26 February 2025

• Space: NASA's SPHEREx telescope was approved and planned for launch on SpaceX Falcon 9. It will survey over 450 million galaxies across 102 colour bands.
• Women: Time Use Survey 2024 shows women spent 201 minutes more per day on unpaid domestic work than men. Female employment participation rose to 25 per cent.
• Defence: INS Tamal, a Project 11356 stealth guided-missile frigate, to be commissioned in June 2025.
• Conservation: Gharial classified as Critically Endangered. Chambal Sanctuary hosts the primary population.

GS area: Science and Technology (space)

NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) telescope received final launch approval and mission details were published ahead of its planned Falcon 9 launch:

• Launch vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9.
• Survey scope: Over 450 million galaxies.
• Colour bands: 102 (far more than the human eye's 3). This enables highly precise spectral measurements.
• Mission duration: Two years.
• Partner institutions: Includes Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.
• Scientific goals: Map the distribution of galaxies to understand cosmic history, detect signatures from the epoch of reionization (when the universe's first stars ignited), and map water and organic molecules in the interstellar medium.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (space, astronomy).

GS area: Social Justice, Society

The MoSPI Time Use Survey 2024 data:

• Female employment participation: 25 per cent (up from 21.8 per cent in 2019). A notable improvement but still low by global standards.
• Gender gap in unpaid domestic work: Women spend 201 minutes more per day than men on unpaid care and household work.
• Caregiving: 41 per cent of women versus 21.4 per cent of men provide caregiving.
• Children (6 to 14 years) learning time: 413 minutes per day. An indicator of educational engagement.

The Time Use Survey measures how people spend their time across paid work, unpaid work, personal care, leisure and education. It is published by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI. The 2024 data is the second round (first was 2019). Unpaid care work is outside GDP but is a central concern in feminist economics.

Static linkage: Society, social justice (gender, economy).

GS area: Defence

INS Tamal is scheduled for commissioning in June 2025:

• Type: Stealth guided-missile frigate.
• Builder: Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia.
• Project: Project 11356. This is the same class as INS Trishul, INS Tabar and INS Teg already in service.
• Deal value: 2.5 billion US dollars (signed 2016).
• Features: Stealth design with low radar cross-section, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine warfare capability and surface-to-air missile systems.

Project 11356 frigates are Russia's export-optimised version of the Gepard-class design. The Indian Navy's western fleet includes these frigates for blue-water operations in the Indian Ocean Region.

Static linkage: Defence (science and technology, international relations).

GS area: Economy (gender, entrepreneurship)

SWAYATT (Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through eTransactions) is a GeM (Government e-Marketplace) initiative:

• Women entrepreneurs on GeM: 8 per cent of all registered sellers.
• Women-led MSEs registered: Over 1,77,786.
• Orders fulfilled: Cumulative orders worth 46,615 crore rupees.
• Start-ups supported: 29,000-plus. Start-up orders valued at 35,950 crore rupees.
• Significance: Government procurement is a powerful lever for inclusion. By mandating that GeM procure from women-owned enterprises, SWAYATT mainstreams gender equity into public spending.

GeM was launched in 2016. By February 2025 it had processed cumulative transactions worth several lakh crore rupees.

Static linkage: Economy (government schemes, women's entrepreneurship).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) conservation:

• IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
• Indian legal protection: Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Maximum penalty for poaching or harm.
• Male characteristics: Up to 6 metres in length. Males develop a bulbous growth on the tip of the snout called a ghara (pot-like structure) used for vocalisation and signalling.
• Primary habitat: Chambal Sanctuary (435 kilometres of the Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh).
• Other habitats: Girwa River (Uttar Pradesh), Son River, Ramganga River (protected within Corbett Tiger Reserve).

The Chambal River is one of India's cleanest large rivers because industrial and urban development has been restricted along its course. This makes it critical for Gharial, Gangetic river dolphin and Ganges softshell turtle survival.

Static linkage: Biodiversity (environment and ecology, rivers).

GS area: Art and Culture

Jhumoir Binandini is a cultural art form associated with tea garden communities:

• Origin: Assam's tea garden communities.
• Associated tribal communities: Santhal, Munda, Kurukh, Oraon and Kharia tribes.
• Performance style: Women perform in red and white sarees while men play traditional musical instruments.
• Significance: Represents the cultural identity of migrant tribal workers brought to Assam's tea gardens during the colonial period from Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Jhumoir is performed at festivals and community gatherings. It is being promoted under various cultural preservation schemes.

Static linkage: Art and Culture (tribal heritage, performing arts).

GS area: Economy (minerals, international)

The Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea came into focus as a potential disruptor of global iron ore markets:

• Location: Nzérékoré Region, southeastern Guinea, West Africa.
• Iron ore grade: 65 per cent Fe (iron content). This is among the highest-grade deposits in the world.
• Reserves: 2.4 billion tonnes.
• Ownership: Controlled by a 75 per cent Chinese-led consortium.
• Infrastructure: Requires 620 kilometres of railway and a new deepwater port.
• Strategic significance: Once fully operational, expected to meet 10 per cent of China's annual seaborne iron ore imports. Could reduce global iron ore prices and the market share of Australia and Brazil.

India imports iron ore from Australia and Brazil for its steel industry. Simandou's output could affect global steel input prices.

Static linkage: Economy (natural resources, international trade).

• Mount Fentale, Ethiopia: Methane emissions recorded from this volcano in January 2025. Methane is 28 times more effective than CO2 as a greenhouse gas over 100 years. Methane accounts for 11 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Black plastic concerns: Recycled plastics from electronic waste can contain flame retardants including BDE-209 (decabromodiphenyl ether), lead, mercury and cadmium. These toxins leach into food when used in food packaging.