Prelims Pinpointer 04-01-2026

Prelims Pinpointer

Savitribai Phule

Basic Profile

• Savitribai Phule was born in 1831 and died in 1897.
• She was a social reformer, poet and educator.
• She is regarded as the first female teacher of modern India.
• Early Life
  • Born in Naigaon, present-day Maharashtra.
  • Married in childhood to Jyotirao Phule.
  • Later shifted residence to Pune.

Education and Training

• Learned reading and writing under guidance of Jyotirao Phule.
• Received teacher training in Ahmednagar and Pune.
• Became a qualified teacher in 1847.

Contributions to Education

• Co-founded India’s first girls’ school in 1848.
• First girls’ school located at Bhidewada, Pune.
• Helped establish 18 schools for girls and marginalized communities.

Social Reform Activities

• Opened shelters for widows and destitute women in 1854.
• Shelter activities expanded further in 1864.
• Actively opposed child marriage, caste discrimination and untouchability.

Institutional Role

• Associated with Satyashodhak Samaj.
• Satyashodhak Samaj opposed caste hierarchy.
• Promoted marriages without priests and dowry.

Public Service

• Served victims during the plague epidemic of 1897.
• Died while serving plague-affected people.

State Election Commissions (SECs)

Constitutional Status and Role

• State Election Commission is a constitutional authority for local body elections.
• Responsible for conducting free, fair and impartial elections.
• Jurisdiction covers Panchayats and Municipalities within a state.

Appointment

• State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor.
• SEC functions independently of the State Government in election matters.

Powers  (Article 243K(1))

• Vests superintendence, direction and control of local body elections.
• Responsible for preparation of electoral rolls for Panchayats.
• Conduct of Municipal elections governed under Article 243ZA.

Tenure  (Article 243K(2))

• Tenure and conditions of service decided by state legislature law.
• Constitution does not prescribe a fixed tenure period.

Removal and Safeguards

• State Election Commissioner enjoys status of High Court Judge.
• Salary and allowances equivalent to High Court Judge.
• Removal only in like manner and like grounds as High Court Judge.
  

National Cadet Corps (NCC)

Context: NCC continues to play a pivotal role in nation-building, from disaster response during Operation Sindoor to shaping disciplined youth, NCC Director-General said on Saturday. NCC units are now present in over 90% of all districts nationwide with nearly 20 lakh cadets. Girl cadets form 40% of NCC strength.

National Cadet Corps (NCC)

• Nature and Composition

• • It is a Tri-Services organisation (Army, Navy and Air Force).
  • Engaged in grooming youth into disciplined and patriotic citizens.

• Legal Basis and Ministry

• • Established under National Cadet Corps Act, 1948.
  • Act number: Act XXXI of 1948.
  • Functions under Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• Voluntary Character and Cadet Recruitment

• • NCC is a voluntary organisation.
  • Cadets recruited from high schools, colleges and universities.
  • Recruitment spread across all parts of India.

• Training and Incentives

• • Cadets receive basic military training.
  • Training includes small arms handling and parades.
  • NCC cadets given preference in military services selection.

Aims and Objectives of NCC

• Personality and Value Development

• • Develops character, courage and comradeship among youth.
  • Promotes discipline, leadership and secular outlook.
  • Encourages adventure, sportsmanship and selfless service.

• Nation-Building Role

• • Creates trained and motivated youth resource.
  • Prepares youth for leadership roles in all walks of life.
  • Cadets remain available for national service when required.

Asteroid Bennu

• Bennu is a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) located about 200 million miles from Earth.
• It was discovered in 1999 by the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team.
• Bennu is classified as a B-type asteroid, indicating carbon-rich composition.
• Around 20–40% of Bennu’s interior is empty space.
• Estimated age of Bennu is about 4.5 billion years.

Asteroids Asteroids are rocky minor planets that orbit the Sun. They are remnants of solar system formation, dating back ~4.6 billion years. NASA has identified about 994,000 asteroids so far. Classification of Asteroids Main Asteroid Belt lies between Mars and Jupiter. It contains approximately 1.1–1.9 million asteroids. Trojans share orbits with larger planets, such as Jupiter, Neptune and Mars. Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) have orbits that pass close to Earth. More than 10,000 NEAs are currently known. 1,400+ asteroids are classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).

OSIRIS-REx Mission

• OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a NASA asteroid sample-return mission.
• Target asteroid of the mission is Bennu.
• It is the first U.S. mission to collect and return asteroid samples.
• The spacecraft was launched in 2016. It reached Bennu in 2018.

Venezuela

Brief Overview

• Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America.
• It is bounded by Guyana (east), Brazil (south) and Colombia (west, southwest).
• Venezuela shares maritime boundaries with the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
• The capital city of Venezuela is Caracas.

Geographical Features of Venezuela

• Northwestern region includes the Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands.
• Central Venezuela consists of plains known as Llanos.
• Southeastern region is dominated by the Guiana Highlands.

Rivers and Lakes

• Orinoco River flows through Venezuela and is shared with Colombia.
• Rio Negro is shared with Colombia and Brazil.
• Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America.
• Lake Guri is a major inland water body.

Relief and Landmarks

• Pico Bolívar is the highest point of Venezuela.
• Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall, is located in the Guiana Highlands.

Natural Resources

• Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves.
• It has significant reserves of coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold.

Cetacean Morbillivirus

Basic Identification

• • Cetacean morbillivirus is a highly infectious viral disease.
  • It affects marine mammals such as whales and dolphins.
  • Affected Species: Known to infect whales, dolphins, porpoises and pilot whales.

• Virus Family

• • Closely related to measles virus.
  • Also related to canine distemper virus.

• Geographical Presence

• • • Reported in North Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean and Arctic waters

• Transmission

• • Spreads through direct contact.
  • Transmitted via respiratory droplets.
  • Can spread through aerosolised whale blow.

• Pathology

• • Affects the respiratory system.
  • Affects the immune system.
  • Affects the nervous system.

• Detection Method

• • Detected using drone-collected whale blow samples.
  • Drone sampling is a non-invasive technique.

Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS)

 

Basic Profile

• ECMS is a flagship incentive scheme for electronics manufacturing.
• It promotes domestic manufacturing of electronic components and sub-assemblies.
• The scheme aims to reduce import dependence in the electronics sector.
• Implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Tenure

• Turnover-linked incentive tenure: 6 years.
• Includes 1-year gestation period.
• Capex incentive tenure: 5 years.

Incentive Structure

• Provides turnover-linked incentives.
• Provides capex-based incentives.
• Allows hybrid incentive structures.

Target Segments

• Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs).
• Camera Modules.
• Copper-Clad Laminates.
• Polypropylene Films.
• Electronics capital equipment.

Performance Criteria

• Incentives linked to incremental production and employment generation
• Scheme rewards early movers.

Strategic Targets

• 100% domestic demand target for Copper-Clad Laminates.
• 20% domestic demand target for PCBs.
• 15% domestic demand target for Camera Modules.