Daily Current Affairs: 21 February 2025

Current affairs of 21 February 2025: India-US Trade Talks: Preparing for the Bilateral Trade Agreement; US Reciprocal Tariffs and India’s $500 Billion Electronics Goal; Supreme Court Stay on Lokpal Order Covering HC Judges, and 7 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.

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In this issue: 10 topics

National Affairs

Supreme Court Stay on Lokpal Order Covering HC Judges
OTT Content Advisory: I&B Ministry Targets Obscene Streaming
Draft DPDP Rules 2025: Key Provisions and Penalties

Government Schemes

PM Internship Scheme Phase-2: 1.15 Lakh Internships, ₹10,831 Crore

Banking & Finance

RBI OMO Auction Draws ₹1.87 Lakh Crore Amid Liquidity Deficit
RBI Plans Emergency Withdrawal Limit for New India Co-op Depositors

Economy

Investment vs Consumption: India-China Growth Comparison

International Affairs

India-US Trade Talks: Preparing for the Bilateral Trade Agreement
US Reciprocal Tariffs and India’s $500 Billion Electronics Goal

Science & Technology

Microsoft Majorana 1: Quantum Chip Explained

National Affairs

Polity & Governance

1. Supreme Court Stay on Lokpal Order Covering HC Judges

The Supreme Court stayed a Lokpal order bringing High Court judges within its jurisdiction.
The Lokpal is a statutory body created by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
Judges are removed through impeachment under Articles 124 and 217; the next hearing is on March 18.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

2. OTT Content Advisory: I&B Ministry Targets Obscene Streaming

The I&B Ministry advisory asks OTT platforms to avoid obscene, pornographic or vulgar content.
Adult content needs age classification and parental controls under the IT Rules, 2021.
The grievance system has three tiers: platform, self-regulatory body, then the Union Government's Inter-departmental Committee.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

3. Draft DPDP Rules 2025: Key Provisions and Penalties

The Draft DPDP Rules, 2025 are subordinate legislation operationalising the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Data breaches must be reported to the Data Protection Board and affected users within 72 hours.
Penalties go up to ₹250 crore; Board orders can be appealed to TDSAT.
Minors under 18 need verifiable parental consent, with no behavioural tracking or targeted advertising.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Government Schemes

Economy

4. PM Internship Scheme Phase-2: 1.15 Lakh Internships, ₹10,831 Crore

PMIS enters its second pilot phase with over 115,000 internships in 25 sectors in year one.
FY 2025-26 allocation is ₹10,831 crore; stipend is ₹5,000 a month plus ₹6,000 one-time support.
Eligibility: family income below ₹8 lakh and no government-employed family member.
ONGC offered 6,000 internships and is building green hydrogen, biogas and renewable projects.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

Economy

5. RBI OMO Auction Draws ₹1.87 Lakh Crore Amid Liquidity Deficit

RBI's OMO auction drew offers of ₹1.87 lakh crore against a notified ₹40,000 crore, mostly from PSU banks.
The banking system's liquidity deficit ran for nine consecutive weeks, with a net deficit of ₹1.77 trillion.
Corporate bond yields rose despite a 25 bps MPC rate cut, while government yields stayed stable.
More OMOs, CRR cuts, forex swaps and long-term repos are possible liquidity tools.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

6. RBI Plans Emergency Withdrawal Limit for New India Co-op Depositors

RBI is working on emergency withdrawals for personal and medical needs at New India Co-operative Bank.
Proposed maximum is ₹5 lakh, matching the deposit insurance limit.
Withdrawals and loans were barred for six months; revival plan is unclear.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Economy

7. Investment vs Consumption: India-China Growth Comparison

Aggregate demand has four parts: household consumption, private investment, government spending and net exports.
A ₹100 infrastructure investment can generate about ₹125 of GDP through spillovers.
Investment was 41.3% of GDP in China versus 30.8% in India in 2023; India's consumption share was about 60.3%.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

International Affairs

Economy

8. India-US Trade Talks: Preparing for the Bilateral Trade Agreement

India began preparing for a Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US after Modi-Trump talks.
First sectoral meeting was with the Department of Heavy Industries on autos.
Industry consultations follow once the deal's broad outline is ready.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Economy

9. US Reciprocal Tariffs and India’s $500 Billion Electronics Goal

India targets $500 billion electronics production and $200 billion exports by 2030.
The US took 33% of India's electronics exports in FY24.
Electronics exports were $22.54 billion in April-November 2024, India's third largest category.
US electronics tariffs average just over 1%, versus India's 9% on 477 HS items.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

10. Microsoft Majorana 1: Quantum Chip Explained

Microsoft unveiled the Majorana 1 chip, saying practical quantum computing is 'years, not decades' away.
It uses the Majorana fermion, a theoretical particle proposed in the 1930s, and is claimed to be more stable.
Some scientists want more conclusive proof; Harvard's Philip Kim called it exciting.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

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Daily Current Affairs: 21 February 2025

In this issue: 10 topics

National Affairs

1. Supreme Court Stay on Lokpal Order Covering HC Judges

2. OTT Content Advisory: I&B Ministry Targets Obscene Streaming

3. Draft DPDP Rules 2025: Key Provisions and Penalties

Government Schemes

4. PM Internship Scheme Phase-2: 1.15 Lakh Internships, ₹10,831 Crore

Banking & Finance

5. RBI OMO Auction Draws ₹1.87 Lakh Crore Amid Liquidity Deficit

6. RBI Plans Emergency Withdrawal Limit for New India Co-op Depositors

Economy

7. Investment vs Consumption: India-China Growth Comparison

International Affairs

8. India-US Trade Talks: Preparing for the Bilateral Trade Agreement

9. US Reciprocal Tariffs and India’s $500 Billion Electronics Goal

Science & Technology

10. Microsoft Majorana 1: Quantum Chip Explained

Test yourself