Current Affairs One-liners — 09 May 2025

Fri, 09 May 2025

• At the 20th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York (5–9 May 2025), India reported forest and tree cover of 25.17% of its geographical area and invited all UN Member States to join the International Big Cat Alliance.
• The three Jan Suraksha schemes — PMJJBY, PMSBY and Atal Pension Yojana — launched by PM Modi on 9 May 2015, completed 10 years on 9 May 2025.
• DPIIT notified the expansion of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) on 9 May 2025, raising the guarantee ceiling per borrower from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore and cutting the annual guarantee fee for 27 Champion Sectors to 1%.
• Morningstar DBRS upgraded India's long-term foreign and local currency issuer ratings from BBB (low) to BBB with a Stable trend, the Finance Ministry said on 9 May 2025.
• The first round of negotiations for the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, held in New Delhi from 5 to 9 May 2025, concluded on 9 May; the next round was set for July 2025.
• Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood released a report on 9 May 2025 identifying ten highway corridors with the highest potential for early adoption of zero-emission trucks.
• TRAI released recommendations on 9 May 2025 on 'Terms and Conditions for the Assignment of Spectrum for Certain Satellite-Based Commercial Communication Services', proposing assignment for up to five years, extendable by up to two years.
• Raksha Rajya Mantri Sanjay Seth attended Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on 9 May 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Second World War, and called on President Vladimir Putin.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on his Jayanti on 9 May 2025, recalling his role in shaping India's literary and cultural soul and his nurturing of Santiniketan.
• The sixth meeting of the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was held at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva on 9 May 2025, with Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha giving the keynote virtually.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued 13 notices to e-commerce platforms on 9 May 2025 for listing walkie-talkies without frequency disclosure, licensing information or Equipment Type Approval, in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority and SEBI held a preparatory meeting at SEBI's office in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, on 9 May 2025 for 'Niveshak Shivir', a nationwide drive to help investors reclaim unclaimed dividends and shares.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Lok Sabha Speaker paid tributes to Maharana Pratap on his Jayanti on 9 May 2025.
• The second edition of the Tri-Services Future Warfare Course concluded at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, on 9 May 2025, with 15 private defence industry representatives taking part for the first time.
• Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, developed an eco-friendly lubricant by adding surface-modified graphitic carbon nitride to castor oil, cutting friction by about 54%, the DST said on 9 May 2025.