In News:

In a significant stride towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the Indian Navy has inducted INS Nistar, its first indigenously designed and built Diving Support Vessel (DSV). Developed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam, INS Nistar enhances India’s capabilities in deep-sea rescue, submarine emergency response, and underwater operations, placing India among a select group of nations with such advanced maritime assets.

Key Features and Capabilities

• Size and Endurance:
  • Length: ~118–120 meters
  • Displacement: Over 10,000 tonnes
  • Endurance: Capable of operating for over 60 days at sea
• Diving and Rescue Capabilities:
  • Equipped for saturation diving up to 300 meters and side diving stage operations up to 75 meters
  • Integrated with Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for diver monitoring and salvage missions up to 1000 meters below sea level
  • Serves as the Mother Ship for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), crucial for submarine crew evacuation in emergencies
• Medical and Operational Infrastructure:
  • Includes an 8-bed hospital, ICU, operation theatre, and hyperbaric chambers for diver treatment and recovery
  • Fitted with a 15-tonne subsea crane, helicopter landing deck, and Side Scan SONAR for multi-role logistics and salvage operations
• Navigation and Control: Integrated Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) ensures precision during complex underwater missions

Indigenous Content and Industrial Participation

• Indigenous Content: Approximately 75–80%
• Over 120 Indian MSMEs contributed to the vessel’s construction
• Compliant with Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) classification standards

Strategic and Symbolic Significance

• Bridges critical capability gaps in submarine rescue, deep-sea salvage, and maritime disaster response
• Strengthens India’s strategic posture in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), ensuring rapid and self-reliant response to undersea emergencies
• Reinforces India’s position as an emerging blue water navy
• Symbolically revives the legacy of the erstwhile Soviet-origin INS Nistar (commissioned in 1971), reaffirming continuity and progress in naval capabilities

In News:

The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in collaboration with UNICEF India, has launched TALASH — Tribal Aptitude, Life Skills and Self-Esteem Hub — a first-of-its-kind national initiative aimed at fostering the holistic development of tribal students enrolled in Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs).

Launched in July 2025, TALASH reflects a focused effort to promote self-awareness, life skills, and career clarity among tribal youth across India. The initiative aligns with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, emphasizing inclusive, equitable, and holistic education.

Key Objectives:

• Support all-round development of over 1.38 lakh EMRS students across 28 States and 8 Union Territories.
• Strengthen academic learning, while building life skills, self-esteem, and career readiness.
• Bridge educational and psychological gaps for tribal youth, especially in remote and underprivileged areas.

Core Features of TALASH

• Digital Self-Discovery Platform: TALASH is an innovative digital portal that equips students with tools for career planning, aptitude assessment, and personal development.
• Psychometric Assessments: Inspired by NCERT’s Tamanna initiative, it offers a standardized aptitude test to identify students’ strengths, interests, and potential career paths.
  Students are provided with Career Cards based on test results.
• Career Counselling Support: Helps students make informed choices by aligning their aspirations with personal aptitude and career opportunities.
• Life Skills & Self-Esteem Modules: Includes interactive content to build problem-solving abilities, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and self-confidence.
• E-Learning for Educators: Offers a dedicated teacher portal for capacity building, enabling educators to mentor and support students effectively.

Implementation and Outreach

• The program is being rolled out in phases, starting in select EMRSs for smooth execution.
• So far, 189 teachers from 75 EMRSs have been trained as master trainers.
• By the end of 2025, TALASH aims to be active in all EMRSs nationwide.

Institutional Backing and Vision

• NESTS: An autonomous body under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, responsible for the establishment and administration of EMRSs to ensure quality education for tribal students.
• UNICEF India: Brings global expertise in child development, focusing on equitable access, well-being, and digital empowerment.

In News:

In a major forecast shaping the future of data-driven decision-making, Gartner Inc. estimates that Earth Intelligence will emerge as a $20 billion industry between 2025 and 2030, with enterprise spending surpassing government and military investments by the end of the decade. This signals a pivotal shift in how space-based Earth observation data is being transformed into actionable insights across industries.

What is Earth Intelligence?

Earth Intelligence refers to the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to Earth observation data—mainly derived from satellite imagery, remote sensors, and complementary datasets like social, economic, and policy data—to generate domain-specific, actionable insights.

It involves:

• Data collection: Satellite and sensor-based Earth observation.
• Data transformation: Converting raw data into tailored formats.
• Insight generation: Using AI, analytics, and modeling to support business and policy decisions.

This integrated approach also increasingly draws on local and Indigenous knowledge, enhancing its relevance for climate resilience, urban planning, resource management, and disaster response.

