Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 January 2025

Topic: Indian Economy

1. India's share in global consumption is projected to be 16% by 2050.

• According to the McKinsey Global Institute titled "Dependency and Depopulation: Confronting the Consequences of New Demographic Reality," it is estimated that India's share in global consumption will be 16% by 2050, down from 9% in 2023.
• Only North America, with an estimated 17% share, will overtake India's global consumption share by 2050.
• These estimates are based on purchasing power parity, which adjusts for price differences between different countries.
• The increase in India's share of global consumption is mainly due to its young and growing population as well as rising incomes.
• Only 26% of the global population will reside in first-wave areas (areas with historically low fertility rates) by 2050, a sharp decline from 42% in 1997.
• By 2050, India's labour force will account for two-thirds of global working hours.
• India's share of the global population, which was 23% in 2023, will decline to 17% by 2050.

Topic: Important Days

2. National Voters’ Day 2025: 25 January

• National Voters’ Day is celebrated to create electoral awareness amongst citizens and encourage them to take part in the electoral process.
• It is celebrated every year on 25th January to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India.
• This year, the 15th National Voters’ Day is being observed.
• The theme for National Voters’ Day 2025 is ‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For Sure’.
• This year’s theme is a continuation from last year’s theme.
• National Voters’ Day is being celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011.
• 25th January 1950 is the foundation day of the Election Commission of India.
• On this occasion, the President received the first copy of the Election Commission's coffee table book, 'India Votes 2024: A Saga of Democracy,' which chronicles the journey of the 18th Lok Sabha elections.

Topic:Defence

3. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off Battlefield Surveillance System ‘SANJAY’.

• The battlefield surveillance System ‘SANJAY’ will increase battlefield transparency.
• It is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and cutting-edge analytics and will transform the future battlefield.
• It will be inducted into the Indian Army in three phases starting from March 2025.
• It has been indigenously and jointly developed by the Indian Army and Bharat Electronics Limited.
• It has been developed with a cost of two thousand 402 crore rupees.
• It will help in monitoring the vast land borders, prevent intrusions, and assess situations with unparalleled accuracy.
• It would enable commanders to operate in both conventional and sub-conventional operations in a Network Centric Environment.

Topic:Corporates/Companies

4. Skyodo gets nod as cross-border payment aggregator.

• Skydo Technologies Pvt Ltd has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) entity.
• It is one of the first companies in the cross-border payments field to receive the approval.
• Skydo Technologies Pvt Ltd was started as a cross-border payments company in 2022 and currently serves over 12,000 exporters in India.
• It processes more than $250 million in annual export payments.
• Skydo’s customers are small and medium businesses selling a range of products.

Topic: International Appointments

5. Michael Martin will return for a second term as Ireland's Prime Minister.

• Martin is a leader of the Fianna Fáil party. In the recent vote, he secured 95 votes in favor and 76 against.
• This coalition will consist of Fianna Fáil, its rival Fine Gael, and independent lawmakers.
• Independent lawmakers will replace the Green Party. The elections were held in November.
• Martin earlier served as prime minister from 2020 to 2022.
• According to the agreement, Fine Gael's Simon Harris will take over as prime minister in 2027.
• Harris will initially replace Martin as deputy prime minister.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Indian short film, Anuja, has been nominated for Best Short Film (Live Action) at the 2025 Oscars.

• The film is directed by Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai and supported by two-time Oscar winner Guneet Monga, actors Priyanka Chopra and Mindy Kaling.
• Anuja tells the story of a nine-year-old girl and her sister, Palak.
• They face a life-changing challenge that tests their relationship. The movie reflects the struggles of girls around the world.
• Other films nominated in this category include A Lien, The Last Ranger, I’m Not a Robot, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.
• The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

7. India has been ranked fourth in the Global Firepower Military Strength Ranking for 2025.

• Global Firepower Military Strength Ranking for 2025 has analyzed the Military strength of 145 countries based on over 60 distinct factors.
• The United States has maintained its top position since 2005. Its Power Index score remains 0.0744.
• Russia holds the second rank with a Power Index score of 0.0788. Despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia’s military strength remains intact.
• China is third with a score of 0.0788. It continued to expand its military capabilities through substantial investments in defence and development.
• India secured the fourth position with a score of 0.1184. India's military power growth is mainly driven by consistent spending, modernisation, and manpower.
• India’s defence spending increased by 4.2 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.
• South Korea ranked fifth with its growing investment in defence and strategic partnerships.
• Japan (7th), Türkiye (8th), and Iran (14th) are increasing their defence capabilities.
• As per a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditures reached $2.4 trillion in 2023.

