After a 12-year interval, Uttarakhand is hosting the Pushkar Kumbh Mela at Keshav Prayag in Mana village.
About Pushkar Kumbh
Pushkar Kumbh is a sacred Vaishnavite pilgrimage held every 12 years at Keshav Prayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda and Saraswati rivers in Mana village, Uttarakhand, when Jupiter enters Gemini.
It holds deep spiritual significance as the site where Ved Vyas composed the Mahabharata. Saints like Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya are believed to have received divine knowledge from Goddess Saraswati here.
Though smaller than traditional Kumbhs, it attracts devotees, especially from South India, and is seen as a bridge uniting India’s diverse spiritual traditions.
India is set to launch its first manned deep-ocean mission, ‘Samudrayaan’, by 2026, aiming to explore marine resources at a depth of 6,000 metres using the indigenously developed submersible ‘Matsya’.
About Samudrayaan Mission
The Samudrayaan Mission is part of the manned Deep Ocean Mission.
It would have MATSYA 6000, a indigenously designed 4th generation manned submersible vehicle capable of carrying three people to a depth of 6,000 meters.
It is being developed by National Institute of Ocean Technology (Chennai).
MATSYA 6000 has an operational endurance of 12 hours and an emergency endurance of 96 hours.
Despite India’s active negotiations of Free Trade Agreements with global partners, the agriculture sector, vital to its economy and employment, remains largely excluded.
Why Agriculture is Missing from India’s FTAs?
Fear of Import Surge: Entry into FTAs like RCEP was abandoned over concerns that cheap agri imports, especially dairy from New Zealand and Australia, would hurt Indian farmers.
Agriculture is a State subject, whereas trade is in the Union list. This leads to inconsistent policies — bans, export quotas, or quarantine rules — harming exporter confidence.
Infrastructural Deficiencies: Absence of cold chains, agro-processing hubs, and efficient port logistics, especially in landlocked states limits agricultural trade potential.
Indian agricultural exports suffer from quality issues like pesticide residues, aflatoxins, and weak compliance with global SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) norms.
The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), shows that India’s unemployment rate stood at 5.1% in April 2025.
Significance of the Findings
The rise in female labour force participation, particularly in rural areas, signifies increasing economic engagement.
However, high youth unemployment among urban females raises concerns about gender disparities, job availability, and skill gaps.
The revamped PLFS model provides monthly employment estimates, but timely implementation of corrective measures remains a challenge.
With the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 and Draft DPDP Rules, 2025, India aims to expand its consent-based data-sharing system by building on the Account Aggregator model.
Key Stakeholders of Account Aggregator
Financial Information Providers (FIPs): Banks, mutual fund companies, insurance companies, etc.
Financial Information Users (FIUs): Lenders, wealth managers, insurers, etc.
Account Aggregators (AAs): Licensed entities that facilitate data flow between FIPs and FIUs.
The Union Defence Minister questioned the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and called for its supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
About
Pakistan has tried to leverage its nuclear status against India.
While India follows a no-first-use policy when it comes to nuclear weapons, Pakistan doesn’t have any such stated policy of restraint.
President Droupadi Murmu sought the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion under Article 143 on whether the President and governors need to follow timelines to decide on state bills.
Background
Recently, the Supreme Court verdict laid down a timeline for the President and governors to decide on state bills.
Though, the Governor is not bound by any time limit to act on a Bill.
This creates a situation where the Governor can simply not act on a Bill indefinitely this is referred to as a “Pocket Veto”, although the term is not officially used in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court ruled that Governors cannot delay or withhold assent to Bills indefinitely once they are passed or re-passed by the state Assembly.
The ongoing Manipur crisis which has lasted for two years, has resulted in over deaths and the displacement that has not received the same level of national priority as other security concerns.
भारत 2026 तक अपनी प्रथम मानवयुक्त डीप ओशन मिशन ‘समुद्रयान’ लॉन्च करने के लिए तैयार है, जिसका उद्देश्य 6,000 मीटर की गहराई पर समुद्री संसाधनों का अन्वेषण करना है। इसके लिए स्वदेशी रूप से विकसित पनडुब्बी ‘मत्स्य’ का उपयोग किया जाएगा।
समुद्रयान मिशन के बारे में
समुद्रयान मिशन मानवयुक्त डीप ओशन मिशन का हिस्सा है।
इसमें MATSYA 6000, एक स्वदेशी रूप से डिजाइन किया गया 4th जेनरेशन मानवयुक्त पनडुब्बी वाहन होगा, जो तीन लोगों को 6,000 मीटर की गहराई तक ले जाने में सक्षम होगा। इसे राष्ट्रीय समुद्री प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान (NIOT), चेन्नई द्वारा विकसित किया जा रहा है।
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