Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 1st May 2025

 

 International News 

1. Defence Minister to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade 

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9 that will mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in the Second World War, official sources said on Wednesday. 
•  Russia had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the grand parade to be held in Moscow but India conveyed to Russia that Mr. Singh will attend it. 
•  Russia has invited leaders of several friendly nations to attend this year’s Victory Day parade. 
•  Modi had travelled to Russia twice last year for an annual summit with President Vladimir Putin and to attend the BRICS Summit in Kazan. 
• The Russian President is expected to visit India for the annual summit this year. 

State News

2. Satya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi anointed the 71st seer to head Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam 

• Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns and reverberating to the sounds of ‘Hara Hara Sankara, Jaya Jaya Sankara’ by devotees, Sri Satya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi was anointed the 71st seer of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam at a grand ceremony held in Kancheepuram on Wednesday. 
•  Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya, the current seer, inducted his successor, born as Duddu Satya Venkata Surya Subrahmanya Ganesha Sharma Dravid, as the 71st acharya by performing the Sanyasa Deeksha Samaroh and handing over the ‘tandem’ (staff ) at the Ganga Theertham of Sri Kanchi Kamakshi Ambal Devasthanam temple here. 
•  Auspicious occasion Addressing devotees on Wednesday, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi said Sri Satya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi had joined the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam family, one of the most important peethas in the country, to carry forward the ‘Guru Parampara’ tradition. 
•  Immediately after the anointment ceremony, devotees lined up on both sides of the streets to give a rousing welcome to the two seers as they proceeded to the Kanchi Math. 
• A source in the Kanchi Math said the new seer hailed from a humble family of Vedic scholars from Annavaram in Andhra Pradesh. 
•  The 20-year-old newly anointed acharya is himself an accomplished scholar in Rig Veda. 
•  He pursued Vedic studies for more than 12 years and was serving until recently as a pandit in Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devasthanam at Basara, Telangana. 
•  His father Dhanvantri Sharma is a priest in Sri Sathyanarayana temple of Annavaram in Andhra Pradesh, while his mother Alamelu is a homemaker and his younger sister is pursuing her undergraduation. 
•  Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi participated in the anointment ceremony. 

Business News 

3. Fair, remunerative price for sugar cane increased

•   The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday, has approved fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugar cane for the sugar season of 2025-26 (October-September) at ₹355 a quintal.
•   In the previous season, the amount was ₹340. The price will be applicable for a basic sugar recovery rate of 10.25%.
•  A decision to provide a premium of ₹3.46 a quintal for each 0.1% increase in recovery over and above 10.25% and a reduction by ₹3.46 a quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery was also taken in the meeting. 
• “However, the government with a view to protect the interest of sugar cane farmers has also decided that there shall not be any deduction in case of sugar mills where recovery is below 9.5%.
•   Such farmers will get ₹329.05 a quintal in the ensuing sugar season 2025-26,” Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vainshnaw said. The cost of production of sugar cane for the sugar season in 2025-26 is calculated at ₹173 a quintal. 
• About five crore farmers and around five lakh workers employed in sugar mills are dependent on sugar cane farming and processing, apart from those employed in various ancillary activities including farm labour and transportation. 
•  “The FRP has been determined on the basis of recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State governments and other stakeholders,” Mr. Vaishnaw added. 
•  The Centre said in a release that in 2023-24, out of the dues payable of ₹1,11,782 crore, about ₹1,11,703 crore have been paid to farmers, as on April 28. As much as 99.92% of the dues has been cleared, and in the current season, out of ₹97,270 crore payable, about ₹85,094 crore have been paid as on April 28, where 87% ues have been cleared.

 Economy News 

4. Centre issues simplified IT returns forms for 2025-26 

•  The Centre has notified Income Tax Return (ITR) forms 1 and 4 for the assessment year 2025-26, simplifying the filing process for individuals earning salary or presumptive income who have long term capital gains (LTCG) up to ₹1.25 lakh from listed equities. 
•  Previously required to file the more complex ITR-2, these taxpayers can now use the simpler ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms, respectively. 
• Beyond the LTCG change, the government has introduced other modifications. The forms now feature a drop-down menu in the utility for selecting deductions claimed under sections like 80C and 80GG. 

