Feb 03, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

The DRDO successfully conducted three successive flight trials of the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) system on Saturday, February 1, 2025, from Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. These tests were carried out against high-speed targets flying at very low altitudes.

The VSHORAD is a man-portable air defence system designed and developed indigenously by the Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories. The missile system is capable of meeting the requirements of all three branches of the armed forces — the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The VSHORAD is a critical asset for the Army, providing close air defence protection for mobile formations, particularly against the increasing threats posed by drones and loitering munitions.

On January 30, 2025, New Zealand recognized Mount Taranaki as a legal person, granting it the same rights as a human being.

The Embassy of India in Kinshasa (capital), Democratic Republic of Congo, stated on February 2, 2025, that it is closely monitoring the security situation in the central African country. It has advised all Indian nationals in Bukavu (south-western) to immediately relocate to safer locations.

There are approximately 1,000 Indian nationals in Congo. Meanwhile, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma and are seeking to expand their area of control.

Additionally, around 1,200 Indian troops are serving in the country as part of the MONUSCO (UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo.

World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2. The theme for 2025 is "Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future".

Indian-American musician and business leader Chandrika Tandon won the Grammy for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album for 'Triveni', a collaboration with Wouter Kellerman and Eru Matsumoto, at the 67th Grammy Awards on February 2, 2025.

On February 1, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing steep tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. The U.S. imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from China and a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada.

The ISRO has been unable to perform the intended orbit-raising operations for the NVS-02 satellite due to a valve malfunction. NVS-02, the second satellite in the NVS series, was launched by ISRO on January 29, 2025, as part of its landmark 100th launch from Sriharikota.

The space agency stated that the NVS-02 navigation satellite was successfully injected into the intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. However, the orbit-raising operations required to position the satellite in its designated orbital slot could not be carried out.

NVS-02 is equipped with a navigation payload operating in L1, L5, and S bands, along with a ranging payload in the C-band, similar to its predecessor, NVS-01. It is intended to be placed at 111.75ºE, replacing IRNSS-1E. The satellite utilizes a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation.

India U19 women's cricket team clinched their second consecutive ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup title with a dominant 9-wicket win over South Africa.

A pilot study on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) commissioned by the Defence Ministry highlights the transformative potential of these technologies while raising important questions about control, accountability, and ethical deployment. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (MPIDSA).

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now paved the way for the faster sanctioning of homes for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) across India under its PM-JANMAN package. Launched in November 2023, the PM-JANMAN package aims to achieve 100% saturation of basic schemes such as housing, piped water, and roads across PVTG habitations.

Under the housing component, a target has been set to sanction and build 4.90 lakh PM-AWAS homes for PVTGs. As of November 2024, a total of approximately 3.3 lakh homes had been sanctioned for PVTG populations.

Additionally, under the PM-JANMAN package, the government has sanctioned over 190 hostels, about 600 mobile medical units, more than 850 multipurpose centers, and the installation of mobile towers in over 2,100 habitations. Nearly the same number of Anganwadi Centers have also been approved for PVTG populations.