1. World Air Quality Report 2024

World Air Quality Report 2024: India ranked as the fifth most polluted country in 2024, improving from third in 2023.

• About World Air Quality Report 2024: Published by Swiss air quality technology firm IQAir.

o 13 Indian cities in the top 20 most polluted cities: Byrnihat, Delhi, Mullanpur (Punjab), Faridabad, Loni, Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh, Noida.

o 35% of Indian cities reported PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the WHO limit of 5 µg/m³.

• Health Impact: Fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, enters lungs and bloodstream, causing respiratory issues, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Reduces life expectancy by ~5.2 years.
• A Lancet Planetary Health study (2009–2019) estimated 1.5 million annual deaths in India due to prolonged PM2.5 exposure.

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2. Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025

Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025: The Bill was recently introduced in the Lok Sabha to streamline immigration services, regulate entry, exit, and stay of foreigners, and replace outdated laws.

• About Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025: Its objective to modernize India’s immigration system, strengthen border security, and regulate foreigners’ registration.
• Replaces Old Laws: Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 → Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 → Foreigners Act, 1946 → Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.
• Key Features:

o Onus of Proof: The onus of proving citizenship lies on the individual, not the state.

o Stricter Penalties: Fake Passports (7 years jail + fine up to ₹10 lakh) → Forged Documents (5 years jail + fine up to ₹5 lakh) → Overstaying/Trespassing (3 years jail + fine up to ₹3 lakh) → Unauthorized Entry (Fine up to ₹5 lakh)

o Visa and Passport Regulations: No individual can enter India without a valid passport/visa & Foreigners must register on arrival.

o Immigration Officers’ Powers: Can arrest without warrant and regulate movement of foreigners & can restrict departure if required by an authorized agency.

o Foreigners’ Restrictions: Entry can be denied on national interest grounds & restrictions on name changes, movement, and access to protected areas.

o Institutional Obligations: Educational Institutions (Must register foreign students and report them) & Medical Institutions (Must maintain records of foreign nationals).

o Carriers’ Liability: Airlines, shipping companies, and transport agencies must verify passenger documents before boarding, and non-compliance invites legal penalties.

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3. Kursk Region

Kursk Region: Russian troops have recently launched a large-scale offensive to retake swaths of the western Kursk region from Ukrainian forces.

• About Kursk Region: It is a city and the administrative centre of Kursk Oblast, located along Russia’s South-Western border.
• Geography: Lies in the heart of the European part of Russia, about 450 km south of Moscow, along the upper Seym River.

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4. North Sea

North Sea: Recently, a cargo ship hit a tanker carrying jet fuel for the American military off eastern England, setting both vessels on fire and sending fuel pouring into the North Sea.

• About North Sea: It is a shallow northeastern arm of the Atlantic Ocean, covering 220,000 square miles (570,000 square km) between the British Isles and northwestern Europe.
• Bordered by: Great Britain (southwest and west), Orkney and Shetland islands (northwest), Norway (northeast), Denmark (east), Germany and the Netherlands (southeast), and Belgium and France (south).
• Connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Dover and the English Channel.
• The Skagerrak links the North Sea to the Baltic Sea via the Kattegat and the Danish straits.
• Major rivers draining into the North Sea include: Forth, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine and Meuse, Scheldt, Thames, and Humber.
• Economic Importance: One of Europe’s most productive fisheries. A major shipping zone for trade among European countries and between Europe and the Middle East. It contains significant reserves of petroleum and natural gas beneath the seafloor.

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5. Enteric Viruses

Enteric Viruses: Increasing extreme weather events, like prolonged rainstorms and heatwaves, may raise the risk of exposure to sewage-associated viruses in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.

• About: Enteric viruses are the principal cause of food- and waterborne illnesses worldwide.
• Types: Includes noroviruses, sapovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, Aichi virus, enteric adenoviruses, rotaviruses, and astroviruses.
• Transmission: Spread through contaminated food and water, with potential for zoonotic transmission.
• Survival in Water: In seawater at 30°C, viruses remained infectious for up to 3 days; at cooler temperatures, up to 1 week.
• Under sunlight, viruses survived less than 24 hours on sunny days but remained viable for around 2.5 days during cloudy weather.
• Health Risks: Recreational water users are at risk due to sewage discharge and agricultural runoff.
• Global Concern: Many countries still release untreated or partially treated sewage into natural waters, posing a global health risk.

