In News:

The Pacific island nation Nauru has officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, adopting its indigenous name.

About the Republic of Naoero

The Republic of Naoero is an independent island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and is the world's third-smallest sovereign state by land area, after Vatican City and Monaco. It has a population of around 12,000.

• Capital: No official capital; government offices are located in the Yaren District.
• Location: Situated in southeastern Micronesia, about 40 km south of the Equator and 1,300 km northeast of the Solomon Islands.

Key Geographical Features

• Raised Coral Atoll: A single oval-shaped raised coral limestone island with no natural harbours or sheltered bays.
• Phosphate Plateau: The interior contains rich phosphate deposits formed from centuries of accumulated bird guano, which historically formed the backbone of the country's economy.
• Mining Legacy: Extensive open-cast phosphate mining has degraded nearly four-fifths of the island, leaving a landscape of jagged limestone pinnacles.
• Buada Lagoon: A shallow inland brackish lagoon surrounded by a narrow fertile coastal strip supporting crops such as coconut, banana, and pandanus.
• Water Scarcity: The island has no rivers or streams and depends mainly on rainwater harvesting and imported freshwater due to its porous limestone terrain.

In News:

The Odisha Government has urged the Centre to nominate Puri's Shree Jagannath Rath Yatra for inclusion in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

About the Proposal

Prepared by the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA), the proposal seeks international recognition for the annual Rath Yatra as a living cultural tradition that embodies India's spiritual heritage, traditional craftsmanship, music, dance, rituals, and social inclusivity.

Key Features of Puri Rath Yatra

The Rath Yatra is celebrated annually during the Shukla Paksha of the Hindu month of Ashadha (June–July) and has references in the Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana, and Kapila Samhita. It has also been documented by European travellers since the medieval period.

Every year, three new wooden chariots are constructed following traditional Shilpa Shastra principles by hereditary artisan communities:

• Nandighosha – Lord Jagannath
• Taladhwaja – Lord Balabhadra
• Darpadalana – Goddess Subhadra

The deities are taken in the Pahandi Bije procession from the Jagannath Temple to their chariots on the Bada Danda (Grand Avenue) and pulled by devotees to the Gundicha Temple. After a seven-day stay, they return during the Bahuda Yatra, halting at the Mausi Maa Temple, where they are offered the traditional Podo Pitha.

In News:

India finished 4th at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and officially took over as the host nation for the centenary 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad during the closing ceremony.

India's Performance

India secured 39 medals (13 Gold, 17 Silver, 9 Bronze) to finish 4th, behind Australia, England, and Canada.

Despite fielding a reduced contingent of 122 athletes and the exclusion of traditional medal-rich sports such as shooting, wrestling, badminton, hockey, and table tennis, India achieved a higher medal conversion rate of 31%, compared to 29% at the Birmingham 2022 Games.

Major Highlights

• Boxing emerged as India's best-performing discipline with 10 medals (7 Gold, 3 Silver), recording the highest boxing gold tally by any nation at a single Commonwealth Games.
• India recorded its best-ever para campaign, winning 7 medals, equalling its combined tally from all previous editions.
• Mirabai Chanu became the first Indian weightlifter to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals (2018, 2022 and 2026).
• Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh became India's first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medallists in Judo.
• Tejaswin Shankar became the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon, securing bronze.
• Gulveer Singh was India's only double medallist, winning silver in the 10,000 m and bronze in the 5,000 m.
• Neeraj Chopra won silver in the men's javelin throw after missing the 2022 edition.
• Women boxers delivered an outstanding performance by winning five gold medals, led by Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti Pawar, JaismineLamboria, Priya Ghanghas, and Arundhati Choudhary.

In News:

The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) completed one year of implementation on 1 August 2026, marking a milestone in promoting formal employment and expanding social security coverage.

About PM-VBRY

Launched in August 2025, PM-VBRY is an employment-linked incentive scheme that promotes first-time employment and supports additional job creation by providing incentives to both employees and employers.

• Implementing Agency: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
• Implementation Period:1 August 2025 – 31 July 2027
• Financial Outlay:?99,446 crore
• Target: Generate employment for over 3.5 crore persons, including 1.92 crore first-time employees.

Key Features

• Employee Incentive: First-time employees earning up to ?1 lakh per month receive a one-time incentive equal to one month's EPF wage (up to ?15,000). The benefit is released in two instalments after 6 months and 12 months of continuous service, with part of the amount deposited in a designated savings instrument.
• Employer Incentive: Employers receive up to ?3,000 per month for two years for every eligible additional employee retained for at least six months. In the manufacturing sector, support extends to the third and fourth years.
• Formalisation of Workforce: Expands EPFO-based social security, with special emphasis on labour-intensive manufacturing and employment generation.
• Digital Implementation: Operates through an EPFO-linked digital platform using Aadhaar authentication, Universal Account Numbers (UAN), Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR), Face Authentication Technology, and the UMANG app. Benefits are transferred directly through DBT.

Achievements After One Year

• More than 72 lakh first-time employees entered the formal workforce.
• Over 15 lakh beneficiaries received employment-linked incentives.
• Nearly 30% of beneficiaries are women, promoting greater female participation in formal employment.
• The scheme has strengthened workforce formalisation, expanded social security coverage, and reduced hiring costs for employers.

In News:

During the 16th Indian Organ Donation Day event, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the e-Pratyaropan Digital Platform to strengthen India's organ donation and transplantation system.

About e-Pratyaropan

e-Pratyaropan is a national integrated digital platform developed to digitise and streamline the organ donation and transplantation ecosystem by connecting hospitals, donors, recipients, transplant authorities, and regulatory bodies on a single platform.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)
• Implementing Agency: National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO)
• Objective: To ensure a transparent, efficient, and technology-driven organ donation system by reducing delays, preventing malpractices, and enabling faster organ allocation.

Key Features

• Maintains a real-time national registry of organ donors, recipients, waiting lists, tissue banks, and organ donation pledges.
• Enables automated organ allocation based on medical priority, urgency, and geographical proximity in accordance with the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA) guidelines.
• Integrates registered hospitals, ROTTOs (Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations), and SOTTOs (State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations) for timely reporting and monitoring of transplant procedures.
• Supports digital identity verification for organ donation pledges and issues digital pledge certificates.
• Provides real-time tracking of organs through integration with the NOTTO Mobile App, facilitating efficient transport via green corridors.