Prelims Current Affairs includes Rsvc-Amrit Platform, Sravaani – India’s First Multilingual Speech Recognition Model, Sprite Tejas Express – India’s First Brand-Named Train, Parichha Weir Gets Icid Heritage Recognition, Karnataka Approves Samasta For Health Record Digitisation, Garud High Resolution Binoculars, Pakistan’s First Lunar Rover – Jinnah-1 & India Wins Maiden Overall Title At Commonwealth Fencing Championships

SCHEMES/PROGRAMMES

1. RSVC-AMRIT PLATFORM

Current Context: The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India launched the RSVC-AMRIT platform to support monitoring, coordination and deployment of technology through RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) for rural development.

ABOUT RSVC-AMRIT PLATFORM

• RSVCs are village-level technology centres designed to bring suitable technologies from laboratories and institutions to rural communities.
• It helps connect rural problems and requirements with suitable science and technology solutions.
• It supports the monitoring of RSVCs, technologies deployed and their impact on rural communities.
• RSVC = RuTAGe (Rural Technology Action Group) Smart Village Centre
• AMRIT = Accelerated Medium for Rural Innovation and Technologies.

HOW IT WORKS

• Rural problem → Technology identification → RSVC → Technology deployment → Monitoring through AMRIT → Impact assessment
• Developed by:NABARD in collaboration with Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA)
• Supports:Technology discovery, validation, deployment tracking, collaboration, monitoring, knowledge management

About RuTAG (Rural Technology Action Group):

• Launched:2004
• By:Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA)
• Objective:Provide Science & Technology intervention for rural areas

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2. SraVaani – India’s First Multilingual Speech Recognition Model

Current Context: Researchers at IISc’s SPIRE Lab, in collaboration with ARTPARK and Google, developed SraVaani, an open-source multilingual Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) model designed specifically for India’s diverse languages and dialects.

ABOUT SraVaani

• SraVaani is an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
• ASR technology converts spoken language into written text.
• It is designed to recognise India’s multilingual and dialect-rich speech.
• It particularly focuses on low-resource and tribal languages, which are often poorly represented in existing AI systems
• Type:India’s first multilingual speech recognition model
• Covers:20 scheduled languages, 45 regional languages and dialects
• Supports:10 scripts
• Automatic language identificationwithout user selection
• Based on:Project Vaani – understanding India’s linguistic diversity

POLITY

3. SPRITE TEJAS EXPRESS – INDIA’S FIRST BRAND-NAMED TRAIN

Current Context: The Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express is set to operate as “Sprite Tejas Express” under a commercial branding arrangement. It is being described as India’s first passenger train to have a commercial brand integrated into its train name.

ABOUT THE TRAIN

• Brand: Sprite, a Coca-Cola brand
• Operator: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

WHY IS IT CALLED SPRITE TEJAS EXPRESS?

• IRCTC has allowed commercial branding rights for the train.
• Under the arrangement, the Sprite brand name becomes part of the train’s identity.
• This is different from ordinary advertisements or advertisements wrapped around coaches.
• Indian Railways has previously allowed advertising on trains, but this is the first reported case where a commercial brand is incorporated into the train’s name.
• The Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express was introduced in 2019.
• It is a premium semi-high-speed train service.

ART & CULTURE

4.  PARICHHA WEIR GETS ICID HERITAGE RECOGNITION

Current Context: The 140-year-old Parichha Weir in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, was designated a World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)

ABOUT PARICHHA WEIR

River: Betwa River

• It forms the headworks of the Betwa Canal System.
• The canal system provides irrigation to drought-prone areas of Bundelkhand.
• The idea of developing a canal system for Bundelkhand dates back to 1855.
• Captain Strachey proposed the canal system after surveying the region.
• Construction of Parichha Weir began in 1881.
• The irrigation system was commissioned in 1886.
• Length: About 1,174 metres
• Height: About 8 metres above the riverbed
• Second structure in Jhansi regionafter Sukwa-Dukwan Weir (2022)

WHIS (World Heritage Irrigation Structure)

• WHIS is a heritage recognition programme of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).
• It recognises historically important irrigation and drainage structures.
• Eligible structures generally need to be more than 100 years old.
• The WHIS initiative was proposed in 2012 at the 63rd ICID International Executive Council meeting in Adelaide, Australia.

STATES IN NEWS

5. KARNATAKA APPROVES SAMASTA FOR HEALTH RECORD DIGITISATION

Current Context: The Karnataka Government approved the phased rollout of SAMASTA, an integrated community digital health platform designed to digitise health records and improve delivery of healthcare services at the grassroots level.

ABOUT SAMASTA

• SAMASTA is a community-based digital health platform.
• It aims to create digital health records for individuals and families.
• It integrates information related to healthcare, screening, treatment and follow-up.
• The platform is intended to improve coordination between community-level health workers and healthcare institutions.
• Type:Mobile-based digital health system
• Users:ASHA workers, ANMs, health inspectors

ABOUT ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist)

• The ASHA programme was introduced under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005.
• After the launch of the National Health Mission (NHM) in 2013, ASHAs became an important component of the broader NHM framework.

DEFENCE

6. GARUD HIGH RESOLUTION BINOCULARS

Current Context: India Optel Limited (IOL) launched the indigenous “GARUD” High-Resolution Binoculars for the civilian market, marking another step towards domestic production of advanced optical equipment.

ABOUT GARUD

• GARUD is a high-resolution binocular system developed for clear and detailed long-distance viewing.
• They can be useful for wildlife observation, tourism, trekking, surveillance, bird watching and other outdoor activities.

India Optel Limited (IOL)

• IOL is a defence public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence.
• It specialises in optical and optoelectronic systems.

SPACE

7. PAKISTAN’S FIRST LUNAR ROVER – JINNAH-1

Current Context: Pakistan has announced its first lunar rover, Jinnah-1, which is planned to be sent to the Moon in 2029 aboard China’s Chang’e-8 mission.

ABOUT JINNAH-1

• It is being developed by Pakistan’s space agency, SUPARCO – the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission.
• The rover is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
• It is planned to reach the lunar surface as part of China’s Chang’e-8 mission.
• The planned launch is 2029.

CHANG’E-8 MISSION

• Chang’e-8 is a planned Chinese lunar exploration mission.
• It is part of China’s long-term programme for exploring and developing the Moon’s south polar region.
• The mission is expected to demonstrate technologies relevant to future lunar scientific research and utilisation.

SPORTS

8. INDIA WINS MAIDEN OVERALL TITLE AT COMMONWEALTH FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Current Context: India won its maiden overall title at the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships held in Lagos, Nigeria, marking a historic achievement for Indian fencing.

ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The championships are organised under the Commonwealth Fencing Federation.
• India won the overall championship title for the first time.
• The overall title is awarded through the Wilkinson Sword Trophy.
• The trophy goes to the nation with the best overall performance at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships.

INDIA’S PERFORMANCE:

Download Pdf | Study Material | Downloads | Daily Quiz  | FREE Youtube Videos