Current Affairs 2025

Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana takes over as Commander-in-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command [01 Jun 2025]

Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana assumed charge as the 18th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN). The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), based at Sri Vijaya Puram, is India’s first and only joint services operational command, integrating the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard to safeguard national interests in the strategically vital Indian Ocean Region.

India Emerges the Largest Producer of Rice in the World [30 May 2025]

India has emerged as the world's largest producer of rice, with its output in the 2024-25 season to June estimated at over 149 million tonnes (mt), relegating China to second position.According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, China's rice production is estimated to be 144-62 mt in 2024-25. The agency projected production in 2025-26 to be 148 mt in India and 145-28 mt in China.

Indian Achieves Breakthrough in Gene Therapy for Haemophilia [28 May 2025]

India has achieved a significant breakthrough in the medical field by successfully conducting the trial of the first in-human gene therapy for treating severe Haemophilia A. The trial was led by BRIC-inStem in collaboration with CMC Vellore. The 'GENOMEINDIA', funded by the Department of Biotechnology, has completed whole genome sequencing (WGS) database of over 10,000 individuals representing all major population groups, across the country.

Jitendra Singh launches indigenous Bharat Forecast System with 6-km resolution [27 May 2025]

Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Bharat Forecast System — one of the world’s first indigenously developed high-resolution weather forecast models — at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the Bharat Forecast System marks a significant technological milestone, enhancing India’s weather prediction resolution from 12 km to 6 km. With this, India can now provide more accurate, village-level weather forecasts, bolstering preparedness across sectors including agriculture, disaster management, and transport.

India Celebrates Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to Large Hadron Collider Experiments [26 May 2025]

The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to co-authors of publications based on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024, at the experimental collaborations ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. The $3 million prize is allocated to these four experiments at CERN and will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions. 5,345 researchers were involved in ATLAS; while 4,550 researchers in CMS; 1,869 researchers in ALICE; and 1,744 researchers were involved in LHCb.

Indian scientists and researchers have played a significant role in the international collaboration for the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments. Several Indian institutes, universities, and scientists have contributed both intellectually and technically to the experiment’s success. From detector development to data analysis, various teams of Indian researchers have been actively involved at every stage of the experiments, right from their inception. These contributions underscore India's commitment to global scientific collaboration and its pivotal role in the success of the LHC experiments.

This prestigious award honours the collaborative and transformative research efforts that deepened our understanding of the Higgs boson, the quark-gluon plasma, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Scientific teams belonging to several institutes from across the world have been working in a collaborative manner to achieve the objectives of the CERN experiments. India, a committed and active partner in the LHC program, proudly acknowledges this international recognition and celebrates its significant contributions to the experiments and the LHC infrastructure.

India overtakes Japan to become world’s 4th largest economy [25 May 2025]

India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and is now poised to surpass Germany to claim the third position within the next 2.5 to 3 years, according to NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook report released earlier this month, stated that India is set to become the fourth-largest economy in 2025. India’s nominal GDP is projected to rise to $4,187.017 billion, surpassing Japan’s estimated $4,186.431 billion. India continues to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is the only country expected to record over 6% growth over the next two years.

Madhya Pradesh Becomes the First State to Launch Al-based Forest Monitoring System [25 May 2025]

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to implement an AI-based real-time alert system on a pilot basis for monitoring encroachment and deforestation in the forest. The AI-based monitoring system will enable an active forest management system based on satellite images, mobile feedback, and machine learning. It will enable the forest department to detect land encroachment, land use change, and forest degradation.

Bhutan is the first country in the world to launch nationwide cryptocurrency payment system for tourists [22 May 2025]

Bhutan has launched the world's first nationwide cryptocurrency payment system for tourists, enabling travellers to settle costs in over 100 supported cryptocurrencies through QR code payments. The new system is a partnership between the Bhutanese government, crypto giant Binance and Bhutan's DK Bank - the country's first fully digital financial institution. It enables users to pay for everything from flights and hotel rooms to market stalls using digital assets.

International Booker Prize 2025 [20 May 2025]

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, was announced as the 2025 winner of the International Booker Prize by Max Porter, Chair of the 2025 judges, at a ceremony at London's Tate Modern. Written between 1990 and 2023, Heart Lamp's 12 stories chronicle the lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India. Originally published in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2023, Banu Mushtaq's por¬traits of family and community tensions testify to her years tirelessly championing women's rights and protesting all forms of caste and religious oppression. Banu Mushtaq is a writer, women's rights activist, and lawyer from Karnataka. She began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in southwestern India in the 1970s and 1980s. Critical of the caste and class system, the Bandaya Sahitya movement gave rise to influential Dalit and Muslim writers, of whom Mushtaq was one of the few women. She was inspired to write the stories by the experiences of women who came to her seeking help. She is the second Indian author to win the International Booker Prize after Geetanjali Shree in 2022. She has also been awarded the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, Karnataka. She is the first Indian translator to win the International Booker.

Mizoram Achieves Full Functional Literacy [20 May 2025]

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Mizoram, Shri Lalduhoma, officially declared Mizoram a fully literate state, marking a historic milestone in the state’s educational journey. With this achievement, Mizoram becomes the first state in India to attain full literacy. The announcement was made during a special function held in Aizawl, the state capital, in the esteemed presence of Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Government of India, Dr. Vanlalthlana, Hon’ble Minister of School Education, Higher & Technical Education, Mizoram, Shri Khilli Ram Meena, IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Mizoram, Shri David Lalthantluanga, Special Secretary, School Education Department, Government of Mizoram, State dignitaries, officials, and students of Mizoram University. Mizoram, which attained statehood on 20th February 1987, spans a geographical area of 21,081 km² (8,139 sq mi). As per the 2011 Census, it recorded a literacy rate of 91.33%, ranking third in India. Building on this strong foundation, the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme) was implemented to identify and educate the remaining non-literate individuals.