Fully Accessible Route (FAR) Bonds
RBI excluded all new government securities with 14-year and 30- year tenures from the FAR.
- Introduced by – RBI
- Aim – To enable non-residents to invest in specified Government of India dated securities.
- Eligible investors are any “person resident outside India” as defined in section 2(w) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
Dividend Equalisation Fund (DEF)
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked UCBs to stop the practice of setting up a DEF.
- Set up by UCBs through appropriation of profits to pay dividends in future years, when profits are insufficient or where the bank has posted a net loss.
- However, current rules distinctly prohibit making such payments from previously accumulated profits or reserves.
- RBI also permitted UCBs to transfer the money in the DEF to general reserves/free reserves to provide better treatment of these balances for regulatory capital purposes
National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme (NATS)
Ministry for Education launched the National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme (NATS) 2.0 Portal.
- Launched under – Provisions of Apprentices Act, 1961
- Aim – For Skilling Indian Youth.
- Duration – 6 months to 1 year.
- During period of apprenticeship, apprentices are paid a stipend amount, 50% of which is reimbursable to the employer from Government.
Sturgeon
World-Wide Fund for Nature report found four species of sturgeon, among the most endangered fish species globally.
- Large, freshwater fishes of north temperate regions.
- Evolved in – Jurassic period
- Exploited globally for their roe/eggs (caviar) and meat.
- Trade has been regulated under CITES.
Kindlins
A recent study of Kindlins has uncovered significant and novel pathways to cancer treatment.
- Family of proteins that play crucial roles in cellular processes, particularly cell adhesion, migration, and signaling.
- Functions –
- Interact with the cytoplasmic tails of integrins, helping to activate them and promote their binding to ECM (Extracellular matrix) proteins
- Influences cell adhesion to the ECM and subsequent cell migration, which is critical in processes like wound healing and immune responses.
- Participates in signaling pathways that regulate cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation