DAILY GK 24-25 MAR 2026
·
Australian think tank Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP) published
the latest edition of Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2026, which indicates
a significant shift in the global security landscape.
·
For
the first time Pakistan has been ranked as the country most
impacted by terrorism, with an overall score of 8.574.
·
India has been ranked at 13th
spot with an overall score of 6.428.
·
For
each country, GTI score ranges
from 0 to 10; where 0
represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism.
·
However, terrorism-related incidents decreased by 22% to 2,944,
which marks the lowest figures since 2007.
·
The
index highlighted that global terrorism deaths declined by 28% to 5,582 in
2025.
·
Burkina Faso 2nd rank in GTI with an overall score of 8.324;
followed by Niger (3rd),Nigeria (4th)
and Mali (5th).
2. QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2026
·
Quacquarelli
Symonds (QS) released the 16th edition of
the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, in which
Indian Institutes of Technology – Indian School of Mines (IIT-ISM) Dhanbad,
Jharkhand ranked 21st globally in Engineering – Mineral and Mining and
the Indian Institute Of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Gujarat,secured 21st place in both Business and Management
Studies and Marketing.
·
USA continues to lead globally with first place in 37 subjects, while
the United Kingdom (UK) ranks second with the top position in 15 subjects.
·
The
USA leads with 228 institutions,
followed by China with 158 and the UK with 114, while India has 99 institutions, up from 79 in 2025.
·
India
becomes the fourth-largest higher education system by entries, with 120 new Indian entries, after the
USA(287), China(181) and UK(159).
·
India has doubled its top-50 subject
presence since
2024, achieving 27 positions across 12 institutions, while expanding to 99
ranked institutions with 599 subject entries, including 20 newly
ranked universities.
·
IIT Delhi (36th globally in Engineering &
Technology), IIT Bombay, (78th globally
in Natural Sciences), and IIT Kharagpur
(West Bengal), along with JNU, Delhi (26th globally in Development
Studies), and Birla Institute of
Technology (BITS), Pilani, Rajasthan (45th worldwide in Pharmacy &
Pharmacology), feature among the world’s top 50 institutions across various
subjects.
3.
INDIA’S
FIRST HELICOPTER-DROPPED DRONE PROJECT ‘VAYU BAAN’
·
The
Indian Air Force (IAF) initiated ‘Vayu Baan’, a
pioneering project to develop India’s first helicopter-launched Unmanned
Aerial System(UAS).
·
With
the launch of Vayu Baan, India joins
an elite group of countries, including USA and China, reducing its
reliance on foreign air-launched drone technologies.
·
The
project is being led by the IAF’s
Directorate of Aerospace Design (DAD), which issued a Request for
Proposal (RFP) in March 2026 to invite domestic vendors for design and
development.
·
The
small, autonomous drone is designed to be dropped
from a moving helicopter mid-flight.
·
After
release, it unfolds its wings and activates propulsion.
·
It
allows helicopters to engage enemy
targets from a safe distance of over 50 kilometers, keeping the
aircrew outside the range of enemy
Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS).
4. GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR SEVEN
VOLCANIC SUMMITS
·
BhupathirajuAnmish
Varma, a native
of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), scripted history by setting a new Guinness
World Record (GWR) for the fastest time to climb the Seven Volcanic Summits (in
male category), completing the challenge in 92 days, 4 hours, and 45
minutes, breaking previous global benchmarks.
·
Seven
Volcanic Summits: Mount
Elbrus (Europe); Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa); Mount Damavand (Asia); Pico
de Orizaba (North America); Ojos del Salado (South America); Mount Giluwe
(Oceania) and Mount Sidley (Antarctica).
5. MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE 2026
·
Historian William
Dalrymple was awarded the Mark Lynton History Prize 2026 for
his book “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World.”
·
Prize
is is administered by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and
the Columbia University School
of Journalism.
·
The
Mark Lynton History Prize is an annual award carrying a cash prize of USD10,000.
·
His
notable works include White Mughals, The Last Mughal,
Return of a King and The Anarchy.
6. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AWARD IN UK
·
Indian
actress Rituparna Sengupta was honored with the Women
Empowerment Award for Arts and Culture at the House of Commons (British Parliament) in London.
·
She
is best known for her films like: Rajkahini (2015), Ahaa Re (2019), and Parcel
(2020).
·
She
was honoured with the National Film Award in ‘Best
Actress’ category for her role in Rituparno Ghosh’s
film Dahan (1998).
7. NATIONAL AWARD FOR SHG-BANK LINKAGE
2024-25
·
The
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) conferred the National
Award for Outstanding Performance in Self-Help Groups (SHG)-Bank
Linkage 2024-25 to Karnataka
Grameena Bank(KGB) for
its significant contribution to rural economic empowerment and financial
inclusion.
