Kapil Kathpal
SEBI Proposes Secure UPI Payment
Mechanism for Market Intermediaries
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India is working on a
secure Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mechanism for registered market
intermediaries. This move aims to improve investor security, prevent
fraudulent transactions, and ensure that payments are directed only to
legitimate intermediaries.
• SEBI plans to introduce a unique alphanumeric UPI ID for each registered
market intermediary. This ID will help investors verify the legitimacy of
intermediaries before making payments. In addition, a verification icon—
a “thumbs-up” symbol inside a green triangle—will appear when
payments are made to verified entities. If this icon is missing, investors
will know that they may be dealing with an unregistered intermediary.
• Currently, UPI transactions for capital markets are capped at ₹2 lakh per
day. SEBI proposes increasing this limit to ₹5 lakh per day, allowing
investors to carry out higher-value transactions securely. This increase
will be implemented in collaboration with the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI)
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L&T Finance Unveils AI-Powered
Home Loan Advisor ‘KAI’
• L&T Finance Limited (LTF), a leading Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC) in India, has launched ‘Knowledgeable AI’ (KAI),
an AI-powered virtual home loan advisor on its newly redesigned
corporate website
• L&T Finance’s KAI is a virtual advisor that leverages the power of
artificial intelligence to guide users through the home loan process
• KAI provides quick, accurate loan calculations, helping users
evaluate their loan eligibility and EMI plans.
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Finvasia Launched AI-Driven Super App ‘Jumpp’
• Finvasia partnered with YES Bank Limited to launch
‘Jumpp’, an Artificial Intelligence enabled super
application to simplify personal finance.
• It enables users to seamlessly open savings accounts
with YES Bank in just minutes.
• It is powered by an AI chatbot that delivers
personalized financial advice, while also incorporating
advanced features for fraud prevention.
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4 New Wetlands from India added to Ramsar List
• Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEF&CC) announced the inclusion of four new wetlands from India in
Ramsar Convention list, bringing the total number of internationally recognized
Ramsar sites in India to 89.
• The newly added sites are the Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary and Therthangal Bird
Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, Khecheopalri Wetland in Sikkim, and Udhwa Lake in
Jharkhand.
• This also marks the first Ramsar sites for both Sikkim and Jharkhand.
• Tamil Nadu now has 20 Ramsar sites, the highest number in India, followed by
Uttar Pradesh with 10.
• Globally, there are 2,529 Ramsar wetlands.
• India has the highest number of Ramsar sites in Asia and ranks third globally,
following the United Kingdom with 176 sites and Mexico with 144 sites.
• To be designated as a Ramsar site, a wetland must meet at least one of the nine
criteria outlined in the Ramsar Convention of 1971.
• Over the past decade, the number of Ramsar sites in India has grown substantially,
from 26 to 89, with 47 of these added in the last three years.
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• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty aimed
at protecting and conserving wetlands and their
resources. It was signed in 1971 in Ramsar, a city in
Iran, and came into effect in 1975.
• This treaty is unique as it is the only international
agreement focused on a single ecosystem. It has 172
member countries, including India.
• India joined the Ramsar Convention in 1982.
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Govt extends financial support for
Athletes of 9th Asian Winter Games
• For the first time, the government of India has extended full financial
support to the Indian contingent participating in an Asian Winter
Games under the Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF)
Scheme.
• The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the
inclusion of the Indian contingent participating in the 9th Winter Asian
Games to be held in Harbin, China under its ANSF scheme.
• The Chinese city of Harbin is hosting the 9th Asian Winter Games from 7-
14 February 2025.
• Harbin is hosting the Winter Asian Games for the second time having
hosted it in 1994.
• Under the ANSF scheme, the government of India provides financial
assistance to National Sports Federations for the training of athletes,
hiring of foreign coaches, support staff, etc for participation in International
and national events.
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• The government will provide full financial support to the athletes
participating in the Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating,
Short Track Speed Skating, and Speed Skating (Long Track) events at the
9th Asian Winter Games.
