20 May 2025 – Daily Current Affairs Updates.
- Avijeet Kumar
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
🔵 GS Paper 1 – Geography & Culture
Indrayani River Encroachment ActionNews: Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation demolished 36 illegal structures on Indrayani’s floodplain.Value Add:
Link to themes of Urban Flooding & Disaster Management (Blue Line vs Red Line demarcation).
Cultural Angle: Towns like Dehu (Saint Tukaram) and Alandi (Dnyaneshwar) connect to Bhakti Movement → Mains GS1.
Geography: Origin → Western Ghats; Tributary → Bhima → Krishna River System.
UPSC Crossover: "Rivers as cultural and ecological lifelines" – use in GS1, Essay, Ethics (duty vs development).
Canary Islands Protest Against Over tourism News: Protests in Spain's Canary Islands over unsustainable tourism.Value Add:
Geography: Part of Spain (though closer to Africa), volcanic origin (Macaronesia).
Climatic Significance: Subtropical → global tourist magnet.
GS1 Essay Use: Rising friction between ecological sustainability and tourism economy.
🔵 GS Paper 2 – Polity & Governance
Presidential Reference under Article 143 News: President seeks SC’s opinion on time-bound conduct of Governors in assent to state bills. Value Add:
Polity Focus: Art. 143 – Judicial advisory mechanism (not binding, but persuasive).
Governance Link: Legislative deadlock by Governor → federal friction.
International Comparison: Canada (similar provision), US (no advisory opinions due to strict separation of powers).
Mains Angle: Cooperative federalism vs constitutional discretion.
🔵 GS Paper 3 – Science, Tech, Economy, Environment
A-to-I mRNA Editing (Biotech Insight)News: Chinese researchers decode the persistence of Adenosine-to-Inosine RNA editing.Value Add:
Enzyme: ADARs — alters mRNA without DNA change → potential for protein diversity, gene regulation.
Risk: Editing stop codons → misregulated proteins → defective protein synthesis.
Application: Could influence research in genetic therapies, cancer biology, evolution studies.
Use in GS3 S&T or Ethics (genetic modification and unpredictability).
Type 2 Diabetes in Children (Health + Policy) News: CBSE advises schools to install ‘sugar boards’.Value Add:
Policy Relevance: Public Health Intervention + Early Prevention Strategy.
Data: 6.3% global prevalence; rising among children.
Ethical use: Lifestyle vs environment vs system failure (Food habits, advertising, school environment).
Link to Essay & GS2 – Health governance, Non-Communicable Diseases.
RS-24 Yars Missile Drill by RussiaNews: Russia's “combat training” of RS-24 ICBM.Value Add:
Defense Tech: MIRVs + GLONASS navigation + solid propellant → nuclear deterrence.
IR Implication: Arms race, START Treaties relevance, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) debates.
Prelims Tip: Know the missile families – India: Agni-V; US: Minuteman-III; Russia: RS-24 Yars.
Global EV Outlook 2025 (IEA Report)News:
Over 17 million EVs sold globally; India leads in 3-wheeler segment but lags in car adoption. Value Add:
India’s E-DRIVE initiative boosts electric 3W market (20% YoY growth).
China: 70% of EV production; dominates batteries and supply chains.
Essay + GS3 Angle: Transition challenges – infrastructure, policy incentives, affordability.
Keywords to note: EV penetration, battery dependency, green mobility, Make in India vs Import reliance.
PSLV-C61 FailureNews: ISRO’s 101st PSLV mission fails due to technical glitch.Value Add:
PSLV Tech: 4 stages – alternating solid & liquid fuel; known for its reliability and cost-efficiency.
GS3 Relevance: India’s space autonomy, satellite diplomacy, launch market participation.
Ethics Use: Handling failure in high-stakes missions – transparency, accountability, resilience.
Prelims: Match the fuel with stages + orbit types (SSPO, GTO).
🟡 Prelims Facts Corner
Jnanpith Award 2024News: 58th Jnanpith Award conferred on Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (Sanskrit scholar).
Value Add:
Constitutional Link: Recognized languages – Schedule VIII.
Cultural Insight: Bharat’s literary pluralism.
Fun Fact: First awardee – G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam).
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