10^th December 2025

1. Global Network of Learning Cities: Recently, UNESCO added three Saudi cities—Riyadh, AlUla, and Riyadh Al-Khabra, to its Global Network of Learning Cities, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s focus on lifelong learning.

• About the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC): A global initiative led by UNESCO that recognises cities which actively promote lifelong learning for people of all age groups through inclusive, accessible and sustainable learning systems.

• Established in 2013, the network has expanded to 425 cities across 91 countries, collectively supporting lifelong learning for nearly 500 million people. It is closely linked to UNESCO’s Education 2030 Agenda and the SDG-4 mandate on quality education.

• Key Features of a UNESCO Learning City: Integration of lifelong learning across formal, non-formal, workplace and community settings.

• Strong digital and AI readiness to prepare citizens for future labour-market needs.

• Focus on literacy and skill development for youth, adults and marginalised groups.

• Promotion of innovation, entrepreneurship and workforce reskilling.

• Commitment to sustainability, social inclusion and alignment with the SDGs.

• India currently has three GNLC-recognised cities from the 2022 cohort: Warangal (Telangana), Thrissur (Kerala) and Nilambur (Kerala)

• These cities were acknowledged for their efforts in public-space learning initiatives, literacy programmes and strong community participation.

2. Tribal Infrastructure: Recently, in a major boost to tribal infrastructure in the Northeast, the Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned several road projects in Tripura under the road connectivity component of PM-JANMAN.

• Key Highlights: Aimed at transforming access and livelihoods in 30 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) habitations.

• Key Project Details: Number of road projects: 25

• Total length:38 km

• Target beneficiaries: 30 PVTG habitations across Tripura

• Funding under: Road Connectivity Component of PM-JANMAN

• Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups represent: The most marginalised section among Scheduled Tribes. Communities with:

  • Pre-agricultural level of technology

  • Stagnant or declining population

  • Extremely low literacy

  • Subsistence-level economies

3. Measles: Recently, despite an effective vaccine, measles caused widespread deaths worldwide, mostly among unvaccinated children under five, highlighting a serious global immunisation gap.

• About Measles: A highly contagious and life-threatening airborne viral disease.

• It is caused by a virus from the paramyxovirus family.

• Once contracted, the virus: First attacks the respiratory tract and then spreads rapidly throughout the body

• It can result in: Severe complications, permanent disability and even death

• Measles spreads through: Coughing and sneezing, direct contact with nasal or throat secretions and breathing contaminated air

• Key Symptoms of Measles: High fever lasting 4–7 days, Runny nose, Persistent cough, Red and watery eyes, Small white spots inside the mouth (Koplik’s spots), Rash begins on the face and upper neck.

• Treatment: No specific antiviral medicine exists for measles.

• Fully preventable through: Measles–Rubella (MR) vaccine

4. Aditya-L1: Recently, India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1, along with U.S. satellites, helped explain the mystery behind the powerful May 2024 solar storm, known as Gannon’s Storm.

• Key Findings: The storm consisted of multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—huge bubbles of hot gas and magnetic energy from the Sun.

• When CMEs hit Earth, they can disrupt satellites, communication systems, GPS, and power grids.
• Scientists discovered that during this storm, the Sun’s magnetic field lines were breaking and rejoining inside the CME.
• This process is called magnetic reconnection, which intensified the storm’s impact unexpectedly.
• The unusual behaviour occurred because two CMEs collided in space, squeezing each other and triggering reconnection.
• Satellites detected sudden acceleration of particles, confirming high-energy magnetic activity.
• For the first time, one extreme solar storm was observed simultaneously from multiple locations in space.
• Aditya-L1 provided precise magnetic field measurements critical to mapping the event.
• The reconnection region was found to be about 1.3 million km wide, nearly 100 times Earth’s size. This was the first-ever observation of such a massive magnetic breakup inside a CME.
• The discovery will significantly improve understanding of how solar storms evolve from the Sun to Earth.

5. Sub-Saharan Africa: Recently, a global study published in Nature revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa has lost a significant share of its biodiversity since pre-industrial times.

• Key Findings: The region’s current Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) is 76%, meaning species populations are at 76% of original levels.

• The study used place-based knowledge from 200 African biodiversity experts to overcome data gaps.

• Rwanda and Nigeria are the least intact countries with biodiversity levels below 55%.

• Namibia and Botswana are the most intact, with biodiversity levels above 85%.

• Losses vary by species: Under 20% loss for disturbance-adapted herbaceous plants

• Up to 80% loss for certain large mammals

• Over 80% of remaining wildlife survives outside protected areas, mainly in natural forests and rangelands.

• These working landscapes support more than 500 million people who depend on biodiversity.

• By 2050, cropland is projected to double and cereal demand to triple in the region.

• Central Africa retains high intactness due to humid forest persistence.

• West Africa shows low intactness due to forest and savanna degradation from overharvesting and farm expansion.

6. Plastic Pollution: Recently, a major global assessment warned that plastic pollution is set to more than double in the coming decades.

• Key Findings: In 2025, the world generates about 130 million metric tonnes of plastic pollution every year.

• If no strong global action is taken, this will rise to 280 million metric tonnes per year by 2040.
• Primary plastic production will increase by 52%, rising from 450 Mt in 2025 to 680 Mt in 2040.
• Waste management capacity will grow by only 26% by 2040, far below the pace of plastic production.
• The share of uncollected plastic waste will increase from 19% in 2025 to 34% in 2040.
• Plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions will rise by 58% to 4.2 GtCO₂e per year by 2040.
• Microplastics will constitute 13% of global plastic pollution in 2025.
• By 2040, the annual cost of plastic waste collection and disposal will reach $140 billion.
• Due to plastic pollution, the world will lose 6 million healthy life years in 2025 and 9.8 million by 2040.
• With ambitious global action, plastic pollution can be reduced by 83% and new plastic production by 44% by 2040.

7. SURYAKIRAN Ex: Recently, India and Nepal concluded the nineteenth edition of their joint military exercise, SURYAKIRAN, in Uttarakhand.

• About SURYAKIRAN-XIX: It marked the culmination of an intensive combined training cycle.

• The final phase involved a Battalion-level Validation Exercise.

• The exercise simulated counter-terrorism operations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

• Focus on: Use of force under international legality and Crisis-response operations

• The drills featured next-generation military systems, including: ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) platforms

• Precision-targeting drones

• Advanced day/night weapon sights

• AI-enabled surveillance feeds

• Unmanned operational & logistics platforms

• Secure battlefield communication systems

• Strategic Significance: Military interoperability between India and Nepal

• Joint counter-terror preparedness in the Himalayan region

• Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) coordination

• Regional peace and stability in South Asia

8. Missing and Trafficked Children: Recently, the Supreme Court addressed the crisis of missing and trafficked children, directing the government to compile data and enhance central coordination.

• Key Highlights: The Court directed the Union Government to collate missing children’s data from 2020–2025.

• The data must include: Number of children missing, Number traced and Restoration to families or child-care institutions
• The Ministry of Home Affairs was ordered to: Appoint a dedicated Nodal Officer within two weeks and upload officer’s details on the Mission Vatsalya portal.
• A sharp rise in inter-State child trafficking and kidnappings has been flagged as a serious national concern.
• The absence of investigation status and prosecution data is severely weakening enforcement against trafficking networks.
• Directors of Prosecution in all States have been directed to submit regular trafficking case updates.
• The Women and Child Development Department has been made a formal respondent in the case.
• The initiative will strengthen evidence-based child protection policymaking.
• It will improve police accountability and inter-State coordination.

9. Biometric Identity Systems: Recently, many civil society organisations and individuals raised concerns over the global export of Aadhaar-like biometric identity systems, warning that they enable mass surveillance and social control, particularly in fragile democracies.

• Key Highlights: India promotes Aadhaar-based digital identity as the core of its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

• The system is projected as a global governance solution for service delivery and inclusion.

• Role of MOSIP Platform: Countries are adopting identity systems built on MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identity Platform).

• MOSIP was largely developed by IIIT Bengaluru and differs technically from Aadhaar.

• Countries engaging with MOSIP include: Morocco, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Uganda

• Objections raised: Aadhaar-like systems could become instruments of authoritarian surveillance.

• Centralised biometric data increases the risk of state overreach and citizen tracking.

• Linking Aadhaar with welfare, banking, telecom, health, and education: Enables mass profiling and weakens informational self-determination

• Centralised biometric storage is: Vulnerable to cyberattacks and prone to authentication failures and exclusion errors
• Poses risks to: Privacy, Civil liberties and Democratic accountability