Waqf Board in India
Context: Kerala CM accused the State Waqf Board of deliberately complicating attempts to resolve the Munambam land issue.
About Waqf
- Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable property for religious, pious, or charitable purposes under Islamic law.
- Once declared waqf, the property becomes irrevocable and non-transferable as ownership is considered to vest in God.
- Waqf properties in India include mosques, graveyards, schools, orphanages, hospitals, and shelter homes.
About Waqf Board
- A Waqf Board is a statutory body that manages permanently dedicated waqf properties.
- It is a corporate entity that can acquire, hold, manage, and transfer property and can sue or be sued in court.
- The creator of a waqf is known as the Waqif, who must be of sound mind and lawful owner of the property.
Institutional Structure
- Central Waqf Council:
- It is the national apex body established in 1964 under the Waqf Act, 1954 and continued under the Waqf Act, 1995.
- It functions under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- The Union Minister in charge of Waqf serves as its Chairperson.
- Up to 20 members are appointed by the Government of India.
- Non-Muslim representation in the Central Council is capped at not more than 4 members.
- State Waqf Boards:
- Constituted in every state under the Waqf Act, 1995 to directly manage waqf properties within state jurisdiction.
- The Chief Executive Officer is appointed under Section 23 and acts as administrative head and ex-officio secretary.
- Members include Muslim MPs and MLAs, State Bar Council members, Islamic scholars, and Mutawali representatives.
- Separate Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards function in relevant states.
- Non-Muslim representation in State Boards is capped at not more than 3 members.
Key Functions
- Supervises waqf properties to ensure usage matches declared religious or welfare objectives.
- Sale, mortgage, exchange, gift, or lease of waqf property requires approval of at least two-thirds of Board members.
- Initiates legal action to recover encroached waqf lands.
- All waqfs must be registered and central registers maintained for documentation and verification.
Legal Framework
- Waqf Act, 1954 provided the initial statutory basis and led to establishment of the Central Waqf Council in 1964.
- Waqf Act, 1995 replaced the 1954 law and established State Waqf Boards with a comprehensive governance structure.
- Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013 strengthened transparency, documentation, and accountability.
- Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 introduced documentary proof requirements, judicial review, centralised registration, and inclusivity in representation.
- UMEED Portal (2025) was launched for mandatory registration of waqf properties along with waqif details and land boundaries.
Waqf Properties in India
- India has approximately 8.5 million waqf properties spread across more than 8 million hectares of land.
- The 2025 amendment mandates registration of all waqf properties within six months under a centralised system.
- The Union Government clarified that Boards act as trustees, not absolute owners, of waqf properties.
Abraham Accords
Context: US President Donald Trump urged Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority nations to normalise ties with Israel as part of efforts to reach a deal with Iran.
More in News
- Trump stated it should be mandatory for Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, and Jordan to sign the Abraham Accords.
- These countries were listed by Trump as nations whose leaders he engaged with regarding efforts to end the war with Iran.
About Abraham Accords
- The Abraham Accords Peace Agreement is the official name for the Israel-UAE normalisation agreement.
- It was agreed upon on August 13, 2020 in a joint statement by the United States, Israel, and the UAE.
- The treaties are named after Abraham, the patriarch recognised as a prophet in both Judaism and Islam.
- After Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), the UAE became the third Arab country to normalise relations with Israel.
- The UAE was also the first Persian Gulf country to formally normalise ties with Israel.
- Concurrently, Israel agreed to put plans to annex parts of the West Bank on hold.
- Bahrain also signed the Abraham Accords in 2020 alongside the UAE.
- Under the Accords, the UAE and Bahrain agreed to establish embassies, exchange ambassadors, and cooperate with Israel in tourism, trade, healthcare, and security.
- The Accords also allow Muslims worldwide to visit Israel’s ancient monuments and pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.
Lightning
About Lightning
- Lightning is a rapid discharge of electrical energy occurring within a cloud (intra-cloud), between clouds (cloud-to-cloud), or between a cloud and the ground (cloud-to-ground).
- In thunderstorms, positive and negative charges build up in different parts of the cloud with air acting as an insulator.
- When electrical potential becomes strong enough, the air’s insulating capacity breaks down, causing a sudden flow of electricity.
- Thunder
- Thunder is caused when lightning rapidly heats surrounding air to temperatures as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
- This rapid heating causes air to expand and create a shockwave, producing the sound of thunder.
- Lightning Rod
- A lightning rod (also called a lightning conductor) is a metal rod installed on a structure to divert lightning strikes safely into the ground.
