Current Affairs 08 May 2025

UNDP 2025: India ranks 130th on Human Development Index.

• India has been ranked 130th out of 193 countries and territories in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR), titled A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Iceland, with an HDI value of 0.972, ranked at the top of the Index, followed by Norway and Switzerland.
• South Sudan was at the bottom at 193.

India’s military has launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.

• The Indian Armed Forces launched OPERATION SINDOOR, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.
• Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted.
• These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered.

Cabinet approves ₹11,828.79 crore expansion plan for five new IITs.

• The Union Cabinet approved a major expansion plan to strengthen academic and infrastructure capacities of five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) located in Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu), and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad).
• The plan, known as Phase-B construction, entails an investment of ₹11,828.79 crore.

Union Home Ministry Directs States to Conduct Civil Defence Mock Drill.

• The Union Home Ministry has instructed states to conduct mock drills to assess civil defence preparedness.
• Drills will include testing Air Raid Warning Sirens, training civilians and students on emergency protocols, and practicing evacuation plans.
• Measures will also focus on crash blackout provisions, camouflaging vital installations, and rehearsing evacuation strategies.

IAF to Conduct Two-Day Mega Military Exercise Near Pakistan Border.

• The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise in Rajasthan, along the International Border with Pakistan.
• The IAF has termed it a pre-planned routine training exercise that will involve all the frontline fighter jets, including Rafale, Sukhoi-30 and Jaguar aircraft.