UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week – Exam Ki Tayari


UPSC Current Affairs Pointers brings you essential current affairs of the past week, every Monday, to aid you in your Prelims and Mains preparation of UPSC, State PCS, and other competitive examinations.

Report

(FYI: The data provided in these reports can be used to substantiate your Mains answer and create a broad understanding of the topic.)

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  • A Roadmap for Strengthening State S&T Councils

— NITI Aayog, in a step to strengthen decentralised innovation in India, has released a report titled “A Roadmap for Strengthening State S&T Councils.”

— It has been recommended that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) cut its ‘core grant support’ for State Science and Technology Councils and pare them down to ‘project-based support’.

— The initiative to establish State S&T Councils was first taken in the 1970s, which marked the beginning of a structured approach to regional scientific development.

— As a result, the process of impetus for State level planning and Promotion of Science & Technology began in the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) and continued through the subsequent Five Year Plans, primarily through this plan programme, formerly known as, “Assistance for development of State Councils for Science and Technology”.

(Source: niti.gov.in)

 

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Achievement

UNESCO, maratha ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ include 12 forts, 11 of which are in Maharashtra and 1 is in Tamil Nadu. (Source: X/@UNESCO)

—  During the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) held in Paris, the ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is India’s 44th property to receive the recognition.

— The Maratha Military Landscapes include 12 forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, including forts of Salher, Shivneri, Lohgad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijay Durg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu. Out of these twelve forts, eight are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

— “In the Maratha Military Landscapes of India, Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad and Gingee fort are hill forts, Pratapgad is hill-forest fort, Panhala is hill-plateau fort, Vijaydurg is coastal fort whereas Khanderi fort, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg are island forts,” the ministry said.

— The UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets at least once every year, generally in June/July, to deliberate the addition, removal, or modification of items on the list of World Heritage Sites. The Committee comprises of 21 members selected from amongst 196 States Parties of the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

 

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Events

—  World Bioproduct Day is celebrated on July 7. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of bioproducts and their contribution to environmental sustainability and climate action.

— Union Minister of Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, reaffirms India’s aim of realising a $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030.

(Source: PIB)

  • Dhammacakkappavattana Divas

— The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Mahabodhi Society of India, commemorated Ashadha Purnima —Dhammacakkappavattana Divas—at Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, Sarnath, 10th July 2025.

— It is celebrated to commemorate Buddha’s First Sermon or the First Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma, when he taught the Dhammacakka-pavattana Sutta (Pāli) or Dharmacakra pravartana Sūtra (Sanskrit).

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— Seven weeks after his Enlightenment, he gave this discourse to pancavargiya – the first five ascetic disciples- at the ‘Deer Park’, at Sarnath, in Varanasi. It is here that the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Paths and the Middle Path.

(Source: PIB)

— World Population Day (July 11) is a global observance marked annually to raise awareness about global population challenges and their implications for society. The theme for this year is “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world“.

— Established by the United Nations in 1989, the idea of World Population Day arose from the recognition of the importance of population-related issues and the UNDP designated this day as an annual event to commemorate the world’s population reaching 5 billion people on July 11, 1987.

 

Polity

— The Kerala government’s admiralty suit sought the arrest of the MSC Akiteta II until compensation was paid to the state. In maritime law, the arrest of a ship refers to a legal procedure where a court or other competent authority detains a vessel to secure a maritime claim against it or its owner.

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— The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017, governs maritime disputes in India. Under the Act, admiralty suits can be filed for maritime claims such as damage to ships, ownership and agreement disputes, loss of life, wage issues, and environmental damage.

— The 2017 law replaced the colonial-era Admiralty Court Act, 1861, and Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890.

— Other acts for compensation and accountability in such cases. Under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, ship owners are liable for oil pollution damage in the event of leaks. The Environment Protection Act, 1986, empowers authorities to take action against polluters

 

Defence

DSV nistar. indian navy persons Measuring 118 m with a tonnage of nearly 10,000 tons, the ship is installed with state-of-the-art equipment & has capability to undertake complex Deep Sea Saturation Diving and Rescue Operations upto 300 meters depth (Indian Navy/X)

— The Indian Navy will commission its first indigenous Diving Support Vessel (DSV) Nistar at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on July 18. Nistar is the first ship of two-member class of DSVs, the second being Nipun.

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— The ship has been indigenously designed and constructed by state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited and will join the Eastern Naval Command to support deep sea diving and submarine rescue operations.

— In her earlier avatar, INS Nistar was a submarine rescue vessel which was acquired by the Indian Navy from the erstwhile USSR in 1969 and was commissioned in 1971.

— In two decades of service, she had significantly contributed towards the Indian Navy’s diving and submarine rescue operations. The erstwhile INS Nistar was decommissioned in 1989.

— With the commissioning of the new INS Nistar, the legacy of earlier INS Nistar continues, with her motto ‘Surakshita Yatharthta Shauryam’ translating to ‘Deliverance with Precision and Bravery’, reflecting the main roles of the ship

 

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International Cooperation

— The United Arab Emirates government has introduced a pilot nomination-based golden visa programme for residents of India and Bangladesh seeking lifetime residency there.

— The proposed policy awards Indians the UAE’s golden visa for life on paying a fee of AED 100,000 (around Rs 23.3 lakh).

— This policy would do away with the current requirement of investing in property or a business in the Emirates. Eligible candidates may apply for residency for a period of five to 10 years.

PM Modi, Jorge Macri, argentina PM Modi receiving the Key to the City of Buenos Aires from Mr. Jorge Macri, Head of Government of the City of Buenos Aires. (X/@narendramodi)
  •  Key to the City of Buenos Aires

— Prime Minister Modi was conferred with the ‘Key to the City of Buenos Aires’ during his visit to Argentina.

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— This ceremonial honour is in recognition of the PM’s contributions in strengthening India-Argentina ties.

— The BRICS 2025 summit of heads of state and representatives was held from 6-7 July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The motto of the Brazilian presidency of BRICS is “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance”.

— BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025. Saudi Arabia is yet to formalise its membership.

— BRICS now accounts for 45 per cent of the global population and contributes over 35 per cent to the world’s GDP.

Do you know which international organisation established the New Development Bank?

— US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that any country aligning itself with the “anti-American policies” of BRICS would face an additional 10 per cent tariff.

— Ever since the US weaponised the global financial infrastructure by excluding Iran (in 2012) and Russia (in 2022) from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), countries around the world have sought to reduce their dependence on the US dollar and the US-led global financial system.

SWIFT is a secure platform for financial institutions to exchange information about global monetary transactions such as money transfers.

— While SWIFT does not actually move money, it operates as a middleman to verify information of transactions by providing secure financial messaging services to more than 11,000 banks in over 200 countries.

— Based in Belgium, it is overseen by the central banks of eleven industrial countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, besides Belgium.

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday (8th July) conferred with Brazil’s highest civilian award, the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross.

— This is the 26th international honour bestowed upon PM Modi by a foreign government since he assumed office in May 2014.

Prime Minister Modi, Namibia, international Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with the Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and others, in Windhoek, Namibia. (PMO via PTI Photo)

— Namibia was the last stop of PM Modi during his 5-nation tour (Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, and Brazil) that started on July 2. This is the first visit of PM Modi to Namibia and the third-ever by an Indian PM to the country.

— PM Modi also paid tribute to Namibia’s founding father Sam Nujoma at the Heroes’ Acre memorial. Nujoma led Namibia to independence in 1990 and served as its first President for 15 years.

— India and Namibia inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on setting up an Entrepreneurship Development Center in Namibia and another pact on cooperation in areas of health and medicine.

— PM Modi was conferred with Namibia’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis’.

— Namibia has also joined the India-backed CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and the Global Biofuels Alliance.

Learn about CDRI and one of its major initiatives, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) here. 

 

Environment

— The Union environment ministry submitted the report of a high-powered committee (HPC) formed to revisit the Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project’s environmental clearance to a six-member bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava.

— The HPC was formed in April 2023 on the orders of the NGT to address “unanswered deficiencies” regarding the impact of the mega project.

— The Great Nicobar Island (GNI) infrastructure project was conceived by NITI Aayog and launched in 2021. According to the andaman.gov.in, the key plans include the construction of the “International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), a greenfield international airport with a peak hour capacity to handle 4,000 passengers, a township, and a gas and solar-based power plant spread across 16,610 hectares.”

— The project is being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO). It aligns with India’s Maritime Vision 2030 and is one of the key projects under the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

Know about the geographical location and strategic significance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands here.

lotus, wular lake Abdul Aziz Dar, a lotus stem farmer and a local resident, touches a lotus at the Wular lake in Kashmir’s Bandipora. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

— Wular lake is once again becoming home to lotuses, 30 years after a devastating flood completely wiped them out of the area. The credit for this goes to conservation efforts by the Wular Conservation and Management Authority.

— Wular is Asia’s second-largest freshwater lake, located in Bandipora. It is located some 67 km from Srinagar and surrounded by the misty Harmukh mountains. The main source of water for Wular Lake is the River Jhelum. This lake also has a small island in its centre called the ‘Zaina Lank’.

— The lotus stems, known locally as Nadru, are a delicacy in Kashmir, where it is cooked with fish or yoghurt to make a dish known as Nadru Yakhni.

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is grown in damp soil, usually a combination of loam and clay soil. They require at least six hours of sunlight a day and should be sparingly fertilized in the first year. It is important to protect the lotus roots from freezing.

(Source: CSIR, baramulla.nic.in)

— According to research presented at the 2025 Goldschmidt Conference, the rise in melting glaciers and ice caps can result in more frequent and more explosive volcanic eruptions.

