News in Short – 17 October, 2025

Motion 042

Syllabus :GS3/Environment 

In News

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has adopted Motion 042.

Motion 042

• It was passed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
• It calls for a global phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, a halt to new extraction projects, and a just transition for affected workers and communities. 
• It is backed by civil society, Indigenous groups, and organisations like WWF and BirdLife International.
• It urges the exploration of international mechanisms such as a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Relevance 

• IUCN became the first multilateral body to explicitly recognise fossil fuel production as a threat to nature. 
• It  signals a unified call ahead of COP30 to integrate climate and biodiversity goals by confronting fossil fuels as a root cause of environmental degradation.
  • Indigenous leaders and environmentalists hailed the move as long-overdue recognition of their realities, positioning the IUCN’s stance as a turning point for global conservation and climate justice.

Source :DTE

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme

Syllabus:GS3/Economy 

Context 

The Government has introduced new flexibility under the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme to promote efficient water use and boost farmer income.

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme

• It is  a centrally sponsored initiative launched in 2015–16, aims to enhance farm-level water use efficiency through micro-irrigation methods like drip and sprinkler systems.
•  Initially part of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), it has been implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PMRKVY) since 2022–23. 

Importance 

• A 2020 NITI Aayog evaluation affirmed Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme’s role in boosting productivity, employment, and farmer incomes. 

 Latest Guidelines 

• The new flexibility will empower States and Union Territories to take up micro-level water storage and conservation projects as part of Other Interventions (OI).
• States and UTs can now plan micro-level water management activities-such as digging construction and water harvesting systems-based on local needs. 
• These systems are developed for individual farmers as well as community use, ensuring sustainable water availability for micro-irrigation.

 Source :Air

India Elected Co-Chair of UN-GGIM Asia-Pacific Committee

Syllabus:GS2/IR

In News 

India has been elected as Co-Chair of the Regional Committee of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) for a three-year term till 2028.

 United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP)

• It is a representative body of the National Geospatial Information Authorities of 56 countries and economies in Asia and the Pacific region.
  • It was established in 1995 and rebranded in 2012.
• It is one of the five regional committees of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).

Objectives 

• It  aims to promote the use of geospatial information for identifying problems and finding solutions, so that the economic, social and environmental benefits of geospatial information will be maximized in Asia and the Pacific region.

Source :Air

Cape Verde

Syllabus:GS1/Places 

In News

Cape Verde made history by becoming the second-smallest country (after Iceland in 2018) to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 

• In contrast, India suffered a humiliating loss to world-ranked 158th Singapore in Goa, failing to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Cabo Verde 

• It is an archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
• It is an island nation located about 620 km off the west coast of Africa, named after the nearby Cape Verde in Senegal. 
• It has a service-driven economy focused on trade, transport, tourism, and remittances, transitioning toward a market economy since the mid-1990s.
• Culturally, it blends Portuguese and African influences, evident in its arts and music. Mindelo, on São Vicente, hosts the largest port with a historic deepwater harbor. 

Source :IE

Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS)

Syllabus: GS2/Government Initiatives

Context

• The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, interacted with interns of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) at Hampi, Karnataka.

About the Scheme

• Launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), PMIS is part of the Prime Minister’s package of five schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for Indian youth over a 5-year period.
• Targets youth aged 21–24 years who are currently not enrolled in any full-time academic program or employment.
• The internship will have a duration of 12 months and plans to provide opportunities to one crore youth in the top 500 companies across India over the next five years.
• Financial assistance: Rs. 5,000/month (Rs. 4,500 by the government + Rs. 500 by company via CSR). Additionally, a one-time grant of Rs. 6,000 for incidentals will be disbursed by MCA to each intern, upon joining the place of internship.
• Insurance coverage: Every intern is covered under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

Source: PIB

Private Sector Hospitals Dominance in Ayushman Bharat

Syllabus: GS2/ Health, GS2/ Governance

Context

• The Annual Report of the National Health Authority (NHA) has highlighted that under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) a majority of beneficiaries are utilising private-sector hospitals for treatment, leading to higher overall costs under the scheme.

Key Findings of the NHA Report

• Treatment Utilisation: Since its launch, over 9 crore treatments worth ₹1.29 lakh crore have been availed under Ayushman Bharat.
  • Although only 45% of empanelled hospitals are private, 52% of all hospitalisations and 66% of the total treatment cost occurred in private-sector hospitals.
• Commonly Sought Treatments: The most frequently availed treatment was haemodialysis (14% of total treatments), followed by fever (4%), gastroenteritis (3%), and animal bites (3%).
• The portability feature of the scheme allows beneficiaries to seek treatment anywhere in India.
  • Chandigarh (19%), Uttar Pradesh (13%), and Gujarat (11%) were top destinations for patients seeking care outside their home state.
  • Conversely, Uttar Pradesh (24%), Madhya Pradesh (17%), and Bihar (16%) were top contributors to outbound patient flow.

Source: IE

The Impact of Dopamine Overload in the Digital Age

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

Context

• Modern lifestyles, driven by technology and constant instant gratification, have led to a collective “dopamine overdose” that is fundamentally rewiring our brains.

Dopamine and the Brain’s Reward Circuit

• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of pleasure, motivation, and reward.
• It operates primarily through the mesolimbic pathway, linking the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens, both crucial in reinforcing behaviours that bring satisfaction or success.
• When we achieve a goal, receive praise, or enjoy a meal, dopamine is released, motivating us to repeat that action.

Impact on Young Minds

• Algorithms used by social media and other digital platforms are designed to maximize engagement by operating on an intermittent reward schedule, similar to a slot machine.
• Impact: Dopamine overload leads to fatigue, demotivation, and loss of focus.
  • The brain, overstimulated by quick dopamine hits, begins to find ordinary tasks unrewarding.
  • Over time, this contributes to anxiety, sleep disorders, poor self-esteem, and even clinical depression.
  • Modern lifestyles, characterised by multitasking, constant scrolling, and digital comparison, amplify this mental exhaustion, affecting productivity and creativity.

Way Ahead

• Digital Detox and Mindful Usage: Scheduled tech breaks, disabling unnecessary notifications, or using grayscale mode can reduce compulsive checking.
  • “Dopamine fasting” — consciously avoiding overstimulation — allows the brain to reset its reward baseline.
• Good sleep and balanced diets help regulate neurotransmitter activity and enhance cognitive performance.

Source: TH

The PUNCH Space Mission

Syllabus: GS3/Space

Context

• The PUNCH Space Mission, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has observed the solar winds.

PUNCH Mission

• PUNCH stands for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere.
• Aim: To study the Sun’s corona (outer atmosphere) and the solar wind as a unified system.
• Features:
  • PUNCH consists of four small satellites in low Earth orbit.
  • It will make 3D global observations of the inner heliosphere to understand how the Sun’s corona becomes the solar wind.
  • The satellites will map the transition zone where the Sun’s corona turns into solar wind.
• Key Achievement: The mission is “making the invisible visible” by imaging the solar wind, which is normally hard to detect.
• Scientific Significance: Understanding and forecasting space weather is critical because solar events like solar wind and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can affect Earth and other parts of the solar system.

Solar Wind and the Corona

• The corona is the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, extremely hot and tenuous.
• Solar wind is a continuous flow of charged particles released from the corona, spreading throughout the solar system.
• Both the corona and solar wind influence space weather, which can impact satellites, communication systems, power grids, and astronauts.

Source: TH

Cell2Sentence-Scale 27B (C2S-Scale)

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• Google unveiled a family of artificial intelligence tools that proposed a drug combination for detecting cancer that human experts did not know about, which seemed effective in laboratory conditions.

About

• AI Model and Purpose: Google unveiled Cell2Sentence-Scale 27B (C2S-Scale), a 27-billion-parameter foundation model designed to understand the language of individual cells.
  • C2S-Scale generated a novel hypothesis on cancer cell behavior, validated experimentally in living cells.
• Task: The problem that researchers set out to solve was how to detect an emerging tumour when the immune system itself was unaware of it. 
  • A strategy was to force such nascent tumours to display immune-triggering signals through a process called antigen presentation.
• Scientific Significance: It is a rare example of AI actively contributing to scientific discovery rather than just analyzing data.
  • Could lead to new pathways for developing cancer therapies.
• It requires pre-clinical and clinical testing before confirming its therapeutic potential.

Source: TH

Su-57 fighter jets

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) is now considering a proposal from Russia to procure the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets, which may also involve manufacturing them locally in India.

About the Su-57:

• Developed by Russia’s Sukhoi Company, the Su-57, also called Felon, is a twin-engine, single-seat, fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter.
• Role: Air superiority and strike missions; capable of engaging both aerial and ground targets.
• First flight: 2010.
• Top speed: Mach 2 (~2,136 km/h).
• Combat range: ~1,900 km.
• Maximum takeoff weight: ~35 metric tons.
• Stealth & survivability: Low radar cross-section, reduced infrared and electro-optical signatures; designed for covert operations.

Do you know?

• Among friendly countries, only the US and Russia currently operate fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
• The US F-35, though more advanced and stealthy, is not offered under the Make in India route.
• The Su-57 is significantly cheaper, with an estimated unit cost of $35–40 million, less than half the price of an F-35.

Source: TH