🔆Bhargavastra Counter-Drone System

✅India successfully conducted trials of ‘Bhargavastra’, a new low-cost counter-drone micro-missile system, developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd (SDAL).

✅A micro-missile-based counter-drone system designed to detect and eliminate hostile drones, including drone swarms, using guided munitions.

✅Developed by: Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd (SDAL) in partnership with Economic Explosives Ltd.

✅Objective: To provide a cost-effective, rapid-response solution for neutralising drone threats, especially in sensitive border and conflict zones.

📍Key Features of Bhargavastra:
✅Long Detection Range: Can detect small aerial drones beyond 6 km.
✅Micro-Missile Arsenal: Supports simultaneous launch of 64 micro missiles, enabling rapid engagement of multiple targets.
✅Salvo Launch Capability: Successfully tested salvo mode firing of two rockets within 2 seconds.
✅Mobile Deployment: Mounted on a mobile platform, ensuring flexible deployment across varied terrains including high altitudes.
✅Extended Engagement Range: Targets can be neutralised at distances beyond 2.5 km, ensuring stand-off protection.

📍Significance:
✅First of its Kind: India’s first micro-missile-based counter-drone system for Army Air Defence.
✅Bridges Capability Gap: Addresses a critical void in India’s anti-drone warfare preparedness.
✅Cost-Effective: Offers an economical alternative to expensive air defence systems against low-cost drone threats.
Dual Interest: Indian Air Force has shown interest, reflecting joint-service utility.
✅Global Relevance: Few comparable systems exist globally, marking India’s leap in indigenous defence innovation

#prelims
#security

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🔆 Famous Travellers to India (Chronological Order)

📍 Al-Biruni
✅ Nation: Uzbekistan
✅ Time Period: 11th century
✅ Book: Kitab-ul-Hind

📍 Marco Polo
✅ Nation: Italy
✅ Time Period: 13th century
✅ Book: — — —

📍 Ibn Batuta
✅ Nation: Morocco
✅ Time Period: 14th century
✅ Book: Rihala

📍 Abdur Razzaq
✅ Nation: Afghanistan
✅ Time Period: 15th century
✅ Book: — — —

📍 Jean Baptiste Travernier
✅ Nation: France
✅ Time Period: 17th century
✅ Book: — — —

📍 Francois Bernier
✅ Nation: France
✅ Time Period: 17th century
✅ Book: Travels in the Mughal Empire

🔆 ARCTIC CIRCLE

📍 Water Bodies

✅ Chukchi Sea: Connected to the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait at its southernmost end.

✅ East Siberian Sea: One of the least studied water bodies in the area, experiencing an extremely harsh climate.

✅ Laptev Sea: Surrounded on three sides by land.

✅ Kara Sea: Located north of Siberia, between the Barents Sea and the Laptev Sea.

✅ Barents Sea: Off the northern coasts of Russia and Norway; relatively shallower than other parts of the Arctic Ocean.
▪️ The sea is important for the exploration of hydrocarbon resources.
▪️ It is a productive fishing area.
▪️ The Pechora Sea and the White Sea are parts of the Barents Sea.

✅ Wandel Sea: Stretches from Greenland’s northeast to Svalbard.

📍 Note:
HIMADRI – India’s research laboratory in Svalbard, Norway; near the North Pole.

A question in prelims can be formed from this infographics. Question can ask you what type of ecosystem service/services are they?

🔆 Key Takeaways: Ecology as the Foundation of Economy

📍 Ecology and Economy
✅ Echoes Sunderlal Bahuguna’s statement: “Ecology is the permanent economy”
✅ Human prosperity depends on ecological health; economic development without resource conservation is impossible

📍 Need for Sustainable Development
✅ Balance between environmental conservation and economic goals is essential
✅ True sustainability means both environment and economy thriving together

📍 Human Disconnection from Nature
✅ Civilisation has led to growing disconnection from nature
✅ This contributes significantly to ongoing biodiversity loss

📍 Evolution of Resource Use & Global Competition
✅ Shift from individual to collective resource consumption increased global competition
✅ Humans often overexploit resources, ignoring ecosystem balance, causing long-term damage

