2 Minute Series_9 September 2025

09^th September 2025

1. Himachal Pradesh: Recently, Himachal Pradesh was officially declared a fully literate state, joining the elite ranks of Goa, Mizoram, Tripura, and the Union Territory of Ladakh.

• Key Highlights: India’s literacy rate rose from 74% in 2011 to 9% in 2023-24, as announced by Union Education Minister.
• Himachal ranks first in the country in student-teacher ratio.
• Achievement credited to decades of effort, moving from 7% literacy at Independence to near-universal literacy.
• ULLAS–Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram played a key role: 3 crore learners and 42 lakh volunteers enrolled.
• 83 Crore learners took literacy assessments with 90% success rate.
• Learning materials now available in 26 Indian languages.
• Himachal government plans continuous reforms to transform institutions into centres of excellence.
• The dropout rate has now fallen to nearly zero.
• Himachal had met all criteria for full literacy and will continue capacity enhancement.
• Women’s groups, youth clubs, NGOs, and volunteers played a major role in achieving this milestone.

2. Personalised Adaptive Learning: Recently, a study found that a personalised adaptive learning (PAL) software used in Andhra Pradesh government schools has doubled student learning rates, leading to measurable gains in math proficiency.

• About PAL: By AI, introduced in 2019 for Classes 6–9.
• Scale: Now implemented across 1,224 government schools in the state using tablets.
• Evaluation study: Conducted by Development Innovation Lab (University of Chicago).
• Compared 60 schools with PAL vs 60 without PAL over 17 months (2023–2025).
• Covered 14,000 students.
• Learning gains: Students using PAL showed 3x higher learning rates than non-users.
• Girls gained 31 years of schooling equivalent, boys 1.54 years.
• By grade: Class 6 → 04 years, Class 7 → 2.36 years, Class 8 → 1.77 years, Class 9 → 1.54 years.
• Future plans: Andhra govt plans to expand PAL to PM-SHRI and secondary schools (900+ schools). Proposal to shift from tablets to Chromebooks for longer durability.
• Broader research: PAL has earlier shown positive results in Delhi private schools (2019) and Rajasthan govt schools (2025).

3. Sample Registration System: Recently, Kerala’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has shown a steep rise from 18 to 30 per one lakh live births, according to the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin for 2021–23.

• Key Highlights: Kerala and Andhra Pradesh share the first spot among states with the lowest MMR in India.
• The increase is largely attributed to: 97 maternal deaths in 2021 due to COVID-19.
• A declining number of live births in the state, which affects the denominator in MMR calculation.
• Declining live births: Earlier: 5–5.5 lakh annually; 2023: 3,93,231 live births; 2024-25 (projected): ~3.54 lakh live births.
• Maternal deaths steady: Around 120–140 annually over the past five years. Spike in 2021-22: 220 maternal deaths, pushing MMR to 51 (due to COVID-19).

4. Cholesterol: Recently, scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, discovered that cholesterol can be harnessed to control electron spin, paving the way for advanced quantum and spintronic technologies.

• Why cholesterol: Acts as an ideal supramolecular platform due to its chirality (handedness) and flexibility.
• Enables precise control of molecular properties.
• Method: Cholesterol combined with different metal ions created nanomaterials that can filter electron spins selectively.
• Both spin directions could be tuned in a single system using a chemical tweak or stimulus.
• Result: Provides chemical tunability for manipulating spin information with high precision.
• Applications: Energy-efficient memory chips for greener technology.
• Bioelectronic devices.
• Spin-based separation of molecules with extreme precision.
• Significance: Represents a major advancement in using biomaterials (cholesterol-based nanomaterials) for quantum and spintronic technologies.

5. Lists of Essential Medicines: Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML), adding new treatments for cancer, diabetes, and obesity with related comorbidities.

