In News:

Indonesia, in collaboration with the United States and allied nations, has launched the annual multinational military exercise “Super Garuda Shield 2025”. Initiated in 2009 as a bilateral drill between U.S. and Indonesian forces, the exercise has expanded significantly since 2022 to include multiple Indo-Pacific and Western partners.

Features of Super Garuda Shield 2025

• Organisers: Indonesian National Armed Forces and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
• Participants: Core members — Indonesia and the U.S.; Expanded members — Australia, Japan, Singapore, UK, France, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea.
• Scale: Around 6,500 troops.
• Duration & Location: 11 days, conducted in Jakarta and on Sumatra island.
• Activities: Joint combat training, interoperability drills across land, air, and maritime domains, and a combined live-fire exercise.
• Objectives:
  • Enhance interoperability and combat readiness.
  • Strengthen regional security cooperation.
  • Uphold sovereignty, territorial integrity, and collective deterrence.

Strategic Context

The Indo-Pacific is witnessing rising tensions due to China’s growing military assertiveness, especially in the South China Sea. Indonesia has expressed concern about Chinese encroachment in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), though it continues to maintain positive economic relations with Beijing.

The U.S., meanwhile, is reinforcing an “arc of alliances” to reassure partners against coercion and status quo changes by force. Washington views the expanded Garuda Shield as a demonstration of collective resolve to uphold sovereignty and deter aggression.

China, however, has criticised the exercise, calling it an attempt to build an “Asian NATO” to contain its influence.

Indonesia’s Diplomatic Balancing

• Indonesia follows a dual-track diplomacy — avoiding overt confrontation with China while diversifying its defence partnerships with the U.S. and Western powers.
• This includes arms purchases from the U.S. and France and enhancing interoperability with multiple militaries.
• Scholars note that Indonesia’s refusal to choose sides outright reflects its strategy of defence diversification without formal alignment.
• Such an approach is seen as a key asset for Jakarta in a region marked by great power rivalry.

Significance

• For Regional Security: Strengthens multinational defence cooperation, collective deterrence, and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
• For Indonesia: Demonstrates its role as a pivotal state capable of balancing economic ties with China while engaging in security cooperation with the West.
• For the World Order: Reflects the growing salience of multilateral military exercises in managing great power competition and reinforcing the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In News:

A tragic incident in Pune has highlighted regulatory gaps in complex medical procedures. A woman, who donated part of her liver to her husband, died shortly after he succumbed to complications following a transplant surgery at a private hospital.

The Maharashtra Health Department has issued a notice to the hospital, underscoring the critical need for robust patient safety mechanisms, accountability, and monitoring of high-risk medical interventions such as organ transplants.

This incident reiterates the importance of strict compliance with Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, ensuring informed consent, donor safety, quality control, and post-operative care. It also brings attention to the ethical dimensions of living donor transplants, where both donor and recipient are at significant medical risk. Strengthening regulatory oversight, grievance redressal mechanisms, and transparency in medical procedures is vital for safeguarding trust in India’s healthcare system.

Veterinary Healthcare Regulation: First National Guidelines

In a landmark step for animal health, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India has released the first comprehensive national guidelines for veterinary blood transfusion services (2025). Until now, most transfusions in veterinary practice were conducted in emergencies without standardized norms, creating risks for animals as well as humans due to possible zoonotic disease transmission.

Key Features of the Guidelines:

• Scientific Protocols: Blood typing, cross-matching, and mandatory donor screening to prevent transfusion reactions.
• Donor Criteria: Health checks, vaccination requirements, and a Donor Rights Charter encouraging voluntary donation.
• Veterinary Blood Banks: State-regulated facilities with biosafety-compliant infrastructure.
• One Health Integration: Addressing zoonotic disease risks by linking animal and human health surveillance.
• Digital Network: Real-time inventory tracking, emergency helplines, and registries for donor–recipient matching.
• Capacity Building: Training modules for veterinary professionals and students.
• Future Innovations: Mobile blood collection units and rare blood-type preservation.

Significance

Both developments underline the evolving landscape of healthcare governance in India. While the Pune case exposes ethical and regulatory challenges in human medicine, the veterinary guidelines represent a proactive, systematised approach to animal welfare, biosafety, and public health.

These events also reflect the growing importance of One Health — the integrated management of human, animal, and environmental health — as India strengthens its healthcare regulations in response to rising public expectations, ethical concerns, and global standards.

In News:

India’s fossil heritage, spanning hundreds of millions of years, holds clues to the evolution of plants, dinosaurs, mammals, and marine life. Yet, the absence of strong protection laws and national repositories leaves this heritage vulnerable to theft, vandalism, and illegal global trade.

