Daily Current Affairs and GK | 6 March 2025

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. China’s Liu Jiakun received Pritzker Prize 2025.

• Pritzker Prize also known as the ‘Nobel of Architecture’ has been honoured to China’s Liu Jiakun.
• Liu Jiakun has spent most of his career time in designing academic buildings, museums and public spaces.
• The purpose of his architecture is to create a beautiful, just and dignified living environment.
• Liu’s firm, Jiakun Architects, has completed over 30 projects in China.
• Liu is known for creating public areas in highly populated cities where there is little public space.
• Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually to a living architect or architect whose built work demonstrates significant contributions to humanity.
• It is considered to be one of the world's premier architecture prizes. It is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2025 in New Delhi.

• The inaugural summit ceremony was attended by distinguished dignitaries, including the Prime Minister of Guyana, Brigadier Mark Phillip, and Brazil’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva.
• The summit theme is Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions.
• It is organized by the 'The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)'.
• India successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 7.93%.
• India has taken transformative steps with initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).
• India is working on a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
• India has reduced its emission intensity of GDP by 36% between 2005 and 2020.
• India’s role in driving climate action is increasing with a special focus on the Global South’s contributions.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. The revision of the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) approved by the Cabinet.

• The scheme has three components - National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC), and Pashu Aushadhi.
• LH&DC has three sub-components: Critical Animal Disease Control Programme (CADCP), Establishment and Strengthening of Existing Veterinary Hospitals and Dispensaries—Mobile Veterinary Unit (ESVHD-MVU), and Assistance to States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD).
• Pashu Aushadhi has been added as a new component in the LHDCP scheme.
• The total outlay of the scheme for two years, i.e., 2024-25 and 2025-26, is Rs 3880 crore.
• This includes a provision of Rs 75 crore under the animal drug component to provide incentives for the sale of good-quality and affordable generic veterinary drugs and medicines.
• The productivity of animals is adversely affected due to diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Brucellosis, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Classical Swine Fever (CSF), Lumpy Skin Disease, etc.
• Implementation of LHDCP will reduce these losses by preventing diseases through vaccination.

Topic: Defence

4. High-altitude trials of the Indigenous Integrated Life Support System for LCA Tejas conducted by DRDO.

• On March 4, the high-altitude trials of the Indigenous On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)-based Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) for the LCA Tejas aircraft were successfully conducted.
• The trials were carried out by the Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), a Bengaluru-based lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The OBOGS-based Integrated Life Support System is a state-of-the-art system purpose-designed to generate and control breathable oxygen for pilots during flight.
• This eliminates dependence on traditional liquid oxygen cylinder-based systems.
• The ILSS was rigorously tested on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)/Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) LCA-Prototype Vehicle-3 aircraft.
• Its capability was tested under stringent aeromedical standards in various flight conditions, including altitude up to 50,000 ft above sea level and high-G manoeuvres.
• The system has been built by L&T as a development and production partner, reflecting significant collaboration between DRDO and Indian defense industries.
• With appropriate modifications, this system could also be adapted for use in the MiG-29K and other aircraft.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

5. The development of the Ropeway Project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand approved by the Cabinet.

• The construction of a 12.9 km ropeway project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand has been approved under the National Ropeways Development Programme—Parvatmala Pariyojana.
• The approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• With a total capital cost of Rs 4,081.28 crore, the project will be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer (DBFOT) mode.
• The ropeway is planned to be developed in a public-private partnership and will be based on the most advanced Tri-Cable Detachable Gondola (3S) technology.
• It will have a design capacity of 1,800 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD) and will carry 18,000 passengers per day.
• The ropeway project will prove to be a boon for pilgrims visiting Kedarnath as it will provide eco-friendly, comfortable, and faster connectivity and reduce one-way travel time from about 8 to 9 hours to about 36 minutes.
• Kedarnath, located at an altitude of 3,583 meters (11,968 ft) in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, is one of the 12 sacred Jyotirlingas.

Topic: National Appointments

6. Ajay Bhadoo has been appointed as the chief executive officer of GeM.

• He is additional secretary in Department of Commerce before being appointed as CEO of public procurement platform GeM.
• He has got the role of CEO in addition to his existing responsibilities in the department.
• He is a senior IAS officer of the 1999 batch from the Gujarat cadre.
• He was appointed as additional secretary in August 2024.
• Government e-Market was launched on August 9, 2016.
• It was launched for online purchases of goods and services by all ministries and departments of central government.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

7. India's first AI-powered solar manufacturing line has been launched at Goldi Solar's Surat plant in Kosamba, Gujarat. 

• It has been launched by Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy.
• It has planned production capacity of 14 GW. 10,000 cells can be produced per hour due to AI-driven automation in high-speed stringers.
• It has an auto EVA laying robot in pre-lamination section. 
• It has AI-powered 3-Display EL and visual inspection systems to guarantee high-quality solar modules. 
• Goldi Solar manufactures photovoltaic modules. Goldi Solar has three facilities having a combined 14 GW planned capacity in Gujarat.
• The three facilities are located at Pipodara, Navsari and Kosamba in Gujarat.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Nithin Kamath has received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2024.

