• India and the ADB signed a $23 million loan agreement for Promoting Research and Innovation through Development of Fintech Institute at GIFT-City Project. 
  • GIFT-City in Gujarat is India’s International Financial Services Centre.

• Highlights of project
  • It will establishes an International Fintech Institute (IFI) in partnership with globally reputed institutes and universities.
    • It will strengthen fintech education, boost start-up success rates, and drive fintech research and innovation.
  • Emphasis on market-driven fintech skills programmes. 
  • Create the enabling environment for private sector investment.

• A case of Lyme disease was reported in Ernakulam district (Kerala)

• About Disease
  • Pathogen:  Bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, and Borrelia mayonii
  • Infects humans by: Bite of deer ticks (or black-legged ticks).
  • Symptoms: Fever, headache, multiple areas of rash (called erythema migrans), heart block, numbness or recurring episodes of arthritis.
  • Treatment: Doxycycline or amoxicillin antibiotics
  • Regions affected: Mainly USA, Europe and some parts of Asia.

• The Passing Out Parade of the third batch of Agniveers who are recruited under Agnipath scheme for serving in the Armed forces held recently.

• About scheme
  • Background: Launched in 2022.
  • Ministry: Ministry of Defence
  • Aim:  To bring paradigm changes in the Human Resource Management of the Indian Army. 
  • Agniveers: 17.5-year-old to 21-year-old youth selected to serve in the Armed Forces for 4 years. 
  • Selection for regular cadre: The best among Agniveers, up to 25% in each batch, will be selected to serve for another 15 years.
  • ‘Seva Nidhi’ package: To be paid to Agniveers on completion of the engagement period of four years. 

• DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) Initiative board approved a proposal to establish an accelerator and two test centers in Finland. 

•  About DIANA initiative
  • Established by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to find and accelerate dual-use innovation capacity across the Alliance.
  • It provides companies with the resources, networks and guidance to develop deep technologies. 
  • It aims to solve critical defence and security challenges, from operating in denied environments to tackling threats to our collective resilience.
  • All NATO nations are members of DIANA. 

• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launched PB-SHABD (Prasar Bharti - Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination) Initiative. 

• About PB-SHABD
  • A news service launched by Prasar Bharati to support the daily news needs of the Indian media industry.
  • It will be offering free of cost for the first year as an introductory offer and will provide news stories in all major Indian languages across fifty categories.
  • SHABD leverages on the expansive reporter network of Akashvani and Doordarshan to produce its news.

• Prasar Bharati is India’s public broadcaster, which has Doordarshan and Akashvani operating under its aegis.

• China has delineated the baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin, known in Chinese as Beibu Gulf. 
  • Baselines, under UNCLOS 1982, are used to determine limits to territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones.
• Gulf of Tonkin is located off the coast of Northern Vietnam and Southern China.
  • Until now both countries have maintained friendlier relations in this Gulf despite their overlapping claims in South China Sea. 
  • The Red River (which flows across China and Vietnam) empties into this gulf.

• Darien Gap has emerged as one of the world’s most dangerous and fastest-growing border crossings for   illegal immigration.
  • This route is taken when people migrate from South America to North America.

• About Darien Gap
  • Connects northern Colombia and southern Panama. 
  • Part of the Isthmus of Panama.
    • Isthmus is a narrow piece of land, with water on each side,  that joins two larger pieces of land.
  • It is a hot, humid area marked by tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, and low mountain ranges with cloud forest vegetation (tropical mountainous regions). 

• Geological Survey of India (GSI) emphasises preserving GHS at Pandavula Gutta in Jayashankar Bhupalpally District (Telangana).
  • Older than the Himalayan hills, Pandavula Gutta features prehistoric rock paintings in Green, red, yellow and white pigments. 
  • Paintings have swastika symbols, circles and squares, and animals like Bison, Antelope, Tiger, Leopard 
• GHS, sites of rare geological and geomorphologic significance, are declared by GSI. 
  • India is a party to the UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. 

• Across the world, the parties to this convention protect GHS through relevant legislation.

Belarus (Capital: Minsk)

• Foreign Minister of Belarus paid official visit to India. 

• Political boundaries
  • Landlocked country of Eastern Europe.
  • Bordering countries:  Lithuania and Latvia (northwest), Russia (north and east), Ukraine (south), and Poland (west).

• Geographical features
  •  Much of the country consists of flat lowlands separated by low level-topped hills and uplands. 
    • Topography was largely shaped by glaciation during the Pleistocene Epoch.
  • Major Rivers: Pripet, Dnieper and Neman
  • Highest Point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hill