UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 20-11-2025

One Liners 20-11-2025

History, Art and Culture

Rani Lakshmibai

Prime Minister pays tributes to Rani Lakshmibai on her birth anniversary.

Original name – Manikarnika Tombe.
Born on – 19^th November 1828 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Married to – The Maharaja of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao, after she was called Laxmibai.
Her son Damodar Rao was born in 1851. But he died after 4 months.
Adopted son – Gangadhar Rao died in 1853. Before his death, he adopted his cousin’s son Anand Rao, who was renamed Damodar Rao.
The British East India Company refused to accept their adopted son as legal heir through Doctrine of Lapse and annex Jhansi by Dalhousie in 1853.
Revolt of 1857 – It broke out in Meerut, and the Rani was ruling over Jhansi as regent for her minor son.
Along with Tantia Tope and other rebel soldiers, the Rani captured the fort of Gwalior.
Death – She dies while fighting in Gwalior on 18th June 1858.
The Indian National Army started its 1^st female unit in 1943 and named it after Rani Laxmibai.

Doctrine of Lapse

Formulated in – 1847, by Lord Dalhousie, governor-general of India (1848–56).
According to Hindu law – An individual or a ruler without natural heirs could adopt a person who would then have all the personal and political rights of a son.

Doctrine of Lapse – If an Indian princely state had no male heir or a dispute over succession, the British would take control of it.

The British, as the supreme authority, claimed the right to approve or reject adopted heirs of Indian rulers, justifying this policy as a means to ensure effective governance in poorly managed states.
Annexation of Princely States – Satara (1848); Jaipur and Sambalpur (1849); Baghat (1850); Udaipur (1852); Jhansi (1853); Nagpur (1854).

Polity & Governance

PENCIL Online Portal

PENCIL – Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour.
Launched by – Ministry of Labour & Employment.
Focus on – All child workers below the age of 14 years in the identified target area.
Adolescent workers below the age of 18 years in the target area engaged in hazardous occupations / processes.
Families of Child workers in the identified target area.

International Relations and Issues

Codex Alimentarius

It is a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner.
Function under – FAO and WHO.
Aim – To protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

Codex Executive Committee

India re-elected to codex executive committee secures unanimous mandate for collaborative global food governance.

Re-election of India to – The Executive Committee (CCEXEC) for the Asia region.
This unanimous decision by the global membership confirms India's collaborative leadership role until the end of CAC50 (2027).
Significance – It ensures the technical and trade priorities of the Asian continent are represented at the highest level.

Agriculture

‘Sons of the Soil Emerging Achievers Award’

Recently, 5 distinguished personalities of Assam receive lifetime achievement recognition.

Instituted in – 2016.
Organised by – Care Luit.
Aim – To celebrate individuals and organisations whose dedication, innovation and service reflect the pride and heritage of Assam.

Index

Report on “Water Budgeting in Aspirational Blocks”

Released by – NITI Aayog with GIZ India.
Varuni – A web-based platform used for water budgeting exercise.
Objective – To help in localising water budget preparation, identify hot spots in water consumption.
- To plan for efficient water, use before critical levels are reached for equitable distribution and ensuring resilience.
Highlights
- To adopt customised strategies across 18 Aspirational Blocks.
- These blocks, spread across 8 agro-climatic zones in 11 States offered a window into the heterogeneity of water resources challenges.

Varuni

A web-based diagnostic platform, developed by NITI Aayog and GIZ India.
Aim – To estimates the gap between water demand and supply by integrating multiple official datasets.
Quantifies demand across 4 sectors —
- Human Consumption
- Livestock,
- Agriculture
- Industry.
And maps supply from surface runoff, surface water bodies, groundwater (IN-GRES), and water transfers from irrigation and drinking water schemes.
IN-GRES - “INDIA-Groundwater Resource Estimation System.

Miscellaneous

4^th National Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) Sports Meet 2025

Hosted by – Odisha Model Tribal Education Society (OMTES) under the ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of Odisha.
Organised by – National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Coincides with – Nationwide celebration of Bhagwan Birsa Munda Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.
Aim – To pay tribute to the valour and sacrifice of Bhagwan Birsa Munda and celebrated the rich legacy of India’s tribal freedom movement.

Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year

Parasocial – It is defined as a relationship felt by someone between themselves and a famous person they do not know.
Word combines – The term ‘social’ with the Greek-derived prefix ‘para’, which means “closely resembling” or “almost”.
Interaction – It is characterised as “one-sided”, is illusory, where the “fan comes to believe that he ‘knows’ the persona more intimately and profoundly than others do”.