25 June 2025
(Current Affairs Notes - Prelims)

PSL Norms for the SFBs

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for the Small Finance Banks (SFB).

• PSL framework mandates banks to allocate a specific percentage of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) to priority sectors.

• Categories under Priority Sector: Agriculture; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Export Credit; Education; Housing; Social Infrastructure; Renewable Energy; others.

• All banks with the authority to give loans are mandated to follow PSL norms, though it varies for different categories of banks.

• The latest rules are related to the norms for SFBs.

• Earlier, SFBs had to lend 75% of ANBC to Priority Sector Lending (PSL) sectors.

  • • 40%: Mandatory allocation to PSL sectors (e.g., agriculture, microenterprises)

    • 35%: Flexible allocation (could choose PSL sectors of competitive advantage)

• As per the new rules, total PSL for SFBs is reduced to 60% of ANBC

  • • 40%: Still mandatory for PSL sectors

    • 20%: Flexible (can now be used for non-PSL secured loans)

• SFBs were established with the objective to supply credit to small business units, small farmers, etc. through high technology low-cost operations.

Sustainable Development Report 2025

• Released annually since 2016 by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

• The 2025 SDR is titled as ‘Financing Sustainable Development to 2030 and Mid-Century’.

• SDR tracks global progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The SDR 2025 has ranked 193 countries with respect to achieving SDGs

  • • Finland ranked first

    • India rank 99th (improvement from 109th in 2024)

• The report highlighted that progress is hindered by conflicts, structural vulnerabilities, and limited fiscal space.

• SDGs are a set of 17 global goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The goals are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

Sree Narayana Guru

• Prime Minister inaugurated the centenary celebration of the historic conversation between Sree Narayana Guru and Mahatma Gandhi.

• About the conversation

  • • The meeting between them happened in 1925 when Gandhi met Sree Narayana Guru at his ashram (Sivagiri Mutt) during his visit to Kerala (in March 1925).

    • Described as a moment of moral and philosophical convergence, the meeting has since been regarded as a milestone in India’s social reform movement.

    • The conversation between them is remembered for its deep engagement with key issues of the time – Vaikom Satyagraha, religious conversions, non-violence, untouchability, and upliftment of marginalised communities.

• About Sree Narayan Guru (1856–1928)

  • • He was a saint, seer, philosopher, poet, and social reformer who led a movement against the caste system.

    • He founded the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam.

    • He wrote Atmopadesa Satakam and Nivritti Panchakam.

    • His philosophy of “One Caste, One Religion, One God” fights all forms of bias.

    • He supported the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25), a movement for temple entry rights for lower castes.

Estimates Committee

• The year 2025 marks the 75 years of formation of Estimates Committee.

• It comprises 30 members elected from the Lok Sabha Members.

• Ministers are not eligible to be its members.

• The chairperson is appointed by the Speaker from among the members.

• Key functions: Expenditure review of the policies, suggest alternative policies to bring about efficiency, etc.

NAVYA

• Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls (NAVYA)

• By Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)

• Girls aged 16 to 18 years who have completed at least Class 10 will be provided with vocational training, especially in non-traditional job roles.

Critical and Emerging Technologies Index

• By the Harvard Kennedy School

• Assesses performance of 25 countries across five technology sectors: AI, biotechnology, semiconductors, space, and quantum.

• India lags significantly behind the top three – U.S., China, and Europe – across most technology sectors.

Black Mass Recovery Technology

• Developed indigenously by a company named BatX Energies.

• Black mass – a mix of critical minerals – is the dark, powdery substance remaining inside a lithium-ion battery that has reached its end of life.

• Black Mass Recovery Technology is a process that extracts valuable materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel from used lithium-ion batteries.

Epigenetic Programming

• Researchers in China use DNA editing to produce fertile mice from two male parents for the first time.

• The new research advances epigenetic programming as a reproductive tool to breed motherless mice without compromising on their health and fertility.

• Epigenetic programming refers to the process by which gene activity is regulated without changing the underlying DNA sequence.