1 March 2025

• Disaster: An avalanche struck a BRO project site near Mana village in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, trapping 22 workers.
• Economy: The World Bank released its India Country Economic Memorandum, requiring 7.8 per cent average growth until 2047 for India to reach high-income status.
• Environment: The Cali Fund for biodiversity went live, committing 200 billion dollars annually by 2030.
• Space: Aditya-L1 captured an X6.3-class solar flare using its SUIT instrument.
• Culture: The 727th Urs of Amir Khusrau drew attention to his legacy in music and medieval literature.

GS area: Disaster Management, Geography

A slab avalanche struck a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project site near Mana village in Chamoli district, trapping 22 workers under ice. The Indian Army and ITBP launched rescue operations within hours.

• Slab avalanche: A cohesive layer of snow breaks off and slides. Speeds reach up to 100 km/h. Powder avalanches (uncompacted snow clouds) reach 300 km/h.
• Slope angle: Most avalanches occur on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees of inclination.
• Temperature trigger: Surface temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius weaken the snow bond on gliding slopes, increasing risk.
• BRO: The Border Roads Organisation builds and maintains strategic road connectivity in difficult and border areas. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• ITBP: The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is India's primary high-altitude mountain force deployed on the China border and in Himalayan terrain.

Chamoli district has experienced repeated avalanche events, including the Tapovan glacier flash flood of February 2021 that damaged the Rishiganga hydroelectric project.

Static linkage: Disaster Management (landslides, avalanches), Himalayan geography.

GS area: Economy, Development

The World Bank's India Country Economic Memorandum set out the structural targets India must meet to achieve high-income status by 2047, the centenary of independence.

• Growth rate required: A sustained average of 7.8 per cent annually until 2047.
• Investment-to-GDP: Must rise from the current 33.5 per cent to 40 per cent by 2035 to fund the required capital expansion.
• Female labour force participation (FLFP): Currently 35.6 per cent. The report calls for raising it to 50 per cent. Every 1 per cent increase in FLFP adds about 0.5 percentage points to GDP growth.
• Overall LFPR target: The overall labour force participation rate (LFPR) must rise from 56.4 per cent to 65 per cent.
• Agriculture share: Employment in agriculture, currently 45 per cent of the workforce, must fall sharply as workers move to higher-productivity sectors.
• GDP growth in Q2 FY25: Slowed to 5.4 per cent, below the required trajectory.

The gap between current performance and the required 7.8 per cent is the clearest single number UPSC examiners use from this report.

Static linkage: Indian economy, planning and development.

GS area: History (Medieval India), Art and Culture

The 727th Urs (death anniversary) of Amir Khusrau at the Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi brought renewed attention to his legacy.

• Dates: 1253 to 1325 CE. A thirteenth-century figure who served under five Delhi Sultans.
• Title: "Tuti-yi-Hind" (Parrot of India), reflecting his status as the most celebrated poet of the subcontinent.
• Music: Pioneer of qawwali music. Developed the khayal singing style and bol-bant rhythmic patterns. His compositions merged Turkic, Persian and Indian traditions.
• Disciple of: Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya of the Chishti order.
• Language: Wrote in Persian and Hindavi. His Hindavi verse is among the earliest literary evidence of the language that evolved into Hindi and Urdu.

Examiners test the connection between Khusrau, the Chishti Sufi tradition and the emergence of composite Indian culture during the Delhi Sultanate period.

Static linkage: Medieval Indian history, Bhakti-Sufi traditions, art and music.

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

India's Aditya-L1 mission captured an X6.3-class solar flare in the Near Ultraviolet band. The observation was made by the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT).

• SUIT: Detects solar radiation across 11 NUV wavebands. Developed by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune.
• X-class flares: The most powerful category in the flare classification scale. An X6.3 is a major event capable of disrupting radio communications and power grids.
• Mission orbit: Aditya-L1 is positioned in a halo orbit around Lagrange Point L1, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth on the Sun-Earth line.
• Launch: September 2, 2023 aboard PSLV-C57. Halo orbit achieved on January 6, 2024.
• Purpose: Studies solar corona, solar wind, coronal mass ejections and space weather.

