Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has highlighted that number of LPG connections in India has more than doubled from 14.52 crore in 2014 to 32.83 crore in 2024.

• 10.33 crore of these LPG connections were provided under PMUY.

About PMUY, 2016

• Objective: To make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. 
• Beneficiary: Adult woman belonging to any of the following categories – SC, ST, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), etc. 
• Ministry: MoPNG

Future of Jobs Report 2025 has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF)

Key-findings of the report

• About 170 million new jobs will be created by global macro trends by 2030.
• Technology-related roles are the fastest growing jobs in percentage terms, which includes Big Data Specialists, Fintech Engineers, etc. 
• Clerical and Secretarial Workers are expected to see the largest decline in absolute numbers.
• Workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.

About WEF

• WEF is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
• It provides platform for meaningful connection between stakeholders for cooperation and progress.

Around 56,000 sq. meters of Dense Forests were created in Prayagraj in the last two years using Miyawaki Technique in the preparation of Mahakumbh 2025.

About Miyawaki Technique

• A reforestation technique developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
• Designed to create dense and native mini forests in urban areas.
  • It involves planting native trees, shrubs and groundcover plants within every square metre. 
  • It is ideal for small parcels of land. 
• Based on the concept of potential natural vegetation (PNV), 
  • PNV means that vegetation that would flourish without human interventions. 

India and U.S. will coproduce interoperable sonobuoys for the Indian Navy

• Initiative is aligned with the objective of the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET).

About Sonobouys

• An Air-launched expendable electro-mechanical acoustic sensor. 
• Provides crucial water temperature data to enhance the accuracy of other sonar systems.
  • Sonar, short for Sound Navigation and Ranging, is helpful for exploring and mapping the ocean using sound waves.
• Crucial for anti-submarine warfare and oceanographic research.

AI Touch LLP has received funding under the Department of Telecommunications' TTDF scheme of USOF (now “Digital Bharat Nidhi”) to develop components for 5G RAN. 

About RAN

• About: It is a key component of wireless telecommunication systems, enabling devices like cellphones and computers to connect to a network via a radio link. 
  • It facilitates communication between user equipment and the core network, which manages subscriber data and location information.
• Components: Antennas (convert electrical signals into radio waves), Radios (transform digital information into signals), Baseband Units (BBUs) (Processes signals).

Artesian condition was recently observed in a village in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. 

Artesian Condition

• The word “artesian” is specifically used when water is “confined under pressure below layers of relatively impermeable rock.”
  • It is located deeper below the earth’s surface surrounded by poorly permeable rocks that result in high pressure underground. 
• Artesian Conditions occur due to the movement of groundwater from a recharge area to a point of discharge at a lower elevation. E.g., natural spring, drilling industry, etc. 
  • It is different from water flowing normally through tube wells or wells as the artesian water can sprout from underground on its own.

Recently, Uttarakhand High Court pulled up authorities for unregulated soapstone mining in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand. 

About Soapstone

• About: Also known as Steatite, it is a metamorphic rock made of talc, a naturally occurring mineral, used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other industries. 
  • Depending on the source quarry, it contains varying amounts of other minerals like mica, chlorite, amphiboles, quartz, etc. 
• Appearance: Gray, bluish, green, or brown in color. 
• Properties: Relatively soft, very dense, and highly heat-resistant. 
• Applications: Construction and design of countertops, sinks, hearths, and sculptures, etc. 
• Reserves: Rajasthan (57%) and Uttarakhand (25%) (Indian Bureau of Mines)

Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of India’s first Green Hydrogen Hub under NGHM in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 

About NGHM

• Announced: In January 2023
• Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Objective: Make India a Global Hub for production, usage and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.
• Target: Production of 5 MMT per annum of Green Hydrogen by 2030.
• Key Components: Among the various components, it includes:
  • Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, which includes incentives for manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen. 
  • Development of Green Hydrogen Hubs.