Indian Navy has launched maiden initiatives, IOS Sagar and AIKEYME, which are aimed at consolidating its role as the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ and ‘First Responder’ in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

About Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar 

• Under it, INS Sunayna is being deployed to Southwest IOR with crew from India and 9 friendly countries (Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, South Africa).

About Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME)

• Multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African Countries to enhance interoperability.
  • Titled as ‘AIKEYME’, which means ‘Unity’ in Sanskrit.
• Participation from:  India, Tanzania as co-hosts and Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) successfully exported first consignment of GI-Tagged Dalle Chilly from Sikkim to the Solomon Islands.

About Dalle Chilly

• Dalle Chilly, also known as Fire Ball Chilly or Dalle Khursani, is renowned for its intense pungency, bright red color, and high nutritional value. 
• It is rich in vitamins A, C, and E, along with potassium.
• Its Scoville Heat Units (SHU) range from 100,000 to 350,000, making it one of the hottest chillies.

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in West Bengal’s Darjeeling has become India’s first zoo to preserve DNA samples of wildlife found exclusively in snowy regions.

• DNA sample preservation was part of Cryogenic Preservation Initiative, which was launched by PNHZP in collaboration with Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.
  • Initiative aims at ensuring that if these species face extinction, their preserved genetic material can aid in research and future conservation efforts.

About PNHZP

• It is India’s highest-altitude zoological park.
• It is well-known for its conservation programs for Snow Leopard and Red Panda. 

Union Government has expressed serious concern over hospitals for not sharing data on organ transplantation activities with the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO).

About NOTTO

• Apex organization for implementing the National Organ Transplant Program (NOTP) and to carry out activities as per Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA) 1994.
• Set up under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• NOTTO provides an efficient and organized system of organ procurement and distribution in the country and maintains the national registry of donors and recipients of organs and tissues.
• It has following two divisions:
  • National Human Organ and Tissue Removal and Storage Network
  • National Biomaterial Centre (National Tissue Bank)

International Energy Agency published its Global Energy Review 2025 report.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Global energy demand grew by 2.2% in 2024 with Emerging and Developing Economies accounting for over 80% of this demand.
• 80% of the increase in global electricity generation in 2024 was provided by renewable sources and nuclear, which together contributed 40% of total generation for the first time.
• Deployment of solar PV, wind, nuclear, electric cars and heat pumps since 2019 now prevents 2.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually, the equivalent of 7% of global emissions.

Rushikonda Beach wins back the Blue Flag tag which was earlier withdrawn due to poor maintenance.

• Rushikonda Beach in Visakhapatnam is the only Blue Flag beach in Andhra Pradesh and is among the 13 Blue Flag beaches in India.

About Blue Flag tag

• Conferred upon: For beaches, marinas, and sustainable tourism boats. (has different criteria for each)
• Conferred by: Denmark-based Foundation for Environment Education (FEE).
• Criteria: Applicants have to comply with a number of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria at the time of the award.

Recently, VARUNA Exercise 2025 was concluded.

About Varuna 2025

• It is a bilateral naval exercise between India and France.
• Location: Arabian Sea
• Aim: Enhanced jointmanship, upholding principles of rules-based maritime order, promoting stability in Indo-Pacific
• It included mock air-to-air combat between French Rafale-M and Indian MiG-29K.

DNA polymorphism has found numerous modern applications in forensics and medicine.

About DNA Polymorphisms

• It refers to the variations in DNA segments or genes between individuals.
• Detection Techniques: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) polymorphism.
• DNA profiles are typically generated using polymorphisms in parts of the DNA called short tandem repeats (STRs).
  • An STR is a short sequence of base-pairs on the DNA that is repeated some number of times.
• Uses: molecular and personalised medicine, forensic DNA, DNA linkage analysis, differentiate one person from another.