DAILY GK 29-31 MARCH 2025
HURUN
GLOBAL RICH LIST 2025
·
China based Hurun Research Institute released the “2025 Hurun Global
Rich List“,
·
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman emerged as the India’s Richest
Person with a total net worth of USD 100
billion and ranked as the World’s
17th richest Person (10th in 2024).
·
He is followed Gautam Adani with
a total net worth of USD 97 billion and Chairperson of HCL Technologies
Limited Roshni Nadar Malhotra with a total net
worth of USD 40 billion.
·
She also became the 5th richest
woman in the world.
·
She is also the first Indian woman to enter
the global top 10 wealthiest women.
·
Elon Musk, reclaim the title of the world’s
richest person for the fourth time with total net worth of USD
420 billion, followed by founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos (USD 266 billion,
·
For the first time since
2016, the USA has topped the
list with the most billionaires (870).
·
China follows in second place with 823
billionaires and India with 284 billionaires.
·
New York has reclaimed its position as the global billionaire capital,
while London ranks second.
·
Shanghai(92 billionaires) has become the Asian billionaire capital for the first time , surpassed Mumbai as Asia’s billionaire capital.
19TH SINGAPORE MARITIME WEEK
·
The 19th edition of the Singapore Maritime
Week (SMW) 2025 was at the Suntec
Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore.
·
The theme for SMW 2025 is ‘Actions Meet
Ambition’, emphasizes decarbonization, digitalization, maritime
services, and talent development.
·
During SMW 2025, India and Singapore signed
a Letter of Intent (LoI) to collaborate on a Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC).
GFCI
37: GIFT City Leads in Reputational Advantage & Improves FinTech
ranking
·
In March 2025, the China Development Institute (CDI) in
Shenzhen (China) and Z/Yen Partners in London (the
United Kingdom, UK) released the 37th edition of the
Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 37).
·
This semi-annual report evaluates the competitiveness of 119 financial
centres worldwide, serving as a critical reference for policy and investment
decision-makers.
·
According to the index, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift
City) in Gujarat, has achieved the top rank in the ‘reputational advantage’
category and improved its position from 45th to 40th in the fintech ranking.
·
In GFCI 37, New York City (United
States of America, USA) continues to hold the top position with
a rating of 769, followed by London (United
Kingdom, UK) in second place with 762 points. Hong
Kong (China) secures the third spot with
a rating of 760.
·
The Asia-Pacific region showcases robust performance, with six centres ranking
in the global top 20.
INDONESIA
JOINS NDB AS ITS 11TH MEMBER
·
Indonesia officially became the 11th
member of the Shanghai (China)
based New Development Bank (NDB),
formerly known as the BRICS Development Bank.
·
The other 10 members of NDB are Algeria,
Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Russia, South Africa, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), and Uruguay.
·
In January 2025, Indonesia officially
joined BRICS as the 10th member.
·
The NDB, established
in 2015 by BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India,
China, and South Africa).
·
The first
president of NDB was K.V. Kamath from
India, who served from 2015 to 2020.
·
Present President – Dilma Vana Rousseff (Brazil)
·
Headquarters – Shanghai (China)
1ST GREEN
STATUS ASSESSMENT FOR LION IN AFRICA AND INDIA
·
Gland (Switzerland)-based International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) released its 1st Green
Status Assessment for the Lion (Scientific name:
Panthera leo).
·
The report has termed the lion as ‘largely depleted’,
while the species remains ‘Vulnerable’ on
the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) Red list.
·
The IUCN 1st introduced
‘green status’ in a paper in the journal titled ‘Conservation
Biology’ in July 2021.
IREDA
SECURED JPY 26 BILLION ECB FACILITY FROM SBI TOKYO
·
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), ‘Navratna’
Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the control of Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has signed Japanese
Yen (JPY) 26 billion (Rs 1,476 crore) facility
agreement for raising External
Commercial Borrowing (ECB) from India’s largest
Public Sector Bank (PSB), State Bank of India
(SBI)’s Tokyo branch in Japan.
·
This facility agreement also includes a green shoe option of JPY
10 billion.
·
This unsecured loan facility
is signed for a period of 5 years and will be repaid
in a single payment at maturity.
