Current Affairs 18 February, 2025

Daily Current Affairs Quiz
18 February, 2025

International Affairs

1. Indian immigrants in the U.S.

Context:

This data depicts a contrasting view of India’s undocumented migration to the U.S., focusing on deportations as well as the risky journeys taken by migrants.

Key Highlights:

• Punjab Leads in Deportations and Asylum Seekers
  • 38% of deported Indians in 2025 came from Punjab, followed by Haryana (33%) and Gujarat (22%).
  • Asylum claims have since 2001 (66%) been dominated by Punjabi speakers, with a rise since 2016.
• A Trending Illegal Migration Mode
  • In 2023 and 2024, almost 1 lakh Indians were caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally.
  • An unsafe overland trek from South America is becoming a preferred route.
• The Role of Crooked Agents
  • ₹20 lakh to ₹1.25 crore—the amount paid by Indian migrants to illegally enter the U.S.
  • By midway into 2024, 3,042 illegal agents were identified, with Andhra Pradesh having a lion’s share.
• Two Major Entry Points: Mexican and Canadian Borders
  • Indians use both the Mexico (south western) and Canadian (northern) borders for illegal entry.
  • A New York Times report pointed out a steep rise in crossings from Canada, largely by Indian migrants.
• Visa Overstay still a Major Concern
  • Around 17,000 Indians overstay their visas every year, mainly people on business or tourist visas.

Implications for Policy & Migration Trends

• Stronger Crackdown on Human Trafficking Networks
  • The existence of huge networks of illegal agents shows an urgent need for cross border collaboration between India and the U.S. to stop fraudulent recruitment.
• Shift in Migration Patterns
  • The increase in crossings at the Canadian border indicates that Indian migrants are using newer less monitored routes.
• Economic and Social Factors Around Migration
  • The prominence of Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat suggests that economic uncertainty and aspirations for better livelihood opportunities continue to drive migration.

National Affairs

1. Appointment Of Election Commissioner

Context:

Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the next chief election commissioner on, the Law Ministry said. He is the first CEC to be appointed under a new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).

Implications and Issues of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment) Act, 2023

Constitutional Underpinning

• As stated in Article 324 called the Power of Appointment
  • CEC and ECs to be appointed by the President, the act of appointing is subject to the provisions of parliamentary law.
• Lack of Statutory Framework for Appointments
  • No law had existed until recently to statutorily govern these appointments, hence turning the sovereign authority of the President to the advice of the Prime Minister.
• Constitutional Ruling of 2023
  • The Supreme Court said in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India that a committee consisting of the PM, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India should make the appointments until a law was made.
• Legislative Response
  • The new Act undermines the SC mandated process by giving the CEC and ECs a different selection mechanism.

New Appointment Process Under the Act

• Election Commission Structure
  • The Election Commission consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners.
• Eligibility Conditions
  • Section 5 of the Act limits eligibility to serving or retired Secretary level officers.
• Major Modal Shift
  • From the start, senior most EC would be elevated as CEC.
  • The alternative perception is open for the selection of candidates from beyond the Election Commission.
• Search Committee
  • Chair: Union Minister of Law and Justice.
  • Members: Two members from the Government.
  • Task: To shortlist five candidates from which the Selection Committee will choose.
• Selection Committee Members
  • Prime Minister
  • One member chosen from amongst the Cabinet Ministers
  • Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
• Decision: For any list submitted for consideration, the committee may select that person or choose someone independently.

The Act Has Some Important Effects

• More Flexibility for the Government
  • The executive has received more control over appointments of CEC and EC.
  • The government has some levers in their favour regarding the candidate selection as the critical areas of Election Commission have come under scrutiny.
• Political Issues in Future
  • The Election Commission always has been under fire primarily for electoral rolls and electronic voting machines (EVMs).
  • As the Leader of the Opposition is part of the process, there could be political wrangling over these appointments.

Concerns about the Act

• Pending Challenges and a Supreme Court Review
  • Various petitions challenging the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India are pending in the Supreme Court.
  • A hearing scheduled for February 2025 has the potential to shape the implementation of the Act.
• Chief Justice of India Excluded
  • The 2023 SC order sought to restrain the executive’s control over appointments in the Election Commission.
  • It included the Chief Justice of India in the selection panel in previous times to check any arbitrary action through judicial oversight.
  • Removal of the CJI from such controversial selection, therefore, has the propensity to compromise institutional checks and balances.
• Partisanship Is to Be Expected
  • The appointment process may be politicized and could lead to the loss of credibility of the Commission, according to former CEC O.P. Rawat.
  • Selection in favor of those they perceive to be sympathetic to the interests of the ruling party may arise through a government led selection.

