Daily Current Affairs 02 July 2025 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 02 July 2025 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :
Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)
Source: PIB
GS III: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security
Overview
- News in Brief
- What is a Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?
- Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C)
Why in the News?
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) welcomes the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) advisory, directing all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by DoT into their systems.
News in Brief
- This is a watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial fraud.
- Also, a testament to the power of inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding citizens in India’s growing digital economy.
- It also underscores the strategic importance of automating data exchange between banks and DoT’s DIP through API-based integration.
- FRI enables real-time responsiveness and continuous feedback to further refine the fraud risk models.
What is a Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?
- Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), launched in May 2025 by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU).
- It is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number as having been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud.
- This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders, including reporting on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C’s) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT’s Chakshu platform, and Intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions.
- It empowers stakeholders-especially banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers, to prioritise enforcement and take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number has high risk.
- The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of DoT regularly shares the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) with stakeholders, detailing numbers disconnected due to cybercrime links, failed re-verification, or misuse, many of which are tied to financial frauds.
How Financial Fraud Risk Indicator help Banks to prevent Cyber fraud?
- Banks and financial institutions can use FRI in real time to take preventive measures such as declining suspicious transactions, issuing alerts or warnings to customers, and delaying transactions flagged as high risk.
- The system’s utility has already been demonstrated with leading institutions such as PhonePe, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Paytm, and India Post Payments Bank actively using the platform.
- With UPI being the most preferred payment method across India, this intervention could save millions of citizens from falling prey to cyber fraud.
- The FRI allows for swift, targeted, and collaborative action against suspected fraud in both telecom and financial domains.
Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C)
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is a government initiative established by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi to address cybercrime in India in a coordinated and effective manner. It serves as a framework and ecosystem for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to deal with cybercrime comprehensively.
Key points about I4C
- Purpose and Role
- I4C acts as the nodal point to curb cybercrime in the country.
- It focuses on improving coordination between various LEAs and stakeholders to tackle cybercrime issues for citizens.
- The centre provides a comprehensive approach to dealing with cyber threats.
- Components
- National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (TAU): This unit analyzes cyber threats and trends to enhance prevention and response efforts.
- National Cybercrime Reporting Portal: Citizens can report cyber crimes through this portal, which facilitates efficient handling of complaints
- Platform for Joint Cybercrime Investigation Team: Enables collaboration among different agencies for effective investigations.
- Recent Initiatives
- National Conference on Cyber Safety & National Security: Held in June 2022, this conference aimed to enhance awareness and cooperation in combating cybercrime.
- Launch of Cyber Pravaha Newsletter: The first edition of the I4C newsletter, “Cyber Pravaha,” shares precise information related to cybercrime with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
- Workshops with State/UT LEAs: Joint Cybercrime Coordination Teams (JCCTs) share experiences and challenges to prevent cybercrime
- Safe Practices to Prevent Cybercrime
- Avoid pop-ups, unknown emails, and suspicious links.
- Use strong password protection and two-factor authentication.
- Regularly install updates and back up your files.
RECLAIM Framework under Coal Ministry
Source: PIB
GS II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
Overview
- News in Brief
- About RECLAIM Framework under Coal Ministry
Why in the News?
Coal Ministry is set to launch RECLAIM – a community engagement and development framework.
News in Brief
- Coal Controller Organisation and the Heartfulness Institute worked together to create RECLAIM.
- It includes a step-by-step plan with useful tools, tested methods, and templates that are specific to India’s rural and mining areas.
- It also makes sure that women and other vulnerable groups are included and that Panchayati Raj institutions work together to give the community ownership.
About RECLAIM Framework under Coal Ministry
- The Coal Controller Organisation, under the Ministry of Coal, in partnership with the Heartfulness Institute, has developed this comprehensive Community Development Framework designed specifically for mine closures.
- Recognising that mine closures significantly impact both landscapes and local livelihoods, this framework is a key step toward ensuring a just and sustainable transition for communities that have developed alongside mining operations over decades.
It seeks to institutionalise trust and active participation from local communities, many of whom have built livelihoods around coal mining for decades.
- The framework, referred to as RECLAIM, serves as a structured guide for inclusive community engagement and development throughout the mine closure and post-closure phases.
- It offers a practical, step-by-step approach to institutionalising community participation in the transition process.
- The framework is supported by a suite of actionable tools, templates, and field-tested methodologies tailored to the Indian context.
- Special emphasis is placed on gender inclusivity, the representation of vulnerable groups, and alignment with Panchayati Raj Institutions, ensuring that the transition is equitable and locally relevant.
- Ultimately, the RECLAIM Framework aspires to facilitate a seamless and resilient transition for mining communities, grounded in trust, ecological restoration, and long-term socio-conomic well-being.
RECLAIM is an acronym
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| R – Reach Out | Understand the community |
| E – Envision | Dream and define the future |
| C – Co Design | Plan together strategically |
| L – Localise | Adapt to ground realities |
| A – Act | Implement with participation |
| I – Integrate | Ensure sustainability through systems |
| M – Maintain | Sustain through localised leadership |
C-FLOOD Unified Inundation Forecasting System
Source: PIB
GS III: Disaster and disaster management
Overview
- News in Brief
- C-FLOOD
Why in the News?
Union Minister of Jal Shakti inaugurated C-FLOOD, a Unified Inundation Forecasting System collaboratively developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and Central Water Commission (CWC), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti
News in Brief
- The inauguration ceremony was held at Shram Shakti Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of senior officers from the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
- This initiative, executed under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) jointly steered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
- C-FLOOD marks a transformative step towards strengthening India’s flood management and disaster response framework.
About C-FLOOD Unified Inundation Forecasting System
- C-FLOOD is a web-based platform that provides two-day advance inundation forecasts up to village level in the form of flood inundation maps and water level predictions.
- The platform will act as a unified system integrating flood modelling outputs from national and regional agencies, offering a comprehensive decision-support tool for disaster management authorities.
- At present, the system covers the Mahanadi, Godavari, and Tapi river basins, with more river basins to be incorporated in the future.
- The C-FLOOD platform uses advanced 2-D hydrodynamic modelling to simulate flood scenarios.
- The simulations for the Mahanadi Basin are run on High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure under NSM at C-DAC Pune, with integration of outputs for Godavari and Tapi Basins, which have been developed by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the National Hydrology Project (NHP).
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