About Kuril Islands:

• The Kuril Islands is an island group in the Russian Far East that forms the boundary between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
• The archipelago, administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast (Russia), extends for about 1,300 kilometers from the Kamchatka Peninsula’s (Russia) southern tip to Hokkaido’s (Japan) northeastern corner.
• The islands are divided into the Greater and Lesser Kuril Chains.
• These are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire
• The climate in the islands is severe, with long, cold, snowy winters and cool, wet, foggy summers.
• Vegetation ranges from tundra on the northern islands to dense forest on the larger southern islands.
• The principal centers are the towns of Kurilsk on Iturup, the largest island, Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir, and Yuzhno-Kurilsk on Kunashir.
• Although Russia administers all the Kuril Islands, some islands are at the heart of the Russo-Japanese feud known as the Kuril Islands dispute.
• Japan considers the four southernmost islands as part of its Northern Territories.
• Tokyo claims that the disputed islands have been part of Japan since the early 19th century.
• As a result of this dispute, Russia and Japan have never formally concluded a peace treaty to end World War II.

About Moon Base Programme:

• It is one of NASA’s most ambitious programmes, which aims to establish a sustained human presence near the lunar South Pole.
• Moon Base is humanity’s first lunar outpost, a place where astronauts will live, work, and explore near the Moon’s South Pole, an area that was first accessed by India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission in August 2023.
  • The South Pole of the Moon is important because of water ice in permanently shadowed regions, its scientific value, and potentially useful lunar resources.
• Through a series of crewed and uncrewed missions, NASA and its partners will build the infrastructure needed to support a sustained human presence on the Moon, unlock new scientific discoveries, and prepare for future exploration of Mars.
• The Moon Base will be built step by step using a phased approach.
• Phase One (Now–2029): Gain Reliable Access, Experiment, and Learn:
  • Robotic missions will explore the lunar South Pole, demonstrate new technologies, and gather the knowledge needed to guide future development.
  • NASA will identify promising locations for future infrastructure, improve mission capabilities, and reduce risk before astronauts arrive.
• Phase Two (2029–2032): Build and Expand
  • Building on what is learned during Phase One, NASA will begin deploying the first infrastructure needed to support long-term operations on the Moon.
  • Early power systems, cargo transportation, logistics, and communications capabilities will expand humanity’s footprint on the Moon and enable increasingly complex missions.
• Phase Three (2032 and Beyond): Live and Work on the Moon:
  • With the Moon Base’s foundational infrastructure in place, NASA will begin assembling a permanent lunar outpost where astronauts can live and work for extended periods.
  • Habitats, power systems, communications, transportation, and other critical capabilities will come together to support an enduring human presence near the Moon’s South Pole.

About Southern African Customs Union (SACU):

• It is an African regional economic organization.
• It is the world’s oldest customs union, which was established in 1910.
• Member countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).
• The SACU Secretariat is located in Windhoek, Namibia.
• The five member states maintain a common external tariff, share customs revenues, and coordinate policies and decision-making on a wide range of trade issues.
• Like other customs unions, a key feature of SACU is the application of a single tariff regime − the Common External Tariff (CET).
  • This means the member states form a single customs territory which provides for a free movement of goods where tariffs and other barriers are eliminated on all trade between them.
  • The CET applies to goods imported from all territories that are not members of SACU.
• South Africa accounts for around 91 percent of the bloc's total economic output and is India's largest trading partner within the grouping.
• SACU countries are also part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), together with Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; as well as the island nations of Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, and Madagascar.

About Kollidam River:

• It is a river in southeastern India flowing through the Tamil Nadu
• It is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River.
• It is also known as Kolidam and sometimes Coleroon in English.
• Course:
  • Formed by the northern bifurcation of the Kaveri River just west of Srirangam, the Kollidam River flows in an easterly and then northeasterly direction.
  • It finally empties through several mouths into the Bay of Bengal.
• The town of Chidambaram lies on its banks.

