In News:

The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2025, published by UNESCO, reveals an alarming surge in the global out-of-school population, now estimated at 272 million—an increase of over 21 million from previous estimates. This setback highlights that by 2025, countries will collectively fall short of their national education targets by 75 million children.

About the GEM Report

• An annual UNESCO publication, originally launched as the Education for All Global Monitoring Report in 2002 and renamed in 2016.
• Provides an evidence-based global assessment of education progress, challenges, and trends.
• Aims to guide policy decisions and strengthen efforts toward achieving SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Key Findings

• The out-of-school population includes:
  • 78 million primary school-age children (11%)
  • 64 million lower secondary adolescents (15%)
  • 130 million upper secondary youth (31%)
• The rise of 21 million in out-of-school children since the last estimate is attributed to:
  1. New enrolment and attendance data (+8 million): Includes factors like the 2021 ban on girls' education in Afghanistan, which alone accounts for 1.4 million girls.
  2. Updated UN population projections (+13 million): The 2024 World Population Prospects estimate a 49 million increase in the global school-age population (6–17 years) by 2025.
• The report warns that conflict zones severely hamper data collection, likely underestimating the true number of out-of-school children.

Challenges with Data and Methodology

• The GEM model draws from administrative data, surveys, and census records to estimate schooling trends.
• However, during emergencies and crises, such models may fail to capture sudden drops in attendance, leading to an underreporting of affected populations.
• Conflict-ridden regions face poor data reliability, impacting planning and resource allocation.

Off-Track from Global Targets

• By 2025, countries will be off-track by:
  • 4 percentage points for primary and lower secondary levels
  • 6 percentage points for upper secondary level
• Even if national targets are met, the world will still have 107 million children out of school by 2030. The GEM report projects a reduction of 165 million if all targets are achieved—but current trajectories suggest this is unlikely.

In News:

India is witnessing a significant leap in artificial intelligence innovation with the launch of two indigenous AI models — Kruti by Krutrim and BharatGPT Mini by CoRover. These developments aim to democratize AI access across the country by addressing local needs, multilingual capabilities, and infrastructure limitations.

Kruti: India’s First Agentic AI Assistant

Developed by Krutrim, the AI startup co-founded by Bhavish Aggarwal (of Ola fame), Kruti is positioned as India’s first agentic AI, going beyond conventional chatbots. Launched in 2025, Kruti integrates task execution capabilities such as:

• Cab booking
• Food ordering
• Bill payments
• Image generation
• Research assistance

Kruti is powered by Krutrim V2, a locally trained large language model (LLM), and combines open-source AI systems to deliver scalable, cost-effective, and contextualised solutions.

Key Features of Kruti

• Multilingual Support: Understands voice and text in 13 Indian languages
• Personalised AI: Learns user preferences, adapts tone and content
• Human-Centric Design: Supports read-aloud responses, summarised answers, stories, and tables
• SDK for Developers: Offers embeddable tools for LLM orchestration and task automation
• Integrated Assistant: Eliminates app-switching fatigue through contextual task handling

Aggarwal highlighted that Kruti is built for “how Indians live”—mobile-first, intuitive, and multilingual—offering free access to advanced AI tools.

Strategic Investment and Open AI Ecosystem

Krutrim has committed ?12,000 crore in investment (?2,000 crore already, ?10,000 crore by next year), launched Krutrim AI Lab, and published technical resources, with contributions to the open-source community. The company is positioning itself as a competitive force against global giants like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, and local firms like Sarvam AI.

BharatGPT Mini: Small Language Model for Bharat

On the same day, CoRover, a conversational AI firm, unveiled BharatGPT Mini, a small language model (SLM) with 534 million parameters trained on its proprietary conversational dataset.

• Supports 14 Indian languages
• Designed for low-compute, low-infrastructure environments
• Enables offline and edge deployments for fast, privacy-centric performance
• Ideal for underserved and rural regions with limited internet or device capacity

SLMs like BharatGPT Mini are emerging as viable tools for domain-specific, lightweight, and privacy-respecting AI in India, complementing the role of LLMs in more complex tasks.

In News:

A recent study titled "Darkening of the Global Ocean", led by researchers from the University of Plymouth, has revealed that over 21% of the global ocean has darkened between 2003 and 2022, marking a significant environmental concern. The phenomenon, known as ocean darkening, is increasingly disrupting marine ecosystems and global climate regulation.

What is Ocean Darkening?

Ocean darkening refers to the reduction in the photic zone — the upper layer of the ocean (up to ~200 meters deep) where sunlight penetrates to support photosynthesis. This zone is foundational to:

• ~90% of marine biodiversity
• Climate regulation
• Ocean productivity
• Global fisheries

The study used satellite data and modeling based on the Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient (Kd 490), which measures how rapidly light fades through seawater. It found:

• 21% of global oceans experienced darkening in two decades.
• 9% saw photic depth decline by over 50 meters.
• 2.6% saw a reduction exceeding 100 meters — an area roughly equal to the size of Africa.

Geographic Distribution

• High darkening: Arctic, Antarctic, Gulf Stream, North Sea, eastern UK coast.
• Lesser darkening or even brightening: Some parts of the English Channel.
• The open ocean and climate-sensitive zones have witnessed the most pronounced declines.

Causes of Ocean Darkening

• Coastal Zones:
  • Runoff of agricultural nutrients, organic matter, and sediments.
  • Leads to algal blooms that block sunlight.
• Open Ocean:
  • Shifts in plankton dynamics
  • Rising sea surface temperatures
  • Altered ocean circulation patterns

These changes may be linked to climate change, land-use modifications, and increased rainfall-driven erosion.

