1. 1,200-year-old monastery found at Ratnagiri Buddhist site
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found a 1,200-year-old Buddhist monastery at the Ratnagiri Buddhist site in Jajpur district of Odisha. The excavation revealed a Buddhist monastery complex, stone sculptures of Lord Buddha, votive stupas, engraved stones, pottery, beads, stone pillars and ancient brick wall. A five-foot monolithic elephant statue, a giant Buddha head and sculpture fragments of Buddhist deities have also been found at the site. The excavation began in December 2024 and was overseen by Prajnaprati Pradhan. The project aims to highlight the cultural heritage of Buddhism in Odisha. The decline of Ratnagiri began in the 13th century due to Muslim invasions. The site was first documented by Manmohan Chakraborty in 1905.
2. Nigeria becomes new BRICS partner country
Nigeria has now become the ninth partner country of BRICS along with Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan. The BRICS group was founded in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa joined it in 2010. The group was created to balance the influence of the G-7 countries. BRICS has also added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and UAE in 2023. Saudi Arabia and other countries are interested in joining it. Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and the sixth largest country in the world. Last year, US President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on BRICS countries over any attempt to weaken the US dollar.
3. Entity Locker
After the success of DigiLocker, the Government of India has launched "Entity Locker". This digital platform is designed to manage and verify business and organizational documents. It has been developed by the National e-Government Division under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The platform provides cloud-based services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), startups and trusts. It features Aadhaar-authenticated role-based access, consent-based information sharing and digital signatures. Users also get secure 10 GB storage. This technology makes annual filing easier for companies, making digital document management more effective.
4. Karnataka wins Vijay Hazare Trophy
Karnataka defeated Vidarbha by 36 runs to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025 title. The final match was played at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. Karnataka performed well in the group stage with only one loss in seven matches. In the knockout round, it defeated Baroda and Haryana. Karnataka won the tournament for the first time in 2013-14. Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and Saurashtra are among the other winning teams. The Vijay Hazare Trophy, also known as the Ranji One-Day Trophy, was introduced in honour of the famous cricketer Vijay Hazare. This win marked the fifth time Karnataka has captured the prestigious title.
5. Indian Navy participated in La Perouse Exercise
The Indian Navy took part in the La Perouse multilateral naval exercise hosted by France. The exercise saw navies of nine Indo-Pacific countries take part in the Straits of Malacca, Sunda and Lombok. The Indian Navy deployed INS Mumbai for the exercise. The French Carrier Strike Group led by the carrier Charles de Gaulle conducted the exercise. It was attended by Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. The main objective was to strengthen interoperability between navies and train in tactical manoeuvres. It included activities such as surface warfare, anti-air warfare and cross-deck landing.
6. India's growth rate fastest in World Bank's projections
According to the World Bank's January 2025 report, India's growth rate is expected to be 6.7%, higher than the world average of 2.7%. India will remain the fastest growing large economy for the next two years. This growth has been attributed to the growth of the service sector and improvement in manufacturing. The government's tax simplification and infrastructure improvement policies have also contributed. China's growth rate is expected to decline to 4%. The IMF has forecast India's growth rate to remain stable at 6.5% in 2025 and 2026. Better job market, easier financial access and low inflation are likely to boost private consumption.
