Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 January 2025

Topic: Indian Economy

1. Government is planning to launch a new credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs.

• The government will launch a new credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs providing free loans up to Rs 100 crore without any guarantee.
• The proposal is expected to be presented before the Union Cabinet for approval.
• The main aim of the scheme will be to provide term loans for MSMEs to purchase machinery and equipment without collateral or third-party guarantees.
• The scheme will be implemented by pooling MSMEs' credit risks, supported by a self-financing guarantee fund.
• The MSME sector is a crucial sector of the Indian Economy. It provides employment to 50 million people.
• MSMEs have boosted India’s GDP, their Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution has grown from 29.7% in 2017-18 to 30.1% in 2022-23.

Topic: State News/ Andhra Pradesh

2. Flamingo Festival is set to begin on 18 January in Tirupati district.

• Flamingo Festival will be organized after a gap of five years in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh from January 18 to 20.
• It will be spread over five locations including Nelapattu, B.V. Palem, Atakanithippa, Sri City and Sullurpeta.
• More than 200 varieties of birds are expected to fly to this region during this season.
• A three-day session will be conducted on eco-friendly biodiversity at Sri City, bird watching spots at Nelapattu and Atakanithippa.
• The government has developed infrastructure facilities also in the region by integrating it with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Topic: Important Days

3. World Hindi Day 2025: 10 January

• Every year on 10 January, World Hindi Day is celebrated.
• It is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference organized in Nagpur on 10 January 1975.
• In the year 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi organized the first World Hindi Conference in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• 122 representatives from 30 countries participated in this conference.
• In 2006, the first World Hindi Day was celebrated by the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• Its main aim is to promote the Hindi language across the world.
• Hindi is the third most-spoken language in the world.
• In India, Hindi Diwas is observed every year on 14th September.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

4. An emergency declared in LA by the US as the wildfire spread to nearly 3,000 acres.

• A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles as three wildfires grew from 10 acres to more than 2,900 acres in a matter of hours.
• Important landmarks, community buildings, and businesses have been damaged or destroyed by fire.
• Nearly one lakh people have been asked to move out of the affected areas, and over 1,400 firefighters have been deployed to douse the fire.
• Many people were forced to abandon their vehicles in areas between Malibu and Santa Monica, prompting firefighters to use bulldozers to remove vehicles that had built up as people were stranded in traffic.
• NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which develops and coordinates many of the space agency's unmanned exploration missions, has been included in evacuation orders resulting from the Eaton Fire.
• The flames, which began on January 7 and have been intensified by strong winds, have threatened more than 13,000 buildings.

Topic: International News

5. A digital e-Visa system for Indian travelers has been launched by the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) from January 1, 2025.

• This new system simplifies the visa application process, and eliminates the need for physical paperwork.
• This reflects Israel's efforts to make tourism more accessible and strengthen ties with India.
• Indian citizens can now apply for Visa to Israel completely online using the official government portal of Israel.
• The process is faster, more efficient, and requires less documentation, making it convenient for solo travelers.
• However, group visa applications will still follow the traditional process.
• The e-Visa system is integrated with Israel's Entry Travel Authorization (ETA) platform, ensuring smooth processing and quick approval.
• India is an important market for Israel's tourism industry.
• In 2018, Israel welcomed a record 70,800 Indian visitors, while in 2024, 8,500 Indians visited Israel between January and October.

Topic: Sports

6. Martin Guptill, a cricket player from New Zealand, declared his retirement from international cricket.

• He played for almost 14 years. He hit 23 international hundreds and scored over 14,000 runs in 367 games.
• Guptill participated in 47 Test matches, 198 ODIs, and 122 T20Is. In 2009, he made his debut against the West Indies.
• The record for the highest individual score in an ODI World Cup is held by Guptill.
• He played an innings of 237 not out from 163 balls during the 2015 World Cup.
• With 3531 runs which include two hundreds and twenty half-centuries, he was also New Zealand's top scorer in T20I cricket.
• In addition, he has 7,346 ODI runs, which puts him third on the record behind Stephen Fleming and Ross Taylor.
• Guptill will continue to play in T20 franchise cricket.

Topic: State News/Delhi

7. First battery energy storage system of India will start in Kilokri, south Delhi in March this year.

• This will be India’s first commercial utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS).
• This is the 20 MW (megawatt)/40 MWh (megawatt hour) cluster of batteries.
• This can supply power for four hours a day, two hours during the day and two hours at night.
• This is part of the BSES Rajdhani’s power sub-station in south Delhi’s Kilokri village.
• BSES Rajdhani is the largest power distribution company in Delhi.
• It is a joint venture between the Reliance Group and the Delhi government.
• The project has been approved by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
• The project will cost $14 million, or around ₹120 crore, in total.
• Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), principal funders of the project, is a coalition of non-profits aimed at renewable energy investments.
• GEAPP is aiming at 1 GW of BESS commitments in India by 2026. India aims to deploy 47 GW [gigawatt] of BESS by 2032.

