At the 7th Moscow Format meeting, Taliban officials attended as formal participants for the first time.

About Moscow Format

• Established in 2017 as a regional platform to promote peace, stability and facilitate national reconciliation in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
• Members: India, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan 

The Supreme Court has declined to classify Nagpur’s Futala Lake as a Wetland under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, citing that it is a man-made waterbody for irrigation purposes.

About the Judgement

• It stated that the definition of wetland under the 2017 Rules excludes human-made waterbodies constructed for irrigation, aquaculture, salt production and recreation purposes.
• Other exceptions: River channels, paddy fields and wetlands within areas under 
  • Forest Act, 1927, 
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and 
  • Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011.
• However, such waterbodies should be protected under the wider Public Trust doctrine and as per Article 21 (Right to healthy environment)
  • Public Trust doctrine holds that all shared natural resources are held by the state in public trust, which has the responsibility of safeguarding them.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced system-based auto-approval for Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) registration to enhance ease of doing business.

About IFSC

• An IFSC is an 11-digit alphanumeric code assigned by the RBI and is unique to every bank branch. 
• It ensures that the online transactions (e.g., National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)) are accurate and go only to the intended recipient.
• It is used for transactions denominated in Indian Rupees (INR).
• On the other hand, SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) code is used for international fund transfers.

About CBIC

• CBIC (erstwhile Central Board of Excise & Customs) is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
  • The Central Board of Excise & Customs was established in 1964 renamed as CBIC from 2018.
• It deals with tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST, prevention of smuggling, Central Excise, CGST, IGST etc. 

CBI has arrested eight key operatives of transnational cybercrimes in Interpol Operation HAECHI-VI.

About Operation HAECHI-VI

• Financially supported by the Republic of Korea.
• It is the sixth iteration of a series of global operations to combat various forms of transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes. 
• Goals: Disrupt illicit financial flows, apprehend offenders, and enhance international cooperation against cyber-enabled financial crime.
• Targets five types of online fraud: investment fraud, romance scams, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, online sextortion, voice phishing.

Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have sanctioned over 5 lakh loans applications worth ₹10,907 crore under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.

About the Scheme

• Aim: To light up 1 crore households by providing up to 300 units of free electricity every month through installation of subsidized rooftop solar panels.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• It is the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar initiative.
• Provides subsidies for Residential Households and Group Housing Society/Resident Welfare Association.
  • Additional 10% subsidy per kW for special states.

A Chinese ship has departed the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan via the Arctic Ocean along the coast of Russia launching the ‘Polar Silk Route’.

About Polar Silk Road

• Initiative by: China.
• Officially introduced in China's first Arctic Policy White Paper (2018).
• The Polar Silk Road refers to the navigable Arctic sea routes connecting North America, East Asia, and Western Europe, providing a shorter and more economically viable transportation. 
• Aim: Strengthen cooperation with Arctic states on navigation, environmental protection, clean energy, and research to promote a “blue economic corridor”.

Astronomers directly imaged the protoplanet WISPIT 2b actively forming inside the protoplanetary disk of its host star, WISPIT 2.

• A Protoplanetary disk is a flattened, rotating disk of gas and dust surrounding a young, newly formed star, from which planets are formed.
• Protoplanet is an astronomical object that is accumulating material and growing into a fully-realized planet.

About WISPIT 2b

• It is a gas giant (about five times Jupiter’s mass) and is extremely young, estimated at only 5 million years old.
• Significance: This discovery provides the first direct evidence confirming that gaps observed in protoplanetary disks are indeed carved by the gravitational pull of developing planets.
• It is named after a research programme called ‘WIde Separation Planets In Time’ (WISPIT). 

The Indian Navy commissioned INS Androth at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.

About INS Androth

• It is the second Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) after INS Arnala.
  • These are part of the 8 ASW-SWCs being constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE), Kolkata.
• It is named after Androth, the northernmost island of the Lakshadweep group. 
• Capabilities: Maritime Surveillance, Search and Rescue, coastal and anti-submarine defence missions, and Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO).