December

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 18th December 2025

• LS passes nuclear energy Bill allowing privatisation

Context: Congress protests SHANTI Bill which removes clause holding equipment supplier responsible for failure, questions its timing and interest shown by a ‘conglomerate house’; Centre defends the Bill.

• The Lok Sabha passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, despite demands by several Opposition parliamentarians for referring the legislation to a parliamentary panel.
• The Bill, which aims at incentivising private sector participation, both Indian and foreign, into nuclear power production, now moves to the Rajya Sabha for discussion.
• Congress MP Manish Tewari, who opened discussions on the Bill following introductory remarks by Science Minister Jitendra Singh, sought to know if it was a “coincidence” that a legislation enabling private sector participation in the nuclear sector coincided with interest expressed by the “conglomerate house… Adani” in November to enter the nuclear sector.
• Mr. Singh, amidst uproar in the House following this, retorted that the Bill had nothing to do with any specific company and such an aspersion “brought disrepute to the House.”
• Mr. Tewari also burrowed into what is perhaps the most significant element of the Bill: the removal of a clause in the existing Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, that allows the operator of a nuclear power plant to claim recourse from suppliers if their equipment was found being responsible in case of an accident.
• In 2008, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had moved a no-confidence motion against the Manmohan Singh government for, among other things, the absence of such a clause. Later, this was also a reason for the lack of foreign participation in India’s nuclear sector despite the U.S.-India nuclear deal that granted India a waiver from Nuclear Suppliers Group sanction as it opened foreign companies to potentially unlimited liability.
• “I now see that there is no reference to suppliers… god forbid if there is an accident… shouldn’t a foreign supplier be liable?” Mr. Tewari questioned.

‘Times have changed’

• Mr. Singh acknowledged that the BJP had voiced opposition in the past and said that the existence of the clause “had caused reservations in collaborators” but the scenario today was different from 2010. “Times have changed… technology has changed. We are now into small modular reactors which didn’t exist as a technology at that time. There will now be reactors – following the just announced Nuclear Mission – that will give power in dense areas. The risk of catastrophe has now changed. This Bill is coming in because the scenario has changed,” he said.
• Aditya Yadav of the Samajwadi Party accused the government of bringing in the Bill by “sacrificing the old laws… that kept public interest first” because the government faced with a “dollar that has crossed ₹90” and “unable to attract foreign investment” was “desperately trying to throw a red carpet to American companies” under pressure from the “prevailing Trump tariffs”.
• Supriya Sule, MP from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), asked how it was possible to cap the liability of plant operators at ₹3,000 crore. “How can you put a cap on that… how have you calculated this magic number?” she asked.

• 11 Bills passed in Council

Context: The Karnataka Legislative Council passed 11 Bills that were earlier passed by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

• They were Chandraguthi Shree RenukambaKshetra Development Authority Bill, 2025; The Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill 2025; Shree Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2025; the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill 2025; Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2025; Malnad Area Development Board (Amendment) Bill 2025; Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2025; Bayaluseeme Development Board (Amendment) Bill 2025; Sri Malai Mahadeswaraswamy Kshethra Development Authority (Amendment) 2025: Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) 2025, and the Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Bill 2025.

• Bill on sub-classification of SCs for reservation tabled in Assembly

Context: The Karnataka Scheduled Castes (Sub-classification) Bill, 2025, that seeks to provide legality to the government orders related to sub-classification of the 101 Scheduled Castes with a reservation share of 17% was tabled in the Legislative Assembly.

• The one-man commission led by retired Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das had submitted its report to the government on August 4 this year with specific recommendations on sub-classification of Scheduled Castes among various sub-groups of SCs.
• The government approved the recommendations of the commission with some modifications to implement the sub-classification among the SCs for ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of reservation benefits, and accordingly sub-categorised 101 Scheduled Castes with a share of 17% of reservation.
• As per the Bill, Category-A, which has 16 castes, and Category-B, with 19 castes, will get reservation of 6% each, while Category-C, comprising 63 castes, will get reservation of 5%. Similarly, the Bill has three non-categorised Scheduled Castes – Adi Andhra, Adi Dravida and Adi Karnataka – that are eligible to opt for reservation under Category-A or Category-B, based on caste certificates.
• The Karnataka State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Amendment) Bill, 2025, too was tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday.
• The Bill seeks to nominate a person belonging to the ST and a woman as the members of the Karnataka State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It also seeks to empower the Karnataka State Commission for the SC and ST to make necessary modifications in the reservation percentage of sub-classification to the members of SCs on the receipt of new data or information from the government.

Other Bills

• The Assembly also adopted six Bills, including the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Drugs and Cosmetics (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025.

• CAG highlights inadequate preparedness in State’s disaster management

Context: The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has highlighted the vulnerabilities, inadequate preparedness in disaster management system of Karnataka, amid increasing natural disasters.

• Analysing the efforts from 2017-18 to 2022-23 in managing calamities and risk reduction, the report pointed out that although Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) was established in 2008, the State Disaster Management Policy was published after 12 years, only in 2020.
• It said that the State Emergency Operation Centre was under-equipped in terms of human resources and infrastructure, which affected its functioning. The Disaster Response Force Units had huge vacancies — ranging from 67% to 96% — of the sanctioned strength resulting in the units facing difficulties in carrying out duties and rescue operations.

Defective TWSs

• KSNMDC had installed Telemetric Rain Guages (TRGs) and Telemetric Weather Stations (TWSs) in a phased manner between 2009 and 2015, but as of December 2023, it was found that 43% of TRGs and 52% of TWSs were defective, the report said.
• It has also pointed out that the funds released by the State were not calamity-specific, complicating monitoring of NDRF/SDRF grants. The CAG has found misappropriation of ₹18.59 lakh at Chintamani in Chikkaballapura district, unutilised funds of ₹7.69 crore in Fire Emergency Department, and taluks of Haveri district spending ₹1.81 crore out of SDRF for reasons not related to natural calamities/disasters.
• The CAG has pointed out that although the State Action Plan for Flood Risk was established in 2021, it lacked preparation for flood management in critical sectors. It found that 49 out of the 100 Water Level Sensors installed in Bengaluru remained non-functional as on December 2023. The State has not established a legal framework for flood infrastructure.
• On the compensation front also, CAG has found discrepancies. It has said that compensation for damages was inconsistent and the verification processes were inadequate. It also found that there were 22,496 cases of house damage reconstruction pending despite ₹213.94 crore disbursed.
• The CAG has recommended revamping Emergency Operation Centre and enhancing training for officials, among other things.

• Funds meant for welfare of mining areas spent violating guidelines: CAG report

Context: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has taken note of irregular expenditure of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), violating the guidelines.

• The CAG has audited the money spent towards the welfare of areas affected by the mining, utilising funds collected by the District Mineral Foundation Trusts (DMFTs), between 2015 and 2023.
• The trusts collected ₹4,003.51 crore during the period and incurred an expenditure of ₹1,826.46 crore.
• The CAG report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly in Belagavi on Wednesday.
• The CAG, in its findings, noted that the Deputy Commissioner of Ballari utilised ₹68 lakh to purchase 12 vehicles, utilising the DMFT fund in 2021, violating the guidelines. Similarly, the report noted that ₹1.26 crore was spent towards the salary of Home Guards and the improvement of roads in the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises in Ballari between 2020 and 2023.
• When the CAG sought reply for the expenditure, in violation of the guidelines, the State government maintained that it was spent as per the approval of the Finance Department. However, the CAG reported that the government’s response was not acceptable.
• “The reply was not acceptable as the Finance Department has no powers to sanction expenditure as per the DMFT rules,” the report stated.

FDI inflow grows

• Karnataka has recorded a remarkable year on year growth of 149.3 % in FDI equity inflows in the first quarter of 2025-2026 compared to 2024-2025. In the first quarter this fiscal, the FDI equity inflows to Karnataka reached $5.6 billion out if $ 18.6 billion received by the country.
• In 2024-2025, State received $ 6.6 billion, representing 13.2 % of the nation’s total FDI equity inflows.

• GST rate rationalisation to further hit revenues

Context: The State estimates the revenue shortfall of ₹9,000 crore in addition to the revenue loss of about ₹9,500 crore due to non -merger of cess.

