GST
News-GST Council Approves Major Rate Rationalisation; Insurance and Life-saving Drugs Made GST-Free.
- Tax slabs rationalised – 4 slabs merged into 2 by scrapping 12% and 28%, retaining 5% & 18%.
- Insurance – All life and health insurance policies (individual, family floater, senior citizen) exempted from GST.
- Medicines and healthcare –
- 33 life-saving drugs: 12% → 0%.
- 3 cancer/rare disease drugs: 5% → 0%.
- Other medicines: 12% → 5%.
- Medical devices/apparatus: 18% → 5%.
- Daily-use items – Hair oil, soap, shampoos, toothpaste, bicycles, kitchenware → 5%.
- Food items – Namkeen, noodles, chocolates, sauces, pasta, ghee, butter, coffee → 5%.
- Essential foods – UHT milk, paneer, chena, Indian breads → 0%.
- Consumer durables – ACs, TVs, dishwashers, small cars, motorcycles: 28% → 18%.
- Agriculture – All farm equipment: 12% → 5%.
- Fiscal impact – Revenue loss of ₹48,000 crore, but fiscally sustainable.
Scheme for Mineral Recycling
News-Govt Approves ₹1,500 Cr Scheme for Mineral Recycling.
- Approval – Union Cabinet cleared a ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).
- Duration – FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31.
- Focus – Recycling of critical minerals from e-waste, lithium-ion battery (LIB) scrap, and other secondary sources.
- Incentives – Scheme offers 20% Capex subsidy + Opex incentives on incremental sales.
- Caps – ₹50 crore for large entities, ₹25 crore for small entities.
- Targets – 270 kiloton recycling capacity, 40 kiloton annual critical minerals.
- Impact – ₹8,000 crore investment, 70,000 jobs.
- Beneficiaries – New and existing recyclers, including start-ups.
NIRF Ranking
News-IIT Madras tops NIRF rankings for 7th year in a row.
- Ranking Body – National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, released by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
- Top Institution (Overall) – IIT Madras (7th consecutive year).
- Top University – IISc Bengaluru, followed by JNU (2nd) and Manipal Academy (3rd).
- Top Colleges – Hindu College (1st), Miranda House (2nd), Hansraj College (3rd).
- Engineering – IIT Madras (1st), IIT Delhi (2nd), IIT Bombay (3rd).
- Management – IIM Ahmedabad ranked 1st.
- Pharmacy – Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi ranked 1st.
- Medical – AIIMS New Delhi retained 1st position.
- Ranking Categories – 17 categories assessed.
- Key Parameters –
- Teaching, Learning & Resources
- Research & Professional Practice
- Graduation Outcomes
- Outreach & Inclusivity
- Perception
- Started in – 2015 by Ministry of HRD (now Ministry of Education).
- Significance – Serves as a national benchmark, aligned with NEP 2020 vision for Viksit Bharat 2047.
World Boxing Championships
News–World Boxing Championships 2025 Kick Off in Liverpool; India Fields 20-Member Contingent.
- Event – World Boxing Championships 2025 began in Liverpool, England
- Organizer – Under new governing body World Boxing.
- Historic First – Men’s and women’s events held together for the first time.
- India’s Contingent – 20-member squad.
- Women’s Squad Core –
- Nikhat Zareen (2-time world champion)
- Lovlina Borgohain (Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist)
- Pooja Rani (2-time Asian champion)
- Men’s Squad Leaders –
- Sumit Kundu (returning after injury)
- Sachin Siwach (2021 World Youth champion)
- Harsh Choudhary
- Debutants (Men) – Jadumani Singh Mandengbam, Hitesh Gulia, Abhinash Jamwal.
NARI 2025
News- National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025
- Report Released – National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025.
- Released by – National Commission for Women (NCW).
- Prepared by – Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), Pvalue Analytics, The NorthCap University, Jindal Global Law School.
- Objective – Goes beyond crime data; captures women’s perceptions of safety in urban centers.
- Survey Base – 12,770 women surveyed across 31 cities, covering all states.
- National Safety Score – 65%.
- Top 5 Safest Cities for Women –
1. Kohima (Nagaland)
2. Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
3. Bhubaneswar (Odisha)
4. Aizawl (Mizoram)
5. Gangtok (Sikkim)
- Bottom 5 Unsafe Cities for Women –
1. Patna (Bihar)
2. Jaipur (Rajasthan)
3. Faridabad (Haryana)
4. New Delhi
5. Kolkata (West Bengal)
MCQs
Q1. In the 56th GST Council Meeting, how many tax slabs were retained after rationalisation?
a) 3
b) 4
c) 2
d) 5
Q2. The Union Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme under which mission?
a) National Mineral Exploration Mission
b) National Critical Mineral Mission
c) Mineral Development Scheme
d) National Mining Initiative
Q3. Which institute topped the NIRF 2025 overall rankings for the 7th consecutive year?
a) IIT Delhi
b) IIT Bombay
c) IIT Madras
d) IISc Bengaluru
Q4. The 2025 World Boxing Championships are being held in?
a) Paris
b) Liverpool
c) Tokyo
d) New Delhi
Q5. Which city topped the NARI 2025 index as the safest city for women?
a) Visakhapatnam
b) Kohima
c) Bhubaneswar
d) Aizawl