Teaching Current Affairs One-liners — All time
Daily news by your exam, state and topic — each with a short summary, key facts and MCQs.
Thu, 20 Mar 2025
Wed, 19 Mar 2025
- The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority notified the PFRDA (Operationalisation of the Unified Pension Scheme under NPS) Regulations, 2025 by a gazette notification dated 19 March 2025, effective 1 April 2025.
- NASA's SpaceX Crew-9, including Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, splashed down off Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 pm EDT on 18 March 2025, which was 3:27 am IST on 19 March 2025.
- Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a Coal India subsidiary, monetised its 2 MTPA Dugda Coal Washery in Bokaro, Jharkhand, the first monetisation of a coal washery in India, the Ministry of Coal said on 19 March 2025.
- SEBI issued a circular on 19 March 2025 letting investors store demat and mutual fund holding statements in DigiLocker and name 'Data Access Nominees', to reduce unclaimed assets in the securities market.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 19 March 2025 approved a 29.219 km six-lane access-controlled greenfield highway from JNPA Port (Pagote) to Chowk in Maharashtra, to be built on BOT (Toll) mode at ₹4,500.62 crore.
- The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2025 approved a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for 2024-25 that pays banks 0.15% on UPI person-to-merchant transactions of up to ₹2,000 for small merchants.
- The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2025 approved the revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission with an additional ₹1,000 crore, taking the total outlay to ₹3,400 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).
- The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2025 approved a 12.7 LMT-a-year brownfield ammonia-urea complex (Namrup-IV) within the premises of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd at Namrup, Assam, at an estimated cost of ₹10,601.40 crore.
- The Centre for Development of Telematics launched the first cohort of 'Samarth', an incubation programme for startups in telecom and ICT, with STPI as implementation partner, on 19 March 2025.
- The Union Cabinet on 19 March 2025 approved the revised National Programme for Dairy Development, a Central Sector Scheme, adding ₹1,000 crore for a total of ₹2,790 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26.
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh addressed the fifth Major Bob Khathing Memorial Event, organised by the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and the United Service Institution of India at Delhi Cantt on 19 March 2025.
- President Droupadi Murmu presented the 19th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in New Delhi on 19 March 2025.
Tue, 18 Mar 2025
- The Election Commission of India led by CEC Gyanesh Kumar decided on 18 March 2025 that linking voter ID (EPIC) with Aadhaar will be done only as per Article 326 of the Constitution, Sections 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the RP Act, 1950, and the Supreme Court judgement in WP (Civil) No. 177/2023.
- The Unique Identification Authority of India partnered with Bengaluru-based Generative AI company Sarvam AI, in an agreement effective 18 March 2025, for AI voice interactions and real-time fraud alerts in 10 languages.
- The Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Electronics and IT signed an MoU on 18 March 2025, in the presence of Speaker Om Birla and Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, to develop 'Sansad Bhashini', in-house AI tools for multilingual parliamentary operations.
- Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the Kamba Ramayana Parayanam at Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, on 18 March 2025, launching a South Zone Cultural Centre initiative to revive the oral tradition of reciting the Tamil epic.
- Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal virtually flagged off indigenous electrolysers made by L&T for a 1 MW green hydrogen plant at Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla, on 18 March 2025.
- IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi inaugurated the S N Bose Building of the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership and introduced a six-month Certificate Course on Nuclear Engineering at an event at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi, on 18 March 2025.
- In a phone call on 18 March 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal that Russia and Ukraine refrain from striking each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, but did not accept a full 30-day ceasefire.
- IndiaAI and the Geological Survey of India launched the IndiaAI Hackathon on Mineral Targeting on 18 March 2025, asking participants to use AI/ML to find new exploration areas for critical minerals in a 39,000 sq km area of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- The Ministry of Electronics and IT and Drone Federation India launched the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR) under the SwaYaan initiative on 18 March 2025, with a ₹40 lakh prize pool.
Mon, 17 Mar 2025
- New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon held talks with PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 17 March 2025 during his official visit of 16–20 March; the two sides signed a defence cooperation MoU and New Zealand joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
- The Telangana Legislative Assembly on 17 March 2025 unanimously passed two Bills raising reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42% in educational institutions, state government jobs and rural and urban local bodies; since total reservation would breach the 50% cap, the laws need the Centre's approval.
- Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) on 17 March 2025, taking over from acting CEO Prof. Abhay Karandikar.
- The Government e Marketplace (GeM) crossed ₹5 lakh crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) for FY 2024-25 more than 18 days before the financial year ended, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced on 17 March 2025.
- Debendra Pradhan, former Union Minister in the Vajpayee government, three-time Odisha BJP president and father of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, died in New Delhi on 17 March 2025 at the age of 84.
- India's annual inflation based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 2.38% (provisional) in February 2025, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 17 March 2025.
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 17 March 2025 that India's total exports (merchandise and services) in April–February 2024-25 were an estimated $750.53 billion, up 6.24% from $706.43 billion a year earlier.
- Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who holds the finance portfolio, presented the State's 2025-26 budget of ₹2,05,017.29 crore in the Assembly on 17 March 2025, 13.7% above the revised estimates of 2024-25, and proposed a new 'Department of the Future'.