Daily Current Affairs 

To The Point Notes

1.Axis of Resistance 

• Context: Came into focus after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
• Definition: A coalition of Iranian-backed groups opposing Israel and S. influence in the Middle East.
• Major Groups:

• • Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
  • Hezbollah
  • Hamas
  • Houthis

• Formation:

• • Rooted in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which brought Shia clerics to power.
  • Iran aimed to expand its influence in a Sunni-majority region (dominated by powers like Saudi Arabia).
  • Support to non-state actors was used to deter threats from Israel and the U.S..

• Strategic Objective: Iran viewed Israel’s creation in 1948 as a means for S. and Western influence in the region for strategic purposes. The coalition acts to counter this perceived threat.

2.Joint Russian-Indian Commission on Emergency Management

Second Meeting (Moscow, 2024)

• Working Plan (2025-2026): Signed by India and Russia.
• Significance: Executes previous agreements (IGA, Regulation) on emergency management.
• Key Areas of Cooperation:
  • Space monitoring technologies for risk forecasting.
  • Large-scale disaster response experiences.
  • Training for fire and rescue specialists.
• Objectives:
  • Enhanced early warning systems.
  • Mutual capacity building in emergency preparedness and response.
  • Alignment with Sendai Framework and India’s disaster risk reduction agenda.
• Future Actions:
  • Intensified joint efforts in emergency management.
  • Exchange of best practices and training.
  • Extended cooperation between educational and research institutions.
  • Next meeting in India in 2026.

3.UPI Block Mechanism for Secondary Market Trading

SEBI Proposal:

• Mandatory UPI block mechanism for secondary market trading.
• Similar to Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility in primary market.
• Protects cash collateral and enhances investor protection.

About ASBA

• It was first introduced by SEBI in 2008.
• It is an application by an investor that contains an authorisation to a Self Certified Syndicate Bank (SCSB) to block in the bank account the application money for subscribing to an issue.
  • An SCSB is a recognised bank capable of providing ASBA services to its customers.

• The application money of an investor applying through ASBA shall be debited from the bank account only if her application is selected for allotment after the basis of allotment has been finalised. 
• In public issues and rights issues, all investors have to mandatorily apply through ASBA.

Benefits 

• It provides an alternative mode of payment in issues whereby the application money remains in the investor’s account till finalization of basis of allotment in the issue.
• ASBA process facilitates investors bidding with multiple options, to apply through Self Certified Syndicate Banks (SCSBs), in which the investors have bank accounts.

• ASBA in secondary market trading will ensure that clients will continue to earn interest on the blocked funds in their savings account till the debit takes place.
• There will be direct settlement with Clearing Corporation (CC), without passing through the pool accounts of the intermediaries. 
• Hence, it will provide client-level settlement visibility to CC, and help avoid the risk of co-mingling of clients’ funds and securities.
• It will eliminate the custody risk of client collateral, which is currently retained by the members, and is not transferred to the CC. 

3-in-1 Trading Account Facility:

• Alternative to mandatory ASBA-like facility.
• Combines savings bank, demat, and trading accounts.

Qualified Stock Brokers (QSBs):

• Trading members meeting specific criteria (size, clients, assets, margin, volume).
• Enhanced responsibilities and obligations.

About SEBI:

• Non-statutory body (1988), became statutory in 1992.
• Regulates securities market, protects investor interests.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• System for multiple bank accounts in a single app.
• Developed by NPCI in 2016.
• Participants: Payer/Payee PSP, Remitter/Beneficiary Bank, NPCI, Account holders, Merchants.

4.Green Shoots

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• Auto markets will see green shoots by October as per the Maruti Suzuki.

About

• “Green Shoots” is a term generally applied to signs of recovery from an economic recession.
• The phrase derives from the green shoots seen in plants that signify health and growth.
• The term was first used by UK chancellor Norman Lamont to refer to economic growth during the economic downturn in the United Kingdom in 1991.

5.Expansion of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

Key Points:

• Launched in 2020: To strengthen post-harvest infrastructure.
• Credit Scheme: Subsidized interest rate for eligible beneficiaries.
• Expanded Eligibility: Includes community farming assets.
• Integrated Primary-Secondary Processing Projects: Allowed.
• PM-KUSUM Convergence: Further support to farmers, FPOs, cooperatives.
• Credit Guarantee: Extended to FPOs through NABSanrakshan Trustee Company.

Achievements:

• 6,623 warehouses, 688 cold storage facilities, 21 silos.
• Additional storage capacity: 500 lakh tonnes (465 lt dry, 35 lt cold).
• Saves 18.6 lt food grains, 3.44 lt horticulture produce annually.

Investment:

• Total sanctioned: ₹47,575 crore for 74,508 projects.
• Mobilized investment: ₹78,596 crore (significant private contribution).

6.ISRO Designed Humanoid Skull

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• Recently Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has designed the skull of the female half humanoid, Vyomitra.

Background

• The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) uncrewed Gaganyaan mission in 2025 will carry the Vyomitra. 
• The Gaganyaan project will launch a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in seawater. 

What are humanoids?

• Humanoids are robotic systems designed to resemble humans and function autonomously in space.
• Robotic systems are used to assist astronauts in performing repetitive and/or dangerous tasks in space, like cleaning of solar panels or fixing faulty equipment located outside the spacecraft. 

Design of the humanoid skull 

• It has been made using an aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) known for its high flexibility, light weight, heat resistance, and mechanical properties.
  • It weighs 800 grams and measures 200mm x 220 mm.
• Vyommitra will resemble the upper body of a human and will include movable arms, a face, and a neck. 

7.Solar Paraboloid Technology

Key Points:

• Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) system: Long, parabolic mirrors focus sunlight onto a receiver tube.
• Concentrated solar energy: Heats fluid for electricity generation or industrial heat.
• Higher temperatures: Up to 300°C, improving thermal efficiency.
• Higher efficiency: More electricity from the same sunlight.
• Lower costs: Could make solar energy more competitive.
• Challenges: Precise construction, specialized materials, complex tracking systems.

8.Blue Origin

Syllabus: GS 3/ Science and Tech

Context

• Jeff Bezos’ aerospace venture Blue Origin is set to launch its eighth tourist mission to suborbital space using the New Shepard rocket.

About

• The flight will carry six people for an 11-minute ride above the Karman line (the internationally recognised boundary of space), marking another key milestone for Blue Origin, which has already taken 37 people into space.
• Additionally, Blue Origin is also cooperating with NASA on the ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission, which will investigate the interaction of solar wind and Mars’ magnetosphere. This mission will launch on Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket in October 2024.