Current Context : India’s Sarabjot Singh won the men’s air pistol gold in the ISSF Pistol/Rifle World Cup.

• The ISSF World Cup held in Munich, Germany.
• Sarabjot Singh defeated Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Lunev 16-0 in the gold-medal match in the first final of the World Cup.
• Shooter Varun Tomar also bagged a bronze medal.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FEDERATION (ISSF)

• The ISSF World Cup is one of the most prestigious shooting tournaments in the world after the
• It is organised by the world shooting sports governing body, the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF).
• It was formed in
• Headquarter is in Munich, Germany.
• The first ISSF World Cup was organised in 1986 at Mexico City in Mexico.

Current Context : The Nagi and Nakti Bird Sanctuaries have been recognised as the wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

• These sanctuaries are built as human-made wetlands and provide a natural habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna, especially flocks of birds.
• These are created by constructing a dam on the Nagi River.
• These wetlands are protected areas situated in Jamui district of Bihar.
• Nagi and Nakti bird sanctuaries are spread across 791 and 333 hectares.
• Kanwar Lake in Begusarai district was designated as Bihar’s first Ramsar Site in 2020.
• The total number of such wetlands in India has risen to 82.

ABOUT RAMSAR CONVENTION :

• Ramsar Convention is an international convention to conserve wetlands.
• It was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

Current Context : Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with Starscapes, inaugurated Nakshatra Sabha.

• It is India’s first-ever annual campaign dedicated exclusively to promoting astro tourism.
• Organised by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with the leading private astro- tourism company, Starscapes.
• Held at George Everest, Mussoorie.
• Objective : to attract astronomy enthusiasts, adventurers, and travellers to marvel at the wonders of the universe while enjoying the natural beauty of Uttarakhand.
• Various activities like learning astrophotography from experts, star gazing through special instruments, solar observation through solar glasses and H-Alpha filter, navigation and timekeeping were organised as part of the event.

Current Context : National Health Authority achieved Milestone with 3 Crore OPD Tokens generated through ABHA-based Scan and Share Service.

• Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir lead in adoption of digital OPD Registration Service.

ABOUT ABHA SCAN AND SHARE SERVICE

• Launched by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in October 2022,
• ABHA-based Scan and Share service enables patients to conveniently register for OPD appointments by scanning a QR code displayed at the OPD registration counter.
• It is presently operational across over 5435 healthcare facilities spanning across 546 districts in 35 States and Union Territories of India.

Current Context : Recently, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh’s government demanded for special category status.

ABOUT SPECIAL CATEGORY STATUS (SCS)

• Special Category Status is a classification granted to some states by the Centre to assist development, based on geographical and socio-economic disadvantages.
• It was introduced in 1969 on the recommendation of the Fifth Finance Commission.
• Currently, 11 States in India have SCS.
  • Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
• SCS States receive Centre-State funding from centrally sponsored schemes in the ratio of 90:10, which is more favourable than general category States.
• They also receive other benefits like tax concessions etc.

Current Context : Recently, in 18^th Lok Sabha elections, 74 women were elected and accounting for 13.6% representation in Lok Sabha.

• It is a slight dip in women representation as 78 women were elected to 17th LS (14.4% representation) in 2019.
• Overall, a total of 797 women contested the 2024 general elections that were held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.
• Recently, two women MPs elected as the youngest MPs –
• Priya Saroj (25) of Samajwadi Party elected from Machhlishahr in Uttar Pradesh,
• Congress’s Sanjana Jatav (25) from Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

STATUS OF WOMEN REPRESENTATION IN LEGISLATURE

• Out of 797 women contestants only 9.7% won in 18th LS elections while in 17th LS elections, 10.74% out of 726 women contestants won.
• While, representation of women in Lok Sabha increased from 5% in first LS to its highest in 17th LS (14.4%).
• In Rajya Sabha, women members constitute 05% of total members.

Globally, share of women in national parliaments is 26.9%.

Current Context : The Securities Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) fined on 11 individuals of Rs 7.75 crore for allegedly operating a ‘pump and dump’ scheme.

ABOUT PUMP AND DUMP

• A pump and dump scheme is a type of manipulation activity that involves artificially inflating the price of a stock through false and misleading information.
• Aim : to sell the stock at the inflated price and leave investors with significant losses.
• It is operated through Telegram and other social media channels.
• Prevalent in the micro-cap and small-cap sectors, where companies often have limited public information and trading volumes are lower.
• Impact: Those who bought into the hype and purchased the stock at inflated prices typically face substantial losses when the stock price crashes.
• Participants in pump and dump manipulation can face severe legal penalties, including fines, disgorgement of profits, and imprisonment.
• Regulations: Under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) guidelines, pump and dump schemes are completely banned.

Current Context : Prime Minister of Nepal Shri Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ attended an event to mark the completion of heading excavation for the 11.8 km-long Head Race Tunnel of the 900 MW Arun- 3 Hydro Electric Project in Sankhuwasabha District of Nepal.

Aim : to enhance regional energy security and boost economic development through sustainable hydropower generation in Arun River Basin.

ABOUT ARUN -3

• Arun- 3 Hydro Electric Project will start generating electricity by next year and it has the potential to generate 3,924 million units of electricity every year.
• This project symbolizes the strong partnership between India and Nepal in the energy sector and our collective efforts to achieve energy security and environmental sustainability.”
• It is a 900 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project on Arun River in Sankhuwasabha district of Eastern Nepal.
• Developed by Indian based SJVN (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam) Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis.
• SAPDC will operate for 25 years, excluding construction period of five years, before transferring ownership to Nepal government.

Current Context : Recently, World Annual to Decadal Climate Update report was released.

• It is issued annually by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• It provides a synthesis of the global annual to decadal predictions produced by the WMO-designated Global Producing Centres and other contributing centres for 2024-2028.

RELEVANT FACTS :

• The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.9°C higher than the 1850-1900 baseline.
• 86% chance that at least one of next five years between 2024-2028 will be the warmest on record temporarily exceed 5°C, beating 2023. Present warmest year on record.
• Report, predicts reductions in sea-ice concentration in the Barents Sea, Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk.

Current Context : Recently, Environmental performance Index (EPI) 2024 was released.

• Released by the Centre for Environmental Law and Policy at the University of Yale in the United States.
• It offers a summary of sustainability around the world by ranking 180 countries based on climate change mitigation, ecosystem vitality and environmental health.
• The EPI uses 58 different performance indicators within 11 categories to score each country, track trends and identify successful policy interventions.

RELEVANT DATA :

• In 23 countries, more than 10% of the protected land was found to consist of buildings and cropland.
• In 35 countries there is more fishing within the marine protected areas than outside.
• No country, could claim full sustainability based on the 2024 EPI.

INDIA RANKED 176

• India is world’s third-largest GHG emitter, with total emissions growing 32 percent over past decade.

India surpassed China in 2022 as the world’s largest emitter of anthropogenic sulphur dioxide.