Feb 04, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the Union government body overseeing zoos in India, has approved the establishment of a white tiger breeding centre at Govindgarh in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district.

Govindgarh Fort in Rewa holds historical significance as the place where Mohan, the first captured white tiger, was kept by the erstwhile ruler of Rewa. Additionally, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department operates a white tiger safari in Mukundpur, about 20 km from Govindgarh.

The white coat in a Royal Bengal Tiger results from a recessive gene, specifically a leucistic (loss of pigmentation) morph caused by the absence of the pigment pheomelanin.

However, white tigers tend to be less healthy than naturally colored tigers and exhibit weaker physiological vigor. While their ecological value is negligible, their exotic appeal remains high.

Japan's space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), announced the successful launch of its new flagship rocket, H3, on February 17, 2025. Billed as a flexible and cost-effective launch vehicle, the next-generation H3 rocket has been proposed as a potential competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and could eventually be used for cargo deliveries to lunar bases.

Developed jointly by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the H3 rocket is designed to be an all-rounder—capable of launching satellites into Earth’s orbit, serving as a supply vehicle for space stations, and supporting future Moon missions.

International Development Week (IDW) is an annual event celebrated during the first full week of February. In 2025, IDW will be observed from February 2nd to February 8th.

In a significant milestone, the Framework Agreement on the establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has officially come into force, making IBCA and its Secretariat a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental international organization from January 23, 2025.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, as the depository of the Framework Agreement, confirmed that five countries—Republic of Nicaragua, Kingdom of Eswatini, Republic of India, Federal Republic of Somalia, and Republic of Liberia—have deposited the instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval under Article VIII (1) of the Framework Agreement.

As of now, 27 countries, including India, have consented to join IBCA, along with multiple international and national organizations working in the field of wildlife conservation.

The IBCA was initially launched by PM Modi on April 9, 2023, during the event commemorating 50 years of Project Tiger. The Union Cabinet of India approved the establishment of IBCA on February 29, 2024, with its headquarters in India.

The alliance focuses on the conservation of seven big cats—Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, and Puma—and is open to membership from all UN countries, including range countries harboring these species and non-range countries interested in supporting big cat conservation.

For the first time in the country, the Andhra Pradesh government has launched WhatsApp Governance, titled "Mana Mitra." The state government has allotted an official WhatsApp number, 9552300009, for availing of the services.

In the first phase, the government is introducing 161 public services through Mana Mitra – Governance, and in the second phase, another 360 services will be enabled. On October 22 last year, an agreement was signed with Meta in Delhi.

On January 27, 2025, IIT Indore inaugurated AgriHub, a Center of Excellence (CoE) dedicated to sustainable agriculture by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL).

AgriHub is a transdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaborative initiative aimed at fostering agricultural innovation and transformation in India. The center will focus on AI-driven solutions to improve crop management, soil health monitoring, precision farming, and climate resilience in agriculture.

The DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) at IIT Hyderabad has successfully demonstrated the Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) System for the fabrication of rocket components.

The system utilizes Powder-Based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology, which employs Laser and Blown-Powder Direct Energy Deposition for high-precision manufacturing. A dual-head mechanism ensures thermal balancing and enhanced speed, making it an advanced solution for aerospace applications.

World Cancer Day is an international day observed on February 4. The theme for World Cancer Day 2025 is "United by Unique."

The 13th edition of joint military exercise 'Ekuverin' between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force has commenced in the archipelago nation. The 14-day exercise aims to enhance interoperability between the two forces.

'Ekuverin,' meaning "Friends" in the Dhivehi language, is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternately in India and the Maldives. In 2023, it was held at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, from June 11 to 24.

Britain will become the first country to introduce laws against AI tools used to generate sexual abuse images, the government announced on February 1, 2025.

The new legislation will make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to generate sexualized images of children, with offenders facing up to five years in prison.

Additionally, it will be illegal to possess AI-generated “paedophile manuals” that teach individuals how to use AI to sexually abuse children, punishable by up to three years in prison.

The new laws will also criminalize predators who run websites facilitating the sharing of child sexual abuse content or providing advice on grooming children, carrying a penalty of up to ten years in prison.

A recent inquiry found that approximately 500,000 children across the U.K. experience some form of child abuse each year, with online abuse playing an increasingly significant role.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has raised concerns about the rising number of AI-generated sexual abuse images of children. Over a 30-day period in 2024, IWF analysts identified 3,512 AI-generated child abuse images on a single dark web site.

The number of the most serious category of images also increased by 10% in a year, according to their findings.

Syllabus:
GS-3: Awareness in the fields of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Space Technology, Computers, Energy resources, nano-technology, microbiology, biotechnology. Issues relating to intellectual property rights (IPR), and digital rights.