India and Jordan signed a twinning agreement between UNESCO Heritage sites of Petra & Ellora Caves renowned for their rock cut architecture.

About Ellora caves 

• Location - Charanandri hills, Maharashtra near Elaganga river 
• Origin - Carved between 600-1000 CE predominantly by the Rashtrakuta and yadava dynasty. 
• Architecture - Rock cut caves carved into basalt cliffs from top to down 
• Religion - Houses Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain monuments side-by-side, illustrating the religious tolerance
  • It also houses mural paintings related to all 3 religions.

About Petra caves

• Petra also known as Rose City" due to its pink sandstone cliffs was the  capital of the Nabataean Kingdom starting around 4th century BCE
• It is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges.

Recently Raj Goyal assumed the charge as Chief Information Commissioner. 

About CIC 

• Genesis: Statutory body under  Right to Information Act, 2005
• Composition: Headed by a Chief Information Commissioner and can have up to 10 ICs.
• Function: To receive and inquire into complaints from any citizen regarding RTI act, etc. 
• Appointment: CICs And ICs are appointed by President on recommendation of a committee consisting of
  • PM (Chairperson)
  • Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha
  • Union Cabinet Minister nominated by PM.
• RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019: Terms of office, salaries, allowances, and other conditions of service shall be determined by the central government.

Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff is on an official visit to Maldives to attend the closing ceremony of 8th edition of Exercise Ekatha 2025.

About Exercise Ekatha 2025:

• Established in 2017, it is an annual bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Maldives National Defence Force.
• 8th edition of the exercise witnessed extensive professional interactions aimed at enhancing interoperability and operational synergy.

The Indian Army showcased Ekam AI and SAMBHAV as part of the Vijay Diwas.

About Ekam AI

• A fully indigenous and secure artificial intelligence platform designed for sensitive environments. 
• It enables users to analyse information, manage documents, and support decision-making without dependence on foreign software or external cloud systems.

About SAMBHAV

• A portable communication system that provides mobile connectivity using satellite support.
• The system can be deployed quickly in remote or disaster-affected areas, improving communication for both soldiers and civilians.

UN Alliance of Civilizations marks two decades of bridging divides.

About UN Alliance of Civilization

• Secretariat: New York.
• Origin: Launched in 2005 together by the Republic of Türkiye, and Spain.
• Objective: Maintains a global network of partners including states, international and regional organizations, civil society groups etc. to improve cross-cultural relations between diverse nations and communities to reduce polarization and conflict.

Chandigarh secured first position in the National Energy Conservation Award (NECA) 2025 for efforts in energy conservation and efficiency.

About National Energy Conservation Award

• The awards are given annually by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power to recognise outstanding achievements in energy efficiency.
• Conferred based on the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI).
  • SEEI is a comprehensive national assessment framework developed by BEE in collaboration with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). 
  • It evaluates state/UT’s energy efficiency across buildings, industry, transport, and municipal sectors through policy implementation and outcomes.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed its regional offices to collect samples of eggs for testing the presence of nitrofurans residues.

About Nitrofurans

• Nitrofurans are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics. E.g. furazolidone, nitrofurazone.
• They commonly used as veterinary drugs for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory purposes.
• However, they are banned for use in food-producing animals in India. 
• Concerns: Genotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic, residues may persist even after cooking. 

Chola and Dok La passes in Sikkim are opened for battlefield tourism under the Bharat Rannbhoomi Darshan initiative.

• Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan is a joint initiative of Indian Army and Ministry of Tourism, for citizens to visit historic war zones and sites of military significance.

About the Passes

• Cho La Pass
  • Location: Chola range of Eastern Himalayas, 17782 ft. above the sea.
    • Nathu La and Jelep La passes are also situated in Chola range.
  • Connects Sikkim and Chumbi Valley.
  • It was site of 1967 Indo-China skirmishes.

• Doka La (Doklam) Pass
  • Location: East Sikkim, on the edge of the Doklam plateau, near the tri-junction of India, Bhutan, and China. 
  • It was the site of the 2017 border standoff between India and China.

India launches DHRUV64 microprocessor.

About DHRUV64 

• It is first 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core first fully indigenous microprocessor.
  • Microprocessors are the brains of modern electronic devices such as mobiles, computers, etc.
• Developed by: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Microprocessor Development Programme (MDP).
• Other microprocessors developed by India: SHAKTI (2018, IIT Madras), AJIT (2018, IIT Bombay), VIKRAM (2025, ISRO–SCL), and THEJAS64 (2025, C-DAC).
  • The next-generation Dhanush and Dhanush+ processors are under development.
• Significance: India consumes around 20% of all the microprocessors manufactured globally.