11th DECEMBER 2025 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
UN Champions of the Earth Award 2025
- Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of the Government of Tamil Nadu, has received the "Champions of the Earth" award, the highest environmental award given by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- This award has been announced for Supriya Sahu in recognition of her dedication and actions in nature conservation. This award has been presented by the United Nations for the past 20 years.
- UNEP's Champions of the Earth honours individuals, groups, and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. This award is the UN's highest environmental honour.
- Since 2005, 127 individuals have been honoured with this award for their contributions to environmental protection. It is noteworthy that this year, the award was announced for 5 individuals.
- NABARD's eighth round of the Rural Economic Situation Survey (RESS) reveals a significant increase in rural demand and income growth over the past year. RESS is a bimonthly assessment conducted by NABARD since September 2024. This survey provides a dataset that helps assess rural economic changes.
- Rural economic fundamentals have clearly strengthened over the past year. With robust consumption, rising incomes, moderate inflation, and a healthy financial environment, the country's rural development is on a positive trajectory.
- Key highlights of the report are as follows:
- Increased consumption due to increased purchasing power.
- Approximately 80% of rural households have consistently recorded higher consumption over the past year, a sign of increasing prosperity.
- 67.3% of monthly income is now spent on consumption.
- 42.2% of rural households have experienced income growth. Only 15.7% of people have experienced a decline in income.
- 75.9% expect their income to increase next year.
- Rural families have expressed greater satisfaction with roads, education, electricity, drinking water, and healthcare services.
- NABARD's Rural Economic Environment Survey is conducted bi-monthly across India. It reflects both people's perceptions and data related to income, consumption, inflation, debt, investment, and expectations.
- In a move that will usher in a new era in India's inland waterways transport, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, today flagged off India's first indigenously built hydrogen fuel cell vessel.
- At the event held at Namo Ghat in Varanasi, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal officially launched the commercial operations of this vessel. This is considered a significant milestone in ensuring clean and sustainable inland waterway transport.
