Asia Current Affairs One-liners — All time

Wed, 12 Mar 2025

• India's CPI-based retail inflation fell to 3.61% in February 2025, 65 basis points below January and the lowest since July 2024, as per MoSPI data released on 12 March 2025.
• The Ministry of Defence signed a ₹2,906 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad, on 12 March 2025 for Low-Level Transportable Radars (LLTR) 'Ashwini' for the Indian Air Force.
• The keel of the second of five Fleet Support Ships (FSS) for the Indian Navy was laid at L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu, on 12 March 2025.
• The Lok Sabha passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024 on 12 March 2025, completing its passage through Parliament after the Rajya Sabha had passed it on 3 December 2024.
• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Government of Assam signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 12 March 2025 — the first Centre–State partnership under the BioE3 Policy — to promote biomanufacturing in Assam.
• The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) test-fired the indigenous Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) from an LCA AF MK1 prototype off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha, on 12 March 2025, scoring a direct hit on a flying target.
• India's Index of Industrial Production grew 5.0% in January 2025, up from 3.2% in December 2024, as per Quick Estimates released by MoSPI on 12 March 2025.
• The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) inaugurated its tenth Regional Centre in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, on 12 March 2025, in collaboration with the National Sanskrit University.

Tue, 11 Mar 2025

• The 2024 World Air Quality Report by Swiss firm IQAir, released on 11 March 2025, named Byrnihat on the Assam–Meghalaya border the world's most polluted metropolitan area and ranked India the fifth most polluted country.
• The Department of Posts signed an MoU with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, on 11 March 2025 to design and document the technology architecture for a Digital Address digital public infrastructure.
• After talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 March 2025, Ukraine expressed readiness to accept a US proposal for an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire with Russia, and the US agreed to lift its pause on intelligence sharing and security assistance.
• Militants of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the Quetta–Peshawar Jaffar Express in the Bolan Pass area of Balochistan, Pakistan, on 11 March 2025, taking hundreds of passengers hostage.
• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana crossed 10 lakh rooftop solar installations, with 10.09 lakh completed as of 10 March 2025, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on 11 March 2025.
• The Ministry of Education launched PM-YUVA 3.0, the Prime Minister's Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors, on 11 March 2025, with 50 authors below 30 to be selected through an all-India contest on MyGov.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs on 11 March 2025 declared the 'Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen' (JKIM) and the 'Awami Action Committee' (AAC) unlawful associations for five years under Section 3(1) of the UAPA, 1967.
• The Inland Waterways Authority of India signed an MoU with Delhi government agencies on 11 March 2025 to develop cruise tourism on a 4-km stretch of the Yamuna (National Waterway-110) between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur.
• President Droupadi Murmu graced the convocation ceremonies of the Central University of Punjab and AIIMS Bathinda in Bathinda on 11 March 2025, and attended a civic reception at Mohali.
• India's coal imports fell 8.4% to 183.42 million tonnes in April–December 2024 from 200.19 MT a year earlier, saving about $5.43 billion in foreign exchange, the Ministry of Coal said on 11 March 2025.
• The Election Commission of India on 11 March 2025 invited suggestions from all national and state political parties by 30 April 2025 on unresolved issues at the ERO, DEO or CEO level, and proposed an interaction with party presidents.
• National Highways Logistics Management Limited and the Inland Waterways Authority of India signed an MoU on 11 March 2025 to develop a 150-acre Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• India had 1,189.92 million telephone subscribers and an overall tele-density of 84.45% at the end of December 2024, according to telecom subscription data released on 11 March 2025.
• The Competition Commission of India on 11 March 2025 approved the acquisition of 100% of Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited by ONGC NTPC Green Private Limited.

Mon, 10 Mar 2025

• The Centre on 10 March 2025 notified the appointment of Justice Joymalya Bagchi of the Calcutta High Court as a Judge of the Supreme Court under Article 124(2); he is in line to become Chief Justice of India in May 2031.
• The Lok Sabha on 10 March 2025 passed the Bills of Lading Bill, 2025, moved by Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, to replace the Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856.
• Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil reviewed Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain and Atal Bhujal Yojana with District Collectors on 10 March 2025, directing that all government buildings, schools and health facilities install rainwater harvesting.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the 2025-26 Budget of Manipur, with an expenditure of ₹35,103.90 crore, in the Lok Sabha on 10 March 2025, since the state is under President's Rule.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare released the Second Advance Estimates of crop production for 2024-25 on 10 March 2025, projecting record output of kharif rice, wheat, maize, groundnut and soybean.
• The Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Kolkata, under CCRAS, signed an MoU with Jadavpur University's School of Natural Product Studies on 10 March 2025 to evaluate the classical formulation Vidangadi Lauham for diabetes.
• Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan called for holistic counter-UAS systems and a common vocabulary on drones for the armed forces at a CENJOWS seminar in New Delhi on 10 March 2025.
• President Droupadi Murmu graced the convocation of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, on 10 March 2025 and launched the Brahma Kumaris' state-level campaign 'Spiritual Education for Holistic Well-being'.