PRELIMS
Mig La Pass
Why in News: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed the world’s highest motorable road at Mig La Pass in eastern Ladakh, at an altitude of 19,400 feet (5,913 m), surpassing the earlier record at Umling La Pass.
Key Facts:
- Location: Mig La Pass, connecting Hanle region with Fukche village near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
- Altitude: 19,400 ft – higher than Everest Base Camps (South: 17,598 ft; North: 16,900 ft).
- Executing Agency: Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Project Himank led by Brigadier Vishal Srivastava.
Purpose:
- Enhance connectivity and logistics in a high-altitude border region.
- Facilitate civilian movement, supply delivery, and emergency access.
- Strengthen India’s defence preparedness and presence near the LAC.
Challenges:
- Extremely low oxygen levels (~50% of sea level).
- Harsh weather, unstable terrain, snowstorms, and sub-zero temperatures.
Strategic Importance:
- Enables rapid troop mobility and supply chain efficiency.
- Boosts border communities’ livelihoods through improved access and potential for tourism.
Static Info:
- BRO Motto: “Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam” (Everything is Achievable through Hard Work).
- Project Himank: BRO initiative for high-altitude infrastructure in Ladakh sector.
- Previous Record: Umling La Pass Road (19,024 ft).
IUCN Congress
Why in News: India will officially launch its first national Red List of Endangered Species at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, scheduled from 9–15 October 2025 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- Organiser: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — the world’s largest environmental network.
- India’s Representation: Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh will represent India.
- India’s IUCN Membership: India has been a State Member since 1969.
- Objective: To assess the conservation status of species within India, guide policy decisions, and strengthen biodiversity protection frameworks.
Significance:
- Aligns India with global conservation assessment frameworks.
- Provides data to support national strategies and global collaborations.
- Demonstrates India’s leadership in biodiversity and climate governance.
About the IUCN Congress:
- Frequency: Held every four years.
- Participants: Over 1,400 member organisations from governments, civil society, and Indigenous communities.
- Purpose: To shape global conservation policy, vote on resolutions, and share best practices.
Themes for 2025 Congress:
1. Strengthening ecosystem resilience.
2. Reducing climate overshoot risks.
3. Delivering equity in conservation.
4. Transitioning to nature-positive economies.
5. Promoting innovation and leadership in conservation.
Static Info:
- IUCN HQ: Gland, Switzerland.
- Founded: 1948.
- Global Red List: Maintains the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a global inventory of extinction risks.
- Previous Congress: 2021 – Marseille, France → adopted the Marseille Manifesto on biodiversity and climate recovery.
Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY)
Why in News: The Government of India has announced the development of 100 Aspirational Agriculture Districts under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) to boost agricultural productivity and farmers’ welfare.
About the Scheme:
- Objective: To uplift 100 districts with low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity, and limited credit access.
- Inspiration: Draws from the NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme (ADP).
- Sectoral Focus: First national scheme focused exclusively on agriculture and allied sectors.
Key Features:
- Selection Criteria for Districts:
- Low productivity of major crops.
- Moderate crop intensity and underutilisation of agricultural potential.
- Below-average access to credit and institutional finance.
- Districts selected per state based on net cropped area and operational holdings, ensuring balanced regional representation.
Implementation Mechanism:
- Convergence Approach: Operates through 36 existing schemes across 11 ministries/departments — no separate budgetary allocation.
- Financial Outlay: Estimated ₹24,000 crore annually, drawn from existing programme budgets.
- Implementing Agency: 19 schemes to be executed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW).
- District-Level Planning: Each district will prepare a District Agriculture Development Plan (DADP) for coordinated and need-based interventions.
Static Info:
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Approach: Convergence-based, participatory, and data-driven development model for agricultural transformation.
Stablecoins
Why in News: During the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2025, the Union Finance Minister stated that countries, including India, must prepare for the emergence of stablecoins, highlighting their growing significance in the global financial system.
About Stablecoins:
- Definition: A form of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to an underlying asset, such as fiat currencies (e.g., USD, INR), a basket of currencies, or commodities like gold.
- Goal: To combine the price stability of fiat money with the technological advantages of cryptocurrencies, such as faster transactions and blockchain transparency.
- Primary Purpose: Reduce volatility seen in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and make them suitable for everyday financial transactions.
Types of Stablecoins:
1. Fiat-collateralized: Backed by reserves of traditional currencies.
2. Commodity-backed: Pegged to assets like gold or silver.
3. Crypto-collateralized: Backed by other cryptocurrencies.
4. Algorithmic: Maintain stability through programmed supply–demand adjustments.
Key Features & Benefits:
- Enable fast, low-cost cross-border payments.
- Useful for remittances, DeFi (Decentralized Finance), and digital settlements.
- Third-party audits ensure reserve transparency but reintroduce trust dependencies.
Status of Cryptocurrency in India:
- Legal Status: Not recognised as legal tender, but holding, buying, and selling are permitted.
- Taxation: 30% tax on income from Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs). 18% GST on crypto platform services.
- Regulation: No dedicated law yet; India’s crypto market remains unregulated, though taxation and compliance frameworks are evolving.
Nobel Prize in Physics
Why in News: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded jointly to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis for their groundbreaking work demonstrating quantum tunnelling using superconducting electrical circuits.
Key Facts:
- Awarded By: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- Discovery: Demonstration of macroscopic quantum tunnelling — a phenomenon where particles can pass through physical barriers that would be impenetrable in classical physics.
- Experimental Setup: Used two superconductors separated by a non-conducting layer, forming a Josephson junction.Showed that charged particles in the superconductors could act collectively as a single quantum entity, displaying tunnelling behaviour.
Significance:
- Provides deeper insight into quantum mechanics and superconductivity.
- Forms the basis for quantum computing components and next-generation electronic circuits.
- Similar to how early quantum discoveries led to transistors and silicon chips in the 20th century.
Static Info:
- Josephson Junction: A quantum mechanical device made of two superconductors separated by a thin insulating layer, enabling supercurrents without voltage.
- Quantum Tunnelling: The ability of particles to penetrate energy barriers, fundamental to quantum mechanics and semiconductor physics.
