Daily Current Affairs and GK | 4 January 2025

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

1. Maharashtra government launched new initiative to promote a culture of reading among students.

• "Reading Resolution of Maharashtra” campaign has begun from January 1, 2025. It will run from January 1 to January 15.
• It will encourage young people to inculcate the habit of reading.
• Under this initiative, universities, colleges, and public libraries will organise a series of events to engage students in collective reading.
• It will also bring social awareness through literature.
• This campaign has been launched with a “Collective Reading” event.
• Students and library members will gather in university auditoriums, college courtyards, and public library spaces to read books of their choice.
• A major feature of the initiative is the “Book Review and Narration Competition”.
• Under this initiative, all students will be encouraged to select a book outside of their regular curriculum.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. The revamped portal ‘BAANKNET’ for the e-auction of properties has been launched by the government on 3 January.

• The portal aims to streamline e-auctions of properties from all Public Sector Banks (PSBs), making it easier for buyers and investors to discover and participate in valuable opportunities.
• More than 122,000 properties have already been transferred to the portal for auction.
• The launch of this platform will help in the reform process of public sector banks, improve the balance sheets of banks and increase credit availability to businesses and individuals.
• The portal's listing includes residential properties such as flats, independent houses, and open plots, as well as commercial properties, industrial land and buildings, shops, vehicles, plant and machinery, and agricultural and non-agricultural land.

Topic: National News

3. The Grameen Bharat Mahotsav 2025 inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in Delhi on 4 January.

• The event will run for six days from January 4 to 9.
• It aims to showcase the entrepreneurial potential and cultural heritage of rural India with the main objective of 'Building a Resilient Rural India for a Viksit Bharat 2047'.
• Under the Department of Financial Services, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is organizing this event.
• NABARD is organizing this event to strengthen rural infrastructure, promote self-sufficient economies, and encourage innovation in rural areas.
• To achieve these goals, the program includes various sessions, workshops, and classes led by experts.
• The initiative will focus on financial inclusion, sustainable agricultural practices, and economic stability in rural areas, with particular emphasis on Northeast India.
• An important aspect of this is to support rural women's entrepreneurship and to facilitate interaction between government representatives, rural business owners, artisans, and various stakeholders.

Topic: Sports

4. International Championship of Handball (IHF) Trophy Men’s Youth and Junior (Continental Phase – Asia) has begun.

• It has begun in Lucknow for the first time in the KD Singh Babu Stadium.
• Four countries are participating in the tournament. They are Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and India.
• On the first day, Kazakhstan won over Bangladesh in youth & junior categories.
• India played against Uzbekistan in youth & junior categories on first day.
• This is a qualification tournament. Its winner will qualify for the world championship.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. DPIIT signed a MoU with the Startup Policy Forum (SPF) to promote the Indian start-up ecosystem globally.

• This collaboration between Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and SPF will help start-ups thrive.
• It will help them contribute to India’s mission of becoming a global innovation hub.
• A two-day SPF Baithak will be organised from the 15th January in New Delhi under National Startup Week celebrations.
• SPF Baithak will be a gathering of founders and policymakers.
• The event will be a platform for new collaborations between DPIIT and SPF members.

Topic: Indian Economy

6. Rural poverty ratio declined below 5% in FY24 for the first time to 4.86 per cent from 7.2 per cent in FY23, according to a study by SBI Research.

• Poverty dropped faster in rural areas during FY24. The poverty ratio in urban areas declined to 4.09 per cent from 4.6 per cent during the same time.
• Higher consumption growth in the 0–5% fractile is the reason for this decrease in the rural poverty ratio.
• As a result, the poverty line changed from the 5–10% decile in FY23 to the 0–5% decile in FY24.
• According to the report, the increase in transfer programs like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is another factor contributing to the shrinking rural-urban divide.
• According to the SBI report, the revised poverty level for FY24 would be Rs 1,632 per month for rural regions and Rs 1,944 per month for urban areas after accounting for decadal inflation and the imputation component in Suresh Tendulkar's poverty line.
• An expert group led by Tendulkar had previously calculated the poverty line in 2011–12 to be Rs 1,000 in urban areas and Rs 816 in rural areas.
• According to the report, India's poverty rate may currently be between 4% and 4.5%.
• According to the ERD, the majority of high-income states have savings rates higher than the national average (31%).
• Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have low savings rates, which may be caused by increased out-migration.

Topic: National News

7. Medical Textiles Quality Control Order, 2024 has been issued by the Ministry of Textiles.

• The purpose of the Medical Textiles Quality Control Order, 2024, is to guarantee the effectiveness and safety of the essential items that fall under the category of medical textiles.
• The order establishes strict quality criteria for these products, including labelling specifications and testing procedures.
• The ministry has given the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector an additional extension until April 1, 2025, to comply with the Quality Control Order.
• A six-month transition period, ending on June 30th, has been given to manufacturers and importers to get rid of their current legacy inventories.
• The industry will be able to adapt to the new quality standards with minimal interruption due to this provision.

Topic: National News

8. Government notified amendment in the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified the amendment in the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.
• It has included Para 1.07A and 1.07B to bring legal backing to the FTP for consultation with stakeholders to seek views, suggestions, comments or feedback from relevant stakeholders.
• The main objective of the amendment is to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in the decision-making process.
• It will also provide a mechanism to inform reasons for not accepting views, suggestions, comments or feedback related to the formulation or amendment of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.
• This notification is part of the new era of inclusiveness in decision-making pertaining to trade.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

9. Union cabinet approved MoU on trade of Non-Basmati White Rice between the Ministry of Cooperation of India and the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia.

• This MoU has been signed for trading of one million metric tonnes of non-basmati white rice annually based on production and international prices.
• The duration of the MoU will be four years and will get automatically extended for an additional four years.
• This agreement will be implemented by National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL).
• This MoU will help to resolve the issue of the trade imbalance and will strengthen India-Indonesia trade relations.
• NCEL will procure Non-Basmati White Rice (NBWR) from the open market through a transparent tender process and from cooperative societies.

Topic: Report and Indices/Ranking

10. Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report for the entire country for the year 2024 released by the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri C.R. Patil, on 31 December.

• The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States/UTs jointly carried out this assessment, which various stakeholders can use to take appropriate interventions.
• As per the assessment, the total annual groundwater recharge in the country is estimated at 446.90 billion cubic metres (BCM).
• Keeping an allocation for natural discharge, the annual exploitable groundwater resource is estimated at 406.19 BCM.
• The annual groundwater exploitation for all uses is 245.64 BCM.
• The average level of groundwater exploitation for the country is 60.47%.
• Out of total 6746 assessment units (Blocks/Mandals/Talukas) in the country, 4951 (73.4%) assessment units are classified as 'safe'.
• 711 (10.5%) assessment units are classified as "semi-critical", 206 (3.05%) assessment units are classified as 'critical' and 751 (11.1%) assessment units are classified as 'over-exploited'.
• Apart from these, there are 127 (1.8%) assessment units which are classified as 'brackish' because the major portion of the groundwater in the phreatic aquifers in these units is saline or saline.
• There is a significant increase in total annual groundwater recharge (15 BCM) and decrease in exploitation (3 BCM) in 2024 from the 2017 assessment.
• Recharge from tanks, ponds, and water conservation structures has shown a consistent increase in the last five assessments.
• In the year 2024, it has increased by 0.39 BCM as compared to 2023.
• With respect to the year 2017, recharge from tanks, ponds, and water conservation structures has increased by 11.36 BCM (from 13.98 BCM in 2017 to 25.34 BCM in 2024).
• The percentage of assessment units under the protected category has increased from 62.6% in 2017 to 73.4% in 2024 (the percentage of protected assessment units was 73.14% in 2023).
• The percentage of over-exploited assessment units has decreased from 17.24% in 2017 to 11.13% in 2024 (the percentage of OE assessment units was 11.23% in 2023).

Topic: Personality in News

11. Savitribai Phule Jayanti 2025: 3 January

• The 194th birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule celebrated on 3 January.
• She was India's first female teacher to empower women and the untouchables via education and literacy.
• On this day, Telangana state celebrates Women’s Teachers’ Day to honor female educators and the legacy of Savitribai Phule, a pioneer in women’s education.
• Savitribai Phule:
  • Savitribai Phule was born in Naigaon, Maharashtra.
  • She was born on January 3, 1831, and died On March 10, 1897.
  • She was the wife of Jyotirao Phule, who was also an activist and social reformer.
  • India's first school for girls, “Bhide Wada”, was founded in Pune in 1848 by Savitribai with the help of her husband Jyotiba Phule.
  • She is mainly remembered as Gyanjyoti Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule.
  • They also set up schools for Dalits and low-caste women and encouraged all to attend school by offering stipends.
  • Savitribai started Mahila Seva Mandal in 1852 to create awareness about women's rights.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

12. Odia poet Prativa Satpathy will be honoured with the Gangadhar National Award.

• Prativa Satpathy will be conferred the Gangadhar National Award for Poetry 2023 by the Sambalpur University.
• The award will be presented on the occasion of the 58th foundation day of Sambalpur University.
• She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. Her writings in Odia have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages.
• This award was instituted by the Sambalpur University in 1989.
• The award carries a citation, shawl and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,00.
• Earlier, Gulzar, Alli Sardar Zafri, Kedar Nath Singh, Ayyapa Panikar, etc. received the Gangadhar National Award for excellence in the field of poetry.

Topic: Indian Economy

13. Market cap deadline for UPI apps has been extended by NPCI until 2026.

• The NPCI has given third-party Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps an additional two years until December 31, 2026, to adopt a 30% volume cap.
• The NPCI has delayed the deadline for the third time.
• According to NPCI, the deadline for compliance for current third-party application providers (TPAPs) that exceed the volume cap has been extended by two years, or until December 2026.
• In November 2020, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) first proposed capping the number of transactions that UPI apps could handle at 30%.
• Major TPAPs like PhonePe and Google Pay currently account for 80% of UPI transactions.
• The 30% cap will be determined on a rolling basis by taking the total number of UPI transactions performed over the previous three months.
• With immediate effect, NPCI has removed the cap on onboarding UPI users for WhatsApp Pay, a third-party app provider.
• WhatsApp Pay can now extend UPI services to its entire user base in India.
• The NPCI has removed the 100 million user cap that existed.