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03/01/2026

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CA-03/01/2026

• Scientific Name: Taccocua leschenaultii
• Family: Cuculidae (cuckoo family)
• Conservation Status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
• Appearance:
  • Long-tailed, olive-brown upper body
  • Curved red bill tipped with yellow
  • Teardrop-shaped dark patch around each eye, giving an elegant look
• Behavior:
  • Unlike many cuckoos, it is non-parasitic (does not lay eggs in other birds’ nests)
  • Forages close to the ground in scrub forests and dry woodlands
  • Moves with a scurrying gait or flaps away laboriously when disturbed

• Found widely across the sub-Himalayan Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Rajasthan
• Prefers dry scrub forests, open woodlands, and undergrowth
• Recently recorded for the first time in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, expanding its known range

• Caliber: 5.56 × 45 mm NATO standard
• Design: Compact and lightweight, ideal for close combat in confined spaces
• Effective Use: Counter-Insurgency (CI) and Counter-Terrorism (CT) operations
• Indigenous Development: Jointly developed by DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and Bharat Forge Ltd
• Modernization Role: Replaces legacy infantry weapons with advanced, indigenous systems

• Contracts Signed: India inked defence deals worth ₹4,666 crore for over 4.25 lakh CQB carbines and 48 heavyweight torpedoes.
• Manufacturers: Bharat Forge Ltd and PLR Systems Pvt Ltd (Adani Defence + Israel Weapon Industries JV) will supply carbines.
• Delivery Timeline: Expected completion within 2–5 years, with phased induction into the Army and Navy.
• Strategic Impact: Enhances India’s self-reliance in defence manufacturing and strengthens infantry lethality in close combat.

• Range Limitation: CQB carbines are less effective in open battlefields compared to full-length rifles.
• Training Needs: Troops require specialized CQB training for maximum effectiveness.
• Logistics: Large-scale induction demands robust supply chains and maintenance infrastructure.

• Open-source software: Freely available for global researchers, democratizing access to advanced drug discovery tools.
• Simulates rare molecular events: Especially drug unbinding from protein targets, which is crucial for understanding drug efficacy.
• Focus on “residence time”: Predicts how long a drug remains bound to its protein target, a more reliable measure of drug effectiveness than binding affinity alone.
• Overcomes limitations: Traditional molecular dynamics simulations struggle with slow, rare transitions; PathGennie provides high-fidelity simulations without artificial distortions.
• Global impact: Makes high-accuracy drug–protein unbinding simulations accessible to the wider scientific community, potentially reducing costs and timelines in drug development.

• Healthcare innovation: Can accelerate the development of new medicines, especially for complex diseases.
• Scientific leadership: Positions India as a leader in computational drug discovery research.
• Economic impact: Reduces dependency on expensive trial-and-error methods, saving resources in pharma R&D.
• Global collaboration: Being open-source, it fosters international cooperation in drug discovery.

• Origin: Russia, developed in the 2020s.
• Type: Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
• Speed: Reported to exceed Mach 10 (~12,300 km/h).
• Warhead: Can carry nuclear or conventional payloads; equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs).
• Deployment: Entered active service in Belarus in late 2025, with up to 10 systems planned.
• Combat Use: First reported strike in November 2024 on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
• Claimed Capability: Russian President Vladimir Putin has described it as “impossible to intercept” due to extreme speed and maneuverability.

• Definition: A bomb cyclone (or bombogenesis) occurs when a storm’s central pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
• Mechanism: Cold Arctic air collides with warmer air from the south, fueling rapid intensification.
• Result: The storm strengthens quickly, producing heavy snow, strong winds, and frigid temperatures.

• Type: India’s indigenously developed, Short-range, surface-to-surface, quasi-ballistic missile
• Range: 150–500 km (effective for tactical battlefield use)
• Payload Capacity: 500–1,000 kg
• Warheads: Can carry conventional high-explosive, penetration, or cluster warheads
• Propulsion: Solid-propellant rocket motor
• Guidance System: Advanced navigation and guidance for high precision
• Launch Platform: Road-mobile launcher, enabling rapid deployment
  Sources:

• Tactical Battlefield Role: Designed to neutralize high-value targets such as enemy airbases, command centers, and logistics hubs.
• Survivability: Its quasi-ballistic trajectory makes it harder to intercept compared to traditional ballistic missiles.
• Indigenous Capability: Strengthens India’s self-reliance in defense technology.
• Complementary System: Fills the gap between long-range ballistic missiles and shorter-range artillery rockets like Pinaka.

• Classification: Part of the family Apidae, closely related to honey bees, bumblebees, and orchid bees.
• Species Diversity: Over 600 known species, with many more likely undiscovered.
• Distribution: Found across four continents—mainly in tropical and subtropical regions.
• Defense Mechanism: Though their stingers are non-functional, they bite predators to protect their colonies.
• Honey Production: They produce “meliponine honey”, which is less abundant than honey bee honey but prized for its medicinal properties.
• Ecological Role: Critical pollinators for tropical plants, contributing to biodiversity and agriculture.

