In News:

India has joined the United States and Sri Lanka in Exercise Pacific Angel 2025, the largest multilateral disaster response and humanitarian assistance drill in the Indo-Pacific. The exercise signifies growing regional collaboration in humanitarian aid, disaster relief (HADR), and emergency preparedness amid increasing natural and geopolitical challenges in the Indian Ocean region.

About Exercise Pacific Angel 2025

• Host: Sri Lanka (Katunayake Air Base)
• Participants: United States, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, and Maldives.
• Troop Strength: Nearly 90 U.S. and 120 Sri Lankan Air Force personnel, along with contingents and observers from partner nations.
• Assets Deployed:
  • U.S.: Two C-130J aircraft
  • Sri Lanka: Bell 412, B-212 helicopters, and a King Air 350 aircraft

Key Focus Areas

• Search and Rescue (SAR) operations
• Medical readiness and mass casualty response
• Aviation safety and engineering support
• Aeromedical evacuation drills and air mobility exercises

Linked Regional Drills and Strategic Context

The Pacific Angel series forms part of a broader network of U.S.-led multilateral exercises in South Asia aimed at improving interoperability, crisis response, and regional security.

1. Exercise Tiger Lightning 2025

• Host: Bangladesh
• Participants: Bangladesh Army and U.S. Army Pacific
• Objective: Strengthen counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, jungle warfare, and medical evacuation capabilities.
• Highlights: Simulation-based drills, rescue operations, and counterinsurgency coordination.

2. Exercise Tiger Shark 2025 (Flash Bengal Series)

• Host: Bangladesh
• Participants: Bangladesh Navy’s Special Warfare Diving & Salvage Unit, Para Commando Brigade, and U.S. Special Forces.
• Aim: Enhance maritime security, small-unit tactics, and special operations readiness.
• Training Components: Patrol boat handling, small-arms marksmanship, and maritime interdiction.

3. RQ-21 Blackjack UAS Program

• Location: Bangladesh
• Partnership: U.S. Army & Navy with Bangladesh Army and Navy.
• Purpose: Develop indigenous unmanned aerial surveillance capabilities for border monitoring, maritime domain awareness, and UN peacekeeping missions.
• Structure: Establishment of a joint Army-Navy UAS regiment.

Strategic and Geopolitical Significance

• Enhancing Humanitarian Preparedness:Pacific Angel 25 reinforces the ability of Indo-Pacific nations to jointly respond to natural disasters such as cyclones, tsunamis, and earthquakes, ensuring rapid humanitarian assistance and coordination.
• Building Regional Trust and Interoperability:Joint training fosters mutual understanding, operational coordination, and shared standard operating procedures (SOPs) among participating air forces and disaster response agencies.
• Geostrategic Balancing:The U.S. engagement through multilateral drills in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, both immediate neighbours of India, signals Washington’s intent to expand its strategic presence in South Asia. This move is viewed within the broader Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at maintaining a “free, open, and resilient region” while counterbalancing China’s growing influence.
• India’s Role:India’s participation aligns with its Neighbourhood First, Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), and Act East policies. It also strengthens HADR diplomacy, reinforcing India’s image as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean.

In News:

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has released the draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025 for public consultation.
• The legislation seeks to create a comprehensive legal framework for the operation, promotion, and regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in India, replacing the existing Drone Rules, 2021.

Objective

• The Bill aims to balance innovation with accountability—promoting the growth of India’s drone ecosystem while ensuring public safety, national security, and privacy.
• It aligns with the government’s vision of leveraging drone technology for governance, logistics, agriculture, and surveillance under the Digital Indiaand Make in India initiatives.

Key Provisions

1. Regulatory Authority

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will serve as the principal regulator for drone operations.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) will oversee policy, promotion, and implementation aspects.

2. Scope and Exemptions

• The Bill applies to all civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
• Exempted: UAS operated by the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) and those weighing above 500 kilograms.

3. Registration and Certification

• Mandatory Registration: Every drone must obtain a Unique Identification Number (UIN) from DGCA.
• Type Certification: Manufacturing, sale, or operation of drones requires DGCA-approved Type Certificates ensuring safety and airworthiness.
• Remote Pilot Certification: Operators must hold a valid remote pilot license from DGCA or authorized entities.

4. Airspace Regulation — Digital Sky Zones

To ensure safe integration of drones into civil airspace, the Bill formalizes Digital Sky Zones:

• Green Zone: Free flying permitted without prior clearance.
• Yellow Zone: Requires Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearance.
• Red Zone: Restricted areas; operations allowed only with Central Government approval.

5. Safety, Security, and Insurance

• Mandatory third-party insurance for all drone operators to cover liability.
• Safety Features: Anti-tampering, traceability mechanisms, and airworthiness compliance are compulsory.
• Victim Compensation:
  • ?2.5 lakh for death
  • ?1 lakh for grievous injury
  • Claims to be adjudicated by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.

6. Penalties and Enforcement

The Bill introduces stringent penalties to ensure responsible drone usage:

• Imprisonment: 3 months to 3 years.
• Fine: Up to ?1 lakh, or both.
• Violations of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023related to drone misuse will be cognisable offences.
• Confiscation Powers: DGCA officers, authorized personnel, or police may seize drones, electronic devices, or records if rules are violated.

7. Industry and Stakeholder Involvement

The Bill encourages industry participation and innovation while enforcing compliance. The Drone Federation of India noted that the previously liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 have now been made more stringent in response to security and safety concerns.

Significance

• Strengthens legal enforcement and ensures accountability in drone operations.
• Protects national airspace integrity and citizens’ privacy.
• Supports India’s goal of becoming a global drone hub by 2030 — an industry projected to reach USD 11 billion in value.
• Ensures balance between promotion and regulation, crucial for sectors like agriculture, logistics, disaster management, and infrastructure monitoring.

In News:

A team of scientists from the University of Tasmania, Australia, in collaboration with Aquamonitrix, has developed a portable ion chromatograph that enables real-time, on-site detection of nitrate and nitrite levels in environmental samples.

This innovative device — named Aquamonitrix — is a low-cost, field-deployable version of laboratory ion chromatographs, designed to make analytical chemistry more accessible, sustainable, and educationally enriching.

What is Aquamonitrix?

Aquamonitrix is a compact, low-pressure ion chromatograph capable of separating and detecting anions such as nitrate and nitrite outside traditional laboratory settings. It offers an eco-friendly, battery-operated, and user-friendly alternative to expensive laboratory chromatographs, making it particularly suitable for educational institutions and field researchers.

How It Works

1. Sample Preparation: Soil pore water — water held between soil particles — is extracted using a portable vacuum pump, filtered on-site, and directly injected into the device.
2. Separation: The chromatograph employs a short column through which a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution acts as a carrier, separating anions based on their chemical properties.
3. Detection: Equipped with a UV absorbance detector, it identifies nitrate and nitrite by their distinct absorption peaks in the low UV region.
4. Power and Portability: The device operates on a battery, enabling use in remote or field environments such as rivers, greenhouses, and water treatment plants.

Applications and Research Potential

• Environmental Monitoring: Real-time tracking of nitrate and nitrite in rivers, soil, and groundwater.
• Nitrogen Cycle Analysis: Can measure nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia, supporting studies on nutrient conversion in soil and aquatic systems.
• Water Treatment and Agriculture: Enables long-term nutrient monitoring in greenhouses and water management projects.
• Future Development: The research team is working on an arsenic-detecting variant of the instrument — critical for groundwater safety in countries like India and Bangladesh, where arsenic contamination remains a pressing issue.

Significance and Impact

• The Aquamonitrix portable ion chromatograph represents a significant step towards democratizing scientific tools by making high-quality analytical instruments more accessible, affordable, and field-compatible.
• It demonstrates how innovation in instrumentation can serve multiple goals — advancing STEM education, promoting environmental sustainability, and supporting grassroots-level scientific research.
• By integrating education, technology, and environmental stewardship, this innovation aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

In News:

• In a major stride towards achieving Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047, NITI Aayog has launched two landmark initiatives under its Frontier Tech Hub — the ‘AI for Viksit Bharat Roadmap: Opportunity for Accelerated Economic Growth’ and the ‘Frontier Tech Repository’.
• These initiatives aim to harness the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other frontier technologies to catalyse inclusive growth and innovation across sectors.

