News In Short 22-12-2025

Chillai-Kalan

Syllabus: GS1/Geography

In News

• Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’.

‘Chilai Kalan’

• It is  the coldest phase of winter in Kashmir, starts on December 21 and ends on January 31.
• The 40-day ‘Chilai Kalan’ is followed by a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).

Relevance 

• Heavy snowfall during Chillai Kalan replenishes water reservoirs in the higher reaches, sustaining rivers, streams and lakes during the summer months. 
• A poor snow season can lead to water stress later in the year.

Source :HT

NAAT Testing

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• As the National Blood Transfusion Bill, 2025 gets introduced in Parliament, patients recount how unsafe screening changed their lives and why screening donor blood should be mandatory.

About

• It is mandatory by law for all blood banks to test for five key transfusion transmissible infections: HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and malaria.
  • However it is that most blood banks across the country use ELISA-tests and not NAAT tests for screening.

NAAT (A Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests) 

• A NAAT test is a molecular diagnostic test that detects the genetic material (DNA or RNA) of a pathogen.
• Uses: COVID-19 diagnosis, Tuberculosis (CBNAAT/TrueNat) HIV, Hepatitis B & C, STIs (Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea) diagnosis.
• Advantages: It detects infection early, has been a gold standard for many diseases and is highly reliable for confirmation.
• Disadvantages: Requires lab infrastructure, costlier than rapid antigen tests.
• At present, the law does not mandate NAAT testing. 
  • However, a 2023 guidance document by the Union Health Ministry said that while the NAAT test is not mandatory, it is recommended. 

Source: IE

Operation Hawkeye Strike

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• The US forces commenced ‘Operation Hawkeye Strike’ in Syria to eliminate Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites.

About

• The operation comes days after a suspected Islamic State attacker struck a convoy of US and Syrian forces in the central Syrian town of Palmyra.
• The US personnel who were targeted were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international effort to combat IS, which seized swaths of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014.

Do you know?

• The terrorist organisation, ISIS, is banned in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Source: HT

Superkilonova

Syllabus: GS3/Space 

In News

• Researchers observed a bright cosmic event 1.3 billion light-years away that may be a superkilonova.

Superkilonova 

• It is a rare kind of cosmic explosion and it is a more energetic version of a kilonova. 
  • Kilonovae occur when two neutron stars merge, ejecting heavy elements like gold and platinum, whose radioactive decay produces light. 
• A superkilonova can be brighter and bluer than a regular kilonova because some ejected matter falls back onto the merged object, heats up, and warms the surrounding material, possibly extending the event’s brightness.

Source :TH

Supreme Court’s Uniform Definition of Aravalli Hills

Syllabus: GS1/ Geography, GS3/ Environment

Context

• The Supreme Court of India has accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills, as recommended by a Central Government–appointed expert committee, and issued additional directions to strengthen conservation.

Supreme Court’s Key Observations

• Conservation must be ecological and geological, not revenue-record based.
• The Aravalli should be protected as a single landscape system for hydrology, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
• Directed preparation of a comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli landscape by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).
• Piecemeal protection undermines long-term sustainability.

Expert Committee Recommendations

• Operational Definitions:
  • Aravalli Hills: Any landform in notified Aravalli districts with local relief (elevation) of ≥100 metres.
  • Aravalli Range: Two or more Aravalli Hills located within 500 metres of each other.
• Core / Inviolate Zones Safeguards:
  • Absolute prohibition of mining in protected Areas & Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs), tiger Reserves, wetlands & CAMPA plantation sites.

Significance of the Aravalli Range

• The Aravalli Range, stretching over approximately 692 kilometres in a northeastern direction, traverses the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana before culminating in Delhi, is the oldest mountain range in India.
  • Rajasthan accounts for nearly two-thirds of the mountain range.
• It acts as a critical ecological barrier preventing the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert into Haryana, Rajasthan, and western Uttar Pradesh.
• The Aravallis support water-recharge systems and are the source of rivers such as the Sabarmati and Luni.
• The region is rich in minerals including sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, lead, zinc, copper, gold, and tungsten.

Initiatives for Protection

• Matri Van Initiative: Development of a 750-acre urban forest in Aravalli hills. Linked to ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.
• Aravalli Green Wall Project: Creation of a 5 km green buffer around Aravalli across four states.
  • Aims to combat desertification and land degradation.

Source: TH

Great Indian Bustard

Syllabus: GS3/ Species In News

In News

• The Supreme Court of India has tightened safeguards for the protection of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) by revising and rationalising conservation areas in relation to Green Energy Corridor (GEC) transmission projects in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

About Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

• About:
  • One of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent mainly Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is also a State Bird of Rajasthan
  • It is an omnivorous bird.
• Habitat:
  • Untamed, Arid grasslands.
  • A maximum number of GIBs were found in Jaisalmer and the Indian Army-controlled field firing range near Pokhran, Rajasthan.
  • Other areas: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Status: Critically Endangered.
  • Listed in Wildlife Protection Act’s Schedule 1.
• Threats to the Bird:
  • Hunting, Intensification of agriculture, Power lines.

Source: TH