In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, with the aim to amplify and direct the efforts on the elimination of this practice. Since 2008, UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation.
The Joint Programme currently focuses on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also supports regional and global initiatives. Over the years, this partnership has seen significant achievements. Through the support of the joint programme, over 7 million girls and women received prevention, protection and care services related to FGM.
2025 Theme: Step up the Pace
Zepto, the Indian quick commerce startup, last year became the world’s second most downloaded mobile app on mobiles in the foods and drinks category, according to data Sensor Tower released recently. McDonald’s, the US fast food chain, was the most downloaded. Zepto’s rival Blinkit was the tenth most downloaded app in the category.
Other Indian companies in the category were food and grocery delivery companies Zomato at number five and its competitor Swiggy at number nine. The category also included fast food and fast casual restaurants, restaurant order and delivery, other food delivery services, dining and listing, reviews and reservations and dining and restaurant apps.
K Balasubramanian will succeed Ashu Khullar as India subcontinent sub-cluster and banking head of Citibank, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will report to Amol Gupte, head of Asia South and banking head. Khullar, who has led Citi India since 2019, will now serve as co-head of global asset managers (GAM) alongside Anthony Diamandakis.
During Khullar’s tenure from 2019 to 2025, Citi recorded strong growth, emerging as the top investment bank across the equity capital market and mergers and acquisitions, the US-headquartered bank said in a statement. He joined Citi India in 1996 and has spent over two decades in various roles.
Ministry of Defence has inked contracts with Economic Explosive Limited (EEL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL) for the procurement of Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type-1 (DPICM) and High Explosive Pre Fragmented (HEPF) Mk-1 (Enhanced) rockets respectively for PINAKA Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) at a total cost of Rs 10,147 crore.
In addition, a contract for upgrades in SHAKTI Software has also been signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). HEPF Mk-1 (E) rockets are advance version of inservice HEPF rockets which have enhanced range to strike deep into enemy territory with precision and lethality.
In a bid to raise awareness about the health benefits of medicinal plants, a species-specific campaign titled “Shatavari –For Better Health" was launched today by Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush.
Shatavari, known for its numerous health benefits, particularly in supporting women’s health and enhancing immunity, will now receive focused attention through this campaign, ensuring it reaches wider audiences across the nation. The campaign marks another significant step in the Ministry of Ayush’s continued efforts to promote traditional medicine and medicinal plants.
United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order into law keeping men out of women’s sports and also prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports. The order has directed agencies to withdraw federal funding for any schools that refused to comply.
The order also directed the State Department to push the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make similar changes at the international level by making eligibility determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction. The order was signed on the occasion of National Girls and Women in Sports Day in the US.
In 38th National Games, Haryana’s Suruchi wins Gold medal in women’s 10 metre air pistol scoring 245.7 points. Haryana also bagged silver to secure the top position. In rowing,. Services secured the gold medal in the men’s double sculls, and also claimed the top spot in the men’s coxless four sculls event.
In the women’s K-1 slalom event, Andhra Pradesh’s Nagidi Gayatri put on a spectacular show, winning the gold medal and proving her mettle. Uttarakhand delivered an outstanding performance in lawn bowls. In the Under-25 Boys category, Uttarakhand defeated Assam 21-20 to clinch the gold medal. In the compound men’s team archery event, Delhi won gold, Haryana took silver.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, or the developing agri-districts programme, in her record 8th Union Budget presentation on Saturday (February 1, 2025). The programme is motivated by the Aspirational Districts Programme which was launched in 2018 to “to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts.
The Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana will converge existing schemes and will be undertaken in partnership with States. It will cover 100 districts with low productivity, moderate crop intensity, and below-average parameters.
If India maintains a nominal growth rate of 10.5 per cent its fiscal deficit is expected to reduce to 4 per cent of GDP in the next financial year, according to a report by SBI Funds. The report also projects that the government's debt will decline to 50-51 per cent by March 2031 if India continues to grow and maintains a nominal growth rate of 10.5 per cent until FY31.
The government has already outlined in its Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management document that it will focus on reducing its debt as a key fiscal target. It has set a goal to bring the debt-to-GDP ratio to around 50 per cent by the end of FY31. Between FY27 and FY31, the government can maintain a 4 per cent fiscal deficit and still achieve its debt reduction goals.
Ministry of Tourism revamped the Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop tourism destinations in the country. The projects under the Swadesh Darshan scheme are sanctioned in consultation with the concerned State Government/Union Territory Administrations, in synergy with the scheme guidelines and subject to availability of budget.
As of now, there is no proposal to consider the project "Dharmasthala-Kukke-Udupi-Murudeshwar-Gokarna-Kollur-Sringeri-Horanadu" under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 during the year 2025-26. However, the Ministry of Tourism under its ‘Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD)’ has identified Bidar (Culture & Heritage) and Udupi (Ecotourism and Amrit Dharohar Sites) in Karnataka.
Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Minister of State, Ministry of Education inaugurated the NSDC International Academy at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The academy is a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide world-class skill development and training programmes.
With a target of training over 1,000 candidates annually, the NSDC International Academy is committed to addressing the demands of both local and international job markets. With residential facilities accommodating up to 500 candidates, the NSDC International Academy offers an immersive learning environment that promotes both academic and personal growth.
In response to the continuous demand from farmers, traders and other stakeholders for inclusion of more agricultural commodities, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India has decided to further expand the scope of trade under e-NAM.
DMI has formulated tradable parameters for 221 agricultural commodities, which are available on the e-NAM platform and following 10 additional commodities will make the list to 231 commodities. Commodities at Serial number 4 to 7 above fall in category of secondary trade, and this can help FPOs to market value added products as well as formalize the trade in the sector.