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6. Global Maternal Mortality

Global Maternal Mortality: In 2020, approximately 800 women died daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, equating to one death every two minutes, as per the WHO Report.

• About Maternal Mortality: It refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days of termination, from causes related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management, not accidental.
• Leading Causes: Haemorrhage (severe heavy bleeding) — 27% of maternal deaths & Hypertensive disorders (e.g., pre-eclampsia) — 16% of maternal deaths.
• • Regional Variation: Highest haemorrhage-related deaths - Sub-Saharan Africa (28%), Western Asia and Northern Africa (29%), Australia and New Zealand (15%)
  • Hypertensive disorders: Most prevalent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Global Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): 223 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.
  • Target: SDG 3.1 aims to reduce MMR to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

  o 95% of maternal deaths occurred in low and lower-middle-income countries in 2020 — most were preventable.

  • About WHO: Founded in 1948.

  o Role: UN agency that promotes health, ensures global safety, and serves vulnerable populations.

  o Initiatives: In 2024, WHO launched a global roadmap for postpartum haemorrhage with key priorities to reduce maternal deaths.

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7. Esports Federation of India (ESFI)

Esports Federation of India (ESFI): The Esports Championship 2025 organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) is a key component of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES), backed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

• About Esports Federation of India (ESFI): Organizer of Esports Championship 2025 (WESC2025), a part of WAVES 2025.
• Responsible for conducting the online qualifying phases and the Grand Finale to determine the ultimate champions.
• Supports Indian esports players by providing:

o Opportunities to participate in domestic and international esports events.

o Coaching and training sessions for winning players or teams.

o Travel and accommodation expenses for the Main Event participants.

• Ensures the selection of top players to represent India at global esports events like the Asian Esports Games 2024 (AEG2024).

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8. Electrochemical Process

Electrochemical Process: A new electrochemical process converts urea into percarbamide, enabling the treatment of urine in urban wastewater and transforming it into a useful resource.

• About Electrochemical Process: Urine contains phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen (Big Three nutrients), making it a natural plant fertiliser.
  
  • Separates urea from urine in its solid form via a greener, less energy-consuming process, converting urea into a crystalline peroxide derivative called percarbamide.
  • Nitrogen Cycle: Humans excrete urea through urine. Extracting urea efficiently can help complete the nitrogen cycle.
  • Pee-cycling Potential: Annual urine output contains ~4 kg nitrogen and 0.3 kg phosphorus per person, enough to grow wheat for a loaf of bread daily for a year.
  • Formation of Percarbamide: Urea forms hydrogen bonds with hydrogen peroxide, creating percarbamide – a white crystalline solid that can be precipitated out with high purity.
  • In-situ Technique: Uses a graphitic carbon-based catalyst to convert urea into percarbamide with almost 100% purity from human and animal urine.
  • Dual Pathways:

  o Pathway I: Urea reacts directly with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst.

  o Pathway II: Urea binds to a hydroperoxyl (-OOH) intermediate with H+ ions, forming percarbamide with catalyst support.

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9. Gyan Bharatam Mission

Gyan Bharatam Mission: National Archives of India (NAI) is currently working on the world’s largest digitization program. The success of this digitization program has inspired the launch of the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission,’.

• About: Announced in Union Budget 2025-26, it is a special mission for the survey, documentation, and conservation of India’s manuscript heritage lying with academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collectors.

o It intends to cover more than one crore manuscripts.

o A key component of the Gyan Bharatam Mission is the national digital repository of the Indian knowledge system. 

o It will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing. 

o This storehouse will help in digitising and centralising India’s traditional knowledge. 

o It will be accessible to researchers, students, and institutions worldwide.

• Manuscript: It is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf, or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical, or aesthetic value. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts.

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