Topic: International News

8. John Mahama became President of Ghana for the third time.

• John Mahama won the presidential election last year after promising to tackle the economic crisis, corruption, and unemployment.
• He was previously Ghana’s president between July 2012 and January 2017.
• He will replace current President Nana Akufo-Addo. Mahama was first sworn in as president in July 2012.
• The ceremony was attended by several African leaders, including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Kenya’s William Ruto, and Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi.
• He will focus on economic restoration and stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, as well as on good governance.

Topic: State News/Karnataka

9. The Karnataka Forest Department launched the ‘Garudakshi’ online FIR system.

• To stop forest encroachments, illegal tree-felling, and poaching, the Karnataka Forest Department has launched the ‘Garudakshi’ online FIR system.
•  It has been developed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
• It will enable the online handling of forest crime cases under the Forest and Wildlife Protection Acts.
• At present, this system is being implemented in five forest divisions: Bangalore City, Bangalore Forest Patrol, Bhadravati, Sirsi, and Malai Mahadeshwar Wildlife Division.
• The Garudakshi software will be gradually implemented across all divisions.
• This advanced alert system will help officials in monitoring illegal activities, including tree felling, by tracking changes in forest cover.

Topic: Corporate and Company

10. A $3 billion investment in India announced by Microsoft, along with plans to train 10 million individuals in AI skills.

• On January 7, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a $3 billion investment to enhance the company's cloud and AI infrastructure in India.
• He said the company has made its biggest expansion ever by investing an additional $3 billion to expand its Azure capabilities in India.
• The efforts being made by Microsoft to expand its regional footprint across India were appreciated, and the company's mission to empower individuals and organisations in the country was reiterated.
• On January 6, Nadella met PM Narendra Modi, where they discussed a variety of topics, including advancements in technology and artificial intelligence.
• On December 30, Nadella also visited Hyderabad, where he met Telangana Chief Minister K Revanth Reddy and Cabinet ministers D Sridhar Babu and Uttam Kumar Reddy.
• Microsoft was one of the first technology companies to establish a presence in Hyderabad, and over the years it has grown its employee base in the city to 10,000.

Topic: Defence

11. India and US to jointly build interoperable sonobuoys for Navy.

• India and the US announced cooperation on co-production of US sonobuoys for Undersea Domain Awareness (UDA) for the Indian Navy.
• This is a high-end technology that enables tracking of submarines in deep seas and oceans.
• This is the latest step in a series of cooperation measures between the two countries, as both countries are concerned by the rapid expansion of China's naval presence in the Indian Ocean region.
• Ultra Maritime (UM) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) are advancing discussions to enhance undersea domain awareness through a unique partnership focused on the co-production of U.S. sonobuoys, supporting both U.S. and Indian defense industries.
• Under the U.S.-India ICET initiative launched in May 2022, Ultra Maritime and BDL will develop advanced sonobuoy technologies optimized for the Indian Ocean, enabling wide-area exploration with customized multi-static active solutions.
• They will jointly supply and manufacture sonobuoys for the Indian Navy as per US Navy standards, with production to be split between the US and India as per 'Make in India' principles.

Topic: Science and Technology

12. IIT Madras launched Asia’s largest Shallow Wave Basin Research facility.

• Asia's largest Shallow Wave Basin Research Facility has been launched by IIT Madras at its Thaiyur campus to meet both research and industrial needs.
• It will fulfil India’s growing technical and research needs in coastal and marine engineering.
• It has been developed under the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways, and Coasts (NTCPWC).
• This facility will resolve challenges related to Indian ports, waterways, and coastal engineering.
• This facility will be used for testing the effects of 3D waves on structures for helping harbour, offshore, coastal, and inland waterways projects.
• It will also help in the study of sediment transport, wave impact loading, and structural stability in the face of climate change.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

13. Banded Royal butterfly has been discovered in Tripura.

• The Banded Royal butterfly (Rachana jalindra indra), a rare butterfly species, has been discovered in Tripura.
• It has been found in the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in Sepahijala district.
• Animesh Das of the research team said that the butterfly was first sighted on May 5, 2021.
• The species have been protected under Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• This butterfly has three subspecies in India.
• The study shows that previous works had not documented Tripura’s Rachana jalindra indra.