• Karnataka, which estimated a revenue deficit of ₹19,262 crore at the commencement of 2025-26 financial year, is now expecting the deficit to further increase following the GST rate rationalisation and non-realisation of tax on mines.
• The revenue deficit — primarily caused by the five guarantee schemes — in 2025-26 budget had come down to 0.63% from 0.96% of the 2024-2025 budget. Considering the growth rate, the government was estimated to overcome revenue deficit by 2027-28.
• The Mid Year Assessment of Medium Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP) 2025-2029 tabled in the Winter Session of the Legislature here, estimates an expected lower revenue collections compared to the estimated targets — potentially increasing the revenue deficit in the current financial year. Due to GST rate rationalisation, the State estimates the revenue shortfall of ₹9,000 crore in addition to the revenue loss of about ₹9,500 crore due to non-merger of Cess.
• The 2025-26 budget estimated a revenue expenditure of about ₹3.11 lakh crore against the estimated revenue receipts of about ₹2.92 lakh crore in the total budget size of ₹4.09 lakh crore. The first half of this fiscal, the State, however, has recorded a revenue surplus of ₹68 crore with revenue expenditure of ₹1,28,924 crore against revenue receipts of ₹1,28,987 crore. By the end of September, total spending was 36.4%. The capital expenditure increased by 32.3% in the first half of 2025-2026 over 2024-2025. The Union Finance Ministry has projected the State’s GSDP to be around ₹30.91 lakh crores for 2025-2026.
• The assessment noted that the increase in committed expenditure, including the State’s spending on guarantees and various welfare schemes, has increased the revenue expenditure, and the GST rationalisation has further constrained the State’s fiscal position.
• Stating that the GST rate rationalisation will have significant impact on the State’s finances, it said any reduction in SGST or other own tax revenue for States directly reduces fiscal capacity, potentially forcing them to either borrow more or cut essential services. The cessation of GST compensation mechanism has left States fully responsible for any revenue shortfall when the compensation period ended in 2022. State’s GST to GSDP ratio fell sharply from 3.5 % in 2020 to 2.4 % in 2024. The GST revenue as percentage of GSDP has still not surpassed the levels recorded in the pre -GST era, it noted.

SC order on mines

• The assessment also noted the negative IGST settlement of ₹2,074 crore in April, 2025, that has moderated the overall revenue growth during the first half of the current fiscal year. While Karnataka expected a tax revenue of ₹3,000 crore from mines after it enacted the Karnataka Mineral Rights and Mineral Bearing Lands Tax bill, 2024, following Supreme Court direction, the Bill is still pending Presidential assent, it said.
• Meanwhile, the non -tax revenue has increased to ₹9,827 crore in the first six months of 2025-26 from ₹6,624 crore in the corresponding period last year. The own tax revenue has also increased from ₹84,945 crore in 2024-25 to ₹ 90,981 crore in 2025-26. The assessment noted that the revenue collections had shown a 7.7% increase over the corresponding period last year.

Centre’s aid falls

• However, the grant in aid from the Centre has decreased by 38.2 % in 2025-2026 from ₹8,309 crore in first half of last year to ₹5,139 crore received in the first six months of this fiscal. The assessment noted that the transfers from the Centre have shown no growth.

• Navy commissions second MH-60R copter squadron, the ‘Ospreys’, at INS Hansa

Context: INAS 335, the Ospreys, the second Indian Naval Air Squadron to operate MH-60R helicopters, was commissioned at INS Hansa, Goa. The ceremony was presided over by Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), marking another major milestone in the modernisation of Indian naval aviation.

• The commissioning follows the induction of the first MH-60R helicopter squadron at Kochi, Kerala, in March 2024. With the induction of the versatile, multi-role MH-60R helicopter on the western seaboard as the first operational squadron, the Navy has significantly enhanced its rotary wing combat and surveillance capabilities.
• Addressing the gathering, Admiral Tripathi said the commissioning assumes special significance as 2025 marks 75 years since the Government of India approved the formation of the Fleet Air Arm, a historic decision that gave wings to naval aviation.
• Recalling earlier capability additions at INS Hansa, the CNS noted that the Navy had commissioned its second P-8I maritime patrol aircraft squadron at the same airbase in 2022. Complementing the P-8I fleet, the Navy is going ahead with the acquisition of 15 MQ-9B Sea Guardian remotely piloted aircraft.

• Uttarakhand Governor returns UCC, religious conversion Bills

Context: In a setback to the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led Uttarakhand government, Governor Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh (retd.) has returned the amendment Bills related to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the State’s Freedom of Religion and Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Act, citing technical flaws.

• Sources in the government confirmed that the Governor’s office has returned the Bills.
• “Apart from some grammatical and technical errors, the Governor has also raised issues with the punishment term for a couple of offences in the new legislations,” an official involved in the drafting of the Bills told The Hindu.
• He added that since the Bills have now come back from the Governor’s office, they will have to be redrafted, removing the mistakes pointed out and addressing other technical glitches. “The government then will be left with two options, either pass the amendments by bringing an ordinance or get them passed again in the State Assembly and send them again for the Governor’s consideration,” the official added.
• Although the State government has claimed that the Governor’s office returned the Bills due to minor faults, the Congress termed the move a tactic to keep the issues alive in public memory ahead of the Assembly elections due in 2027.
• “If they were just minor flaws, the Governor’s office could have unofficially sent them back for corrections. …it is just a tactic of the government to recall the Bills and once again pass them in the Assembly sometime around the elections which are due in early 2027 because the BJP has already used all its divisive tactics to win elections and now they are left with nothing new,” Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said.

• Suggest measures to prevent attacks on judges: SC to Centre

Context: The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to suggest measures to prevent a repeat of incidents such as the one in October when a lawyer threw an object at the then Chief Justice of India’s Bench.

• On October 6, advocate Rakesh Kishore hurled an object at a Bench led by then Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and shouted slogans before he was escorted out of the court room.
• The SCBA, represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh, has sought contempt action against Mr. Kishore.
• However, the Bench led by the current Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, had steered the trajectory of the petition away from the contempt jurisdiction to framing guidelines to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. On Wednesday, the court impleaded the Centre, represented by the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, in the case.
• Besides, preventive measures, the Bench directed the lawyers’ body and the Centre to propose protocol that has to be followed by “everyone” in “publicising, reporting” such incidents.
• The SCBA has contended that Mr. Kishore’s act was “contempt on the face of the court”.

• Prasar Bharati drafts policy to monetise television, OTT content

Context: Prasar Bharati, the government-owned national broadcaster, has uploaded a draft Content Syndication Policy, 2025 on its website for public consultation.

• The policy seeks to promote cultural outreach and monetise content, while also upholding its public service mandate, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan said in the Lok Sabha.
• A structured industry consultation had been carried out with key stakeholders across the media ecosystem, including OTT (Over-The-Top) platforms, linear TV broadcasters, radio networks, telecom carriers, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) operators, and content aggregators, Mr. Murugan said in response to questions by T.M. Selvaganapathi, Salem MP.
• The policy aims to monetise content produced by Doordarshan and Akashvani; archived national and regional content; digital-first content published on Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform; and live coverage of government events, festivals, and sports, among others.
• It calls for “strategic collaborations” with domestic and international platforms to expand the reach of Prasar Bharati’s content, and strengthen India’s cultural presence globally.
• RS passes Bill for 100% FDI in insurance sector

Context: During debate, Opposition says Bill should be sent to a Select Committee of Parliament givenits far-reaching impact; House passes Repealing and Amending Bill that annuls 71 obsolete laws.

• A day after the Lok Sabha passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, the Rajya Sabha passed the legislation which allows 100% foreign direct investment in the insurance sector.
• The Upper House also cleared the Repealing and Amending Bill that repeals 71 obsolete laws. The Bill was also passed by the Lok Sabha.
• The structure of insurance regulation is very clearly laid out in the Bill, and the premium collected from Indians by foreign insurance companies will be kept in the country, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, replying to a debate on the Bill. Private sector insurance companies were participating in all welfare schemes of the Union government, and the Bill would ensure that foreign companies would also participate in social sector-related activities and government schemes, Ms. Sitharaman said. “We are not giving them any room to get away from that responsibility,” she said.
• The increase in the FDI limit to 100% would ensure more foreign companies invest in India as, in many cases, they did not find joint venture partners for various reasons, she said. With more companies, the competition would increase, and premiums should drop, she said.
• Earlier, during the debate, the Opposition demanded that the Bill be sent to a Select Committee of Parliament given the far-reaching impact it has on the insurance sector.

‘Threat to data privacy’

• Initiating the debate, senior Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil said the Bill posed a threat to data privacy as foreign companies would demand PAN and Aadhaar of their customers, which may lead to digital frauds. The Centre should learn from the experience of privatising the civil aviation sector, Mr. Gohil said. He demanded that the Bill be sent to a Select Committee.
• Questioning the use of both Hindi and English in the name of the Bill, Saket Gokhale of the All India Trinamool Congress said the Bill opened the door to profit extraction by foreign companies.
• A market share of $600 billion would go to foreign investors once the Bill was implemented, Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam said. “This is daylight robbery. The government should not squander opportunities to promote and strengthen its own PSUs (public sector undertakings), but this government through this Bill is favouring foreign investors and burdening our own insurance companies,” Ms. Kanimozhi said.
• The Rajya Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending Bill. The Bill would remove 71 outdated laws, correcting errors that had crept in during the law-making process, and removing discriminatory aspects of certain laws, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said.
• “We give priority to ease of living along with ease of doing business,” he said. “These reforms are a step towards liberation from a colonial mindset,” he added. It seeks to repeal Acts, including the Indian Tramways Act, 1886; the Levy Sugar Price Equalisation Fund Act, 1976; the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Determination of Conditions of Service of Employees) Act, 1988; the General Clauses Act, 1897; the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; and the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

• Harvard economist backs simultaneous polls, flags challenges

Context: Holding simultaneous elections to legislatures at the State and Union levels will be a “positive step” from an economic standpoint, according to Harvard economist Gita Gopinath, a former Chief Economist and First Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, she cautioned that the implementation of the proposed reform will require careful planning to address logistical complexities, according to sources.

