Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 January 2025

Topic: International News

1. Belarus's leader Lukashenko won the election for the seventh time.

• On January 27, Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule after election officials declared him the winner of the presidential election.
• The Central Election Commission said in a statement that Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering nearly 87% of the vote.
• Since taking office in 1994, President Lukashenko's authoritarian rule has earned him the title of "Europe's last dictator".
• However, the European Union threatened new sanctions, calling the elections in Belarus illegal.
• Belarus:
  • It is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe.
  • It shares borders with Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.
  • Minsk is the capital of Belarus, and the Belarusian ruble is the official currency.

Topic: Art and Culture

2. Pashmina festival organised for the first time in Kathmandu.

• The Nepal Pashmina Industries Association and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries organized the first three-day International Pashmina Festival cum Exhibition.
• The event drew attention to the delicate, lightweight, and warm natural fiber obtained from Chyangra or Pashmina goats.
• The exhibition, held until January 25, featured over 150 domestic stalls, including more than 40 dedicated to pure Nepali Pashmina.
• Nepal is one of the major producers of authentic pashmina, often branded as "Chyangra Pashmina" to emphasize its high quality and originality.
• Production uses traditional weaving methods that have been passed down for generations.
• In Nepal, genuine pashmina is often branded as Chyangra pashmina with a government-certified label.
• In India, pashmina products are made in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, while machine-woven pashmina products are manufactured in Amritsar.
• Pashmina has gained immense popularity across the world due to its softness, warmth and intricate handmade designs.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: International News

3. India joined Eurodrone as an observer.

• India Officially joined the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS) or Eurodrone programme.
• Eurodrone is an initiative of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
• It is led by Airbus Defence and Space (Germany), includes Leonardo (Italy), Dassault Aviation (France), and Airbus (Spain) as major subcontractors.
• It is managed by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR).
• Japan became the first official OCCAR observer state in the MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) programme in November 2023.
• India made the formal request to join the programme in August 2024.

Topic: National Appointments

4. M. Mohan has been appointed as director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

• M. Mohan was serving as the Director (Projects) at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
• The position fell vacant after the Union government picked former LPSC director Dr. V. Narayanan as the ISRO chairman.
• Mr Mohan was the director of the Human Space Flight Centre from June 2023 to June 2024.
• He was also the system leader of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) project of the Chandrayaan-1 mission.
• So far, he has held various positions, including Associate Director, VSSC (Research and Development), and project director of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Christine Carla Kangaloo has been given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by India.

• She is the president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
• This is a recognition of her exceptional accomplishments in public life and her efforts to raise India's reputation internationally.
• During the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, Kangaloo was the chief guest. She is an Indo-Trinidadian president.
• 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention took place in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from January 8–10, 2025.
• She highlighted in her speech that the history of India-Tobago relations began in 1845, when Indian indentured labourers first reached on Trinidadian shores.
• She emphasized that upon Trinidad and Tobago's independence in 1962, India was one of the first nations to establish diplomatic ties with it.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is the highest honour given to Indians living abroad for their outstanding accomplishments in a variety of fields.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

6. The 2025 World University Rankings by Subject has been released by the Times Higher Education. 

• The only Indian college ranked among the top 100 computer science universities globally is the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. 
• According to the World University Rankings by subject, this is the first time an Indian institution has been placed in the top 100 (99th). 
• Indian Institute of Science was ranked in between 251-300 last year.  Delhi University is ranked as one of the world’s top law and psychology universities. 
• Up from 47 in 2024, 53 Indian universities are now included among the best in the world for computer science.
• Indian Institute of Science is ranked 96th in the field of computer science. 
• 24 Indian universities now rank in the top in business and economics, up from 15 in 2024. 
• In the arts and humanities category, JNU and Delhi University moved from the 501–600 range to the 401–500 range. 
• Fourteen Indian universities have been listed among the best in the social sciences. 
• The top three positions across the 11 subject rankings are occupied by MIT, Stanford, and Oxford.
• Eleven categories are included in the rankings. These are arts and humanities, business and economics, computer science, education studies, engineering, law, life sciences, medical and health, physical sciences, psychology, and social sciences.

Topic: State News/ Tripura

7. Tripura became the first North East state to sign an MoU with Bhashini.

• The Government of Tripura signed a MoU with Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) for Multi-lingual Governance.
• The MOU signing ceremony was held at Pragna Bhavan in Agartala, during a State Level Workshop- ‘Bhashini Rajyam”.
• Tripura is the eighth state in India to sign a MoU with Bhashini.
• Bhashini integration with Tripura's e-Governance software will fill the digital divide.
• It will provide cost-effective translations, promote inclusive policy implementation, and enhance regional identity.
• Bhashini can integrate with existing systems like the CM Helpline, eVidhan, Kisan Sahayata App and e-Districts to enable multilingual communication.
• Bhashini is an initiative under the Digital India program for seamless communication and internet accessibility for all Citizens in 22 Indian languages.

