Centre issues guidelines for concerning identification of posts for persons with disabilities in line with Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 

• It aims to ensure inclusivity, fairness, & uniformity in employment of persons with disabilities. 

Key Highlights 

• Identification of Posts: Mandate a periodic review and identification of posts suitable for individuals with at least 40% disability.  
• Reserved promotional posts:  if a post is deemed suitable for them, all subsequent promotional posts will also be reserved for persons with disabilities. 
• Formation of Committees: Ministries and departments to form committees to assess all posts for their suitability. 

International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Global Cooperative Conference is being organised in India for the first time in the 130 year long history of ICA. 

• Theme "Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All" aligns with the Indian Government’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation).  

About ICA 

• Founded: In 1895, London. 
• It is a global organization that unites, represents, and serves cooperatives around the world. 
• Members: 306 member organizations across 105 countries. 
• It serves as the apex body for the cooperative movement, providing a global platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and coordinated action. 

91st General Council Meeting of National Cooperative Development Corporation - (NCDC) held in Delhi. 

About NCDC 

• Genesis: It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under Ministry of Cooperation.  
• Functions:  
  • Planning, promoting & financing programmes for production, marketing, storage, export and import etc. of agricultural produce. 
  • Finance projects in rural industrial cooperative sectors & for certain notified services in rural areas like water conservation, irrigation etc. 
  • Loans & grants are advanced to State Governments for financing primary & secondary level cooperative societies. 

Recently, the Commerce Secretary visited Norway for implementation Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

• EFTA, set up in 1960, is an intergovernmental organisation of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, to promote free trade and economic integration.

About India-EFTA TEPA (signed in March 2024)

• Objective: To increase the stock of foreign direct investments by USD 100 billion and 1 million direct jobs in India in the next 15 years.
• Agreement emphasized on market access related to goods, rules of origin, trade facilitation, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, market access on services, intellectual property rights, etc.

Over 1.76 crore school students from all States, Union Territories participated in Project Veer Gatha 4.0.

About Project Veer Gatha

• Ministry:  It is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education.
• Started: Organized since 2021. 
• Objective: Disseminate the inspiring tales of valour, selfless sacrifice and courage of the Gallantry Awardees and the life stories among the students to inculcate the spirit of patriotism.
• Scope: The Project is open for all schools in all states and Union Territories as well as all schools affiliated to CBSE.

Recently, researchers achieved a controlled transfer of atoms from one place to another via quantum tunneling between optical tweezers. 

• Also known as laser traps, Optical tweezers utilize focused laser beams to trap & manipulate microscopic objects (such as cells).

About Quantum Tunneling 

• It is a phenomenon in quantum mechanism where a particle is able to penetrate through a potential energy barrier that is higher in energy than the particle’s kinetic energy. 
• This behavior is a direct consequence of the wave-like nature of particles at the quantum level.

Recently, 6^th meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee was held in New Delhi.

About AITIGA

• Entered into force on January 01, 2010 (signed in August 2009), it paved the way for the creation of one of the world’s largest free trade areas in South and South-East Asia.
• Members: India and all ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam).
• Significance: ASEAN as a group is one of the major trade partners of India with about 11% share in India’s global trade.

Lebanon’s UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites Baalbek, Tyre, and Anjar are being endangered by recurrent assaults.

About Baalbek, Tyre, and Anjar

• Baalbek: Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee.
• Tyre: This great Phoenician city ruled the seas and founded prosperous colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage, but its historical role declined at the end of the Crusades.
  • According to legend, purple dye was invented in Tyre.
• Anjar: The city of Anjar was founded by Caliph Walid I at the beginning of the 8th century. The ruins reveal a very regular layout, reminiscent of the palace-cities of ancient times, and are a unique testimony to city planning under the Umayyads.