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March – 05
TNPSC BITS
❖ The 10,000th FPO was recently launched in Bihar under the Central Sector
Scheme for the “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer
Organizations (FPOs).
❖ February 2025 was the hottest in India in the last 125 years, according to
India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.
❖ ICC chairman Jay Shah was conferred with Icon of Excellence award at FILA
2025.
❖ Exercise Desert Hunt 2025, an integrated Tri-Service Special Forces exercise
of India was conducted at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
❖ US President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating English as
the official language of the United States.
❖ The International Spice Conference (ISC) 2025, organised by the All-India
Spices Exporters’ Forum (AISEF) was held in Bengaluru under the theme of
‘Building Trust Beyond Borders: Transparency, Sustainability, Confidence’.
❖ The second meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) took
place in New Delhi.
❖ The Nobel laureate and social reformer Kailash Satyarthi launched his own
autobiography 'Diyasalaai'.
❖ The International Wheelchair Day is observed on 1st March to celebrate the
positive impact a wheelchair has in daily life.
❖ National Defence Day was first celebrated on March 3rd to honour the bravery
and sacrifices of the Indian soldiers who fought in World War I and the Indian
Army’s contribution towards the nation.
TAMIL NADU NEWS
Tamil Nadu’s lesser-known species
❖ The Tamil Nadu state government created a dedicated "Tamil Nadu Endangered
Species Conservation Fund".
❖ It will be a rolling pool with a corpus of Rs 50 crore, to recover some of the
biodiversity that is on the verge of extinction.
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❖ This fund will help in formulation of new schemes for protecting endangered and
critically endangered species.
❖ In 2011, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gazette notified a list of 23
plant and 16 animal species that are on verge of extinction in Tamil Nadu.
NATIONAL NEWS
National Waterways Regulations, 2025
❖ The National Waterways (Construction of Jetties/Terminals) Regulations, 2025
released by Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
❖ It aims promoting the use of inland waterways and drawing the participation of
private sector.
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❖ It will support for the establishment of jetties and terminals by various entities,
including private, public, and joint ventures, on national waterways across the
country.
❖ The cargo movement on national waterways has surged over the last decade, from
18 million tonnes to 133 million tonnes in fiscal year 2024.
Initiatives of MoPSW
❖ The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has launched the ‘One
Nation-One Port Process (ONOP)’ to standardise and streamline operations across
India’s major ports.
❖ The Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY 2023-24 was also launched
recently.
❖ The Bharat Global Ports Consortium was launched to Strengthen global trade by
expanding India’s maritime reach and enhance global trade resilience.
❖ The MAITRI App (the Master Application for International Trade and Regulatory
Interface) was also launched to streamline trade processes, reduce bureaucratic
redundancies and expedite clearances.
Proxy Leadership
❖ A panel constituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has recommended
“exemplary penalties” for proven cases of proxy leadership.
❖ It aims to curb the practice of ‘Pradhan Pati’, ‘Sarpanch Pati’ or ‘Mukhiya Pati’ in
Gram Panchayats across the country.
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❖ Other Initiatives recommended:
o Gender-exclusive quotas in some panchayat subject committees and ward-
level committees (like Kerala);
o An annual award for Anti-Pradhan Pati champions;
o Appointing women’s ombudspersons;
o Public swearing-in of women Pradhans in Gram Sabhas;
o Creating federation of women panchayat leaders; and
o Setting up gender resource centres that serve as hubs for leadership training,
legal advice, and support networks were also.
❖ India has about 2.63 lakh panchayats in all three tiers – Gram Panchayat (at
village level), Panchayat Samiti (at block level) and Zila Parishad (at district level)
– with 32.29 lakh elected representatives.
❖ Out of this, 15.03 lakh (46.6 per cent) are women.
The State of India’s Environment 2025
❖ The State of India’s Environment 2025 was released by the Centre for Science
and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth (DTE) Magazine.
❖ The year 2024, in fact, was the warmest year on record, with the average global
temperature at 1.60°C above the pre-industrial era (1850-1900) average.
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❖ India saw more frequent and intense extreme weather events in 2024, compared
to the previous two years.
❖ In the first nine months of 2024, India witnessed extreme weather events on 255
of the 274 days as against 235 days for the same period in 2023 and 241 days in
2022.