— Studies have also found that the decrease in pressure due to ice loss can result in the production of magma. That is because rocks held at lower pressure tend to melt at lower temperatures.

— Another factor that seems to affect volcanic activity is precipitation. “Precipitation — also modified by climate change — can infiltrate deep underground and react with the magma system to trigger an eruption.”

Relationship between volcanic eruptions and the temporary cooling of the Earth

— Volcanic eruptions can cause temporary cooling as they release ash or dust into the atmosphere, which blocks sunlight. These eruptions also emit sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which is more effective than ash particles at cooling the climate.

— Sulfur dioxide goes into the stratosphere and reacts with water to form sulfuric acid aerosols. These aerosols reflect incoming solar radiation, leading to the cooling of the Earth’s surface.

Vicious cycle

— However, sustained volcanic eruptions can release large amounts of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, which could further heat the planet. This can become a vicious cycle — as global temperatures rise, there will be a higher rate of melting of ice, which could cause more eruptions and further global warming.

— China has dismantled 300 dams and shut down most small hydropower stations on a major Yangtze River tributary to help restore fish habitats like Yangtze sturgeon and river health, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

— The move affects the Chishui He, also known as the Red River, a 400-kilometre waterway flowing through Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces.

— The Yangtze sturgeon, sometimes called the river’s “last giant”, was declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2022. It permanently lives in freshwater and usually inhabits the upper and middle reaches of the river.

 

Science and Technology

Rubin Observatory. Vera C Rubin Observatory.

— The Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile has released its first breathtaking images, showcasing the power of its 3,200-megapixel digital camera—the largest ever built.

— It is located 8,684 feet above sea level atop the Cerro Pachón mountain in the Chilean Andes. The observatory will provide comprehensive images of the night sky unlike anything astronomers have seen before.

— The centrepiece of the observatory is the Simonyi Survey Telescope. The 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope features a unique three-mirror design. This gives the telescope an exceptionally wide field of view while maintaining a compact shape that allows it to move quickly across the sky.

— The Simonyi Survey Telescope is named after Charles Simonyi’s family, in recognition of his significant gift early in the construction phase in support of the design, development, and fabrication of the telescope’s primary mirror.

— Vera C Rubin Observatory is named after the American female astronomer who played a crucial role in demonstrating the existence of dark matter.

— A 35-year-old mechanical engineer from Kerala’s Muvattupuzha town was recently arrested for selling drugs over the dark web.

— The dark web is a hidden section of the internet that cannot be located by regular search engines and requires specialised tools or browsers to access it.

— Unlike open web browsers like Firefox, Google, or Yahoo, where user activities can be monitored through IP addresses, the dark web conceals identities, creating a refuge for individuals who desire privacy or anonymity.

— The idea of an encrypted, hidden part of the internet started in the 1990s, with the US Naval Research Laboratory creating preliminary versions of The Onion Routing project, later called Tor.

— Users need to download Tor, known for its emphasis on user privacy and anonymity. Tor routes connections through multiple servers (known as nodes) that are chosen randomly worldwide, encrypting data at each step. This makes tracing activity nearly impossible.

— Once inside, websites on the dark web use “.onion” domains, which are not indexed by traditional search engines. Tor does not perform searches on dark web pages on behalf of the user; instead, the user must actively look for those dark web pages on their own.

— While the dark web is infamous for illegal transactions, it also serves legitimate purposes. Whistleblowers, journalists, and activists use it to communicate securely under repressive regimes.

 

Sports

Swiatek, wimbledon 2025 Swiatek became only the fourth player in the Open Era to win the opening set with a 6-0 scoreline at the women’s singles final in Wimbledon after Billie Jean King (1973, 1975), Chris Evert (1974) and Martina Navratilova (1983). (AP Photo)

— Wimbledon, French Open, US Open, and Australian Open are the most prestigious events on the annual tennis calendar, bestowed with the moniker of “Grand Slam”, a term that has been in use for almost a century.

— Wimbledon is the only one to still be played on grass. Of the other three, the Australian Open and the US Open are both played on hard courts, and the French Open is played on clay.

Winners of Wimbledon 2025

 

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

(1) Consider the following statements:

1. Volcanic eruptions led to temporary cooling of Earth’s temperature due to the emission of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.

2. With the melting of glaciers and ice, the pressure on the Earth’s surface increases, leading to an increase in volcanic eruptions.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

(2) In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared this species extinct in the wild. Sometimes, it is called as river’s “last giant”. It permanently lives in freshwater and usually inhabits the upper and middle reaches of the river.

The above description is for which of the following species?

(a) Yellow perch

(b) Synanceia

(c) Golden mahseer

(d) Yangtze sturgeon

(3) Consider the following statements:

1. Lotus is grown in damp soil.

2. It requires at least six hours of sunlight a day.

3. It is the state flower of Karnataka

How many of the above statements are incorrect?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Answer Key
1. (a)   2. (d)   3. (d)

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