L1 is a gravitationally stable point that gives the spacecraft an unobstructed view of the Sun at all times. The other Lagrange points (L2, L3, L4, L5) each have distinct properties tested in prelims.

Static linkage: Space science, ISRO missions.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

The Cali Fund, proposed at CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, was formally launched at a follow-up session in Rome in early 2025.

• Target: 200 billion dollars annually by 2030 for global biodiversity conservation.
• Indigenous communities: 50 per cent of fund resources directed to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
• Mechanism: Ensures benefit-sharing from genetic resources used in pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
• Framework: Supports the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022), which set the "30 by 30" target of protecting 30 per cent of land and ocean by 2030.
• First review: Scheduled at COP17 in Armenia in 2026.
• CBD COP16 host: Cali, Colombia, 2024.

The Cali Fund sits alongside the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as a major multilateral environmental financing mechanism. UPSC regularly tests the distinctions among these bodies.

Static linkage: Environment and ecology, international conventions.

GS area: International Relations

The second meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was held in early 2025, building on its February 2023 launch.

• Announced: April 2022; formally launched February 2023.
• Status: The EU's second TTC (after the US-EU TTC) and India's first such bilateral council.
• Working groups: Three tracks: (1) Digital and Strategic Technologies, (2) Green Energy and Clean Technologies, (3) Trade and Supply Chain Resilience.
• Technology focus: 6G, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and battery technology.
• Strategic context: Complements the Quad's Emerging Technology Working Group and the broader India-EU Connectivity Partnership.

The TTC model allows structured ministerial-level engagement on technology governance without full treaty obligations.

Static linkage: India's bilateral and multilateral relationships, technology cooperation.

GS area: Environment, Government Schemes

The MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes) Scheme showed significant progress, with Gujarat leading all states.

• Launch: Union Budget 2023-24. Implementation period: 2023 to 2028.
• Gujarat's lead: 19,020 hectares restored in two years.
• National target: 540 square kilometres across 9 coastal states and 4 Union Territories.
• Funding sources: CAMPA Fund and MGNREGS.
• India's total mangrove cover: 4,991.68 square kilometres as per the latest Forest Survey of India report.
• Mangrove value: Provides coastal protection, carbon sequestration and fishery nursery services.

The CAMPA Fund (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) was established by the Supreme Court in 2009 and given statutory backing by the CAF Act, 2016.

Static linkage: Environment and ecology (coastal ecosystems), government schemes.

GS area: International Relations, Geography

India despatched medicines to Sudan via Coast Guard Ship Sachet as the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued.

• Area: Third-largest country in Africa by area.
• Capital: Khartoum, located at the confluence of the White Nile and Blue Nile.
• Borders: Egypt (north), Eritrea and Ethiopia (east), South Sudan (south), Central African Republic and Chad (southwest), Libya (northwest).
• Geography: The Marrah Mountains in Darfur reach approximately 3,000 metres.
• Conflict: Began April 2023. Humanitarian crisis has displaced over 10 million people.
• India's role: India's coast guard and navy have played roles in humanitarian evacuations from conflict zones in the region.

Static linkage: World geography (Africa), India's humanitarian assistance policy.

GS area: Society, Economy

The Bain and Dasra India Philanthropy Report 2025 assessed private social sector giving in India.

• Total social sector funding FY24: Approximately 25 lakh crore rupees. Public spending accounts for 95 per cent.
• Private philanthropy: Around 1.3 lakh crore rupees.
• Growth projection: 10 to 12 per cent annually for family philanthropy.
• Family philanthropy potential by 2030: 50,000 to 55,000 crore rupees.
• UHNI giving: Indian ultra-high-net-worth individuals contribute 1 to 1.5 per cent of wealth, against 2 to 2.5 per cent in the United States.
• Women's role: 55 per cent of family philanthropy initiatives are led by women.

The contrast between India's high-growth private sector and low philanthropic giving as a percentage of wealth is a recurring mains and essay angle.

Static linkage: Indian society, CSR policy, development governance.

• EU-India TTC second meeting: Reviewed progress on semiconductor supply chains and clean hydrogen cooperation.
• BRO workers: Search operations at Chamoli continued through the day.