GeM launched the 10-day celebrations leading up to its 10th Foundation Day.

About GeM

• Overview: A 100% government-owned Section 8 company under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• Function: Facilitates a paperless, cashless, and contactless platform for end-to-end procurement of goods and services by central/state ministries, PSUs, and cooperatives.
• Performance: Surpassed ₹18.4 lakh crore in cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).
• Initiatives: Platforms like ‘Womaniya’ (women-led MSEs), ‘SWAYATT’ (startups/youth), and ‘Saras Collection’ (rural SHGs).
• Recent Reforms: Union Budget 2026-27 proposed linking GeM with the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS).

Scientists have developed a new generative AI framework termed Raygun built on the top of Protein Language Model to miniaturise proteins.

About Protein Language Model

• "Alphabet" of Life: Proteins are like sentences written using a biological alphabet of 20 amino acids.
• Learning the "Grammar": Like ChatGPT learns from books, Protein Language Models learn the hidden rules of biology by analyzing millions of protein sequences.
• Understanding the "Gist": The AI converts amino acids into numerical representations to predict a protein's structure and function.
• A Tool for Rewriting: The AI identifies essential and non-essential regions, enabling scientists to redesign or shrink proteins while preserving their function.
• Examples: ProtGPT2, ProGen etc.

Himalayan Chandra Telescope has successfully completed 25 years of operation.

About Himalayan Chandra Telescope

• Location: Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), Hanle, Ladakh, at 4,500 m on Mt. Saraswati.
• Namesake: Named after Nobel Laureate Subramanyan Chandrasekhar.
• Remote Operation: Operated in real time from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Hosakote (Bengaluru) via a dedicated satellite link.
• Favourable Climate: Cold desert site with minimal light pollution and 250+ clear night sky annually.
• Spectrum: Observes in the optical and near-infrared wavelengths.

The Vizhinjam International Transshipment Seaport has been notified as a customs port.

About Vizhinjam Port

• India's First: India's first deep-water container transshipment port, developed by the Government of Kerala.
• Purpose: Designed for container transshipment, along with multi-purpose and break-bulk cargo.
• Development Model: Built under the PPP-DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Transfer) model between the Government of Kerala and Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited.
• Strategic Location: 10 nautical miles from major Europe–Persian Gulf–Far East shipping routes.
• Deep Draft: Natural 18 m draft with no capital dredging required.

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have announced the successful go-live of the integration between the Maldives’ Instant Payment System 'Favara', and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

• Currently UPI is accepted in 9 countries: Cambodia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka.

About Favara-UPI cross-border payment

• Real-Time Transfers: Enables instant fund transfers from the Maldives to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.
• Secure & Efficient: Provides fast, secure, and seamless cross-border transactions.
• Future Expansion: The first phase supports person-to-person (P2P) transfers, followed by merchant QR-code payments in the next phase.
• Developed through: Collaboration between the Maldives Monetary Authority, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL).

The Union Cabinet gives nod to continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

About PM-KISAN

• Launched in 2019, to provide assured income support to landholding farmer families.
• Type: Central Sector Scheme (100% funded by the Government of India)
• Financial Assistance
  • ₹6,000 per year per eligible farmer family.
  • Paid in three equal installments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Beneficiaries
  • All eligible landholding farmer families.
  • A farmer family comprises husband, wife, and minor children.
  • Beneficiaries are identified by the State Governments and Union Territory administrations.
• Exclusion Categories: Institutional landholders, government officials/employees, higher pensioners, income tax payers, and specified professionals are not eligible for PM-KISAN benefits.
• Performance: 
• Key Achievements
  •  4.47 lakh crore rupees have been transferred directly into farmers’ bank accounts. 
  • 1 out of every 4 beneficiaries is a woman farmer.

• > 92% of beneficiaries reported that they utilised the assistance amount for agricultural activities and agricultural investment.
• 85% of beneficiaries confirmed an improvement in agricultural income and a reduction in dependence on informal credit.

RBI issues revised Basel Pillar 3 disclosure framework for commercial, small finance and payments banks.

• Pillar 3 is part of the 3-pillar structure used across the Basel II, Basel III, and Basel IV banking regulatory frameworks. 
  • Basel Frameworks have been developed by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) as international banking standards to enhance capital adequacy, stress testing, and market liquidity risk management.

3-Pillar Basel Structure

• Pillar 1 (Minimum Capital Requirements): Sets out regulatory capital rules for credit, market, and operational risks (e.g., CRAR, Tier 1/Tier 2 capital rules).

• Pillar 2 (Supervisory Review Process): Provides a framework for central banks/supervisors to evaluate internal risk assessment strategies and hold additional capital if needed.
• Pillar 3(Market Discipline): Promotes market transparency through standard public disclosures, allowing investors and depositors to assess a bank's risk profile.

The Union Cabinet approved a revamped Khelo India Scheme and enhanced Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF) with ₹36,441 crore outlay for 2026-31.

New Initiatives under revamped Khelo India Scheme

• Khelo India Feeder Schools (KIFS) and Utkrishta Vidyalayas (KIUV): Integrate sports into mainstream education.
• Emerging Khelo India Athletes (E-KIA): Expands the structured athlete development ecosystem tenfold.
• National Coach Accreditation Board (NCAB): Standardizes national coaching and ensures data-driven governance.

About Khelo India Scheme

• Launch: In 2018 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Objective: Aligned with NEP 2020 and Khelo Bharat Niti 2025, it establishes a ‘grassroots to Khelo India to Target Olympic Podium Scheme’ pathway to support India's 2036 Olympic aspirations.
• Achievements: Over 1,000 Khelo India Centres, 300+ infrastructure projects, 2,700+ athletes supported, and multiple national games nurturing sporting talent.

At least 34 people died trying to cross from Morocco into Spain’s Ceuta enclave.

About Ceuta enclave

• Location: Spanish autonomous city on Africa's north coast, bordering Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Political Status: Part of Spain and the European Union, but claimed by Morocco.
• EU–Africa Border: Along with Melilla, forms the EU's only land border with Africa.