02.07.25

• Why: Habitat destruction due to rampant mangrove destruction threatens its existence.

• Why: Expansion of salt pans and industrial activities in protected Coastal Regulation Zone-I areas are the primary culprits, involving illegal embankment of creeks and uprooting of mangroves.

• Why: Violations continue, and safeguards are not enforced, leading to a second execution appeal filed in December 2024.

• Why: Loss of habitat and food sources is directly impacting the camel population and the traditional camel herders.

• Why: They seek to protect the Kharai camel and its vital mangrove habitat for future generations, with a crucial NGT hearing scheduled for July 9.

Early and Widespread Monsoon in India (2025): India experienced an unusually early and widespread monsoon, triggered by a rare alignment of atmospheric and oceanic factors.

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Impact: The active phase of the MJO over the Indian Ocean in mid-May significantly boosted rainfall and helped initiate the early monsoon onset.

Multiple Low-Pressure Systems: Five low-pressure systems formed in June across India, accelerating the monsoon’s progress by drawing in moisture.

Early Kerala Onset: The monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 24, eight days earlier than usual, setting the stage for national coverage.

Strong Somali Jet: An unusually powerful Somali Jet rapidly transported moisture from the Indian Ocean, intensifying rainfall along India’s west coast.

High Atmospheric Moisture: Elevated global temperatures contributed to higher atmospheric moisture, aiding early cloud formation and rainfall.

Reduced Snow Cover: Lower snow cover in the Himalayas and Eurasia led to increased land heating, which strengthened monsoon circulation.

Favourable ENSO and IOD: Neutral ENSO and neutral-to-slightly-positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions removed traditional obstacles that typically hinder monsoon development.

Objective: Generate over 3.5 crore jobs in the organised sector from August 2025 to July 2027.

• Why in News: Ambitious target for job creation, particularly for new entrants and manufacturing.

Part A: Incentive to First-Time Employees:

• Benefit: One month’s wage (max ₹15,000) for EPFO-registered employees earning up to ₹1 lakh/month.
• Why in News: Direct financial support for new workers to encourage formal employment and provide initial financial stability.

Part B: Support to Employers:

• Benefit: Monthly incentives for EPFO-registered employers hiring additional staff (up to ₹1 lakh/month wage).
• Why in News: Encourages businesses, especially MSMEs and manufacturing firms, to expand their workforce by offsetting employment costs. Manufacturing sector gets extended benefits.

Target Beneficiaries: Primarily aims to benefit 1.92 crore first-time employees and create jobs for nearly 2.6 crore individuals through employer incentives.

• Why in News: Focuses on broadening formal sector participation and addressing unemployment.

Payment Mechanism: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for employees and credited to PAN-linked accounts for employers.

• Why in News: Ensures transparency and efficient delivery of incentives.

• Targets 1.92 crore EPFO-registered first-time employees.
• Offers a one-month EPF wage (up to Rs 15,000) in two installments (after 6 and 12 months of service).
• Second installment contingent on completing a financial literacy program.
• A portion will be in a fixed savings account to encourage long-term saving.

• Incentives for hiring additional workers (salary ≤ Rs 1 lakh).
• Employers get up to Rs 3,000/month for 2 years.
• Manufacturing sector gets extended benefits for the 3rd and 4th years.
• Firms must hire a minimum number of additional employees (2 for <50 employees, 5 for ≥50 employees) with 6 months’ retention.

• Boosts private sector hiring by reducing costs.
• Focuses on youth employability and social security.
• Promotes job retention and upskilling (financial literacy).
• Aims to formalize the workforce through EPFO linkage.
• Supports inclusion for economically disadvantaged youth.

What is EPABX? Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange (EPABX) is a telephone system for businesses that manages internal and external calls. It allows multiple phones to share a single external line.

How it Works: Users dial extensions for internal calls, while external calls require an access code to use shared trunk lines connected to the public telephone network.

Switching Mechanism: The core is its switching system, which directs calls. Early EPABXs used electromechanical relays. Modern systems use digital electronic switching (PCM and TDM) and integrate with Voice over IP (VoIP) for internet-based communication.

Evolution: The technology has advanced from mechanical switches to digital systems and now to IP-based communication, improving scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Benefits: EPABX systems streamline workplace connectivity, enabling efficient internal communication and call management, including features like interactive voice response menus and call forwarding.

• Excellence on the Global Stage: Focuses on talent scouting, elite athlete pathways, coaching, infrastructure, and sports science.
• Sports for Economic Development: Promotes sports tourism, local manufacturing, international events, startups, and private investment.
• Sports for Social Development: Encourages participation from women, weaker sections, PwDs, and promotes traditional games.
• Sports as a People’s Movement: Drives mass participation, volunteerism, and diaspora engagement.
• Integration with Education: Embeds sports into school curricula as per NEP 2020, enabling dual-career paths.

• Deportation: A formal, legal process involving detection, detention, legal proceedings, identity verification, and repatriation via diplomatic channels, governed by laws like the Foreigners Act, 1946.
• Pushbacks: Informal, extra-legal returns of suspected foreigners at borders without due legal procedure, often conducted by the BSF. It lacks legal codification and judicial oversight, risking mistaken identity and human rights violations.

• Denial of Due Process: Foreigners’ Tribunals often shift the burden of proof, and pushbacks bypass fair hearings, violating natural justice.
• Impact on Marginalized Groups: Those without documentation, like tribals and the poor, are most affected, with citizenship becoming dependent on papers rather than birthright or residence.
• Weak Safeguards: Extra-legal methods like pushbacks reduce judicial oversight and accountability.
• Misuse of Laws: Outdated laws are cited to justify deportations, sometimes violating constitutional fairness.

