November 13, 2025 - Current Affairs

India’s First MWh-Scale Vanadium Flow Battery

Context

The Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs inaugurated India’s largest and first MWh-scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) system of 3 MWh capacity.

Lithium Ion Batteries and Their Limitations

Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable energy storage devices that use lithium ions as the charge carriers.

They are the dominant battery technology used in: Electric Vehicles (EVs), Mobile phones, laptops, Renewable energy storage systems.

Working Principle: During discharge, lithium ions move from the anode (usually graphite) to the cathode (lithium metal oxide) through an electrolyte, producing electrical energy.

Supreme Court on Privileged Communications

In News

The Supreme Court reaffirmed the vital role of advocates in a constitutional democracy, ruling that lawyers cannot be compelled to disclose client communications unless the legal advice is used to commit or conceal a crime.

Background

The judgment arose from suo motu proceedings after an Ahmedabad police officer issued a notice under Section 179 of the BNSS, 2023, summoning a defence counsel to reveal case details.

Export Promotion Mission

Context

Amid pressure on goods exports to the US due to high 50% tariffs, the Union Cabinet has approved a six-year Export Promotion Mission with an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore.

Export Promotion Mission

In the Union Budget for 2025-26, the Finance Minister announced an Export Promotion Mission.

It would facilitate easy access to export credit, cross-border factoring support, and support to MSMEs to tackle non-tariff measures in overseas markets.

Ministries: Driven jointly by the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, and the Ministry of Finance.

Under EPM, priority support will be extended to sectors impacted by recent global tariff escalations, such as textiles, leather, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products.

DNA Sampling

Context

Investigators are using DNA profiling to determine the suspect of the recent deadly car explosion outside the Red Fort in New Delhi, highlighting how genetic analysis plays a crucial role in forensic investigations.

About DNA Profiling

It is a set of molecular techniques used to identify individuals based on unique genetic markers.

It remains the most dependable method of identification in cases involving explosions, fires, or mass disasters where bodies are unrecognisable.

India, Botswana Cheetah Translocation Pact

In News

India and Botswana formally announced the translocation of eight Cheetahs to India as a part of ‘Project Cheetah’.

About

India declared the cheetah extinct in 1952, after decades of over-hunting, habitat fragmentation, and depletion of prey species.

The launch of Project Cheetah in 2022 and the arrival of cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa created the world’s first intercontinental relocation programme for a large carnivore.

And, Botswana, a landlocked country with nearly 70% of its landmass covered by the Kalahari Desert, holds one of the world’s largest wild cheetah populations.

News in Short – 13 November, 2025

Context

The Supreme Court said all High Courts should put out in the public domain the time taken by their judges to pronounce verdicts in pending cases.

About

There are no specific timelines within which judges have to deliver judgments.

The convention is that the judiciary ought to pronounce judgments within a reasonable time, from two to six months, of reserving cases.

However, judges, including in the Supreme Court and the High Courts, have in practice reserved judgments for well over a year before delivering them.

This may be due to the complexity of the question of law involved or the burden of work.