International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System

Context:

The Union Minister for Communications launched the ‘‘International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System’, to build a safe digital space and protect citizens from cybercrime.

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• It aims to identify and block international calls that falsely display Indian phone numbers.
• In just 24 hours after the system went live, telecom service providers (TSPs) blocked about 1.35 crore or 90 of all incoming international calls identified as spoofed.

How it works

• Cybercriminals have developed a tactic that allows international calls to appear as local Indian numbers (e.g., +91-xxxxxxxxx). 
• By altering the calling line identity (CLI), these calls are made to look like they are from within India but these calls are actually from abroad.
• The system works by identifying and blocking these fraudulent numbers before scammers can reach their targets.

World Economic Outlook (WEO)

Context:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained India’s growth rate projection at 7% in Fiscal Year 2024-25.

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• The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) also expected India to grow at 6.5% in the next fiscal year (FY2025-26).
• The report highlights that there is a drop in India’s growth this year from 8.2% in 2023 because pent-up demand accumulated during the pandemic has been exhausted, as the economy returns to its potential.
• The IMF also expects World output was expected to grow at 3.2% in 2024 as well as 2025.

Direct tax-GDP Ratio

Context:

Direct tax-GDP Ratio rose to a 24-year high of 6.64% during the Financial Year 2023-24.

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The direct tax buoyancy improved to 2.12 compared to the preceding year. While nominal GDP grew by 8.42% during the year, direct tax collections rose by 17.82%. 

• Tax buoyancy is a ratio of change in tax revenue in relation to change in gross domestic product or GDP of an economy.  

Direct taxes contributed 56.72% to the overall tax during the FY24 which is a 14-year high, compared to 54.63% in the preceding year. 

• A direct tax is a tax that a person or organization pays directly to the entity that imposed it. E.g.- income tax, real property tax, personal property tax, etc. 

Marine Protected Area (MPA)

Context:

The Azores Island (Portugal) has passed new legislation to create the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) network in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

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• This MPA spans 287,000 sq km (110, 811 sq miles) and protects around 30% of the sea surrounding the Portuguese archipelago.
• Azores, archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal having its own Regional Government and Regional Legislative Assembly. The chain lies in the North Atlantic Ocean roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of mainland Portugal. It includes nine major islands.

Marine Protected Area (MPA)

• It is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity to conserve natural resources and biological diversity. 
• Different MPAs have different goals but the main focus of many MPAs is to protect marine habitats and the variety of life that they support.

Kartarpur Corridor

Context:

Recently, India and Pakistan agreed to renew their pact on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for another five years.

Kartarpur Corridor

• The agreement, signed on October 24, 2019, to facilitate the visit of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Narowal, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, was valid for a period of five years.
• The 4 km-long Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib

• It is one of the largest gurudwara in the world.
• Village Kartarpur is located on the west bank of river Ravi where Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent the last 18 years of his life. 
• Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak (in Gurdaspur district, Punjab) is about 1 km from the Indo-Pakistan border and on the east bank of River Ravi.

International Snow Leopard Day 2024 

Context:

International Snow Leopard Day is celebrated annually on October 23^rd.

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• Theme: “Safeguarding Snow Leopard Habitats for Future Generations”.
• The day marks the anniversary of the signing of the landmark Bishkek Declaration on the conservation of this elusive big cat, signed on October 23rd, 2013, at the first Global Forum on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.
• The 12 range countries are – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• The year 2015 was celebrated as the International Year of the Snow Leopard.

Conservation status:

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I.
• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I

Amazon Future Engineer Program

Context:

The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) launched the third Phase of the ‘Amazon Future Engineer Program’.

3^rd phase of the Amazon Future Engineer Program

• This program was launched in 50 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) spread across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura. 
• The third phase would include an orientation on blockchain, artificial intelligence, coding, block programming and AI sessions.
• The third phase will gradually be rolled out across 410 proposed EMRSs in India. 
• The Amazon Future Engineer Program has been running for two years, and has already introduced over 7,000 students in grades 6 to 8 to the fundamentals of computer science and block programming, with over 50 teachers trained in the previous phases. 
• The third phase will expand the curriculum to include blockchain, artificial intelligence, and coding for students in grades 6 to 9. 

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Central Sector Scheme of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) to provide quality education to the tribal children.
• Earlier EMRS was a component under Article 275(1) of the Constitution. Under the new scheme, the Government decided to establish one EMRS in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons (as per census 2011).
• Also, Eklavya Model Day Boarding Schools (EMDBS) have been merged with EMRS w.e.f. 29.04.2022
• The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has been created to manage and implement the scheme of EMRS.