval docking facilities.
• Key Capabilities Demonstrated:
  • Reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • Robotic medical support systems.
  • Quadrupedal robotic platforms (“robot dogs”) for security operations.
• Regional Significance: Coincides with U.S.-Philippines “Balikatan” exercises, reflecting strategic competition in Southeast Asia.
• Strategic Implications: Highlights China’s expanding naval access as part of its “String of Pearls” network of dual-use ports.

Current Context: India has successfully test-fired Bhargavastra, an indigenously developed anti-drone defence system, to counter small unmanned aerial threats.

About Bhargavastra:

• Developer: Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited.
• Type: Hard-kill, layered anti-drone system designed for protection against drone swarms.
• Layer One: Unguided micro-rockets with a lethal radius of twenty metres to neutralize mass drone attacks.
• Layer Two: Guided micro-missiles for precise destruction of individual drones.
• Detection Range: Radar can detect threats from six to ten kilometres; electro-optical sensors track drones up to two and a half kilometres.
• Adaptability: Operates effectively up to five thousand metres altitude.
• Modularity: Can integrate soft-kill options such as radio-frequency jamming and GPS spoofing.
• Command and Control: Network-enabled centre manages sensor data and weapon release for rapid response.

Current Context: ISRO and JAXA agreed to begin the design phase of their joint Chandrayaan-5 / Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, targeting the Moon’s south pole.

About Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX:

• Mission Goals:
  • Study volatile compounds (water, ice) in permanently shadowed lunar craters.
  • Search for resources to support future human missions.
• International Partnership:
  • India (ISRO): Builds the lander.
  • Japan (JAXA): Provides the rover.
  • Additional Instruments: Contributions expected from NASA and ESA.
• Legacy Missions:
  • Chandrayaan-1 & 2 (orbiters)
  • Chandrayaan-3 (lander and rover)
  • Upcoming Chandrayaan-4 (sample-return)
• Long-Term Vision: India aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2040.

Current Context: Two annual river-based festivals—Pushkar Kumbh in Uttarakhand and Saraswati Pushkaralu in Telangana—are currently being celebrated at their respective sacred river confluences.

About Pushkar Kumbh (Uttarakhand):

• Timing: Every 12 years when Jupiter enters Gemini.
• Location: Keshav Prayag, Mana village, at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Saraswati
• Religious Significance:
  • Site where sage Vyasa is said to have composed the Mahabharata.
  • Visited by saints Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya for divine insight from Goddess Saraswati.

About Saraswati Pushkaralu (Telangana):

• Timing: Every 12 years when Jupiter enters Gemini.
• Location: Triveni Sangamam, Kaleshwaram (Godavari, Pranahita, and hidden Saraswati rivers meet).
• Highlight: Devotees take a holy bath and worship at Sri Kaleshwara Sri Mukteshwara Swamy Temple.

Current Context: The Supreme Court directed the Central Government to set up special courts under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act as a priority to ensure faster justice for child victims.

About POCSO Special Courts:

• Legal Basis: Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
• Court Structure:
  • Session Courts notified by states in consultation with High Courts.
  • Only POCSO cases are heard here.
• Key Features:
  • Evidence Recording: Child’s testimony to be recorded within 30 days of case registration.
  • Timely Trial: Courts aim to complete trials within one year.

Current Context: Glaciologists and local communities in Nepal have declared the Yala Glacier in the Langtang region “dead” after it shrank by two-thirds (66 percent) since the 1970s, illustrating the real-time impacts of climate change.

About the Yala Glacier Loss:

• Glacier Funeral: A symbolic ceremony—first popularised for Iceland’s Okjökull Glacier in 2019—marked its disappearance.
• Global Trend: Other glaciers declared dead include Switzerland’s Pizol (2019), the United States’ Clark (2020), and Mexico’s Ayoloco (2021).
• Key Causes:
  • Rising temperatures accelerate melting.
  • Reduced snowfall fails to replenish ice.

Current Context: The Union Cabinet has approved India’s sixth semiconductor fabrication plant near Jewar Airport in Uttar Pradesh, to be established through a joint venture between Hindustan Computers Limited and Foxconn.

About the Semiconductor Unit:

• Location: Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority region, near Jewar Airport, Uttar Pradesh.
• Partners: Hindustan Computers Limited (subsidiary of HCL Technologies) and Foxconn (Taiwanese electronics manufacturer).
• Product Focus: Display driver chips used in mobile phones, laptop screens, automotive displays, and other electronic devices.

India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem:

• Market Growth: Projected to expand from twenty-two billion dollars in 2019 to one hundred ten billion dollars by 2030, representing ten percent of global consumption.
• Local Content: In 2021, only nine percent of semiconductor components were sourced domestically; target is to reach seventeen percent by 2026.
• Design Capability: India has twenty percent of the world’s semiconductor design engineers and produces around three thousand integrated circuits annually.
• Process Technology: Cutting-edge nodes (seven, five, three, two nanometres) enable higher transistor density, lower power use, and faster processing speeds.