Mar 13, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

During the 4th 'No Money for Terror' (NMFT) Conference, India advocated that unity among nations is essential in the fight against terrorism and reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to standing with the global community in this effort.

The 4th NMFT Conference, held in Munich, Germany, highlighted global efforts to combat terror financing. India, a key participant since 2018, actively contributed to the discussions.

Jayshree Vencatesan, co-founder of the Chennai-based Care Earth Trust, has become the first Indian to be honored with the Ramsar Award for ‘Wetland Wise Use,’.

The award was announced by the Ramsar Secretariat in Geneva on the eve of International Women’s Day 2024.

India (21.5%) has emerged as the leading source of FDI into Dubai, surpassing the United States, France, and the United Kingdom in 2024.

Dubai retained its position as the world's top destination for Greenfield FDI projects for the fourth consecutive year, according to Financial Times Ltd.’s ‘fDi Markets’ data.

NASA is preparing to launch two space missions, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere). These missions are scheduled for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket.

SPHEREx: Mapping cosmic light from the earliest galaxies, providing insights into the Big Bang and cosmic history.

PUNCH: Studying the Sun's outer corona and solar wind, enhancing our understanding of solar storms and space weather.

The M.K. Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government has replaced the official rupee symbol ‘₹’ with a Tamil character in the 2025 state budget.

The move is being seen as a statement from the Tamil Nadu government, which has clashed with the Centre over the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), accusing it of imposing Hindi on the state.

The 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award has been awarded to Andrew G. Barto (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and Richard S. Sutton (University of Alberta, Canada) for their pioneering work in reinforcement learning (RL).

The award, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computing,” carries a $1 million prize, sponsored by Google.

The Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, launched PM-YUVA (Young, Upcoming, and Versatile Authors) 3.0 (Prime Minister’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors) on March 11, 2025.

This initiative aims to train young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) to promote reading, writing, and a book culture in India while projecting Indian literature on the global stage.

The third edition follows the success of the first two editions, which saw participation in 22 Indian languages and English. Implementing Agency: National Book Trust (NBT), India, under the Ministry of Education.

The Finance Ministry has notified the issuance of Zero Coupon Bonds (ZCBs) by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). The company has been authorized to raise up to ₹10,000 crore through these bonds.

A Zero Coupon Bond (ZCB) is a financial instrument that does not pay periodic interest (coupon) during its tenure. Instead, it is issued at a discount and redeemed at its face value upon maturity. The difference between the issue price and the face value represents the return for investors.

The fifth edition of the Khelo India Winter Games 2025 (KIWG 2025), under the Khelo India initiative, was successfully conducted in two phases.

The event, which witnessed participation from over 400 athletes representing 19 teams, commenced in Leh, Ladakh, on January 23, 2025, and concluded in Jammu & Kashmir on March 12, 2025.

The Indian Army (7 gold medals) emerged as the overall champion of KIWG 2025 by securing the most gold medals, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh with 6 and 4 gold medals, respectively.

The Government of India, led by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Annpurna Devi, actively participated in the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), held at the UN Headquarters in New York from March 10 to 21, 2025.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the principal organs of the United Nations.