Archives: Current Affair

Why in news ? The government introduced the Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs (MCGS-MSME), announced in the FY25 Budget. Objective: To provide credit guarantee coverage for loans up to ₹100 crore to eligible MSMEs for procuring equipment and machinery. Guarantee Coverage: The scheme offers 60% guarantee coverage by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions […]

Approval of National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM):  The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the mission with a budget of ₹16,300 crore. Purpose of NCMM: To promote exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery of critical minerals, both domestically and at offshore locations. Goal: Reduce dependence on critical mineral imports and ensure self-reliance in critical mineral supply. Comprehensive Value Chain: The […]

Key findings: Rise in Female-Headed Enterprises The percentage of proprietary units headed by women in unincorporated, non-agricultural enterprises increased to 26.2% in 2023-24 from 22.9% in 2022-23. Highest Female-Headed Enterprises by State: West Bengal: 36.4% Karnataka: 35.2% Telangana: 34.1% Gujarat: 32.2% Female Workers in the Sector Share of Female Workers: Women comprised 28.1% of total workers in the unincorporated […]

Why in news ?  The latest data for 2024, published in the Annual Status of Education Report (Rural), broadly indicates that rural schoolchildren have largely recovered from the learning loss experienced . Uneven Recovery Across States: The closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the learning abilities of rural schoolchildren, particularly in arithmetic and […]

The Impact of Classifying Denotified Tribes: How many denotified, semi-nomadic, and nomadic tribes have been comprehensively categorised? The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) and Tribal Research Institutes (TRI) have, for the first time, comprehensively categorised 268 denotified, semi-nomadic, and nomadic tribes. Of these, 179 communities have been recommended for inclusion in the Scheduled Castes (SC), […]

DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1: Why in News?  The stock market experienced a significant dip, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 3%, its worst performance in two years. This drop was attributed to the rise of the Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek, which recently unveiled its AI models — DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1. These models quickly gained global attention, surpassing […]

On January 23, U.S. District judge John Coughenour in Seattle blocked President Trump’s executive order attempting to curb ‘birthright citizenship’. What is birthright citizenship? Birthright Citizenship: Birthright citizenship is a legal principle granting automatic citizenship to individuals born within a country’s territory, regardless of their parents’ citizenship. In the U.S., it is guaranteed by the […]

Why in News ?  Law enforcement agencies can lift fingerprints from a crime scene. In Maharashtra, this is done by either the state CID’s fingerprint experts or those who have been trained to do so by the CID. Key  Points: Role of Fingerprints in Crime Investigations: Fingerprints are used in two scenarios: To check if […]

Why in News ?  the terms was recently used regarding the   Jammu & Kashmir ‘s  recent step towards fiscal prudence. What is Fiscal Austerity? Fiscal austerity refers to the economic policies adopted by governments to reduce budget deficits and debt levels, primarily by cutting public spending, increasing taxes, or a combination of both. It is […]

Chhava Controversy: Objections to Film on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj The trailer of the Bollywood film Chhava, based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, has sparked controversy in Maharashtra. The film, featuring actor Vicky Kaushal as Sambhaji Maharaj, includes a scene where he performs the lezim folk dance alongside actress Rashmika Mandanna, playing Maharani Yesubai. […]