Daily Current Affairs 2025  

09/02/2026

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CA-09/02/2026

• Reaffirmed Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP): Both leaders recommitted to strengthening the CSP established in 2024, covering political, economic, and cultural ties.
• Wide-ranging cooperation: Discussions spanned trade, investment, defence, maritime security, clean energy, infrastructure, start-ups, agriculture, education, health, Ayurveda, tourism, and cultural exchanges.
• Emerging technologies: Agreement to deepen collaboration in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and digital innovation.

• Counterterrorism & Maritime Security: Stronger collaboration to safeguard regional stability.
• Defence cooperation: Expanded defence ties, including technology sharing and joint training.

• Tourism & cultural exchanges: Boosting connectivity and cultural collaboration.
• Education & scholarships: Expanded opportunities for Malaysian students in Indian institutions.
• Healthcare cooperation: Joint initiatives in Ayurveda, medical research, and healthcare delivery.

• Real-Time Monitoring: Tracks pollutants like SO₂, NOx, CO, CO₂, PM, VOCs, and other gases continuously.
• Data Transmission: Industry-installed sensors send live data to CPCB and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).
• Transparency: Public access portals allow stakeholders to view emission data.
• Certification: OCEMS devices must be verified by CSIR-NPL (National Physical Laboratory) for accuracy and consistency.
• Integration: Linked with effluent monitoring systems for water pollution control.

• CPCB Directions (2014 onwards): Mandated installation of OCEMS in 17 categories of highly polluting industries, CETPs, biomedical waste facilities, hazardous waste treatment plants, and municipal solid waste facilities.
• National Ganga Mission: Required OCEMS installation in industries discharging into the Ganga basin.
• Recent Updates (2025–26):
  • New OCEMS portal launched with API documentation and helpdesk support.
  • 76 OCEMS models certified by CSIR-NPL for compliance.
  • SPCBs instructed to ensure installation and connectivity in Delhi NCR and other regions.

• Environmental Governance: Ensures industries comply with emission standards.
• Process Optimization: Helps industries self-regulate and improve efficiency.
• Public Trust: Builds credibility through transparent reporting.
• Regulatory Enforcement: Enables SPCBs and CPCB to take timely action against violators.

• Data Reliability: Requires strict calibration and certification to avoid manipulation.
• Connectivity Issues: Industries sometimes report downtime or delays in data transmission.
• Compliance Costs: Smaller industries may struggle with installation and maintenance expenses.
• Enforcement Gaps: Effectiveness depends on SPCBs’ ability to act on non-compliance.

• Embarked on a 10-month deployment from Kochi in January 2026, covering over 22,000 nautical miles and visiting 18 ports in 13 countries to promote maritime diplomacy and India's "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" vision.
• First international port call at Salalah, Oman, strengthening India-Oman ties through naval engagements and cultural exchanges.​
• Will participate in key events like Escale à Sète in France and SAIL 250 in New York, showcasing India's seafaring heritage.​

• Second sail training ship of the Indian Navy, a sister to INS Tarangini, indigenously built by Goa Shipyard Limited.
• Commissioned on January 27, 2012, at Kochi under Southern Naval Command; named after Buddha's half-sister, meaning "beautiful lady."
• Used for training sailors in seamanship, character building, and survival in harsh sea conditions.​

• Operates under sail or power with very high endurance, deployable at sea for up to 20 continuous days.​
• Steel hull built for worldwide operations, focusing on basic seamanship and environmental adaptability.​
• Enables professional interactions, data gathering on electromagnetic transmissions, and demonstration of India's shipbuilding prowess.​

• Lokayan 26 enhances India's global maritime presence, fosters international cooperation, and tests crew resilience while projecting naval soft power.

• Location: Seychelles is an archipelagic island country in the western Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar and east of mainland Africa.
• Size & islands: The country comprises about 115 islands spread over roughly 177 square miles, of which around 33 are inhabited; the main islands being Mahé (with capital Victoria), Praslin, and La Digue.
• Governance: It is a sovereign republic with a multi‑party political system; Victoria on Mahé serves as both capital and main port city.​

• Island types: Seychelles has two main groups—granitic inner islands (mountainous, with volcanic‑derived rock and hills such as Morne Seychellois) and low‑lying coralline outer islands and atolls such as Aldabra.
• Climate: The climate is tropical‑maritime, with relatively stable year‑round temperatures (roughly 24–33°C), contributing to its reputation as a “land of perpetual summer.”
• Biodiversity: The islands host unique endemic species (for example, rare birds and giant tortoises) and have extensive marine‑protected areas, making them globally important for conservation.

• Economic profile: Seychelles is classified as a high‑income Indian‑Ocean economy with tourism, tuna exports, and an offshore financial‑services hub playing central roles; GDP is in the few‑billion‑dollar range in purchasing‑power terms.
• Vulnerability and adaptation: As a low‑lying island state, Seychelles is highly vulnerable to sea‑level rise and invests in ocean‑rise mitigation, climate‑resilient infrastructure, and recently identified offshore hydrocarbon prospects.
• Anti‑corruption record: The country has drawn international attention for relatively strong anti‑corruption performance compared with many small island states.

• Strategic partnership: India views Seychelles as a key maritime partner in the western Indian Ocean and supports coastal‑surveillance, port‑facility projects, and training for the Seychelles Coast Guard.
• Recent packages: In early 2026 India cleared a package worth around 175 million dollars for Seychelles and signed multiple pacts covering ocean‑observation services and maritime cooperation, reflecting growing defence‑cum‑development engagement.

