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31st January, 2025 Current Affairs

31st January, 2025 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
India to Host BRICS Youth Council Entrepreneurship Working Group Meeting in March 2025

  • The Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India is organizing the BRICS Youth Council Entrepreneurship Working Group Meeting from 3rd to 7th March 2025. The theme of the meeting is “Youth Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Growth”. The meeting will be attended by around 45 youth representatives from BRICS Countries.
  • At the Working Group Meeting, India will provide a platform for representatives of the BRICS Youth Council to exchange policies, programmes, and cooperation prospects in the field of entrepreneurship. The representatives will be given a platform to share their experiences in youth-related work and discuss cooperation in the field of entrepreneurship amongst BRICS countries.
  • Establishment of the BRICS Youth Council: Entrepreneurship Working Group.
  • Discussing the work plans of BRICS countries in the field of Entrepreneurship.
  • Exploring concrete actions in youth cooperation of BRICS countries, in the field of Entrepreneurship.
  • Discussing the creation of new youth formats according to the prioritized directions in the framework of BRICS and the Working Groups Meetings.
  • Connecting participants to the international Entrepreneurship opportunities that exist within the BRICS countries.
  • To increase the understanding of the youth on the relevant areas of the BRICS Youth Council Entrepreneurship Working Group Meeting, the Department of Youth Affairs will organize 8 run-up events in various universities & colleges across India.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India to launch indigenous AI model at affordable cost

  • The Government has announced that India is all set to launch its own safe and secure indigenous Artificial intelligence (AI)model at an affordable cost.
  • Compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 dollars per hour usage, India’s AI Model will cost less than 100 rupees per hour after 40 per cent government subsidy.
  • It is mentioned that 18 citizen-centric applications about the agriculture sector, learning disability and climate change will be part of this AI Model.
  • The Indian AI model is a timely step as India is a trusted nation among the comity of nations. This initiative will help the country emerge as a more reliable technological powerhouse of ethical AI solutions in the days to come.
  • India AI mission is now closer to customizing indigenous AI solutions for the Indian context using Indian languages

INTERNATIONAL
Switzerland to end development aid programs for Bangladesh, Albania, Zambia

  • The Swiss government is ending its development aid programmes for Bangladesh, Albania and Zambia. This decision comes after the Swiss parliament allocated less funding for foreign aid in December than the government had requested.
  • As per media reports, the Parliament cut 110 million Swiss Franc ($121 million) from the 2025 international cooperation budget and 321 million Swiss Franc from the financial plan 2026-2028, reports.
  • These reductions will affect bilateral, economic, and thematic cooperation, as well as multilateral organisations, according to an official statement.
  • The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, was informed of the budget cuts. In response, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will phase out its bilateral development programs in Albania, Bangladesh, and Zambia by the end of 2028.
  • According to the statement, between 2025 and 2028, additional reductions will be made to country and thematic programs and organizations. However, funding for humanitarian aid, peacebuilding, and assistance to Ukraine will remain unchanged.
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US President Trump threatens BRICS with 100% tariffs

  • United States President Donald Trump has once again warned BRICS nations and threatened them with 100 per cent tariffs on their exports if they try to replace the US dollar as the main currency in global trade. President Trump has repeatedly said that BRICS nations must maintain the US dollar’s role in global trade or face economic consequences. The latest warning is a repeat of the one that he made on November 30th, weeks after winning the 2024 election. The statement reinforced Trump’s position on de-dollarisation, warning that BRICS countries must commit to maintaining the US dollar’s role in global trade or face economic consequences.
  • For years, the BRICS group of nations have been mulling ways to reduce dependence on the American dollar. Even though the grouping does not have a common currency as of now, its member nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa have been of late promoting trade in their local currencies.

HEALTH
Niger becomes 1st African country to eliminate onchocerciasis

  • Niger becomes the first country in the African Region to eliminate onchocerciasis. Niger’s Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs Garba Hakimi officially declared at a ceremony that the country is free of onchocerciasis.
  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) congratulated Niger on achieving the standard required to eliminate onchocerciasis. Niger is recognised as the fifth country in the world, the first in Africa, to have successfully halted the transmission of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus. The other four countries that have reached this milestone are all located in the Americas: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The resident representative of the WHO, Casimir Manengu, commended Niger’s commitment and leadership that enabled this remarkable achievement.
  • Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is a parasitic disease and is the second leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, after trachoma. It is transmitted to humans through the bites of infective black flies, primarily found in riverine areas. The disease primarily affects rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa and Yemen, with smaller endemic areas found in parts of Latin America.

SUMMARY OF ECONOMIC SURVEY 2024-25

  • India’s Gdp Expected To Grow Between 6.3 & 6.8 Per Cent In Fy26
  • Real Gdp Estimated At 6.4 Per Cent In Fy25, Close To Its Decadal Average
  • Real Gva Estimated To Grow By 6.4 Per Cent In Fy25
  • Capex Grows At 8.2 Per Cent In July – November 2024 And Expected To Pick Up Further Pace
  • Retail Headline Inflation Softened To 4.9 Per Cent In April-December 2024
  • India’s Consumer Price Inflation To Align With The Target Of Around 4 Per Cent In Fy26
  • Overall Exports Grow 6.0 Per Cent (Yoy) During April-December 2024
  • India’s Services Export Growth Surged To 12.8 Per Cent During April–November Fy25, Up From 5.7 Per Cent In Fy24
  • Gross Fdi Inflows Increase From Usd 47.2 Billion In First Eight Months Of Fy24 To Usd 55.6 Billion In The Same Period Of Fy25, A Yoy Growth Of 17.9 Per Cent
  • Forex At Usd 640.3 Billion As Of End Of December 2024, Sufficient To Cover 10.9 Months Of Imports And Approximately 90 Per Cent Of External Debt
  • Capacity Addition In Solar And Wind Power Increases 15.8 Per Cent Year-On-Year In December 2024
  • Bse Stock Market Capitalisation To Gdp Ratio At 136 Per Cent At The End Of December 2024, Far Higher Than China (65 Per Cent) And Brazil (37 Per Cent)
  • Economic Survey Advocates Deregulation To Accelerate And Sustain Economic Growth
  • Continued Step-Up Of Infrastructure Investment Over Next Two Decades Needed To Sustain A High Growth
  • ₹50,000 Crore Self-Reliant India Fund Launched To Provide Equity Funding To Msmes
  • Agriculture Expected To Grow At 3.8 Per Cent In Fy25
  • Kharif Foodgrain Production For 2024 Is Expected To Reach 1647.05 Lmt, An Increase Of 89.37 Lmt Over Previous Year
  • Key Drivers Of Agricultural Growth Are Horticulture, Livestock & Fisheries
  • Industrial Sector Estimated To Grow By 6.2 Per Cent In Fy25
  • Social Services Expenditure Registers An Annual Growth Rate Of 15 Per Cent Between Fy 21 And Fy 25
  • Government Health Expenditure Increases From 29.0 Per Cent To 48.0 Per Cent; Share Of Out Of Pocket Expenditure In Total Health Expenditure Declines From 62.6 Per Cent To 39.4 Per Cent Between Fy15 And Fy22
  • Unemployment Rate Declines To 3.2 Per Cent In 2023-24 (July-June) From 6.0 Per Cent In 2017-18 (July-June)
  • Collaborative Effort Between Government, Private Sector, And Academia Essential To Minimise Adverse Ai Societal Effects
Published date : 31 Jan 2025 04:25PM

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