Topic: State News/ Haryana

8. Haryana government launched the ‘Samman Sanjeevani’ app.

• On the occasion of National Girl Child Day 2025, the Haryana Women and Child Development Minister Shruti Choudhry launched the ‘Samman Sanjeevani’ app of ‘Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojana’.
• The app will help track the delivery of scheme benefits to beneficiaries.
• Under the ‘Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojna’, sanitary napkins are provided to BPL women and girls aged 10 to 45 years.
• These benefits are delivered through Anganwadi centres and schools.
• This app will collect data on all beneficiaries and update monthly benefits.
• The Women and Child Development Department of the state is also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme.
• Under this scheme, women’s empowerment and awareness programmes will be organized.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

9. BEE and TERI inked MoU to establish a Centre of Excellence on Energy Transition in Hyderabad.

• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) will jointly establish a Centre of Excellence for Energy Transition (CoEET).
• This Centre of Excellence for Energy Transition will be located at TERI’s Institute of Energy Transition (IoET) in Hyderabad.
• The Centre of Excellence for Energy Transition will help India in achieving sustainable development goals.
• By fostering cutting-edge research, collaboration, and innovation, this Centre will act as a catalyst for clean energy adoption.
• This partnership between BEE and TERI will set a benchmark for future collaborations in the energy sector.
• The CoEET will conduct comprehensive research and studies across various sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Topic: Sports

10. First edition of the World Pickleball League started in Mumbai.

• The inaugural edition of the World Pickleball League (WPBL) started at the CCI in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Six teams including Mumbai Pickle Power, Hyderabad Superstars, Pune United, Chennai Superchamps, Dilli Dilwale, and Bengaluru Jawans are participating in this tournament.
• The opening match of the league was played between Mumbai Pickle Power and Pune United.
• The final match of the league will be played on 2nd February. It is a 10-day event.

Topic: National News

11. Tri-services tableau will debut in the 76th Republic Day parade.

• On January 26, 2025, for the first time in Republic Day history, a tri-services tableau will make its debut at the 76th Republic Day Parade.
• Marching down Kartavya Path under the theme “Shashakt aur Surakshit Bharat” (Empowered and Secure India), the tableau will represent the spirit of jointness and integration among the armed forces.
• It will highlight their vital role in safeguarding national security and ensuring operational excellence.
• The tableau will depict the Joint Operations Room, symbolising seamless networking and communication between the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• A dynamic battlefield scenario will be showcased, demonstrating coordinated operations across land, sea, and air.
• Major indigenous defense platforms such as the Arjun main battle tank, Tejas MKII fighter aircraft, advanced light helicopter, destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, and a remotely piloted aircraft will be displayed.
• This will showcase coordination between the three services in multi-domain operations.
• These platforms reflect India's vision of achieving 'self-reliance' in the defence sector.

Topic: Space and IT

12. From the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the 100th launch is scheduled for January 29.

• The 100th launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota is being prepared by the ISRO, and is scheduled to take place on January 29 with the launch of the GSLV-F15 NVS-02 mission.
• GSLV-F15 with indigenous cryogenic stage will place the NVS-02 satellite in geosynchronous transfer orbit.
• The launch is scheduled to take place from the spaceport's second launch pad.
• NVS-02 is the second satellite in the NVS series and is part of India's Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC).
• The NVS-02 satellite was designed, developed and integrated at the UR Satellite Center (URSC) in collaboration with other satellite-based work centers.
• NavIC is India’s regional navigation satellite system, providing accurate Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) services in India and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.
• On May 29, 2023, the first second-generation satellite NVS-01 was launched by GSLV-F12.

Topic: State News/ Jammu & Kashmir

13. The process of geo-tagging Chinar trees to preserve heritage has been begun by the J&K government.

• On January 23, the process of geo-tagging was begun by Jammu and Kashmir's government in a bid to preserve heritage Chinar trees in Kashmir.
• Chinar is oxygen producer and it has its own scope, it plays a major role.
• With this in mind, the government decided to keep track of the Chinar trees in the valley and, leveraging technological advancements, provided a 'Digital Aadhaar' to monitor and preserve these heritage trees.
• The government has installed scannable QR codes, with each district assigned a unique code that includes the number of Chinar trees in the area.
• So far, 28,560 Chinars have been identified and geo-tagged.
• Anyone can scan the QR code and know everything about them.