Cases investigated by ED have been cited as models of effective asset recovery practice by Financial Action Task Force in ‘Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices’ guidelines.

About ED (HQ: Delhi)

• Genesis: 1956.
• Administrative Control: Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
• It is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of the offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.
• Key Laws Enforced:
  • The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)
  • The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)
  • The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)
• Powers: Searches and seizures, summon any person, arrest and prosecute, etc.

The Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T report released ahead of COP-30 underscores the need for enhanced and predictable financial commitments from developed countries.

• Report identifies five action fronts on finance - Replenishing, Rebalancing, Rechanneling, Revamping, and Reshaping (5R) to deliver the 1.3 T by 2035 with USD 300 billion being a part of the overall goal.

5R Mechanism

• Replenishment: Developed countries need to increase delivery of grants and concessional climate finance.
• Rebalancing: Creditor countries, the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks shall work together to alleviate onerous debt burdens faced by developing. 
• Rechanneling: Multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, public development banks and multilateral climate funds need to significantly scale the availability and quality of catalytic financial and risk mitigation instruments such as foreign exchange hedging, etc. 
• Revamping: Governments should mainstream climate, nature and just transition objectives into planning, budgeting and investment frameworks, etc. 
• Reshape financial structures:  for enhanced capital flows.

Bihar's Gogabeel Lake has been designated a Ramsar site, marking India's 94th wetland of international importance.

About Gogabeel Lake:

• Overview: It is an oxbow wetland situated in katihar district, bihar.
  • Gogabeel is formed from the flow of the rivers Mahananda and Kankhar in the north and the Ganga in the south and east
• Significance: It is the first community reserve of Bihar.
  • It is a habitat for a wide variety of birds some of which are even migratory birds
• Other Recent Additions to Ramsar Site: Gokul Jalashay (92nd) of Buxar district and Udaipur Jheel (93rd) of West Champaran in Bihar.

Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to join the U.N.’s Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention).

About Water Convention

• Adopted in Helsinki in 1992 and entered into force in 1996.
• Legally binding convention for sustainable management of shared water resources.
• Requires parties to prevent, control, and reduce transboundary impacts.
  • Ensures reasonable, equitable, and sustainable use of shared waters.
  • Mandates cooperation through agreements and joint bodies among riparian states.

Elon Musk-owned Starlink has signed an agreement with Maharashtra government to deliver satellite-based connectivity to remote and underserved regions. 

Satellite-based internet

• Definition: Satellite internet is wireless broadband delivered via communication satellites orbiting the Earth.
• Difference: Unlike fibre, cable, or DSL, it does not depend on physical ground-based wiring.
• How does it work? Data is transmitted from a user’s dish to a satellite and then to ground stations connected to the global internet.
  • Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, like Starlink, offer faster speeds and lower latency than traditional geostationary ones. 
• Significance: Helps bridge the digital divide by connecting remote and underserved regions.

Astronauts have observed the biggest and most distant Flare from black hole which originated due to tidal disruption event (TDE).

About Tidal Disruption Event (TDE)

• Meaning: Tidal disruption events occur when a star approaches a supermassive black hole and gets violently ripped apart, causing outflows of radiation.
• Significance: TDEs help researchers understand how black holes change their surroundings. 

President Extends Greetings On Baliyatra Festival.

About Baliyatra Festival

• Baliyatra festival is generally celebrated in coastal Odisha on the day of “Kartika Purnima”.
• It commemorates the past association of the people of Odisha with Bali and the glorious maritime tradition of transoceanic voyages they undertook to South East Asian Countries.
• It is also associated with legend ‘Taapoi’ and rituals like ‘Bhalukuni Osha’ or ‘Khudurukuni Osha’ and ‘Bada Osha’.

Google launches Project Suncatcher to test AI data centres in space.

About Project

• Objective: Explore AI computing in space using solar-powered satellites in low-Earth orbit.
  • The initiative envisions a constellation of compact satellites, each carrying Google’s custom-built Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips—processors designed specifically for machine learning and AI applications.
• Two prototype satellites will launch by 2027 to test power generation, chip performance, and data transmission.

Doha declaration adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development.

• The 1st summit took place in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995.
• Summit was convened by the United Nations General Assembly.

About Doha Declaration

• It renews and updates the 1995 Copenhagen commitments, calls for:
  • Treating poverty eradication, decent work and social inclusion as interconnected priorities.
  • Expanding universal, gender-responsive social protection, and equitable access to health and education, etc.