NATIONAL
Indore and Udaipur get international recognition as accredited wetland cities
- Indore and Udaipur have become the first Indian cities to gain international recognition as accredited wetland cities under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty focused on wetland conservation.
- Although Bhopal was also nominated, it missed out due to ecological concerns. Currently, 85 Indian wetlands are protected under this treaty, which includes 172 member countries globally.
- Accreditation is an international recognition for the cities that value their natural and human-made wetlands. An independent Advisory Committee on Wetland City Accreditation of the Convention in its latest round accredited 31 new cities, including two from India, making the global list of such cities to reach 74.
India’s Determined Path to Tuberculosis Elimination
- India has been at the forefront of the global fight against tuberculosis (TB), implementing various strategies to eliminate the disease. Despite significant progress, challenges persist in achieving the World Health Organization’s (WHO) targets for TB elimination.
- India’s TB control efforts began in 1962 with the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP), which primarily focused on BCG vaccinations. In 1997, the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) was introduced, adopting the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) strategy to enhance treatment adherence and success rates. By 2005, the RNTCP achieved nationwide coverage. In 2020, the program was renamed the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) to reflect a more ambitious goal of eliminating TB by 2025.
- India continues to account for approximately 27% of the global TB burden, with an incidence rate of 210 per 100,000 population in 2021. The country also faces a high prevalence of drug-resistant TB, including Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) and Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) TB.
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana: Launched under the National Health Mission, this scheme provides a financial incentive of ₹500 per month to each notified TB patient for nutritional support during treatment.
INTERNATIONAL
Micheál Martin Reappointed as Irish PM
- Micheál Martin has been re-elected as Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) following a parliamentary vote on January 23, 2025. This marks his second term, having previously served from 2020 to 2022. The vote concluded with 95 in favor and 76 against, leading to the formation of a coalition government comprising Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and independent lawmakers.
- The new government is a continuation of the partnership between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, Ireland’s two dominant center-right parties since 1937. This coalition aims to address pressing national issues through a unified approach.
- Plans include utilizing tax surpluses from U.S. multinationals to invest in public sector projects, enhance infrastructure, reduce taxes, and establish a sovereign wealth fund, aiming to strengthen Ireland’s economic resilience.
 Join our WhatsApp Channel: Click Here Join our Telegram Channel: Click Here |
 Follow our YouTube Channel: Click Here Follow our Instagram Page: Click Here |
ECONOMY
RBI Tightens Guidelines for ARCs in Borrower Settlements
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced stricter guidelines for Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to enhance transparency and accountability in borrower settlements. These revisions aim to standardize procedures and align them with practices of banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
- ARCs are now mandated to establish board-approved policies governing borrower settlements. These policies must detail eligibility criteria for one-time settlements, permissible sacrifices based on exposure categories, and methodologies for determining the realizable value of securities.
- For borrowers with outstanding dues exceeding ₹1 crore, settlements require evaluation by an IAC comprising professionals with technical, financial, or legal expertise. The IAC will assess the borrower’s financial position, projected earnings, and recovery prospects before making recommendations.
SPORTS
Smriti Mandhana Named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024
- Smriti Mandhana had an outstanding 2024 in One Day International (ODI) cricket, establishing herself as a leading figure in the women’s game. Known for her elegant left-handed batting and ability to perform under pressure, Mandhana’s contributions in ODIs were pivotal in India’s success across various series. She not only became the leading run-scorer in WODIs for the year but also set multiple personal and team records. Below are the key highlights of Mandhana’s remarkable 2024.
- Mandhana’s century against Australia in Perth was especially remarkable as it came against a formidable bowling attack despite India’s eventual loss.
