In exercise of powers under Article 124 of the Constitution of India, President appointed Justice Surya Kant as 53^rd CJI succeeding present CJI BR Gavai.

Appointment of CJI 

• Union Ministry of Law and Justice seeks the recommendation of the outgoing CJI for appointment of next CJI, who conventionally  recommends senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.
  • However, this seniority principle has not been followed for three times in the past.  
• After receipt of recommendation of the CJI, Union Minister of Law and Justice puts up the recommendation to the Prime Minister, who advises the President in the matter of appointment. 

India gets six-month U.S. sanctions waiver on Chabahar port in Iran.

About Chabahar port

• Location: Sistan-Baluchistan province on the Makran coast in South-eastern part of Iran, on the Gulf of Oman.
• It is the only deep-sea port in Iran with direct ocean access.
• There are two terminals in Chabahar Port project i.e. Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari. 
• It is closest Iranian port to India and it grants India access to landlocked Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries bypassing Pakistan.
• The port is part of the proposed International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), linking Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to Caspian Sea via Iran and onwards to northern Europe.

Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, launched MYGS initiative.

About MYGS

• It is a pioneering initiative to strengthen Janbhagidari and promote participatory local governance by engaging students in simulated Gram Sabha sessions.
• It is aligned with National Education Policy 2020, and will be implemented across Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs), and State Government Schools.
  • JNVs  are residential schools established under NEP 1986 to provide education to rural children irrespective of their socio economic status.
  • EMRSs aim to provide quality education to Scheduled Tribes (ST) students in areas having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons.

Digi Bandar, launched at India Maritime Week 2025, as a national digital framework for Indian ports.

• Aim:  To make ports data-driven, AI-enabled, and interconnected to enhance efficiency, safety, and transparency.
• Focus: Predictive logistics, digital twins, and automation in port operations.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is undertaking the base revision exercise of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and has proposed changes in housing index compilation.

• As a part of CPI, Housing constitutes a major component with an expenditure share of 21.67% in urban areas and 10.07% at the All-India level in the current series.
• Currently, the housing index is not compiled in the rural sector.
• Weightage of other sectors in CPI: Food and Beverages (45.86%), Miscellaneous involving education, health, personal care etc. (28.31%), Fuel & Light (6.84%), Clothing & FootWear (6.53%), Pan, tobacco and intoxicants (2.38%).

Recently, Seven countries secured funding under Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF). 

About KBF

• Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MTPF), supporting accelerated action to deliver the goals of KMGBF (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework), particularly in developing countries.
  • KMGBF is a non-binding framework adopted at the CoP-15 to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at Montreal, Canada (2022).
  • It has 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. 
• Established under the leadership of China and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), with the Secretariat of the CBD (SCBD) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

IIT Kharagpur study highlights that ecologically fragile forests in Western Ghats, Himalayas, and Northeast, along with croplands in central India are increasingly facing ecological droughts. 

About Ecological Droughts

• Definition: Ecological droughts are prolonged moisture deficits disrupting ecosystem structure, biodiversity, and carbon balance.
• Causes: Driven by natural phenomena, such as lack of rainfall or warming temperatures including warming oceans,  rising atmospheric dryness, etc. 
• Impact: Reduced Plant growth, Local species extinction, etc. 
• Other Types of Drought: Meteorological, Agriculture, Hydrological, Socio-Economic. 

Threat of USA’s Secondary Sanctions could impact importing of Russian oil by Indian refiners. 

About Secondary Sanctions

• While Primary sanctions include international trade restrictions (e.g., trade embargoes from the target), Secondary sanctions penalizes third parties, preventing third states and economic operators from doing business as usual with target states. 
• They serve as force multipliers for primary sanctions and have an extraterritorial aspect. 
• E.g., The USA imposed sanctions on Iranian oil (Primary) and Indian refiners stopped importing oil from Iran (Secondary).