Recent Events: India and Global

Recent Events and Developments

• Mizoram exported Anthurium flowers to Singapore for the first time.
• The Faya Palaeolandscape in Sharjah is now a UNESCO status nominee.
• Kash Patel is the first Indian American FBI Director.
• Ajay Seth is the new Finance Secretary of India, taking over from Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
• IndusInd Bank is now the banking partner for the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
• Reliance Industries intends to construct the world's largest data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• Shri S Ramakrishnan Centre of Excellence in Fluid and Thermal Science Research opened at IIT Madras.
• The Aravali Safari Park in Haryana is set to be the world's largest.
• R.K. Shriramkumar will receive the Sangita Kalanidhi Award for 2025 as a celebrated Violinist.
• India is the largest milk producer globally, with 239 million metric tons (MMT) produced.
• The Gaan-Ngai festival, Manipur’s Zeliangrong community's largest post-harvest event.
• SBI has revised India's FY25 GDP growth forecast to 6.3%.

National Observances and Institutions

• National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Raising Day is on January 19 annually, the NDRF was formed in 2006.
• Microsoft has released its first quantum chip which is called Majorana 1, using Topological Core architecture.
• Thailand legalized same-sex marriage on January 23, 2025, the first Southeast Asian nation to do so.
• Neeraj Parakh is the new CEO and Executive Director of Reliance Power from January 20, 2025.
• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance is the first to offer the Bima-ASBA facility in India, launched February 22, 2025.
• Preeti Lobana is now Google's Country Manager and Vice President for India.
• GMCH in Kollam introduced India's first Living Will Information Counter.
• The LVM3 cryogenic engine was tested for the Gaganyaan mission at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Tamil Nadu.
• Gujarat will host the first Olympic Research Conference, with India aiming to host the 2036 Olympics.
• Uttarakhand is partnering with Iceland for geothermal energy development.
• Article 136 of the Indian Constitution allows the Supreme Court to grant special leave petitions (SLPs).
• Novak Djokovic now holds the record for most Grand Slam matches played, 430, surpassing Roger Federer.
• The "Desert Knight" air combat exercise occurred between India, France, and the UAE in the Arabian Sea.
• India is close to finalizing a $200 million deal with the Philippines for the Akash missile system.
• Pi Day occurs on March 14 (3.14), representing the mathematical constant Pi.
• Vicky Kaushal is now the brand ambassador for Tata Motors' Passenger and Electric Vehicles.
• India has shipped premium Sangola and Bhagwa pomegranates to Australia for the first time, with help from APEDA.
• S&P Global's FY26 GDP growth forecast for India is 6.5%, a 0.2% decrease from 6.7%.
• Japan is the first team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside hosts United States, Canada, and Mexico.
• Indonesia is joining the New Development Bank (NDB), established by BRICS nations.
• Vinod Kumar Shukla, a Hindi writer, is the recipient of the 59th Jnanpith Award.
• Dr. K.S. Chauhan wrote "Parliament: Powers, Functions & Privileges; A Comparative Constitutional Perspective."
• Exercise Dharma Guardian, the 6th iteration of a military exercise, was held between Japan and India in Japan.
• Moody's has set India's GDP growth forecast for FY25 at 7%, which is down from 8.2%.
• The CCRUM, was founded in 1978, operates independently under the Ministry of Ayush.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts India's FY25 growth at 6.5% due to an industrial slowdown.
• Telangana's 'Rajiv Yuva Vikasam' scheme promotes self-employment and economic growth.
• INS Sujata and ICGS Veera made a three-day visit to Sihanoukville, Cambodia as part of the Indian Navy's 1st Training Squadron.
• Padma Bhushan Ustad Zakir Hussain, passed away at 73 due to heart-related issues.
• Zeenat the tiger was moved from Maharashtra to Similipal in Odisha to diversify the specie's genetics.
• RBI increased collateral-free agricultural loans to ₹2 lakh, starting January 1, 2025.
• ICICI Bank appointed Kamal Wali as Head of Security Operations Center.
• Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024, defeating Madhya Pradesh by five wickets.
• India’s first zoo-based wildlife biobank opened at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling, West Bengal.
• The Boda Tyohar, the annual festival is celebrated by the Hatti tribes in Himachal Pradesh.
• Anju Bobby George is the Chairperson of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) Athletes Commission.
• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) held its 353rd Governing Body Meeting from March 10-20, 2025, in Geneva.
• SEBI lowered the minimum investment for Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments to Rs 1,000 on the SSE.
• Denmark has launched the Green Transition Alliance India (GTAI) for partnering India in sustainable energy.
• Rajnath Singh has launched the Battlefield Surveillance System SANJAY to help the Indian Army.
• Kerala has enacted the Kerala State Senior Citizens Commission Bill, 2025 to establish a Senior Citizens Commission.
• The Flamingo Festival 2025 in Andhra Pradesh focused on biodiversity, hosted at Pulicat Lake and Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary.
• Ashok Chandra is MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank (PNB) starting January 2025.
• The Ministry of External Affairs and Pune International Centre are co-hosting the Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2025 in Pune.
• Gyanesh Kumar is the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India starting February 17, 2025.
• The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID will be a 12-digit ID for student record standardization.
• ADB launched the "Frontier Seed" program to promote Pacific private sector growth and resilience.
• ISRO is fourth globally to dock two satellites, SDX01 and SDX02, through the Bhartiya Docking System.
• Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) from Nicobar district, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• The 7th India-France Maritime Cooperation Dialogue was held in New Delhi to enhance cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Uttar Pradesh is the first state in India to use a translation system for Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundelkhandi, and English.
• India and Spain declared 2026 as a 'dual year' for promoting cultural exchange and AI advancements.
• The Union Cabinet approved a ₹1,500 crore incentive for UPI transactions under ₹2,000 in FY 2024-25.
• World Sparrow Day is observed on March 20th raises awareness about declining sparrow populations.
• Indian Army Day is on January 15th marking the leadership transition to Indian hands in 1949.
• The military exercise ‘Jal-Thal-Raksha 2025’ was conducted with the Indian Army, Coast Guard, and Marine Police at Bet Dwarka, Gujarat.
• RBI has approved HSBC India to open 20 new branches.
• Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma has returned as Nepal's ambassador to India, appointed by President Ramchandra Paudel.
• Kiran Ankush Jadhav of the Indian Navy succeeded the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the 67th National Shooting Championship in Bhopal.
• Assam has now officially recognized Bathouism as an official religion of the Bodos people.
• Madhav National Park is now India's 58th Tiger Reserve as of March 9, 2025, located in Madhya Pradesh.
• Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi will host the Ministry of Textiles’ exclusive “Viraasat Sari Festival 2024”.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and IIT Madras have signed memorandums that will improve auditing practices and skills.
• Shriram Housing Finance is known as Truhome Finance after Warburg Pincus and Qatar Investment Authority invested ₹1,225 crore.
• India is the 5th most polluted per the 2024 World Air Quality Report, improving from 3rd in 2023.
• Mark Carney has been appointed as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, he replaced Justin Trudeau and is now the Prime Minister.
• NASA is in charge of the PUNCH mission, which analyses the sun.
• National Voters’ Day is observed January 25.
• India is set to become the ‘GCC Capital of the World’ with 1,700 centres employing 2 million people.
• IIT Madras is building a hyperloop testing site which will hold the longest such tube in the world at 410-meters.
• The iSNR program was launched in Kerala.
• The Matsya-6000 submersible has passed wet tests at Kattupalli Port, Tamilnadu.
• India is 118th in the 2025 world happiness report, and Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year.
• Karnataka Bank celebrated 100 years February 18 2024.
• Rama Mohan Rao Amara has been made the Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI).
• The United States has overtaken the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as India's largest source of remittances.
• Cardiac surgeon Dr. K.M. Cherian passed away on January 25, 2025, in Bengaluru.
• The first-ever Fit India Carnival was inaugurated in New Delhi on March 16, 2025 by Dr Mansukh Mandaviya.
• Skydo Technologies is going to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border entity.
• India’s first Open-Air Art Wall Museum was inaugurated at Mausam Bhawan in New Delhi on February 18, 2025.
• Hockey Jharkhand won the 15th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship.
• PV Sindhu has partnered with PUMA India
• Madhya Pradesh is rolling out its new global business hubs tier-2 program known as the “Global Capability Centers (GCC) Policy 2025.''
• The Gympie-Gympie, is a toxic plant primarly found in Australia, Indonesia, and the Moluccas.
• Two remote tribal hamlets now have electricity for the first time in 78 years.
• M. Rajeshwar Rao of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is heading the Monetary Policy and Economic Research Departments.
• Malé, Maldives played host to the Chairmanship of the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO).
• National Archives of India (NAI) celebrated its 135th Foundation Day.
• GI-Tagged Dalle Chilly from Sikkim has been successfully exported.
• World Water Day is taking place on March 22 each year, it will be on "Glacier Preservation," for 2025.