UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025
Kartavya Desk Staff
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025 covers important current affairs of the day, their backward linkages, their relevance for Prelims exam and MCQs on main articles
InstaLinks : Insta Links help you think beyond the current affairs issue and help you think multidimensionally to develop depth in your understanding of these issues. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background.
Table of Contents
GS Paper 1 & 2 : (UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October (2025)
• Son Meta Preference: Sex-Determination Rackets
Son Meta Preference: Sex-Determination Rackets
GS Paper 3:
• Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025
Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025
Content for Mains Enrichment (CME):
• Water ATM Initiative
Water ATM Initiative
Facts for Prelims (FFP):
• The New Sevilla Forum on Debt
The New Sevilla Forum on Debt
• Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025
• SOAR Program
SOAR Program
• Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
• Quantum Echoes Algorithm
Quantum Echoes Algorithm
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Mapping:
• Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary
Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025
#### GS Paper 1 & 2:
Son Meta Preference: Sex-Determination Rackets
Syllabus: Issue related to children and women
Source: FL
Context: Fresh crackdowns in Karnataka–Andhra, Haryana–U.P., Gujarat, and Delhi exposed cross-border sex-determination rackets despite three decades of the PCPNDT Act, 1994.
About Son Meta Preference: Sex-Determination Rackets
• What it is? Covert networks linking agents, clinics, and pharmacies to offer illegal foetal sex tests and sex-selective abortions, often moving across district/State borders to evade oversight.
• Covert networks linking agents, clinics, and pharmacies to offer illegal foetal sex tests and sex-selective abortions, often moving across district/State borders to evade oversight.
• Current Trends and Data:
• The sex ratio at birth (SRB) continues to fall — Delhi’s declined from 933 (2020) to 920 (2024).
• SRS 2023 data: India’s SRB improved slightly to 917 females per 1,000 males (2021–23), but remains below the natural ratio of 952.
• CRS 2023 report: India’s overall SRB is 928 females per 1,000 males, with Arunachal Pradesh (1085) highest and Jharkhand (899) lowest.
• Roughly 5% of girls are still “missing” at birth, translating to over 800,000 female foetuses annually.
Law and Policy:
• PCPNDT Act, 1994 (amended 2003): Prohibits both pre- and post-conception sex selection, regulates diagnostic equipment, and mandates strict record-keeping and appeal against acquittals to deter malpractice.
• MTP Act (1971; amended 2021): Legalises abortion under medical or humanitarian grounds but criminalises terminations linked to sex determination, reinforcing reproductive rights with ethical limits.
• Drugs & Cosmetics Act/Rules: Controls the sale and distribution of abortion-inducing drugs, targeting unlicensed over-the-counter sales that often facilitate illegal sex-selective terminations.
• ART Act, 2021 & Surrogacy Act, 2021: Govern assisted reproduction and surrogacy, explicitly banning embryo sex selection and introducing registration norms for IVF clinics and gamete banks.
• Schemes/Advocacy: Initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, conditional cash transfers, and digital monitoring aim to shift cultural attitudes and promote birth registration transparency.
Failure of Implementation:
• Weak enforcement cadence: District and State committees meet irregularly; inspections are infrequent, allowing sex-determination centres to resume operations unnoticed.
• Poor prosecution quality: Weak investigation and lack of mandatory appeals after acquittals result in low conviction rates and repeated legal impunity.
• Medical complicity & shielding: Medical associations defend errant members; violations are minimised as clerical errors, reducing accountability in the healthcare system.
• Tech leapfrogging: Newer tools like NIPT and portable ultrasounds outpace regulatory reach, enabling discreet and undetectable sex selection practices.
• Market leakage: Illegal sale of abortion kits and informal referral networks thrive in rural and border regions where enforcement capacity is weakest.
Social Implications:
• Skewed births: Persistently low female-to-male ratios expose a deep-rooted “son preference,” especially in families with prior daughters.
• Violence continuum: Gender bias begins before birth and extends through discrimination, neglect, and violence across a woman’s life cycle.
• Economic roots: Patriarchal inheritance, dowry burdens, and undervaluation of women’s labour perpetuate the notion of daughters as economic liabilities.
