A Decade of Startup India
Economy
Context
- PM Modi participated in a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative on National Startup Day.
Startup India
- Launched on – January 16, 2016.
- Objective – to promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth.
India’s Startup Ecosystem
- India has rapidly evolved into one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems, with more than 2 lakh startups as of 2025 .
- India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world.
- Major hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR have been at the forefront of this transformation.
- India has over 120 unicorns with a valuation exceeding $350 billion.
- Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 ranking: It provides performance metrics and ranks around 140 economies on their innovation ecosystems.
- India has made a steady climb from 48 rank in 2020 to 38 in 2025.
2025 Warmest La Nina Year on Record
Geography & Environment
In News
- According to a new report ,2025 was the third warmest year on record and the warmest La Niña yea
La Nina
- It is a Pacific Ocean weather pattern where warm water and clouds shift westward.
- This causes heavier rainfall in regions like Indonesia and Australia.
- Conversely, areas like the southwestern United States experience drier-than-usual conditions.
Impacts on India
- In India, El Niño usually causes less rainfall and higher temperatures, while La Niña brings more rainfall and cooler temperatures.
Womaniya Initiative
Government schemes
In News
- Government e-Marketplace (GeM) marked seven years of the Womaniya initiative
Womaniya initiative
- It was launched in 2019
- Objective – It aims to enhance access for women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to government markets by providing a direct, transparent, and fully digital interface with buyers, removing intermediaries and entry barriers.
- Significance– It is aimed at strengthening the participation of women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in public procurement.
Additional information – Government e-Marketplace
- Purpose – GeM is an Online Market platform that was set up in 2016 to facilitate procurement of goods and services by the government ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSU) etc.
- Known as – It has been envisaged as National Procurement Portal of India.
- Developed by – It has been developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) with technical support of the National e-governance Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
- Functions under – It functions under the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Significance – GeM is a completely paperless, cashless and system driven e-market place that enables procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface.
India’s First National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers
Polity and Governance
Context
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is organizing India’s first National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers on Strengthening Health Outreach in Tribal Areas.
India’s first National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers
- Objective – The initiative will recognize and integrate tribal and indigenous healers as trusted community-level partners within India’s public health ecosystem.
- Healers possess deep-rooted ethnomedicinal knowledge, are accessible to the community, and often act as the first point of health contact.
- Implementation – An MoU will be signed between ICMR–Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) and MoTA to establish India’s first National Tribal Health Observatory – the Bharat Tribal Health Observatory (B-THO) under Project DRISTI.
28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC)
International
In News
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) at Samvidhan Sadan, highlighting how India has transformed its diversity into a democratic strength.
28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC)
- The conference, attended by 61 Speakers and Presiding Officers from 42 Commonwealth countries.
- It aims to promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms and to develop parliamentary institutions.
- Note – Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is the Chairperson of this Conference.
Additional information – Commonwealth of Nations
- It is a voluntary association of 56 independent member states.
- While most members are former territories of the British Empire, any nation can apply to join if it adheres to the association’s values.
Member States by Region
- The 56 member states are located across five regions: Africa (21), Asia (8), Caribbean and Americas (13), Europe (3), and the Pacific (11).
- These countries collectively represent approximately 7 billion people, which is about one-third of the world’s population.
Key Facts & Governance
- Head of the Commonwealth: King Charles III serves as the symbolic head of the association.
- Secretary-General: Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is the current Secretary-General.
- Non-British History: Four members joined without a historical link to the UK: Mozambique, Rwanda, Gabon, and Togo.
- Largest & Smallest: India is the most populous member, while Nauru and Tuvalu are the smallest.
- Summit: The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years. The next meeting will be in late 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda.
India’s First State-funded BSL-4 lab for deadliest pathogens in Gujarat
Science and Technology
In News
- The Union Home Minister laid the foundation stone for a Bio-Safety Level 4 (BSL-4) Containment Facility and laboratory in Gandhinagar, describing it as a “health shield” for India.
BSL-4 Facility
- Bio-Safety Level 4 (BSL-4) labs represent the highest level of biological containment.
- It is designed to safely study the world’s most dangerous and highly infectious pathogens that often lack vaccines or treatments.
- Scientists conduct advanced research, develop diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, and carry out rapid outbreak investigation and response under strictly controlled and internationally monitored conditions.
- Significance – The BSL-4 laboratory coming up in Gandhinagar, along with an Animal Bio-Safety Level (ABSL) facility, will be a strategic national asset where research is conducted on the deadliest pathogens known to mankind, including the Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus, Kyasanur Forest Disease virus, and Nipah virus, among others.
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