• Ms. Gopinath was briefing the Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to introduce simultaneous elections. The panel also met Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, who backed simultaneous elections.

‘Could spur investment’

• In a written submission to the panel, Ms. Gopinath reportedly said that synchronising the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections could reduce prolonged periods of policy uncertainty and spur economic activity.
• “International research shows that pre-election uncertainty slows investment. In India, this is compounded by the Model Code of Conduct, which freezes new projects during staggered polls,” she noted. States that hold simultaneous elections had recorded stronger post-election growth, she said.
• The economist argued that fewer election cycles could shift public spending towards long-term infrastructure projects. Synchronisation, she said, could help governments prioritise infrastructure, boosting growth prospects.

Uncertain cost impact

• Noting that the synchronised elections could generate efficiency and gains, she warned that international experience, notably Indonesia’s 2024 election, underscored the risks of fully simultaneous polls. “Indonesia faced record spending, heavy logistical pressures and unusually high staffing needs, prompting its Constitutional Court to partially separate elections from 2029,” she said.
• While India’s administrative strengths may mitigate some challenges, the net cost impact remains uncertain.
• Arguing on similar lines, Mr. Sanyal said that simultaneous elections would reduce expenditure, adding that is not the primary reason to bring in this reform.
• The staggered elections impose “significant economic costs due to repeated disruptions in policy continuity”, he said.
• He said that synchronised polls could enhance governmental stability, thereby strengthening long-term decision-making and policy planning.

• Vaishnaw says anti-collision system installed on 2,00O km of rail network

Context: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that the indigenous anti-collision Kavach safety system had been fully commissioned on over 2,000 km of the rail network.

• In a reply during Question Hour, Mr. Vaishnaw said that Kavach was a highly complex Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system comprising five major components. It required continuous laying of optical fibre cable (OFC) along tracks and the installation of telecom towers.
• The Minister said the Railways had so far laid 7,129 km of OFC, installed 860 telecom towers, connected 767 stations to data centres, deployed track-side equipment along 3,413 km, and equipped 4,154 locomotives with the system. “Complete commissioning has crossed 2,000 km,” he said, adding that the pace of work was “very fast”.
• The Minister said around 40,000 technicians and operators had been trained, underlining that Kavach was a “totally new and very complex” system.

On rail accidents

• Responding to a supplementary by DMK MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy on rail accidents, Mr. Vaishnaw said consequential accidents had fallen by nearly 90% — from 135 in 2014 to 11 now.
• In response to another supplementary question, he said redeveloping railway stations without disrupting train services was a “complex task”.
• He noted that several countries suspended rail operations for three to four years during station redevelopment. “In India, where 7.5 crore passengers travel by train, this is simply not possible,” Mr. Vaishnaw said.
• He said stations were being upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, which adopts a long-term, phased approach based on master plans.

• ICG Ship Sarthak makes first port call at Iran’s Chabahar

Context: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Ship Sarthak, an offshore patrol vessel, entered the Chabahar port in Iran on December 16 for a four-day visit till December 19.

• According to the Defence Ministry, the port call, marking the first-ever visit of an Indian Coast Guard ship to Chabahar, underscored India’s growing maritime engagement in the region and its ability to support secure supply lines to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
• The visit is aligned with India’s SAGAR and MAHASAGAR vision of fostering secure and inclusive maritime engagements. ICG Ship Sarthak will engage in a range of professional and community-oriented activities.
• Indian Army leaves for Desert Cyclone-II military exercise

Context: An Indian Army contingent has departed for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the second edition of the India–UAE Joint Military Exercise DESERT CYCLONE–II, scheduled to be held at Abu Dhabi from December 18 to 30.

• According to the Defence Ministry, the Indian contingent comprised 45 personnel, primarily drawn from a battalion of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment.
• The UAE Land Forces will be represented by a contingent of similar strength from the 53 Mechanised Infantry Battalion.
• Aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and further strengthen defence cooperation between the Indian Army and the UAE Land Forces.

• SEBI reviews decades’ old brokerage norms

Context: Decides to cut maximum expense ratio by up to 15 bps; cap on brokerage segment cut to 6 bps for cash market, 2 bps on derivative transactions.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday revised the total expense ratio charged by mutual funds (MFs), reviewed the two-decade-old brokerage regulations, and proposed to discuss public comments on the high-level committee (HLC) regarding its report on conflict of interest.
• The markets regulator, in its board meeting, also announced measures for simplification of IPO documents for the benefit of investors, and allowed credit rating agencies (CRAs) to carry out ratings for unlisted debt instruments.
• SEBI decided to cut the maximum expense ratio charged on investors by up to 15 basis points as part of a comprehensive review of the MF regulations.
• The changes have been applied on slabs determined by the assets under management of the mutual funds.
• According to the new regulations, expense ratio will now be called ‘Base Expense Ratio’ (BER), which will exclude stamp duty, GST, and STT among other levies. The total exchange ratio will be a sum of BER, brokerage, regulatory levies and statutory levies.
• The cap on brokerage segment has now been cut to 6 bps for cash market and 2 bps on derivative transactions. In the consultation paper on MF regulations, the regulator proposed that the cash market brokerage may be capped at 2 bps and derivatives at 1 bps. One bps is one hundredth of a percentage.
• In line with the proposals, the additional exit load of 5 bps, usually charged in the event of a premature redemption, has been completely done away with. “It was very clearly brought to our notice that the sell side research is a bundled cost. We were trying to propose that they can unbundle it and can pay brokerage at a lower level and pay for research separately, [but] that business model is not available today,” SEBI Chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said while addressing a press conference.
• He added that attempts to unbundle sell side research cost and brokerage charges were not successful in Europe and the U.K.
• Sell side research are brokerage reports that are given by securities brokerage companies. Brokerage includes cost for research and the brokerage commission.
• The mutual fund regulation reviews also included simplification of old rules, reorganisation of roles and responsibilities of AMCs, and reorganisation of provisions related to the prudential investment limits and valuation of securities.
• SEBI also revamped the stock brokers regulations to simplify language, updating contemporary changes among other changes. Both mutual fund and brokerage regulations were more than two decades’ old.
• The regulator also simplified norms for public issue by doing away with the need for an offer document summary and instead replaced it with the abridged prospectus. The document will be made available to the investor in the form of a QR code.
• SEBI also said that it had reviewed the high level committee report on conflict of interest.

• India, Oman to sign free trade pact today: Goyal

Context: Confirming India and Oman will be signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the FTA offers “immense opportunities” in a number of sectors, including textiles, footwear, automobiles, gems and jewellery, renewable energy, and auto components.

• Speaking at the India-Oman Business Forum in Muscat, Mr. Goyal added India stood to gain in terms of the access Oman provides to markets such as the GCC, eastern Europe, central Asia, and Africa.
• India and Oman began talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2023. Mr. Goyal said he and his Omani counterpart would sign the FTA in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.
• “The sky is the limit in terms of potential, particularly with Oman opening the doors as a gateway to the Gulf Cooperation Council region, eastern Europe, central Asia, and to Africa,” said Mr. Goyal.
• He added there were four broad areas in which the two countries can collaborate with each other.

Energy transition

• “One is in the energy transition that both are committed to, whether it’s renewable sources of energy, battery storage, green hydrogen, that whole ecosystem can open up between Oman and India,” he said.
• The second area was infrastructure, multi-modal logistics and export warehouses.
• “Another area would be food security. We can help Oman ensure food security,” he said, adding “there was a lot of potential in this area.”
• The fourth area, which India and Oman could work together, was to develop startup ecosystems.
• “The startups can engage with each other, build bridges, work on deep tech or smarter ways to work on logistics software services, artificial intelligence, there is tremendous potential to leverage this area as a hub,” Mr. Goyal said.

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 17th December 2025

• Karntaka Legislative Assembly adopts Bill to add members to GBA

Context: The Assembly adopted the Greater Bengaluru Governance (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, to include elected representatives as members of the GBA.

• The Legislative Assembly adopted the Greater Bengaluru Governance (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, that seeks to include members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, the Legislative Assembly, and the Legislative Council as members of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) if they come under its jurisdiction.
• Names of some of the elected representatives, including Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy and Chickballapur MP K. Sudhakar, had been left out from the GBA as its members, though they came under the GBA jurisdiction. The proposed amendment would provide for adding their names.

Ex-officio members

• It is also aimed at including Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary to Urban Development Department, and Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary to Finance Department as ex-officio members of the GBA.
• The Bill also provides for inclusion of ACS to Urban Development Department as a member of the Executive Committee of the GBA.
• It also provides for re-division of wards in respect to newly incorporated local areas to be carried out within a specified period.
• No provision for appointing nominated members to the GBA. “There are 369 members in the GBA. If the government adds one nominated person for every 20,000 population, there would be another 369 members. This would create confusion.”

• Karnataka tops National Energy Conservation Awards 2025
• Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) has won the National Energy Conservation Awards 2025 under the State Energy Efficiency Performance Award (SDA Group-1) category, The second place was taken by Maharashtra.
• President Droupadi Murmu presented the award in New Delhi on December 14 during the National Energy Conservation Day celebrations.

• Vishwas Gowda wins gold
• Powerlifter Vishwas Gowda P. won three gold medals in the 90 kg category at the WRPF World Championship 2025, held in Moscow, Russia, from December 4 to 7.
• According to the Pratham International Group of Institutions, Vishwas topped the podium in Full Powerlifting, Bench Press and Push Pull events, bringing international recognition to Indian powerlifting with his dominant showing at the prestigious championship.

• Forest Minister attributes human-animal conflict to increase in animal population

Context: Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre attributed the increase in the human-animal conflict in recent years to the increase in animal population.

• After the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, came into effect, the hunting of animals was stopped. Gradually the number of animals increased.

• Karnataka stands first in the country considering the elephant population (6,395) and second in terms of tiger population. As per the tiger census conducted in 2022, the tiger population was 563 in the State.
• “But, when analysed again after the recent incidents of human-tiger conflicts, we understood that the number has gone up to 600 in the State.
• In the year 1972, the number of tigers in Bandipur was only 12. During our last census the number was 150 and now it has gone to 200,”. The Bandipur National Park is spread over 1,000 sq. km.

• “I had asked the officers to study the carrying capacity of the park. According to an estimation, a tiger needs an area of 11 to 12 sq. km. Going by the land available, the park could accommodate around 100 to 110 tigers.
• But the current population is around 200, initiating territorial fights among them. We have also studied the population of mammals like deer that tigers require to survive. There is no shortage of such animals,” he said.
• The Minister said every year on an average 40-50 human deaths are reported in human-animal conflicts.

• Assembly adopts 12 Bills, including Land Revenue Bill

Context: Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to remove anomalies in classification and maintenance of land records in Kodagu district.

• The Karnataka Legislative Assembly adopted 12 Bills, including the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to remove anomalies in the classification and maintenance of land records in Kodagu district, and the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill.
• Piloting the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda noted that Kodagu had continued to operate its own traditional system of records even after 1964 when the Karnataka Land Revenue Act had come into effect.
• Under this pre-Independence system, those who served the British in their army had been appointed as agents (Pattedars) to collect revenue on behalf of the British regime. However, the problem started in 2000 when Karnataka moved towards of digitisation of land documents through the Bhoomi project, as there was no parity between the records under the Bhoomi and the land records in Kodagu, he noted.
• However, the then Deputy Commissioners of Kodagu had continued with the old system by issuing notifications at their level which created in additional columns in RTC that had entries for pattedars. This triggered legal issues over ownership of land as there was a need to clarify whether the land owner had absolute ownership or if it belonged to pattedars.
• Hence, the government was now amending this legislation to provide for empowering tahsildars of Kodagu district to hold hearings and make necessary corrections in the land records to bring them in conformity with present system.
• The Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill would seek to achieve the principle of “Minimum Government Maximum Governance” by decriminalisation of minor offences and rationalisation of monetary penalties as envisaged in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023 (Central Act 18 of 2023).
• The Malnad Area Development Board (Amendment) Bill, The Bayaluseeme Development Board (Amendment) Bill, Shree Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, The Chandraguthi Shree Renukamba Kshetra Development Authority Bill, and Sri Malai Mahadeshwaraswamy Kshetra Development Authority (Amendment) Bill were also adopted by the Assembly.

• Study affirms Kerala’s rich butterfly diversity in the Western Ghats region

Context: Kerala hosts the highest butterfly diversity among all Indian States along the Western Ghats, with 328 species documented, including 41 species endemic to the Western Ghats, according to a new monograph published in ENTOMON, an open access quarterly journal by the Association for Advancement of Entomology.

• The researchers of the study ‘The Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) of Kerala: Status and Distribution’ have reported that the Western Ghats support 337 butterfly species and Kerala accounts for nearly the entire diversity. The butterfly fauna of the State spans six families, led by Nymphalidae (97 species), Lycaenidae (96 species), and Hesperiidae (82 species), followed by Papilionidae, Pieridae and Riodinidae.
• The study, undertaken by a team of researchers led by Kalesh Sadasivan, has also documented 36 migratory butterfly species to highlight the State’s role as a key corridor for seasonal butterfly movements. Notably, 22 species recorded from Kerala are included in the IUCN Red List, though most fall under the ‘Least Concern’ category, while two are listed as ‘Near Threatened.’
• The monograph highlights that 70 butterfly species found in Kerala are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Of these, only four have the highest level of protection under Schedule I.
• One of the most significant contributions of the work is the extensive larval host plant checklist which documents over 1,800 feeding records, including over 350 new field observations. Covering nearly 800 plant species, the list represents one of the largest region-specific compilations in India.

• With PM in Jordan, Jaishankar in Israel, India reiterates its position on West Asian conflicts

Context: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Amman calling for an India-Jordan collaboration for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Tel Aviv expressing India’s support for the Trump peace plan for Gaza, India reiterated its willingness to play an important role in the fast-evolving scenario in West Asia.

• Speaking at the India-Jordan Business Forum, Mr. Modi said King Abdullah II had shared his vision of developing railways and “next-generation infrastructure” in Jordan. “During our meeting yesterday, His Majesty also highlighted the infrastructure reconstruction needs in Syria. Indian and Jordanian companies can collaborate to address these requirements together,” he said.
• Mr. Modi — who was in Jordan earlier during for his ongoing three-nation tour covering Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman — met with King Abdullah II and expressed mutual determination to fight “terrorism, extremism and radicalisation”. The two dignitaries also discussed regional conflicts. “Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s support for efforts being made to achieve durable peace in the region,” the External Affairs Ministry said.
• A day after Mr. Modi reached Jordan, Mr. Jaishankar landed in the Israeli capital Tel Aviv where he was welcomed by the Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Mr. Jaishankar condemned the terror attack in Bondi beach of Sydney, Australia, and said, “Where India and Israel are concerned, we are both countries who have a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.”
• “I also would like to listen to you about the regional situation. I want to say that India supports the Gaza peace plan (given by President Trump) and hopes that it will lead to a lasting and durable solution,” he said.
• Mr. Jaishankar’s visit has attracted attention as in its backdrop, the Israeli Knesset passed a law to stop the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees that India has historically assisted.

• PM honoured with Ethiopia’s highest award

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Ethiopia’s highest award ‘The Great Honour Nishan of Ethiopia’ by his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali.

• The award was to honour Mr. Modi’s role in strengthening India-Ethiopia ties, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
• India and Ethiopia also elevated their ties to a strategic partnership, after the leaders discussed issues of bilateral interest.

• Govt. introduces Bill to replace MGNREGA amid loud protests

Context: A new Bill — referred to as VB-G RAM G — was introduced in Parliament, proposing major changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) framework. The Bill triggered strong protests from Opposition parties, leading to MPs marching from the Lok Sabha chamber to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue within the Parliament premises, demanding that the Bill be referred to a parliamentary committee for detailed scrutiny.

Government’s Position

Bill aims to:

• Fully develop villages
• Establish balance between agriculture and labour
• Align rural governance with Gandhian philosophy
• Described the Bill as being in the spirit of “Ram Rajya”, suggesting moral governance, self-reliant villages, and social harmony.

Constitutional and Policy Issues Involved

• Article 21 (Right to life with dignity): Employment security is linked to livelihood.
• Directive Principles of State Policy:

Article 38 – social justice

Article 39 – right to livelihood

• Federalism: Reduced funding and centralisation weaken State autonomy.
• Decentralisation: Gram Panchayats’ role may be undermined.

Significance of MGNREGA

• World’s largest rights-based employment programme

Provides:

Guaranteed 100 days of wage employment

Social security during agrarian distress

Acts as:

Automatic stabiliser during economic downturns

Tool for poverty alleviation and asset creation

Conclusion

• The controversy around the VB-G RAM G Bill reflects a broader debate on:
• Rights-based welfare vs budget-controlled schemes
• Centralisation vs decentralisation
• Symbolic invocation of Gandhian ideals vs constitutional guarantees

While the government presents the Bill as aligned with Gandhian philosophy and rural development goals, the Opposition views it as a dilution of MGNREGA’s core principles, potentially harming rural livelihoods, federal balance, and constitutional values.