Causes for Rise in Lightning
- Unstable Weather Conditions: Humid easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal moving towards the Himalayan foothills meet western disturbances and the jet stream, intensifying convective activity.
- Pollution and Aerosols: Anthropogenic emissions and particulate matter impact cloud formation and electrical activity, potentially increasing thunderstorm frequency.
- Urbanisation: The urban heat island effect makes cities warmer than surrounding areas, leading to more thunderstorms and lightning strikes.
Angola
Context: India is negotiating with Angola as an important alternative to West Asia for gas supplies.
Political Features
- Capital of Angola is Luanda.
- Angola is the seventh-largest country in Africa by land area.
- It is located on the southwestern coast of Africa.
- Bordering nations include Democratic Republic of Congo (North and East), Republic of Congo (Northwest via the Cabinda exclave), Zambia (East), and Namibia (South).
- It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West.
Geographical Features
- Major rivers flowing through Angola include Cuanza, Cunene, Cubango (Okavango), and Zambezi.
- Major natural resources include crude oil, natural gas, diamonds, iron ore, copper, gold, and uranium.
India-Angola Relations
- India accounts for roughly 10% of Angola’s external trade.
- Major imports to India from Angola include crude oil, diamonds, and raw minerals.
- Major exports from India to Angola include pharmaceuticals, machinery, vehicles, and agricultural goods.
Temperature Measurement and Related Concepts
Units of Temperature
- The Celsius scale is named after Swedish physicist Anders Celsius, who designed early thermometers.
- Zero degrees Celsius is defined as the temperature at which water turns to ice.
- 100 degrees Celsius is defined as the temperature at which water turns to vapour (boiling point).
- Human body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Celsius was adopted as the standard unit of temperature by physicists in 1948.
- Kelvin (K) is the scientific unit of measuring temperature used in physics.
- Absolute Zero is defined as -273 degrees Celsius or 0 Kelvin, the point at which atoms have essentially no energy.
Semiconductors and Digital Thermometers
- Semiconductors are materials that are neither conductors nor insulators, developed in the 1950s through advances in condensed matter physics.
- In semiconductors, electrons are loosely bound to atoms and are released when heated, generating measurable electrical current.
- The branch of physics specialising in the principles behind measurements is called Metrology.
Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)
- Atoms exist as two types: Fermions (do not occupy the same state) and Bosons (tend to occupy the same state together).
- Bosons are named after Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian physicist who theoretically predicted their statistical behaviour in 1924.
- When bosonic atoms are cooled to temperatures very close to zero Kelvin, they form an exotic phase of matter called Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC).
- BEC is named after Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein.
- In 2001, three US scientists, Eric A. Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, and Carl E. Wieman were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for achieving BEC experimentally at 20 nanoKelvins (nK).
Memflation
Context: The global semiconductor industry is experiencing “Memflation”, causing severe disruptions in India’s price-sensitive consumer electronics and mobile phone markets.
What is Memflation?
- Memflation refers to inflation caused by memory chip shortages in the semiconductor industry.
- It is driven by skyrocketing prices of DRAM and NAND memory chips globally.
- Key Terms
- DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory): A type of computer memory used in PCs, laptops, and smartphones to temporarily store data that the processor actively uses.
- NAND: A type of memory storage used in smartphones that retains data even without power.
- HBM (High Bandwidth Memory): Advanced memory used to support AI infrastructure, requiring 2 to 3 times more wafer capacity than conventional DRAM.
Causes of Memflation
- Global wafer and advanced packaging capacities are being redirected toward HBM and AI infrastructure due to significantly higher demand and margins.
- This diversion makes availability of conventional DRAM and NAND for mainstream electronics increasingly tight.
- Leading semiconductor manufacturers are prioritising premium brands such as Apple and Samsung over budget brands.
Impact on India
- India is highly vulnerable due to heavy reliance on electronic component imports and a price-elastic consumer base.
- There is a shortage of smartphones priced below ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 across the country.
- Prices of several smartphone brands have risen by at least 15 to 20%.
- The sub ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 smartphone category is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain profitably.
Cannes Film Festival
About Cannes Film Festival
- The Cannes Film Festival is an annual international film festival held in Cannes, France.
- It is one of the oldest, most prestigious, and most publicised film festivals in the world.
- The 79th edition of the festival is being held in 2026.
- India participates in Cannes through its official delegation connected to the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Key Awards
- The Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) is the highest award presented at the Cannes Film Festival.
- Other major awards include the Grand Prix, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
- Honorary Palme d’Or is awarded to individuals for lifetime contribution to cinema.
