21 June 2025

• The 11th International Day of Yoga was observed on 21 June with the theme "Yoga for One Earth, One Health"; PM Modi led the main event at Visakhapatnam.
• UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2025 shows global FDI fell 11 per cent in 2024 to $1.5 trillion while Africa surged 75 per cent and India held its top-destination rank.
• HAL received full technology transfer for ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle with a bid of Rs 511 crore and a mandate for 6 to 10 rockets per year.
• BSNL piloted its Quantum 5G Fixed Wireless Access service in Hyderabad with download speeds up to 980 Mbps and zero need for a SIM card.
• The Fordow nuclear facility near Qom remained a focal point of global security discussion as analysts assessed its depth and survivability.

GS area: GS-II (International institutions, Government schemes), GS-III (Health)

The 11th International Day of Yoga was observed on 21 June 2025. PM Modi led the central event at Visakhapatnam under the theme "Yoga for One Earth, One Health."

• Origin: The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 69/131 on 11 December 2014 to declare 21 June as International Day of Yoga. This was the first recognition by a UN body; 175 member states co-sponsored the resolution.
• Governing ministry: Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) coordinates all national-level programming.
• Participation growth: Global participation rose from 9 crore people in 2018 to 24.53 crore people in 2024. This trajectory is cited as evidence of mass health uptake.
• Yoga Sangam: A nationwide simultaneous event held at over 1 lakh locations across India. The 2025 edition ran Harit Yoga sessions that paired yoga practice with tree planting at each site.
• One Health alignment: The World Health Organization backs aligning Yoga Day's theme with the One Health framework. One Health treats human, animal and ecosystem health as inseparable and coordinates across UNEP, WHO and FAO.
• Harit Yoga: A Ministry of AYUSH programme that integrates yoga sessions with tree planting to link individual wellness with environmental responsibility.

The WHO-backed One Health framing gives the day a policy hook beyond wellness tourism. UPSC has asked about the constitutional origin of Yoga Day and about AYUSH's mandate.

Revises: International organisations, Ministry of AYUSH, One Health framework.

GS area: GS-III (Investment, External sector, International trade)

UNCTAD released its World Investment Report 2025 showing that global Foreign Direct Investment fell 11 per cent in 2024 to $1.5 trillion. This is the second consecutive annual decline.

• UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, established in 1964, is the UN body that tracks global investment flows and advises on trade and development policy.
• Global FDI 2024: Fell to $1.5 trillion. The decline was driven by financial restructuring in developed markets and tightening monetary policy in major economies.
• Digital sector exception: Project values in digital-economy FDI doubled even as headline flows fell. This indicates a bifurcation between physical and digital investment trends.
• SDG-sector investment: Fell 25 to 33 per cent. Investment in renewable energy, water, health and food sectors essential for Sustainable Development Goals declined sharply.
• Africa: FDI grew 75 per cent in 2024. This is the strongest regional performer and partly reflects commodity-linked and infrastructure investment.
• ASEAN: FDI rose 10 per cent. Southeast Asia continues to attract supply-chain diversification investment.
• China: Inflows dropped 29 per cent as geopolitical risk and weaker domestic demand dampened investor appetite.
• South America: Declined 18 per cent.
• India: Retained its rank as a top FDI destination with $28 billion in inflows despite the global contraction.

The divergence between India and China on FDI inflows is a recurring MCQ theme. The SDG-sector decline is the normative concern UNCTAD flags every year.

Revises: Balance of payments, FDI policy, international trade institutions.

GS area: GS-II (International relations, Security), GS-IV (Ethics in international relations)

The escalation between Israel and Iran brought renewed attention to nuclear deterrence doctrine and the ethical frameworks that govern its use.

