News in Short – 11 November, 2025

Rift Valley Fever

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

In News

• The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) affecting Mauritania and Senegal in Western Africa.

About Rift Valley Fever (RVF)

• RVF derives its name from Kenya’s Rift Valley, where the disease was first recognised in the early 1930s.
• It is caused by a Phlebovirus belonging to the Phenuiviridae family.
• It primarily affects animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. 
• Humans become infected through close contact with infected animals or by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
• There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
• Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment.

Source: TH

Molasses

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• The Central government is looking to permit around 1.5 million tonnes of sugar exports in 2025–26 and abolish the 50% export tax on molasses to improve realisations and help farmers receive faster payments.

About

• The export decision was communicated to the chief minister while listing out the steps taken by the central government to protect the interest of sugarcane farmers in the country.
• Gross sugar production stood at 29.1 million tonnes in the 2024–25 and is estimated to rise 16% to 34.35 million tonnes in the current 2025–26.
• It is projected that 3.4 million tonnes of sugar will be diverted to ethanol production in 2025–26, compared to 3.5 million tonnes in the preceding year.

Molasses

• Molasses is a thick, dark brown syrup obtained as a byproduct during the process of refining sugarcane or sugar beet into sugar.
• Uses
  • Food industry: Used in baking (e.g., gingerbread), rum production, and animal feed.
  • Industrial use: In ethanol, citric acid, and yeast production.
  • Agriculture: As a component in cattle feed and for soil conditioning.
• It is a key raw material for ethanol production under India’s ethanol blending programme to reduce crude oil imports.

Source: BS

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Report

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was conducted by the Labour Bureau for the July-September 2025 quarter.

About

• Unemployment Rate: Overall it dropped to 5.2% in July-September, 2025 from 5.4% in the previous quarter.
  • Rural: It declined to 4.4% during the period from 4.8%.
  • Urban: Increased from 6.1% to 6.2% for males, and from 8.9% to 9.0% for females.
• Employment Pattern: 
  • Rural areas: Dominated by self-employment – increased to 62.8% (from 60.7%). Majority engaged in the agriculture sector – 57.7% (up from 53.5%), due to seasonal operations.
  • Urban areas: Regular wage/salaried employment rose slightly to 49.8% (from 49.4%). The workforce was concentrated in the tertiary sector – 62.0% (up from 61.7%).
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): 
  • Overall LFPR: 55.1% (steady from 55.0% last quarter).
  • Rural LFPR: 57.2% (up from 57.1%).
  • Urban LFPR: 50.7% (up from 50.6%).
  • Female LFPR: Increased to 33.7% (from 33.4%).
  • Rural female LFPR: 37.5% (up from 37.0%).
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): For persons of age 15 years and above in the country during the quarter was 52.2%.
  • In rural areas, WPR was 54.7% as compared to WPR of 47.2% recorded in urban areas for the same quarter.

Key Takeaway

• Rural employment improved, driven by agriculture and self-employment.
• Urban employment remained stable, with a slight rise in salaried jobs.
• Female participation in the labour force showed a gradual rise.
• Overall unemployment declined, reflecting a moderate labour market recovery.

Source: TH

Ricin

Syllabus: GS3/ Science & Technology

In News

• The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) foiled an alleged terror plot and arrested men with suspected links to terrorism who were reportedly attempting to produce Ricin chemical

About Ricin

• Ricin is a highly toxic protein extracted from the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). 
• It blocks protein synthesis in cells, causing multiple organ failure and death within hours of exposure. Even a few milligrams can be fatal.
• It is listed under Schedule-1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), supervised by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as it has no legitimate civilian use.
• There is no known antidote for Ricin poisoning.

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

• Adopted: 1992 and came into force in 1997.
• Administered by: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), headquartered at The Hague, Netherlands.
• Objective: To eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical weapons and by ensuring their destruction.
• India: Among the original signatories and one of the first countries to ratify the Convention in 1996.
• Schedule system: Chemicals are divided into three schedules based on lethality and civilian use:
  • Schedule 1: High toxicity, no legitimate civilian use (e.g. Ricin, Sarin, VX).
  • Schedule 2: Can be used as weapon precursors but have limited industrial uses.
  • Schedule 3: Used in large-scale industry but can be weapon precursors (e.g. Phosgene, Hydrogen Cyanide).

Source: IE

World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO)

Syllabus: GS3/ S&T

In News

• At the APEC Summit in Busan (2025), President Xi Jinping proposed forming the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

About

• It is a new global AI governance initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the headquarters proposed in Shanghai, China.
• WAICO intends to address the current fragmented governance of AI by fostering international cooperation, aligning AI strategies and technical standards, and promoting inclusive innovation ecosystems, especially for developing countries. 