About Ghatiana Karnataka:

• It is a new species of freshwater crab.
• It was discovered from Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka.
• Unlike the other species of Ghatiana that are hard to find during the dry seasons, Ghatiana Karnataka was recorded in all the seasons.
• Habitat:
  • They live near perennial streams and in evergreen or semi-evergreen forests.
  • During the monsoon, they can be found on laterite rocks, and during other seasons, inside the tree cavities that are moist.

About Black-necked Crane:

• It is classed as a medium-sized member of the crane family.
• Other Names: It is locally is known as “cha thung-thung” in Ladakh and “thungdung karma” in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Appearance: It has a largely whitish-grey body contrasted by a jet-black head and upper neck, splashes of red around the eye, and long, elegant legs built for wading through alpine bogs.
• Distribution: High altitude marshes and lakes of Tibetan Plateau (Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu), Sichuan (China), and eastern Ladakh (India).
  • A small wintering population is also found in Sangti and Zimithang valleys of Arunachal Pradesh in India.
• Breeding: The main breeding sites include the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, especially the wetlands of Hanle, Tso Kar, Nyoma, and nearby marshes.
• Cultural Significance: They hold a special place in Ladakh’s Buddhist culture. They are regarded as sacred birds and symbols of peace, purity and good fortune.
• Threats: Increasing human use of areas surrounding wetlands, expansion of linear infrastructure, growing tourism activities, habitat degradation, and the impacts of climate change.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Near Threatened
  • CITES: Appendices I
  • Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.

About Sanchar Mitra Scheme:

• It envisions engaging the Yuva Shakti- India’s youth, as catalysts for digital empowerment and societal outreach.
• It is aimed at harnessing the energy and potential of young students to spread awareness about safe digital behaviour.
• It is open to students from those technical institutes that have active telecom, electronics, computers, cybersecurity, or similar programs and have agreed to participate in the scheme.
• Working:
  • Under this scheme, student volunteers, named as Sanchar Mitra, will raise public awareness about mobile safety, telecom fraud prevention, and government digital initiatives. 
  • They will conduct outreach in communities, schools, and public spaces to educate citizens on responsible and secure use of telecom services.
  • Sanchar Mitras will receive necessary training from experts and from the National Communications Academy-Technology (NCA-T). 
  • The Sanchar Mitras will receive various training on subjects like cybersecurity, emerging technologies in the telecom sector, telecom policies and regulations, etc. 
• The scheme offers top performers:
  • Access, on a best-effort basis, to research and development (R&D) projects and telecom start-ups;
  • Involvement in policy and standards work;
  • Participation in field surveys and DoT initiatives;
  • Exposure to national conferences and events. 
• The scheme has been implemented across all states/UTs through the licensed service area (LSA) field offices of DoT.
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications.

About SAMRIDH Programme:

• The Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).
• Aim: It aims to support existing and upcoming Accelerators to select and accelerate potential IT-based startups to scale. 
  • The program also focuses on accelerating the startups by providing customer and investors connect to international markets.
• Target: The program supports 300 tech Start-Ups in 3-year duration with cohort size of 5-10 StartUps.
• Financial Assistance: It provides financial support of ₹2 lakh per startup to selected accelerators, along with matching funding to startups up to a maximum of ₹40 lakh.
• Implementation: It is being implemented by MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH), Digital India Corporation (DIC).
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Electronics & IT

About Cascade Frog:

• These frogs belong to the genus Amolops.
• Habitat: They are typically found around rocky waterfalls and fast-flowing forest streams.
• Ecological Role: Cascade frogs are vital ecological anchors that connect aquatic and terrestrial food webs, control pest populations, and serve as sensitive indicators of clean water ecosystems.

Three New Cascade frog species:

• Ammachi’s Cascade Frog (Amolops ammachi):
  • It was discovered in the Jampui Hills of Tripura.
  • It honours the late Kerala social worker and philanthropist Padmini Varkey, affectionately known as ‘Ammachi’ (or mother).
  • It has a light brown body interspersed with beautiful olive-green reticulations.
• Sendenyu Cascade Frog (Amolops sendenyu): It was found in Nagaland and named after Sendenyu Village; and
• Beautiful Cascade Frog (Amolops bella): It was discovered in West Bengal and named for its striking green body marked with yellowish-green or reddish-brown mosaic patterns.