Daily Current Affairs- 15th February 2025

Daily Current Affairs 15^th February 2025

INTERNATIONAL

Constantine Tassoulas Elected as Greece’s New President

• The Hellenic Parliament elected Constantine Tassoulas, the former parliamentary speaker, as the new president of Greece. Tassoulas, a senior member of the ruling New Democracy party, secured 160 votes in the 300-seat parliament. He will take over from Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Greece’s first female president, whose term ends in March. The position of president in Greece is largely ceremonial, but the selection reflects the political direction of the country’s leadership. 

TCS partners with a Finland-based company specialising in sustainable materials

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has secured a significant IT transformation deal with UPM, a Finland-based company specialising in sustainable materials. This strategic partnership aims to modernise UPM’s IT infrastructure, focusing on cloud migration, digital transformation, and improving operational efficiency. TCS will manage key IT functions, including data centre operations, network services, and end-user support, ensuring a seamless and advanced technology-driven ecosystem for UPM’s 19,000 employees. 

SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY    

IIT Kanpur develops solar dehydration technology

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur’s Ranjit Singh Rozi Shiksha Kendra has introduced an innovative solar dehydration technique aimed at preserving agricultural produce using sustainable energy. 

SPORTS

ICC announce USD 6.9 mn prize for Champions Trophy

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the prize money for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19 in Pakistan. The tournament’s winners will receive a sum of USD 2.24 million.
• The total prize pool of this edition of the eight-team marquee event has been increased by an impressive 53 per cent from the 2017 edition's total prize money of USD 4.5 mn to 6.9 mn. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

1. Chandrasekaran has received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

• Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been conferred with United Kingdom's “The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Civil Division)“ a prestigious honorary civilian awards to foreign nationals. Mr. Chandrasekaran has been awarded with honorary DBE/KBE for his services to U.K./India Business relations. 

NTPC Ltd. Honoured with Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025

• National Thermal Power Corporation, India’s largest integrated power utility, has been conferred with the prestigious Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025 in the Water Resilience category. The award was presented at a grand ceremony organized by the UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) in Chennai. 

RANKING

Bloomberg’s 2025 rankings

• According to Bloomberg’s 2025 rankings, Mukesh Ambani and the Ambani family have retained the top position, reaffirming their dominance in business and wealth creation.
• India stands out prominently, with six Indian families making it to the top 20. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group (Mistry family), P. Jindal Group (Jindal family), Aditya Birla Group (Birla family), Bajaj Group (Bajaj family), and Hinduja Group (Hinduja family) are among the wealthiest, demonstrating India’s strong industrial and economic contributions.

 The Panchayat Devolution Index Report released

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj on Thursday released a report on the “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States” in Delhi. The Panchayat Devolution Index report is an evidence-based ranking of states and UTs based on six frameworks.
• The report was prepared by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and the study covered 34 states and UTs in which 172 Panchayats of 68 districts were taken as samples, The states and UTs were ranked by each of the following six dimensions– framework, functions, finances, functionaries, capacity enhancement and accountability– and the first five states in the ranking were, Karnataka, followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

RBI imposes several restrictions on New India Co-operative Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India imposed several restrictions on New India Co-operative Bank, including on withdrawal of funds by depositors, amid supervisory concerns.
• The Reserve Bank’s Directions to New India Co-operative Bank, Mumbai came into force from the close of business yesterday and would remain in force for a period of six months and are subject to review. 

SEBI launches ‘MITRA’ platform

• Market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a new platform, ‘MITRA’ (Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant), to help investors trace their unclaimed or inactive mutual fund folios.