Strengthening and Safeguarding Dams in India | PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana | UNESCO’s new Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects | Delhi Declaration on 6G

Strengthening and Safeguarding Dams in India

Syllabus: GS3/Infrastructure; Disaster Management

Context

• Recently, the Supreme Court of India issued notices to various stakeholders calling for urgent directions to reinforce the aging structure of the 130-year-old Mullaperiyar dam.

Mullaperiyar Dam

• It is a gravity dam built on the Periyar River in the Idukki district of Kerala that was constructed between 1887 and 1895.
• The dam is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu, under a 999-year lease agreement signed in 1886 between the Maharaja of Travancore and the British government.
• It diverts water to the Vaigai basin in Tamil Nadu for irrigation across 68,558 hectares.

India’s Dam Landscape – According to the National Register of Large Dams (NRLD) maintained by the Central Water Commission (CWC)

• India ranks third globally — after China and the United States — in the number of large dams, with over 6,000 operational dams.
• Functions of Dams – irrigation (supporting agriculture across vast regions); hydropower generation; flood control; and drinking water supply.
• There are concrete gravity dams (e.g., Bhakra Dam), earthen dams (e.g., Banasura Sagar Dam), rock-fill dams, and arch dams (rare in India), based on topography, geology, and hydrological needs.

Legal and Institutional Framework

• Dam Safety Act, 2021: Enacted to ensure surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of dams. It mandates:
• National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA): It coordinates dam safety efforts across states.
• Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP): It was launched by the CWC with World Bank support. It focuses on rehabilitation of aging dams; improved safety monitoring; and capacity building for dam operators and engineers;

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• A report on the performance of PM Surya Ghar Yojana has been jointly published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics.

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana

• Launched in – 2024
• Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• Objective: Installing rooftop solar (RTS) & providing free electricity for up to 300 monthly units for 1 Crore households.
• Uniqueness – It is the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar initiative, transforming India’s energy landscape
• Subsidy: The scheme offers a subsidy of up to 40% to households.

PM-Surya-Ghar-Muft-Bijli-Yojana-eligibility– Model Solar Village:

• An allocation of ₹800 crore has been designated for this component, with ₹1 crore provided to each selected Model Solar Village.
• To qualify as a candidate village, it must be a revenue village with a population of over 5,000 (or 2,000 in special category states).
• This initiative aims to promote solar energy adoption and empower village communities to achieve energy self-reliance.

UNESCO’s new Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects

Syllabus: GS1/Culture

News

• UNESCO officially launched the Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects at MONDIACULT 2025.

UNESCO’s new Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects

• It offers a globally accessible digital platform to raise awareness about stolen heritage.
• It currently showcases around 240 missing objects from 46 countries, with the goal of gradually “emptying itself” as items are recovered and returned to their countries of origin.
• It is financially supported by Saudi Arabia and implemented with INTERPOL.

Delhi Declaration on 6G

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

In News

• Recently, the leading global 6G research alliance including Bharat 6G, 6G-IA, ATIS’ Next G Alliance issued a Joint Declaration to develop 6G as a global public good at the International Bharat6G Symposium 2025 in New Delhi.

Delhi Declaration on 6G

• The declaration endorsed key principles to ensure that 6G networks are trusted, secure, resilient, open, inclusive, affordable, and sustainable.

6G (sixth-generation wireless)

• 6G (sixth-generation wireless) is the next-generation cellular technology following 5G
• It is expected to offer numerous advantages including significantly higher data speeds, drastically reduced latency, and the integration of communication and sensing capabilities within the network.