Jay Bhattacharya

♦ Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya was confirmed as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by the US Senate.

♦ He secured the position with a 53-47 vote during the first session of the roll call vote in the 119th Congress.

♦ Currently he is professor at Stanford School of Medicine. 

♦ Bhattacharya also serves as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Hoover Institution.

♦ US President Donald Trump nominated Bhattacharya as the 18th NIH Director in November 2024.

Green and Digital Shipping Corridor

♦ India and Singapore signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC), with a focus on digitalisation and decarbonisation on 25 March 2025.

♦ GDSC will enhance collaboration between both countries and help accelerate the development and uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies and the adoption of digital solutions.

♦ The LoI was signed by R. Lakshmanan, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) of India, and Teo Eng Dinh, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

India-EU Maritime Security Dialogue in Delhi

♦ India and the European Union (EU) held the 4th India-EU Maritime Security Dialogue in Delhi.

♦ The Indian delegation was led by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), Ministry of External Affairs, and the EU delegation by Maciej Stadejek, Director for Security and Defence Policy, European External Action Service.

♦ The two sides conferred on ways to sustain a secure maritime environment conducive to inclusive growth and global well-being.

♦ They reviewed ongoing cooperation initiatives in the maritime domain and avenues of reinforcing international and regional mechanisms for comprehensive maritime security.

♦ Earlier, the 3rd India-EU Maritime Security Dialogue was held on October 5, 2023 in Brussels.

International Monetary Fund

♦ According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, India has doubled its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the last 10 years at a growth of 105 percent, from $2.1 trillion in 2015 to $4.3 trillion in 2025.

♦ In comparison, the United States’ and China’s GDP grew by 66 percent and 44 percent, respectively, during the same period. 

♦ With this, India is now the fifth-largest country in terms of GDP in the world after the United States ($30.3 trillion), China ($19.5 trillion), Germany ($4.9 trillion) and Japan ($4.4 trillion).

♦ The United Kingdom’s GDP grew by 28 per cent in the past decade, while France saw a 38 per cent growth in its GDP, from $2.4 trillion in 2015 to $3.3 trillion in 2025.

♦ Other top economies with over 50 per cent GDP growth were Russia (57 percent), Australia (58 percent) and Spain (50 percent).

India-France bilateral Naval exercise

♦ The 23rd edition of the India-France bilateral Naval exercise, 'Varuna' commenced  in the Arabian Sea on 19 March 2025.

♦ This will conclude on March 22.

♦ The exercise has been an important part of India-France maritime cooperation since it began in 2001 and reflects the strong naval partnership between the two countries.

♦ VARUNA 2025 will focus on improving coordination and cooperation between the two navies.

♦ The exercise will include various drills and manoeuvres involving underwater, surface, and air operations.

The 9th India-Australia Defence Policy

♦ The 9th India-Australia Defence Policy Talks were held in New Delhi, where both nations reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening defense cooperation.

♦ The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad, while the Australian side was headed by Bernard Philip, First Assistant Secretary of the International Policy Division, Department of Defence, Australia.

♦ During the talks, both sides welcomed the progress made in bilateral defense ties, highlighted by the increased frequency and complexity of joint exercises and exchanges.

♦ The discussions focused on key cooperation priorities, including maritime domain awareness, reciprocal information sharing, collaboration in the defense industry and science & technology, and participation in defense trade expositions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

♦ UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the "UN80 Initiative" to improve the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness as it marks its 80th anniversary.

♦ The initiative will come up with proposals in areas of rapidly identifying efficiencies and improvements in the way the UN works; thoroughly reviewing implementation of all mandates given to the UN by member states, which have significantly increased in recent years and a strategic review of deeper, more structural changes and programme realignment in the UN system.

♦ He highlighted the global challenges and stated, "The United Nations has never been more needed."

Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

♦ According to the Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the second-largest arms importer, though the trade figures decreased by 9.3% between 2015-19 and 2020-24.

♦ Ukraine was the largest importer of major arms in the world in the 2020-24 period. 

♦ The largest share of Indian arms imports (36%) came from Russia, a significantly smaller share than in 2015-19 (55%) and 2010-14 (72%), the report noted.

♦ China dropped out of the list of top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1990-94, showcasing its expanding domestic industrial base.

♦ While, European arms imports overall grew by 155% between the same periods as the continent rearms itself, the U.S. further increased its share of global arms exports to 43%, while Russia’s exports fell by 64%, accounting for 7.8% of global arms exports, falling behind France (9.6%), which

emerged the second largest arms exporter in 2020-24.

♦ Four countries in Asia and Oceania — India, Pakistan, Japan, and Australia— ranked among the 10 largest arms importers globally in 2020-24.

♦ Russia delivered major arms to 33 countries in 2020-24, of which two-thirds went to three countries — India (38%), China (17%), and Kazakhstan (11%). 

♦ At the same time, France exported arms to 65 countries, and exports of major arms to other European countries almost trebled between 2015–19 and 2020–24 (+187%), according to SIPRI.

3rd India-Cambodia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC)

♦ The 3rd India-Cambodia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were held in Siem Reap, Cambodia on 10 March 2025.

♦ The consultations were held in a warm and friendly atmosphere and provided an opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political cooperation, trade and investment, defence and security, development assistance, heritage conservation and restoration and consular

issues.

♦ The two sides also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. 

Mark Carney

♦ Mark Carney was elected as Canada's next Prime Minister on 9 March 2025.

♦ He will succeed Justin Trudeau, who stepped down earlier this year (2025).

♦ He was announced as the Liberal Party leader. Mark Carney won the leadership race with 131,674 votes which is about 85.9 per cent of the ballots.

♦ His competitors Chrystia Freeland bagged 11,134 votes, Karina Gould secured 4,785 votes and Frank Baylis bagged 4,038 votes.

♦ Carney has served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013. He also served as the chair of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 to 2018. 

Ministry of Defence

♦ The Ministry of Defence has signed a $248 million (Rs.2,156 crores) contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport (RoE) for the procurement of 1,000 horsepower (HP) engines for T-72 tanks on 7 March 2025.

♦ The deal includes the supply of engines in fully formed, completely knocked down, and semi knocked down conditions.

♦ As part of the agreement, Rosoboronexport will transfer technology to Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (Heavy Vehicle Factory) in Avadi, Chennai.

♦ This will facilitate the integration and licensed production of the engines in India, supporting the “Make in India” initiative in the defence sector.

♦ The Indian Army’s T-72 tanks, currently powered by 780 HP engines, serve as the backbone of the country’s armored fleet.

The European Commission

♦ The European Commission proposed a new joint EU borrowing of 150 billion euros ($157.76 billion) to lend to EU governments for defence as part of an overall 800 billion total financing effort to boost Europe’s defence capabilities on 4 March 2025.

♦ The 150 billion euros of new joint borrowing is to go towards building pan-European capability domains like air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems or to address other needs from cyber to military mobility.