National News

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 25th edition of Jahan-e-Khusrau.

Jahan-e-Khusra, the annual Sufi music festival, will take place at Sunder Nursery in Delhi from February 28 to March 2.
This event has been organized by the Rumi Foundation. It was founded by filmmaker Muzaffar Ali in 2001.
This is the 25th edition of the festival, it played a key role to popularise Sufi music and culture.
PM Modi also visited the TEH Bazaar (The Exploration of the Handmade), which featured One District-One Product crafts, and rare artifacts from across the country.
Jahan-e-Khuserau is an international festival dedicated to Sufi music, poetry, and dance.
Participants from different countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, etc. took part in this event.

2. State of States report was launched on February 27, 2025 at Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2025.

India is behind in 9 of the 16 UN Sustainable Development Goals, according to the report.
Only four of the 15 SDGs have seen all 36 Indian states and Union Territories reach at least half of their goals.
These SDGs are SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
Since SDG 14 (Life Below Water) mainly pertains to coastal states, it was left out of the report.
There are flaws in India's SDG framework, as numerous targets lack important indicators.
In the 2023–24 government assessment, indicator for eradicating extreme poverty under SDG 1 has been removed.
SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) lacks two global indicators.
These are carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion per total electricity output and the share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption.
Public transportation and air quality are not included in SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) contains no measure for electronic waste.
As per the report, progress tracking is difficult because three of SDG 14's five indicators lack 2030 targets.
India monitors 108 indicators for its nine coastal states and 106 indicators for the other states and Union Territories.
Coastal UTs such as Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry do not have data for SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
13 of the 36 states and UTs lack data on afforestation strategies for SDG 15 (Life on Land).
11 states and UTs lack data on the number of deaths brought on by extreme weather occurrences under SDG 13 (Climate action).
Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand have the fewest lagging indicators.
In 30–43% of SDG indicators, 16 states and UTs have fallen short of the target.
These include Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

3. The Passport Rules have been amended by the Centre.

The amended rules make birth certificates the only proof of date of birth for passport applicants born on or after 1st October 2023.
The amendment has been made to the Passport Rules of 1980.
For persons born on or after 1st October 2023, birth certificates issued by Registrar of Births and Deaths, the Municipal Corporation or any other authority having powers under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, will be accepted as proof of date of birth.
For other applicants, driving licence, PAN card, Election Photo Identity Card or school leaving certificates can be accepted as proof of date of birth.

4. SEBI launched a centralized database portal ‘Bond Central’ for corporate bonds.

Bond Central portal has been developed by the Online Bond Platform Providers Association (OBPP Association) in collaboration with Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) comprising stock exchanges and depositories.
Its main aim is to create a single platform for authentic sources of information on corporate bonds issued in India.
It will act as an information repository for the public at large and is accessible free of cost.
This database will enhance transparency and help investors and other market participants in making decisions.
It will be operated by the Online Bond Platform Providers Association (OBPP Association).
Through this portal, investors can compare corporate bond prices with Government Securities (G-Secs) and other fixed-income indices.
Through this platform, Investors can get information related to detailed risk assessments, corporate bond documents, and disclosures. It will enable them to evaluate opportunities effectively.

5. The government achieved a milestone by launching 10,000 FPOs to empower small farmers.

Giving a significant boost to India's agriculture sector, the government has successfully launched 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
On February 29, 2020, PM Narendra Modi introduced the scheme to empower small and marginal farmers by strengthening their collective bargaining power and improving market access.
The budget outlay of this initiative is Rs 6,865 crore, covering the period up to 2027-28.
The historic 10,000th FPO located in Khagaria district of Bihar focuses on maize, banana, and paddy cultivation.
The government has disbursed equity grants of Rs 254.4 crore to 4,761 FPOs and provided credit guarantee cover of Rs 453 crore to 1,900 FPOs since the inception of the scheme.
Today, nearly 30 lakh farmers have joined the FPO movement, with women comprising 40% of the total membership.
Under the scheme, each newly formed FPO is given financial assistance of up to Rs 18 lakh over three years to meet the support and management costs for five years.
Additional provisions include an equity grant of up to Rs 2,000 per farmer member (with a cap of Rs 15 lakh per FPO) and a credit guarantee facility of up to Rs 2 crore to ensure access to institutional credit.
A dedicated Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) has been established to provide credit cover to financial institutions, helping FPOs access formal financing.
Around 5,000 FPOs have been registered on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which enables them to sell their produce online to a wider consumer base.

International News

6. India, EU set year-end deadline for trade deal, security, defence pact

India and the European Union are working towards concluding their long pending bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025, Prime Mi-nister Narendra Modi said on Friday after meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen here. They are also discussing a new strategic security and defence partnership agreement, to replace the current Strategic Roadmap for 2020-2025, ahead of the next EU-India summit expected later this year.
Ms. von der Leyen was in Delhi to lead the College of Commissioners, the biggest such visit by the EU Cabinet thus far. "We have prepared a blueprint for collaboration in the areas of trade, technology, investment, innovation, green growth, security, skilling, and mobility. We have directed our teams to conclude a mutually benef-icial bilateral Free Trade Agreement by the end of this year," Mr. Modi announced on Friday.
Progress in the FTA talks which began first in 2007 and were relaunched in 2022 has eluded both teams of negotiators thus far. The new directive to complete the negotiations by the end of the year is intended to give them a "political push" ahead of the next round of talks to be held from March 10 to 14 in Brussels.

State News

7. Bihar’s economy has increased from Rs 2.47 lakh crore in 2011-12 to Rs 8.54 lakh crore in 2023-24.

As per Bihar’s Economic Survey 2024-25, the economy of Bihar has trebled between 2011-12 to 2023-24.
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Bihar for 2023-24 was estimated to be Rs 8,54,429 crore at current prices and Rs 4,64,540 crore at constant (2011-12) prices.
State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has received 3,752 proposals amounting to Rs 75,293 crore.
The share of tax revenue in total receipts increased from 75.3% in 2019-20 to 83.8% in 2023-24 as grants-in-aid during 2023-24.
The state government spent Rs 200.47 crore to support 40,099 entrepreneurs. The government provided seed money of Rs 15 crore to 1,706 startups.
The life expectancy has increased from 65.8 years in 2006-10 to 69.5 years in 2016-20.
Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, Milk production increased by 27.3 per cent and egg production by 85 per cent.
The transport and communication sector of Bihar registered the third highest growth (7.6%) during 2011-24, after UP (10.1%) and Karnataka (7.7%) among the major states.
The share of tax revenue in total receipts increased from 75.3 per cent in 2019-20 to 83.8 per cent in 2023-24.

8. A.P. presents Budget with outlay of 23.2 lakh crore

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday presented the Budget for the financial year 2025-26 with a total outlay of ₹3,22,359 crore. Of this, revenue expenditure is estimated at ₹2,51,162 crore, and capital expenditure at ₹40,635 crore.
Presenting the Budget in the Assembly, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said the estimated revenue deficit was around 33,185 crore and the fiscal deficit around 279,926 crore, constituting 1.82% and 4.38% respectively of the Gross State Domestic Product.
He said the government was ready to start the Amaravati project on a grand scale. The aim is not only at developing Amaravati as a city but also as a growth engine leading the development of State, Mr. Keshav said. An amount of ₹6,000 crore is shown as allocation for the project. The government also made a mention of the Godavari-Banaka-cherla river linking project. However, ₹6,705 crore were given for the Polavaram Irrigation Project.

Report and Ranking News

9. The combined Index of Eight Core Industries grew by 4.6% in January 2025.

Coal production increased by 4.6% in January 2025. Petroleum refinery production surged by 8.3% in January 2025.
Crude oil production declined by 1.1% in January 2025. Natural gas production fell by 1.5% in January 2025.
Fertiliser production grew by 3% in January 2025. Steel production increased by 3.7% in January 2025.
Cement production grew by 14.5% in January 2025. Electricity generation increased by 1.3% in January 2025.
The eight core industries contribute 40.27% of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

10. India’s economy grew at 6.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2024-25.

As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), India’s gross domestic product (GDP) registered a growth of 6.2 per cent during October-December 2024 (Q3 FY25).
In the second quarter, the Indian economy growth rate was 5.6%.
Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 6.5 per cent in FY 2024-25 as against 6.4 per cent.
The NSO also revised the GDP growth for 2023-24 to 9.2 per cent against the earlier estimate of 8.2 per cent.
The government’s fiscal deficit reached 74.5 per cent of the full-year target at the end of January.
The fiscal deficit was Rs 11,69,542 crore during the April-January 2024-25 period.
Construction’ sector is estimated to grow at the rate of 8.6 per cent followed by ‘Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services’ sector.
Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) is expected to register a good growth of 7.6 per cent during 2024-25.
The central government’s net tax revenue stood at Rs 19.03 lakh crore (74.4 per cent of the RE of 2024-25).
The total expenditure of the Centre was at Rs 35.7 lakh crore (75.7 per cent of the RE).

11. India’s cancer mortality ratio is the highest among the top 10 cancer-affected countries.

The mortality-to-incidence ratio for India (ratio of cancer mortalities to cancer incidences) was 64.47 per cent in 2022.
It is highest among the top 10 countries with the highest number of cancer cases.
India witnessed 8,89,742 cancer deaths in 2022. 2.32 million deaths from cancer have been reported in China.
Breast cancer was the most prevalent cancer in females. 31.1 per cent of new cases are of Breast cancer, followed by cervical (19.6 per cent) and ovarian (7 per cent) cancer.
Among females, Breast (24 per cent) and Cervical cancer (20.6 per cent) were the leading causes of cancer-related mortalities.
Among males, oral cancer was the most diagnosed cancer (24.3 per cent) and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality (21.6 per cent).
The crude mortality rate (CMR) for females in the reproductive age group (27.65) was greater than the male counterpart (20.87).
As per the report, India will witness an annual increase of 2 per cent in cancer incidence-related mortalities in the coming two decades.

Award News

12. Shaurya Bhattacharya won the Chhattisgarh Open by a margin of five shots.

On 28 February, Shaurya Bhattacharya capped his fabulous run with a six-under 63 in the fourth round.
He emerged as the champion by a five-shot margin, with a 27-under 249 in the SECL Rs 1 crore Chhattisgarh Open golf championship at the Fairway Golf and Lake Resort in Naya Raipur.
The 22-year-old from Chandigarh had taken a five-shot overnight lead with scores of 64, 61 and 61 on the par-69 course.
This was the second title in the professional circuit for Shaurya, who won his first crown in his rookie season in 2024.
Shaurya received the winner's prize of Rs 15,00,000 from PGTI Chairman Kapil Dev and Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw.
With his champion purse, Shaurya moved up from 59th spot to second on the PGTI Order of Merit with a total purse of Rs 15,85,325, behind Yuvraj Sandhu (Rs 30,00,000).
Sachin Baisoya had the best card of the day with an eight-under 61 to win the second prize of Rs 10,00,000 with a score of 22-under 254.

Agreement News

13. India and EU leaders hold talks on urban development

India and the European Union on Friday discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in urban development with a focus on greener, smarter, and more inclusive cities.

A delegation of the EU, including Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, and Jozef Síkela, Commissioner for International Partnerships, called on Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, ac-cording to a statement by the Urban Affairs Ministry.

Mr. Khattar highlighted sustainability, resilience, and deeper India-EU ties as key priorities. With the partnership entering its third decade, he empha-sised joint efforts for more inclusive cities.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi met European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Thursday.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fostering inclusive policies that enhance the well-being of women and children, particularly those from vulnerable and marginalised communities. Ms. Lahbib underscored the importance of international cooperation in addressing global challenges related to women empowerment and crisis response.

