• NEWS:Retail inflation at 7-month low as food prices decline
• GS-3 ECONOMY
• ISSUE :
• Consumer price inflation drops to 3.6% in February 2025; with growth slowing for the fourth straight month
• increasing chances of a repo rate reduction
• The increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the retail prices, has slowed for the fourth consecutive month
• It is lower than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target inflation of 4%
• the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) increased just 3.75% in February, the slowest in almost two years

IFLATION

• Inflation refers to the general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy over time, leading to a decrease in the purchasing power of money. It is typically measured as an annual percentage using indices such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Moderate inflation is often seen as a sign of a growing economy, but high or hyperinflation can destabilize economies, erode savings, and reduce the standard of living.

Key Causes of Inflation:

1. Demand-Pull Inflation.
2. Cost-Push Inflation:
3. Built-In Inflation:
4. Monetary Inflation:

Consumer price index

• It is a key indicator of inflation that measures changes in the average retail prices paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services over time.
  • Base Year for CPI is 2012.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) uses CPI data to control inflation.
• In India, there are different CPIs that cater to specific population groups:
  • CPI for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)CPI for Agricultural Laborers (CPI-AL)CPI for Rural Laborers (CPI-RL)
  • CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (CPI-UNME)
• It is released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• NEWS:In Mauritius, Prime Minister says ‘free, open, and secure’ Indian Ocean priority for both countries

GS-2 INTERNATIONAL RELATION

• He conveyed India’s unambiguous support for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos archipelago.
• In the next five years, 500 civil servants of Mauritius will be trained in India
• The two sides also sealed eight memorandums of understanding, including one that will allow settlement of trade issues through local currencies
• NEWS:APAAR ID system voluntary, but activists and parents raise concern over growing mandates

GS-2 POLITY

• The APAAR ID ties into DigiLocker and the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC)
• the government hopes to use to standardise students’ school transcripts in a uniform way as a “single source of truth”
• the APAAR ID system has drawn scrutiny on data privacy and necessity grounds
• the Education Ministry has said in a document on its website that getting an APAAR ID is not mandatory,
• the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) told schools in a circular in January that it expects them “to ensure 100% saturation of APAAR IDs for all students”, a directive that many schools have taken as a mandate

APAAR

• About: APAAR, an acronym for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, is a specialised identification system designed for all students in India, beginning from an early age.
  • It is introduced in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF).
  • Registration for an APAAR ID is voluntary, not mandatory.
• It aims to streamline and enhance the academic experience for students throughout India by assigning a unique and permanent 12-digit ID to each student
• consolidating their academic records into a single accessible platform.
• It is emphasised as not only a vital tool for tracking the educational progress of 260 million students in India but also as an aspirational and globally recognized document for students.
• NEWS:Centre asks Gujarat court to serve U.S. summons on Adani

GS-2 INTERNATIONAL RELATION

• Request for service of summons received from Central Authority USA under Hague Convention.
• Under consideration is a request for service of summons received from the Central Authority USA, under the Hague Convention for Service of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, 1965
• India’s Stance on Service of Process: India rejects alternative service methods under the Article 10 of the Convention, including postal service, diplomatic channels, or direct service by foreign courts.
• All requests must go through the Law Ministry, which can reject them if they threaten sovereignty or security

Hague Service Convention (1965): A multilateral treaty that facilitates the cross-border service of legal documents in civil or commercial matters among 84 signatory states, including India (acceded to the Convention in 2006 with certain reservations) and the US. 

NEWS:Design stage of small modular nuclear reactor completed

GS-3 SCIENCE AND TECHNNOLOGY

• It will take 60 to 72 months for the reactor to be constructed after the project is sanctioned
• Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR) is a modified versions of India’s existing Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PWHR) and will have a capacity of 200 MW each.
• They will be fuelled by “slightly enriched uranium” and are being jointly designed and developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL).
• These BSMRs will be used by energy intensive industries such as steel, aluminium, and cement for captive power and can be set up by repurposing thermal power plants that are to be decommissioned.
• They can also provide electricity in remote places
• The BSMR was based on the “globally proven” pressurised water reactor technology.
• It was equipped with passive safety features as well as several engineered safety systems to ensure nuclear safety during accidents
• MAINS QUESTION
• Indias ambitious target of renewable energy by 2030.schemes and initiatives to achive it