Daily Current Affairs – 15-02-2025

Tamil Nadu

New exoplanet discovered

® A team of scientists at NASA has discovered a Neptune -like exoplanet named “TOI-3261 b” using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). ® It orbits a K -type star. ® The exoplanet has a mass of 30.3 Earths. ® It completes one orbit in just 0.9 days (21 hours). ® Its distance from the star is 0.01714 Astronomical Units (AU).

ISRO sign space exploration agreement

® ISRO and the European Space Agency have signed an agreement for collaboration on astronaut training, mission implementation , and research experiments.

India joins Eurodrone programme

® India has joined the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS) programme, also known as the ’ Eurodrone programme ’, as an Observer State. ® India is the second Asia-Pacific country after Japan to join the programme. ® The Eurodrone project, launched in 2016 , is a joint initiative of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain .

India to develop launch vehicle

® The Ministry of Science & Technology is supporting Chennai -based Agnikul Cosmos . ® The support is for the development and commercialisation of ‘Agnibaan’ , a two-stage launch vehicle. ® The vehicle can deliver payloads of up to 300 kg to 700 km altitude . ® The initiative is supported by the Technology Development Board (TDB).

Spacewalk record

® Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong set a new world record for the longest single spacewalk. ® The spacewalk lasted 9 hours . ® This breaks the previous record of 8 hours and 56 minutes , set by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms in 2001.

India and Korea sign MoU

® India has signed an ‘ Exchange of Notes’ with South Korea for a technical cooperation project titled ‘ Strengthening Vocational Education and Training in Mechatronics in India ’.

KaWaCHaM launched in Kerala

® Kerala government has launched India’s first fully integrated disaster warning system named ’ KaWaCHaM ’ (Kerala Warnings, a Crisis and Hazard Management System). ® It aims to enhance disaster preparedness and response capabilities while also issuing alerts for extreme weather events. The system is developed by ® Kerala State Disaster Management Authority(KSDMA ) ® National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) ® World Bank ® It is developed under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project.

Singapore President visits India

® Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam paid his first visit to India , marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between the countries. ® Both Presidents jointly unveiled the 60th Anniversary Commemorative logo at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi . ® The logo features the ’ lotus ’ (India’s national flower) and the ’ orchid ’ (Singapore’s national flower), with the number ‘ 60 ’ signifying the 60 years of diplomatic ties. ® Bilateral trade between the countries has increased from $6.7 billion in FY05 to $35.6 billion in FY24, making Singapore India’s 6th largest trade partner .