Former Delhi Chief Minister sought Recusal of Delhi High Court Justice in a matter. 

About Recusal of Judges

• Meaning: It is a judge's withdrawal from a case due to a potential conflict of interest or perceived bias. 
• Purpose: Promote a fair process, public confidence in administration of justice, Judicial impartiality, etc. 
• Underlying Principle: Rule Against Bias (No person should be a judge on a case in which they have interest). 
• Regulation: India has no codified rules governing it. 
• Legal Precedents: Ranjit Thakur v Union of India (1987), Chandraprabha v. Union of India (2025) etc.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has restricted imports of the herbicide Glufosinate and its salts for six months.

About Glufosinate

• It is a broad-spectrum, non-selective, contact herbicide used globally for crop weed management.
• It serves as a prominent alternative to glyphosate-based weedicides.
• Mode of Action: It irreversibly inhibits glutamine synthetase, an enzyme crucial for nitrogen metabolism.
  • This triggers toxic ammonia accumulation, rapidly destroying weed cells leading to plant death.
• Potential threats: Risks to aquatic life and non-target plants; contamination of water.

Recently, Researchers from Nagaland University, identified traditional herbal formulation used by the Konyak tribe for its anti-cancer potential.

• It is a five-plant polyherbal formulation including-
  • Persicaria maculosa Gray (Redshank/Lady’s Thumb)
  • Acorus calamus L. (Sweet Flag)
  • Erythrina variegata L. (Tiger’s Claw/Indian Coral Tree)
  • Stereospermum chelonoides (L.f.) DC. (Padri Tree)
  • Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz (Indian Trumpet Flower) 
• Its bioactive compounds can effectively target VEGFR2, a key protein responsible for tumour blood vessel growth.

About Konyak Tribe 

• Tribe of Mongoloid origin, predominantly found in Nagaland. 
• Largest of all Naga tribes 
• Key festival: Aoleang Monyu
• Governed by powerful hereditary chiefs called 'Anghs'
• Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.
• They are known as headhunters of North East India.

Some people belonging to the Matua community reportedly faced voter deletions following the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal.

About Matua community

• The Matua is a Dalit (Scheduled Caste) community, primarily belonging to the Namasudra sect, with roots in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh). 
• The meaning of the word ‘Matua’ is ‘NAAME PREME MATOYARA’(Fall in Love with Name).
• The Matua movement (Matua Mahasangha) was founded by Harichand Thakur in the 19th century.
• It sought to address the socio-economic, educational, and cultural challenges faced by the marginalized Namasudra community.

Recently an Investigation found counterfeit supply of Keytruda in India.

• Keytruda is a brand name for pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug for treating several cancers.
  • It belongs to Checkpoint inhibitors: Class of drugs that remove brakes on T cells to attack cancer cells.

About Immunotherapy

• While Chemo/radiotherapy directly kill cells, immunotherapy pushes the body’s own immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells, sparing healthy cells.
• Type: 
  • Monoclonal antibodies E.g. Keytruda, laboratory-made molecules designed to bind with specific targets,
  • Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) -T cell therapy: patient T cells engineered & reinfused to target and kill cancer cells. 
  • mRNA cancer vaccines (under development): Vaccines administered to cancer patients to prevent relapse.

India Meteorological Department released a Long Range Forecast for the Southwest Monsoon Season of 2026.

Key Highlights

• Likely below normal 2026 southwest monsoon (June to September) rainfall (only 92% of the Long Period Average (LPA) of 87 cm for the period of 1971-2020).
  • LPA is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (like month or season) average over a long period like 30years, 50-years etc.
• Suggests development of El Niño conditions.
  • El Niño refers to a warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
• Likely Positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions towards the end of monsoon season.
  • Positive IOD means warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean, which typically boosts the Monsoon.

ANRF developed AI- platform ‘SARAL AI’ to convert complex research publication into simple multilingual social media content including videos.

About ANRF

• Statutory body: Established under ANRF Act 2023 and operates under the Department of Science & Technology. 
• Aim: To seed, grow and promote R&D and foster culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories. 
• Apex body to provide strategic direction of scientific research in country as per recommendations of National Education Policy.
• Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) subsumed into ANRF.

Right to remain on roll and right to vote in the country of birth is not only constitutional but also sentimental: Supreme Court. 

About Right to Vote

• Right to vote and to be elected in India is a Constitutional Right. 
• Key Constitutional Provisions: 
  • Article 325: No person to be ineligible for inclusion in electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.
  • Article 326: Elections to House of People and to Legislative Assemblies of States on basis of adult suffrage. 
• Related Sections under Representation of People Act (RPA) 
  • Section 62 (RPA 1951): Dealing with Right to Vote.
  • Section 16 (RPA 1950): Disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll.