2 January 2025

• Education: UDISE+ 2023-24 shows school enrolment fell by 37 lakh students in a single year.
• Defence: Ministry of Defence declared 2025 a "Year of Reforms" with focus on integrated theatre commands.
• Agriculture: Cabinet approved continuation of PMFBY till 2025-26 with a Rs 69,515 crore allocation.
• Environment: 440 districts across India report unsafe nitrate levels in groundwater. Rajasthan leads at 49%.
• History: The Saraswati river, mentioned in the Rigveda, is linked to the Ghaggar-Hakra river system in the Thar Desert.

GS area: Governance, Social Justice (Education)

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus is a data aggregation platform under the Ministry of Education. It collects and tracks school education statistics at the national level.

• Total enrolment decline: School enrolment fell from 25.17 crore (2022-23) to 24.8 crore (2023-24), a drop of 37 lakh students in one year.
• Girls: Girl student enrolment dropped from 12.09 crore to 11.93 crore.
• Scheduled Castes: SC enrolment fell from 4.59 crore to 4.47 crore.
• Scheduled Tribes: ST enrolment fell from 2.48 crore to 2.46 crore.
• OBC students: Fell from 11.45 crore to 11.2 crore.
• NEP 2020 target: Universal Gross Enrolment Ratio by 2030. The declining trend raises questions about whether this target is achievable.

The declines cut across every major demographic category. The data does not explain causes, but researchers cite private school migration, post-pandemic dropout consolidation, and demographic shifts as possible factors.

Static linkage: Education system in India (Governance), RTE Act, NEP 2020.

GS area: Defence and Security, Governance

The Ministry of Defence declared 2025 a "Year of Reforms," signalling a structured push on several pending structural and technological changes.

• Key focus areas: Integrated Theatre Commands, artificial intelligence, robotics, hypersonic systems, cyber operations, and space domains.
• Integrated Theatre Commands: The concept merges the operational structures of the Army, Navy, and Air Force under unified commanders for specific geographic theatres. The reform has been under discussion since 2019.
• Defence exports: Emphasis on export targets and civil-military coordination as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence.
• Context: India has three service chiefs (Army, Navy, Air Force) and a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The CDS was created in 2020 to drive jointness, and theatre commands are the next structural step.

Static linkage: Indian defence forces (GS Paper 3), civil-military relations.

GS area: Agriculture, Economy

The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of PMFBY through 2025-26.

• Budget: Rs 69,515 crore total allocation for the continuation period.
• Launch year: 2016.
• Premium rates: 2% of sum insured for Kharif crops; 1.5% for Rabi crops; 5% for commercial and horticultural crops.
• Coverage scope: Yield losses from natural calamities, prevented sowing where 25% of the insured area is affected, and post-harvest losses for 14 days after harvest.
• Technology integration: Satellite imagery and drones are now used for yield assessment, replacing purely manual crop-cutting experiments in several states.

Premium is subsidised by both the Centre and state governments. The farmer pays only the capped premium rates above.

Static linkage: Agricultural schemes (Economy), crop insurance.

GS area: Environment, Health

A 2023 assessment found unsafe nitrate levels in 440 districts across India.

• State-level contamination: Rajasthan 49% of assessed blocks, Karnataka 48%, Tamil Nadu 37%.
• Health impact: Nitrates in drinking water cause methemoglobinemia in infants. The condition reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen and is also called "blue baby syndrome."
• Safe limit: The Bureau of Indian Standards sets the safe limit at 45 mg/litre for drinking water.
• Primary sources: Fertiliser leaching from fields, sewage disposal, and livestock waste.

Nitrate contamination is a problem of agricultural intensification. Fertiliser-heavy farming in irrigated districts is the dominant driver in Indian contexts.

Static linkage: Groundwater resources (Geography), environmental pollution (Environment).

GS area: Environment, Governance

337 tonnes of chemical waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy were scheduled for incineration at a facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.

• Process: Incineration burns waste at temperatures exceeding 850°C, sharply reducing its volume and neutralising organic toxins.
• Emission controls: Modern incineration systems use scrubbers and bag-house filters to capture particulate matter and acid gases before release.
• Context: The Bhopal gas tragedy of December 1984 released methyl isocyanate from a Union Carbide plant, killing thousands. Waste from the site has remained stored for decades due to legal and logistical disputes.

Static linkage: Disaster management (GS Paper 3), environmental remediation.

• Saraswati River: Mentioned in the Rigveda's Nadistuti Sukta, the Saraswati is believed to have originated near Kailash and flowed through Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat before drying up. The Ghaggar-Hakra river system is considered its remnant. The Harappan Civilisation settled along its banks.
• Fighter jet generations: The Ministry declared 2025 a Year of Reforms for defence. India is developing the AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft), a fifth-generation platform. Fifth-generation examples in service globally include the F-22 (USA), Su-57 (Russia), and J-20 (China).