Seven Natural Heritage Sites Added to UNESCO Tentative List
Syllabus: GS1/ Culture
Context
- Seven natural heritage sites from across India have been included in UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites, increasing India’s count on the Tentative List from 62 to 69 properties.
Newly Added Sites
- Deccan Traps at Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra: The sites form part of the massive Deccan Traps and are located within the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, already a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Geological Heritage of St. Mary’s Island Cluster, Karnataka: Known for its rare columnar basaltic rock formations, this island cluster dates back to the Late Cretaceous period, offering a geological snapshot from around 85 million years ago.
- Meghalayan Age Caves, Meghalaya: The stunning cave systems of Meghalaya, particularly the Mawmluh Cave, serve as the global reference point for the Meghalayan Age in the Holocene Epoch, reflecting significant climate and geological transitions.
- Naga Hill Ophiolite, Nagaland: A rare exposure of ophiolite rocks, these hills represent oceanic crust uplifted onto continental plates—offering deep insights into tectonic processes and mid-ocean ridge dynamics.
- Erra Matti Dibbalu (Red Sand Hills), Andhra Pradesh: These visually striking red sand formations near Visakhapatnam showcase unique paleo-climatic and coastal geomorphological features that reveal Earth’s climatic history and dynamic evolution.
- Natural Heritage of Tirumala Hills, Andhra Pradesh: Featuring the Eparchaean Unconformity and the Silathoranam (Natural Arch), this site represents over 1.5 billion years of Earth’s history.
- Varkala Cliffs, Kerala: The scenic cliffs along Kerala’s coastline expose the Warkalli Formation of the Mio-Pliocene age, along with natural springs and striking erosional landforms.
| Do You Know? – Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the Nodal agency for UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention in India. – India hosted the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2024, New Delhi. |
Source: AIR
Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar Abhiyan
Syllabus: GS2/Health
Context
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan and the 8th Rashtriya Poshan Maah Campaign in Madhya Pradesh.
About
- It marks the largest ever health outreach for women and children in India.
- Led By: Jointly by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD).
- Aim: To provide women-centric preventive, promotive, and curative health services at the community level.
- Implementation: It will involve organising more than 10 lakh health camps at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Community Health Centres (CHCs), District Hospitals and other government health facilities across the country.
- Significance: It will strengthen screening, early detection, and treatment linkages for non-communicable diseases, anaemia, tuberculosis, and sickle cell disease, while also promoting maternal, child, and adolescent health.
Source: PIB
ECI Revises Guidelines to make EVM Ballot Papers more Readable
Syllabus: GS2/Polity
Context
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) has revised the existing guidelines under Rule 49B of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, for the design and printing of EVM Ballot Papers to enhance their clarity and readability.
About
- The initiative is in line with the 28 initiatives already taken by the ECI in the past 6 months to streamline and improve election processes and enhance convenience for voters.
- Candidates’ photographs will now be printed in colour, replacing the earlier black-and-white or no-photo versions, to facilitate clearer identification.
- The upgraded EVM Ballot Papers will be used in the upcoming elections, starting with Bihar.
- Rule 49B: It prescribes the Preparation of voting machines by the returning officer.
Source: PIB
International Criminal Court
Syllabus: GS2/IR
In News
- Qatar has met with the International Criminal Court (ICC) president to seek legal action against Israel following an Israeli strike on its territory targeting Hamas leaders.
| Do you know? – Qatar cannot directly refer cases to the ICC as an observer state, it is exploring all legal and diplomatic options to hold Israel accountable. Arab and Islamic blocs have urged members to take legal measures to stop Israel’s actions. |
The International Criminal Court (ICC)
- It is the world’s first permanent court that investigates and tries individuals for serious crimes like genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.
- The seat of the Court is in The Hague in the Netherlands.
- It has no police force and relies on countries worldwide for arrests, transfers, and enforcing sentences.
- It cooperates with the UN, which can refer cases to it.
- It aims to hold perpetrators accountable and help prevent future crimes, working alongside national courts rather than replacing them.
- It is governed by the Rome Statute and it acts as a court of last resort in the global fight against impunity.
Source :TH
Blue Ports
Syllabus: GS3/ Economy
Context
- The Department of Fisheries (DoF) has signed a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to strengthen Blue Port infrastructure in India.
