Indian National Calendar and Current Affairs

• Today is Phalgun Shukla Paksh Dvitiya
• Vikram Samvat is 2081
• Shaka Samvat is 1946
• Today is the 1st of March 2025

Indian National Calendar

• Chaitra is the first month of the Indian National Calendar, beginning March 22, and signifies the start of the Vasanta (Spring) season
• Phalguna is the twelvth month of the Indian National Calendar, beginning February 20

Revision Points

• Gujarati Author Anil Joshi passed at 84 years of age
• The Herath Festival is celebrated by the Kashmiri Pandit community, as a unique celebration of Mahashivratri
• It begins on the 13th day of Phalgun, which falls in February or March, and lasts until the new moon
• N Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of Tata Sons, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation (RTEF)
• Balrampur Chini Mills Limited laid the cornerstone for India's first industrial-scale PLA biopolymer plant in Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh
• NITI Aayog committee is being led by VK Paul, to set up a roadmap for transforming AIIMS New Delhi
• Kannada author Banu Mushtaq's Heart Lamp, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025
• An ancient 'stitched' ship launched in Goa will retrace ancient trading routes by year end
• The Recruits Training Centre (RTC) of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Arakkonam, Chennai (Tamil Nadu) has been renamed Rajaditya Cholan (RTC), Thakkolam, a Chola prince.
• The Ministry of Ayush conferred the National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards for the current year on 3 distinguished practitioners for their exceptional contributions to traditional Indian medicine
• A cash prize of ₹5 Lakh is awarded to each recipient of the National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards
• The USA offers a Gold Card Investor Visa Programme for wealthy immigrants, by replacing the existing EB-5 visa with an offer of US citizenship to foreign nationals who invest $5 million
• NASA is preparing for a new and first-of-its-kind solar mission called PUNCH, operated by SpaceX
• The Cali Fund Launched at CBD COP16 to Boost Biodiversity Finance, the fund is now open to private sector contributions

Important Days

• Celebrating Zero Discrimination Day means celebrating the dignity of a full and productive life
• This day highlights the importance of equality and inclusion
• Zero Discrimination Day promotes inclusion, compassion, and peace
• The Zero Discrimination Day 2025 theme is "We stand together"
• World Civil Defence Day helps to better the public's awareness, of the importance of civil defence measures
• World Civil Defence Day helps with being prepared for self-protection in case of accidents or disasters
• The United Nations setup the International Civil Defence Organisation to commit internationally to facilitate civil defence attempts
• In 1990, World Civil Defence Day was declared by the International Civil Defence Organisation
• World Civil Defence Day theme is civil defence, guarantee of security for the population

Appointments

• Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Finance and Revenue Secretary, has been selected as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
• An Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, who would complete her three-year tenure
• SEBI is a statutory body responsible for overseeing and regulating India's securities markets
• Before SEBI, the Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) regulated the Indian securities market under the Capital Issues (Control) Act of 1947
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was established in 1988, to provide better investor relations
• SEBI lacked statutory powers initially, which affected its effectiveness in controlling market fraud
• The Harshad Mehta scam in 1992 showed clear signs of financial loopholes in the stock market systems
• The SEBI Act, 1992, allowed for the Indian Parliament to give SEBI more autonomy over regulating the securities market
• A Board of Directors governs SEBI, and this includes a chairman nominated by the Union Government of India
• The SEBI board includes 2 members of the Union Ministry of Finance, a member representing the Reserve Bank of India, and 5 members nominated by the Union Government of India

Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park

• The Assam Cabinet has recognized The Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve, as the 8th national park of the state, which will now be called Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park
• The new national park is 316 sq. km, and along the India-Bhutan border, resides in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts
• Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park is located between Manas National Park to the east and Raimona National Park to the west
• The park has endangered species, including the golden langur, and is a corridor between Manas and Raimona National Parks
• The State of Assam has several national parks already
• Kaziranga National Park
• Manas National Park
• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
• Nameri National Park
• Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve (ONPTR)
• Dehing Patkai National Park
• Raimona National Park

Technology

• Amazon unveiled its first quantum computing chip - Ocelot
• Ocelot is a prototype of it's first-ever in-house nine-qubit chip
• Microsoft later introduced its own quantum computing chip 'Majorana 1', that's designed to scale to a million qubits

Carbon Markets

• The 1st International Conference on Carbon Markets, titled 'Prakriti', will be held in New Delhi on the 24th and 25th of February 2025
• It's is organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the Union Ministry of Power
• People who will attend include,
• experts
• policymakers
• industry leaders
• researchers,
• practitioners of carbon credit certificate trading
• The 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, introduced carbon credits
• Countries that limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions emissions, are eligible
• With the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, countries will be allowed to transfer their carbon credits
• These carbon credits will offset greenhouse gases from the environment
• Carbon Credits, is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2)

Vice President Dhankhar's Visit

• Vice President Dhankhar is scheduled to attend the first ever joint mega Nyokum Yullo Celebration in Boasimla, Kamle District of Arunachal Pradesh, on February 26, 2025
• Nyokum Yullo Celebration is an agrarian festival of the Nyishi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh
• During this trip, the Vice-President will felicitate Kabak Yano
• Kabak Yano is the 5th woman from Arunachal Pradesh and first woman from the Nyishi tribe to conquer Mount Everest
• Nyokum is derived from the Nyok word meaning earth and Kum, meaning togetherness
• The festival is linked in cultivating the crops
• During Nyokum, the goddess of prosperity is worshipped for an abundant harvest
• She protects crops from drought, floods or from pestilence
• No idol is worshipped; instead, cattle like cows, mithuns, and goats are sacrificed

Transport

• Volvo Trucks has launched India's very first Road Train for logistical purposes
• A Road Train has a tractor unit which tows 2 or more trailers
• This significantly increases cargo capacity, and improves logistics
• Road Train has a tractor unit which tows 2 or more trailers making cargo increase
• In 2020, regulations formally incorporated the Road Train concept, which allows vehicle lengths of 25.25 meters

Festivals

• PM will attend Jahan-e-Khusrau 2025, to be held on February 28 in New Delhi
• The grand Sufi music festival will be held at Sunder Nursery in New Delhi, marking the festival's 25th anniversary
• The festival is organized by the Rumi Foundation, and was established in 2001 by filmmaker and artist Muzaffar Ali
• It serves as a tribute to the legendary poet & musician Amir Khusrau

Obituary

• Veteran Odia actor Uttam Mohanty passed at 66
• Mohanty's career began with Odia film 'Abhimaan' (197) and he worked on over 130 films
• Russian Chess grandmaster Boris Spassky has passed away at 88
• Rose Girone, the oldest living Holocaust survivor, died at 113
• Hollywood Legend Gene Hackman Passed Away at 95
• Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards, & won two which he earnt during a 40-year career

Environment

• Ethiopia's Mount Fentale volcano has emitted massive methane plumes, an unprecedented natural event, that can cause potential climate change implications
• Mount Fentale, found northern Ethiopia erupted amounts of methane into the atmosphere that began January 31, 2025
• This was described “burp”, which caused huge plumes of methane to escape from underground gas deposits
• Methane is also 28 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide (CO) for over a 100-year period
• The emission surpasses typical volcanic gas output, raising concerns over climate impact and greenhouse gas monitoring