Department of Consumer Affairs is developing eMaap to integrate State Legal Metrology Departments and their portals into a unified National System. 

• Presently, State Governments are using their own portals for registration of packaged commodities, issue of licenses and verification/stamping of weighing & measuring instruments

About eMaap

• Aim: Streamline processes for issuing licenses, conducting verifications and managing enforcement and compliance. 
• Benefits: 
  • Foster ease of doing business and Transparency in trade practices by minimizing compliance burdens, reducing paperwork under Legal Metrology Act, 2009.
  • Enables data-driven decision-making, streamlines enforcement activities, and facilitates policy formation, ensuring a robust and efficient regulatory framework.

ESIC has been awarded one certificate for its mobile application -Ask An Appointment (AAA+).

• Also awarded three certificates for Occupational Accident and Disease, Sustainable Investment and System Resilience at Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and Pacific (RSSF Asia-Pacific).
• RSSF Asia-Pacific organized by International Social Security Association (ISSA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

About ESIC and AAA+ 

• ESIC set up under Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 under Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• AAA+ serves insured persons, beneficiaries, staff, and ESI pensioners and streamline healthcare services.

About ISSA

• Founded in 1927, under ILO. 
• Principal international organisation for social security organisations, governments and departments of social security.

India showcased its Aravalli Green Wall project for restoring degraded forest lands at CoP-16.

About Aravalli Green Wall Project

• Launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to green 5 km buffer area around Aravalli Hill Range in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi. 
• It is inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall initiative.

About Aravalli range in India 

• One of the oldest fold mountain systems in the world. It has considerably worn down due to erosion.
• Aravali Hills lie on western and northwestern margins of Peninsular plateau.
• Tallest Point: Guru Shikhar (Rajasthan).

Maha Kumbh mela, the world's largest spiritual gathering, will be celebrated from January 13 to February 26, 2025 at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

About Maha Kumbh Mela

• Kumbh Mela, in Hinduism, is a religious pilgrimage that is celebrated four times over 12 years.
• Key loacations and rivers: 
  • Uttar Pradesh: Prayagraj (confluence Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Sarasvati),
  • Uttarakhand: Haridwar (Ganga river), 
  • Madhya Pradesh: Ujjain (Shipra river),
  • Maharashtra: Nashik (Godavaririver).
• Key Rituals and Practices: Shahi Snan, Deep Daan, and Kalpavas (emphasizing discipline and austerity).
• Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 has been placed in the Guinness World Record for having the biggest sanitation and waste disposal mechanism among others.

Inland Waterways Authority of India’s Intermodal Terminal at Kalughat in Bihar has received five-star SVAGRIHA rating from GRIHA. 

• Terminal is part of World Bank funded Jal Marg Vikas Project for capacity augmentation of National Waterway 1 – River Ganga.

About GRIHA

• Ministry:  Joint venture of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• Role: GRIHA is a rating tool that evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a 'green building'.
• SVAGRIHA: SVAGRIHA (Simple Versatile Affordable GRIHA), is given to small-scale stakeholders (owners of projects such as bungalows and small offices).

The term "brain rot" has been named the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.

About Brain Dot

• It is the result of overstimulation of human brain.
• It refers to a decline in mental health and cognitive abilities due to excessive consumption of low-quality online content, particularly on social media.
• It has been associated with issues like decreased attention span, reduced critical thinking, mental health issues etc.

Lake-effect snow warnings remain in effect across the Great Lakes (in the US and Canada). 

About Lake-Effect Snow Phenomena

• Occurs when cold air from Canada moves over the warmer, unfrozen Great Lakes. 
  • As the cold air passes over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere. 
  • The air rises, clouds form and grow into narrow band that produces 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more.
• Common in late fall and winter, with wind direction determining affected areas.

RBI has revised transaction limits to Rs 1,000 from Rs 500 earlier for UPI Lite to encourage use of UPI. 

• RBI also raised the total limit for offline transactions on UPI Lite to Rs 5,000 from Rs 2,000.

About UPI Lite

• It is a payment solution that leverages trusted NPCI Common Library application to process low value transactions without utilizing a Remitter bank’s core banking systems in real-time, while providing adequate risk mitigation.
• With the consent of its UPI registered customer, an issuing bank can create an escrow on the customer’s account up to a set limit.