• Just war theory: Philosopher Michael Walzer's framework divides the ethics of war into two parts. Jus ad bellum covers the conditions for starting a war: just cause, last resort and proportionality. Jus in bello covers conduct during war: discrimination between combatants and non-combatants, and non-combatant immunity.
• Samson Option: Israel's nuclear deterrence doctrine. It is named after the biblical Samson who chose self-destruction along with his enemies rather than surrender. The doctrine signals that Israel would use nuclear weapons as a last resort even at cost to itself.
• Strategic ambiguity: Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing nuclear weapons. This posture is called strategic ambiguity or nuclear opacity. It allows Israel to deter adversaries without triggering a formal nonproliferation crisis.
• Estimated arsenal: Analysts estimate Israel holds between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads. Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and is not subject to IAEA safeguards on its nuclear programme.
• Multi-platform capability: Israel is assessed to have land-based, air-delivered and submarine-launched nuclear options, giving it a second-strike capability.

Strategic ambiguity is a concept that appears in GS-II questions on non-proliferation. Just war theory appears in GS-IV ethics papers.

Revises: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, IAEA, international security frameworks.

GS area: GS-II (International relations, Security)

The Fordow uranium enrichment facility became central to global security assessments during the Israel-Iran escalation.

• Location: Near Qom in southwest Iran. Fordow is situated approximately 80 metres below ground, reinforced with rock and concrete construction.
• Operational history: The IAEA confirmed Fordow's existence in 2009. Iran had concealed the facility before its disclosure. It enriches uranium to levels up to 60 per cent purity. Weapons-grade uranium requires enrichment above 90 per cent.
• Military significance: The depth and construction make Fordow resistant to most conventional air-delivered munitions. Only the US GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator is assessed by analysts to potentially penetrate the facility.
• GBU-57 (Massive Ordnance Penetrator): A bunker-buster bomb weighing approximately 13,600 kg. It is designed specifically to destroy hardened underground facilities and is carried by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
• IAEA role: The International Atomic Energy Agency is the UN body mandated to verify that states comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It conducts safeguards inspections and issues reports on member states' nuclear activities.

Revises: IAEA, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, West Asia geopolitics.

GS area: GS-III (Science and Technology, Telecommunications)

BSNL launched a pilot of its Quantum 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service in Hyderabad. The technology is fully indigenous and removes the requirement for a physical SIM card.

• Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): A broadband delivery model that uses wireless 5G connectivity as the last-mile link to homes and businesses. It replaces fibre or cable connections with a wireless antenna.
• Direct-to-Device (D2D): The technology BSNL uses to deliver the connection without a SIM card. Devices connect directly to the network through software provisioning.
• Performance specifications: Download speeds up to 980 Mbps, upload speeds up to 140 Mbps, and latency below 10 milliseconds. These specifications are comparable to fibre broadband.
• Coverage: The Hyderabad pilot covers over 85 per cent of the city. Planned rollout cities by September 2025 include Bengaluru, Pondicherry, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Gwalior and Chandigarh.
• BSNL: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is a government-owned telecommunications company under the Ministry of Communications. It provides services across India including in rural and remote areas where private operators are absent.

The indigenous label and the SIM-less architecture are the testable hooks here.

Revises: Telecommunications policy, digital infrastructure, spectrum allocation.

GS area: GS-III (Space technology, Defence production)

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited received a full technology transfer for ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. The transfer marks the first complete handover of a launch vehicle to private-sector production under India's space liberalisation framework.

• SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle): ISRO's lightest operational rocket. It is designed to place payloads of up to 500 kg into low earth orbit. Its short assembly time makes it suitable for commercial small-satellite launches.
• Transfer terms: HAL bid Rs 511 crore for the contract. The technology-of-transfer period runs for two years with ISRO providing direct technical support throughout. HAL is contracted to produce 6 to 10 rockets annually after the transfer period.
• Agencies involved: ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) and HAL participated in the process.
• IN-SPACe role: IN-SPACe is the regulatory and promotional body created in 2020 to enable private Indian entities to access space. It authorises commercial launch activities.
• HAL profile: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was established on 23 December 1940. It operates under the Ministry of Defence and is the primary manufacturer of military aircraft in India. Its production record includes MiG-21, Jaguar, Su-30MKI and LCA Tejas.

