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February – 13

TNPSC BITS
❖ The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has established a new Company operative
Base (COB) in Kutul, located in Chhattisgarh's Abhujhmad region.
❖ The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) is set to launch the Lord Buddha
Trination Tri services Expedition, a historic initiative uniting the armed forces of
India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
❖ The first-ever Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Youth Summit 2025 was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
under the Theme of "Youth as a Bridge for Intra-BIMSTEC Exchange."
❖ Indian Navy's First Training Squadron (1TS) comprising INS Sujata, INS Shardul
and ICGS Veera visited Changi Naval Base, Singapore for a series of joint Training
activities.
❖ RBI would introduce a new web domain “.bank.in”, which is designed to promote
trust in the domains that banking customers in the country use from April 2025.
❖ French tennis player Kyrian Jacquet won his first ATP title by clinching the 2025
Chennai Open men's singles title.

TAMIL NADU
Crime against SC/STs in Tamilnadu
❖ Tamil Nadu has recorded a rise in crimes against the SCs and STs during the
period between 2020 and 2022.
❖ The Cases registered under crime against the SCs in 2020 were 1,274 and 1,377
in 2021.
❖ In 2022, there was a spurt in crimes against the SCs and it resulted in the
registration of 1,761 cases.
❖ In 2020, there were 23 cases and increased to 30 in 2021 and 67 in 2022.
❖ The State also witnessed crimes against women belonging to the SCs and STs.
❖ Cases of rape of SC women were 116 in 2020, 123 in 2021 and 166 in 2022.
❖ In the case of ST women, cases of rape were 3 in 2020, 6 in 2021 and 14 in 2022.
❖ There is a rise in the crimes against the SCs and STs in all States and Uttar
Pradesh tops the list with 15,368 cases, up from 12,714 cases in 2020 and
13,146 cases in 2021.
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❖ The National helpline against atrocities (NHAA) with a toll-free number 14566
had been created for the purpose of grievance redressal and to create awareness.

NATIONAL
Milestone of 100 GW Solar Power Capacity
❖ India has achieved a historic milestone by surpassing 100 GW of installed solar
power capacity (100.33 GW).
❖ India’s solar power sector has witnessed an extraordinary 3450 % increase in
capacity over the past decade.
❖ It was rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in 2025.
❖ The Solar energy remains the dominant contributor to India’s renewable energy
growth, accounting for 47% of the total installed renewable energy capacity.
❖ In 2024, record-breaking 24.5 GW of solar capacity was added reflecting a more
than two-fold increase in solar installations compared to 2023.
❖ Last year also saw the installation of 18.5 GW of utility-scale solar capacity, a
nearly 2.8 times increase compared to 2023.
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❖ Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are among
the top-performing states.
❖ The rooftop solar sector in India witnessed remarkable growth in 2024, with 4.59
GW of new capacity installed, reflecting a 53% increase compared to 2023.

NCSK extension

❖ The Union Cabinet has approved a three-year extension of tenure for the National
Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK).
❖ It functions under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
❖ It implements provisions of the law prohibiting manual scavenging across the
country.
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❖ It is the implementing agency for provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as

Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
❖ The NCSK has a mandate to recommend specific programmes for the upliftment
of sanitation workers to the Centre, investigate specific grievances they may have,
and to study and monitor their working conditions, among other functions.
❖ The first NCSK, which was set up in 1994 under the National Commission for
Safai Karamcharis Act of 1993, was functioning as a statutory body till 2004,
when the law lapsed.
❖ Since then, the commission is acting as a non-statutory body under the Social
Justice Ministry with its tenure being extended from time to time.

