13 March 2025

• International: India and Mauritius upgraded ties to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's visit.
• Environment: The World Air Quality Report 2024 placed India among the most polluted nations, with Byrnihat in Meghalaya as the world's most polluted city.
• Governance: The New Delhi railway stampede prompted accountability questions about passenger management protocols.
• Technology: PM-YUVA 3.0 was launched to mentor young Indian authors below 30.
• Science: Plastic Ice VII, a new state of ice under extreme pressure, was experimentally confirmed.

GS area: International Relations

India and Mauritius upgraded their bilateral relationship to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's state visit.

• Defence: Three Coast Guard vessels (Barracuda, Victory, Valiant) provided on grant basis. India equips Mauritius's maritime security forces.
• Infrastructure: 100 electric buses gifted; 487 crore rupee rupee-denominated line of credit for a 100 km water pipeline replacement.
• Parliament gift: India gifted a new Parliament building as a symbol of democratic partnership.
• Capacity building: 500 Mauritian civil servants to be trained over 5 years; e-Judiciary system support.
• Historical ties: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) established 1983. Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) signed 2021. ISRO's satellite launched from Mauritius in 2022.
• SAGAR: India's Security and Growth for All in the Region vision guides its maritime partnerships.
• Indian Ocean significance: Mauritius sits astride the major east-west shipping lane through the Indian Ocean.

Static linkage: International relations (Indian Ocean, SAGAR vision), India-Mauritius bilateral.

GS area: Environment (Pollution), Governance

The World Air Quality Report 2024 (published by IQAir) ranked India among the most polluted countries globally.

• India's average PM2.5 concentration: 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre (10 times the WHO safe limit of 5 µg/m³).
• Most polluted cities globally: 13 of the 20 most polluted cities are in India.
• Worst in India: Byrnihat in Meghalaya: 128.2 µg/m³ (the world's most polluted city). Delhi: 91.6 µg/m³.
• Global context: Chad (91.8), Bangladesh (78), Pakistan (73.7), Congo (58.2) are the most polluted countries.
• Health impact: Air pollution caused 2.1 million deaths in India in 2021.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): India's programme to reduce PM10 and PM2.5 concentration by 40 per cent by 2026 in 131 non-attainment cities.

The WHO PM2.5 annual safe limit is 5 µg/m³. India's national ambient air quality standard is 40 µg/m³ for PM10 and 25 µg/m³ for PM2.5 (annual average), significantly more lenient than WHO guidance.

Static linkage: Environment (air pollution, health), governance.

GS area: Governance, Disaster Management

A stampede at New Delhi railway station (18 deaths, 30-plus injuries) raised questions about crowd management protocols.

• Cause: Uncoordinated release of train platform information for a popular festival train triggered a surge.
• Governance failure points: Weak enforcement of platform capacity limits, absence of real-time crowd monitoring, inadequate emergency communication.
• Indian Railways' infrastructure: Over 23 million passengers use Indian Railways daily. 7,349 stations across the network.
• RTI Act, 2005: Provides citizens the right to seek information on government management failures.
• PRAGATI platform: The PM's PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) review mechanism monitors major infrastructure and public service delivery.

Static linkage: Governance, disaster management, accountability mechanisms.

GS area: Society, Culture, Government Schemes

The Department of Higher Education launched PM-YUVA 3.0 (Prime Minister's Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors).

• Age limit: Below 30 years.
• Focus areas for this cohort: Indian Diaspora, Traditional Knowledge Systems and Makers of Modern India (1950-2025).
• Implementation: National Book Trust (NBT) under the Ministry of Education.
• Languages: 22 Indian languages plus English.
• Selection process: Online writing competition followed by mentorship from established authors.
• NEP 2020 alignment: Promotes reading, writing and mother-tongue based literary culture.
• Cohort size: 75 authors selected per batch.

Static linkage: Education, culture, government schemes.

GS area: Science and Technology, Economy (Telecom)

Discussions continued on Starlink's pending approval in India.

• Operator: SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk.
• Constellation: Plans for 42,000 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites. About 7,000 operational as of early 2025.
• Speed: Up to 220 Mbps download; latency of 25 to 50 milliseconds (comparable to broadband).
• Active in: Over 100 countries.
• India status: Pending approval from the Department of Telecommunications. Partnerships under negotiation with Airtel and Jio.
• Competition: OneWeb (backed by Bharti) and Amazon Kuiper are competitors in the satellite internet space.
• Rural connectivity: Satellite internet can serve remote areas where fibre is uneconomical.

Static linkage: Science and technology (space, telecommunications).

GS area: Science and Technology

An international experiment confirmed the existence of Plastic Ice VII, a previously theorised state of ice, under extreme conditions.

• Conditions for Plastic Ice VII: Temperature of 450 to 600 Kelvin (about 177 to 327 degrees Celsius) and pressure of 0.1 to 6 gigapascals.
• Properties: A hybrid state in which water molecules form a solid crystal lattice but can rotate freely within it (unlike ordinary ice where molecules are locked in place).
• Discovery site: Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France, using Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering.
• Astrophysical significance: This form of ice may exist inside icy moons like Ganymede and Callisto (Jupiter) and Titan (Saturn), explaining internal heat and magnetic anomalies.

Static linkage: Science and technology, astronomy.

GS area: Geography, Environment

The Yamuna, India's longest river that does not drain into the sea, was in focus for a new solar-hybrid cruise project.

• Origin: Yamunotri Glacier, Pir Panjal Range, at 4,421 metres altitude.
• Length: 1,376 km (longest tributary of the Ganga).
• States: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• Main tributary: Tons River, which contributes about 60 per cent of the Yamuna's water.
• Other tributaries: Chambal, Hindon, Ken and Betwa.
• Confluence: Meets the Ganga at Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam).
• Delhi stretch: 52 km. Enters at Palla Village and exits at Jaitpur.
• Solar cruise: A proposed 22 km solar-hybrid river cruise between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur in Delhi, aimed at ecotourism and river promotion.

Static linkage: Geography (river systems), environment.

GS area: Government Schemes, Water Management

Mission Amrit Sarovar was in focus for its progress report.

• Launched: April 24, 2022 (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 years of independence).
• Target: 75 ponds per district across India.
• Implementation: Uses BISAG-N (geospatial data) and Jan Bhagidaari (community participation).
• Railways' role: Indian Railways excavates waterbodies and uses the material for embankments (synergy between water conservation and infrastructure).
• Achievement: Over 60,000 amrit sarovars constructed across 700-plus districts.

Static linkage: Government schemes, water management, rural development.

• No Money for Terror Conference: The 4th NMFT Conference was held in Munich in 2025, focusing on FATF compliance, intelligence sharing and digital transaction monitoring for counter-terrorism finance.
• Mycelium bricks: Roha Biotech (IIT Madras incubated) developed building bricks from fungal mycelia and agricultural waste, with low embodied carbon but lower structural strength than concrete.