Read Current Affairs
- Why in News?
- In the 2025 edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, India has dropped to 131st out of 148 countries, slipping two places from its 2024 rank of 129. The country’s overall gender parity score stands at 64.4%, one of the lowest in South Asia. In contrast, Bangladesh showed significant improvement, leaping 75 spots to secure the 24th position globally—making it the region's top performer. Globally, no country has yet achieved complete gender parity. Iceland continues to lead the rankings for the 16th consecutive year, followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The global gender gap has seen a modest improvement, rising from 68.4% in 2024 to 68.8% in 2025. However, at the current pace, it will take approximately 123 years to achieve full parity worldwide.
- Key Provisions:-
- The Global Gender Gap Index evaluates countries based on four dimensions: economic participation, education, health, and political empowerment.
- The Global Gender Gap Index is not a measure of women’s overall well-being but rather a measure of gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities. By focusing on relative gaps rather than absolute levels, the index highlights areas where progress has been made and where significant disparities still exist.
- It serves as a benchmark tool for policymakers, researchers, and advocacy groups to understand gender disparities and develop informed strategies to promote gender equality worldwide.
- Why in News?
- India has successfully conducted trials of the Hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Rudrastra at Pokhran, Rajasthan, showcasing its advanced Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities, extended operational range, and real-time surveillance features.
- Key Provisions:-
- The UAV demonstrated precise target engagement within a 50 km range, marking a significant achievement under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative to promote indigenous defense technology.
- Rudrastra, developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL), is a hybrid VTOL UAV designed for high mobility and operational flexibility. Unlike conventional drones, it requires no runway, making it ideal for challenging terrains and rapid deployment. With a total range of 170 km and 1.5 hours of endurance, it can autonomously return to base and relay live video feeds. It is also equipped with precision-guided anti-personnel warheads, capable of mid-altitude release, enhancing its strategic combat utility. Rudrastra strengthens India’s growing portfolio of next-generation unmanned aerial systems.
- Why in News?
- The Solar Orbiter, a collaborative mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, has successfully captured the first images of the Sun’s polar regions, thanks to its unique tilted orbit.
- Key Provisions:-
- Launched in 2020, the spacecraft aims to study the solar wind, magnetic field, and especially the Sun’s poles, which have long remained poorly understood.
- These unprecedented views are critical for enhancing predictions about the solar cycle, an approximately 11-year natural cycle where the Sun shifts from periods of low to high activity. Understanding this helps scientists better anticipate space weather events, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms, which can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth.
- The mission also revealed the presence of both magnetic polarities at the Sun’s South Pole, offering fresh insights into the Sun’s magnetic field reversal. The Solar Orbiter joins other solar missions like NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, India’s Aditya-L1, and China’s ASO-S, advancing solar research globally.