🇮🇳 National News
Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched on 9 May 2015 and came into operation on 1 June 2015. Designed to provide social security to unorganised sector workers, APY is administered by PFRDA under the National Pension System (NPS) architecture. It is a Centrally Sponsored, voluntary savings scheme offering defined pension benefits linked to age at joining and contribution amount.
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Initially age 18–40 years; from 1 Oct 2022, income taxpayers ineligible |
| Enrolments | 1.54 crore (March 2019) → 7.65 crore (April 2025) |
| Corpus Mobilised | ₹45,974.67 crore |
Chairman: Sivasubramanian Ramann (after May 2025) | HQ: New Delhi | Statutory body under PFRDA Act, 2013 (notified 1 February 2014); under DFS/MoF.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) — the world’s largest nuclear fusion project, located in southern France — achieved a major milestone with the completion and testing of its Central Solenoid (the main magnet that drives the plasma). Startup phase set to begin in 2033. ITER is backed by the USA, China, Japan, Russia, EU, and 30+ countries.
Designed and manufactured the cryostat — a 30 m tall × 30 m wide chamber housing the entire ITER Tokamak (world’s largest). Built cryolines carrying liquid helium to cool magnets to –269°C (for superconductivity). Delivered in-wall shielding, cooling water systems, and heating systems to raise plasma temperature to 150 million °C — 10 times hotter than the Sun’s core.
- Expected to produce 500 MW of energy from just 50 MW of input
- A Tokamak uses powerful magnetic fields to confine superheated plasma in a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) chamber — originally developed by Soviet researchers in the late 1960s
🔬 Science & Technology
Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) delivered the indigenously developed ‘Arnala’ — the first of 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWC) — to the Indian Navy at L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu. Named after the historic fort island of Arnala off Vasai, Maharashtra.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 77.6 m long, 10.5 m broad |
| Propulsion | Largest Indian Naval warship with Diesel Engine–Waterjet combination |
| Indigenous Content | ~88% |
| Classification | PPP of GRSE with L&T Shipyard (IRS Classification Rules) |
| Uses | Underwater surveillance, search & rescue, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) |
GRSE won the Raksha Mantri Award 2022 for designing Arnala as the ‘most silent ship’. GRSE is currently constructing 16 more warships: 3 P17A stealth frigates, 7 ASW SWCs, 2 survey vessels, 4 next-gen offshore patrol vessels.
GRSE: CMD — Commodore P.R. Hari | HQ: Kolkata | Est.: 1884. Indian Navy: Chief — Admiral D.K. Tripathi | HQ: New Delhi | Founded: 1950.
Bengaluru-based Sarvam AI launched ‘Bulbul v2’ — an advanced AI-based Text-to-Speech (TTS) model supporting 11 Indian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, and English.
An upgraded version of Bulbul v1 (released August 2024), Bulbul v2 offers:
- Fine-grained control over pitch, pace, and loudness
- Multiple sample rates (8 kHz to 24 kHz)
- Smart normalisation for numbers, dates, and mixed-language text
- India-first API pricing for cost-efficient deployment
🕊️ Obituaries
Renowned German racing driver Jochen Richard Mass (b. 30 September 1946, Dorfen, Bavaria) passed away at age 78 in Cannes, France. He made his F1 debut with Team Surtees in 1973, raced in 105 Grands Prix (1974–1982), and secured his only F1 victory at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.
| Achievement | Detail |
|---|---|
| F1 Career | 105 starts, 1 win, 7 podiums |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans (1989) | Won with Sauber C9, partnered by Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens |
| World Sportscar Championship | 32 wins — 2nd in all-time list (behind Jacky Ickx) |
| Other titles | European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) & Spa 24 Hours (1972) |
| Teams | Surtees, McLaren, ATS, Arrows, March |
💼 Business & Economy
Kaunain Sheriff M (National Health Editor, The Indian Express) released ‘The Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant’, published by Juggernaut Books, New Delhi. The book investigates the Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implant scandal by J&J’s subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics.
- In 2003, DePuy introduced ASR hip implants
- By 2010, they were globally recalled for high failure rates and metal toxicity — but ~4,700 Indian patients had already received them
- Builds on The Indian Express’s 2018–2019 investigations, revealing corporate negligence and regulatory oversight failures
- Contrasts the long battle of Indian patients for justice with the USD 2.5 billion settlement J&J provided in the USA
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