News In Short 24-12-2025

Thanjavur Painting

Syllabus: GS1/ Art & Culture

In News

• The Department of Posts successfully transported a priceless Thanjavur-style painting of the divine Shri Ram from Bengaluru to Ayodhya.

About Thanjavur Painting

• Thanjavur Painting (also called Tanjore Painting) is a classical South Indian painting style known for its rich colours, surface relief work, and extensive use of gold foil.
• It was developed during the Nayaka and Maratha rule (16th–18th century) in Thanjavur.
• It primarily depicts Hindu deities, especially Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Saraswati and scenes from Puranas.
• They feature bright colours, bold outlines and a flat perspective, with Hindu deities—especially Krishna—at the centre. 
• Traditionally made on wooden planks with cloth backing, the paintings use gold foil and decorative stones or beads, giving them their distinctive luminous look.
• It has also received the Geographical Indications (GI) tag.

Source: DD News

National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in Gujarat

Syllabus: GS1/ Culture

Context

• India and the Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in maritime heritage, marking a step toward the development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat.

About National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC)

• The NMHC is a comprehensive cultural and heritage project aimed at presenting India’s long and continuous maritime tradition.
• It is being developed near Saragwala village, close to the archaeological site of Lothal in Gujarat.
• Key Components of the NMHC include;
  • A museum featuring 14 galleries, 
  • A Lothal Town and Open Aquatic Gallery, 
  • A Lighthouse Museum, a Bagicha Complex, Coastal State Pavilions, and the Recreation of Lothal City. 
• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) is the nodal ministry for the project.
  • The Indian Ports Association (IPA) has been appointed as the nodal agency.

Historical Significance of Lothal

• Lothal, meaning “the mound of the dead,” dates back to around 2400 BCE.
• It was one of the prominent urban centres of the Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization.
• Lothal emerged as a thriving port city and trading hub, facilitating inland and overseas commerce.
• Major Archaeological Features;
  • Discovery of the world’s oldest known artificial dockyard, over 5,000 years old.
  • The dock was connected to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River.
  • Evidence of advanced urban planning, including, an acropolis and a lower town, warehouses and a bead-manufacturing factory.

Source: DD News

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

Syllabus: GS1/ Places, GS3/ Energy

Context

• Japan is set to resume operations at the world’s largest nuclear plant (Kashiwazaki-Kariwa) for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

About

• Location: It spans the towns of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture, (Island of Honshu) Japan, on the coast of the Sea of Japan.
• Capacity: Approximately 8,200 MW, making it the largest nuclear power plant globally.
• Operator: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

Japan’s Focus on Nuclear Energy

• Japan is the world’s fifth-largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide, after China, the United States, India and Russia, and is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels.
  • Nearly 70% of Japan’s power needs in 2023 were met by power plants burning coal, gas and oil.

• Before the 2011 quake and tsunami, nuclear power generated about a third of Japan’s electricity.
  • Fourteen reactors, mostly in western and southern regions, have resumed operation since the post-Fukushima shutdown after strict safety standards were imposed.
• Japan aims to make renewables its top power source by 2040.
• Under the plan, nuclear power will account for around 20% of Japan’s energy supply by 2040 – up from 5.6% in 2022.

Source: TH

China Overtakes OPEC+ as the Main Oil Price Maker

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• China, not OPEC+, emerged as the key stabiliser of global crude oil prices in 2025.

About

• China challenged OPEC+ control over oil prices in 2025 by using its position as the world’s largest crude oil importer.
• China consistently bought more oil when prices fell and reduced buying when prices rose, effectively creating a price floor and ceiling for global crude prices.
• China’s stockpiling helped keep Brent crude prices stable around $65 per barrel during the second half of 2025, despite geopolitical tensions and fears of an oil glut.

About OPEC

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Kuwait and Iraq.
• Currently, it has 12 members, viz. Algeria, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
• The objective of the organisation is to coordinate policies with respect to petroleum demand and supply to ensure fair and stable prices and ensure a steady income to oil producing countries.
• It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, although Austria is not an OPEC member state.

OPEC+

• OPEC+ has 22 members, made up of 10 major oil producing countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Bahrain, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan, Sudan and Malaysia), along with the 12 OPEC members.
• The OPEC+ was formed in 2016 after the adoption of the ‘Algiers Accord’ by OPEC countries in 2016 and signing of the ‘Vienna Agreement’ in 2016 between OPEC and other major oil exporting countries.
• The move was largely a response to sharply falling oil prices caused by a surge in U.S. shale oil production.

Source: TH

Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)

Syllabus: GS3/ Cybersecurity

Context

• The Government has prevented six hundred sixty Crore Cyber Fraud Losses in just 6 months with the help of the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI).

What is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)?

