Home  /  2025 ( Page 75 )

Yearly Archives: 2025

News in Short – 4 November, 2025

In News

  • The Maldives has become the first country worldwide to impose a historic generational ban on tobacco and vaping.

    • What is Generational Ban?

  • Tobacco-related diseases cause over 7 million deaths annually worldwide, making tobacco one of the leading causes of preventable death globally.
  • India is among the largest consumers and producers of tobacco globally.
  • Despite global anti-tobacco efforts like the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), 1.3 billion people still use tobacco products worldwide.
  • India implements multiple tobacco control measures like bans on public smoking, pictorial health warnings, advertising restrictions, and the COTPA law.

    • Read More

    China’s First-ever Thorium Fuel Conversion Paves Way for 100MW Molten-salt Reactor

    Context

  • China has successfully achieved the first-ever conversion of thorium into uranium fuel within a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR).

    • About

  • It is the first time in the world that scientists have been able to acquire experimental data on thorium operations from inside a molten salt reactor.
  • The achievement makes the 2 megawatt liquid-fuelled thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) the only operating example of the technology in the world to have successfully loaded and used thorium fuel.

    • Read More

    Heavy Metals Contamination

    Context

  • A recent study, published in Environmental Earth Sciences, reveals alarming levels of heavy metal contamination in fish species of Cauvery River, posing serious risks to ecosystems and public health.

    • About the Heavy Metals

  • These are naturally occurring elements with high atomic weights and densities. 
  • While some like iron and zinc are essential in trace amounts, others such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium are toxic even at low concentrations.
  • These pollutants settle in river sediments and bioaccumulate in aquatic life, entering the human food chain through fish and drinking water.

    • Read More

    NITI Aayog Unveils “Reimagining Agriculture: Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation”

    In News

  • NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub unveiled a major roadmap titled “Reimagining Agriculture: A Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation”.

    • Key Features of the Roadmap

  • Frontier Technologies: The roadmap focuses on integrating cutting-edge tools such as climate-resilient seeds, digital twins, precision agriculture, AI (including Agentic AI), and advanced mechanization. 
  • Customization for Farmer Segments: Farmers are categorized as Aspiring, Transitioning, and Advanced, with each group receiving tailored solutions to address their unique needs – from smallholders to commercial cultivators.​
  • Pilots to Scale: Start with high-impact use cases (variable-rate application, disease prediction, micro-irrigation scheduling) and scale through state programs and PPPs.
  • State-examples: Gujarat is showcased as a leading example: digital crop survey, farmer registry, portal i-Khedut etc.

    • Read More

    India and Bahrain’s Bilateral Relations

    Context

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Bahrain’s Foreign Minister and discussed cooperation in defence and security.

    • Brief on India Bahrain Ties

  • Bilateral trade: USD 1.64 billion (FY 2024–25); India among Bahrain’s top five trading partners.
  • Emphasis on diversification into electronics, petroleum products, processed foods, base metals, gems & jewellery.
  • Investment Cooperation: Two-way investments between the countries are growing, and have increased 40% since 2019.
  • From the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, there was a 15% increase in investments taking total two-way investments to $1.56 billion.

    • Read More

    Need for Shift from Food Security to Nutrition Security

    Context

  • At the inaugural session of the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 PM Modi urged the scientific community to focus on moving from food security to nutrition security.

    • Status of Food Security in India

  • According to the Third Advance Estimates for 2024-25, India has achieved record foodgrain production of 353.96 million tonnes, including 117.51 million tonnes of wheat and 149.07 million tonnes of rice.
  • The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 ensures subsidised foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries, covering 75% of rural and 50% of urban populations.
  • As of July 2025, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have a total of 917.83 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) storage capacity for central pool grains.
  • However food security does not ensure nutritional security.

    • Read More

    Challenges Linked to High Seas Treaty

    In News

  • The High Seas Treaty, ratified by over 60 countries, will take effect in January 2026.

    • Origin and Evolution of Treaty

  • The High Seas Treaty process began in 2004 when the UN General Assembly formed a working group to address gaps in UNCLOS (1982) regarding Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
  • By 2011, countries agreed to negotiate four key areas: Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs), Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and capacity building with technology transfer. 
  • After four Intergovernmental Conferences between 2018 and 2023, a final agreement was reached in March 2023, and the treaty was formally adopted in June 2023 and ratified in September 2025.

    • Read More

    India’s IT Dream Is at a Crossroads

    The ongoing wave of layoffs in India’s IT sector, often described as ‘silent exits’, reflects deeper structural changes, as IT giants like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro are aligning their workforces with a new digital reality driven by AI and automation.

    scroll to top