CURRENT CONTEXT : During his visit to Japan (August 29, 2025), PM Narendra Modi received an auspicious Daruma Doll at Shorinzan Daruma-Ji Temple, Takasaki.

ABOUT DARUMA DOLL

• Symbol of resilience, good luck, and goal-setting
• Inspired by Bodhidharma, Indian monk from Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, who spread Zen Buddhism to East Asia
• Tradition: Fill one eye when setting a goal, other eye when goal achieved.

CURRENT CONTEXT

India’s Ajaya Babu Valluri won gold in men’s 79 kg category at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025 (Ahmedabad).

HIGHLIGHTS

• Winning lift: 335 kg total
• Beating: Malaysia’s Muhammad Erry (333 kg), Nigeria’s Adedapo Adeleke (306 kg)
• Other Indians:
  • Harjinder Kaur – Bronze (women’s 69 kg, 222 kg)
  • Mirabai Chanu – Gold (women’s 48 kg), secured 2026 Commonwealth Games berth

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Bihar Cabinet cleared the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana (August 29, 2025) to boost women’s employment and reduce migration.

KEY FEATURES

• Financial Aid: ₹10,000 to one woman per family via Direct Benefit Transfer
• Performance Review: After 6 months, additional support up to ₹2 lakh for scaling business
• Target sectors:
  • Small-scale manufacturing
  • Handicrafts
  • Dairy, poultry, agriculture entrepreneurship

CURRENT CONTEXT : The National Annual Report & Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025, released by the National Commission for Women (NCW), highlights the safety conditions of women across 31 cities in India, based on a large-scale survey.

ABOUT NARI 2025

• Released by: National Commission for Women (NCW)
• Collaborators: Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), Pvalue Analytics, The NorthCap University, Jindal Global Law School
• Survey base: 12,770 women across 31 Indian cities
• Benchmark: National safety score at 65%

SAFEST CITIES

• Kohima, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar, Mumbai
• Key factors: Gender equity, civic participation, women-friendly policing, strong urban infrastructure

LEAST SAFE CITIES

• Patna, Jaipur, Faridabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Srinagar, Ranchi
• Issues: Patriarchal norms, poor institutional responsiveness, weak infrastructure

KEY FINDINGS

• Overall perception: 6 in 10 women feel safe; 40% still feel “unsafe”
• Harassment prevalence: 7% women reported at least one incident in 2024
• Most vulnerable group: Women under 24 years (14% reported harassment)
• Common forms: Verbal harassment (58%), followed by physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harassment
• Hotspots: Neighbourhoods (38%), transport (29%)
• Responses by victims:
  • 28% confronted harassers
  • 25% left the scene
  • 21% sought safety in crowds
  • 20% reported to authorities

CURRENT CONTEXT : Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed Executive Director at IMF (2025–2028), representing India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

ABOUT IMF

• Established: 1944, Bretton Woods Conference
• Members: 191 (latest – Liechtenstein, 2024)
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
• Objective:
  • Promote monetary cooperation
  • Ensure financial stability
  • Facilitate global trade
  • Promote growth & reduce poverty

STRUCTURE

• Board of Governors: Highest decision-making body, meets annually
• IMFC (International Monetary and Financial Committee): Advisory body (24 members)
• Executive Board: Daily operations, works with Managing Director

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) released the 6th edition of the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2024, prepared with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

ABOUT SEEI

• Objective: Track and compare energy efficiency progress of 36 States & UTs
• Indicators: 66 across sectors – Buildings, Industry, Transport, Agriculture, DISCOMs, Municipal services, Cross-sector initiatives
• Framework: New implementation-focused model

CLASSIFICATION

• Front Runners: >60%
• Achievers: 50–60%
• Contenders: 30–50%
• Aspirants: <30%

TOP PERFORMERS (2024)

• Maharashtra (Group 1: >15 MToE)
• Andhra Pradesh (Group 2: 5–15 MToE)
• Assam (Group 3: 1–5 MToE)
• Tripura (Group 4: <1 MToE)

KEY FINDINGS

• 24 states notified Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017
• 31 states adopted electric mobility policies
• 13 states promoting solar agricultural pumps (Kerala – 74% adoption)
• All 36 States/UTs prepared State Energy Efficiency Action Plans (SEEAPs)

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the Beta Version of “Adi Vaani”, India’s first AI-powered tribal language translator.

ABOUT ADI VAANI

• Developed by: National consortium led by IIT Delhi, with BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Nava Raipur, and Tribal Research Institutes (Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya).
• Supported under: Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh initiative

FEATURES

• AI-based translation tool bridging communication between tribal & non-tribal communities
• Real-time translation (text & speech) between Hindi/English ↔ Tribal languages
• Languages Supported (Beta): Santali (Odisha), Bhili (Madhya Pradesh), Mundari (Jharkhand), Gondi (Chhattisgarh)
• Functions:
  • Text-to-Text, Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text, Speech-to-Speech
  • Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for manuscripts
  • Bilingual dictionaries & repositories
  • Subtitles for PM speeches, health advisories, govt. schemes

CURRENT CONTEXT : The 14^th edition of the India-Thailand Joint Military Exercise Maitree is being held from 1 to 14 September 2025 at the Foreign Training Node, Umroi, Meghalaya.

ABOUT EXERCISE MAITREE

• Started: 2006
• Participants: Indian Army & Royal Thai Army
• Frequency: Annual (alternates between India and Thailand)
• Objective: Enhance operational skills, interoperability, and defence cooperation

Observed on  1st – 7th September every year.

• First observed in India: 1982 by the Food and Nutrition Board, Ministry of Women and Child Development
• Purpose:
  • To educate people about the importance of nutrition for health and development
  • To raise awareness about malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and lifestyle diseases
  • To promote government schemes like Poshan Abhiyaan

Current Context : The Union Cabinet approved the restructuring and extension of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme beyond 31 December 2024.

About PM SVANidhi Scheme

• Launch: 1 June 2020.
• Objective: Provide working capital loans to street vendors affected by COVID-19.
• Implementing Agencies:
  • Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
  • Department of Financial Services (DFS) facilitates credit through banks.

Key Features of Restructured Scheme

• Coverage Expansion: From statutory towns to census towns and peri-urban areas.
• Enhanced Loan Tranches:
  • 1st tranche: ₹15,000 (earlier ₹10,000).
  • 2nd tranche: ₹25,000 (earlier ₹20,000).
  • 3rd tranche: ₹50,000 (unchanged).
• Digital Boost:
  • UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card for immediate credit access.
  • Cashback incentives up to ₹1,600 for digital transactions.
• Capacity Building:
  • Entrepreneurship, financial literacy, digital skills, marketing.
  • Food safety training for street vendors (with FSSAI).
• ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’: Strengthened through monthly Lok Kalyan Melas.