The President of India launched initiatives for senior citizens at the 'Ageing with Dignity - Initiatives for the Welfare of Senior Citizens' event.

Initiatives launched

• Senior Citizen Welfare Portal: A digital platform for elderly citizens, providing easy access to government schemes, healthcare benefits, and welfare services.
• Senior Citizen Homes: Supported under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment’s programme aligned with the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act.
• MoU with Brahma Kumaris: Focuses on promoting emotional balance, mindfulness, and intergenerational bonding.

An RBI Working Group to undertake a comprehensive review of trading and settlement timings of markets regulated by the Reserve Bank has submitted its report. 

• RBI, under the provisions of various legislations including RBI Act 1934, FEMA 2000, Government Securities Act 2006 and Payments and Settlement Systems Act 2007 regulates following markets: 
  • Money market, comprising call money, market repo and TREP segments
  • Government Securities market, comprising dated securities, T-Bills and State Government Securities. 
  • Foreign exchange market, including spot, forwards and swaps, etc. 
  • Markets for derivatives on interest rate,foreign exchange and credit 

Jharkhand collected data on population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), first step of “Triple Test”, laid down by Supreme Court for OBC quotas in local bodies. 

About Triple test

• Outlined in Vikas Kishanrao Gawali vs State of Maharashtra case, 2021.
• Three-steps of Triple Test:
  • Set up a dedicated Commission to conduct rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies;
  • Specify the proportion of reservation required in light of recommendations of the Commission;
  • To ensure reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs taken together does not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats.

Bioswales are a powerful Nature-Based Solution (NbS) designed to help manage stormwater runoff while boosting biodiversity and enhancing urban landscapes.

About Bioswales:

• Concept: They are shallow, vegetated ditches designed to capture and filter runoff.
• Function: They help in controlling erosion, reducing pollutants, and promoting groundwater recharge.
• Design: Typically filled with native plants, gravel, and sand to aid in water filtration.
• Benefits: Improve stormwater management, reduce flooding, and enhance local biodiversity.
• Location: Commonly used in urban areas to manage runoff from roads, parking lots, and rooftops.
• Varieties: Can vary in size, shape, and depth depending on the area and rainfall patterns.

Ramman Festival, inscribed in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is being celebrated in Uttarakhand. 

About Ramman Festival

• Celebrated annually in late April (after harvest) in the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in Uttarakhand.
• Religious Significance: Held in honour of Bhumiyal Devta, the village’s tutelary deity.
• Main Features: Involves complex rituals, including recitation of a version of epic of Rama and performance of songs and masked dances.
  • Another important aspect of these performances is the singing of Jagar, a musical rendition of local legends.

Researchers have created the first laboratory analog of the "black hole bomb," a concept proposed by physicist Yakov Zel’dovich in 1971.

About Black Hole Bomb

• Concept: The idea leverages the powerful rotational energy of a spinning black hole’s ergosphere (region just outside the event horizon), where the rotation amplifies nearby particles.
• Process: Zel’dovich envisioned a fast-spinning cylinder that, when hit by waves, would make them stronger as they bounced back.
• The phenomenon, known as the Zel’dovich effect, occurs when a spinning object moves faster than incoming waves, shifting them similarly to the Doppler effect but due to rotation.

Scientists discovered a small molecule, PZL-A, that targets a key mitochondrial enzyme, offering potential treatment for rare inherited disorders caused by mtDNA mutations.

About Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

• Location: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a circular chromosome located inside mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles in cells.
• Unique Features of mtDNA
  • Own DNA: Mitochondria are the only organelles with their own genetic material, separate from nuclear DNA.
  • Maternal Inheritance: mtDNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, and not from the father.
• Mitochondrial Disease Treatment: Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT) is a process that replaces mutated mtDNA with healthy mitochondrial DNA.
  • It can be done either before or after in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cautioned investors against dealing with opinion trading platform.

About Opinion trading platforms

• Concept: These platforms allow participants to earn money by investing in their predictions on any sports, political, weather, or crypto events,
  • Participants can bet on any event based on their predictions.
  • If the predictions are correct, a participant makes money, and in case the prediction goes wrong they lose.
• Legal Status: not regulated by SEBI because the items being traded are not classified as securities under Indian law.
• Economy: These platforms have registered transaction volumes of over Rs 50,000 crore a year with a user base of more than 5 crore people.