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GK Update

Sat 17 May, 2025

National News

Inauguration of Multi Agency Centre (MAC)

  • Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the new Multi Agency Centre (MAC) in North Block, New Delhi.
  • This new MAC has been set up in the Intelligence Bureau complex and aims to establish better coordination among various intelligence, security, law enforcement and investigative agencies to deal with serious national security challenges like terrorism, extremism, organized crime and cyber attacks.

"One Nation One Beat" Campaign

  • The "One Nation One Beat" campaign was launched in May 2025.
  • The objective of this campaign is to raise awareness about heart health across India and to highlight the importance of timely identification and first aid during cardiac emergencies such as heart attacks.

Related Facts:

 

 

  • Launched: By Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi
  • Partners: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health, and several NGOs

State Special

"Gayaji"

  • The Government of Bihar has renamed Gaya district as "Gayaji".
  • This decision has been taken to honor local religious and cultural sentiments and to recognize the historical and spiritual significance of Gaya.

Bihar:

 

 

  • Capital: Patna
  • Establishment: 22 March 1912 (separated from Bengal Presidency)
  • Official language: Hindi
  • Historical and cultural importance:
  • Bihar has been a part of the ancient Magadha state
  • The origin of Buddhism and Jainism is believed to be from here
  • World famous ancient universities like Nalanda and Vikramshila were located here
  • Lord Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya
  • Mahatma Gandhi started the first Satyagraha movement in India from Champaran (1917)

 

 

International News

IIFT's First Overseas Campus in Dubai

  • The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has announced the establishment of its first overseas campus in Dubai.
  • This campus is located at the India Pavilion in Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Related Facts:

 

 

  • The move is aimed at internationalising Indian education and promoting thought leadership globally under the National Education Policy 2020.
  • The campus will not only cater to the needs of Indian expatriates and global students but will also strengthen India’s educational presence in the Gulf region.

Polio Outbreak Declared

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea in May 2025.
  • This announcement came after the confirmation of poliovirus in two children, with the infection being detected during routine screening.

Polio Disease:

 

 

  • Polio is a viral disease caused by the poliovirus.
  • It mainly affects children under 5 years of age.
  • It affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
  • The virus is spread by the fecal-oral route, contaminated water/food or from an infected person.
  • The virus thrives in the intestines.
  • The first injectable vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk in 1952.
  • The oral polio vaccine (OPV) was developed by Albert Sabin, which contains a weakened live virus.

 

 

Sports News

Doha Diamond League 2025

  • India's Neeraj Chopra made a historic performance in the men's javelin throw event of the 2025 Doha Diamond League, finishing second with a throw of 90.23 meters.
  • This is Neeraj Chopra's career best and Indian national record as he became the first Indian to cross the 90-meter distance.

Javelin Throw:

 

 

  • Type of Sport: Athletics
  • Structure of Javelin:
  • The length for men is around 2.6 to 2.7 meters.
  • The length for women is around 2.2 to 2.3 meters.
  • The weight for men is 800 grams.
  • The weight for women is 600 grams.
  • Neeraj Chopra — India’s first javelin throw gold medalist at Tokyo Olympics 2021.

 

 

Superbet Chess Classic Tournament

  • Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic Tournament held in Bucharest, Romania.
  • He claimed the title after a tiebreak with Alireza Firouzja (Iran) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France).

Regulating body of the game of chess : International Chess Federation (FIDE)

 

Founded : 1924 in Paris, France Headquarters : Lausanne, Switzerland

 

Economy and Banking

Aadhaar Authentication Landmark

  • Aadhaar authentication crossed the landmark figure of 150 billion (15,011 crore) transactions by the end of April 2025.
  • e-KYC service has also recorded record growth - 37.3 crore e-KYC transactions were done in April 2025, which is 39.7% more than April last year. Total e-KYC transactions so far have exceeded 2,393 crore.

Aadhaar:

 

 

  • A 12-digit unique identification number
  • Issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
  • Statutory authority as: UIDAI under Aadhaar Act, 2016
  • UIDAI Formed: January 2009 (under Ministry of Electronics and IT)

India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves

  • India’s foreign exchange reserves reached a total of 690.62 billion (69,062 crore) US dollars in the week ending May 9, 2025, with an increase of 4.5 billion dollars.
  • This rise is attributed to foreign investments, export revenues, and other economic activities, reflecting the country’s economic strength and its position in the international financial landscape.

Foreign exchange reserves:

 

 

  • Means: Assets held in reserve in foreign currencies by a central bank
  • Includes: Bank notes, deposits, bonds, treasury bills and other government securities
  • India's foreign exchange reserves include: Foreign currency assets (FCA), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDR), reserve position with IMF

Women’s Participation in Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

  • Out of the 76.5 million (7.65 crore) subscribers of the Atal Pension Yojana, 48% are women.
  • According to the Department of Social Welfare, as of April 2025, more than 7.65 crore subscribers have joined APY, resulting in a total corpus collection of ₹45,974.67 crore.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY):

 

 

  • Launched by: Ministry of Finance
  • Launched by: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  • Under this scheme, the subscriber will get a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, depending on his contribution, from the age of 60 years.
  • Eligibility: Any Indian citizen between the age of 18 to 40 years
  • Should have a savings bank account/post office savings bank account
  • Administered by: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)

Monetary Penalties on Two Major Banks

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalties on two major banks — Deutsche Bank AG and YES Bank Limited — for violations of regulatory norms.
  • Deutsche Bank AG was fined ₹5 million (50 lakh rupees) for failing to submit timely information about large borrowers to the central database (CRILC).
  • YES Bank Limited was fined ₹2.96 million (29.60 lakh rupees) for not disclosing accurate and complete information regarding customer complaints in its annual financial statements for the fiscal year 2023-24.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

 

 

  • Founded on: 1 April 1935
  • Place of establishment: Kolkata (now headquartered in Mumbai)
  • Nationalised on: 1 January 1949
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Reports and Indexes

33rd Monthly Report of CPGRAMS

  • The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) released the 33rd monthly report of the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) for April 2025, covering grievances related to various states and Union Territories.

Related Facts:

 

 

  • A total of 73,901 public grievance cases were received by the States/UTs in April 2025.
  • 57,021 grievances were redressed during the same period.
  • 62,227 new users were registered on the CPGRAMS portal in April 2025.

Awards and Honours

58th Jnanpith Award

  • On May 16, 2025, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, President Draupadi Murmu honored Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya with the 58th Jnanpith Award.
  • Alongside him, the renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Gulzar was also selected for the 58th Jnanpith Award, but he could not attend the ceremony due to health reasons.

Related Facts:

 

 

  • This award was given for the second time for Sanskrit and for the fifth time for Urdu

Jnanpith Award:

  • It is the oldest and highest literary award of India
  • Given every year for "outstanding contribution to literature"
  • This award was established in the year 1961 and was first given in the year 1965.

Person In News

Karim Khan

  • Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), resigned from his position amid an investigation into rape allegations against him.
  • Khan is accused of rape and abandonment involving a female assistant.

International Criminal Court (ICC):

 

Year of establishment: July 2002 Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands Treaty basis: Treaty of Rome

 

 

 

Today News

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