Minister of Science and Technology has launched the commercial use of bio-based biodegradable plastic based on Polylactic Acid (PLA) under the BioE3 policy. 

About PLA

• It is a bio-based polymer produced from renewable feedstocks and used in packaging, consumer products, and other industrial applications. 
• Biodegradable plastics are materials that can break down through biological processes under specified conditions, and PLA is one of the best-known commercial bioplastics.

Technology Development Board (TDB) under Department of Science & Technology (DST), has signed an agreement with GalaxEye Space Solutions Private Limited under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.

• The agreement is done to develop next-generation multisensor satellite technology OptoSAR

About OptoSAR

• It is an approach that brings together two fundamentally different ways of observing the Earth i.e Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Electro-Optical (EO) imaging
  • While optical imaging can provide highly detailed visual information, its effectiveness can be affected by cloud cover and illumination. 
  • SAR, on the other hand, can operate irrespective of daylight and can image through cloud cover. 
• Applications: Long-range surveillance, human and vehicle detection, and target classification, while enabling imaging across diverse weather and lighting conditions.

India has co-hosted the launch of OneSCD, a Global Partnership to Advance Equity and Transform Sickle Cell Care.

About Sickle Cell Disease

• Also called sickle cell anemia. 
• It is a group of inherited  disorders that affect  hemoglobin.
  • Normally, red blood cells are disc-shaped and flexible. 
  • In sickle cell disease, red blood cells are misshaped, typically crescent- or “sickle”-shaped due to a gene mutation that affects the hemoglobin molecule. 
• When red blood cells sickle, they do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow to the rest of the body.

Japanese Prime Minister called for the removal of the enemy-state clauses from the UN Charter

About Enemy state in UN Charter

• They are World War II-era provisions that allowed allied nations (USA, Britain, France) to take coercive or military action against Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) without prior approval from the UN Security Council
• These provisions are contained in Articles 53, 77 and 107 of the UN Charter.
• The UNGA had recognised the clauses as “obsolete” in 1995, and adopted a resolution in 2005 to delete references to “enemy States” from the Charter.

India participated in the 14th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and the 23rd ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Consultation held in Manila, Philippines.

About East Asia Summit

• Establishment: Formed in 2005; first summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Core Members: 10 ASEAN nations plus India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Russia.
• Strategic Vision: Acts as a premier leader-led forum for strategic dialogue on security and governance challenges in the Indo-Pacific

India and Netherlands signed a MoU to advance the Kalpasar water project.

About Kalpasar Project

• It is a multipurpose initiative aimed at providing water for irrigation and industrial and domestic use in the water-stressed Saurashtra region of Gujarat. 
• It envisages the creation of one of the world's largest coastal freshwater reservoirs through the construction of a dam across the Gulf of Khambhat.

External Affairs Minister chaired a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

About FIPIC

• It is a multinational partnership established in 2014 to expand diplomatic, economic, and development ties between India and 14 Pacific Island nations.
• Member Nations (14): Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
• Core Goals: Advance sustainable development, share clean energy technologies, improve healthcare, and boost digital connectivity under India's Act East Policy.

INS Trishul reached Toulon in France to participate in the 24th edition of the bilateral maritime exercise ‘VARUNA’.

• VARUNA is a bilateral annual naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy.