25 March 2025

• Governance: The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) was set to take effect from April 1, replacing the National Pension System for central government employees who opt in.
• Finance: India's BAANKNET NPA portal was launched to strengthen asset resolution for public sector banks.
• Accountability: A parliamentary committee raised concerns about forest diversion in India between 2014 and 2024.
• Digital Parliament: The NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) was operational in 28 state legislatures.
• International: AIKEYME Exercise 2025 was India's first edition of a multilateral military exercise with 11 nations in Tanzania.

GS area: Economy (Social Security), Governance

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), announced in August 2024, was set to come into effect from April 1, 2025 for central government employees.

• UPS key features: Guaranteed pension of 50 per cent of the last 12 months' average basic pay after 25 years of service. Minimum guaranteed pension: 10,000 rupees per month (after 10 years service).
• Family pension: 60 per cent of the pensioner's pension on death.
• Inflation protection: Dearness relief applied (as in OPS).
• NPS vs UPS: NPS (National Pension System, 2004) is market-linked with no guaranteed payout. UPS offers a defined benefit guarantee alongside an NPS-like corpus accumulation.
• Govt contribution: 18.5 per cent of basic pay (up from 14 per cent under NPS). Employee contribution: 10 per cent.
• Fiscal impact: Additional 6,250 crore rupees annual liability on the Centre.
• State adoption: States can choose to adopt UPS (the 7th Pay Commission formula applies).

Static linkage: Economy (social security, pension), governance.

GS area: Environment (Forests), Governance

A parliamentary standing committee report revealed that 1,73,396 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forest purposes between 2014 and 2024.

• Leading state: Madhya Pradesh had the highest forest diversion.
• Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Act, 2023: Replaced the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Allows faster diversion for border infrastructure, national security and public utilities.
• Compensatory Afforestation (CA): For every hectare diverted, 2 hectares of compensatory afforestation is required on degraded land or revenue forest land. CA Fund: CAMPA.
• CAMPA: Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. Managed under the CAMPA Act, 2016.
• India's forest cover: 24.6 per cent of geographic area (ISFR 2023). Government target: 33 per cent.

Static linkage: Environment (forests, biodiversity), governance.

GS area: Economy (Banking)

BAANKNET, a portal for the resolution of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of public sector banks, was made operational.

• NPA: A loan or advance is classified as non-performing when the borrower fails to make interest or principal payment for 90 days.
• Gross NPA of PSBs: Fell from 11.5 per cent (2018) to about 3.2 per cent (2024), a significant improvement.
• IBC 2016: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The primary resolution mechanism for large NPAs. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) handles cases. Resolution must be completed in 330 days.
• SARFAESI Act 2002: Enables banks to seize and sell assets of defaulters without court intervention.
• IBBI: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India. Regulatory body for insolvency professionals.
• BAANKNET significance: Aggregates NPA sale information across all PSBs, creating a transparent marketplace for asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) and buyers.

Static linkage: Economy (banking, financial sector reform).

GS area: Governance (Digital Governance, Legislature)

The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) was operational in 28 state legislatures, digitising the functioning of state legislatures.

• NeVA: A cloud-based, mobile-enabled application for paperless legislature operations. Question papers, committee reports, bills and member registers are managed digitally.
• Meghraj 2.0: India's government cloud infrastructure on which NeVA runs.
• Implementation: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. NIC (National Informatics Centre) as technology partner.
• Coverage: 28 state legislatures. Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have their own digitisation systems.
• Significance: Reduces paper use, makes proceedings accessible to citizens, enables data analytics on legislative output.
• Parliament: The Lok Sabha website provides live streaming. Sansad TV (merged from Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV in 2021) broadcasts proceedings.

Static linkage: Governance (digital, legislature).

GS area: International Relations, Defence

India's first edition of AIKEYME (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement) Exercise involved 11 nations.

• Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. March 2025.
• Participants: 11 nations including India, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Madagascar, and other Indian Ocean rim states.
• Focus: Maritime security, HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief), anti-piracy, search and rescue.
• India's strategic intent: Position India as a net security provider in the Western Indian Ocean, countering both piracy and China's growing presence in East Africa.
• India-Africa relations: 5th India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) hosted in 2023. India pledged 150 billion US dollars in development finance to Africa.

Static linkage: International relations (India-Africa, Indian Ocean).

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity), International Relations

The 20th session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) was held in Rome.

• CGRFA: Under the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The only permanent intergovernmental body dedicated to biodiversity for food and agriculture.
• Mandate: Monitors state of the world's genetic resources for food and agriculture (plants, animals, micro-organisms, invertebrates, forests).
• India's contribution: India ratified the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). National Gene Bank (NBPGR, Pusa, New Delhi) holds 4.71 lakh plant accessions.
• Nagoya Protocol: Access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanism under the CBD for genetic resources.
• FAO headquarters: Rome, Italy. FAO's goal: food security and nutrition for all.

Static linkage: Environment (biodiversity), international organisations.

GS area: World Geography

Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey was in focus in the context of Turkey-Armenia diplomatic developments.

• Mount Ararat: 5,165 metres altitude. Located near Turkey's eastern border with Armenia and Iran.
• Significance: Sacred to Armenians (depicted on Armenia's coat of arms). Located in Turkish territory since 1920. A symbol of the Armenian cultural identity.
• Dormant stratovolcano: Last erupted 1840. Part of the collision zone between the Eurasian and Arabian plates.
• Turkey-Armenia relations: No formal diplomatic relations. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 (in support of Azerbaijan during the first Nagorno-Karabakh War). Normalisation talks ongoing.
• Armenia-Azerbaijan: Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan) was retaken by Azerbaijan in 2023. About 100,000 ethnic Armenians displaced.

Static linkage: World geography, international relations.

• UPS adoption timeline: Employees already under NPS may opt to switch to UPS. New hires from April 1, 2025 will be under UPS by default. States must separately notify adoption.
• Equalisation Levy 6% abolished: The 6 per cent Equalisation Levy on digital advertisements (imposed 2016) was abolished effective April 1, 2025, after the OECD's Pillar One agreement made it redundant.