NITI Aayog Report on Higher Education 2025

❖ The policy report prepared by the NITI Aayog titled ‘Expanding Quality Higher
Education through States and State Public Universities’.
❖ Among all states and Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir spends most for
education as a percentage of GDP at 8.11%, followed by Manipur (7.25%),
Meghalaya (6.64%), and Tripura (6.19%).
❖ Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana continue to
be the top spenders on per youth spending on higher education.
❖ The states like Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh lagging in it.
❖ Maharashtra leads in higher education funding with a budget of ₹11,421 crore,
followed by Bihar (₹9,666 crore) and Tamil Nadu (₹7,237 crore).
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❖ States like Sikkim (₹ 142 crore), Arunachal Pradesh (₹155 crore), and Nagaland
(₹167 crore) have the lowest higher education budgets.
❖ When considering higher education expenditure as a percentage of Gross State
Domestic Product (GSDP), Bihar ranks highest at 1.56%, followed by Jammu &
Kashmir at 1.53% and Manipur at 1.45%.
❖ Telangana has the lowest percentage at 0.18%, while Gujarat and Rajasthan
allocate 0.23% each.
❖ The national average university density is 0.8.
❖ Sikkim has the highest density of 10.3, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh,
Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand.
❖ In the highly populated states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, the West Bengal and
Maharashtra, density at the state level is below the national average, with Bihar
recording the lowest at 0.2.
❖ The States like Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have higher female
enrolment rates than males.
❖ Smaller states and UTs like Chandigarh, Mizoram, and the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands have relatively balanced male-female enrolments, with differences of only
a few hundred students.

Social Security Cover for Gig Workers

❖ Budget speech made two announcements on social security cover for gig workers.
❖ First is gig workers will be provided health insurance under the PM Jan Arogya
Yojana.
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❖ Second is such workers will be issued identity cards through the e-Shram portal,
which is expected to benefit 1 crore workers.
❖ A gig worker is someone who takes part in short-term, flexible jobs or tasks, often
through digital platforms or as independent contractors.
❖ There in almost every sector of the gig economy—food delivery, ride-hailing, e-
commerce and other professional services.
❖ In India, the Niti Aayog estimates the gig workforce to be around 12.7 million in
2024-25, which may reach 23.5 million by 2029-30.
❖ About a century ago, John Maynard Keynes had predicted three-hour shifts or
15-hour work weeks in his pivotal essay, ‘The Economic Possibilities for our
Grandchildren’.

INTERNATIONAL
Paris AI Summit 2025

❖ The third edition of the AI Action Summit was held in Paris.

❖ And France and India’s Prime Minister acted as a co-chair the Paris Summit.
❖ The Summit focused on five major themes, including public service AI, future of
work, innovation and culture, trust in AI, and global governance of AI.
❖ It’s the latest in a series of global dialogues around AI governance with two
previous editions held in the UK in 2023.
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❖ The Second India-France Al Policy Roundtable was also planned as a side event
during the Summit.

ENVIRONMENT
2025 Annual bird count - Pong Dam Lake
❖ The 2025 annual bird count at Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, recorded an
unprecedented surge in waterfowl, with a total of 1,53,719 birds of 97 species.
❖ Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected wetland in Himachal Pradesh.
❖ The sharp rise witnessed in the population of Bar-headed Geese, the sanctuary’s
flagship species.
❖ The overall rise in bird numbers - 83,555 more individuals than were counted in
2024.

IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025 - February 11
❖ It aims to recognise the significant achievements and contributions of women and
girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
❖ The United Nations declared this day in 2015.
❖ This day marks the importance of the gender equality and the empowerment of
women and girls across the world.
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❖ The theme for 2025 is “Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science."

Anti-Smuggling Day 2025 - February 11

❖ The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the
Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the
Economy (CASCADE) jointly observe this day.
❖ It aims to raise awareness on menace of cross-border smuggling and its potential
impact.
❖ In the past year, over 12,298kg of narcotics, 177kg gold, and 179kg silver from
the eastern and western borders were confiscated.
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❖ Additionally, the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs 3.27
million were also seized.

MISCELLANEOUS
75th Anniversary of NSS
❖ The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) celebrated the
75th anniversary of the National Sample Surveys (NSS).
❖ In 1950, the National Sample Survey Directorate was established in the Ministry
of Finance.
❖ In 1957, the directorate was transferred to the cabinet secretariat.
❖ In 1970, it became a part of the National Statistics Service of the Ministry of
Planning’s Department of Statistics.
❖ It has been under the newly formed Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation since 1999 (MOSPI).
❖ The Ministry has two wings - one relates to Statistics and the other is Programme
Implementation.
❖ The Statistics Wing called the National Statistical Office (NSO) consists of the
o Central Statistical Office (CSO),
o The Computer Center and
o The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

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