Daily Current Affairs

September 12, 2025

Current Affairs

West Bengal demands Indo-Bhutan River Commission 

Context: The Chief Minister of Bengal reiterated her demand for the establishment of an Indo-Bhutan River Commission with West Bengal as one of its members.

Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Issues in Centre-State relations. 

image 37

Need for Indo-Bhutan River Commission

  • In north Bengal, especially in the districts Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, around 72 rivers and streams descend from Bhutan. They include some prominent rivers like Jaldhaka, Torsha, Raidak and Sankosh. 
  • During the monsoons these rivers spill over the banks and cause flood like situation in Bengal, particularly if it rains in the upper catchments of these rivers in Bhutan.
    • The rivers flood and erode tea estates, forests, and human habitats. 
    • Huge sediments are deposited on the banks of these rivers, which compound the problems in these districts. 
  • Bengal has low-lying deltaic plains surrounded by rivers which resembles a “boat-like basin”. The Ganga river in Bengal remains swollen due to inflows from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, thus limiting the water absorption capacity and aggravating the situation.

Stand of Central Government

  • The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has clarified that there are no plans to constitute a joint river commission with Bhutan. 
  • Bilateral mechanisms between India and Bhutan already exist to address flood-related concerns.
    • Joint teams and groups have been formed for flood management and forecasting of floods caused by the rivers which enter India from Bhutan.
    • There are 36 hydro-meteorological stations in Bhutan at the catchments of the trans-border rivers, and the central water commission gets regular data for flood forecasting.

The issue reflects the larger Centre-State tension in India’s federal framework, where the state perceives political bias in the distribution of central resources for disaster relief and infrastructure. 

Himachal Pradesh declared a Fully Literate State

Context: In September 2025, Himachal Pradesh was declared ‘fully literate’. It became the fifth state/UT in India to achieve this milestone after Goa, Ladakh, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Government initiatives/schemes to promote literacy; State of literacy in India. 

What does Fully Literate Mean?

  • The Ministry of Education defines literacy as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension i.e., to identify, understand, interpret and create, along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy etc. 
  • A state/UT is considered “fully literate” once it achieves 95% literacy.
  • Himachal Pradesh has achieved a literacy rate of 99.3%, qualifying it for the tag.

The declaration is part of the ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) programme launched in 2022 to achieve 100% literacy by 2030.

What is the ULLAS Programme? 

  • ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) is a literacy programme for people over 15 years of age who may not have attended school.
  • It was launched in 2022 with the aim of achieving 100% literacy by 2030, which is one the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
  • The program is also in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which calls for adult education initiatives to achieve 100% literacy.

How does someone attain literacy?

  • Under the ULLAS program, adult learners are taught basic reading, writing, and math (arithmetic like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) that a child in school would learn up to class 3.
  • They are also taught how to read and measure time, make sense of calendars, use currency notes, write cheques, and safely make digital transactions.
  • This training is provided either through a mobile App or offline, by students or community volunteers.
  • After that, the Functional Literacy Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT), a 150-mark reading, writing and numeracy test, is administered in a person’s chosen language.
  • On passing the test, the learner is certified by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) as having acquired foundational literacy and numeracy

To learn who requires training under the ULLAS program, states conduct door-to-door surveys, or rely on other data. Those identified as not being literate are given requisite training and administered the FLNAT.

image 36

State of Literacy in India

  • Census 2011: 
    • In the 2011 Census, any person aged 7 years and above who could read and write with understanding in any language was considered literate.
    • As per this Census, the literacy rate among women was 64.6%, while among men it was 80.9%.
    • The Census also measured adult literacy, defined for those aged 15 years and above, and found the national figure to be 69.3%. 
  • National Sample Survey (NSS) 71st round:
    • The National Sample Survey (NSS) 71st round (January-June 2014) showed an adult literacy rate of 71% for India.
  • Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24: 
    • PLFS 2023-24 reported a national literacy rate of 77.5% for the population aged 7 years and above.
    • As per PLFS, 22.3% of people in India aged 15 and above were not literate.
    • Among the states and UTs, the highest proportion of illiterate adults was in Bihar (33.1%), followed by Andhra Pradesh (31.5%) and Madhya Pradesh.

Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat RRTS Corridor

Context: The Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor between Delhi and Meerut is nearing full operationalisation.

Relevance of the Topic : Prelims: Key Features of Delhi-Merrut Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System

  • The Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat RRTS is India’s first regional rapid rail project.
  • The Namo Bharat corridor is the first of several RRTS lines planned to connect parts of the National Capital Region.
image 35

Key Features: 

  • The Delhi-Meerut corridor covers a total length of 82 kilometres.
  • The corridor will enable passengers to travel from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Meerut in under one hour.
    • At present, a 55-kilometre stretch from New Ashok Nagar on the Delhi border to Meerut South is operational. The remaining stretch will be inaugurated soon.
  • The trains are capable of reaching a top operational speed of 160 kilometres per hour.
  • The project has been developed at a cost of over ₹30,000 crore.
  • The system has been implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).

Benefits and Significance: 

The corridor currently sees a daily ridership of 60,000 and once fully operational it is expected to take one lakh cars off the road.

  • Expected to reduce travel time and ease congestion between Delhi and nearby urban centres.
  • Reduce air pollution and cut carbon emissions, thus contributing to sustainable mobility.

Why have scholars struggled to decipher Harappan Script?

Context: India will host its first-ever international conference on Manuscript Heritage from 11 to 13 September at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The scholars from around the world will also present their work on the Harappan Script.

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Indus Valley Civilisation and Indus Valley Script. 

First Global Conference on Manuscript Heritage

  • Hosted by: Ministry of Culture
  • Title: Reclaiming India's Knowledge Legacy Through Manuscript Heritage 
  • The event aims to bring global attention to India’s vast and diverse manuscript tradition.

India is home to more than 10 million manuscripts in various languages and subjects such as philosophy, science, mathematics, medicine, rituals, and literature. 

Why have scholars struggled to decipher Harappan Script?

  • In 1924, Sir John Marshall announced the discovery of the Bronze Age culture or Harappan Civilization that thrived in the Indus Valley between c. 3300 BCE and 1300 BCE. 
  • The Harappan script, and the underlying language spoken by Harappans spoke are still undeciphered more than a century after the discovery. 
  • Various interpretations exist about the underlying language represented by the Harappan script. It has been claimed to be Sanskrit; a form of proto-Dravidian; and even Ho and Santali. However, such claims are often made with scant evidence. 

The Challenge to Decipher a Script: 

To decipher a script, the following subproblems have to be solved in order.

  • Deciding if a set of symbols actually represent a writing system
  • Devising appropriate procedures to isolate or segment the stream of symbols into a sequence of single signs 
  • Reducing the set of signs to the minimal set for the writing system forming (its alphabet, syllabary, or inventory of signs) by identifying all allographs (the same sign written in a variant form, for example a printed ‘a’ and a cursive ‘a’) 
  • Assigning to each symbol their specified value, whether phonetic or otherwise
  • Trying to match these values to a specific language.

Associated Challenges in Indus Script: 

In the case of the Indus script, many of these problems remain unsolved due to three main reasons.

  • Absence of Multilingual Inscriptions: The most helpful tool to decipher an unknown script is parallel or bilingual inscription (by direct comparison with other known scripts). Though the Indus Valley Civilisation had robust trade links with the contemporary Mesopotamian Civilisation, no multilingual inscriptions have been discovered so far.
  • Language Not Known: Harappan script falls in the category of “unknown script written in an unknown language”. This makes it the most challenging to decipher as there are no familiar points of reference, unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs (unknown script but known language family). 
  • Limited Knowledge of Civilisation: In comparison to contemporaneous ancient civilisations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, much less is known in general about the Harappan civilisation. Although some 3500 Harappan seals have been identified, as each seal has on average only 5 characters inscribed, there is not enough material to analyse.  
image 34

Key features of Indus Valley Script: 

  • Short inscriptions: Indus inscriptions are very short with only about 5 characters on average, with the longest having only 26 characters.
  • Boustrophedon script i.e., it is written from right to left on one line and then from left to right in the next line. 
  • Pictographic script: The script is not alphabetical. There are about 250 to 400 pictographs in the form of a picture; each letter stands for some sound, idea, or object. 

