News in Shorts 25 September 2026: Red Sanders, Hurricane Polo & Varuna

Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus)

Context: Kadapa police arrested a notorious red sanders smuggler, highlighting continuing illegal extraction and organised smuggling of the species.

UPSC Online Courses

About Red Sanders

• Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is a slow-growing, highly valuable, non-aromatic tree endemic to India, prized for its distinctive crimson heartwood.
• Distribution:  It is primarily confined to the southern Eastern Ghats, especially the Seshachalam, Veligonda, Lankamalla and Palkonda hill ranges of Andhra Pradesh.
  • It also occurs in parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, while cultivation has expanded to other Indian States.
• Growing Conditions
  • Climate: It thrives in hot, dry and semi-arid conditions, generally preferring temperatures of 26–38°C and showing high drought tolerance.
  • Soil Type: It grows best in well-drained red gravelly loam, lateritic and rocky soils, particularly those associated with quartzite and shale.
  • Rainfall: It generally prefers relatively low rainfall of around 500–1,000 mm annually and is sensitive to waterlogging.
• Key Features
  • Distinctive Bark and Leaves: The tree generally reaches 8–15 metres, has crocodile-skin-like bark, trifoliate leaves and yellow flowers.
  • Valuable Heartwood: Its dark purple-red heartwood contains santalin, a natural dye used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile and other industries.
  • Wavy-Grained Wood: Rare wavy-grained varieties command high international demand for luxury furniture, woodcraft and musical instruments.
  • High Demand: Heartwood of Red Sanders is in demand both in India and globally and is used for making furniture, handicrafts and musical instruments.
    • The red dye obtained from the wood is used as a colouring agent in the textiles, medicine and food industries.
• Threats: Illegal logging, smuggling, habitat degradation and strong international demand pose major threats to wild red sanders populations.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule IV 
  • CITES: It is listed in Appendix II, regulating its international trade through export controls and conservation safeguards.
• Conservation Efforts in India
  • Protected Areas: Major natural populations are conserved in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, Sri Venkateswara National Park and Lankamalla Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Export Cap: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) export quota for cultivated Red Sanders is valid from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2027, with a total permissible export of 1,290 MT.
    • Statehttps://www.babypips.com/tools/forex-market-hours-wise quota : Tamil Nadu (900 MT), Andhra Pradesh (280 MT), Gujarat (100 MT) and Karnataka (10 MT).

Hurricane Polo

Context: Mexico closed several Pacific ports as Hurricane Polo moved offshore of southwestern Mexico.

About Hurricane Polo

• Hurricane Polo is a tropical cyclone that formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. 
• Monitoring: Tracked by the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC)

About Hurricanes

• A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that forms over tropical or subtropical waters.
• Classification: In the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific, a tropical cyclone is classified as a hurricane when its maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 km/h).
• Key Characteristics: Hurricanes are characterised by a low-pressure center, strong winds and organised thunderstorms.
• Areas of Occurrence: Hurricanes occur mainly in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Eastern North Pacific Ocean, and less frequently in the Central North Pacific Ocean.
• Hurricane Naming: Hurricanes are identified using predetermined names.
  • The names are maintained through the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
• Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale:
  • Used to classify hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific.
  • Consists of five categories, based on maximum sustained wind speed.
  • Categories 3–5 are classified as major hurricanes.
  • The scale estimates the potential for wind-related damage and does not measure hazards such as rainfall, flooding, or storm surge.

UPSC Online Classes

House Husbands As Home Makers

Context: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that if women can be homemakers, men can also choose to become “house husbands”.

Key Observations

• Gender-Neutral Homemaking: Domestic and caregiving responsibilities can be undertaken by either spouse.
• Equal Respect: The Court emphasised that both income-earning and household responsibilities deserve equal respect.
• Changing Gender Roles: Traditional roles of men as earners and women as homemakers are evolving, with more women pursuing careers.
• Family As A Unit: The Bench observed that in the Indian cultural context, family has traditionally been viewed as an important foundational unit.
• Marriage and Careers: The Court suggested that greater acceptance of male homemakers could help address some tensions between marriage and women’s career aspirations.

Enemy State

Context: The UN Security Council’s recent consideration of the Gaza-related resolution revived debate over the continued relevance of India’s “enemy state” provisions under the UN Charter.

About Enemy State

• An enemy state refers to a state that was an enemy of any original signatory of the UN Charter during the Second World War, primarily Germany, Japan and their wartime allies.
• Provision under UN Charter: Articles 53 and 107, along with Article 77(1)(b), contain references to enemy states, permitting certain measures against states that were enemies of the Charter’s original signatories.
• Origin of the Provision: The provisions were incorporated in 1945, when the Allied powers sought safeguards against a possible resurgence of Axis powers and their militarism.
• Included Countries: Germany, Japan, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Thailand.
• Present Legal Status: Although the provisions remain technically present in the UN Charter, they are widely regarded as obsolete, as they  are now UN members and have been integrated into the post-war international order.
• Need for an Enemy-State Definition: A clear definition was necessary in 1945 to distinguish former Axis powers from other states and provide a legal basis for transitional security arrangements.
• Contemporary Relevance: The original security circumstances have fundamentally changed, requiring clarification to prevent outdated provisions from being interpreted as applicable to present-day international relations.
• Legal and Diplomatic Clarity: Removing obsolete references would eliminate anachronistic legal provisions, reinforce sovereign equality among UN members and align the Charter with present geopolitical realities.

Click to Know UPSC Coaching Centres in India

Exercise Varuna 2026

Context: Indian Navy’s stealth frigate INS Trishul arrived at the port of Toulon, France, to participate in the 24th edition of Exercise Varuna. 

About Exercise Varuna

• It is an annual bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy.
• Host: France, at Toulon Naval Base on the Mediterranean coast.
• Participants: Indian Navy and French Navy.
• Objective: To enhance interoperability between the two navies and enable exchange of operational experience and best practices.

About INS Trishul

• INS Trishul is a Talwar-class guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy, featuring stealth capabilities.

Check Out UPSC CSE Books

Visit PW Store