12^th November 2025

1. Gaganyaan Crew Module: Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted a crucial test on the main parachutes of the Gaganyaan Crew Module, achieving another major milestone in India’s first human spaceflight mission.

• Key Highlights: The test is part of the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Tests (IMAT) — essential for the qualification of the parachute system for the Gaganyaan mission.
• The Gaganyaan parachute system includes 10 parachutes of four types.
• Descent sequence: Starts with two apex cover separation parachutes that remove the protective cover.
• Followed by two drogue parachutes for stabilization and deceleration.
• Then three pilot parachutes deploy three main parachutes for final slowdown and safe landing.
• The system is built with redundancy — two out of three main parachutes are sufficient for a safe touchdown.
• The main parachutes deploy via reefed inflation, a step-by-step process involving: Partial opening (reefing) and Full opening (disreefing) after a preset time, controlled by a pyro device.
• A simulated Crew Module mass was dropped from 5 km altitude using an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft.
• The test confirmed the robustness and reliability of the parachute design for the upcoming Gaganyaan human space mission.

2. Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Recently, Telangana emerged as the best-performing state in water conservation under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) 1.0 initiative.

• Key Highlights: The Telangana built 2 lakh water conservation structures, topping the national list.
• Chhattisgarh ranked second with 05 lakh projects, and Rajasthan came third with 3.64 lakh structures.
• The awards are part of the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain”
• JSJB 1.0, launched in September 2024 in Surat, encourages community-led water stewardship using a whole-of-government and whole-of-society model.
• 67 districts across India have been selected for awards, including those from Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
• Guna Municipality (Madhya Pradesh) topped with 2,227 works, awarded ₹40 lakh.

3. Watershed Mahotsav: Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture announced the inauguration of the Watershed Mahotsav in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

• About Watershed Mahotsav: A national festival celebrating community participation in sustainable watershed management.
• Brings together citizens, policymakers, and local bodies to promote holistic soil and water conservation in rural India.
• Origin: Part of the National Watershed Conference 2025.
• Organised by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development.

o   Aim: To foster Jan Bhagidari (public participation) in watershed development.

• To restore degraded ecosystems and strengthen rural livelihoods through efficient water management and soil conservation.
• Key Features: Promotes Mission Watershed Revitalisation — aimed at repairing and maintaining old watershed structures.
• Integrates MGNREGA for funding and implementing soil and water conservation works.

4. India and Bhutan: Recently, India and Bhutan have achieved a new milestone in their energy cooperation with the inauguration of the Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project.

• Key Highlights: The project marks a significant step in strengthening bilateral energy ties between the two nations.
• The hydropower partnership is part of a long-standing collaboration where India supports Bhutan in harnessing its hydroelectric potential.
• In the evening ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by the King and Queen of Bhutan at Tashichho Dzong, Thimphu.
• Tashichho Dzong is a historic fortress and Buddhist monastery located on the western bank of the Wang Chhu River.
• Indian PM offered prayers and lit a butter lamp along with the King and Queen, symbolizing peace, friendship, and shared spiritual harmony between the two nations.

5. Integrity Matters Checklist: Recently, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) introduced the Integrity Matters Checklist, an UN-endorsed tool designed to help companies align their climate disclosures with global standards for credible net-zero commitments.

• About Integrity Matters Checklist: A climate disclosure framework endorsed by the United Nations, designed to help companies and investors transparently report their net-zero targets, transition strategies, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction efforts.
• Developed by: The GRI, in collaboration with the United Nations, based on the recommendations of the UN High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Net Zero Commitments.
• Aim: To operationalise the UN’s Integrity Matters report by ensuring that corporate climate actions are credible, science-based, and transparent, thereby advancing the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Key Features: Aligned with UN guidance on verifiable net-zero targets and just transition principles.
• Integrated with GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 Standard for consistent and comparable sustainability reporting.
• Promotes phasing out fossil fuel investments and adoption of science-based transition pathways.
• Provides a checklist-based reporting mechanism to track progress from pledges to delivery, improving investor and policymaker confidence.
• Endorsed by UN officials as a crucial link between corporate ambition and climate accountability.

