25 JUNE 2025 - Daily Current Affairs Updates

Topic: Vineet Joshi Panel Subtopic: Reducing Coaching Dependence in Education

• Value Addition:

  • Targets root causes of "coaching culture" – rote learning, weak critical thinking in schools, lack of career counselling.

  • Investigates rise of dummy schools and over-focus on elite entrance exams.

  • Diverse panel includes school principals, IITs, NCERT – reflects multi-level systemic review.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 2: Education – Equity, quality, and systemic reforms.

  • Essay: “When exams become the education – the coaching dilemma in India.”

Topic: Project NAVYA Subtopic: Vocational Empowerment of Rural Adolescent Girls

• Value Addition:

  • Provides non-traditional vocational training (electrician, drone operator, digital repair) to Class 10+ girls aged 16–18.

  • Covers 27 districts including Aspirational Districts and NE States.

  • Jointly launched by MWCD & MSDE – model of convergent governance.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 2: Women empowerment, skilling, and rural livelihoods.

  • Essay: “Empowerment begins with aspiration.”
    

GS 3 – Economy, S&T, Health, Environment──────────────────────────

Topic: Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP) Subtopic: Tackling Financial Fraud with Real-Time Tech

• Value Addition:

  • Will enable real-time data sharing among banks; integrates AI tools into India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

  • Responds to 3× surge in frauds (₹36,000 crore in FY25).

  • RBIH to prototype in collaboration with 5–10 banks; panel led by A.P. Hota.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Economy – Financial fraud, secure payment systems.

  • GS 2: e-Governance and DPI innovation.

Topic: Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 2025 Subtopic: India’s Best Practices in Tobacco Control

• Value Addition:

  • India among top countries for graphic warnings; first to regulate tobacco on digital streaming platforms.

  • Strong on “E” in MPOWER – bans on Tobacco Advertising, Promotion, Sponsorship (TAPS).

  • Weak on taxation (“R” in MPOWER) – highlights global gap in sin tax policy.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 2: Health – Preventive health and public policy.

  • GS 3: Economy – Sin taxes as public health tool.

  • Essay: “Warnings that save lives.”

Topic: Hypnic Jerks Subtopic: Sleep Disruption & Brain-Muscle Disconnect

• Value Addition:

  • Up to 80% of adults experience hypnic jerks; stress, caffeine, and poor sleep exacerbate frequency.

  • Harmless but disruptive; mitigated by mindfulness, yoga, and consistent sleep hygiene.

  • Reflects the brain’s evolutionary reflex to prevent “free fall.”

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Health – Neuroscience and mental well-being.

  • Ethics: Balance of physical and mental health in lifestyle choices.

Topic: Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV) Subtopic: Major Threat to African Rice Farming

• Value Addition:

  • Endemic to Africa; transmitted by beetles, grasshoppers, and animals like donkeys/cattle.

  • Not seed-transmitted; persists on roots and soil – hard to eradicate.

  • Shows high genetic variation – overcomes resistance traits.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Agriculture – Crop virology, global food security.

  • Prelims: Crop diseases, modes of transmission.

Topic: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemical Pollution Subtopic: Global Scientific Body for Chemical Regulation

• Value Addition:

  • Completes environmental science-policy trio (IPCC – climate, IPBES – biodiversity, this one – pollution).

  • Aims to offer policy-relevant guidance on chemical waste management.

  • Hosted by UNEP; fills void in global chemical governance.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Environment – Waste management and pollution control.

  • GS 2: Global governance – science-led institutions.

  • Essay: “Science as policy’s conscience.”

Topic: State of Climate in Asia 2024 (WMO) Subtopic: Asia Warming at Twice the Global Average

• Value Addition:

  • 2024 warmest year; Asia hit by record heatwaves, floods, landslides, and cyclones (e.g., Remal).

  • India: monsoon normal but intensified rainfall led to 350+ deaths in Wayanad (Kerala).

  • Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal rising faster than global average; 23 of 24 Himalayan glaciers retreating.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Environment – Climate change trends, glacial retreat, sea level rise.

  • Essay: “Asia’s climate crisis is no longer future tense.”

Topic: NAKSHATRA – India’s HPC for Virology Subtopic: India’s Genomic Surveillance Upgrade

• Value Addition:

  • 700-core, 1 PB storage HPC cluster at ICMR–NIV Pune.

  • Supports genomic sequencing (NGS, metagenomics, structural biology) – 10× faster results.

  • Critical to pandemic preparedness, AI-driven vaccine research, and viral diagnostics.

• Subject Analysis:

  • GS 3: Science & Tech – Supercomputing in health research.

  • GS 2: Public health infrastructure under PMABHIM.