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📝 Revision Notes
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Technology & Electronics
‘Adipoli’ — India’s First Fully Designed AI Server
VVDN Technologies unveiled ‘Adipoli’ — India’s first fully designed AI server featuring 8 GPUs — at its Global Innovation Park, Manesar, Haryana. Inaugurated by MeitY Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. India’s electronics sector has grown 5× in value (Rs 11 lakh crore) and exports 6× over 6 years. The SMT Line supports PCBs up to 850 mm × 560 mm at 2,50,000 CPH.
Science & Nuclear Energy
PFBR Kalpakkam — India’s Second Stage Nuclear Programme
India’s 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu (developed by BHAVINI, Chennai) uses Pu-based mixed oxide fuel and liquid sodium coolant. First criticality expected March 2026; full operation September 2026. Represents the 2nd stage of India’s three-stage nuclear programme. India targets 100 GW nuclear by 2047; AERB permission for criticality: July 2024.
Culture & Heritage
UNESCO Memory of the World — Bhagavad Gita & Natyashastra
The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (700 verses, 18 chapters; attributed to Vyasa; from Bhishma Parva of Mahabharata) and Natyashastra (36,000 verses; attributed to Bharata Muni) were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in April 2025. Both preserved at BORI (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), Pune. India’s total MoW inscriptions: 14. UNESCO total: 570 (74 new in 2025).
International Affairs
15th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting — Land Restoration
The 15th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting (first of expanded 11-member BRICS) was held in Brasilia, Brazil. Theme: ‘Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture through Cooperation, Innovation, and Equitable Trade’. Launched: BRICS Land Restoration Partnership (addressing land degradation, desertification, soil fertility). India’s delegation: Shivraj Singh Chouhan. BRICS holds 47% world population and 36% global GDP. India to hold BRICS 2026 Presidency.
Arts & Media
World Press Photo 2025 — Samar Abu Elouf
Samar Abu Elouf (Qatar-based Palestinian photographer) won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year for an image of 9-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour, a Gazan boy who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike (Gaza City, March 2024), captured for The New York Times. Exhibition announced in Amsterdam; to tour 60+ locations. Prize: €10,000. World Press Photo: est. 1955; HQ: Amsterdam.
Defence
MacGregor Memorial Medal — USI, India’s Oldest Think Tank
The MacGregor Memorial Medal (instituted July 3, 1888) honours Maj Gen Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor, founder of USI (United Service Institution of India, 1870) — India’s oldest tri-service think tank. Originally for military reconnaissance; expanded in 1986 to include expeditions and adventure. 127 medals awarded to date (103 pre-independence). In April 2025, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan felicitated 5 personnel at USI, New Delhi.
Real Estate & Sustainability
CREDAI–Colliers Report — 66% Grade A Office Stock Green-Certified
The CREDAI–Colliers report ‘Sustainability in Real Estate: Towards a Greener Skyline’ found 66% of India’s Grade A office stock is now green-certified; Hyderabad leads at 75%. Industrial/logistics leasing in green buildings rose 20% in 2024 to 492 lakh sq. ft across 6 cities. New CREDAI President: Shekhar G Patel (2025–27). CREDAI: 13,000+ developers, 230 city chapters, 21 states; est. 1999.
Defence
ARMEX-24 — Indian Army’s 146 km High-Altitude Expedition
ARMEX-24 was a 28-day high-altitude expedition (March 22 – April 14, 2025) by the Indian Army, covering 146 km from Northern West Bengal’s jungles to the snow-clad heights of Sikkim (up to 14,000+ feet), with 10 days of acclimatisation. A team of 20 military personnel demonstrated endurance, leadership, and operational readiness under extreme conditions.
International Development
India–UN Development Partnership Fund — Sierra Leone Grant
India granted USD 990,000 (~Rs 8.26 crore) to Sierra Leone for ‘Enabling Economic Independence for Specially Abled Persons’ under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund (est. June 2017; total commitment USD 150 million; 86 projects across 65 countries). Components include training centres, assistive tech, skill curriculum, and loan programs. India-Sierra Leone LoC via ECOWAS Bank: USD 250 million.
Health & Awareness
World Liver Day 2025 — ‘Food is Medicine’
World Liver Day (April 19) 2025 theme: ‘Food is Medicine’, emphasising nutrition’s role in liver health. First launched in India in 2019; expanded globally in 2023. Approximately 20 lakh (2 million) deaths annually from liver-related illnesses globally. Cirrhosis is the 11th leading cause of death globally; liver cancer ranks 16th worldwide and 10th in India.
🎴 Revision Flashcards
Click each card to flip and test your recall
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What is ‘Adipoli’, how many GPUs does it have, and which company developed it?
India’s first fully designed AI server; 8 GPUs; VVDN Technologies
Unveiled at Manesar, Haryana; inaugurated by MeitY Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw; India’s electronics grew 5× in value
Tap to Reveal
What fuel and coolant does the Kalpakkam PFBR use, and when is full operation expected?
Pu-based mixed oxide fuel; liquid sodium coolant; full operation September 2026
500 MW; developed by BHAVINI; 2nd stage of India’s 3-stage nuclear programme; India targets 100 GW nuclear by 2047
Tap to Reveal
Which two Indian texts were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2025, and where are they held?
Bhagavad Gita + Natyashastra; BORI (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), Pune
India’s total MoW inscriptions: 14; UNESCO total: 570; Gita: 700 verses; Natyashastra: 36,000 verses
Tap to Reveal
What partnership did the 15th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting launch, and where was it held?
BRICS Land Restoration Partnership; Brasilia, Brazil
First meeting of expanded 11-member BRICS; India delegation: Shivraj Singh Chouhan; India holds BRICS 2026 Presidency
Tap to Reveal
Who won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year, for which publication, and what does the image show?
Samar Abu Elouf; The New York Times; Gazan boy Mahmoud Ajjour who lost both arms in an airstrike
Qatar-based Palestinian photographer; prize: €10,000; exhibition tours 60+ locations; World Press Photo est. 1955
Tap to Reveal
Who founded USI, when was the MacGregor Medal instituted, and how many have been awarded?
Maj Gen Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor (1870); July 3, 1888; 127 medals
USI = India’s oldest tri-service think tank; scope expanded to expeditions in 1986; CDS Gen Anil Chauhan felicitated 5 in April 2025
Tap to Reveal
What percentage of India’s Grade A office stock is green-certified, and which city leads?
66%; Hyderabad leads at 75%
CREDAI–Colliers report; industrial/logistics green leasing up 20% in 2024 to 492 lakh sq. ft across 6 cities
Tap to Reveal
What is the World Liver Day 2025 theme, and what is cirrhosis’s rank as a global cause of death?
‘Food is Medicine’; cirrhosis = 11th leading cause of death globally
WLD observed April 19; ~20 lakh deaths/year from liver illness; liver cancer: 16th globally, 10th in India
Think & Discuss
India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Programme: Is the PFBR the Key to Energy Independence — or a Technology Gamble?
Context from today’s quiz: India’s 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam is approaching first criticality (expected March 2026), marking the activation of the second stage of India’s pioneering three-stage nuclear programme. Using plutonium-based mixed oxide fuel and liquid sodium coolant, the PFBR is designed to eventually enable India to exploit its vast thorium reserves — making it a strategic technological bet on energy self-sufficiency over the long term.
🤔 Your Perspective Matters
India’s three-stage nuclear programme — conceived by Homi Bhabha in the 1950s — is one of the most ambitious long-term energy strategies in the world. Stage 1 (PHWRs using natural uranium) feeds Stage 2 (FBRs using plutonium), which in turn is intended to enable Stage 3 (thorium-based reactors). The logic is elegant: India has the world’s third-largest thorium reserves but limited uranium. However, the PFBR has faced significant delays, and fast breeder reactor technology remains expensive and complex globally.
Is India’s three-stage nuclear programme still the right path to energy self-sufficiency, or should India reconsider its strategy in light of the declining costs of renewables and the global challenges faced by fast breeder reactor technology?
Is India’s three-stage nuclear programme still the right path to energy self-sufficiency, or should India reconsider its strategy in light of the declining costs of renewables and the global challenges faced by fast breeder reactor technology?
- Fast breeder reactors have faced safety incidents (Monju in Japan), massive cost overruns (France’s Astrid programme, now cancelled), and decades of delays worldwide. What makes India confident that its PFBR approach will succeed where others have struggled, and what are the key technical risks?
- India targets 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047 but currently has around 7.5 GW. Given that solar and wind energy costs have dropped dramatically, should nuclear — which is capital-intensive and slow to build — remain India’s preferred clean energy bet, or should investment shift toward faster-deployable renewables with battery storage?
- The PFBR’s ultimate purpose is to unlock India’s thorium reserves for Stage 3. But thorium-based reactors remain largely unproven at commercial scale globally. Is it strategically wise for India to design its entire long-term nuclear programme around a technology that has never been commercially demonstrated anywhere?
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your perspective in the comments.
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