AWARDS
Padma Awards 2025 Announced
- The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. The awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
- The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
Padma Vibhushan (7)
The Padma Vibhushan is one of the highest civilian awards in India, presented annually by the President of India. It recognizes exceptional and distinguished service in various fields. Below is the list of recipients for the year 2025:
SN |
Name |
Field |
State/Country |
|
1 |
Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy |
Medicine |
Telangana |
|
2 |
Justice (Retd.) Shri Jagdish Singh Khehar |
Public Affairs |
Chandigarh |
|
3 |
Smt. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia |
Art |
Gujarat |
|
4 |
Shri Lakshminarayana Subramaniam |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
5 |
Shri M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous) |
Literature and Education |
Kerala |
|
6 |
Shri Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) |
Trade and Industry |
Japan |
|
7 |
Smt. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous) |
Art |
Bihar |
Padma Bhushan (19)
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in India, given annually to individuals who have made exceptional contributions in their respective fields. Here is the list of recipients for the year 2025:
|
SN |
Name |
Field |
State/Country |
|
1 |
Shri A Surya Prakash |
Literature and Education-Journalism |
Karnataka |
|
2 |
Shri Anant Nag |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
3 |
Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous) |
Literature and Education |
NCT Delhi |
|
4 |
Shri Jatin Goswami |
Art |
Assam |
|
5 |
Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram |
Medicine |
Kerala |
|
6 |
Shri Kailash Nath Dikshit |
Others-Archaeology |
NCT Delhi |
|
7 |
Shri Manohar Joshi (Posthumous) |
Public Affairs |
Maharashtra |
|
8 |
Shri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti |
Trade and Industry |
Tamil Nadu |
|
9 |
Shri Nandamuri Balakrishna |
Art |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
10 |
Shri P R Sreejesh |
Sports |
Kerala |
|
11 |
Shri Pankaj Patel |
Trade and Industry |
Gujarat |
|
12 |
Shri Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous) |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
13 |
Shri Rambahadur Rai |
Literature and Education-Journalism |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
14 |
Sadhvi Ritambhara |
Social Work |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
15 |
Shri S Ajith Kumar |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
16 |
Shri Shekhar Kapur |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
17 |
Ms. Shobana Chandrakumar |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
18 |
Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous) |
Public Affairs |
Bihar |
|
19 |
Shri Vinod Dham |
Science and Engineering |
USA |
Padma Shri (113)
The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award in India, recognizing individuals for their exceptional and distinguished service in various fields. Here is the list of recipients for the year 2025:
|
SN |
Name |
Field |
State/Country |
|
1 |
Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak |
Art |
Odisha |
|
2 |
Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
3 |
Shri Ajay V Bhatt |
Science and Engineering |
United States of America |
|
4 |
Shri Anil Kumar Boro |
Literature and Education |
Assam |
|
5 |
Shri Arijit Singh |
Art |
West Bengal |
|
6 |
Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya |
Trade and Industry |
Maharashtra |
|
7 |
Shri Arunoday Saha |
Literature and Education |
Tripura |
|
8 |
Shri Arvind Sharma |
Literature and Education |
Canada |
|
9 |
Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra |
Medicine |
Odisha |
|
10 |
Shri Ashok Laxman Saraf |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
11 |
Shri Ashutosh Sharma |
Science and Engineering |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
12 |
Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
13 |
Shri Baijnath Maharaj |
Others-Spiritualism |
Rajasthan |
|
14 |
Shri Barry Godfray John |
Art |
NCT Delhi |
|
15 |
Smt. Begam Batool |
Art |
Rajasthan |
|
16 |
Shri Bharat Gupt |
Art |
NCT Delhi |
|
17 |
Shri Bheru Singh Chouhan |
Art |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
18 |
Shri Bhim Singh Bhavesh |
Social Work |
Bihar |
|
19 |
Smt. BhimavvaDoddabalappaShillekyathara |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
20 |
Shri Budhendra Kumar Jain |
Medicine |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
21 |
Shri C S Vaidyanathan |
Public Affairs |
NCT Delhi |
|
22 |
Shri Chaitram Deochand Pawar |
Social Work |
Maharashtra |
|
23 |
Shri Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) |
Literature and Education |
Gujarat |
|
24 |
Shri Chandrakant Sompura |
Others-Architecture |
Gujarat |
|
25 |
Shri Chetan E Chitnis |
Science and Engineering |
France |
|
26 |
Shri David R Syiemlieh |
Literature and Education |
Meghalaya |
|
27 |
Shri Durga Charan Ranbir |
Art |
Odisha |
|
28 |
Shri Farooq Ahmad Mir |
Art |
Jammu and Kashmir |
|
29 |
Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid |
Literature and Education |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
30 |
Smt. Gita Upadhyay |
Literature and Education |
Assam |
|
31 |
Shri Gokul Chandra Das |
Art |
West Bengal |
|
32 |
Shri Guruvayur Dorai |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
33 |
Shri Harchandan Singh Bhatty |
Art |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
34 |
Shri Hariman Sharma |
Others-Agriculture |
Himachal Pradesh |
|
35 |
Shri Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale |
Art |
Punjab |
|
36 |
Shri Harvinder Singh |
Sports |
Haryana |
|
37 |
Shri Hassan Raghu |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
38 |
Shri Hemant Kumar |
Medicine |
Bihar |
|
39 |
Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit |
Literature and Education |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
40 |
Shri Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) |
Literature and Education-Journalism |
Uttarakhand |
|
41 |
Shri Inivalappil Mani Vijayan |
Sports |
Kerala |
|
42 |
Shri Jagadish Joshila |
Literature and Education |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
43 |
Smt. Jaspinder Narula |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
44 |
Shri Jonas Masetti |
Others-Spiritualism |
Brazil |
|
45 |
Shri JoynacharanBathari |
Art |
Assam |
|
46 |
Smt. JumdeYomgam Gamlin |
Social Work |
Arunachal Pradesh |
|
47 |
Shri K. Damodaran |
Others-Culinary |
Tamil Nadu |
|
48 |
Shri K L Krishna |
Literature and Education |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
49 |
Smt. K Omanakutty Amma |
Art |
Kerala |
|
50 |
Shri Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) |
Civil Service |
Bihar |
|
51 |
Shri L Hangthing |
Others-Agriculture |
Nagaland |
|
52 |
Shri LakshmipathyRamasubbaiyer |
Literature and Education-Journalism |
Tamil Nadu |
|
53 |
Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra |
Literature and Education |
Jammu and Kashmir |
|
54 |
Shri Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) |
Others-Spiritualism |
Ladakh |
|
55 |
Smt. Libia Lobo Sardesai |
Social Work |
Goa |
|
56 |
Shri M D Srinivas |
Science and Engineering |
Tamil Nadu |
|
57 |
Shri Madugula Nagaphani Sarma |
Art |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
58 |
Shri Mahabir Nayak |
Art |
Jharkhand |
|
59 |
Smt. Mamata Shankar |
Art |
West Bengal |
|
60 |
Shri Manda Krishna Madiga |
Public Affairs |
Telangana |
|
61 |
Shri Maruti BhujangraoChitampalli |
Literature and Education |
Maharashtra |
|
62 |
Shri Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) |
Art |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
63 |
Shri Nagendra Nath Roy |
Literature and Education |
West Bengal |
|
64 |
Shri Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) |
Public Affairs |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
65 |
Shri Naren Gurung |
Art |
Sikkim |
|
66 |
Smt. Neerja Bhatla |
Medicine |
NCT Delhi |
|
67 |
Smt. Nirmala Devi |
Art |
Bihar |
|
68 |
Shri Nitin Nohria |
Literature and Education |
United States of America |
|
69 |
Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa |
Trade and Industry |
Punjab |
|
70 |
Shri P Datchanamoorthy |
Art |
Puducherry |
|
71 |
Shri Pandi Ram Mandavi |
Art |
Chhattisgarh |
|
72 |
Shri Parmar LavjibhaiNagjibhai |
Art |
Gujarat |
|
73 |
Shri Pawan Goenka |
Trade and Industry |
West Bengal |
|
74 |
Shri Prashanth Prakash |
Trade and Industry |
Karnataka |
|
75 |
Smt. Pratibha Satpathy |
Literature and Education |
Odisha |
|
76 |
Shri PurisaiKannappa Sambandan |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
77 |
Shri R Ashwin |
Sports |
Tamil Nadu |
|
78 |
Shri R G Chandramogan |
Trade and Industry |
Tamil Nadu |
|
79 |
Smt. Radha Bahin Bhatt |
Social Work |
Uttarakhand |
|
80 |
Shri Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
81 |
Shri Ramdarash Mishra |
Literature and Education |
NCT Delhi |
|
82 |
Shri Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
83 |
Shri Ratan Kumar Parimoo |
Art |
Gujarat |
|
84 |
Shri Reba Kanta Mahanta |
Art |
Assam |
|
85 |
Shri RenthleiLalrawna |
Literature and Education |
Mizoram |
|
86 |
Shri Ricky Gyan Kej |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
87 |
Shri Sajjan Bhajanka |
Trade and Industry |
West Bengal |
|
88 |
Smt. Sally Holkar |
Trade and Industry |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
89 |
Shri Sant Ram Deswal |
Literature and Education |
Haryana |
|
90 |
Shri Satyapal Singh |
Sports |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
91 |
Shri Seeni Viswanathan |
Literature and Education |
Tamil Nadu |
|
92 |
Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan |
Science and Engineering |
United States of America |
|
93 |
Smt. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
Medicine |
Kuwait |
|
94 |
Shri Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) |
Literature and Education |
Rajasthan |
|
95 |
Shri Shyam Bihari Agrawal |
Art |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
96 |
Smt. Soniya Nityanand |
Medicine |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
97 |
Shri Stephen Knapp |
Literature and Education |
United States of America |
|
98 |
Shri Subhash Khetulal Sharma |
Others-Agriculture |
Maharashtra |
|
99 |
Shri Suresh Harilal Soni |
Social Work |
Gujarat |
|
100 |
Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal |
Science and Engineering |
Delhi |
|
101 |
Shri Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) |
Others-Spiritualism |
West Bengal |
|
102 |
Shri Syed Ainul Hasan |
Literature and Education |
Uttar Pradesh |
|
103 |
Shri Tejendra Narayan Majumdar |
Art |
West Bengal |
|
104 |
Smt. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi |
Art |
Manipur |
|
105 |
Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla |
Literature and Education |
Gujarat |
|
106 |
Shri Vadiraj RaghawendracharyaPanchamukhi |
Literature and Education |
Andhra Pradesh |
|
107 |
Shri Vasudeo Kamath |
Art |
Maharashtra |
|
108 |
Shri Velu Aasaan |
Art |
Tamil Nadu |
|
109 |
Shri Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar |
Art |
Karnataka |
|
110 |
Shri Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj |
Others-Spiritualism |
Bihar |
|
111 |
Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane |
Medicine |
Karnataka |
|
112 |
Shri Vilas Dangre |
Medicine |
Maharashtra |
|
113 |
Shri Vinayak Lohani |
Social Work |
West Bengal |
More Articles
Most Read
