Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 26th February 2025

 National News 

1. India poised to host the 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific in Jaipur 

• India will host the 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific. The Forum will take place at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur on 3-5 March 2025.
•  The event will centre on the theme of “Realizing Circular Societies Towards Achieving SDGs and Carbon Neutrality in Asia-Pacific”. 
• The Forum will host an international ‘3R trade and technology exhibition’, providing a platform for over 40 Indian and Japanese businesses and start-ups to showcase best practices, ideas and solutions that support circularity and 3R principles while encouraging cross-learning. 
• Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal informed that ‘Waste-to-wealth initiatives by NGOs and Self-help Groups across India will also be showcased at the Forum promoting sustainability-driven entrepreneurship and community engagement. 

2. PM Modi inaugurates Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment & Infrastructure Summit 2025  Prime 

• Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment & Infrastructure Summit 2025 in Guwahati, Assam. 
•  The Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit 2025 in Guwahati, is being held from 25th to 26th February. It includes an inaugural Session, seven ministerial sessions and 14 thematic sessions. It also includes a comprehensive exhibition illustrating the state’s economic landscape, with a focus on its industrial evolution, global trade partnerships, booming industries, and the vibrant MSME sector, featuring over 240 exhibitors. 

3. SECI signs MoU with Government of MP for 200 MW Solar Project at Dhar 

• Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a Navratna CPSU under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, has signed an MoU with the Government of Madhya Pradesh for setting up 200 MW Solar Project in Dhar under the CPSU Scheme and a 1000 MWh Battery Storage Project in the state. 
•  The 200 MW Solar Project is part of a 500 MW Agreement which was executed in 2023 with MP Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL) for a period of 25 years under which SECI will supply the electricity to the state. 

4. SWAYATT initiative on GeM celebrates 6 years of transformative impact 

• The Government e Marketplace (GeM) commemorated six years of Startups, Women, and Youth Advantage through eTransactions (SWAYATT) initiative at its New Delhi headquarters (HQ). 
• Launched on 19 February 2019, SWAYATT was conceptualised with the clear objective of invigorating the participation of women-led enterprises and youth in public procurement.
•  Rooted in GeM’s foundational pillar of social inclusion, SWAYATT is the portal’s commitment to enhancing the ease of doing business and establishing direct market linkages to annual public procurement for startups, women entrepreneurs, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and youth, especially those from backward sections of society. 

5. Haryana launches witness protection scheme

•   The Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government rolled out the “Haryana Witness Protection Scheme, 2025” to ensure the protection of the witnesses as the state gears up to implement the three new criminal laws. 
• The scheme will be applicable to the witnesses of those offences which are punishable with death or life imprisonment, or imprisonment up to seven years and above. 
•  It will also cover punishments under sections 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as under Sections 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. 
•  A government spokesperson said that under the scheme, there will be three categories of witnesses based on the threat perception.
•  Category A includes situations where the threat extends to the life of the witness, their family members, or any person in whom the witness is interested, during the investigation or trial, or thereafter. 
• Category- B involves cases where the threat extends to the safety, reputation, or property of the witness, and their family members, while category C applies where the threat is moderate and involves harassment or intimidation of the witness, their family members etc. 

About Haryana 

•  Capital – Chandigarh
•   Chief Minister – Nayab Singh Saini(11th) 
•  Governor – Bandaru Dattatreya 
•  Legislative Assembly Seats- 90

 Awards News

 6. Rajnath Singh confers 32 medals on Indian Coast Guard personnel

•  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conferred gallantry, distinguished service and meritorious service medals to personnel of the Indian Coast Guard at an investiture ceremony in New Delhi. 
•  A total of 32 medals were presented including six President’s Tatrakshak Medals for Distinguished Service, 11 Tatrakshak Medals for Gallantry and 15 Tatrakshak Medals for Meritorious Service. 

Defence News 

7. Ministry of Defence inks contract worth Rs 1220.12 cr with Bharat Electronics Limited 

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru for the procurement of 149 Software Defined Radios for the Indian Coast Guard at a total cost of Rs 1220.12 crore under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. 
•  These state-of-the-art radios will enable secure and reliable information sharing, collaboration, and situational awareness through high-speed data and secure voice communication. 
• This will strengthen the Indian Coast Guard’s capability to fulfil its core responsibilities, including maritime law enforcement, search and rescue operations, fisheries protection, and marine environment protection. Additionally, these radios will enhance interoperability for joint operations with the Indian Navy. 

8. India's last imported warship likely to be commissioned in June 

• The Indian Navy crew that will operate Tamal, the stealth frigate under construction in Russia, reached St. Petersburg last week in preparation for its commissioning, which is expected to take place in early June. 
•  The event is significant as Tamal will be the last warship to be commissioned outside India or imported. The country now designs and constructs its own warships. 
• The commissioning crew of around 200 personnel reached St. Peters-burg around 10 days ago for training as the ship will undergo a series of trials leading up to its commissioning, official sources in the know confirmed. 
•  The crew will shift to Kalinin-grad after the training to oversee the trials. 
• The ship is being built as part of the deal for four additional follow-on stealth frigates under an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in October 2016. Under the deal, two ships are to be imported and two manufactured by Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL) under technology transfer. A $1-billion deal was subse-quently signed for the two frigates under direct purchase. 
•  Tamal has completed manufacturer trials and is currently undergoing State Committee Trials. It will then go through delivery acceptance trials, both in harbour and at sea, which will be spread over 45 to 50 days, sources said, explaining the process. 

9. Mohammad Salim re-elected West Bengal CPI(M) secretary 

• Communist Party of India (Marxist) West Bengal committee has reelected Mohammad Salim as the party's State secretary. At a three-day meeting that concluded on Tuesday, the party pledged to raise its voice against the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress in the run-up to the Assembly election in 2026. Mr. Salim, who was elected unanimously, said the BJP was trying to bring about a communal divide, for which the Trinamool Congress had created the base. 

10. Women shifting from unpaid domestic work: govt. survey

•  The participation of men and women in the 15-59 age group in employment and related activities in a day increased to 75% and 25%, respectively, in 2024 from 70.9% and 21.8% in 2019, shows a survey on time use conducted by the National Statistics Office. 
• The time spent by women in unpaid domestic services dropped to 305 minutes in 2024 compared with 315 minutes in 2019, indicating a shift from unpaid to paid pursuits, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementa-tion said in a statement based on the survey. 
• The "Time Use Survey" measured the time spent by individuals on different activities. It found that in 2024, people involved in employment and related activities spent 440 minutes a day on such activities. While men spent 473 minutes, women spent 341 minutes in such engage-ments. 
•  Men spent 88 minutes a day in unpaid domestic services for household members, the survey said. "Females spent 137 minutes in a day caring for their household members compared to 75 minutes spent by male members of the household," the survey said. 
•  Leisure activities 
• Persons aged six and above who responded to the survey's questions spent 171 minutes a day for activities related to culture, leisure, and mass media use. "Male and female participants spent 177 minutes and 164 minutes, respectively in a day in such activities," it said. 
• Children between the age of six and 14 spent 413 minutes a day in learning-related activities. "Self-care and maintenance activities comprised an average of 708 minutes in a day for persons of age 6 years and above," the survey said. 
• The Ministry added in a statement that about 41% of women in the 15-59 age group participated in care-giving for their household members. The participation of men in this age group in such activity stood at 21.4%. 
•  "Also, female participants in care-giving activities spent about 140 minutes in a day compared to 74 minutes by male respondents of the same age group. This corroborates the Indian social fabric wherein most of the care-giving responsibilities for household members are borne by the females of the household," the Ministry said. 
• About 16.8% of the population participated in producing goods for their own final use and they spent 116 minutes a day doing such activities.
• The survey covered 1,39,487 households, 83,247 in rural areas and 56,240 in urban areas. It enumerated 4,54,192 persons aged six and above (rural: 2,85,389 and urban: 1,68,803). 

11.CBSE let's schools open play schools and kindergartens on their premises 

• To accommodate play schools and kindergartens within the school premises, the Central Board for 
• Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a notification approving opening of branch schools under the same name and affiliation as those of the parent school.
•   CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta told The Hindu on Tuesday that the change in the policy was in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) recommendation that schools should open Bal Vikas or preschools for children aged three to five within their premises. 
• "With the new tweak in the policy, CBSE schools located within areas and cities where relaxed land norms are applicable on the land requirements for setting schools, can establish a branch school that includes services for Bal Vatika to Class 5," Mr. Gupta said.
•  The branch school shall have a minimum contiguous land area of 1,200 square metres and shall be bound by a six-foot-high permanent wall, the CBSE has said.
•  While the branch school can be opened under the same name and affiliation number, a separate set of resources for physical and academic infrastructure as well as teaching and sup-porting staff is required, says the Affiliation Bylaws (Branch School), 2025. The main school shall run classes 6 to 11, they say. Mr. Gupta said that close to 30,000 schools affiliated with the CBSE are eligible to apply for opening branch schools. "The schools can apply for esta-blishing branch schools with effect from the academic year 2026-27 on the SARAS portal," he said. 
•  Separate panel 
•  "The school management committees shall be separate, but there will be a common website for both schools, with a section. dedicated to branch school," the notification says. The main and branch school shall have separate principles and headmis-tresses or headmasters, and there will be a seamless transition from branch school to main school for students. 
• "The school will not consider these students as new admissions in the main school," it notes. For Bal Vatika to be established, the CBSE has stated that the teacher-pupil ratio will be 1:30. 

12. CBSE proposes draft policy for conducting two Board examinations from 2025-26 

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed that from the academic year 2025-26, students of Class 10 can appear for Board examination twice, in a bid to improve their performance. 
• A draft policy has been put in public domain by the CBSE and the Board will accept responses from all stakeholders schools, teachers, parents, students and the public till March 9. 
•  Scrutiny planned 
• "The responses will be scrutinised and policy will be finalised subsequently," said Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations, CBSE. 
•  The scheme proposes that Class 10 and 12 exams will begin on the first Tuesday after February 15. The second exam will be in July 
•  Policy, 2020 recommends that students be given an opportunity to improve their performance in Board exams. 
•  Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a meeting which discussed the issue. 
• The scheme proposes that Class 10 and 12 exams will begin on the first Tuesday after February 15, 2026. The improvement exam or the second exam will be scheduled in July 2026. Up to 26.6 lakh students in Class 10 and 20 lakh in Class 12 are expect-ed to appear in the exams. 
•  Students can either choose to appear for the Board exams the second time to improve their scores, or they can opt out from appearing for the second time. 
•  "Performance in the first exam will be made available on DigiLocker, which can be used for admission to Class 11, in case the student does not wish to appear for the second examination," Mr. Bhardwaj said. 
•  Marksheet and pass certificate will have marks secured in first exam, and the second exam, as well as marks secured in practice and internal assessments and grades. The better of the two marks will be mentioned.