Researchers developed a low-cost, flexible sensor using pencil-drawn electrodes and graphene oxide.

• It is seen as an eco-friendly alternative to expensive metal-based sensors.
• Potential Applications: Demonstrating high sensitivity for detecting soil moisture, plant drought stress, human breathing patterns, etc. 
• GO is synthesized from graphite (an allotrope of carbon). 

About Graphene (aka wonder material or miracle material)

• Structure: A single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice.
• Key Properties: 
  • Flexibility: Possesses high elasticity, capable of being stretched by up to 20-25% of its original length.
  • Conductivity: Conducts electricity better than copper and heat better than any other material.
  • Strength: Mechanical tensile strength estimated to be roughly 200 times stronger than steel by weight.
• Major Applications: Boosts processing speeds in electronics, enhances battery density (EVs), strengthens filters water for desalination, etc.

National IED Data Management System (NIDMS) of the National Security Guard (NSG) has been inaugurated. 

About NIDMS

• It is a secure national digital platform through which accurate and organized analysis of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and bomb explosion-related incidents can be conducted.
• Significance: Enables pattern analysis, inter-agency data sharing, faster investigation, etc.
  • Access to Platform will be available to NIA, Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) across the country, state police forces and all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory established two apex levels Calibration Facilities- NESL and National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration. 

• CSIR-NPL is the apex institution for metrology and custodian of India’s national standards.
• National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration brought India among a select group of global leaders in photovoltaic measurement standards.

About NESL

• Apex national facility for testing, calibration and certification of air pollution monitoring instruments.
• Considered as world’s second NESL. 
  • At present, only the UK has such a laboratory.
• Benefits: Develop India-specific standards, ensured credible data for the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), industrial emission audits, etc. 

Union Home Minister chaired the 9th Apex Level NCORD meeting in New Delhi to review national anti-drug efforts.

About NCORD

• Established: 2016 (restructured in 2019) under Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Mandate: Coordinating Central and State drug law enforcement in controlling drug trafficking and abuse in India.
• Structure: Four-tier framework (Apex, Executive, State, and District Committees) 
• Helps enforce the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985
• Initiatives linked to NCORD:NCORD Portal by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) provides information related to drug law enforcement; MANAS 24x7 toll-free helpline (1933); NIDAAN offender database, etc. 

A NASA satellite observation has challenged the conventional understanding of tsunami behavior.

• It suggests that tsunamis exhibit a complex pattern of wave dispersion and interaction as against the conventional understanding of tsunami as a single, stable and “non-dispersive” wave.

About Tsunami

• Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. 
• In the depths of the ocean, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height but as the waves travel inland, they build up to higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases. 
• The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth rather than the distance from the source of the wave.

The discovery of stupas (man-made mounds) at Zehanpora underscores Kashmir’s rich Gandhara Buddhist heritage and its historical role as a centre of Buddhist culture and learning.

Zehanpora Site (Baramulla, North Kashmir)

• Stupa structures belong to the Kushan period (1st–3rd century CE).
• Located along the ancient Silk Route to Kandahar.
• Other Findings: Evidence of wooden superstructures, an urban settlement complex (potentially chaityas and viharas), Kushan-era pottery, copper artefacts etc.

India has formally objected to China’s infrastructure projects in the Shaksgam Valley.

About Shaksgam Valley

• Strategically located territory in Ladakh, north of the Karakoram watershed and an integral part of India.
• Illegal cession: Pakistan occupied since 1947, unlawfully ceded to China under the 1963 China–Pakistan Boundary Agreement.
• Also known as the Trans-Karakoram Tract, lying along both sides of the Shaksgam River.
• Geography: Bounded by the Kun Lun Mountains and Karakoram range; it lies adjacent to the Siachen Glacier.

The Minister of External Affairs participated in India’s first-ever engagement in the Weimar Triangle.

About Weimar Triangle

• It is a regional alliance of France, Germany, and Poland set up in 1991 in the German city of Weimar.
  • Initially formed as a key forum for supporting German-Polish reconciliation.
• Aim: To promote European integration, political dialogue, security cooperation, etc.

Scientists have achieved the world’s first successful 2 Tbit/s Free-Space Optical (FSO) Communication using Small Optical Terminals mountable on Satellites and High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS).

About FSO Communication

• It is a wireless data transmission technology that uses modulated laser/light beams to transmit data through free space without optical fibre or cables.
• Advantages: High bandwidth, high data rates, enhanced security, and unlicensed spectrum.
• Applications: Inter-satellite links, satellite-to-ground communication, HAPS, last-mile connectivity, and disaster/emergency communication.
• Key requirement: Requires clear line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver.
• Limitations: Affected by atmospheric conditions such as fog, rain, dust, and turbulence.