Current Affairs description: The UN and WHO has released the 2026 World Health Statistics Report. Pretty heavy reading. Maternal mortality? Down 40% since 2000. Under-five deaths also dropped 51%. Good stuff, right? However, there is a concerning trend:—global life expectancy took a massive hit, dragging us back to 2011 levels. We are looking at 22.1 million excess deaths from 2020 to 2023. COVID-19 did that. Just absolute carnage.

India is moving on something else entirely. They just established its first Human-Elephant Conflict Research Centre. It’s all about developing mitigation strategies—managing the communities, fixing the tracking systems, and pushing out that “Gajraj” AI-based warning tech. Keeps the peace, hopefully.

A brutal Ebola outbreak is tearing through the eastern Ituri province. The health ministry is already confirming 65 fatalities. It’s escalating fast. Really fast.

India’s Ministry of Education just launched the country’s first Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) pilot lab at IIT Bombay. The facility has a capacity of 3 tons per day—a decent start for the tech.

Then there is Rajasthan. They’ve officially joined the semiconductor hunt. Sahasra Semiconductors set up an ATMP/OSAT shop in Bhiwadi—basically the first SME-led facility of its kind in the state.

Vice-President Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan visited Sikkim recently. Why? To mark the 51st anniversary of Sikkim’s Statehood Day. They’ve been a state since May 16, 1975. He spent time digging into how the regional development is actually tracking.

And the Union Cabinet? They finally approved the Ahmedabad (Sarkhej)–Dholera Semi High-Speed Double Line rail project. Big move for infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Tripura is trying something different to save gas. The state government rolled out a formal work-from-home policy. It’s all about keeping those fuel reserves steady.

Also, look at Dhruva Space. They just locked in ₹105 crore for Project Garud. The goal is to build out a flat-pack 500 kg-class satellite platform meant for high-volume work. Business is picking up.