CURRENT AFFAIRS
20-21 February, 2025
1. INDIA-QATAR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP –
• Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, visited India to enhance bilateral ties, focusing on trade, energy, and investment.
• Both nations committed to doubling trade to USD 28 billion and increasing Qatari investment in India.
Key Highlights of the Visit-
• Elevation to Strategic Partnership: Qatar and India have upgraded their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, aiming to deepen cooperation in various sectors, including trade, investment, energy, and security.
• Target for Bilateral Trade: India and Qatar have set an ambitious target to double bilateral trade from USD 14 billion to USD 28 billion by 2030.
• Qatar’s Investment Commitment: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has invested USD 1.5 billion in India and committed an additional USD 10 billion in sectors like infrastructure, renewable energy, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
• Avoidance of Double Taxation: A Revised Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation was also exchanged, which will foster economic and financial collaboration.
• Status of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA): Both nations discussed the possibility of a FTA.
• Negotiations are ongoing for an FTA between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Qatar.
• Infrastructure: Discussed the operationalization of India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in Qatar and the expansion of Qatar National Bank’s presence in India through GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City.
• Israel-Palestinian Conflict: India reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution.
2. CHINESE AI STARTUP DEEPSEEK HAS LAUNCHED GENERATIVE AI MODELS (KNOWN AS DEEPSEEK) THAT RIVAL GLOBAL LEADERS LIKE OPENAI, GOOGLE, AND META WHILE OFFERING COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE AT A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST –
• DeepSeek is a free AI-powered chatbot similar to ChatGPT, providing text-based assistance via web, mobile, and API.
• Deepseek (AI firm) was founded by Liang Wenfeng in May 2023 that specialises in open-source Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Recent Advanced Models: DeepSeek-V3 excels in coding, translation, and writing, while DeepSeek-R1 outperforms OpenAI’s o1 in reasoning, math, and logic.
Different With Other AI Models-
• Open-Source Advantage: Unlike proprietary models (OpenAI, Google), DeepSeek allows cost-effective AI adoption without licensing fees.
• Advanced Architecture: Uses Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) for specialized tasks and Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA) for efficiency, reducing training and deployment costs.
• Reinforcement Learning: Enhances reasoning through trial-and-error learning, enabling efficient distillation of large models.
• Real-Time Computation: DeepSeek-R1 displays reasoning in real time, outperforming OpenAI’s o1 in math, coding, and general knowledge.
3. PM MODI TO ATTEND MAURITIUS’ NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS AS GUEST OF HONOUR –
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Mauritius next month to participate as the Guest of Honour at the country’s National Day celebrations.
• This announcement was made by Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who emphasized that Modi’s presence underscores the deep and historic bilateral ties between the two nations.
4. KASH PATEL SWORN IN AS THE NINTH DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, TAKES OATH ON BHAGAVAD GITA –
• Indian-origin Kash Patel was officially sworn in as the ninth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday, February 21, 2025. Patel, known for his close ties to former U.S. President Donald Trump, took his oath on the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita, marking a significant moment in U.S. history.
• His swearing-in ceremony took place at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi administered the oath. Patel succeeds Christopher Wray, who resigned at the conclusion of the Biden administration.
5. DELHI CABINET APPROVES AYUSHMAN BHARAT IN FIRST MEETING AND OTHER DECISIONS –
• Rekha Gupta, a BJP leader and first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, took oath as the ninth Chief Minister of Delhi in a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. She chaired her first cabinet meeting on the same day, announcing two major decisions: the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme with a ₹5 lakh top-up and tabling of 14 pending CAG reports in the first Assembly sitting.
• Her government has also outlined its focus areas, including cleaning the Yamuna, infrastructure, education, and women’s welfare.
MCQ QUIZ
Q1. Javelin anti-tank guided missile has been developed by which country ?
a) United States (US)
b) Russia
c) France
d) China
Q2. Which country is the host of BRICS summit 2025 ?
a) Russia
b) Brazil
c) China
d) India
Q3. BrahMos NG missile is jointly developed by India and which country ?
a) Russia
b) China
c) Australia
d) Japan
Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. Gyanesh Kumar was appointed 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC).
2. The appointment process was governed by Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
3. This is the first appointment after the new act come into force.
How many statements are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) All three
d) None of these
Explanation-
• First statement was correct. Gyanesh Kumar was appointed 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC). He was succeeded to Rajiv Kumar, 25th chief election commission of India.
• The second statement is correct. The appointment process of Gyanesh Kumar was governed by Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
• Third statement is correct. This is the first appointment after the new act, Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023, come into force.
Q5. Consider the following statements about Delhi’s Seismic Risk and Shallow Earthquake:
1. Delhi lies in Seismic Zone IV, which is a high-risk area for earthquakes.
2. The February 17, 2025 earthquake in Delhi was an inter-plate event caused by tectonic plate movements.
3. The Delhi-Haridwar Ridge and the Aravalli Fault System are key fault lines affecting the seismic risk in Delhi.
Which of the above statements are correct ?
a) Only 1 and 3
b) Only 2 and 3
c) 1 and 2
d) All of the above
Explanation-
• Statement 1 is correct: Delhi is located in Seismic Zone IV, which is categorized as a high-risk area for earthquakes.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The earthquake was an intra-plate event, not an inter-plate one, caused by material heterogeneity rather than tectonic plate movements.
• Statement 3 is correct: The Delhi-Haridwar Ridge and Aravalli Fault System are significant fault lines contributing to the seismic risk in Delhi.
Answer Key
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
A | B | A | C | A |