Daily Current Affairs 2025  

24/02/2026

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CA-24/02/2026

• Target: 1 crore households equipped with rooftop solar.
• Free Power: Up to 300 units/month per household.
• Financing: Collateral-free loans up to ₹2 lakh at subsidized interest rates (around 6.75%) via public sector banks.
• Subsidies: Over ₹4,770 crore already disbursed to more than 6 lakh beneficiaries.
• Employment: Expected to create jobs for 1,00,000 solar PV technicians.
• Environmental Impact:
  • 1,000 billion units of renewable electricity over 25 years.
  • Reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

• Strengthens energy security by reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
• Empowers households to generate their own electricity.
• Supports India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070.
• Promotes green jobs and skill development in renewable energy.

• Best Film: One Battle After Another (also won Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor for Sean Penn).
• Outstanding British Film: Hamnet.​
• Film Not in the English Language: Sentimental Value.​
• Animated Film: Zootropolis 2; Children's and Family Film: Boong.​
• Other notable wins: Sinners (Original Screenplay), My Father's Shadow (Outstanding Debut).​

• Founded: 16 April 1947 (originally as the British Film Academy)
• Type: Independent trade association and charity
• Purpose: Supports, develops, and promotes the art of film, television, and video games
• Headquarters: Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
• Membership: Around 13,500 members worldwide
• President: The Prince of Wales (since 2010)
• Chairman: Krishnendu Majumdar
• Chief Executive: Jane Millichip

• BAFTA is best known for its annual awards ceremonies:
  • Film Awards – often seen as the UK’s equivalent to the Oscars
  • Television Awards – celebrating excellence in British and international TV
  • Games Awards – recognizing achievements in video game design and storytelling
• Winners receive the iconic bronze mask trophy, designed by sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe in 1955.

• Funding Source: Contributions from telecom companies are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) before being allocated to DBN projects.
• Scope of Coverage:
  • Rural and remote areas
  • Underserved urban pockets
  • Special focus on marginalized groups (women, persons with disabilities, economically weaker sections)
• Major Projects Supported:
  • BharatNet – connecting 2.15 lakh Gram Panchayats with fiber optic broadband
  • 4G Saturation Project – upgrading 2G sites to 4G in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas
  • Mobile services in aspirational districts, Himalayan & border regions
  • Submarine OFC projects – connecting remote islands

• Digital Inclusion: Ensures equitable access to telecom services across India.
• Economic Empowerment: Enables e-governance, online education, telemedicine, and digital payments in rural areas.
• Security & Connectivity: Strengthens communication infrastructure in border and sensitive regions.

• Project: Third vessel under the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) program, which will eventually field eight ships.
• Role: Designed to detect, track, and neutralize enemy submarines in coastal and littoral waters.
• Nickname: Known as a “Dolphin Hunter”, emphasizing its specialized role in shallow-water submarine hunting.
• Builder: Constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, showcasing India’s indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.
• Commissioning Ceremony: Presided over by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff.

• Enhances ASW capabilities in India’s eastern seaboard, particularly around Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
• Strengthens coastal defense and maritime security against underwater threats.
• Supports India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative by relying on indigenous design and manufacturing.

• Capital Gains Taxation:
  Full taxing rights on capital gains from the sale of shares are now granted to the country where the company is resident.
• Dividend Taxation:
  The earlier flat 10% withholding tax has been replaced with a split rate:
  • 5% for shareholders holding at least 10% of the capital.
  • 15% for all other shareholders.
• Removal of MFN Clause:
  The “Most-Favoured-Nation” clause has been deleted to simplify treaty application and reduce disputes.
• Permanent Establishment (PE):
  Expanded to include Service PE, strengthening India’s taxing rights on foreign service providers.
• Fees for Technical Services (FTS):
  Definition aligned with the India–US DTAA, ensuring consistency with international standards.
• Other Refinements:
  Adjustments to exemptions on interest income for certain French entities, while royalties taxation remains unchanged.

Area	Impact
Capital Gains	Prevents treaty shopping, ensures source-based taxation
Dividends	More equitable taxation, encourages long-term investors
MFN Clause Removal	Reduces litigation and ambiguity
Service PE	Expands India’s tax base for cross-border services
FTS Alignment	Harmonizes with global practices

• Avoids Double Taxation: Ensures that income earned in one country is not taxed again in the taxpayer’s home country.
• Taxing Rights Allocation: Defines which country has the right to tax specific types of income (e.g., dividends, royalties, capital gains).
• Promotes Investment: By reducing tax uncertainty, DTAC encourages foreign direct investment and smoother economic cooperation.
• Information Exchange: Provides mechanisms for tax authorities to share information, reducing tax evasion

• Second phase of India’s asset monetisation programme, launched by Finance Minister in February 2026.
• Developed by NITI Aayog in consultation with infrastructure ministries.
• Provides a medium-term roadmap (FY2026–FY2030) for monetising operational public infrastructure assets.
• Goal: Unlock value from brownfield assets to generate resources for new infrastructure and capital expenditure.

