The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Angikaar 2025 campaign under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).

• PMAY-U 2.0 was launched in 2024 to provide all-weather pucca houses to all eligible urban households with the vision of ‘Housing for All’.

About Angikaar 2025 campaign

• It is a 2-month last-mile outreach campaign to create awareness about PMAY-U 2.0

NPCI Raised Per-UPI Transaction Limit to Rs 5 Lakh and Cumulative Limit for 24 hrs to Rs 10 Lakh.

• Applicability: Only to Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions with verified merchants.
• Exemption: Person-to-Person (P2P) transaction limits will remain the same i.e. at Rs 1 lakh per day.

About UPI

• It is an instant payment system and protocol developed by NPCI in the year 2016.
• Uniqueness:
  • Immediate money transfer through mobile device round the clock 24*7 and 365 days.
    • NPCI was established under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
  • Single Click 2 Factor Authentication.

WHO published an update to its Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) adding new treatments for cancers, diabetes and obesity.

About WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines

• The List acts like a register of minimum medicine needs for every health-care system.
• It aims at ensuring all-time availability of high priority drugs for all people, guiding physicians to evidence-based and rational prescribing.
• It is updated every two years by the Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.
• The first Essential Medicines List was published in 1977.

Swollen Beas River floods Areas in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh

• The river overflowed, forcing Bhakra Beas Management Board to release excess water from Pong dam.

About Beas River 

• Origin: Rises at Beas Kund, southern face of Rohtang Pass (Kullu).
• Course: Flows 470 km before joining Sutlej at Harike, Punjab. 
• Tributaries: Bain, Banganga, Luni and Uhal. 
• Landforms: It forms the valleys of Kullu and Kangra.
• Ancient name : Vipasha (sanskrit)

Taliban foreign minister’s India visit called off due to a travel ban imposed under UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

About Taliban Sanctions Committee (TSC)

• Established: In 2011, when UNSC split the earlier “1267 Committee” into two – one for Al-Qaeda (1267/1989) and one specifically for the Taliban (1988).
• Key Mandate: Oversees sanctions against individuals, groups, and entities associated with the Taliban in relation to the situation in Afghanistan.
• Members: comprises all 15 members of the Security Council.
• Current Chair: Pakistan

Indian banks have accelerated adoption of the SWIFT messaging framework, ISO 20022.

• The ISO 20022 is an open global standard for financial information.

About SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)

• Genesis: Founded in 1973 by 239 banks from 15 countries.
• Purpose: To streamline and secure cross-border financial communication.
  • It is a secure messaging network facilitating global financial transactions between over 11,000 institutions across 200 countries. 
• Headquarter:  Belgium.

Functional genomics is improving cancer treatment decisions.

• It reinforces cancer therapy by illustrating how genetic variations operate within cells, aiding in the identification of harmful or benign mutations.

About Functional Genomics           

• It is the study of how the genome and its products, including RNA and proteins, function and interact to affect different biological processes.
  • The genome of an organism is the complete genetic information present in the cell of an organism.
• Purpose: To understand the relationship between genotype and phenotype.
  • Phenotype refers to an individual’s observable traits, such as height, eye color and blood type.   

WHO chief says mpox outbreak in Africa is no longer a global health emergency. 

About Mpox

• Type: Viral zoonotic disease caused by Monkeypox virus (Orthopoxvirus genus).
• Transmission: Close contact with infected people, animals, or contaminated objects.
• Types of Mpox:
  • Clade I: Found in Central Africa; usually more severe, but recent outbreaks less deadly.
  • Clade II: Found in East Africa; cause of the global outbreak since 2022; generally milder and less fatal.
• Incubation Period: 5–21 days.
• Symptoms: Fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes.
• Global Concern: Declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by WHO in 2022.
• There is no proven treatment for Mpox.