Daily Current Affairs- 4th August 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 4th August 2025

First-Ever BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival Begins in New Delhi

In the News: The inaugural BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival, titled “SaptaSur: Seven Nations, One Melody”, was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar inaugurated the event, highlighting music's role as a cultural bridge and a means to express heritage and identity. Organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), artists from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand performed traditional music in celebration of regional unity and cultural diplomacy.

Key Points:

• Festival Launch & Inauguration: The first-ever BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival—Sapta Sur: Seven Nations, One Melody—began on August 4, 2025, inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• Participating Nations: Artists from all seven BIMSTEC member states—India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand—showcased their traditional musical heritage at the event.
• Cultural Diplomacy & Regional Unity: Dr. Jaishankar emphasized the power of traditional music as both a cultural bridge and a vehicle for preserving identity, dignity, and mutual respect in uncertain global times.
• India’s Commitment Realized: The festival fulfilled a promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand (April 2025) to promote regional cultural cooperation through music, highlighting India’s soft power and diplomatic outreach.
•  Organizing Body: The event was arranged by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), underlining India’s cultural outreach as part of its foreign policy frameworks such as Neighbourhood First and Act East .
• Context & Broader Impact: BIMSTEC Overview: BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi‑Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), formed in 1997 with headquarters in Dhaka, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It focuses on sectors ranging from trade and connectivity to culture and environment.
• Policy Alignment: This cultural initiative aligns with India’s Act East and Neighbourhood First policies, positioning the country as a regional leader in the Indo‑Pacific, and emphasizing culture as a soft‑power tool in regional diplomacy.

Sikkim Sabbatical Leave System

In the News: Sikkim officially became the first state in India to launch a formal Sabbatical Leave Scheme for government employees. The policy, initiated in August 2023, enables public servants in the state to take extended leave for diverse purposes while retaining job security and partial pay.

Key Points:

• Scheme Launch & Timeline: Introduced in August 2023, the Sabbatical Leave Scheme is formally recognized from August 1, 2025, making Sikkim the first Indian state to implement such a policy.
• Eligibility & Duration: Regular employees with at least five years of continuous service can avail sabbatical leave ranging from 365 to 1,080 days .  Temporary employees with a minimum of six months continuous service were included in the scheme through later expansion. Pay & Job Security: Employees receive 50% of their basic pay during the sabbatical period, and their seniority is preserved. The government retains the right to recall an employee with one month’s notice if needed.
• Reasons for Leave: The scheme permits sabbaticals for various purposes, including: pursuing higher education or skill development, launching entrepreneurial ventures, artistic or literary pursuits, personal or health-related reasons, family obligations, relocation with spouse, wellness retreats, and more.
• Approval & Decentralized Authority: In April 2025, Sikkim delegated approval authority: Heads of Departments (HoDs) can now approve sabbatical leave for Group C and D employees, including eligible temporary staff. Group A and B employees must still seek approval from the Secretary of the Personnel Department.
• Impact & Uptake: Since launch, hundreds of government employees in Sikkim have availed this opportunity to pursue personal growth—such as education or entrepreneurial projects—making it a model for employee-centric governance.

Single Window System for State DGP Appointments

In the News: The Union Government formally introduced a Single Window System (SWS) to standardize and streamline the appointment of State Director Generals of Police (DGPs) or Heads of Police Force (HoPF) across India.

Key Points:

• Policy Launch & Effective Date: The Single Window System became operational from April 22, 2025, requiring all states to follow the standardized format for proposals and candidate panels submitted for selecting State DGPs.
• Purpose & Structure: SWS includes a checklist and standardized formats to streamline state submissions and support transparency. It ensures states forward eligible candidate names in a uniform manner to central authorities.
• Alignment with Supreme Court Guidelines: The system reinforces the Supreme Court directives from the Prakash Singh (2006) judgment, which mandate Consultation with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Preparation of a panel of three eligible senior IPS officers. A minimum tenure of two years for appointed DGPs. Eligibility restricted to officers with 30 years of service and rank of Additional DGP or equivalent.
• Capsulizing Compliance & Uniformity: SWS ensures consistent application of the Supreme Court’s merit-based, transparent standards across all states, reducing arbitrariness or ad-hocism in DGP selections.
• Broader Impact on Police Reforms: The move addresses long-standing issues of interim or acting appointments that bypass due process, which have often attracted legal scrutiny. Several High Court PILs—including from Tamil Nadu—have urged adherence to the empanelment guidelines in light of impending retirements and flaws in state-level selection mechanisms.

Indo-Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative (IBRRI)

In the News: At the recently concluded Ramsar COP15 (July 2025), the Indo‑Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative (IBRRI) officially launched its Strategic Plan 2025–2030, setting the direction for coordinated wetland conservation across the Indo‑Burma region. 

Key Points:

• Initiative & Launch: The IBRRI was jointly developed by Ramsar National Focal Points of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, supported by the IUCN Asia Regional Office. Its Strategic Plan 2025–2030 was formally unveiled during a COP15 side event in July 2025. 
• Purpose & Scope: Designed to operationalize the Ramsar Convention’s Strategic Plan in a transboundary context, IBRRI aims to halt and reverse wetland loss, enhance climate resilience, and sustain ecosystems upon which about 250 million people depend.
• Governance Structure: A Steering Committee comprising Ramsar authorities from all five member countries. A Secretariat hosted by IUCN Asia Regional Office in Bangkok .A Stakeholder Committee including government, NGOs, and academia for multi‑actor guidance. 
• Strategic Objectives: The five operational objectives include: (1) conserve and restore priority wetlands; (2) mainstream wetland adaptation into policy; (3) strengthen communication, education, participation; (4) mobilize sustainable financing; (5) ensure sound governance of IBRRI itself. 
• Regional Context : The Indo‑Burma Hotspot contains over 38 million hectares of wetlands with high biodiversity, vital ecosystem services, and substantial threats from conversion, urbanization, hydropower, and climate change.  Wetland ecosystems support fisheries, agriculture, flood regulation, and livelihoods for millions across Southeast Asia. 
• Partnerships & Collaborations: Working in collaboration with IUCN’s BRIDGE project. Renewed MoU with the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) in January 2025 to strengthen migratory waterbird and wetland conservation efforts across flyway and Ramsar sites. 

RBI Approves Merger of New India Co-operative Bank with Saraswat Bank

In the News: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the merger of New India Co‑operative Bank (NICB) with Saraswat Co‑operative Bank, under Section 44A(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, making all NICB branches function as Saraswat Bank branches from that date.

Key Points:

• Merger Effective Date & Regulatory Approval: The amalgamation became effective on August 4, 2025, following an RBI sanction under the Banking Regulation Act.
• Assumption of Assets & Liabilities: Saraswat Bank will assume all of NICB’s assets, liabilities, and customers. NICB depositors and borrowers will now be treated as Saraswat customers, with their interests fully protected.
• Pre-Merger Approval Process: Shareholders of both banks approved the scheme—Saraswat at its Special General Meeting on July 22, 2025, and NICB at its Annual General Meeting—before seeking RBI clearance. 
• Background Context: NICB had been placed under RBI moratorium in February 2025 due to governance failures and a ₹122 crore embezzlement scandal, prompting regulatory intervention and board supersession.
• Scale & Financial Health Comparison: Saraswat Bank, India’s largest urban cooperative bank, had a business volume of around ₹91,814 crore and capital adequacy of ~17%, while NICB’s business stood at ₹3,560 crore with significantly weaker financials. Saraswat is thus well-positioned to absorb the merger impact.