RBI to pay ₹2.87 lk Cr dividend to Union Govt

India has opposed the UK’s plan to limit tariff-free steel imports from July 2026, telling the WTO the move could erode benefits from the India-UK trade deal. Imports beyond quotas may face a 50% duty.

Niti Aayog panel recommends 50 measures to overhaul India's R&D ecosystem, plagued by low funding (0.6-0.7% GDP), bureaucratic delays, and talent crunch. Grant success rates plummeted below 10% due to cumbersome clearances, skewed IIT funding (80% ANRF funds), and delayed fellowships.

To revive the sector, the panel proposes raising GERD to 2% of GDP in five years, decentralizing decisions, and offering tax incentives (5% GST slab for procurements, 125% CSR deductions). It also mandates a six-month grant processing deadline and increasing postdoctoral fellowships by 20% annually to retain talent.

#GS2mains

• AIIB launched a $10-billion “Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility” to support member countries affected by the West Asia crisis.

• AIIB is often called a China-backed multilateral development bank and was proposed by China in 2013.

• China is the largest shareholder in AIIB with 26.54% voting share; India is the second-largest shareholder with about 7.58%. India is also the largest borrower from the bank.

• AIIB focuses mainly on infrastructure financing in sectors like energy, transport, urban development and connectivity.

• Unlike IMF or World Bank, AIIB mainly emphasizes infrastructure-led development in Asia.

• AIIB members include both regional and non-regional countries; major European members include Germany, France and the UK.

• Voting share in AIIB is based mainly on GDP size and capital contribution.

• India joined AIIB in 2015; the bank officially started operations in January 2016.

• AIIB’s official motto/theme: “Investing in Infrastructure for Tomorrow.”

#CA2026
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#PYQ trend

• Gurhar Pahar Gold Block in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh lies in the Mahakoshal mineral belt, known for gold and Platinum Group Elements (PGE).

• Platinum Group Elements (PGE) are called “white metals” due to their silvery-white colour and high corrosion resistance.

• PGE includes Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium and Osmium.

• The Gurhar Pahar area is estimated to contain around 39.2 tonnes of gold reserves.

#CA2026
#MINERAL
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#PYQ trend

• Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), a London-based hedge fund and HFT firm, became the first global hedge fund to set up operations in the GIFT City SEZ under IFSC framework.

• GIFT IFSC: India’s first International Financial Services Centre located at GIFT City, Gujarat; regulated by IFSCA.

• Hedge Fund: An investment fund for wealthy investors that tries to earn very high profits by using risky and advanced methods such as leverage (borrowed money), derivatives, short-selling, arbitrage, and high-frequency trading (HFT).

• Unlike mutual funds, hedge funds face lighter regulations and can invest in almost any asset class- stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives, etc.

• “Hedge” originally meant reducing risk, but modern hedge funds often take aggressive speculative positions for higher returns.

• In India, hedge-fund-like entities are mainly regulated as Category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) by SEBI/IFSCA.

#CA2026

• ‘Vayu Astra-1’ is an indigenous loitering munition (suicide drone/kamikaze drone) developed by Pune-based Nibe Limited.

• Loitering munition: A weapon system that can hover/loiter over a target area before striking with precision-guided attack capability.

• Suryastra is India's first indigenous, universal multi-calibre rocket launcher system. Developed by Pune-based NIBE Limited in collaboration with Israel's Elbit Systems, it is designed for rapid-response, high-precision surface-to-surface strikes and significantly bolsters the Indian Army's deep-strike capabilities

#CA2025
#DEFENCE

Rajasthan’s Nathdwara (near Udaipur) is set to host India’s first stadium hotel - Radisson Blu Hotel integrated with Miraj Stadium; Dharamshala may become the second such project.

#CA2026
#FIRST

China installed the world’s largest single-unit 16-MW floating offshore wind turbine “Three Gorges Pilot” in the South China Sea; separately, China’s Mingyang company had earlier developed “OceanX” - the world’s first dual-rotor floating wind platform (16.6 MW).

#CA2026
#FIRST

• According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) report Bihar’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined by 8 points to 96 deaths per 1 lakh live births, from 104 earlier.

• Improved institutional deliveries, ambulance services, hospital care, and C-section facilities contributed to the decline in maternal deaths.

#BIHARspecial

Bihar Gramin Bank received the “Excellence Award 2025–26” under the Atal Pension Yojana by PFRDA for outstanding performance in social security pension outreach.

#BIHARspecial

• Under “Saat Nischay-3 (2025–30)”, the Bihar Government is developing one higher secondary school in every block as a Model School.

• The official name of the Model School initiative is “Saraswati Vidya Niketan”.

• DIKSHA(Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing), e-LOTS portal, and other digital learning platforms will be ensured for both teachers and students in Model Schools.

#BIHARspecial

Interlink our old post

https://t.me/civilsweb/5956

https://t.me/civilsweb/5957

Financial inclusion index question in channel : https://t.me/civils_web/4379

Interlink

Alkire foster method : https://t.me/civils_web/2277

NATIONAL MPI INDICATORS : https://t.me/civils_web/693 , https://t.me/civils_web/692?comment=1109

Interlink article : https://t.me/civils_web/7243 , https://t.me/civils_web/7207