APY has surpassed 7 crore enrolment.

About APY:

• Launched: By Ministry of Finance in 2015.
• Objective: To create a universal social security system for all Indians, especially underprivileged and workers in unorganized sector.

Key-Features:

• Minimum guaranteed pension of Rs.1,000/- or 2,000/- or 3,000/- or 4,000 or 5,000/- per month.
• Pension will start after attaining the age of 60 years depending on the contributions by subscribers.
• Eligibility: Any citizen of India between the age of 18 and 40.
  • Should have a savings bank account/ post office savings bank account.
• Administered by :Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)

Recently a woman from Madhya Pradesh was scammed by placing her under Digital Arrest. 

About Digital Arrest

• About: New method of cyber fraud, where fraudsters make audio or video calls posing as law enforcement officers, confining a victim under digital arrest citing their involvement in an illegal activity. 
• Intention: Scare victims into transferring money, divulging personal and financial information, etc. 
• Tactics used: False allegations; fabricated emergencies; etc. 
• Legality: Unlike the arrest, where formal legal procedure exists, there is no legal provision that allows for a digital arrest. 

SEBI has issued guidelines for investors in alternative investment funds to prevent loan ever-greening.

About Evergreening of Loans

• A practice where banks give new loans to borrowers who are unable to repay existing loans, often to avoid classifying previous loans as non-performing assets (NPAs).
• How Evergreening is done?
  • Restructuring of Loans: Restructuring existing loans by modifying repayment terms, interest rates, or tenures to delay or avoid recognizing a loan as bad.
  • Round-Tripping of Funds: Extending new loans to repay  old ones.
• Consequences:
  • Hides banks' true financial health by preventing recognition of non-performing loans.
  • It may lead to worse asset quality, higher default risks, capital loss, and distorted financial indicators.

Global body WAZA has suspended membership of Delhi zoo over plight of an African elephant.

About WAZA(Established in 1935):

• Objective: To support zoos, aquariums, and similar organizations in animal care, welfare, environmental education, and global conservation.
• Global Alliance: Serves as a global alliance that includes regional associations, national federations, zoos, and aquariums. 
• WAZA Membership: Comprises nearly 400 leading institutions and organizations.
  • WAZA accepts membership applications in four categories: Associations, Institutions, Affiliates and Corporations

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways launched the Humsafar Policy. 

About Humsafar Policy

• Aim: To provide a comprehensive framework to ensure that the commuters have access to standardized, well-maintained, and hygienic facilities along National Highways and Expressways
• Key Benefits:
  • Registered service providers will be able to avail a waiver of renewal fees for access permissions, if they maintain an average rating of 3 or higher.
  • Reliable passenger convenience establishments at regular intervals

Exercise Malabar 2024 commenced in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). 

About Exercise Malabar 2024

• Annual maritime exercise, which will take place both in harbour and at sea.
• Participant: Australia, Japan, the United States and India.
• Aim: To strengthen cooperation and security in the Indo-Pacific region. 

10th Wild Ass Population Survey conducted by Gujarat Forest Department has found a 26.14% (6,082 in 2020 to 7,672 in 2024) increase in the population of Indian Wild Ass. 

Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) 

• About: One of the five subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass, referred to as ‘Ghudkhur’. 
• Habitat: Arid zone of northwestern Indian subcontinent; presently only restricted to the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) in Gujarat. 
• Behavioral Characteristics: Solitary, Shy, present in low densities across its distribution range.  
  • Exhibit dominance hierarchy in territorial males
  • Horns found only in adult males, for browsing preferred nutrient rich forage. 

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List of Threatened: Near Threatened
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• CITES: Appendix I

National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) has given approval to develop Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) as Bihar’s second tiger reserve after Valmiki Tiger Reserve. 

• NTCA is a statutory body established under Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. 

About KWS

• Location- Located on a Kaimur Hills plateau between the Son River (south) and Karmanasa River (west). 
  • It is spread over Central highlands (include b Satpura-Maikal hills and Vindhya-Bagelkhand hills) and Chota Nagpur Plateau.
  • It is linked to Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Guru Ghasidas-Palamau tiger landscape.
• Fauna-Leopards, wild boars, sloth bears, etc.
• Forest Type: Northern Tropical Mixed Dry Deciduous Forests