The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has launched the enhanced Certificate of Origin (eCoO) 2.0 System.

About eCoO 2.0

• It is a significant upgrade to simplify the certification process for exporters and enhance trade efficiency. 
• Offers several user-friendly features, such as multi-user access, which enables exporters to authorize multiple users under a single Importer Exporter Code (IEC). 
• Supports Aadhaar-based e-signing alongside digital signature tokens, providing greater flexibility. 

About Certificate of Origin:

• It is a document used in international trade to certify that the goods being exported originated in a specific country.

Storm Éowyn formed over Ireland and Scotland has been termed a bomb cyclone because its pressure dropped by 50 millibars in 24 hours.

About Bomb Cyclone

• A storm can be called a "bomb cyclone" when its central air pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
• Bomb cyclones get their name from the meteorological term ‘bombogenesis’, which refers to when a mid-latitude cyclone intensifies over a 24-hour period. 
• This is often caused by cold and warm air masses colliding , an event that leads to pressure to drop. 
• Majority of these occur over the ocean throughout the year and can be tropical or non-tropical in nature.

Doctors in Jammu & Kashmir expressed the likelihood of Organophosphates, used in pesticides, behind the death of 17 villagers. 

About Organophosphates 

• Formation: Chemical compounds formed through the esterification process involving phosphoric acid and alcohol.
  • Esterification is a chemical reaction where two reactants like alcohol and acid combine to create an ester as the reaction product.
• Applications:Herbicides, Pesticides, Insecticides, Nerve agents in chemical warfare (disrupts the transmission of nerve signals or neuromuscular transmission in exposed organisms), etc. 

Telangana Government disbursed funds under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, which was launched on January 26, 2025, Republic Day.

• The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per acre per season as crop investment support.
• The scheme releases funds based on revenue villages. 

Other Similar Agricultural Welfare Schemes

• PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi): Centre sector scheme, to provide income support of ₹6,000 annually to small and marginal farmers across India.
• KALIA Scheme (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation): To provide financial assistance to farmers and landless laborers in Odisha.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) outbreak has been reported in Pue, Maharashtra

• Campylobacter, a bacterial gut infection that spreads through contaminated food and water, has been linked to the outbreak.

About Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)

• It is a very rare but potentially paralysing nerve disorder caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body's own nerves.
• It is often triggered by gastrointestinal or respiratory infection.
• Symptoms: weakness, sensation changes, sometimes paralysis etc.

Recently, Vayu Sena Medal was awarded to officers for executing Operation Sankalp.

About Operation Sankalp

• It was launched by Indian Navy to protect the maritime community from various non-traditional threats in the backdrop of Israel-Hamas conflict. 
• It included three areas of operations: Gulf of Aden and adjoining areas, Arabian Sea and off the East Coast of Somalia. 
• During the operation, the Navy responded to a number of incidents saving lives, seizing narcotics, rescuing the hijack of merchant vessels, etc.

Highway development since 2013 has had a multiplier effect with each unit of expenditure made on highway construction resulting in a 3.21 unit increase in GDP growth.

• Multiplier effect refers to increase in national income resulting from increase in government expenditure, particularly on infrastructure projects.

Other Findings of Report: 

• Between 2013 and 2022, national highway development has led to a 9 per cent rise in household incomes.
• Besides, there has been a 2.94% and 1.33% decrease in cost of transportation between factory and supplier.
• National Highway (NH) network increased by 60% from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,145 km in year 2024.

Recently, the Prosecutor of International Criminal Court (ICC) called on the UN Security Council to act on the worsening atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.

About Darfur Crisis

• About: Darfur is a region in western Sudan and is home to approximately 80 tribes and ethnic groups witnessing tribal and ethnic conflicts. 
• Background: The conflict escalated in 2003 when rebels (Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement) took up arms against the Sudanese Government against the unequal distribution of economic resources leading to loss and displacement of numerous lives.