Daily Current Affairs and GK | 18 March 2025

Topic: International News

1. Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a peace treaty after four decades of war.

• Armenian and Azerbaijani officials agreed on a peace agreement to end nearly four decades of conflict between both countries.
• These neighbouring countries were involved in a decades-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• Peace talks began after Azerbaijan retook Karabakh by force in September 2023.
• The region is internationally considered part of Azerbaijan but for decades was under the control of Armenian separatists.
• Armenia accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on “the two unresolved articles” of the draft agreement.
• Both countries have fought multiple wars since the 1980s after the Nagorno-Karabakh region broke away from Azerbaijan.
• The agreement would prevent personnel from third countries deploying along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
• However, the timeline for signing the deal is uncertain.

Topic: Art and Culture

2. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the first temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Bhiwandi.

• On the occasion of the birth anniversary, the first temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was inaugurated in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
• The temple honours Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s legacy, and devotees can witness its glory.
• This is the first grand temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra.
• The temple is spread over an area of 2,500 square feet, with a fort-like boundary wall covering an additional 5,000 square feet.
• The temple’s design incorporates elements typical of forts, including a 42-foot hall (sabha mandap) and circular bastions.
• The temple’s structure was designed by architect Vijaykumar Patil.
• The 6.5-foot idol of Shivaji Maharaj was created by Arun Yogiraj.
• The Maharashtra government has also sought permission from the Uttar Pradesh government to build a memorial of Shivaji Maharaj in Agra.
• It is the place from where he escaped from Aurangazeb’s clutches in 1666.

Topic: State News/Haryana

3. A ₹2.05 lakh crore budget for 2025-26 has been presented by Haryana CM Nayab Saini.

• On 17 March, a ₹2.05 lakh crore state budget for the 2025-26 financial year was proposed by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, compared to the 2024-25 budget estimate of ₹1.89 lakh crore.
• Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented his first budget.
• Presenting the budget, the Chief Minister said that in the last 10 years, the state's GDP has grown at an average rate of 10.8% and per capita income has grown at an average rate of 9.1%.
• He informed that the per capita income of Haryana in 2014-15 was Rs 147,382, while the estimated per capita income of Haryana in 2024-25 is Rs 353,182.
• The state government will have to spend 30.26% of the consolidated fund proposed in the budget estimates for 2025-26 on repayment of debt.
• This includes 17.46% of principal amount and 12.8% interest.
• In this state budget, the establishment of a department of the future announced, along with the proposal of the Haryana Artificial Intelligence Mission with ₹474 crore in World Bank assistance.
• SANKALP, Substance Abuse and Narcotics Knowledge Awareness and Liberation Programme Authority, would be set up to tackle substance abuse, as stated by the CM.
• The subsidy for direct sowing of paddy was proposed to be increased from ₹4,000 per acre to ₹4,500 per acre.
• The subsidy for giving up paddy cultivation under the Mera Pani Meri Virasat scheme will be increased from ₹7,000 per acre to ₹8,000 per acre.
• An interest-free loan of ₹1 lakh will be given to women farmers engaged in dairy farming, horticulture, animal husbandry, and fisheries.
• A cow sanctuary will be set up in every district, and a grant of Rs 5 crore announced for the construction of 51 sheds in registered cow shelters.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Former Union Minister Dr. Devendra Pradhan passed away.

• On March 17, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Dr. Devendra Pradhan passed away in New Delhi at the age of 84.
• A lifelong member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dr Pradhan joined the BJP in 1980 as a Mandal president.
• He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice in a row from Odisha's Deogarh parliamentary constituency in 1998 and 1999.
• After his debut in the Lok Sabha, he became Union Minister of State for Surface Transport in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998.
• From 1999 to 2001, he was again the Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and Agriculture in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
• After this, in 2001, he was appointed the National Vice President of BJP.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. 14th ADMM-Plus counter-terrorism meeting will be co-chaired by India in New Delhi.

• India will host the 14th meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi from March 19 to 20, 2025.
• India and Malaysia will co-chair this meeting.
• Delegations from 10 ASEAN members, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand, will participate in the meeting.
• Additionally, representatives from eight dialogue partners—Australia, New Zealand, RoK, Japan, China, the USA, and Russia—along with Timor Leste and the ASEAN Secretariat will also attend.
• For the first time, India will co-chair the EWG on counter-terrorism.
• This will be the first meeting of the Counter-Terrorism EWG's planned activities for the cycle running 2024-2027.
• The discussion will focus on preparing a strong and comprehensive strategy to deal with the emerging threat of terrorism and extremism.
• The aim of this meeting is to share real-world experiences of the defence forces of ASEAN and its dialogue partner countries.
• ADMM-Plus serves as a platform for practical cooperation among the defence establishments of the participating countries.
• Each EWG is co-chaired by an ASEAN Member Country and a Dialogue Partner Country, following a three-year cycle.

Topic: Space and IT

6. Chandrayaan-5 mission has been approved by the Indian Government.

• Chandrayaan-5 mission comes under India’s goal to land an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040. 
• Chandrayaan-4 will focus on landing on the Moon and collecting samples. 
• Recently approved Chandrayaan-5 will carry a 350 kg rover.
• Chandrayaan-5 mission will be done in a collaboration with Japan. 
• Chandrayaan-5 will include a larger lander. This is very important for future missions, including human lunar landings. 
• ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 recently achieved a soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole. 
• The technology for safe landings, sample collection, and return to Earth will be demonstrated by Chandrayaan-4. 
• ISRO plans to set up the Bharatiya Antriksh Station by 2035.
• The aim of Indian government is to send astronauts to the Moon aboard a homegrown rocket. 
• During the last decade, ISRO has launched 433 satellites.
• ISRO has maintained a 90% success rate.
• ISRO has also sent 393 foreign satellites into orbit. 
• The Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu will support Small Satellite Launch Vehicle launches.
• Its foundation was laid in February 2024 and construction begun in March 2025.
• Chandrayaan-1 played pivotal role in discovering water on the Moon. Chandrayaan-2, despite its landing failure, provided crucial lunar data. 
• Chandrayaan-3 achieved the first-ever soft landing at the Moon’s South Pole. 
• ISRO became world’s 4th country to launch a satellite focused on studying Sun.

