UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | February 3 to February 9, 2025

International

• The Alliance for Global Good Gender Equity and Equality

— At the World Economic Forum in Davos held in Davos, Switzerland from January 20 to 24, former Union Minister Smriti Irani spoke about the business imperative of gender parity.

— She is the Chairperson of the Alliance for Global Good Gender Equity and Equality launched in Davos in 2024.

— It is a global collective of governments, industry and development organizations working towards inspiring intentional action to enable women across the globe to achieve their economic potential.

• International Court of Justice (ICJ)

— The United States announced that it wouldn’t attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this month. the reason can be understood in the context of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has been receiving growing international support. Gaza is recognised by the ICJ as part of the Palestinian territories under Israeli military occupation.

— The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

— The court is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was brought into being through, and by, the League of Nations, and which held its inaugural sitting at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, in February 1922.

Government soldiers and police officers, right, who surrendered to M23 rebels, left, board trucks to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

• M23 rebels

— Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo are seeking to advance south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.

— M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009, accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo, is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the current rebellion in 2022.

— The group has accused the government of Congo of not living up to the peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.

• United States Agency of International Development (USAID)

— The Donald Trump administration is set to reduce the US Agency for International Development (USAID) workforce to fewer than 300 staff globally.

— USAID is the “lead international humanitarian and development arm of the US government”, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

— The agency provides assistance to other countries primarily by funding non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foreign governments, international organisations, or other US agencies, often for specific programs to alleviate poverty, provide education and healthcare, among other things.

— The agency managed more than $43 billion in funds, and provided assistance to around 130 countries in FY2023.

• International Big Cat Alliance

— On January 23, the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023 for the global conservation of seven big cats, formally became a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental organization.

— The five signatory countries are India, Nicaragua, Liberia, Eswatini, and Somalia.

— It is an initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 in Mysuru commemorating the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. The objective of the IBCA is to ensure cooperation for the conservation of seven big cats: lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snow leopard, jaguar, and puma, and enhance knowledge exchange and threats associated with them.

 

Polity 

• Mission for Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in Pulses

— In the Union Budget 2025, the finance minister has announced the launch of a six-year ‘Mission for Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in Pulses’ with a special focus on tur/arhar (pigeonpea), urad (black gram) and masoor (red lentil).

— The Budget has allocated Rs 1,000 crore towards this scheme, which aims to provide minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement and post-harvest warehousing solutions in respect of the three pulses crops.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launches Uniform Civil Code portal and a booklet, in Dehradun. (Source: PTI)

• Uttarakhand UCC

— The Uttarakhand government on January 27 rolled out the Uniform Civil Code Rules for regulating live-in relationships.

— It makes it compulsory to register all live-in relationships. This applies to Uttarakhand residents living in the state as well as those living elsewhere in India.

— The law describes a live-in relationship as a relationship between a man and a woman, “who cohabit in a shared household through a relationship in the nature of marriage.”

— It covers only heterosexual relationships. It also specifies certain groups that are prohibited from entering such a relationship, like in the case of marriage.

— The law essentially requires individuals to submit “a statement of live-in relationship” within a month of entering such a relationship.

• National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK)

— The Union Cabinet approved the extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) for a period of three years up to March 2028.

— The Commission was set up as a statutory body in 1994 under the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993. After the lapsing of the Act in 2024, the Commission is non-statutory.

— Its key mandate includes, among other things, recommending to the Centre specific programmes of action towards the elimination of inequities in status, facilities and opportunities for safai karamcharis.

Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme.

• Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme

— Till the middle of January, about 8,000 candidates have taken up offers in the pilot project of the PM’s Internship Scheme. The scheme was announced in the Union Budget for 2024-25 last July.

— The scheme aims to provide internships to one crore youth in top 500 companies over five years. Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 4,500 will be provided per month by the Government of India through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) with an additional Rs 500 offset to be provided by the company’s CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds.

— The government will also provide a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 per annum for incidentals to cover miscellaneous expenses incurred by the selected candidate during the internship.

• Parole and Furlough

— Convicts of the Hashimpura massacre have moved the Delhi High Court against a Delhi prison rule about furloughs.

— Both furlough and parole stem from jail manuals and prison rule and are in the domain of the executive. Both are conditional releases, subject to good behavior in prison and to not committing specific offences.

— In furlough, the sentence continues to run despite the convict being released from prison for a specified period of time. For example, if a person has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and is released on furlough for 30 days, in effect he will be in jail for 9 years 11 months and yet will be deemed to have completed the sentence.

— When the convict is released on parole, the sentence is suspended and the quantum of sentence remains intact. Paroles are granted in short-term imprisonment, to provide relief to prisoners in certain specified exigencies such as illness, sowing and harvesting of crops, and to pursue an appeal against conviction in the SC.

— Parole is granted by the Divisional Commissioner while furlough is granted by the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons.

• National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

— The CBI  has arrested ten people in a case of bribery for a favourable NAAC rating.

— NAAC is a body set up in 1994 under the University Grants Commission (UGC) — the UGC chief heads its governing council — with the purpose of evaluating the performance of higher education institutions, and providing accreditation.

— UGC regulations of 2012 made it mandatory for higher education institutions to get accredited after six years of functioning, or after two batches have graduated. This means that for funds from the UGC, a higher education institution needs to be accredited.

 

Defence

VSHORADS missile is a man-portable air-defence system. (ANI)

• Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS)

— The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted three successive flight-trials of the VSHORADS from Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

— VSHORADS is a fourth generation technically-advanced miniaturised Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD), indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Hyderabad-based premier facility Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry partners.

— The DRDO said that the missile system has the capability to meet the needs of all three branches of the armed forces — Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Environment

• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

— India is likely to skip the February deadline for submitting the NDCs under the Paris Agreement requirements. These plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, are supposed to provide details of the climate actions countries intend to take up to the year 2035.

— For the 2030 period, India has made three commitments.

1. It has said it would reduce the emissions intensity of its economy (emissions per unit of GDP) by 45 per cent from 2005 levels.

2. It would ensure that at least 50 per cent of its installed electricity generation capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources.

3. It has also promised to increase its forest and tree cover so that they can absorb an additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

A bleached coral. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Wendy Cover/NOAA)

• Marine Heat Waves (MHWs)

— The marine heatwaves (MHWs) linked to the death of more than 30,000 fish off coastal Western Australia occurred due to climate change.

— A marine heatwave is an extreme weather event. It occurs when the surface temperature of a particular region of the sea rises to 3 or 4 degrees Celsius above the average temperature for at least five days. It can last for weeks, months or even years.

— MHWs can have debilitating effects on both marine ecosystems and humans. They may cause the deaths of several marine species, alter their migration patterns, lead to coral bleaching and even impact weather patterns.

• New Ramsar sites

— One day ahead of World Wetlands Day (2nd February), India announced four new Ramsar sites under the global agreement Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – Udhwa Lake in Jharkhand, Theerthangal and Sakkarakottai in Tamil Nadu and Khecheopalri in Sikkim. Now, India has 89 Ramsar sites.

— Tamil Nadu has the most Ramsar sites at 20. Punjab has six major wetlands, including north India’s largest – the Harike wetlands or Harike Pattan which stretches over 86 sq.

— Wetlands are regions covered by water either perennially or seasonally, such as marshes and lakes. They are vital reservoirs of biodiversity, aid water conservation and provide habitat for numerous migratory birds, aquatic species, and plant life.

— To advance wetlands conservation globally, the Ramsar Convention of 1971 was signed in Ramsar, Iran, as an intergovernmental agreement.

 

Economy

• Repo rate

— The Monetary Policy Committee, headed by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, announced on 7th February 2025 a reduction in the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent, after keeping it unchanged for two years.

— The cut in the key policy rate — the first in nearly five years — will provide relief to home, vehicle, and other consumer loan borrowers as all interest rates linked to the repo rate will come down by 25 basis points (bps) immediately.

— The interest rate that the RBI charges when commercial banks borrow money from it is called the repo rate. It is used by the banks to meet their short-term funding needs.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that he considered making this shift in the monetary policy calendar after taking charge in December, but the RBI’s commitments did not allow the space to make such a change.

• Monetary Policy Committee

— The central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target. The first such MPC was constituted on September 29, 2016.

— The MPC consists of the RBI Governor as its ex officio chairperson, the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, an officer of the Bank to be nominated by the Central Board and three persons to be appointed by the central government.

— It determines the Policy Rate required to achieve the inflation target and the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee is binding on the Bank.

• Potash Reserve

— On February 6, the Punjab Mining Minister said the government will explore potash mining in Fazilka and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts, where surveys previously detected large mineral reserves in three mining blocks.