Also Read: Gyan Bharatam Mission: Mission for Manuscript Conservation

AdFalciVax: Recombinant Multistage Malaria Vaccine

Context: The Union government has granted licence to five firms for manufacturing and commercialisation of AdFalciVax, India’s first indigenous recombinant multistage malaria vaccine, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and its partners.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Malaria & Malaria vaccines. 

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by plasmodium parasites transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. 

AdFalciVax: Indigenous Malaria Vaccine 

  • India’s first indigenous recombinant multistage malaria vaccine. 
  • Developed by: Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar under the ICMR.
  • The vaccine is designed to prevent Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans and also reduce community transmission of the parasite.
    • Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite (responsible for the most lethal form of malaria) and difficult to control. 
image 33

AdFalciVax: Recombinant Multistage Malaria Vaccine

1. Recombinant Malaria Vaccine: 

  • AdFalciVax is a recombinant malaria vaccine (made using genetic engineering). The vaccine uses Lactococcus lactis (a genetically engineered food-grade bacterial host).
    • Pieces of DNA from the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) are inserted into Lactococcus lactis (a safe bacterium often used in dairy fermentation). 
    • This genetically engineered bacterium acts as a bio-factory to produce the malaria antigens.

2. Multistage Malaria Vaccine: 

  • Existing Malaria vaccines like RTS, S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M are single-stage vaccines i.e., they target the pre-erythrocytic/sporozoite stage.
    • Sporozoite stage is the stage when an infected female mosquito injects sporozoites (infectious cells of Plasmodium parasites) in the skin of a mammalian host.
  • AdFalciVax is amultistage vaccine i.e., it targets the two key stages of the Pasmodium parasite’s life cycle:
    • pre-erythrocytic/sporozoite stage
    • erythrocytic / blood stage: when the parasite infects red blood cells. (Only a few sporozoites leave the skin and travel through the bloodstream to reach the liver).

AdFalciVax targets the parasite before it enters the bloodstream, thus stopping the infection at the transmission stage. Hence, AdFalciVax vaccine not only protects the vaccinated human from developing Malaria but also reduces community transmission. 

Advantages of AdFalciVax

Preclinical data suggest that AdFalciVax have advantages over existing single-stage vaccines.

  • Broader protection by targeting two vulnerable parasite stages. 
  • Affordable, stable, and scalable solution. 
  • Thermal stability: Vaccine remains effective for over 9 months at room temperature.
  • Lower risk of immune evasion and potential for better long-term immunity. 

Pre-clinical validation of the vaccine

  • The pre-clinical validation of the vaccine has been conducted in collaboration with ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research and National Institute of Immunology (NII).

Need for the Vaccine

  • Reduce Malaria burden: Malaria remains one of the major public health problems in India. India carries 1.4% of the global malaria case burden, and accounted for 66% of cases in the Southeast Asia region.
  • Meet India’s target under National Health Mission: Annual Malaria Incidence to be less than 1 in 1000 individuals. 

The government aims to facilitate the commercialisation of the vaccine to prevent and minimise malaria transmission. 

Also Read: Malaria Elimination: Efforts & Challenges   

Trending now

Captagon
B’nei Menashe: Identity, Migration, and the “Lost Tribes” Debate
Bauxite Mining Conflict in Odisha
Impact of Rising Energy Costs on Migrant Labourers