News in Shorts: 27 May 2025

PWOnlyIAS

May 27, 2025

News in Shorts: 27 May 2025

Land Uplift in South Africa

Context: According to a 2025 study published in the ‘Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth’, land in South Africa has been rising at 2 mm per year, amounting to 6 mm uplift between 2012 and 2020.

Key Findings of the Study

  • Reason For Uplift: The uplift is not due to magma activity or seismic movement, but primarily due to loss of water mass during droughts.
  • Mechanism: The loss of water during droughts may have caused the earth’s surface to bounce up as an elastic response when excess water (groundwater, soil moisture, surface water) was removed. 
    • The mass of water pressing down the Earth’s crust is reduced, resulting in upward lift of the crust.

About Uplift vs. Subsidence

  • Land uplift: Occurs when surface water is lost, reducing the weight on the Earth’s crust. This causes the crust to rebound upward—an elastic response.
  • Land subsidence: Occurs when groundwater is over-extracted, causing aquifers to dry out and collapse—a poro-elastic response.
  • Whether uplift or subsidence dominates depends on the type of water loss (surface vs groundwater) and the local geological conditions.

 

PY-3 Offshore Cauvery Field

Context: The production from the PY-3 Field in the Cauvery Basin has been restarted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd. located offshore in the Cauvery Basin.

About the PY-3 Field in the Cauvery Basin

  • The field was originally brought onstream in 1997.
  • Closed: It was initially closed in 2009 for repairs, faced further delays due to disputes over contract extensions and cost sharing among stakeholders.
    • The field had been permanently shut since July 2011. 

About Cauvery Basin

  • Cauvery Basin is a major river basin in southern India encompassing parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the union territory of Puducherry.
    • Cauvery River originates in the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats, Kodagu district of Karnataka.
  • Evolution: Cauvery basin is a pericratonic rift basin formed during the fragmentation of Gondwana land.
  • Area: The Cauvery Basin covers an area of approximately 85,626.23 sq km, which is roughly 2.7% of India’s total geographical area.
  • Regional Divisions: The basin can be divided into three sections,
    • The Western Ghats region, the Mysore Plateau, and the fertile delta area.
  • Hydrocarbon Potential: It has an established hydrocarbon potential resource base of 700 MMT.

 

BRICS Industry Ministers’ Meeting

Context: India participated in the 9th BRICS Industry Ministers’ Meeting held at the Itamaraty Palace, Brasília. 

  • Theme: Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.
  • Members: The Industry Ministers and representatives from the BRICS countries participated in the meeting,
    • Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
  • Joint Declaration: It reaffirmed the collective commitment to fostering an open, fair, and resilient global environment, strengthening the multilateral system, and enhancing economic and social resilience amid rapid global transformations. 

More on News

  • BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub: The initiative is launched by India under the aegis of the BRICS Start-Up Forum.
    • It is a dedicated platform for BRICS nations, aimed at enhancing cross-border collaboration and strengthening startup ecosystems across member countries.

 

Tianwen-2 Mission

Context: China is set to launch its first asteroid exploration mission, Tianwen-2, to survey and sample near – Earth asteroid called 469219 Kamo‘oalewa.

What is Kamo‘oalewa?

  • It is a small asteroid discovered in 2016 by the Pan-STARRS 1 asteroid survey telescope on Haleakalā in Hawaii.
  • It is part of a rare group called quasi-satellites, meaning it orbits the Sun but is influenced by Earth’s gravity.
    • Quasi-satellites are known to shift their orbits over time. 
  • The asteroid appears to move alongside Earth due to its unique orbit.

Why is China Studying This Asteroid?

  • Scientists want to learn how quasi-satellites form and move over time.
  • Some researchers suggest that Kamo‘oalewa could be the first known asteroid composed of lunar material.
    • Exploring the asteroid could help prove the idea that the Moon was formed when the Earth collided with another small planet. 

How Will China Collect Samples?

  • The mission will use two techniques to collect samples:
    1. Touch-and-go method:In this technique, the spacecraft hovers close to the surface of the asteroid while a robotic arm fires an object or burst of gas to knock fragments into a collection chamber.
    2. Anchor-and-attach method: Robotic arms will drill into the surface for deeper material collection.

 

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

Context: The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued a high wave warning along several coastal regions due to expected sea disturbances. 

About Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

  • It’s a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO).
  • Established: as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
  • Objective: To Generate Global Ocean Analysis data daily using mathematical models & observations for monsoon forecasting and oceanic research.

What is the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO)?

  • ESSO is a virtual organisation for various research and service units. 
  • Established: 2007
  • Nodal ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India.
  • Objective: Aims to study Earth’s processes and provide ocean information for resource exploration for socio economic benefits. 
  • Major branches; Ocean Science & Technology, Atmospheric Science & Technology and Geosciences and Technology.

 

Period Poverty

Context: Amazon India launched the next phase of its women’s health initiative at the Singahalli Community Centre in Bengaluru.

About Period Poverty

  • It refers to the lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, education, and awareness needed to manage menstruation safely and with dignity.
  • Causes of Period Poverty
    • Menstrual products are expensive – Many girls and women cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons.
    • Lack of clean toilets and water – Without proper hygiene facilities, managing periods becomes very difficult.
    • Societal stigma and myths – In some places, people don’t talk openly about periods, leading to shame and misinformation.
    • Lack of education – Many girls don’t know much about menstruation before their first period, causing fear and confusion.

 

Dark Patterns

Context: Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy to address consumer concerns regarding dark patterns in a meeting with major e-commerce platforms.

About Dark Patterns

  • These are deceptive user interface designs that mislead or manipulate consumers into making unintended choices. 
  • Coined by: Harry Brignull, a user experience (UX) designer, in 2010.
  • Types: There are 13 prominent dark patterns in e-commerce including,
    • False Urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm Shaming, Forced action, Subscription trap, Interface interference, Bait and Switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised advertisement, Nagging, Trick question, Saas Billing, and Rogue Malwares.
  • Need: These practices erode consumer trust, distort fair market dynamics, and pose a serious threat to the integrity of digital commerce.
  • Government Initiative:
    • Comprehensive guidelines on the prevention of dark patterns were released recognizing 13 prominent dark patterns in e-commerce.
    • Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023 in collaboration with IIT (BHU) to design technological solutions to detect and fight dark patterns.
    • On National Consumer Day 2024, the Department of Consumer Affairs launched three apps ie. Jago Grahak Jago, Jagriti, and Jagriti Dashboard

To get PDF version, Please click on "Print PDF" button.

Need help preparing for UPSC or State PSCs?

Connect with our experts to get free counselling & start preparing

Aiming for UPSC?

Download Our App

      
Quick Revise Now !
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SOON
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

<div class="new-fform">






    </div>

    Subscribe our Newsletter
    Sign up now for our exclusive newsletter and be the first to know about our latest Initiatives, Quality Content, and much more.
    *Promise! We won't spam you.
    Yes! I want to Subscribe.