News in Shorts: 13 June 2026

India Aid Maldive to Tackle Measles Outbreak

Context: India supplied measles vaccine doses and medical aid to Maldives as the country faces a rise in measles cases in 2026.

India’s Assistance to Maldives During Measles Outbreak

• Vaccine Support: India dispatched 20,000 doses of measles vaccines to help Maldives strengthen immunisation coverage and contain the outbreak.
• Medical and Humanitarian Assistance: India also supplied approximately three tonnes of medical supplies, reaffirming its role as a trusted First Responder under the Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision MAHASAGAR.

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About Measles

• Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause severe complications, particularly among children and immunocompromised individuals.
• Caused By: It is caused by the Measles Virus (MeV), a member of the Paramyxoviridae family.
• Most Vulnerable Groups: Children under five years, unvaccinated individuals, malnourished children, and persons with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.
• Transmission: The disease spreads through respiratory droplets and airborne transmission when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes.
• Vaccination: Measles can be effectively prevented through two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which provides long-lasting immunity.

India’s Measles Elimination Efforts

• High Immunisation Coverage: Under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), India achieved more than 93% coverage for the first dose and over 92% coverage for the second dose of the measles vaccine.
• Significant Reduction in Cases: India recorded a 73% decline in reported measles cases in 2024 compared to 2023, reflecting progress toward the goal of measles elimination through intensified vaccination and surveillance efforts.

Significance: The initiative highlights India’s growing role in regional health diplomacy while advancing the goal of measles elimination across South Asia.

DRDO Demonstrates Next-Generation Defence Capability

Context: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated the Multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System and Naval Anti-Ship Missile–Medium Range (NASM-MR) through three consecutive flight tests.

About the Multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System

• It is a defensive missile shield designed to detect, track and intercept incoming ballistic missiles.
• Key Features: Uses a network of advanced radars, sensors, command-and-control systems and interceptor missiles.
  • Provides layered protection by engaging threats at different stages of flight.
  • Capable of countering emerging missile threats and protecting strategic assets, military installations and major cities.

About Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Medium Range (NASM-MR)

• It is an indigenous medium-range anti-ship missile developed by DRDO.
• Key Features: Designed to engage and destroy enemy warships and other maritime targets.
  • Provides precision strike capability against moving targets at sea.
  • Enhances the offensive and maritime strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces.

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About Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD)

• It is a layered missile shield that protects against incoming ballistic missile attacks.
• Functions:
  • Detection: Identifies incoming missiles using advanced radars and sensors.
  • Tracking: Continuously monitors the missile’s trajectory and flight path.
  • Interception: Destroys the incoming missile before it reaches the target.

Whale Graveyard

Context: Scientists have discovered the world’s largest, deepest and oldest known whale graveyard in the Diamantina Zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean.

What is a Whale Graveyard?

• A whale graveyard is a region on the ocean floor where the remains of numerous whales accumulate over long periods, creating nutrient-rich ecosystems known as “whale falls.”
  • A whale fall is a natural phenomenon where a deceased whale sinks to the deep ocean floor, creating a localized, highly specialized ecosystem.
  • Acting as a massive biological oasis in the deep-sea “desert,” a single carcass can support a thriving, complex food web for decades or even up to a century.
• Similar to elephant graveyards described on land, whale graveyards represent areas where large mammal remains are concentrated, although in whales this occurs mainly due to oceanographic and geological processes rather than deliberate congregation before death.

About the Oldest Whale Graveyard

• Researchers discovered nearly 500 whale skeletons and fossil sites, making it the largest, deepest and oldest whale graveyard known to science.
• Location: The graveyard lies in the Diamantina Fracture Zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean, approximately 1,200 km long and nearly 7,000 metres below sea level, west of Australia.
• Key Features
  • Exceptional Antiquity: Some whale fossils date back 5.3 million years, making it the oldest known whale graveyard on Earth.
  • Extraordinary Scale: Scientists documented 485 whale-fall and fossil sites and estimate that millions of whale carcasses may be distributed across the region.
  • Biodiversity Hotspot: The carcasses support diverse deep-sea organisms, including jellyfish, brittle stars, bone-eating worms and several species potentially new to science.
  • Evolutionary Evidence: The site yielded fossils of extinct beaked whales and led to the identification of a new species, Pterocetus diamantinae, providing insights into whale evolution.
• Significance of the Discovery
  • Understanding Deep-Sea Ecosystems: The discovery demonstrates how whale falls sustain unique chemosynthetic ecosystems and may act as ecological links between hydrothermal vents and cold seep communities.
  • Climate and Evolutionary Insights: The enormous accumulation of whale remains stores significant quantities of carbon and offers valuable evidence for reconstructing past marine biodiversity, whale migration patterns and oceanic environmental changes.

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Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026

Context: India ranked 127th among 163 countries in the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026.

Key Findings of Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026

• Overall Assessment: The index assessed 163 independent states and territories, covering about 99.7% of the world’s population.
• Declining Peacefulness: Global peacefulness continued to decline, with more countries experiencing deterioration than improvement in peace indicators.
• Top 3 Most Peaceful Countries
  • Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland
• Bottom 3 Countries
  • Russia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo
• South Asia Performance
  • Regional Trends: South Asia recorded one of its lowest peace levels in recent years due to political instability, internal conflicts and security challenges.
  • Best Performer in South Asia: Bhutan remained the most peaceful country in the region.
  • Sri Lanka’s Performance: Sri Lanka ranked 67th globally, improving by 14 places and becoming the second most peaceful country in South Asia.
  • India’s Position: India ranked 127th, slipping three places from the previous year, largely due to concerns related to internal security and local tensions.
    • China is ranked 118th, while Pakistan is ranked 152nd.

