Daily Current Affairs 2025  

12/02/2026

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CA-12/02/2026

• NTPC Ltd., India's state-owned power giant, partnered with CCTE to explore ANEEL development and deployment in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).

• ANEEL blends thorium with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), enabling use in existing PHWRs without major modifications.
• Higher melting point and lower operating temperatures improve safety and meltdown resistance.​
• Spent fuel is denatured, providing proliferation resistance as it's unsuitable for weapons.

• Reduces power costs by 20-30% and waste by over 85% via higher burnup (220 MW PHWR needs 22,000 vs. 175,000 bundles).
• Leverages India's vast thorium reserves (1.07 million tonnes), cutting uranium import reliance and supporting the three-stage nuclear program.
• Lowers operational costs, boosts energy output, and aids decarbonization for industries like data centers.

• Faces regulatory hurdles, technical integration issues, and economic barriers for large-scale PHWR deployment.​
• India prioritizes closed fuel cycles with natural uranium; ANEEL is exploratory, not replacing current fuels.​

• Union Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha, about the launch, targeting a 50% jump in milk procurement by dairy cooperatives to 1,007 lakh kg daily by 2028-29.

• Expand dairy cooperative societies (DCS) by setting up 75,000 new ones and strengthening 46,422 existing, including multipurpose DCS and PACS.​
• Provide market access in uncovered areas (Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal) and link to new/expanded milk routes.
• Increase organized sector's share, generate rural jobs (dairy supports 8.5 crore people), and fight malnutrition.

• Women's empowerment: Women form 70% of dairy workforce; initiative prioritizes women-led cooperatives for economic independence.
• Infrastructure: Automatic milk collection units (AMCU), bulk coolers, testing equipment tailored to local needs.
• Broader goals: Lower production costs, stable farmer incomes, reduce regional disparities, and boost exports.

• The eAWAS (or CAPF eAwas) system is an online portal for allotting family accommodations to personnel in India's Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles (AR).

• Launched September 1, 2022, by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for transparent, automated online applications.
• Maintains centralized inventory of residential houses and single-family accommodations (SFAs) across CAPFs.
• Enables inter-force allotments if a quarter remains vacant for 4 months, allowing personnel from other forces to apply.
• User-friendly tracking of application status, with all records centralized for stakeholders.

Force	Allotments
Assam Rifles	7,611 ​
Border Security Force (BSF)	48,854 ​
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)	7,066 ​
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)	50,812 ​
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)	18,324 ​
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)	13,899 ​
Total	1,46,566 ​

• Includes AR, BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB (border guarding/internal security roles); NSG for special operations.
• Improves housing satisfaction ratio from 48% at launch toward 73-74% target.

• Enhances transparency, eliminating manual processes and force-specific restrictions.
• Supports personnel welfare, allowing focus on duties like counter-terrorism and law enforcement.

• E-SAKSHYA and NYAYA SETU are mobile apps launched to support India's new criminal laws (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam). They digitize evidence collection and justice system coordination for faster, transparent investigations.

• Purpose: Streamlines secure collection of audio-visual evidence (videos, photos, witness statements) during investigations, ensuring tamper-proof storage and court admissibility.
• Key Features:
  • Real-time capture of crime scenes, searches, seizures, and testimonies.
  • Digital authentication with timestamps, geo-tagging, hash verification, and blockchain for integrity.
  • Generates SID packets and certificates; uploads to ICJS/Sakshya portal for courts.
  • Integrates with web portal for prosecutors, defense, and judicial access.
• Backup: Manual certificates if app unavailable (Part-A by police, Part-B by experts under BNSS Section 329).​
• Developer: National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Purpose: Interlinks police, forensics, prosecution, prisons, and courts on a single dashboard for one-click investigation data access, speeding up case resolution.
• Key Features:
  • Real-time case status updates and secure document sharing.
  • Electronic summons/warrant alerts with video conferencing links for hearings.
  • Reduces physical court appearances, saving time and costs.
• Integration: Connects with e-Sakshya, Nyaya Shruti for end-to-end digital justice workflow.

• Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted its shift from reactive to proactive, innovative disaster management during Rajya Sabha debate.​ Addresses escalating extreme climate events and improves stakeholder coordination without centralizing powers. Builds on India's global recognition for disaster handling, per government statements.​

• Lok Sabha passed the bill on December 12, 2024.​
• Rajya Sabha cleared it on March 25, 2025, by voice vote after debate.
• Received Presidential assent on March 29, 2025; effective from April 9, 2025.​

• Clarified Definitions: Excludes law/order situations from "man-made disasters"; adds terms like "disaster risk reduction," "hazard," "evacuation," and "exposure".​
• Disaster Databases: Mandates NDMA for national and SDMAs for state-level databases on risks, funds, plans, and mitigation.
• Institutional Changes: Grants statutory status to National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC, headed by Cabinet Secretary) and High-Level Committee (HLC) for major disasters and aid.
• Expanded NDMA/SDMA Roles: NDMA assesses all risks (including emerging ones), sets relief standards; SDMAs prepare state plans.
• State Powers: Allows State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs), Urban Disaster Management Authorities (UDMAs) in metros, disciplinary action on errant officers, and directives to individuals for risk reduction.
• Penalties: Introduces fines/non-compliance measures for ignoring government directives during disasters.​

• India’s bioeconomy growth and policy push: BIRAC is at the center of implementing the BioE3 Policy (Biotechnology for Environment, Economy & Employment) and building biomanufacturing hubs to support innovation and make India a global biomanufacturing leader.
• Support for breakthrough projects: Innovations like India’s first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy and other biotech research have been backed by DBT/BIRAC, highlighted at major national science conclaves.
• Startup ecosystem development: BIRAC‘s programs are helping create thousands of biotech startups, enabling early funding (BIG, AcE Funds, etc.) and industry connections.

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a DBT not-for-profit, promotes biotech R&D and commercialization through grants like BIG, SBIRI, BIPP, and PACE.
• Supports startups with funding, mentorship, IP guidance, and partnerships to translate ideas into products.​
• Established institutes, startups, and companies (e.g., in Tamil Nadu) received BIRAC grants under schemes like BioNEST and National Biopharma Mission during 2023-26.​

• Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies (BioNEST) creates incubation facilities for biotech startups, offering space, high-end equipment, labs, business mentorship, and regulatory support.
• Supports standalone bioincubators or those within academia; has backed 20-65 facilities (varying reports) with ~200,000 to 863,382 sq.ft. across India.
• Launched to foster biotech ideas needing specialized support beyond IT-style incubation; aligns with Startup India.

• BioNEST facilities act as biotech hubs, spread nationwide for operations, R&D access, and networking; examples include Indigram Labs (Krishi Utthan) and others via calls like the 18th BIG proposals.
• Hubs overcome barriers like lab access and scaling; BIRAC's network has nurtured rapid startup growth over 10+ years.​
• Recent expansions include BioConnect offices for global partnerships and BioNEST global access for startups.​

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) addressed the Badaga community's push for ST status; Tamil Nadu proposed their inclusion in 2021, but the Registrar General of India (RGI) did not recommend it, and a related Madras High Court petition was dismissed in March 2025.​

• Population centres in nearly 400 villages across Nilgiris; they are the largest ethnic group there, with land-owning agricultural lifestyles.
• Speak Badaga (a Dravidian language), alongside Tamil, Kannada, and English among educated members; New Testament and JESUS Film available in Badaga.​
• Classified as Backward Class by Tamil Nadu government, not ST; middle-class profile due to land ownership, education, tea/tourism economy, and no internal caste discrimination.​

• Name derives from "vadugar" (northerner); legends trace migration from Mysore plains (North India) to escape Muslim invasions, settling with Nilgiri relatives.
• Labeled "important primitive tribes" in 1931 Census; status dropped post-Independence (no 1941 Census due to WWII); petitions since 1970s, including 2014 Madras High Court case.​
• Over 150 Badagas joined freedom struggle, including Gandhi's Salt March.​

• Hindu agriculturalists growing millet, tea; semi-isolated lifestyle preserves customs like unique attire (borrowed from Irulas), dances (from Kurumbas), and temple rituals led by Kurumbas.
• Non-tribal appearance and practices align with mainstream Hindu civilization; strong community bonds without caste hierarchies.

• Definition: Final practice run loading super-chilled cryogenic fuels (liquid oxygen and hydrogen) into rocket tanks, followed by pressurization, leak checks, and countdown to seconds before ignition, then draining.
• Process: Teams cool feed lines, fill over 700,000 gallons of fuel, simulate launch abort at T-9.34 seconds, and return the rocket to safe state.
• Purpose: Tests ground team readiness, reveals cryogenic-specific issues like seal leaks or connections invisible in dry runs; ensures all systems handle real fuel conditions.
• Vs. Dry Rehearsal: Dry version skips fuel loading, focusing on powering systems, communications, and simulated events without cryogenics.​

• Artemis II will send four astronauts (U.S. and Canadian) on a 10-day lunar flyby mission, splashing down in the Pacific; crew was in quarantine during the rehearsal.​
• Test aimed to clear the rocket for February 8 or later windows, but leaks required fixes.​
  Prior rehearsals noted in January 2026 via live streams; this builds on Artemis I's success.

• India initiated a nationwide MDA campaign, under the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme, targeting multiple states including Jharkhand's Ranchi district with 619 booths for preventive medication.​

• Caused by thread-like filarial worms (nematodes): Wuchereria bancrofti (90% cases), Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori.​
• Transmitted via mosquitoes (Culex, Mansonia, Anopheles species) that deposit infective larvae into human blood during bites; larvae mature into adults in lymphatic vessels.
• Adult worms live 5-8 years, producing microfilariae that circulate in blood, perpetuating transmission.​

• Acute: Fever, chills, lymphangitis, and painful swelling (acute attacks) from secondary bacterial infections.​
• Chronic: Lymphedema (swelling of limbs), hydrocele (genital swelling), and elephantiasis from lymphatic damage, fibrosis, and inflammation.
• Causes stigma, disability, economic loss, and poverty; affects over 120 million globally, with India bearing a major burden.

• Mass Drug Administration (MDA) with drugs like diethylcarbamazine (DEC), albendazole, and ivermectin to kill microfilariae and reduce transmission.​
• Vector control: Mosquito nets, insecticides, and environmental management.​
• Morbidity management: Hygiene, antibiotics for infections, and surgery for hydrocele.​

• Strategy: Biannual MDA since 2024, targeting endemic districts; 63 districts covered in August 2024 phase across six states.​
• Goal: LF-free India by 2027 via enhanced surveillance, community engagement, and state-central synergy.
• Progress: Significant reduction in cases; aligns with WHO's Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis.​

• Anand Mahindra highlighted Gilbert Hill, calling it Mumbai's hidden "dinosaur-era volcano," sparking widespread online interest, praise for its heritage value, and debates on local traffic strain in Andheri.

• Formed 66 million years ago from molten lava squeezed through Earth's clefts during the Cretaceous period, creating hexagonal basalt columns; one of only three such global formations (others: Devil's Tower and Devil's Postpile in USA).
• Declared a protected National Monument in 1952 to halt quarrying that eroded it in the early-mid 20th century.

• Situated in Andheri West, Mumbai, near Garuda Ganesh Temple; topped by small temples (Hanuman and Gaondevi Durga Devi) and a garden, reached via steep rock-carved stairs offering suburban views.

• Surrounded by urban development, facing risks from construction vibrations and rockfalls.​

• Protected with metal netting, bolts, and strengthening by Maharashtra PWD after rockfall incidents; 2025 plans include a Rs 2.5 crore panoramic capsule lift (cleared by Mumbai Heritage Committee) for tourism access.
• Past issues: Stop-work notices on nearby excavations; calls by politicians like Ameet Satam and Uddhav Thackeray for beautification to boost protection via tourism.

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