UniFocus IAS ( UNIFOCUS UNIVERSAL )

  In a significant milestone for India’s animal health system and international trade facilitation, the country has established and secured global recognition for its   first Equine Disease-Free Compartment (EDFC) . Recognised by the   World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)   on   3rd July 2025 , this approved facility at the   Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre & College, Meerut Cantonment, Uttar Pradesh , marks a major step towards enabling the   international movement of Indian sport horses   in compliance with global biosecurity and animal health standards. With the implementation of  robust biosecurity protocols, stringent veterinary surveillance, and adherence to international norms , Indian sport horses from this facility can now be eligible to  travel and compete abroad . This significantly enhances the prospects of Indian riders and horses in global equestrian competitions and  raises India’s profile in the inte...

  The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) came into force in 1997, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, with its 193 Member States, it oversees the global endeavour  to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons. The OPCW was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize for its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons.  India is an original signatory to the Convention. The National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) is the national authority responsible for implementing the Convention in India. In 2024, NACWC successfully mentored the Kenya National Authority under the OPCW Mentorship/ Partnership Programme to strengthen its implementation capacity. The Indian Chemical Council (ICC), India’s  oldest Chemical  Industry Association works closely with  the NACWC for reaching out to industry. ICC brought laurels for India as it was awarded the OPCW-The Ha...

MTG-S1 & Copernicus Sentinel-4 missions launched by European Union About Malaria WHO Scientific advisory group issues report on origins of COVID-19 WHO launches “3 by 35” Initiative Suriname certified malaria-free by WHO ESIC Launches SPREE 2025 to Expand Social Security Coverage RBI Advises Banks to Integrate DoT’s Financial Fraud Risk Indicator ( FRI ) Coal Ministry to Launch R E C L A I M - A Community Engagement and Development Framework for Mine Closure and Repurposing Cabinet Approves Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme Cabinet Approves Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme to scale up Research, Development and Innovation in Strategic and Sunrise Domains Cabinet approves National Sports Policy 2025

The second of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites and the first instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission successfully launched.  Both are Earth observation missions developed by the European Sp ace Agency (ESA) with it partnes.  The main mission objective of MTG-S1 mission  is to observe the concentration of air quality parameters in the atmosphere above Europe and North Africa, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, glyoxal, and formaldehyde. Sentinel-4 will focus on monitoring of trace gas concentrations and aerosols in the atmosphere to support air-quality near-real time applications, air-quality monitoring, and climate monitoring – specifically with a short revisit period over Europe. The Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission is part of Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Space Programme. The European Space Agency  The European operational satellite agency World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Globally in 2023, there were an estimated 263 million malaria cases and 597 000 malaria deaths in 83 countries. The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2023, the WHO African Region was home to 94% of malaria cases (246 million) and 95% (569 000) of malaria deaths. Children under 5 accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in the Region. Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries. It is preventable and curable. The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person. Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening. Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache. Severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing. Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women and girls, travellers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk of severe infection.  Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites ...

The WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, today published its  report  on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. In its report, SAGO considered available evidence for the main hypotheses for the origins of COVID-19 and concluded that “the weight of available evidence…suggests zoonotic spillover…either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.” WHO requested that China share hundreds of genetic sequences from individuals with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information about the animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan. To date, China has not shared this information either with SAGO or WHO. WHO News

  The World Health Organization (WHO) today has launched a major new initiative urging countries to raise real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 through health taxes in a move designed to curb chronic diseases and generate critical public revenue.  The “3 by 35” Initiative  comes at a time when health systems are under enormous strain from rising noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), shrinking development aid and growing public debt. The Initiative has an ambitious but achievable goal of raising US$1 trillion over the next 10 years. Between 2012 and 2022, nearly 140 countries raised tobacco taxes, which resulted in an increase of real prices by over 50% on average, showing that large-scale change is possible. The “3 by 35” Initiative introduces key action areas to help countries, pairing proven health policies with best practices on implementation. These include direct support for country-led reforms with the following goals in mind: Cutting...

