Daily Current Affairs and GK | 21 January 2025

Topic: State News / Uttarakhand

1. The Uniform Civil Code manual approved by the Uttarakhand Cabinet.

• The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) manual was approved during a cabinet meeting held on 20 January at the State Secretariat under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
• This approval has been given after thorough scrutiny by the Legislative Department, which had already reviewed the manual.
• On UCC, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that the promises made before the 2022 elections have been fulfilled by their government.
• He stated that implementation dates will be announced soon.
• The UCC Bill was introduced by the BJP government during a special session of the Uttarakhand legislative assembly on February 6, 2023.
• The Uniform Civil Code Bill was passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly in February, and President Draupadi Murmu signed it on March 13, paving the way for Uttarakhand to become the first state in India to enact a Uniform Civil Code.
• The aim of the Uniform Civil Code is to establish a set of uniform personal laws that apply to all citizens, regardless of their religion, gender, or caste.
• This will cover aspects such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession.

Topic: Books and Author

2. Pankaj Mishra released his latest book 'The World After Gaza.'

• The book 'The World After Gaza' written by Pankaj Mishra is a treatise on the ongoing war in the troubled Palestinian strip.
• This book published by Juggernaut Books in India.
• This book is a timely read, helping to understand the nuances of this war that has been condemned as having destroyed the idea of ​​human rights and opening the door to a downward spiral of moral degradation in the world.
• Mishra is an award-winning essayist and author of nine fiction and non-fiction books.
• In 2014, he was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction, and the Weston International Prize in 2024.

Topic: Defence

3. Indian Navy took part in the La Perouse multilateral exercise.

• A multilateral exercise, La Perouse, was hosted by France.
• Navies of nine Indo-Pacific countries took part in this exercise.
• The exercise was conducted in the strategic straits of Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok, between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• INS Mumbai of the Indian Navy has been deployed for this exercise. The exercise was led by the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) headed by the carrier Charles de Gaulle.
• The Straits of Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok are the entrances and exits to the Indian Ocean region.
• Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. took part in this exercise.
• The main aim of the exercise is to strengthen interoperability.
• All navies will be trained in the use of IORIS, a communication and coordination system dedicated to the exchange of information.
• Surface warfare, anti-air warfare, air defence, cross-deck landings and tactical manoeuvres are part of this exercise.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. India is expected to grow by 6.7%, which is more than the 2.7% world growth rate, according to World Bank projections.

• India is expected to dominate the world economy, according to the World Bank's World Economic Prospects report (WEP), which was released in January 2025.
• According to the report, for the next two fiscal years, India will continue to be the large economy with the quickest rate of growth.
• A flourishing services sector and a revived manufacturing base are credited by the with this exceptional momentum.
• Government policies, which range from tax simplification to infrastructure modernisation, are boosting domestic growth and establishing India as a pillar of international economic stability.
• Additionally, the report predicts that China's economic growth will slow to 4% in the upcoming year.
• According to the report, manufacturing WEP report activity is predicted to increase while the country's services sector is predicted to continue growing strongly.
• A healthier employment market, easier access to finance, and declining inflation are all expected to boost private consumption in the nation.
• For the fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the IMF predicted that India's growth would continue to be strong at 6.5%.