DAILY GK 23-24 JAN 2025
1. GLOBAL LIGHTHOUSE NETWORK LIST
·
Switzerland
based World Economic Forum (WEF)
announced that Sriperumbudur (Tamil
Nadu, TN) based CEAT Limited and Tinsukia(Assam)
based facility of Hindustan Unilever
Limited (HUL), have joined its Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) for
driving manufacturing transformation
through innovation.
·
Other 15 new members include companies
from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Germany, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia,
the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), and Morocco (Home to the first Lighthouse site
in Africa).
·
As
of January 2025, a total of 16 Indian companies joined
WEF’s GLN, with Bharuch (Gujarat) based Jubilant Ingrevia which became a member
in October 2024.
·
The
WEF announced that 17 innovative industrial sites have joined the GLN, bringing
the total to 189 facilities
·
GLN
is an initiative by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and co-founded with McKinsey
& Company. Launched in 2018.
·
The network aims to enhance the
performance of manufacturing and supply chains by adopting 4IR technologies.
·
It helps shape the future by
using digital and analytics tools across the value chain to boost growth, productivity,
resilience, and environmental sustainability.
2.
NIGERIA JOINED BRICS AS THE 9TH PARTNER COUNTRY
·
The
government of Brazil, which holds the BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa) bloc presidency in 2025, announced
that Nigeria, the world’s 6th largest population and
Africa’s largest country, has officially joined BRICS as the 9th Partner Country,
·
Other Partner countries of BRICS bloc are: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan,
Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
·
BRIC,
as a formal grouping, initiated following the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India, and China held in
St. Petersburg, Russia in 2006.
·
The
grouping was formalized during the 1st
meeting of foreign ministers of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India China)
countries held on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in
New York, the United States of America (USA) in 2006.
·
The 1st
BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009.
·
BRIC
group was renamed as BRICS after South Africa was accepted as full member of
BRIC in 2010.
·
6th BRICS Summit was held under the chairmanship of
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, in
Kazan (Russia) in oct 2024
·
Theme:
“Strengthening
Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security”.
·
In
January 2024, countries namely Egypt,
Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially joined
BRICS bloc.
·
In
January 2025, Indonesia formally became the full
member of the BRICS bloc.
·
With
this, it has become the 1st South East (SE) Asian country to join this
bloc.
·
Nigeria Capital- Abuja
·
Currency- Nigeria Naira (NGN)
3.
USA REMOVED BARC, IGCAR AND
IREL FROM RESTRICTIVE ENTITY LIST
·
The
United States of America (USA)’s Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) has removed
3 prominent Indian nuclear entities from its restrictive Entity
List.
·
The entities removed from the USA entity
list are: Trombay, Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Bhabha Atomic Research
Center (BARC), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE);
Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based IREL (India) Limited(formerly
Indian Rare Earths Ltd); and Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu, TN)-based Indira Gandhi
Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
·
The
USA has imposed restrictions on more than
200 Indian entities following India conducted
nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan in 1998.
·
The list is prepared by USA’s BIS
which publishes the
names of certain foreign persons,
including businesses, research
organisations that are subject to specific license requirements for the
export, re-export and/or transfer (in-country) of specified items.
·
The persons whose names are included on the list are subject to
individual licensing requirements and policies.
·
The entities on the list indicate
that the USA government suspected them engaging in activities contrary to US national security
or foreign policy interests.
·
The inclusion of name on the Entity
list imposes
stringent licensing requirements that complicate international business
dealings.
4.
UNESCO & WMO DECLARE 2025 AS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF
GLACIERS’ PRESERVATION
·
The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have jointly declared 2025
as International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP) .
·
The
UN
has designated March 21 as the International Day of Glaciers’
Preservation or World Glacier Day.
·
The first World Glacier Day
will be celebrated on March 21, 2025, aligning with World Water Day, observed annually on March
22.
·
An International Conference
on Glacier Preservation will be held in Dushanbe,
Tajikistan in May 2025.
·
The cryosphere refers to all the
frozen parts of the Earth, both on land and in the ocean.
·
WMO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
·
Founded:
1950
·
Parent
Organization: United Nations (UN).
·
Secretary-
General – Professor Celeste Saulo.
5.
INDIA & FRANCE STRENGTHENS MARITIME SECURITY
COOPERATION IN IOR
·
India and France strengthened
their maritime security cooperation to maintain
peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) during the 7th
India-France maritime cooperation dialogue held in New Delhi.
