Daily Current Affairs and News Analysis 11-05-2025

Startup Credit Guarantee

• Expansion of Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS): The Centre has recently expanded the CGSS.

• Purpose: To provide credit guarantees to loans extended to startups by Scheduled Commercial Banks, NBFCs, and SEBI-registered AIFs. Aims to improve access to collateral-free loans for DPIIT-recognized startups.

• Eligibility: Startups recognized by DPIIT are eligible for loans covered by the scheme.

• Implementing Agency: National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) is responsible for implementing the CGSS. NCGTC provides guarantee cover to Member Institutions (MIs) who provide loans to startups.

• Forms of Assistance: Venture debt, working capital, subordinated debt, debentures, optionally convertible debt, and other fund-based/non-fund-based facilities that have materialized as debt obligations.

• Guarantee Coverage: Transaction-based (single borrower) and umbrella-based (Venture Debt Funds).

• Recent Changes:

  • Maximum guarantee limit increased from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore per eligible borrower.
  • Guarantee coverage increased: 85% for loans up to ₹10 crore, 75% for loans above ₹10 crore.
  • Annual Guarantee Fee (AGF) reduced to 1% p.a. (from 2% p.a.) for startups in 27 Champion Sectors.

• Why these changes matter: The enhancements in guarantee coverage and reduced fees aim to encourage more lending to startups and make financing more accessible, supporting their growth and innovation.

Gomti River

• Gomti River Under Threat: Rapid urbanization in Lucknow poses significant challenges to the Gomti River’s health and future.
• Urbanization Challenges: The river faces declining oxygen levels, rising fecal coliform, and a heavy influx of untreated sewage.
• River’s Importance: The Gomti is considered Lucknow’s lifeline, making its degradation a critical concern for environmental experts and citizens.
• Urgent Action Needed: Immediate and long-term interventions are crucial to prevent irreversible damage and ensure sustainable urban development.
• Gomti’s Uniqueness: Unlike other major Ganga tributaries, the Gomti is both rain- and groundwater-fed.
• Origin and Course: The river originates from Gomat Taal (Fulhaar Jheel) in Pilibhit district, Uttar Pradesh, and flows through several districts before joining the Ganga near Saidpur.
• Tributaries: Major tributaries include the Sai, Chowka, Kathina, and Saryu rivers.
• Key Cities: Major cities on the Gomti’s banks include Lucknow, Sultanpur, and Jaunpur.

Why in the news: The Gomti River’s deteriorating condition due to urbanization impacts the environmental health of Lucknow. The urgency to address pollution and protect the river’s ecological integrity makes it a significant news item.

Magnetars

• Magnetars as Gold Factories: Research indicates magnetar flares can create heavy elements like gold via r-process nucleosynthesis, challenging the prior belief that neutron star mergers were the primary source.

• R-Process Nucleosynthesis Evidence: Observational evidence from a 2004 magnetar flare revealed delayed gamma-ray emissions, suggesting radioactive decay from neutron-rich isotopes indicative of r-process nucleosynthesis.

• What is R-Process Nucleosynthesis: R-process nucleosynthesis is rapid neutron-capture process, involving rapid capturing of Neutrons by Nuclei to forming heavy elements like Gold, Platinum and Uranium.

• Massive Ejection of Material: The flare ejected an estimated 1.9 septillion kg of r-process material at near-light speed, facilitating heavy element synthesis through rapid neutron capture.

• Implications for Galactic Evolution: This discovery suggests magnetars contributed to the universe’s heavy element inventory earlier than neutron star collisions, impacting our understanding of galactic chemical evolution.

• Direct Observational Evidence: The research team reported the first direct observational evidence of r-process nucleosynthesis in a powerful flare emitted by a magnetar in 2004.

• Alternative Explanations Ruled Out: The authors considered some alternative explanations — including noise in the measuring instruments and instruments misreading the flare’s afterglow — and ruled them out by comparisons with other data and detailed simulations.

• Early Gold Production: The findings suggest gold atoms may have existed earlier in the universe due to magnetars, predating the prevalence of neutron star collisions.

Tapti Recharge Project

• MoU Signed: Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Tapti Basin Mega Recharge Project (TBMRP). The project aims to address water needs in specific regions of both states.

• Project Goal: Divert water from the Tapti River to provide drinking water to northeastern Maharashtra (including Nagpur) and irrigation to southern & southeastern Madhya Pradesh (Burhanpur and Khandwa).

