News In Short 03-09-2026

Rani Avantibai Lodhi 

Syllabus: GS1/ History

Context

• The Defence Minister of India unveiled the statue of Veerangana Rani Avantibai Lodhi in Lucknow and paid tribute to the legendary freedom fighter. 

About Rani Avantibai Lodhi 

• Rani Avantibai Lodhi was the queen of the Ramgarh princely state in present-day Madhya Pradesh and a prominent woman leader of the Revolt of 1857.
• Early life: She was born in 1831 in the present-day Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh. She married Vikramaditya Singh, the ruler of Ramgarh.
• Resistance to British annexation: The British attempted to take control of Ramgarh by placing it under the Court of Wards, disregarding Avantibai’s authority.
• Role in the Revolt of 1857: She mobilised local rulers, landlords and peasants against British rule and is associated with raising a force of about 4,000 soldiers.
• Martyrdom: In March 1858, when surrounded by British troops, Rani Avantibai Lodhi took her life with her sword rather than surrender.

Source: TOI

V-Dem’s Democracy Index

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• The latest report of the V-Dem Institute has indicated that India’s Electoral Democracy Index score has fallen to its lowest level since 1975, highlighting concerns about democratic backsliding and institutional autonomy.

Key Findings Regarding India

• Lowest score since the Emergency: India’s latest Electoral Democracy Index score is the lowest since 1975, when the Emergency was in force.
• Long-term decline: India’s democratic performance has reportedly shown a gradual decline since 2009.
• Autocratisation: India has been identified among countries experiencing a process of gradual autocratisation, characterised by the systematic weakening of democratic institutions.
• India’s scores across parameters such as judicial accountability and corruption, autonomy of the Election Management Body (EMB), and impartial administration by public officials are at their lowest in 50 years. 
• The decline in autonomy of institutions, as per the report, seems to have accompanied deteriorations in freedom of academic and cultural expression and harassment of journalists.
• Academic freedom measured through indicators such as freedom of academic expression, freedom to research and teach, and institutional autonomy have also declined.

Source: TH

Districts as Export Hubs

Syllabus: GS3/Economy 

In News 

• The Government is strengthening its district-led export strategy with the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) Initiative.

Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) program

• It builds on the One District One Product (ODOP) program. 
• It is established to leverage the strengths and resources of each district and unlock the export potential of each district.
  • Each district is handled as a unit for export planning and not as a unit of output alone. 
• It is also helping local firms access global markets, boost competitiveness and drive economic growth at the district level. It also aligns with India’s larger vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local.

Features of the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) program

• DEH has a multi-tier coordination architecture between the Center, States and Districts.
  • The general policy direction is decided by the Department of Commerce, while the implementation is overseen by the DGFT, who also fosters stakeholder interaction and analyses progress.
• It identifies export-worthy products and services across districts. These include GI-tagged products, agricultural clusters, toy clusters, engineering goods, etc. 
• It supports generating awareness and building capacity regarding quality standards, testing facilities, packaging, branding and certification, helping local goods clear global compliance requirements.

Source: PIB

India’s Sovereign Credit Rating Upgraded to ‘A-’

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) upgraded India’s sovereign rating by a notch to A- from BBB+, citing sustained economic growth of around 7%, policy measures such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and digital public infrastructure, and stronger bank balance sheets.

About

• The JCR, established in 1985, is a Japanese credit rating agency that assesses the creditworthiness of governments, financial institutions and companies.
• In the case of sovereigns, its rating primarily reflects the government’s ability and willingness to meet its debt obligations.

• Significance: The upgrade signals stronger confidence in India’s economic fundamentals, fiscal management and financial stability, and can support investor confidence.

India’s sovereign credit ratings by major global rating agencies

Source: BS

Universal Vaccine Against pneumonia, meningitis

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• Scientists are looking for a universal pneumococcal vaccine that can target all the hundred or so forms of Streptococcus pneumonia bacteria.

About

• Aim: To prevent some undesirable outcomes created by existing vaccines that also keep the threat of pneumonia, meningitis, and other pneumococcal diseases alive in the population.

• The bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae comes in at least a hundred different forms, or serotypes, and lives in the tissue lining our nose and throat. S. pneumoniae is normally harmless.
  • But when the body’s immune system becomes weaker, these bacteria may invade lungs and cause pneumonia and can also cause meningitis, and sepsis.
  • These diseases are called pneumococcal diseases, and can be prevented by vaccines. 
• Current Vaccines: The current pneumococcal vaccines protect against only a subset of the 100-odd serotypes. 
  • To increase coverage, scientists need to include additional serotype-specific capsular polysaccharides in the vaccine. 
  • And covering all the serotypes in a single shot would be extremely challenging and expensive as well.
• Thus, scientists are looking for a universal pneumococcal vaccine that can target all serotypes and prevent the threat of pneumonia, meningitis, and other pneumococcal diseases alive in the population.

Source: TH

Cold Allodynia

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• Researchers from the IISc, Bengaluru, and Kolkata-based institute TCG-CREST have identified the “brain circuit” that involves the sensations associated with a certain side effect of chemotherapy known as “cold allodynia”.

Cold allodynia

• Cold allodynia is a condition in which the sufferer may feel pain or distress from even a regular level of cold temperatures. 
• It is one of the side effects that are part of “chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy”.
  • It includes many chemotherapy-induced neural side effects such as temperature sensitivity, a feeling of pins and needles, or pain etc.
• Cold allodynia specifically is known to be one of the side effects of oxaliplatin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug that contains platinum.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells/Cancer cells in the body.
• Chemotherapy drugs can be used alone or in combination to treat a wide variety of cancers.
• Though chemotherapy is an effective way to treat many types of cancer, chemotherapy treatment also carries a risk of side effects.

Source: IE

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

In News

• The Government has announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for the year 2024. 

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards

• The awards recognise outstanding achievements by individuals in the field of adventure and seek to promote a spirit of endurance, risk-taking, teamwork and quick and effective decision-making in challenging situations. 
• The awards are given in four categories, which are Land Adventure, Water Adventure, Air Adventure and Lifetime Achievement. 
• Each awardee will receive a statuette, a certificate and award money of 15 lakh rupees.
• The selections were made following the recommendations of the National Selection Committee.
  • The Committee evaluated the nominations and recommended the awardees for conferment of the national honour.

Source : Air