Recently, Union Ministry of Home Affairs asked the Chartered Accountants (CAs) to report Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 violations by NGOs. 

• Act requires a CAs to certify if an association or NGO has utilised foreign contribution received for the purposes it was registered for.

About FCRA, 2010

• Enacted by the Parliament, after repealing FCRA (1976), to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution by certain individuals or associations or companies. 
• 2020 amendment to FCRA put some additional restrictions such as prohibiting the domestic transfer of foreign funds, limiting the administrative expense of organizations receiving foreign funds to 20%, etc.

CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) has successfully conducted the first trial blast for the Dozer Push Mining Method.

About Dozer Push Mining Method

• It utilizes unmanned, automated machinery to optimize the mining process while ensuring that vibrations and flyrock are controlled within safe limits.
• Significance over conventional mining: Faster coal recovery, reducing delays due to adverse weather conditions, highly cost effective, lesser risks associated with manual labours, etc.

Using largest gravitational wave detector ever made, researchers have confirmed that universe has a constant background vibration of Gravitational waves. 

About Gravitational Waves

• It is an invisible yet fast ripple in space, traveling at speed of light and causing the object in its path to squeeze and stretch.
• In 1916, Albert Einstein predicted existence of gravitational waves in his general theory of relativity.
  • He demonstrated that massive accelerating objects would disrupt space-time, causing gravitational waves to propagate in all directions away from source.
• In 2015, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) was used by scientists to detect the first recorded gravitational waves.

Recently, the Konda Reddi tribe was in news for preferring live-in relationship over marriage due to expensive traditional weddings.

About Konda Reddi Tribe

• They are recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). 
• Habitation: In the hilly and forest tracts of East and West Godavari and Khammam districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Mother Tongue: Telugu.
• Family and Marriage: Family is patriarchal and patrilocal. Monogamy is a rule but polygamous families are also found. 
• Faith and Festivals: They worship Muthayalamma (Village deity), Bhumi Devi (Earth Goddess), Gangamma Devi (River Goddess) etc., and celebrate festivals like Mamidi Kotha, Bhudevi Panduga, Gangamma Panduga and Vana Devudu Panduga.

Centre has approved Rs 676.70 crore for infrastructural development of various universities and colleges in Odisha under PM-USHA.

About PM- USHA

• In light of NEP 2020, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme has been launched as PM-USHA in 2023.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aimed at funding specific State government universities and colleges, including in rural areas, to improve their quality by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards.
• Focus on
  • Equity Access and inclusion in higher education
  • Developing Quality Teaching & Learning processes
  • Accreditation of Non Accredited Institutions and improving accreditation
  • ICT – based Digital Infrastructure
  • Enhancing Employability through Multidisciplinary

Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla has inaugurated Panchayat Se Parliament 2.0.

About Panchayat Se Parliament 2.0

• Organised by National Commission for Women and Lok Sabha Secretariat in collaboration with Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Aims to empower elected women representatives from Scheduled Tribes from Panchayati Raj institutions and enhance their knowledge of constitutional provisions, parliamentary procedures, and governance to foster effective leadership.

Scientists have developed a nanopore based tool that could help diagnose illnesses much faster and with greater precision by analyzing signals from individual molecules. 

About Nanopore Technology

• Refers to nano-scale holes embedded in a thin membrane structure to detect potential change when charged biological molecules smaller than nanopore pass through hole.
• It makes possible to sequence nucleic acids - DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) or RNA (ribonucleic acid) - directly from biological samples in real time.
• It has potential application value for detection of disease markers, and non-invasive early diagnosis of cancer. 

Wall Street’s biggest banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., etc. have announced their exit from NZBA.

About Net-Zero Banking Alliance

• Bank-led and UN-convened, NZBA is a group of leading global banks committed to aligning their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
• No Indian bank is a member of NZBA.
• It is the climate accelerator for UNEP Finance Initiative’s Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB).