The first scientific assessment has established Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve as a stronghold of the fishing cat.

About Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

• It is a powerful feline, about twice the size of a house cat.
• Habitat: Inhabits wetlands and mangroves in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Gulf of Thailand, etc.
  • In India, found mainly in Sundarbans, Himalayan foothills along Ganga & Brahmaputra valleys, and Western Ghats.
• Diet & Behavior: Nocturnal hunters that prey on fish, frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenged carcasses.
• Conservation Status: IUCN Red List (Vulnerable); WPA, 1972 (Schedule I); CITES (Appendix II).
• Recognition: State animal of West Bengal.

To mark the 40th Foundation Day, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched SUJVIKA.

About SUJVIKA

• An AI driven Biotech Product Data Portal, developed in collaboration with Industry partners ABLE.
• It serves as a Trade Statistics Digital Intelligence Platform, providing authenticated biotechnology product import data in a structured and accessible format.
• The portal provides sector-wise insights into biochemical products, industrial enzymes, and other biotechnology imports.
• It enables researchers and startups to identify high-value imports, assess dependencies, and prioritize indigenous R&D.

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) commenced the celebration of its 75th Year of Service.

About ESIC

• It is a statutory social security body established in 1952 under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948.
• Ministry: Ministry of Labour and Employment
• Objective: Providing comprehensive social security and health insurance to employees from the organised sector.

Union Cabinet has approved the change of name from Kerala to Keralam.

About Article 3

• It empowers the Parliament to:
  • Form a new State
  • Increase, diminish or alter the boundary of a State
  • Change the name of a State
• Process:
  • President Recommendation: Such bill requires prior recommendation of the President.
  • View of State Legislature: The President has to refer the concerned State Legislature for its view within a specified period
    • The President (or Parliament) is not bound by the view of the State Legislature.
  • The bill is passed by the Parliament by Simple Majority to change the name. 

Delhi High Court held that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has the power to attach the ancestral property of an accused under the PMLA, 2002.

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED), established in 1956, is the premier financial investigation agency entrusted with enforcing laws relating to foreign exchange management and anti–money laundering.

About PMLA, 2002

• It has three main objectives:
  • To prevent and control money laundering.
  • To confiscate and seize the property obtained from laundered money.
  • To deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India.
• Directors of Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and ED have been conferred with exclusive and concurrent powers under relevant sections of the Act.

The National MSME Council reviewed the progress of the RAMP.

About RAMP Programme

• Genesis: It was launched as a World Bank supported Central Sector scheme in 2022.
• Implemented by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) over the 5-year period 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• Objective: To scale up the implementation capacity and coverage of MSMEs.
  • By fostering innovation, encouraging ideation, improving practices and processes, enhancing market access, promoting greening initiatives ,guarantees to women-owned micro and small enterprises etc.
• It provides grants to States/UTs for implementing selected projects in the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP).

Exercise Dharma Guardian: It is the military exercise held between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.

Exercise Vajra Prahar: The exercise aims to enhance military cooperation between India and the United States.

Lake Mai Ndombe and Tumba of Democratic Republic of Congo are releasing carbon that has been locked away for thousands of years in surrounding peatlands.

• The swamps and peatlands of the Congo Basin cover only 0.3% of the earth’s land surface, yet hold one-third of the carbon stored in its tropical peatlands.

About Peatland

• A peatland is an area of land with layers of accumulated organic surface material in a state of decay (known as peat).
  • Peat develops in waterlogged conditions.
• Peatland drainage and fires are estimated to contribute at least 5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.