28.08.25

Rare Quadruple Star System Discovered: Astronomers found a system with four stars (UPM J1040-3551 AabBab) in our galaxy.

• Why it’s news: Quadruple star systems are uncommon, making this discovery significant.

System Composition: It consists of two pairs of cold brown dwarfs orbiting two young red dwarf stars.

• Why it’s news: Brown dwarfs are “failed stars” and rarely found in pairs, so having two pairs within one system is exceptionally rare.

Significance for Astronomy: The discovery offers new insights into star and planet formation and galactic celestial body behavior.

• Why it’s news: Studying these rare configurations helps astronomers understand fundamental processes in the universe, such as stellar evolution and planetary formation.

Fiji PM’s India Visit: Fiji PM Sitiveni Rabuka’s visit signals a deepening strategic partnership, particularly in defence and maritime security, aligning with India’s Indo-Pacific vision.

Defence and Maritime Cooperation:

• Establishment of a Defence Attaché post in Suva.
• Planned Indian naval port call to Fiji.
• Gift of two sea ambulances and a Cyber Security Training Cell to Fiji.
• Enhanced cooperation in peacekeeping, military medicine, and white shipping.
• India’s assurance to support the monitoring of Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Indo-Pacific Partnership:

• Both nations reaffirmed commitment to a free, open, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• India’s support for Fiji’s ‘Ocean of Peace’ initiative.
• Fiji is seen as a key partner against China’s growing influence in the region.

Key Agreements & Initiatives:

• MoU for a 100-bed Super Specialty Hospital in Suva, the largest Indian grant project in the Pacific.
• Supply of medicines under the Jan Aushadhi scheme.
• Declaration of Intent on migration and mobility.
• Provision of agricultural support (drones, soil testing labs, seeds) and training for Fiji’s sugar industry.

Historical Ties & Forums:

• Relations rooted in the indenture system (1879-1916) and strong people-to-people connections.
• Active participation in FIPIC and the International Solar Alliance.

Significance for India: Fiji’s strategic location in the South Pacific is crucial for India’s Indo-Pacific strategy, and Fiji’s alignment on regional security matters is beneficial.

Why in News: India’s economic growth is increasingly driven by women’s higher workforce participation, entrepreneurship, and access to finance, making their empowerment central to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Significant Surge in Female Workforce Participation:

• Women’s employment rate (WPR) rose from 22% (2017-18) to 40.3% (2023-24).
• Female unemployment dropped from 5.6% to 3.2%.
• Rural female employment grew by 96%; urban by 43%.
• 1.56 crore women joined the formal workforce in seven years.
• Employability of female graduates increased from 42% (2013) to 47.53% (2024).

Shift from Women Development to Women-Led Development:

• Gender budgets increased by 429% over a decade (₹0.85 lakh crore to ₹4.49 lakh crore).
• Nearly 50% of DPIIT registered startups have at least one woman director.
• Two crore women have become Lakhpati Didis.
• Women-led MSMEs nearly doubled from 1 crore (2010-11) to 1.92 crore (2023-24).
• 89 lakh additional jobs for women generated by women-led MSMEs (FY21–FY23).

Financial Inclusion:

• Women received 68% of MUDRA loans (₹14.72 lakh crore).
• 44% of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries are women street vendors.

Significance of Women-Led Development:

• Transforms women from welfare recipients to agents of change.
• Aims to reduce gender inequality (India ranked 131st globally).
• Potential 30% GDP increase by bridging the gender employment gap.
• Boosts productivity, innovation, and inclusive decision-making.

INS Himgiri & INS Udaygiri Commissioned: Two advanced Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) multi-mission stealth frigates have joined the Indian Navy.

Stealth & Modernization: These frigates feature enhanced stealth capabilities through improved hull design and advanced weapon systems compared to previous classes.

Indigenous Development Milestone: This marks the first time two major surface combatants were commissioned simultaneously from different Indian shipyards (GRSE and MDL). INS Udaygiri is also the 100th ship designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau.

Advanced Capabilities: Equipped with BrahMos missiles, Barak-8 missiles, supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, and advanced radars, they are designed for ‘Blue Water’ operations and can handle diverse threats.

Economic Impact: The project involved over 200 MSMEs, supporting significant direct and indirect employment.

Self-Reliance Focus: The commissioning underscores India’s commitment to self-reliance in warship design and construction, with around 75% of equipment and systems sourced from indigenous firms.

Legacy Continues: Both ships revive historic names of earlier frigates that played key roles in significant naval operations.

Future Outlook: Project 17 Bravo (P-17B), the next phase of stealth frigates with even more advanced features, is already approved and in the pipeline.

Successful Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1) conducted.

• Why: To test the parachute-based deceleration system essential for the safe landing of the Gaganyaan crew module.

Test Details: A 5-tonne dummy crew capsule was dropped from 3 km by an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter.

• Why: To simulate the descent and splashdown conditions the crew module will experience during its return from space.

Sequential Parachute Deployment: The parachutes deployed in a staged manner.

• Why: This validates the entire parachute system’s effectiveness in slowing down the capsule for a safe landing.

Inter-agency Collaboration: Supported by IAF, DRDO, and Coast Guard.

• Why: Showcases the integrated effort of multiple Indian agencies in developing critical spaceflight technologies, contributing to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) in space.

Validation for Human Certification: This test is part of multiple trials to ensure the safety of parachute systems, crew escape, and other subsystems for human spaceflight.

• Why: Crucial for certifying the Gaganyaan mission for carrying astronauts, a significant step in India’s human spaceflight ambitions.

Foundation for Future Goals: Gaganyaan is the first step towards India’s long-term space goals, including a space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar landing by 2040.

• Why: Demonstrates India’s growing capability and ambition in space exploration, positioning it among elite spacefaring nations.

Migrant Invisibility in Urban Planning: Despite contributing significantly to India’s urban economy and forming a substantial portion of the urban population (34.6%), migrants are largely excluded from urban planning, governance, and policy agendas. This leads to their marginalization in destination cities.

• Why in News: This invisibility was starkly highlighted during the COVID-19 lockdown when millions of migrants were left without support and forced to undertake arduous journeys home, revealing their lack of integration into urban welfare systems. The proposed National Migration Policy (2021) remains unimplemented.

Saskia Sassen’s “Global City” Concept: Cities like Indian metros rely heavily on cheap, flexible migrant labor for essential services (construction, domestic work, gig economy) but often fail to provide them with recognition, rights, or a voice in city planning, effectively making them “invisible.”

• Why in News: This paradox of cities thriving on migrant labor while denying their visibility is a persistent issue in India’s urban experience.

Epistemic and Symbolic Violence:

• Epistemic Violence (Gayatri Spivak): Knowledge production and policy-making often ignore or misrepresent migrants, creating an “elite vision” of cities (e.g., Smart City Mission focusing on technology and middle-class lifestyles), thus marginalizing migrant realities.
• Symbolic Violence (Pierre Bourdieu): Inequality faced by migrants (lack of access to housing, ration cards) is normalized as bureaucratic issues, masking the underlying systemic exclusion and making it seem natural or inevitable.
• Why in News: These concepts help explain how the Smart Cities Mission’s focus on technological advancement and aesthetic infrastructure (metros, flyovers) often prioritizes middle-class concerns, inadvertently sidelining migrants and informal workers, making their marginalization appear acceptable.

Smart Cities Mission vs. Inclusive Cities: The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has invested heavily in visible infrastructure and IT-based solutions, leading to technological advancement. However, it has often created “exclusive spaces” and prioritized elite concerns, failing to become socially just and inclusive for migrants and the urban poor.

• Why in News: While SCM projects are largely completed, their focus on “aesthetic infrastructure” over equitable planning means cities are becoming “smart” technologically but not socially fair or inclusive.

Need for Inclusive Urbanism:

• Stakeholder Inclusion: Migrants must be involved in city development boards and ward committees.
• Social Protection: Ensuring portability of ration cards, access to healthcare, housing rights, and voting rights for internal migrants.
• Equity-Driven Planning: Shifting focus from aesthetic infrastructure to affordable housing, transport, and public services for all.
• Redefining Urban Citizenship: Embracing migrants as rightful stakeholders and acknowledging their diversity, rather than viewing them as “outsiders.”
• Why in News: As India urbanizes rapidly, building inclusive cities is a moral, constitutional, and critical necessity to ensure social justice and sustainable urban development, moving beyond the current exclusionary, class-focused governance models.

Why in News: India’s 79th Independence Day highlights the crucial, often overlooked, role of women in the freedom struggle, who fought both British rule and social restrictions.

Active Participation in Mass Movements:

• Mobilized support, strengthened nationalism, inspired by “Bharat Mata.”
• Non-Cooperation Movement: Boycotted goods, promoted khadi, courted imprisonment.
• Salt Satyagraha: Led marches, picketed, mobilized rural women.
• Quit India Movement: Organized rallies, ran underground radios, ensured continuity.

Revolutionary Contributions:

• Participated in armed raids and underground networks (e.g., Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutta).
• Smuggled arms, distributed pamphlets, coordinated covert resistance.
• Became symbols of sacrifice (e.g., Rani Laxmibai, Matangini Hazra).

Leadership and Organizational Role:

• Formed women’s organizations (AIWC, WIA) for political and social reform.
• Key leaders (Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali) guided protests and fostered female leadership.

Social Reform and Gender Empowerment:

• Promoted women’s education, legal equality, and fought against child marriage and purdah.
• Linked social reform with political activism through khadi promotion and literacy drives.

Iconic Women Leaders: Rani Lakshmibai, Rani Chennamma, Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai, Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kripalani, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Rani Gaidinliu, Annie Besant, Kamala Nehru, Aruna Roy, Bhikaiji Cama, Aruna Asaf Ali, Kasturba Gandhi, Fatima Sheikh, Rukmini Devi Arundale, Usha Mehta, Bina Das, Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Datta, Kamala Das Gupta, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Labanya Prabha Ghosh, Matangini Hazra.

Methods of Resistance: Ranged from armed assaults and weapon smuggling to intellectual resistance, literary activism, and covert courier work.

Challenging Norms: Women defied caste, gender, and societal orthodoxies, proving they were “equal tacticians and partners” in the struggle.

Foundational Architects: Women were not just participants but architects of India’s freedom, merging political struggle with social liberation.