• Medicinal Value: Stingless bee honey is rich in antioxidants and has antimicrobial properties, making it valuable in traditional medicine.
• Taste & Texture: It is more liquid and tangy compared to regular honey, often described as having a citrusy flavor.
• Cultural Importance: Indigenous communities in Central and South America have used it for centuries in healing practices.

• Threats: Habitat loss, deforestation, and climate change are reducing stingless bee populations.
• Conservation Efforts: Local communities and researchers are promoting meliponiculture (stingless bee keeping) to preserve species and support sustainable honey production.

• Appearance: Tiny (no bigger than a fingertip), with shiny black skin dotted with pale blue speckles resembling stars, and orange markings like supernova bursts.
• Habitat: Lives exclusively under rotting logs in the evergreen forests of Kerala’s Western Ghats.
• Uniqueness: It is the only member of its genus, making it evolutionarily distinct.
• Behavior: Prefers damp, humid environments and absorbs water and oxygen through its skin.

• Photo Tourism Impact: Groups of photographers overturned logs, trampled vegetation, and used high-intensity flash photography, leading to the disappearance of seven documented frogs between 2020–2021.
• Threat Status: Researchers fear that the species is vanishing rapidly, with recent studies reporting local extinctions.
• Proposed Solutions: Conservationists recommend restricting animal handling, limiting artificial lighting, training guides in ethical practices, and imposing penalties for violations.

• Rainfed farming vulnerability: 51% of India’s net sown area depends on rainfall, making it highly exposed to erratic monsoons, droughts, and floods.
• Food security risks: Climate variability threatens productivity, soil health, and crop stability, directly impacting national food supply.
• New normal of extremes: Farmers face prolonged droughts, unseasonal floods, rising temperatures, and pest outbreaks.

• Launched in 2024: Approved by the Union Cabinet to foster high-performance biomanufacturing.
• CRA as a thematic sector: Climate-resilient agriculture is a priority under BioE3, with DBT-BIRAC joint calls for proposals.
• Focus areas:
  • Biofertilizers & biopesticides to reduce chemical dependence
  • Genome-edited crops for drought, heat, salinity, and pest resistance
  • AI-driven analytics for localized farming strategies
  • Soil microbiome studies to enhance resilience

• Fragmented landholdings: Small farmers may struggle to adopt advanced technologies without support.
• Scaling innovations: Moving from pilot projects to nationwide adoption requires strong extension systems.
• Equity concerns: Ensuring CRA benefits reach rainfed and marginalized farmers, not just commercial agriculture.
• Resource trade-offs: Biomanufacturing must avoid unintended biodiversity loss or overuse of inputs.

• Policy coherence: Align BioE3 with ICAR’s NICRA and state-level schemes for maximum impact.
• Farmer-centric innovation: Ensure accessibility of CRA tools through cooperatives, SHGs, and digital platforms.
• Capacity building: Training farmers in AI-driven advisories, soil health management, and bio-input use.
• Inclusive scaling: Prioritize rainfed regions and vulnerable communities to strengthen food security.

• Date of adoption: January 1, 2026
• New status: 21st member of the eurozone (out of 27 EU states)
• Currency change: Bulgarian lev (BGN) replaced by the euro (€)
• Background: The lev had been pegged to the euro since 1999, ensuring exchange-rate stability.
• EU membership: Bulgaria has been part of the EU since 2007, but only met eurozone entry criteria in 2025.

• Economic integration: Strengthens ties with Europe’s financial core and reduces transaction costs.
• Stability: Pegging the lev to the euro already limited monetary independence; adopting the euro formalizes this.
• Investment appeal: Expected to boost investor confidence and reduce borrowing costs.
• Political symbolism: Seen as a step toward deeper European integration, especially amid geopolitical tensions with Russia.

• Inflation fears: Many Bulgarians worry prices will rise after the switch, as seen in other countries during euro adoption.
• Identity concerns: Some citizens feel the loss of the lev erodes national identity.
• Political divisions: Pro-Russian parties and skeptics argue the move undermines sovereignty.
• Governance issues: Corruption and mismanagement remain challenges that could blunt the benefits of euro adoption.

• Bulgaria’s accession leaves six EU countries still outside the eurozone: Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Denmark.
• The eurozone now covers 21 of 27 EU members, reinforcing the euro’s role as a global currency.
• Bulgaria, the EU’s poorest member, hopes the euro will help accelerate convergence with wealthier states.

• Definition: Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the deeper layers of the skin, specifically the dermis and subcutaneous fat.
• Causes: Most often caused by Streptococcus or Staphylococcus bacteria entering through a break in the skin.
• Duration: Typically lasts 7–10 days with proper treatment.

• Red, swollen, painful area of skin
• Warmth and tenderness to touch
• Fever and chills in more severe cases
• Borders of redness are usually not sharply defined

• Breaks in the skin (cuts, insect bites, ulcers), Obesity or leg swelling, Weakened immune system, Older age

• Antibiotics (commonly cephalexin or similar)
• Elevation of the affected area to reduce swelling
• Pain relief and supportive care
• Severe cases may require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics

• Keep skin clean and moisturized
• Treat wounds promptly with antiseptics
• Manage chronic conditions like diabetes and edema
• Avoid scratching insect bites or rashes

• Location: Dong village, Anjaw district, Arunachal Pradesh — the first place in India to see the sunrise each day.
• Dates: December 29, 2025 – January 2, 2026.
• Inauguration: Opened by Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
• Theme: Sustainable tourism, livelihood generation, and cultural preservation.
• Signature Event: “Alo Prabhat: Dance of the Dawn” — a performance by Meyor and Mishmi tribal artists combining chants, songs, indigenous rhythms, contemporary dance, and poetry.
• Activities:
  • Dong Sunrise Trek — a guided pre-dawn hike to witness India’s first rays of the sun.
  • Cultural showcases of tribal traditions, music, and crafts.
  • Eco-conscious practices with the principle of “leave no trash, leave no trace”.

• Tourism Development: Positions Dong as an offbeat New Year destination, blending adventure, culture, and nature.
• Cultural Pride: Highlights indigenous Meyor and Mishmi traditions, strengthening community identity.
• Sustainability: Designed to promote eco-friendly tourism and small business growth in Anjaw district.
• Symbolism: Dong is where “a new day begins for the nation”, making the festival a powerful metaphor for renewal and unity.

• Born on 3 January 1730 in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu.
• Daughter of Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Muthathal Nachiyar.
• Married Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar, king of Sivaganga.

• After her husband was killed by the East India Company in 1772, Velu Nachiyar fled and regrouped.
• She formed alliances with Hyder Ali of Mysore and built a strong resistance army.
• In 1780, she successfully regained her kingdom from the British, becoming the first Indian queen to fight colonial rule.

• Known for her strategic acumen and courage.
• She organized women soldiers, including her commander Kuyili, who famously carried out a suicide mission by setting herself ablaze to destroy British ammunition stores.
• Velu Nachiyar also created an early form of intelligence network to outmaneuver the British.

• Ruled Sivaganga from 1780 to 1790, remembered for her commitment to good governance and cultural pride.
• Advocated for justice and dignity, inspiring later generations of freedom fighters.

• Born: January 3, 1831, in Naigaon, Satara district, Maharashtra
• Community: Mali (classified as OBC today)
• Marriage: At age 10, she married Jyotirao (Jyotiba) Phule, who later became her lifelong partner in reform.
• Initially denied formal education, she was taught by her husband and his friends, eventually completing teacher training in Pune and Ahmednagar.

• First Female Teacher of India: In 1848, Savitribai and Jyotiba Phule opened the first school for girls in Pune.
• She established multiple schools for girls and lower-caste children, defying orthodox opposition.

• Women’s Rights: Founded the Mahila Seva Mandal to empower women and fight gender inequality.
• Caste Equality: Worked against untouchability and caste-based discrimination, promoting dignity for all.
• Healthcare & Social Service: During the 1897 plague in Pune, she set up a clinic to treat patients. Tragically, she contracted the disease herself and died on March 10, 1897.
• Organizations: Active in Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth-Seekers’ Society), founded by Jyotiba Phule, which challenged caste hierarchies.

• Wrote poetry collections like “Kavya Phule” (1854) and “Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar” (1892), which emphasized equality, education, and compassion.
• Her writings blended reformist zeal with literary creativity, inspiring generations.

• Remembered as a pioneer of women’s education in India and a symbol of courage against social oppression.
• Her vision continues to inspire movements for inclusive education, gender equality, and social justice.
• Leaders like PM Modi and CM Chandrababu Naidu have hailed her as a role model whose contributions remain timeless.

• Definition: PMI is a survey-based measure compiled monthly by organizations like S&P Global and local partners. It captures the sentiment of purchasing managers about current and future business conditions.
• Coverage: Separate PMIs exist for manufacturing and services, and sometimes a composite index combines both.
• Interpretation:
  • > 50 → Expansion in activity
  • = 50 → No change
  • < 50 → Contraction

• Leading Indicator: PMI is one of the earliest signals of economic trends, often preceding GDP growth or industrial output data.
• Investor Tool: Financial markets watch PMI closely to gauge economic momentum and adjust investment strategies.
• Policy Use: Governments and central banks use PMI to assess whether stimulus or tightening measures are needed.

• India’s Manufacturing PMI (Dec 2025): Fell to 55.0 from 56.6 in November, marking a two-year low.
• Reason for Decline:
  • Slower growth in output and new export orders
  • Weakening employment growth
  • Reduced business optimism
• Despite the slowdown, a reading of 55.0 still indicates expansion, just at a weaker pace.

Component	What It Measures	Impact on PMI
New Orders	Demand from domestic & export markets	Strong driver
Output/Production	Actual goods/services produced	Core measure
Employment	Hiring trends in the sector	Moderate
Supplier Deliveries	Speed of supply chain deliveries	Inverse effect
Inventories	Stock levels maintained by firms	Minor impact

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