Key point: Indian Grey Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) sighted near the Yamuna floodplains in Delhi. Why: This is the first recorded sighting in Delhi since the 1940s, marking a rare return of the species to the region.
Key point: The wolf was photographed by wildlife enthusiast Hemant Garg on May 15, 2025, in Palla village, on the banks of the Yamuna near the Delhi-Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border. Why: This provides the specific details of the discovery and the person who documented the sighting.
Key point: Experts from Wildlife Institute of India and wolf specialists confirmed the animal is likely an Indian grey wolf, specifically a subadult (year-old). Why: Confirmation by experts validates the significance of the sighting and rules out common misidentifications like a dog or jackal.
Key point: The animal exhibited characteristics typical of a subadult wolf, including its coat colour, dentition, and behaviour (stealthy, shy, hiding from humans). Why: These details helped experts identify the species and age, distinguishing it from other canids or hybrids.
Key point: While hybridisation with dogs is a potential concern for the species, experts believe this individual is likely a wild wolf, noting its dispersal behaviour away from human settlements. Why: Addresses the possibility of a wolf-dog hybrid but leans towards a wild origin based on the animal’s behaviour and typical dispersal patterns of young wolves.
Key point: The Indian Grey Wolf is a Schedule I species under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Why: This highlights its high conservation status and the importance of protecting its habitat.
Key point: The species faces threats including habitat loss (grasslands), depletion of prey, and diseases from feral dogs. Why: Provides context on the challenges facing the Indian Grey Wolf, making its appearance in an urban periphery like Delhi even more notable.
Core-Mantle Coupling
Study by German researchers reveals precious metals like gold, platinum, and ruthenium are leaking from Earth’s core to the surface via volcanic activity.
Why in News: This challenges the long-standing belief that the Earth’s core is geochemically isolated from the mantle and crust.
Key finding: Researchers analyzed volcanic rocks from Hawaii (formed by mantle plumes) and found high levels of Ruthenium-100, an isotope mainly found in the Earth’s core.
This detection indicates core materials are traveling upward through mantle plumes, revealing greater core-mantle connectivity than earlier assumed.
The Earth’s core contains the vast majority of the planet’s precious siderophile (iron-loving) metals, traditionally thought to be inaccessible due to a thick rock barrier. The study suggests some are reaching the surface.
Indigenous Heeng Breakthrough
First successful flowering and seed setting of heeng (asafoetida) reported at CSIR-IHBT Palampur after approximately 5 years of effort.
Why: This is a landmark milestone demonstrating that the plant has successfully acclimatized to Indian conditions, crucially completing its reproductive cycle outside its native cold desert environment, even in mid-altitude regions like Palampur (1300m).
This achievement proves the potential for sustainable indigenous cultivation.
Why: Flowering and seed setting enable domestic seed production, which is vital for large-scale propagation, long-term domestication, and building a self-reliant supply chain.
The breakthrough significantly helps India reduce its heavy import dependence.
Why: Despite being the world’s largest consumer, India previously relied entirely on imports (mainly from Afghanistan, Iran). Domestic cultivation capability is key to self-sufficiency.
It opens new income avenues for farmers in suitable regions by offering a valuable cash crop.
Background: Heeng is an essential ingredient in Indian cuisine and an ancient Ayurvedic herb prized for its digestive properties.
Amrit Bharat Stations
Prime Minister recently inaugurated 103 redeveloped railway stations across 86 districts in 18 States/UTs.
This is part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS), launched by the Ministry of Railways in December 2022.
The scheme aims to redevelop 1,309 railway stations across India into modern integrated transport hubs and city centres.
It focuses on integrating regional architecture, enhancing passenger amenities, promoting inclusivity, and supporting urban development.
Redevelopment is customised with location-specific plans, blending modern facilities with regional architectural themes (e.g., Dwarka inspired by temple, Ahmedabad by Modhera Sun Temple).
Improved passenger amenities include modern waiting halls, clean toilets, roofed platforms, Wi-Fi, escalators, lifts, executive lounges, business areas, and better signage for a seamless experience.