3. Kaveri 2.0 Cyberattack

Context:

The Kaveri 2.0 DDoS attacks highlight the serious cyber threats to government digital services, especially those holding sensitive public data, such as land records and property registration.

Key Takeaways from Kaveri 2.0 Cyberattack

Attack Tears Apart Methodology And Scale

• Fake accounts opened to inundate the system, 62 email accounts from different 14 IP addresses inundated the system.
• An unprecedented build up of traffic 6.2 lakh requests in 2 hours overlaid the Encumbrance Certificate (EC) search function, an important part of land transactions, the attack caused great slogs and drastically curtailed registrations in early February 2025.

Why Was Kaveri 2.0 Targeted?

• The very nature of land records gives such portals centralized control and thus prime targets in the cyber criminal handbook.
• Possible reasons are:
  • Disruption of real estate transactions for financial or political gains.
  • Test vulnerabilities for future large scale attacks.
  • Cover up for some even more serious cyberattacks being launched.

Impact on Government Services

• Severe downtime means property registrations were stopped in Karnataka.
• The attack uncovered weakness in the system’s security architecture, there is reputational risk, the citizens may be picky about viewing such incidents arise with government digital services.

Cybersecurity Lessons and Future Measures

Security Measures to Be Strengthened

• Traffic Filtering & Rate Limiting
  • To prevent automated scripts from overwhelming the system.
• Bot Detection Mechanisms
  • Make use of CAPTCHAs, IP blocking, and behavioral analysis.
• Distributed Network Protection
  • Implement cloud based DDoS mitigation solutions such as AWS Shield, Cloudflare, or Akamai.
• Real Time Monitoring and Incident Response
  • Flagging unusual spikes in traffic by means of AI driven anomaly detection.
  • There must be an immediate response while establishing a dedicated cybersecurity task force.
• Furthering Cyber Awareness Among the Public
  • Government agencies must educate users regarding phishing scams and data security. Ensuring robust authentication for property transactions is, therefore, an imperative.

Implications for Cybersecurity At Large

• Rising Frequency of DDoS Attacks
  • The Kaveri 2.0 attack is, therefore, definitely not an isolated case. Others such X (formerly Twitter) and GitHub being high profile platforms have since been targeted. As more government processes and services go digital, cybercriminals see newer opportunities to exploit the vulnerabilities.
• Cannot Go Wrong With Cybersecurity Now
  • E welfare must become a priority for government agencies, principally formed against the critical digital infrastructure being exposed today: the banking, health, and land records.

4. Aravali Safari Park Project

Context:

Aravali Safari Park in Haryana has now become a very controversial issue with debates centering around conservation versus development.

Key Highllights:

• Proposed as the largest entertainer safari ever covering an area of 3,858 hectares in Gurugram and Nuh.
• Planned to include animal enclosures, hotels, restaurants, botanical gardens, aquariums, cable cars, theatres, and an animal hospital.
• The project aims to boost eco tourism but are raising apprehensions about worried concerns for environment damages.

Reasons for Strong Opposition

Threat to a fragile ecosystem

• The Aravali Hills considered one of the oldest fold mountain ranges are a great natural barrier against any desert advancement.
• They are in fact very important in recharging groundwater in the water scarce districts of Gurugram and Nuh.
• With increased tourism, construction, and vehicular traffic, we shall be looking at ever greater habitat destruction and depletion of aquifers.

Violation of Forest Conservation Laws

• The project site falls under the definition of ‘forest’ and is protected under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
• Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders have placed restrictions on non forest activities in the Aravalis.
• Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, restricts deforestation and non agricultural activities in these hills.

Haryana’s very low forest cover

• Haryana has only 3.6% forest cover, one of the lowest in India.
• Conservationists argue that instead of a safari park, the government should focus on rewilding and afforestation.

Water Crisis in the Region

• Groundwater levels in Gurugram and Nuh are already over exploited.
• Environmentalists warn that the project’s construction will disrupt underground aquifers, worsening the water crisis.

What Are The Alternatives?

• Experts have proposed a declaration of the Aravalis as a national park or wildlife sanctuary, not a commercial safari zone.
• Restoration of native flora and fauna should be the priority in conservation instead of launching artificial attractions.
• Eco sensitive tourism models with minimum infrastructure and regulated footfall could be possible.

Wider Implication The Development versus Conservation Paradox

• The Aravali Safari Park symbolizes this bigger conflict between economic growth and environmental sustainability.
• With an increasing number of environment clearances in ecologically sensitive areas, India finds itself at a crossroad.
• Setting a positive precedent for conservation undertakings will depend on the execution of this project by urbanized states like Haryana.

5. AI Cognitive Decline

Context:

According to a study published in BMJ, state-of-the-art AI models, namely some LLM models such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, showed sustained cognitive decline with the passage of time just like human aging. The researchers evaluated the cognition of these models using the Mochata Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test.

Key Findings:

• The older versions were scoring lower as each model was being put through the test in a manner that was virtually reminiscent of human cognitive decline. Gemini 1.0 had the worst score with sixteen points, while ChatGPT 4 scored twenty-six.
• MoCA Test-MoCA test, which is ordinarily applied to humans, has been adapted to test AI cognitive functions like those of attention, memory, and executive function.
• Chatbot Limitations
  • The AI chatbots were impaired on tests relating to e.g., visuospatial skills and executive functions. None of the bots scored full marks of 30, with most scoring below the cut-off of 26 points, suggestive of a mild cognitive impairment.
• Medical Implications
  • The cognitive deficits of AI models can seriously question their reliability for medical diagnostics, and claim that AI will soon take human doctors’ place.

The study demonstrates AI models’ cognitive decline with time and draws attention to their role in medical diagnostics. While AI may be useful, its cognitive impairments may ensure that it is indeed never able to replace human expertise in applied areas of neurology.

Banking/Finance

1. Regulation of SEBI

Context:

This regulation of SEBI to the effect that public consultation must be made on the amendment of regulations is a very important step towards creating transparency and getting investor participation in favour of policymaking.

Major Aspects of SEBI’s Directive

• Public Participation on Rulemaking
  • Any proposed amendment to SEBI regulations must be open for public consultation.
    Accompanying this will be the draft of policy changes along with the clear intent and objectives.
• Enhanced Transparency and Accountability
  • Seeking feedback from investors, market participants, and other stakeholders ensures inclusive decision-making.
  • This avoids arbitrary rulings from arbitrary amendments and provides the opportunity for discussion throughout the industry prior to implementation.
• Gazette Notification dated 17 February
  • This requirement has now been put into black and white by SEBI in a Gazette notification and stands now as a policy directive in law.

Implications of This Move

• More confidence in investors: Market participants will have a say in regulatory changes.
• Better compliance: Companies and investors are better prepared for rule changes.
• Improved policy effectiveness: Regulations will fit more with real-world requirements.

The move sits within the global best practices as regulators in many other jurisdictions involve public consultation prior to the amendment of regulations before enforcement, most of these being financial regulators around the globe.

2. Consequences of the Repo Rate Cut

Context:

With the cut in repo rates by the RBI, 79% of floating rate loan customers will benefit immediately from lower costs. The liabilities that are pegged to the repo rate stand at 12% for a company such as Aadhar Housing Finance. These direct repo rate cuts can be translated into direct benefit as far as lower costs are concerned, which can be passed on, right away.

Consumer Advantage

• Borrowing Impact
  • The repo rate cut works for consumers since 80% of all borrowings in this housing finance domain are on floating rate systems and can thus reduce EMIs for home buyers in general.
• Rushed by Government
  • The cuts are tellingly good since they indicate growing faith in the strength of the Indian economy, even when faced with global upheavals. While we don’t seem to be seeing any further cutdown for now, some liquidity measures may help down the line.

For Increased Transparency by RBI

• Disclosure Needs
  • NBFCs, MFIs, and HFCs must now publish the interest rate slabs applicable to different types of loans, on their respective websites, every month. This move towards curbing exorbitant rates and enhancing transparency will empower consumers with the knowledge to make informed choices.
• Thus, the RBI continues to observe lending practices closely, particularly with regard to unsecured lending, and urges corporations to practice caution.

Affordable Housing Taking Re Definition

• Old Definition
  • This is defined as affordable housing with an upper limit of ₹35 lakh for the metros and ₹25 lakh for the non metros, considered increasingly out of touch with the current property prices.
• Amendments suggested
  • Aadhar Housing Finance suggested an increase in the limits for affordable housing from ₹45 lakh for the metro and ₹35 lakh for the non metro, which will allow a huge increase in access to affordable housing.

3. Liquidity Impact of RBI Currency Management

Context:

Beginning with November, the RBI has been allowing the rupee to depreciate against the dollar after exiting last two years of effective peg. Though the RBI intervenes to stop further depreciation, it is placing further pressure on the bank’s monetary policy and liquidity in the economy where support is otherwise most needed.

Key Highlights:

• Currency Swap
  • In order to control the depreciation of the rupee, the RBI has sold dollars from its foreign exchange reserves. It has, therefore, sucked rupees out of the system and tightened liquidity.
  • As a consequence, the change has transformed the banking system of India from surplus liquidity to deficit affecting the capability of the banks to lend and conduct business.
• Liquidity Squeeze
  • The RBI dollar sales from September 2023 to January 2024 decreased its FX reserves from $704 billion to $630 billion and caused health to the bank with a liquidity deficit of ₹1.2 trillion.
• What the RBI did
  • The central banks lent to banks and carried out open market operations by purchasing government securities to recapitalize the deposits. However, this has done little to ease up liquidity.
• Mixed Signals
  • Repo cuts in February 2024 signify monetary easing is on the RBI’s mind, however, its robust FX activities maintain liquidity pressures, driving up WACR and further clouding market communication.

Mixed messages given by the stance of RBI result in mixed signals as they are holding on to the two opposing objectives of stability in exchange rate with monetary easing. RBI should pursue inflation and growth directly in the interest of price now stable and growth thinking of the rupee almost in a market sense allowing it to clear freely having minimal interventions.

Economy

1. India’s Manufacturing Share in GVA

Context:

The share of manufacturing in the GVA hovered at 14% in 2023-24. Historical trends indicate a very slow increase with 18% being the greatest in the early 2000s followed by a continued downward trend after 2010. The stagnancy is clearly validated in the current series of prices and constant price adjusted series, which dropped from 18% in 2020-21 to 17% in 2022-23.

Key Highlights:

Key Insights: Employment generation has frozen in manufacturing, showing only a marginal increase from 10.4% in 1980-81 and 10.6% in 2022-23. This change in the employment pattern is seen in the very high growth of services.

• International Comparison
  • Manufacturing share in GDP for India is the lowest compared to other regional countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and even lower than Pakistan. This manufacturing activity pales in comparison with that of countries located in Southeast Asia and also China, where,
    • Manufacturing comprises 23% and 26% of GDP, respectively.
• Export Problems
  • The ratio of manufactured exports to India has reduced from an alarming 18% during 2012 13 to below 7% by 2022 23.
• Manufacturing Problems
  • Dependency on imports for manufacturing inputs, including critical pharmaceuticals, has badly affected India’s aspiration of self reliance.
  • The change from innovation and process improvement has come to high dependence on government schemes like that of production linked incentive (PLI).

Agriculture

1. PM-AASHA Scheme

Context:

The Centre has approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan MINT (PMAASHA) scheme until 2025-26.

Purpose: The scheme aims to ensure effective procurement operations, ensuring remunerative prices for farmers and controlling price volatility of essential goods.

Facts To Remember

1. Top Russian, U.S. officials set to begin Ukraine talks in Riyadh

Top Russian officials will hold talks with U.S. counterparts on restoring ties, negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine and preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said on Monday.

2. Manu Bhaker wins BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award

Star Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year.

3. PhonePe launches device tokenisation for card payments

PhonePe on Monday rolled out a device tokenisation solution for credit and debit cards to enable users to tokenise them on the company’s application, and use it seamlessly across various services on its platform like bill payments, recharges, booking travel tickets.

4. Agriculture Minister launches National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey in MP

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that the Narendra Modi government at the Center is working in the interest of every section. Due to this, there has been a big change in the lives of citizens.

5. India & Qatar Sign MoUs on Strategic Partnership and Tax Cooperation

India and Qatar decided to elevate relations to a Strategic Partnership with a focus on trade, energy, investments, innovation, technology, food security, culture, and people-to-people ties.

6. IMF to Review Sri Lanka’s Economic Reform Program on Feb 28 Amid Fiscal Challenges

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet on February 28 to assess the third review of Sri Lanka’s economic reform program.

7. PMFBY Completes 9 Years: Scheme to Continue Till 2025-26 with ₹69,515 Crore Budget

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has completed nine years today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched this scheme in 2016, which aims to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss and damage arising out of natural calamities.