Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 February 2025

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

1. Niger is African region’s first nation to eliminate onchocerciasis.

• Niger is the first nation in Africa and the fifth globally to have stopped the spread of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus.
• The four other nations that have achieved this are Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Colombia.
• All of these nations are located in the Americas.
• Onchocerciasis is the second most prevalent infectious cause of blindness globally, after trachoma.
• The parasitic disease onchocerciasis is also referred to as river blindness.
• Humans get infected with this disease by being bitten by infectious black flies, which are mainly found near rivers.
• The disease mostly affects rural communities in Yemen and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Smaller affected endemic areas are found in sections of Latin America.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. IRDAI has taken steps to stop sharp increases in health insurance premium.

• It has prohibited insurers from increasing premiums for policyholders of 60 and above age by over 10% annually without getting prior approval. 
• This will keep the health insurance accessible to senior citizens and prevent them from vulnerability due to medical inflation. 
• Earlier, policyholders had raised concerns that premiums were being doubled within a year. 
• As per IRDAI mandate, insurers will now offer health plans as well as riders for all age groups. This will include those more than 65 years of age. 
• IRDAI has lowered the waiting period with regard to pre-existing conditions from earlier 4 years to 3 years. 
• Customer Information Sheet (CIS) must be provided by insurers with every policy document. 
• This CIS shall, in simple terms, provide explanation on details like sum insured, coverage, exclusions and waiting periods.

Topic: Indian Economy

3. In the week ending January 24, India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $5.57 billion to $629.55 billion.

• The foreign exchange reserves in the week that ended on January 17 were at 623.98 billion, down 1.8 billion dollars from the previous week.
• The main cause of the increase was a rise in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), which makes up a large portion of the reserves.
• Over the course of the week, the FCA increased by 4.75 billion dollars to surpass 537.89 billion dollars.
• Gold reserves also increased by 704 million dollars, bringing the total to over 69.65 billion dollars.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

4. Potassium-enriched salt substitutes have been recommended by the WHO to combat hypertension.

• New guidelines have been released by the World Health Organization (WHO), recommending the switch from regular table salt to potassium-enriched salt substitutes as part of efforts to combat hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases.
• These substitutes, which include potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, and calcium chloride, are already available in global markets under brand names such as Losalt, Nu-Salt, Morton Lite Salt, and PanSalt.
• The WHO's mission to reduce sodium intake stems from extensive research highlighting the health risks posed by excessive sodium intake.
• High blood pressure, caused by excess sodium, poses a significant risk for millions globally.
• Studies show that approximately 1.9 million deaths per year are linked to excess salt intake, and high blood pressure serves as an underlying factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.
• Interestingly, many people are unaware of their high sodium intake, which averages about 4.3 grams per day, far exceeding the World Health Organization's recommendation of less than 2 grams.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

5. Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station on NASA's Axiom Mission 4.

• Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be the pilot of the upcoming Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
• On January 30, 2025, NASA and its international partners announced that they had approved the crew for the mission.
• Group Captain Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to go to the ISS and the first Indian to go to space in the last 40 years.
• He is also one of the four astronaut-designates selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission.
• In 2025, the mission to the ISS will launch from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the mission crew will spend 14 days aboard the space station conducting various experiments during that time.
• Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the commercial mission, while Group Captain Shukla will be the pilot.
• European Space Agency project astronauts Slawosz Uznański-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary are also part of the crew.
• Group Captain Shukla is an NDA alumnus and was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 17 June 2006.
• A Fighter Combat Leader and Test Pilot with approximately 2,000 flying hours, he has flown various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

Topic: Indian Economy

6. In the fiscal year 2025, it is estimated that India's real GDP will increase by 6.4%.

• According to the Economic Survey, India's growth in the fiscal year 2026 is projected to be between 6.3 and 6.8 percent.
• According to survey, India's GDP increased by 6.7% in the first quarter and 5.4% in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2025 at constant prices (2011–12).
• During the first half of the current fiscal year, real GDP grew by 6%.
• In the first half of the fiscal year 2025, agriculture grew steadily, with a growth rate of 3.5 percent in the second quarter.
• The first half of the fiscal year 2025 saw a 6% growth in the industrial sector.
• In the first half of the fiscal year 2025, the services sector grew by 7.1 percent.
• Retail headline inflation decreased from 5.4 percent for the fiscal year 2024 to 4.9 percent between April and December of the same year.
• According to the 2023-24 annual Periodic Labour Force study (PLFS) report, the unemployment rate for people 15 years of age and older, has been progressively declining, said the survey.
• This unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in 2017–18.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

7. India has added four new Ramsar sites.

• With this, the number of total Ramsar sites has increased to 89.
• Ahead of World Wetlands Day (2 February 2025), the government announced that four sites have been included in the list of Ramsar sites in the country.
• These sites are Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary and Therthangal Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, Khecheopalri Wetland in Sikkim, and Udhwa Lake in Jharkhand.  
• India is still the country having maximum number of Ramsar sites in Asia and third in the world.
• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav congratulated Tamil Nadu.
• Tamil Nadu became the state with the highest number of Ramsar sites. The number in Tamil Nadu currently stands at 20.
• Sikkim and Jharkhand have added their first Ramsar sites.