• India is sending an 88-member contingent to the Harbin Winter Games,
including 59 athletes and 29 officials.
• Mascot - Binbin and Nini. Both are tigers found in the Northeastern region
of China. Binbin represents ice sports and Nini represents snow sports.
• Slogan of the Games- Dream of Winter, Love among Asia
• Emblem of the Games- Breakthrough.
• The first Asian Winter Games was held in Sapporo, Japan in 1986.
• India has not won any medals in the Winter Asian Games.
2017 Sapporo & Obihiro/ Japan
2025 Harbin/China
2029 Trojena/Saudi Arabia
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IIT Indore in Collaboration with
MeitY Launched ‘AgriHub’
• Indian Institute of Technology India in collaboration with Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched ‘AgriHub’, an
Artificial Intelligence driven Centre of Excellence to foster technological
innovation, startup incubation, and industry collaboration in agritech
sector.
• The CoE will utilize AI, Machine Learning and Deep Learning which will
help in addressing the critical agricultural challenges such as: drought,
floods, and low productivity and will also promote sustainable agriculture
in India.
• The project is led by Professor Aruna Tiwari and Professor Pavan Kankar,
both are faculties of IIT-I.
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Avaada Group Partners with Casale
to Develop Ammonia Plant in Odisha
• Avaada Group partnered with Casale, a company fully
owned by Casale Holding and headquartered in
Lugano, Switzerland, to develop India’s largest green
ammonia plant in Gopalpur, Odisha.
• The facility will have a production capacity of 1,500
tonnes per day
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Indian Armed Forces conducts TROPEX
25 to test its combat readiness
• Senior military officers observed the Theatre Level Operational
Readiness Exercise (TROPEX-2025), joint operations aboard
several Indian Navy Ship to witness the operations and readiness
of Indian armed forces : Indian Navy, the Indian Army and the
Indian Air Force in the Indian Ocean Region.
• TROPEX is the Indian Navy’s largest exercise, held every two
years
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Maldives host the 13th edition of the
‘Ekuverin’ military exercise
• The 13th edition of the joint India-Maldives military exercise ‘Ekuverin’ is
being hosted by Maldives from 2-15 February 2025.
• The inaugural ceremony of the 13th Ekuverin exercise between
the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) was
held at the Official Composite Training Center of the MNDF
at Maafilaafushi in Maldives
• The 12th edition of the Ekuverin was held at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand
from 11-24 June 2023.
• Ekuverin which means Friends in the Dhivehi language of Maldives was
started in 2009 to strengthen the bilateral military ties between India and
Maldives.
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Military Exercise Participants Latest Edition
Ekuverin Indian Army and the MNDF 13th edition in Maldives in
February 2025. First edition
in 2009.
Exercise Katha Indian Navy and the Naval The 6th edition was held in
wing of the MNDF Maldives from 4th June to -
3rd July 2023.
The first edition was held in
2017.
Exercise Shield Anti-narcotics and Maritime The first edition was held in
search and rescue 2021.
operations, between It was a virtual exercise
the Indian Navy, MNDF, with the Indian Navy being
and the Sri Lanka Navy. the lead agency.
Exercise Dosti Exercise between the Started between the Indian
Coast Guard of India, and the Maldivian Coast
Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Guard in 1991 as an
annual exercise.
The Sri Lankan Coast
Guard joined in 2012.
The 16th edition was held
from 22-25 February 2024
near Male, Maldives.
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Noel Naval Tata Honored with
Doctorate by University of Sussex
• University of Sussex awarded an honorary doctorate to Noel Naval Tata
for his exceptional contribution to global business leadership.
• Noel Naval Tata currently serves as the Chairman of Trent Limited, Tata
International Limited, Voltas Limited, and Tata Investment Corporation
Limited.
• Additionally, he holds the position of Vice Chairman at Tata Steel Limited
and Titan Company Limited.
• Noel Tata earned a degree in Economics from the University of Sussex in
1978.
• In 2024, Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, was appointed Chairman of
the Tata Trusts Limited, the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group.
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Hero MotoCorp Appoints
Vikram Kasbekar as Acting CEO
• Hero MotoCorp appointed Vikram Kasbekar, Executive
Director of the company, as the acting Chief Executive
Officer effective from May 1, 2025.
• He will succeed Niranjan Gupta
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Bart De Wever sworn in as
Belgium’s New Prime Minister
• Conservative political leader Bart De Wever was sworn in as
the Prime Minister of Belgium by King Phillippe on 3rd February
2025 in a ceremony at the royal palace in Brussels.
• Bart De Wever takes over as the Prime Minister from Alexander
De Croo
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X Corp to Launch 1st Digital
Wallet with Visa Partnership
• XCorp (formerly known as Twitter, Inc. ) unveiled its 1st
Digital Wallet , peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service ‘X
Money’ in partnership with VISA to launch a real-time
payment system aiming to create an “everything
application.”
• The company will utilize Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time
money transfer solution, to fund X Money’s wallet, link
to a debit card for payments to other users, and
facilitate smooth transfers back to your bank account.
Kapil Kathpal
Sunita Williams Sets New Record for Longest Spacewalk
• An Indian-origin astronaut from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Sunita Williams set a new record for the longest
total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, reaching 62 hours and 6
minutes.
• The spacewalk was part of Expedition 72, which began on September 23,
2024.
• This marked her ninth spacewalk, breaking the previous record of 60
hours and 21 minutes held by former astronaut Peggy Whitson.
• Both astronauts have been on the International Space Station since June
2024.
• The overall record is currently held by Anatoly Solovyev of the Russian
Federal Space Agency, with 82:22 hours from 16 EVAs (Extra-vehicular
activity) followed by NASA's Michael Lopez-Alegria with 67:40 hours in 10
EVAs.
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Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers win men’s
Hockey India League 2024-25 Title
• Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers won the 6th Men’s Hockey India League
2024-25 title, beating Hyderabad Toofans in final at Birsa Munda
International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha
• This was the first title win for the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers
• The 6th men’s Hockey India league was held at the Birsa Munda Hockey
Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha
• Earlier, the Odisha Warriors won the first edition of the Women’s Hockey
India League 2024-25 title by defeating Soorma Hockey
• The first edition of the men’s Hockey India League was held in 2013 and
was held every year till 2017 (won by Kalinga lancers)
• After a gap of seven years, the 6th edition of the Men’s Hockey India
League was organised in 2024-25 in Rourkela, Odisha.
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India won ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025
• India won the 2nd edition of the International Cricket Council Under-19
(U19) Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 for the 2nd consecutive time by
defeating South Africa with 9 wickets at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur
• India’s women cricket team was led by captain Niki Prasa
• BCCI has announced an INR 5 crore cash prize for the Women's U19 T20
World Cup-winning squad and support staff, led by head coach Nooshin
Al Khadeer.
• Gongadi Trisha earned ‘Player of the Match 2025’ and ‘Player of the
Series 2025’ awards
• In the first edition of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, India defeated
England by 7 wickets in the final in South Africa.
• The third edition of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to
be hosted by Bangladesh and Nepal in 2027.
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R Praggnanandhaa won Tata Steel Chess Masters 2025
• Indian Chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the ‘Tata
Steel Chess Masters 2025’ trophy by defeating World Chess
Champion of 2024, D Gukeshheld in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
• With this victory, Praggnanandhaa became the 1st Indian Chess
player since Viswanathan Anand in 2006 to win the Tata Steel
Masters title.
Kapil Kathpal
World Wetlands Day 2025 – February 2
• The United Nations World Wetlands Day is observed annually on
February 2 across the globe to raise awareness about the critical
role wetlands play in supporting both people and the planet.
• The day commemorates the Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance (Ramsar Convention), an
intergovernmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971, in Ramsar,
Iran along the shores of the Caspian Sea.
• The theme for World Wetlands Day 2025, “Protecting Wetlands for
Our Common Future”.