📍 Climate Crisis & Biodiversity Loss
✅ Consumption and competition accelerate climate change and biodiversity decline
✅ Paradox: we exploit nature while relying on it as a buffer, risking deeper ecological imbalance

📍 Moral & Existential Dimensions
✅ Recognising ecology as the foundation of survival, economy, and climate resilience is critical
✅ Climate crisis is not just scientific — it’s a moral and existential reckoning

📍 Reconnecting with Nature
✅ Humanity must re-establish bond with nature to support sustainability
✅ Despite technology distancing us, humans have a unique power to emotionally reconnect with nature

📍 Policy Implications
✅ Conservation efforts should focus on strengthening emotional bonds with nature
✅ Realising “ecology is the permanent economy” is more important than just understanding ecological complexity

#environment

#Goodmorning

⏳7 days only left CSP25 [ 25-05-25]
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⏳22 days left ESE Prelims
⏳30 days left RAS mains 17 june
⏳42 days left UPPSC mains 29 June
⏳70 days UPPSC RO ARO 27 July
⏳147 days left UPPSC prelims 12 Oct

#Target
#TargetOnlyone
#Accountability

🔆 Key Cybersecurity Initiatives in India

📍 Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC)
✅ Established in New Delhi, includes representatives from banks, financial intermediaries, telecom providers, IT intermediaries, and law enforcement agencies.
✅ Ensures immediate action and cooperation to combat online financial crimes, promoting Cooperative Federalism in law enforcement.

📍 Samanvay Platform (Joint Cybercrime Investigation Facilitation System)
✅ A web-based portal for cybercrime data repository, sharing, crime mapping, and data analytics.
✅ Acts as a coordination platform for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) across India.

📍 Cyber Commandos Program
✅ A program to train 5,000 cyber commandos for deployment in states, UTs, and Central Police Organizations (CPOs).
✅ Aims to secure the digital space through specialized cyber manpower.

Tamilnadu Public Service commission has made the interview faceless by giving Alphabet names like A B C D. With random shuffling and greater control on personalised questions, we can ensure more transparency and accountability.

🔆 Bay of Biscay: A Key Feature of the North Atlantic

📍 Location
✅ Situated along the western coast of Europe, bordered by France (east) and Spain (south).
✅ Lies between 46°N and 43°N latitude, connected to the North Atlantic Ocean.

📍 Key Features
✅ Shape & Size: Triangular-shaped bay, spanning approximately 225,000 km².
✅ Depth: Shallow near the coast; Bay of Biscay Abyssal Plain reaches depths of up to 4,735 meters.
✅ Major Rivers: Receives waters from Loire, Gironde, and Adour in France.

📍 Oceanographic Importance
✅ Strong Tides: Known for its high tidal ranges and rough seas.
✅ Winter Storms: Frequent storms and powerful waves, especially in the northwestern part.
✅ Marine Life: Rich biodiversity, with whales, dolphins, and seabirds commonly sighted.

📍 Historical Significance
✅ Ancient Navigation: Vital for early maritime trade and fishing activities.
✅ Naval History: Site of major battles during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II.

📍 Economic Importance
✅ Fishing Industry: Historically a major fishing zone, though overfishing has led to reduced stocks.
✅ Port Cities: Key ports like Bordeaux (France) and Bilbao (Spain).

📍 Unique Insights
✅ Underwater Features: Includes submarine canyons like Capbreton Canyon and sedimentary basins.
✅ Climate Impact: Affected by the Gulf Stream, contributing to milder climates in coastal regions.
✅ Rare Marine Species: Home to unique cold-water coral ecosystems and rare cetacean species.

