After performing radiocarbondating at Bhirrana in Haryana the researchers now show the possibility that the Harappan Civilisation of the Indian subcontinent could be over 8,000 years old.

About Bhirrana Site

• Excavated by: Shri L.S.Rao along the paleo-channels of Ghaggar river.
• Period-IA: Hakra Wares Culture: Characterised by well-plastered subterranean dwelling pits dug into natural soil, Ceramic assemblage.
• Period-IB: Early Harappan: Houses constructed with mud bricks, Pottery shows six fabrics similar to Kalibanga-I.
• Period-IIA: Early Mature Harappan: Marked by transformation in city layout, Settlement enclosed by a mud-brick fortification wall.
• Period-IIB: Mature Harappan: Steatite seals, Standard Harappan antiquities
• Antiquities include: Beads of semiprecious stones, Terracotta objects, Copper bangles, bone objects etc.

Recently, the United States unveiled Project Vault.

About Project Vault

• It is a supply chain security initiative establishing the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve 
• It is an independently governed public-private partnership that will buy and store critical minerals and rare earth elements. 
  • E.g. gallium and cobalt, essential for modern technology and defence equipment.
• Objective: To store 60 critical minerals listed in the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2025 Critical Minerals List to strengthen the resilience of industries against supply chain disruptions.
• It will combine $1.67 billion in private seed funding and $10 billion from the US government’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM).

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz for several hours for live fire drills amid talks with the US in Geneva.

About the Strait of Hormuz

• Located between Oman and Iran.
• It is a crucial maritime passage that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman & the Arabian Sea. 
• It narrows to just 33 km at its slimmest point.
• Strategic Importance: About 20-25% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has launched the First Phase of the Artificial Intelligence-based ‘Bharat VISTAAR’ scheme in Rajasthan. 

About Bharat VISTAAR

• Objective: Promote the use of India’s major AI-powered digital public infrastructure for the agriculture-related needs of farmers. 
• Bharat-VISTAAR stands for Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources.
  • It provides a multilingual AI-based conversational advisory system, integrating resources from AgriStack, ICAR, various agricultural schemes, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), mandi prices, and state systems into a single digital system. 
• Farmers can query the system through phones (including feature phones) to get instant agricultural solutions and market price information.

A study has reported evidence that shorter climate cycles still operated during at least one phase of this snowball earth.

About Snowball Earth

• Snowball Earth refers to hypothesized period of extreme glaciation episodes during the Cryogenian Period (~720–635 million years ago) when ice likely covered even tropical regions.
  • Oceans were largely frozen, weakening climate–ocean interactions. 
• This glaciation was reinforced by the albedo effect and is believed to have had a major impact on the evolution of life during the Proterozoic aeon.

Loggerhead turtles face significant threat due to climate change.

Loggerhead turtles

• Marine turtle
• Habitat: Temperate and tropical oceans worldwide; prefers coastal bays, estuaries, and continental shelves.
• Key Feature: Large head and powerful jaws adapted for crushing hard-shelled prey like crabs and molluscs.
• Loggerheads are carnivores, only occasionally consuming plant material.
• Lifespan: 70 to 80 years or more.
• Protection Status

• IUCN Status: Vulnerable
• Protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• Distribution in India: Occasional sightings along Indian coasts; not as common as Olive Ridley.
• Key Threats: Bycatch in fishing nets, coastal development, plastic pollution, etc.

NHAI has announced to develop First of its Kind ‘BeeCorridors’ Along the National Highways.

About Beecorridors

• Beecorridors are a continuous linear stretch of bee-friendly vegetation comprising flowering trees and plants.
•  It will ensure the availability of nectar and pollen throughout the year. 
• Significance:  The initiative will help reduce the increasing ecological stress faced by honeybees and other pollinators.

Bees & their Significance: 

• Characteristics
  • Only female bees have stingers (which are modified ovipositors, organs originally used to lay eggs).
  • Feed exclusively on sugary nectar and protein-rich pollen from flowering plants.             
• Significance: A third of the world’s food production depends on bees.

Super-Earths are a unique class of planets that are larger than Earth but lighter than "ice giants" like Neptune and Uranus.

Key Features: 

• Size and Mass: have a mass up to 10 times that of Earth and a diameter about 2 times Earth's radius.
• Composition: can be made of rock, gas, or a combination of both.
• Importance: help scientists understand how planets form and evolve.