News Summary · 4 minutes read
Stay ahead in your UPSC CSE preparation with our daily News Summary. Designed to save time, it highlights key national and international events from leading newspapers and government websites.
India–Sri Lanka relations
- 7 MoUs: Import/Export of Power, Digital Economy, Development of Trincomalee as an Energy Hub (UAE is also involved), Defence Cooperation, Grant Assistance for Eastern Province, Health & Medicine, Pharmacopoeial Cooperation.
- Announcements: India will provide grant assistance for developing the Thirukoneswaram temple in Trincomalee, the Sita Eliya temple in Nuwara Eliya, and the Sacred City Complex project in Anuradhapura.
- PM Modi became the 1st Indian leader to receive the Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana award ⇒ Highest Sri Lankan Honour for Foreign Leaders.
- Behind the smiles and summits: What critical tensions still simmer between India and Sri Lanka?
- Feel free to discuss HERE.
INS Sunayna
- Designated as IOS SAGAR and flagged off by Rajnath Singh in Karwar for deployment in the Indian Ocean Region ⇒ Will sail from Karwar and do port calls at Dar-es-Salaam, Nacala, Port Louis and Port Victoria.
- Locate these ports on the map.
- Will also participate in the AIKEYME in Tanzania.
- Attempt THIS MCQ.
- April 5, 1919: India’s first merchant ship, SS Loyalty, sailed from Mumbai to London.
Aircraft Carriers of India
- Two carriers ⇒ INS Vikramaditya (refurbished and acquired from Russia) and INS Vikrant (first indigenously designed/developed carrier)
- Vikrant: Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited ⇒ Commissioned in 2022.
Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995
- It is the name of the amended Waqf Act, 1995 ⇒ President has assented to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to amend the Waqf Act, 1995.
- Key provisions:
- 1. Donors must be practicing Muslims for 5+ years.
- 2. The “established” Waqf-by-user category of property has been de-recognised ⇒ Already “registered” waqf-by-user properties will remain so, unless challenged or identified as government property.
- 3. Govt properties identified as Waqf cease to be Waqf ⇒ Disputes to be resolved by the Collector.
- 3. Central Waqf Council will include two non-Muslims ⇒ Among the Muslim members, two must be women.
- 4. Muslim law expert removed from the Waqf Tribunal ⇒ Now includes a District Court judge (chairman) and a joint secretary (state government) ⇒ Appeal on Tribunal Orders allowed to the High Court within 90 days.
- 5. Allows Bohra & Agakhani Waqf boards.
- See other provisions HERE.
- Waqf-by-user Property: A property regarded as waqf due to its long-standing and public use for religious or charitable purposes, even without a formal written deed.
- We’ve covered some aspects of the Waqf HERE.
- Why are these amendments opposed by some organisations? How justified are their concerns?
- Feel free to discuss HERE.
Defence Export Protocol of India
- Handbook on India’s Strategic Trade Control Systems: Released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Aim: Preventing proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their delivery systems, and the uncontrolled transfer of conventional arms/military items.
- India is a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Australia Group.
- Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) list: Maintained by India for export control.
- India’s Defence exports: ₹23,622 crore (new high) in FY25 (12.04% annual growth) ⇒ Target is to reach ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
- Attempt THIS MCQ.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)
- A rare and aggressive form of leukemia (blood cancer) ⇒ Caused by a genetic mutation (two genes, PML and RARA, mistakenly fuse) ⇒ Reduced production of WBCs and platelets ⇒ Reduced ability to fight infections and control bleeding.
- RAPID-CRISPR technology can be used to diagnose APL quickly.
- CRISPR: A technology for gene editing and molecular diagnosis.
- What is gene editing, really? Is it like editing a video, but with DNA? Can scientists actually cut genes — even though they’re super tiny? And wait… what’s this Cas9 thing that always comes up with CRISPR?
- Feel free to discuss HERE.
Quick Picks
- Thilawa Port: Quake-hit port in Myanmar.
- Ream Naval Base: Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia (renovated by China).
- Madhavpur Ghed fair: In Porbandar, Gujarat ⇒ Celebrates the union of Krishna and Rukmini ⇒ Connects Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh through the Mishmi Tribe (Mishmis trace their ancestry to Rukmini’s father).
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