About Gomti River:

• It is a tributary of the Ganges (Ganga) River, flowing entirely through the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• The river is also known by the names Gumti or Gomati.
• Course:
  • It originates from the Gomat Taal, otherwise called Fulhaar Jheel, a lake located in the Pilibhit District in Uttar Pradesh.
  • The river drains the area between the Ramganga and Sharda Rivers.
  • After flowing southwards through the districts of Lucknow, Barabhanki, Sultanpur, Faizabad, and Jaunpur, it joins with the River Ganga.
• The river extends to about 900 km.
• It drains a basin of about 18,750 sq.km.
  • The entire Gomti basin is underlain by thick alluvial sediments of the Quaternary age.
  • The alluvial sediments consist of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, clay, and kankars.
  • The unconsolidated unit may be further subdivided into younger alluvium and older alluvium.
  • The younger alluvium occupies the present-day flood plains, while the older group occupies elevated portions, mainly the doab portions.
  • The older alluvium is characterized by kankar nodules at depth otherwise it is similar to the younger alluvium.
• It is a perennial river. The river is characterised by sluggish flow throughout the year, except during the monsoon season, when heavy rainfall causes a manifold increase in the runoff.
• Significant tributaries of the Gomti include the Sai River, Chowka River, Kathina River, and Saryu River.
• There are various cities that are situated on the banks of River Gomti, such as Sultanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, and Lakhimpur Kheri.
• Over the years, Gomti has become one of the most polluted rivers in Uttar Pradesh.

About Number of Births and Deaths in India:

• India registered 52 crore births in 2023, around 2.32 lakh fewer than in 2022, according to the Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) report for the year 2023.
• The report, compiled by the Registrar General of India (RGI), stated that 86.6 lakh deaths were registered in 2023, a marginal increase from 86.5 lakh deaths in 2022.
  • There was no major spike in deaths in 2022 and 2023, despite the COVID-19 dashboard maintained by the Health Ministry showing that the total number of pandemic-induced deaths stood at 533,665 as on May 5, 2025.
  • However, there was a significant rise in deaths in 2021, the second year of COVID-19 lockdown, which recorded an excess of 21 lakh deaths from the 2020 count.
  • There were 81.2 lakh deaths in 2020 and 102.2 lakh in 2021.
• Jharkhand recorded the lowest sex ratio at birth at 899, followed by Bihar at 900, Telangana at 906, Maharashtra at 909, Gujarat at 910, Haryana at 911, and Mizoram at 911.
• The highest sex ratio was reported by Arunachal Pradesh at 1,085, followed by Nagaland at 1,007, Goa at 973, Ladakh and Tripura at 972, and Kerala at 967.
• The share of institutional births in total registered births is % in 2023. However, the report did not include information from Sikkim.
  • Overall registration of births for the year 2023 stood at 98.4%.
  • 11 States/Union Territories (UTs) achieved more than 90% registration of births within the prescribed time limit of 21 days.
    • These States are Gujarat, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Punjab.
  • Five States — Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh — reported 80-90% registration.
  • In 14 States — Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Uttar Pradesh, the registration stood at 50-80%.

About Integrated Alert System (SACHET):

• It is a disaster early warning platform envisioned by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to provide real-time geo-targeted alerts to citizens.
• It was developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier R&D center of the Department of Telecom.
• It is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• It integrates multiple stakeholders to bridge communication gaps and employs multiple technologies, including SMS, Cell Broadcast, Mobile App, TV, Radio, Social Media, RSS Feed, Browser Notification, and Satellite, for enabling effective communication and ensuring last-mile reachability.
• This system is already operational in all States and Union Territories (UTs) of India and sends various disaster- or emergency- related alerts through SMS to mobiles of citizens affected in a particular geo-targeted area.
• Users can receive alerts for their current location or subscribe to any state/district in India to receive alert notifications.
• The SACHET mobile app provides warnings from authorized Government sources and authorities to warn the public of a possible disaster situation.
• Furthermore, the app provides weather reports and forecasts from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for day-to-day weather updates.

About Campi Flegrei Volcano:

• Campi Flegrei, also known as the Phlegraean Fields, is an active volcanic region situated in the densely populated Bay of Naples in Italy, which is also home to the more famous Vesuvius Volcano.
• It differs from traditional volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius, as it is not a single volcano but a volcanic system spread across a large caldera.
• It is the largest active volcanic caldera in Europe, far larger and more active than Mount Vesuvius.
  • The caldera, or volcanic depression, spans approximately 12–15 km in diameter and was created due to a massive eruption around 39,000 years ago.
  • This eruption is hypothesized to have had such a climatic impact that it contributed to the decline of Neanderthals.
• One-third of Campi Flegrei lies beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea, between the Italian mainland and the island of Sardinia.
• The last recorded eruption was in 1538, forming Monte Nuovo and ending an interval of roughly 3000 years without eruptions.
• Campi Flegrei is categorised as a supervolcano, implying that a large-scale eruption could have global consequences, including climate disruption.
• The volcano has been showing signs of unrest since 2005.
  • It is characterised by intense hydrothermal activity, episodes of localised ground deformation, and earthquake swarms.

About Steadfast Noon:

• It is an annual nuclear exercise by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
• It is an important test for the alliance's nuclear deterrent.
• It is hosted by a different NATO country each year.
• The 2025 edition of the exercise is being hosted by the Netherlands, with Volkel Air Base serving as the main operating site.
  • Bases at Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in Britain, and Skrydstrup in Denmark will also be involved.
  • Those nations, as well as Finland, Poland, the United States, and Germany, are among the participants.
  • It will involve around 70 aircraft from 14 allied nations, including both conventional and dual-capable aircraft.
    • Dual-capable aircraft refers to aircraft that can deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons, which includes Germany’s Tornado, as well as the American and Dutch F-35 jets.
  • The exercise won’t use any actual nuclear weapons.
  • Pilots and aircraft involved in the exercise are certified for the nuclear mission, but no weapons are loaded or flown.
  • France isn’t participating in the exercise, as the country keeps its nuclear forces separate from NATO’s command-and-control structure and decision-making process.

About Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects:

• It is an innovative digital platform which reconnects communities with their stolen cultural treasures.
• Aim: The project aims at designing the first virtual immersive reality museum of stolen cultural objects at a global scale.
• It will contribute to raise awareness among the general public to the consequences of illicit trafficking of cultural property and contribute to the recovery of stolen objects. 
• It was launched at the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (MONDIACULT 2025).
• The museum is financially supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the project was developed in collaboration with the INTERPOL.
• The digital museum currently displays almost 240 missing objects from 46 countries.
• Sculptures from Indian temple
  • The museum depicts two objects submitted from India: Two 9th-century sandstone sculptures from Mahadev Temple, Pali, Chhattisgarh
  • The first, a Nataraja figure, is described as showing Shiva in his cosmic dance.
  • The second figure, of Brahma, the creator, is shown seated in lalitasana with three visible faces and four arms holding sacred emblems like a rosary and the Vedas.