·
As per IREDA, the landed
cost (following hedging) is projected to be less than 7%.
·
IREDA is a Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI), which is engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial
support to set up sustainable projects.
RBI
PENALTIES ON HDFC BANK, PUNJAB & SIND BANK, AND KLM AXIVA FINVEST
·
HDFC Bank was fined Rs.75 lakh for non-compliance
with RBI’s Know Your Customer (KYC)
regulations.
·
PSB was fined Rs.68.20 lakh for not reporting of borrowers with non-fund
exposures of Rs.5 crore or more to
the RBI’s Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) and permitting Basic Savings Bank Deposit
Account (BSBDA) holders to open extra
savings account.
·
KLM Axiva Finvest was fined Rs.10 lakh for not complying
with dividend declaration requirements.
YALE’S
2025 WINDHAM CAMPBELL PRIZE
·
Rana Dagupta, renowned British author of Indian origin
has been named the winner of 2025 Windham Campbell Prize in
the ‘non-fiction category’ by USA based Yale
University.
·
He received this award in recognition of his insightful critique of
global hypercapitalism, industrialization, politics, and class, as demonstrated
in his book ‘Capital: A Portrait of Twenty-First Century Delhi’, which
was shortlisted for both the Orwell
Prize and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize.
·
This year total 8
authors (including Rana Dasgupta) have been selected as
winners
Each recipient will receive a citation, award and monetary prize of USD
175,000 to support their literary work.
5TH
FULL-TIME MEMBER OF NITI AAYOG
·
The Government of India (GoI)
appointed Rajiv Gauba, the former Cabinet
Secretary(CS) of India, as the 5th full-time member of
the New Delhi based National Institution for Transforming India (NITI
Aayog)
·
His inclusion in NITI Aayog is
expected to strengthen the institution’s strategic planning and policy
formulation efforts
KHELO INDIA
PARA GAMES 2025
·
Haryana topped the medal
tally with 104 medals (34 Gold, 39
Silver, 31 Bronze) in the 2nd edition of the Khelo India
Para Games (KIPG) 2025, a multi-sport para event under the Government
of India’s (GoI) Khelo India initiative held in New Delhi
·
Tamil Nadu (TN) claimed the 2nd position
with 74 medals (28 Gold, 19 Silver, 27 Bronze), and Uttar Pradesh (UP)
claimed the 3rd position with 64 medals (23 Gold, 21
Silver, 20 Bronze) in the overall standings
·
Ujjwala is the Official Mascot of
the 2nd KIPG 2025.
·
Jaspreet Kaur became the 1st athlete in KIPG 2025 to
break a national record.
·
She claimed the gold medal in the 45-kilogram (kg) category, lifting 101
kg, surpassing her previous best of 100kg.
INDIA-RUSSIA
NAVAL EXERCISE ‘INDRA’
·
The 14th edition of the bilateral naval
exercise ‘INDRA’ between India and Russia commenced
off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN).
·
India hosted the 13th edition of Exercise
INDRA in the Bay of Bengal in November 2023.
·
The exercise is being conducted in two phases ,Harbour phase at Chennai
and Sea phase in
the Bay of Bengal.
·
It will feature advanced drills,
including tactical maneuvers, live weapon firings, anti-air
operations, underway replenishment, helicopter
cross-deck landings, and the exchange of sea-riders.
SMALL
SAVINGS SCHEME INTEREST RATES FOR Q1FY26
·
The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under
the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced that Small Savings Scheme (SSS) interest
rates will remain unchanged, for 1st
Quarter of Financial Year 2025-26 (Q1FY26) i.e. from April 1,
2025 to June 30, 2025
·
Post Office Savings Deposit(POSD) 4.0%
·
1-Year Post Office Time Deposits (POTD) 6.9%
·
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) 7.5%
(will mature in 115 months)
·
Public Provident Fund (PPF) 7.1%
·
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) 8.2%
·
National Savings Certificate (NSC) 7.7%
·
Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme (SCSS) 8.2%
·
The Shyamala Gopinath Committee formulated
the method for determining SSS interest rates in January 2023.