• About Essential Medicines: Medicines that meet the priority health-care needs of a population.
• The list is prepared by considering: Disease prevalence
• Efficacy and safety of medicines
• Comparative cost-effectiveness
• Medicines acts as a reference register that defines the minimum medicine needs for every health-care system.
• It is revised every two years by the Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.
• Tanzania (1970) was the first country to develop a national Essential Medicines List (EML).
• The first WHO Model List was published in 1977, containing 186 medicines.
• Today, over 150 countries have their own national EMLs, adapted from the WHO model.

6. Red Sea: Recently, internet traffic between India and Europe slowed down after two major undersea cable systems—SEA-ME-WE 4 and IMEWE—were cut in the Red Sea.

• About the Red Sea: A semi-enclosed extension of the Indian Ocean, located between Africa and Asia.
• To the south, it connects to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean through the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
• In the north, it is divided by the Sinai Peninsula into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. From the Gulf of Suez, it links to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
• The sea is known for its hot and highly saline waters and serves as a vital maritime route between Europe and Asia.
• Its red coloration comes from algae blooms, which can alter the sea’s appearance.
• Geologically, it lies within a fault depression formed by the movement of the Arabian and North African tectonic plates.
• Bordering Countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti
• Mineral Resources: Petroleum deposits, evaporites, sulfur, phosphates, and heavy-metal deposits.

7. Monkey Pox: Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that mpox (monkeypox) is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) following a sustained decline in global cases and deaths.

• About mpox: Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV).
• The virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family, which also includes variola (smallpox), cowpox, and vaccinia viruses.
• Origin: First detected in 1958 in monkeys in Denmark.
• The first human case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• The virus is endemic in Central and West Africa, with occasional outbreaks in other parts of the world.
• Symptoms: Fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue.
• Usually starts on the face or genitals, spreading across the body (including palms and soles).

8. Operation Guddar: Recently, in Jammu and Kashmir, security forces carried out an operation in the Guddar forest area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, where two terrorists were killed.

• About Operation Guddar: A counter-terrorism operation carried out jointly by the J&K Police, Indian Army, and CRPF in the Guddar forest area of Kulgam district.
• The operation is named after the forested region where militants were believed to be hiding.
• Aim: To neutralize terrorists active in South Kashmir.
• To secure forested terrain and nearby villages often used as militant hideouts.
• To strengthen intelligence-driven, coordinated action between police and security forces.
• Key Features: Joint participation of the Army (Chinar Corps), CRPF, and Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police.
• Conducted in high-risk forest areas, requiring specialized tactics.
• Focus on eliminating threats while minimizing civilian casualties and collateral damage.

9. FP-5 Flamingo: Recently, Ukraine unveiled its new homegrown cruise missile, the FP-5 "Flamingo", marking a major leap in its defense capabilities.
   

• About FP-5 “Flamingo”: A long-range cruise missile developed by Ukraine’s Fire Point defense company.
• It is Ukraine’s first indigenously developed heavy missile system.
• Key Features: Range: Up to 3,000 km.
• Warhead: 1,150 kg.
• Maximum take-off weight: 6,000 kg.
• Wingspan: Around 6 meters.
• Engine: Turbofan
• Speed: Up to 900 km/h.
• Navigation: Combination of inertial guidance and GPS.
• Electronic warfare resistance: Equipped with a secure GPS module and CRPA antennas to withstand jamming attempts.
• Destructive Capability: The missile’s high terminal velocity and heavy weight allow the warhead to penetrate deep into targets before detonation, significantly boosting its destructive power.

10. India and Israel: Recently, India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement to boost trade, protect investors, and deepen economic ties.

• Key Highlights: Israel becomes the first OECD member state with which India has signed such an agreement under India’s new model investment treaty framework.
• The agreement aims to promote reciprocal investments, provide certainty and protection for investors, and strengthen Israeli exports.
• It replaces the previous agreement signed in 1996.
• Israel plans to open up new sectors, particularly construction, creating investment and employment opportunities for Indians.
• Israel has already hired large numbers of Indian blue-collar workers in the past two years due to conflict-related labour shortages.