Revises: India's space programme, defence public sector undertakings, IN-SPACe framework.

GS area: GS-III (Science and Technology, Energy)

Scientists at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences in Bengaluru developed a silicon-based device that produces hydrogen from sunlight using earth-abundant materials.

• Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS): An autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, located in Bengaluru.
• Device design: A silicon-based photoanode using an n-i-p heterojunction architecture. A heterojunction combines layers of different semiconductor materials to capture a wider spectrum of sunlight.
• Earth-abundant materials: The device avoids rare or expensive metals like platinum or iridium. Using widely available materials reduces production cost and enables scale-up.
• Performance: The device generates a surface photovoltage of 600 millivolts. It operated continuously for 10 hours with less than 4 per cent performance degradation. The photoanode was scaled to 25 square centimetres.
• Green hydrogen: Hydrogen produced by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources or directly from sunlight. It produces no carbon emissions at point of use. It is considered critical to decarbonising steel, fertiliser and heavy transport sectors.

Revises: Green hydrogen, renewable energy technology, science and technology bodies.

GS area: GS-III (Financial inclusion, Banking)

India Post Payments Bank received the Digital Payments Award 2024-25 from the Department of Financial Services for its role in extending banking access.

• Establishment: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) was established on 1 September 2018 under the Department of Posts. It is fully owned by the Government of India.
• Mandate: IPPB provides doorstep banking services to rural and remote populations through the postal network. Its core aim is last-mile financial inclusion.
• Network strength: Over 2 lakh Postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks serve as banking agents. This makes IPPB's reach larger than any private bank network in rural India.
• Language access: IPPB operates in 13 languages through multilingual digital interfaces.
• Payments banks vs commercial banks: Payments banks can accept deposits up to a prescribed limit and offer remittance services but cannot issue loans or credit cards. This distinguishes them from scheduled commercial banks.

Revises: Financial inclusion schemes, payments bank regulation, RBI framework.

GS area: GS-I (Art and culture, Intangible heritage)

The Ghumot is a traditional Goan percussion instrument that has received state heritage recognition and is central to Goa's festival culture.

• Instrument type: A membranophone. Sound is produced by a membrane stretched across a resonating body. The Ghumot uses a clay pot fired in a kiln as the body.
• Traditional membrane: Monitor lizard skin was historically used for the membrane. The monitor lizard is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Commercial use of its skin is prohibited.
• Current practice: Craftspeople now use goat skin, buffalo skin or synthetic membranes as lawful substitutes.
• Cultural role: The Ghumot is central to the Sao Joao festival, Ganesh Chaturthi and Shigmo (a spring festival). These are among Goa's principal annual celebrations.
• Heritage status: The Government of Goa declared the Ghumot a Goa Heritage Instrument in 2019.
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: India's primary legislation for wildlife conservation. Schedule I lists species afforded the highest protection. Killing, capturing or trading Schedule I species carries the most severe penalties.

Revises: Art and culture, Wildlife Protection Act 1972, intangible cultural heritage.

• Operation Sindhu (ongoing): India's evacuation operation for nationals caught in the Iran-Israel conflict zone. The MEA is coordinating through a 24-hour control room. Indian nationals in the Gulf region have been assessed as safe but the Strait of Hormuz remains a watched chokepoint.
• Yoga and WHO One Health: The WHO's formal backing of the One Health framework in relation to Yoga Day signals an institutional convergence of preventive health and ecological health agendas.
• Green hydrogen scaling: The CeNS device's 25 sq cm photoanode is notable as a proof of concept at lab scale. Commercial deployment will require orders-of-magnitude larger areas and grid-integration infrastructure.