Feb 12, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

Ahead of PM Modi's visit to Paris and Washington on February 10, 2025, the government;s announcement that it would amend the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act and the Atomic Energy Act is likely to enthuse American and French nuclear power companies, whose projects have been deadlocked due to legal concerns for more than 15 years.

In particular, the amendments could facilitate progress on Électricité de France (EDF)'s MoU to build six EPR1650 reactors in Maharashtra's Jaitapur, initially signed in 2009 with Areva, and Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC)'s MoU to build six AP1000 reactors in Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh, signed in 2012.

India currently has a nuclear power capacity of 6.780 GW, comprising 22 reactors, with Russia's Rosatom being the only foreign operator in the country.
India ranked 96th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2024, as its overall score dropped by one point to 38, according to a Transparency International report released on February 11, 2025.

The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption—according to experts and business leaders—uses a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents "highly corrupt" and 100 represents "very clean."

India's overall score was 39 in 2023 and 40 in 2022, while its rank in 2023 was 93.

Among India's neighbors, Pakistan (135) and Sri Lanka (121) struggled with low rankings, while Bangladesh ranked 149. China ranked 76th.

Denmark topped the list as the least corrupt nation, followed by Finland and Singapore.

Research has also revealed that corruption poses a major threat to climate action. The global average score of 43 has remained unchanged for years, while more than two-thirds of countries continue to score below 50.
IIT Madras and ISRO have developed an indigenous microprocessor, SHAKTI, for space applications, which can be used in command and control systems and other critical functions in outer space.

The SHAKTI class of systems is based on RISC-V, an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), for designing custom processors.

"SHAKTI" is backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under its "Digital India RISC-V" initiative (DIRV). It can be used in diverse domains, from IoT to compute systems for strategic needs.

The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) in Thiruvananthapuram proposed the idea of a 64-bit RISC-V-based controller and collaborated with IIT Madras in defining the specifications and design of the semiconductor chip.

After RIMO in 2018 and MOUSHIK in 2020, this is the third SHAKTI chip we have fabricated at SCL, Chandigarh, and successfully booted at IIT Madras.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, H.E. Hardeep Singh Puri, announced that India plans to increase the usage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 6% to 15%, with long-term agreements already signed with Qatar to support this initiative.

Mr. Puri made this announcement while inaugurating the third edition of India Energy Week (IEW) 2025 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi on February 11, 2025.

India Energy Week (IEW) serves as a global hub for energy professionals, fostering international collaboration, strategic partnerships, and multi-million-dollar deals. With participants from 120+ countries, it showcases cutting-edge technologies and sustainable energy solutions.
The third edition of the Joint Special Forces Exercise CYCLONE commenced at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan from February 10 to 23, 2025. Exercise CYCLONE is an annual event conducted alternately in India and Egypt. The previous edition of the exercise was held in Egypt in January 2024.
NITI Aayog today launched a first-of-its-kind policy document titled "Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities." The report provides a detailed quantitative analysis of key indicators such as Quality, Funding and Financing, Governance, and Employability over the past decade.

With 80% of India's higher education taking place in State Public Universities (SPUs), reforming them is crucial for human capital development and positioning India as a global knowledge hub.

The report outlines a comprehensive policy roadmap, including nearly 80 policy recommendations, short-, medium-, and long-term implementation strategies, responsible stakeholders, and over 125 Performance Success Indicators.
The 14th Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum (14AFAF), themed "Greening the Blue Growth in Asia-Pacific," is scheduled to be held from February 12 to 14, 2025, at the ICAR Convention Centre, Pusa Campus, New Delhi.

Jointly organized by the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Department of Fisheries (DoF), Government of India, and the Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch (AFSIB), the event aims to promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development in the Asia-Pacific region.
THDC India has commenced commercial operations of a 660-MW unit at its Khurja Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh (UP), marking its entry into the domestic thermal energy sector.

THDC India Ltd (THDCIL) is developing a 1,320 MW (2×660 MW) super thermal power project (STPP) in Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, with an investment of approximately ₹13,000 crore.

The plant is an integrated coal-based thermal power project with a coal linkage from the operational Amelia coal mine, located in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh.

Headquartered in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, THDC India is a 75:25 joint venture between the Centre-owned NTPC and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully concluded the second edition of the Mehar Baba Competition-II (MBC-II). Launched on April 6, 2022, by the Honourable Raksha Mantri, the competition aimed to develop swarm drone-based systems for detecting foreign objects on aircraft operating surfaces.

The initiative officially wrapped up on July 29, 2024, strengthening collaboration between Indian industry, academia, and end-users. The winners of MBC-II were Ayaan Autonomous Systems Pvt Ltd, Pune, which secured the First Prize, and Fleet RF Pvt Ltd, Greater Noida, as the First Runner-Up.
Three computer science students from Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, New Delhi, won the Bronze Award at the Global Best M-Gov Award 2025 in Dubai for their AI-powered app, AccessWay, which enhances mobile governance and social inclusion for people with disabilities.
Feb 11, 2025 Feb 13, 2025

Daily current affairs

Daily current affairs - Mar 08, 2025
Daily current affairs - Mar 07, 2025
Daily current affairs - Mar 06, 2025
Daily current affairs - Mar 03, 2025
Daily current affairs - Mar 01, 2025
Daily current affairs - Feb 28, 2025
Daily current affairs - Feb 27, 2025
Daily current affairs - Feb 26, 2025
Daily current affairs - Feb 24, 2025
Daily current affairs - Feb 22, 2025