• Trust deficit: Surveillance-heavy enforcement targeting women, not clinics, alienates communities and undermines faith in public health systems.
• Demographic distortions: A surplus of men intensifies marriage imbalances, human trafficking, and social unrest, threatening long-term demographic stability.
Way Ahead:
• Enforcement first: Time-bound monthly inspections, decoy operations, and asset-freezes for repeat clinics; mandatory appeal filing dashboards.
• Data fusion: Link PCPNDT–CRS–SRS–HMIS; run anomaly flags (ultrasound density vs births; geographic clustering).
• Tech safeguards: Licence NIPT with strict indications, tamper-evident logs, and audit trails; geotagged ultrasound use; surprise e-forensics of clinic devices.
• Supply-side choke: Strict e-pharmacy controls; track abortion-drug wholesale/retail flows; prosecute illegal OTC sales.
• Community & incentives: Scale community vigilance, cash transfers for girl-child outcomes, property rights for daughters, and school-to-skilling pipelines.
• Medical ethics: Mandatory ethics CME, blacklists, and naming-and-shaming of convicted providers; tie compliance to clinic empanelment and insurance payouts.
• Messaging 2.0: Move from posters to behavioural nudges—norms-based campaigns featuring local influencers and fatherhood champions.
Conclusion:
Sex-determination rackets endure because culture, markets, and weak enforcement intersect. Laws exist; credible, continuous implementation and economic empowerment of girls must follow. India can bend the curve only by choking supply, shifting norms, and valuing daughters in law, assets, and life.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025 GS Paper 3:
Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025
- •Syllabus: Ecology*
- •Source: FAO*
Context: India has climbed to the 9th position globally in total forest area and continues to rank 3rd in annual forest gain, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025 released by the FAO in Bali.
About Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025:
• What is GFRA? The GFRA is a comprehensive global evaluation of forest resources, assessing their extent, management, and uses across 236 countries. It provides periodic updates on global forest conditions and trends every five years.
• The GFRA is a comprehensive global evaluation of forest resources, assessing their extent, management, and uses across 236 countries. It provides periodic updates on global forest conditions and trends every five years.
• Published by: Conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
• History:
• Initiated in 1946, the FRA has evolved into a collaborative, data-driven platform, integrating remote sensing, national reporting, and statistical modelling.
• The 2025 edition marks 80 years of continuous forest resource monitoring
Key Summary of GFRA 2025:
• Global Forest Extent: Forests now cover 4.14 billion hectares, with tropical zones (45%) leading, reflecting both rich biodiversity and intense deforestation pressures in these regions.
• Top 5 Countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, USA, and China together hold over half of global forest cover, showing how few nations dominate the planet’s forest resources.
• Deforestation Decline: Annual global deforestation slowed to 10.9 million ha (2015–2025) due to improved monitoring, policy reforms, and afforestation in Asia and South America.
• Forest Gain: The world added 6.78 million ha of forests annually, driven mainly by restoration efforts in Asia and Europe, showcasing positive ecological recovery trends.
• Planted Forests: 8% of total forests are planted, with Asia contributing 23%, reflecting deliberate human-led afforestation and carbon sequestration programs.
• Protected Areas: About 813 million ha (20%) of forests now enjoy legal protection—an addition of 250 million ha since 1990—boosting ecosystem and species security.
• Carbon Stock: Forests store 714 Gt of carbon, with nearly 46% in soil and 44% in biomass, making them vital buffers against global climate change.
• Ownership Pattern: Around 71% of forests are publicly owned, while 24% belong to private or community holders, underscoring the growing role of inclusive management.
India and GFRA 2025:
• Global Ranking: India rose to 9th in total forest area and remains 3rd in forest gain, highlighting its consistent policy-driven greening success.
• Forest Cover Expansion: Initiatives like the Green India Mission, CAMPA, and NAP have expanded forest area through restoration and compensatory afforestation.
• Community Involvement: Programs like Van Dhan Yojana and Joint Forest Management empower communities in forest upkeep and livelihood generation.
• Sustainable Management: Integrating biodiversity corridors, mangrove conservation, and carbon sinks supports India’s Paris Agreement and NDC goals.
