UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week

Economy

— The Reserve Bank of India’s six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has slashed the repo rate by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points to 5.50 per cent, marking the third consecutive reduction since February 2025.

— The central bank also cut the cash reserve ratio of banks by 100 basis points to 3 per cent, releasing Rs 2.5 lakh crore of lendable resources to the banking system.

— With this, the MPC has changed its policy stance from ‘accommodative’ to ‘neutral’ in a bid to support economic growth.

— This RBI’s rate cut decision is expected to stimulate borrowing and investment, leading to a higher growth rate.

— Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): The CRR is the percentage of a bank’s total deposits that is required to maintain in liquid cash with the RBI as a reserve. The CRR percentage is determined by the RBI from time to time.

— Repo rate: The interest rate that the RBI charges when commercial banks borrow money from it is called the repo rate. It is used by the banks to meet their short-term funding needs.

(Just FYI: MPC and these key monetary instruments of the RBI are important. In 2017, a question in Prelims was on MPC. Click here to learn more about MPC.)

 

Art and Culture

— Several devotees offer prayers during the annual mela at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple in Tullamulla in Ganderbal district on 3rd June.

— Kheer Bhawani temple is dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi. It is situated 30 km from Srinagar city, and is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus.

— The temple gets its name from kheer, or milk and rice pudding, that pilgrims pour into the spring inside the temple complex as an offering to the goddess.

— Every year, a mela or festival is held at the temple. The festival, known as Mela Kheerbhawani, is the largest gathering of Hindus in Kashmir after the annual Amarnath Yatra.

 

Polity

— The Kerala police dropped 35 sexual assault cases which were booked after the Justice Hema Committee report was released by the Kerala government on August 19, 2024.

— In the wake of the abduction and sexual assault of a leading Malayalam film actress, in which prominent Malayalam film actor Dileep was accused, the Kerala government formed the Justice Hema Committee in July 2017 to investigate sexual harassment and gender inequality in the industry.

— This was the first such committee formed by any state in the country. After speaking to multiple women and men in the industry on various issues, the Committee submitted its report to the Chief Minister in December 2019.

— The report found that a culture of sexual harassment pervaded the Malayalam film industry. The Committee reported the existence of casting couch (wherein powerful men demand sexual favours from women in return for opportunities in films), frequent suggestive and vulgar comments made by men at the workplace, and drunk male co-actors forcing themselves into rooms of women, among other things.

 

International 

 

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal (centre) attends the MoU signing ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday (PTI)

— On 3rd June, Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), a Government of India undertaking, signed an MoU with Norwegian firm Kongsberg to co-design and build India’s first-ever polar research vehicle (PRV) indigenously.

— A PRV is a ship that serves as a platform for research in the polar regions (areas surrounding the North and South Poles). It can also help scientists undertake research in the ocean realm.

— India currently operates three research base stations in the polar regions — Bharati and Maitri in Antarctica, and Himadri in the Arctic region.

(Just FYI: Do you know why there is an increase in research interests in the Arctic region? Are there any treaties governing these regions? Arctic and Antarctica have been the interest of UPSC. Questions have been asked in Prelims and Mains from this area.)

— Paraguay President Santiago Peña Palacios is on a three-day state visit to India.

— India has signed a preferential trade arrangement with the South American trading bloc MERCOSUR, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It became operational with effect from 1st June, 2009.

— MERCOSUR was formed in 1991 with the objective of free movement of goods, services, capital, and people, and became a customs union in January 1995.

— It follows the role model of the European Union. It is the third largest integrated market after the European Union (EU) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

— Ukraine, on June 1, announced that it had successfully undertaken a stealth operation inside Russian enemy lines. The operation, titled Operation Spider’s Web, reportedly took 18 months to plan and was executed using 117 drones.

— Several sources have said that first-person view (FPV) drones were used. The FPV drones were first smuggled to Russia, where they were placed in “mobile wooden houses”. They were hidden under the roofs of houses, which were remotely opened, and the drones then flew to hit their targets.

— First-person view means that a person piloting a drone can see what the drone sees, through a camera attached to its body. The live video can be seen through specialised goggles, or on smartphones and other kinds of screens, and the drone can be manoeuvred remotely.

— All major defence powers have unmanned aerial vehicles in their arsenal, be it Israel’s “kamikaze” HAROP drones or Iran’s Shahed drones.

• International Institute of Administrative Sciences

— India won the Presidency of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) for the 2025–2028 term.

— IIAS is a Federation of 31 Member Countries, 20 National Sections and 15 Academic Research Centres jointly collaborating for scientific research on public administration. It is not a formally affiliated body of the United Nations.

