• 28 Nov 2025

Jaipur’s Walled City

Why in News? 

UNESCO has asked Rajasthan’s Department of Archaeology & Museums to submit a detailed status report on the conservation and management of the Jaipur Walled City, following concerns over urban pressures, unregulated construction. 

Key Points 

• The Jaipur Walled City was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2019) for being an exceptional example of 18th-century planned urban architecture. 
• Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, it is based on Vedic principles and a gridiron plan with broad streets, chowkris, and uniform bazaars. Unlike other cities in the region located in hilly terrain, Jaipur was established on the plain.  
• It is known for its living culture, crafts, gemstone trade, handlooms, and vibrant bazaar ecosystem.Key features include City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Govind Dev Ji Temple, Jantar Mantar, traditional pink façades, city gates, and interconnected markets. 
• It is managed under frameworks like the Conservation Management Plan (CMP), Integrated Management Plan, and State-level Heritage Regulations governing façade control, building height, colour uniformity, and signage norms. 
• Threats include urban congestion, encroachments, structural strain, unregulated commercialisation, and loss of traditional architectural character. 

National Seismic Hazard Map

Why in News? 

The Bureau of Indian Standards has released an updated National Seismic Hazard Map, placing the entire Himalayan arc into a newly created highest-risk Zone VI, reflecting its extreme tectonic vulnerability and significantly revising national earthquake-risk assessment. 

Key Points

• The new map categorises the complete Himalayan belt—from Jammu & Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh—into Zone VI, the highest hazard classification, due to persistent tectonic stress along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust. 
• About 61% of India’s landmass is now classified as moderate to high seismic-risk zones, requiring updated building codes, stricter land-use norms, and mandatory structural safety compliance. 
• The updated zonation uses probabilistic seismic hazard modelling, incorporating new data on active faults, rupture behaviour, and strain accumulation, replacing older deterministic maps. 
• Under the revised map, any town located on a boundary between two hazard categories will be shifted to the higher-risk zone. 
• The seismic risk has increased not only in hill states but also in plains adjoining the Himalayas, including parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Sikkim, Northeast, Bihar, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi NCR.

Seismic Zones in India 

• India’s earlier classification had Zones II, III, IV, V — with Zone V being the highest risk. 
• The Himalayas are among the world’s most active collision zones, created by the Indian and Eurasian plate convergence (~5 cm/year). 
• Major historical earthquakes: Kangra (1905), Bihar–Nepal (1934), Assam (1950), Kashmir (2005), Sikkim (2011), Nepal (2015). 
• IS 1893, IS 4326, and National Building Code (NBC) govern seismic safety; the new map will necessitate extensive revisions. 

Rajasthan to Conduct Its First Tiger Translocation

Why in News? 

Rajasthan is planning for its first-ever interstate tiger translocation, which will also be India’s second such translocation of a wild tiger from one landscape to another. 

• The first inter-state translocation involved two tigers: a male from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a female from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (both Madhya Pradesh) to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (Odisha) in 2018 but it failed. 

Key Points 

• About the Translocation: 
  • A tigress from Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) will be airlifted to the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR) in Bundi, after obtaining final approvals from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). 
  • The translocation aims to introduce genetic diversity and establish a viable breeding population in RVTR. 
  • The tigress will be fitted with a GPS radio-collar to enable real-time monitoring, movement analysis, and early detection of potential conflict or stress. 
  • Rajasthan’s Forest Department is coordinating with experts in wildlife science to ensure that the operation follows IUCN translocation protocols, including pre-release habitat assessment and post-release surveillance.
• About Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR): 
  • Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve is located in the Bundi district of Rajasthan, with its landscape extending toward Kota and Bhilwara regions. 
  • The reserve lies within the ancient Aravalli hill ranges, featuring seasonal rivers such as Mej, Ramgarh, and Khari, which support its semi-arid forest ecosystem. 
  • It was notified as Rajasthan’s fourth Tiger Reserve in 2022, after Ranthambore, Sariska, and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve. 
  • RVTR was created from the Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary along with adjoining forest blocks and corridors that connect it to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, forming an important tiger dispersal route. 
  • The habitat consists of dry deciduous forests, open scrublands, grass patches, and riverine zones, making it a suitable landscape for tiger movement and prey base recovery. 

DGP–IGP Conference 2025

Why in News? 

Prime Minister will attend the Annual DGP–IGP Conference at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a high-level national meeting focused on policing, security coordination, and law-enforcement reforms. 

• This year’s conference theme is “Viksit Bharat: Security Dimensions”, focusing on creating a forward-looking roadmap for a ‘Surakshit Bharat. 

Key Points 

• The DGP–IGP Conference is an annual national-level meeting organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), functioning under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). 
• It brings together Directors General (DGs) and Inspectors General (IGs) from all States and Union Territories making it the highest-level platform for internal security deliberations in India. 
• Major participants include national security bodies involved include: Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), National Investigation Agency (NIA), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) such as CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, and SSB. 
• Key areas of discussion include: 
  • Left-Wing Extremism (Naxalism) and remaining hotspots 
  • Counter-terrorism frameworks and intelligence coordination 
  • Drug trafficking networks and inter-agency cooperation 
  • Cyber security, digital forensics, and emerging tech threats 
  • Border management, especially on sensitive fronts 
  • Operational synergy between Central and State police forces 
• Special emphasis this year is on AI-driven predictive policing, women safety, crime data integration platforms, and modernisation of police infrastructure, ensuring a tech-enabled, future-ready policing system.

Silt Levels Rise in Bhagirathi River

Why in News? 

The Bhagirathi River in Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) is witnessing dangerously high silt accumulation, with experts warning that the ban on dredging has increased flood risk and destabilised riverbanks, posing a threat to town infrastructure. 

Key Points 

• About: 
  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a ban on dredging/excavation in the Bhagirathi in 2012, aimed at protecting the river’s ecological sensitivity as it falls under the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). 
  • Officials now report that continuous silt deposition has raised the riverbed significantly, especially near the Uttarkashi district headquarters, reducing the river’s carrying capacity. 
  • The elevated riverbed increases the chances of flash floods, bank erosion, and overflow during monsoon, which may endanger homes, markets, and government buildings located close to the river. 
  • The State Government is preparing a proposal requesting the NGT to permit scientific desilting, similar to permissions granted in flood-prone rivers in other Himalayan states.
• About Bhagirathi River: 
  • The Bhagirathi is one of the two headstreams of the Ganga, originating from Gaumukh Glacier at Gangotri (Uttarakhand). 
  • It flows through Gangotri – Harsil – Uttarkashi – Tehri, meeting the Alaknanda at Devprayag, where they together form the Ganga. 
  • The stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi is notified as the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (2012) to protect fragile Himalayan ecology and regulate hydropower, mining, and construction. 
  • Known for steep gradients, high sediment load, and vulnerability to landslides, cloudbursts and glacial melt—making riverbed elevation a significant hazard. 

India’s First Dry-Fermentation MSW Plant

Why in News? 

Nagpur is set to host India’s first dry-fermentation Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing plant, which will convert organic waste into biogas and compost without using water. 

Key Points 

• The dry-fermentation plant is being developed in Bhandewadi (Nagpur), where construction is in final stages and trial operations are expected soon. 
• The initiative is supported by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and aims to improve decentralised waste management under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 framework. 
• Features:  
  • Unlike conventional wet-fermentation, this system treats high-solid biodegradable waste (such as kitchen and market waste) using minimal water, making it suitable for Indian cities facing water scarcity. 
  • Designed as a zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD) facility, the project is expected to significantly reduce the environmental load on existing dumpsites.

Dry-Fermentation Technology 

• A biological process where microorganisms break down solid-rich organic waste (25–40% solids) in the absence of oxygen to produce biogas (mainly methane). 
• It requires very little water, unlike wet anaerobic digestion and is ideal for municipal solid waste, agricultural residue, and food waste with high lignocellulosic content. 
• The technology offers significant advantages such as lower operational costs, a faster digestion cycle, suitability for decentralised plants, reduced slurry handling, and a higher methane yield per tonne. 
• It is widely used in Germany, Austria, and Italy; now being adopted in India for the first time.