Art and Culture 

New mission for manuscripts announced in Union Budget - The Hindu 

The Union Budget 2025-26 announced a special mission for the survey, documentation, and conservation of India’s manuscript heritage. Launched as the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’, it intends to cover more than one crore manuscripts.

Gyan Bharatam Mission

• Objective: Survey, document, and conserve India’s manuscript heritage in academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collections.
• Scope: Covering  over one crore manuscripts.
• Component: Establishment of a national digital repository for the Indian knowledge system.

Purpose:

• Platform for knowledge sharing.
• Digitisation and centralisation of traditional knowledge.
• Global accessibility for researchers, students, and institutions.

National Manuscripts Mission (NMM)

• Objective: Identify, document, and preserve India’s manuscript heritage for nationwide accessibility.
• Allocation: Increased from ₹3.5 crore to ₹60 crore to support new initiatives.
• Revival Plan: Union Ministry of Culture plans to revive and relaunch NMM.
• Establishment: 2003;  currently under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA).

Manuscript

• Definition: A handwritten composition paper, bark, cloth, metal, or palm leaf, at least 75 years old holding scientific, historical, and aesthetic value.
• Exclusions: Lithographs and printed volumes are not considered manuscripts.
• Scripts: A single language can appear in multiple scripts (e.g., Sanskrit in Oriya, Grantha, Devanagari, etc.).
• Difference from Historical Records: Unlike epigraphs or farmans manuscripts focus on knowledge content rather than direct historical events.

 

Geography 

Giant ice age landforms discovered deep beneath North Sea revealed in amazing detail - The Hindu 

Researchers have discovered huge landforms deep beneath the North Sea that suggest the region was swallowed by a giant ice sheet toward the middle of the last ice age.

North Sea

• Location: Shallow, enclosed sea in Northwestern Europe & a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Boundaries:
  • Linked to the Atlantic Ocean via the Norwegian Sea (north) and English Channel (south).

• Connected to the Baltic Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits (east).
• Bordering Countries: United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France.
• Area: ~570,000 sq. km.
• Major rivers: Forth, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, Thames, Humber.
• Significance:
  • Home to Hamburg and Rotterdam, two of the world’s largest ports.
  • Among the most important global fishing grounds.

Society

Dedication of India’s First Ferret Research Facility, Launch of GARBHINI-DRISHTI, & Execution of Technology Transfer Agreement between THSTI and Sundyota Numandis Probioceuticals Pvt. Ltd - PIB 

India's commitment to cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation took a significant leap forward today with the dedication of the nation's first Ferret Research Facility, the launch of the GARBH-INi-DRISHTI data repository, and the execution of a key technology transfer agreement.

GARBH-INi-DRISHTI

• About: A data dashboard showcasing one of South Asia’s largest pregnancy cohort datasets.
• Development: Under the GARBH-INi program.

Key Features:

• Provides access to clinical data, images, and biospecimens from over 12,000 pregnant women, newborns, and postpartum mothers.
• A gateway for researchers to explore diverse datasets.
• Aim: To enhance maternal and neonatal health through transformative research.

Research Accessibility:

• Offers guidance for data access for approved research purposes.
• Promotes data-driven insights for improved healthcare outcomes.

GARBH-INi Program

• Aim: Promoting maternal and child health & developing prediction tools for preterm birth.
• Implementation:  Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of S&T.
• Leadership: Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), NCR Biotech Cluster, Faridabad.
• Part: Linked to the Atal Jai Anusandhan Biotech Mission (UNaTI) for nationally relevant technology innovation.

 

Economy 

Why the RBI could cut repo rate, for the first time in 5 years - Indian Express

After keeping it unchanged for two years, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to cut the repo rate — the rate at which the RBI lends to other banks — by 25 basis points (bps) in its upcoming meeting scheduled from February 5 to 7. If the cut does come, it will be the first in nearly five years.

Expectations from RBI’s Upcoming Monetary Policy

• Repo Rate Cut: Expected 25 basis points (bps) cut, reducing the repo rate from 6.5% to 6.25%.
• Key Factors:
  • Budget 2025-26: Tax cuts and revised TDS limits to boost consumption demand.
  • Inflation Trends: CPI inflation eased to 5.22% in December from 5.48% in November.
  • Growth Focus: Budget measures expected to spur economic growth.
• Future Rate Cuts:
  • Possible 75 bps cumulative cuts during 2025.
  • Two successive cuts in February and April 2025.
  • Next round of cuts may begin from October 2025 after a pause in June.
• RBI’s recent steps to enhance market liquidity:
  • $5 billion forex swap
  • ₹60,000 crore open market operations
  • ₹50,000 crore variable repo (56-day)
• Impact: Rate cuts likely due to improved liquidity, lower inflation, and growth-focused fiscal policies.

Impact of Global Trade Wars

• Tariff Announcements: US President imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China (Canada and Mexico's tariffs postponed for a month).

Economic Effects:

• Fears of global trade wars triggered market volatility.
• US dollar strengthened against major currencies.
• Indian rupee hit an all-time low of 87.29 per dollar.

• RBI’s Role:
  • Challenge to manage rupee fluctuations while maintaining liquidity.
  • Selling dollars may tighten liquidity, increasing pressure on the RBI’s monetary policy decisions.

Impact of Repo Rate Cut on Lending Rates

• External Benchmark Lending Rates (EBLR):
• A 25 bps cut in the repo rate (from 6.5% to 6.25%) will lower EBLRs by 25 bps, reducing EMIs for borrowers.

Marginal Cost of Funds-Based Lending Rate (MCLR):

• Lenders may also reduce MCLR-linked loan rates, though past rate hike transmission (250 bps hike from May 2022 to Feb 2023) has been partial.
• One-year median MCLR rose by 175 bps during May 2022–Dec 2024.

Overall Effect:

• Borrowers to benefit from lower interest rates and reduced EMIs.
• Banks may gradually adjust MCLR rates to reflect the repo rate cut.

GDP Growth Forecast

Current Projections:

• NSO projects 6.4% GDP growth for the year.
• RBI revised FY2025 growth forecast to 6.6% (down from 7.2%) in December 2024 policy.

Future Outlook:

• Possible changes in growth forecasts expected.
• FY2026 forecast may be released in the April policy.

 

Why Centre plans to establish a national cooperative university - Indian Express

The government recently introduced a Bill to establish a new university, the Tribhuvan Sahkari University, on the campus of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat.

Tribhuvan Sahkari University

• Objective: 
  • Provide technical and management education in the cooperative sector.
  • Promote cooperative research and development.
• Announcement: By Home Minister in 2021 at the National Cooperative Conference.

Global Context:

• First of its kind in India.
• Similar cooperative universities exist in Germany, Kenya, Colombia, and Spain.

• Significance: First-of-its-kind university dedicated to the co-operative sector.
• Focus: Co-operative education, training, research, and development to strengthen the co-operative movement in India.

Sector-Specific Schools:

• Schools for sectors like dairy, fishery, sugar, banking, rural credit, co-operative finance, marketing, accounting, laws, audits, and multi-state co-operatives.
• Campuses to be set up in sector-leading states.

Affiliated Institutions:

• 4-5 affiliated colleges in states with a high concentration of co-operative societies.
• 1-2 affiliated colleges in states with fewer co-operative societies.
• Integration with E-Learning: Use of platforms like SWAYAM for online courses to expand reach.

Need 

• Contribution of the Cooperative Sector:
  • 19% of agricultural credit
  • 35% of fertilizer distribution, 25% of fertilizer production
  • 31% of sugar production
  • 10% of milk production and procurement
  • 13% of wheat procurement, 20% of paddy procurement
  • 21% of fish production
• Gaps in Current Infrastructure:
  • Fragmented and inadequate education and training systems.
  • Lack of standardization and quality monitoring mechanisms.

Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)

• Establishment: Founded in 1979 by Dr. Verghese Kurien (Father of White Revolution).
• Support: NDDB, Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), Government of India, Government of Gujarat, and Indian Dairy Corporation.
• Role:
  • Currently registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
  • Will be dissolved and integrated as a school within the new university.
  • Declared a Centre of Excellence for rural management.
  • Autonomy and identity to be maintained within the university framework.

Significance:

• Recognized for its contributions to the cooperative sector.
• Expected to play a key role in achieving the vision of "Sahkar se Samriddhi".

 

Science and Technology 

Scans of seemingly empty space reveal black holes not far from earth - The Hindu 

Astronomers have discovered a gigantic black hole named Gaia BH3 hiding close to the earth, the third of its kind. All three were discovered by the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope, which has been constantly monitoring the motions of billions of stars in our galaxy since 2013.

Black Hole Detection

• Gaia Spacecraft: Detects stars orbiting black holes without X-ray emissions.
• Observation Technique:
  • Gaia: Maps the star’s orbit on a plane in the sky.
  • Ground-based telescopes: Use the Doppler effect to track the star’s motion along the line of sight.

• Formation of Black Holes: Occurs when massive stars die via:

• Supernova explosions (often leaving neutron stars).
• Direct collapse (forming black holes).
• Neutron stars can’t exceed ~3 solar masses.

• Confirmation of Black Holes: If an object’s mass (determined using Gaia and Kepler’s third law) exceeds 3 solar masses and is dark, it is identified as a black hole.

Gaia’s First Black Hole Discovery (Gaia BH1)

• Discovery Timeline:
  • June 13, 2022: Gaia’s third data release revealed a star orbiting an invisible object every half Earth-year.
  • July 6, 2022: Magellan Clay Telescope (Chile) observed the star’s high velocity, confirmed by later observations.

Key Observations:

• Star and dark object separated by a distance similar to Sun-Mars, but star moved 3x faster than Mars.
• Kepler’s third law indicated the dark object’s mass was 9 times that of the Sun, confirming it as a black hole.

Significance:

• Named Gaia BH1, located 1,560 light-years from Earth — the closest black hole known to date.
• This distance is 1.4% of the Milky Way’s width; the central galactic black hole is 26,670 light-years away.

Discovery of Gaia BH3

• Gaia BH3: First black hole found in the outer Milky Way and the largest stellar-mass black hole in the galaxy.
• Discovery: July 2023 by Pasquale Panuzzo while analyzing Gaia data.

Key Features:

• Mass: 33 solar masses, surpassing Cygnus X-1 (by 12 solar masses).
• Companion Star: A yellow giant orbiting every 11.6 years, slightly closer than the Sun-Uranus distance.
• Location: 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila.
• Characteristics: A passive black hole with no significant matter to pull in, hence no X-ray emissions.

Scientific Significance:

• Comparable to black holes detected in 2015 via LIGO and VIRGO (30 solar masses, 1-2 billion light-years away).
• Provides a nearby equivalent for detailed study of massive black holes.
• Described as a rare discovery in astronomical research.

 

Ambergris - The Hindu 

Ambergris, often called whale vomit, is one of nature’s most bizarre occurrences. Produced by sperm whales, this waxy substance has been prized for centuries.

Ambergris 

Meaning:  A waxy substance, often called whale vomit, produced by sperm whales.

Formation: Forms in the intestines of sperm whales when they consume indigestible materials like squid beaks. Helps expel foreign.

Appearance:

• Initially soft, waxy, and greasy.
• Hardens over time due to exposure to sunlight, saltwater, and air, developing a rock-like, crusty exterior with a softer interior.

• Uses: Highly valuable and used in the perfume industry to enhance fragrance longevity.

• Legal Status:
  • Banned in countries like the USA, Australia, and India.
  • In India, possession and trade are prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.