About Arunachaleswarar Temple:

• The Arunachaleshwarar Temple, also known as the Annamalaiyar Temple, is a Hindu temple located at the base of Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.
• It is one of the largest and most ancient temples in India.
• It is dedicated to Lord Arunachalesvara, a form of Lord Shiva.
• The temple’s origin dates back thousands of years, with references in ancient scriptures and Tamil Saiva texts.
• The current structure, however, was built during the period of the early Chola kings (9th century AD), expanded during the period of the later Cholas, Hoysala (Bhosala) kings, and Vijayanagarar Nayakar kings.
• Architecture:
  • The temple is a fine example of South Indian (Dravidian) architecture and sculpture.
  • The temple complex is among the largest in the country.
  • It boasts four gopurams, or gateway towers, richly embellished with intricate carvings and pillars.
  • Notably, the eastern tower, reaching a height of 66 meters and consisting of 11 stories, ranks among the tallest temple towers in India.
  • The temple has 5 precincts. Each of the precincts has a huge Nandi (sacred bull of Shiva) and several towers.
  • The temple complex features numerous halls, with the most prominent being the thousand-pillared hall, constructed during the Vijayanagara period.

About East Asia Summit (EAS):

• It is the Indo-Pacific’s premier forum for strategic dialogue.
• It is the only leader-led forum at which all key Indo-Pacific partners meet to discuss political, security, and economic challenges facing the region.
• It was established in 2005 with the convening of the 1st Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Members:
  • The EAS has 19 members: the 11 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States.
  • Timor-Leste became the latest member of the EAS following its ASEAN accession on 26 October 2025.
  • India is a founding member of EAS.
• ASEAN leads the forum, and the chair rotates annually among ASEAN member states. 
•  Six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS:
  • Environment and Energy,
  • Education,
  • Finance,
  • Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases,
  • Natural Disaster Management, and
  • ASEAN Connectivity.
• The EAS is an annual Leaders' Summit usually held in October or November.
• Along with the Leaders' Summit, each year there is an EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and an EAS Economic Ministers’ Meeting.
• Senior officials of EAS participating countries meet throughout the year to prepare for meetings of leaders and ministers and to engage in frank exchanges of views on political, regional security, economic, and other issues.

About Black Sea:

• It is a large inland sea situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe.
• It is located where Europe and Asia meet.
• It is one of the marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Bordering Regions:
  • West: Balkan Peninsula (Southeastern Europe).
  • East: Caucasus Mountains.
  • North: East European Plains (Russia & Ukraine).
  • South: Anatolia (Turkey, Western Asia).
• It is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west. The Crimean Peninsula juts into the Black Sea from the north.
• Though far inland, it connects with the Atlantic Ocean through a series of other waterways.
  • The Bosporus Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles Strait link the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and finally, the Atlantic.
• To its east, the Kerch Strait links the Black Sea to the smaller Sea of Azov.
• Major rivers flowing into it include the Danube, Dnieper, Southern Bug, Rioni, and Dniester.
• Ukraine has the highest number of islands in the Black Sea, including the sea’s largest island, Dzharylhach
• The Black Sea has lower salinity than the world’s oceans due to isolation from the Mediterranean.

About Ratle Hydroelectric Project:

• It is an 850 MW hydroelectric power project being built on the Chenab River in the Kishtwar District of Jammu & Kashmir.
• It is a run-of-river project.  
• It is located downstream of the Dulhasti project and upstream of the Baghlihar project.
• The project is implemented by the Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation (RHPCL).
  • RHPCL was formed as a joint venture (JV) between Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) and India’s state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
  • NHPC and JKSPDC hold 51% and 49% equity ownership in RHPCL, respectively.
• The construction work is being undertaken by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL).

About Tetragonula yikhumensis:

• It is a new species of stingless bee.
• It was discovered in Wokha district, Nagaland.
• It is named after Yikhum village, where it was first collected.
• It is a subterranean species that nests underground and is distinguished by its size, unique morphology, and nest architecture.
• It is the largest stingless bee recorded in India.
• The discovery increases the number of stingless bee species known from India from 25 to 26, while the genus Tetragonula now comprises 18 species in the country.
• It is only the second underground-nesting species of the genus documented in India.
• The nests comprised distinct chambers for honey, pollen, and brood, protected by hard layers of batumen and connected to the surface through narrow entrance tunnels.
• The Lotha community in Wokha refers to these subterranean stingless bees as "litsuk", or "ground bees", and highly values their honey and bee pollen for their medicinal properties.

