Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released new data indicating significant shifts in global arms transfers between 2020 and 2024.

• SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control, and disarmament.

Key Findings: 

• Ukraine's arms imports surged nearly 100-fold, making it the world's largest importer (2020–24).
• U.S. increased its global arms export share to 43%.
• Russia’s arms exports fell 64%, dropping it to third place behind France.
• India: 
  • India is now second-largest arms importer, overtaken by Ukraine.
  • Arms imports fell 9.3% between 2015–19 and 2020–24, driven by domestic production growth.
  • Russia remains a key supplier, but India is diversifying with France, Israel, and the U.S.

According to Ministry of Health, Over 6.1 lakh TB patients were notified under the 100-day intensified TB elimination campaign launched in 2024.

About TB

• It is a contagious bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Spread: Through air via coughs, sneezes, or close contact with an infected person.
• Drug-Resistant TB: TB bacteria mutate, becoming resistant to first-line antibiotics.
  • Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB): Resistant to Isoniazid (INH) and Rifampicin (RIF), the two key first-line drugs.
  • Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB): A severe MDR-TB form, resistant to first-line drugs, fluoroquinolones, and at least one second-line injectable drug.
• India has highest TB burden globally, accounting for over 27% of global cases.

A fuel tanker carrying fuel for the U.S. military collided with a cargo ship and caught fire in the North Sea off Britain.

About the North Sea

• Location: A shallow, enclosed sea in Northwestern Europe. 

• The Kiel Canal is one of the world’s busiest artificial waterways which connects North Sea with Baltic Sea.
• Bordering Countries: United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
• Rivers: Elbe, Weser, Rhine, Thames, etc.
• Major Ports: Hamburg and Rotterdam
• Brent crude is a type of North Sea oil that's used as a global oil price benchmark. 

SC recently quashed a preventive detention order by Nagaland's home department, stressing that authorities must independently assess the need for detention.

About Preventive Detention (PD):

• It involves detaining a person without trial, based on a reasonable belief that their actions could harm public order.
• Parliament has exclusive authority to make laws on preventive detention (PD) related to defense, foreign affairs, and security of India. 
• Both Parliament and state legislatures can legislate on matters related to state security and public order.
• Constitutional Provisions
  • Article 22(3) allows authorities to detain individuals for preventive reasons, such as maintenance of public order or national security.
  • Article 22(4) limits preventive detention to three months unless an Advisory Board justifies an extension.

India has recently imposed an anti-dumping duty on water treatment chemicals from China and Japan.

About Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD)

• Dumping is exporting at below national market cost to gain market share on the world market. 
• Definition: ADD are taxes on imported goods to counteract unfair pricing (dumping), protecting local producers from harm caused by goods sold below their normal market value.
• Anti-dumping duties are enabled by Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994.
• The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) (Ministry of Commerce) recommends the duty, while the Ministry of Finance imposes it.

The 6th edition of India-Japan joint military exercise “Dharma Guardian” concluded successfully at the East Fuji Training Area in Japan.

• Primary focus: On counter-terrorism operations in urban terrain.
• Also included activities related to United Nations peacekeeping operations, such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
• The first Dharma Guardian exercise was held in November 2018 at the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) in Vairengte, Mizoram in northeast India. 

Recently, Vizhinjam Port has received environment nod for phase II, III development.

About Vizhinjam Port

• Location: Kerala.
• Significance of Location: Strategically located just 10 nautical miles from the busy international shipping route connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Far East.
• Characteristics:
  • It is India's First Deep-Water Container Transshipment Port.
    • Transshipment is the transfer of cargo or containers from one vessel to another during transit to the final port of destination.
  • It’s being developed on a DBFOT (design, build, finance, operate, and transfer) basis, using a public-private partnership and a landlord approach.

A new study shows cassava survival depends on indigenous farming knowledge based in ancient cultural traditions.

About Cassava (Also known as ‘Yuca’ or ‘Manioc’)

• It is a root vegetable that feeds around a billion people worldwide. Often known as ‘bread of the tropics’
• Characteristics
  • Cassava is a tall semi-woody perennial shrub or tree.
  • Native: South America
  • Cassava is one of the most efficient producers of carbohydrates and energy among all food crops.
  • Rich in carbohydrates, calcium, vitamins B and C, etc.
• National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, allows cassava to be used as a raw material for ethanol production.