30^th October 2025

1. Indi and Puliyankudi Limes: Recently, in a landmark milestone for India’s agri-exports, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, facilitated the first-ever air shipment of GI-tagged Indi and Puliyankudi Limes to the United Kingdom.

• About Indi Lime (Karnataka): Cultivated in Vijayapura district, known for:
• Zesty aroma, high juice yield, and balanced acidity.
• Culinary, medicinal, and cultural
• Reflects the rich agricultural heritage of Karnataka.
• About Puliyankudi Lime (Tamil Nadu): Grown in Tenkasi district, known as “Lemon City of Tamil Nadu”.
• The Kadayam variety features: Thin peel, strong acidity, high vitamin C (34.3 mg/100g), and 55% juice content.
  • Officially GI-tagged in April 2025.
  • Renowned for its nutritional richness, flavour, and health benefits.
• Significance of the Initiative: Marks a new chapter in India’s GI-produce exports, particularly for horticultural commodities.

2. Model Youth Gram Sabha (MYGS): Recently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (Department of School Education and Literacy) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, announced the launch of the Model Youth Gram Sabha (MYGS).

• About MYGS: Launch Components: Unveiling of a Training Module on Model Youth Gram Sabha and the MYGS Digital Portal.
• These tools aim to enhance teacher training, enable digital implementation, and promote student participation in grassroots democracy.
• Implementation Scale: The initiative will be rolled out across 1,000+ schools nationwide, including: Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) & State Government Schools
• Participants: Over 650 delegates including students, teachers, and Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana, along with senior officials from the involved Ministries.
• Core Objective: To strengthen Janbhagidari (people’s participation) and promote participatory local governance by involving students in simulated Gram Sabha sessions.
• Alignment with NEP 2020: The MYGS initiative supports the National Education Policy 2020 goals by integrating democratic values, civic responsibility, and leadership training into education.

3. National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA): Recently, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs announced it will host the 3rd National Conference on the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) at the Main Committee Room, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.

• Key Highlights: Participants: Over 100 delegates, including Secretaries of Legislative Houses and Nodal Department Secretaries from State Governments.
• These officials are key to implementing and operationalizing NeVA in their respective States.
• Objective of NeVA: A Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Digital India Programme.
• Aims to make all State Legislatures paperless, creating fully digital legislative houses.
• Promotes the vision of “One Nation, One Application” by integrating all 37 Legislative Houses on a single digital platform.
• Broader Impact: NeVA contributes directly to Digital India and Good Governance
• Aims to transform India’s legislative institutions into digital, transparent, and efficient entities.

4. Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in its Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty, warned that developing nations will require $310–365 billion annually by 2035 to cope with escalating climate impacts.

• Key Highlights: Projected Costs Rising: Adjusted for inflation and future economic trends, adaptation needs could reach US$440–520 billion annually by 2035.
• Insufficient Global Targets: The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of US$300 billion per year by 2035 (for both mitigation and adaptation) will still leave a large shortfall.
• Failure to Meet Glasgow Pact Goal: The pledge to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels to US$40 billion by 2025 is unlikely to be achieved.
• Hurricane Melissa Context: Report released as Jamaica suffers devastation from Hurricane Melissa—among the strongest storms in North Atlantic history—highlighting real-time climate vulnerability.
• Adaptation Planning Progress: Around 172 countries now have at least one national adaptation plan or policy, though 36 are outdated (over 10 years old).
• Funding Agency Support: Adaptation Fund, GEF, and Green Climate Fund disbursed US$920 million in 2024, an 86% rise from the five-year average—but future growth remains uncertain.
• Need for Debt-Free Finance: UNEP warns against debt-creating adaptation finance, urging grants, concessional, and non-debt instruments for vulnerable nations.

5. Global Climate Finance Taxonomy: Lessons for India Report: Recently, a report by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) titled “Global Climate Finance Taxonomy: Lessons for India” highlighted that India’s draft taxonomy could be crucial in unlocking sustainable investment flows.

