About Assam Accord:

• The Assam Accord was signed on 15^th August, 1985, amongst the Union of India, the Government of Assam, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
• The signing of the Accord brought an end to the 6-year-long agitation, the Assam Movement (1979-1985), aimed at dispelling foreigners from the state of Assam.
• The aim of the accord was to detect and deport all immigrants in the state who had come to the territory post-24 March 1971.

Main Provisions of Assam Accord:

• It determined 1st January 1966 as the cut-off date for the purpose of detection and deletion of foreigners.
• It allowed for citizenship for all persons coming to Assam from “Specified Territory” before the cut-off date.
• It further specifies that all persons who came to Assam prior to 1st January 1966 (inclusive) and up to 24th March 1971 (midnight) shall be detected in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1939.
  • The names of foreigners so detected will be deleted from the Electoral Rolls in force.
  • Such persons will be required to register themselves before the Registration Officers of the respective districts in accordance with the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939.
  • The Assam Accord does not call for their deportation, but they were to get voting rights only after expiry of 10 years from the date of their detection or declaration as foreigner.
• Foreigners who came to Assam on or after 25th March 1971 shall continue to be detected, deleted, and expelled in accordance with law.
• Clause 6:
  • It promises to provide constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve, and promote the cultural, social, and linguistic identity, and heritage of the Assamese people.
  • These safeguards aim to address concerns regarding the state’s demographic and cultural integrity amidst the influx of migrants.

About Digital Hub for Reference and Unique Virtual Address (DHRUVA):

• Developed by the Department of Posts, DHRUVA sets the foundation for a nationwide Digital Address Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
• It envisions a standardized, interoperable, and geocoded digital addressing system that supports secure, consent-based, and seamless sharing of address information. 
• At its core is the concept of Address-as-a-Service (AaaS) — the array of services associated with address data management to support secure and efficient interactions between users, government entities, and private sector organizations.
• The AaaS Framework Ensures:
  • Interoperability across different address systems used by various sectors.
  • Standardization of address formats and geolocation tagging.
  • Consent-based sharing to empower user control and privacy.
  • Public-private integration for seamless adoption and innovation.
• By recognizing digital addresses as core infrastructure, akin to Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DHRUVA sets out to streamline everything from e-governance and online commerce to urban planning and emergency services.
• The policy also places emphasis on user-centric design, ensuring that citizens have meaningful control over how their address data is used and shared.
• Citizens will retain full control over their digital address identity, with options to manage access, update details, and share their verified address securely for various use cases.
• The DHRUVA platform will also feature multilingual support, mobile-first access, and integration with identity systems like Aadhaar, thereby improving usability and accessibility for all demographics.
• The DHRUVA policy builds upon the earlier launch of the Digital Postal Index Number (DIGIPIN)—the National Addressing Grid introduced by the Department of Posts.

Key Facts about DIGIPIN:

• It is an open-source nationwide geo-coded addressing system developed by the Department of Posts in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and NRSC, ISRO.
• It divides India into grids and assigns each grid a unique alphanumeric code based on latitude and longitude
• The DIGIPIN system is publicly accessible and supports improvements in emergency response, logistics efficiency, and citizen service delivery.

About Tensor Processing Unit (TPU):

• A TPU is a specialized chip designed to accelerate AI and Machine Learning (ML) tasks.
• Unlike traditional Computer Processors Units (CPUs) or Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), TPUs are specifically built to handle the complex calculations required for deep learning models.
• TPUs were developed by Google to improve the performance of their AI applications, such as Google Search, Google Translate, and Google Photos.
• Since then, TPUs have become a key component in AI infrastructure and are widely used in data centers and cloud computing.

How Do TPUs Work?

• AI models rely on a type of mathematical operation called tensor computation.
• A tensor is a multi-dimensional array of numbers, similar to a table of data.
• Deep learning models use these tensors to process large amounts of information and make predictions.
• TPUs are optimized for tensor computations, allowing them to process large datasets much faster than CPUs or GPUs.
• They achieve this through:
  • Massive parallelism: TPUs can perform many calculations at once, making them highly efficient.
  • Low power consumption: Compared to GPUs, TPUs use less energy while delivering high performance.
  • Specialized circuits: TPUs have circuits specifically designed for AI workloads, reducing the need for unnecessary computations.
• While CPUs are great for general tasks and GPUs are an excellent choice for gaming and AI, TPUs are specifically designed to make AI models work faster and more efficiently.

About Keoladeo National Park:

• It is situated in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
• It was earlier known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.
• It is recognised as one of the world’s most important bird breeding and feeding grounds.
• It was declared a national park in 1981. It was renamed Keoladeo for the ancient temple in the park dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
• It is the only one of its kind in India which is enclosed by a boundary wall to fend off encroachments.
• It is a Ramsar site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Vegetation:
  • Woodlands, swamps, and wet grasslands cover a large part of the park.
  • The vegetation here is of a dry deciduous type, with medium-sized trees and shrubs found inside its forest.
• Flora: Some of the trees which can be commonly spotted inside the park are kadam, jamun, babul, kandi, ber, kair, and piloo.
• Fauna:
  • It is home to a range of mammals and reptiles—including pythons and other snakes, deer, sambars, blackbucks, jackals, monitor lizards, and fishing cats.
  • It is strategically located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway.
  • Among those wintering in the park are waterfowl from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Siberia, including species such as gadwalls, shovellers, common teals, tufted ducks, pintails, white spoonbills, Asian open-billed storks, Oriental ibises, and the rare Siberian crane.

About World Soil Day (WSD):

• It is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.
• In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared December 5 as World Soil Day, with the first celebration held in 2014.
• WSD 2025 Theme:
  • “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities,” shifting attention from rural farmlands to the often-overlooked soil beneath urban landscapes.

About Exercise Garuda Shakti:

• It is the joint Special Forces exercise conducted between India and Indonesia.
• The Indian contingent is represented by troops from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces).
• Aim: The exercise aims to strengthen mutual understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the Special Forces of the two nations.
• Focus: Its scope includes troop-level tactics, techniques and procedures in a counter-terrorism environment, covering unarmed combat techniques, combat shooting, sniping, heliborne operations and planning for drone, counter-UAS and loiter-munition strikes in semi-mountainous terrain.
• Objectives:
  • It features the exchange of expertise and information on weapons, equipment and operational practices.
  • Validate joint training through a simulated real-world operational scenario.
  • Test the endurance, coordination and combat readiness of both contingents.
• Significance: It helps in advancing defence cooperation and further strengthening bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.

About ICGS Vigraha:

• It is the Offshore Patrol Vessels of Indian Coast Guard.
• It is indigenously built by L&T Ship Building Limited.
• It is based in Visakhapatnam & operates on eastern seaboard.
• Features of ICGS Vigraha:
  • It is designed to carry one twin-engine Helicopter & four high speed boats.
  • Equipment: It is equipped with Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), Automated Power Management System (APMS) and High-Power External Firefighting (EFF) system.
  • It is fitted with advanced technology Radars, Navigation and Communication Equipment, Sensor and Machinery capable of operating in tropical sea conditions.
  • It is exclusively deployed for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, maritime law enforcement, and search and rescue operations.

About National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme:

• It is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2024.
• Aim: The aim of the scheme is to help create a sound forensic laboratory infrastructure and prepare world class trained forensic professionals in the country.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Implementation Period: 2024–25 to 2028–29.
• Components of National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme
  • Establishment of campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in the country.
  • Establishment of Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs) in the country.
  • Enhancement of existing infrastructure of the Delhi Campus of the NFSU.

What is the need of NFIES?

• To address the significant shortage of trained forensic manpower in the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) in the country.
• To alleviate the case load / pendency of forensic laboratories, and align with the Government of India’s goal of securing a high conviction rate of more than 90%.

About Thailand:

• Location: It is located in the center of mainland Southeast Asia.
• Bordering Countries: It shares boundaries with Myanmar (North West), Laos (North East), Cambodia (East), and Malaysia (South).
• Maritime boundary: Bordered by Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand
• Capital City: Bangkok
• Geographical Features:
  • Highest Peak: Doi Inthanon
  • Plateau: Khorat Plateau is a vast tableland bounded by the Mekong River.
  • Major Rivers: Chao Phraya River and Mekong River (Forms a natural border with Laos)
  • Climate: It is influenced by Southwest and Northeast Monsoons
    • The Tropical Wet and Dry (Savanna) Climate (Köppen’s classification) dominates most areas.
    • Tropical Monsoon Climate in the south and east; some areas also have a Tropical Rainforest Climate.
  • Natural Resources: Rubber, Rice, Tin, Natural Gas, Timber, Tungsten, Tantalum
  • It is a leading global exporter of rubber, fruits, vegetables, and rice.