Mar 07, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

On March 5, 2025, China announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia.

China's military spending remains the second largest in the world, behind the U.S., and it already possesses the world's largest navy.

The Pentagon and experts estimate that China’s actual defense expenditure may be at least 40% higher than the official figure due to additional allocations under other budget categories.
In March 2025, Anju Rathi Rana was appointed as the India's first woman law secretary, officially known as the Secretary, Legal Affairs.
In March 2025, the London-based global property consultancy firm Knight Frank released the 19th edition of The Wealth Report 2025. India secured the 4th position globally, with an estimated 85,698 High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 2024, marking a 6% increase from the previous year and accounting for 3.7% of the world’s wealthy population.

The United States remains the leader with 905,413 HNWIs, followed by China (471,634 HNWIs) and Japan (122,119 HNWIs). The report defines HNWIs as individuals possessing at least USD 1 million in investable assets. Globally, the number of HNWIs increased by 4.4%.

India also ranked 3rd in terms of billionaires, with 191 billionaires in 2024.

In luxury real estate, Delhi improved its ranking from 37th (2023) to 18th (2024) due to a 6.7% year-on-year increase in luxury residential prices. Bengaluru moved up from 59th to 40th place, while Mumbai dropped from 21st to 28th in the index.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2025 in New Delhi. Organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the summit focused on fostering global collaborations to advance sustainable development and climate solutions.

Theme: “Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions.”
Sahitya Akademi, India's premier literary institution under the Ministry of Culture, will host its annual Festival of Letters 2025 at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, from March 7 to March 12, 2025.

Recognized as Asia's largest literature festival, the event will feature participation from 700 writers, representing over 50 languages across 100 sessions.
In March 2025, PM Modi was honored with the ‘Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados’, a prestigious award recognizing his strategic leadership and assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.