** Where was the 8th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) held?

Muscat, Oman

• India, Singapore, and Oman are hosting the 8th Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat, Oman.
• India’s External Affairs minister S Jaishankar represented India in the 8th Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) held in Muscat, Oman with the theme ‘Voyage to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership’.

** Which Indian hurdler won the silver medal and set a new national record in the 60m hurdles at the Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting 2025 in France?

Tejas Shirse

• Tejas Shirse won a silver medal and set a new national record in the 60m hurdles at the Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting 2025 held in France.
• He also secured his third consecutive gold medal in the National Games 2025.

** Which Indian player has been appointed as the event ambassador for the ‘Champions Trophy’ to be held in February 2025 ?

Shikhar Dhawan

• Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan was on Wednesday named as one of the four event ambassadors for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan and Dubai.
• Other ambassadors were Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shane Watson, and Tim Southee.
• The ICC Champions Trophy, which was held from February 19 to March 9, 2025, in Pakistan and Dubai, had already created a buzz in the cricket world.

Which state government has launched the G-SAFAL initiative to empower women from underprivileged families?

Gujarat

• Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched G-SAFAL  i(Gujarat Scheme for Antyodaya Families for Augmenting Livelihoods)nitiative to support underprivileged Antyodaya families by promoting livelihoods and women’s empowerment.
• The scheme targets 50,000 Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cardholder families across 25 talukas in 10 districts over five years.

** Who has been elected as the new President of Greece?

Constantine Tassoulas

• On February 12, 2025, Greece’s Parliament elected Constantine Tassoulas as the country’s new president with 160 votes, succeeding Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
• Tassoulas, a senior member of the ruling New Democracy party, secured 160 votes in the 300-seat parliament. 

** Who won the Asian Snooker Championship 2025 title?

Pankaj Advani

• He defeated Amir Sarkosh of Iran in the final. This marks his 14th Asian title across snooker and billiards events.
• The event was organized by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports and hosted by the Qatar Billiards Sports Federation in Doha, Qatar, from February 15-21, 2025.

What is the primary function of the ACADA system, designed and developed by DRDO?

Detecting chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals

• Indian Army has signed a contract on 25 February 2025 for procurement of 223 Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm (ACADA) systems with M/s L&T Ltd at a cost of Rs 80.43 Cr, under the Buy Indian (IDDM) category.
• The ACADA system is used to detect chemical warfare agents (CWA) and programmed toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) by sampling the air from the environment.

** Who won the Tata Steel Masters 2025 title after a thrilling tiebreak against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju?

R. Praggnanandhaa

• The Tata Steel Masters 2025 title was won by R Praggnanandhaa on 2 February 2025 after he defeated world champion D Gukesh in a tiebreaker.
• ​The Tata Steel Masters 2025 chess tournament took place from January 17 to February 2, 2025, in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.