GK One-Liners

What: The Central Government issued comprehensive rules for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) under the National Pension System (NPS) framework, operational retrospectively from April 1, 2025. The scheme enables government employees with a minimum of 20 years of service to retire early with pension benefits and offers a one-time migration option for employees currently under the NPS to switch to the UPS. The UPS aims to provide assured pension benefits while maintaining fiscal sustainability.

How: Under the UPS, employees receive an assured pension equal to 50% of their average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months before retirement for those completing 25 years of service (proportionately reduced for 20-25 years). The scheme includes assured family pension, minimum assured pension of ₹10,000 per month after 10 years of service, and inflation indexation linked to All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW). Employees contribute 10% of basic pay plus Dearness Allowance (DA), while the government contributes 18.5%, higher than the 14% under NPS.

Why: Pension reforms and social security are critical governance topics. Questions on NPS, UPS, Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and government employee welfare schemes appear in UPSC Prelims (Economy, Governance) and Mains GS2 and GS3 (Welfare Schemes, Fiscal Management). This topic connects to debates on fiscal sustainability versus social security, state government demands for reverting to OPS, and the balance between employee welfare and pension liabilities in public finances.

What: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed a formal agreement for Chandrayaan-5, a collaborative lunar mission to explore the Moon’s south pole region. The mission will feature an Indian-built lander carrying scientific instruments and a Japanese-manufactured rover for surface exploration. The combined spacecraft will be launched aboard Japan’s H3-24L heavy-lift rocket, demonstrating advanced bilateral space cooperation.

How: India’s expertise in cost-effective lunar landers (proven through Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft landing in August 2023) will be combined with Japan’s advanced rover technology and launch capabilities. The mission targets the lunar south pole because of its permanently shadowed craters that potentially contain water ice—crucial for future human habitation and as a resource for rocket fuel. Scientific objectives include studying lunar surface composition, mapping water ice deposits, analyzing regolith properties, and conducting geological surveys to understand the Moon’s formation and evolution.

Why: International space cooperation and India’s lunar ambitions are important science and diplomacy topics. Questions on Chandrayaan missions, ISRO achievements, India-Japan relations, and space exploration appear in UPSC Prelims (Science & Tech, International Relations) and Mains GS3 (Space Technology). This topic connects to India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, plans for a space station, the Artemis Accords for lunar exploration, and India’s positioning as a reliable and affordable partner in global space missions.

What: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) increased the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction limit to ₹5 lakh per payment for specific categories including capital market investments, insurance premium payments, and utility bill payments. The daily transaction limit for these categories has been raised to ₹10 lakh. This enhancement aims to improve convenience for high-value digital transactions while maintaining the existing ₹1 lakh limit for regular peer-to-peer and merchant payments.

How: The increased limits apply to UPI transactions specifically categorized under capital markets (mutual funds, stocks, IPO applications), insurance products (life, health, general insurance premiums), tax payments, and large utility bills. Users can make multiple transactions up to ₹5 lakh each within the ₹10 lakh daily cap for these categories. This change enables investors to make substantial investments digitally, purchase high-value insurance policies through UPI, and facilitates seamless high-value bill payments without requiring multiple transactions or alternative payment methods like NEFT or RTGS.

Why: Digital payment infrastructure and fintech innovations are crucial economic topics. Questions on UPI, NPCI, digital payments ecosystem, financial inclusion, and payment system regulations appear in UPSC Prelims (Economy, Science & Tech) and Mains GS3 (Economic Development, Digital Economy). This topic connects to the Digital India initiative, RBI’s Payment Vision documents, efforts to promote cashless transactions, and India’s emergence as a global leader in real-time digital payments with UPI processing over 10 billion transactions monthly.

What: India launched www.thevulturenetwork.org, the country’s first comprehensive vulture knowledge portal developed by Gauhati University in collaboration with conservation organizations. The portal serves as a centralized platform for vulture conservation efforts, providing resources for research, awareness campaigns, monitoring programs, and anti-poisoning initiatives. India is home to nine vulture species, several of which face critical population declines due to diclofenac poisoning and habitat loss.

How: The portal aggregates data on vulture populations, distribution maps, breeding sites, and threats across India. It facilitates knowledge sharing among researchers, conservationists, and wildlife authorities, hosts training materials for anti-poisoning campaigns, provides guidelines for establishing vulture safe zones, and connects stakeholders working on vulture conservation. The initiative supports implementation of the Vulture Action Plan, promotes alternative veterinary drugs to replace toxic diclofenac, and documents success stories from vulture conservation breeding centers established in states like Haryana, West Bengal, and Assam.

Why: Vulture conservation is critical for ecosystem health and waste management. Questions on endangered species conservation, Wildlife Protection Act, biodiversity hotspots, and flagship species programs appear in UPSC Prelims (Environment, Biodiversity) and Mains GS3 (Conservation Efforts). This topic connects to the ecological role of vultures as nature’s cleanup crew, the diclofenac ban, Project Tiger and similar conservation initiatives, and India’s commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity and protection of critically endangered species listed in IUCN Red List.

What: During Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s visit to India, both nations agreed to significantly expand defence technology cooperation and comprehensively review the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to enhance bilateral and regional trade. The discussions covered defence manufacturing, maritime security, cybersecurity collaboration, and strengthening people-to-people ties. Singapore is among India’s largest trading partners and a key investor in Indian infrastructure and technology sectors.

How: Defence cooperation includes joint exercises (SIMBEX for navies, Bold Kurukshetra for armies), co-development of defence technologies, sharing of best practices in urban warfare and counter-terrorism, and Singapore’s participation in India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem under the Make in India initiative. The AITIGA review aims to reduce non-tariff barriers, streamline customs procedures, expand the scope of tradeable goods, and address concerns about the agreement’s limited utilization. Singapore serves as India’s gateway to Southeast Asian markets and ASEAN, while India provides Singapore with strategic depth and market access.

Why: India-Singapore relations and ASEAN engagement are crucial for India’s Act East Policy. Questions on bilateral defence agreements, AITIGA, ASEAN trade mechanisms, and India’s strategic partnerships appear in UPSC Prelims (International Relations) and Mains GS2 (Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation). This topic connects to the Indo-Pacific strategy, Quad partnership, India’s maritime security interests in the Strait of Malacca, Singapore’s role as a financial hub for Indian companies, and broader efforts to deepen economic and security ties with Southeast Asia.

What: From September 1, 2025, silver jewellery in India comes under a voluntary Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID)-based hallmarking system administered by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This system aligns with the mandatory gold hallmarking regime implemented earlier, providing traceability and purity assurance for silver ornaments. Over 230 BIS-approved assaying and hallmarking centres across India are authorized to certify silver jewellery under this framework.

How: The HUID system assigns a unique six-digit alphanumeric code to each hallmarked silver item, linking it to manufacturer details, purity certification, and hallmarking centre information in a centralized database. Silver items are tested for purity (common standards are 925 for sterling silver and 999 for pure silver) and stamped with the BIS hallmark, fineness number, assaying centre’s mark, and HUID. Consumers can verify authenticity by checking the HUID against the BIS database via mobile app or website, ensuring protection against adulteration and fraud.

Why: Consumer protection and quality certification are important governance topics. Questions on BIS, hallmarking regulations, consumer rights, and quality standards appear in UPSC Prelims (Economy, Governance) and Mains GS2 and GS3 (Consumer Protection, Regulatory Frameworks). This topic connects to the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Legal Metrology Act, efforts to formalize the gems and jewellery sector, and building consumer trust through technological solutions like HUID that enable end-to-end traceability in precious metal trading.