Current Affairs 09 July 2025

Content :

1. Rare Great Hornbill sighting in Ezhimala sparks renewed calls for biodiversity conservation
2. What will be the effect of rising military spending?
3. Terror attack accused in India used online payment services, e-commerce sites: FATF
4. Countrywide survey reveals deficits in student learning
5. Nearly 600 Eklavya school students cracked IIT-JEE and NEET, says Tribal Affairs Ministry
6. NIPGR’s gene-edited rice has better phosphate uptake, more yield

Rare Great Hornbill sighting in Ezhimala sparks renewed calls for biodiversity conservation

Ecological Context

• Species: Buceros bicornis (Great Hornbill), locally known as Malamuzhakki Vezhambal.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Endangered
  • Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I species (maximum protection)
• Typical Habitat: Evergreen and moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats.
  • Notable ranges: Silent Valley, Parambikulam, Athirappilly, Nelliyampathy, Aralam.

Relevance : GS 3(Environment and ecology)

The Sighting: Key Facts

• Location: Kakkampara near Ezhimala, Kannur, Kerala – a coastal belt.
• Date: First spotted on May 24, 2025.
• Duration of Stay: The bird remained in the area for about two weeks.
• Initial Sighting: Perched on a fig-laden Ficus exasperata tree.
• Movement: Foraged in the area, flew occasionally to nearby habitats including the Ezhimala Naval Academy campus.
• Observers: Birdwatchers Manoj Karingamathil, P. Jameela, and forestry student Abhinav Jeevan.

Significance of the Sighting

• Geographical Rarity:
  • Great Hornbill sightings in coastal zones are highly unusual; primarily forest dwellers.
  • No documented evidence exists of previous sightings this close to the sea in Kannur district.

• Ecological Indicator:
  • Presence outside its traditionalrange may indicate:
    • Shifting habitat preferences due to climate change or forest degradation.
    • An underexplored biodiversity hotspot in the Ezhimala-Ramanthali belt.

• Biodiversity Significance:
  • Local governance (Ramanthali Grama Panchayat) hailed the sighting as proof of continued biodiversity richness despite human habitation.
  • Reinforces importance of semi-urban fringe areas as ecological buffers.

Conservation & Policy Implications

Broader Ecological Reflections

• Climate Link?: Possible range shifts due to habitat loss, climate stressors, or changing food availability.
• Seed Disperser Role: Hornbills play a crucial role in forest regeneration through dispersal of fig and fruit tree seeds.
• Conservation Gap: Coastal ecosystems often overlooked in hornbill conservation plans, despite potential seasonal or adaptive significance.

Way Forward

• Biodiversity Zonation: Integrate coastal hills like Ezhimala into eco-sensitive zone mapping.
• Species Monitoring: Use citizen science + academic research to build sighting databases.
• Community Engagement: Train local communities to identify and report rare wildlife sightings.
• Habitat Linkage: Restore coastal-forest ecological corridors for seasonal/occasional wildlife dispersal.

What will be effect of rising military spending?

NATO’s New Defence Target: A Paradigm Shift

• New Target: NATO pledged to raise defence and security-related spending to 5% of member GDP by 2035, up from the long-standing 2% target.
• Objective: Claimed to be a response to rising global threats—especially Russia, Iran, and hybrid warfare scenarios.
• NATO Share: With 32 members, NATO accounts for 55% of global defence spending ($1,506 billion in 2024).

Relevance : GS 2(International Relations) , GS 3(Defence ,Internal Security)

Global Military Expenditure: Rising Rapidly

• 2024 Global Military Spending: $2,718 billion, a 9.4% YoY increase—highest since 1988.
  • As % of World GDP: 2.5% in 2024, rising from a low of 2.1% in 1998.
  • Cold War Peak: 6.1% of GDP in 1960.
• Trigger Events:
  • Russia–Ukraine war
  • Israel–Gaza conflict
  • Israel–Iran and India–Pakistan conflicts in 2025

Top Global Military Spenders (2024)