• Technological Role: Platforms like Bhuvan and AI-based forest mapping improve data precision and enhance transparent forest governance nationwide.
Challenges Highlighted:
• Deforestation Hotspots: Rapid land-use conversion for agriculture and mining continues to endanger tropical forest ecosystems.
• Forest Degradation: Wildfires, pests, and climate stress are accelerating forest decline despite net area gains.
• Funding Gaps: Long-term ecological restoration suffers due to limited financial and institutional support.
• Data Disparity: Uneven national reporting systems hinder accurate global forest trend assessments.
• Biodiversity Loss: Habitat fragmentation persists, threatening species even in countries with increasing forest area.
Recommendations Ahead:
• Community Forestry: Empower local communities through joint forest governance and sustainable livelihood integration.
• Carbon Accounting: Deploy AI and satellite tools for better forest carbon quantification and emissions tracking.
• South–South Cooperation: Strengthen knowledge exchange among tropical nations for collective forest restoration.
• Eco-tourism: Promote nature-based tourism to generate revenue and incentivise local conservation.
• Policy and Finance: Establish robust legal frameworks and cross-country funding mechanisms under FAO’s guidance.
Conclusion:
India’s rise in global forest rankings underscores its ecological resilience and policy commitment to sustainability. However, global forest goals still demand collective restoration, precision data, and equitable finance. The GFRA 2025 thus serves as both a warning and a roadmap for achieving a greener planet.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025 Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
Water ATM Initiative
Context: Innovative mine-water reuse projects in Jharkhand and Maharashtra — including Water ATMs by ACIC IIT-ISM Dhanbad and mine-water fisheries initiatives — are transforming coal mine discharge into clean drinking water and sustainable livelihoods.
About Water ATM Initiative:
• What it is? Water ATMs are automated water-vending machines that purify and dispense treated mine water for public use at nominal costs, providing affordable access to clean drinking water.
• Water ATMs are automated water-vending machines that purify and dispense treated mine water for public use at nominal costs, providing affordable access to clean drinking water.
• Launched by: Developed under the Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) at IIT-ISM Dhanbad, in collaboration with the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC).
• Aim: To convert discharged mine water into safe potable water, promote community health, and create a sustainable circular water economy in mining regions.
• Features:
• PARAM JAL model treats multi-level mine water and dispenses 10 litres for ₹10 via coin/UPI payments. Operates 24×7, ensuring constant access to clean water in rural and mining-affected areas. Uses innovative multi-stage filtration and IoT-based monitoring for water quality assurance. Promotes women-led entrepreneurship and SHG participation through local management.
• PARAM JAL model treats multi-level mine water and dispenses 10 litres for ₹10 via coin/UPI payments.
• Operates 24×7, ensuring constant access to clean water in rural and mining-affected areas.
• Uses innovative multi-stage filtration and IoT-based monitoring for water quality assurance.
• Promotes women-led entrepreneurship and SHG participation through local management.
Relevance in UPSC Exam Syllabus:
• GS Paper 3 – Environment & Sustainable Development: Highlights resource recycling and water management innovations using industrial by-products like mine water.
• GS Paper 2 – Governance & Public Policy: Showcases technology-driven public service delivery and convergence of DMFT, local bodies, and innovation hubs.
• GS Paper 1 – Society & Development: Demonstrates grassroots empowerment, women-led enterprises, and inclusive livelihood generation in rural mining regions.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025 Facts for Prelims (FFP)
The New Sevilla Forum on Debt
Source: ANI
Context: The New Sevilla Forum on Debt was launched at the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
About The New Sevilla Forum on Debt:
• What it is? A Spanish-led multilateral platform supported by UNCTAD and UN DESA to promote fair, transparent, and sustainable solutions to the sovereign debt crisis.
• A Spanish-led multilateral platform supported by UNCTAD and UN DESA to promote fair, transparent, and sustainable solutions to the sovereign debt crisis.
• Launched in: Announced at UNCTAD16 in Geneva as part of the Sevilla Platform for Action, following the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).
• Aim: To sustain global dialogue on debt reform, strengthen responsible borrowing and lending practices, and advance reforms in the global debt architecture.
• Features: Inclusive forum involving governments, creditors, civil society, and experts. Tracks implementation of debt initiatives agreed in Sevilla. Provides technical support for predictable and equitable debt management. Strengthens North–South cooperation on debt sustainability.
• Inclusive forum involving governments, creditors, civil society, and experts.
• Tracks implementation of debt initiatives agreed in Sevilla.
• Provides technical support for predictable and equitable debt management.
• Strengthens North–South cooperation on debt sustainability.
• Significance: It acts as a bridge between borrowers and creditors, fostering long-term systemic reforms in global finance and ensuring fairer debt governance for developing economies.
About United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
• What it is? A permanent intergovernmental body of the United Nations that promotes integration of developing countries into the global economy through trade, finance, and sustainable development.
• A permanent intergovernmental body of the United Nations that promotes integration of developing countries into the global economy through trade, finance, and sustainable development.
• Launched in: Established in 1964, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Aim: To help developing nations access the benefits of globalization fairly, strengthen economic resilience, and support sustainable development goals.
• Functions: Provides research and policy analysis on trade, finance, and investment. Facilitates global consensus-building on equitable trade policies. Delivers technical assistance for capacity-building and debt management. Monitors progress on Financing for Development and the 2030 Agenda.
• Provides research and policy analysis on trade, finance, and investment.
• Facilitates global consensus-building on equitable trade policies.
• Delivers technical assistance for capacity-building and debt management.
• Monitors progress on Financing for Development and the 2030 Agenda.
• Role: Acts as a key UN platform linking trade, investment, and technology with inclusive and sustainable growth, ensuring developing countries gain equitable participation in the global economy.
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025
Source: NIE
Context: From November 1, 2025, only officials of the rank of Joint Secretary or Director General of Police (DGP) can order the removal of online content under the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025.
About Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025:
What it is?
• A new amendment to the IT Rules, 2021, notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to strengthen online content regulation, enhance transparency, and address the emerging challenges of AI-generated and deepfake content.
• To ensure that content moderation orders are issued only by senior officials, making the process lawful, proportionate, and accountable, while also promoting responsible AI use through mandatory labelling and identification of synthetic media.
Key Features:
• Authorized officers: Only Joint Secretary or DGP-rank officers can issue takedown requests.
• Legal justification: Every order must include a clear statutory basis, reference to specific legal provisions, and detailed URLs or identifiers of the targeted content.
• Review mechanism: All takedown actions will undergo monthly review by a secretary-level officer to ensure legality and proportionality.
• AI-generated content regulation: Introduces definition of “synthetically generated information” — any content created or altered algorithmically to appear real.
• Labelling of deepfakes: Platforms must embed visible labels or metadata on AI-generated visuals and audios covering at least 10% of surface or duration.
• Platform accountability: Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) must obtain user declarations during upload and use automated tools to detect synthetic content.
• Due diligence obligations: Platforms violating these norms will be deemed non-compliant under the IT Act, 2000.
Significance:
• Enhances transparency and checks misuse of content takedown powers.
• Builds trust in digital governance by aligning with principles of necessity and proportionality.
• Addresses deepfake threats, protecting citizens from identity misuse, misinformation, and electoral manipulation.
SOAR Program
Source: PIB
Context: The Government of India launched the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme in July 2025 to integrate artificial intelligence education and training into school curricula.
About SOAR Program:
What it is?
• A flagship initiative under the Skill India Mission, designed to strengthen AI literacy and competency among students (Classes 6–12) and educators. The programme includes structured AI modules, hands-on learning, and ethics-based training to prepare India’s youth for AI-driven careers.
Implemented by: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
• To create AI awareness among school students and educators.
• To equip India’s youth with industry-relevant AI skills for self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• To bridge the digital skill gap between urban and rural learners.
Key Features:
• Structured Learning Modules: Three 15-hour AI modules for students and one 45-hour advanced module for educators.
• Ethical AI Training: Emphasis on responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence.
• Centre of Excellence in AI: ₹500 crore allocated in Union Budget 2025–26 to establish a dedicated Centre of Excellence for AI in Education.
• Industry Integration: Collaboration with IITs, AICTE, and private sector partners to offer specialised AI and ML courses.
• Digital Access: Integration with the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) to ensure accessibility for students across rural and urban areas.
• Apprenticeship Support: Under NAPS-2, 1,480 apprentices trained between FY 2022–26 in AI-related roles such as AI Data Engineer and Machine Learning Engineer.
Significance:
• Promotes AI literacy: Embeds AI knowledge in early education, fostering innovation and curiosity.
• Bridges skill divide: Ensures equitable access to AI education across socio-economic backgrounds.
• Supports Viksit Bharat Vision: Advances India’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 through technology-led empowerment.
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
Source: IE
Context: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has implemented an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) across key elephant corridors to prevent elephant deaths caused by train collisions.
About Intrusion Detection System (IDS):
What it is?
• An AI- and sensor-based surveillance mechanism that uses optical fibre cables to detect movement of elephants or other wildlife near railway tracks and alert control rooms instantly to prevent collisions.
Launched by: The initiative has been launched by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) under the Ministry of Railways.
• To reduce elephant fatalities due to train collisions in sensitive wildlife corridors.
• To ensure safe train operations and improve human–wildlife coexistence.
• To integrate technology-driven conservation measures into railway management.
How it Works?
• The system uses vibration-sensitive fibre optic cables laid along railway tracks.
• When an elephant or large animal moves near the tracks, the vibrations trigger real-time signals.
• These signals are transmitted to control rooms and train drivers, enabling immediate speed regulation or halting of trains.
• The alerts are also used to monitor wildlife movement trends for long-term conservation planning.
Key Features:
• Coverage: Operational in four pilot sections across Alipurduar, Lumding, Rangiya, and Tinsukia Divisions, covering 64.03 km of elephant corridors.
• Expansion Plan: To be extended to an additional 146.4 km by April 2026, taking the total network to 210 km.
• Dual Functionality: Provides wildlife protection while maintaining operational efficiency.
• Real-time alerts: Allows instant communication between field sensors and central monitoring systems.
• Data integration: Enables long-term data collection for route planning and habitat preservation.
Quantum Echoes Algorithm
Source: TH
Context: Google announced that its quantum processor “Willow” has achieved the first-ever verifiable quantum advantage using a new algorithm called Quantum Echoes, running 13,000 times faster than the world’s best supercomputers.
About Quantum Echoes Algorithm:
What it is?
• Quantum Echoes is an advanced quantum algorithm based on the principle of out-of-time-order correlators (OTOC). It is designed to study how information spreads, scrambles, and reverses in a quantum system — essentially acting as a time-reversal experiment to detect hidden quantum interactions.
Developed by: Created by the Google Quantum AI and Collaborators Team.
• To demonstrate a verifiable quantum advantage, where quantum hardware outperforms classical supercomputers in a measurable and repeatable way.
• To model complex quantum interactions with unprecedented precision for use in physics, chemistry, and materials research.
How it Works?
• The algorithm sends a quantum signal into a system of qubits, lets it evolve, then reverses time evolution to produce a measurable “echo.”
• This echo reveals how information was scrambled and restructured during the process.
• By adding a small “perturbation” midway and observing how the system reacts, scientists can measure interference effects, confirming the quantum nature of the computation.
• The process, run on the Willow quantum processor, was verified as a true quantum interference phenomenon, impossible for classical systems to replicate efficiently.
Key Characteristics:
• Verifiable performance: Results can be independently confirmed by other quantum systems.
• Extreme speed: Executes 13,000× faster than leading classical algorithms on supercomputers.
• High precision: Accurately models atomic and molecular interactions with minimal error.
• Quantum interference proof: Demonstrates constructive interference — the hallmark of genuine quantum computation.
• Scalable framework: Opens the path for large-scale quantum verifiability in future applications.
Applications:
• Drug Discovery: Enables molecular modelling and understanding of how medicines interact at the atomic level.
• Materials Science: Helps design advanced materials, including superconductors, polymers, and quantum components.
• Chemical Structure Analysis: Enhances Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques to map molecular geometries beyond current limits.
• Fundamental Physics: Offers new ways to study quantum chaos, entanglement, and information flow in complex systems.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Source: TH
Context: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), during its ongoing plenary in Paris, is expected to deliberate on the issue of state-sponsored terrorism financing.
About Financial Action Task Force (FATF):
• What it is? The FATF is an intergovernmental policy-making body that sets global standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. It ensures that countries take effective legal, regulatory, and operational measures to prevent the misuse of financial systems.
• The FATF is an intergovernmental policy-making body that sets global standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. It ensures that countries take effective legal, regulatory, and operational measures to prevent the misuse of financial systems.
• Established in: Formed in 1989 by the G7 countries during the Paris Summit to coordinate global efforts against financial crimes.
• Headquarters: Located in Paris, France, and hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
• Aim: To develop and promote international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. To safeguard the integrity of the global financial system. To identify high-risk jurisdictions and ensure coordinated international action against illicit financial flows.
• To develop and promote international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing.
• To safeguard the integrity of the global financial system.
• To identify high-risk jurisdictions and ensure coordinated international action against illicit financial flows.
• Functions: Standard Setting: Issues FATF Recommendations, a globally accepted framework to combat financial crimes and terror funding. Monitoring and Evaluation: Conducts Mutual Evaluations to assess how effectively countries implement FATF standards. Identifying Non-Compliant Jurisdictions: Maintains the “Grey List” (Increased Monitoring) and “Black List” (High-Risk Jurisdictions) for nations failing to act against financial crimes. Research and Trend Analysis: Publishes reports on emerging risks such as cryptocurrency misuse, virtual assets, and state-sponsored terror financing. Collaboration: Works with over 200 countries and international organisations, including the IMF, World Bank, and UN, to strengthen global anti-financial crime systems.
• Standard Setting: Issues FATF Recommendations, a globally accepted framework to combat financial crimes and terror funding.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Conducts Mutual Evaluations to assess how effectively countries implement FATF standards.
• Identifying Non-Compliant Jurisdictions: Maintains the “Grey List” (Increased Monitoring) and “Black List” (High-Risk Jurisdictions) for nations failing to act against financial crimes.
• Research and Trend Analysis: Publishes reports on emerging risks such as cryptocurrency misuse, virtual assets, and state-sponsored terror financing.
• Collaboration: Works with over 200 countries and international organisations, including the IMF, World Bank, and UN, to strengthen global anti-financial crime systems.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23 October 2025 Mapping:
Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary
Source: IE
Context: The blackbuck, which was declared locally extinct in Chhattisgarh in 2017, has made a remarkable recovery under a five-year revival plan (2021–2026) in the Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary.
About Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary:
What it is?
• A protected forest area and wildlife sanctuary known for its rich biodiversity, thriving herbivore and carnivore populations, and grassland–forest ecosystems that support conservation and ecotourism activities.
Located in:
• Situated in Balodabazar District, Chhattisgarh, between longitude 80°22′30″E to 82°37′30″E and latitude 21°18′45″N to 21°30′00″N.
• The sanctuary covers an area of 66 sq km and lies about 106 km from Raipur on National Highway 53.
Key Features:
• Topography: Gently undulating plains with elevations up to 640 m above sea level, crisscrossed by rivers Balmedhi, Jonk, and Mahanadi, which serve as the lifelines of the ecosystem.
• Climate: Receives an annual rainfall of around 1,200 mm, with pleasant winters from November to February.
• Flora: Dominated by Teak (Tectona grandis), Sal (Shorea robusta), and mixed deciduous forests.
• Fauna: Hosts diverse species like leopards, barking deer, bison, wild boar, chital, and now blackbuck, along with rich avian and aquatic fauna around the Balar reservoir.
• Tourism Infrastructure: Equipped with watchtowers, eco-camps, and patrol stations promoting eco-tourism and conservation awareness.
Significance:
• Biodiversity Conservation: Acts as a critical refuge for central Indian fauna, maintaining prey–predator balance.
• Successful Reintroduction Site: Known for the revival of blackbucks, showcasing India’s grassland restoration potential.
• Ecotourism Promotion: Serves as a model for sustainable tourism integrated with wildlife conservation.
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