·
SHG
Support Aligned
with the objectives of DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NRLM), the bank has extended Rs 2,835 crore credit
to 80,904 SHGs.
·
KGB is a Regional Rural Bank (RRB) formed on 1 May 2025 through the
amalgamation of Karnataka Gramin Bank and Karnataka VikasGrameena Bank, it is headquartered in Ballari, Karnataka,
and sponsored by Canara Bank.
8.
SARASWATI
SAMMAN 2025
·
Eminent
Bengali writer RamkumarMukhopadhyay was selected for the 35th
SaraswatiSamman (2025) for his novel ‘Hara ParbatiKatha(2020)’.
·
The
SaraswatiSamman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla
Foundation.
·
It
is one of India’s highest literary
honours, awarded for an outstanding
work published in the last 10 years in any of the 22
languages listed in Schedule
VIII of the Constitution.
·
The
award carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, along with a citation and
a plaque.
9. IOC’S NEW POLICY ON PROTECTION OF
THE FEMALE CATEGORY IN OLYMPIC SPORT
·
The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board approved a
landmark policy titled ‘Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in
Olympic Sport,’ replacing the 2021 framework without retroactive
application and set to take effect from
the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games which is scheduled to be held in
2028 in USA.
·
The
policy aims to uphold fairness, safety,
and integrity by protecting the rights of female athletes and ensuring
equal competition based on scientific evidence.
·
Criteria: Sex-determining Region Y Gene
Screening (SRY) requires athletes to be SRY-negative to compete in female
categories, citing biological advantages in strength, power, and endurance.
·
Ineligibility: SRY-positive athletes, including
XY transgender individuals and those with androgen-sensitive Differences/Disorders
of Sex Development (DSD), are ineligible for female events but may compete in
other categories, with exceptions for Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome
(CAIS) and certain DSD cases without testosterone advantage.
10. ‘EXERCISE KAKADU 2026’
·
The
Indian Navy (IN) frigate Indian Naval Ship(INS) Nilgiri participated
in the sea phase of ‘Exercise
Kakadu2026’ in Australia.
·
The 17th edition
of Exercise Kakadu 2026 witnessed participation from over 19 nations and 6,000 personnel, covering a vast area from Jervis Bay to Darwin, Australia.
·
The
crew of INS Nilgiri won the Kakadu Shield Trophy during
sporting events held in the harbour phase at Darwin, Australia.
11. BOOK ‘KARUNA: THE POWER OF
COMPASSION’
·
Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarathi’s latest book
titled ‘Karuna: The Power of Compassion’ was formally launched
by the Satyarathi Movement for Global Compassion (SMGC), in
association with Harper Collins India.
·
The
book emphasizes compassion which can be a transformative, active force to
combat global crises such as inequality and conflict.
·
Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
·
He
shared the prize with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan.
12.
RBI
IMPOSED RS 31.80 LAKH PENALTY ON HSBC
·
The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs.
31.80 lakh on Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC India) for
non-compliance with regulatory
directions related to inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits.
·
The
bank failed to maintain a searchable
database ofunclaimed deposits, did not generate Unclaimed Deposits
Reference Number (UDRN), and showed lapses in deposits transferred to the
Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.
13. 213TH BOARD MEETING OF SEBI
·
The
Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI), approved a wide-ranging set of regulatory changes covering
market intermediaries, foreign investors, alternative investment funds (AIF),
and governance norms at its 213th board meeting held in Mumbai
·
Social
Impact Fund (SIF): The
SIF is a sub-category of Category-I AIF introduced in July 2022, that primarily
invests in Not-for Profit (NPOs)
registered or listed on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) and in
for-profit social enterprises.
·
The
Board approved amendments to SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012 to
reduce the minimum value of investment by individual investors in SIF of
AIF to Rs 1000 from existing Rs 2 lakhs.
·
Flexibility: The board has introduced flexibility
for AIFs in winding up schemes and surrendering registration.
·
Procedure: AIFs will now be allowed to retain
liquidation proceeds beyond the tenure under specific conditions such as
pending litigation, tax liabilities, or operational expenses. To retain funds,
AIFs have to either show.
14. SEBI LAUNCHES ‘VERIFIED APP LABEL’
INITIATIVE
·
TuhinKanta
Pandey, Chairperson
of SEBI, launched the ‘Verified Application (app) Label’
Initiative to protect investors
against fraudulent mobile applications and ensure safe digital investing in
India.
·
Over 1.3 lakh fraudulent investment
apps, including
66 fake trading apps, have been reported
and removed, prompting SEBI to build preventive safeguards under the
principle: “First verify. Then invest.”
·
Apps of SEBI-registered
intermediaries
will display a verified badge on the Google Play Store to help investors easily identify genuine apps
and reduce impersonation risks.
·
The SEBI partnered with Google to monitor financial
influencers (Finfluencers) who violate market regulations,
aiming to strengthen the digital investment ecosystem and protect investors.
