• India has rejected the demand for ‘data exclusivity’ provision in the free trade pact with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc.
  • This decision has been taken to protect the interest of domestic generic drug manufacturer. 
• About Data Exclusivity
  • Form of intellectual property protection that applies specifically to data from pharmaceutical clinical trials.
  • Generic drug manufacturer cannot apply for regulatory approval for equivalent drugs relying on the originator’s data for a specified number of years. 
  • It lengthens the monopoly for the original drug manufacturer. 
• Not mandatory under Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement (WTO) and India laws do not provide for it.

• Between 2021 and 2023, H5N1 has wiped out a significant bird population in the United Kingdom.
• H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds called avian influenza (or "bird flu").
  • H5N1 is categorized as one of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses.
  • H5N1 infection in humans occurs through close contact with infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments.
  • H5N1 infection in humans can cause severe disease and has a high mortality rate.

• Japan recently slipped to the world's 4^th-largest economy.
• USA, China, Germany are the top 3 largest economies in the world, while India is ranked as 5^th Largest.
• The comparisons among nations’ economies is based on nominal GDP and are in dollar terms.
• Reasons for declining status of Japan: 
  • Aging population and low birth rates contribute to Japan's declining competitiveness and productivity.
  • Weak yen and lack of innovation challenge Japan's economic growth. 
  • Labour shortage: Japan's acceptance of foreign labor is limited. 

• SPMCIL’s 19th foundation day was recently celebrated
• About SPMCIL
  • Miniratna Category-I company of Government of India. 
    • Public sector units which have made continuous profit in the last three years with pre-tax profit of Rs.30 crores or more in at least one of the years are granted Miniratna-I status.
  • Works under the Ministry of Finance.
• Key Functions: Production of Currency Notes, Security Paper, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, Postal Stamps, Passport, Visas etc.

• SpaceX launched this Private U.S. moon mission, 52 years after the last Apollo lunar mission.
• The IM-1 flight is carrying lander Nova-C (Odysseus) and six NASA payloads of instruments designed to gather data about the lunar environment.
• It will attempt to soft land near Moon’s south pole at Malapert A crater.
• Previous unsuccessful private attempts:
  • In 2019, Beresheet (Israel)
  • In 2023, Hakuto-R mission (Japan)
  • In 2024, The Peregrine lander (USA)

• The US, the former Soviet Union, China, India and Japan are the only countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns.

• STAR metric, developed by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in partnership with other organizations and experts, has been expanded for use in marine areas.
  • It was first unveiled in 2021 for use in terrestrial areas.
• The STAR metric utilizes existing data from IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to quantify extinction risks and threats faced by species.
  • STAR assesses the potential of specific actions at specific locations to contribute to international conservation targets. 
  • STAR estimates the contribution of two kinds of action – threat abatement and habitat restoration.

• Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) and BPCL are setting up World's First Green Hydrogen Plant at Airport Premises
  • The plant aims to produce 1000 KW of power and add impetus to country's Green Hydrogen mission.
• Green Hydrogen refers to the hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy.
• The National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to make India a Global Hub for producing, utilising, and exporting Green Hydrogen.

• Artificial Intelligence integration in e-Jagriti portal is expected to help in reduce pending cases in consumer court.
• About e-Jagriti portal
  • It is a unified platform that caters to the needs of all stakeholders in Consumer Grievance redressal mechanism.
  • It streamlines and enhances various stages of case management.
  • It is designed to optimise the existing procedures by minimising redundancy, reducing human interventions, and automating end-to-end workflows.
• Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Qatar (Capital: Doha)

• Prime Minister of India recently met with the Amir of Qatar in Doha.
• Political features:
  • Situated in West Asia on the west coast of the Persian Gulf.
  • Bordering countries: Land Border with Saudi Arabia and Maritime Border with UAE and Bahrain.
  • Bordering water bodies: Persian Gulf, Gulf of Bahrain
• Geographical features:
  • It occupies Qatar peninsula, a small desert peninsula extending northwards from the larger Arabian Peninsula.
  • Highest Point: Abū al-Bawl Hill
  • Sand dunes and salt flats, or sabkhahs, are chief topographical features.
• No permanent bodies of fresh water.