• ‘Conscious’ decision to separate funding from regulator, say officials on higher education Bill

Context: The Union government’s decision to take away funding powers from the regulatory authority and create separate regulatory, accreditation, and standards councils for higher education institutions under the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, was a ‘conscious’ move in keeping with the National Education Policy, 2020 suggestion to minimise conflicts of interest.

• They said that this is why the Bill has segregated the three roles of regulation, accreditation, and standards-setting. However, the officials said the grant-disbursal function currently being exercised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) is proposed to be performed by the Ministry of Education.
• Without providing details, Education Ministry officials said that under the proposed law, the mechanism that will be used to disburse grants to Central universities “will be similar to or better than the existing mechanisms”. They added that institutional performance on regulatory compliance will continue to be a “major factor” in deciding the quantum of funds to be distributed, but not the only one, citing the need for a “holistic view” while giving grants.
• The VBSA Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday amid objections from the Opposition, proposes an overhaul of India’s higher education regulatory framework, replacing the UGC, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), with a single apex commission — the VBSA, which will coordinate between a regulatory, an accreditation, and a standards councils, operating “autonomously”. Most notably, it takes away grant-disbursal power from the regulatory authority, a power that UGC exercises in the current system.
• A coalition of teachers’ and students’ associations and unions from across the country have raised objections, among others, about the proposition to take away funding power from the regulatory authority, noting that leaving it in the direct control of the Education Ministry would risk grants being subject to “political influence”.
• Education Ministry officials explained that even though the NEP 2020 had suggested a separate Council for disbursing grants that the UGC currently disburses to Central universities, “it was a conscious decision that this is not going to be possible” because of the multiplicity of “sources and funnels” through which higher education institutes across the country receive funding.
• As soon as the government introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, it proposed that the Bill be sent for deliberation to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament.
• Officials said the government hopes to engage in an intense discussion over the Bill’s provisions and is encouraging suggestions to be submitted to the panel.

• Rajya Sabha clears additional funds for fertilizer subsidy
• The Rajya Sabha, cleared the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants that authorises the Union government to additionally spend ₹41,455 crore in 2025-26. This includes over ₹ 18,000 crore towards fertilizer subsidy.
• The gross additional expenditure in the Supplementary Demands for Grants is ₹1.32 lakh crore, in which ₹90,812.17 crore is savings by various Ministries.
• The Supplementary Demands for Grants also has allocation of ₹9,500 crore to the Petroleum Ministry to compensate oil marketing companies for under-recoveries and ₹1,304 crore for additional expenditure by the Department of Higher Education.

• Rashtrapati Bhavan displays portraits of all 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees

Context: Portraits of all 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees are now on display at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, replacing the previously displayed portraits of 96 British Aide-de-Camps (ADCs).

• The Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military honour, awarded for displaying the most exceptional acts of valour, courage, and self-sacrifice during war.
• The initiative aims to honour the memory of soldiers who had laid down their lives in the service of the nation. President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the ‘Param Vir Dirgha’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, on the occasion of Vijay Divas.
• “The move will assist in educating visitors about our national heroes who displayed dauntless resolve and unconquerable spirit in defending our nation. The initiative to display portraits of Indian national heroes marks a step toward shedding the colonial mindset and embracing, with pride, the richness of India’s culture, heritage, and timeless traditions,’’ a release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
• The government had been working to restore pride in India’s “sanatan values”, with prominent changes including the renaming of the Rajpath to Kartavya Path, a senior Central government official said.
• Similarly, the Indian Navy’s ensign has shed the Saint George’s Cross, adopting instead a design featuring the National Flag and a Navy blue-gold octagon dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The 2022 Republic Day Beating Retreat ceremony, part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, embraced Indian instruments, including the sitar, santoor, and tabla.

Decolonial renaming

• Across India, including on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, colonial nomenclature has been replaced, the official said.
• In 2018, Ross Island was renamed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island became Shaheed Dweep, and Havelock Island was renamed Swaraj Dweep.
• In 2024, the capital of the Union Territory, Port Blair, was renamed Sri Vijaya Puram, and 21 islands were named after Param Vir Chakra awardees. The Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Mughal Garden was renamed Amrit Udyan.
• “Through various initiatives, the Centre is dismantling colonial legacies,’’ the official said.

• Indian Army receives final batch of Apache helicopters

Context: The Indian Army received the final batch of three AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, completing its six-unit fleet at the 451 Army Aviation Squadron based in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The helicopters landed at the Air Force Station, Hindon, in Ghaziabad before being inducted into the service.

• The Apaches were contracted in February 2020 under a $600-million deal with the United States. The first batch of three helicopters was delivered earlier this year, and the arrival of the final batch will ensure full operationalisation of the Army’s dedicated Apache squadron.
• The six advanced attack helicopters will be stationed at Jodhpur. The squadron was raised in March last year to cater specifically to operational requirements on the western front.
• The deliveries come against the backdrop of a telephonic conversation between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in July this year, during which both sides reviewed ongoing and upcoming initiatives to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
• During the talks, the United States had assured India of delivering the first batch of three Apaches within two weeks and the remaining three by November this year. The first batch was delivered after a delay of nearly 15 months from the original delivery schedule of May 2024, primarily due to global supply chain disruptions.
• The AH-64E Apache is regarded as the world’s most advanced multi-role combat helicopter.

• Rupee breaches 91 level, turns weakest Asian currency in ’25

Context: With India’s growth strong and inflation contained, policymakers may be ‘comfortable’ allowing some depreciation, currency experts opined.

• The rupee breached one more psychological mark by depreciating beyond 91 to 91.14 on the spot market against the U.S. dollar during intraday trade, making it one of the weakest major currencies globally this year and the weakest in Asia in 2025.
• But it gained a bit during the day to close at 90.93 as compared with it’s previous close of 90.78, down nearly 16 paise, a fresh all time low.
• Anindya Banerjee, Head Currency and Commodity Research, Kotak Securities, said the pressure on the currency is being driven by three key factors: sentiment, capital flows, and the global macro backdrop.
• “The uncertainty around the pending India-U.S. trade deal and the broader trade-war environment is weighing on markets. From a flows perspective, foreign portfolio investors have pulled out close to $2.7 billion in the first two weeks of December alone, already among the largest monthly outflows this year, with the month still unfinished,” he said.
• He said globally rising U.S. bond yields and expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike have triggered an unwinding of the yen carry trade.
• “This has led to risk aversion across equities, credit, crypto, and some commodities, adding speculative pressure on emerging-market currencies, including the rupee,” he added. Stating that the rupee may head towards 92, he said, RBI’s relatively limited intervention so far appeared deliberate.
• “With India’s growth strong and inflation contained, policymakers may be comfortable allowing some currency depreciation, especially in a global trade-war environment where a weaker currency can support export competitiveness,” he said.
• “And on a day when the rupee has reached 91, I think it is important to also flag that we have been expecting [it] for a while, but not wide depreciation. And there are strategic and tactical decisions involved in the rupee,” said Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist of Axis Bank, Head of Global Research at Axis Capital, and part time member at the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC).
• “I think the RBI is letting the currency move around a bit. It’s not a bad idea. We will have to see at what level they [would say] in the three-to-six-month basis, more than this volatility is not allowed. I think the mistake was in pegging it [rupee to $] at 83. Those past sins are still haunting us,” he emphasised.
• In a note, Finrex Treasury Advisors said the rupee made a new lifetime low as dollar buying continued with news that U.S. President Donald Trump had not agreed to the new proposals as he wanted agri and its products to be included in the proposal which India had not agreed to.

• Lok Sabha passesBill on 100%FDI in insurance

Context: The Bill also empowers IRDAI to disgorge wrongful gains from insurers and intermediaries.

• The Lok Sabha passed an all important Bill that proposes to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance sector from 74% to 100% besides a clutch of other amendments to insurance laws amid protests from the opposition.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her reply to the discussion, said allowing 100% FDI would pave the way for further capital infusion, better technology as well as better insurance products. It would ease the process for global companies to foray into the Indian insurance market without domestic partners, she said, adding forming a joint venture is a mammoth task.
• All Indian laws will apply to the companies. They will be regulated like other insurance entities, she said, seeking to allay apprehensions around changes the Bill is proposing to the Insurance Act, 1938; the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956; and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.
• The FDI limit for insurance companies was raised from 26% to 49% in 2015 and from 49% to 74% in 2021. On the amendment reducing net owned fund requirement for foreign reinsurance branches from ₹5,000 crore to ₹1,000 crore, she said the move would invite more reinsurers to the country for creating greater risk capacities and create level playing field for FRBs in domestic tariff area as opposed to IFSC.
• Stating that government’s priority is to strengthen the public sector insurance companies, she said ₹17,450 crore was infused in three public sector general insurance companies to strengthen their capital base. Listing of LIC, GIC Re and New India Assurance was also a step in the direction of boosting public insurers.
• The Bill also empowers insurance regulator IRDAI to disgorge wrongful gains from insurers and intermediaries. As part of proposal to rationalise penalties to be imposed by IRDAI, the maximum limit of penalty on insurance intermediaries like in the case of insurers is to be increased from ₹1 crore to ₹10 crore to “act as a deterrent and encourage legal and regulatory compliance.”
• Terming the Bill a landmark reform, General Insurance Council Chairman and Bajaj General Insurance MD and CEO Tapan Singhel said by strengthening policyholder protection, improving transparency and empowering the regulator, the Bill builds trust at the core of the insurance system.

