The Indian digital payment landscape has witnessed over 65,000 crore digital transactions amounting to more than Rs. 12,000 lakh crores in the last 6 Financial years.

About DPI

• RBI has developed the DPI (published Semi-annually) to measure the extent of digital payment adoption across India.
• DPI comprises these broad parameters: Payment Enablers; Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors & Supply-side-factors; Payment Performance; Consumer Centricity.
• The latest RBI-DPI indicates over fourfold growth in digital payment penetration since 2018.

Minister of State for skill development and entrepreneurship cited SIB as delivering measurable social impact.

About SIBs

• SIB is the first development impact bond in India dedicated to skills training and job placement. 
• Objective: To benefit 50,000 young Indians over four years, with 60% of the beneficiaries being women. 
• Launched: In 2021.
• Ministry: Ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation.

RBI has issued revised guidelines capping investment by Regulated Entities at 20% of the corpus of an AIF scheme.

About Alternative Investment Fund (AIF)

• Any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.
• AIFs are regulated by the SEBI, as per the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.

Categories of AIFs

• Category I AIF: Invest in start-ups, early-stage ventures or sectors considered socially or economically beneficial.
  • E.g. Venture Capital Funds, Angel funds, SME Funds, Infrastructure Funds
• Category II AIF: They do not use leverage or debts other than to cover their day-to-day operational expenses.
  • E.g. Private Equity Funds, Debt Funds, Real Estate Funds.
• Category III AIF: It may use leverage including through investment in listed or unlisted derivatives.
  • E.g. Hedge Funds, Private investment in public equity (PIPE).

Patent Office (CGPDTM) releases Revised Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs), 2025

About CGPDTM

• Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, DPIIT)
• CGPDTM Office: Mumbai
• Functions of CGPDTM
  • Supervises implementation of patent, design, trademark, and GI laws.
  • Advises the Government on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) matters.
  • Oversees administrative functions of all IP registries and related institutes.

Centre tells Lok Sabha that three Pakistani terrorists behind Pahalgam attack have been killed in Operation Mahadev.

About Operation Mahadev

• A joint counter terror mission of Indian Army, CRPF & J&K Police.
• Objective: Eliminate foreign terrorists who have infiltrated into Kashmir valley with support from Pakistan-based groups like LeT.

DRDO conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of the Pralay missile at Odisha coast.

About Pralay missile:

•  A surface-to-surface short range solid propellant quasi-ballistic missile which can fly at hypersonic speed (Above Mach 5).
  • Quasi ballistic missiles are a class of missiles that have low trajectory and take ballistic trajectory but can change course and make maneuvers during the flight if required.
• Developed indigenously by: Hyderabad-based DRDO facility Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other facilities
• Strike Range:  From 150 to 500 km.

KTR has recorded the third-highest tiger density in India after Karnataka’s Bandipur and Uttarakhand’s Corbett National Park.

About KTR

• Declared National Park in 1974, Declared Tiger reserve in 2006.
• Declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
• Recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
• Location: Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots.
• Lies between the Brahmaputra River and the Karbi (Mikir) Hills
• Fauna: Greater one-horned rhinoceros (70% of its population), elephants, wild water buffalo, swamp deer, tiger etc.
• Birds: lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, migrate from Central Asia during the winter season.

A Harappan site has surfaced at Ratadiya Ri Dheri, marking the first known Indus Valley settlement in Rajasthan's arid region.

About Ratadiya Ri Dheri:

• Time – Period: Belongs to the mature urban phase of Indus Valley civilization (2600 to 1900 BC).
• Location: 4,500-year-old settlement in Jaisalmer district
• Significance:
  • Fills a big gap on the archeological map: connects the dots between older Harappan sites in northern Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Other Indus Valley settlements in Rajasthan:                                          

• Kalibangan: Located in northern Rajasthan, India, was established as a planned city around 2900 BC and discovered by Italian Indologist Luigi Pio Tessitori.