·
India
assuming chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in 2025 for two
years.
·
During
the dialogue, India and France agreed to develop an analysis of threats to
maritime security in the IOR to prevent illegal maritime activity, including
piracy and armed robbery, maritime terrorism, contraband smuggling, unethical
unreported and excessive fishing.
·
Both
countries will also provide free and secure access to sea lanes of
communications through association of their maritime assets and organisations.
6.
MOON ADDED TO LIST OF THREATENED CULTURAL SITES
·
New
York based World Monuments Fund (WMF),
a non-profit organisation released its “2025 World Monuments Watch List”.
·
The
list includes 25 endangered cultural heritage sites spanning 29 countries across 5
continents.
·
This year list has gone beyond the usual
landmarks such as temples, cemeteries and has added Moon on the list for the 1st time.
·
Other
than Moon, the list features notable
endangered cultural sites like: ErdeneZuu Buddhist Monastery (Mongolia), Noto Peninsula
Heritage Sites (Japan), Ruins of Old Belchite (Spain), among others.
·
The
list features two Indian sites namely,
Bhuj Historic Water Systems (Gujarat) and Musi River Historic Buildings
(Telangana).
7.
QS WORLD FUTURE SKILLS INDEX 2025
·
London -based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released its first ‘World
Future Skills Index 2025’.
·
India secured 25th position globally
earning a score of 76.6, which classifies it as a “future
skills contender.”
·
India
secured
the 2nd position
globally, behind the USA in the
‘Future of Work’ category
indicating its strong readiness for technology-driven roles and industries of
the future, especially in digital skills, artificial intelligence (AI), and
green technologies.
·
The USA leads
the rankings with a score of 97.6, followed by the UK (97.1), Germany (94.6), Australia (93.3), and
Canada (91.0) in the top 5 positions, categorized as “future skills pioneers.”
8.
ILO’S WESO REPORT ON GLOBAL UNEMPLOYMENT
·
The
International Labour Organization (ILO) released its
flagship report titled ‘World
Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025(WESO Trends 2025)’, highlighting
the current state of global labour markets and the social outlook.
·
According to the report, the
global unemployment rate slowed down at 5% in
2024 and is projected to tick lower
again in 2026 to 4.9%.
·
However, Youth unemployment remain high at 12.6% in
2024.
·
The unemployment
rates for the overall number of jobs missing, stood around 402.4
million in 2024 globally.
·
According
to the report, Global growth rates
remain stable, hovering around 3.2% in 2024 and 2025.
·
Inflation
rates have come down from 6.7% in
2023 to 5.9% in 2024 and are
expected to decelerate further in 2025.
·
The global Labour Force Participation
Rate (LFPR) remained at 61% in 2024.
·
According
to the report, the unemployment rate
in India is projected to grow by 6.2% in 2024 and 5.8% in 2025.
·
ILO Director- General (DG)- Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo.
·
Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland.
·
Established- 1919.
9.
UNICEF REPORT ON CHILDREN
·
In
January 2025, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a
humanitarian aid organisation of UN released a report titled ‘Prospects for Children in 2025: Building
Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures’.
·
As per the report, climate change,
economic instability,
conflict and digital inequality are disrupting children’s lives and limiting
their prospects.
·
The report warned that the coming year will witness a new and escalating
period of crises for children worldwide.
·
As
per the report, more than 473 million children i.e.
more than one in six globally, lived in
areas affected by conflict in 2023.
·
The
percentage of children affected by conflict has almost doubled, from around 10% (in 1990s) to almost 19%.
·
The
report revealed that nearly 400 million children live-in debt ridden countries,
which hinders important investments in sectors like education, healthcare
and social protection.
·
UNICEF Executive Director (ED)– Catherine
Mary Russell.
·
Headquarters- New York.
·
Established- 1946.
·
Member Countries- 190.
10.
HSBC HURUN GLOBAL INDIANS LIST 2024
·
According
to the 1st edition of ‘HSBC Hurun
Global Indians List’ , published by HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation) and Hurun India, Microsoft’s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella has
secured the top spot with a company
valued at USD 3,146 billion.
·
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai (USD 2,107
billion) and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan (USD 455 billion) secured the 2nd and 3rd
spots, respectively.
·
The
list includes 12 women led by Reshma Kewalramani of
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, followed by Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks
