Prelims Current Affairs includes Commissioner of Police, Delhi, Dal Lake in Srinagar, UN-level privileges and immunities, HFMD cases, Entrepreneurship Development Programme under SMILE Scheme, Drake Passage, Kerala has become the first fully digitally literate state in India.

PERSON IN NEWS

1. NEW DELHI POLICE COMMISSIONER

Current Context: Satish Golcha, a 1992-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, has been appointed as the 26th Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

• He assumed office on 22 August 2025, succeeding Shashi Bhushan Kumar Singh, who served temporarily after the retirement of Sanjay Arora on 31 July 2025.

GEOGRAPHY

2. DAL LAKE

Current Context: Dal Lake in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir is hosting the first-ever Khelo India Water Games.

ABOUT DAL LAKE

• Location: Eastern part of Srinagar city, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, on the right bank of Jhelum river.

• Area: Covers 18 sq. km; part of a 21.1 sq. km wetland, including floating gardens.

• Inflow: Fed by the Arrah river.

• Outflow: Flows out through a deep channel called Tel Bal.

• Basins: Divided by causeways into four basins – Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal, Nagin.

• Significance: Known as the “Jewel of Srinagar” or “Srinagar’s Jewel”. Important for tourism, fisheries, horticulture, and water sports. Houses the famous Shikaras (houseboats) and floating vegetable markets.

ORGANISATION

3. NATO (NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION)

Current Context: NATO is considering establishing a logistics base in Sweden after Sweden’s accession as the 32nd member (2024).

ABOUT NATO

• Nature: A political and military alliance of countries from Europe and North America.

• Founded: April 1949, with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty.

• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.

• Membership: 32 members (latest: Sweden, 2024).

OBJECTIVES

• Cold War Era: To provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

• Presently: Ensures members protect each other from threats, including cyber, terrorism, and hybrid warfare.

KEY PRINCIPLE

• Article 5: An armed attack against one or more members is considered an attack against all members.

• Invoked only once: after 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001).

STATE NEWS

4. KERALA – INDIA’S FIRST FULLY DIGITALLY LITERATE STATE

Current Context: Kerala has become the first fully digitally literate state in India, marking the successful completion of the first phase of the Digi Kerala Project.

ABOUT DIGI KERALA PROJECT

• Survey Coverage: Covered 1.5 crore people from 83.46 lakh families. Identified 21.88 lakh digitally illiterate persons. Trained 21.87 lakh (99.98%), who cleared digital literacy evaluation.

• Inclusivity: Training included all age groups, even senior citizens (e.g., 104-year-old M.A. Abdullah Moulavi Baqavi from Ernakulam participated). Delivered through local bodies, reflecting Kerala’s decentralised governance model.

• Purpose: To bridge the digital divide and empower citizens with basic digital skills.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Governance: Enables citizens to access e-governance services (Ayushman Bharat, PM-Kisan, Jan Dhan, etc.) without intermediaries.

• Digital Democracy: Citizens can file grievances, RTI requests, and participate in online civic activities → promotes transparency and accountability.

• Financial Inclusion: Promotes use of digital transactions and benefits for marginalised groups and women.

GEOGRAPHY

5. DRAKE PASSAGE

Current Context: A 7.5 magnitude earthquake recently hit the Drake Passage, triggering a brief tsunami alert.

ABOUT DRAKE PASSAGE

• Location: Between Cape Horn (South America) and South Shetland Islands (Antarctica).

• Width: Narrowest stretch of the Southern Ocean, ~800 km wide.

• Named After: Sir Francis Drake, first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.

• Ocean Link: Connects Southwestern Atlantic Ocean with Southeastern Pacific Ocean.

• Climatic Role: Acts as a transition zone between subpolar Tierra del Fuego and polar Antarctica.

• Navigation: Known as one of the roughest waterways in the world due to collision of cold and warm seawater, eddies, storms, and strong winds.

• History: Important for 19th–20th century trade routes, until Panama Canal reduced dependency.

SCHEME

6. SMILE SCHEME (SUPPORT FOR MARGINALISED INDIVIDUALS FOR LIVELIHOOD AND ENTERPRISE)

Current Context: The Government of India launched a 15-day Entrepreneurship Development Programme under SMILE Scheme to empower transgender persons.

ABOUT SMILE SCHEME

• Type: Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

• Sub-Schemes:

  1. Welfare of Transgender Persons.

  2. Welfare of Persons Engaged in Begging.

Key Features:

1. Scholarships: For transgender students (Class IX to post-graduation).

2. Skill Development: Under PM-DAKSH scheme.

3. Healthcare: Gender-reaffirmation surgeries supported under PM-JAY.

4. Housing: Garima Greh with food, clothing, medical support, and training.

5. Transgender Protection Cells in every state for timely redressal of offences.

6. National Portal & Helpline for grievance support.

HEALTH

7. HAND, FOOT, AND MOUTH DISEASE (HFMD)

Current Context: A rise in HFMD cases has been reported in New Delhi, particularly among children.

ABOUT HFMD

• Nature: Common viral illness, mostly affecting children (can affect adults with weak immunity).

• Cause: Mainly by Coxsackievirus A16.

• Symptoms: Sores in the mouth, rash on hands and feet, fever and general weakness.

• Spread: Highly contagious in schools/daycare centres.

• Treatment: No specific treatment; recovery usually in 7–10 days.

• Complications: Rare; can cause viral meningitis in severe cases.

• Not Related To: Foot-and-Mouth disease (affects cattle).

INTERNATIONAL

8. INTERNATIONAL BIG CAT ALLIANCE (IBCA)

Current Context: India has extended UN-level privileges and immunities to IBCA officials under the UN (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947.

ABOUT IBCA

• Launched: April 2023, during 50 years of Project Tiger.

• Nature: Treaty-based inter-governmental organisation for big cat conservation.

• Coverage: Seven Big Cats – Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, Puma.

• Membership: Open to all UN Member States – both range countries (where cats live) and non-range countries (supporters).

• Participants: 95 countries, conservation partners, NGOs, corporates.

• Implementation Agency: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under MoEFCC.

• Funding: India committed ₹150 crore (2023–2028) for corpus fund, infra, and recurring expenses.

• Members: 12 founding members (including India).

• Objective: Facilitate global collaboration, share expertise, and consolidate conservation efforts.

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