Development vs. Defence: Stark Contrasts

• UN Budget (2025): $44 billion
  • Only $6 billion raised by mid-year → Now downsizing to $29 billion.
  • Contrast: U.S. spent $1 billion in 12 days just on missile defence in Israel-Iran war.
• USAID Closure:
  • Trump-era cuts to foreign aid ($50–60B/yr) risk 14 million additional deaths by 2030, incl. 5 million children, per Lancet.
• Crowding-Out Effect:
  • Study (Ikegami & Wang, 116 countries): Defence spending reduces health expenditure, especially in LMICs.
• Examples of Extreme Military Burden:
  • Lebanon: 29% of GDP
  • Ukraine: 34% of GDP

India-Specific Concerns

• Current Defence Spending: 2.3% of GDP (₹6.81 lakh crore in 2024–25)
  • Extra ₹50,000 crore sanctioned after Operation Sindoor (2025).
• Health vs. Defence:
  • Ayushman Bharat allocation (2023–24): ₹7,200 crore (for 58 crore people).
  • Public health spending: 1.84% of GDP (target: 2.5%) → Far lower than OECD average ~10%.
• Policy Dilemma:
  • Rising public support for militarisation post-conflict may stifle long-term investments in education, health, and climate.

Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• SDG Setbacks:
  • SDG 1 (No Poverty): $70B/year could end extreme poverty; just 0.1% of high-income countries’ GNI.
  • SDG 3 (Health): $1/year/person on NCD prevention → 7 million lives saved by 2030.
• Climate Costs:
  • NATO’s 3.5% defence GDP goal would emit +200 million tonnes CO₂ annually.
  • 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded → Escalating need for climate mitigation spending.

Global Peace Trends

• Global Peace Index (2023):
  • Militarisation increased in 108 countries.
  • Most conflicts since World War II witnessed in 2023.
• Scholarly View:
  • Fear of Russia is exaggerated:
    • Russia’s economy is 25x smaller and military spending 10x lower than NATO.
    • Militarisation driven more by geopolitical narratives than actual capability gaps.

Key Takeaways

• 5% GDP on defence = less on health, education, climate.
• Huge opportunity cost for sustainable development and human welfare.
• Militarisation ≠ Peace: Peace also means adequate public goods, not just absence of war.
• Global South and civil society must assert budgetary justice in global forums like the UN, G20, and BRICS.

Terror attack accused in India used online payment services, e-commerce sites: FATF

Key Findings from FATF’s July 2025 Report

Report Title: Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks
Publisher: Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Context: Highlights evolving methods used by terrorists globally, with India cited in two major case studies.

Case 1: Gorakhnath Temple Attack (April 3, 2022) – Lone Wolf Radicalisation

• Nature of Attack: A “lone actor” radicalised by ISIL ideology attempted to attack security personnel at the Gorakhnath Temple, UP.
• Modus Operandi:
  • Fund transfers worth ₹6,69,841 via PayPal to foreign entities allegedly supporting ISIL.
  • ₹10,323.35 received from foreign source—indicative of reverse funding.
  • Used VPNs for online communication, calls, and downloads to mask digital identity.
  • Third-party international transactions used to obscure traceability.
• Investigation & Charges:
  • Handled by UP ATS.
  • Accused charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Case 2: Pulwama Attack (February 14, 2019) – E-Commerce Enabled Logistics

• Attack Details:
  • Suicide bombing on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, J&K killing 40 personnel.
  • Orchestrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.
• Use of E-Commerce:
  • Aluminium powder, a component of the IED, was purchased via Amazon.
  • Used to enhance blast intensity.
  • Procurement traced through digital transaction logs.
• Aftermath:
  • 19 individuals were charged under UAPA, including 7 foreign nationals and the suicide bomber.

FATF’s Broader Concerns on EPOMs & Digital Platforms

• EPOMs: E-commerce Platforms & Online Marketplaces are becoming prime tools for terrorist procurement.
• Money Laundering & Terror Financing (ML/TF) Risks:
  • Criminals pose as fraudulent sellers/buyers.
  • Employ trade-based techniques like over/under invoicing to transfer value covertly.
  • Use EPOMs as fronts for illegal activity, including:
    • Purchase of restricted components
    • Disguised fund transfers
    • Virtual storefronts aiding cross-border logistics

Policy Implications for India

• Digital Ecosystem Gaps:
  • Insufficient regulation over cross-border PayPal flows and cryptic VPN use.
  • Lack of real-time data sharing between fintech and intelligence bodies.
• Needed Reforms:
  • Strengthen FEMA & PMLA enforcement in digital payment corridors.
  • Mandate KYC across all EPOMs, including global platforms operating in India.
  • Enforce traceability mandates for VPNs and encrypted communications under the IT Act.
  • Public-private coordination between e-commerce firms, fintech, and counter-terror agencies.

