16 August 2025
(Current Affairs Notes - Prelims)

Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana

• The scheme was announced recently to support creation of over 3.5 crore jobs in two years.

• The scheme has two key parts

  • • Part 1 - Incentivise first-time employees by giving them one-month EPF wage up to Rs 15,000. It targets first-time employees registered with Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

    • Part 2: Incentivises employers by giving them Rs. 3000 per month, for two years, for each additional employment. Employers will receive incentives in respect of new employees with salaries up to Rs 1 lakh.

• The scheme will be overseen by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Indian Aquanauts in Atlantic Ocean

• Recently, two Indian aquanauts dived to depths of 4,025 meters and 5,002 meters in the Atlantic Ocean. It placed India among a select group of nations capable of such deep-sea exploration.

• The dives were led by team from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, in collaboration with Marine Research Institute (France).

• The dive is a prelude to India’s Samudrayaan Mission, part of flagship Deep Ocean Mission.

• Samudrayaan aims to send three aquanauts to a depth of 6,000 meters in the Indigenously Developed Submersible MATSYA-6000 by 2027.

• Deep Ocean Mission was launched in 2021 by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). It seeks to develop technologies for exploring deep ocean resources, promoting sustainable Blue Economy, and addressing climate change and pollution.

 Sovereign Credit Ratings (SCR)

• SCR refers to an independent evaluation of a country's creditworthiness. It seeks to quantify issuers’ ability to meet debt obligations.

• Major global SCR agencies: S&P, Fitch and Moody’s. These rate countries as either investment grade (good place to invest) or speculative grade (likelihood of default on borrowings).

• A favourable rating to a country facilitates the country access to global capital markets and foreign investment, and reduce borrowing cost.

• However, there are concerns over bias in rating processes, conflicts of interest, and rating ceiling.

  • • Rating ceiling relates to the notion that a corporate issuer is not rated higher than the country that it resides within.

• Recently, S&P upgraded India’s long-term Sovereign Credit Rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’ and its short-term rating to ‘A-2’ from ‘A-3’, with a Stable Outlook.

• The upgrade reflects India’s commitment to fiscal consolidation, improved quality of public spending, and strong corporate, financial and external balance sheets.

 Global Outlook Council on Water Investments

• It is a G20 initiative to ensure safe water for all.

• It was launched by South Africa as part of its presidency of the G20 for 2025.

• The newly launched platform will serve as the world's high-level political and investment platform on water that will track progress, unlock finance, and align efforts across the G20.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

• An international, independent medical humanitarian organisation founded in 1971 in France.

• It focuses on delivering emergency medical humanitarian aid. It was awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.

• Recently, MSF is involved on bridging critical gaps in healthcare by offering essential care in Iraq.

Mission Sudarshan Chakra

• A comprehensive national security initiative to safeguard India's vital assets.

• It will equip critical national sites with cutting-edge technology and powerful weapon systems by 2035.

• It seeks not only to neutralise enemy attacks but also to deliver impactful counterstrikes.

Alaska

• Alaska is the largest state of the USA by area, located in the far northwest of North America.

• It shares a maritime boundary with Russia across the Bering Strait.

• It borders Canada to the east and it is surrounded by Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Chukchi Sea.

• It is known for mountain ranges (Alaska Range, with Mt. Denali – highest peak in North America), glaciers, tundra, and rich natural resources.

• Its proximity to the Arctic and Russia makes it geopolitically significant for the USA.

• Recently, the Presidents of is US and Russia decided to have a meeting in Alaska on the issue of Russia-Ukraine war.

SLINEX

• It is a bilateral naval exercise between India and Sri Lanka started in 2005.

• It seeks to enhance interoperability, maritime cooperation and exchanging best practices between both Navies.