News in Shorts: 22 November 2025

Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)

Context: Recently the 7th Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) NSAs Meet was held in New Delhi.

About Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)

• The CSC is a regional security cooperation platform focused on enhancing maritime and transnational security among Indian Ocean Region countries.
• Origin: It was originally a trilateral maritime security group between India, Sri Lanka, Maldives established in 2011.
  • It was revived and expanded in 2020 to include Mauritius as a full member and Bangladesh and Seychelles as observers.
  • Bangladesh joined as a full member in 2024.
  • The signing ceremony for the Founding Documents of the CSC was held in Sri Lanka in August 2024.
• 2025 CSC Meet: Seychelles participated as an Observer State, and Malaysia as a Guest.
  • CSC Members welcomed the decision of Seychelles to accede to the CSC as a full member.
• 6 Full-time members (November 2025): India, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh  and Seychelles.
• CSC Secretariat: Colombo, Srilanka
• Objectives
  • Strengthen collaboration on maritime security, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and humanitarian assistance.
  • Promote intelligence sharing and coordinated responses to regional threats.
  • Enhance collective capabilities through joint exercises, training, and institutional frameworks.
• Significance: The visit signals a crucial diplomatic opening to stabilise India-Bangladesh ties while strengthening regional security cooperation through the Colombo Security Conclave.

Tejas

Context: The Tejas fighter jet crashed during a demonstration at the Dubai Airshow 2025, resulting in the death of the pilot.

• It crashed due to a mid-air technical malfunction that caused loss of control during the demonstration flight.

About Tejas

• Tejas is India’s indigenous 4.5-generation Light Combat Aircraft designed to replace the ageing MiG-21 fleet.
  • 4.5-generation aircraft are advanced fighters with upgraded avionics, sensors, and weapons but not full stealth capability.
• Developed By: Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), under the Department of Defence Research and Development (DR&D) of India’s Ministry of Defence
• Manufactured by: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under the Light Combat Aircraft programme initiated in 1984.
• Evolution: Tejas completed its maiden flight in 2001 and was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2016.
• Features
  • Tejas is a single-engine, multirole combat aircraft featuring a canard-delta wing configuration for high manoeuvrability and stability.
  • Maximum Speed: Mach 1.8 (around 2,200 km/h).
  • Maximum Payload: 5,300 kg (11,700 lb) of external stores.
  • It is designed to perform offensive air support, close combat, and precision ground-attack missions across diverse operational environments.
• Variants: HAL is currently developing the Tejas Mk1A with enhanced avionics, improved radar, advanced EW suites, and better maintainability features.
  • A twin-seat trainer variant has been developed for advanced pilot training and operational conversion.
• Exports: India has not yet secured a final export order for the Tejas fighter jet, but it is in talks with several countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, Argentina, and the Philippines.
• Future Procurement: In 2025, the Ministry of Defence signed a ₹62,370-crore contract for 97 Tejas Mk1A aircraft, with deliveries scheduled between 2027 and 2034.

COP31: Turkey

Context: Turkey will host COP31 in 2026, while Australia will lead intergovernmental climate negotiations under a compromise reached during COP30 discussions in Brazil.

Background of the Dispute

Competing Bids (2022): Turkey and Australia both sought to host COP31 and refused to withdraw, causing a prolonged standoff.

Key Elements of the Compromise

• Host Country: Turkey will host COP31 in Antalya, serving as the official summit president.
  • Turkey intends to emphasise solidarity between developed and developing nations, reflecting its position as an emerging economy.
• Negotiations Leadership: Australia will preside over COP31 negotiations, with authority to appoint co-facilitators and prepare draft decisions.
• Pacific Involvement: A Pre-COP event will be organised in the Pacific region to maintain focus on climate-vulnerable island states.

Rationale for Australia’s Position

• Pacific-Focused Bid: Australia had proposed COP31 as a “Pacific COP,” highlighting island nations’ exposure to sea-level rise.
• Preparatory Investment: Australia spent A$7 million preparing its bid, expecting strong international backing.
• Disappointment: Papua New Guinea expressed dissatisfaction, stating Pacific countries deserved central focus due to their severe climate vulnerability.

About COP (Conference of the Parties)

• COP: The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing nations together to advance global climate action.
• COP30 (2025): Hosted by Brazil in Belem, COP30 focuses on global climate finance and forest protection, especially for the Amazon region.
• COP32 (2027): Ethiopia, backed unanimously by the African Group, will host COP32 in Addis Ababa, marking the first time an East African nation leads the summit.