Topic: National News

8. Aadhaar authentication has been expanded by the Center to boost good governance and ease of living.

• On January 31, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Amendment Rules, 2025.
• These rules fall under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
• This amendment has been made to help improve transparency and inclusiveness in the decision-making process.
• The objective of the amendment is to increase the scope and utility of Aadhaar authentication to promote good governance, social welfare, innovation, and knowledge dissemination.
• This will enable the use of Aadhaar to improve service delivery, thus making the lives of residents easier and providing them better access to various services.
• The amendment allows both government and non-government entities to use Aadhaar authentication services for providing various public interest services.
• It facilitates innovation, knowledge dissemination, ease of living for residents, and better access to services.
• To obtain Aadhaar authentication, an application detailing the requisite requirements needs to be submitted to the concerned ministry or department of the Central or State Government through a designated portal.
• The applications will be examined by UIDAI, and approval will be issued by MeitY based on the recommendation of UIDAI.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

9. The participation of an 88-member Indian contingent at the Asian Winter Games 2025 has been cleared by the government.

• In a landmark move to foster winter sports in India, the participation of the Indian contingent at the 9th Asian Winter Games (AWG) 2025, scheduled from 7th to 14th February in Harbin, China, has been approved by the Government of India.
• The government has approved the participation of an 88-member Indian contingent, comprising 59 athletes and 29 team officials.
• For the first time, full financial support is being provided to athletes competing in Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating, and Speed Skating (Long Track) under the Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF) Scheme.
• This important decision highlights the Government’s commitment to promote winter sports and provide opportunities for Indian athletes to compete at the highest level in Asia.
• This is the first time that financial support for the country's participation in the Asian Winter Games has been formally provided by the Indian government.
• The Asian Winter Games provide an important platform for Indian athletes to showcase their talents and compete with some of the best players in the world, setting the stage for future global competitions.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Retail inflation declined from 5.4% in FY24 to 4.9% in FY25.

• Various government initiatives and monetary policy measures have helped in reducing retail inflation in India from 5.4% in FY24 to 4.9% in FY25 (April-December).
• On January 31, this was stated in the Economic Survey 24-25 presented in the Parliament by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The survey said the decline in retail inflation is mainly due to a 0.9 percentage point reduction in core inflation between FY2024 and FY2025 (April-December), driven mainly by moderation in core services inflation and fuel price inflation.
• The survey said that India's food inflation rate remained stable, led by some food items like vegetables and pulses.
• Vegetables and pulses contributed 32.3% to the overall inflation in FY25 (April to December).
• Excluding these items, the average food inflation rate for FY25 (April-December) was 4.3%, lower than the overall food inflation of 4.1%.
• The Economic Survey highlights that the deficient production of tur in 2022-23 and 2023-24 caused high price pressures in tur dal during FY24 and FY25.
• To ensure adequate supply, the government imposes stock limits and monitors stocks while importing 7.7 lakh tonnes of tur in FY24.
• The Economic Survey stated that despite challenges, the RBI and IMF project India's consumer price inflation to align towards the 4% target by FY26.
• RBI expects 4.2% inflation in FY26, while IMF forecasts 4.4% in FY25 and 4.1% in FY26.
• The survey mentioned that according to the World Bank's Commodity Market Outlook, October 2024, commodity prices are expected to decline by 5.1% in 2025 and 1.7% in 2026.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Indian Economy

11. According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, government capital expenditure on key infrastructure sectors grew by 38.8% between FY20 and FY25.

