4th December 2025

Explanation - The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme is a government initiative aimed at providing young graduates with hands-on exposure to the functioning of Central Ministries, Departments, and public sector institutions. The scheme is designed to help students understand policy implementation, administrative processes, and grassroots governance. Interns are selected through a national-level application process that assesses academic merit, motivation, and interest in public policy. They are placed in various government offices to work on research, data analysis, field studies, project tracking, and documentation tasks. The scheme offers a stipend and a structured internship duration, though it does not guarantee a government job. 

Explanation - He was a 13th-century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries. He is widely referred to as the architect of "Bor Asom" or "greater Assam". It was in Charaideo he established his first small principality, sowing the seeds of further expansion of the Ahom kingdom. Administration — He divided the kingdom into territorial units called khels or phoids, each under an officer responsible for supplying a fixed number of paiks. Paiks are the able-bodied male population who owed labour and military service to the state. Every adult male between sixteen and fifty was registered as a paik and served the king for part of the year in agriculture, construction, or war. In return, he was allotted land for personal cultivation. He emphasised guerrilla tactics suited to the terrain of rivers, jungles, and hills. Why is Sukapha important? Sukapha's significance lies in his successful efforts towards assimilation of different communities and tribes. He adopted a policy of conciliation and assimilation rather than annihilation. Sukapha developed very amiable relationships with the tribal communities living in Assam — especially the Sutias, the Morans and the Kacharis. 

Explanation - PVTGs are certain tribal communities who have declining or stagnant population, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward. They generally inhabit remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support. These groups are among the most vulnerable section of our society as they are few in numbers, have not attained any significant level of social and economic development. 75 such groups have been identified and categorised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Bondas, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), live in settlements comprising small hutments in the hills of the Khairaput block in Malkangiri district of Odisha (not Maharashtra). They are members of a group of Austroasiatic tribes, they are believed to be part of the first wave of migration out of Africa about 60,000 years ago. They are the first forest settlers in India. 

Explanation - Maitri II Station is India's newest research station proposed to come up in eastern Antarctica. It will be larger than Maitri I, with plans to design it as a green research base. The proposal includes using renewable energy sources — solar power for summer expeditions and wind energy to harness the strong Antarctic winds — to run the station's operations. It is planned to deploy automated instruments onboard Maitri II which will keep recording data and relay it to mainland India, even if the station remains unmanned for some period. The construction of the research station is expected to be completed by January 2029. Nodal Agency — National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is the nodal agency responsible for operating and organising missions to Antarctica and the Arctic. Key Facts about Maitri Station - It has been hosting researchers since 1989, and is located along the Schirmacher Oasis, a 20 km-long ice-free landmass in East Antarctica. It comprises the main building, a fuel farm, a fuel station, a lake water pump house, a summer camp, and several smaller containerised modules. Maitri can accommodate between 25 and 40 scientists, depending on mission requirements and season. India's other research base in Antarctica — Dakshin Gangotri (first base in Antarctica), operated for a few years. Bharati which is operational since 2012 (not 1989). 

Explanation - Semaglutide mimics GLP-1, helping regulate blood sugar and appetite. Semaglutide is also used for weight loss in overweight/obese individuals (not just diabetes). It comes in injectable and oral forms (e.g., Rybelsus, tested in the SOUL trial).