31st July 2026

Explanation - Founded in 1876, by Mahendra Lal Sircar, IACS is the oldest institute in India devoted to the pursuit of fundamental research in the frontier areas of basic sciences. Location — Kolkata. It became the first research institution in Asia established by Indians for the cultivation of modern scientific research. Over the decades, it has served as the intellectual home for several legendary Indian scientists, including: Sir C.V. Raman Jagadish Chandra Bose Meghnad Saha N. Bose Professor C.V. Raman worked at IACS from 1907 to 1933, and it is here that he discovered the celebrated Raman Effect, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. It is funded by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Government of West Bengal. Apart from fundamental research in the various frontier areas of physics and chemistry, IACS has ventured in a significant way, for the past few years, into the emerging multidisciplinary areas such as non-conventional energy sources, advanced and novel nanomaterials, chemical biology, and interdisciplinary sciences.

Explanation - DAANVEER Initiative is a citizen participation initiative that enables individuals and organisations to voluntarily contribute computers to gram Panchayats. It is done through the ‘Meri Panchayat’ mobile application to strengthen digital infrastructure at the grassroots. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it has been developed in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and DigiHaat. Features — It provides an end-to-end digital and verifiable mechanism through which citizens and organisations can contribute towards the technology and infrastructure needs of gram panchayats. The initiative is available through the Meri Panchayat app, which is integrated with the DigiHaat marketplace. Donors can choose from pre-approved computer bundles mapped to state-specific technical specifications, while delivery details are automatically populated to eliminate additional paperwork. The platform also allows contributors to track their donations from dispatch to installation and provides them with a digital certificate of appreciation. Significance: Through this citizens can meaningfully participate in strengthening rural digital infrastructure while contributing to the broader vision of a digitally empowered and self-reliant rural India.

Explanation - The PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme provides collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans specifically for students admitted to top-quality Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) ranked in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). This initiative is meant to ease access to loans for students in highly ranked institutions without the financial burden of collateral or the need for a guarantor. The scheme does not offer an interest subsidy to all students. Instead, the interest subsidy is targeted at students from families with an annual income of up to ₹8 lakhs. Additionally, this subsidy is not available to students who are already benefiting from other government scholarships or interest subvention schemes, ensuring that only those who genuinely need this financial aid benefit from it. A 3% interest subvention is applied on loans up to ₹10 lakhs during the moratorium period for eligible students. The scheme incorporates a unified digital platform called the “PM Vidyalaxmi” portal, managed by the Department of Higher Education. This platform allows for the streamlined and transparent application and management of education loans. The platform also facilitates secure fund transfers through digital means, such as E-vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets, to ensure efficient disbursement and utilisation of funds.

Explanation - The Himalayan Chandra Telescope is a 2.01-meter (6.5 feet) diameter optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar. It was installed at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), Mt. Saraswati, Digpa-ratsa Ri, Hanle, Ladakh at an altitude of 4500 m (15000 ft) above mean sea level (msl) by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, in August 2000. Its primary goal is to study electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources, young supernovae and near-earth asteroids. It contains a modified Ritchey-Chretien system with a primary mirror made of ULE ceramic which is designed to withstand low temperatures it experiences. The telescope is mounted with 3 science instruments called - Himalaya Faint Object Spectrograph (HFOSC), Near-IR imager and Optical CCD imager. The telescope is remotely operated via an INSAT-3B satellite link which allows operation even in sub-zero temperatures in winter. This dedicated link is provided by the Centre for Research & Education in Science & Technology (CREST), Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. It is the country’s first robotic telescope and the first one designed to observe dynamic or transient events in the universe.

Explanation - Danube River is the second-longest river of the European continent, after the Russian Volga River. Course — It flows from the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers, close to the German town of Donaueschingen in the Black Forest region of Germany. The river passes through 10 European nations: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania. It ultimately drains into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta. The Danube delta is located in the Tulcea County of Romania and it is comparatively young and continuously growing. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its rich biodiversity. The Danube is fed by major tributaries like the Inn, Drava, Sava, Tisza, Prut, and Siret. The Danube River flows directly through many significant European cities, including four national capitals – Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), and Belgrade (Serbia). Countries along the river ship goods from ports of Belgrade, Serbia; Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Regensburg, Germany. Through the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, it connects the North Sea at Rotterdam to the Black Sea at Sulina, forming a trans-European inland waterway