16^th December 2025

1. SHANTI Bill, 2025: Recently, the Union government introduced the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.

• About SHANTI Bill, 2025: aiming to unlock private and foreign investment in India’s nuclear energy sector while aligning liability norms with global practices.

• It replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
• It removes the Nuclear Power Corporation of India’s exclusive control over nuclear plant operations.
• Nuclear accident liability is determined by the size of the plant rather than the actual damage caused.
• The Bill supports India’s plan to expand nuclear capacity from 8.8 GW to 100 GW by 2047.
• It aligns nuclear expansion with India’s clean energy goals and 2070 net-zero commitment.
• A ₹20,000 crore mission is proposed to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
• Indigenous Bharat Small Modular Reactors of 220 MW capacity are planned.

2. Project Suncatcher: Recently, Google announced Project Suncatcher, a long-term research initiative to deploy solar-powered data centres in space.

• About Project Suncatcher: To test whether AI-scale computation can be shifted off Earth and into orbit or beyond.

• Google plans to launch two prototype satellites by early 2027.
• The mission is being conducted in partnership with Planet Labs, an Earth-imaging company.
• Initial deployments will involve tiny racks of computing machines, gradually scaled up.
• Core Technology Behind the Project: Satellites will rely entirely on solar energy, eliminating dependence on fossil fuels.
  - Satellites will be equipped with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs).
  - Data centre-level computation will be achieved through optical (laser) links between satellites. This creates a constellation-based computing network in orbit.
  - Google claims its chips have been successfully tested for radiation tolerance, enabling long-term operation in harsh space environments.

3. Black-Capped Capuchin Monkeys: Recently, Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) brought eight black-capped capuchin monkeys from South Africa under an animal exchange programme.
   

• About black-capped capuchin (Sapajus apella): Also called the tufted capuchin, is a New World monkey.

• Native to South America and widely distributed across the Amazon River Basin.
• Habitat: Occupies a wide range of ecosystems, including tropical and subtropical forests, dry and sub-montane forests, savannahs and mangroves.
• Behaviour: Predominantly arboreal and active during the daytime (diurnal).
• Communication: Uses vocal sounds, body movements, touch and scent for social interaction.
• Diet: Omnivorous, feeding on fruits, seeds, nuts, insects, lizards, eggs and crustaceans.
• Ecological Role: Acts as an important seed disperser, supporting forest regeneration.
• Conservation Status: Least Concern by the IUCN.

• About Bannerghatta Biological Park: Established as an independent entity in 2002 after being part of Bannerghatta National Park.

• Location: Situated about 22 km south of Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Facilities: Comprises a zoo, safari, butterfly park and a rescue and conservation centre for captive animals.
• Special Feature: India’s first biological park to develop a fenced, forest-based elephant sanctuary.

4. BlueBird-6 Satellite: Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the launch of the US-based commercial BlueBird-6 satellite of Advanced Space Technologies (AST) SpaceMobile using the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3).

• About BlueBird-6 Satellite: Enables direct-to-device broadband connectivity, allowing mobile phones to access the internet without ground-based cell towers.

• Developer: Built by US-based AST SpaceMobile to support global mobile communication coverage.
• Weight and Size: Weighs approximately 6.5 tonnes, making it among the heaviest satellites ever launched by ISRO.
• Orbit: Will operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for wide and efficient Earth coverage.
• Technology: Equipped with one of the largest phased-array antennas deployed in space, covering nearly 2,400 square feet, enabling direct communication with standard smartphones.
• Significance: Strengthens global mobile broadband services, particularly in remote and underserved regions.
• Collaboration: Highlights growing Indo-US cooperation in space technology and commercial launches.
• Future Impact: Aims to bridge the digital divide by extending internet access to areas lacking cellular infrastructure.

5. Mangroves: Recently, an international study published in Current Biology revealed cellular adaptations enabling mangroves to survive in saltwater, offering insights for salt-tolerant crops and coastal resilience.

• About Mangroves: Salt-tolerant plant communities found in tropical and subtropical intertidal zones.

• Grow best in high-rainfall regions (1,000–3,000 mm) with temperatures between 26°C and 35°C.
• Specially adapted to survive waterlogged conditions, high salinity, and regular tidal flooding.
• Act as vital biodiversity hotspots and natural bio-shields against cyclones, storm surges and coastal erosion.

• Key Findings: Researchers identified specific cellular traits that allow mangroves to withstand high salinity and low osmotic potential.