• The Union Government’s capital expenditure on key infrastructure sectors grew by 38.8% from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
• In 2024-25, capital expenditure gained momentum between July and November 2024.
• On January 31, this was stated in the Economic Survey 24-25 presented in the Parliament by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The power sector network continued to expand, with installed capacity rising by 7.2% to 456.7 GW by November 2024.
• By the end of December 2024, the total renewable energy installed capacity in the country was increased by 15.8% year-on-year (YoY), reaching 209.4 GW from 180.8 GW in December 2023.
• With the implementation of the Restructured Distribution Sector Scheme, the daily average power supply in urban areas has increased from 22.1 hours in FY2014 to 23.4 hours in FY2024 and in rural areas from 12.5 hours in FY2014 to 21.9 hours.
• The gap between demand and supply of energy has also reduced from 4.2% in FY 2014 to just 0.1% by December 2024.
• Talking about infrastructure in rural areas, Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in August 2019, aims to ensure water security for rural households.
• When it was launched in August 2019, only 3.23 crore (%) rural households had tap water connections.
• Since then, over 12.06 crore households have been connected, taking the total to over 15.30 crore (79.1%) out of around 19.34 crore rural households by November 26, 2024.
• Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) achieved open defecation-free (ODF) status in Phase I. Phase II (2020-25) focuses on upgrading villages to ODF Plus, with 1.92 lakh villages added from April to November 2024, bringing the total to 3.64 lakh.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), launched in 2015, aims to provide permanent housing in urban areas. As of November 25, 2024, 1.18 crore houses have been approved and construction of over 89 lakh houses has been completed.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Indian Economy

12. As per Economic Survey 2024-25, average growth of agriculture sector in India has been 5 per cent annually from FY17 to FY23.

• The growth rate of India’s agriculture sector was 3.5 per cent in the 2nd quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
• Gross Value Added (GVA) of agriculture and related sectors have increased from 24.38 per cent in FY15 to 30.23 per cent by FY23.
• Agriculture growth at around 5 per cent with a 20 per cent contribution to overall GVA will contribute 1 per cent growth to GVA.
• As per survey, it is projected that kharif foodgrain production in 2024 will reach 1647.05 Lakh Metric Tonnes.
• As per survey, agricultural income has grown at 5.23 per cent annually during past decade.
• From FY16 to FY25 (Dec. 2024 end), ₹ 21968.75 crore was released to states for implementation of Per Drop More Crop Scheme.
• For FY25, government raised MSP for arhar and bajra by 59 per cent and 77 per cent, respectively. This raise was over weighted average cost of production.
• MSP for Masur has been increased by 89 per cent. Rapeseed MSP has seen an increase of 98 per cent.
• The livestock sector represented 5.5 per cent of the total GVA, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 12.99 per cent.
• Among livestock production, milk industry generated over ₹11.16 lakh crore.
• Total fish production has increased from 95.79 lakh tonnes in FY14 to 184.02 lakh tonnes in FY 23.
• India's seafood exports have shown a growth of 29.70 per cent.
• India's floriculture exports grew by 14.55 per cent in April-October FY25 over April-October FY24.
• As per survey, India is a leading exporter of fresh grapes globally in 2023-24.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Mizoram contributed over 67 per cent of total output of grapes.
• As per survey, in the fiscal year FY24, the value of agri-food exports constituted about 11.7 per cent of India’s total exports.
• The share of processed food exports has grown from 14.9 per cent in FY18 to 23.4 per cent in FY24.

Topic: Indian Economy

13. In the Economic Survey 2024-25, Service Sector has been termed ‘Old War Horse’.

• The contribution of services sector to total GVA at current prices has grown from 50.6% in FY14 to nearly 55% in FY25.
• The service sector growth has been above 6% in each year in the last decade. This growth is measured by YoY change in the real GVA by services.
• The exception has been FY21 that was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Before the pre-pandemic year, average services growth rate was 8%.
• In the post-pandemic years (FY23 to FY25), average services growth has increased to 8.3%.
• India represents a 4.3% share in global services export.
• Economic Survey 2024-25 referred to HSBC’s India services PMI.
• It highlighted that services sector has been in the expansionary for 41 months in a row since August 2021.
• HSBC’s India services PMI was above 60 mark for first five months of FY25. In September, the index reached a ten-month low level.
• India’s services export growth increased from 5.7% in FY24 to 12.8% in April-November FY25.
• Computer services and business services exports contributed about 70% of India’s services exports.
• In April-November FY25, services imports increased by 13.9%. In the same period in FY24, there was a decline of 2.9%.
• As of November 2024, total outstanding credit to banking sector was 48.5 lakh crore rupees.
• The highest YoY credit growth was recorded in computer software and professional services.
• The highest FDI inflows was received in insurance services in FY25 (April- September), followed by the financial sector.
• The Survey classifies services into four categories.  This is based on performance analysis of the various service sub-sectors across certain key dimensions.
• During FY23, road transport contributed 78 per cent of total GVA of transport services.
• Growth of passenger traffic of Indian Railways stood at 8 per cent over the previous year.
• As of October 2024, India has 26 operational waterways.
• The tourism sector’s contribution to GDP reached pre-pandemic level of 5% in FY23.
• India is second largest telecommunications market.
• India has an overall teledensity of 84% as of 31st October, 2024.
• India has 941 million broadband users as of 31st October, 2024.