Prelims Focus 14th October 2025

Somnath Mahadev temple

In News: The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, recently undertook a three-day visit to Gujarat, during which she offered prayers at the historic Somnath Mahadev temple in Gir Somnath district. 

• On October 10, 2025, the President performed Darshan and Puja at the Somnath Temple, which is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and holds great religious significance. 
• She also performed ‘Someshwar Mahapuja’ and offered holy water from the Ganga to the deity amid divine chanting. 
• Additionally, the President paid floral tributes to the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who played a key role in rebuilding the temple after India’s independence.
• Following the temple visit, President Murmu proceeded to Gir National Park and interacted with the local tribal community at Sasan Gir, including the Siddi tribal group. 
• The President encouraged the tribal people to pursue education and informed them about government welfare schemes. 
• She praised their nature-friendly lifestyle as an inspiration for sustainable living and emphasized the government’s commitment to preserving tribal culture, ensuring equality, justice, and the protection of tribal rights to help achieve a developed India by 2047. 
• This visit is part of the President’s broader itinerary in Gujarat from October 9 to 11, 2025, including prayers at Dwarkadhish temple and participating in the convocation ceremony of Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad.

Kiru hydroelectric project

In News: The 624-megawatt Kiru hydroelectric project, located on the Chenab River in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, has recently achieved a major milestone by completing 10 lakh cubic meters of dam concreting out of its total target of 12 lakh cubic meters. 

• This marks significant progress towards the completion of the project’s concrete gravity dam, which will be 135 meters high. Additionally, work on the stator assembly of Unit-1 in the powerhouse has begun, advancing the project’s timeline further.
• The Kiru project is a run-of-river hydropower scheme situated between the existing Kirthai II and Kwar hydroelectric projects. It features an underground powerhouse with four vertical Francis turbines, each with a capacity of 156 MW.
• The project is developed by Chenab Valley Power Projects Limited (CVPPPL), a joint venture of NHPC, Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation, and Power Trading Corporation. 
• The project has faced some delays and is targeted for completion around the end of 2025 or early 2026, with an increased cost estimate of over ₹5300 crore.

IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2025

In News: The IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4 provided a disconcerting trend of the global environment where climate change has become the biggest threat to natural World Heritage sites.

• The report identifies that 43% of sites are under the threat of severe climate, and invasive alien species impact 30% and wildlife and plant diseases are increasing at an alarming rate, leading to 9% of sites affected compared to only 2% in 2020.
• There was an overall pessimistic outlook of positive conservation decline between 62 (2020) and 57 (2025).
• The only site that is considered in the conservation outlook as good is Khangchendzonga National Park.
• Through the rise of sea level, salinity, and cyclones, Sundarbans National Park has developed into an area of significant concern after already being in the category of Good with Some Concerns (2020).
• The Manas National Park in the Serious Concern category still exists because of poaching and encroachment.

Kenton R. Miller Award

In News: Dr Sonali Ghosh, Field Director of Kaziranga National Park, was awarded the illustrious WCPA-Kenton Miller Award at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

• The Kenton R. Miller Award of Innovation in Sustainability of national parks and protected areas, inaugurated in 2006, is given by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) every two years.
• WCPA by itself is among the six technical commissions of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• The award recognizes people who have been innovative and good leaders in the protection of the national parks and other reserves, especially in their long-term sustainability.
• It is named after a former IUCN Director General who clearly contributed to the development of the protected areas professionally, Dr. Kenton R. Miller.

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