Current Affairs

K Balasubramanian to succeed Ashu Khullar as India head for Citibank

K Balasubramanian will succeed Ashu Khullar as India subcontinent sub-cluster and banking head of Citibank, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will report to Amol Gupte, head of Asia South and banking head.

Khullar, who has led Citi India since 2019, will now serve as co-head of global asset managers (GAM) alongside Anthony Diamandakis. He will also be part of the investment banking global operating committee.

During Khullar’s tenure from 2019 to 2025, Citi recorded strong growth, emerging as the top investment bank across the equity capital market and mergers and acquisitions, the US-headquartered bank said in a statement.



Argentina says it will withdraw from World Health Organisation, echoing Trump

President Javier Milei has ordered Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organisation due to profound differences with the UN agency, a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday (February 5, 2025).

Mr. Milei's action echoes that of his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump, who began the process of pulling the United States out of WHO with an executive order on his first day back in office on January 21.



EPFO claims record settlements in fiscal 2024-25

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has settled claims of five crore subscribers in financial year 2024-25. Claiming that the achievement is a record, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said here on Thursday that the pension fund regulator disbursed more than ₹2.05 lakh crore in this financial year through these settlements. In the last fiscal, the EPFO settled 4.45 crore claims worth ₹ 1.82 lakh crore.

Mr. Mandaviya said a series of transformative reforms initiated by EPFO helped in enhancing claim settlement processes and reduce grievances among members. “We have implemented key measures, including an increase in the ceiling and categories of auto-settled claims, simplified member profile changes, streamlined PF transfers, and improved KYC compliance ratios. These reforms have significantly improved the efficiency of EPFO,” he told reporters. Auto claim settlements doubled to 1.87 crore claims in 2024-25, compared to 89.52 lakh auto claims processed during 2023-24.



Kodavas unite in historic march to preserve their cultural identity

Thousands of Kodavas from different parts of the district and the State congregated at Madikeri on Friday for the last leg of the “Kodavame Balo Padayatra” - an 84 km long community march seeking constitutional safeguards to protect the community’s culture and traditions.

Nearly 25,000 people had assembled at General K.S. Thimayya Stadium to mark the finale of the march which began at Kutta on February 2 and covered a distance of nearly 84 km spread over 6 days.

Described as historic, it was the first such event in Kodagu that saw the congregation of the community members in thousands.



NSDC International Academy inaugurated at Greater Noida

Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Minister of State, Ministry of Education inaugurated the NSDC International Academy at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The academy is a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide world-class skill development and training programs.

The NSDC International Academy is a landmark initiative designed to bridge the gap between Indian youth and global employment opportunities. It will serve as a center of excellence, offering specialized training programs aligned with the skill demands of countries like Germany, Japan, and Israel. Shri Chaudhary flagged off the departure of 11 candidates headed to Germany.

He toured the NSDC International Academy, interacted with students about their life journeys, and offered them motivation and also experienced the AI and VR facilities, advanced labs present at the centre.



A new map of the Arctic Ocean reveals an area as large as twice the size of France and six times that of England

A new seafloor map reveals an area in the Arctic Ocean twice the size of France and six times the size of England. This addition contributes to the Seabed 2030 project, which aims to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. The project, launched in 2017, published its findings in -Scientific Data by Nature.

Extreme conditions and perennial sea-ice have historically made Arctic mapping difficult. However, technological advancements and advanced computing methods have enabled researchers to gather detailed data from this remote region. The updated dataset, released as part of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), adds 1.4 million square kilometres of new seafloor information.

"This release underscores the importance of regional initiatives like IBCAO in helping us achieve our goal of a fully mapped ocean floor by 2030," said Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Director of Seabed 2030. "It represents a crucial step towards making essential data accessible for sustainable ocean management."



Iran inaugurates its first drone-carrier warship

Iran has inaugurated its first drone-carrier warship, saying the vessel is capable of operating in oceans far from its mainland, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

The report said the vessel, manned by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's navy, can carry several squadrons of drones as well as helicopters and cruise missiles. Named Shahid Bagheri, it's capable of launching cruise missiles, IRNA said.

With a 180-meter-long runway for drones, the vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports. The report said it was converted from a commercial ship and would increase Iran's power of deterrence.



Roadshow hosted by MoDNER aims to attract investment for development of North East India

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) hosted the North East Trade and Investment Roadshow in Chennai.

The roadshow held on Wednesday evoked strong interest from potential investors who are eager to explore opportunities in the North Eastern States.

The event was attended by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region & Ministry of Communications, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, along with Pu Lalnghinglova Hmar, Minister of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Mizoram, senior officials from MDoNER, North Eastern Council and North Eastern States.



38th National Games: Niraj Kumar wins gold in 50m rifle 3 positions

In the ongoing 38th National Games in Uttarakhand, Niraj Kumar from Services clinched the gold medal in the 50m Rifle Three Positions (Men) event. Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar from Madhya Pradesh secured the silver, while Swapnil Suresh Kusale from Maharashtra bagged the bronze. Meanwhile, in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event, Haryana’s Suruchi and Pramod struck gold. Rajasthan claimed the silver, and Maharashtra took home the bronze. Today’s competitions will feature the finals of the Recurve Archery events in the women’s, men’s, and mixed-team categories. Additionally, medals will be up for grabs in track cycling events. As per the latest medal tally, Karnataka leads with 29 gold medals, followed closely by Services with 28 gold medals



Zomato to rebrand itself as ‘Eternal’, unveils new logo

Food and delivery platform Zomato said on Thursday (February 6, 2025) it will rename the company to “Eternal” and unveiled a new logo, a move that comes more than two years after it began using the new name internally.

In a letter to shareholder, founder Deepinder Goyal said, “When we acquired Blinkit, we started using “Eternal” [instead of Zomato] internally to distinguish between the company and the brand/app. We also thought that we would publicly rename the company to Eternal, the day something beyond Zomato became a signicant driver of our future.”