Prelims
Karthigai Deepam Festival
Context: Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench ordered interim stay against Single Bench order permitting Karthigai Deepam festival at Mandu Kovil in Christian-majority Perumal Kovilpatti village, Dindigul district
About the Festival
- Overview
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- Karthigai Deepam is a traditional festival of lights celebrated primarily in Tamil Nadu.
- It is also observed in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, indicating its regional spread.
- The festival has been associated with people for several centuries, reflecting deep cultural roots.
- Historical and Literary Evidence
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- The exact historical origin of Karthigai Deepam is not clearly documented in scriptures.
- However, ancient Tamil literature provides strong evidence of its antiquity.
- References to the festival are found in Ahananuru, a classical Sangam text.
- Ahananuru is part of Sangam literature, dated roughly between 200 BC and 300 AD.
- Sangam Age References
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- The festival’s mention in Sangam works highlights its presence in early Tamil society.
- Avvaiyar, a renowned woman poet of the Sangam age, also referred to Karthigai Deepam.
- These references indicate the festival’s continuous cultural significance over centuries.
- Cultural Significance
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- Karthigai Deepam symbolises light, auspiciousness, and spiritual illumination.
- Its celebration reflects the ancient Tamil tradition of lamp worship.
- The festival represents an enduring link between literature, culture, and religious practice in South India.
Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe)
About IN-SPACe
- IN-SPACe stands for Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre.
- It is a single-window, independent nodal agency functioning as an autonomous body.
- It operates under the Department of Space (DoS), Government of India.
- It was established following space sector reforms to encourage private sector participation.
Objective
- To promote, enable, authorise and supervise space activities of Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs).
- To create a level playing field between ISRO and private space players.
Key Functions
- Authorises NGEs to design, build and operate launch vehicles and satellites.
- Facilitates space-based services by private entities.
- Enables sharing of space infrastructure, facilities and premises under DoS/ISRO.
- Supports the establishment of new private space infrastructure and facilities.
- Ensures compliance with national security, safety and international obligations.
Interface Role
- Acts as a link between ISRO and private space entities.
- Assesses optimal utilisation of India’s space assets for commercial and research use.
- Evaluates requirements of startups, industry, academia and research institutions.
- Coordinates with ISRO to accommodate private sector needs without hampering core missions.
Organisational Structure
- IN-SPACe functions through three dedicated Directorates:
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- Promotion Directorate (PD) – Encourages private participation and ecosystem development.
- Technical Directorate (TD) – Provides technical evaluation, safety oversight and guidance.
- Programme Management and Authorisation Directorate (PMAD) – Handles approvals, authorisations and monitoring.
Significance
- Accelerates commercialisation of India’s space sector.
- Strengthens startup-led innovation and private investment in space technologies.
- Enhances India’s position in the global space economy.
Agnipath Scheme
Context: Union Home Ministry decided to enhance reservation for ex-Agniveers in CAPFs Group C posts from 10% to 50%, marking significant shift from earlier policy announced post-2022 protests.
More in News:
- Ministry notified that 50% vacant constable posts in Border Security Force will be reserved for former Agniveers; though exempted from Physical Standard and Efficiency Tests, they must appear for written examinations like regular candidates.
- Recruitment rules for Group C posts of all CAPFs will be amended gradually in coming days; significant shift from Ministry’s earlier 10% reservation decision for temporary armed forces recruits in paramilitary forces.
- Ministry announced five years age relaxation for first Agniveer batch and three years relaxation for subsequent batches; first batch eligible for CAPF recruitment in 2026 after completing four years of service under scheme.
- Amended BSF Rules state “fifty percent vacancies reserved for ex-Agniveers in every recruitment year, ten percent from ex-Servicemen, up to three percent for Combatized Constable (Tradesmen) absorption” from annual vacancy quota.
- First phase recruitment conducted by Nodal Force for 50% ex-Agniveer vacancies; second phase by Staff Selection Commission for remaining 47% (including 10% ex-Servicemen) plus unfilled ex-Agniveer vacancies from first stage.
About the Scheme
- Agnipath Scheme is a central government recruitment reform launched in 2022.
- It governs recruitment below officer rank across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
- Recruits, called Agniveers, are inducted for a four-year contractual service.
