Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 February 2025

Topic: National News

1. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has amended the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2018.

• To further strengthen consumer protection against Unsolicited Commercial Communication, the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2018 has been amended.
• The revised regulations aim to promote a more transparent commercial communication ecosystem for consumers.
• Under the new amendment, telecoms have to accept complaints against spam after up to a week of receiving such calls.
• Now, Customers will be able to identify the type of commercial message by just looking at its SMS sender header.
• P”, “-S”, “-T”, and “-G” suffixed will be used as the message header for identification of promotional, service, transactional, and government messages, respectively.
• The amendments introduced are based on stakeholder feedback and extensive internal deliberations to reinforce consumer rights.
• It will also prevent the misuse of telecom resources while aiming for legitimate commercial communication.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. The government has approved a market intervention scheme to stabilize tomato prices.

• The Market Intervention Scheme's (MIS) transportation component is now being implemented with government approval.
• Due to declining tomato prices in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and other tomato-producing states, the government has taken this step.
• Central Nodal Agencies will get reimbursement under the scheme for the operational costs.
• The reimbursed costs will concern the storage and transportation of potatoes, tomatoes, and onions from the producing state to other consuming states.
• These agencies include the National Cooperative Consumers Federation and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

3. International Conference on Innovations in Unani Medicine has concluded.

• The conference was held in New Delhi. The conference was on “Innovations in Unani Medicine for Integrative Health Solutions – A Way Forward”.
• Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) organised the conference.  
• Conference was held as part of celebrations of the Unani Day 2025. It was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu.
• Both national and international experts participated in the conference.
• Industry, academia, and research organizations took part in the conference. 
• The conference included transfer of technology to companies like Dehlvi Naturals and Hamdard Laboratories.
• The technology was developed by CCRUM and included Unani toothpaste for dental care and a regimen for vitiligo treatment.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

4. On 13 February, Prime Minister Modi arrived in the USA to hold bilateral talks with President Trump.

• On February 13, PM Narendra Modi met newly-appointed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard upon her arrival in Washington, DC, ahead of bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump.
• On February 12, Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
• There will be bilateral talks between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in both restricted and delegation-level formats in Washington, DC.
• Mr. Modi is also scheduled to meet senior US administration officials, business leaders, and members of the Indian community.
• The new USA administration has invited Mr. Modi to visit the U.S. within barely three weeks of taking office, highlighting the importance of the India-U.S. partnership.
• The two countries share a convergence of interests in several areas, including trade, investment, technology, defense cooperation, counter-terrorism, Indo-Pacific security, and people-to-people relations.

Topic: State News/West Bengal

5. West Bengal announced an allocation of ₹1,500 crore for roads, and the New ‘Nadi Bandhan’ Scheme in Budget 2025.

• On 12 February, the West Bengal Budget 2025 was presented in the State Assembly by West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.
• West Bengal's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) crossed Rs 18 lakh crore. The revenue deficit in the budget is Rs 35314 crore.
• The government has proposed ₹1,500 crore under the Pathashree scheme for road development.
• The West Bengal government has announced a 4% hike in dearness allowance (DA) to assuage the anger of state government employees embroiled in a legal battle over the allowance.
• A new scheme called "Nadi Bandhan" has been announced for people living on river banks. Rs 200 crore has been allocated to prevent river bank erosion.
• ₹200 crore was allocated by the West Bengal government for the purchase of smartphones for about 70,000 ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and Anganwadi workers.
• On the infrastructure front, ₹500 crore was sanctioned in the budget for the construction of a 4.75 km-long bridge over the Ganga River to connect Sagar Island, where the Gangasagar Mela is held every year.
• The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme has about 2.21 crore beneficiaries, with an allocation of ₹50,000 crore, while the Kanyashree Prakalpa scholarship for school-going girls has about 1 crore beneficiaries, with an allocation of ₹15,000 crore.
• The number of beneficiaries under the Sabuj Sathi Scheme (distribution of bicycles to school-going students) is 1.26 crore and an allocation of Rs 4,600 crore has been made for it.

Topic: Indian Economy

6. India’s retail inflation declined to 4.31% in January.

• This is a five-month low level. In December, inflation was at 5.22%. 
• Rural areas inflation was at 4.64%. Urban regions recorded an inflation rate of 3.87%. 
• In January, food inflation stood at 6.02%.
• January food inflation fell from 8.39% in December. 
• In rural regions, food inflation stood at 6.31%. This was recorded at 5.53% in urban areas. 
• Main reasons for fall in inflation were declined prices of vegetables, eggs, pulses, cereals etc. 
• Both headline and food inflation stood at lowest level since August 2024. 
• As per RBI forecast, inflation will be 4.2% for FY 2025-26.

Topic: Important Days

7. World Radio Day: 13 February

• World Radio Day is celebrated every year on 13th February.
• This day is celebrated to raise public awareness about the importance of radio.
• This day is also observed to encourage access to information through radio.
• The theme of World Radio Day 2025 is Radio and Climate Change.
• World Radio Day 2025 is 14th edition of World Radio Day.
• The 13th of February was designated as World Radio Day by UNESCO member nations in 2011.
• The United Nations General Assembly declared it an international event in 2013.
• Another name for Ram Singh Buddh is Radio Man. He lives in Gajraula, which is in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district.
• His Mann Ki Baat Radio Museum is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
• In his "Mann Ki Baat" program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made reference to him.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

8. Indian scientists discovered genomic factors responsible for breast cancer therapy resistance.

• Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, and the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani discovered genomic factors responsible for resistance to hormone (endocrine) therapy in oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer.
• These findings will provide crucial insights into why some patients do not respond or stop responding to hormone therapy.
• It will help in developing new targeted treatment strategies.
• These findings offer significant clinical implications, including the potential repurposing of DNA-damaging drugs for patients who develop hormone therapy resistance.
• Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in India. 28.2% of all female cancer cases are breast cancer.
• Around 50-60% are oestrogen receptor-positive, meaning the cancer cells releases a protein called oestrogen receptor (ER), which makes them susceptible to hormone therapy.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

9. Ministry of Ayush & Social Justice Department signed an MoU to boost senior citizen care & combat substance abuse.

• The main aim of the MoU is to improve the well-being of senior citizens and address the growing concern of substance abuse.
• This strategic partnership will implement Ayush-based interventions to promote geriatric healthcare and combat substance abuse.
• This collaboration is an important step towards resolving the challenges related to senior citizen care.
• The government has taken several steps to ensure the welfare of senior citizens.

Topic: Science and Technology

10. An indigenous semiconductor chip developed by ISRO and IIT Madras.

• This is an important step towards self-reliance in semiconductor technology.
• The developers created the ‘IRIS’ (Indigenous RISCV Controller for Space Applications) chip from the ‘SHAKTI’ processor baseline, enabling its use in IoT and compute systems.
• As part of ISRO's effort, semiconductors are being indigenized for their applications, command and control systems, and critical functions, aligning with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative in space technologies.
• ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) in Thiruvananthapuram collaborated with IIT Madras to define the specifications and design the semiconductor chip.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology backs the project under the ‘Digital India RISC-V’ (DIRV) initiative.
• This initiative promotes the indigenous development of microprocessor-based products with best-in-class security and visibility for users adopting RISC-V technology.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

11. An MoU signed by the DPIIT and the Korea Transport Institute to boost collaboration in logistics and infrastructure development.

• On 10 February, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Central Government, and the Korea Transportation Institute (KOTI), Republic of Korea (ROK) signed a MoU on cooperation in logistics and infrastructure development.
• The MoU was signed by Mr. Youngchan Kim, President, KOTI, and Amit Kumar, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea, at the Sejong National Research Complex in South Korea.
• This MoU will enhance cooperation in logistics and infrastructure development, leveraging KOTI's expertise to support India's ambitious infrastructure initiatives.
• Joint working meetings will be held to take the initiative forward.
• Apart from this, the MoU will establish a comprehensive mechanism for knowledge exchange and institutional collaboration between Logistics Division, DPIIT, and KOTI.
• This will aid in the development of an infrastructure and logistics master plan under the aegis of the prestigious program, the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan.
• The key benefits of this collaboration include the establishment of a research-driven programme that fosters expertise in logistics and infrastructure through knowledge exchange, training, and technical assistance.

Topic: Reports and Indices

12. India ranks 38th in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI).

• India secured 38th place in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) out of 139 countries.
• Indian Ports “Turn Around Time” has improved. Indian Ports “Turn Around Time” is 0.9 days, which is better than USA (1.5 days), Australia (1.7 days).
• India moved to 22nd Rank in the Global Ranking in the International Shipments category.
• Singapore is ranked first, while Finland is in the second position of the index.
• Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are in second, third, and fourth spots, respectively.
• After Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark scored highest in the customs category.
• Afghanistan and Libya are in the bottom two spots in the index.
• As per a report, initiatives like PM Gati Shakti and the National Logistics Policy will help India make a place among the top 25 nations on the World Bank Logistics Performance Index by 2030.
• As per the report, the Indian freight and logistics market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 8.8 percent. It will reach USD 484.43 billion by 2029 from USD 317.26 billion in 2024.
• India is fast emerging as a global logistics hub. The logistics cost in India is around 13–14 percent of its GDP.

Topic: Sports

13. Pankaj Advani won the Indian Snooker Championship.

• Pankaj Advani secured his 36th overall national title and 10th men’s snooker title at the Yashwant Club.
• The tournament is the only selection event for the Asian and World Championships.
• In the final frame, Advani delivered an impressive 84 break.
• In the group stage, he lost to Damani, where he managed to win only one frame.
• Asian Snooker Championship is scheduled to commence from February 15.