Source: IE

James Watson, Nobel Prize-winning DNA Pioneer Dies

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

In News

• James Dewey Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist renowned for co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA, died in New York. 

Major Contributions of James Dewey Watson

• Watson’s landmark 1953 collaboration with Francis Crick, aided by X-ray data from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, revolutionized biology by revealing DNA’s structure and replication mechanism. 
• He contributed to cancer research and played a key role in the Human Genome Project (1988–1992), overseeing the mapping of human genes. 
• He also served as a professor at Harvard and transformed Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory into a leading molecular biology center.

Discovery of double-helix structure of DNA

• James Dewey Watson was globally celebrated for co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick .
• Their model revealed how genetic information is stored and replicated, explaining heredity and enabling vast advances in biology.
• The discovery built on decades of prior research, including Friedrich Miescher’s identification of DNA in 1869 and the realization in the 1940s that DNA, not proteins, carried genetic information.
• It was catalyzed by X-ray crystallography data, especially Photo 51 taken by Rosalind Franklin’s team, which revealed the molecule’s double-helical shape.
  • Their model showed that DNA consists of two strands with complementary base pairs — A with T, and C with G — arranged like a twisted ladder, allowing precise replication.

Impacts 

• The elegant structure explained how traits are inherited and sparked the birth of molecular biology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering. 
• It led to transformative tools like CRISPR, revolutionized agriculture and medicine, and enabled genetic analysis in forensics and evolutionary biology. 

Recognition 

• This breakthrough earned Watson, Crick, and Wilkins the 1962 Nobel Prize and laid the foundation for modern genetics, enabling advances in medicine, forensics, and biotechnology.

Source :TH

V. Rajaraman: Architect of India’s Programming Revolution

Syllabus: GS3/Role of Indians in Science and Technology

In News

• Prof. Vaidyeswaran Rajaraman, a pioneering engineer and academic who helped establish computer science education in India, passed away.

Vaidyeswaran Rajaraman

• He was Born in  Tamil Nadu and he studied physics at St. Stephens College, earned an engineering diploma from IISc Bengaluru, and completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• He was a pioneering computer scientist and educator, who played a foundational role in shaping India’s software programming and services sector. 

Major Contributions 

• His early work on analogue computing at IISc led to advanced training abroad at MIT and Wisconsin, after which he returned to India to build one of the country’s first computer centres around an IBM mainframe.
• Rajaraman’s intensive Fortran courses trained early programmers and forged links with emerging firms like TCS and HCL. 
• His students went on to lead India’s software industry. 
• His 1968 Fortran booklet became a bestseller, prompting a prolific publishing career that made him a household name in programming education. 
• He was instrumental in launching India’s first B.Tech in computer science at IIT-Kanpur in 1979 and later helped design the MCA programme to meet industry needs.
• He advanced India’s computing capabilities as head of IISc’s Supercomputer Education and Research Centre (1982–1994).

Recognition and legacy

• A Bhatnagar Prize winner, Rajaraman was also honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1998, besides several other awards. 
• He wrote more than 20 textbooks on computer science which are still being taught in colleges and universities across the country.
• His legacy spans analogue machines to supercomputers, and his quiet dedication shaped generations of programmers, educators, and tech leaders.

Source :TH

Booker Prize 2025

Syllabus: Awards/ Miscellaneous

Context

• David Szalay won this year’s Booker Prize for fiction for his novel ‘Flesh,’ is the first Hungarian-British author to win the Booker Prize.

About

• The Booker Prize, is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, which was published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland.
• Launch: It was first awarded in 1969 to promote reading and literature.
  • The inaugural Booker Prize was awarded to PH Newby for Something to Answer For.
• The Booker Prize Foundation has an in-house team who select a multicultural group of creative artistes, experts and critics. 
• Indian Winner: Several Indian writers as well as writers of Indian-origin have won the Prize.
  • These include VS Naipaul in 1971 for In A Free State, Salman Rushdie for Midnight’s Children in 1981, Arundhati Roy for The God of Small Things (1997), Kiran Desai for The Inheritance of Loss (2006), Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger (2008). 

International Booker Prize

• This prize is awarded annually to the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories, translated into English and published in the United Kingdom (UK) or Ireland.
• It was established in 2005.
• In 2022 Geetanjali Shree for her Hindi novel, Tomb of Sand received the prize.
• In 2025, Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi won it for the translated anthology of Mushtaq’s short stories from Kannada into English, Heart Lamp.

Source: IE