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One Liners 29-07-2026
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History, Art and Culture
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Sant Guru Ravidas
Recently central government has proposed to celebrate the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas as the Samarasya Sankalp Abhiyan.
- The campaign runs from July 29, 2026, to February 20, 2027 (Magha Purnima) for 7 months.
- Ravidas or Raidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE.
- Ravidas's devotional verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.
- The Panch Vani text of the Dadu Panthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.
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Geography
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Kosi–Mechi Link Project
The Kosi–Mechi Link Project Targeted for Completion by March 2029 recently.
- The Centre has included the project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana–Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP).
- India remains engaged in dialogue with Nepal on the construction of dams on Kosi River for mutual benefits.
- Joint Project Office (JPO-SKSKI), constituted in 2003, is preparing the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the Sapta Kosi Multipurpose Project.
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International Relations and Issues
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UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger
UNESCO World Heritage Committee in its 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, added 6 sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
- It is an international conservation mechanism established under the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
- Its core purpose is to alert the global community to severe threats facing recognized sites such as armed conflict, natural disasters, rapid urbanization, poaching, or climate change.
- It aims to mobilise immediate technical assistance, financial aid, and corrective action to protect them.
- The newly added site to the list –
- Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape (South Sudan).
- Mount Amel Castles (Lebanon).
- Sebastia (State of Palestine).
- Ancient City of Taurica Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine).
- Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (Suriname).
- Tyre (Lebanon).
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- UNESCO officially added 25 new World Heritage Sites to its global list.
- Now the total number of recognized global landmarks to 1,273.
- All inscriptions adopted by consensus, reflecting the cooperative spirit that underpins the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
- This session also marks the first-ever inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage List for three African countries showcasing commitment to a more balanced and representative List.
- India secured one official new inscription – The Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath.
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World's Second-Largest Supplier of Seafarers
- India became the world's second-largest supplier of seafarers (sailors) in 2026, behind the Philippines.
- India contributes 311,936 seafarers (12.16% of the global workforce).
- India's global share increased from 5.2% in 2015 (5th rank) to 12.16% in 2026 (2nd rank), surpassing China, Russia, and Indonesia.
- Under Mission 20%, India aims to raise its share of the global seafaring workforce from 12.16% to 20%, making 1 in every 5 seafarers worldwide an Indian.
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Wildfire Crisis in Europe
- The latest wildfire emergency extends beyond France and Spain.
- Italy evacuated hundreds of people from its Adriatic coast as separate fires swept through Puglia.
- The Scotland and other Mediterranean countries have also reported significant flare-ups.
- Crisis in France – The Gironde department surrounding Bordeaux has emerged as Europe’s absolute wildfire hotspot
- The primary Gironde blaze has scorched an area four times the size of Paris.
- Crisis in Spain – Spain faces an unprecedented situation, with the government declaring a national emergency due to wildfires that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as a direct result of the "climate emergency"
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Economy
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India's First Direct Commercial Container Freight Train to Nepal
- India's first direct commercial container freight train reached the Biratnagar Customs Yard in Nepal recently.
- Route – From Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port (Kolkata Port, India) to Biratnagar Customs Yard (Nepal) via the Jogbani-Biratnagar broad-gauge link.
- Cargo & Capacity – 40 wagons carrying bulk canola grain.
- This milestone service eliminates border transshipment, reducing transit times and logistics costs under the revised India-Nepal Rail Transit Protocol.
- Importance –
- Containers stay on the same train throughout the entire journey, which prevents cargo damage.
- It cuts down delivery times.
- Improves supply chain reliability for importers, exporters, and industrial partners.
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Science
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Blue Straggler Stars (BSS)
Recently the astronomers discover an actively forming luminous blue straggler star.
- BSS are a peculiar class of stars found in star clusters that appear hotter, brighter, and more massive than their peers.
- These stars gain mass from a companion or through stellar mergers, effectively rejuvenating themselves.
- It has detected the strong X-ray emission from the BSS.
- The BSS has a mass of about 1.67 times that of the Sun and is accreting matter from a companion with a mass of about 0.32 solar mass.
- Significance – It provides implications for understanding the evolution of star clusters and interacting stars throughout the universe.
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Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda’s star formation rate has been steadily dropping, especially over the last 40 million years.
- Andromeda is 2-2.5-times wider than the Milky Way.
- The two galaxies have a coin-toss’s chance of colliding within the next 10 billion years.
- The observations also found a ‘dead zone’ near M32 (a small satellite galaxy of the Andromeda). The place stars had almost completely stopped forming.
- Significance – Understanding Andromeda can point the way to better understanding the lives of massive galaxies.
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World’s Largest Fusion Magnet
China completed testing the world’s largest superconducting fusion magnet.
- It is designed to contain ultra-hot plasma for its "artificial Sun" nuclear fusion project.
- Weight – 582 metric tonnes
- Dimensions – 21 meters long by 12 meters wide
- Magnetic Field Strength – Approximately 6.5 tesla
- Operating Temperature – Minus 269°C
- Electrical Current – Exceeding 100,000 amperes
- Stored Energy – Triple the capacity of equivalent ITER magnets
- Design Lifespan – 60 years.
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