{"id":72183,"date":"2026-04-24T18:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72183"},"modified":"2026-04-24T18:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:47:48","slug":"news-in-short-24-04-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-04-2026\/news-in-short-24-04-2026","title":{"rendered":"News In Short 24-04-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The RBI has released a draft framework to expand and restructure <strong>prepaid payment instruments (PPIs),<\/strong> while tightening rules around their use and issuance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prepaid payment instruments (PPIs)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PPIs are <strong>digital wallets <\/strong>that allow users to load money in advance and use it to make payments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PPIs are currently divided into<strong> two categories<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Full-KYC wallets, which require strict identity verification<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Small wallets, which have simpler onboarding rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Latest proposals&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>RBI proposes introducing <strong>special-purpose prepaid wallets<\/strong> for specific needs such as public transport, gifting, and use by foreign nationals or NRIs in India.\u00a0\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the same time, it explicitly bans cross-border use of PPIs, keeping them limited to domestic transactions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f4eae2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"265\" height=\"379\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-148.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-72186\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f4eae2; aspect-ratio:0.6992133849419403;width:461px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-148.png 265w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-148-210x300.png 210w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also introduces a broader classification: general-purpose PPIs and special-purpose PPIs (gift, transit, and foreign nationals\/NRIs).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key proposed limits and features include:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Full-KYC PPIs:<\/strong> Valid for 1 year, with \u20b92 lakh balance and monthly transaction limits; P2P transfers capped at \u20b925,000\/month; cash loading limited to \u20b910,000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Small PPIs: <\/strong>Valid for 2 years, capped at \u20b910,000 balance and monthly usage, restricted to goods and services only.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gift PPIs<\/strong>: Non-reloadable, max \u20b910,000 value, 1-year validity, no cash purchase allowed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transit PPIs<\/strong>: No KYC required, \u20b93,000 limit, perpetual validity, but no withdrawal, refund, or transfer facility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Foreign national\/NRIs PPIs: <\/strong>Up to \u20b95 lakh limit, used via UPI One World for merchant payments in India, must be closed when visa expires.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulation related :\u00a0 <\/strong>Only banks and RBI-approved non-banks can issue PPIs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Non-bank issuers must meet net worth requirements starting at \u20b95 crore, rising to \u20b915 crore within three years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PPIs cannot pay interest, and must follow strict KYC and operational rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Consumer protection measures: <\/strong>It includes mandatory refunds for failed transactions, clear disclosures of terms and charges, grievance redressal systems, and automatic closure of inactive wallets after one year of inactivity (with prior user notification).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :<a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/industry\/indias-textile-exports-edge-up-2-1-in-fy26-despite-global-headwinds-11776860376823.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LM<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Evaporative Demand<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A recent study reveals that roughly 30% of global land surface <strong>was under drought by end-2025<\/strong>, nearly triple the ~<strong>10% recorded in the 1990s<\/strong>, and signals a fundamental structural shift in how droughts form and intensify.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The old drought pattern was driven primarily by precipitation deficit and emerging drought pattern driven by <strong>evaporative demand<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Evaporative demand <\/strong>refers to the atmosphere\u2019s ability to draw water from the Earth\u2019s surface through evaporation and plant transpiration.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is <strong>influenced by factors <\/strong>like temperature, wind speed, humidity, and cloud cover, and when it is high, it can intensify drought conditions and increase wildfire risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Key Concepts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Evapotranspiration (ET):<\/strong> The combined water loss from soil evaporation and plant transpiration. Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is the atmosphere&#8217;s theoretical demand for water under given temperature conditions \u2014 it rises sharply with warming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Snow Drought:<\/strong> A condition where reduced snowpack \u2014 rather than rainfall deficit \u2014 drives downstream water shortage. Particularly critical for glacially-fed river systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Day Zero:<\/strong> The point at which a city&#8217;s municipal water supply system effectively fails \u2014 made globally prominent by Cape Town&#8217;s near-crisis in 2018.