DAILY GK 17-18 FEB 2025
1. INDIA & ARGENTINA MOU IN LITHIUM
EXPLORATION
·
India and Argentina formalized a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in lithium exploration
and mining.
·
Argentina, part of the “Lithium Triangle” (with Chile and
Bolivia), holds over 50% of global lithium reserves.
·
Lithium access supports India’s 500 Gigawatt (GW) RE target
by 2030 and EV adoption goals.
·
Argentina Capital – Buenos Aires.
·
Currency – Argentine Peso (ARS).
2. SPORTSTAR ACES AWARDS 2025
·
The 7th edition of the “Sportstar Aces Awards
2025” was held in Mumbai.
·
Indian hockey legend, Parattu Raveendran (PR) Sreejesh won
the Sportstar of the Year 2025 (Male),
while Manu Bhaker won the Sportstar of the Year 2025 (Female) and also the Sportswoman of the
Year (Olympic Sport) repectively.
·
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu was honored with the “Inspirational
Icon Award 2025” .
·
Jay Shah, Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC),
was honored with the ‘Special Recognition Game Changer Award 2025’ .
·
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries
Limited (RIL) received the award, recognizing their significant contributions to sports development.
·
Chairperson’s Award for Sports for
Social Good 2025
was presented to Downtown Heroes FC, a
football club based in Srinagar.
3. FORWARD FASTER SUSTAINABILITY
AWARD FOR WATER RESILIENCE
·
NTPC Limited , an Indian ‘Maharatna’
Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) which works under the Ministry of
Power (MoP), has been conferred with Forward Faster Sustainability
Award 2025 in the category of ‘Water
Resilience’, in recognition of the NTPC’s exceptional efforts in water
conservation and sustainable water management initiatives.
·
NTPC Limited received the award at ceremony organised by the
United Nations (UN) Global Compact
Network India (UN GCNI) in Chennai
·
NTPC is actively implementing the Reduce, Reuse & Recycle(RRR) approach to optimize water use.
·
The Forward Faster Sustainability Awards recognizes organisations/institutions in India that
have made significant contributions in promoting sustainability and
corporate responsibility, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
4.
UK’S HONORARY KNIGHTHOOD AWARD
·
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons
Private Limited was conferred with the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) “Knight Commander of the Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire (KBE )” under King Charles III reign for
his services to U.K./India Business
relations.
·
The “Knight Commander (KBE
for men) or Dame Commander (DBE for women)” of the Most Excellent Order of the
British Empire is the second-highest
rank within the Order of the British Empire to civilians.
·
The GBE (Knight or Dame
Grand Cross) is the highest rank within the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire.
·
In 2014, the late Ratan Tata,
former Chairman of the Tata Group, became the only Indian to be awarded the GBE
(Knight or Dame Grand Cross) since 1950.
·
Other Indian recipients
of the honorary KBE include the late Ratan Tata (2009), the late sitar virtuoso
Pandit Ravi Shankar (2001), and the late Tata Steel veteran Jamshed Irani
(1997), was honored by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
5. BBC INDIAN SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
AWARDS 2024
·
Indian shooter Manu Bhaker was honored
with the ‘BBC Indian Sportswoman of the
Year award 2024’.
·
Para Shooter Avani Lekhara was named
the ‘BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year
2024’, becoming the first Indian woman to win 3 Paralympic medals,
including gold at Paris 2024 Olympics following a gold and bronze in Tokyo 2020
Olympics.
·
BBC Headquarters– London, the United Kingdom (UK).
6. NITA AMBANI HONOURED
WITH CITATION FOR PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS
·
Nita Mukesh Ambani, renowned Indian philanthropist,
and Founder and Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, a
charitable arm of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), was awarded the Governor’s
Citation by Maura Healey, Governor
of Massachusetts ( USA) during a special ceremony in Boston, the USA.
·
In 2016, she became the first
Indian woman to become a member of
the Indian Olympic Committee (IOC).
·
In 2023, she won the Global Leadership Award for
Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from the US-India
Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).
7. SKOCH AWARD
·
Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP) was awarded with the
prestigious SKOCH Award 2024 for improving forest ecosystems
and supporting income generation.
·
100th SKOCH Summit was held in New Delhi.
·
The project aims to improve forest ecosystems and income
generation by re-establishing Jhum areas and supporting
livelihoods through village specific interventions carried out by Joint
Forest Management Committees.
·
The timeline of the project is 2017-2027 and
will cover 185 villages in 11 districts
and 22 Forest Ranges.
·
The SKOCH Award is one of the
highest independent honors given to states and organizations since 1997 in the
field of governance, technology, economics and social sector for their
dedicated and independent outcome-based assessment process.
8. PANCHAYATI RAJ DEVOLUTION INDEX
2024
·
Govt released the comprehensive Devolution Index Report
titled “Status of Devolution to
Panchayats in States – An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking 2024” in
New Delhi.
·
As per the report, Karnataka ranked 1st in
the devolution of power to panchayats,
excelling in terms of funds, functions, and
functionaries, followed by Kerala, Tamil
Nadu (TN), Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
·
The report was prepared by the IIPA and
assessed 31 states and Union Territories
(UTs), sampling 172 Panchayats across 68 districts, with a total of 1,594
respondents interviewed.
·
The Devolution Index is the result
of thorough
research and empirical analysis, offering insights into decentralization
progress across States and UTs.
·
The Index evaluates 6 critical dimensions: Framework,
Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Building, and Accountability of
Panchayats.
9. FUTURE BRAND INDEX 2024
·
South Korea’s Samsung has secured the top
spot in the global rankings.
·
India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) ranks 2nd and
made an impressive leap, 11 spots rising from 13th in 2023.
·
This marks the first
time an Indian company has made it to the top three on the list.
·
Reliance, the only Indian brand on the list ranks ahead of
well-known global brands like Apple, Nike, Walt Disney, Netflix, Microsoft,
Intel and Toyota.
10. FORBES’ TOP 10 RICHEST WOMEN IN THE
WORLD IN 2025
·
Forbes India released its 5th Edition of the “Top 10
Richest Women in the World in 2025” list.
·
Alice Louise Walton, the daughter of United States of
America (USA) based Walmart Inc.
founder Sam Walton, has secured the top position globally with
a net worth of USD 112.5 billion.
·
India’s Savitri Devi Jindal and Family claimed
the 7th position, with a net worth of USD 32.3 billion, from the
JSW (Jindal South West) Group.
