• Ramanathaswamy Temple served as the visual backdrop and cultural centerpiece at Bharat Mandapam for the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit.

About Ramanathaswamy Temple 

• The 12th-century temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• Location: Rameswaram island, Tamil Nadu
• It is counted among the 12 sacred Jyotirlingas in the Hindu belief system.
• Reference in Ramayana: It is believed that Lord Rama, after defeating the Ravana, wanted to worship Lord Shiva as part of atonement. 
• It has been built in Dravidian style with architectural features like-
  • Temple Corridor: ‘Third Corridor’ in the temple is considered longest one in Asia and the third largest in the world.
  • Majestic Gopurams: Towering gateway towers richly decorated with carvings 
  • Intricate Sculptures: In Pillars and halls display.
  • Sacred Sanctum: Houses the Jyotirlinga worshipped as Lord Ramanathaswamy
  • 22 theerthams: Sacred wells within the precinct

India sets Guinness World Record with World’s Longest Steel Slag Road in Chhattisgarh.

About Steel slag

• Steel slag is a solid waste generated in the process of steel making and is mainly composed of oxides of calcium, iron, silicon, magnesium, and some other elements. 
• Properties: Possesses strength, durability, and corrosion resistance. 
• Applications: Suitable for use as a construction material, concrete and cement applications, road construction etc. 
  • Steel Slag Road Technology can reduce road construction costs by ~40% while delivering four times the strength of conventional roads.

A healthy Badri female calf has been successfully born through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) technology.

• Badri, also known as “Pahadi”, is an indigenous breed of cattle found in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India.
• It is recognised as the state animal of Uttarakhand.

About OPU-IVF 

• OPU is an ultrasound-guided procedure used to collect oocytes (eggs) directly from the ovaries of a donor female. 
• Those eggs are then fertilized in vitro (IVF) in a laboratory and developed into embryos, which are later transferred into recipient females.
• Benefits: Unlike traditional techniques, OPU does not require heavy hormone stimulation and can be performed more frequently.

Dryland Congress 2026 concluded in New Delhi with Delhi Declaration on Drylands.

• It was jointly organised by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). 

About dryland agriculture

• It refers to growing of crops entirely under rainfed conditions.
• Key characteristics: 
  • Maximizing soil moisture retention: Through Mulching, deep tillage, contour farming, rainwater harvesting etc.
  • Using drought-resistant crops:  like millet and sorghum.
• Based on the amount of rainfall received, it can be grouped into 3 categories:
  • Dry Farming: Cultivation of crops in areas where rainfall is less than 750 mm per annum
  • Dryland Farming: Cultivation of crops in areas receiving rainfall above 750 mm
  • Rainfed Farming: Cultivation of crops in regions receiving more than 1,150 mm.

• Issues: Very low and highly variable and uncertain yields due to Inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall, late onset and early cessation of rains, low moisture retention capacity etc.

BirdLife International hosted its quadrennial Partnership Meeting and second Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. 

• Summit brings together local Partners, finance and business partners, and national and multilateral government agencies to ramp up conservation. 

Key Outcomes

• State of the World’s Birds: Launched by BirdLife International. 
  • The report is published every four years with the latest edition being the first devoted to migratory birds and the flyways they depend on. 
  • As per the report, 45% of migratory bird species are in decline with one in nine threatened with extinction.
• Nairobi Flyways Declaration: Signed by key stakeholders to ramp up conservation efforts. 

NIMHANS has been designated the Coordinating Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence in Mental Health.

About NIMHANS

• It is a world-renowned centre of excellence in the realm of mental health and neurosciences.
• It embodies a tripartite mission of delivering unparalleled patient care, conducting pioneering research, and imparting cutting-edge training.
• Declared a Deemed University (1994) and Institute of National Importance (2012).
• Contributed significantly to the National Mental Health Policy and promotes rights-based mental healthcare.
• It is the designated nodal centre for the ambitious Tele MANAS (Tele mental health Assistance and Nationally Actionable Plan through States) programme.

OpenAI’s claim that its Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have generated a solution to the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize Problem.

• To solve the problem, OpenAI used an internal model that is significantly more capable than GPT‑6 Astra.

What is the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize Problem?

• It was named by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000 as one of seven Millennium Prize Problems.
• Navier–Stokes equations use Newton’s second law of motion (“F=ma”) to describe how fluids move.
• They treat a fluid as a continuous medium rather than tracking individual molecules.
• A fundamental open question for these dynamical equations has been whether the continuum approximation of the fluid can break down.

Five baby orangutans rescued in Odisha are at the centre of India-Indonesia coordination.

About Orangutans

• These are Asia's only great apes which are close relatives of chimpanzees and gorillas.
• They exist only in rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia.
• There is no natural land corridor connecting these islands to India.
• Physical traits
• Arboreal: The largest tree-dwelling mammal species on Earth
• Highly intelligent:Known for tool use, problem-solving, and complex social learning
• Reddish coat:Shaggy, reddish-brown hair distinguishes them from other apes
• Conservation Status: All three species (Bornean ,Sumatran and Tapanuli) are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Threat: Habitat loss, poaching, and illegal trafficking .