Recently, a flash flood erupted in the Lhende Khola and Bhote Koshi river system in Nepal, highlighting cascading risks for downstream Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
About Flash Flood
A flash flood is a sudden, rapid rise and overflow of water, usually occurring within a few hours of intense rainfall, cloudbursts, dam or embankment failure, or the sudden release of water from glaciers or landslide-dammed lakes.
Their short lead time and high velocity make them particularly destructive unlike gradual riverine floods.
The ‘Ease of Doing R&D in India’ reported that close to 80% of funding under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the flagship research funding body, is concentrated in the IITs.
Status of R&D in India
Low Expenditure on Research and Development: India’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) has remained around 0.64% of GDP for many years. This level is significantly lower than major economies:
Israel and South Korea spend more than 4% of GDP on R&D.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare noted that the average cost of hospitalisation is ₹50,508 in a private facility, compared with ₹6,631 in a government facility.
Major Highlights
For childbirth, the average out-of-pocket medical expenditure in private facilities is ₹37,630, against ₹2,299 in public facilities.
The committee has made 368 recommendations, including standardised package rates and mandatory pre-treatment cost estimates.
Synthetic DNA has become central to advances in health, food security, climate and biotechnology, but its growing accessibility has created significant dual-use and biosecurity risks.
Synthetic DNA
It is defined as artificially created genetic material that can be synthesized from digitized genome sequences and used to construct synthetic genomes.
It expands the possibilities for the development of improved or entirely new biomolecular therapies, including enzymes, peptides, RNA catalysts, and DNA and RNA aptamers.
At the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, the Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
About
Sarnath was nominated under criteria (iii) and (vi) of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Criterion (iii) recognizes Sarnath's enduring spiritual significance as one of the four principal destinations of Buddhist pilgrimage.