- Objective is deployment of younger, fitter soldiers in frontline combat roles.
- Armed Forces may retain up to 25% of Agniveers based on performance.
Eligibility Criteria
- Age limit: 17.5 to 21 years at the time of enrolment.
- Gender: Both men and women eligible; no separate reservation for women.
- Recruitment standards: Same medical, physical and educational standards.
- Recruitment cycle: Conducted twice a year through rallies and examinations.
Pay and Benefits
- Death on duty: Family receives ₹1 crore lump sum, including Seva Nidhi.
- Full salary paid for the unserved period of the four-year tenure.
- Disability compensation: Up to ₹44 lakh, depending on service-attributable disability.
Difference from Regular Military Service
- No pension for Agniveers after four years of service.
- Only 25% absorbed into permanent service become pension-eligible.
- Initial four-year Agniveer service not counted for pension calculations.
- Scheme aims to reduce permanent force strength and defence pension burden.
Rationale Behind Introduction
- Intended to lower wage and pension expenditure of Armed Forces.
- Aims to create a youthful, technology-oriented military.
- Average age of forces projected to fall from 32 to 26 years.
- Government expects Agniveers to strengthen civilian workforce post-service.
Criticism and Opposition
- Critics highlight unequal pay and benefits for identical military duties.
- Families of fallen Agniveers receive lower benefits than regular soldiers.
- Scheme seen as weakening job security and social mobility expectations.
- Opposition leaders have sought presidential intervention on benefit disparities.
Erivan Anomalous Blue (Polyommatus eriwanensis)
Context
- Armenia unveiled COP17 CBD logo featuring the Erivan Anomalous Blue butterfly.
- Symbol highlights local endemic biodiversity linked to global conservation goals.
What it is
- Polyommatus eriwanensis, commonly called Erivan Anomalous Blue, is a butterfly species.
- It is endemic to Armenia, named after Yerevan (Erivan).
- Distribution is restricted to southern Transcaucasia.
Habitat and Ecology
- Inhabits calcareous grasslands within Armenia.
- Found at elevations of 1,200–2,200 metres above sea level.
- Species has one generation annually.
- Adult activity period spans mid-June to mid-July.
- Larval host plant remains unknown, limiting ecological understanding.
Conservation Status
- Not included in Global or European IUCN Red Lists.
- Listed as Endangered in Armenia’s Red Book of Animals (2010).
- Distribution partly overlaps with Khosrov Forest State Reserve.
- Also found within Gnishik Protected Landscape.
Key Characteristics
- Highly range-restricted and endemic, increasing vulnerability to habitat change.
- Considered an indicator species, reflecting overall ecosystem health.
- Population size and density remain uncertain due to identification challenges.
- Unknown larval ecology complicates long-term conservation planning.
About COP17
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- 17th Conference of the Parties under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- CBD is a UN treaty adopted in 1992 for biodiversity conservation.
- Acts as the supreme decision-making body for global biodiversity governance.
- Venue and Theme
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- Host city: Yerevan, Armenia.
- Scheduled: October 2026.
- Theme: “Taking action for nature”.
- Logo Significance
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- Features the Erivan Anomalous Blue butterfly as a biodiversity symbol.
- Uses 23 blended colours, representing interlinked 23 global biodiversity targets.
El Niño
Context
- Climate models and ocean observations indicate early signals of El Niño re-emergence in 2026.
- Warming in the equatorial Pacific is weakening prevailing La Niña conditions.
What is El Niño
- El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
- Characterised by abnormal warming of surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
- Occurs irregularly every 2–7 years.
- Generally leads to a rise in global average temperatures.
Mechanism of Formation
- Trade winds weaken along the equatorial Pacific.
- Warm surface waters shift eastward from western Pacific toward South America.
- Thermocline deepens in the eastern Pacific.
- Suppression of cold, nutrient-rich upwelling along South American coast.
- Alters atmospheric pressure patterns, forming the Southern Oscillation.
Key Indicators
- Sea Surface Temperature anomalies in Niño regions.
- Subsurface ocean heat build-up at depths of 100–250 metres.
- Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) exceeding +0.5°C for five consecutive overlapping seasons.
- Weakening or reversal of trade winds and Walker Circulation.
Factors Influencing El Niño
- Strength and persistence of equatorial trade winds.
- Subsurface heat content in the Pacific Ocean.
- Coupled interaction between ocean temperatures and atmospheric pressure systems.
- Natural climate variability interacting with long-term global warming trends.
Implications
- Often makes El Niño years among the warmest globally recorded.
- India: Higher probability of weaker monsoons and drought conditions.
- South America: Increased risk of heavy rainfall, floods and coastal erosion.
- Australia and Southeast Asia: Greater likelihood of droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.
Agentic AI
Context
- Agentic AI is gaining rapid market adoption as enterprises deploy autonomous AI agents.
- Focus is on automating complex workflows with minimal human supervision.
What is Agentic AI
- Agentic AI refers to autonomous, goal-oriented AI systems capable of independent task execution.
- These systems operate with limited human oversight, unlike rule-based automation.
- Built around AI agents, often powered by large language models (LLMs).
- Agents can reason, decide and act within dynamic and uncertain environments.
- In multi-agent systems, specialised agents handle subtasks under coordinated orchestration.
How Agentic AI Works
- Perception stage: Collects real-time data from users, sensors, databases, APIs and the internet.
- Reasoning stage: Analyses inputs using language, vision and pattern-recognition capabilities.
- Goal-setting stage: Determines objectives from user instructions or predefined system goals.
- Planning stage: Designs a sequence of steps to achieve the identified objectives.
- Decision and action: Selects optimal actions and executes them via tools, software or APIs.
- Learning and coordination: Reviews outcomes, learns from feedback and collaborates with other agents.
Key Features
- Autonomy: Executes multi-step tasks without continuous human intervention.
- Proactivity: Initiates actions, monitors systems and adapts to changing conditions.
- Tool-use capability: Interacts seamlessly with external tools, databases and applications.
- Specialisation: Agents can be task-specific or structured hierarchically or horizontally.
- Adaptability: Improves performance through learning from experience and outcomes.
- Natural interaction: Uses natural language, reducing reliance on complex user interfaces.
Significance
- Enables end-to-end automation beyond simple content generation tasks.
- Enhances productivity and operational efficiency by lowering human cognitive burden.
- Supports advanced applications across enterprise operations, software development, robotics.
- Expands AI use-cases in healthcare, finance, logistics and complex decision environments.
Andhra’s Rare Earth Corridor
Context
- Andhra Pradesh has gained strategic importance due to rich rare earth element (REE) reserves.
- REEs are critical for clean energy, defence and semiconductor industries.
What it is
- A continuous belt of REE-rich beach sand deposits along Andhra Pradesh’s coastline.
- Deposits mainly contain monazite and other heavy minerals.
- Considered one of India’s most valuable yet underutilised critical mineral zones.
Geographical Extent
- Stretches along Andhra Pradesh’s 974 km coastline.
- Extends from Srikakulam in the north to Nellore in the south.
- Key locations include Bhimunipatnam, Kalingapatnam, Kakinada and Narsapur.
- Southern sites include Machilipatnam, Chirala, Vodarevu, Ramayapatnam and Dugarajapatnam.
Key Features
- Beach sands are rich in monazite containing 55–60% rare earth oxides.
- Monazite also holds 8–10% thorium, a strategic nuclear material.
- Contains light rare earth elements like neodymium, praseodymium, lanthanum and cerium.
- Andhra Pradesh is estimated to hold 30–35% of India’s monazite reserves.
- Supported by infrastructure such as IREL’s monazite processing plant at Gudur, Nellore.
- Presence of beach sand separation units enhances mineral processing capacity.
- Policy backing provided through PLI schemes, National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).
- Mining waste recovery initiatives support resource efficiency and sustainability.
Applications
- Clean energy: Permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar systems.
- Defence and space: Missile guidance, satellites and advanced optical systems.
- Electronics and semiconductors: Chips, fibre optics and superconducting components.
- Nuclear energy: Thorium for next-generation nuclear reactor technologies.
- Medical technologies: Imaging systems and advanced diagnostic equipment.
Significance
- Strengthens India’s strategic autonomy in critical minerals.
- Reduces import dependence for high-technology and clean energy sectors.
