News In Short-13-06-2025

India’s 1st Silver Notice From Interpol

Syllabus: GS2/ International Agencies

In News

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got India’s first ‘silver notice’ issued by Interpol, which will enable the probe agency to trace proceeds of crime related to the French embassy visa ‘fraud’ case, allegedly parked in different countries. 

About Interpol

• Origin: Formed as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) at the 2nd International Police Congress, Vienna, 1923.
  • Became INTERPOL after the adoption of its Constitution in 1956 during its 25th General Assembly.
• Membership: 196 countries, India is a founding member.
• Headquarters: Lyon, France.
• National Central Bureau (NCB): Every member state has one and India’s NCB is the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• Organizational Structure: General Assembly (Supreme governing body; meets annually), Executive Committee (supervises execution of General Assembly decisions) & General Secretariat (Permanent staff handling day-to-day operations).

BHARATPOL Portal

• BHARATPOL is a dedicated online portal developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• It facilitates international police cooperation between Indian law enforcement agencies and INTERPOL.

Source: TOI

PM GatiShakti Plan

Syllabus :GS 3/Economy  

In News

• The 95th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under PM Gatishakti was held to evaluate infrastructure projects in metro rail and road, transport and highways and logistics parks. 

PM Gati Shakti’ initiative

• It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2021.
• It is an approach for growth accelerating trustworthy infrastructure through synchronized, holistic, integrated and comprehensive planning based on knowledge, technology and innovation.
• It is a National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity aimed at integrating infrastructure planning and execution across various Ministries and State Governments. 

• It coordinates projects related to Railways, Roadways, and other transport modes to enhance seamless connectivity, reduce travel time, and improve last-mile access.
• It integrates major schemes like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, and UDAN. 

Source :DD News

RBI Bond Buyback

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

In News

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently conducted its second bond buyback auction of the current fiscal (FY26).

What Is a Bond Buyback?

• A buyback is when the RBI, on behalf of the government, repurchases existing government securities (G-Secs) from the market before maturity to infuse durable liquidity into the banking system.

Source: ET

Mayday Call

Syllabus: GS3/ S&T

In News

• An Air India pilot of a London-bound Air India plane has issued a Mayday call to Air Traffic Control (ATC).

What is a Mayday call?

• The term “Mayday” comes from the French phrase m’aider, meaning “help me”.
• A Mayday call is the highest-level radio distress signal used in aviation and maritime communication to indicate a life-threatening emergency. It signals that immediate assistance is required.
• It was introduced in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, a radio officer at Croydon Airport in London.
• It was officially adopted in 1927, alongside the Morse code signal “SOS”.
• According to established conventions, a pilot or a mariner in duress needs to repeat the word three times in a row (Mayday, Mayday, Mayday) to trigger emergency response protocol.

Source: HT

CROPIC

Syllabus: GS3/ Agriculture, Science and Technology

Context

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare plans to launch CROPIC, a study to gather crop information using field photographs and AI-based models.

What is CROPIC?

• CROPIC stands for Collection of Real Time Observations & Photo of Crops.
  • It is an innovative digital initiative aimed at revolutionising how India monitors its crops and assesses losses.
• Implemented by: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• The study will be carried out for two seasons initially, kharif 2025 and rabi 2025-26.

How Will CROPIC Work?

• Data Collection: Farmers will upload field photographs using a mobile application during different stages of crop growth.
• App Development: The CROPIC mobile app is designed to simplify data entry and enable geo-tagged photo submissions.
• Images will be analysed to determine: Crop type, Crop stage and Extent and type of damage.
• Dashboard: A web-based visualisation dashboard will help officials monitor real-time crop health data.
• The agriculture ministry plans to conduct this study for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). 

Source: IE

Emperor Penguins

Syllabus :GS 3/Species 

In News

• Climate change is causing Antarctic sea ice to melt early, threatening the survival of Emperor Penguins. 

Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)

• It breeds at about 54 colonies around Antarctica, with the largest colonies in the Ross Sea and Weddell Sea. 
• It is the biggest in the 18 species of Penguin found today, and one of the largest of all birds.
• It is uniquely adapted to survive harsh conditions, with temperatures plunging to a bone-chilling -50°C and winds reaching up to 200 km/h.
• They are threatened by climate change, which reduces sea ice concentration, thickness, and duration, influenced by factors like wind and ocean conditions.
• IUCN Red List Status is Near Threatened

Penguin

• They are a group of aquatic flightless birds. Every year the 25th of April is observed as World Penguin Day. 
• Live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere with only one species, the Galapagos penguin, found north of the equator. 

Source: DTE

Exercise Shakti-2025

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The 8th edition of Exercise Shakti-2025, a bilateral joint military exercise between India and France is going to be held at La Cavalerie, France.

About

• Exercise SHAKTI is a biennial Indo-French joint military exercise, launched in 2011. The 7th edition was held in May 2024 in Meghalaya, India.
• The aim of the exercise is to enhance the joint military capability of both sides to undertake multi-domain operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate.

Do you know?

• Exercise VARUNA is a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy.
• Exercise GARUDA is a  joint air exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the French Air and Space Force (FASF).

Source: AIR