• Sugar production shows an increase

Context: Sugar production from October 1, 2025 to December 15 saw a 28% increase compared with the same period in 2024.

• As per Indian Sugar and Bioenergy Manufacturers Association, sugar production touched 78.25 lakh tonne in the first 75 days of the current sugar marketing season as against 61.28 lakh tonne last year.
• Sugar production is up in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. However, the current ex-mill sugar price has fallen to ₹3,600 to ₹3,660 a quintal in Maharashtra.
• The prices have dropped in all the major sugar producing States, the ISMA said. Meanwhile, ISMA Director General Deepak Ballani told The Hindu it was suggested the Centre raise ethanol blending from the present 20%, to 22% and thereafter to 25% in a ‘phased manner.’

• B. Sairam named chief of Coal India
• State-owned miner Coal India appointed B. Sairam as their new chairman and managing director.
• He would succeed Sanoj Kumar Jha, also the Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Coal, who held interim charge of the State-owned miner following the superannuation of P. M. Prasad October-end.
• Prior to his latest appointment at the Maharatna, Mr. Sairam served as the CMD of Northern Coalfield Ltd.
• He also served as the director (technical) at Coal India’s subsidiary Central Coalfield Ltd.

Coal output rises

• Meanwhile, overall coal production in India rose 2.06% in November when assessed with the comparable period last year, although it fell slightly short of the stipulated target for the month, according to provisional data from the Coal Ministry.
• Power generated in November declined about 5.8% compared with the previous month, owing to moderate climatic conditions reducing demand for appliances.
• Production in November this year stood at 92.68 million tonne (MT) compared with 90.81 MT in the same period last year.

A butterfly is the face of COP17 to be held next year in YerevanThe Erivan Anomalous Blue inhabits calcareous grasslands in Armenia, but the host plant of the species is still not known : DTE

Armenia has unveiled the logo for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. At its centre is Polyommatus eriwanensis, a blue butterfly found only in and around Yerevan. The emblem appears alongside the slogan “Taking action for nature”, signalling the conference’s focus on moving from commitments to implementation. COP17, scheduled for October 2026, will host the first global review of how countries are implementing the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The framework has 23 targets, from protecting habitats to reforming subsidies that harm biodiversity. The logo uses 23 blended colours, reflecting the idea that progress on one target depends on action across all. The Erivan Anomalous Blue is more than a visual element. Endemic species like this are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Their populations respond quickly to habitat loss, climate shifts, and changes in plant availability. Scientists often use butterflies as indicators of ecosystem health. By featuring this species, Armenia links global biodiversity goals to a local, tangible example. The species inhabits calcareous grasslands in Armenia but the host plant of the species is still not known. The species is not included in the Global and European Red Lists.“Armenia’s vision for COP17 is a beautiful one. It aims to inspire us all to see that transformation is possible, that nature is worth protecting, that implementation is happening and that we all have an important and active role to play,” said Astrid Schomaker, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the unveiling event held on the sidelines of the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly that concluded recently in Kenya.

The choice builds on a precedent from COP16 in Colombia. That conference featured the Inirida flower, endemic to the Guaviare region. It highlighted a unique ecological zone and showed that conference logos can reflect specific ecosystems while addressing international conservation priorities. Earlier COP logos have included animals, plants, landscapes, and symbolic forms. Some reflected the host country’s environments; others represented broader environmental ideas. Over time, logos have shifted from generic nature to imagery and habitats with ecological or political relevance. Together, they show how biodiversity discussions have matured: from awareness raising to accountability. The COP17 butterfly represents this evolution. It reminds participants that biodiversity targets are not abstract numbers. Implementation depends on governments, civil society, local authorities, and communities. The survival of small, local species reflects the success of global frameworks. By choosing a species that exists close to people’s daily lives, the logo also illustrates the connection between human activity and ecosystem health. Conservation depends on action at all levels. The butterfly presence highlights that every effort, large or small, contributes to the wider goal of protecting biodiversity.  

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 15th & 16th December 2025

State prepares roadmap to mitigate losses

Context: According to the Karnataka State Disaster Risk Reduction (KSDRR) Road Map 2025-30, which provides a vulnerability profile of the State, 80% of the State’s geographical area is prone to drought, 22% is prone to moderate earthquake and 24% prone to cyclones, heavy winds, etc.

• With this in the backdrop, Karnataka, which incurred a cumulative loss of over ₹1.22 lakh crore due to natural disasters between 2015 and 2021, has prepared a roadmap and set 2030 as the time frame to cut such losses by 75%.
• The KSDMA has prepared the road map. for a “disaster-resilient Karnataka’’ to reduce mortalities, economic loss and casualties.
• Natural disasters: With ₹1.22-lakh crore losses, State sets timeline for mitigationKarnataka State Disaster Management Authority has prepared the road map for a ‘disaster-resilient Karnataka’ to reduce mortalities, economic loss and casualties1 of 2R.
• Karnataka, which incurred a cumulative loss of over ₹1.22 lakh crore due to natural disasters between 2015 and 2021, has prepared a roadmap and set 2030 as the time frame to cut such losses by 75%.
• The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has prepared the road map for a “disaster-resilient Karnataka’’ to reduce mortalities, economic loss and casualties.

Vulnerability profile

• The preparation of the Karnataka State Disaster Risk Reduction (KSDRR) Road Map 2025-30 entailed drawing up a vulnerability profile, as per which 80% of the State’s geographical area is prone to drought, 22% is prone to moderate earthquake and 24% of the geographical area in the State is prone to cyclones, heavy winds, etc,. Human-induced disasters like road and industrial accidents too are considered for risk assessment and disaster mitigation.
• The KSDRR report, released recently, has set short, medium and long-term plans and stipulates 2029-30 as the year by which the economic loss, infrastructure damage, human and animal mortality and casualties, were to be reduced by 75% of the baseline established in 2026.
• The study, which went into the preparation of the KSDRR Road Map, points out that not only does the State experience disasters of various types and intensities but estimates that nearly 61.10 million people are at risk.
• There is hardly any economic sector which has not been affected by the frequent occurrence of natural disasters but the brunt of it is borne by agriculture.
• While the cumulative loss across various sectors has been pegged at over ₹1.22 lakh crore, the loss between 2015 and 2021 in agriculture was pegged at ₹1.02 lakh crore. The crops over 1.84 lakh hectares were lost, while the loss in horticulture was pegged at ₹10,102.81 crore.

Road infra damages

• Afte agriculture, it is the damage to roads which was the highest and affected 1.12 lakh km of roads during the assessment period and the loss incurred was pegged at ₹17,296 crore.
• A study of drought-affected districts indicated that between 2001 and 2022, Kalaburagi, Gadag, Davangere, Belagavi were afflicted by drought 14 times, while a majority of the remaining districts reported drought on at least 13 occasions.

Climate change impact

• The report was also a pointer to the extremities of nature and the impact of climate change in many districts in recent decades, as prolonged spells of drought were followed by severe floods. This included the districts of Raichur, Ballari, Kalaburgi, Yadgir, Bidar, etc,.
• The socio-economic impact of natural disasters on various departments — from agriculture to education and tourism — has been studied in detail and broad action plans suggested for mitigation.

Timeline for targets

• The road map proposes a department-wise action plan for effective and timely response and better recovery in case of any natural or man-made disaster. It stipulates that by 2026, all departments, districts and gram panchayats should prepare disaster management plans with baseline data of the year 2025-26.
• During 2027-28, the State will collaborate with various stakeholders for technology transfer, knowledge management, etc. for risk reduction.

• La Niña, cold dry air from Siberia contributed to the winter chill

Context: Several districts in north interior Karnataka and Bengaluru experienced a steep drop in temperatures in the past week between December 8 and 14. What contributed to this? An India Meteorological Department (IMD) and a Bangalore Professor have decoded this.

• They have cited an interplay between global La Niña conditions, synoptic advection from the Siberian High and local radiative physics for this phenomenon.
• Kamsali Nagaraja, Professor at the Department of Physics, Bangalore University, and IMD Scientist Chanabasanagouda S. Patil said that to understand why a region geographically closer to the Equator experienced such biting cold, one must look thousands of kilometres away to the Pacific Ocean, where the 2025 winter unfolded under the shadow of La Niña.
• The duo said that this global atmospheric phenomenon, characterised by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures, acted as a conductor for the planetary weather orchestra.