— India has been represented by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances since 1998.

The signing of these contracts reflects Dassault Aviation’s strong commitment to India’s ‘Make in India’ and AtmaNirbhar initiatives. (Express photo)

— India is set to become the first nation other than France where the fuselage of the Rafale fighter aircraft will be manufactured.

— Under a partnership between France’s Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), the later will set up a “cutting-edge” production facility in Hyderabad for the manufacture of key structural sections of the Rafale, including the lateral shells of the rear fuselage, the complete rear section, the central fuselage, and the front section.

— The first fuselage sections are expected to roll off the Hyderabad assembly line in the financial year 2027-28, with the facility expected to deliver up to two complete fuselages per month.

— The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales. In April this year, as part of the Rs 63,000-crore deal inked between India and France, the Indian Navy will induct 26 Rafale Marine jets by 2030.

— Rafale is a 4.5th-generation fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.

 

Environment

India has 91 Ramsar sites. (Photo: X/@byadavbjp)

— On the eve of World Environment Day, Khichan in Phalodi and Menar in Udaipur have been designated as Ramsar sites, taking the total tally to 91. Both are located in Rajasthan.

— The Menar Wetland Complex is a freshwater monsoon wetland complex formed by three ponds, Braham talab, Dhand talab, and Kheroda talab, and agricultural land that connects the latter two.

— Khichan Wetland, located in the northern Thar Desert, comprises two water bodies, Ratri nadi (river) and Vijaysagar talab (pond), riparian habitat, and scrub land. This desert ecosystem supports drought-resistant plant species that provide habitat for over 150 species of birds.

— The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. It encourages the protection and conservation of wetlands worldwide by designating them as such. Ramsar sites are also known as wetlands of international importance.

—On the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5), Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a sapling of the sindoor plant at his residence in New Delhi. The Gujarat government has also decided to come up with a memorial, which will be called ‘Sindoor Van’ (forest), dedicated to Operation Sindoor.

— The sindoor plant is commonly known as Bixa orellana. It is also called ‘Annatto’ in English. It is a small tree or shrub with bright green leaves and pink flowers. The seeds of this plant are covered with a red-orange coating.

• Greater Flamingo sanctuary at Dhanushkodi

— On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Tamil Nadu government has officially declared a Greater Flamingo sanctuary at Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district.

— It aims to preserve a critical stopover point along the Central Asian Flyway for thousands of migratory wetland birds.

 

Science and Technology

— The United States (US) has charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling a toxic fungus into the country, called Fusarium graminearum.

— The fungus is known to cause head blight in crops such as wheat, barley and oats — a disease that significantly affects the yield of the crops.

— It affects the kernel development of various grains, thereby reducing the yield. It can also cause ear rot or stalk rot in maize crops. Once infected, the fungus continues to spread as the crop matures. It is known to survive in plant tissue residues like small grain stems and roots and infect new plants.

— The fungus is also known to produce mycotoxins — secondary metabolites (end products of biochemical processes) that are of significance to the fungal growth but may be harmful to humans. One of the mycotoxins called deoxynivalenol or DON can lead to vomitting in humans and animals.

— Scientists have discovered a mysterious object ASKAP J1832-0911 in the Milky Way, around 15,000 light years away from Earth.

— First discovered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, ASKAP J1832-0911 belongs to a class of objects called “long period radio transients” (also known as LPT), which emit intense radio waves over tens of minutes.

— Discovered in 2022, LPTs are cosmic bodies that emit radio pulses every few minutes or hours. In the last few years, astronomers have come across 10 LPTs, but say that ASKAP J1832-0911 is unlike any other.

 

Persons in News

(Just FYI: Noting historical personalities’ anniversaries aids UPSC prep. UPSC often includes such personalities in questions, so revisiting their lives refreshes your static syllabus.)

— Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s liberal Democratic Party, has won the presidential snap election.

— He is the country’s 14th president and will serve a single five-year term, as mandated by the South Korean constitution.

— Ahilya Bai Holkar was born on May 31, 1725, in Chondi village of Maharashtra. She ruled Malwa territory (a major part of which is now in Madhya Pradesh) from 1767 to 1795. The Holkar dynasty under the Maratha Empire achieved its peak during her tenure.

— Rooted in the civilisational ethos of samajik samrasta — a philosophical vision that aims to foster an equitable and dignified society — her policies addressed disadvantaged groups, specifically the Bhils, Gonds, and Dalits.

