ALL EXAM QUIZ 21.02.2025

Explanation:

• BRICS summit will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro by Brazil in July.
• The next BRICS summit, featuring Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and other member countries, has been announced to be held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7 by the Brazilian government.
• The summit will be attended by leaders of 20 member and partner countries.
• The BRICS is aimed at strengthening ties with developing nations and reforming global institutions under Brazil’s leadership.
• The BRICS group was founded in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa being joined in 2010, as a counterbalance to the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.
• In 2024, the group is expanded to add Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Saudi Arabia has also been invited to join.
• Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have formally applied for membership, and several other countries have expressed interest.
• Recently, the bloc welcomed Indonesia as one of its 11 members and Nigeria as a partner country, a designation introduced at last year’s summit in Kazan.

Explanation:

• Shikhar Dhawan appointed as event ambassador for ICC Champions Trophy.
• Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been appointed by the International Cricket Council as one of four event ambassadors for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
• This tournament will be held from 19 February to 9 March in Pakistan and Dubai.
• Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy-winning captain Sarfraz Ahmed, former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, and New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee have been named as the other three ambassadors.
• The ambassadors will contribute guest columns and attend matches to share their thoughts about the tournament, which features the world's top eight teams.
• Dhawan is India's leading run-scorer in the history of the Champions Trophy, with 701 runs across two editions.
• He is the only player to have won the Golden Bat consecutively for being the leading run-scorer in the tournament.
• His achievements include the Player of the Tournament title in 2013 and the record for most centuries in Champions Trophy history.

Explanation:

• World’s largest 10-tonne propellant mixer for rocket motors unveiled by India.
• The world’s largest 10-tonne propellant mixer for solid rocket motors has been developed by India in a major technological breakthrough.
• ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in collaboration with the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute in Bengaluru, designed the mixer.
• The mixer weighs 150 tonnes and measures 8.7 metres in height, 5.4 metres in length and 3.3 metres in width.
• This ensures the precise and safe mixing of the solid propellant ingredients needed for a rocket launch.
• ISRO described it as a symbol of India's growing self-reliance in space technology under the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat in Space' initiative.
• The advanced system promises improved productivity, quality, and safety in solid motor production.
• The mixer, equipped with remote-controlled operations, was handed over to ISRO last week, marking another milestone in India's space journey.

Explanation:

• Every year on 17 February, Global Tourism Resilience Day is celebrated.
• Global Tourism Resilience Day is an opportunity to look at and reflect on the resilience of the global tourism industry.
• The United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations Global Tourism Resilience Day on 17 February 2023.
• Over the past few years, the tourism industry has faced unprecedented challenges, from natural disasters to pandemics, and political instability to economic recession.
• The term "tourism resilience" is used to describe the ability of a tourist destination to withstand and recover from a crisis.
• In February 2024, 2027 was proclaimed the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism by the General Assembly.
• The pandemic generated a loss of 2.7 billion international arrivals in 2020, 2021, and 2022 combined.
• International tourist arrivals reached 89% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and 98% in January–September 2024.

Explanation:

• Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NKSHA) pilot program on 18th February.
• It will be launched in 152 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in 26 states and 3 Union Territories (UTs) at Raisen, Madhya Pradesh.
• The NAKSHA program will be implemented by the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development.
• The main aim of the program is to modernize land survey processes in urban areas.
• The main objective is to create and update land records, ensuring accurate documentation of land ownership, improving urban planning, and reducing land-related disputes.

Explanation:

• France’s president Emmanuel Macron to host emergency European summit on Ukraine.
• Many European country's leaders including Britain’s prime minister will attend the emergency summit on the Ukraine war.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa from the European Union will attend the summit.
• Some countries are unhappy that the meeting is only for selected leaders and not a full EU summit.
• The meeting has been called by Emmanuel Macron to discuss the tumultuous change in the U.S. approach to Ukraine and the attendant risks to the security of the European continent.
• U.S. officials suggested Europe would have no role in any talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Explanation:

• On 17 February, the 'Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs' launched by the Centre, as announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, to boost micro, small, and medium enterprises.
• Under this scheme, collateral-free loans up to Rs 100 crore are provided to MSMEs for the purchase of plant, machinery, or equipment.
• Under the scheme, 60% guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) for credit facilities up to Rs. 100 crores.
• This will be sanctioned to eligible MSMEs under MCGS-MSME for the purchase of equipment/machinery.
• While launching the scheme, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also distributed sanction letters to eligible MSMEs under the scheme in Mumbai.

Explanation:

• The wet trials of India's fourth-generation deep-sea submarine Matsya-6000 successfully completed at the port.
• Under the Deep Ocean Mission initiatives, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has tasked the National Institute of Ocean Technology with developing the Matsya-6000, a fourth-generation deep-sea submersible under the Samudrayaan Project.
• This trial is a significant step towards conducting shallow water trials up to a depth of 500 metres by the end of 2025.
• Measuring 2.1 metres in diameter, this ultramodern submarine is designed for three-person operation.
• Matsya 6000 is a significant milestone in the country's ocean exploration capability.
• The submarine features a ballast system for diving, thrusters for movement in three directions, a battery bank for power supply, and syntactic foam for surfacing.
• It includes a sophisticated power distribution network, state-of-the-art control hardware and software, as well as underwater navigation devices.
• Inside the submarine, special attention has been given to human life-support systems, navigation joysticks to gain access to various environmental and vital parameters, as well as various oceanographic sensors, underwater lighting, and cameras outside the submarine.

Explanation:

• Government approved continuation of the PM-AASHA scheme till 2025-26.
• The Central government approved the continuation of the integrated Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) scheme during the 15th Finance Commission cycle up to 2025-26.
• The integrated PM-AASHA Scheme's aim is the effective implementation of procurement operations.
• The government has allowed the procurement of Tur, Urad and Masur under the Price Support Scheme (PSS).
• In the Budget 2025, the government has also announced that procurement of Tur (Arhar), Urad and Masur up to 100 per cent of the state's production will be continued for another four years.
• Under the price support scheme of PM-ASHA scheme, notified pulses, oilseeds and copra conforming to prescribed Fair Average Quality (FAQ) are procured by Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) through State level agencies directly from pre-registered farmers at MSP.
• The procurement has already started in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana and a total quantity of 0.15 LMT of Tur (Arhar) has been procured in these States.
• Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved Tur Procurement in 9 States under Price Support Scheme for the Kharif 2024-25 season.

Explanation:

• The fifth Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo, hosted by the Indonesian Navy, started on February 16.
• It is scheduled to take place from February 16 - 22, 2025.
• More than 30 ships from more than 15 countries are participating in this exercise.
• Russia, China, India and the US are participating in this exercise.
• The theme of the exercise is “Maritime Partnership for Peace and Stability”.
• It emphasized on multilateral maritime cooperation and disaster response protocols.
• International Fleet Review celebrated the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Indonesian Navy.

Explanation:

• Rekha Gupta took oath as the new Chief Minister of Delhi.
• On 20 February, she took charge as the next Chief Minister of Delhi during a swearing-in ceremony.
• Ms. Gupta became the ninth Chief Minister of Delhi and the fourth woman Chief Minister.
• Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dixit and Atishi are the other women who have held this post.
• She defeated three-time AAP MLA Bandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes.
• On February 19, 2025, Rekha Gupta, the debutante MLA from Shalimar Bagh, was announced as the leader of the BJP’s Delhi legislative party by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• The announcement comes after the BJP returned to power in the national capital after 26 years by winning 48 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections.
• Ms. Gupta started her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS, and was the president of the Delhi University Students Union in 1996.