International News

• Norway: Jonas Gahr Støre re-elected as Prime Minister, representing the Labour Party.
  • Capital: Oslo (host of Nobel Peace Prize).
  • Geographical classification: Scandinavian and Nordic country. Nordic countries include Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
  • Coastline: Fjord coast.
• France: Sébastien Lecornu appointed new Prime Minister following Bayrou's resignation due to budget cuts. Emmanuel Macron is the President.
  • "Block Everything Movement" is an ongoing protest.
• Denmark: Capital: Copenhagen, located on the Jutland Peninsula.
• Sweden: Capital: Stockholm, became the 32nd member of NATO.
• Finland: Capital: Helsinki, known as the "Land of Lakes."
• Russia: Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano erupted in the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• United Arab Emirates (UAE): India's first foreign Atal Innovation Centre inaugurated in Abu Dhabi, located within IIT Delhi's offshore campus. Launched by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
• Saudi Arabia: Riyadh hosted the "Future Mineral Summit" and the first "Chess eSports World Cup," which was won by Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
• Kyrgyzstan: The 44th SCO RATS Council meeting was held in Cholpon-Ata.
  • SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization):
    • Established in 1996 as "Shanghai Five."
    • Renamed SCO in 2001 (Uzbekistan joined).
    • India and Pakistan joined in 2017.
    • Iran joined as the 9th member.
    • Belarus is the 10th member.
    • Headquarters: Beijing, China.
    • SCO Summit 2025 host: Tianjin, China.
    • RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) is the SCO's anti-terrorism body.
    • Indian delegation led by T. Ravishankar, Deputy National Security Advisor.
    • SCO members: China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Iran, Belarus. Note: Turkmenistan is not an SCO member.
• Recent International Summits:
  • G7 2024: Italy.
  • G20 2025: Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • BRICS 2025: Brazil.
  • ASEAN 2025: Vientiane, Laos.
  • BIMSTEC 2025: Thailand.
  • BIMSTEC Agriculture Conference: Nepal.
  • COP29: Baku, Azerbaijan.
  • COP30: Brazil.
• Armenia & Azerbaijan: Historic agreement mediated by American President Trump (likely related to Nagorno-Karabakh).
• Moldova: Became the 107th member of the International Solar Alliance.
• USA: Observed the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks (September 11, 2001).
  • Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.
  • Four hijacked planes were used as weapons: two hit the World Trade Center (New York), one hit the Pentagon (Washington D.C.), and one crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania (after passenger resistance).
• Kenya: Declared free of Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) by WHO.

National News

• Indian Army:
  • Conducted "Divya Drishti" high-altitude technical demonstration exercise in Sikkim.
  • Developed "Sambhav" system, an indigenous secure messaging platform to replace WhatsApp for internal communication. Used for Operation Sindoor-related messaging.
  • Operation Sindoor was launched after the Pahalgam incident, targeting terrorist hideouts.
• Sports:
  • India won a Bronze medal in the 25th World Junior Team Squash Championship after 13 years.
  • 71st National Film Awards: "12th Fail" (Best Feature Film), Shah Rukh Khan & Vikrant Massey (Best Actor), Rani Mukerji (Best Actress for "Mrs. Chatterjee"), Sudeep Sen (Best Director for "Kerala Story"), "Kathal" (Best Hindi Film).
  • Vedika Bhansali won the US Kids Golf World Championship in the Under-9 category.
  • Argentina's men's and women's teams won gold in the 25th Pan American Hockey Cup.
• Government Initiatives & Policies:
  • Ministry of Petroleum launched "Apna Ghar" initiative for truck drivers.
  • Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched "Adi Sanskriti," the world's first digital learning platform for tribal artifacts.
    • Aims to preserve/promote tribal culture/knowledge and provide an online market for tribal products.
    • Includes Adi Vishwavidyalaya, Adi Sampada, and Adi Haat.
    • The "Adivani" initiative helps understand tribal languages like Gond, Bhil, Santhali, and Mundari.
  • Lok Sabha passed a bill to provide Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation in the Goa Assembly.
• Science & Technology:
  • India's first 'Make in India' 1 MW green hydrogen plant started in Kandla.
  • SRY gene technique for sex determination.
  • ISRO's "Hope Mission" to mimic life on the Moon launched in Ladakh.
  • ISRO signed an agreement with HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) for the transfer of SSLV (Small Satellite Launching Vehicle) technology.
    • HAL is India's newest Maharatna company, known for manufacturing Tejas (LCA).
    • SSLV launch sites: Sriharikota and Kulasekharapattinam.
    • SSLV D3 launched EOS-08 (Earth Observation Satellite).
    • Other launches mentioned: EOS-09 (PSLV C61 - failed), NVS-02 (GSLV F15 - 100th mission), NISAR (GSLV F16), Chandrayaan-3 (LVM3 M4), Aditya L1 (PSLV C57), SPADEX mission (PSLV C61).
  • Engineers India Limited (EIL) will establish India's first bamboo-based biorefinery in Numaligarh, Assam.
    • Purpose: Produce bio-fuel (ethanol) from bamboo, with acetic acid (vinegar) as a co-product.
    • India achieved 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025 (ahead of 2030 target).
    • India's Net Zero Carbon Emission target: 2070.
• Defense:
  • India's first women's Tri-Service Water Expedition "Samudri Pradakshina" launched.
    • Aims to circumnavigate the Earth by sea, involving women from Air Force, Navy, and Army.
    • Vessel: IASV Triveni.
    • Launched by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh from Gateway of India, Mumbai.
    • Crew: 10 women, led by Colonel Anuja Varudkar, covering 26,000 nautical miles.
    • Previous expeditions by IASV Tarini: Sagar Parikrama and Navika Sagar Parikrama.
• Awards & Recognitions:
  • 43rd Lokmanya Tilak Award presented to Nitin Gadkari.
  • Dr. Addamoah-Duku (from Nigeria) is the winner of the first Global M.S. Swaminathan Award 2025.
• Appointments:
  • Sanjay Vasan appointed 47th Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
  • Puspendra Singh appointed Deputy Chief of Army Staff.
  • S. Radha Chauhan appointed Chairman of Capacity Building Commission.
• Other:
  • Gomti Nagar Railway Station is in Uttar Pradesh.
  • WHO-ICH workshop on herbal medicine safety in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
  • "CM Nijut Mohini Yojana" (higher education for girls) started in Assam.
  • Khir Ganga river caused flash floods in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district.
  • Patna, Bihar topped the first district-wise severity index by IIT Delhi and IIT Gandhinagar.
  • Indian Railways tested "Rudras," Asia's longest freight train (4.5 km long).
  • Jitendra Singh inaugurated India's first state-of-the-art Animal Stem Cell Bio-Bank and Lab in Hyderabad.
• Books:
  • Anupam Kher's new book: "Different But No Less" (his fourth book; previous one "Your Best Day Is Today").
  • R. Kaushik's book "The Rise of the Hitman" about Rohit Sharma.
• Obituaries:
  • Former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren passed away.
  • Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik passed away (Governor during Article 370 abrogation).

Economy

• Bengaluru: Ranked 26th in the Global AI City Index.
• Engineers India Limited (EIL): A Navratna Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Environmental Initiatives

• Punjab is the first state to include sign language experts in a panel under the Juvenile Justice Act.
• Dhruva Space to launch its first commercial mission "LEAF-1" with Falcon 9.