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

 National News 

1. Election Commission will start the process of linking voter ID card with Aadhaar 

• On 18 March, the Election Commission of India announced that it is preparing to link Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), or voter IDs, with the Aadhaar numbers of those who have voluntarily provided them. 
•  Regarding this process, the Election Commission will soon begin technical consultations with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). 
•  The Election Commission said that as per Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, voting rights can be granted only to Indian citizens, while the Aadhaar card only establishes the identity of the person. 
• The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), and election commissioners held a meeting with the Union Home Secretary, the Secretary of the Legislative Department, the CEO of UIDAI, and technical experts of ECI, etc., in New Delhi. 
•  Therefore, it was decided that linking of EPIC with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution, Sections 23(4), 23(5), and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the decision of the Supreme Court in WP (Civil) No. 177/2023. 
•  In September 2023, the Election Commission told the Supreme Court that 66.23 crore voters have voluntarily submitted their Aadhaar numbers. 

2. India Innovation Summit-– “Pioneering Solutions to End TB” has been inaugurated at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre 

•  India’s National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) achieved a major milestone of identifying 26.07 lakh TB cases in 2024. 
• Since 2015, the incidence rate of TB has dropped by 17.7%, from 237 cases per lakh population to 195 in 2023. TB-related deaths also have decreased by 21.4%. 
• The summit has been jointly organized by the Department of Health Research (DHR), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Central TB Division (CTD) of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. 
• 1,200 participants from academia, industry, healthcare, and research participated in the one-and-a-half-day summit. 
• More than 200 innovations have been showcased during the summit. 
• The main aim of the summit is to foster collaborations and ensure that cutting-edge solutions are integrated into national TB programs. 
•  India is committed to achieving the goal of eliminating TB by 2025. 

3. Centre and WhatsApp join hands to curb digital frauds and cyber threats 

•  On March 17, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) collaborated with WhatsApp to extend Meta's safety campaign 'Scam Se Bachao' against online scams and spam.
•   As part of the collaboration, the two will together educate citizens on how to identify and report suspected fraudulent communications to enhance digital safety and awareness. 
• The initiative will include train-the-trainer workshops for DoT officials, Sanchar Mitras, Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), and field units. 
•  WhatsApp, in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications, will explore ways to integrate citizen-centric services from the Sanchar Saathi initiative into the WhatsApp platform, thereby expanding its reach. 
•  WhatsApp is collaborating with the DoT's Digital Intelligence Unit and using DIP data to take action against telecom resource misuse for cybercrime and financial fraud.

 4. Meeting on delimitation in Chennai on March 22 

• The meeting of the Chief Ministers and leaders of political parties invited by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to discuss the proposed delimitation exercise will be held in Chennai on March 22, DMK MLA N. Ezhilan said. 
• Mr. Ezhilan said Mr. Stalin had written to the Chief Ministers of seven States. Subsequently, senior DMK Ministers and MPs visited these States to invite the respective CMs and Opposition leaders. He said Kerala CM and leaders of the CPI, CPI(M), RSP, Kerala Congress; 
• Telangana CM and other leaders; Punjab CM; and Karnataka Deputy CM will attend the meeting. TMC and BJD had agreed to send their representatives.

 International News 

5. India and Malaysia will accelerate review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement 

• The goal of India and Malaysia is to conclude it by 2025. 
• Jitin Prasada, India's Minister of State for Commerce, and Liew Chin Tong, Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry reached at this agreement during a meeting. 
• ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement has been effective since 2010. 
• ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement is being reviewed after India requested it in 2019.
•  Concerns were raised by India about the growing trade imbalance because of increased imports from ASEAN countries.
•   India and Malaysia also discussed concerns about the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme.
•  Malaysia is India's third-largest trade partner within ASEAN.
•  In 2023-24, trade between India and Malaysia stood at USD 20.02 billion.

 6. On 17 March, Peru’s government declared a state of emergency in the capital, Lima 

•  Soldiers have also been deployed to the streets to help control a surge of violence that resulted in the death of a popular singer. 
• On March 16, the death of renowned cumbia musician Paul Flores sparked outrage when the bus he was traveling in was fired upon by unknown armed assailants. 
•  Flores died from the gunshot wounds.
•  Additionally, the crime wave, including a rise in extortion rackets, also forced President Dina Boluarte to declare a state of emergency. 
•  The 30-day emergency order applies to Lima as well as neighboring Callao province and gives authorities additional powers to deploy the military to deal with chaos. 
•  The government's move comes amid weeks of escalating violence blamed on criminal groups. 
• The groups often target businesses, including transport companies, though authorities have also claimed recent arrests of gangs. 
•  In recent years, authorities in Peru have repeatedly declared states of emergency when criminal activity or social unrest increases. 
• Peru is located in the western part of South America. Its capital and largest city is Lima. Its currency is Sol. 

7. Stuart Young sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

•   During a ceremony at the President’s House in St. Ann’s, Stuart Young took oath as the new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
•   He is currently serving as the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries. 
•  He will succeed the outgoing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. 
•  In January, Dr. Rowley had announced to resign from office before the end of his term. 
•  Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. 
•  Its capital city is Port of Spain and its largest and most populous municipality is Chaguanas. 

State News 

8. Meghalaya inaugurates first scientific coal mine after nearly a decade long ban 

•  Meghalaya initiated the scientific mining of coal after almost a decade of ban on rat-hole coal mining imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). 
•  Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma virtually inaugurated the first scientific coal mining block at Saryngkham-A block in the Byndihati area of East Jaintia Hills district. 
•  The NGT enforced the ban on rat-hole coal mining in 2014 after a series of coal mine tragedies in Meghalaya over the years. Later, the Supreme Court had upheld the ban order. 

About Meghalaya

•   Capital – Shillong 
•  Chief Minister – Conrad Kongkal Sangma 
•  Governor – H. Vijayashankar 

9. India’s first industry-driven Digital Detox Initiative, Beyond Screens has been launched by Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge 

•  This initiative has been launched in partnership with Karnataka government’s Department of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology and the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF).
•   The aim of Beyond Screens is to combat digital addiction through organized programs
• .  Beyond Screens initiative also encourages healthier technology usage. 
• Kahamind Healthcare Private Limited is supporting the program. 
• Beyond Screens will integrate digital detox strategies into mainstream healthcare. 
• The initiative’s main goals are raising awareness about excessive screen time and promoting healthier digital habits. 
•  The initiative seeks to help people thrive both online and offline. 

Defence News 

10. 23rd edition of the bilateral naval exercise ‘VARUNA 2025’ started on 19th March. 

• VARUNA 2025, a bilateral naval exercise between India and France, will take place from 19 to 22 March 2025. 
• This year’s exercise will have an array of maritime exercises and complex manoeuvres across the sub-surface, surface, and air domains.
•   Vikrant and Charles de Gaulle alongside fighter aircraft, destroyers, frigates, and an Indian Scorpene-class submarine will take part in this exercise.
•   VARUNA 2025 will have advanced air defence drills and fighter exercises. It will include mock air-to-air combat between the French Rafale-M and Indian MiG-29K. 
•  Anti-submarine warfare exercises will provide rigorous training in underwater domain awareness. 
•  VARUNA 2025 provide an opportunity to unite the Indian and French Navies for maritime peace and security. 

Business News

 11.Government e-marketplace crossed Rs.5 lakh crore GMV 

•  The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed Rs.5 lakh crore in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) ahead of FY2024-25. 
• This achievement marked rapid growth as a key platform for public procurement. 
•  GeM’s contributions to public savings have exceeded Rs.1,15,000 crore. 
•  With the help of this platform, registered buyers can facilitate ministries, departments, public sector enterprises, and local bodies. 
•  In FY 2024-25, GeM executed one of the largest cloud migrations by a government organization, enhancing scalability and improving the platform’s reliability. 
•  GeM has implemented key policy reforms to increase market accessibility and support a wide range of sellers, including Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), startups, and women-led businesses. 
• More than 22 lakh sellers and service providers are registered on GeM. 

Economy News 

12. India and Malaysia will accelerate review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement 

•  The goal of India and Malaysia is to conclude it by 2025. 
•  Jitin Prasada, India's Minister of State for Commerce, and Liew Chin Tong, Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry reached at this agreement during a meeting. 
•  ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement has been effective since 2010.
•   ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement is being reviewed after India requested it in 2019. 
•  Concerns were raised by India about the growing trade imbalance because of increased imports from ASEAN countries.
•  India and Malaysia also discussed concerns about the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme. 
•  Malaysia is India's third-largest trade partner within ASEAN. 
•  In 2023-24, trade between India and Malaysia stood at USD 20.02 billion. 

Schemes and Committees News 

13. Anupriya Patel inaugurates the India Innovation Summit 

•  Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel has inaugurated the India Innovation Summit – Pioneering Solutions to End TB, at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre. 
•  The Summit was organized jointly by the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR) and the Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The summit aims to accelerate India’s progress towards TB elimination by 2025. 
• The Program is steadily progressing towards the goal of eliminating TB by 2025. The number of missing cases has been reduced from 15 lakh in 2015 to 2.5 lakhs in 2023. 
•  The programme was able to notify 25.5 lakh TB and 26.07 lakh cases in 2023 and 2024-the highest ever. 
•  A shorter and safer oral Bedaquiline-containing drug resistant TB treatment regimen has been rolled out across all State/ UTs that has improved treatment success rates of drug-resistant TB patients from 68% in 2020 to 75% in 2022. 

Appointment News 

14. TAFE appoints Lakshmi Venu as vice chairman 

• Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) has appointed Lakshmi Venu as Vice Chairman. 
• Lakshmi has been a key member of our leadership team and a member of TAFE’s Board. 
• Chairman & MD – Mallika Srinivasan Recent Appointments 
• CEO of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) – Shivkumar Kalyanaraman 
•  Chairman of Tata Communications Board – N G Subramaniam 
•  Chairman of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) – Arun Mammen 
•  Vice chairman of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) – Hiroshi Yoshizane 
• President & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd – Takashi Nakajima (replace Takuya Tsumura) 

Banking and Financial News 

15.RBI will establish an 'on Tap' cohort focused on climate change risks and sustainable finance within its regulatory sandbox framework. 

•  RBI will also host a 'Greenathon' event centered on climate change and related topics. 
• As per RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, there are two main aspects of climate change risks. 
• They are facilitative and prudential aspects. 
• The facilitative aspect includes capacity building and funding the green transition. Prudential aspect deals with risk management. 
•  Climate change risks impact key financial risk categories. These categories include credit, market, and operational risks. 
•  RBI’s role is to facilitate the promotion of green and sustainable finance.
•   The impact of climate change risks extends beyond the financial system. 
•  The climate change risks affect industries like corporate businesses, MSMEs, and agriculture.
•  Addressing these risks requires strong coordination and alignment involving financial regulators, entities, and various government bodies. 

16. Canara Bank becomes the first bank to introduce Online Digital Balance Confirmation Certificate 

•  In a significant step toward digitisation and operational efficiency, Canara Bank has become the first bank in India to introduce an Online Digital Balance Confirmation Certificate through the PSB Alliance Pvt. Ltd portal. 
• This initiative reduces the time required for auditors to complete the auditing process by replacing the traditional manual approach with a seamless digital solution. 
•  Previously, auditors had to approach banks individually with authority letters to obtain Balance Confirmation Certificates, a time-consuming process. With this digital service, confirmation will flow directly to auditors through the online portal after obtaining online consent from the customer, eliminating the need for manual intervention. 

About Canara Bank 

• Founded – 1906 
• Headquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka 
• MD & CEO – K Satyanarayana Raju 
•  Tagline – Together with Can 

Important Day News 

17.15 March – International Day to Combat Islamophobia 

•  The International Day to Combat Islamophobia is observed annually on March 15. 
• This day was established by the United Nations (UN) in 2022 to address and raise awareness about Islamophobia, discrimination, and violence faced by Muslims worldwide. 
•  The UN General Assembly declared March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia in response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, where 51 people were killed. 
•  The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution sponsored by 60 Member-States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which designated 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. 

18. The 4th edition of Snow Marathon Lahaul will be held at March 23 

•  It is Asia’s only and the world’s highest snow marathon held at an altitude of 11,000 feet. 
•  The event will take place in Sissu, located in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district. 
• Over 300 participants from across India will compete in four categories.
•  The categories are 42 km (Full Marathon), 21 km (Half Marathon), 10 km, and 5 km.
•   In previous editions, the Indian Army and Navy have been strong participants. 
•  This year, the Indian Air Force Adventure Team will send 20 runners. 
•  The Indian Army will field 25 elite runners. These runners will include athletes from the Ladakh Scouts, Dogra, and Kumaon Regiments.
•   Paramilitary forces like ITBP and SSB will also compete. 
• Col (retd) Arun Natrajan, is the event organizer. 
•  Event founder Gaurav Schimar stressed on the marathon’s environmental message. 

Awards and Achievements News 

19. Bengaluru Airport wins air service quality award for third year running

•   Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIAB) has been honored with the Air Service Quality (ASQ) award for the third consecutive year.
•   KIAB’s sustained commitment to delivering superior passenger experiences has been recognized through this consecutive accolade. 
•  The ASQ award is a testament to KIAB’s dedication to maintaining high service standards, reinforcing its position as a leading airport on the international stage. 

20. RS felicitates Ilaiyaraaja for composing symphony 

• The Rajya Sabha has felicitated musician and nominated member of the Upper House, Ilaiyaraaja, for becoming the first Indian to compose, record, and perform live a full English classical symphony. 
•  The renowned composer performed the symphony titled Valiant in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on March 8. VicePresident Jagdeep Dhankhar said Mr. Ilaiyaraaja composed the symphony in 34 days, which is a unique achievement. 
•  The whole nation and the people are proud of his work. “The achievement is yet another testament to his enduring brilliance and global appeal,” he said. 

Science and Technology News 

21. NASA astronauts returned to Earth after being stuck in space for 9 months 

•  On March 18, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. 
• Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico. 
•  The splashdown occurred off the Tallahassee coast of the Florida Panhandle, ending a nine-month ordeal for both astronauts. 
•  Wilmore and Williams spent 286 days in space - 278 days longer than estimated at launch. 
•  They orbited the Earth 4,576 times and had traveled 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) by the time it landed. 
• Williams set a record for the most time spent spacewalking during her career among female astronauts, spending 62 hours in nine spacewalks. 
• Wilmore and Williams had been on the International Space Station since June of last year, after arriving on the maiden crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. 
•  Their return was delayed as the Starliner encountered technical issues, making it unsuitable for the journey back to Earth. 

22. Pact signed for using Parliament data for AI model: Minister 

•  The India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission has signed a memorandum of understanding with Parliament to access its data for training an indigenous AI model, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday. 
•  Speaking during a panel discussion on “Winning the AI marathon: India in the global AI race” at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Mr. Vaishnaw said that under the India AI Mission, 14,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) have been made available at a common computer facility. 
• “Parliament dataset will be a very good resource for training our model, similarly Doordarshan and All India Radio are other sources where large datasets are available,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. “Whatever the world says, a model, if it's open source today, may not remain open source tomorrow, which we have seen in the case of Open AI. 
• So it is important to have our own large language models (LLM),” he said. Plan rope in professors Mr. Vaishnaw said the government was working with industry to evaluate options and was planning to rope in professors and start-ups willing to contribute to the journey of building LLM for India. 
•  Citing examples of training students on 5G tech, he said that nearly 100 laboratories were set up in universities so that students could learn about the tech in real settings. 
•  “A similar approach will be adopted for AI,” he said. Mr. Vaishnaw said in the next three to five years, India would develop capability to have GPUs up and running. “We are evaluating approaches with two different types of instruction sets for this purpose. 
• Which one of the two, or both, we will finalise, will be left to the experts to decide.” Despite escalation of tariff wars and export controls by the U.S., Mr. Vaishnaw said the goal was to focus on proprietary tech and models.
•   “We have a rich resource for any country to be in the race of AI and the way we have developed with the U.S. where the foundation of relationship is trust, respect for IP rights is to co-create and co-develop tech. 
•  That has happened over a period of 10 years which is a strength for both countries.” 