6. Neodymium: Recently, India announced plans to increase its neodymium output nine fold, targeting 500 tons by the end of FY27 — a major step toward strengthening the nation’s rare earth supply chain and bolstering its clean energy and defence sectors.

• About Neodymium: Symbol: Nd; Atomic Number: 60
• Group: Lanthanides (rare earth elements)
• Abundance: Second most plentiful rare-earth element after cerium
• Sources: Found in monazite and bastnasite minerals; key deposits are located in Brazil, China, the U.S., India, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
• Properties: A ductile, malleable, silvery-white metal.
• Readily oxidizes in air to form Nd₂O₃, which flakes off and exposes more metal to oxidation.
• Must be stored in sealed, vacuum, or inert conditions to prevent corrosion.
• Reacts with mineral acids, except hydrofluoric acid (HF), where it forms a protective NdF₃ layer.
• Applications: A critical material for the rare-earth magnet industry.
• Essential for electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, clean energy technologies, and defence systems.
• Widely used in optical and electronic devices, including lasers, microphones, and data storage systems.

7. Booker Prize: Recently, Hungarian-British author David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel Flesh, becoming the first Hungarian-British writer to receive one of the most prestigious honors in the English-speaking literary world.

• About Booker Prize: This Prize is recognised as the world’s leading literary award for a single work of fiction.
• Established: 1969, United Kingdom
• Initially limited to Commonwealth writers, it is now global, open to authors of any nationality.
• Objective: To honour the finest fiction of the year and celebrate literary excellence in the English language.
• Eligibility Criteria: The novel must be: Originally written in English (not a translation).
  • Published in the UK or Ireland during the prize year.
  • Released by a registered UK or Irish publisher (self-published works are not eligible).
• Nationality of the author does not affect eligibility.
• Prize Details: Winner: Receives £50,000 and Shortlisted authors: Each receive £2,500.

8. Ayni Airbase: Recently, India ended its two-decade-long strategic military presence in Central Asia by withdrawing from the Ayni airbase in Tajikistan.

• About Ayni Airbase: Location: Near Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.
• Strategic proximity: Close to Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and China’s Xinjiang province.
• Historical background: Built during the Soviet era, later fell into disrepair after the USSR’s collapse.
  • India renovated and modernized the base under a 2002 bilateral agreement with Tajikistan.
  • Investment: ~$80 million for infrastructure, including runway upgrades, hangars, maintenance facilities, and fuel depots.
• India’s Role and Operations: Served as India’s only overseas air facility with Indian Air Force (IAF) assets, including helicopters and support units.
• Provided logistical and evacuation support, notably during the 2021 Kabul evacuation.
• Represented India’s symbolic and strategic outreach into Central Asia, a region dominated by Russian and Chinese influence.

9. ‘Co-Op Kumbh 2025’: Recently, the Union Minister of Cooperation inaugurated ‘Co-Op Kumbh 2025’ and officially adopted the Delhi Declaration 2025 as a strategic roadmap for growth and reform.

• About Co-Op Kumbh 2025’, an international conference focused on shaping the future of India’s urban cooperative banking sector.
• Delhi Declaration 2025: Serves as a comprehensive roadmap for the expansion and modernization of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) across India.
• Digital Initiatives: Launch of Sahkar Digi-Pay and Sahkar Digi-Loan applications to help even the smallest UCBs provide digital payment and loan services to their members.
• Expansion Goal: Aims to establish at least one UCB in every Indian city with a population exceeding 2 lakhs within the next five years.
• Future Initiatives: The National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies (NAFCUB) will onboard 1,500 UCBs onto Sahkar Digi-Pay within two years.
• Encourages the conversion of successful credit societies into Urban Cooperative Banks to expand formal cooperative banking coverage.