India’s Regulatory Landscape (As of July 2025)

Key Takeaways

•  Terrorists are shifting from hawala to hyperlinks—digital traceability is now the new battlefield.
•  Online anonymity tools like VPNs and international wallets are increasingly weaponised.
•  India must create a centralised anti-terror-fintech task force involving MEITY, MHA, RBI, and global partners.
•  Greater FATF compliance and cyber-regulatory overhauls are essential to secure India’s digital ecosystem.

Countrywide survey reveals deficits in student learning

About PARAKH RS

• Full Form: Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development – Rashtriya Sarvekshan
• Formerly: National Achievement Survey (NAS)
• Conducted by: Ministry of Education, via PARAKH (under NCERT)
• Scope:
  • Assessed: 21.15 lakh students
  • Grades Covered: 3, 6, and 9
  • Subjects:
    • Grades 3, 6, 9: Language, Mathematics
    • Grades 3, 6: Environmental Studies (World Around Us)
    • Grade 9: Science, Social Science
  • Coverage: 74,229 schools across 781 districts
  • Teachers/Leaders surveyed: 2.7 lakh+

Relevance : GS 2(Education ,Governance)

Best Performing States/UTs (By Grade)

• Overall Consistent Performers: Punjab & Kerala (Top 3 in all grades)
• Kendriya Vidyalayas:
  • Weakest in Grade 3 mathematics
  • Strongest in Grade 9 language

Learning Outcomes: Key Findings by Grade

Grade 3

• Language:
  • 67% could use adequate vocabulary for daily interactions.
  • Most could infer meanings of new words from context.
• Mathematics:
  • 69% could recognize and extend patterns.
  • 68% could sort objects based on multiple attributes.
  • Only 55% could order numbers up to 99 correctly.

Grade 6

• Math:
  • Only 54% understood place value of large numbers.
  • Just 38% could solve real-life word problems involving arithmetic.
• Environmental Studies:
  • Only 38% asked predictive questions about natural patterns (phases of the moon, rituals, plant structures).

Grade 9

• Social Science:
  • 45% understood the Constitution’s evolution, and Indian national movement’s ideals.
• Language:
  • 54% could identify key points from reading/listening to news texts.
• Math:
  • Only 31% could engage with number sets (fractions, integers, rationals, reals) and their properties.

Critical Gaps & Interpretation

• Cognitive Depth Drops Sharply: Only 31% of Grade 9 students could grasp foundational number theory.
• Early Numeracy is Better than Later: 69% of Grade 3 students could extend patterns, vs. 38% of Grade 6 students solving puzzles.
• Problem-solving Weakness: Significant dip in applied mathematical reasoning from Grade 3 to 6.
• Text Comprehension Gaps: Even by Grade 9, only half the students show analytical reading skills.
• Civic Literacy: Less than half understand the democratic and civilisational roots of the Constitution.

Policy and Pedagogical Implications

•  Foundational Learning Progress: NEP 2020’s emphasis on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) seems to show early positive trends.
• Middle & Secondary Stage Lags: There’s a major drop-off in applied learning and conceptual reasoning from Grades 6–9.
• Pedagogical Rethink Needed: Performance shows over-reliance on rote learning, with low focus on prediction, exploration, and problem-solving.
• KVs Need Targeted Support in early math; despite national resources, performance lags in Grade 3.
• Data-Driven Interventions: States like Punjab and Kerala demonstrate how teacher quality, consistent assessment, and early interventions yield results.

Nearly 600 Eklavya school students cracked IIT-JEE and NEET, says Tribal Affairs Ministry

Background on EMRS

• EMRS (Eklavya Model Residential Schools):
  • Fully government-funded residential schools for tribal students.
  • Administered centrally by NESTS (National Education Society for Tribal Students) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  • Primarily cater to PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) — ~85% of current students.

Relevance : GS 2(Education , Social Justice), GS 1(Society)

2025 Competitive Exam Results (as per Tribal Affairs Ministry Evaluation)

• States Represented:
  • Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra.

Institutional Support Behind the Success

• Coaching Support:
  • Delivered via partner centers under NESTS.
  • Includes preparation for IIT-JEE, NEET, and CUET.
• Administrative Reforms:
  • Last 5 years: centralisation of EMRS management through NESTS.
  • Improved accountability, academic consistency, and result tracking.
• Government Acknowledgement:
  • Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and MoS Durgadas Uikey praised EMRS teams.
  • Called for greater publicity of EMRS outcomes and impact.

Post-Result Initiatives

• New Outreach Program:
  • Targeted at facilitating post-matric scholarships for high-performing tribal students.
  • Led by Scholarship Division, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  • Intends to eliminate application barriers, provide handholding support.
• Goal: Enable smooth transition of tribal students into higher education without financial hardship or administrative delays.

Impact & Broader Implications

• Equity in Education: Strong proof that affirmative intervention + quality support = competitive excellence.
• Diverse Representation: Tribal students from remote geographies are now entering national STEM pipelines.
• Model of Scalable Success: EMRS performance serves as a template for targeted excellence-based welfare in education.
• Nudge for State EMRSs: States now encouraged to invest further in:
  • Career counselling
  • Mock testing
  • Holistic development
• Visibility Matters: Officials stress the need for mainstream celebration of tribal excellence, breaking stereotypes.

NIPGR’s gene-edited rice has better phosphate uptake, more yield

Background: Why Phosphorus Matters

• Phosphorus (P) is critical for:
  • Root development
  • Flowering & grain formation
  • Photosynthesis and energy transfer (ATP)
• India’s soil challenge:
  • Widespread phosphorus deficiency, esp. in acidic or alkaline soils.
  • India imports nearly all of its phosphate fertilizer needs.
• Efficiency crisis: Plants absorb only 15–20% of applied phosphate; the rest is lost to runoff or leaching.

Relevance : GS 3(Agriculture , Science and Technology)

The Breakthrough: CRISPR-Cas9 for Root-to-Shoot Phosphate Transport

• Led by: Dr. Jitender Giri, NIPGR (Delhi)
• Focused on japonica rice (cv. Nipponbare) in controlled greenhouse settings.
• Target gene: OsPHO1;2 – responsible for phosphate transport from root to shoot.

Genetic Engineering: From Silencing to Precision Editing

Failed Attempt: Knocking out the Repressor (OsWRKY6)

• Researchers silenced OsWRKY6 (a negative regulator).
• Result: Higher phosphate transport → but poor plant growth.
• Cause: OsWRKY6 also regulates other vital processes.

Successful Strategy: Editing Just the Repressor’s Binding Site

• Used CRISPR–Cas9 to remove 30 bp binding site on OsPHO1;2 promoter.
• Outcome:
  • Repressor remains intact (continues other functions).
  • OsPHO1;2 expression upregulated → improved phosphate transport.
  • Phosphate absorbed faster before it binds with Al, Fe, Ca, Mg in soil.

Results: Yields, Efficiency, and Seed Quality

• With recommended fertilizer: yield increased by 20%
• With only 10% fertilizer dose: yield increased by 40% over control!
• Mechanism:
  • Roots behave like sinks, absorbing more phosphate.
  • Enhanced shoot phosphate → more panicles → more seeds
• Seed quality intact: No negative change in starch, dimensions, phosphate content.

Technical Safeguards: Precision & Bioethics

Off-target effects:

• Verified using in silico tools + top 10 predicted sites: no off-target changes.

Foreign DNA removal:

• Cas9 & vector DNA removed via Mendelian segregation in 2nd generation.
• Non-transgenic, precisely edited lines selected for seed generation.

Testing:

• Southern blot and junction fragment analysis used to confirm:
  • No partial insertions
  • Clean genome edits

Implications for Indian Agriculture

• Indica rice adaptation is pending but underway — more time-intensive.
• When adapted, it could:
  • Reduce India’s import dependence on phosphate.
  • Promote low-input sustainable farming in phosphorus-poor regions.
  • Benefit small and marginal farmers facing fertilizer affordability issues.
• Ecological value:
  • Reduced runoff = lower eutrophication
  • Efficient use = resource conservation

Expert Validation

• Dr. P.V. Shivaprasad (NCBS, Bengaluru): “If replicated in indica rice, this could revolutionise farming in India’s phosphorus-deficient soils.”
• Dr. Giri (NIPGR): “This is like a minimally invasive genome surgery — precise, targeted, and transformative.”