Centre government  has extended the Smart City Mission timeline till March, 2025.

About Smart City Mission

• Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• It was launched in  2015 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aimed at promoting cities that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment, and a high quality of life through the application of 'smart solutions'.

Indians took out $17 billion in 2023-24 for overseas travel under the RBI’s LRS.

About Liberalised Remittances Scheme

• Genesis: Introduced in 2004
• Benefit: all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.
• There are no restrictions on the frequency of remittances under it.
• The Scheme is not available to corporates, partnership firms, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), Trusts etc.

The 169th anniversary of the Santhal rebellion is celebrated.

• June 30 is celebrated as Hool diwas every year in commemoration of rebellion.

About Santhal Rebellion (1855-1856)

• Leaders: Siddho, Kanho, Chand, and Bhairav, along with sisters Phulo and Jhano.
• Location: Rajmahal Hills
• Cause: exploitation and oppression of the Santhals by British colonial authorities and moneylenders.
• Karl Marx has referred to it as India’s first organised mass revolution in his book Notes on Indian History.
• The Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act of 1876  enacted by the British after the rebellion.
  • The territories called 'Santhal Paraganas' were created.
  • It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.

Researchers at Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, have developed a method to produce activated carbon for supercapacitors from coconut husks.

• It can be used to attain sustainable and efficient green solutions for high-performance supercapacitors.
• Activated carbon acts as an ideal material for a supercapacitor because of the high surface area.
• A supercapacitor is an electrochemical energy storage device, which can be used to store and deliver charge by reversible adsorption and desorption of ions.

India initiates anti-dumping probe into import of glass fibre from China, Thailand, Bahrain

About Anti dumping duty:

• Dumping is said to occur when the goods are exported by a country to another country at a price lower than its normal value. 
  • This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade.
• Purpose: protect domestic industry from cheap imports.
• The use of anti dumping measures as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the WTO Anti-dumping Agreement.

Five soldiers died after a tank was swept away by Shyok river in Ladakh. 

Shyok river

•  It is a right tributary of the Indus River. 
• Originates from the Rimo glacier and joined by Nubra River from the north. 
  • Shyok and Nubra are the main rivers of Nubra Valley.
• Drains northern Karakoram mountains. 
• Its placer deposit contains Gold. 
• Shyok village on its riverbank is the last Indian village on the road to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), a military base near the India-China border.

A massive avalanche hit the Gandhi Sarovar also known as Chorabari Tal located near Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand.

Gandhi Sarovar

• Originally known as Kanti Sarovar.
• Originates from the Chorabari Bamak Glacier. 
• It is believed that at this Lake Lord Shiva imparted the knowledge of yoga to the Saptrishis. 

Kedarnath Temple

• One of the 12 Jyotirlingas (dedicated to bhagwan Shiva) in India. 
• A part of the Char Dham circuit in the state (Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Badrinath are the remaining 3).

EPS scheme has been amended to give proportionate withdrawal benefits to members with less than six months of contributory service.

• So far, completing 6 months of contributory service was mandatory for such withdrawal benefit.

About EPS 1995

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• Pension scheme: EPS is a “Defined Contribution-Defined Benefit” Scheme.  Employees’ Pension Fund is made up of contributions by: 
  • employer @ 8.33% of wages; and 
  • Central budget @ 1.16% of wages up to an amount of Rs.15,000/- per month. 
• Withdrawal benefit: Given to EPS members who leave the scheme before completing 10 years of contributory service.
• Minimum Superannuation pension:  Rs. 1000