• Water Allocation: Total water usage is planned at 31.13 TMC, with 11.76 TMC allocated to Madhya Pradesh and 19.36 TMC to Maharashtra.

• Irrigation Benefits: Permanent irrigation is projected for 123,082 hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 234,706 hectares in Maharashtra. Vidarbha and North Maharashtra will benefit from irrigation for 5.78 Lakh acres of land.

• Land Usage: The project will utilize 3,362 hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh without displacement or rehabilitation needs.

• Funding: The central government is expected to fund 90% of the ₹19,244 crore project cost (as per 2022-23 estimates).

• Beneficiary Districts: Maharashtra: Jalgaon, Akola, Buldhana, and Amravati. Madhya Pradesh: Burhanpur and Khandwa.

• Historical Context: The project was conceptualized in the 1990s. The recent Inter-State Control Board meeting was the first in 25 years.

• National Project Status: Madhya Pradesh will consult with the Union government to seek recognition of the Tapti initiative as a national water project.

RNA Exosomopathies

• RNA Exosomopathies Defined: Genetic disorders caused by mutations in genes encoding RNA exosome components, leading to brain maldevelopment (e.g., Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia Type 1 – PCH1). Primarily affects brain structures like the pons and cerebellum.

• RNA Exosome’s Role: Multi-protein complex crucial for RNA processing, surveillance, and degradation; discovered in yeast. Functions include rRNA maturation, faulty mRNA elimination, and ncRNA regulation.

• Yeast as a Model: Researchers from Emory University and the University of Texas Health Science Centre are using budding yeast to study RNA Exosomopathies. Yeast’s genetic simplicity and ease of manipulation allow for rapid, cost-effective testing of mutations and potential drug interventions.

• Study 1 (Journal RNA): Introduced human disease mutations into yeast genes, revealing defects in RNA surveillance, ribosome production, and protein synthesis. Mutations displayed unique molecular signatures, explaining varied clinical symptoms.

• Study 2 (Journal G3): Created a “humanized yeast model” by replacing yeast RNA exosome segments with human or mouse genes. This model confirmed that mutations directly impair RNA exosome function.

• Key Findings: Disease variants damaging RNA exosomes in humans also do so in yeast. This suggests that drugs effective in yeast may be useful in humans. The humanised yeast model serves as a convenient platform to test which human RNA exosome mutations are harmful.

• Significance: The findings advance the study of developmental disabilities and opens doors for rapid drug testing in yeast models.

ITI Upgradation & NCOEs

• Approval: The Union Cabinet approved the National Scheme for ITI Upgradation and establishment of five NCOEs for Skilling.
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme: Implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Financial Outlay: ₹60,000 crore (Central Share: ₹30,000 crore, State Share: ₹20,000 crore, Industry Share: ₹10,000 crore) with ADB and World Bank co-financing 50% of central share.
• ITI Upgradation: Upgrading 1,000 government ITIs in a hub-and-spoke model, aligning courses with industry needs.
• National Centres of Excellence: Establishing five NCOEs within existing National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
• Skilling Target: Aiming to skill 20 lakh youth over five years with industry-relevant courses.
• Industry Alignment: Focusing on aligning local workforce supply with industry demand.
• Flexible Investment: Need-based investment allows flexibility in fund allocation.
• Industry-Led SPV Model: Introducing an industry-led Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model for ITI upgradation, enhancing industry participation.
• Trainer Training: Upgrading infrastructure for Training of Trainers (ToT) in five NSTIs (Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana), with training for 50,000 trainers.
• Objective: To position ITIs as government-owned, industry-managed aspirational institutes of skills, ensuring industries have access to employment-ready workers.

Tech Day ’25

• Theme: “YANTRA – Yugantar for Advancing New Technology, Research & Acceleration.” This emphasizes India’s shift to technology leadership.
• YANTRA Significance: Represents not just mechanical tools but also systems thinking, synergistic innovation, and scalable technological solutions rooted in India’s scientific and cultural heritage.
• Yugantar Significance: Signifies India’s epochal transformation from technology adoption to global technology leadership.
• Date: Celebrated annually on May 11th.
• Commemoration: Marks the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests (Operation Shakti), the first flight of Hansa-3, and the Trishul missile test.
• Origin: Declared by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 after the Pokhran-II tests. Celebrated since 1999.
• Organiser: The Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Purpose: Honours scientific excellence, showcases industrial innovations, and strengthens the science-society-industry partnership.
• 2025 Event: Will include policymakers, scientists, industry leaders, academics, and startups, focusing on accelerating technological advancement through deep-tech and R&D.

Pangenome

• Asian Rice Pangenome Created: Scientists assembled the first pangenome of Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) by compiling genetic data from 144 wild and cultivated varieties.

• Comprehensive Genetic Map: The pangenome includes core genes shared by all varieties and unique genes found in individual strains, offering a comprehensive view of rice genetic diversity.

• Comparable to Human Genome Project: Similar to the Human Genome Project, this project maps genome-wide variations but focuses on rice.

• Staple Food Crop: Rice is a staple food for nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. India produced 220 million tonnes in 2024-25.

• Advanced Cultivar Development: The pangenome database facilitates the development of rice cultivars with enhanced traits like disease

  Subscribe on YouTube
  tolerance and climate resilience.

• Key Findings:

  • 3.87 billion base pairs of novel genetic sequences were identified.
  • 69,531 genes were identified, including 28,907 core genes.
  • 13,728 genes specific to wild rice.
  • About 20% of all genes are unique to wild rice species.

• ICAR’s Genome-Edited Rice: ICAR developed genome-edited rice varieties (Samba Mahsuri and MTU 1010) that promise higher yields and drought resistance.

• Climate Change Threat: Rising temperatures threaten rice production in India. Average temperature increased by 0.7°C since 1901. 2024 was the hottest year recorded.

• Wild Rice Potential: The study reinforces the hypothesis that all Asian cultivated rice had an evolutionary origin from a wild

  Join Our Telegram Channel
  variety called Or-IIIa

• Improves traits: Study improves understanding of rice environmental adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and regeneration potential

Nongkhyllem Sanctuary

• Ecotourism Project Opposition: A ₹23.7 crore ecotourism project proposed for Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary is facing resistance from local groups and environmental activists like Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) and Green-Tech Foundation (GTF).
• Potential Ecological Threat: Concerns are raised about the project’s potential disruption to the sanctuary’s delicate ecosystem due to planned construction of tourist dwellings, skywalks, and water sports arena.
• Sanctuary’s Significance: Nongkhyllem, located in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district, is a biodiversity hotspot with over 400 bird species including the endangered Rufous-necked Hornbill and mammals like Clouded Leopard, Elephant, and Himalayan Black Bear.
• Existing Conservation Status: Established in 1981, the sanctuary was rated the best-managed protected area in Northeast India in the 2021 Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) Report.
• Alternative Development Proposals: Instead of infrastructure, some suggest directing funds towards community development around the sanctuary to improve livelihoods and employment.
• Similar Protests Elsewhere: The opposition mirrors similar protests against infrastructure projects near protected areas in Northeast India, such as oil exploration near Hoolock Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
• Fragile Ecosystem: The sanctuary’s relatively small size (29 sq. km) makes it particularly vulnerable to disturbances from tourism-related activities.
• Minimal Human Interaction: Before the project, the sanctuary has been managed well with minimal human interaction, contributing to its conservation success.

LICONN Tech

• New Brain Mapping Technique: Scientists have developed LICONN (Light-microscopy-based Connectomics) to map brain cell connections using light microscopes.

• Developed at ISTA: The technology was created at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA).

• Nanoscale Mapping: LICONN maps the brain’s neural networks at the nanoscale, identifying specific molecules within connections.

• Combines Technologies: It combines light microscopy, hydrogels, experimental techniques, AI, and analytical methods.

• Beyond Electron Microscopy: LICONN is the first non-electron microscopy method capable of reconstructing brain tissue with synaptic connections.

• Overcomes Resolution Trade-off: It resolves the issue of needing to choose between detailed structural view (EM) and molecular identification (light microscopy).

• Expansion Microscopy: LICONN expands brain tissue using a special gel (16x original size).

• Uses AI for Tracing: Artificial intelligence is used to trace neuron shapes.

Why this is important:

• Detailed Brain Study: Allows for more detailed study of brain connectivity.
• New Research Possibilities: Opens new avenues for neurological research, including brain disorders.
• Cost and Time Effective: Light microscopy is generally more accessible and faster than electron microscopy.