Jan 30, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

The official logo and mascot for the 23rd National Para Athletics Championship 2025 were unveiled on January 29, 2025. Scheduled to take place from February 17 to 20 in Tamil Nadu, the championship will bring together over 1,700 para-athletes from across the country.

On January 29, 2025, Chinese tech and e-commerce giant Alibaba announced the release of Qwen2.5-Max, an advanced artificial intelligence model that the company claims outperforms several leading AI systems in key benchmarks.

Qwen2.5-Max is now available to developers through Alibaba Cloud services and can be accessed via Qwen Chat, the company's conversational AI platform. The system is compatible with OpenAI's API format, potentially simplifying adoption for organizations already using similar AI services.

The International Saraswati Mahotsav 2025 will be celebrated on a grand scale in Haryana, following the success of the Geeta Jayanti celebrations.

For the first time in Northeast India, Tripura has pioneered the use of artificial intelligence to enhance digital inclusion by implementing state-of-the-art text-to-speech technology under the BHASHINI initiative.

Launched by PM Modi in July 2022 under the National Language Technology Mission, BHASHINI aims to provide translation services in 22 scheduled Indian languages.

Australian batter Steve Smith reached a historic milestone on January 29, 2025, during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Smith became the 15th player in history and the fourth Australian to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

The Government of India (GoI) has approved the introduction of the Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs (MCGS-MSME) to provide 60% guarantee coverage through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs*).

This guarantee will be applicable to credit facilities of up to ₹100 crore sanctioned to eligible MSMEs under MCGS-MSME for the purchase of equipment and machinery.

Salient Features of the Scheme:

1) The borrower must be an MSME with a valid Udyam Registration Number.

2) The maximum loan amount guaranteed under the scheme shall not exceed ₹100 crore. The project cost may exceed ₹100 crore.

3) The minimum cost of equipment/machinery should be 75% of the project cost.

4) Loans of up to ₹50 crore under the scheme shall have a repayment period of up to 8 years, with a moratorium of up to 2 years on principal installments. For loans above ₹50 crore, a longer repayment schedule and moratorium period may be considered.

5) An upfront (initial) contribution of 5% of the loan amount must be deposited at the time of applying for guarantee cover.

6) The annual guarantee fee on loans under the scheme will be nil in the year of sanction. For the next three years, it will be 1.5% per annum of the loan outstanding as of March 31 of the previous year. Thereafter, the annual guarantee fee will be 1% per annum of the loan outstanding as of March 31 of the previous year.

The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under MCGS-MSME for a period of four years from the date of issuance of operational guidelines or until cumulative guarantees of ₹7 lakh crore are issued, whichever is earlier.

Currently, the manufacturing sector contributes 17% to the nation's GDP and employs over 27.3 million workers. The scheme aims to support India's goal of increasing the manufacturing sector's contribution to 25% of GDP.

On January 29, 2025, the government approved the ₹16,300-crore National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), with a total outlay of ₹34,300 crore over seven years.

The mission aims to achieve self-reliance and accelerate India's transition to green energy. Public sector enterprises are expected to contribute ₹18,000 crore to the initiative, which focuses on promoting the exploration of critical minerals both within the country and at offshore locations.

Critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements are essential raw materials for the growth of clean energy technologies. Their expanding applications range from wind turbines and electricity networks to electric vehicles and battery manufacturing.

A total of 24 critical minerals have been identified under this initiative.

The NCMM will encompass all stages of the value chain, including mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.

Additionally, it proposes the development of a domestic stockpile of critical minerals and aims to establish a fast-track regulatory approval process for critical mineral mining projects.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared 2025 as the "Year of Community," a national initiative aimed at fostering unity and inclusion across society. Launched under the slogan "Hand in Hand," the initiative seeks to strengthen social bonds and encourage collective participation in nation-building.