Designs are inclusive and accessible, aligned with the Accessible India Campaign, featuring ramps, lifts, Braille signage, and accessible toilets.
Stations are being developed as multimodal hubs connecting with bus and metro systems and integrating both sides of cities to support urban mobility.
The 103 inaugurated stations were redeveloped at a cost of over Rs 1,100 crore, covering multiple states like UP (19), Gujarat (18), and Maharashtra (15).
Financial spending under customer amenities head was significant in recent years, with over Rs 12,000 crore allocated for FY 2025-26.
Some stations previously redeveloped served as pilot projects for the scheme.
Kerala Wildlife Law Reform
Kerala seeks amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, from the Centre to allow culling of dangerous or crop-damaging animals.
Why: Rising human-animal conflict in Kerala poses a major threat, with 273 village bodies as hotspots and significant loss of life (919 deaths 2016-2025) and livelihood due to attacks by animals like elephants, tigers, wild boars, and bonnet macaques.
Current national issue: Human-animal conflicts are increasing across India due to habitat degradation, changes in land use near forests, and population growth of certain species like wild boars and monkeys.
Existing law challenges: The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, especially Schedule I protection, makes timely action difficult, requiring complex procedures (capture, translocation attempts, chief wildlife warden approval, following central advisories) before lethal control is considered. Court orders also restrict local executive powers.
Kerala’s demands: They want relaxed rules for culling man-eating/crop-damaging animals, seasonal/regional permissions, eased emergency procedures, declaration of wild boars as ‘vermin’ (allowing easier culling), and removal of bonnet macaques from Schedule I.
Why amend: The current framework is seen as too rigid to effectively manage urgent conflict situations and protect human life and agricultural land from escalating wildlife threats.
UN Reform
Global conflicts highest since WWII (over 233k dead, 120M displaced in 2024) reveal the UN’s failure to prevent/resolve crises like Russia-Ukraine, threatening development and SDGs.
Weak enforcement, reliance on voluntary troops (Rwanda delay), and sanctions hurting civilians (Iraq) undermine peace and human rights, causing massive humanitarian crises (Yemen, Sudan).
Failure to address economic ($19.3T cost in 2023) and environmental fallout (military emissions, war damage excluded from climate frameworks) shows major policy gaps.
Outdated structure (1945), P5 veto blocking action (Israel-Hamas), and exclusion of major powers (India, Brazil) reflect power imbalance and lack adaptation to modern challenges.
Rise of minilateral forums (Quad, BRICS) bypasses UN framework, weakening its legitimacy, transparency, and representation.
Chronic underfunding due to delayed/cut contributions (US to UNRWA) hinders peacekeeping, climate resilience, and aid efforts.
Crucial reforms include reforming veto power (limit unilateral use, GA override) for transparency and accountability.
Expanding Security Council permanent membership (India, Brazil, etc.) and adding rotating seats for vulnerable states enhances equity and representation.
Mandating military emissions reporting (UNFCCC) and setting decarbonization targets addresses climate impact of conflict.
Establishing automatic funding mechanisms and exploring global taxes ensures stable resources for UN activities.
Implementing fair decision-making processes (universal jurisdiction for war crimes, ‘veil of ignorance’) minimizes bias and self-interest.
Strengthening partnerships with regional organizations (AU, EU) improves effectiveness in addressing regional conflicts.
PDS Digital Enhancement
Union Minister launched three digital initiatives: Depot Darpan Portal, Anna Mitra Mobile App, and Anna Sahayata Grievance Redressal System.
These initiatives aim to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accessibility within India’s Public Distribution System (PDS).
They are designed to benefit over 81 crore people under the National Food Security Act and streamline operations for stakeholders like FCI, CWC, FPS dealers, and government officials.
Depot Darpan Portal: A self-assessment and monitoring tool for FCI/CWC food grain depots using tech like IoT and CCTV. This is key as it helps optimize storage, evaluate performance, identify infrastructure gaps, and is projected to create significant savings (₹275 cr for FCI) and generate revenue (₹140 cr for CWC) by improving depot management.