- The TCP will provide strategic and operational tools to design investment projects and address environmental, social, and economic challenges.
Blue Ports framework
- The Department of Fisheries (DoF) is leading the development of Smart and Integrated Fishing Harbours under the Blue Ports framework, which balances technological innovation with environmental stewardship.
- Three pilot harbours namely Vanakbara (Diu), Karaikal (Puducherry), and Jakhau (Gujarat), have been approved with a total investment of ₹369.8 crores.
- These harbours aim to modernize post-harvest fisheries infrastructure, ensuring:
- Safer and more hygienic handling of fish catch.
- Cleaner and more efficient harbour operations.
- Better services and livelihoods for fishing communities.
- Supported under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the initiative integrates smart technologies such as IoT devices, sensor networks, satellite communication, and data analytics to streamline harbour operations and enable real-time decision-making.
| Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve food security. – It was founded on 16 October 1945. – Members: The FAO comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union. – Headquarters: Rome, Italy. |
Source: PIB
India-AI Impact Summit 2026
Syllabus: GS3/ S&T
In News
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) officially unveiled the logo and key initiatives for the India-AI Impact Summit 2026.
About
- It is a global platform bringing together policymakers, innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to demonstrate AI’s transformative potential for humanity and the planet.
- The first summit of its kind hosted by a Global South nation, positioning India as a thought leader in responsible and equitable AI adoption.
- It will democratize access to AI resources like data, compute, and models—fostering safe, trusted ecosystems.
Guiding Principles (Three Sutras)
- People: AI for human dignity, cultural inclusion, and equitable opportunities.
- Planet: Resource-efficient AI supporting sustainability and climate action.
- Progress: Democratizing AI resources and distributing benefits equitably.
Flagship Initiatives
- UDAAN Global AI Pitch Fest: Showcase of startups from India & abroad.
- YuvaAI Innovation Challenge & AI by HER: Fostering youth- and women-led innovation.
- Global Innovation Challenge for All: Crowd-sourced AI solutions for public-interest problems.
- Research Symposium: Collaborations on cutting-edge AI research.
Source: AIR
DeepSeek-R1 AI Model’ s Reinforcement Learning
Syllabus :GS3/Science and Tech
In News
- The DeepSeek-AI team developed a model called R1.
DeepSeek-R1 AI model
- R1 AI model learns to reason through reinforcement learning—trial and error with rewards for correct answers—without human-provided reasoning steps.
- Starting from a base model (R1-Zero), it improved significantly in math and coding tasks, even surpassing average high school students on a tough math exam.
- The model developed reflective behaviors like self-correction and dynamic reasoning length based on problem difficulty.
- Although some human intervention remained for language consistency and safety, the approach reduces reliance on expensive human-labeled data.
Importance
- Teaching AI to reason has long been a challenge, as reasoning involves step-by-step problem-solving and self-correction beyond memorizing facts.
- Large language models like GPT-4 have shown some reasoning ability, often guided by human examples, which is costly and limits creativity.
- The recent breakthrough suggests AI reasoning could emerge naturally from properly designed incentives, potentially leading to more creative and independent problem-solving, though challenges remain for open-ended tasks and ensuring safe use.
Source :TH
Yellow-crested Cockatoos
Syllabus:GS3/Environment
In News
- Recently, yellow-crested cockatoos have found an unexpected refuge in Hong Kong’s urban parks, where they represent about 10% of the global wild population of around 2,000 mature birds.
Yellow-crested cockatoos(Cacatua sulphurea)
- It lives in various forest types, scrub, and agricultural areas .
- It prefers open habitats like forest savanna rather than primary forests.
- Native to Indonesia and East Timor.
- It nests in tree cavities, often in dead or decaying trees, using existing holes or cracks.
- Its diet includes fruits, flowers, and leaves from multiple plant species
- IUCN Red Status : Critically Endangered
Source :TH
Exercise Pacific Reach
Syllabus: GS3/Defence
Context
- Indian Navy’s latest indigenously designed INS Nistar is participating in the multinational Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 in Singapore.
About the Exercise
- Exercise Pacific Reach 2025, being hosted by Singapore will see participation of more than 40 nations as active participants or as observers.
- The exercise will mainly be conducted in two phases viz. harbour and sea phase.
- Started in 1996, the biennial exercise is hosted in rotation by participating nations.
Source: AIR
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