Asia Current Affairs One-liners — All time

Thu, 08 May 2025

• The Ministry of Coal signed the Coal Gasification Plant Development and Production Agreement with Jindal Steel and Power, New Era Cleantech Solution and Greta Energy and Metal under Category II of the Coal Gasification Financial Incentive Scheme on 8 May 2025.
• Union Minister Dr Virendra Kumar distributed sanitation kits and Ayushman cards to sanitation workers under the NAMASTE scheme in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on 8 May 2025 and reviewed welfare work for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic communities at Tisgaon Tanda.
• India took part as a Country Champion at the World Bank Land Conference 2025 in Washington D.C. (5–8 May 2025), showcasing the SVAMITVA scheme and the Gram Manchitra platform.
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated new buildings and hostels built at a cost of ₹57.47 crore for the Government Model School at Thuvakudi, Tiruchi, on 8 May 2025.
• A modular, adjustable cattle cage with a ramp that doubles as a door, developed by Prof. Sandip S. Patil's team at Guru Gobind Singh College of Engineering and Research Centre, Nashik, under a DST-SEED project, can ease cattle transport, the DST said on 8 May 2025.

Wed, 07 May 2025

• The Sample Registration System report 2021, released by the Registrar General of India on 7 May 2025, shows the Maternal Mortality Ratio at 93 per lakh live births (2019-21) and the Infant Mortality Rate at 27 per 1,000 live births in 2021.
• The Union Cabinet on 7 May 2025 approved the National Scheme for ITI Upgradation and setting up of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with an outlay of ₹60,000 crore, covering 1,000 government ITIs.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs directed all States and Union Territories to hold a civil defence mock drill on 7 May 2025 across 244 categorised Civil Defence districts, with air-raid sirens, blackout measures and training of civilians.
• Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces on 7 May 2025, hitting terrorist infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir; the Ministry of Defence described the action as focused, measured and non-escalatory, with no Pakistani military facilities targeted.
• The Odisha cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on 7 May 2025 approved eight proposals of five departments, including statewide Mukhyamantri Bus Seva with a 50% fare concession for women, transgender persons, students, persons with disabilities and senior citizens.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 12th Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2025) via video on 7 May 2025; the three-day conference at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, was organised by the International Astronautical Federation with ISRO as host.
• The Union Cabinet on 7 May 2025 approved Phase-B expansion of five IITs set up after 2014, at a cost of ₹11,828.79 crore over 2025-26 to 2028-29, raising their student capacity from 7,111 to 13,687.
• The Kerala cabinet on 7 May 2025 approved a revised estimate of ₹3,716.10 crore for the Integrated Urban Regeneration and Water Transport System (IURWTS) to revive six canals in Kochi, with Kochi Metro Rail Limited continuing as the SPV.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 7 May 2025 approved the Revised SHAKTI policy for coal allocation to the power sector, mapping the existing eight paras into two windows — coal at notified price and coal at a premium above notified price.
• The Ministry of Culture said on 7 May 2025 that Sotheby's Hong Kong had postponed the auction of the sacred Piprahwa Buddhist relics, which had been scheduled for that day, after legal notices and talks by the Government of India.
• Union Ayush Minister Prataprao Jadhav chaired a review meeting on 7 May 2025 in New Delhi on preparations for International Day of Yoga 2025 (21 June), in the spirit of 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'.
• The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences released critical editions of two rare Ayurvedic lexicons, Dravyaratnakara Nighantu and Dravyanamakara Nighantu, at an event in Mumbai announced on 7 May 2025.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade signed an MoU with Hafele India on 7 May 2025 in New Delhi to support product startups, MSMEs and entrepreneurs through infrastructure access, supplier development and market access.
• The Election Commission of India on 7 May 2025 began training 293 field-level election functionaries from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the Tamil language at IIIDEM, Delhi, taking the number trained there in recent weeks to nearly 2,300.
• The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, with Aerospace Services India and Israel Aerospace Industries, hosted the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) India Eco-System Summit 2.0 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, on 7 May 2025.

Tue, 06 May 2025

• Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer on 6 May 2025 announced the conclusion of the India–UK Free Trade Agreement and a Double Contribution Convention, with tariff elimination on about 99% of tariff lines for Indian exports.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Anthony Albanese on 6 May 2025 and congratulated him on his re-election as the 32nd Prime Minister of Australia; the leaders reaffirmed the India–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• The Ministry of Education has approved an off-campus centre of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, which will offer IIFT's flagship MBA (International Business), the Commerce Ministry said on 6 May 2025.
• The Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, met at Chaundi in Ahilyanagar district on 6 May 2025 to mark Ahilyabai Holkar's 300th birth anniversary, approving ₹681 crore for her memorial and development plans worth about ₹5,503 crore for pilgrimage centres.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India signed an MoU with Rhenus Logistics India on 6 May 2025 for barge services on national waterways, with 100 cargo vessels to be deployed in phases on NW-1, NW-2, NW-16 and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol routes.
• Friedrich Merz assumed office as the Federal Chancellor of Germany on 6 May 2025, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him, saying he looked forward to further cementing the India–Germany Strategic Partnership.
• The 62nd Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, chaired by Director-General Rajeev Kumar Mital, approved a ₹3.51-crore project to conserve the Nathmalpur Bhagad wetland in Bhojpur district, Bihar, the fifth wetland under Namami Gange, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on 6 May 2025.
• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said on 6 May 2025 that India's first human space mission Gaganyaan has entered its final phase, with the first human spaceflight now scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
• Union Minister Kiren Rijiju addressed the United Nations Vesak Day 2025 celebrations at the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City on 6 May 2025, conveying the greetings of the President and the Prime Minister.
• The 6th Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament concluded at Chandigarh on 6 May 2025, with Indian Railways beating Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, in the final.