• FRI is a risk-based metric that classifies a suspected mobile number to have been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud. 
• This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders including reporting on Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C’s) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT’s Chakshu platform, Intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions, TSPs, etc. 
• It empowers stakeholders-especially banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers to take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number appears as part of the FRI.

Source: AIR

Evaluation Trials of Akash-NG

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

In News

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)  has successfully completed the User Evaluation Trials (UET) of Next Generation Akash missile (Akash-NG) system. 

Akash-NG

• Akash–NG is a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system designed to provide area air defence against a wide range of aerial threats across different altitudes and speeds.
• It is equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency seeker and propelled by a solid rocket motor.
• It is a potent system for ensuring air defense against different types of aerial threats. 

Source :Air

BlueBird Block-2 Satellite

Syllabus: GS3/Space

In News

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the LVM-3 rocket carrying the BlueBird Block-2 satellite.

BlueBird Block-2 satellite

• The BlueBird Block-2 satellite is the largest-ever commercial communications satellite to be deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO).
  • As the name suggests, LEO is an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface. It is normally at an altitude of less than 1,000 km.
• It was designed by the US company AST SpaceMobile and  will be part of an LEO constellation .
• It is among the heaviest commercial satellites, weighing around 6.5 tonnes.

Applications 

• It will provide direct-to-mobile connectivity, allowing satellites to communicate directly with smartphones without ground stations.
• It  will enable 4G and 5G calls, messages, streaming, and data services anytime and anywhere.

Importance 

• The BlueBird Block-2 mission marks ISRO’s third commercial launch using the LVM-3, following OneWeb satellite launches in 2022 and 2023, after India emerged as a key launch option due to Russia’s withdrawal and the retirement of ESA’s Ariane-5. 
• Through this launch, ISRO aims to demonstrate its ability to conduct heavy-lift missions at a lower cost than competitors like SpaceX’s Falcon-9 and Ariane-6.

ISRO’s efforts towards engine optimisation

• ISRO is advancing engine optimisation to enhance safety for the Gaganyaan mission and boost lift-off capacity for the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
• Key efforts include upgrading the cryogenic upper stage from the current C25 (28,000 kg propellant, 20-tonne thrust) to the new C32 stage (32,000 kg propellant, 22-tonne thrust), which provides nearly half the velocity needed for geosynchronous transfer orbits. 
• ISRO  is also developing a semi-cryogenic second stage using refined kerosene and liquid oxygen to replace the current liquid propellant, increasing payload capacity to low Earth orbit from 8,000 kg to about 10,000 kg while reducing costs.

Source :DD

Rhino Dehorning

Syllabus: GS3/Species in News

Context

• As of 2024, fewer than 28,000 rhinos remain on the planet, all five species combined.

About

• Greater Kruger, the southern African reserves protecting the world’s largest rhino population, alone lost 1,985 black and white rhinos between 2017 and 2023. 
• There are currently five species of Asian and African rhinoceros left in the world:  Black, Javan, white, Sumatran, and Great one horned.
  • Three of the five are critically endangered: Black, Javan, and Sumatran.

Illegal rhino horns

• Rhinoceroses are the world’s second-largest land mammals after elephants. They adorn themselves with horns made of not bone but keratin.
• Why are Rhino Horns in Demand? People perceive rhino horns as status symbols to display wealth and success. The result is a multi-hundred-million-dollar global black market driven by high demand and high prices.
  • Rhino horns have been used in traditional medicine in Asian countries, especially Vietnam and China. 
• Poachers often operate under intense pressure, and killing the rhino allows them to remove the entire horn quickly and without resistance. 

Dehorning against poaching

• Reserves that removed the horns reported a 75% drop in poaching compared to pre-dehorning levels. 
• At an individual level, dehorned rhinos faced a 95% lower risk of being poached compared to those with intact horns, highlighting the strong deterrent effect of dehorning.

Source: TH

Jnanpith Award Winner Vinod Kumar Shukla

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

In News

• Eminent Hindi litterateur and Jnanpith Award winner Vinod Kumar Shukla passed away.

Vinod Kumar Shukla

• He was a renowned poet, novelist, and experimental writer.
• He was the first from Chhattisgarh to receive the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour.
• He was  Known for his simple, sensitive style portraying everyday life.
• His notable works include Naukar Ki Kameez and Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rahti Thi and Khilega To Dekhenge,

Jnanpith Award

• It is the highest literary honour of India given to writers who have excelled in literature in different Indian languages.
• It was instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust to recognise outstanding contributions to Indian literature. 
• Initially awarded for the best literary work, it later shifted to honouring an author’s entire literary contribution across Indian languages, including English.
• The selection process involves Language Advisory Committees and an independent Selection Board, ensuring objectivity and national representation.

Source :IE