Why harsher

• It strengthened the trade winds and modified global circulation patterns, effectively loading the dice for a harsher winter over the Indian subcontinent.
• While La Niña set the stage, the primary actor was the Siberian High, a massive, semi-permanent collection of cold, dry air that accumulates over northern Asia. Typically blocked by the Himalayas, a specific pressure configuration this December unlocked the gates, allowing this continental air to escape its usual boundaries, the duo said.
• They added that a perfect synoptic storm facilitated this southward migration of cold air, which resulted in Vijayapura district and Bidar district recording 7 °C and 7.4 °C with a departure of nearly 8°C from the normal. Besides, Bengaluru, which is usually insulated by its urban heat, saw airport temperatures drop to 12.9 °C.
• Prof. Nagaraja and Mr. Patil said that the winds, however, only brought the cold air to Karnataka. They said that the extreme severity of the freeze was dictated by the microscopic physics of the boundary layer, specifically a process known as “nocturnal radiative cooling”.

‘Open window’ effect

• The atmosphere during this week was exceptionally dry, particularly at the mid-tropospheric level, effectively stripping the earth of its natural blanket. Water vapour and clouds usually trap heat radiating from the ground, but with clear skies and arid air, the earth lost its warmth directly to space at a rapid rate after sunset. This “open window” effect caused the mercury to crash by 15 degrees or more from day to night, turning pleasant afternoons into biting nights, Prof. Nagaraja and Mr. Patil said.

• Govt. yet to procure sanitary pads under Shuchi scheme

Context: With four months left for the academic year to end, tenders to procure these sanitary napkins are still under way; the scheme, which was discontinued in 2020 during the pandemic, was resumed in 2024, following a High Court order1 of 2 Under Shuchi scheme, the government distributes 12 Shuchi Kits, each with 10 sanitary napkins, per year for a student.

• There are only four months left for the completion of the academic year 2025-26. But the State government is yet to supply Shuchi kits (sanitary napkin kits) to adolescent girls aged 10 to 18 in government and aided schools, colleges and hostels under the menstrual hygiene programme, Shuchi. Tenders to procure these sanitary napkins are still under way.
• The scheme, that was discontinued in 2020 during the pandemic, was resumed in January 2024, following a High Court order. Sanitary napkins were procured in 2024-25 without tenders after availing an exemption under Section 4G of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, 1999.
• However, this year, the government has called tenders for procurement leading to a delay.
• Responding to a question raised by Congress MLC Madhu G. Madegowda in the ongoing legislature session, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the Cabinet had approved the distribution of sanitary pads under the Shuchi programme for the year 2025-26, and a tender had been called by Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (KSMSCL) for the procurement process.
• Under the Shuchi scheme, the State government distributes 12 Shuchi Kits, each with 10 sanitary napkins, per year per student. The State government has identified 19,64,507 beneficiaries for the year 2025-26, and the scheme is expected to cost ₹71.83 crore this year.

Turn to NGOs

• With the State government not supplying sanitary pads to schools and colleges, many institutions have turned to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to fill the gaps.
• A headmaster of a government school in Laggere, Bengaluru, said that their school had over 150 adolescent girls, and the Shuchi kits provided by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in July were over. “A local donor purchased enough sanitary pads for all the girls in our school for a month. We have approached another NGO for pads next month,” he said.
• The government has identified 19,64,507 beneficiaries for 2025-26

• Kerala Governor says there is judicial overreach in Vice-Chancellor selection

Context: Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar openly criticised the Supreme Court over its intervention in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) in Digital University Kerala (DUK) and APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU).

• The Governor deplored the tendency of one institution usurping the role of another in a democracy. He said the power to amend the Constitution was vested with Parliament and legislatures, and the courts were there to “interpret the Constitution and not to amend it”.
• Referring to the dispute over Vice-Chancellor appointments, he said the authority to do so rested with the Chancellor as laid down in University Grants Commission regulations.
• “Kannur University verdict honours the right of the Chancellor to select the Vice-Chancellors. But after some time, the very same provisions are being ignored by the Supreme Court and its judges,” he said. He questioned the court’s decision to appoint search committees for selecting the Vice-Chancellors.
• He said such actions amounted to judicial overreach. “Taking [away] the tasks of every institution and doing them themselves [by the courts] is not correct,” he said, while reiterating that the courts must only ensure that the law was followed and that each institution must function within its domain.

• Indian Navy to commission second MH-60R helicopter squadron in Goa

Context: The Navy had commissioned its first squadron of the multi-role MH-60R helicopters on March 6 last year at Kochi.

• The Indian Navy will commission its second MH-60R helicopter squadron, INAS 335 (Ospreys), on December 17 at INS Hansa in Goa, in the presence of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi.
• The event will mark a significant milestone in the Navy’s ongoing drive towards modernisation and capability enhancement.
• The Indian Navy said that equipped with advanced weapons, sensors, and a state-of-the-art avionics suite, the MH-60R is a versatile multi-role platform capable of effectively addressing both conventional and asymmetric threats. The helicopter has been fully integrated with fleet operations and has already demonstrated its operational effectiveness on several occasions.
• The commissioning of INAS 335 will provide a major boost to the Indian Navy’s integral aviation capabilities, significantly enhancing its operational readiness. The induction of the MH-60R will further strengthen India’s blue-water capabilities by extending the Navy’s operational reach and enabling sustained naval operations .
• Deployment of the Seahawk helicopters in the Indian Ocean Region will reinforce the Indian Navy’s maritime presence and deter potential threats.
• The Indian Navy had commissioned its first squadron of the multi-role MH-60R helicopters on March 6 last year at Kochi, marking the beginning of a new chapter in its maritime aviation capability.

• Bill for overhaul of higher education regulatory framework likely soon

Context: In its new Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, set to be introduced in Parliament this Winter Session, the Union government has proposed an “overhaul of the regulatory framework” of higher education in India by establishing a 12-member Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) umbrella commission, under which separate regulatory (viniyaman), accreditation (gunvatta), and standards (manak) councils will operate.

• This Bill, listed in the Lok Sabha bulletin for the Winter Session, seeks to subsume the functions of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teachers’ Education.
• It further proposes that the UGC’s grants-disbursal function be performed “through mechanisms devised by the Ministry of Education”.
• Citing its pursuit of the National Education Policy, 2020, the government, in the Statement of Objects and Reasons, said the Bill would “enable and empower universities and other higher educational institutions to achieve excellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation, as an outcome of better co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions”.
• In this Bill, the government has provided for the creation of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA), which will consist of 12 members. The Viksit Bharat Viniyaman Parishad (regulatory), the Viksit Bharat Gunvatta Parishad (accreditation), and the Viksit Bharat Manak Parishad (standards) will operate under this, with up to 14 members each.
• The law is proposed to be applicable to all Central and State universities, colleges, and higher education institutions, including those for technical education, teacher education, architects’ education, institutions of national importance, and institutes of eminence. It has exempted professional programmes in disciplines such as medicine, dentistry, law, pharmacology, nursing, and veterinary sciences.

Foreign universities

• While the Bill gives the Accreditation Council a mandate to develop an “outcome-based institutional accreditation framework”, it has mandated the Regulatory Council to set standards for Centre-approved foreign universities to operate in India, “facilitate high-performing universities” to set up campuses abroad, and develop a “coherent policy to prevent commercialisation of higher education”, among others.

• With new Bill, demand-led job scheme set to turn supply-driven

Context: Viksit Bharat — Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill proposes to increase guaranteed workdaysfrom 100 to 125, but raises the financial burden on States and dismantles the demand-driven structure of the MGNREGA.

MGNREGA is now Viksit Bharat — Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)

• The Union government is set to introduce the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 in the Lok Sabha. The move will mark a shift from a “demand-driven framework” to a “supply-driven scheme”.
• Under the new system, allocations will be capped at a fixed budget determined by the Union government based on “parameters” not yet specified. Employment will be provided only in rural areas notified by the Centre.
• While the VB-G RAM G Bill increases the number of guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125, it significantly raises the financial burden on States from the current 10% share to 40% of total expenditure. The government circulated the Bill among MPs on Monday, framing it as legislation to “establish a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047”.
• Under the MGNREGA, the Union government was responsible for 100% of the labour wages and 75% of the material wages.

• New Bill set to shift job scheme to supply-driven

Context: In practice, this translated to a 90:10 cost share between the Centre and the States. However, Section 22(2) of the Bill says “the fund-sharing pattern between the Union government and the State governments shall be 90:10 for the north-eastern States, Himalayan States/Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), and 60:40 for all other States and Union Territories with legislature”.

