Feb 06, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

The largest Hindu temple and cultural complex in the Southern Hemisphere was unveiled in Johannesburg on February 2, 2025. This temple is part of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Multi-Cultural Centre.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) unveiled the latest version of Finite Element Analysis of Structures (FEAST) software at the 8th National Finite Element Developers’ Meeting at IIT Hyderabad on February 1, 2025.

Developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), FEAST is a structural analysis software based on the finite element method, used for analyzing the behavior of structures under various loads in the fields of aerospace, automobile, civil, mechanical, and marine engineering.

It allows engineers to test designs virtually before physical construction.

U.S. President Donald Trump, on February 4, 2025, ordered an end to U.S. engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and continued a halt to funding for the U.N. Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing it of anti-Israel incitement and alleging that its staff were "involved in terrorist activities against Israel."

The U.S. was UNRWA's biggest donor—providing $300 million to $400 million annually—but President Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff members of taking part in the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

UNRWA provides aid, health, and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. A Hamas commander in Lebanon—killed by Israel in September—was also found to have been employed by UNRWA.

The star-studded and power-packed Global Justice, Love & Peace Summit will be held in Dubai on April 12 and 13, 2025, at the Dubai Expo.

The event has received written confirmations from 72 illustrious international luminaries to join as speakers, including 10 Nobel Peace Laureates, royals, sports champions, religious leaders, industrialists, chief justices, film stars, and beauty queens.

This Summit is the first in a continuous series of annual summits to be held around the same time each year in Dubai. It also marks the launch of the "I Am Peacekeeper" movement, which aims to recruit 1 million Peacekeepers by September 21, 2025.

The Summit aspires to be the world's largest private summit on justice, love, and peace, with 2,800 delegates (Peacekeepers) in attendance. Each delegate will sit in one of seven chairs, named after seven human values: gratitude, forgiveness, love, humility, giving, patience, and truth.

India has inaugurated its first Ferret Research Facility at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) in Faridabad, Haryana. This marks a major leap in biomedical research, particularly in the fields of infectious and non-communicable diseases. Ferret (नेवले की जाति का एक जानवर) research is the use of ferrets as animal models to study human diseases.

The Blue Ghost lunar lander has captured its first images of the Moon from orbit around Earth. Blue Ghost is a class of lunar landers designed and manufactured by Firefly Aerospace. Firefly plans to operate Blue Ghost landers to deliver small payloads to the lunar surface.

The first Blue Ghost mission was launched on January 15, 2025, with an expected landing date of March 2, 2025. As part of NASA's Lunar Surface Operations Program and the Artemis mission, the Blue Ghost lander will contribute to humanity's return to the Moon.

Union Minister of Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched the national-level mass outreach campaign "Watershed Yatra" on February 5, 2025, in hybrid mode. The campaign aims to encourage public participation and raise awareness about the Watershed Development activities carried out under the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY 2.0) in project areas.

A total of about 800 Gram Panchayats and more than one lakh people participated in the Watershed Yatra launch program. The campaign seeks to engage communities in soil and water conservation efforts and promote sustainable natural resource management.

Fort William in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Eastern Army Command, has been renamed Vijay Durg. Additionally, Kitchener House, located inside Fort William, has been renamed Manekshaw House, and the South Gate, formerly known as St. George’s Gate, is now Shivaji Gate.

Fort William, named after King William III of England, was constructed by the British in 1781. The new name, Vijay Durg, is derived from the name of the oldest fort along the Sindhudurg coast in Maharashtra, which served as a naval base for the Marathas under Chhatrapati Shivaji.