❖ The events drastically impacted agriculture, with 3.2 million hectares of cropland
affected in 2024 — 74 per cent more than in 2022.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Encephalitis - Public Health Issue
❖ WHO and Encephalitis International have issued a notice about encephalitis, as
a global health concern.
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❖ Encephalitis, caused by an infectious and autoimmune factor, is an often-deadly
brain inflammation that can affect anyone regardless of age, sex or ethnicity.
❖ It can lead to severe neurological consequences, including the permanent brain
injury.
❖ A 2024 survey revealed that as many as 1,548 Japanese Encephalitis cases were
reported from 24 states and Union Territories in India.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS
NASA's Lunar Trailblazer
❖ NASA's Lunar Trailblazer has experienced a loss of communications with ground
control.
❖ The Lunar Trailblazer is a small satellite, intended to expand our understanding
of the abundance and distribution of water on the Moon’s surface.
❖ The spacecraft has been designed to produce high-resolution maps that will help
to determine where water is present, in what form, and in what quantity.
Athena Moon Lander
❖ Intuitive Machines' Athena and the Japanese private mission Resilience Hakuto-
R2 are among the next lunar landers expected to touch down.
❖ Athena aims to improve upon the company's previous success with the Odysseus
lander.
❖ Odysseus became the first American craft to achieve a soft lunar landing since
Apollo 17 in 1972.
❖ The Resilience Hakuto-R2 mission, operated by the ispace, a Japanese private
company, is taking a more indirect route to the Moon.
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❖ This mission also marks Japan's second attempt at a lunar landing, following the
successful deployment of the Hakuto-R1 mission's impactor.
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
New jumping spiders’ species
❖ Researchers discovered a two new species of jumping spiders belonging to the
genus Epidelaxia from the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala.
❖ This marks the first time the genus has been recorded from India.
❖ It is extending its known range from Sri Lanka to other parts of the subcontinent.
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❖ The two new species are Epidelaxia falciformis sp. nov. and Epidelaxia palustris
sp. nov.
Cape Vultures in South Africa
❖ The Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), has returned to the South Africa’s Eastern
Cape province after three decades.
❖ It is an Old-World vulture species that is resides exclusively in Southern Africa.
❖ Between 1992 and 2007, populations in South Africa are reduced by 60-70% and
were first categorised as ‘threatened’.
❖ By 2021, the total population size was also estimated at 9,600 to 12,800 mature
individuals, which raised their status to ‘vulnerable’.
❖ There are 23 species of vulture globally and divided into two families.
❖ Accipitridae or Old-World vultures, of which there are 16 species, are also found
across Africa, Europe, and Asia.
❖ Cathartidae or New World vultures, with seven species, are native to the Americas
and the Caribbean.
STATE NEWS
MISHTI Scheme in Gujarat
❖ The union government has launched MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline
Habitats and Tangible Incomes) scheme in 2023.
❖ It aims to expand mangrove forest cover along the coasts of states and union
territories.
❖ It will be ensuring the protection and preservation of the coastal communities
and marine ecosystem.
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❖ In just two years Gujarat, successfully has planted mangroves across over 19,000
hectares under this initiative.
Bhopal chemical waste Incineration
❖ The burning of the first 10-tonne batch of Union Carbide’s toxic waste took place
recently.
❖ This is a part of the first trial run to dispose of the 40-year-old waste of Bhopal
Gas Tragedy.
❖ The burning or incineration process takes about 72 hours to complete.
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❖ The process began shortly after the Supreme Court rejected a petition that had
challenged the Madhya Pradesh government’s plans to dispose 358 tonnes of
Union Carbide waste in Pithampur.
❖ The chemical waste had been lying at the now-defunct Union Carbide India Ltd
(UCIL) factory in Bhopal for more than 40 years since the December 1984 gas
tragedy.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Wildlife Day 2025 - March 03
❖ It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2013.
❖ The date also marks the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.
❖ The theme of 2025 is “the Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and
Planet.”
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
175th GSI Foundation Day
❖ The Geological Survey of India (GSI), founded in 1851 has marked its 175th
foundation day.
❖ It was instrumental in the geological studies, mineral discovery, and the disaster
prevention.
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❖ It was established in 1851 by Sir Thomas Oldham.
S&P Global Sustainability Rankings 2025
❖ The Yes Bank has emerged as India’s highest-rated bank in sustainability for the
third consecutive year.
❖ It is the only Indian lender included in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook
2025.
❖ This is a listing of the top 15% of the global banking leaders based on ESG
performance.
