The markhor (Capra falconeri) is an iconic and ecologically significant species found across the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia, including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 24 May the International Day of the Markhor, A/RES/78/278, and we celebrated it for the first time in 2024. The markhor was categorized as “near threatened” in 2014 and is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
In line with his commitment to take all the states together as “Team India” for a Viksit Bharat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog on May 24, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. This year's theme is ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047’, with the central focus on states and thereby making India a developed nation.
The 10th Governing Council meeting provides a platform to the Centre and States / Union Territories to deliberate on development challenges facing the nation and building consensus on how States can be the building blocks for making India a developed nation, i.e., Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat.
To make it easier for people to claim unclaimed bank deposits, now exceeding ₹78,000 crore, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed new rules that allow customers to update their KYC (Know Your Customer) details using video calls (Video KYC) or with the help of business correspondents (BCs), especially in rural areas.
In a draft circular, the RBI suggested easier KYC norms to help account holders and nominees reactivate long-dormant accounts. Under the proposed changes, banks can offer KYC updates not just at the home branch, but at any branch and through video-based KYC where available. Banks can also allow BCs to help with KYC and account activation to reach customers.
These changes will ease the process for customers or nominees trying to reclaim funds from accounts that have been inactive for over 10 years. So far, these accounts are required to be transferred to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness Fund, which currently holds over Rs. 78,000 crore.
The Reserve Bank of India announced penalties on Union Bank of India and Transactree Technologies for not following certain regulatory rules. Union Bank of India has been fined Rs 63.6 lakh for not complying with some parts of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and for not following RBI’s directions related to 'Credit Flow to Agriculture – Collateral-free Agricultural loans
In a separate statement, the RBI said Transactree Technologies Pvt Ltd, also known as 'Lendbox,' has been fined Rs 40 lakh. This was for failing to comply with rules under the 'Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer Lending Platform (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2017.'
The central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved a record ₹2.69 trillion surplus transfer to the government for the financial year 2024-25, even after maintaining the contingent risk buffer at 7.5 per cent — the upper end of a new range it approved following a review of the RBI’s economic capital framework (ECF).
The board decided to expand the central bank’s contingent risk buffer or CRB range from 5.5-6.5 per cent of the balance sheet followed for the five years ending 2023-24, to 4.5-7.5 per cent, that is, 6 per cent +/- 1.5 per cent of its balance sheet. This is the second year in a row that the RBI has transferred a record surplus to the Centre.
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has clinched the silver medal at the 2025 Janusz Kusociński Memorial meet in Chorzów, Poland. The two-time Olympic medallist recorded a throw of 84.14 metres in challenging conditions on his sixth and final attempt. This marked his 22nd consecutive top-two finish since 2021.
Germany’s Julian Weber won the Gold with a throw of 86.12 metres, while Anderson Peters of Grenada secured third place with a throw of 83.24 metres.cChopra’s next appearance will be at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in the Czech Republic on June 24.
In a major boost to Bihar’s agri-food sector, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), in collaboration with the Government of Bihar, APEDA, and the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), successfully hosted the state’s first-ever International Buyer-Seller Meet (IBSM) at Gyan Bhawan in Patna.
This two-day event provided an essential platform for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to connect directly with global buyers and showcase the unique agricultural products of Bihar. The meet attracted over 70 international buyers from 20 countries, including the UAE, Japan, Germany, and the UK.
The New Development Bank (NDB), established by BRICS nations, has admitted Algeria as a new member, further expanding its global membership base. Algeria has deposited its instrument of accession, in line with the provisions of the Articles of Agreement of the NDB on May 19, the Shanghai-headquartered bank said in a press release.
Established in 2015 by BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank aimed at mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other EMDCs.
Since its establishment in 2015, NDB approved over 120 investment projects totalling USD 40 billion and spanning several key areas, including clean energy and energy efficiency, transport infrastructure, environmental protection, water supply and sanitation, social infrastructure and digital infrastructure.
FIFA has lifted its suspension on the Republic of Congo's soccer federation three months after it was imposed over third-party interference in its affairs amid a dispute with the country's sports ministry, the global governing body said on 24th May 2025. The long-standing dispute had resulted in the closure of some sports facilities and the Congo federation's headquarters.
The decision was taken after the conditions requested by the Bureau to lift the suspension of FECOFOOT had been met, including the return of full control of the FECOFOOT headquarters, the Ignié Technical Centre and the association’s other facilities to the FECOFOOT Executive Committee led by Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas and his administration.
US President Donald Trump shortlisted a design for the futuristic ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system and said that it would be ready by the end of his term in office and named a Space Force general to lead the program, in order to neutralize threats from Russia and China.
While revealing an estimated cost of the program to be $175 billion, Trump named US Space Force General Michael Guetlein as the program manager who is viewed as the go to person for the president’s military planning.