India’s Fossil Wealth

• Diverse Record: Fossils in India range from the Precambrian era to the Cenozoic, covering ancient plants, marine life, dinosaurs, and mammals.
• Key Discoveries:
  • Vasuki indicus – a 47-million-year-old giant snake (~15 m long) from Kutch.
  • Indohyus – an early ancestor of whales, discovered in Central India.
  • Dinosaur nests and eggs – particularly in the Narmada Valley and Deccan basalt formations.
• Unique Evolutionary Insights: India’s prolonged isolation after separating from Gondwanaland (~150 million years ago) and later collision with Asia (50–60 million years ago) created unique fossil beds documenting crucial evolutionary transitions.

Sites of Importance

• Kutch, Gujarat – rich in marine fossils and large vertebrates.
• Narmada Valley, Madhya Pradesh – known for dinosaur eggs, nests, and bones.
• Deccan Traps & Himalayan foothills – diverse vertebrate and invertebrate fossils.
• Balasinor, Gujarat – developed as India’s Dinosaur Fossil Park.

In News:

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan said the space agency was in the process of building its heaviest rocket ever, and had named it Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV).

About the LMLV

• A next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle, planned readiness by 2035.
• Designed specifically for lunar and interplanetary missions.
• Will be India’s most powerful rocket to date.

Specifications

• Payload to Moon: ~27 tonnes.
• Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): ~80 tonnes.
• Propulsion: Advanced cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines.
• Objective: To enable crewed lunar missions by 2040 and expand India’s capabilities in deep space exploration.

Evolution of India’s Launch Vehicles

• Sounding Rockets (1963): For atmospheric studies; first launch at Thumba, Kerala.
• SLV-3 (1980): Led by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; placed Rohini satellite in orbit.
• ASLV (1987–94): Limited success; ~150 kg payloads.
• PSLV (1994 onwards): India’s “workhorse” rocket; enabled Chandrayaan-1 (2008), Mangalyaan (2013).
• GSLV (1990s–2010s): Introduced cryogenic engines; ~2,500 kg payload to GTO.
• LVM-3 / GSLV Mk-III (2017): Heaviest operational rocket; ~4,000 kg to GTO; launched Chandrayaan-2 (2019), Chandrayaan-3 (2023).
• LMLV (planned 2035): Will surpass all earlier systems; cornerstone for India’s human spaceflight to the Moon and beyond.

In News:

India has successfully conducted the maiden flight tests of its Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) off the coast of Odisha, marking a major milestone under Project Sudarshan Chakra. Developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the system represents a significant advancement in the country’s ability to defend critical assets against evolving aerial threats.

What is IADWS?

The IADWS is a multi-layered, network-centric air defence architecture that integrates:

• Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM)
• Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS)
• Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) (high-power laser)

Together, these components form a composite shield capable of engaging a wide spectrum of threats—from high-speed aircraft and cruise missiles to drones, swarm UAVs, and loitering munitions.

Key Features

• Centralised Command & Control Centre (C2C2): Integrates radar and electro-optical sensor data to generate a real-time aerial picture. Based on parameters like speed, altitude, and trajectory, threats are assigned to the most effective weapon.
• Multi-layered Defence:
  • QRSAM (outer layer): Intercepts fighter aircraft, helicopters, and standoff precision weapons (cruise missiles, glide bombs) at 25–30 km range and up to 10 km altitude. Highly mobile with short reaction times.
  • VSHORADS (middle layer): Infrared seeker-based shoulder-fired missiles to neutralise low-flying UAVs and helicopters within 6 km range and up to 4 km altitude.
  • Directed Energy Weapon (inner layer): A DRDO-developed laser system capable of disabling drones and loitering munitions at close range. Offers virtually unlimited firing capacity, making it cost-effective and sustainable.
• Simultaneous Target Engagement: During trials, IADWS successfully intercepted three different aerial targets (two fixed-wing UAVs and a multi-copter drone) in real time.
• Mobility & Flexibility: Mounted on high-mobility launchers, the system can be rapidly deployed in forward areas.

Strategic Importance

IADWS strengthens India’s area defence capability by providing a layered shield for:

• Forward air bases and command centres
• Radar and missile installations
• Nuclear and space assets
• Power plants and critical industrial hubs

By combining kinetic (missiles) and non-kinetic (lasers) weapons under a unified command structure, India has taken a major step toward countering both conventional and asymmetric aerial threats.

Significance for India’s Defence Preparedness

• Enhances self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat in advanced defence technologies.
• Strengthens India’s deterrence against hostile air campaigns, drone swarms, and precision strikes.
• Positions India among a select group of nations with multi-layered integrated air defence systems.