Madhubani Painting
Syllabus: GS1/Art and Culture
Context
- India’s Defence Minister gifted a Madhubani painting to his Chinese counterpart during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, China.
About the Madhubani Painting
- Origin: Madhubani painting, also known as Mithila painting, originated in the Madhubani district of Bihar’s Mithila region.
- Technique: Traditionally painted by women using fingers, twigs, nib-pens, matchsticks, and brushes. Natural dyes and pigments are used, producing bright earthy colours.
- Distinctive Features: Known for eye-catching geometrical patterns, two-dimensional imagery, and complete coverage — no empty spaces.
- Themes: Depicts Hindu deities (Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati), celestial bodies (Sun, Moon), sacred plants (Tulsi), court and wedding scenes, and motifs of flowers, animals, and birds.
- Evolution: Earlier done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts; now also made on cloth, handmade paper, and canvas.
- GI Tag: Madhubani painting was the first product from Bihar to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2007.
Source: IE
Bihar Becomes First State to Vote Using Mobile App
Syllabus: GS2/Governance
Context
- Bihar has become the first state in the country to launch e-Voting facilities using mobile applications in municipal bodies elections and by-polls.
About
- Polling is taking place in Six Nagar Panchayat and 36 different other municipal bodies.
- The facilities are available for those people who are unable to go to polling booths to cast their votes.
- Senior citizens, disabled people and pregnant women can avail this option.
- Voters have to install the E-SECBHR app which is now currently available only for Android users.
Methods to prevent tampering
- Only two registered voters are allowed to log in using one mobile number
- Verification of each voter is being done by entering the vote id number.
- Blockchain technology ensures that votes are recorded and saved in a secure, immutable system
- Facial recognition and matching assist in the verification of voter identities during login and voting.
Source: TH
New U.S. Draft Law on Foreign Remittances
Syllabus: GS2/ International Relations, GS3/ Economy
Context
- The U.S. Senate has released a revised version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, reducing the proposed tax on foreign remittances to 1%.
About
- The proposed law originally aimed to impose a tax on all foreign remittances sent from the U.S.
- However, the latest draft reduces the proposed tax rate to 1% (down from 5% initially) and restricts it to cash-based remittance methods only.
- Remittances made via bank accounts, debit cards, or credit cards issued in the U.S. have now been exempted from this tax.
Implications for India
- India is the world’s top recipient of foreign remittances. The Indian diaspora sent a record $135.46 billion in remittances during the FY25, according to the RBI.
- The U.S. is a major source of these remittances, with a large and economically active Indian diaspora.
- The tax on foreign remittances could have led to a decline in remittance inflows to India, adversely impacting foreign exchange reserves, and by extension, the current account balance.
Source: TH
MoSPI Celebrates 19th Statistics Day
Syllabus : GS3/Economy
In News
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) celebrated the 19th Statistics Day in New Delhi.
National Statistics Day
- It was first celebrated in 2007 to recognize the invaluable contributions of Professor P.C. Mahalanobis to the field of statistics and economic planning.
- He is Known as the ‘Father of Modern Statistics in India‘.
- He founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and developed the Mahalanobis Distance, a widely used statistical measure.
- His work laid the foundation for India’s national statistical system, significantly impacting economic planning and policy formulation.
Source :PIB
Ladakh’s First Astro Tourism Festival
Syllabus :GS3/Economy
In News
- Recently, the first-ever Ladakh Astro Tourism Festival concluded in Leh.
About Ladakh’s First Astro Tourism Festival
- It is organized by the Tourism Department and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
- It is the two-day event which aims to promote Ladakh as a top astro-tourism destination, highlighting its clear skies, high altitude, and low light pollution.
- The key Activities included expert talks by scientists from ISRO and universities, and night sky observations at Ladakh University, offering guided telescope views of constellations, planets, and deep-sky objects.
Source: AIR
GPS Interference Threatening Flights
Syllabus :GS3/Science and Technology
In News
- Recent incidents which include a Delhi-Jammu flight turning back, a tanker collision near the Strait of Hormuz, and a ship grounding near Jeddah were all caused by Global Positioning System (GPS) interference.
GPS interference
- It involves cyber-attacks such as spoofing and jamming, which intentionally disrupt or mislead the navigation systems of vehicles.
- Although the terms are often used interchangeably, spoofing and jamming represent distinct types of interference.
| Difference between GPS jamming and GPS spoofing – GPS jamming uses strong radio signals to block GPS receivers from accessing satellite data, disrupting location and time functions. – GPS spoofing deceives receivers by sending fake signals, leading them to display incorrect location or time information. |
Risks
- GPS interference is dangerous as it can mislead pilots and ship captains, risking collisions and disrupting transport operations.
