• Technology: It is a distilled video generation model that operates using machine learning's 'model compression technique'.
• Efficiency and Speed: Standard video models typically undergo over 50 steps to produce clear output. This technology reduces that process to just four steps while maintaining the same video quality, making it 10 times more cost-effective and faster than global models.
• Cultural Understanding: This model has been specifically trained to understand India's regional languages, festivals, attire, cuisine, communities, and scenes of public life, and to generate accurate visuals (Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video) that reflect these elements.

India AI Mission:

• Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Objective: To enhance indigenous AI capabilities in India, strengthen the deep-tech ecosystem, and foster the development of safe and trustworthy AI.

• A group of the world's major emerging economies.
• Full Name: BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• Concept: The term 'BRIC' was first coined by British economist Jim O'Neill in 2001.
• First Formal Meeting: The first meeting of foreign ministers took place in New York in September 2006.
• First Summit: Held on June 16, 2009, in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
• Inclusion of South Africa: South Africa became part of the group in 2010, after which the name changed from BRIC to BRICS.
• New Members (effective from January 1, 2024): Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• Indonesia joined as a full member in 2025.
• New Development Bank (NDB): Also known as the 'BRICS Bank'; established in July 2014 (during the Fortaleza Summit).
• NDB Headquarters: Shanghai, China.
• Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA): A framework created to address global liquidity crises.
• BRICS accounts for 45% of the world's population and 37.3% of the global GDP, figures that exceed the European Union's 14.5% and the G7's 29.3%. With the inclusion of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), BRICS now accounts for approximately 44% of global crude oil production.

Summits and Presidency:

• 16th Summit (2024): Kazan, Russia
• 17th Summit (2025): Brazil
• 18th Summit (2026): India, starting from January 1, 2026

• Organizing Ministry: Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
• Key Focus: Resource adequacy, grid readiness, manufacturing competitiveness, and making India a global hub for wind turbine exports.
• Special Report: A knowledge paper titled "Elevating India’s Wind Turbine Exports for Global Markets" will be released during the conference.
• India is currently the world's fourth-largest wind energy market.
• With targets of 100 GW by 2030 and 155 GW by 2035, wind energy is crucial for India's broader goals of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity and net-zero emissions by 2070.
• Record Growth: India added a record 6.1 GW of annual wind energy capacity in the 2025-26 financial year.

• Location of discovery: This new species was discovered near a small agricultural pond surrounded by coconut plantations in Dasharathpur, Rangat Tehsil, in the Andaman Islands.
• Damselflies belong to the order Odonata and are important predators of small insects.
• The *Mortonagrion* genus comprises cryptic, coastal species.
• Researchers first spotted the new damselfly in 2017 and confirmed its distinctiveness through additional collections in 2019.
• The species was named in honor of P. Santhakumar, an entomologist from the region who collected the specimens.

Distinctive Characteristics:

• Color pattern: *M. santha* features pale blue, crescent-shaped spots behind the eyes and a bright blue mark on its ninth abdominal segment.
• Physical structure: Under a microscope, the species displays a unique three-lobed prothorax and mating appendages where the upper sections are half the length of the lower sections.
• Cryptic behavior: Like its relatives, *M. santha* prefers shaded coastal vegetation and is difficult to locate. Its discovery highlights the rich yet under-explored biodiversity of the Indo-Burma hotspot.

Ecological Significance:

• Damselflies play a dual role in the ecosystem.
• They control populations of mosquitoes and other insects and serve as prey for birds and larger insects. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI):
• Establishment: July 1916
• Headquarters: Kolkata
• Ministry: It is a subordinate organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Functions: Surveying, exploring, and researching India's faunal resources, and preparing lists of species for the Red Data Book.

• Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System
• Entry into the Elite Club: Following this successful test, India has joined the exclusive club of select nations possessing operational-level, advanced ballistic missile defence capabilities.
• Security Coverage: This system is capable of tracking and destroying threats—ranging from Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBMs) to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)—within the atmosphere and in space.

Interceptor Missiles:

• AD-1 Interceptor: A long-range, two-stage solid-fuel missile designed to destroy targets within the atmosphere (endo-atmospheric) and in the lower exo-atmospheric region.
• AD-2 Interceptor: Designed to neutralize high-altitude exo-atmospheric threats (near-space) and ICBM-class missiles.
• Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR)
• First Successful Test: DRDO successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the NASM-MR for the Navy.
• Objective: This missile will significantly boost the maritime strike and defence capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.
• Note (for exams): Prior to this, DRDO, in collaboration with the Indian Navy, had also tested the 'Naval Anti-Ship Missile - Short Range' (NASM-SR).

Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO):

• Established : 1 January 1958
• Headquarters: DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi
• Ministry: It functions under the Ministry of Defense
• Motto: 'Balasya Moolam Vijnanam' (The basis of power is science)
• Current Chairman: Dr. Sameer V. Kamat

• The two companies will jointly develop a next-generation Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) Earth-observation satellite.
• The mission is targeted for launch by 2028 and will serve as a technology demonstration mission.
• Headquarters: Bellatrix Aerospace is headquartered in Bengaluru, India.
• Launch Year: The satellite is targeted to be sent into space by 2028.
• Where the agreement took place: This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during 'Korea-India Space Day' in the city of Daejeon, South Korea.

Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO):

• Altitude: This orbit is located at an altitude of approximately 150 to 250 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Standard Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites operate at higher altitudes (500–1000 km).
• Benefits: Being very close to Earth, these satellites are capable of capturing extremely high-resolution images for security, disaster management, and environmental monitoring.

• Full Name of ANCHOR: Atlas of Neurochemical Characterisation of the Human Brainstem with 3D Reconstruction.
• Developer: It has been indigenously developed by the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC) at IIT Madras.
• Launch: The atlas was officially launched during the 3rd BRICS Neuroscience Symposium held at the IIT Madras campus.
• Micron-level Resolution: This atlas allows for zooming in approximately 1,000 times more than conventional MRI scans, enabling researchers to view brain cells at the micron level. It is also being referred to as the 'Google Earth' of the brain.
• Multimodal Framework: Advanced techniques such as MRI, cellular histology, and chemo-architecture have been integrated to generate this data.
• Comprehensive Mapping: It includes over 200 brainstem nuclei and fiber tracts reconstructed from hundreds of serial sections.
• What is the Brainstem?: It is located at the lower part of the brain and connects the main brain to the spinal cord.
• Functions: It regulates the body's basic and involuntary life processes, such as respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure.

• Retail inflation rate (Headline CPI): 3.93% (was 3.48% in April 2026)
• Food inflation rate (CFPI): 4.78% (was 4.20% in April 2026)
• Rural inflation: 4.25%
• Urban inflation: 3.53%
• Base Year: These figures are calculated based on the new base year of 2024=100.
• State with the highest inflation: Telangana (6.15%), followed by Tamil Nadu (5.11%).
• Measurement of inflation: In India, retail inflation is measured based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
• Data-releasing agency: This index is released monthly by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

• Total Income: Recorded at ₹18,554.33 crore, reflecting a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 21.21% compared to the previous fiscal year.
• Profit After Tax (PAT): Reached ₹578.53 crore, marking a surge of 15.26%.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI):

• A leading Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.
• It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking in India dedicated to the renewable energy (solar, wind, and hybrid) sector.
• Establishment: September 20, 2011 (under the Companies Act, 1956)
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India
• Company Status: Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (status attained in 2024)

• Sporting Discipline: Jaspal Rana was one of India's most distinguished pistol shooters.
• Commonwealth Games: He was one of India's most successful athletes in the history of the Commonwealth Games. He won a total of 15 medals across four editions between 1994 and 2006, comprising 9 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
• Asian Games: He won a gold medal at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games at the age of just 18. Over the course of his career, he secured a total of 4 gold medals at the Asian Games.
• World Record: He set a world record score at the 46th World Shooting Championships (Junior category) held in Milan, Italy, in 1994.
• Arjuna Award (1994): Received at the age of 18 for his early, historic successes in shooting.
• Padma Shri (1997): India's fourth-highest civilian honor.
• Dronacharya Award (2020): India's highest honor in the field of sports coaching.
• He coached Manu Bhaker in shooting and helped her win two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.