Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 19th February 2025

 National News 

1. Maersk signs MoU with Cochin Shipyard to explore ship building, repair in India 

• P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities in ship repair, maintenance, and building activities in India.
•  This partnership aligns with the Government of India’s Vision 2047 maritime objectives and recent Union Budget 2025-26 announcements to position India among the top five global maritime hubs. 
• Under the MoU, Maersk will leverage its expertise as an off-taker in its global fleet to strengthen CSL’s capabilities, primarily focusing on container ship maintenance, repair, and drydocking operations. 

2. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana turns Nine 

• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), a scheme providing comprehensive coverage for farmers against crop losses caused by unpredictable natural disasters, has disbursed Rs 1.75 lakh crore in claims to more than 23.22 crore farmers over the past nine years, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. 
• Launched on 18 Feb 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PMFBY has played a crucial role in stabilizing farmers’ incomes while promoting the adoption of innovative agricultural practices. 
• The scheme witnessed a 25% growth in farmer enrolment in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, demonstrating its growing popularity. 
• The Union Cabinet, recognizing PMFBY’s impact, approved its continuation along with the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) till 2025-26, with a budget of Rs.69,515.71 crore. RWBCIS, introduced alongside PMFBY, is a weather index-based scheme that complements PMFBY’s crop insurance approach. 

3. A day-long conclave on ‘Waste Recycling and Climate Change 2025,’ inaugurated by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav 

• 18 February, this conclave was organized by the Recycling and Environment Industry Association of India (REIAI). 
• India generates around 62 million tonnes of waste annually, with the amount of plastic, electronic and hazardous waste increasing rapidly. 
• The Minister said, there is a need for urgent action given the increasing pressure on landfills, depletion of natural resources and damage to the environment due to uncontrolled waste disposal. 
• The Minister said that India's circular economy is expected to have a market value of $2 trillion by the year 2050 and create 10 million jobs. 
• The ministry has been instrumental in formulating policies and regulations, including the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, that incentivize recyclers and integrate the informal sector into formal recycling systems. 
• These initiatives are aimed at streamlining waste management and promoting eco-friendly production in industries. 
• The ministry has notified several market-based Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations for e-waste, end-of-life vehicles, plastic packaging, waste tyres, waste batteries, used oil etc. 
• The government has laid down policies, but it is important to adopt an industry-wide cyclical approach to pursue sustainable development and resource efficiency. 

4. Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s First “Open-Air Art Wall Museum” at Mausam Bhawan

 

• India’s first “Open Air Art Wall Museum” shows 150 years of milestone journey of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 
• The “Mausam Bhawan” special art showcase features 38 unique murals depicting India’s meteorological history, the evolution of weather forecasting, and its impact on agriculture, disaster management, and everyday life. 
• These artefacts showcase significant meteorological events, advances in technology like satellites and radar, and the role of IMD in protecting lives through early warnings for cyclones, monsoons and extreme weather conditions. 
• The murals also pay tribute to India’s literary and cultural heritage. 
• The initiative has been developed in association with “Delhi Street Art”. It has transformed the walls of IMD’s headquarters. 

International News

 5. Musk’s AI Startup Unveils Grok-3 Chatbot 

• Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has introduced Grok-3, the latest iteration of its chatbot, as it looks to compete with Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, Microsoft-backed OpenAI, and Alphabet’s Google. 
•  Grok-3 debut comes at a critical moment in the AI arms race, just days after DeepSeek unveiled its powerful open-source model and as Musk moves aggressively to expand xAI’s influence. 
• “Grok-3 across the board is in a league of its own,” Musk said during a livestream alongside three xAI engineers late on Monday, adding that the model significantly outperforms its predecessor, Grok-2 . 

6. India, Qatar elevate ties to strategic partnership 

• Qatar, a major energy supplier to India, on Tuesday signed an agreement to elevate India-Qatar rela-tionship to the level of a strategic partnership, officials here said. 
• The Ministry of External Affairs announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, discussed multiple issues, including the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza Strip. Both sides are also exploring the possibility of finalising a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). 
• "Strategic partnership elevates the present state of bilateral relation to the strategic level. We are looking at deepening cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, security as well as in the regional and international fora," said Arun Kumar Chatter-jee, Secretary (CPV&OIA), while briefing the media following the bilateral discussion. The two sides also signed a double taxation avoidance treaty. "India and GCC are ne-gotiating about having an FTA. Both India and Qatar are (also) exploring the signing of a FTA in the future," said Mr. Chatterjee, announcing that India is considering going ahead with a bilateral FTA with Qatar as discussion for an India-GCC FTA continues. 
• The Indian side also said that the strategic partner-ship would have a security component, though a clear timeline for such a process was not articulated. 
• A total of 38 Qatari entities representing retail, finance, and energy sectors participated in the deliber-ations were the two sides. resolved to double bilateral trade to $28 billion. The visit also presented a challenge for both sides, as Purnendu Tiwary, an ex-Indian Navy commander, remains in Qatari custody, even though seven other detainees from the same 2022 case were repatriated in February 2024. 

7. U.S., Russia agree to work to end the war in Ukraine 

• Russia and the U.S. on Tuesday agreed to start working towards ending the war in Ukraine and im-proving their diplomatic and economic ties, America's top diplomat said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump. 
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks, and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. 
• He stressed, however, that the talks which were also attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done down the road. 
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, with Russian FM Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh. AFP 
• Speaking to prosper-sons after the meeting, Mr. Lavrov said that in his view, "the conversation was very useful". 
• He mentioned the same three goals as Mr. Rubio said that Washington and Moscow agreed to apppoint representatives to carry out "regular consul-tations" on Ukraine. 
• No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would not accept any outcome from the talks if Kyiv does not take part.  European allies have expressed concern they are being sidelined. 
• "Should this conflict come to an acceptable end, the incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and frankly, economically on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term," Mr. Rubio said. 
• "We not only listened, but also heard each other," said Mr. Lavrov. .

8. India prepares to submit updated greenhouse gas inventory to UN 

• India is in the final stages of preparing its first ever Biannual Transparency Report (BTR), part of its commitment as a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Environment Ministry officials told The Hindu. 
• This report will be India's official position on its greenhouse gas emissions. inventory, key sectors and sources, and steps taken to improve energy efficiency use, as well as the transition to renewable energy sources and the availability of required resources. 
• While India has been periodically submitting such information in the form of 'national communications' and 'Biennial Update Reports' (BUR), the BTR is a document that will be subject to technical review by independent, non-Indian, UNFCCC-accredited experts. 
• The UNFCCC, or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is the core agreement on which rest commitments by countries to take climate action. Historically, only developed countries have been required to submit BTRs. The reports are part of the commitment made by all signatories at the UNFCCC's 21st Conference of Parties (COP), held in Paris in 2015, in a bid to increase transparency. However, it was only at the 2024 COP in Baku that countries actually began submitting BTRs that adhered to the prescribed format. While all countries were to have submitted their BTRS by December 2024, several including India failed to meet that deadline. 
• "The main feature of the upcoming BTR submission is that it will have data up to 2022. In the BUR, the da-ta submitted reflected the emissions inventory of 2020. The other aspect is that this will be reviewed by an external set of experts," a Ministry official, who declined to be identified, told The Hindu. 
• In its latest BUR, India reported that in 2020, its total emissions fell 7.93% from 2019. "One of the factors was a reduction in energy consumption due to COVID-19 introduced for lockdowns. The forthcoming BTR is likely to show an increase in total emissions, just as is the trend in other countries. India's share of emissions, however, continues to be 4% to 5% of the globe and, in per capita terms, less than a third of global per capita emissions," the official added. 

State News

 9. UP assembly will be first in India to be equipped with the facility of a translator 

• The translation rehearsals of Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundelkhand and English have been reviewed by UP CM Yogi Adityanath. 
• The proposed arrangement will be placed before the Ruling committee. 
• They will be implemented after approval by the House. 
• During the session started on 18 February, discussions are expected to be held on the Prayagraj stampede and Sambhal violence. 
• The budget session will be held from till March 5. The session started with the address of Governor Anandiben Patel. 
• The budget will be presented for the financial year 2025-26 on February 20. 
• Discussions will be held on the budget in the House on February 24, 25, 27 and 28. 
• On March 3, 4 and 5th, the demands of budget grants will be discussed. 
• The budget will be passed by the government on 5th March. 

10. High levels of faecal coliform were found in the river water at Maha Kumbh 

• According to a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), high levels of faecal coliform (microbes from human and animal excreta) were found in river water at Maha Kumbh. 
• As per the CPCB, the river water quality doesn’t meet the bathing quality standards. 
• The amount of faecal increased due to the huge number of people bathing in the Maha Kumbha. 
• Faecal coliform is a marker of sewage contamination in water. 
• A permissible limit of 2,500 units of faecal coliform per 100 ml of water has been set by CPCB standards. 
• The tribunal granted one day for the counsel appearing for the state of Uttar Pradesh to examine the report and file a response.

 11.Exercise Dharma Guardian 2025 will be held at Mount Fuji, Japan from February 25 to March 9

• This will be the sixth edition of Joint Military Exercise between India and Japan. 
• The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability between the two forces during joint urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations under UN mandate. 
• On February 11, Cyclone III exercise started between Special Forces of India and Egypt at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan. 
• The exercise would end on February 23.
• Exercise Cyclone is conducted annually and alternatively in India and Egypt.  Its last edition was conducted in Egypt in January 2024. 
• The aim of the exercise is to promote the military-to-military relationship between the two countries. 

Economy News 

12. Slight dip in unemployment rate in urban areas: survey 

• The unemployment rate in urban areas of the country was 6.4% for the period of October to December in 2024 for persons of age 15 and above, says the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Statistics and Programme Implementation here on Tuesday, Ministry For men, the unemployment rate was 5.8%, and for women, 8.1%. 
• The chart shows the unemployment rate (in %) in urban areas for persons of age 15 years and above 
• In 2023, during the corresponding quarter, the unemployment rate for the cohort was 6.5%, while in the July-to-September 2024 quarter, it was 6.4%. The female unemployment rate last year was 8.6%. 
• Among the States, Himachal Pradesh had the highest unemployment rate of 10.4% and Gujarat the lowest 3%. The female unemployment rate too was the highest in Himachal Pradesh at 24%. The lowest was 1.3% in Delhi. 
• The PLFS defines unem-ployment rate as the per-centage of unemployed persons in the labour force in current weekly status. (CWS) the number of persons either employed or unemployed on an aver-age in a week. 
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), the percentage of the population in the labour force, was 39.6% for people of all ages. It was 39.2% in the corresponding quarter last year. The LFPR for women has increased by 0.1 percentage point to 20% from last year's 19.9%. However, the LFPR decreased from last quarter's figure of 20.3%. The lowest LFPR for all people and for women was in Bihar at 30.7% and 9.9%, 
• Seeking prospects: Job seekers participating in each. The PLFS was done among 1,70,487 pea-ple in 45,074 households. 
• Increase in WPR 
• The Worker Population Ra-tio (WPR) in urban areas among persons of age 15 and above has increased from 46.6% during October to December of 2023, to 47.2% in October to December in 2024. The WPR for males of age 15 and above for urban areas increased from 69.8% in October to December of 2023 to 70.9% during October to December in 2024. 
• The workers are classified into three broad categories according to their status in employment such as self-employed, regular wage/salaried employee and casual labour. 
• Within the category of self-employed, two sub-ca-tegories have been made as own account worker and employer combined together her and unpaid helper in household enter prices. 
• In these categories, 39.9% were self-employed, 49.4% were regular employees and 10.7% were casual labourers. As much as 5.5% of the workers were in agriculture sector, 31.8% in the secondary sector, including mining, and 62.7% in the tertiary sector that includes service sectors. 

Banking News 

13. Government is planning to raise the deposit insurance limit from ₹5 lakh 

• The Finance Ministry is looking to raise the current limit of ₹5 lakh for deposit insurance. 
• Money deposited by bank customers is insured under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). 
• The deposit insurance limit was increased to ₹5 lakh in 2020 from ₹1 lakh. 1 Lakh was fixed in 1993. 
• When a bank fails due to any uncertainties, the DICGC acts as a guard to secure the money of depositors. 
• The government is planning to increase the deposit insurance limit after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed curbs on the Mumbai-based New India Co-operative Bank for lack of liquidity. Rank and 

