06 May 2025 Current Affairs

 UK-India Forge New Cultural Ties in Delhi

• Purpose: Lisa Nandy, the UK's Culture Secretary, visited India to enhance cultural connections and partnerships between the two countries.  
• Dates: The official visit took place from May 1st to 3rd, 2025.
• Cultural Agreement: A significant outcome was the signing of a cultural cooperation agreement with India's Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Culture and Tourism). This agreement occurred at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.  
• High-Level Meetings: She also met with India's External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, in Mumbai. This meeting happened alongside the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025.  
• Focus: The visit concentrated on strengthening collaboration within the creative industries of both nations.  
• Goal: To boost cultural exchange in arts and heritage and foster lasting partnerships between creative organizations in the UK and India.
• Heritage Focus: The UK will collaborate with India on improving heritage conservation, museum administration, and the digital preservation of collections.
• Key Implementers: The British Council in India and India's Ministry of Culture will be central to putting the agreement into action.
• UK Institutional Involvement: Major UK cultural bodies like Arts Council England, the British Library, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum Group, and the V&A Museum will actively participate.
• Diaspora Engagement: The agreement opens opportunities for British museums to create exhibitions and public programs that connect with the Indian community in the UK.
• Knowledge Access & Protection: A core aim is to broaden access to knowledge held in South Asian manuscripts and to jointly combat the illegal trade of cultural artifacts.

India's First Cross-State Cheetah Corridor Takes Shape:

Rajasthan is becoming a crucial partner with Madhya Pradesh in May 2025 to establish a 17,000 sq km wildlife corridor for cheetahs. This initiative will provide a protected and interconnected habitat, ultimately working to improve genetic diversity and facilitate the movement of wildlife impacted by fragmented landscapes.

• Extensive Corridor Area: The proposed cheetah conservation corridor spans a total of 17,000 square kilometers, with 10,500 sq km located in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and 6,500 sq km in Rajasthan.
• Wide Geographical Reach: This corridor will cover 27 districts in total: 12 districts within Madhya Pradesh and 13 districts within Rajasthan.
• Rajasthan's Key Districts: Seven specific districts in Rajasthan will be integrated into the project: Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, and Chittorgarh.
• Connecting Protected Areas: The corridor is designed to create a vital link between Palpur Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
• Facilitating Cheetah Movement: This connection will enable cheetahs to move freely between Kuno National Park, through Mukundara Hills, and onwards to Gandhi Sagar.
• Expert Identification: The Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape was identified as a suitable cheetah habitat in an action plan released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
• Crucial for Cheetah Survival: This corridor is considered essential for the long-term viability of the cheetah population in India and for maintaining the country's biodiversity

DRDO Tests Its High-Altitude Airship for the First Time in MP

Boosting India's Surveillance: DRDO's Stratospheric Airship Completes First Flight in MP: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully undertook the maiden flight-trials of its Stratospheric Airship Platform in Madhya Pradesh in May 2025. This achievement is expected to significantly enhance India's Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

The unmanned Stratospheric Airship Platform, created by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) based in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, was launched and successfully ascended to an altitude of approximately 17 kilometers carrying its instrumental payload.  

Key Aspects of the Trial:

• The maiden flight lasted for a total of 62 minutes.  
• Data collected from the onboard sensors during the flight will be used to create highly accurate simulation models for future high-altitude airship development.  
• The airship's envelop pressure control system and emergency deflation mechanisms were activated during the flight to assess their operational performance

Key features of this Airship

• High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS): This platform operates as a HAPS, designed for sustained flight at altitudes between 17 and 22 kilometers.
• Lift and Power: It utilizes helium for buoyancy and is primarily powered by solar energy, with onboard batteries allowing for operation during nighttime.
• Persistent Surveillance and Communication: Unlike traditional satellites or aircraft, this airship can remain stationed over a specific area for extended durations (days or weeks), providing continuous surveillance and communications support.
• Versatile Payload Capacity: The platform is capable of carrying various payloads, including imaging sensors, radar systems, and telecommunication equipment, making it suitable for border security, disaster management, and extensive intelligence gathering.
• Bridging the Gap: It effectively fills a crucial operational gap between drones and satellites, offering a reach comparable to space-based systems but with the advantages of quicker deployment, reduced costs, and enhanced operational flexibility.

