1. AI-based Mithun Behaviour Monitoring
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology | Artificial Intelligence | Livestock & Animal Husbandry | Tribal Livelihoods | Biotechnology
- ICAR–National Research Centre on Mithun (NRC Mithun), Medziphema, Nagaland has developed an AI-based, real-time and non-contact system to detect and track Mithun behaviour for improved livestock management.
- Mithun (Bos frontalis), also called Gayal or the “Cattle of the Hills”, is a rare bovine of the Northeastern Hill Region, mainly reared in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram under traditional free-range/forest-grazing systems.
- Mithun has strong socio-cultural and economic significance among tribal communities; it is traditionally associated with wealth, prestige and social status, while also supporting livelihoods and food security.
- Nagaland: Mithun is the State Animal, and ‘Nagami’ was registered by ICAR-NBAGR in 2025 as the first officially recognised Mithun breed; it is adapted to forest-based hill ecosystems and community-managed rearing.
- Mithun is also recognised as a food animal by FSSAI (2023) and was included in FAO’s Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (2023), increasing its potential for scientific livestock development and value addition.
- The AI system uses YOLOv8n for behaviour detection and DeepSORT for individual-animal tracking, enabling automated identification of behaviours such as feeding, standing, lying and mounting.
- Such behavioural monitoring can provide early indications of health, nutrition and animal welfare, while mounting behaviour can assist in oestrus and reproductive management, reducing dependence on continuous manual observation.
2. Exercise Veer Guardian 2026
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: India–Japan Relations | Defence Cooperation | Strategic Partnerships | Indo-Pacific Security | GS3: Defence Technology
- Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 is a bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), being conducted at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 9–22 September 2026.
- The IAF is participating with LCA Tejas, Su-30MKI and Rafale, while JASDF is participating with its F-2A fighter aircraft, providing exposure to different combat-aircraft platforms and operational doctrines.
- The 14-day exercise focuses on advanced operational missions, mission planning, professional exchanges, engineering practices and aerospace safety, thereby improving interoperability and operational understanding.
- The exercise strengthens tactical proficiency and aerospace operational synergy between the two air forces and forms part of the broader India–Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
- JASDF is the air arm of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces; the F-2 is a Japanese fighter aircraft developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with Lockheed Martin, based on the F-16 design but extensively modified for Japanese requirements.
- Other exercises:
- Dharma Guardian is the bilateral Army exercise between the Indian Army and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), aimed at strengthening interoperability and cooperation in joint tactical operations.
- JIMEX (Japan–India Maritime Exercise) is the bilateral Naval exercise between the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), focusing on maritime security and naval interoperability.
- Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving India, USA, Japan and Australia; Japan became a permanent participant in 2015.
- MILAN, hosted by India, is a multilateral naval exercise in which Japan also participates, but it is not a bilateral India–Japan exercise.
3. India–Japan Cooperation on Forests
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: India–Japan Relations | GS3: Forest Conservation | Biodiversity | Sustainable Forestry | Geospatial Technology
- India and Japan’s forest cooperation, institutionalised through the 2015 Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC), was reviewed at the 7th Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in 2026, with a new 2027–31 Roadmap
- Cooperation is centred on three emerging forestry areas: Tree Outside Forests (TOF), Forest Genetics and Forest Stack—linking conventional forest conservation with genetic resources and technology-based forest monitoring.
- Tree Outside Forests (TOF) refers to trees growing outside formally designated forests, making them important for urban/peri-urban greening, agroforestry, carbon sequestration and landscape restoration.
- Forest Genetics focuses on conserving genetic resources and germplasm, tree breeding and improved planting material, helping develop productive and climate-resilient tree populations.
- Forest Stack involves using forest inventories, geospatial technologies and digital monitoring for better assessment and management of forest resources.
- The cooperation also has a practical sandalwood dimension, with India and Japan exchanging experience on sandalwood agroforestry, cultivation and processing, alongside wildlife-conservation practices at Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.
4. 7th Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Indian Economy | FinTech | Digital Public Infrastructure | Financial Inclusion | Digital Payments | AI & Emerging Technologies | Financial Regulation
- 7th Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 is being held in Mumbai, 8–11 September 2026, organised principally by Payments Council of India (PCI), NPCI and Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).
- Theme: “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI | Tokenisation | Quantum: Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance”, highlighting the emerging technologies shaping the next generation of financial services.
- India’s fintech ecosystem is built on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—combining digital identity (Aadhaar), interoperable payments (UPI), digital documents (DigiLocker) and open digital networks, allowing financial innovation to scale rapidly.
- JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) provides the foundational architecture for financial inclusion by combining bank-account access + digital identity + mobile connectivity; as of Aug 2026, 15 crore Jan Dhan accounts had been opened.
- UPI provides interoperable real-time digital payments and has expanded internationally; in August 2026 it recorded 24,509 million transactions and operates across 11 countries, illustrating the global scalability of India’s DPI model.
- Agentic AI can enable financial systems to reason, decide and execute workflows under human oversight, with applications in fraud detection, regulatory compliance and personalised financial services.
- Tokenisation converts assets into programmable digital units, enabling possibilities such as fractional ownership, improved liquidity and faster settlement across financial markets and payments.
- Quantum technologies can strengthen future financial infrastructure through quantum-safe cryptography and advanced risk optimisation, addressing both security and computational challenges.
- FinTech contributes to financial inclusion by reducing information asymmetry and transaction costs; India’s Financial Inclusion Index rose from 43.4 (March 2017) to 70.0 (March 2026).
- The growth of fintech is supported by a regulatory ecosystem including RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox (2019) for controlled testing of innovative financial products, SRO-FT framework (2024) for self-regulation, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 for personal-data protection.
- Aadhaar e-KYC, DigiLocker and DBT strengthen digital financial delivery by simplifying identity/document verification and enabling direct transfer of government benefits, thereby reducing intermediaries and transaction costs.
5. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: 100th Birth Anniversary
Syllabus Mapping: GS1: Indian Culture | Indian Music | Regional Cultural Traditions | Cultural Integration | Northeast India
- Bhupen Hazarika (1926–2011) was an iconic Assamese musician, singer, lyricist, composer and filmmaker whose work carried the cultural identity and social concerns of Assam and Northeast India to the national stage.
- His music drew substantially from Assamese folk traditions, while addressing themes of humanism, social justice, equality, communal harmony and cultural unity, making music a vehicle of both cultural expression and social commentary.
- Bihu is Assam’s best-known folk tradition, associated with the agricultural cycle; Rongali/Bohag Bihu marks the Assamese New Year and spring and is celebrated through Bihu songs and dance.
- Borgeet, associated with Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, is a tradition of devotional music linked to Assam’s Neo-Vaishnavite/Ekasarana tradition, while Ojapali combines music, narration and expressive gestures through an Oja and Palis.
- Goalpariya folk music, associated with western Assam, reflects themes such as love, separation, rural life and everyday experiences, representing the diversity within Assamese folk culture.
- Hazarika’s contribution went beyond regional music: by bringing Northeast Indian cultural traditions and social experiences to wider audiences, he acted as a cultural bridge between regional identity and national integration.
- He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992), Padma Vibhushan (2012, posthumous) and Bharat Ratna (2019, posthumous).
