Recently, INCOIS, Hyderabad was selected for Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar-2025. 

• Annual award announced on the birth anniversary (23^rd January) of  Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose honouring individuals and organizations for their contributions to disaster management in India.

About INCOIS

• Genesis: Established in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO).
• Key Functions
  • Permanent member of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
  • Provides vital ocean-related information and advisory services.
  • Issues warnings for tsunamis, storm surges, high waves, etc., through the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC).

Supreme Court (SC) proposed temporarily appointing retired judges on an ad hoc basis to clear backlog of criminal cases in High Courts (HC).

About Ad Hoc Judge

• Constitution: Article 224A states that the Chief Justice of a HC may, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held the office of a Judge of a HC to act as a Judge of the HC. 
• Procedure for appointment: Outlined in 1998 Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) 

NOTE: Article 127 deals with the appointment of ad hoc Judges in SC if the quorum is not met. 

Recently, Kashmir Chinars got digital protection through geo-tagging with QR-code.

About Kashmir Chinars (Platanus orientalis)

• Native: Originated in Greece, found throughout Kashmir,  grows characteristically in Eastern Himalayas.
  • Char Chinar, an Island on the Dal Lake, Srinagar is named after it. 
• Key Features
  • Large and deciduous, growing up to 30 meters tall, takes about 150 years to reach to full height. 
  • Known for its longevity  and its leaves changes colors, i.e., deep green (summer), blood-red, amber and yellow (autumn). 
  • Applications: Used for medicinal purposes, wood for interior furniture, and making dyes, etc.

Recently, Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed local bodies to create an action plan for rejuvenating the Vaigai River.

About Vaigai River

• Origin: Eastern slope of the Western Ghat mountainous offshoot in the Varushanad area.  
  • Arcuate Shaped basin surrounded by Cauvery and Pambar Kottakaraiyar basins (North), Gundar basin (South), Periyar basin (West) Bay of Bengal (East). 
• Major Tributaries: Varattar, Nagalar, Varahanadhi, Manjalar, Marudhanadhi, Sirumaliar, Sathaiyar 
• Flows through: Theni, Dindugal, Madurai, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram Districts of Tamil Nadu. 
• Drains: Empties into Palk Bay.

Recently, NASA discovered a unique black hole(LID-568), revealing insights into supermassive black hole.

• LID-568 is a low-mass supermassive black hole that existed 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang.

About Supermassive Black Holes

• Most common types of black holes with intense gravity causing stars to orbit around it in a particular way.
  • Black holes are cosmic objects having huge concentrations of matter packed into very tiny spaces.
• Eddington limit: Governs the rate at which a black hole feeds on matter. 
  • Once, the limit is crossed, it is called super-Eddington accretion. 
  • LID-568 lies here.

Invasive water hyacinth threatens fishers’ livelihoods on Lake Naivasha

About Lake Naivasha (Kenya)

• It is a shallow freshwater lake in the southern Rift Valley, surrounded by acacia woodlands.
• It is fed by the perennial Malewa and Gilgil Rivers, which drain the Aberdare Mountains of central Kenya.
• The lake remains fresh despite no outlet, mainly due to underground seepage and salt sedimentation in the eastern Rift Valley.
• It is listed as a wetland under the Ramsar Site.

The Global Investment Trends Monitor report was released recently.

• It has been released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD)

Key highlights

• Overall, Global Foreign Direct Investments rose 11% to $1.4 trillion in 2024
  • However, it fell 8% when excluding flows through European conduit economies, which often serve as transfer points before investment flows reach their final destination.
• FDI to developing countries declined 2%, marking a second consecutive annual fall for the Global South
• Investments in SDG-related sectors dropped 11% globally in 2024
• India saw a 13% rise in FDI and growth in greenfield project announcements.

Recently, the Union Finance Minister asked banks to complete Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) integration to check financial frauds.

• After the integration, any complaint on financial fraud will be routed to the concerned bank for speedy remedial action.

About  Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre

• Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs
• Objectives:
  • Serve as a central hub to combat cybercrime, particularly against women and children, by simplifying complaint filing and trend analysis.
  • Provide early warnings and proactive measures for law enforcement while enhancing public awareness
  • Support capacity building for police, prosecutors, and judicial officers in cyber-related fields.

Recently, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee asked the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to submit details regarding user development fees charged by airport operators across the country.

 About AERA

• Establishment: Statutory body under Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
• Functions:
  • Tariff determination for aeronautical services: It considers capital expenditure, efficiency costs, economic viability, government concessions etc
  • Sets development fees and passengers’ service fees under the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
  • Ensures quality, continuity, and reliability of airport services.
  • Performs other tasks assigned by the central government or necessary tariff-related duties.

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked the petitioner to approach the appellate authority in a case  related to “enemy property”

About Enemy Property?

• It is regulated under Enemy Property Act, 1968. 
  • The 1968 Act defined an ‘enemy’ as a country (and its citizens) that committed external aggression against India (i.e., Pakistan and China). 
  • Enemy Property means any property for the time being belonging to or held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm. 
  • The 2017 amendment to the act expanded the definition of enemy to include: 
    • Legal heir or successor of enemy whether or not citizen of India or the citizen of a country which is not an enemy. 
    • Enemy who has changed his nationality