Key Applications

Gartner highlights several real-world use cases:

• Disaster Response: Identifying fallen trees on railway lines post-storms.
• Industrial Monitoring: Tracking metal refinery temperatures to gauge global supply chains.
• Urban Analytics: Counting vehicles to study traffic and consumer behavior.
• Trade Analysis: Monitoring sea cargo movement to assess global shipping trends.

Trends and Projections

• In 2024, less than 15% of Earth Intelligence spending came from the private sector.
• By 2030, enterprises are expected to contribute over 50% of total spending—outpacing government and military usage.
• The annual revenue from Earth Intelligence is projected to grow from $3.8 billion (2025) to $4.2 billion (2030).
• The cumulative revenue opportunity for tech and service providers is estimated at $20 billion (2025–2030).

In News:

In a significant development in astrochemistry, researchers from Australia, Sweden, and the UK have discovered how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—complex organic molecules—can survive in the harsh environment of space, particularly within the Taurus Molecular Cloud 1 (TMC1). Their findings offer fresh perspectives on the origins of life and the chemical evolution of the universe.

What are PAHs?

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are flat, ring-shaped molecules composed of carbon and hydrogen. They are believed to constitute up to one-fifth of all carbon in interstellar space. While on Earth PAHs are typically formed through the incomplete combustion of organic matter such as fossil fuels and biomass, in space they are thought to be delivered by meteors and may have contributed to the early building blocks of life on Earth.

Astrochemical Puzzle: PAHs in TMC1

TMC1 is a cold, dense molecular cloud located about 430 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, composed primarily of molecular hydrogen (H?) along with dust, plasma, and organic compounds like ammonia (NH?) and carbon monoxide (CO). Despite constant exposure to high-energy starlight, which should destroy fragile molecules, small, closed-shell PAHs—those with paired electrons—are found in unexpectedly high concentrations in TMC1.

Scientific Breakthrough: The Indenyl Cation (C?H??)

To investigate this anomaly, researchers focused on a fragment of a PAH molecule known as the indenyl cation (C?H??). This molecule was studied under ultra-cold conditions at Stockholm University’s DESIREE facility, which allows ions to circulate without collisions at temperatures near –260°C.

Key findings:

• C?H?? ions exhibit an efficient cooling mechanism, enabling them to survive rather than disintegrate.
• The cooling occurs through recurrent fluorescence—where energy is gradually lost as electrons shift between excited and ground states—and infrared emission via molecular vibrations.
• This mechanism is crucial for stabilizing small PAHs (<50 carbon atoms), which have increasingly been detected in space through radioastronomy.

Scientific Significance:

• Validates how organic molecules can survive and grow in interstellar environments.
• Refines astrochemical models of molecular evolution in space.

Implications for the Origin of Life:

• Supports the hypothesis that PAHs delivered by meteors may have seeded early Earth with prebiotic carbon, aiding the emergence of life.

Relevance to Space Research:

• Enhances understanding of interstellar chemistry, useful for missions like James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and future astrobiology missions.

In News:

In a significant stride towards self-reliance in defence technology, India has expedited the procurement of 87 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones from domestic manufacturers under the ?20,000 crore initiative, marking a major step in strengthening border surveillance and operational readiness.

What are MALE Drones?

MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of flying at altitudes of up to 35,000 feet and sustaining flight for over 30 hours. These drones are equipped for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and can undertake limited combat missions.

Key Features

• Endurance: Operational capacity exceeds 30 hours.
• Altitude Range: Effective at 35,000 feet or higher.
• Payload: Equipped with Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) cameras, radar systems, and combat modules.
• Real-time ISR: Provides persistent surveillance over diverse terrain.
• Remote Operations: Ground stations with secure communication links manage operations.
• Indigenous Content: Over 60% of components are locally manufactured, promoting import substitution.

Strategic Applications

• Border and Maritime Surveillance: Enhances India’s ability to monitor land borders with Pakistan and China, and maritime boundaries in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Tri-Service Integration: These drones will be deployed across the Army, Navy, and Air Force, improving joint situational awareness.
• Counter-Insurgency Support: Useful in operations in Naxal-affected and insurgency-prone areas, providing tactical aerial intelligence.
• Disaster Relief and Mapping: Can aid in real-time mapping and coordination during natural disasters and humanitarian crises.

Strategic Importance

• Fills the capability gap between smaller tactical UAVs and high-altitude surveillance drones like the MQ-9B Sea/ Sky Guardians.
• Replaces India’s earlier dependence on Israeli UAVs (e.g., Heron drones), boosting the ‘Make in India’ initiative in defence manufacturing.
• Enhances 24×7 real-time surveillance, thereby strengthening national security architecture.