About Aerosols:

• Aerosols are tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere.
• Source: They originate from sources such as desert dust, vehicle emissions, industrial pollution and forest fires.
• Properties:
  • Size: Aerosols range in size from a few tens of nanometers to several tens of micrometers.
  • These particles can either reflect sunlight back into space or absorb it,
  • They are often not or barely visible to the human eye, yet their impact on climate, weather, health, and ecology are significant.
  • These particles alter Earth's energy balance and influencing temperatures, cloud formation and rainfall.
• Types:
  • Primary Aerosols: Those injected into the atmosphere directly are known as 'primary aerosols'. 
  • Examples: Sea spray, mineral dust, smoke, and volcanic ash are all primary aerosols.
  • Secondary aerosols: These are aerosols which were emitted in another form (e.g. gases), then become aerosol particles after going through chemical reactions in the atmosphere,
  • Example: Sulfate aerosols from volcanoes or industrial emissions.

Key Highlights of the Study:

• Scientists classified aerosols into seven categories:
  • Pure dust, dust-dominated mixtures, pollution-dominated mixtures, very weakly absorbing, weakly absorbing, moderately absorbing and strongly absorbing aerosols
• Pure dust dominates northern Africa, while Europe and North America are largely characterised by less-absorbing urban and industrial aerosols.
• Strongly absorbing aerosols, which often contain high levels of black carbon, produced the greatest atmospheric warming.
• Very weakly absorbing aerosols had the lowest atmospheric forcing, reflecting more sunlight back into space and producing a much smaller warming effect.
• Tropical regions affected by biomass burning are mainly dominated by strongly absorbing aerosols.
• Black carbon-rich aerosols drive stronger warming.

About Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems:

• It was conceptualized by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2009.
• It aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effective policing at all levels and especially at the Police Station level.
• It facilitates collection, updation, and sharing of data related to crime and criminals in near real-time basis.
• It facilitates various benefits to State/ Union Territory Police, Central Law Enforcement Agencies and citizens of India.
• Objectives
  • Provide Citizen Centric Police Services via a web portal
  • Pan India search on National database of Crime & Criminal records
  • Crime and Criminal reports at State and Center
  • Computerization of Police Processes
• The scope of CCTNS spans all States and Union Territories and covers all Police Stations (15,000+ in number) and all Higher Police Offices in the country.
• The CCTNS project includes vertical connectivity of police units (linking police units at various levels within the States - police stations, district police offices, state headquarters, SCRB and other police formations) as well as horizontal connectivity, linking police functions at State and Central level to external entities.

About Kusha Missile:

• It is a long-range Surface-to-Air missile.
• Developed By: All weapon system elements, including the missiles, radars, command and control centre, have been developed by various DRDO laboratories and Industry partners.
• Range: A long-range SAM typically has a range of over 200 km.
• Capability: It is capable of neutralising a wide variety of aerial threats including fighter jets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and large enemy aircraft within a wide range & altitude envelope. 
• The successful test marks a key step in the development of Project Kusha, India's indigenous long-range air defence programme.

Key Facts about Project Kusha:

• It is also referred to as the Extended Range Air Defence System (ERADS).
• It is being developed by DRDO as the backbone of India's future long-range air defence network.
• The system is planned as a three-tier architecture comprising M1, M2 and M3 interceptor missiles with engagement ranges of approximately 150 km, 250 km and up to 350-400 km, respectively.
• It is designed to integrate with India’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) for network-centric air defence.

About Romania:

• Location: It is located in South Eastern Europe.
• Bordering Countries: It is bordered by Ukraine in the north; Moldova in the northeast; Bulgaria in the south, Serbia in the southwest and Hungary in the west.
• Maritime Border: It is bounded by the Black Sea in the southeast.
• Capital City: Bucharest
• It joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007.
• Geographical Features of Romania
  • Climate: The climate is temperate and marked by four distinct seasons.
  • Relief: It is dominated by the Carpathian Mountains.
  • Major rivers:Danube, Arges, Tisza, Prut, etc.
  • Highest Peak:Mount Moldoveanu.
  • Natural Resources: It mainly consists of petroleum, gold, silver, uranium