23. Indore will launch India’s first PPP green waste processing plant 

•  Under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, India’s first PPP green waste processing plant will be launched at Indore. 
•  Indore will become the first city in India to establish a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model-based green waste processing plant. 
•  The plant will be built on 55,000 square feet of land in Bicholi Hapsi and will process green waste such as wood, branches, leaves, and flowers. 
•  It will generate revenue of 3,000 per tonne for the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC). 
•  It will recycle the green waste into wooden pellets and serve as a sustainable alternative to coal. 
•  Indore every day generates around 30 tons of green waste. 
•  Green waste from major institutions will be collected and sent to the facility, under a fixed fee structure. 
•  Astronomical Industries Private Limited has joined hands with the IMC to process this waste into sawdust. 

Ranks & Reports News 

24. India takes 24th spot in free speech survey 

• A new global survey by the Future of Free Speech, an independent U.S.-based think tank, has ranked India 24th out of the 33 countries surveyed on the question of support for free speech. 
• Its report, titled ‘Who in the world supports free speech?’ states that “while abstract support for free speech remains strong, commitment to protecting controversial speech is eroding in many parts of the world.” 
• The survey, conducted in October 2024, also revealed that “more countries have seen declines rather than improvements in free speech support since 2021, with some of the biggest drops occurring in democratic nations like the United States, Israel, and Japan”. 
• Scandinavia dominated the top rankings, with Norway and Denmark finishing at the apex of the Future of the Free Speech Index with scores of 87.9 and 87.0. Disconnected Indonesia (56.8), Malaysia (55.4), and Pakistan (57.0) showed the biggest improvements, though they remained at the lower end of the ranking. 
•  India, with a score of 62.6, was placed 24th, between South Africa (66.9) and Lebanon (61.8). At the same time, some authoritarian-leaning nations — such as Hungary (85.5) and Venezuela (81.8) — scored high, “suggesting a disconnect between government restrictions and public attitudes”. 
• As regards its findings concerning India, the survey found that while a majority of Indians consider it very important to speak freely without government censorship, support for criticism of government policies was below the global average. For instance, 37% of Indian respondents supported the statement that “governments should be able to prevent people” from criticising government policies — the highest percentage among all the countries surveyed. 
•  Public sentiment In contrast, 5% of the respondents supported this statement in the U.K., while only 3% endorsed this sentiment in Denmark. In general, nations that are more supportive of free speech tend to enjoy more freedom of expression in practice and vice versa. 
•  But India was an exception to this pattern. “The most substantial disconnects from the general pattern are represented by India, Hungary, and Venezuela where the actual protection of free speech is very low compared to the popular support. 
• These are all cases of democratic backsliding in countries that previously demonstrated high levels of respect for political liberties, including freedom of expression,” the report stated. 
•  When asked whether their ability to speak freely about political matters has improved or worsened over the past year, “Indians and South Africans believe that they have undergone the most significant progress, although observers and rankings tend to agree that the situation in India has become worse, if anything,” the report noted. 

Sports News

25. IOC Board approves boxing for inclusion in 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games 

•  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved the inclusion of boxing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics games. 
• The decision follows the IOC’s granting of provisional recognition to World Boxing last month (February), effectively sidelining the International Boxing Association (IBA) and transferring authority to the new governing body. 
•  World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst, said this is a significant decision for Olympic boxing and takes the sport one step closer to being restored to the Olympic programme. 
•  The IOC Executive Board on February 26 decided to provisionally recognise World Boxing, which is currently composed of 84 national federations over the five continents.