| TOPICS | SUBJECT | PAPER |
| THE COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY | PRELIMS |
| FINANCE MINISTRY NOTIFIES FDI EASING FOR FOREIGN FIRMS WITH UP TO 10% CHINESE STAKE UNDER FEMA | ECONOMY | PRELIMS |
| STATEMENT | GEOGRAPHY | PRELIMS |
| FIBER-OPTIC DRONES (OPTICAL-FIBER-TETHERED UAVS) | TECHNOLOGY | PRELIMS |
| THE THOMAS CUP | SPORTS | PRELIMS |
| MOUNT KOSCIUSZKO | GEOGRAPHY | PRELIMS |
| STATEMENT | GEOGRAPHY | PRELIMS |
| CABINET TO SOON APPROVE ₹37,500 CRORE INCENTIVE SCHEME TO PROMOTE COAL GASIFICATION PROJECTS | TECHNOLOGY | PRELIMS / MAINS GS3 |
| MISSION DRISHTI | TECHNOLOGY | PRELIMS |
| THE BAILADILA IRON ORE PROJECTS | GEOGRAPHY | PRELIMS |
| NATIONAL MINERAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | NATIONAL BODIES | PRELIMS |
THE COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS
Context:Anant Ambani’s Vantara has offered to relocate 80 of Colombia’s invasive hippos, descendants of Pablo Escobar’s “cocaine hippos,” to its 3,500-acre facility in Gujarat,
- the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa
- the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable.
FINANCE MINISTRY NOTIFIES FDI EASING FOR FOREIGN FIRMS WITH UP TO 10% CHINESE STAKE UNDER FEMA
These relaxed FDI rules will not apply to entities registered in China or Hong Kong or other countries sharing land borders with India
- The Finance Ministry has notified a decision to allow overseas companies with Chinese shareholding of up to 10% to invest in India under the automatic route under FEMA, according to a notification.
- In March, the Union Cabinet approved amendments in the press note (PN) 3 of 2020 of the DPIIT.
- The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, is an Indian law regulating foreign exchange to facilitate external trade, payments, and promote an orderly foreign exchange market. It applies across India and to overseas branches of Indian companies, governing FDI, foreign investment, and foreign exchange transactions.
STATEMENT
the seafood exports from India crossed the ₹72,000-crore mark in the 2025-26 fiscal year,
FIBER-OPTIC DRONES (OPTICAL-FIBER-TETHERED UAVS)
Fiber-optic drones (optical-fiber-tethered UAVs) are, typically, first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones that use a hair-thin fiber-optic cable to transmit data, making them entirely immune to electronic jamming and radio interference.
THE THOMAS CUP
- The Thomas Cup, sometimes referred as World Men’s Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
- The championships have been conducted every two years
- India’s hopes of reclaiming the title ended in disappointment as they went down 0-3 to France in the semifinals of the Thomas Cup Finals, settling for a bronze medal
MOUNT KOSCIUSZKO
Mount Kosciuszko is the highest peak on mainland Australia at 2,228 meters (7,310 feet), located in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales within Kosciuszko National Park.
STATEMENT
On April 22, 2026, two wildfires broke out in Ōtsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest fire in Japan
CABINET TO SOON APPROVE ₹37,500 CRORE INCENTIVE SCHEME TO PROMOTE COAL GASIFICATION PROJECTS
- Coal gasification is defined as a chemical procedure that transforms coal into syngas by heating pulverized coal in the presence of an oxidizing agent, typically steam or oxygen, resulting in the production of carbon monoxide and hydrogen among other gases. It is considered more environmentally friendly than traditional coal combustion due to its potential for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and reduced pollutant emissions.
- China produces more than 90% of its ammonia through coal gasification
MISSION DRISHTI
- Mission Drishti, the world’s first OptoSAR satellite developed by Bengaluru based space startup GalaxEye has been successfully launched on Sunday (May 3, 2026) aboard a Falcon 9 by SpaceX from Vandenberg, California.
- Mission Drishti, is the world’s first to carry both SAR and MSI sensors on a single platform. It is advanced all-weather, round-the-clock Earth observation capability.
THE BAILADILA IRON ORE PROJECTS
The Bailadila Iron Ore Projects are high-grade hematite iron ore mining operations located in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India, operated by the NMDC Limited. Key mining projects in the Bailadila range.
NATIONAL MINERAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is an Indian public sector undertaking involved in the exploration of iron ore, rock, gypsum, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, coal etc. It also operates the only mechanized diamond mine in the country at Panna in Madhya Pradesh.