Anna Mitra App: A mobile app for FPS dealers, District Food & Supply Officers (DFSOs), and Food Inspectors with role-based functions. This enhances transparency and accountability at the distribution level by allowing tracking of stock, sales, inspections, and grievance handling.
Anna Sahayata Platform: A grievance redressal system for beneficiaries (NFSA/PMGKAY). It is important because it uses accessible channels like WhatsApp, IVRS, and ASR, making it easier for over 81 crore people to register complaints, thereby improving accountability and efficiency in addressing beneficiary issues.
The initiatives are aligned with the Digital India vision, aiming to leverage technology for good governance and ensuring welfare schemes reach the most vulnerable.
Pilots for Anna Mitra (4 states) and Anna Sahayata (5 states) are underway, with plans for pan-India deployment and integration with state systems.
KATRIN
What Happened: The KATRIN experiment in Germany set a new world record for the smallest upper limit on the mass of the electron neutrino.
Key Result: The electron neutrino mass is less than 0.45 eV/c² (at 90% confidence).
How it Works: KATRIN measures the energy spectrum of electrons from tritium decay. By analyzing the highest energy electrons, it can determine the neutrino mass.
Why it’s Significant: This is the most precise direct and model-independent measurement of neutrino mass so far.
Why Neutrino Mass Matters: Neutrinos having mass is crucial for understanding physics beyond the Standard Model and explaining aspects like cosmic evolution and matter-antimatter asymmetry. Direct measurement like KATRIN’s avoids theoretical dependencies found in cosmological estimates.
Future: KATRIN continues data collection to improve sensitivity further, potentially opening doors to new physics.
Ag: Women’s Power
The UN declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer to recognize their vital, underappreciated role and highlight challenges.
Agriculture is experiencing ‘feminisation’ as men migrate, leaving women to take on multiple roles as cultivators, labourers, and managers.
Despite high participation (e.g., 80% economically active women in agri, 64.3% female workers per PLFS 22-23), women own only a small percentage of land (12.8% operational holdings, 8.3% NFHS-5), showing a significant gender disparity.
Limited land ownership is a major barrier, preventing women from accessing essential credit, insurance, and government subsidies.
Poor access to information and technology, like mobile advisories, limits technology adoption and hinders resilience-building among women farmers.
Women face higher climate vulnerability due to added domestic responsibilities, fewer resources, and disproportionate exposure to risks in agriculture.
Government initiatives like MKSP, machinery subsidies (50-80%), budget allocations (e.g., 30% in NFSM), and promotion of SHGs (NMNF) aim to empower women by upgrading skills, providing financial support, promoting technology, and improving access to resources and extension services (ATMA, AC&ABC subsidy 44%).
The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is used to measure women’s empowerment, agency, and inclusion, helping identify barriers and link empowerment to food security and growth.
Gender-sensitive policies, support for women-managed value chains/SHGs, and investment in climate resilience are crucial steps forward to address the specific needs of women farmers.
Empowering women in agriculture is key to ensuring food security, climate resilience, and achieving overall gender equality and sustainable development in the sector.
BHASHINI
BHASHINI (Digital India Bhashini Division – DIBD) and CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) signed an MoU.
Objective is to develop and deploy next-generation multilingual AI solutions for Indian Railways’ digital platforms.
Integrates BHASHINI’s language AI technologies (ASR, Text-to-Text Translation, TTS, OCR) into CRIS systems like NTES and RailMadad.
Enables access to railway services and information in 22 Indian languages across mobile apps, websites, kiosks, and call centers.
Why it’s news: It removes language barriers for millions of railway passengers, enhancing digital access and inclusion, particularly for non-English speakers.
Includes the introduction of multilingual chatbots, voice assistants, and real-time voice interaction systems for passenger support.
Supports the Digital India mission by facilitating citizen-centric digital transformation in public services.
Leverages BHASHINI’s role as the implementer of the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) to build indigenous language AI capabilities.
UNFPA Report
India most populous country: Reached 1.4639 billion population in 2025, surpassing others officially. This marks a major demographic milestone with long-term implications.
Low fertility rate: Fertility rate is 1.9 births per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1. Shows a significant drop from the 1960s due to education, healthcare, and empowerment.
Demographic dividend opportunity: 68% of the population is in the 15-64 working-age group. Offers economic potential if employment and skilling are effectively managed.
Policy shift urged: Report advocates moving from population control to focusing on reproductive rights. Empowering individuals with informed choices is key to realizing the demographic dividend.
Population peak expected: India’s population is projected to peak around 1.7 billion in the early 2060s before declining. Shows the long-term trajectory after current growth phase.
TN 800-Yr Shiva Temple
An 800-year-old Shiva temple from the later Pandya period (1216–1345) was discovered in Udampatti village, Tamil Nadu.
Why: It offers significant insights into the region’s history and socio-economic dynamics during that era.
Identified as Thennavanisvaram temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, dated to 1217–1218 CE during Maravarman Sundara Pandya’s reign based on inscriptions and Shilpa Sastram.
Why: Confirms the temple’s identity, age, and indicates royal support (“Thennavan” title used by Pandyas).
Inscriptions record the sale of a waterbody and mention that the land tax was to be paid to the temple deity.
Why: These details reveal the ancient name of the village (Attur) and show the temple’s mechanism for financial independence through land endowments.
The discovery is significant as many ancient temples previously documented in this area are now in ruins or have disappeared.
Why: Provides a tangible link to a historical site that was previously only partially known or in decline.
SC/ST Progress
What: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment held its 28th Coordination Committee meeting.
Why: To devise strategies to curb untouchability offences and atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Key Focus: Discussion on the implementation and shortcomings of existing laws like the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Meeting Discussions: Covered issues like charge sheet rates, case pendency in courts, status of Exclusive Special Courts, Vigilance & Monitoring Committee meetings, grievances on the National Helpline, and action plans for improving law implementation.
Ministerial Emphasis: Union Ministers stressed the importance of regular State/District level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meetings, taking measures against exploitation, increasing Special Police Stations, and fixing accountability for negligent officials under the PoA Act.
Government Commitment: The meeting reaffirmed the government’s resolution to provide dignity to vulnerable sections and a commitment from participants to uphold the spirit of the Acts and deliver justice to victims of caste-based discrimination.
Background: The committee was established in 2006 to find ways to curb atrocities and ensure effective administration of the PCR and PoA Acts.
Dollar Floored 2025
The U.S. dollar has fallen nearly 10% in 2025, making it one of the weakest major assets.
Why: Global investors significantly increased hedging against their U.S. asset holdings, reducing demand for the dollar.
Why: Confidence in the U.S. economic narrative has decreased due to shifting policies and trade tensions, leading to “fading U.S. exceptionalism.”
Why: The typical correlation broke, with both the dollar and U.S. stocks falling together, weakening the dollar’s status as a portfolio hedge.
Why: Large foreign pension funds sharply increased currency hedges on U.S. assets, causing massive dollar outflows.
Why: Persistent geopolitical tensions, especially U.S.-China, increased foreign investor caution and accelerated capital outflows from the U.S.
Tech Textiles
India’s Technical Textiles sector is experiencing rapid growth and attracting significant attention, highlighted by PM Modi sharing an article on its progress. This indicates a strategic focus on a high-value, innovation-driven industry.
Two major government initiatives, the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, are key drivers behind this transformation. These programs aim to make India a global leader in this segment.
The sector shows tangible progress with a projected 10% annual domestic market growth, attracting ₹5,218 crore in total investment, and generating over 8,500 jobs by 2025. These metrics demonstrate the success of the government’s efforts.
NTTM has actively built the ecosystem by supporting research (168 projects), skill development (50,000+ trained), and market expansion through mandated use of technical textiles in public projects. This strengthens the domestic base.
The PLI scheme focuses on boosting domestic manufacturing of high-value products like carbon fiber and automotive safety textiles to reduce import dependence and enhance global competitiveness. This targets critical areas for self-reliance.
The sector is becoming crucial for India’s strategic interests across defence, infrastructure, health, and sustainability, signifying its importance beyond just economic growth as it transitions from import-dependent to self-reliant and competitive.