- With around 700 spoofing incidents daily in 2024, it threatens critical infrastructure like air traffic control and port systems, and can even cause road traffic chaos.
Prevalence
- GPS interference is common in conflict zones like the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Eastern Europe, where advanced electronic warfare is used.
- Incidents have surged, with the Red Sea seeing a 350% rise in spoofing in early 2025.
- Aircraft avoid such areas due to spoofing risks.
- Russia experienced a major spoofing event in 2017, affecting over 20 ships near Novorossiysk Port.
Measures
- To counter GPS interference, aircraft use backup systems like Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), ground-based VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), and manual methods like celestial navigation.
- Pilots receive enhanced training to detect spoofing.
- Ships switch from autopilot to manual control using land-based aids and adopt multi-constellation GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Bei Dou) for better reliability.
- India uses its own NavIC system to ensure precise navigation independent of foreign GPS, proven effective in military operations.
Source: IE
National Turmeric Board
Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture
Context
- Union Home Minister, inaugurated the headquarters of the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad, Telangana.
About
- It is a dedicated body established in 2025, to promote turmeric cultivation, research, and exports, ensuring holistic growth in the turmeric sector.
- Headquarters: Nizamabad, Telangana.
- Ministry: Operates under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Aim: To enhance turmeric production.
- Support farmers and improve their livelihoods.
- Boost global exports of turmeric and value-added products.
- Functions: The Board will also look into creating awareness on the essential and medical properties of turmeric, ways to increase its yield and boost logistics and supply chain to foster trade into newer markets.
Turmeric
- Turmeric is a part of Curcuma Long botanic group and it is a perennial herbaceous plant of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).
- It is used as a seasoning, dye, drug with diverse applications and also used in the cosmetics industry.
- Turmeric is also known as ‘Golden Spice’.
- India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
- In 2023-24, India was responsible for over 70% of global turmeric production and there are 30 varieties of turmeric produced in India.
- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Assam are some of the important states cultivating turmeric.
Climatic Conditions
- It is a tropical herb which grows in both tropics and subtropics.
- It grows at a temperature range of 20-35°c with an annual rainfall of 1500mm or more.
- It requires a humid climatic condition.
- Soil Requirement: It grows best in well drained sandy or clayey loam with a little higher sand content.
Source: TH
Synthetic HGP (SynHG)
Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology
Context
- The researchers in the United Kingdom have launched an ambitious initiative — the Synthetic Human Genome Project (SynHG) — which represents a bold leap from reading the human genome to attempting to write it.
What is Synthetic HGP (SynHG)
- Unlike the HGP, which reads the human genome, SynHG aims to write large segments of human DNA synthetically — a transition from genetic reading to engineering.
- Time period: 5 years
- Objective: Build large, functional fragments of synthetic human DNA from scratch.
- Develop new technologies for writing, testing, and assembling human genomic sequences.
Significance
- Disease Models: Synthetic genomes can help model human diseases, enabling precision drug development.
- Gene Therapy: Designing DNA for specific functions may treat or even cure genetic disorders.
- Organ Development: Lays groundwork for future bioengineered organs or tissues.
| The Human Genome Project (HGP) – Objective: To identify and map all human genes (approximately 20,000-25,000) and make this knowledge freely accessible. – It was launched in 1990 and completed in 2003. – It Successfully sequenced ~92% of the 3.1 billion base pairs of the human genome. |
Source: TH
Secondary Pollutants
Syllabus: GS3/Environmental Pollution
Context
- Secondary pollutants, particularly ammonium sulphate, that results from the reaction between sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere, are responsible for nearly one-third of India’s fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution.
What are Primary and Secondary Pollutants?
- Primary air pollutants: Pollutants that are formed and emitted directly from particular sources.
- Examples are particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur oxide.
- Secondary air pollutants: Pollutants that are formed in the lower atmosphere by chemical reactions. The two examples are ozone and secondary organic aerosol (haze).
- Secondary pollutants are harder to control because they have different ways of synthesizing and the formation are not well understood.
- They form naturally in the environment and cause problems like photochemical smog.
PM2.5
- PM2.5 (also known as fine fraction particles) is generally defined as those particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns or less.
- Sources of fine particles include all types of combustion activities (motor vehicles, power plants, wood burning, etc.) and certain industrial processes.
Source: TH
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