UniFocus IAS ( UNIFOCUS UNIVERSAL )

  In a landmark development poised to transform the global standing of traditional medicine systems, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Ayush and the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 24, 2025. The agreement marks the beginning of work on a dedicated Traditional Medicine module under the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). Highlighting the significance of this achievement during the 122nd episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said:  "Friends, something has happened in the field of Ayurveda as well, which you will be very happy to know about. Just yesterday, i.e. on 24th May, an MoU was signed in the presence of WHO Director General and my friend Tulsi Bhai. Along with this agreement, work has started on a dedicated traditional medicine module under the International Classification of Health Interventions. This initiative will help in making Ayush reach maximum number of people across the world in a scientific mann...

  The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) is a Multi-domain and multi-sectoral index that is intended to be used to assess the overall holistic development, performance & progress of panchayats. The Panchayat Advancement Index takes into account various socio-economic indicators and parameters to gauge the well-being and development status of the local communities within the jurisdiction of a panchayat. The index typically considers factors such as: Infrastructure :  Availability of basic amenities like roads, electricity, water supply, sanitation facilities, etc. Health and Education :  Access to healthcare services, educational institutions, literacy rates, and enrollment in schools. Economic Indicators :  Income levels, employment opportunities, agricultural productivity, and economic activities. Social Indicators :  Poverty rates, gender equality, social inclusion, and overall quality of life. Governance and Administration : ...

  The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to co-authors of publications based on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024, at the experimental collaborations ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. The $3 million prize is allocated to these four experiments at CERN and will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions. 5,345 researchers were involved in ATLAS; while 4,550 researchers in CMS; 1,869 researchers in ALICE; and 1,744 researchers were involved in LHCb. Indian scientists and researchers have played a significant role in the international collaboration for the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments. Several Indian institutes, universities, and scientists have contribu...

As per the Sample Registration System (SRS) Report 2021 released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), on 07 th  May, 2025, India has continued to witness a significant improvement in key maternal and child health indicators. Key Indicators: Birth Rate ( It gives the number of live births per thousand population in a given region and year ): The Birth Rate at all India level has declined drastically over the last five decades from 36.9 in 1971 to 19.3 in 2021. The rural-urban differential has also narrowed over these years. However, the Birth Rate has continued to be higher in rural areas compared to urban areas in the last five decades. Birth Rate has declined by about 11% in the last decade, from 21.6 in 2012 to 19.3 in 2021. The corresponding decline in rural areas is 23.1 to 20.9 (about 10% decline) and for urban areas, it is from 17.4 to 15.9 (about 9% decline). In 2021, Bihar reported highest Birth Rate of 25.6 and Andaman & Nicobar Islands reported lowest Birth Rate o...

 The Kirana Hills Site is an extensive rocky mountain range and a reservation of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and nuclear arsenal storage location of Pakistan army, located in the Sargodha District in Punjab, Pakistan. Known locally as "Black Mountains" due to its brownish landscape, it is expanded between the township of Rabwah and the metropolitan city of Sargodha. The highest peak of the Kirana Hills is measured at 1,050 ft (320 m)[3] with average peaks at highest peak is about 600 feet (180 m). In 1970, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) acquired the Kirana Hills as a defense site for the Pakistan Air Force. The Pakistan Air Force established a radar station with the commissioning of the No. 4091 Squadron at the Kirana Hills, which is still in commission at the Kirana Hills. The Kirana Hills forms a larger part of the Mushaf Air Force Base in Sargodha, which falls into its area of command. In 1978–79, the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers acquired the range for the possible te...

The collaboration aims to develop drone-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems using the decoy-based BB84 protocol with polarization encoding, targeting a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or higher. This initiative supports India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, fostering indigenous innovation in secure telecom technologies. DD News

 Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanical properties to perform cryptographic tasks. The best known example of quantum cryptography is quantum key distribution, which offers an information-theoretically secure solution to the key exchange problem. The advantage of quantum cryptography lies in the fact that it allows the completion of various cryptographic tasks that are proven or conjectured to be impossible using only classical (i.e. non-quantum) communication. For example, it is impossible to copy data encoded in a quantum state. If one attempts to read the encoded data, the quantum state will be changed due to wave function collapse (no-cloning theorem). This could be used to detect eavesdropping in quantum key distribution (QKD).+Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method that implements a cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics. It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to t...

  Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer have announced the successful conclusion of a mutually beneficial India – UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This forward-looking Agreement is aligned with India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and complements the growth aspirations of both the countries. The engagement builds upon the discussions held between the two Prime Ministers on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 2024. Following the meeting between the two Prime Ministers, intense FTA negotiations resumed in February 2025 marked by several engagements between the Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and the U.K. Secretary of State Mr. Jonathan Reynolds and their teams. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated in his social media post on X (formerly twitter) “In a historic milestone, India and the UK have successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial ...

  In a major step towards transforming vocational education in India, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the National Scheme for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Upgradation and the Setting up of five (5) National Centres of Excellence for Skilling as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. National Scheme for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Upgradation and Setting up of five (5) National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) for Skilling will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme as per announcement, made under Budget 2024-25 and Budget 2025-26 with outlay of Rs.60,000 crore (Central Share: Rs.30,000 crore, State Share: Rs.20,000 crore and Industry Share: Rs.10,000 crore), with co-financing to the extent of 50% of Central share by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, equally. The scheme will focus on upgradation of 1,000 Government ITIs in hub and spoke arrangement with industry aligned revamped trades (courses) and Capacity Augm...

The Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community, whose members would pool coal and steel production. The ECSC (founding members: France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) was the first of a series of supranational European institutions that would ultimately become today's "European Union". Historical context In 1950, the nations of Europe were still struggling to overcome the devastation wrought by World War II, which had ended 5 years earlier. Determined to prevent another such terrible war, European governments concluded that pooling coal and steel production would – in the words of the Declaration – make war between historic rivals France and Germany "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible". It was thought – correctly – that merging of economic interests would help raise standards of living and be the first step...

The Sixth Meeting of the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was successfully held on May 9, 2025, at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in Geneva. The meeting brought together ambassador’s representatives from various countries committed to strengthening the role of traditional medicine in global healthcare systems. Building on the Gujarat Declaration and the success of past meetings, this gathering supports key global initiatives—particularly the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 and the upcoming Second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit, to be held in India from 2–4 December 2025. Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha delivered a keynote address virtually that underscored India’s leadership and commitment in promoting evidence-based traditional medicine across the world. In his remarks Secretary, Ministry of Ayush emphasized the growing relevance of traditional medicine in achieving universal health coverage and advancing the goals of One He...