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compound Drought-Heat Events: <\/strong>Simultaneous or sequential occurrence of drought and extreme heat \u2014 mutually reinforcing, with heat amplifying evaporative demand and drought intensifying surface heating.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>La Ni\u00f1a: <\/strong>A periodic cooling of central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface temperatures \u2014 historically associated with increased rainfall in some drought-affected regions. Its failure to reverse drought trends in 2025 underscores the dominance of anthropogenic warming over natural variability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: DTE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Govt pushes E100 fuel, flex-fuel vehicles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government is considering<strong> E100 fuel blending<\/strong> and a <strong>transition to flex-fuel vehicles<\/strong> to reduce India\u2019s dependence on imported crude.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The steps come amid a<strong> growing energy crisis triggered by the war in West Asia, <\/strong>which has choked supplies of crude oil and gas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The government has allowed <strong>blends of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),<\/strong> produced from used <strong>cooking oil or ethanol.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The notification legally defines <strong>aviation turbine fuel (ATF) <\/strong>both as a <strong>complex mixture of hydrocarbons and as synthesised hydrocarbons<\/strong> blended with cooking oil or ethanol, creating a legal basis for SAF.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is E100?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>E100 <\/strong>refers to fuel <strong>with 100% ethanol content<\/strong> or near-100%, since small quantities of water improve combustion.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flex-fuel vehicles<\/strong> are designed to<strong> run on any mixture of ethanol and petrol,<\/strong> from pure petrol to E100, with onboard sensors adjusting engine parameters accordingly.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brazil has operated the world\u2019s most mature <strong>flex-fuel programme since 2003,<\/strong> where sugarcane-derived ethanol powers a large share of the vehicle fleet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/india-news\/govt-pushes-e100-fuel-flex-fuel-vehicles-allows-ethanol-blending-in-aviation-fuel-to-cut-crude-imports-101776908848635.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>HT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The historic <strong>WHO Pandemic Agreement (WPA)<\/strong>, adopted in 2025, still lacks the much-needed <strong>Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>PABS<\/strong> seeks to <strong>legally link sample-sharing to guaranteed benefits, <\/strong>making it mandatory for pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide <strong>20% of real-time vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTD) production<\/strong> to the WHO during declared pandemics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PABS is <strong>backed by around 100 LMICs, <\/strong>including India, which represent nearly 80% of the world\u2019s population, however, <strong>opposition comes from developed countries,<\/strong> which are home to some of the world\u2019s largest pharmaceutical companies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, where new pathogens often emerge, <strong>are expected to proactively share biological materials and genomic data<\/strong> through WHO.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, <strong>countries that develop life-critical <\/strong>VTDs using that material are <strong>under no obligation<\/strong> to reciprocate with fair and timely access to these clinical products.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Without a binding legal framework<\/strong> to enforce fair sharing from samples to solutions, a coordinated global response to cross-border health crises will remain fraught with challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The WHO Pandemic Agreement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was adopted by the <strong>World Health Assembly in 2025.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The aim is to negotiate a <strong>WHO convention on pandemic prevention,<\/strong> preparedness and response, that would culminate in a legally binding international instrument.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Following its adoption, the next crucial step is for an I<strong>ntergovernmental Working Group (IGWG)<\/strong> on the Pandemic Agreement to negotiate the details of the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Agreement will officially enter into force <strong>30 days after 60 countries have ratified it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/181800\/OPS\/G7IFRVOB9.1+G95FT412R.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> In News <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The RBI has released a draft framework to expand and restructure prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), while tightening rules around their use and issuance. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Prepaid payment instruments (PPIs)\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> PPIs are digital wallets that allow users to load money in advance and use it to make payments. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> PPIs are currently divided into two categories: <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Full-KYC wallets, which require strict identity verification <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-04-2026\/news-in-short-24-04-2026 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72183"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72190,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72183\/revisions\/72190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}