Prelims Current Affairs includes India’s Best Health Technology Assessment Institute Award, Anti-Dumping Duty, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Exercise Desert Cyclone–II, SabhaSaar Initiative, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

AWARD

1. INDIA’S BEST HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT INSTITUTE AWARD

Current Context: PGIMER Chandigarh has been awarded India’s Best Health Technology Assessment Institute for the second consecutive year at the ARISE 2025 National Conclave held in New Delhi.

ABOUT THE AWARD

• Awarding Authority: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• Purpose: Recognises excellence in evidence-based, cost-effective, and equitable health policy support
• Achievement: PGIMER received this honour for the second consecutive year

ABOUT ARISE 2025 CONCLAVE

• Organiser: Health Technology Assessment India (HTAIn)
• Venue: Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi
• Participants: Over 35 medical colleges and ICMR institutes

ECONOMY

2. ANTI-DUMPING DUTY

Current Context: India imposed anti-dumping duty on certain steel imports from China to protect domestic manufacturers.

ABOUT ANTI-DUMPING DUTY

• Meaning: Trade remedy imposed when imports are sold below normal value
• Dumping: Export prices lower than domestic market prices
• Legal Basis: Permitted under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements
• Objective: Protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices

3. REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBS)

Current Context: Ministry of Finance unveiled a new logo for Regional Rural Banks to reflect a unified national brand identity.

ABOUT REGIONAL RURAL BANKS

• Purpose: Promote financial inclusion in rural and semi-urban areas
• Target Groups:
  1. Small and marginal farmers
  2. Agricultural labourers
  3. Artisans
  4. Weaker sections
• Nature: Hybrid institutions combining cooperative outreach with commercial banking practices

ORIGIN AND LEGAL BASIS

• Act: Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976
• Committee: Narasimham Committee on Rural Credit (1975)
• First RRB: Prathama Grameen Bank (2 October 1975)
• Governing Body: Board of Directors

CURRENT STATUS

• Number of RRBs: 28
• Branch Network: Over 22,000 branches across 700+ districts

DEFENCE

4. EXERCISE DESERT CYCLONE–II

Current Context: The India–UAE joint military exercise Desert Cyclone–II commenced at Abu Dhabi.

ABOUT EXERCISE DESERT CYCLONE–II

• Participating Forces: Indian Army and UAE Land Forces
• Aim: Enhance interoperability and defence cooperation
• Operational Focus: Sub-conventional operations under a United Nations mandate
• Training Areas:
  1. Peacekeeping
  2. Counter-terrorism
  3. Stability operations

POLICY AND PROGRAMME

5. SABHASAAR INITIATIVE

Current Context: Union Minister informed the Rajya Sabha about implementation of the SabhaSaar Initiative for Gram Panchayats.

ABOUT SABHASAAR

• Nature: Artificial intelligence-enabled voice-to-text meeting summarisation tool
• Ministry: Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Coverage: All States, Union Territories, and Gram Panchayats

TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

• Infrastructure: India AI Compute Portal under India AI Mission (MeitY)
• Language Platform: Built on Bhashini AI translation platform

KEY FEATURES

• Generates structured minutes from Gram Sabha audio/video recordings
• Upload via e-GramSwaraj credentials
• Supports major Indian languages and English
• Provides transcription, translation, and meeting summaries

ORGANISATIONE

6. WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY (WADA)

Current Context: For the third consecutive year, India topped the global list of offenders released by WADA.

ABOUT WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY

• Established: 1999
• Nature: International independent agency
• Purpose: Lead global movement for doping-free sport

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Scientific and social science research
• Education and awareness
• Intelligence and investigations
• Anti-doping capacity development
• Monitoring compliance with World Anti-Doping Programme

Headquarters: Montreal, Canada

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