• Total monetisation potential: ₹16.72 lakh crore over 5 years.
• Private sector investment: ₹5.8 lakh crore expected.
• GDP impact: Projected to add ~₹40 lakh crore to India’s GDP over the next 5–10 years.

• Energy: GAIL, Coal India (partial disinvestment, IPOs, stake dilution).
• Transport: Airports Authority of India (AAI), railways, roads.
• Tourism & Hospitality: Redevelopment of government-owned hotels.
• Other infrastructure: Telecom, power transmission, warehousing, ports.

Feature	NMP 1.0 (2021–25)	NMP 2.0 (2026–30)
Target	₹6 lakh crore	₹16.72 lakh crore
Achievement	~89% of target met	Yet to begin (launched Feb 2026)
Focus	Roads, railways, power, telecom	Expanded to 12 sectors including tourism & disinvestment of PSUs
Approach	Brownfield assets monetisation	Larger scale, includes equity sales & IPOs

• Supports Viksit Bharat initiative by financing infrastructure growth.
• Encourages private participation in public assets.
• Helps reduce fiscal burden while ensuring better asset utilisation.

• Strong Protest: Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the event, calling it an “unjust assertion of sovereignty” and demanded the immediate abolition of Takeshima Day.
• Dokdo Claim: South Korea emphasized that Dokdo is its inherent territory “historically, geographically, and under international law.”
• Diplomatic Tension: The protest reflects the long-standing dispute rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of Korea (1910–1945).

• Composition: Two main volcanic islets (East Islet/Dongdo and West Islet/Seodo) plus 30–90 smaller rocks and reefs.
• Area: About 18.7 hectares (46 acres).
• Location: Roughly equidistant between Korea and Japan, but closer to South Korea’s Ulleungdo (87 km) than to Japan’s Oki Islands (157 km).
• Coordinates: 37°14′30″N, 131°52′00″E.

• Currently administered by: South Korea, as part of Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province.
• Claimed by: Japan, as part of Okinoshima, Shimane Prefecture.
• Population: Around 20–30 South Korean residents, including coast guard personnel and lighthouse staff.

• 1905: Japan formally incorporated Takeshima during its expansionist period, just before annexing Korea in 1910.
• Post-WWII: South Korea asserted sovereignty, stationing police and administrative presence on the islands.
• Dispute: Both nations cite historical documents to support their claims. South Korea emphasizes continuous use and proximity, while Japan stresses its 1905 incorporation.

• Fishing Rights: Rich surrounding waters with valuable fisheries.
• Resources: Potential natural gas reserves in nearby seabed.
• National Identity: For South Korea, Dokdo symbolizes resistance to Japanese colonialism; for Japan, Takeshima represents territorial integrity.

• Dokdo: “Solitary islands” in Korean.
• Takeshima: “Bamboo islands” in Japanese.
• Liancourt Rocks: Named after a French whaling ship in 1849.

• Situated in Thrissur and Malappuram districts, central Kerala.
• Covers about 13,640 hectares (33,700 acres).
• Lies between the Chalakudy River and Bharathappuzha River inflows.

• Known for paddy cultivation dating back over 300 years.
• The word Kole in Malayalam means “bumper crop”, reflecting its high productivity.
• Provides nearly 40% of Kerala’s rice requirement.

• Part of the Vembanad-Kol Wetland, designated as a Ramsar site in 2002.
• Supports large populations of resident and migratory birds.
• Recent studies documented 12 species of pygmy grasshoppers, including four newly recorded species in Kerala.

• Acts as a natural drainage system for Thrissur, Ponnani, and surrounding areas.
• Helps in flood mitigation during monsoons.
• Provides habitat for fish, clams, and other aquatic life.

• Type: Naval surface-to-air missile (SAM)
• Origin: Adapted from the land-based Sayyad-3 system (first tested in 2016)
• Range: ~150 km (compared to 120 km for land-based Sayyad-3)
• Launch System: Vertical Launch System (VLS) → enables 360° coverage and rapid response without ship maneuvering
• Speed: Estimated Mach 4.5–5.1
• Launch Platform: Shahid Sayyad Shirazi corvette (part of Shahid Soleimani-class vessels)
• Coverage: Multi-target capability, designed to protect naval fleets against aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles

• Common names: Ferruginous duck, Ferruginous pochard, White-eyed pochard
• Appearance:
  • Males: Rich chestnut-brown body, pale eyes, white undertail coverts, bold white wing stripe in flight
  • Females: Duller brown, but still show the white undertail patch
  • Both sexes: Peaked crown, relatively long gray bill

• Prefers shallow freshwater lakes, ponds, and marshes with abundant submerged and floating vegetation, plus reed beds along margins.
• Found across Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa — countries include China, Mongolia, Portugal, France, Austria, and India.
• Migratory in northern ranges, but resident in warmer climates.

• Listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat loss, wetland degradation, and hunting pressures.

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