UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Central Government has launched several schemes to promote electronics and semiconductor manufacturing in India, such as the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme and the ₹1,500 crore Mineral Recycling Scheme, which is expected to be implemented in September 2025.

Recently, Himachal Pradesh's Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve was included in UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) list. With this, India now has 13 biosphere reserves listed in this international network.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently recognized India's first dugong conservation reserve located in the Palk Bay of Tamil Nadu.

India is preparing to submit its updated Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) at the launch of COP 30 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) to be held in Brazil on November 10, 2025. Its objective is to contribute to combating climate change and controlling global warming.

Australia has approved the world’s first vaccine to protect wild koalas from chlamydia infection.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for non-coal mining sector of the Union Environment Ministry has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for expansion of the proposed Birmania Rock Phosphate Mine over 400 hectares in the potential Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

Recently, a fossil of a dragonfly from the Cretaceous Period has been found in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. This is the first dragonfly fossil found in dinosaur-era rocks in Canada.

Radioactive isotopes are being injected into the horns of rhinos in Africa to prevent poaching. The project is being led by researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

A Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory will soon be established at Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad; it will be the first in-house facility of its kind in South India.

A three-day special cleanliness drive “Parthenium Free Pobitora” has been launched at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam.