Here is information on important events that happened in the past few weeks and useful information for those preparing for competitive exams.
Important events in India in the past few weeks
India, Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as the 2nd Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (February 22)
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ scheme, which provides financial assistance to small and marginal farmers across the country, was launched in 2018. Under this, farmers are given Rs. 5 thousand in 3 installments every year. Accordingly, Rs. 22 thousand crore was released to 9.8 crore farmers in the 19th installment. This benefited 21 lakh 94 thousand 772 people from Tamil Nadu. (February 24)
In Telangana, government schools from 1st to 10th standard, government aided schools, CBSE, ICSE A law was introduced in 2018 to make Telugu a compulsory subject in all educational institutions, including universities. Accordingly, the Telangana government has ordered that Telugu will be compulsory in all schools from the academic year 2025-26. (February 26)
After the end of the term of Madhabi Puri Buch, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Union Finance and Revenue Secretary Duhin Kanta Pandey was appointed as the new chairman. (February 28)
Important events in world in the past few weeks
Indian-origin Kash Patel has been sworn in as the new director of the US FBI. (February 22)
Friedrich Merz has been elected as the new prime minister of Germany after the opposition Christian Democratic Union party won the parliamentary elections. (February 24)
US President Donald Trump announced the ‘Gold Card’ program for those who want to immigrate to the US. The price of this Gold Card has been set at $ 5 million (Rs. 43 crores). (February 25)
In Japan, 7 lakh 20 thousand 998 children were born in 2024. This is 5 percent less than the previous year 2023. This marked the 9th consecutive year of decline in the birth rate in Japan. (February 27)
science space news this week
Intuit Missions, a private space company in the US, has successfully launched its spacecraft ‘Athena’ aboard SpaceX’s Ball-9 rocket to land on the Moon’s south pole. (February 28)
IIT Madras, in collaboration with the Indian Railways Ministry, has created the country’s first hyperloop test track on the IIT Madras campus. This 422-meter-long test track can travel at a speed of 1100 km/h. (February 28)
What is the current economic situation?
India’s economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal (October to December). It is noteworthy that the economic growth was 9.2 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal. (February 28)
The World Bank has released a report on India’s economic growth, ‘Emerging into a high-income economy in a generation’. In it, it said that India needs an average growth of 7.3 percent to become the world’s largest economy by 2047. (February 28)
important sports news this week
The Qatar Open tennis tournament was held in Doha. In the men’s singles final, Russia’s Andrey Rublev defeated England’s Jack Draper 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 to win the championship title for the second time. (February 23)
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the Kalaignar Centenary Boxing Academy, built at a cost of Rs. 8 crore in Gopalapuram, Chennai, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority. (February 25)