Sakshi Education

NATIONAL

PM Modi Flags Off India’s First Locomotive Export to Guinea from Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off India’s first locally-built locomotive export to the Republic of Guinea, from the Marhowrah rail factory in Bihar. This move highlights India’s emergence as a competitive global supplier in the railway manufacturing sector and marks a pivotal moment in strengthening India-Africa economic relations.
The initiative marks the beginning of a ₹3,000 crore deal between India and Guinea to export 150 locomotives over three years, aimed at powering Guinea’s SimFer Simandou iron ore project—one of Africa’s largest mining projects. The locomotives, manufactured by Indian engineers, incorporate modern technology and world-class safety standards, showcasing India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission on a global platform.

INTERNATIONAL

India-Ukraine Hold First Joint Working Group Meeting on Agriculture Cooperation.

India and Ukraine held their first Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on Agriculture marking a significant step towards strengthening bilateral cooperation in the agriculture and allied sectors.
India highlighted its innovative agricultural reforms, while Ukraine emphasized its willingness to deepen partnerships through technology exchange and knowledge sharing.
The meeting is significant as it marks the first formal engagement between India and Ukraine focused specifically on agricultural collaboration. At a time when food security and agricultural innovation are global priorities, this step reflects India’s growing international agricultural outreach and Ukraine’s intent to explore synergies with India in key agri-tech and food value chain sectors.

Areas of Bilateral Cooperation Discussed

Horticulture and crop diversification
Technology transfer and research partnerships
Capacity building and knowledge exchange
Market access and food safety standards
Collaborative projects involving ICAR, FSSAI, Ministry of Food Processing, and others.

Pakistan Secures $1 Billion Syndicated Financing Backed by ADB Guarantee.

Pakistan has signed a $1 billion syndicated financing facility backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Structured with both Islamic and conventional tranches, this five-year facility reflects renewed confidence in Pakistan’s fiscal reforms and macroeconomic recovery. The transaction marks Pakistan’s re-entry into the Middle Eastern financial market after over two years and includes major banks such as Dubai Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
With partial guarantees under ADB’s ‘Improved Resource Mobilisation and Utilisation Reform’ programme, the facility is the first of its kind linked to policy reform supported by ADB, showcasing lender confidence in Pakistan’s commitment to long-term structural improvements.
Pakistan avoided default in FY 2023–24 through IMF support.
Posted a $1.8 billion current account surplus in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year (ending June 30, 2025).
ADB recently approved another $800 million programme to boost fiscal sustainability and public finance management.

ECONOMY

RBI’s Supervisory Data Quality Index (sDQI) Report.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has developed the Supervisory Data Quality Index (sDQI) to assess the quality of data submitted by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs). This index evaluates banks based on four crucial parameters:

The objective is to enhance transparency, promote data discipline, and assess adherence to the principles laid out in the Master Direction on Filing of Supervisory Returns 2024.
According to the latest RBI release, the overall sDQI score for SCBs has improved from 88.6 in March 2024 to 89.3 in March 2025.

S&T

India’s solar leap to produce Green Hydrogen by splitting water molecules using only solar energy.

Scientists have developed a scalable next-generation device that produces green hydrogen by splitting water molecules using only solar energy.
Green hydrogen is one of the cleanest fuels known, capable of decarbonizing industries, powering vehicles, and storing renewable energy. Yet, until now, scalable and affordable production methods remained elusive.
In a major leap in this direction, scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a next-generation device that produces green hydrogen by splitting water molecules using only solar energy and earth-abundant materials, without relying on fossil fuels or expensive resources.
This is more than just a lab success. The device achieved an excellent surface photovoltage of 600 mV and a low onset potential of around 0.11 VRHE, making it highly effective at generating hydrogen under solar energy. Even more impressively, it showcased exceptional long-term stability, operating continuously for over 10 hours in alkaline conditions with only a 4% performance drop, a rare feat in Si-based photoelectrochemical systems.

Published date : 21 Jun 2025 09:58AM