• The study analysed 34 mangrove species across 17 different plant families.
• Unlike inland plants, mangroves do not rely on smaller or more numerous stomata for higher photosynthesis.
• Mangrove leaves have unusually small epidermal pavement cells.
• They also possess thicker cell walls, providing greater mechanical strength.
• The combination of small cell size and thick walls helps tolerate extreme osmotic stress.
• Different mangrove species use different salt-management strategies.
• Some species exclude salt using waxy root layers that filter out salts from seawater.
• This salt exclusion requires generating high internal tension to draw freshwater into the plant.

6. Preah Vihear Temple: Recently, India expressed concern over reports of damage to conservation facilities at the Preah Vihear Temple amid ongoing border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

• About Preah Vihear: A Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in northern Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, atop a cliff in the Dangrek Mountains along the Cambodia–Thailand border.

• Historical Background: The temple was built during the Khmer Empire between the 11th and 12th centuries CE.
• Patronage: Construction began under King Suryavarman I (1002–1050 CE) and was later expanded by King Suryavarman II (1113–1150 CE).
• Architectural Style: It represents classic Khmer temple architecture, organised along an approximately 800-metre-long axial processional pathway.
• Structural Features: The complex consists of five gopuras connected through a series of stairways and paved causeways.
• Global Recognition: Preah Vihear was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 for its architectural excellence and as an outstanding testament to Khmer civilisation.

7. Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II: Recently, the Prime Minister of India welcomed the release of a commemorative postage stamp honouring Emperor Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II for his administrative acumen and patronage of Tamil culture.

• About Emperor Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II: Also known as Suvaran Maran or Shatrubhayankar, was a prominent ruler of the Mutharaiyar lineage who reigned around 705–745 CE.

• He belonged to the Mutharaiyar dynasty, a powerful Tamil ruling family that functioned as feudatories under the Pallavas, especially during the reign of Pallava king Nandivarman II.
• His authority extended over the central Cauvery region, including present-day Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Perambalur and nearby areas.
• Key Contributions: Known for efficient governance, strategic foresight and long-term regional stability.
  - Fought alongside Pallava forces, helping maintain order during the decline of Pallava power.
  - Promoted early rock-cut and structural temples, influencing the foundation of Chola temple architecture.
  - Supported Shaivism while encouraging interfaith dialogue, including debates with Jain scholars.

8. Macrocephalosaurus Mariensis: Recently, palaeontologists in Brazil discovered the youngest known rhynchosaur based on a hatchling fossil of Macrocephalosaurus mariensis.

• About Macrocephalosaurus Mariensis: A rhynchosaur species—beaked, herbivorous, archosaur-like reptiles belonging to the family Rhynchosauridae.

• It lived during the Late Triassic period, specifically the Carnian stage.
• The species is known only from southern Brazil.
• Fossils were recovered from the Santa Maria Formation in Rio Grande do Sul.
• Rhynchosaurs were dominant terrestrial herbivores across Gondwana during the Triassic period.
• The species had a beaked skull adapted for a plant-based diet.
• It possessed highly specialised dentition with multiple tooth rows, showing heavy wear in adults due to herbivory.
• Key diagnostic traits include a single maxillary sulcus, two rows of dentary teeth, and an open infraorbital foramen. Adult individuals could exceed 2 metres in length.
• The newly discovered hatchling skull measures less than 2.5 cm.
• The juvenile specimen shows unworn teeth, indicating death shortly after hatching.
• The find represents the first known perinate fossil of the Hyperodapedontinae sub-clade.
• It is among the oldest archosauromorph hatchlings discovered in continental environments.

9. Global Environment Outlook-7 (GEO-7): Recently, the UN Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook-7 (GEO-7) warned that biodiversity loss and land degradation are accelerating climate change through a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

• Key Findings: Damaged ecosystems are increasingly shifting from absorbing carbon to releasing it into the atmosphere.

• Biodiversity loss disrupts carbon, nitrogen and water cycles, directly affecting climate regulation.
• The Amazon rainforest, a vital global carbon sink, is weakening due to deforestation, heat stress and drought. Between 10–47% of Amazon forests face combined threats that could trigger irreversible ecological tipping points.
• Extreme global heat in 2023 caused an estimated carbon loss of 1.73 gigatonnes from terrestrial ecosystems.
• Changes in land cover alter Earth’s reflectivity (albedo), sometimes increasing warming despite carbon storage.
• Major sources include methane from peatlands and rice fields, nitrous oxide from soils, and CO₂ from land conversion.
• Mangrove loss and declining soil organic carbon are worsening greenhouse gas emissions.
• Invasive species are now present in Antarctic ecosystems, with 13% considered locally invasive.
• Black carbon deposition on snow speeds up melting, reinforcing climate-ecosystem feedback loops.