SNIPPETS: 11 NOVEMBER 2025

ECONOMY

• The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC), chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, aims to review salaries, pensions, and service conditions of Central government employees and defence personnel within 18 months. Constituted via Cabinet approval, it will assess fiscal conditions, State finances, and pension liabilities. Since 1946, CPCs have evolved from equity-based pay to performance-linked systems. The 8th CPC faces challenges of fiscal prudence, competitiveness, and attracting skilled professionals in public service.

SCIENCE

• Google’s Project Suncatcher explores AI-powered, solar-driven data centres in space, marking a leap toward space-based computing. It aims to deploy solar-powered satellites as interconnected AI nodes using free-space optical communication. Offering continuous solar energy, it reduces Earth’s environmental load and bypasses regulatory hurdles. Challenges include cooling, radiation protection, and space debris. Using advanced Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), the project links AI, renewable energy, and space technology — aligning with UPSC Science & Tech themes.
• New research has revealed that Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium that normally lives in the human gut, can spread through populations at a rate comparable to the swine flu. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, the University of Helsinki, Aalto University in Finland, and their collaborators have been able to estimate how efficiently one person can pass gut bacteria to others. This kind of calculation, which measures transmission rates, has previously been possible mainly for viruses.

DEFENCE

• The Malabar Naval Exercise 2025 between India, the US, Japan, and Australia has begun in Guam, Northern Pacific. Originating in 1992 as a bilateral drill between India and the US, it now serves as a major QUAD naval engagement. The exercise aims to enhance joint maritime security, interoperability, and defence cooperation among member nations amid Indo-Pacific challenges. INS Sahyadri represents India in this year’s edition.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated special commemorative coins and postage stamps in New Delhi to celebrate 150 years of “Vande Mataram”. Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882, the song became a symbol of India’s freedom movement and was first sung publicly by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896. Declared the National Song in 1950, the year-long celebration includes mass recitals, cultural events, and public participation, reaffirming India’s unity and patriotism.
• The annual Phool Waalon Ki Sair (Procession of Florists) in Mehrauli, Delhi, symbolising Hindu-Muslim harmony, has been allowed at its traditional venue, Aam Bagh. During the week-long event, floral offerings — chaadar at the Dargah of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki and pankha at the Yogmaya Temple — mark shared devotion. Originating in 1811, it began when Mumtaz Mahal Begum fulfilled her vow after her son, Prince Mirza Jahangir, was released from exile. Revived in 1962 by Jawaharlal Nehru, it continues as a symbol of syncretic culture.