India successfully secured the hosting rights for the Centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030.

About Commonwealth Games

• A quadrennial multi-sport event among Commonwealth nations, inaugurated in 1930. 
• India hosted the XIX Games in 2010.
• Ahmedabad has been formally declared as the host city for the Centenary Commonwealth Games 2030.

About Commonwealth

• Originated in the 1926 Imperial Conference where Britain and the Dominions agreed that they were all equal members of a community within the British Empire.
• London Declaration (1949) laid the foundation of modern Commonwealth stated that republics and other countries could be part of the Commonwealth.
• Membership: 56 countries.

The Prime Minister inaugurated Safran’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for LEAP aircraft engines in Hyderabad.

• LEAP engine is a next-generation, fuel-efficient commercial aircraft engine developed by CFM International.

MRO

• MRO refers to industrial and technical processes that ensure aircraft engines, components and systems remain airworthy and operational.
• It includes routine maintenance, repairs, inspections, overhauls, and replacement of parts.

Recently, China has finished building (JUNO).

About JUNO

• China’s JUNO is a newly completed underground neutrino detector in Guangdong.
• It aims to study neutrino oscillations and determine the neutrino mass ordering.

Note: This is distinct from NASA’s Juno mission, which focuses on studying Jupiter.

India’s Chief Election Commissioner is set to assume the chairship of International IDEA, enhancing India’s leadership role in global electoral governance

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

• It is an intergovernmental organisation that advances democracy worldwide.
• Objective: Supports electoral processes, constitution-building, democratic assessments, participation, and governance reforms.
• Members: 35 countries (USA and Japan are Observers)
  • India is a member. 

PM1 poses greater health risks than PM2.5 but remains unmonitored in India.

About PM1

• Definition: Refers to particles with a diameter of less than one micron.
• Sources: Mainly originates from vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, combustion processes and smoke from wood burning or fires.
• Hazard: It can penetrate lung tissue, enter the bloodstream and reach internal organs, carrying heavy metals, chemicals, and volatile compounds.
• Regulation Gap: India does not regulate PM1 under existing air-quality standards and has very limited monitoring infrastructure.

Finn’s Weaver is silently disappearing from the marshy lowlands of the Terai, its last remaining stronghold.

About Finn’s Weaver

• Finn's Weaver (Ploceus Megarhynchus) is a grassland and wetland bird found mainly in the Terai lowlands of India and Nepal.
  • It is also called Yellow Weaver and Himalayan Weaver. In Uttarakhand, it is called Pahari Baya.
• IUCN Status: Endangered 
• Habitat: marshy ground, water-edge vegetation, tall grasses
• Threats: Habitat loss, agricultural expansion, grassland reclamation and nest predation

The government reviewed the implementation of PMJVK and stressed better use of its portal and SNA-SPARSH.

About the PMJVK

• Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
• Objective: providing basic amenities such as schools, health centers, hostels, community halls, drinking water, sanitation and skill development facilities in Minority Concentrated Areas (MCAs)
• Coverage: open to all districts meeting minority-population criteria.
• Eligibility: where the minority population is more than 25% of the total population in the catchment area - 15Km radius.

Single Nodal Agency - Systematic Progressive Accounting Resource for State Harmonisation (SNA-SPARSH) 

• SNA-SPARSH is a system designed to improve cash management and enable just-in-time fund flow from the Centre and States by integrating State IFMIS with the RBI’s e-Kuber platform.

The Supreme Court recently expressed concern over benches overturning earlier coordinate-bench orders, highlighting the importance of legal consistency.

About Article 141

• It states that the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts in India.
• Uniformity: It ensures consistent interpretation of law across states and lower courts.
• Authority: Supreme Court rulings on statutory and constitutional matters carry final legal weight.
• Scope: Only the core reasoning, or ratio decidendi, is binding while obiter dicta (comments or observations made "by the way") are not mandatory.