3) The Government of India has designated areas around Shikari Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, as eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) to reduce the impact of urbanisation and developmental activities on the surrounding protected areas.
4) The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) conferred its prestigious India fellowship for 2025 upon Dr Krishna Ella, co-founder and executive chairman of Bharat Biotech, which developed India's first indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin.
5) The Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan App, launched during the 77th Army Day celebrations, aims to promote battlefield tourism.
➨ This initiative allows tourists to access information about key conflict locations such as the wars of 1962, 1971, 1999, the Galwan clash of 2020, and the Siachen base camp
6) China successfully launched Pakistan’s first indigenous Electro-Optical Satellite (PRSC-EO1) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using the Long March-2D rocket.
7) Hyderabad’s Musi River buildings including the Osmania General Hospital (OGH), High Court, and State Central Library, have earned a place on the 2025 World Monuments Watch.
➨ The World Monuments Fund (WMF), based in New York, selected these structures from over 200 nominations worldwide, bringing global attention to the challenges they face due to environmental degradation, neglect, encroachment and urban expansion.
8) The government has appointed Ashok Chandra as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Binod Kumar as the MD and CEO of Indian Bank.
9) NITI Aayog has organized a workshop titled "Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in the Indian Cement Sector" at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
10) Karnataka clinched their fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title by defeating Vidarbha by 36 runs in the final held at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, Gujarat.
11) The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), India's leading Telecom R&D organization under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has entered into a partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) to develop an “Optical Transceiver Chipset for High-Bandwidth 6G Wireless Links.”
12) Government of Odisha’s Electronics and Information Technology (E&IT) Department and the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Global Competency Center in Bhubaneshwar Odisha to foster FinTech collaboration.
13) The Uttarakhand government has signed a MoU with Iceland's Verkis Consulting Engineers for the 'Exploration and Development of Geothermal Energy in Uttarakhand'.
14) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully germinated black-eyed pea (lobia) seeds in space. This was achieved using the Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies (CROPS).
15) Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), aiming to simplify and standardize personal laws related to marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance.
➨This act applies to the entire area of the state of Uttarakhand and is also effective on the residents of the state living outside Uttarakhand.