In News

A recent study found widespread microplastic contamination in fish along Goa’s Mandovi estuary. 

Microplastics 

They are tiny plastic pieces or fibers smaller than 5 millimeters—some are even invisible to the human eye. 

They come in various forms, such as beads, fragments, pellets, film, foam, and fibers.

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Context

Google has announced a historic investment of USD 15 billion (₹87,520 crore) to build its largest-ever AI hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Key Features of the Google AI Hub

Purpose-built Data Centre Campus: The hub will integrate advanced AI infrastructure, large-scale data centre capacity, renewable energy sources, and a high-speed fibre-optic network, all located in one campus.

International Subsea Gateway: Construction of new international subsea cables landing at Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast, enhancing global digital connectivity and internet speed.

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Context

The Ministry of Power has released the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to reform India’s power sector and strengthen distribution companies (discoms).

What are the implications?

Fiscal Transparency: By ending hidden cross-subsidies, the Bill promotes fiscal accountability though it may raise short-term deficits.

Industrial Competitiveness: Cost-reflective tariffs will ease the burden on industries and transport sectors, improving efficiency and attracting investment.

Consumer Empowerment: Open access and private participation enhance competition and service quality, though equitable rural access must be safeguarded.

Targeted Welfare: Subsidies for the poor and farmers remain, but will be delivered transparently via direct fiscal transfers, reducing leakages and discom losses.

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Context

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity has completed four years. 

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP)

It was launched in 2021 for providing multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones and improving logistics efficiency across India.

It is not under a single ministry but is coordinated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Aim: To provide seamless and efficient connectivity for the movement of people, goods, and services across various modes of transport, thereby enhancing last-mile connectivity and reducing travel time.

PM GatiShakti is driven by seven engines: Railways, Roads, Ports, Waterways, Airports, Mass Transport and Logistics Infrastructure.

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Context

A high-level Saudi Arabia delegation met the Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, to advance bilateral cooperation in the textile sector.

Major Highlights

India and Saudi Arabia have a bilateral trade reaching USD 41.88 billion in FY 2024–25. 

India emerged as the second-largest supplier (USD 517.5 million) to Saudi Arabia’s textile and apparel sector, capturing an 11.2% share of Saudi Arabia’s total textile and apparel imports in 2024. 

Both sides expressed strong commitment to further deepening this trade relationship.

A key point of the meeting was the mutual recognition of Saudi Arabia’s strength in petrochemical-based industries and India’s expanding capabilities in Man-Made Fibre (MMF) and technical textiles.

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Context

India and Mongolia inked 10 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in New Delhi.

Major Agreements and MoUs

Cultural & Educational Exchange: An MoU links India’s Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh) with Mongolia’s Arkhangai Province to deepen Buddhist heritage ties.

India will send a Sanskrit teacher to Mongolia’s Gandantegchinlen (Gandan) Monastery and digitize ancient Buddhist manuscripts, strengthening the historic Nalanda-Gandan connection.

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Caste-based atrocities, from rural villages to urban institutions, discrimination and violence against SCs and STs, continue to plague India’s social fabric, despite constitutional guarantees of equality and justice.

संदर्भ 

हाल ही में हुए एक अध्ययन में गोवा के मंडोवी मुहाने पर मछलियों में व्यापक रूप से माइक्रोप्लास्टिक संदूषण पाया गया।

माइक्रोप्लास्टिक्स

ये 5 मिलीमीटर से भी छोटे प्लास्टिक के टुकड़े या रेशे होते हैं—कुछ तो मानव आँखों से भी दिखाई नहीं देते।

ये विभिन्न रूपों में आते हैं, जैसे मोती, टुकड़े, छर्रे, फिल्म, फोम और रेशे।

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संदर्भ 

दक्षिण सूडान में अत्यंत बारिश हो रही है और नील नदी के किनारे जल स्तर बढ़ रहा है।

नील नदी के बारे में

नील नदी अफ्रीका में उत्तर की ओर प्रवाहित होने वाली एक नदी है, जिसकी लंबाई लगभग 6,650 किलोमीटर है और यह भूमध्य सागर में गिरती है।

यह पृथ्वी की सबसे लंबी नदियों में से एक है और मिस्र, सूडान और दक्षिण सूडान के लिए एक महत्वपूर्ण जीवनरेखा है।

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संदर्भ 

गूगल ने आंध्र प्रदेश के विशाखापत्तनम में अपना अब तक का सबसे बड़ा एआई हब बनाने के लिए 15 अरब अमेरिकी डॉलर (₹87,520 करोड़) के ऐतिहासिक निवेश की घोषणा की है।

गूगल एआई हब की मुख्य विशेषताएं

उद्देश्य-निर्मित डेटा सेंटर परिसर: यह हब उन्नत एआई अवसंरचना, बड़े पैमाने पर डेटा सेंटर क्षमता, नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा स्रोतों और एक उच्च गति वाले फाइबर-ऑप्टिक नेटवर्क को एकीकृत करेगा, ये सभी एक ही परिसर में स्थित होंगे।

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय सबसी गेटवे: भारत के पूर्वी तट पर विशाखापत्तनम में नए अंतर्राष्ट्रीय सबसी केबलों का निर्माण, वैश्विक डिजिटल कनेक्टिविटी और इंटरनेट की गति को बढ़ाएगा।

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