Current Affairs Quiz - February 2025

Notes:
The first Raisina Middle East Conference was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 28-29 January 2025. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar was the Chief Guest. Dr. Jaishankar visited the UAE from 27-29 January 2025. This was his third visit to the UAE since his reappointment in June 2024. The Raisina Dialogue is India’s top conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics. The event was organised by the Observer Research Foundation, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The conference brought together policymakers, academics, media, and business leaders to discuss regional and global integration.

Notes:
The Finance Minister announced the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana in her 8th Union Budget presentation. It aims to support farmers in 100 districts struggling with low crop yields and financial issues. The scheme will benefit around 1.7 crore farmers through collaboration with state governments. It seeks to create rural opportunities so migration becomes optional, not necessary. The focus areas include boosting agricultural productivity, improving irrigation, increasing credit access, promoting crop diversification, and enhancing post-harvest storage at Panchayat and block levels.

Notes:
NASA is set to launch SPHEREx, a revolutionary space telescope, to explore the universe’s origins. It will cost $488 million, far less than the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Unlike JWST, which zooms in on deep-space objects, SPHEREx will survey the entire sky in 102 infrared colors. The telescope will take 600 images daily, completing four full sky scans in 27 months. SPHEREx will map 450 million galaxies, revealing how the universe evolved after the Big Bang. It will also study 100 million Milky Way stars, tracing life’s building blocks in space.

Notes:
The Guru-Shishya Parampara Scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Culture to promote traditional performing arts. It offers financial assistance to cultural organizations for training artists under the guidance of a Guru. Cultural organizations across India that follow the Guru-Shishya tradition can apply. The scheme supports shishyas aged 3 and above in music, dance, theatre, and traditional arts. It provides Rs. 15,000 per month for each Guru/Director, with up to 18 shishyas in theatre and 10 in music/dance. The objective is to ensure regular training in the traditional Guru-Shishya system.

Notes:
Sankara Eye Hospital and CII Young Indians (Yi) Bengaluru launched a Braille-enabled Indian Constitution. Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot unveiled it in the city. The initiative empowers blind and visually impaired individuals to read and understand their rights. It promotes inclusivity by ensuring equal access to constitutional knowledge. Kaushik Murali from Sankara Eye Foundation called it a major step toward accessibility. The Braille version will be distributed to key institutions for wider reach.

Notes:
ISRO unveiled the latest version of Finite Element Analysis of Structures (FEAST) software at the 8th National Finite Element Developers’ Meeting at IIT-Hyderabad. More than 250 industry leaders, academicians, and researchers attended to promote indigenous structural analysis software. FEAST, developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), analyzes structures under various loads in aerospace, automobile, civil, and mechanical fields.

Notes:
Tripura CM Manik Saha launched the ‘Skill Uday Tongai’ skill development training programme at Tripura Institute of Technology, Agartala. The programme aims to empower 80,000 school and college students. He also inaugurated the State MIS Portal, a Career Guidance Programme for 70,000 girl students, the NSDC Programme for 7,000 college students, and the English Employability and Entrepreneurship (EEE) programme.

Notes:
India has signed an agreement with Russia to acquire the Klub-S missile system for its submarine fleet. It is developed by Russia defence company NPO Novator. The Klub missile, also known as Kalibr, entered service in 1994. The Klub-S missile has a 400 kg warhead and can strike targets up to 300 km away, including surface ships, submarines, and land targets. It includes a fire control system, vertical launcher unit, and ammunition. It is known for its effectiveness in combat, it can reach supersonic speeds in the terminal phase, making interception difficult. The missile cruises at 10-15 meters, minimizing enemy defense response time.

Notes:
Assam will host the world’s largest Jhumur (Jhumoir) dance performance on February 24. The event aims to set a Guinness World Record with over 7,500 dancers. It is part of an investment summit in the state. The festival highlights Assam’s rich cultural heritage. It also serves as a global platform to attract investors.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chaired the ‘AI Action Summit’ in Paris on 11th February 2025 with French President Emmanuel Macron. France hosted the third International AI Summit on 10th-11th February 2025 to promote global cooperation in AI development. PM Modi announced that India will host the next Global AI Summit, following discussions at the Paris summit.