IA
CONDUCT ‘PRACHAND PRAHAR‘ EXERCISE
·
The Indian Army(IA), in partnership with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and
other branches of the Indian Armed Forces, carried out a high-intensity,
integrated multi-domain warfare exercise, ‘Ex Prachand
Prahaar’, in the high-altitude terrain of Arunachal Pradesh(AR).
·
The exercise, conducted
under the Eastern Command, to enhance the joint
operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.
·
Prachand Prahar follows Exercise Poorvi Prahar,
which was held in November 2024 in AR, focused on the integrated application of
aviation assets.
SEBI
NEW GUIDELINES FOR INTRADAY INDEX DERIVATIVE MONITORING
·
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued
new guidelines for monitoring of intraday position limits for exchanges and
clearing corporations (CCs).
·
As per the new norms, stock exchanges will monitor position limits for
index derivatives on an intraday basis, with effect from April 1,
2025.
·
SEBI has also clarified
that no penalties will be imposed for breaching existing position limits during
the trading day until further notice.
For index options, the end-of-day limits are set at Rs 500 crore (net) and Rs 1,500
crore (gross)
·
Intra-day limits are Rs 1,000 crore (net) and Rs 2,500
crore (gross).
·
For index futures, the end-of-day
limit has been increased from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, with an intra-day
limit of Rs 2,500 crore.
·
SEBI has extended the
deadline for Regulated Entities (REs) to
adopt Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF) until June
30, 2025, a 3-month extension from the original date.
RBI
ALLOWS STANDALONE PRIMARY DEALERS (SPDS) IN REPO OPERATIONS
·
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
has permitted Standalone Primary Dealers (SPDs) to participate
in all repo operations across tenures, removing previous restrictions that limited
their role primarily to overnight liquidity management., excluding the
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF),
and selectively in long-term Variable
Rate Repo (VRR) operations.
·
The RBI’s decision allows SPDs easier access to funds, aims to manage
liquidity and address the ongoing shortage as the financial year ends on
31st March 2025.
·
RBI addresses the prevailing
liquidity deficit of Rs.1.58 lakh crore
(as of March), enhancing the ability of SPDs to efficiently manage short-
and long-term liquidity needs.
CHAIRMAN
OF IBA
·
Challa Sreenivasulu (C.S)
Setty,
Chairman of SBI, is selected as Chairman of
the IBA for the next fiscal 2025-26.
·
77th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the IBA held in Mumbai.
·
IBA is an industry body that
represents both Public sector banks
(PSBs) and Private sector banks (PVBs).
·
It is not a Statutory Body and is the premier service organisation and
an association of Indian banks and financial institutions.
IA
SUCCESSFULLY TEST INDIA’S 1ST KAMIKAZE FPV DRONES
·
The Indian Army’s (IA) Fleur-De-Lis Brigade (2nd
Independent Armoured Brigade), in partnership with Chandigarh (Punjab) based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a
unit under the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO), successfully tested a First Person View (FPV)
drone equipped with an impact-based kamikaze-role
anti-tank munition in Pathankot, Punjab.
·
It is a first-of-its-kind project, designed for precision
strikes against armored vehicles.
·
The drone was assembled at the Rising Star Drone Battle School, which
fabricated over 100 drones within the formation as of March 2025.
ISRO
TESTS SEMI-CRYOGENIC ENGINE
·
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved
a milestone by conducting a successful Engine Power
Head Test Article (PHTA) for its Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Kerosene
200T thrust semi-cryogenic engine at the Semi Cryo Integrated
Engine Test Facility (SIET) at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri (Tamil
Nadu).
·
This successful test paves the way for enhancing Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3),
increasing its payload capacity.
WORLD PIANO DAY 2025 – MARCH 29
·
World Piano Day is observed annually across the globe
on the 88th day of the year (typically March
28 or 29) to symbolize the 88 keys of a
standard piano.
·
In 2015,
World Piano Day was established by Nils Frahm, German pianist and composer.
·
The first World
Piano day was observed on 29th March 2015.
INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF ZERO WASTE 2025 – 30 MARCH
·
The United Nations (UN)’s International
Day of Zero Waste also known as Zero Waste Day is
annually observed across the globe on 30 March to
underscore the significance of bolstering global waste management
·
Theme, “Towards Zero Waste in Fashion and
Textiles”.
·
United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