AI for Viksit Bharat Roadmap

The AI for Viksit Bharat Roadmap, launched by Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister for Electronics & IT Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, outlines a practical and strategic framework to accelerate India’s AI-led growth. It focuses on two primary levers:

1. Accelerating AI adoption across industries to boost productivity, efficiency, and innovation.
2. Transforming Research and Development (R&D) through Generative AI, enabling India to leapfrog into global innovation leadership.

The roadmap emphasizes AI’s potential to drive robust, inclusive, and technology-driven economic growth, while underscoring the need for a collaborative ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, and startups.

Frontier Tech Repository

• Complementing the roadmap, the Frontier Tech Repository is a digital knowledge platform that showcases over 200 real-world impact stories across four critical sectors — Agriculture, Healthcare, Education, and National Security.
• It demonstrates how states, startups, and innovators are using technology to transform governance and improve livelihoods at the grassroots level.
• The repository serves as both a learning resource and a replication model, helping policymakers and administrators identify scalable frontier technology solutions.

Frontier 50 Initiative

• To ensure widespread adoption, NITI Aayog launched the Frontier 50 Initiative, which will support 50 Aspirational Districts and Blocks in selecting and deploying frontier technologies showcased in the repository.
• The goal is to accelerate service saturation across key Aspirational District Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Block Programme (ABP) themes — such as education, healthcare, and livelihood generation — through tech-enabled governance.

NITI Frontier Tech Impact Awards

• To further motivate innovation, NITI Aayog announced the Frontier Tech Impact Awards, which will recognize three states excelling in the use of technology for improving governance, education, health, and livelihoods. These states will receive support to scale their initiatives and create measurable, transformative outcomes.

About the NITI Frontier Tech Hub

• The Frontier Tech Hub serves as NITI Aayog’s platform to anticipate mega technological shifts and strategize India’s preparedness to harness emerging technologies for inclusive growth, supply chain resilience, and national security.
• It brings together experts from government, industry, and academia to assess opportunities and risks associated with frontier technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology, thereby shaping policies for technology-driven development.

In News:

The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has achieved a remarkable breakthrough by successfully cultivating the Eustoma flower in Odisha. This marks the first instance of the exotic ornamental species blooming locally in the state, which until now depended solely on imports for its availability.

About Eustoma

• Scientifically known as Eustoma grandiflorum and commonly referred to as Lisianthus, Prairie Gentian, or Texas Bluebell, the flower is a perennial herbaceous ornamental species native to the grasslands of North America — including Mexico, the southern United States, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Globally, it ranks among the top ten popular cut flowers due to its elegance and commercial appeal.

Distinctive Features

• Eustoma is renowned for its rose-like blossoms, vibrant color range, long stems, and extended vase life, which have earned it the title of the “next rose” in the international flower trade. Its blooms exhibit a rich palette of colors — from pure white to shades of pink, purple, and blue — making it highly desirable for cut flower arrangements and potted ornamental use.

Growth Conditions and Habitat

• The plant thrives in warm, sunny climates and prefers well-drained yet moisture-retentive soil, enriched with garden compost or well-rotted manure. In its natural habitat, it grows in grasslands and disturbed areas, making it adaptable to varied environmental conditions when cultivated with appropriate care.

Significance of the Odisha Breakthrough

• The successful cultivation of Eustoma in Odisha represents a scientific and economic milestone. Previously, the flower had to be imported, which limited access for local floriculturists and increased costs. With NBRI’s intervention, local propagation techniques have now been developed, enabling indigenous production of this high-value ornamental crop.
• By adopting Eustoma cultivation, farmers in Odisha and other states with similar climatic conditions can benefit from higher income potential due to the flower’s global demand and premium market value.

Broader Implications

• The success underscores India’s growing capabilities in plant biotechnology, floriculture innovation, and agro-based entrepreneurship. It aligns with the government’s broader objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) by reducing dependency on imports and promoting sustainable rural livelihoods through scientific advancements.