• Rule of Law: Ensure all actions follow legal procedures and constitutional safeguards (Articles 14 & 21).
• Institutional Strengthening: Reform Foreigners Tribunals for transparency and accountability.
• Humanitarian Approach: Balance security with human rights, recognizing vulnerabilities and adopting fair procedures.
• Legal Clarity: Distinguish deportation from pushbacks and harmonize laws under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. India needs a clear policy for transparency and accountability aligned with international obligations like non-refoulement.

• Why: This eliminates the need for harmful greenhouse gases like HFCs and CFCs, which are major contributors to climate change and ozone depletion.

• Why: Traditional ACs use HFCs, potent greenhouse gases with high Global Warming Potential (GWP), targeted for reduction under the Kigali Amendment.

• Why: This means lower electricity consumption, reducing the overall carbon footprint of cooling.

• Why: These materials cool using pressure or electric currents (barocaloric effect), a solid-state process that doesn’t involve vapor compression and its associated emissions. The barocaloric effect involves materials changing temperature when pressure is applied or released, offering an eco-friendly alternative.

• Why: Offers a sustainable solution to a significant environmental challenge.

• Why: Positioned as a game-changer for the HVAC industry, potentially aiding global climate goals.

• Socialist: Signified state’s commitment to reducing inequality and ensuring distributive justice.
• Secular: Reaffirmed equal respect for all religions and state neutrality.
• “Integrity” was also added.

• Constitution was inherently secular and socialist even before the amendment.
• Reflected political will and historical context.
• Judicially endorsed as part of the basic structure (Kesavananda Bharati, S. R. Bommai, Minerva Mills).
• Supreme Court dismissed challenges in 2024, upholding validity.

• Against original intent; terms were already implicit.
• Inserted during Emergency without wide consultation, seen as tampering.
• Concerns about imposing Western ideas alien to Indian ethos.
• Procedural concerns about amending the Preamble retrospectively.

Union Cabinet Approves National Sports Policy 2025: This is a landmark initiative to reshape India’s sporting landscape and empower citizens through sports. It supersedes the National Sports Policy 2001.

Vision: Global Sporting Powerhouse: The policy aims to strategically position India as a leading nation in global sports.

Five Key Pillars: The policy is built on five core areas:

• Excellence on the Global Stage: Strengthening sports culture from grassroots to national level, focusing on talent identification, infrastructure, and athlete development.
• Sports for Economic Development: Leveraging sports for tourism, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship through startups and global event hosting.
• Sports for Social Development: Promoting inclusivity, equal opportunities, indigenous sports, and using sports for peace and international cooperation.
• Sports as a People’s Movement: Encouraging widespread participation for physical and mental well-being, with fitness rankings and improved access to facilities.
• Integration with Education (aligned with NEP 2020): Seamlessly incorporating sports into educational curricula, developing teacher training programs, and enhancing sports facilities in institutions.

Addressing Past Limitations: The policy aims to overcome issues of weak policy implementation and minimal societal/market involvement seen in the past.

Focus on Governance and Technology: It emphasizes strong professional sports governance, technological intervention, and private sector engagement.

Outcome of Broad Consultation: The policy is a result of extensive consultations with various government bodies, federations, athletes, and experts.

Technology as a Catalyst for Empowerment: Digital systems are redefining and democratizing empowerment by ensuring swift, transparent, and efficient delivery of rights, services, protection, and opportunities to women and children.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0: Modernizing over 2 lakh Anganwadi centres with smart infrastructure and digital devices enhances nutrition, healthcare, and education delivery. The Poshan Tracker allows real-time monitoring and policy interventions, registering over 10.14 crore beneficiaries.

Reducing Leakages in Nutrition: A facial recognition system for the Supplementary Nutrition Programme ensures that only eligible beneficiaries receive nutrition support, minimizing leakages.

Enhancing Women’s Safety: The SHe-Box portal offers a single point for women to report workplace sexual harassment, with online redressal. Mission Shakti dashboard and app connect women in distress to nearest one-stop centres.

Digital Financial Assistance for Mothers: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a fully digital program, utilizing Aadhaar, mobile registration, and real-time dashboards to provide financial aid to pregnant and lactating mothers.

Broadband Penetration and Digital Divide: While 76.3% of Indian households have broadband, significant disparities exist across states, castes, gender, and class, with SC/ST households lagging behind. Mobile connectivity is widespread (94.2% rural, 97.1% urban).

Positive Outcomes: Digital transformation has contributed to an increased Sex Ratio at Birth (918 to 930) and a reduced Maternal Mortality Rate (130 to 97 per 1,000 births).

Child Protection and Welfare: The CARINGS portal improves transparency and efficiency in the adoption process. Child rights violations are tracked via NCPCR platforms, and Mission Vatsalya enhances coordination among child welfare stakeholders.

Way Forward: Bridging infrastructure gaps, strengthening data safeguards, and continuous capacity building are crucial for realizing a “digitally empowered Bharat.” Integrated governance, sustained tech funding, and community sensitization are key to overcoming challenges.

• Why: This is significant because it pushes back the timeline of Earth’s solid crust formation and offers insights into the planet’s very early, poorly understood Hadean eon.

• Why: This dual confirmation addresses previous scientific disagreements about the rocks’ age and makes this finding more robust than earlier estimates.

• Why: Intact rocks provide a more complete picture of early Earth’s crust, oceans, and potential conditions for life’s origin, unlike fragmented mineral samples.

• Why: This evidence challenges previous assumptions about Earth’s earliest environment and hints at conditions more conducive to early geological processes and potentially life.

• Why: This highlights the importance of balancing scientific research with the protection of culturally significant lands and preventing the exploitation or destruction of invaluable geological resources.