United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 that established the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, also designated 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust – observed with ceremonies and activities at United Nations Headquarters in New York and at United Nations offices around the world.
In 2005, the United Nations passed a resolution to observe the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945, which enabled the ending of World War II. This year, it will be marked under the theme, Holocaust remembrance and education for dignity and human rights,” which highlights the significance of remembering the Holocaust in today’s world.
In Athletics, India’s Jyothi Yarraji broke her own national record and won the gold medal in the women’s 60m indoor hurdles at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole 2025 in France. Jyothi Yarraji, who already holds the national record in women’s 100m hurdles, clocked 8.04 seconds to win the final A at the Pierre-Quinon Metropolitan Stadium.
At the 2023 Asian Games, Jyothi won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles, clocking 12.91 seconds. Last year, she made her Olympic debut in Paris, where she finished fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles repechage heat, failing to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the Australian Open Tennis, World No. 1, Italy’s Jannik Sinner won the men’s singles title. In the final, he defeated Alexander Zverev at Rod Laver Arena. With his triumph, the 23-year-old Italian became the youngest man to win multiple Australian Open titles since Jim Courier in 1992-93. This is Sinner’s third major title in his third Grand Slam final.
In the women’s doubles final, the top-seeded pair of Taylor Townsend of America and Czech player Kateřina Siniaková won the title. The pair defeated the third-seeded pair of Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia and Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will come into force in Uttarakhand from 27th January 2025, making it the first state to implement such a law. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that all preparations, including rule approval and official training, are complete. UCC aims to standardize personal civil laws, ensuring equal rights for all citizens.
The state cabinet recently approved the rules and regulations for UCC’s implementation and authorised the chief minister to decide a date for it. The UCC seeks to establish a uniform and equal set of rules on marriage, divorce, succession, and inheritance for all citizens in the state, except the scheduled tribes, irrespective of religion.
Odisha has the strongest fiscal health among states in India and topped the list of achievers in the Fiscal Health Index 2025 followed by Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand and Gujarat. The index, launched by NITI Aayog on Friday, ranked states for 2022-23 on the basis of five major indices including quality of expenditure, revenue mobilisation, fiscal prudence, debt index.
As per the index, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were the front runners while Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana were classified as performers whereas Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab were termed as aspirational based on their fiscal health.
According to the index, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have seen significant decline in their ranks slipping from 3rd to 10th position and 13th to 17th position respectively when compared to the average between 2014-15 and 2021-22. Chhattisgarh went up the index from 5th to 2nd position, Jharkhand improved from 10th to 4th rank and Rajasthan went up from 15th to 12th position
Talking about the top five achiever states, the Aayog said these states have higher capital outlay of up to 4% of GSDP, effective mobilization of non-tax revenue, are revenue surplus and have low interest payments, which is up to 7% of revenue receipts.
Private lenders and all-India financial institutions (AIFIs) such as National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) will now have access to Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) data before sanctioning or renewing loans, similar to public sector banks (PSBs). This decision was taken last month at a meeting of bankers and government officials.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) resolved 95 per cent of complaints received under the Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. According to the annual report of the Ombudsman Scheme for this period, a total of 9,34,355 complaints were lodged under RB-IOS.
These complaints were handled by the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) and the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC). The RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme recorded a 32.81 per cent increase in complaints from banking customers during the financial year ending March 2024.
As per the report, 57.07 per cent of maintainable complaints were resolved through mutual settlement, conciliation, or mediation, while 40.78 per cent were dismissed due to the absence of any service deficiency. Loans and advances accounted for 85,281 complaints, representing 29.01 per cent of the total complaints—a sharp increase of 42.70 per cent compared to the 2023.
Regionally, Chandigarh, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand emerged as the top five contributors to complaints received at ORBIOs per lakh accounts (deposit and credit). On the other hand, Mizoram, Nagaland, Ladakh, Manipur, and Lakshadweep reported the lowest number of complaints during FY24.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has appointed Ashok Chandra as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a tenure of three years. Chandra’s appointment follows the recommendation of the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), which proposed his name for the prestigious role on October 10, 2024.
Before his role at Canara Bank, Chandra was the Chief General Manager at Union Bank of India, where he served on the boards of The Union Trustee Company Private Limited and The National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL).
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, participated in one of the leading travel fairs - IFEMA being held in Madrid, Spain for positioning India as a potential leading destination in the source market of Spain and Latin America. The exhibition at FITUR, considered to be a benchmark event in the tourism sector, was held from 22nd - 26th January 2025.
The Indian delegation comprised of more than 23 co-exhibitors, including the State Governments of Karnataka, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand amongst others showcased their unique tourism products and experiences under the Incredible India banner at FITUR.
The year 2026 will be marked as the Dual Year of Culture, Tourism and Artificial Intelligence on the occasion of 70th year of diplomatic relations between India and Spain. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, also, in order to encourage the Indian diaspora to become Incredible India ambassadors, has launched ‘Chalo India Initiative’.
asprit Bumrah became the sixth Indian to win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year after the star pacer picked up 71 wickets from 13 Test matches in 2024, topping the charts. Bumrah became the sixth Indian after Rahul Dravid (2004), Gautam Gambhir (2009), Virender Sehwag (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016), and Virat Kohli (2018).
With Bumrah's award, India equalled Australia's record for most players to win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award. Steve Smith (2015, 2017) is the only man to have won the honour twice in his career. He was clear of second-placed Gus Atkinson, who took 52 wickets from 11 Tests.
Belarus’ incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko has won the presidential election. Preliminary data from the Central Election Commission shows that Lukashenko received 86.82 per cent of the vote. Early voting for the presidential election took place from January 21 to 25.
A two-term limit, reintroduced by 2022 amendments to the constitution, will be imposed after this election. According to the law, Belarus’ president is chosen through direct elections, and a candidate receiving more than 50 per cent of the vote is declared elected. The president is elected for five-year terms.
India opener Smriti Mandhana, was on Monday (January 27, 2025), named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for her phenomenal performance that saw the left-hander score tons of runs in 2024. The India vice-captain, who was the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2022, racked up 747 runs in 13 innings to set new career standards in ODIs.
The 28-year-old cricketer’s runs came at an average of 57.86 and an impressive strike rate of 95.15. Her tally was the highest among the leading run-getters in Women’s ODIs last year, way ahead of Wolvaardt (697), Beaumont (554) and Matthews (469).
P. Suriaraj has taken charge as executive director of the Dhanlaxmi Bank. He was appointed by the RBI as executive director of the Bank for a period of three years. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) and he will represent as a whole time director on the Board in accordance with Section 10A(2)(a) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd. was incorporated in 1927 at Thrissur, Kerala by a group of ambitious and enterprising entrepreneurs. With 560 touch points (including 261 Branches, 282 ATMs, 17 BCs) across India at service; bank focus has always been on customizing services and personalizing relations.
Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
For the year 2025, the President has approved conferment of 139Padma Awards including1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 7Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and13Posthumous awardees.