• Key Highlights: The taxonomy can unlock major climate-aligned investments if designed around India’s needs, not copied from global models.
• India should avoid global pitfalls such as technical complexity, inconsistent data, poor interoperability, limited adaptation focus, and transition-washing.
• A balance is needed between global credibility and domestic relevance to ensure the taxonomy supports India’s development priorities.
• Strong coordination between RBI, SEBI, and the Ministry of Finance is essential to avoid sending mixed market signals.
• The taxonomy should align with RBI’s green finance guidelines and SEBI’s BRSR+ framework to ensure policy coherence.
• The report introduces a National Industrial Classification (NIC) mapping to identify climate-aligned sectors for mitigation and adaptation.
• MSMEs must be included through simplified and proportionate models that allow them access to green finance.

6. National Seeds Corporation’s (NSC): Recently, the Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development inaugurated the National Seeds Corporation’s (NSC) advanced seed processing plant at the Pusa Complex, New Delhi.

• ·About National Seeds Corporation: Established in 1963, the NSC was set up to produce foundation and certified seeds across the country.
• It operates under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• NSC is a Schedule ‘B’ – Mini Ratna Category-I company, fully owned by the Government of India.
• Functions of NSC: Acts as a key national agency for the production and supply of high-quality seeds to farmers.
• Plays a vital role in implementing several Government of India schemes, including:
• National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)
• National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
• Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

• Provides technical guidance and support to State Seed Corporations and other seed-producing agencies.

7. Atlas Moth: Recently, the Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas), known as the world’s largest moth, was sighted in Guddehalli, Karwar, Davangere district, Karnataka, marking a rare and notable record in India’s biodiversity.

• About Atlas Moth: Scientific Name: Attacus atlas
• Family: Saturniidae
• Native Range: Tropical and subtropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.
• Distribution: Found across Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, southeastern China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
• Habitat: Prefers tropical and subtropical rainforests.In some regions, they are cultivated for silk production (known as fagara silk), which is coarse and woolly.
• Key Features: Recognized as one of the largest moths in the world with a wingspan exceeding 25 cm (about 10 inches).
• Females are generally larger than males.
• Lifespan: Typically 14–18 days after emergence.

8. AmazonFACE: Recently, scientists in Brazil launched the AmazonFACE (Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment) project near Manaus to study how the Amazon rainforest will respond to rising carbon dioxide levels projected for 2050–2060. This marks the world’s first experiment of its kind conducted in a tropical forest ecosystem.

• About AmazonFACE Experiment: A large-scale climate simulation initiative aimed at understanding how tropical rainforests, particularly the Amazon, will react to increasing CO₂ concentrations.
• How It Works: Six steel tower rings are built around clusters of 50–70 mature trees.
• Three rings are exposed to elevated CO₂ matching future climate forecasts, while the other three act as control plots.
• Sensors record data on photosynthesis, oxygen release, and water vapor exchange every 10 minutes.
• The system effectively recreates the “atmosphere of the future” to monitor real-time ecosystem responses.
• Scientific Innovation: First-ever FACE experiment in a natural tropical rainforest, expanding on earlier studies in temperate regions like the U.S.
• Continuous Monitoring: Real-time tracking of rainfall, storms, CO₂ absorption, and respiration cycles.
• Climate Modelling Use: Data will inform projections on carbon storage, biodiversity resilience, and ecosystem feedbacks under future conditions.
• Policy Relevance: Results will directly support climate negotiations at COP30, contributing to global discussions on rainforest conservation and carbon budgeting.

9. Wave Tank: Recently, in a world-first experiment, physicists at the University of Queensland, Australia, created a microscopic “wave tank” using a film of superfluid helium.

• About Wave Tank: A superfluid helium film just 6.7 nanometres thick — to study nonlinear wave behaviour at the microscopic scale.
• Superfluid Helium Properties: When cooled near absolute zero, helium becomes a superfluid, flowing without friction or viscosity. This allows it to move freely in an ultra-thin layer — a condition impossible for normal fluids.
• Microscopic Wave Flume Design: Researchers built a silicon beam (about the width of a human hair) as a wave channel, coated with a nanometre-scale layer of superfluid helium. A photonic crystal cavity was used to generate and detect waves using laser light.
• How Waves Were Created and Observed: Laser heating caused the superfluid to flow toward the heat (via the fountain effect), acting like a tiny paddle.
• As waves passed, they altered the light’s frequency, letting scientists measure the wave’s height and motion with high precision.