About the Global Peace Index (GPI)

• The Global Peace Index is the world’s leading measure of the relative peacefulness of nations.
• Published By: 20th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2026 was released by the Sydney-based international think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
• Key Parameters: The index evaluates countries using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators across three domains:
  • Societal Safety and Security: Measures crime rates, political stability, terrorism and public safety.
  • Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict: Assesses the intensity and duration of internal and external conflicts.
  • Militarisation: Examines military expenditure, armed forces personnel, weapons imports and military capability.
• Significance: The GPI provides a globally comparable framework to assess peace, stability and security trends and is widely used by policymakers, researchers and international organisations.

Venus Flytrap

Context: Scientists have solved a century-old mystery about how the Venus Flytrap closes its trap.

About Venus Flytrap

• The Venus Flytrap is a carnivorous (insect-eating) plant that captures and digests insects using specialized snap-trap leaves to obtain nutrients from nutrient-poor soils. 
• Scientific Name: Dionaea muscipula; belongs to the Droseraceae (Sundew) family.
• Native Region: While Venus flytraps have been planted and naturalized in other areas, they only occur naturally in the Atlantic coastal plain of the southeastern United States, primarily in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina.
  • It naturally grows in acidic bogs, wetlands, and nutrient-poor sandy soils.
• Trap: The Venus Flytrap’s leaves act like a spring-loaded trap and when an insect touches the trigger hairs twice within a short interval, an electrical signal is generated.
• Mechanism Discovered: Trap closure is triggered by rapid softening of cell walls in the outer epidermal layer of the leaf.
• Plant Movements: The trap closes in about 0.1 second, making it one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom.
• Nutrient Adaptation: Evolved carnivory to survive in acidic, nutrient-poor environments where nitrogen is scarce.
• Digestive Process: After trapping prey, it secretes enzymes, absorbs nutrients, and later reopens, leaving behind the insect’s exoskeleton.

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Rising Road Accident Deaths in India

Context: India recorded over 1.77 lakh road accident deaths in 2024, averaging 485 fatalities per day, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Key Findings of Report

• Number of Road Accidents: India reported 4.88 lakh road accidents in 2024, resulting in 1.77 lakh deaths and over 4.71 lakh injuries, highlighting a major public health challenge.
• Rising Trend: Compared to 2023, road accidents increased by 1.5%, fatalities by 2.5%, and injuries by 1.9%, indicating persistent road safety concerns.
• Impact on Productive Population: Road accidents disproportionately affected the country’s youth and working-age population, causing significant social and economic losses.

Key Causes Responsible for Road Accident Deaths

• Over-Speeding and Reckless Driving: Over-speeding alone accounted for more than 70% of road accident deaths, making it the leading cause of fatalities.
• Safety Violations: Non-use of helmets and seat belts caused over 68,000 deaths, reflecting poor compliance with basic road safety norms.
• Unqualified and Unsafe Driving: A significant share of accidents involved drivers without valid licences, learner licence holders, drunken drivers and wrong-side driving.
• Road and Vehicle Deficiencies: Poor road engineering, dangerous curves, potholes, overloaded vehicles and unfit old vehicles substantially contributed to accident risks.

Key Government Initiatives to Tackle Road Accidents

• Cashless Treatment Scheme, 2025: Provides cashless medical treatment up to ₹1.5 lakh for eligible road accident victims during the first seven days after an accident.
• PM Rahat : Under PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment) initiative, the compensation for families of victims in hit-and-run death cases has been enhanced to ₹2 lakh, alongside up to ₹1.5 lakh of cashless medical coverage for accident victims
• Rah-Veer Scheme: Offers legal protection and rewards up to ₹25,000 to Good Samaritans who assist road accident victims.
• Bharat NCAP (BNCAP): Encourages safer vehicles through crash-testing standards and promotes mandatory safety features such as airbags and ABS.
• eDAR and eChallan Integration: Enables real-time accident reporting, data-driven enforcement and improved monitoring through digital road safety systems.

Strengthening the 4Es framework—Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Emergency Care is essential to achieving safer roads and reducing fatalities.

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Project Kusha

Context: Recently India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described Project Kusha as a “game changer” for India’s security architecture.

About Project Kusha

• Project Kusha is an indigenous long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) air defence system designed to provide a multi-layered shield against diverse aerial threats.
• Developed By: The project is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Key Features of Project Kusha
  • Long-Range Interception Capability: The system will employ three interceptor variants with engagement ranges of approximately 150 km, 250 km and 400 km, enabling layered air defence coverage.
  • Protection Against Advanced Threats: Project Kusha is designed to neutralise a wide spectrum of threats, including stealth aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.
  • Multi-Layered Defence Architecture: The system will function as an integrated air defence network capable of detecting, tracking and intercepting hostile aerial targets at different ranges and altitudes.
  • Indigenous Technology Development: The project showcases India’s growing expertise in missile technology, radar systems, command-and-control networks and advanced defence electronics.
• Significance of Project Kusha
  • Strengthening National Security: Project Kusha will enhance India’s ability to protect military installations, critical infrastructure and civilian population centres from aerial attacks.
  • Strategic Force Multiplier: Expected to be operational between 2028 and 2030, Project Kusha will form a key component of India’s proposed multi-layered missile defence shield under Mission Sudarshan Chakra.

About Mission Sudarshan Chakra

• It was launched on August 15, 2025 with the objective of building an indigenous, multi-layered air and missile defense shield.
• It is aimed at protecting strategic, civilian, and religious infrastructure against aerial, land, sea, and cyber threats by 2035

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