Daily Current Affairs | April 8 2025

1) Digital Threat Report 2024

• In a landmark initiative to strengthen cybersecurity resilience in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector, CERT-In (MeitY), CSIRT-Fin and SISA, a global Cybersecurity company, collaborated to launch the Digital Threat Report 2024 for the BFSI sector, a comprehensive analysis of current and emerging cyber threats and defense strategies.

• CERT-IN : Computer Emergency Response Team - India.

• CSIRT-FIN : Computer Security Incident Response Team in the Finance sector.

About the Report

• It is a sector-specific cybersecurity assessment focusing on BFSI industry.

• It provides a detailed evaluation of existing security vulnerabilities, evolving threat vectors, and best practices for cyber defence.

• Objectives - Cybersecurity resilience in the BFSI sector; Unified security framework at national and sectoral levels; and Enable proactive threat management.

Key Highlights

• Interconnectedness of Financial System - Identifies systemic risks due to interconnectivity in the financial ecosystem.

• Risk from AI - Highlights AI-driven threats, compliance risks, and sophisticated fraud techniques.

• Solutions - The report offers actionable recommendations across people, process, and technology domains.

• Collaboration - It emphasises the need for collaborative intelligence-sharing to prevent cascading cyber failures.

2) ZooWIN Portal

• Union Health Ministry has introduced a digital platform, ZooWIN, designed to track and manage the real-time availability of anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) and anti-snake venom (ASV) across the country.

• Similar to the Co-WIN and U-WIN platforms, ZooWIN will centralise data and improve collaboration among healthcare providers, municipal authorities, and veterinary services.

About the Portal

• Developed by - National Centre for Disease Control (under Union Health Ministry).

• It is technically supported by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

• Purpose - To monitor stocks of Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) across India.

• Aim - Prevention, control, and treatment of zoonotic diseases; and Real-time availability & distribution of vaccine stocks.

Features of ZooWIN

• Real-Time Tracking: Enables real-time data on vaccine availability using eVIN and U-WIN architecture.

• Health Facility Locator: Helps users locate the nearest health centre stocked with ARV or ASV.

• Follow-Up Tracking: Tracks patients for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to ensure full treatment adherence.

• Integration with One Health Approach: Supports the National Action Plan for Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE), targeting 50% reduction in deaths by 2030.

• Public Helpline Service: Operates helpline 15400 in pilot states for awareness and treatment guidance.

3) ESA’s Biomass Mission

• The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) new mission, known as the Biomass mission, will provide information about the state of the planet’s forests and how they are changing, helping expand the knowledge about the role forests play in the carbon cycle.

• The Biomass is ESA’s seventh Earth Explorer mission, which will place satellite in Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 666 Km.

Need for this Mission

• Significance of Forests - Forests absorb around 16 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, and currently hold 861 gigatonnes of carbon in their branches, leaves, roots, and soils.

• Lack of Data - lack of forest above-ground biomass(mass of living organisms) and forest height data on a wide geographical scale.

• As a result, there is a limited understanding of state of forests, their contribution and impact on the carbon cycle.

Other Aims of this Mission

• Human-Forest Dynamics : The mission will allow scientists to more accurately measure how carbon levels are changing as humans continue to cut down trees and increase CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

• Antarctica - The Biomass mission will observe the movement of ice sheets in Antarctica.

• Digital Data Generation - The mission will generate digital models of terrains covered by dense vegetation.

Earth Explorer Programme

• It is European Space Agency’s research-driven satellite series designed to explore Earth’s dynamic systems.

• The first spacecraft launched under ESA's Earth Explorer program was the GOCE (Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer), launched in 2009, aimed at mapping Earth's gravity field and ocean circulation.

• The most recent one was the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission, which was launched in May 2024.

4) Women & Men in India Report

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, released the 26th edition of its publication titled “Women & Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators & Data”

• The publication offers a comprehensive overview of the gender landscape in India, presenting selected indicators and data across key areas like population, education, health, economic participation, and decision-making, all sourced from various Ministries/ Departments/Organisations.

Concerns

• Informal Employment - Most women remain confined to low-paid and informal sector job.

• Huge Divide - Despite growth, only 27.71 million women held DEMAT accounts versus 115.31 million men in 2024.

• Leadership Roles - Women still hold a smaller share in senior corporate or parliamentary positions.

• Urban-Rural Divide - Internet and health access indicators show slower progress in rural women’s inclusion.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Gender Parity Index in Education - The primary and higher Secondary levels have consistently high GPI, indicating strong female enrolment.

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) - The LPFR in usual status for ages 15 years and above has improved from 49.8% (2017-18) to 60.1% (2023-24).

• Financial Inclusion - Women own 39.2% of all bank accounts and contribute to 39.7% of total deposits. Their participation is highest in rural areas(42.2% account holders)

• Participation in Stock Market - Rise in DEMAT account over the years, indicating growing participation in the stock market.

• Other Positive News - Rising female-headed proprietary establishments, rising total number of electors and increase in the number of startups recognised by DPIIT with at least one-woman director.

5) 10 Years of MUDRA Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) celebrated its 10th anniversary in April, 2025. Prime Minister of India and key ministers hailed the scheme’s role in financial inclusion and grassroots entrepreneurship.

• PMMY was launched in 2015 by Ministry of Finance to provide collateral-free credit up to ₹10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

More Info on PMMY

• Types of Loans :

  • Shishu - Up to ₹50,000

  • Kishore - ₹50,000–₹5 lakh

  • Tarun - ₹5 lakh–₹10 lakh

  • Tarun Plus - ₹10–₹20 lakh

• Implemented by MUDRA Ltd under SIDBI.

• Lenders - All SCBs, NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions(MFIs), Small Finance Banks(SFBs) and Cooperative Banks.

• No collateral required and interest rates are set as per RBI norms.

• Focus on underserved groups - Women, SC/ST/OBC, minorities

Concerns Regarding PMMY

• Risk of Default :

  • Credit push without corresponding financial literacy may increase default risks in some regions.

  • Limited handholding or up skilling support post-credit disbursement hampers sustainability.

• Little Share of Tarun Loans : Higher loan categories (₹5–₹20 lakh) still account for a small share.

• Over-reliance on PSBs - High reliance on public sector banks with low NBFC/MFI penetration in remote areas.