Today, Suriname became the first country in the Amazon region to receive malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization (WHO). With today’s announcement, a total of  46 countries and 1 territory  have been certified as malaria-free by WHO, including 12 countries in the Region of the Americas. Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years. WHO News

  The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has approved SPREE 2025 (Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees)—during its 196th ESI Corporation Meeting held in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, under the chairmanship of Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports. SPREE 2025 The Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees (SPREE) 2025, approved by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), is a special initiative aimed at expanding social security coverage under the ESI Act. The scheme will be active from 1st July to 31st December 2025 and provides a one-time opportunity for unregistered employers and employees—including contractual and temporary workers—to enrol without facing inspections or demands for past dues. Under SPREE 2025: Employers can register their units and employees digitally through the ESIC portal, Shram Suvidha and MCA portal. Registration will be considered val...

  The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) welcomes the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) advisory issued on June 30, 2025, directing all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by DoT into their systems. This is a watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial frauds and a testament to the power of inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding citizens in India’s growing digital economy. It also underscores the strategic importance of automating data exchange between banks and DoT's DIP through API-based integration, enabling real-time responsiveness and continuous feedback to further refine the fraud risk models. What is  “Financial Fraud Risk Indicator” and how will it help Banks to prevent Cyber fraud ? The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), launched in May 2025 by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile...

  The Coal Ministry is set to launch RECLAIM – a community engagement and development framework. The framework will be launched by Union Minister of Coal and Mines Sh G Kishan Reddy on 4 th   July, 2025. The Coal Controller Organisation, under the Ministry of Coal, in partnership with the Heartfulness Institute, has developed this comprehensive Community Development Framework designed specifically for mine closures. Recognizing that mine closures significantly impact both landscapes and local livelihoods, this framework is a key step toward ensuring a just and sustainable transition for communities that have developed alongside mining operations over decades. The framework—referred to as the RECLAIM—serves as a structured guide for inclusive community engagement and development throughout the mine closure and post-closure phases. It offers a practical, step-by-step approach to institutionalizing community participation in the transition process. The framework is supported by a...

  The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has  approved the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector.  Under the Scheme, while the first-time employees will get one month’s wage (up to Rs 15,000/-), the employers will be given incentives for a period to two years for generating additional employment, with extended benefits for another two years for the manufacturing sector.  The ELI Scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 as part of PM’s package of five schemes to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 Crore youth with a total budget outlay of Rs 2 Lakh Crore.  With an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore, the ELI Scheme aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years.  Out of these, 1.92 Crore beneficiaries wi...

Union Cabinet approved the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme with a corpus of Rs. One lakh Crore.           Recognizing the critical role that the private sector plays in driving innovation and commercializing research the RDI Scheme aims to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors at low or nil interest rates to spur private sector investment in RDI. The scheme has been designed to overcome the constraints and challenges in funding of private sector and seeks to provide growth & risk capital to sunrise and strategic sectors to facilitate innovation, promote adoption of technology and enhance competitiveness. Key objectives of the Scheme are as follows: a)   Encourage the private sector to scale up research, development, and innovation (RDI) in sunrise domains and in other sectors relevant for economic security, strategic purpose, and self-reliance; b)   Finance tra...

  The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved the  the  National Sports Policy (NSP) 2025 , a landmark initiative aimed at reshaping the country’s sporting landscape and empowering citizens through sports. The new policy supersedes the existing  National Sports Policy, 2001 , and lays out a visionary and strategic roadmap to establish India as a global sporting powerhouse and a strong contender for excellence at international sporting events, including the  2036 Olympic Games . The NSP 2025 is the outcome of extensive consultations involving Central Ministries, NITI Aayog, State Governments, National Sports Federations (NSFs), athletes, domain experts, and public stakeholders. The policy is anchored on five key pillars. 1. Excellence on the Global Stage This pillar aims to: Strengthen sports programs from the grassroots to elite levels, including mechanisms for early identification and nurturing of talent. Promote the establ...