— Potash refers to potassium-bearing minerals that are primarily used in fertilisers. Over 90% of potash is used as fertilizer and it is one of the three primary agricultural nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium or N-P-K).

— Potash can be used on all plants to boost plant health and nutrition as well as to increase crop yields.

— Punjab is now the second state after Rajasthan to have significant potash reserves.

Most ELS cotton comes from the species Gossypium barbadense, commonly known as Egyptian or Pima cotton. (Express Photo)

• Extra-long Staple (ELS) cotton varieties

— The Union Budget has announced a five-year mission to “facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple (ELS) cotton varieties”.

— Cotton is classified, based on the length of its fibres, as long, medium, or short staple. Gossypium hirsutum, which constitutes roughly 96% of the cotton grown in India, falls in the medium staple category, with fibre lengths ranging from 25 to 28.6 mm.

— Most ELS cotton comes from the species Gossypium barbadense, commonly known as Egyptian or Pima cotton. Having originated in South America, ELS cotton today is mainly grown in China, Egypt, Australia, and Peru.

— Cotton farmers in India have thus far been reluctant to adopt ELS cotton. This is mainly due to lower than average per acre yields.

 

Science and Technology

• Fentanyl

— US President Donald Trump on January 31 imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and 10 per cent on China, on the grounds of a “high trade deficit”. The US has blamed Mexico and China for the trafficking of fentanyl.

— According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic [for pain relief] and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.”

— Opioids are essentially a type of drugs that “derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the opium poppy plant”. They produce a variety of effects, including pain relief and euphoria, and are highly addictive.

— Apart from fentanyl, some common opioids include oxycodone, morphine, codeine, and heroin.

IRNSS — sometimes referred to as NavIC or Navigation with Indian Constellation — is a seven satellite system. (Credit: X@ISROSight)

• Navigation with India Constellation (NavIC) system

— India’s space agency on February 2 reported the partial failure of its NVS-02 navigation satellite that was launched to replace the existing satellites in the country’s navigation constellation the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) or NavIC.

— The IRNSS was conceived in 1999 following the war in Kargil, during which India’s military could not use the American Global Positioning System (GPS) in the conflict zone.

— An Indigenous seven-satellite constellation serving both defence and civilian needs was proposed to be put in place by 2016, and the first satellite, IRNSS 1A, was launched on July 1, 2013.

— The NavIC satellites provide two types of services – Standard Positioning Service which is for general and commercial use, and Restricted Service which is meant for the defence forces – over the Indian landmass and neighbouring regions.

 

Places in News

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)

• Murugan Temple in Jakarta

—  Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Murugan temple in Jakarta while virtually addressing the Maha Kumbabhishegam of Shri Sanathana Dharma Aalayam in Jakarta, which was also attended by Indonesian President Prabowo Subiant.

— Built on a 4,000 sq m plot donated by the government, the temple is located in the city’s western part. Besides housing shrines dedicated to Lord Murugan and other deities, it also houses a museum showcasing the historical connection between the two cultures.

A map of the Gaza Strip. (Wikimedia Commons)

• Gaza Strip

— US President Donald Trump has suggested that the US “take over the Gaza Strip” and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”, for “world people” to live in.

— Gaza is a strip of land, just 365 sq km in size, wedged between the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east, and Egypt to the south. It is 41 km long and 12 km wide at its widest point.

— It has been under military occupation since 1967, and even though Israel maintains that it pulled out in 2005, the United Nations, the European Union and other international organisations still consider Gaza as occupied territory.

— There are three functional border crossings between Gaza and the outside world – Karem Abu Salem Crossing and Erez Crossing controlled by Israel, and Rafah Crossing controlled by Egypt.

 

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

A. Consider the following statements about the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK):

1. The Sixth-five year plan of India provided for the establishment of the NCSK.

2. It is a constitutional body under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act.

3. It has the mandate to investigate the non-implementation programmes and schemes for safai karamchari.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only only

(b) Two only

(c) All three

(d) None

B. With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.

2. State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

C. Consider the following statements: (UPSC 2019)

1. Under Ramsar Convention, it is mandatory on the part of the Government of India to protect and conserve all the wetlands in the territory of India.

2. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 were framed by the Government of India based on the recommendations of Ramsar Convention.

3. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010 also encompass the drainage area or catchment regions of the wetlands as determined by the authority.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous Articles

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | January 27 to February 2, 2025

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | January 20 to January 26, 2025

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | January 13 to January 19, 2025

UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | January 6 to January 12, 2025

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