• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its Financial Stability Report
• The report reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability and the resilience of the Indian financial system.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

• Capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) and the common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) stood at 16.8 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively.
• Credit growth remains robust, and deposit growth has also gained momentum.
• Macro stress tests for credit risk showed that SCBs have sufficient capital buffers and even under adverse stress scenarios their capital ratios will remain above the regulatory minimum.
• Resilience of the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) sector has

ABOUT FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (FSDC)

• It was set up in 2010.
• Chairman- Finance Minister
• It aims to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability, enhancing inter-regulatory coordination and promoting financial sector development.

• The Russian and the US space agencies have agreed to cooperate on jointly sending crews to the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2025.
• The so-called cross-flights — which involve sending one US astronaut as part of the crew of a Russian spacecraft and one Russian cosmonaut as part of an American crew — were extended “to maintain the reliability of the ISS operation,”.

ABOUT ISS

• International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft around Earth which serves as a home for crews of astronauts and cosmonauts.
• European Space Agency, United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos) are key partners for ISS.
• ISS was taken into space piece-by-piece and gradually built-in orbit.
• First module named Zarya (translates to “sunrise”) was launched in 1998.
• The ISS was designed to perform microgravity and space environment experiments.
• It orbits the Earth at an average altitude of 400 kilometers (250 miles).
• It needs just some 93 minutes to circle the globe, completing 5 orbits per day.
• It helps in critical research in fluids, combustion, life support systems and radiation environment that could not be done anywhere else.

• The central government has decided to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of milling copra by Rs 300 per quintal and ball copra by Rs 250 per quintal for 2024 season.
  • Copra refers to the dried coconut kernels from which coconut oil is expelled.
• Kerala and Tamil Nadu are major producers of milling copra.
• Karnataka accounts for 65% of the total production of ball copra in the country.
• Milling copra or the dry part of coconut, is used to extract oil, while ball copra is consumed as a dry fruit and used for religious purposes.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has given its ex-post facto approval to the proposal of Ministry of External Affairs to sign and ratify the Migration and Mobility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Italian Republic.
• The Agreement would enhance people-to-people contacts, foster mobility of students, skilled workers, business people and young professionals and strengthen cooperation on issues related to irregular migration between the two sides.
• The Agreement locks-in the current Italian visa regime including mechanisms for post study opportunities, internships, professional trainings assuring an advantage for India under the existing labour mobility pathways under the Flows Decree.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a 5 km-long six-lane bridge across the Ganga river in Bihar that will connect Digha in Patna with Sonepur in Saran.
• The estimated total cost of the project is ₹3,064 crore, which includes construction cost of ₹2,233 crore. The project is expected to be completed in 42 months, after it is awarded.
• The bridge will facilitate the movement of goods and commodities between Digha and Sonepur as the current rail-cum-road bridge is meant only for light vehicles.

• India’s largest State, Uttar Pradesh, has gone ahead with plans to build India’s first AI city in Lucknow to house and promote the AI ecosystem.
• Lucknow houses Centres of Excellence in areas like AI and MedTech (with extensive AI integration).
• The AI COE (centre in IIIT Lucknow) alone supports more than 15 AI/ML start-ups, nurturing a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship.
• UP Electronics Corporation Ltd. is the nodal agency for the project.
• By integrating cutting-edge technology, research centres, and educational institutions, the AI city aspires to be a hub where ideas flourish and the workforce of tomorrow is nurtured.

• The World University Ranking: Sustainability 2024 by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) was released featuring the world’s universities that are leading the way in social and environmental sustainability.
• University of Toronto grabbed the top spot, followed by University of California, Berkeley and The University of Manchester, grabbed the top three spots in the QS World University Ranking: Sustainability 2024 list.
• No Indian university were featured in the Top 100 list.
  • University of Delhi was ranked at 220, IIT Bombay was ranked at 303 and IIT Madras was ranked at 344. Overall, 56 universities from India made it to the list.

• Karmayogi Bharat, in association with NITI Aayog, has launched 6 SAMARTH Curated Training Programs on the iGOT Karmayogi Platform for State Government officials.
• The programs are– 1) SAMARTH Blocks, 2) SAMARTH Zila, 3) SAMARTH Rajya, 4) SAMARTH Rajya Sachiva, 5) SAMARTH Policy, and 6) SAMARTH Procurement.
• These programs aim to elevate the skills and competencies of government officials, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of governance.

ABOUT IGOT KARMAYOGI

• It is a comprehensive online learning platform to guide government officials in their capacity-building journey.
• The portal combines six functional hubs for online learning, competency management, career management, discussions, events, and networking.
• 28 lakh+ learners from across the government spectrum are currently registered on the iGOT Platform having access to 840+ courses.

• Scientists have discovered an ancient 20 million year old underwater mountain range hidden within the world’s strongest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
• The range consists of eight dormant volcanoes reaching heights of 1,500 meters above the seafloor.
  • They were discovered halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, and four of the volcanoes are new discoveries.
• This revelation came to light during a high-resolution mapping expedition conducted by an Australian and international research team.

ABOUT ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT

• The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the most important current in the Southern Ocean.
• It is the only current that flows completely around the globe.
• The ACC, as it encircles the Antarctic continent, flows eastward through the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
• The ACC extends from the sea surface to depths of 2000-4000 m and can be as wide as 2000 km.
• The Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s eastward flow is driven by strong westerly winds.
• The average wind speed between 40°S and 60°S is 15 to 24 knots with strongest winds typically between 45°S and 55°S.
• Historically, the ACC has been referred to as the ‘West Wind Drift’.

• Lantana (Lantana camara), is one of the 10 worst invasive species in the world.
• Lantana is not native to India.
  • It is a perennial shrub native to the American tropics and belongs to the Verbenaceae family.
  • It was introduced in the country as an ornamental plant by the British in the 1800s.
• The shrub can spread on the forest ground, climb over trees a creeper and entangle with other native plants with ease.
• It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems.
• Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Western Ghats is one of the largest impacted hotspot areas due to invasion dominated by Lantana camara.
• Challenge
  • Eradicating lantana is difficult “because of its rapid spread, intensity of infestation, allelopathy [chemicals released to discourage growth of native plants], opportunistic growth behaviour, reproductivity biology traits, and tenacious resistance to cutting and burning.
  • If the roots are not extracted properly, the shrub can start growing again.
  • Its seeds are also so light that they can be easily dispersed by the wind.