01^st September 2025

1. Ramon Magsaysay Award: Recently, for the first time, an Indian non-profit organization has been awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

• The recognition was given to ‘Educate Girls’, a grassroots NGO dedicated to advancing girls’ education and promoting gender equality in rural and underserved areas of India.

• About Ramon Magsaysay Award:  Established in 1957, is Asia’s highest honor and premier prize, recognizing individuals who demonstrate exceptional dedication to serving the people of Asia, regardless of their background.

• It is presented annually on August 31st, marking the birthday of Ramon Magsaysay, the third President of the Philippines.
• Awardees are selected annually by the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF).
• Recipients receive a certificate, cash prize and a medallion, featuring an embossed profile of Ramon Magsaysay facing right.

2. Killer Whales: Recently, a study revealed an extraordinary behavior in killer whales (Orcinus orca), an apex predators have been seen presenting freshly caught prey to humans and waiting for a reaction.

• Published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology, this rare interaction underscores the orcas’ curiosity and advanced social intelligence.

• About Killer Whale: Often called the “wolves of the sea”, the killer whale, or orca, is the ocean’s top predator.

• It is the largest member of the Delphinidae family (dolphins) and is renowned for its intelligence and hunting skills.
• Hunting and Abilities: Orcas are highly skilled hunters, capable of coordinated hunting strategies. They are fast swimmers, reaching speeds of up to 54 km/h.
• Distribution: Found in all the world’s oceans, making them the most widely distributed cetaceans. They inhabit both open seas and coastal waters.
• Physical Description: Body: Large and black; Underside: White
  - Eye patch: White area above and behind the eye
  - Saddle patch: White patch behind the dorsal fin
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Data Deficient

3. Interpol Purple Notice: Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued its first Interpol Purple Notice, highlighting a sophisticated trade-based money laundering (TBML) scheme uncovered during its investigations.

• The notice seeks to alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about evolving trends in financial crimes.

• About Purple Notice: It is one of eight types of notices issued by Interpol.

• Purpose: To provide member countries with information on criminal methods, objects, devices, and concealment techniques.
• Focus: Unlike Red Notices that target specific individuals, Purple Notices focus on practices and tools that threaten public safety.
• Other Interpol notices: Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, Green, Orange, and Silver (pilot phase).

• About Interpol: Stands for International Criminal Police Organisation and founded in 1923.

• Membership: 196 member countries
• Headquarters: Lyon, France
• Functions: Information-sharing network for international police cooperation.
  
  

4. Mela Patt Festival: Recently, in Jammu and Kashmir, the annual three-day Mela Patt commenced at the historic Khakhal Mohalla in Bhaderwah town, Doda district.

• About Mela Patt Festival: The festival is dedicated to Lord Vasuki Nag, the presiding deity of Bhaderwah Valley.

• Rooted in Nag culture, it commemorates the historic meeting between Mughal Emperor Akbar and King Nag Pal of Bhaderwah.
• Celebrated since the 16th century, it was first organized by King Nag Pal when Bhaderwah was known as Bhadarkashi.
• Held every year on Nag Panchami, seven days after the Kailash Yatra.
• Cultural Highlights: Dikko Dance: A traditional folk performance in which men and women of all religions and backgrounds participate, symbolizing peace, pride, and communal harmony.
  - Dhakku Dance: The traditional dance of the Dogras, respected as part of India’s rich folk dance heritage.
  
  

5. SEEI 2024: Recently, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) released the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2024.

• Key Findings: Assessed 36 States/UTs for FY 2023–24 using 66 indicators.

• Sectors Covered: Buildings, Industry, Transport, Agriculture, DISCOMs, Municipal Services, and Cross-sector initiatives.
• 24 states notified the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017.
• 31 states adopted electric mobility policies.
• 13 states promoted solar agricultural pumps, with Kerala leading at 74% adoption.
• All 36 States/UTs prepared State Energy Efficiency Action Plans (SEEAPs).

• About SEEI: A composite index measuring the energy efficiency performance of states and UTs.

• Purpose: To track and compare the energy efficiency progress of Indian states and Union Territories.
• First launched: 2018; SEEI 2024 is the sixth edition.
• Objectives: Encourage data-driven monitoring of energy efficiency.
• Promote healthy competition and policy innovation among states.
• Align state actions with India’s net-zero by 2070 vision.
  
  

6. Interministerial Central Teams: Recently, under the Union Home Ministry, interministerial central teams were set up for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.

• Purpose of teams: Assess damage caused by heavy rainfall, floods, flash floods, cloudbursts, and landslides.

• Conduct on-the-spot evaluation of relief works carried out by the state governments.
• Coordinating between central and state agencies to expedite assistance.
• Areas of focus: Flood- and landslide-affected districts in the four states, severely hit during the monsoon season.
• Composition of teams: Led by a senior officer of Joint Secretary Level from the Home Affairs Ministry and NDMA.
  - Include senior officers from Expenditure, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport & Highways, and Rural Development ministries/departments.

7. Vrindavani Vastra: Recently, Assam is set to temporarily host its treasured 16th-century silk textile, the Vrindavani Vastra, as the British Museum in London has agreed to lend it for 18 months in 2027.

• This will be the first time the museum has approved the loan, subject to specific conditions.

• About Vrindavani Vastra: A silk textile woven in Assam.

• It depicts the childhood stories and divine pastimes of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan, woven intricately with thread.
• Historical Background: Created under the guidance of Srimanta Sankardeva at the request of Koch king Nara Narayan, ruler of parts of modern-day Assam and West Bengal.
• Significance: The textile is a testament to Assamese weaving, blending elements from multiple artistic traditions.
  - It travelled from Assam to Tibet before being acquired by the British Museum in 1904.
  - The exhibit is nine and a half metres long, composed of several silk drapes, originally consisting of 15 separate pieces later assembled.
  - Regarded as a masterpiece of sacred art, the Vrindavani Vastra holds a central place in Assamese Vaishnavism.
  
  

8. Green Credit: Recently, the Environment Ministry released a revised methodology for calculating Green Credit under the Green Credit Programme.

• About Green Credit: A market-based incentive mechanism rewarding voluntary eco-friendly actions such as tree plantation, mangrove restoration, sustainable farming, water conservation, and waste management.

• Purpose of Credits: Serve as measurable rewards for positive environmental outcomes.
• Aim of the Programme: Promote voluntary participation by industries, cooperatives, and communities in ecological restoration.
  - Shift focus from tree counting to ecological improvement, considering tree survival and canopy density.
  - Link corporate obligations with long-term ecological benefits.

• Key Features (2025 Notification): Credit issuance: Only after 5 years, ensuring tree survival and growth.

• Canopy requirement: Minimum 40% canopy density for credit issuance.
• Conversion: 1 Green Credit = 1 surviving tree beyond 5 years.
  
  

9. Mira Variable Stars: Recently, a study led by IUCAA (Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics), with Nobel laureate Adam Riess as co-author, used Mira variable stars to measure the Hubble constant with 7% precision.

• This research offers an independent reference for the cosmic distance ladder, potentially helping to resolve the Hubble tension.

• About Mira Variable Stars: Cool, pulsating red giant stars whose brightness varies regularly due to expansion and contraction of their outer layers.

• Discovery: The prototype, Mira (Omicron Ceti), was first identified as variable in 1596 by David Fabricius. Further studied in the 17th century, becoming the first recognized variable star.
• Key Features: Brightness variation period: 100–1,000 days.
  - Surface temperature: ~3,000 K (~half of the Sun’s surface).
  - Evolutionary stage: Late stage of stellar life (dying giant stars).
  - Period–luminosity relationship: Strong correlation, similar to Cepheid variables.
  - Oxygen-rich types: Less affected by metallicity, providing cleaner luminosity calibration for distance measurement.

10. Coral Microatolls: Recently, a study on coral microatolls in the Maldives revealed that sea levels in the central Indian Ocean have been rising.

• Using coral microatolls and uranium dating, researchers were able to obtain precise long-term records of these changes.

• Key Findings: Sea-level acceleration began in the 1950s, earlier than the previously assumed 1990s.

• Coral growth bands and interruptions reveal effects of El Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and lunar cycles.
• Central Indian Ocean shows earlier and faster sea-level rise compared to coastal areas, due to regional oceanic factors.

• Microatolls are corals that are alive at the edges but have flat, dead tops. They usually grow in shallow water areas like reef flats and lagoons.

• They are important natural indicators of sea-level changes over long periods.