Important Days

14. Zero Discrimination Day 2025: 01 March

Every year on March 1, people celebrate Zero Discrimination Day.
The purpose of Zero Discrimination Day is to raise awareness of tolerance, equality, and inclusivity worldwide.
The first Zero Discrimination Day celebration took place on March 1, 2014.
The theme of Zero Discrimination Day 2025 is “We Stand Together.”
UNAIDS introduced the Zero Discrimination Campaign on 'World AIDS Day' in December 2013.
UNAIDS is a collaborative initiative of the United Nations focused on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

15. World Civil Defence Day: 1 March

World Civil Defence Day is observed annually on 1 March.
This day is celebrated to increase awareness of civil defence strategies and the protection of people.
The day emphasizes the importance of civil defence measures in safeguarding people from accidents, natural disasters, and other crises.
The day emphasizes the importance of civil defence measures in safeguarding property of people from accidents, natural disasters, and other crises.
The first day of March was designated as World Civil Defence Day by 9th General Assembly of the International Civil Defence Organisation in 1990.
The theme for World Civil Defence Day 2025 is "Civil Defence, guarantee of security for the population."

Infrastructure and Energy News

16. ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission unlocks solar flare secrets with new image

India's first dedicated space-based solar mission, Aditya-Ll, has made a ground-breaking observation as one of its scientific payloads has captured the first-ever image of a solar flare "kernel.
The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) payload has captured the image in the lower solar atmosphere the photosphere and chromosphere.
ISKO said that this observation and associated scientific results mark a major step towards understanding the Sun's explosive activity and its impact on Earth.
Energy Aditya-L1 has 106.3-class solar ranks among the most Observation Intorse solar eruptions condoms spread across Energy multiple solar layers flare reveals new insights into the physics of massive solar explosions.
According to ISRO, "On February 22, 2025, the SUIT payload onboard Adi tya-Li observed an X6.3-class solar flare, which is one of the most intense categories of solar eruptions. The unique feature of this observation was that SUIT detected brightening in the Near UltraViolet (NUV) wavelength range (200-400 nm) , a wavelength range never observed before in such greater detail".
The space agency added that these observations confirm that the energy released from the flare spread through different layers of the Sun's atmosphere. This provides new insights into the complex physics responsible for these massive solar explosions, according to the space agency.
One of the most exciting revelations in this observation is that the localised brightening captured in the lower solar atmosphere corresponds directly with an increase in the temperature of plasma in the solar corona at the top of the solar atmosphere.
According to ISRO "This confirms the linkage between flare energy deposition and associated temperature evolution. This finding also validates long standing theories while offering new data that will help to reshape our understanding of physics of solar flare".
The Aditya-L1 mission was launched on September 2, 2023. On January 6, 2024, the spacecraft was successfully placed in a large halo orbit around first Earth-Sun Lagrange Point, known as Lagrange Point

Economy News

17. Interest on provident fund deposits to be retained at 8.25%

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, which met on Friday, recommended that the current annual rate of interest of 8.25% on provident fund deposits could be retained for accumulations in members' accounts for 2024-25 too. Trade union representatives had demanded an increase in the interest rate.
"The interest rate would be officially notified by the Government of India, following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into the subscribers' accounts," the Union Labour Ministry said in a release after the meeting, chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The meeting also discussed the demand for increasing the minimum pension and increasing the slab for contributions towards employees pension scheme.
The CBT asked the EP-FO to prepare a detailed report on both the issues. On higher pension, the CBT was briefed that 72% of the applications had been processed.
'Not prudent'
R. Karumalaiyan, repre-sentative of the Centre of Trade Unions (CITU) in the CBT, told The Hindu that he demanded a hike in the interest rate to at least 8.5%, but the Centre refused. It is learnt that Mr. Mandaviya told the meet-ing that it will not be prudent to increase the rate at present as the Reserve Bank of India recently reduced the repo rate to control inflation and he advised the panel to wait so that the measures taken by the government to ease inflation start giving results.
The Ministry said that compared with many other fixed-income instruments, the EPF offered relatively high and stable returns, ensuring steady growth of savings.
The CBT also approved modifications to the Em-ployees' Deposit Linked In-surance (EDLI) scheme.
"A minimum life insurance benefit of ₹50,000 will be provided in cases where an EPF member dies without completing one year of continuous service," the Ministry said. If a member passes away within six months of their last contribution received, the EDLI benefit will be admissible, provided the member's name is not stuck off from rolls.

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