Appointment News

 5. Ex-RAW chief appointed head of reconstituted NSAB 

•  The government has reorganised the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) with Alok Joshi, former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency, appointed its Chairman and the induction of seven new members.
•   The move undertaken in the past few days comes amid the ongoing tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. PM chairs CCS meeting In another development, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Wednesday, a day after Mr. Modi chaired a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and the three service chiefs. 
•  Expressing complete faith and confidence in the professional abilities of the armed forces, Mr. Modi, in that meeting, gave “complete operational freedom” to the forces to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of the Indian response. 
•  The new members of the Board include former Ambassador to Russia D. B. Venkatesh Varma, a nonproliferation expert; former Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. A.K. Singh; former Western Air Commander Air Marshal P. M. Sinha; Rear Admiral Monty Khanna; and former IPS officers Rajiv Ranjan Verma, Manmohan Singh and A.B. Mathur. This effectively sees half of the 16- member Board reconstituted. Mr. Joshi was an IPS officer of the Haryana cadre of the 1976 batch and had served in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and was appointed RAW chief in 2012. 
• Mr. Mathur had also served in the RAW while Mr. Singh had served in the IB. “The reconstitution is a standard practice of bringing in new members once the tenure is complete. 
• Not all members of the Board are changed at the same time to ensure continuity,” an official with knowledge of the matter said. 
•  The principal function of the NSAB is to undertake long-term analysis and provide perspectives on national security issues to the National Security Council (NSC) and to recommend measures/solutions and policy options on the issues referred to by the National Security Council, as per a written reply given by the government in Parliament. 
• The NSAB was constituted in December 1998, as an advisory body of eminent persons outside the government to render advice on national security issues referred to it by the NSC. 
• It draws people of diverse domains including industry, media and civil society, among others. The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) assists the NSC, NSAB and the Strategic Policy Group. 

Science and Technology News

 6. Study highlights lack of access to right antibiotics in eight countries 

• Only 7.8% of patients with drug-resistant infections in India received an appropriate antibiotic, a study of eight nations published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has revealed. 
•  Lack of access to appropriate treatment for such serious infections increases morbidity and mortality, besides driving up healthcare costs and prolonging hospitalisation. 
•  Research carried out by Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), a non-profit health organisation, has revealed that a significant number of multidrug-resistant infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including India, are not being treated appropriately, because of large gaps in access. 
• The study looked at which antibiotics were available to treat nearly 1.5 million cases of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) infections across eight geographically diverse and populous LMICs — Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa. 
• India’s 7.8% measures against an average of 6.9% across all eight countries. The researchers defined and estimated two key parameters — the need for treatment or total number of resistant bacterial infections; the number of individuals potentially initiated on appropriate treatment, specifically focusing on CRGN infections. 
• Researchers used The Lancet’s “Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance” (GRAM) study and IQVIA data for 2019 to arrive at the numbers. “We were looking at three aspects,” explains Jennifer Cohn, GARDP’s Global Access Director and senior author of the study. 
•  “These were: To evaluate the access to antibiotics gap; create better data that will be an imperative to better define the cascade of care; and look at strong programmes or innovations that enabled better antibiotics stewardship in nations.” 
•  “We all know that high end antibiotics are extensively overused and misused in countries like India, contributing significantly to resistance against these life-saving drugs. 
• But this paper reminds us of an equally alarming issue — lack of access to these same antibiotics,” says Abdul Ghafur, infectious diseases specialist and founder, AMR Declaration Trust.
•   “In 2019, India had nearly 10 lakh carbapenem-resistant gram-negative infections, yet less than 1 lakh patients received appropriate treatment. 
• The modelling suggests that around 3.5 lakh deaths occurred due to these infections. So we are caught in a paradox — irrational overuse on one end, and insufficient access on the other,” he added. Indian 

Polity News 

7. Cabinet nod to include caste count in Census 

•  Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Vaishnaw said: “Congress governments have always opposed caste census. 
•  Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since Independence. 
• In 2010, then Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh ji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A Group of Ministers was formed to consider this subject. 
•  Most of the political parties had recommended caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct merely a survey of caste instead of a caste census. That survey is known as the SECC.” 
•  The official quoted earlier added that the SECC showed more than 46 lakh different caste names, whereas the total number of castes counted during the 1931 Census was 4,147. 
• “The SECC threw up lakhs of caste names as it was kept open-ended. Respondents were asked to name their castes. For example, people wrote Gupta, Agarwal, etc. for Baniya caste, which increased the numbers exponentially. 
•  This time, a code directory will likely be provided which will include approved names,” the official explained. 
•  According to the latest government data, there are nearly 2,650 communities in the OBC group, 1,170 in the SC category, and 890 in the ST list in the Central list. 
•  The State governments maintain their own list of OBC groups

International Labour Day

 1 May International Labour Day

•  1 May International Labour Day is observed annually on 1 May to pay tribute to the contribution of workers around the world.In 1886, around 2,00,000 American labourers demanded eight hours of work-day and a huge strike took place.Later, the movement turned violent in Chicago. It was remembered as Haymarket Affairs.International Labour Day was first observed on May 1, 1889, by a coalition of socialist parties in Europe.Ever since, the day has been observed annually.International Labour Day is also known as May Day or Workers' Day.

Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day: 1 May

•  Every year on 1 May, Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day are celebrated.
• In 2025, both states are celebrating their 65th foundation day.Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed in 1960 after the division of the Bombay province into two parts.
• Both states were formed on the basis of the language. 
• The Marathi-speaking areas were included in Maharashtra, while Gujarati-speaking areas were included in Gujarat.The boundaries of the state were defined under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.Before 1960, Maharashtra was part of the Bombay State, which included present-day Maharashtra, Gujarat and parts of Madhya Pradesh.MaharashtraGujaratIn terms of area, Maharashtra is the third largest state in India.
• In terms of population, it is the second-most populous state.Capital: MumbaiChief Minister: Devendra FadnavisGovernor: C. P. RadhakrishnanLok Sabha seats: 48, Rajya Sabha seats: 
• 19It shares its boundary with Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
• It is a coastal state of India.It is the fifth-largest Indian state by area and the ninth-largest state by population.
• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Bhupendra Patel
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Lok Sabha seats: 26, 
• Rajya Sabha seats: 11
• It shares its border with Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. 

On 1 May, the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit 2025 inaugurated by PM Modi in Mumbai.

•  The first edition of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 is being hosted by India at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai from May 1 to 4, 2025.A global platform for discussions on the future of the entertainment and audio-visual sectors will be provided through this summit.The event is being organized with the tagline ‘Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries’ to emphasize global collaboration.India is being positioned as a global center for media, digital innovation, and entertainment through this initiative.Key sectors such as films, OTT, gaming, comics, broadcasting, AI, and digital media are being integrated in this event.An exclusive zone called Creatosphere visited by PM Modi during the summit.He also interacted with creators selected through the 32 ‘Create in India’ challenges. 

Key infrastructure projects reviewed by PM Modi during the 46th Pragati meeting. 

• On April 30, the 46th edition of PRAGATI held under the chairmanship of PM Narendra Modi.It is an ICT-based multi-modal platform for proactive governance and timely implementation involving the central and state governments.Eight major infrastructure projects—including three road projects and two projects each of railways and port, shipping, and waterways—were reviewed with a combined estimated cost of ₹90,000 crore.The Prime Minister emphasized Aadhaar-based biometric authentication for identification of beneficiaries under government schemes.He also instructed officials to explore the possibility of integrating additional programs into the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.These should focus on promoting child care, improving health and hygiene practices, ensuring cleanliness, and addressing related aspects that enhance the overall well-being of mothers and newborns.While reviewing the Ring Road project, the Prime Minister emphasized its integration into broader urban planning, ensuring it supports the city’s long-term growth over the next 25 to 30 years through a holistic approach.Integration of a Circular Rail Network within urban transport systems was suggested as a sustainable mass transit solution.The Prime Minister emphasized strong community engagement along river stretches under the Jal Marg Vikas Project to boost cruise tourism and support local businesses, especially artisans under the ‘One District One Product’ initiative.The Prime Minister reiterated the importance of regularly updating departmental databases and using tools like PM Gatishakti for integrated planning. 

CBI cracked down on global child sexual exploitation network under Operation Hawk 2025. 

• Based on intelligence from the US-led Operation Hawk, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has dismantled cybercrime networks involved in child sexual exploitation with global connections.A case was registered by the International Operations Division of the CBI against Sheikh Muizz Ahmed under Section 506 of Indian Penal Code, Section 66D of Information Technology Act, 2000, and Section 12 read with Section 11 of POCSO Act, 2012.It was revealed that during March 2024, the accused from Mangaluru used the social media platform ‘Discord’ to exploit a minor girl from the USA.Obscene chats and explicit media were allegedly obtained by the accused through inducement and threats.Several locations in Mumbai and Mangaluru were searched by the CBI, leading to the seizure of mobile phones and laptops containing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).Sheikh Muizz Ahmed was arrested and sent to judicial custody following the discovery of digital evidence.A second case was filed against Mukul Saini of Delhi under sections of the IPC, IT Act, and POCSO Act for similar offences.Between 2023 and 2024, the accused reportedly used platforms like ‘Discord’ and ‘Arisu’ to exploit another minor girl from the USA through coercion and blackmail.Extensive searches were carried out by the CBI in Delhi, where mobile phones and hard disks with incriminating content were recovered.Prior operations such as Operation Carbon (2021) and Megh Chakra (2022) were previously conducted by the CBI to address online child exploitation cases with international dimensions. 

Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army Command.

•  On 30 April, Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma has been appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army Command, based in Udhampur.The post was earlier held by Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar, who retired after serving a 15-month tenure.Lt. Gen. Kumar's retirement marks the end of over 30 years of distinguished military service.With more than three decades in the Army, Lt. Gen. Sharma has served in diverse and challenging operational theatres.Participation in key operations like Pawan, Meghdoot, Rakshak, and Parakram has been a part of his operational experience.Several crucial appointments have been held by Lt. Gen. Sharma, including Director General Military Operations and roles in the Military Secretary Branch. 

The National Archives of India released a book titled ‘Ramanujan: Journey of a Great Mathematician’.

•  The book tells the story of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. It covers his life and his major contributions to mathematics. The book follows Ramanujan’s journey from Erode, Tamil Nadu. It highlights his groundbreaking work in number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. His theorems and results still impress mathematicians around the world. The authors of the book are Arun Singhal and Dr. Devendra Kumar Sharma. Ramanujan:Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar was an Indian mathematician.He is regarded as one among the greatest mathematicians of all time.He had almost no formal training in pure mathematics.He contributed significantly to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.He was born in Erode, Mysore State, British India [now in Tamil Nadu,India] 

SEBI has issued a warning about ‘Opinion Trading’ platforms.

• These platforms allow users to bet on the outcome of yes-or-no events. They often imitate legitimate trading services. This is done by using terms like profits, stop loss, and trading. SEBI clarified that such activities are usually outside its regulatory scope.The reason is that the items traded are not considered securities. Investors should be aware that SEBI’s protection mechanisms do not apply in these cases. These platforms are not recognized as official stock exchanges. They are also not registered or regulated by SEBI. Conducting securities trades on them is illegal. It can result in regulatory action. SEBI has urged recognized exchanges to take action against such violations. The press release aims to make the public aware about SEBI’s limited role regarding these platforms. 

The United States and Ukraine have agreed on a new economic partnership. 

• The deal gives the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Washington will get access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for a joint fund to invest in Ukraine’s reconstruction.In exchange, both countries will contribute to a fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The agreement follows months of detailed negotiations. The U.S. Treasury confirmed the creation of a Reconstruction Investment Fund. This fund will receive 50 percent of profits and royalties from new resource permits issued by Ukraine. The U.S. will receive priority access to Ukraine’s natural resources. However, it will not gain ownership of those resources. The deal also excludes any control over Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. An earlier version of the agreement was set for February. It was delayed after a disagreement between President Zelenskyy and former President Donald Trump. The disagreement occurred during a meeting at the White House.