• Nithin Kamath, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zerodha, has been awarded the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2024.
• Nithin Kamath will represent India at the global stage at the WEOY in Monte Carlo to be held in June 2025.
• KV Kamath, Chairman of Jio Financial Services, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for this substantial contribution to India’s financial services sector.
• S Somanath, aerospace engineer and former chairman of ISRO received the Special Jury Award for his contributions to space ambitions of India.
• Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change presented the award to Nithin Kamath, KV Kamath and S Somanath along with the EOY 2024 category winners.
• This year’s winners generate a total Rs 2 lakh crore in revenue, with a combined valuation (listed and unlisted) exceeding Rs 15 lakh crore.
• Other categories winners:

Topic: Sports

9. Khelo India Para Games will be organized in New Delhi from March 20-27.

• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the Khelo India Para Games 2025 will be held in New Delhi from 20-27 March.
• It will be the second edition of the Khelo India Para Games.
• 230 para-athletes will compete in six disciplines during the games, including the medalists from the Paris Paralympics 2024.
• Para-athletics, Para-archery, and Para-powerlifting sporting events will be organized at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from 21st to the 26th of March.
• The para-badminton and para-table tennis events will be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium complex from 20-27 March.
• Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range will host the para-shooting events.
• The Khelo India Para Games is part of the Khelo India mission. It is a platform for talented athletes to showcase their sporting and competitive skills.

Topic: Sports

10. Austrian batsman Steve Smith announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

• On March 4, Australia's veteran batsman Steve Smith announced his retirement from ODI cricket after his team's defeat to India in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025.
• Smith, who top-scored for Australia with 73, immediately informed his teammates that this was his final ODI.
• However, the 35-year-old will continue to play Tests and T20Is for his country.
• Smith has scored 5800 runs including 12 centuries in 170 ODIs for Australia.
• He was part of Australia's World Cup-winning team in 2015 under Michael Clarke and in 2023 under Pat Cummins.
• Smith made his international debut in 2010 against the West Indies as a leg-spinning allrounder.   
• He was named Australian Men's ODI Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2021, as well as being included in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year in 2015.

Topic: Space and IT

11. SPHEREx telescope is set to be launched by NASA to explore what happened right after the Big Bang.

• NASA is preparing to launch a megaphone-shaped observatory.
• Its purpose is to better understand what happened immediately after the Big Bang and to discover the galaxy's reserves of water, a vital ingredient for life.
• The SPHEREx space telescope is tentatively scheduled to be launched by the U.S. space agency on 7 March aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
• SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) seeks to answer questions about the origin of the universe by mapping the distribution of galaxies.
• The observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way, during its planned two-year mission as it searches for the origins of the universe and the galaxies within it.
• The mission aims to obtain information about a phenomenon called cosmic inflation, the rapid and exponential expansion of the universe from a single point in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, which occurred about 13.8 billion years ago.
• For comparison, Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

Topic: Reports and Indices

12. NITI Aayog released a report titled “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story”.

• CEO NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, has released the report.
• The report has been published by TransUnion CIBIL, Women Entrepreneurship Platform’s (WEP) of NITI Aayog and MicroSave Consulting (MSC).
• As per the report, Women in India are actively seeking credit and monitoring their credit scores.
• Financial awareness among women has risen. As of December 2024, 27 million women were seeking credit, 42% more than the previous year.
• Women’s share in the total self-monitoring credit base rose to 19.43 percent in December 2024, up from 17.89 percent in 2023.
• In 2024, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana will account for 49 per cent of all self-monitoring women, with the southern region leading with 10.2 million.
• Women from non-metro regions are more actively self-monitoring their credit as compared to those in metro areas.
• Northern and central states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh registered the highest compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) in active women borrowers over the past five years.
• Since 2019, women’s share in business loan origination has increased by 14 percent. Share in gold loans has grown by 6 percent.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

13. India and Nepal signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector.

• This agreement will enhance collaboration in several key areas, including waste management, water resource management and capacity building.
• Under this MoU, both countries will engage in capacity-building programs. Nepali personnel will get training in water resource management and related fields.
• Both countries' focus will be on sharing expertise and best practices in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sectors.
• Both countries will work together to monitor, assess and manage groundwater resources, including initiatives for quality improvement, artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting.