Current Affairs - National

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched the SPREE 2025 scheme, aimed at enhancing social security coverage by encouraging unregistered employers and workers to voluntarily register under the ESI Act, 1948. Running from July 1 to December 31, 2025, the scheme offers simplified digital registration through portals like ESIC, Shram Suvidha, and MCA. It provides immunity from past inspections and contribution demands, removing a major deterrent for employers. By covering contractual, temporary, and gig workers, SPREE 2025 promotes inclusivity and seeks to strengthen the social safety net for India’s vast informal and underserved workforce.

The Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme is designed to enhance job creation, employability, and social security across sectors, with a significant emphasis on the manufacturing sector. This focus aims to drive large-scale employment generation by incentivizing industries to hire, particularly benefiting first-time employees who will receive a wage benefit of up to Rs 15,000 in two installments. With an ambitious goal of generating over 3.5 crore jobs in just two years, supported by a financial outlay of Rs one lakh crore, the scheme positions the manufacturing sector as a central pillar for economic growth and employment expansion.

The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) team participated in the 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition held in Midland, Texas. In this prestigious event, they competed in the SDL Payload Challenge category. The team's rocket, named "Vayu Vega", not only met all safety requirements but also impressed the judges with its overall performance. As a result, the team achieved second place and received a monetary prize of USD 750. This success highlights the team's engineering skills and their ability to perform at an international level.

India’s first dedicated wildlife corridor has been developed on the Delhi-Mumbai Highway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This 12-kilometre stretch includes five wildlife overpasses and the country’s longest underpass built exclusively for the safe movement of animals. The corridor passes through the buffer zone of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, ensuring minimal disruption to the habitat and natural migration routes of wildlife. This initiative reflects a significant step towards sustainable infrastructure development by balancing environmental conservation with modern highway expansion, marking a milestone in India's approach to wildlife protection.

Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the Government of India to protect elephants, their habitat, and migration corridors. It focuses on measures such as mortality mitigation, particularly along railway tracks, genetic profiling of captive elephants, and conflict management in areas prone to human-elephant encounters. The project also plays a crucial role in preserving India's National Heritage Animal and ensuring the conservation of Indian elephants, which make up about 60% of the global Asian elephant population. Regular reviews, like the recent Phase-I estimation in the Northeastern states, help track the project's impact and guide future actions.