Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified key amendments to the New Drugs and Clinical Trials (NDCT) Rules, 2019

• NDCT Rules, 2019 are notified under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Key Amendments

• Licensing Requirement Replaced with Prior-Intimation Mechanism: The test licence requirement has been replaced by online prior intimation to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for non-commercial purposes.
  • CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs and control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country.
• Reduced Processing Timeline for Test Licences: The statutory processing period has been reduced from 90 days to 45 days.
• Other: Waiver of Prior Permission for Low-Risk bioavailability/bioequivalence (BA/BE) studies

The President addressed the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session.

• The President can address Parliament under articles 86 and 87 of constitution.

About Presidential address

• Article 86 (Right of President to address and send messages to Houses) allows the President to address either House of Parliament or both Houses together.
• Article 87 (Special address by the President) provides two instances when the President specially addresses both Houses of Parliament assembled together.
  • At the beginning of the first Session after each general election to the Lok Sabha.
  • At the beginning of the first session of each year.

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) proposed to allow the settlement of low-value claims on the basis of verifications by relevant companies alone.

• This will expedite the transfer of unclaimed shares and dividends to investors or their heirs.

About IEPFA:

• Established in the year 2016 under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. 
• It is responsible for managing the Investor Education and Protection Fund, which focuses on safeguarding investor interests by facilitating the refund of shares, unclaimed dividends, and matured deposits/debentures.

NITI Aayog launched ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0’ to undertake a sustained effort to achieve saturation of key Performance indicators in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks Programme.

• Both the Programmes have been launched by NITI Aayog

About Aspirational District Programme (2018)

• Aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 districts across the country.
• Five themes: Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.
• Progress in measured on 49 indicators of development

Aspirational Block Programme 

• Launched in 2023, aims for saturation of essential government services in 513 Blocks (329 Districts) across the country.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has classified Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) as Essential Environmental Services under the Blue Category of Industries.

About Blue Category of Industries

• It includes Essential Environmental Services (ESS).
  • ESS are those facilities which are essential to control, abate and mitigate pollution generated from Domestic and Industrial activities.
• Key Examples: Includes STPs, Waste-to-Energy plants, biomining, and composting units.

Classification of industrial sectors

• CPCB developed a Pollution Index (PI) - based scoring methodology to classify industrial sectors, guided by the Precautionary Principle.
  • PI evaluates potential for water pollution, air pollution, and Waste generation.
• Categories: Red (PI ≥ 80), Orange (55 ≤ PI < 80), Green (25 ≤ PI < 55), and White (PI < 25).

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation have signed a deal for production of Superjet 100 (SJ-100) commercial aircraft in India.

About SJ-100 Aircraft

• New generation short-haul jet aircraft with passenger Capacity of Up to 103 and Flight Range of up to 3500 km. 
• Advantages: Advanced aerodynamics, digital fly-by-wire control system, state-of-the-art cockpit with control side sticks.
• Importance for India: HAL will licence-produce the twin-engine, narrow-body jets, supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative, aiming at reducing import dependency for regional connectivity.

Supreme Court (SC) extended the tenure of Gita Mittal Committee by another six months.

About Gita Mittal Committee

• 3 member All-women committee comprising former High Court judges.
• Headed by former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court,  Justice Gita Mittal.
• Constituted in August 2023 by SC to address the humanitarian concerns stemming from the ethnic clashes in Manipur.
• Key Mandate: Inquire into nature of violence against women; ensure free and psychological medical assistance to survivors, etc. 

Indian Researchers developed a high-voltage supercapacitor based on a dual-functional porous graphene carbon nanocomposite (PGCN) electrode.

• This could enable electric vehicles (EVs) to achieve faster acceleration and extended driving range, while also benefiting solar and grid-scale energy storage.

About Supercapacitors

• They are electrochemical cells that store electric charge through electrostatic action.
• They comprise of two electrodes (anode, cathode), an electrolyte, and a separator. 
• They use electrodes materials with thinner dielectrics and high specific surface area for attaining higher capacitance.
• Significance: Long cycle life, high strength and environment friendly.