The President and Prime Minister expressed grief over the demise of the renowned Pandavani singer Teejan Bai.

• Teejan Bai was the only person from Chhattisgarh to have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

About Pandavani

• Pandavani is a traditional narrative folk-art form that originates Chhattisgarh. 
• Rooted in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, 
  • Performances combine music, narration, dialogue, and dramatic acting.
• It has two main styles:
  • Vedamati: The narrator, known as the Vedamati, recites the stories playing the musical instrument called the “Bhumbo,” a stringed instrument.
  • Kapalik: It involves a solo performance where the artist not only narrates but also enacts the different characters of the epic.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.

About National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction

• A comprehensive national framework for drug demand reduction.
  • Over 7 crore people in India affected by substance use disorder (2019 survey).
• Focuses on prevention, awareness, capacity building, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration.
• Forms the policy framework for the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (2020).
• Supports NGOs, Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs), and Community-based Peer-led Interventions (CPLI).
• Promotes research, training, IEC activities and livelihood support.
• Adopts a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has shut down the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for its third Long Shutdown (2026–2030) to upgrade it into the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).

About LHC

• World's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, operated by European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
• Began operations on 10 September 2008.
• Located in a 27-km circular tunnel underground, on the France–Switzerland border near Geneva.
• Accelerates and collides protons and heavy ions to nearly the speed of light to study the fundamental constituents of matter and conditions immediately after the Big Bang.
• Includes four particle detectors – ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.
• Discovered the Higgs boson in 2012. 
  • Higgs boson explains how fundamental particles acquire mass.
• Uses superconducting magnets cooled to −271.3°C with liquid helium.

Japan's Hayabusa2 performed a successful flyby of an asteroid during its extended mission 

About Hayabusa2

• Japan's asteroid sample-return mission, developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). 
  • Asteroids are Small rocky or metallic bodies that orbit the Sun, primarily found in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. 
• Launched: 3 December 2014 and returned asteroid samples to Earth on 6 December 2020.
• Explored the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu.
• Since then, it has been on an extended mission to reach a new target, the asteroid 1998 KY26, in July 2031.
  • First mission to deploy rovers on an asteroid.

Note: OSIRIS-REx is NASA's asteroid sample-return mission that returned samples from asteroid Bennu to Earth in 2023. 

Himalayan pangolin, earlier classified as subspecies of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), confirmed as a distinct species.

• Scientists found that climate change played a key role in diverging the two lineages ~1.8 million years ago during the early Pleistocene Epoch.

About Himalayan Pangolin (Manis aurita)

• Distribution: Restricted to southern Himalayan foothills (Nepal, South Tibet, and Northeast India, including Assam).
• Features:
  • It is larger on average compared to the Chinese pangolin. 
  • It paradoxically has markedly smaller ears. 
  • It also has a shorter and broader nasal bone.

About Pangolins

• Highly olfactory reliant scaly mammals, exhibiting significantly enlarged olfactory bulb and turbinals, using smell to forage for ants and termites.
• They roll up into a ball for protection.
• Threat: Poaching, Inbreeding, Illegal wildlife trade.
•  Eight species of Pangolins exist globally including Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).

The Ladakh administration has taken measures to strengthen the Pashmina value chain and enhance the livelihoods of the Changpa pastoral community.

About Changpa

• A semi-nomadic pastoral community inhabiting the Changthang Plateau of Ladakh.
• Primarily inhabit the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Rear the indigenous Changthangi (Changra) goats, which produce the world-famous Pashmina (cashmere) wool.
• Practise seasonal transhumance and also rear yaks and sheep.
• Recognised as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in India.
• Custodians of Ladakh's high-altitude pastoral ecosystem and traditional Pashmina heritage.

Direct-Seeded Rice (DSR) is witnessing increased adoption by farmers amid El Niño-induced water stress. 

About Direct-Seeded Rice

• A water- and labour-saving method of rice cultivation in which seeds are sown directly in the field, eliminating the need for nursery raising and transplanting.
• Can be practised through dry seeding, wet seeding or water seeding, using broadcasting or seed drills.  
• Reduces cultivation cost and methane emissions, while enabling timely sowing.
• Requires effective weed management and proper water control for optimum yields.

Note: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a rice cultivation method using young seedlings, wider spacing and intermittent irrigation to enhance yield while reducing water use. 

India's ranking in the Global Passport Index (GPI) has fallen one rank from last year to 125th spot.

About Global Passport Index

• It evaluates how effectively a passport enables citizens to travel, invest, live securely, and access global opportunities.
• Published by: Global Citizen Solutions
• Covers 200 countries.
• Uses Three core pillars (Enhanced Mobility, Investment Potential, and Quality of Life) and 15 indicators to assess passport strength.