Context: Many Orcas, often called killer whales, have been found sharing freshly killed prey with humans. Orcas shared their offerings to humans including seaweed, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Orcas: Killer Whales.
About Orcas
Orca is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.
They are called killer whales because of their reputation as powerful predators in the marine world.
It has distinct pigmentation: black on top, white on the bottom and having recognisable white eye patches.
They live and hunt in groups led by a matriarch (the oldest female) and the group’s behaviour largely depends on the matriarch.
While orcas are known to be prosocial animals, they rarely interact with humans.
They have a larger brain size relative to the size of the body. This trait is linked to better cognition, learning, and social behaviour.
Context: Educate Girls, an Indian non-profit organisation working to educate unprivileged girls across the country, has been named as one of the three winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025.
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025
Educate Girls is the first Indian organisation to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award.
The other awardees are Shaahina Ali from the Maldives (an environmental activist) and Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines (a human rights defender).
About Educate Girls (NGO)
Educate Girls (Foundation to Educate Girls Globally) is a leading Indian non-profit organisation working towards bridging gender gaps in education.
It was founded in 2007 by Safeena Husain.
Its core mission is to identify out-of-school girls, enrol them into classrooms, ensure their continued education and improve learning outcomes.
The NGO adopts a community-driven model by mobilising local volunteers such as Team Balika and Preraks, who act as change agents within their villages.
The organisation emphasises that investing in girls’ education creates a multiplier effect- improving health outcomes, delaying early marriages, enhancing incomes, and transforming communities.
It began its work in Rajasthan (one of the states with the highest gender disparity in education), and later scaled operations to states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. It has succeeded in bringing millions of girls back to school, while simultaneously changing community mindsets around girls’ education and gender roles.
In recognition of its transformative work, Educate Girls became the first Indian non-profit organisation to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2025.
About Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1958 in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the seventh President of the Philippines.
It is considered Asia’s most prestigious prize and is often referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
The award celebrates greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership is conferred to outstanding youngindividuals who are 40 years old or below, and to organisations not more than 10 years old that are engaged in exceptionally worthy work. It is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.
Context: Several beaches in Spain have been closed after a tiny species of sea slug began to wash ashore. These slugs called blue dragons are capable of delivering one of the most ferocious stings in the animal world.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Blue Dragons.
What are Blue Dragons?
Blue dragons are a small type of sea slug, barely four centimetres long.
They are typically found in tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian ocean, and have been rarely seen in the Mediterranean Sea.
Their recent sightings in the Mediterranean Sea can be attributed to rising Mediterranean temperatures which brought more of their food sources like hydrozonas (E.g., Portuguese man o’ war) into the region.
Unique traits of Blue Dragons:
They live on the ocean surface and drift with the currents. While other sea slugs live on the seabed, blue dragons float upside down on the ocean surface. They can do so by swallowing and maintaining an air bubble in the stomach.
They camouflage themselves with the sea’s blue colour, and on their underside they are white, blending with sunlight when seen from below. It is a defensive strategy.
They feed on hydrozoans and jellyfish and incorporate the stinging cells of the jellyfish into multiple finger-like structures protruding from their bodies.
Their sting can be extremely painful to humans and cause redness, swelling, nausea, and vomiting. However, it cannot lead to death.
Note: The Mediterranean Sea is one of the fastest-warming water bodies. At the end of June, the temperatures exceeded 28 degrees Celsius with thermal anomalies of five degrees.
Context: The Prime Minister of India was presented a Daruma doll by the Chief Priest of the Shorinzan Daruma-Ji temple, Takasaki-Gunma during his recent visit to Japan.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Daruma Doll.
Daruma Doll
Daruma doll is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism.
Daruma tradition in Japan is based on the legacy of Bodhidharma known as Daruma Daishi in Japan. He was an Indian monk from Kancheepuram who is said to have travelled here over a thousand years ago.
Bodhidharma spent nine years in meditation facing a wall at Shaolin Temple in China, demonstrating such unwavering determination that his legs atrophied from lack of use. This became the inspiration for the Daruma doll’s armless, legless form.
These dolls are typically red and can vary greatly in colour and design.
They are considered auspicious and a good luck charm in Japanese culture. Takasaki City in Gunma, Japan is the birthplace of the Daruma dolls.
The doll represents the popular Japanese proverb which translates to ‘fall seven times, get up eight,’ representing the power of resilience. The special gesture reaffirms the close civilisational and spiritual ties between India and Japan.
Context: Nepalese Prime Minister has voiced his concerns over India and China to resume using Lipulekh pass to carry out border trade. Nepal claims Lipulekh as its own territory, however, India has categorically dismissed it as “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence”.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Lipulekh Pass. Mains: An important aspect of challenges associated with India-Nepal Relations.
About Lipulekh Pass
The Lipulekh Pass is a Himalayan pass situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is located on the border between Uttarakhand, Nepal and Tibet.
Lipulekh is strategically important to India as it provides access to Tibet and serves as a key route for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
The pass is near the trading town of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet and has been used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims.
It is also used by pilgrims to Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra.
Nepal’s claim to Lipulekh Pass and Kalapani Region:
Historical Basis: Nepal claims the southern side of the pass called Kalapani territory, based on the Treaty of Sugauli 1816 between British East India Company and Nepal.
The treaty delimited the boundary along Kali river (Sharda/Mahakali river). It stated that Nepal would cede the territories west of the Kali river.
Nepal claims that the Kali river originates from Limpiyadhura, west of Kalapani and Lipulekh. On this basis, Nepal claims Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura as its part.
India claims that the Kali river originates at Kalapani village in Pithoragarh, where all its tributaries merge.
Hence, the bone of contention is the differing interpretation of the origin of the Kali River.
India’s stand on Lipulekh Pass:
Border trade between India and China through Lipulekh Pass commenced in 1954 and has been going on for decades. This trade had been disrupted in recent years due to COVID-19 and other developments, and both sides have now agreed to resume it.
India rejects Nepal’s objection to resumption ofIndia-China border trade through the Lipulekh Pass stating that the arguments are not based on “historical facts”. Any unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims by Nepal is untenable.
In the recent past the official map of Nepal, included in the constitution of Nepal, shows Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani located to the east of theMahakali River as integral parts of Nepal.
Context: After heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab two gates of the Madhopur Barrage downstreamof Ranjit Sagar Dam on Ravi river collapsed, leading to flooding in Pathankot and Gurdaspur.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About Madhopur Barrage, Ravi River, Ranjit Sagar Dam etc.
What are Headworks?
Headworks are structures built across a river to divert water into canals for irrigation, drinking, or industrial use.
What is Barrage?
Barrage is one of the components of Headworks. It is a low, gated structure built across a river to regulate and divert its flow into canals.
How does Barrage differ from a dam?
A dam stores large quantities of water in a reservoir. A barrage regulates/diverts river flow (like a tap), without large storage.
About Madhopur Barrage:
Madhopur Barrage was built in the 19th century on the Ravi River in Gurdaspur district near Pathankot.
It is located on the border with Jammu and Kashmir.
It diverts water into the Upper Bari Doab Canal for irrigation in Punjab.
It supplies water to Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and nearby regions through canals.
Causes of the Breach:
Natural Factors:
Heavy Rainfall & Floods: Sudden cloudbursts in Ravi’s catchment caused massive inflows.
High Release from Ranjit Sagar Dam: Upstream dam (20 km away) discharged 2.21 lakh cusecs creating extreme pressure.
Debris & Siltation: Flow carried debris that jammed gates and increased stress.
Human / Negligence Factors:
Delayed Operation of Gates: Water was released late, leading to sudden pressure buildup.
Poor Maintenance: Gates were not used regularly; rusting and mechanical jamming occurred. Inadequate greasing, oiling, and rust-prevention.
Aging Infrastructure: Built in 1959, parts of the barrage had deteriorated like other old barrages (E.g., Hussainiwala).
Outdated Design Assumptions: Structures not upgraded for climate change induced rainfall extremes.
