Daily Current Affairs

• A three-stringed instrument used in folklore, rituals, and festivals.
• Symbolises ancestral wisdom and continuity of traditions.
• Applicant: Ugen Palzor Lepcha

• A bamboo flute-like instrument producing nature-inspired melodies.
• Revered as the “voice of the forest,” reflecting Lepcha spirituality.
• Applicant: Namgyal Lepcha

• GI certificates were awarded at the 1st Tribal Business Conclave in New Delhi.
• NABARD Gangtok supported the two-year process through technical guidance and documentation.

• Awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Denmark.
• Based on 33 environmental, safety, management, and education criteria.
• Confirms the beaches’ global status for cleanliness and sustainability.

• A 500-metre test habitat will precede the full-scale structure to evaluate life-support, pressure endurance, and logistics.
• The final habitat will serve as an underwater counterpart to the International Space Station.

• Titanium-based pressure-resistant structures
• 360-degree transparent observation panels
• Multi-compartment labs
• Docking bays for submersibles
• Acoustic + fibre-optic communication systems

Designed to support long-duration deep-sea research.

• This acquisition positions the company among India’s top three healthcare providers by revenue.
• Practice Plus Group runs 12 hospitals and surgical centres, specialising in Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology, and General surgery.
• Performs around 80,000 surgeries annually.
• Narayana Health was founded by Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty and is headquartered in Bengaluru.

• The platform’s first version, Grokipedia v0.1, launched with 885,000+ articles, compared to Wikipedia’s 7 million+ English entries.
• Musk states that version 1.0 will be “10X better.”
• Claims the platform provides truthful and unbiased information.
• Content is created using Grok, xAI’s generative model, unlike Wikipedia’s volunteer-based system.
• Musk intends to eventually rebrand it as “Encyclopedia Galactica.”

• Access to Gemini AI models
• Image-generation and learning tools
• 2 TB cloud storage

• Users aged 18–25 will receive immediate access; later expanding to eligible 5G unlimited plan subscribers.
• Google Cloud will grant Reliance access to TPUs and advanced AI enterprise services.
• Reliance will act as the go-to-market partner for Google’s Gemini business offerings.

• Coincides with the 20th anniversary of India’s ratification of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention (ratified in 2005).
• Will review India’s nominations of Deepawali and Chhath Puja.
• The meeting will be chaired by Vishal V. Sharma, India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO.

• India presently has 15 elements on the list, with Gujarat’s Garba (2023) being the most recent.
• The Diwali nomination links the festival with global SDGs, especially:
• SDG 5 — Gender Equality
• SDG 8 — Decent Work & Economic Growth
• SDG 11 — Sustainable Cities
• SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption & Production

• Displays over 50,000 artefacts, including 5,000 items from King Tutankhamun’s collection, showcased together for the first time.
• Built at a cost of nearly USD 1 billion.

• 24,000 sq m of gallery space
• A six-story monumental staircase
• Massive statues
• A pyramid-inspired triangular glass façade

Despite delays caused by political unrest, the opening is expected to significantly boost Egypt’s tourism sector.

• The observance commemorates tragic events from 1939, when Nazis cracked down on Czech students after the death of Jan Opletal.
• On 17 November 1939:
• Nine students were executed without trial
• Over 1,200 students were sent to concentration camps
• The first official commemoration occurred in 1941 through the International Students’ Council in London.

• Initiated by the Epilepsy Foundation of India.
• The foundation, headquartered in Mumbai and founded by Nirmal Surya, supports patients through awareness campaigns and nationwide programmes.
• The day stresses the importance of early detection, proper treatment, and public education.
• Aims to fight stigma and misconceptions linked to the disorder.

• The idea emerged when UNESCO declared 1995 as the “Year for Tolerance.”
• In 1995, UNESCO adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance.
• In 1996, the UN General Assembly officially established the day.

“Tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, forms of expression, and ways of being human.”

• Born on 8 September 1933 in Erode, Tamil Nadu.
• Joined IIT Kanpur (1965) and helped launch India’s first formal Computer Science academic program.
• Proposed the MCA programme (1987) to address India’s IT skills gap.
• Served as IBM Professor of IT at JNCASR (1994–2001).
• Led IISc Bengaluru’s Supercomputer Education and Research Centre (1982–1994).

• Guided major Karnataka e-governance efforts such as Bhoomi and Kaveri.
• Authored 20+ textbooks, 70+ papers, and the book History of Computing in India (1955–2010).
• Fellow of INSA, IASc, INAE, and CSI.

• Regarded as one of the most influential and controversial vice presidents.
• Advocate of the Iraq invasion and architect of key U.S. foreign policy decisions.
• Served as U.S. Defense Secretary under George H.W. Bush during the Gulf War.

As Vice President under George W. Bush, he was central to post-9/11 policies concerning expanded surveillance, detention programmes, and enhanced interrogation methods.