Supreme Court ruled that consumer forums can enforce all their orders, not just interim ones, treating them like civil court decrees.

• This corrects the 2002 amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which had limited forums’ powers.
• The Consumer Protection Act 1986 has been replaced by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 2019. 
  • CPA 2019 provides for creation of a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and simplification of adjudication process in Consumer Commissions. 

New study finds that crop residue has severe consequences for agroecological biodiversity, driving pest outbreaks in agricultural field. 

• Crop residues are materials left on cultivated land after the crop has been harvested.

Key Findings of Study

• Burning crop residue depletes soil nutrients, undermining long-term productivity. 
• Air pollution released during the process also disrupts the ecological functions of arthropods and birds.
• Natural predators like spiders, ladybirds, frogs, and earthworms decline, reducing ecosystem balance.
• Loss of insects and predators creates cascading effects across trophic levels and disrupts food web.

Nepal has officially joined the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), an India-led global initiative.

About IBCA

• Genesis: Launched in April 2023 (occasion of 50 years of India's Project Tiger).
• Aim:  Global Conservation of seven Big Cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar & Puma.
• Secretariat Headquarter: India.
• Structure:  Multi-country, multi-agency coalition comprising of 95 big cat range countries, non-range countries with an interest in big cat conservation. 
• Member Countries: 13 Member Countries including India.

It was reported that Ukrainian drone attack sparked a short-lived fire at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia.

About Kursk Region

• Location: Situated in the European part of Russia, with its western border adjoining Ukraine.
• History: Famous for the Battle of Kursk (1943), the largest tank battle in history and a turning point in World War-II.
• Geography: The region lies within the basins of the Dnieper and Don rivers.
• Minerals: It hosts the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, the world’s largest magnetic anamoly and one of the richest iron ore deposit.

India is believed to have deployed an AI-enabled X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) system during Operation Sindoor.

About X-Guard FOTD system

• Developed  by Israel’s Rafael, it works synergistically with an aircraft’s onboard Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment to defeat most sophisticated radars.
• The system can be used at low and high altitude, and subsonic to supersonic velocity.
• Deployed either when the aircraft approaches a threatened area or upon detection of an imminent threat, it is retractable in flight. 
• It maintains both electrical and fiber-optic continuity throughout the flight. 

James Webb Space Telescope finds the 29th Moon of Uranus named temporarily S/2025 U1 as the official name is yet to be chosen by the International Astronomical Union.

About James Webb Space Telescope

• Launch: Dec, 2021 jointly by NASA/ESA/CSA.
• Duration: 5 - 10 years.
• Type: Orbiting infrared observatory.
• Orbit: It does not orbit around the Earth like the Hubble; it orbits the Sun 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth at second Lagrange point or L2.
• Purpose: Study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems.

Assam Rifles has mapped 42,000 Myanmar nationals entered India under the new Free Movement Regime (FMR).

About Free Movement Regime

• It is a bilateral arrangement between India and Myanmar that allows border tribes to cross without passports or visas.
• Formalized in 2018, through the Agreement on Land Border Crossing, it permits free movement up to 16 km.
• In February 2024, the Union Home Minister announced its withdrawal citing security and demographic concerns
  • However, its formal scrapping is yet to be notified.
• In December 2024, Union Government brought new system for movement across India-Myanmar border.

Key Features of New System

• Assam Rifles to issue single-entry passes, valid for 7 days within 10 km.
• Passes must be returned at the same crossing point.
• Each point will be manned by police and health officials along with Assam Rifles.

Recently, Kilauea volcano erupted in Hawaii, a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific Ocean.

• Hawaii is the only US state completely made up of islands.

About Kilauea volcano

• Eruptions have been occurring in the Halemaumau Crater which is part of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
• It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
• Current eruption has been characterized by episodic lava fountaining not seen in any eruptions since the 1983–86 episodic fountains.
• High levels of volcanic gas: Primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2).