20 August 2025

• Health: Nepal becomes first country in WHO Southeast Asia Region declared free of rubella.
• Economy: India's green hydrogen potential : FICCI-EY 2025 report targets 10 per cent of global market.
• Polity: OBC creamy layer equivalence : Centre considering uniform standards across institutions.
• Governance: Anna-Chakra supply chain tool for PDS operational in 30 states : saves Rs 250 crore annually.
• Ecology: Saltwater crocodile survey in Sundarbans : 220 to 242 individuals counted.

GS area: Health, International Relations

The WHO declared Nepal free of rubella as a public health problem on August 18, 2025 : making it the first country in the WHO Southeast Asia Region to achieve this.

• Rubella basics: Caused by the rubella virus. Also called German measles. Transmitted through respiratory droplets and is highly contagious.
• Congenital Rubella Syndrome: Particularly dangerous in pregnancy. Rubella infection in the first trimester can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or congenital defects : deafness, blindness, heart disease.
• Symptoms in adults and children: Mild fever, rashes spreading from face to body, swollen lymph nodes, joint pain, conjunctivitis.
• Prevention: The MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) prevents rubella. No specific antiviral treatment exists.
• India's status: India runs a Measles-Rubella (MR) campaign targeting all children aged 9 months to 15 years. Elimination goal was set for 2023-24 but sporadic cases continue.

Static linkage: Health, WHO, India's neighbours.

GS area: Polity (Social Justice, Reservation)

The Centre was considering "equivalence" : a uniform standard for applying the creamy layer condition to OBC reservation across central and state institutions, PSUs, universities and aided bodies.

• Origin: The Supreme Court upheld OBC reservations in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) but excluded the "creamy layer" : the more affluent sections : from reservation benefits.
• DoPT Circular (1993): Listed categories ineligible : children of high officials (IAS/IPS officers) and professionals above a threshold. Income threshold was set and revised to Rs 8 lakh per year in 2017.
• Problem identified: Over 100 civil service aspirants in 2016-24 batches were disqualified after initially being accepted as OBC non-creamy layer, then reclassified. Inconsistency across institutions created the problem.
• Proposed equivalence: University professors from Assistant Professor rank (Group A equivalent) would be classified as creamy layer : aligning with the Group A entry position for government service.
• Significance: Uniform standards would reduce post-selection disqualifications and the resulting legal disputes.

Static linkage: Reservation, social justice, Polity (Indra Sawhney case).

GS area: Economy (Energy), Environment

India can capture 10 per cent of the global green hydrogen market by 2030 if it addresses cost and infrastructure gaps, according to the FICCI-EY 2025 report.

• National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023): Outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. Target : 5 million metric tonnes annual production capacity by 2030 requiring 125 GW renewable capacity.
• Current cost: Rs 4 to 4.5 per kg. Projected to fall to Rs 3 to 3.75 per kg by 2030.
• Global market: $8.78 billion (2024) growing to $199.22 billion by 2034 at a 41.5 per cent CAGR.
• Pilot deployment: Five SIGHT projects with Rs 208 crore funding. 37 hydrogen-powered vehicles : 15 fuel cell and 22 hydrogen ICE.
• Policy recommendation: Redirect fossil fuel subsidies, introduce green hydrogen purchase obligations and implement carbon pricing to make green hydrogen competitive.

Static linkage: Energy, green hydrogen, climate policy.

GS area: Governance (Food Security)

The Anna-Chakra supply chain optimisation tool has been deployed across 30 states and union territories under the Public Distribution System.

• Function: Uses route optimisation algorithms to determine the most efficient routes for moving foodgrains from procurement centres to fair price shops.
• Annual savings: Estimated Rs 250 crore in transport costs.
• Climate benefit: Reduced fuel use cuts carbon emissions : a co-benefit of logistics optimisation.
• PDS context: The PDS covers 800 million beneficiaries. Even small efficiency gains in a system this large translate to significant absolute savings.
• FCI role: The Food Corporation of India manages procurement, storage and transportation. Anna-Chakra optimises the transportation segment.

Static linkage: Food security, PDS, technology in governance.

GS area: Environment and Ecology

The 2025 survey of saltwater crocodiles in the Sundarbans counted 220 to 242 individuals.

• Direct sightings: 213 : including 125 adults, 88 juveniles and 23 hatchlings.
• Year-on-year change: Adults rose from 71 to 125; juveniles from 41 to 88; hatchlings from 2 to 23. A strong breeding signal.
• Encounter rate: 0.18 per km of survey transect.
• Scientific name: Crocodylus porosus.
• Largest reptile: The saltwater crocodile is the world's largest living reptile. Adults exceed 6 metres.
• Indian distribution: Sundarbans (West Bengal), Odisha swamplands and rivers, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project: A 1976-2022 programme in Sundarbans released 577 crocodiles into the wild through a captive breeding and release strategy.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, wildlife conservation, Sundarbans.

GS area: Economy, Governance

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025 modernises India's mining legislation.

• Multiple minerals per lease: A single lease can now cover multiple minerals. The leaseholder can add lithium, cobalt or gold deposits within the same block with relaxed payment rules.
• Deep-seated minerals: For minerals deeper than 200 metres, the lease area can expand by 10 to 30 per cent to access the resource.
• Mineral exchanges: Regulated electronic trading platforms for transparent price discovery in mineral markets.
• NMEDT expansion: The National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust's contribution rate is raised to 3 per cent of royalty. NMEDT funds geological surveys and exploration.
• Captive mine sales: Captive mines can sell 100 per cent of production once their own plant requirements are met.
• Strategic goal: Reduce import dependence on critical minerals : lithium, cobalt, graphite, rare earths : needed for EVs, electronics and defence.

Static linkage: Mining, critical minerals, economy.

• Brain-eating amoeba (Naegleria fowleri): Three new cases in Kerala including the death of a 9-year-old child. The amoeba enters through the nose while swimming in warm freshwater. Not contagious person-to-person. Survival rate globally is approximately 3 per cent. Early detection is the only factor improving outcomes in Kerala's experience.
• Mithi River flooding: Mumbai received 300 mm rainfall in 24 hours. The Mithi River rose to 3.9 metres; 400 residents evacuated. The Mithi is 18 km long, originates from Powai Lake overflow and discharges into Mahim Creek.
• World Orangutan Day (August 19): Three species : Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli. All three are Critically Endangered. The Tapanuli orangutan discovered in 2017 has fewer than 1,000 individuals : the rarest great ape.