Gujarat's GIFT City Welcomes New IIFT Off-Campus Centre

• Government Approval: The Ministry of Education, Government of India, has officially approved the establishment of an off-campus center of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• Regulatory Framework: The establishment adheres to the University Grants Commission
• (UGC) (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023.
• Fulfillment of Conditions: This approval follows IIFT's successful fulfillment of conditions outlined in a Letter of Intent issued in January 2025. These conditions included:

- Submitting a development roadmap for a multidisciplinary institution with over 1,000 students.

- Demonstrating the availability of qualified faculty.

- Providing detailed academic programs.

- Presenting plans for a permanent campus.

- Planning for a state-of-the-art library.

• Ministerial Endorsement: Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, congratulated IIFT, highlighting the center's role in training talent for the MBA (International Business) program and other international trade-related programs.
• Location and Offerings: The GIFT City campus will be situated on the 16th and 17th floors of GIFT Tower 2 and will offer:

- IIFT’s flagship MBA (International Business) program.

- Specialized short-term training courses.

- Research opportunities in international trade and related areas.

•  Alignment with NEP 2020: This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020's objectives of promoting multidisciplinary learning and increasing access to quality education.
•  IIFT's Background: Established in 1963 under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, IIFT is a leading institution for capacity building in international trade. It holds the status of a Deemed to be University (since 2002), has an A+ NAAC grade, and AACSB accreditation, signifying its global recognition as a top business school.
• Expected Impact: The GIFT City campus is anticipated to significantly strengthen India's trade education sector and support the nation's ambition to become a major global exporter.

After Over Five Decades, India to Conduct Nationwide Civil Defence Mock Drills on May 7

• Planned Emergency Simulation: It's a pre-arranged practice exercise that imitates emergency situations, such as aerial attacks or missile strikes.
• Purpose: Testing Readiness: The main goal is to evaluate how prepared the public and administrative bodies are to respond to such crises.
• Governing Rules: These drills are conducted in accordance with the Civil Defence Rules, 1968.

Simulated Scenarios: Mock drills typically involve simulating events like:

• Power outages (blackouts)
• Activation of air raid sirens
• Issuance of evacuation alerts
• Failures in emergency communication systems
• Implementation of shelter-in-place procedures

Benefits of Mock Drills: These exercises aim to:

• Minimize public panic during real emergencies.
• Identify weaknesses or gaps in the response mechanisms.
• Provide essential training to volunteers and emergency responders.
• Increase public awareness about safety protocols.
• Build overall community resilience to potential threats.

The civil defence mock drill scheduled for tomorrow, May 7th, 2025, carries significant weight for several reasons:

• Response to Recent Events: It's being conducted nationwide following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, indicating a proactive approach to national security.
• Testing Wartime Preparedness: The drill serves as a crucial test of how prepared India's civilian population and administrative structures are to handle situations resembling wartime scenarios.
• Enhancing Inter-Authority Coordination: A key objective is to improve communication and collaboration between central, state, and district levels of government in emergency response.
• Modernizing Civil Defence: The exercise aims to revitalize and adapt civil defence practices that were largely established during the Cold War era to the realities of today's security landscape.
• Preventive Measure: Despite the current heightened tensions, the drill is intended as a preventative measure to bolster public awareness and ensure that emergency response systems are functioning effectively, rather than being an act of provocation.

Who will participate?

• Coordinating Authorities: District Administrations will oversee and manage the drill at the local level.
• On-Ground Personnel: Home Guards and Civil Defence Wardens will be actively involved in carrying out the simulated emergency procedures.
• Community Support: Volunteers and students from NCC, NSS, and NYKS will contribute to public awareness and assistance efforts.
• Enforcement and Simulation: Paramilitary and Police Forces will participate to ensure order and create realistic emergency scenarios.
• Post-Drill Assessment: States and Union Territories will be responsible for submitting "Action Taken Reports" to evaluate the drill's effectiveness and suggest areas for improvement.