• Seychelles remains geopolitically significant as a small island developing state balancing sovereignty, climate‑change risks, and great‑power maritime interest in the Indian Ocean.
• With its high‑income tourism‑and‑tuna‑driven economy and strong conservation focus, Seychelles exemplifies the challenges and opportunities of sustainable blue‑economy development for small islands.
• Recent domestic political change and deepening ties, especially with India, ensure that Seychelles will likely continue to feature regularly in regional security, environment, and Indo‑Pacific‑development debates.

• Shipki La is a high‑altitude motorable mountain pass on the India–China (Indo‑Tibetan) border in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
• It lies on the course of the Sutlej River, which enters India from Tibet near this pass, giving it transport and communication importance.
• Elevation is around 14,000 feet (about 4,500 m), placing it in a cold, high‑altitude Himalayan environment with harsh climatic conditions.
• On the Indian side, the approach is via Namgia village in Kinnaur; on the Tibetan side, it connects towards Jiuba and the broader Tibetan plateau.
• Historically, Shipki La has been a traditional trade and cultural route between the Bushahr kingdom/Himachal region and Tibet.

• Traditional link: It has long served as a traditional Indo‑Tibetan trade route for wool, salt, grains, textiles, metals and other commodities.
• Legal trade route: It was officially designated as a border trade route under the 1994 India–China border trade agreement, along with other Himalayan passes.​
• Strategic value: The pass is strategically important for India due to its location on the India–China border and along the Sutlej corridor.
• Closure history: Traditional trade and free movement were badly affected after the 1962 India–China war and later completely halted again around 2020 due to the pandemic and tensions.
• Tourism status: Shipki La is now a motorable pass opened for Indian nationals for tourism, but cross‑border civilian movement for trade and pilgrimage still requires inter‑governmental arrangements.

• Physical features
  • High‑altitude Himalayan pass (~14,000 ft) with rugged terrain and extreme winter conditions.
  • Located in tectonically active, glaciated terrain with sparse vegetation and thin population density.

• Economic features
  • Historically enabled barter and trade between Himachal’s Kinnaur/Bushahr region and Tibetan traders (wool and livestock from Tibet; grains, salt, textiles from India).​
  • Revival of trade is expected to boost local employment, small businesses and transport services in Kinnaur and adjoining areas.
  • Opening for border tourism is aimed at diversifying local income sources beyond agriculture and horticulture.
• Strategic and cultural features
  • Important for India’s border management and surveillance along the middle sector of the India–China boundary.
  • Acts as a potential corridor for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which would shorten and ease access for pilgrims from north India if agreed by China.
  • Symbolises long‑standing cultural, commercial and spiritual linkages between communities on both sides of the Himalayas.

• Sleek brown fur (lighter underside), streamlined body, webbed feet, short neck, broad face, and long tail adapted for swimming; can close ears/nose underwater.
• Length up to 1.2 meters; weighs 5-15 kg; dense fur traps air for insulation.​

• Found in freshwater rivers, lakes, coasts across Europe, Asia (including Himalayas, India), and parts of North Africa; widest-ranging Palaearctic mammal.
• Prefers clean waters with abundant fish; territorial and semi-aquatic.

• Primarily fish-eating carnivore; shifts to amphibians, crustaceans, birds, small mammals in winter or scarcity.
• Solitary, playful, nocturnal/crepuscular; hunts using acute senses; regulates prey populations as top predator.

• Endangered or recovering regionally; threatened by poaching, habitat loss, pollution, fish farms.
• Protected in India (Schedule I); recent radio-tagging in reserves like Satpura; sightings indicate resilience with clean water efforts.

• A GPU handles massive parallel calculations via thousands of small cores, excelling at image rendering, video effects, and non-graphics tasks like AI training.
• Unlike CPUs, which manage sequential tasks, GPUs process data streams simultaneously for efficiency in gaming, machine learning, and scientific computing.​
• Modern GPUs support advanced features like ray tracing, 4K visuals, and cryptocurrency mining.​

• Gaming: Delivers realistic 3D environments, high resolutions, and VR support.​
• AI/ML: Accelerates model training on large datasets through parallel processing.
• Content creation: Speeds video editing, 3D modelling, and effects rendering.​
• Data science: Analyzes big data and runs complex algorithms quickly.​
• Others: Crypt mining, scientific simulations, and colour processing in devices like smartphones.

• AMD's UDNA Radeon GPUs are rumored for mass production in Q2 2026, potentially powering Sony's PS6 with hybrid architecture for better scalability.​
• Samsung aims for full GPU independence by 2027, hiring ex-AMD talent and adding thermal fixes like Heat Path Block.​

• Union Minister of State announced comprehensive development plans for the fort and Gaining popularity as a trekking and sightseeing spot with its panoramic views.​

• Situated in Guntur district, about 27 km southwest of Guntur city, at 1,050-1,700 feet elevation.
• Spread across hills in the Kondaveedu range, largest hill fort in Andhra Pradesh.

• Construction began around 1335 AD by Prolaya Vema Reddy of the Reddy dynasty, who shifted capital from Addanki.
• Strengthened by Telugu Chodas and Kakatiyas earlier; later captured by Vijayanagara's Krishnadevaraya in 1516, then Golconda Sultans (renamed Murtazanagar).
• Key rulers include Anavota Reddy and Kumaragiri; faced sieges from Gajapatis, Bahmanis.

• Features 23 bastions (like Kondareddi, Nemmalla, Tara Buruju), massive granite walls, two entrances (Kolepalli Darwaza, Nadella Darwaza).
• Blend of Hindu-Islamic styles using granite stones and lime mortar; includes temples, palaces, water tanks (Muthyaalamma).

• Known for impregnable defenses, water conservation systems (tanks store water year-round).​
• Houses temples and stupas; underscores regional sanctity and Reddy Kingdom's legacy.​

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