Acanthosis Nigricans

Context: Acanthosis Nigricans are being recognised as early indicators of insulin resistance and rising diabetes risk.

About Acanthosis Nigricans

• Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) is a skin condition marked by dark, thick, velvety patches that appear gradually in body folds and creases.
• AN may cause roughness, itching or mild odour, especially when linked to rapidly progressing insulin resistance.
• Diagnosis : Diagnosed through clinical examination of dark, velvety skin patches, followed by blood tests for glucose, insulin, and metabolic parameters.
  • Additional assessments may include lipid profile and imaging to rule out rare malignancy-related causes.
• Treatment: Managing the underlying cause such as weight loss, improved metabolic health, and medications for insulin resistance can help reverse skin changes.
  • Topical creams, antibacterial cleansers, and laser therapy may reduce pigmentation after metabolic correction.

Indicator of Metabolic Dysfunction

• AN commonly occurs behind the neck, underarms, groin, under the breasts, and elbow or knee folds, often signalling underlying metabolic disorders.
• It is strongly associated with insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, and in rare cases with internal malignancies.

Significance

• Early Warning for Diabetes: AN is often one of the first visible signs that the body is struggling to regulate blood sugar, particularly in children and young adults.
• Role in Preventive Health: Early detection enables timely lifestyle changes, weight management and medical treatment, which can reverse or reduce skin darkening and improve metabolic health.
• Public Health Relevance: Recognising AN as a metabolic warning sign helps prevent delayed diagnosis of prediabetes and diabetes, reducing long-term complications.

Exercise Sagar Kavach

Context: Recently, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ICG conducted the two-day Sagar Kavach exercise to assess multi-agency preparedness against coastal threats.

About Sagar Kavach

• Introduction: Sagar Kavach is a biannual large-scale coastal security exercise led by maritime agencies to strengthen India’s multi-layered coastal defence architecture.
• Objective: The exercise aims Tto evaluate preparedness for preventing infiltration, attacks on coastal assets and maritime contingencies posed by Anti-National Elements (ANEs).
• Conducted By: Jointly conducted by the Indian Coast Guard and State Coastal Security apparatus with participation from the Indian Navy and multiple central–state agencies.
• Venue: Maharashtra and Goa coastline.
• Significance: Enhances real-time coordination, interoperability and communication among security, intelligence, port and disaster-response agencies safeguarding coastal zones.

Key Highlights of Sagar Kavach

• Scale of Participation: Over 6,000 personnel and more than 115 sea–air assets were deployed, ensuring comprehensive multi-agency operational coverage.
• Assets Mobilised: Indian Navy and ICG ships, Dornier aircraft, Chetak helicopters, ACVs, Marine Police boats, Customs–CISF craft and fisheries–state maritime units were mobilised.
• Institutional Coordination: Involved 19 central and 13 state agencies, one major port, 21 minor ports and district coastal authorities to validate joint coastal response mechanisms.

Transneuron

Context: Scientists have developed a new “transneuron” capable of switching between motor, pre-motor and visual functions, processing information through electrical pulses in a brain-like manner.

About Transneuron

• Introduction: A transneuron is a next-generation artificial neuron designed to replicate biological neural activity using electrical pulses rather than software-based computation.
  • Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, responsible for receiving sensory input and sending motor commands.
• Recent Developments: Researchers from the Salk Institute, USC and Loughborough University created the transneuron to alternate between planning, movement and vision-related functions.
  • The device was tested by comparing its electrical outputs with macaque neuron recordings, achieving up to 100% accuracy across three brain regions.

Key Features

• The transneuron dynamically switches neural roles by altering electrical parameters without requiring multiple artificial neurons or complex software.
• It exhibits genuine biological-like information processing by adjusting firing rates and responding differently to simultaneous signals based on timing.
• Its functionality is enabled by a memristor, where nanoscale silver-atom bridges form and break to generate brain-like electrical pulses.
• The device shows sensitivity to environmental factors such as pressure and temperature, supporting potential artificial sensory systems.

Applications of transneuron 

• The transneuron can replicate pre-motor, motor and visual behaviours, enabling advanced robotic systems that mimic human perception and movement with minimal hardware.
• It supports development of compact, energy-efficient neuromorphic chips capable of performing multiple complex tasks.
• It lays groundwork for brain-like computing hardware that processes information dynamically rather than through fixed procedures.

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