Daily Current Affairs and News Analysis 03-07-2025

• A framework for voluntary merger of UCBs to ensure financial stability and protect depositors.
• Governed by the Master Direction on Amalgamation of Urban Co-operative Banks, 2020.
• Legally backed by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020.
• Permits mergers if specific conditions related to financial soundness and depositor protection are met.
• Requires board, shareholder, and RBI approvals.

• Positive Net Worth: Merger possible with full depositor protection.
• Negative Net Worth (without government support): Stronger bank can merge while voluntarily protecting depositors.
• Negative Net Worth (with government support): Merger with full depositor protection backed by State Government financial support.

• Promote financial inclusion, serving small borrowers and low-income groups.
• Community-centric operations, meeting local credit needs.
• Meet Priority Sector Lending (PSL) obligations.
• Important in financing urban development and small-scale enterprises.

• Weak governance, fraud risks, and political interference.
• Financial weakness, high NPAs, and capital inadequacy.
• Limited scale and technological obsolescence.
• Declining sectoral relevance in lending and total banking assets.

• Strengthen governance and oversight.
• Promote consolidation through voluntary mergers.
• Ensure independent and regular audits.
• Accelerate technology adoption.

• Record Revenue Growth: FY25 gross collection of ₹22.08 lakh crore, outperforming nominal GDP, indicating better compliance and formalization.
• Digital Transformation: Shift from manual to digital processes (e-invoicing, e-way bills) has reduced errors, fraud, and improved efficiency for MSMEs.
• Expanded Taxpayer Base: Over 1.51 crore active GST registrations, a substantial increase from 2017, showing economic formalization.
• Ease of Doing Business: Removal of inter-state tax barriers, cascading effects, and streamlined input tax credit (ITC) have lowered business costs.
• Efficient Refund Processing: Automated IGST refunds within a week boost exporter liquidity.

• Exclusion of Items: Petroleum and alcohol remain outside GST, causing tax cascading and ineligible ITC.
• Delayed GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT): Non-operational benches in many states lead to appeal backlogs and taxpayer uncertainty.
• Complex Rate Structure: Multiple tax slabs cause classification disputes, litigation, and working capital issues.
• Procedural and Compliance Hassles: Persistent issues like high-value litigations and frequent rule changes overshadow simplification efforts.
• Interpretational Ambiguities: Unclear taxation of intermediary services, intra-company transactions, and employee secondment create compliance grey areas.

• Phased Approach: Gradual inclusion of petroleum products and alcohol.
• Rate Slab Rationalization: Simplification of tax slabs and addressing inverted duty structures.
• Strengthening Dispute Resolution: Operationalizing GSTAT nationwide and implementing amnesty schemes.
• Digital Integration: Integrating GSTN with other government portals for seamless data sharing.
• Expanding Tax Base: Addressing emerging sectors like crypto-assets and digital goods.

Why in News: UN Women warned of a global rollback in gender equality, citing rising violence, deepening poverty, and increasing exclusion for women, marking a “historic and precarious moment” for women’s rights globally. This warning comes ahead of significant anniversaries: 30 years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), 25 years of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and UN Women’s own 15th anniversary.

Key Issues Faced by Women:

• Political Backlash & Lack of Representation: Nearly 1 in 4 countries face backlash against women’s rights. Women possess only 64% of the legal rights men have, and 51% of countries restrict women from the same jobs. Men hold 75% of lawmaker positions, and only 4% of development aid focused on gender equality (2021-2022).
• Disproportionate Impact of Violence: 85,000 women and girls were killed in 2023, with one killed every 10 minutes by a partner. 8 in 10 peace talks (2020-2023) excluded women.
• Economic Inequality: Women earn 20% less than men for equal work and perform 2.5 times more unpaid care work.
• Food and Education Insecurity: 47.8 million more women than men face food insecurity. 119 million girls are out of school.
• Climate Vulnerability: Climate change could drive 158 million more women into extreme poverty by 2050, yet women comprise only 28% of environment ministers.
• Poor Health Access: Nearly 800 women die daily from preventable pregnancy-related causes.

UN Women’s Proposed Solutions:

• Strengthen Commitment and Leadership: Advocate for political will, gender-responsive systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, and promoting women’s leadership.
• Gender-Inclusive Peacebuilding: Increase investment in conflict prevention and women’s participation in peace processes.
• Economic Empowerment: Push for equal pay, anti-discrimination laws, and investment in care infrastructure.
• Eradicate Poverty and Food Insecurity: Implement social protection measures and policies to close gender gaps in agriculture and wages.
• Expand Access to Education & Technology: Reduce education costs, offer incentives, ensure safe learning, and improve digital access and safety.

• First Level: A Special Purpose Fund (SPF) within ANRF acts as the custodian.
• Second Level: SPF allocates funds to fund managers via concessional loans, equity for startups, and contributions to Deep-Tech Funds of Funds.

Why in News: Union Cabinet approved National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025, replacing the 2001 policy, to make India a global sporting powerhouse and target the 2036 Olympics.

Key Pillars of NSP 2025:

• Excellence on the Global Stage: Strengthen grassroots to elite sports, early talent identification, competitive leagues, world-class training, improved NSF governance, and sports science integration.
• Sports for Economic Development: Promote sports tourism, manufacturing, startups, and attract private investment.
• Sports for Social Development: Enhance inclusion for marginalized groups, revive traditional games, and engage the diaspora.
• Sports as a People’s Movement: Drive mass participation and a fitness culture through campaigns and improved facility access.
• Integration with Education (NEP 2020): Integrate sports into school curricula and train educators.

Strategic Framework:

• Governance: Establish legal and regulatory frameworks for transparency and accountability.
• Private Sector Participation: Mobilize private investment via PPPs and CSR.
• Technology and Innovation: Utilize AI and data analytics for performance tracking.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Create a national framework with KPIs and time-bound targets.
• Model Policy for States: Guide states in developing their sports policies.
• Whole-of-Government Approach: Integrate sports promotion across all ministries.

DengiAll Reaches Milestone in Phase 3 Trials: India’s first indigenous tetravalent dengue vaccine, DengiAll, has enrolled 50% of its target volunteers in Phase 3 clinical trials, marking a significant step towards combating the disease.

Developed with NIH Collaboration: DengiAll is developed by Panacea Biotec under a licensing agreement with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), targeting all four dengue virus subtypes. It shares the same virus composition as the NIH-developed vaccine.

Promising Early Results: Phase I and II trials in India demonstrated a balanced and robust immune response across all four dengue serotypes with no major safety concerns reported. NIH’s evaluation in the US also yielded promising early-stage results.

Addressing a Critical Health Need: Dengue has no specific antiviral treatment, and severe cases can be life-threatening. DengiAll’s development is crucial given India’s substantial dengue burden.

Large-Scale Clinical Trial: The Phase 3 trial, coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), aims to recruit 10,355 volunteers aged 18-60, with follow-ups extending for two years post-vaccination.

No Specific Treatment for Dengue: Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease with symptoms including high fever, severe headache, and joint pain. While diagnosis is via blood test, care is supportive.

India’s Dengue Burden: India faces a heavy dengue burden, with over 2.3 lakh cases and 297 deaths reported in 2024.

Trial Details: The trial involves 20 sites across India and aims to conclude enrolment by October. Follow-up is expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2027.

Elevated Ties to Comprehensive Partnership: India and Ghana upgraded their relationship to a “Comprehensive Partnership,” signifying deeper cooperation across various sectors.

• Why in News: This was a key outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit, the first by an Indian PM in over 30 years, marking a historic milestone.

Strategic Cooperation and Digital Sharing: India offered to share its digital public infrastructure expertise, including UPI, to aid Ghana’s digital transformation.

• Why in News: Demonstrates India’s commitment to supporting developing nations with its technological advancements.

Target to Double Bilateral Trade: Both nations aim to double their two-way trade within the next five years.

• Why in News: Highlights the strong economic partnership, with India being a key trading partner and investor in Ghana.

Defence and Security Cooperation: Agreement to enhance collaboration in areas like armed forces training, maritime security, defense supply, and cybersecurity under the “security through solidarity” mantra.

• Why in News: Reflects India’s growing defense engagement in Africa and its role in regional stability.

Support for Global South: Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Global South’s priorities, with India thanking Ghana for its support.

• Why in News: Underscores India’s continued role as a voice for developing nations on the global stage.

Cultural and Traditional Medicine Exchange: MoUs were signed to promote cultural understanding and collaborate in traditional medicine research.

• Why in News: Signifies the deepening people-to-people connections and recognition of shared heritage.

PM Modi Conferred Ghana’s Highest Civilian Honour: Prime Minister Modi was awarded ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana.’

• Why in News: A special gesture acknowledging India’s influential global leadership and the strong personal ties between the leaders.