Shubhanshu Shukla: First Indian astronaut to go to space
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be the pilot of NASA's Axiom Mission 4 and will become the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS). On January 30, 2025, NASA approved the crew for his mission. The mission will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2025, in which the crew will conduct various experiments in space for 14 days. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is also among the four astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission. An experienced fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force, he has logged over 2,000 hours of flying and has piloted several aircraft.
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SEBI's iSPOT portal
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched the iSPOT portal for reporting technical problems at stock exchanges and other market institutions. This will ease the process of submitting preliminary and final root cause analysis (RCA) reports. Earlier, these reports were sent via email, but now a structured web-based system has been put in place. SEBI aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in monitoring technical issues in the market through this portal.
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Khelo India Winter Games 2025
Ladakh topped the Khelo India Winter Games 2025 by winning seven medals including four gold. The first leg of the Games concluded in Leh on January 27. Ladakh's women's ice hockey team won gold by defeating ITBP 4-0, while Indian Army retained its title in men's ice hockey. Tamil Nadu finished second with five medals, including three gold, while Maharashtra finished third with 10 medals. The second phase of the Games will be held in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir from 22-25 February.
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WHO declares Georgia malaria-free
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Georgia a malaria-free country, bringing Europe closer to becoming the world's first malaria-free region. Malaria was a major problem in Georgia in the 20th century, but decades of efforts led to the disease being completely eliminated. According to WHO, a country needs to remain without indigenous malaria transmission for at least three years to achieve malaria-free certification.
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National Table Tennis Championship
Diya Chitale and Manush Shah won the women's and men's singles titles respectively at the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championship held in Surat. Diya defeated Sreeja Akula, while Manush won over Payas Jain. Diya and Sreeja also won the doubles event, while Akash Pal and Poymanti Baisya won the mixed doubles title.
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Dibrugarh will become the second capital of Assam
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that Dibrugarh will become the second capital of Assam by 2027. An assembly complex will also be built here and assembly sessions will be held every year from 2027. Apart from this, Tezpur will be developed as the cultural capital and Silchar as the administrative centre.
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Times Higher Education World Rankings
Times Higher Education (THE) has released the subject-wise World University Rankings 2025, in which the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru has been ranked in the top 100 in computer science. This is the first time an Indian institute has secured the 99th position in this category, while last year it was ranked between 251-300.
According to the ranking, 53 universities are now among the best institutes in computer science, compared to 47 Indian universities in 2024. IISc has been ranked 96th in this field. Similarly, 24 universities from India have been included in the list of business and economics, up from 15 in 2024.
In arts and humanities, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and University of Delhi (DU) improved from 501-600 to enter the 401-500 ranking range. In social sciences too, 14 Indian universities were ranked among the best institutions.
Globally, the top three positions are held by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University and the University of Oxford. The rankings cover 11 subjects, including engineering, medicine, physics, law, education and psychology.
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Christine Carla Kangaloo awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award
Trinidad and Tobago President Christine Carla Kangaloo was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award. The award was given to her for her outstanding contribution to public life and for enhancing India's prestige. Kangaloo was the chief guest of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2025.
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Lukashenko's seventh election victory in Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won the election for the seventh time with 87% of the votes. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is known as "Europe's last dictator". The European Union has declared the election illegal and threatened to impose new sanctions.
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NITI Aayog's Financial Health Index
NITI Aayog released its first Financial Health Index (FHI) report on January 24, 2025, listing Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Jharkhand as top performing states (‘Achievers’). The report was prepared on the basis of financial stability, revenue management, quality of expenditure and debt management of the states during 2022-23.
The report covered 18 major states that contribute significantly to India's GDP, population, public expenditure and revenue. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were placed in the 'Front Runners' category, while Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana featured in the 'Performers' list. On the other hand, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala were the weakest performing states and were placed in the 'Aspirational' category.
According to the report, Odisha excelled in financial health with the highest overall score of 67.8. NITI Aayog evaluated the states on the basis of five key sub-indices – quality of expenditure, revenue mobilization, fiscal prudence, debt index and debt sustainability. The report aims to make the fiscal policy of the states more efficient and transparent, thereby promoting the overall economic sustainability of India.
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Jay Shah becomes new member of MCC
Former BCCI secretary Jay Shah has been inducted into the advisory board of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He is one of the 13 founding members, which also includes Sourav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara. The MCC is the custodian of the laws of cricket and was founded in 1787.
