30 June 2025
(Current Affairs Notes - Prelims)

National Bioenergy Programme

• Launched in 2022, under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

• It seeks to utilise surplus biomass for power generation, while providing additional income for rural households.

• The 3 components of the programme: Waste to Energy Programme, Biomass Programme, and Biogas Programme.

• Recently, MNRE updated some guidelines of the National Bioenergy Programme.

• Bioenergy is a form of renewable energy derived from organic materials such as plants, agricultural residues, animal waste etc.

UN Reports on Child and Maternity Health

• Recently, two reports were released – ‘Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000 to 2023’ and ‘Levels & Trends in Child Mortality 2024’.

• These were released by

• United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)

• United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME)

• MMEIG and IGME are comprise multiple agencies like WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, and United Nations Population Division.

• The reports highlighted the global trends in maternal and child mortality rates. India reported decline in Maternal & Child Mortality.

Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs)

• Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) lays down the requirements for registration of a political party with the ECI.

• RUPPs are political parties registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI) but have not yet met the criteria to be recognised as either a national or state party.

• They do not get benefits like reserved party symbols or free airtime on public broadcasting platforms (DD/AIR), they are eligible to contest elections.

• The ECI has flagged issues like non-compliance with transparency norms, misuse of tax exemptions, and the rise in the number of inactive or shell parties among RUPPs.

• Recently, the ECI started the procedure to delist 345 RUPPs. Delisting would end all benefits enjoyed by RUPPs.

National Turmeric Board

• Under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry

• To promote R&D, value addition for exports, awareness of turmeric's benefits, etc.

• The headquarters of Board was inaugurated in Nizamabad, Telangana.

Kolhapuri Chappals

• A traditional handcrafted leather sandal from Maharashtra.

• Made entirely by hand using vegetable-tanned leather.

• Awarded Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2019.

Secondary Pollutants

• These are pollutants that are not emitted directly but are formed in the atmosphere through chemical reactions between primary pollutants and other atmospheric components.

• Examples of secondary pollutants: Ozone (O₃), Smog, Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and Sulfuric and Nitric Acids.

• A recent study found that secondary pollutants account for nearly one-third of India's PM2.5 pollution.

Dhole (Asiatic wild dog)

• After more than a decade, dhole sighting was confirmed in the northeast India.

• Believed to have been locally exterminated, it has made a confirmed return to Assam’s Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKAL).

• Dholes are carnivores that resemble a small wolf or domestic dog in size. Dholes are social animals known to form packs of up to 30 individuals.

• Conservation status:

  • • IUCN: Endangered

    • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule II

    • CITES: Appendix II

• The current distribution of the dhole is restricted to parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

• In India, it inhabits Eastern and Western Ghats, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Ladakh etc.