IPCC has begun work on its seventh cycle of assessment reports.

• IPCC assessments provide scientific basis for governments at all levels to develop climate related policies. 

IPCC

• About: International body for assessing science related to climate change. 
• Genesis: Set up in 1988 by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Members: 195 countries including India.
• Objective: To provide policymakers with regular assessments of scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

As per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hantavirus severity has drawn attention.

About Hantavirus

• Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by certain rodents, such as deer mice, white-footed mice, rice rats, and cotton rats.
• Impact: Causes potentially fatal illnesses, including Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (severe respiratory illness) and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (condition characterised by internal bleeding and kidney failure).
• People at risk: who live or work in areas where rodent populations are more prominent including farmers, construction workers
• Treatment: No specific antiviral treatment or cure.

KHANJAR-XII edition of 2025 is set to take place in Kyrgyzstan.

About Khanjar

• It is an India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise.
• It is held annually and conducted alternatively in both the countries.
• Aim: To exchange experiences and best practices in Counter Terrorism and Special Forces Operations

SEBI has issued warning to Nestle India for violating insider trading regulations.

About Insider Trading

• Definition: Insider refers to any person (usually senior management and officials) in a company who has access to unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI).
• Regulation: Under Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations 2015 (as amended in 2024)enables insiders to trade in securities in a compliant manner. Under It:
  • insiders have a narrow window to carry out trades to avoid insider trading.
  • Insiders have to give a ‘trading plan’ specifying the share price, amount, and transaction 

New research has found that the West African cocoa industry and the international trade in dried insects have wiped out one species of a Goliath beetle species.

About Goliath beetles

• Features : 
  • Among the world’s largest insects (up to 110mm long).
  • Five species exist; males have Y-shaped horns, females do not.
  • They can fly and are nocturnal (primarily active during the night). 
  • Adults feed on tree sap in mature rainforests.
• Habitat: primarily found in the Tropical Rainforests of Africa, 
• Significance:  They are decomposers and scavenge meat and plant debris, recycling nutrients. Their abundance indicates good forest health. 

UNICEF, in collaboration with district authorities and NGOs, is working to address family-based childcare through its KCBCP in places like drought-prone Jalna in Maharashtra.

About KCBCP

• It is part of broader shift in India's child protection system that move away from institutional care toward family-based solutions such as strengthening family to prevent separation of children, foster care, and kinship care.
• It aims to keep children in their villages under the care of relatives or community members for better brain development.
• Other initiatives like Mission Vatsalya also emphasize non-institutional support, enhancing family roles and ensuring no child is left behind.

Recently, Sahitya Akademi honoured 23 authors with its prestigious ‘Sahitya Akademi Award’ for 2024.

About Sahitya Akademi

• Genesis: Formally inaugurated in 1954 and Registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Ministry:  An autonomous body under Ministry of Culture.
• Role: Undertakes literary activities in 24 languages (22 scheduled languages, English and Rajasthani).
• Its major awards: Sahitya Akademi Award, Bhasha Samman
  • Sahitya Akademi Award is given annually, to the Indian national and the award is given to the author only once in a lifetime in one language in one particular category.

For the first time, “e-Toycathon 2025” was organized by C-DAC under MeitY’s research initiatives to boost electronic toy sector.

About e-Toycathon 2025

• Announced under MeitY-funded project "Development of Electronics and IT-based Control and Automation Solutions for Consumer Electronic - Toys Industry”.

About India’s Toys Industry 

• Status: Expected to reach US$ 3 billion by 2028.
• Initiatives taken: 
  • DPIIT issued toys Quality Control Order, 2020 under Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.
  • National Action Plan for Toys to promote trade; design and quality; and indigenous toys.
  • Directorate General of Foreign Trade mandated sample testing to curb import of sub-standards.