Reports News 

14. Four Indian universities found place in the World Reputation Rankings 2025 

• According to the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2025, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru is the best University in India. 
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, IIT Madras, and Shiksha ‘O” Anusandhan are the other Universities that found place in this ranking. 
• IISc, which was ranked 101-125 in 2023, is now ranked at 201-300. 
• IIT Delhi and IIT Madras now rank at 201-300. In the 2023 ranking, they were ranked 151-175 and 176-200 respectively. 
• Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan is the new entrant in this ranking. It is ranked 201-300. 
• IIT Bombay, which was ranked 151-175 in the 2023 ranking, has not got place in this year’s ranking. 
• Harvard University secured the first position in the ranking for the 14th consecutive year in THE World Reputation Rankings. 
• Oxford is ranked second with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Six institutions of the USA are in the top 10 of the ranking. 
• Tsinghua University in China maintains the eighth position globally. 
• Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2025 gives ranking to the top universities for academic reputation and prestige globally. 

Sports News 

15.The inaugural Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2027 in Saudi Arabia 

• The International Olympic Committee said the first Olympic eSports Games will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, two years later, part of a 12-year deal signed with the country last year. 
• The IOC has been looking at Esports for a number of years, setting up a dedicated commission to explore opportunities for the younger generation involved in gaming. 
• With its traditional audience gradually aging, the governing body is attempting to connect with a younger generation of potential Olympic fans. 
• In 2021, the IOC developed the Olympic Virtual Series, a pilot venture into Esports before signing a deal with Saudi Arabia last year to host the Olympic Esports Games. 
• A six-member committee has been formed to determine which sports will be included in the first edition of the eSports Olympics. 
• Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 Soccer World Cup. 

Awards News 

16. Manu Bhaker Named BBC Sportswoman Of The Year After Paris Olympic Triumph

 

• Indian shooter Manu Bhaker received the BBC Sportswoman of the Year after an impressive campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024, where she bagged two bronze medals. 
• The stellar performances from the 22-year-old established her status as one of the elite sporting talents in the country. She became the first Indian shooter to win multiple medals at a single Olympics. Also, she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal. 
• The other contenders for the honour were golfer Aditi Ashok, para-shooter Avani Lekhara, India women’s cricket vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and wrestler Vinesh Phogat. 
• Her fellow shooter Avani Lekhara was presented with the BBC ISWOTY Para-sportswoman of the Year award. 
• Archer Sheetal Devi won the Emerging Athlete Award after becoming India’s youngest Paralympic medallist. 
• Mithali Raj was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for her record 18-year captaincy of the Indian women’s cricket team. 

Science and Technology News 

17.Centre revamps websites, creates multilingual Al hub for better scheme outreach 

• The Union government has begun revamping its official websites and is working on an artificial intelligence hub to distribute information on government initiatives. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released a Digital Brand Identity Manual on Tuesday, seeking to create a standard design language for government websites. digital footprint' and create a cohesive brand. 
• The initiative, to "harmonise the government's digital footprint", was encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who asked Ministry Secretaries to improve their websites at a recent meeting, according to MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan. As digital platforms emerge as a "first The revamp aims to 'harmonise point of contact", the new manual says that "a cohesive and compelling brand presence is essential to engage with the national and global effectively". audiences 
• The Information and Broadcasting Ministry, meanwhile, is developing an Al hub to enable effective and efficient dissemi-nation of information on various government initiatives. "The platform will also have the facility for mul-tilingual translation of contents for an effective outreach to the masses across the country," said a senior government official. The hub has not yet been formally inaugurated. 
• Other initiatives include: Digital India Bhashini, a language translation platform; BharatGen, the world's first government-funded multimodal large language model (LLM) in-itiative launched in 2024; the Sarvam-1 AI LLM; Chi-tralekha, an open-source video transcription platform; and the multilingual Al system Everest 1.0, which caters to various Indian languages. 

18. Digital brand identity manual has been launched by government to standardize online platforms 

• This will bring uniformity across government websites and digital platforms. 
• The manual was launched by Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada.
• It is tailored to fulfil needs of government in setting up a harmonious visual identity across its digital platforms. 
• It aims to ensure digital harmonization by facilitating simplified citizen interactions. 
• The manual provides a blueprint for aligning the different digital platforms of the Indian government.