— She nominated Tukoji Holkar, a trustworthy soldier who had previously served under her father-in-law Malhar Rao Holkar, as head of her army.

— During her reign, numerous religious places were renovated, including Somnath, Varanasi, Trambak, Gaya, Pushkar, Vrindavan, Nathdwara, Haridwar, Badrinath, and Kedarnath.

— The Madhya Pradesh government led a nine-month-long celebration from September 2024 to May 31, 2025, leading to the 300th birth anniversary.

S Mahendra Dev. (Photo: http://www.axisbank.com)

— Economist S Mahendra Dev has been appointed as the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

— Dev is an expert in the fields of agriculture and rural economy, and also serves as the editor of the Economic and Political Weekly.

— Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.

 

Places in News

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)

— Italy’s Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe, produced an explosive eruption on 2nd June, sending a huge cloud of ash, smoke and rock fragments several kilometres into the sky.

— Mount Etna, sometimes referred to simply as Etna, is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, lying just off the toe of the Italian “boot”. Etna’s peak is the highest in Italy south of the Alps, and it is the largest of Europe’s active volcanoes.

— Etna’s summit has five craters, which are responsible for most of the volcano’s eruptions. “Flank” eruptions also occur at the 300-odd vents of varying sizes along the slopes of the mountain.

— Etna has been a World Heritage Site since 2013, and according to UNESCO, the volcano’s eruptive history can be traced back 500,000 years. At least 2,700 years of this activity have been documented.

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6th June flagged off the Vande Bharat train service between Katra in the Jammu region and Srinagar in Kashmir.

— The train will pass over the world’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab river, and the country’s first cable-stayed bridge at Anji Khad, as well as the long tunnel between Khari and Sumber.

— It is the highest arch bridge in the world, with a deck height of 359 meters from the riverbed — making it 35 meters taller than Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower.

— Connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, the bridge forms a critical part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which is being developed at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore.

— The Chenab railway bridge is a steel-and-concrete marvel spanning 1,315 meters across the river gorge. It consists of a 530-meter-long approach bridge and a 785-meter-long deck arch bridge (the part of the bridge on which vehicles run).

About USBRL

— The USBRL is one of the most ambitious railway projects undertaken in independent India. Stretching 272 kilometres through the rugged Himalayas, the project has been built at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore.

— It includes 36 tunnels that span 119 kilometres and 943 bridges that knit together valleys, ridges and mountain passes. Designed to overcome the region’s challenging geography, it connects remote areas to the national rail network and marks a new chapter in mobility, trade and tourism for Jammu and Kashmir.

— Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs temporarily allotted Nainital’s Metropole Hotel Complex — classified as enemy property — to the state government for use as a parking facility.

— The hotel was built in 1880 and owned by the Raja of Mahmudabad. This is where Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his wife Rattanbai honeymooned in 1918.

— The design of its roof came to be known as Nainital-pattern-roofing, which the British then used in many buildings across India.
— After Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, the Raja of Mahmudabad, moved to Pakistan post Partition, his considerable properties in north India, including the 11-acre Nainital hotel, were declared enemy property.

— Pandit Rahul Sanskrityayan, who was an exceptional scholar with proficiency in almost 11 languages, stayed there and wrote his famous work, Kumaun.

Enemy Property

Enemy property are the assets (movable and immovable) that were left behind in India by individuals who migrated to countries designated as “enemy nations” during times of conflict. Under the Enemy Property Act of 1968, properties designated as enemy properties remain permanently vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property, meaning they cannot be inherited or transferred.

 

Sports

(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)

— Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League for the first time after defeating Inter Milan in the finals by 5-0.

— Luis Enrique, who won the 2015 Champions League with Barcelona, became the seventh coach to win the trophy with two different teams, in the footsteps of greats Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

Virat Kohli after RCB won the IPL 2025 trophy. (Sportzpics)

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 6 runs to win their first IPL trophy in the 18th season.

— Mumbai Indians batter and India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav was named the ‘Most Valuable Player’ (Player of the tournament) of the Indian Premier League 2025 season.

— Both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are two of the most successful sides in the history of IPL, having won five titles each.

— Wimbledon, French Open, US Open, and Australian Open are the most prestigious events on the annual tennis calendar, bestowed with the moniker of “Grand Slam”, a term that has been in use for almost a century.

Winners of the French Open 2025

 Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

(1) Consider the following pairs :

(2) Which of the following Grand Slam titles is also known as the ‘Rolland Garros’ title?

(3) Consider the following pairs :

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

Previous Articles

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | May 19 to May 25, 2025

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | May 12 to May 18, 2025

 

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