#Places_in_news
#Sea_series

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🔆 Key Takeaways: Shingles, Vaccine Benefits & Public Health

📍 Shingles and Its Causes
✅ Shingles is a viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus (same as chickenpox)
✅ Leads to painful rashes and complications like vision loss, paralysis, and brain inflammation

📍 Shingles Vaccine and Cardiovascular Benefits
✅ A South Korean study (European Heart Journal) found vaccinated individuals had:
▪ 26% lower risk of major cardiovascular events
▪ 24% lower risk of stroke
▪ 22% lower risk of heart attack and clotting disorders
✅ Benefits more pronounced in men under 60 and those with unhealthy lifestyles

📍 Link Between Shingles Vaccine and Lower Dementia Risk
✅ A Welsh study found a 3.5 percentage point reduction in dementia diagnoses over 7 years
▪ Equals a 20% lower risk compared to unvaccinated
✅ Vaccine may prevent virus reactivation, reducing neurological damage and cognitive decline

📍 Support from Other Studies
✅ 2023 Oxford study (Shingrix): 17% reduction in dementia diagnoses in 6 years
✅ Study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia (130 million people):
▪ Links between lower dementia risk and vaccines for hepatitis A, typhoid, diphtheria
✅ Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease study found:
▪ 30% lower risk with diphtheria vaccine
▪ 27% with pneumococcal vaccine
▪ 25% with shingles vaccine

📍 Significance in Public Health
✅ Evidence supports broad health benefits of vaccines beyond primary disease prevention


#security

🔆 Key Takeaways: Understanding TFR (Total Fertility Rate)

📍 Understanding TFR
✅ TFR is the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years.
✅ Replacement level fertility is 2.1; India’s TFR (2021) was 2.0, while Bihar’s was 3.0, the highest in the country.

📍 Association with Poverty
✅ High TFR is linked with poverty, but not solely caused by it.
✅ Poor households show cultural preference for sons and larger families for household labour.
✅ Lack of education and health access delays demographic transition.

📍 State of Bihar
✅ Bihar is large but least industrialised, with surplus labour and migration.
✅ High illiteracy and dysfunctional primary education are major concerns.

📍 Educational and Gender Disparities
✅ Female literacy in Bihar (2011 Census): 53.5%, among India’s lowest.
✅ Higher education correlates with fewer children and later marriages.
✅ Only 49.6% of women in Bihar reported ideal children as two (vs. ~70% in rest of India).
✅ Affluent rural households prefer at least two sons — one for education, one to stay back.

📍 Social and Cultural Factors
✅ Women’s agency is limited — in 6 districts, ASHA visits needed male/family approval.
✅ Patriarchy drives early marriage, low contraceptive use, and limited reproductive control.

📍 Urban-Rural Divide
✅ Urban Bihar TFR: 2.2, Rural Bihar TFR: 3.2
✅ Reflects better awareness and access in urban areas
✅ Demographer Ansley J. Coale: Fertility is a ‘calculus of conscious choice’ — change happens when people see benefit in smaller families

📍 Policy and Political Implications
✅ TFR affects democratic representation:
◦ States with higher TFR (Bihar, UP) may gain seats under population-based delimitation
◦ States like Kerala, TN may lose seats — raising federal equity concerns
✅ Experts caution against rewarding/punishing states based on TFR alone

📍 Lessons and Recommendations
✅ Improve female education and employment
✅ Strengthen primary education and health systems
✅ Adopt comprehensive population policies that address economic, cultural, and social factors, not just fertility metrics

#society

🔆Chile

✅Recently, India and Chile signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to begin negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

✅Location and Borders: Located in South America, Chile is a long, narrow country bordered by:
Peru and Bolivia to the North,
Argentina to the East,
Pacific Ocean to the West.
The Argentina–Chile border is the longest in South America and the third-longest globally.

📍Key Geographical Features:

✅Andes Mountains: The World's longest continental mountain range.

✅Atacama Desert: Driest non-polar desert in the world.

✅Loa River: Chile’s longest river (approx. 440 km).

✅Ojos del Salado: The World’s highest active volcano and 2nd highest peak in South America (6,880 m).

✅Frequent earthquakes and tsunamis due to Chile's location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

✅Economic Resources:
World’s largest copper producer.

✅Member of the “Lithium Triangle” (with Argentina and Bolivia), holding over 75% of global lithium reserves under salt flats.

#mapping

🔆 Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)

📍 About
- Approved: Union Cabinet, August 2024, based on T.V. Somanathan Committee's recommendations.
- Effective from: April 1, 2025
- Nodal Agency: Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure)

📍 Aims & Objectives
- Ensure stable, assured pension for central government employees with inflation protection.
- Targeted Beneficiaries:
✅ Central government employees with 10+ years of service.
✅ Past retirees of NPS (superannuated employees).

📍 Funding Mechanism
✅ Employee Contributions: 10% of basic salary + DA.
✅ Government Contributions: 18.5% of basic salary + DA.
✅ Additional Funding: Extra 8.5% from government to support the pension scheme.
✅ Lump Sum: Entitled to 1/10th of monthly emoluments for every six months of completed service.

📍 Features
✅ Assured Pension: 50% of average basic pay for employees with 25+ years of service.
✅ Minimum Pension: ₹10,000 per month.
✅ Family Pension: 60% of pension before death.
✅ Inflation Protection: Pensions indexed to inflation.
✅ Government Contribution: 18.5% of basic pay + DA.
✅ Lump Sum Payment: Based on last drawn pay.

🔆 Kandha Women & The End of Facial Tattooing Tradition

📍 Background
✅ For generations, Kandha women in Odisha tattooed their faces with dark, geometric patterns—not just as decoration but to protect themselves from sexual exploitation by landlords and colonizers.

📍 The Tattooing Process
✅ Girls were tattooed starting at age 10, covering all parts of the face.
✅ The process was painful and caused infections lasting weeks.

📍 Why Tattoos?
✅ Tattoos began as a way to avoid sexual exploitation and gradually became a mark of Kandha identity and womanhood.
✅ Women without tattoos often struggled to find husbands and were seen as not truly Kandha.

📍 Decline of the Tradition
✅ Modern awareness and social campaigns started in the mid-1990s have led young Kandha women to stop getting facial tattoos.
✅ Girls now attend school and participate fully in society without these markings.
✅ The practice is rare now, especially among women under 40.

📍 Changing Identity Markers
✅ Silver rings on ears now symbolize womanhood and marital status in the Kandha community.

📍 Community Leaders’ View
✅ Leaders see the end of tattooing as progress and a relief from painful traditions.
✅ Young people today express themselves through fashion, carving tattoos on other body parts instead.

#society

🔆Delhi – 12th to 15th Century

📍 Delhi as Capital
✅ First became capital under Tomara Rajputs, defeated mid-12th century by Chahamanas of Ajmer

📍 Delhiwal
✅ Type of coin minted in Delhi

📍 Queens Mentioned
✅ Rudramadevi – Queen of Kakatiyas of Warangal
✅ Dida – Queen of Kashmir
✅ Raziya Sultan – Queen of Slave Dynasty

📍 Bandagan
✅ Slaves purchased for military service

📍 Types of Taxes
✅ Khums – 1/5th of war booty
✅ Zakat – For Muslims, 1/40th of annual savings given to travellers and needy
✅ Jizyah – Tax paid by non-Muslims for protection
✅ Kharaj – Land

🔆Global Report on Food Crises, 2025

✅The Global Report on Food Crises 2025, reveals that acute hunger has reached a new record high globally.

✅The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) is an annual, consensus-based technical report coordinated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) in support of the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC).

📍Key Findings of the 2025 GRFC

✅Record High Acute Hunger: In 2024, 295.3 million people in 53 countries faced acute food insecurity, up from 281.6 million in 2023. This marks the sixth consecutive annual increase and the highest level since reporting began.
✅Crisis Severity: Nearly a quarter of the population in the assessed countries suffered from acute hunger, with 1.9 million people facing famine conditions (IPC/CH Phase 5)-more than double the previous year.
✅Humanitarian Funding Crisis: Humanitarian allocations to food sectors could fall by up to 45% in 2025, threatening life-saving nutrition services for at least 14 million children and disrupting aid in major crisis zones.
✅Children and Women: Over 37 million children under five in 26 countries suffered from acute malnutrition in 2024, with more than 10.2 million experiencing severe acute malnutrition.

#gs3
#economy

@upsc_4_economy