News in Shorts

Sovereignty Transfer: The UK has handed over the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.
Location & Structure: Located in the central Indian Ocean, ~1,600 km south of India; consists of seven atolls, with Diego Garcia as the largest.
Historical Context: Britain bought the territory for £3 million in 1965, but Mauritius claims it was coerced as part of its independence deal.
Strategic Importance: The USA operates a military base on Diego Garcia; UK to pay Mauritius $136 million annually to lease it for at least 99 years.

Map: Chagos Archipelago

The National Commission for Women (NCW) launched Yashoda AI: Your AI SAKHI at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly.
The aim is to empower women with knowledge to tackle AI-related crimes, ensure digital privacy, and encourage leadership in tech.
The initiative is run in partnership with Future Shift Labs (FSL) and uses a community-driven approach, involving students, educators, and women professionals (including police).
Yashoda AI supports the vision of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by enabling inclusive digital growth and bridging the gender gap in technology.

Rashtrapati Niketan in Dehradun will be open for public viewing from June 24, 2025, to promote citizen engagement with the President’s heritage.
The 186-year-old, 21-acre estate, once used for training PBG horses, now showcases artwork, stables, and gardens like the Lily Pond and Rose Garden.
President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the site and lay the foundation of Rashtrapati Udyan, a planned 132-acre ecological park.
The site includes Rashtrapati Tapovan (19-acre forest trail) and will soon feature theme gardens, aviary, butterfly garden, and eco-learning zones.

The 38th Central Apprenticeship Council (CAC) meeting, chaired by Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Jayant Chaudhary, will be held on 26 May 2025 in New Delhi to discuss reforms in apprenticeship training across India.
Focus areas include digital apprenticeships, Degree Apprenticeship Programs, global deployment, stipend hikes, and support for women, PwDs, and North Eastern Region (NER) youth.
A special scheme launched in Mizoram offers ₹1,500 extra stipend to over 26,000 youth, with a ₹43.94 crore outlay, to boost skilling in all eight NER states.

The government is launching the Bharat Forecasting System (BFS) to improve accurate and local weather predictions.
Developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the system offers 6 km resolution.
It helps in predicting small-scale weather changes more precisely, enabling better local forecasts.
This model became possible with the help of the supercomputer Arka, installed at IITM last year.

Google’s 2025 I/O conference focused on artificial intelligence (AI) as the central theme, restructuring its entire ecosystem around smarter, connected, and AI-powered experiences.
An AI ecosystem with multiple layers, where Google’s central artificial intelligence functions as the core brain—similar to the innermost Matryoshka doll—driving everything from backend APIs to user-facing applications.

India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy with a GDP of $4.187 trillion, as per IMF estimates.
The growth is driven by strong domestic demand, reforms, and expanding global trade, marking a major economic and strategic milestone.
This shift highlights India’s rising global influence and offers new opportunities for youth, making understanding GDP essential for students.