In News:

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, scheduled for launch in the mid-2030s. It represents the first-ever space-based observatory designed to detect gravitational waves, offering an unprecedented opportunity to study some of the most energetic and mysterious phenomena in the universe.

Mission Objective

LISA aims to:

• Directly detect and study gravitational waves—minute ripples in spacetime caused by massive cosmic events such as black hole mergers, neutron star collisions, and possibly phenomena from the early universe.
• Explore the fundamental nature of gravity and black holes, providing insights into Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
• Investigate cosmic evolution by probing how galaxies and black holes have grown and interacted over time.
• Contribute to understanding the universe’s expansion rate, complementing other cosmological observations.

Design and Configuration

• The LISA system will consist of three identical spacecraft, positioned in an equilateral triangular formation.
• Each side of this triangle will span approximately 2.5 million kilometres, and the formation will trail Earth in its orbit around the Sun at a distance of about 50 million kilometres.
• This configuration will enable ultra-precise measurements of tiny variations in distance between the spacecraft caused by passing gravitational waves.

Scientific Principle

• Each spacecraft will contain two free-floating test masses (gold-platinum cubes) that serve as nearly perfect reference points in space.
• Laser beams exchanged between the spacecraft will measure the relative distance between these cubes with extraordinary accuracy using laser interferometry.
• As gravitational waves pass through, they will slightly alter the distances between the spacecraft—by as little as a fraction of the width of an atom—allowing LISA to record and analyse these distortions.

Technological Significance

• LISA extends the capabilities of ground-based detectors like LIGO and VIRGO, which can only detect higher-frequency gravitational waves.
• By operating in space, LISA can sense low-frequency gravitational waves generated by supermassive black hole binaries and other massive cosmic systems, which are beyond the reach of terrestrial observatories.
• The mission will also test cutting-edge technologies in laser stability, drag-free navigation, and precision metrology.

Scientific Impact

• Enhance understanding of black hole dynamics, galaxy formation, and cosmic structure evolution.
• Provide new data on extreme astrophysical events and test the limits of General Relativity.
• Contribute to multi-messenger astronomy, linking gravitational wave observations with electromagnetic and particle signals from the same sources.
• Offer valuable inputs for cosmology, including studies of dark matter, dark energy, and the early universe.

In News:

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri, an indigenously built Shivalik-class guided missile stealth frigate, participated in the Japan–India Maritime Exercise (JAIMEX-25).

About JAIMEX 2025

• Nature of Exercise: JAIMEX is a bilateral maritime exercise conducted between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
• Objective: It aims to enhance operational interoperability, mutual understanding, and maritime cooperation, reflecting the robust ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ established between India and Japan in 2014.
• Theme: Upholding a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific based on the principles of rules-based order, freedom of navigation, and shared maritime security.

Exercise Structure

JAIMEX 2025 was conducted in two distinct phases — the Sea Phase and the Harbour Phase, each designed to deepen operational synergy and people-to-people interaction between the two navies.

1. Sea Phase:

• Participating vessels included INS Sahyadri, and JMSDF ships Asahi, Oumi, and Submarine Jinryu.
• The drills focused on:
  • Advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)andmissile defence operations.
  • Flying operationsandunderway replenishmentexercises.
  • Maritime domain awareness and communication interoperability.
• These activities aimed to enhance tactical coordination, build mutual trust, and improve joint operational readiness between the two navies.

2. Harbour Phase (Yokosuka, Japan)

• Featured professional and cultural exchanges, including:
  • Cross-deck visits,
  • Collaborative operational planning,
  • Sharing of best practices, and
  • A combined Yoga session to promote cultural camaraderie.
• The harbour engagement served as a part of INS Sahyadri’s Long Range Deployment (LRD) to the Indo-Pacific, reflecting India’s increasing maritime outreach and strategic presence in the region.

Significance of JAIMEX

• Strengthens Maritime Cooperation: Enhances India–Japan naval interoperability, crucial for coordinated responses to maritime security challenges such as piracy, illegal fishing, and humanitarian assistance.
• Supports the Indo-Pacific Vision: Reinforces the shared commitment to a rules-based maritime order and an inclusive Indo-Pacific, aligning with initiatives like QUAD and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
• Boosts Defence Diplomacy: Builds mutual trust and operational understanding through regular bilateral and multilateral engagements.
• Showcases India’s Indigenous Naval Capability: INS Sahyadri’s participation underscores India’s progress under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and its ability to deploy advanced indigenous platforms for extended missions.