Topic: Science and Technology

8. DeepSeek captured global attention with the launch of its revolutionary language model.

• DeepSeek, a groundbreaking AI startup based in Hangzhou, China, has launched DeepSeek-R1.
• This cutting-edge model will compete with OpenAI’s o1 and will cost a fraction of the price.
• DeepSeek-R1 will begin a new era in artificial intelligence (AI). It has exceptional capabilities in solving complex problems across chemistry, mathematics, and coding.
• The DeepSeek R1 model has been released as an “open-weight” system. It will allow researchers to analyse and build upon its algorithms.
• DeepSeek-R1 was developed with just $6 million spent on hardware.
• Models like Meta’s Llama 3.1 405B required $60 million and eleven times the computational power.
• DeepSeek’s rapid rise has been described as a “black swan event.”
• A black swan event refers to a rare and unpredictable occurrence that significantly disrupts industries or markets.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. Padma Awards for 2025 have been announced by the government.

• This year a total of 139 people names have been announced for the Padma Awards.
• The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards.
• 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.
• Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards in India. It is conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
• The awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activity, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
• These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Padma Vibhushan (7)

Padma Bhushan (19)

Topic: State News/Assam

10. Assam Chief Minister has announced that Dibrugarh will be the state's second capital.

• On January 26, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Dibrugarh, the British-era center of tea, oil, and coal trade, will be Assam's second capital by 2027 and will also have an assembly complex there.
• He said the decision to make Dibrugarh a full-fledged city and the second capital of Assam has been taken on solid groundwork aimed at improving Ease of Living and connectivity.
• He also announced a similar plan for two other cities in the state: Tezpur and Silchar.
• Tezpur, located in north-central Assam, will house a Raj Bhavan and be developed as the cultural capital of the state.
• Meanwhile, Silchar in southern Assam will house a Mini Secretariat along with the Chief Secretary’s office.
• Mr. Sarma also announced plans to create a Department of Startups to recognise the “backbone of a new Assam’s economic renaissance.”
• The construction work of the permanent Assembly building in Dibrugarh will begin on January 25, 2026.
• The Assembly session will be held in Dibrugarh every year from 2027.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

11. An agreement was reached between India and Oman to expedite discussions on signing a bilateral economic pact.

• According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on January 28, India and Oman have agreed to accelerate discussions for the early signing of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
• The agreement is currently in the advanced stages of negotiations.
• CEPA will prove to be a new milestone in bilateral trade relations and has the potential to significantly enhance two-way trade and investment.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal completed a successful visit to Oman on January 27-28.
• During the visit, the 11th Session of the India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by Goyal along with Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion.
• During the visit, both sides signed the Protocol to amend the India-Oman Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
• This will bring it in line with international standards on cross-border taxation, simplify tax procedures and promote greater cooperation in tax matters.
• In addition, the Minister attended the India-Oman Joint Business Council (JBC) meeting, organized by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), with support and participation from a delegation from FICCI.

Topic: Sports

12. Diya Chitale and Manush Shah won national table tennis champions titles.

• In the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championship singles finals, they won over Sreeja Akula and Payas Jain, respectively.
• The Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium in Surat hosted the finals of the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championship.
• Manush, who is from Vadodara and represents the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), continued to dominate Payas in five games.
• Diya is a Mumbai paddler who also plays for the RBI. The women's final was won by Diya.
• Only a day before, she and Sreeja had won the doubles championship.
• In the mixed doubles category, Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya won over Taneesha Kotecha and Jash Modi.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

13. World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Georgia malaria-free.

• The only nation in the WHO European Region that still has malaria is Turkey. 
• Georgia has achieved malaria free certification after decades of efforts and nearly century-long struggle. 
• With this malaria-free status, Georgia has joined 45 other nations and one territory. 
• Prior to the 20th century, three parasite species were prevalent in Georgia, making malaria a persistent problem there. 
• Malaria, particularly P. vivax, affected 30% of Georgia's population in the 1920s. 
• The WHO certification requires evidence of nationwide interrupted indigenous malaria transmission for at least three years. 
• With Georgia's malaria-free status, Europe is one step closer to becoming the world's first malaria-free region.