UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelimbits 07-07-2025

Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme

Prelims: Economic Development | Social Sector Initiatives | Current events of national and international importance

Why in news?

Recently, Union Cabinet had approved Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme to support employment generation, enhance employability.

• Administered by - Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• Objectives – To enhance job creation, employability and social security in all sectors.
• Focus on – Manufacturing Sector and Incentives for 1^st timers.
• Target - To support employment generation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in 2 Years with an outlay of Rs.1 lakh Crore.
• Features – It consists of 2 parts with
  • Part A - Focused on 1^st timers
  • Part B - Focused on employers

The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a popular savings scheme introduced by the EPFO under the supervision of the Government of India. The employee and employer each contribute 12% of the employee's basic salary and dearness allowance towards EPF.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a non-constitutional body that promotes employees to save funds for retirement. It was launched in 1951 and is governed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It covers Indian and international workers.

• Incentive Payment Mechanism - All payments to the 1^st time employees under Part A of the Scheme will be made through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode using Aadhar Bridge Payment System (ABPS). 
• Payments to the Employers under Part B will be made directly into their PAN-linked Accounts.
• Significance of the scheme – It will formalize the country’s workforce by extending social security coverage for crores of young men and women.

Reference

PIB | Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme

Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV)

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance.

Why in the news?

Recently, A man in New South Wales has died from Australian bat lyssavirus..

• ABLV (Australian Bat lyssavirus) is a rare but deadly virus found in Australian bats.
• The virus has been found in species of flying foxes and insect-eating microbats.
• Transmission - Infected bats can transmit the virus to people, other bats and other mammals.

• Causes - The virus (a close relative to rabies, which does not exist in Australia) is transmitted when bat saliva enters the human body through a bite or scratch.
• Symptoms - First symptoms can take days or years to appear.
  • Early signs of the disease are flu-like  a headache, fever and fatigue.
  • The victim’s condition rapidly deteriorates, leading to paralysis, delirium, convulsions, coma and death.
• Treatment and cure - It is extremely rare to see a case of Australian bat lyssavirus, there is no effective treatment for it.
  • If bitten or scratched by a bat,  apply an antiseptic with anti-virus action.
  • Require treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine.
• Prevention – It is better to stay away from handling bats, especially without proper vaccination and training.

• People should avoid touching or handling bats, as any bat in Australia could carry lyssavirus.

First identified in 1996, by scientists at the national science agency CSIRO, who examined brain tissue from a flying fox that had been showing “nervous signs” in New South Wales.

• Severity – It is fatal, only four cases including this one, have been confirmed in Australia, all of which have resulted in death.

References

1. The Hindu | Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV)
2. TheEconomicTimes

Sheesh Mahal

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance | Indian art and culture

Why in the news?

Recently Sheesh Mahal, a Mughal-era palace, located in Shalimar Bagh, North Delhi, was restored and unveiled by Union Culture and Tourism Ministry.

• The magnificent 17^th-century palace, constructed under Emperor shah Jahan’s reign, showcases skilled Mughal architectural elements.
• The building is an important part of the vast complex Mughal garden    complex.
• Construction – Originally constructed of bricks and red sandstone.
• It was intended to be a replica of Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir, which was created by Emperor Jahangir in 1619.
• It is still intact in Delhi outside of Red fort and Humayun tomb complexes.
• The garden and water channels resemble paradise, offering both peace and display of dominion over nature.
• Historical importance – Aurangzeb held his imperial coronation here.
• It also served as one of the British forces camping’s during 1857 uprising.
• Recent developments - the palace and its surrounding gardens now protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• ASI undertook Restoration works of palace heritage features, Mughal-style Char-Bagh landscape recreated by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to revive its original glory.

Reference

The Hindu | Sheesh Mahal

Times of Inda

India’s Aluminium & Copper Vision Documents

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance | Indian Economy

Why in news?

India recently unveiled Aluminium and Copper Vision Documents 2047, which is aligned with Viksit Bharat vision.

• Aluminium vision document – It is a pivotal step in charting the sector’s future and outlines a growth roadmap to transform India into a global aluminium hub.
• Aluminium will be critical in driving the country’s journey towards becoming the third largest economy and a developed nation by 2047.
• Objectives – It aims to scale aluminium production from 4.5 MTPA to nearly 37 MTPA (Six times) by 2047.
• To expand bauxite production to 150 MTPA by 2047.
• To double the national aluminium recycling rate.
• To promote low-carbon technologies and raw material security.
• Strategic importance of aluminium – The vision highlights aluminium’s critical role in,
  • Clean energy systems
  • Electric mobility
  • Modern infrastructure
  • Achieving net-zero targets
• India is the world’s second largest producer of aluminium, and it accounts for just 6% of global production.
• It points that significant growth potential is there in aluminium production as there is more untapped resource.
• Copper vision document – It provides a long-term strategy to meet growing domestic demand while ensuring raw material security,

• Objectives – To scale up aluminium production by six times from current production by 2047.
• To add 5 MTPA smelting and refining capacity by 2030.
• To focus on secondary refining, domestic recycling, and securing overseas mineral assets.
• The document anticipates that copper demand will increase six-fold by 2047.
• Copper's role in green technologies – The vision recognises copper’s essential role in,
  • Energy transition
  • Infrastructure development
  • Electric vehicles and solar power

Significance of the Aluminium and Copper Vision documents

• Achieving Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in production.
• Strengthening raw material security.
• Promoting circular economy and recycling.
• Enhancing value-added exports and global market share.

Reference

The Hindu| India’s Aluminium & Copper Vision Documents

India’s CAFE Norms for Small Cars

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance

Why in news?

Recently, a study by Nomura (a research and consulting firm in Japan) recommended reforming India’s CAFE norms to relax emission targets for small cars.

• CAFE Norms – The Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms were introduced by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2017 to regulate fuel consumption and carbon emissions from passenger vehicles.
• It apply to vehicles that are under 3,500 kg, including petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, hybrid, and electric vehicles.
• Current targets under CAFÉ – As per the 2022-23 norms, automakers must ensure,
  • Fuel consumption – Not more than 4.78 litres per 100 km.
  • CO₂ emissions – Not more than 113 grams per km.
• These norms are designed to reduce oil imports, cut air pollution, and promote cleaner vehicles.

Nomura Study Highlights Bias Against Small Cars

• Linear weight-based approach – As the weight of a vehicle increases, the allowed CO₂ emissions target also increases, in a linear (straight-line) manner.
• The study states that India’s linear weight-based approach results in stricter CO₂ targets only for lighter vehicles.

• But in other hand heavier vehicles like SUVs get relaxed targets, even if they emit more CO₂.
• Regulatory paradox – Reducing a car's weight is a common way to cut emissions but in India, as a car gets lighter, its emission target becomes even stricter, making light weighting efforts counterproductive for small cars.
• But globally there is relaxed norms for smaller, lighter cars to encourage their use due to their environmental and socio-economic value.

Examples from Global Markets

• USA & China – Both follow a piecewise linear approach, where targets remain constant below a certain size/weight.
• South Korea – It offers constant targets and additional benefits (5–7g/km relaxation) for small car sales.
• Japan – It uses a non-linear approach, avoiding strict penalties for lightweight, small cars.

Reference

The Indian Express| India’s CAFE Norms for Small Cars