INS Sahyadri: Key Facts

India–Japan Defence and Strategic Cooperation

The India–Japan defence partnership has become a key component of their broader Special Strategic and Global Partnership (2014), rooted in shared democratic values and converging strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.

Major Bilateral and Multilateral Defence Engagements:

• Malabar Exercise – Multilateral naval exercise (India, Japan, USA, Australia).
• Dharma Guardian – Bilateral Army exercise.
• Veer Guardian – Bilateral Air Force exercise.
• 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue – Institutional mechanism for strategic coordination.

These engagements collectively strengthen maritime domain awareness, supply chain resilience, and defence technology cooperation between the two nations.

Strategic Context

• The JAIMEX exercise aligns with India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision.
• It demonstrates a collective response to maritime challenges such as increasing militarization, territorial disputes, and climate-driven risks in the Indo-Pacific.
• The partnership complements India’s engagement in regional groupings such as the QUAD, ASEAN-led mechanisms, and IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association).

In News:

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), at its Extraordinary Congress in Geneva (October 2025), rallied its 193 Member States to commit to achieving universal early warning coverage by 2027 under the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. This global “Call to Action” seeks to ensure that no one dies for lack of warning in the face of intensifying weather, water, and climate-related disasters.

About Early Warning Systems (EWS)

An Early Warning System (EWS) is an integrated mechanism that combines:

• Hazard monitoring and forecasting,
• Disaster risk assessment,
• Communication of alerts, and
• Preparednessmeasures,to enable timely action that saves lives, livelihoods, and assets.

According to the WMO, a 24-hour advance warning can reduce disaster-related damage by up to 30%, underscoring the importance of predictive and community-based alert systems.

UN’s Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative

• Launched: 2022 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
• Lead Agencies:
  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
  • UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
  • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
• Goal: To ensure that every person on Earth is protected by life-saving early warnings for hazards such as cyclones, floods, droughts, and heatwaves by 2027.
• Philosophy: “Every dollar invested in early warnings saves up to fifteen dollars in avoided losses.”

The Early Warning “Value Chain”

The EW4All initiative emphasizes strengthening each link of the early warning value chain:

• Monitoring and Forecasting: Building accurate, real-time climate and hazard observation networks.
• Risk Assessment: Identifying vulnerable populations and areas through integrated risk mapping.
• Alert Dissemination: Delivering clear, trusted, and accessible alerts using multi-platform communication (digital, radio, community-based).
• Preparedness and Response: Ensuring communities understand warnings and act effectively.

Global Need and Rationale

• Over the past 50 years, climate, weather, and water-related disasters have claimed over 2 million lives, with 90% of deaths occurring in developing nations.
• Since 1970, economic losses from such disasters have exceeded US$4 trillion globally.
• Countries lacking multi-hazard early warning systems experience six times higher mortality and four times greater impacts than those equipped with such systems.

Current Global Status

• As of 2024, 108 countries have some capacity for multi-hazard early warning systems, up from 52 countries in 2014.
• However, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and conflict-affected regions remain severely underprotected.
• A WMO assessment across 62 countries revealed:
  • 50% have only basic hazard monitoring capacity.
  • 16% have less than basic capacity.
• Technical barriers include:
  • Weak observation networks,
  • Limited data sharing,
  • Inadequate financing, and
  • Lack of community trust and awareness.

Progress Under EW4All

The WMO’s 2025 Congress marked a turning point as 193 nations endorsed a Call to Action for universal coverage by 2027.Key outcomes include:

• Country-led assessments and roadmaps for capacity building.
• Integration of EW4All targets with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030).
• Strengthened regional cooperation for hazard data sharing and early action.
• New partnerships between national meteorological services, private sector innovators, and humanitarian agencies.

Call to Action: Priority Measures

To meet the 2027 universal coverage target, WMO and the UN have urged governments to:

• Integrate EWS into national climate and disaster management policies.
• Secure long-term and predictable financing beyond short-term project aid.
• Empower National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) with clear mandates and authority.
• Ensure inclusivity by combining scientific data with indigenous knowledge to reach vulnerable and remote communities.
• Leverage innovation and AI to enhance the precision and speed of predictions.
• Promote open data sharing and capacity-building to close technological gaps.

Regional Implications for India

India, as one of the most climate-vulnerable nations facing monsoons, cyclones, and heatwaves, stands to benefit immensely from EW4All.

• India already operates a robust multi-hazard early warning system led by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), NDMA, and INCOIS.
• Integration under EW4All could help upgrade radar networks, enhance last-mile connectivity, and strengthen community-based disaster response.
• The initiative aligns with India’s National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and Sendai Framework priorities, reinforcing the “Zero Casualty” approach in disaster management.

In News:

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), stands as one of the world’s largest poverty alleviation and women-centric livelihood programmes. It has successfully mobilized millions of rural households into community institutions and significantly advanced the agenda of women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, and sustainable rural livelihoods.

Genesis and Evolution

• Launch: Initially introduced in 2010 as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) by restructuring the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).
• Renaming: In 2016, it was renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) to honour the philosophy of Antyodaya—uplifting the poorest of the poor.
• Funding Pattern: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, jointly funded by the Central and State Governments.
• Objective: To reduce rural poverty by enabling poor households to access self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, ensuring diversified and sustainable livelihoods.

Core Objectives

The mission seeks to empower rural communities by investing in four key pillars:

• Social Mobilisation& Institution Building: Organizing rural poor, especially women, into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and federations for mutual support and long-term empowerment.
• Financial Inclusion: Ensuring access to formal credit and financial services through community-based intermediaries like Bank Sakhis and Banking Correspondent Sakhis.
• Sustainable Livelihoods: Promoting both farm and non-farm livelihoods including agriculture, livestock, handicrafts, and microenterprises.
• Social Development & Convergence: Addressing gender, nutrition, health, sanitation, and social justice through convergence with other government programmes.

Women-Centric Model

Women are at the heart of DAY-NRLM. The mission focuses on collectivizing women into SHGs, enhancing their entrepreneurial capacity, and connecting them to markets, technology, and credit networks.

• Scale: As of June 2025, the mission has mobilized 10.05 crore rural households into 90.9 lakh SHGs across 28 States and 6 UTs.
• Financial Empowerment: Over ?11 lakh crore has been disbursed to SHGs through formal banking systems, backed by collateral-free loans and interest subvention, with a 98% repayment rate — a testament to the model’s sustainability.
• Community Cadres: SHG women are trained as Community Resource Persons (CRPs) such as
  • Krishi Sakhis – agricultural extension support,
  • PashuSakhis – animal health and livestock management,
  • Bank Sakhis – financial inclusion facilitators,
  • BimaSakhis – insurance and welfare access agents.
• Over 3.5 lakh Krishi and PashuSakhis and 47,952 Bank Sakhis have been deployed to deliver last-mile services.

Entrepreneurship and Microenterprise Development

To promote local entrepreneurship, the Mission runs the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), supporting 3.74 lakh rural enterprises across 282 blocks.

These enterprises cover diverse sectors like handicrafts, food processing, agro-based units, and rural services — encouraging self-reliance and community-led growth.

A remarkable example is of Heinidamanki Kanai from Meghalaya, who turned her SHG training into a successful handmade soap business with bank support under NRLM — a model of grassroots entrepreneurship.

Skill Development and Employment Initiatives

DAY-NRLM implements two major Centrally Sponsored Schemes to boost rural employability and entrepreneurship:

• DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)
  • Provides placement-linked skill training for rural youth aged 15–35 years.
  • 17.50 lakh trained and 11.48 lakh placed as of June 2025.
  • Top-performing states: Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
• Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs)
  • Bank-sponsored centres for youth aged 18–50 years, providing entrepreneurship training and promoting both self- and wage-employment.
  • 56.69 lakh candidates trained,40.99 lakh settled in gainful employment.
  • Leading states: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Achievements and Outcomes

High-Performing States:

• Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh (SHG formation and financial inclusion).
• Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh (agro-ecological initiatives under MahilaKisanprogrammes).
• Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal (microenterprise promotion under SVEP).

Capacity Building and Marketing Initiatives

To strengthen entrepreneurship and market readiness:

• SARAS Aajeevika Melas (National & State-level fairs) are organized annually to showcase SHG products and build marketing skills.
• The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) conducts Training of Trainers (ToT)programmes on marketing, having trained over 44 batches in the past three years.
• These initiatives bridge rural producers with urban consumers and e-commerce platforms, enhancing rural incomes.

Impact on Rural Transformation

• Economic Empowerment: Enhanced access to credit and markets has diversified income sources for millions of women.
• Social Transformation: SHG networks now play a role in local governance, social awareness, and addressing gender issues such as domestic violence, health, and education.
• Financial Inclusion: The presence of SHG-led financial intermediaries ensures doorstep access to savings, credit, and insurance.
• Sustainable Livelihoods:Agro-ecological practices, livestock management, and non-farm enterprises are reducing ecological stress and enhancing resilience.

Challenges Ahead

• Uneven implementation across states and regions.
• Need for stronger digital monitoring and credit tracking.
• Enhancing market linkages for SHG products.
• Integrating livelihood programmes with emerging green and climate-resilient models.

Conclusion

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) exemplifies inclusive, women-led rural development. By mobilizing millions of women into strong community institutions, linking them with finance and skills, and promoting sustainable livelihoods, it has transformed the socio-economic fabric of rural India.

As a global model of community-driven development, the Mission continues to advance India’s vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” by empowering its most vulnerable citizens to become entrepreneurs, leaders, and change-makers in their own right.

In News:

The Central Government has strongly defended the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 before the Supreme Court, asserting that the law plays a transformative role in restoring the dignity, livelihoods, and cultural identity of India’s forest-dependent communities. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), in its affidavit, has rebutted allegations that the FRA or its 2012 Rules conflict with existing wildlife and forest protection laws.

Background

• The Forest Rights Act was enacted in 2006 to correct historical injustices faced by Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs), whose rights over forest lands were never formally recorded.
• The Act’s constitutional validity was challenged in 2008 by the NGO Wildlife First, which sought eviction of people whose claims were rejected under the Act.
• In February 2019, the Supreme Court directed states to evict rejected claimants, triggering widespread protests from tribal groups and civil society.
• The MoTA intervened, pointing to procedural lapses in claim verification, leading the Court to stay the eviction order and call for fresh data and review of rejected claims.

Government’s Stand Before the Supreme Court

• The MoTA has upheld both the legal validity and spirit of the Act, clarifying that FRA is not merely about land ownership but about restoring dignity, livelihoods, and cultural identity.
• The Ministry has rebutted claims that FRA undermines wildlife or forest conservation, arguing that the coexistence model has long been practiced by indigenous groups such as the Baiga and Santhal communities.
• The Centre has emphasized that the absence of a sunset clause in the Act is intentional to ensure equity and prevent arbitrary timelines for claim submissions.
• It also highlighted that the Gram Sabha is the final authority in determining forest rights, as reaffirmed by the 2013 Niyamgiri judgment, which upheld the community and cultural rights of the DongriaKondh tribe in Odisha.

Key Provisions of the FRA, 2006

The Act recognises two broad categories of rights:

• Individual Forest Rights (IFR): Ownership and habitation rights for forest land cultivated or occupied by individuals or families.
• Community Forest Rights (CFR): Rights of communities over forest resources, including grazing, fishing, and collection of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) like bamboo, tendu leaves, honey, lac, and wax.

Empowerment of Gram Sabha:

• To identify, verify, and recommend claims for forest rights.
• To manage and protect community forest resources sustainably.
• To regulate access to and trade of MFP, ensuring benefits reach local communities directly.

Government Initiatives Supporting FRA Implementation

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme for Minor Forest Produce ensures fair value for tribal collectors.
• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) and Van DhanKendras assist tribal communities in value addition and marketing of forest products.
• These mechanisms prevent the monopolisation of forest produce by contractors and enhance economic self-reliance among tribal communities.

Key Issues and Challenges

• Implementation Delays: Many claims remain pending due to administrative inefficiencies and lack of trained personnel at local levels.
• Conflict with Conservation Laws: Overlaps with the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and Forest Conservation Act (1980) often lead to confusion and litigation.
• Commercialization Risks: Concerns exist over unsupervised extraction of MFP if monitoring is weak.
• Data and Monitoring Gaps: Lack of digitized and transparent claim records has led to disputes and wrongful rejections.
• Integration with Conservation Goals: Balancing livelihood rights with ecological preservation remains a challenge.

Significance of FRA

• Empowers tribal and forest communities by recognizing their traditional rights and promoting participatory forest governance.
• Strengthens decentralized decision-making through Gram Sabhas.
• Promotes poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.
• Reinforces constitutional principles, notably:
  • Article 21 – Right to Life with dignity.
  • Article 46 – Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Tribes.
• Advances the philosophy of “Conservation through Coexistence”, integrating ecological and social sustainability.