The new Seva Teertha integrated administrative complex in New Delhi was designed by which architect?
Seva Teertha was designed by Dr. Bimal Patel, the same architect who designed the new Parliament building and other Central Vista structures. It houses the PMO (Seva Teertha-1), NSCS (Seva Teertha-2), and Cabinet Secretariat (Seva Teertha-3).
💡 Concept Note
The Central Vista Redevelopment Project includes the new Parliament (inaugurated May 2023), Kartavya Path (renamed from Rajpath), new PM residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, and now Seva Teertha. South Block and North Block will be converted into the Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum.
The PM RAHAT Scheme, announced as the first decision from Seva Teertha, provides cashless hospitalisation for road accident victims up to what maximum amount within the first 7 days?
PM RAHAT provides assured cashless hospitalisation up to Rs 1.5 lakh for road accident victims within the first 7 days of the accident, regardless of ability to pay or insurance status.
💡 Concept Note
India records approximately 1.68 lakh road accident deaths per year (MoRTH 2024). The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 created the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund for cashless emergency treatment. PM RAHAT operationalises this framework with explicit financial limits.
The Defence Acquisition Council cleared procurement of 114 Rafale jets at Rs 3.25 lakh crore. How many of these jets will be manufactured in India under Make in India?
Of the 114 Rafale jets approved by DAC, 18 will be in fly-away condition (direct delivery) and 96 will be manufactured in India under the HAL-Dassault Aviation Make in India partnership.
💡 Concept Note
The Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) route was used — same as the 2016 deal for 36 Rafales. India’s total Rafale fleet will be 176 jets: 36 (IAF existing) + 26 (Rafale-Marine for Navy) + 114 (new deal). The IAF requires 42 squadrons but currently has ~31.
Which organisation releases the Corruption Perceptions Index, in which India ranked 91st in 2025?
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is released by Transparency International, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Berlin. India ranked 91st with a score of 39/100 in CPI 2025 (released February 2026), improving from 96th with score 38 in CPI 2024. Denmark topped the index with a score of 89, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).
💡 Concept Note
CPI evaluates 182 countries on a 0-100 scale (0 = most corrupt, 100 = very clean). India improved 5 places from CPI 2024 (rank 96, score 38) to CPI 2025 (rank 91, score 39). India outperforms all South Asian neighbours except Bhutan (rank 18, score 71); China ranks 76. South Sudan and Somalia score the lowest (9 each). Global average: 42 — CPI is published annually by Transparency International, a Berlin-based NGO founded in 1993.
The Supreme Court ruled that telecom spectrum cannot be treated as a corporate asset under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, invoking which legal doctrine?
The Supreme Court invoked the Public Trust Doctrine, ruling that spectrum is a Union of India public resource held in trust — a limited, conditional, revocable privilege. It cannot be monetised by financial creditors under IBC 2016. The ruling is governed by the Telecommunications Act 2023 and TRAI Act 1997.
💡 Concept Note
The Public Trust Doctrine holds that certain resources (water, air, spectrum, forest) are held by the state as trustee for the public and cannot be alienated to private parties. In India it was earlier applied in the 2G spectrum case (2012) where the SC cancelled 122 licences allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
ESA Cheops Space Telescope discovered four planets around the red dwarf star LHS 1903. What unusual feature challenges standard planetary formation theory?
The outermost planet in the LHS 1903 system is rocky (Super-Earth type) despite being positioned beyond the two mini-Neptune gaseous planets. This contradicts the standard model where rocky planets form closer to stars and gaseous planets form farther out.
💡 Concept Note
CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite) is an ESA mission to characterise known exoplanets, launched December 2019. LHS 1903 is 116.3 light-years away in the constellation Lynx. The system has 4 planets: LHS 1903b (inner rocky), LHS 1903c and d (gaseous mini-Neptunes), and LHS 1903e (outer rocky) — defying the standard model. The leading explanation is “inside-out formation”: by the time LHS 1903e formed, the protoplanetary gas disc had dissipated, preventing gaseous planet formation. Red dwarf (M-type) stars are the most common in the Milky Way.
IIT Delhi researchers published in Nature a device using palladium gallium (PdGa) crystal to separate electrons by what property?
The IIT Delhi device (published in Nature, volume 649, 2026, joint with a German team) separates electrons by chirality — their left/right-handed quantum state — using a three-armed palladium gallium (PdGa) crystal device without requiring powerful magnetic fields. The research is titled “A chiral fermionic valve driven by quantum geometry.” PdGa’s twisted band structure causes electrons of opposite chirality to drift into opposite arms of the device. Applications include low-power computing and novel magnetic memory.
💡 Concept Note
Chirality in physics refers to a property where a particle and its mirror image are not superimposable — like left and right hands. PdGa is a topological chiral semimetal; its quantum geometry creates anomalous velocity for electrons, separating them by handedness without any magnet. Spintronics uses electron spin (not charge) for data; chiralitronics uses chirality. Both are emerging fields for next-generation beyond-CMOS computing. This breakthrough is significant as India published it in Nature — a top-tier international journal — demonstrating India’s frontier basic research capability.
NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) signed a cross-border QR payment agreement with PayNet of which country, enabling UPI-DuitNow interoperability?
NIPL signed with PayNet (Payments Network Malaysia), enabling Indian visitors to use UPI apps at Malaysian merchants via DuitNow QR in Phase 1, and Malaysians to scan UPI QR in India via DuitNow apps in Phase 2.
💡 Concept Note
UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is operated by NPCI; NIPL handles its international expansion. UPI is currently active in UAE, Nepal, Mauritius, Singapore, France, Bhutan, and now Malaysia. India and Singapore were among the first to achieve real-time payment interoperability (2023).
Kerala became India first state to adopt a comprehensive urban policy, which projects what percentage urbanisation by 2050?
Kerala state cabinet approved India first comprehensive urban policy under CM Pinarayi Vijayan, projecting 80% urbanisation by 2050. The policy was prepared by the Local Self-Government Department and focuses on climate-smart cities, coastal erosion management, and reducing spatial inequalities.
💡 Concept Note
India overall urban population is projected at ~600 million by 2031 (~43%). Kerala is already one of India most urbanised states (~48% as per 2011 census, likely higher now). The National Urban Policy Framework was released by MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) in 2018; Kerala state-level policy builds on this.
Magnus Carlsen won the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026, defeating which opponent in the final?
Magnus Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana 2.5 to 1.5 in the final at Weissenhaus. This was his 21st world title across chess formats and the first official FIDE-recognised Freestyle (Chess960) World Championship.
💡 Concept Note
Chess960 (Fischer Random Chess) randomises the starting positions of back rank pieces, eliminating opening preparation advantage and testing pure chess understanding. FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) is the international chess body, founded in 1924. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) is widely considered the greatest chess player of all time.
