Daily Current Affairs Update – 03 July 2025

1. Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme

Ministry: Labour & Employment
Outlay: ₹99,446 crore (2025–2027)
Goal: Generate 3.5 crore jobs (1.92 crore first-time employees)
Structure:
- Part A: Incentives to first-time employees (EPFO-registered, earning ≤₹1 lakh/month, up to ₹15,000 via DBT in two tranches)
- Part B: Incentives to employers (up to ₹3,000/month per new hire for 2 years; 4 years for manufacturing)
Focus: Manufacturing sector, social security, formalization, and savings promotion

Aim: Harness sports for holistic national development; align with NEP 2020
Pillars:
- Excellence from grassroots to elite
- Economic and social development (sports tourism, startups, inclusion)
- Mass participation, fitness culture
- Integration with education
Governance: Strong regulatory framework, PPPs, CSR, AI, and data analytics
Significance:
- Reasserts India’s soft power
- Push for 2036 Olympics bid
- Demographic dividend utilization

Outlay: ₹1 lakh crore
Objective: Boost private sector R&D, sunrise sectors, self-reliance
Mechanism:
- Long-term concessional loans/equity via Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
- Deep-Tech Fund of Funds
- Strategic direction by ANRF Governing Board (PM as chair)
Impact:
- Addresses funding constraints
- Promotes tech adoption and global competitiveness

Replaced: IPC (Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, BNS), CrPC (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, BNSS), Evidence Act (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, BSA)
Key Reforms:
- Tech-driven justice: e-Sakshya, e-Summons, Nyaya Shruti, CCTNS
- Community service as penalty in 12 States/UTs
- FIR at any police station (no jurisdictional barrier)
- Death penalty for certain offences against women/children
- Mob lynching and snatching made specific offences
Challenges:
- Infrastructure gaps (internet, digital tools)
- High vacancy rates in police/judiciary
- Forensics: 47% administrative, 49% scientific vacancies

Here are expanded, UPSC-ready notes for points 5–10, with value-added context and analysis:

About CITES:
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a multilateral treaty adopted in 1973 (in force since 1975), aiming to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It now has 184 member parties and regulates trade in over 38,000 species.
Structure:
- Appendix I: Species threatened with extinction; strictest protection; commercial trade generally prohibited.
- Appendix II: Species not currently threatened but may become so; regulated trade allowed with permits.
- Appendix III: Species protected in at least one country, which has asked others for assistance in controlling trade.
India’s Role:
- India ratified CITES in 1976.
- Implements CITES through the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- Key initiatives: MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants), ICCWC (International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime), and CITES Tree Species Programme.
Significance:
- CITES is legally binding but does not replace national laws.
- It is administered by UNEP from Geneva.
- CITES plays a crucial role in global biodiversity conservation and in combating illegal wildlife trade, involving law enforcement and customs agencies.

Project 17A Overview:
- A flagship program for indigenous stealth frigate construction, emphasizing ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India).
- Ships designed by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau; built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (Mumbai) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (Kolkata).
Features of INS Udaygiri:
- Advanced stealth technology: Reduced radar and infrared signatures.
- State-of-the-art sensors and weapon systems for multi-role operations (anti-surface, anti-submarine, anti-air warfare).
- Modular block construction for faster, efficient delivery.
- Delivered to the Indian Navy on July 1, 2025, in a record 37 months from launch.
Significance:
- Boosts India’s indigenous defense manufacturing.
- Enhances blue-water operational capabilities and maritime security.

What Happened:
- The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) dismantled “Ketamelon,” India’s most prolific darknet drug syndicate, in Operation MELON.
- Seized: Over 1,100 LSD blots, 131 grams of Ketamine, and cryptocurrency worth ₹70 lakh.
Modus Operandi:
- Use of darknet marketplaces and cryptocurrency (e.g., Binance, USDT) for anonymous transactions.
- Sophisticated digital evidence: Multiple wallets, hard disks, and KITES OS (a bootable OS for darknet access).
Significance:
- First time a “Level 4” darknet vendor (top-tier) was busted in India.
- Highlights the evolving intersection of cyber technology and narcotics crime.
- NCB’s action demonstrates growing capability to counter tech-enabled drug trafficking.

Definition:
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are negotiable, short-term money market instruments issued by banks and financial institutions at a discount, tradable before maturity.
Recent Trends:
- In March 2025, banks raised ₹2.25 lakh crore through CDs, nearly double the previous year, mainly due to tight liquidity and high credit demand.
- Public sector banks’ share in CD issuance rose sharply from 6% (2022) to 69% (2024).
Significance:
- CDs help banks manage short-term liquidity and asset-liability mismatches.
- Surge reflects stress in banking sector liquidity and the need for flexible funding.

Innovation:
- IISc scientists developed a paper-based sensor using terbium (a rare earth metal) for early detection of liver cancer.
- The sensor detects β-glucuronidase enzyme, which is elevated in liver cancer and some other diseases.
How It Works:
- Under UV light, terbium glows green, making detection highly sensitive and cost-effective.
- Offers clearer results than traditional methods, which often suffer from background interference.
Significance:
- Low-cost, rapid diagnostic tool with potential for early cancer detection and broader healthcare impact.

Event:
- The Wandan mud volcano in southern Taiwan erupted on April 8, 2022, flooding a temple with mud.
Geological Context:
- Mud volcanoes are caused not by magma but by the sudden release of gas and fluids from sedimentary rocks, often linked to tectonic activity and subduction zones.
- Unlike igneous volcanoes, mud volcanoes emit mud and methane, not lava.
Significance:
- Such eruptions can be triggered by seismic activity and highlight the dynamic nature of subduction zones in East Asia.