The RBI’s “Finances of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)” report analyzes data from 2.58 lakh Panchayats for 2020-21 to 2022-23, highlighting key findings.
PRIs struggle with local tax revenue generation due to a limited tax base, administrative issues, and unclear guidelines.
Revenue sources include Central and State government grants, and PRIs have the authority to impose taxes and fees.
2. Where was the 44th All India Criminology Conference of the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) held? – Gandhinagar
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the 5th International and 44th All India Criminology Conference at the National Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Miscellaneous
3. Border Security Force (BSF) comes under which ministry? – Ministry of Home Affairs
Punjab and West Bengal have challenged the central government’s decision to expand the Border Security Force’s (BSF) operational jurisdiction from 15 km to 50 km.
The BSF, established in 1965 after the India-Pakistan war, is a vital part of India’s security apparatus, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
It has over 2 lakhs personnel and is primarily deployed along the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, including the Indo-Pakistan International Border and Indo-Bangladesh International Border.
International Affairs
International Events
4. ‘Disease X’, recently seen in news, is related to – Hypothetical pathogen for future pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns of ‘Disease X,’ a potential new pandemic with unknown characteristics, listed in the WHO’s Blueprint since 2018.
This hypothetical pathogen, belonging to any of 25 virus families, lacks known treatments and could be 20 times deadlier than the recent SARS-Covid virus.
5. Recently, India surpassed which country to become the fourth-largest equity market globally? – Hong Kong
India recently overtook Hong Kong as the world’s fourth-largest equity market, boasting a total market value of $4.33 trillion, surpassing Hong Kong’s $4.29 trillion.
The leading global stock markets are currently the U.S., China, and Japan.
This milestone underscores India’s rising prominence in the global financial arena, propelled by a robust GDP, political stability, foreign investments, and its appeal as an alternative to China.
Environment
6. What is the IUCN status of ‘Wandering albatrosses’ recently seen in the news? – Vulnerable
Wandering albatrosses, the world’s largest flying birds with a 3.5-meter wingspan, face extinction due to threats like longline fishing and plastic ingestion.
Climate change poses an additional risk to their nesting sites in the Southern Hemisphere.
These oceanic nomads spend most of their 60-year life at sea, breeding on subantarctic islands like Marion and Prince Edward.
7. Zombie virus, recently seen in the news, is related to – Ancient viruses are frozen in the Arctic permafrost
Archaeologists found 11th and 16th-century stone inscriptions in Pazhnchervazhi village near Kangayam in Tamil Nadu, featuring ‘Grantham’ and Tamil scripts.
Grantham, a historical script, once scribed Sanskrit across South East Asia and Tamil Nadu.
Originally named for literary works in Sanskrit, it later influenced Malayalam and became Arya Ezhuthu.
Science & Technology
9. What is the name of the first large language model recently introduced by CoRover.ai in India? – BharatGPT
CoRover.ai, a key player in Conversational AI, has unveiled BharatGPT, India’s first Large Language Model (LLM). Designed for 22 Indian languages, BharatGPT addresses linguistic diversity challenges.
Notably, BharatGPT supports voice in 14 languages and text in 22 languages, achieved through collaboration with the National Hub of Language Technology under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’sNational Language Translation Mission.