Impact on Marine Ecosystems

Ocean darkening leads to:

• Shrinking habitats for light-sensitive species like Calanus copepods (key zooplankton and food web base).
• Disrupted feeding, migration, and reproduction cycles due to reduced solar and lunar light cues.
• Increased crowding in shallower waters, intensifying competition and predation.
• Collapse of marine food chains, even in areas with minimal fishing pressure.

Experts warn that this could represent one of the largest habitat losses in recent history, with implications for:

• Biodiversity
• Carbon cycling
• Oxygen production
• Ocean buffering against climate change

In News:

To combat rising cyber frauds and impersonation in the securities market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a verified Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID system for all SEBI-registered market intermediaries. This mechanism, developed in coordination with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), will be effective from October 1, 2025, and is part of SEBI’s broader agenda to enhance investor security and transparency.

Key Features:

• Exclusive UPI IDs: Only SEBI-registered intermediaries will be issued validated UPI IDs featuring a structured format: username.category@validBank. For example, a broker ABC Ltd using XYZ Bank would have the UPI ID: abc.brk@validXYZ.
• Category-Specific Suffixes:
  • .brk for stock brokers
  • .mf for mutual funds
• Authentication Visual Cue: Transactions with verified UPI IDs will display a “thumbs-up inside a green triangle” icon for easy identification by investors.

Role of NPCI

NPCI, which owns and operates the UPI platform, will exclusively allocate the “@valid” handles for payment collection by SEBI-registered intermediaries. This move ensures only authorised entities can use these UPI IDs, significantly reducing risks of fund misdirection.

SEBI Check Tool

To supplement the system, SEBI is also launching ‘SEBI Check’, a verification tool allowing investors to:

• Scan a QR code or enter UPI ID manually to confirm its legitimacy.
• Verify bank details, including account number and IFSC, of registered entities.

Investor and Intermediary Compliance

• Mandatory for Intermediaries: All SEBI-registered intermediaries must adopt the new verified UPI handles and educate investors about them.
• Optional for Investors: While the structured UPI handle is optional, investors must use only the new IDs if opting to pay via UPI.
• Discontinuation of Old IDs: Existing UPI IDs will be discontinued after October 1, 2025, except for ongoing SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans). New and renewed SIPs must use the verified UPI IDs.

Benefits

• Prevents Fraud: Eliminates payments to unauthorised or impersonating entities.
• Enhances Transparency: Clearly distinguishes registered entities from fraudulent ones.
• Boosts Investor Confidence: Assures secure transactions through verified payment channels.
• Supports Cybersecurity: Clamps down on fake UPI handles used for digital scams.

SEBI’s verified UPI ID initiative and the upcoming ‘SEBI Check’ tool are significant steps toward ensuring secure, transparent, and trustworthy digital transactions in India’s securities market. It reflects the regulator’s proactive stance in protecting investor interests in an increasingly digitised financial environment.

In News:

The tragic crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12, 2025, has spotlighted the critical role of black boxes—a key component in aviation safety and accident investigations. Despite their name, these devices are painted bright orange for easy visibility at crash sites.

What are Black Boxes?

Modern aircraft are equipped with two essential flight recorders:

• Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR): Captures pilot and co-pilot conversations, ambient cockpit sounds, alarms, and radio transmissions.
• Flight Data Recorder (FDR): Records up to 25 hours of technical flight data including altitude, speed, engine parameters, flight path, and over 3,500 variables.

These devices operate continuously without interruption, storing vital information that can reconstruct the events leading up to an air crash.

Design and Durability

Black boxes are built to withstand extreme conditions:

• Casing: Made from crash-resistant materials like titanium or steel.
• Survivability: Can endure temperatures up to 1,100°C, high-impact G-forces, and remain underwater for up to 30 days.
• Locator Beacon: Emit signals to help recovery teams locate them, especially in underwater crashes.

Why Are They Called 'Black' Boxes?

The term “black box” originated from early film-based recorders stored in light-tight boxes. However, modern units are painted bright orange with reflective strips to aid visual detection after accidents.

Evolution of Flight Recorders

• 1930s: François Hussenot in France developed early photographic film-based recorders.
• 1953-54: Dr. David Warren in Australia invented the modern FDR while investigating unexplained crashes of the de Havilland Comet.
• 1960: Mandatory installation of CVRs and FDRs in commercial aircraft.
• 1965: Regulators required recorders to be painted in visible colours.
• 1990: Solid-state memory replaced magnetic tapes, increasing durability and storage capacity.

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, oversees accident probes. In April 2025, it established a dedicated flight recorder laboratory in New Delhi to improve investigation efficiency.

Technological Advancements

• Combined Recorders: Modern systems often integrate CVR and FDR in a single unit to meet ICAO norms for extended recording.
• Deployable Recorders: Automatically ejected during a crash, float on water, and transmit their location using an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT).
• Satellite-Based Data Streaming: Future technologies aim to stream flight data in real time, minimizing data loss during oceanic crashes.

Black boxes serve as the backbone of aviation accident investigations by providing critical insight into aircraft performance and crew actions before a crash. Their development reflects ongoing efforts to enhance air travel safety and accountability. The Ahmedabad crash investigation led by the AAIB will heavily rely on these devices to determine the exact sequence of events and prevent future tragedies.