Read Current Affairs
- Why in News?
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at its 2025 World Conservation Congress, adopted a motion highlighting India’s pioneering Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu. This move recognises India’s efforts in safeguarding the vulnerable dugong (Dugong dugon) and suggests replicating the model across the Indian Ocean and other regions with similar ecosystems.
- Key Provisions:-
- Created in 2022 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the reserve spans 448.34 sq. km in northern Palk Bay. It protects more than 12,250 hectares of seagrass meadows, which serve as feeding grounds for dugongs and numerous other marine species. Seagrass beds are crucial for biodiversity and act as natural carbon sinks, enhancing their ecological value.
- Dugongs, often called “sea cows,” are the world’s only marine herbivorous mammals. In India, they occur mainly in Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannar, and Gulf of Kutch. With an estimated population of 200, they face threats from habitat loss, hunting, and accidental captures.
- Why in News?
- The Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of the Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (MBRAPP), a major step in expanding India’s nuclear energy capacity.
- Key Provisions:-
- Located near the Mahi Dam in Banswara district, Rajasthan, the project will house four indigenously developed Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MWe each. It is being implemented by Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam (ASHVINI), a joint venture of NPCIL and NTPC, under India’s “fleet mode” programme that aims to build ten similar reactors with standardized design and cost efficiencies.
- Currently, India operates 24 reactors across seven sites with an installed nuclear capacity of 8,180 MW (as of January 2025). The target is to expand this to 22,480 MW by 2031-32. Nuclear energy, contributing about 3.61% of total power generation in 2022-23, is the country’s fifth-largest non-fossil fuel source. The initiative aligns with India’s three-stage Nuclear Power Programme, beginning with uranium-fuelled PHWRs before advancing to breeder and thorium-based reactors.
- Why in News?
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the 4th edition of the Children in India 2025 report, offering a comprehensive review of children’s status in health, education, nutrition, and protection to support evidence-based policymaking.
- Key Provisions:-
- The report shows significant progress in child health indicators. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) fell from 44 in 2011 to 25 in 2023, while the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) marginally declined from 30 in 2022 to 29 in 2023. The national birth rate dropped to 18.4 per 1,000 in 2023, with sharper reductions in urban areas (14.9) compared to rural (20.3).
- Education indicators reflect improvement, with dropout rates at preparatory, middle, and secondary levels reducing sharply to 2.3%, 3.5%, and 8.2%, respectively. Child marriage also fell from 26.8% in 2015-16 to 23.3% in 2019-21. Adoption numbers rose steadily, while the Gender Parity Index (GPI) reached parity across all school stages in 2024-25.