Topic: State News/Telangana

7. Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme has been introduced by Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy. 

• The scheme offers self-employment loans to young people from SC, ST, BC, and Minority communities. 
• The aim of scheme is to create self-employment opportunities for five lakh unemployed youth in Telangana. 
• Six thousand crore rupees have been allocated by the Telangana government for the scheme. 
• Financial support of up to 3 lakh rupees will be provided to eligible individuals.
• With this support, they will be able to set up self-employment units.   
• Selected applicants will receive loan approval documents on Telangana Formation Day, June 2nd. 
• Loans up to 1 lakh rupees will be provided with an 80% subsidy. 
• Loans of up to 2 lakh rupees will be provided with a 70% subsidy. 
• Loans up to 3 lakh rupees will be eligible for a 60% subsidy.

Topic: Space and IT

8. ISRO developed high-speed microprocessors Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201 for space missions.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Chandigarh have jointly developed 32-bit microprocessors Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201.
• Vikram 3201 is India's first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor. It can be used in the harsh conditions of launch vehicles.
• A 32-bit microprocessor is a type of microprocessor with a data bus, registers, and address bus that are 32-bit wide.
• Vikram 3201 supports floating-point computations and offers high-level language compatibility.
• Kalpana 3201 is also a 32-bit SPARC V8 RISC microprocessor based on the IEEE 1754 Instruction Set Architecture.
• It has been designed to be compatible with open-source software toolsets.
• This development is a significant milestone in achieving self-reliance in high-reliability microprocessors for launch vehicles.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

9. Intel appointed chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO.

• Intel named former board member and chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO.
• Tan says his main aim is to restore Intel's world-class status.
• Intel is undergoing a historic transition as it attempts to emerge from one of its bleakest periods.
• Intel has considered big changes to its chip manufacturing methods and AI strategies.
• This appointment had come after three months when Pat Gelsinger left the position.
• Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. The launch of the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

• The 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 aims to accelerate the development of innovative 5G-powered solutions to address societal and industrial challenges.
• It is a six-month initiative and is organised for students, startups, and professionals.
• The program provides mentorship, funding, and access to over 100 5G use case labs to help participants turn visionary ideas into technology.
• The hackathon invites proposals focused on key 5G applications such as AI-driven network maintenance, IoT-enabled solutions, 5G broadcasting, smart health, agriculture, industrial automation, non-terrestrial networks, D2M, V2X, and quantum communications.
• This hackathon will take place in several phases.
• The top 25-50 teams will advance to the Pragati Phase where they will be provided an initial funding of INR 1,00,000 each to develop their prototypes over a period of three months (June 15-September 15, 2025).
• The winners will be announced in October 2025, with the top teams showcasing their innovations at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, one of the most prestigious tech events in the country.
• The winners will get significant prizes, including ₹5,00,000 for first place, ₹3,00,000 for second place, and ₹1,50,000 for third place.
• The 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 is designed to harness the transformational potential of 5G technology by fostering collaboration and innovation.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

11. Renowned Odia poet Padma Bhushan Ramakanta Rath passed away.

• On March 16, Padma Bhushan Ramakanta Rath, one of the most renowned modernist poets of Odia literature, passed away in Bhubaneswar at the age of 91.
• Ramakant Rath, a 1957 batch IAS officer, also served as Chief Secretary of Odisha and held several key positions in the Union government.
• His poems are famous for their depth and insight, including 'Shri Radha' among many other poems.
• His works have been translated into English and several Indian languages.
• The Government of India conferred the Padma Bhushan on Ramakanta Rath in 2006, recognizing his outstanding contribution to literature.
• He also served as the President of the Sahitya Akademi from 1998 to 2003.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements 

12. India and New Zealand signed agreements on Defence, Education, horticulture and sports.

• India and New Zealand signed five agreements in the fields of Defence, Education, Sports, Horticulture, and Forestry.
• Both sides also exchanged authorized economic mutual recognition agreements.
• Both sides support a Free, Open, Secure, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific and believe in the policy of development.
• New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has reached Delhi on a five-day visit to India.
• His visit aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries, reaffirming their commitment to deepen ties across all sectors.
• India and New Zealand agreed to cooperate against terrorist, separatist and radical elements. 

Topic: Sports

13. Harmanpreet Singh, Savita Punia won the Hockey India Player of the Year Awards.

• Harmanpreet Singh and Savita Punia received the Hockey India Balbir Singh Senior Player of the Year award in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.
• Harmanpreet led India to its second consecutive bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• Savita was a member of the Indian team that came close to winning a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics.
• Savita Punia also won the Hockey India Baljit Singh Goalkeeper of the Year award for 2024.
• The 1975 Men’s World Cup-winning team has been conferred with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Abhishek won the Forward of the Year award while Hardik Singh was named Midfielder of the Year.
• Amit Rohidas won the Best Defender of the Year award.
• Araijeet Singh Hundal won the Jugraj Singh Player of the Year (Men’s Under-21).
• Deepika bagged the Player of the Year award in the women’s Under-21 category.

(Source: News on AIR)