In News:

The United States has achieved a major milestone by deploying its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), known as Dark Eagle, to Australia’s Northern Territory during the Talisman Sabre 2025 multinational military exercise. This marks the system’s first-ever overseas deployment and represents a critical step in strengthening U.S. deterrence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

Features:

• Range & Speed: Approximately 2,700–2,776 km with a reported velocity of up to Mach 17.
• Design: A land-based, road-mobile system comprising four trailer-mounted launchers, each with two missile canisters.
• Warhead: Equipped with the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), an unpowered yet maneuverable glide vehicle capable of evading interception.
• Deployment Capability: Road-mobile, air-transportable (C-17), and integrated with the U.S. Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS).
• Developers: Jointly developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, with collaboration from the U.S. Navy on the glide body and boosters.
• Mission Role: Designed to penetrate anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) networks, suppress enemy defenses, and engage time-sensitive, high-value targets.

Exercise Talisman Sabre

For the first time, India participated in the 11th edition of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, a large-scale Australia-led multinational military exercise. This reflects India’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific security architecture and deepening defense cooperation with like-minded partners.

• Launch & Evolution: Initiated in 2005 as a bilateral drill between Australia and the United States, it has expanded into a premier multinational warfighting exercise.
• Scale: The 2025 edition is the largest-ever, involving over 35,000 personnel from 19 nations including Australia, U.S., India, Japan, France, U.K., and others.
• Geographical Spread: Conducted across Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales, and Christmas Island, with a first-ever extension to Papua New Guinea, underscoring wider regional engagement.
• Objective:
  • To uphold a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
  • Enhance military readiness, interoperability, and joint operational capabilities.
  • Reinforce regional security cooperation among allies and partners.
• Activities: Includes live-fire drills, amphibious landings, ground maneuvers, air combat, maritime operations, and force preparation exercises, testing joint warfighting capabilities.

Key India-Australia Military Exercises

• AUSINDEX – Naval exercise.
• Pitch Black – Multinational air exercise.
• AustraHind – Bilateral military exercise.

Key India-U.S. Military Exercises

• YudhAbhyas – Joint military training.
• Vajra Prahar – Special Forces exercise.
• Cope India – Air combat exercise.
• Tiger Triumph – Tri-services amphibious exercise.

In News:

Recently, southern France witnessed its worst wildfire since 1949, scorching nearly 16,000 hectares (39,500+ acres) of forests and villages—an area 1.5 times the size of Paris. Though the blaze has now been contained, firefighters remain deployed to prevent flare-ups and secure the affected zone.

Causes and Challenges

• Climatic Drivers: Officials and France’s Environment Minister attributed the fire’s intensity to climate change, prolonged drought, strong winds, and extremely dry vegetation.
• Geographic Factors: Proximity to the Pyrenees mountains and the Mediterranean coast made the terrain vulnerable to rapid fire spread. Loss of traditional vineyards and land-use changes further accelerated the blaze.
• Future Risks: France’s weather office has warned of fresh heatwaves, increasing wildfire vulnerability across southern Europe.

Geographic Overview of France

• Location: Northern & Eastern Hemispheres; bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Andorra.
• Water Bodies: Bounded by the Bay of Biscay (west), English Channel (northwest), and Mediterranean Sea (south).
• Major Rivers:Loire (into Atlantic), Seine (into English Channel).
• Mountain Ranges:Alps, Jura, and Pyrenees (natural border with Spain).
• Resources: Coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, potash, gypsum, etc.
• Overseas Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte.
• Capital: Paris.

In News:

The Government of India has launched the Notary Portal, a dedicated digital platform designed to modernize services under the Notaries Act, 1952 and the Notaries Rules, 1956. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Law and Justice, aims to create a faceless, paperless, transparent, and efficient system for notarial services.

Key Features

• Online Interface: Connects notaries appointed by the Central Government with the Ministry for seamless service delivery.
• Services Offered:
  • Submission of applications for appointment as notaries.
  • Verification of eligibility for appointment.
  • Issuance of digitally signed Certificates of Practice.
  • Renewal of certificates, change of practice area, and submission of annual returns.
• Current Status: Modules for verification of documents, eligibility checks, and issuance of digitally signed certificates are operational.

Significance

• Enhances transparency and efficiency in legal certification processes.
• Reduces paperwork, delays, and physical interface, thereby minimizing scope for corruption.
• Aligns with the government’s broader agenda of Digital India and modernization of legal services.

In News:

The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, inaugurated the second edition of UN Women’s flagship capacity-building programme — SheLeads II: Workshop for Women Leaders in New Delhi (August 2025). The initiative seeks to strengthen women’s political leadership, a crucial step towards women-led development and the vision of a Viksit Bharat.

Key Highlights:

• The workshop comes in the backdrop of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, mandating 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
• Despite this landmark reform, only 14% of seats in the 18th Lok Sabha are currently occupied by women, highlighting the urgent need for leadership training and political empowerment.

About SheLeadsProgramme

• Flagship Initiative: Launched by the UN Women India Country Office.
• Aim: Advance gender equality in public and political leadership, equipping women with skills, confidence, and networks to contest elections and participate effectively in governance.
• Scope: Supports women leaders in shaping policies, governance structures, and electoral narratives that reflect the aspirations of all citizens.
• Participation: In 2025, over 260 applications from 22 states were received; 36 participants were selected for the two-day workshop.
• Engagement: Interactive sessions with MPs, policy experts, and media strategists on electoral campaigning, governance, narrative building, and media engagement.

About UN Women

• Established in 2010 by the UN General Assembly, consolidating resources and mandates under one entity.
• Mandate:
  • Support intergovernmental bodies (e.g., Commission on the Status of Women) in framing global standards.
  • Assist member states in implementing gender equality commitments through technical and financial support.
  • Partner with civil society to advance women’s rights and empowerment.

In News:

India has achieved a milestone in its clean energy transition with the discovery of a record-low price of ?55.75/kg (USD 641/MT) for Green Ammonia in the first-ever auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Scheme, a core component of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).

About the SIGHT Scheme

• Nature: Flagship financial mechanism under NGHM.
• Nodal Ministries: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG).
• Objective:
  • Scale up green hydrogen and its derivatives (like green ammonia).
  • Make them cost-competitive with fossil-based alternatives.
  • Create domestic demand across fertilizer, refining, and shipping sectors.
• Financial Outlay: ?17,490 crore (till 2029–30) out of the total NGHM budget of ?19,744 crore.
• Implementation Modes:
  • Mode 1: Incentives to lowest incentive seekers.
  • Mode 2A: Aggregated demand for Green Ammonia (fixed incentive).
  • Mode 2B: Aggregated demand for Green Hydrogen (fixed incentive).
• Incentive Structure (Mode 2B): ?50/kg (Year 1), ?40/kg (Year 2), ?30/kg (Year 3).
• Monitoring: A joint MNRE–MoPNG committee ensures compliance with notified green hydrogen standards.

First Green Ammonia Auction (Mode-2A)

• Winning Bid: ?55.75/kg (down from ?100.28/kg discovered in H2Global auction 2024).
• Quantity: 75,000 MTPA out of a total tendered 7.24 lakh MTPA.
• Offtaker:Paradeep Phosphates Ltd., Odisha.
• Contract: Fixed 10-year supply, ensuring price stability and supply chain reliability.
• Global Comparison: Price is slightly higher than grey ammonia (USD 515/MT, March 2025) but provides strong economic incentives for clean transition.