• While this increases the financial burden on States, the new Bill gives the Centre greater control over where and how the scheme will be implemented. Section 4(5) says: “The Central government shall determine the State-wise normative allocation for each financial year, based on objective parameters as may be prescribed by the Central government.” The MGNREGA was demand-based and allowed flexibility to increase the budget based on need.
• The Centre will not only set the budget for each State but also decide where it will be spent. Section 5(1) empowers the Union government to “notify rural areas in a State” where the scheme will be implemented.
• The new Bill allows for pausing the programme during peak agricultural seasons to “facilitate availability of labour”. Technological interventions introduced under the MGNREGA — such as mobile app-based attendance, Aadhaar-based payment systems, and geotagging of worksites — are now codified into law.
• Nikhil Dey, a founder member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and one of the architects of the MGNREGA, criticised the move, calling it a retreat from the rights-based framework enjoyed for two decades.

• Trade deficit falls to $6.6 bn. in Nov. due to merchandise export growth

Context: India’s trade deficit plummeted by more than 61% in November to $6.6 billion, due to strong growth in merchandise exports and a fall in merchandise imports. Notably, India’s exports to the U.S. in November 2025 were higher than in October 2025, as well as in November last year.

• Data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed that total exports grew 15.5% to $74 billion in November, while total imports slid 0.6% to $80.6 billion. The further disaggregated data showed that merchandise exports grew 19.4% to $38.1 billion in November. Merchandise exports had fallen 11.8% in October.
• “In terms of merchandise exports, November 2025 has seen the highest exports out of any November in the last 10 years,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. “The November data takes care of the worries that arose after the October data.”
• The data show that India’s exports to the U.S. grew 22.6% to $6.98 billion in November compared to November 2024. This was also 10.7% higher than in October 2024.
• “…the November data shows our trade relations with the U.S. are going on well, and this is a positive sign,” he said.
• Merchandise imports fell 1.9% to $62.7 billion in November. These were 17.6% lower than in October, when they had surged due to gold imports. Gold imports fell nearly 60% to $4 billion in November compared to November 2024 and by nearly 73% compared to October.

• Govt. to send VBSA Bill to JPC

Context: The Union government on Monday proposed that the new Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, which seeks to overhaul the higher education regulatory framework by replacing the University Grants Commission (UGC), be sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee with members from both Houses.

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan afternoon tabled the Bill even as MPs from across Opposition parties opposed it.
• Opposition MPs from Kerala and Tamil Nadu objected to the nomenclature of the legislation, arguing that by choosing to name the Bill and the new authorities proposed in it in Hindi, the Union government was “imposing Hindi” on non-Hindi-speaking States.
• After hearing the objections to the introduction of the Bill – which will subsume the functions of the UGC, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education – Mr. Pradhan moved to introduce the Bill amid uproar. Following this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rose and said the government had decided to propose that this Bill be sent to a joint committee constituted by the Speaker.
• Mr. Rijiju said that in the meeting of the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee, “Many members have requested that this is an extensive Bill and we need further deliberation on it.”
• The Coordination Committee Against HECI (VBSA) held a press conference in New Delhi, insisting that the Bill was a “revived” version of the 2018 Higher Education Commission of India Bill, which had received thousands of adverse reactions and was subsequently put on hold. The committee, a coalition of over 30 teacher and student associations and unions, argued that this Bill was a “structural shift to dismantle public-funded higher education in India”.

• Government holds back Bill seeking amendment to Anti Cow Slaughter Act

Context: The State government is learnt to have decided to drop its earlier plan to bring the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle (Amendment) Bill, 2025, before the ongoing legislature session in Belagavi.

• The Bill that seeks to provide for release of vehicles seized during the illegal transportation of cattle for slaughtering on submission of “indemnity bond” instead of “Bank guarantee”, that is equivalent of the value of vehicle as prescribed in the Act, will not come up before the ongoing winter session, according to sources in the government.
• The government had desisted from tabling it, though it had been mentioned in the Legislative Assembly’s agenda last week among other Bills that were to be tabled in the House. The Bill had been cleared by the State Cabinet for bringing up before the winter session, at the Cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru on December 12.
• Sources in the government said that the decision to put the Bill on hold had been taken as the government did not want any controversy to erupt at this point of time.
• It is learnt that a section of the ruling party MLAs have expressed a view that the Bill, though aimed at helping poor vehicle owners who earn their livelihood by operating on a hire basis, may provide a handle to the Opposition to launch an attack at the government on communal lines.
• Protests had been staged by Hindutva organisations against the proposed Bill in some parts of the State soon after the Cabinet gave clearance to bring it up before the winter session.
• The government had earlier stated that it was planning to bring such an amendment to substitute the word “indemnity bond” in the place of “bank guarantee” in the Act in tune with the Karnataka High Court’s order dated October 27, 2022. It had directed the authorities to release the vehicle seized in connection with illegal transportation of cattle on production of “indemnity bond”.
• Sources in the government said that though the Bill sought to provide for “only a very minor amendment”, it was decided that it would not be taken up now as it could turn controversial.
• The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, had been notified by the then BJP government in February, 2021. The legislation prescribes a ban on slaughtering of all cattle, including cow, calf, and bull. It seeks to ban the slaughter of buffalo if the animals are below 13 years of age.

• ‘Wasps can playa big role in controlling pests’

Context: Wasps have a great potential to be beneficial insects and can play a larger ecological role in controlling pests, said Raghavendra Gadagkar, professor and National Science Chair, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc.

• Delivering the T.N. Ananthakrishnan Birth Centenary Lecture on “You are how much you eat: Caste and nutrition in the Indian paper wasp, Ropalidia marginata”, Dr. Gadagkar said that for a long time the focus on beneficial insects has been bees and that nobody really looked at the wasps.
• “But in recent years, it has been recorded that wasps are excellent predators of pests and they are being used now for pest control. In the last five to 10 years people have woken up to the possibilities of wasps playing a larger ecological role especially in terms of pest control,” Dr. Gadagkar said.
• He added that nutrition is the key and that wasps which eat more become egg-layers, and well-fed larvae develop into adults who feed more and become egg layers.
• “Wasps who feed more develop ovaries early. Behaviourally dominant and well- fed wasps tend to leave their natal nets to find new nests either alone or jointly. They prepare for this future by altering their behaviour both on and off the nest,” he added.
• S.N. Puri, former Vice-Chancellor, MPKV, Rahuri & Central Agricultural University, Imphal, emphasised the importance of research on technologies used in natural farming and standardisation of drone application for delivering various biocontrol agents.
• J.P. Singh, Plant Protection Adviser, Government of India, briefed about the National Pest Surveillance Scheme and stressed the importance of pest scouting for deciding the right dose and use of pesticides.

• State orders immediate solar connectivity for government hospitals

Context: The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) has directed all electricity supply companies (Escoms) to immediately provide connectivity to solar rooftop systems installed in government hospitals, after it was found that several facilities had been denied integration due to long-pending dues.

• In a communication to the Managing Directors of Bescom, Hescom, Mescom, Gescom, and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), the KPTCL noted that hospitals, given their essential and uninterrupted public service role, cannot be deprived of solar power on account of financial arrears.
• The government has taken a serious view of the delays, the letter said, and instructed all field officers to facilitate immediate connection and ensure compliance without further lapse.

Units in 3,600 places

• The directive comes as the Health Department accelerated efforts to bring down electricity expenditure through large-scale solar adoption.
• Karnataka has emerged as the first State in the country to install solar power units in 3,600 government health centres within a year, achieving 80% to 85% savings in electricity bills, according to officials.
• The installations are supported through CSR funds under the Saura Swasthya scheme, implemented in partnership with the SELCO Foundation. The initiative aims to ensure uninterrupted power supply across rural health institutions, benefiting more than three crore people.
• Since its launch in November 2024, solar units have been installed in around 3,000 centres, with over 1,150 facilities fully solarised. Work is under way in nearly 1,300 sub-centres, and the department expects to reach 3,700 installations by the year-end.
• By 2026, Karnataka plans to solarise 5,000 health facilities, including 2,877 sub-centres, 1,971 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 28 Urban PHCs, 12 Community Health Centres and 112 taluk hospitals.
• The sub-centres are equipped with 0.25 kW to 1 kW rooftop units, PHCs with 4kW to 5 kW systems, and taluk hospitals with capacities of up to 10 kW.

Reduction in bills

• The ₹120-crore project has already generated power savings of more than three megawatts and reduced electricity bills by up to 70% in covered facilities. Monthly savings are expected to touch ₹50 lakh, amounting to over ₹100 crore over a decade, by reducing reliance on grid power and diesel generators.
• Minister for Health Dinesh Gundu Rao told The Hindu that the project would help strengthen healthcare delivery in rural pockets. “Saura Swasthya will not only ensure uninterrupted healthcare services but also lead to immense savings in electricity bills, which can be utilised to improve hospital infrastructure and patient care,” he said.
• Beyond installation, the SELCO Foundation is working on a long-term system sustainability through strengthened operation and maintenance (O&M). Remote Monitoring Systems enable real-time tracking, while a dedicated Saura e-Mitra mobile app allows health staff to raise service requests.
• Of the 626 complaints logged so far, 314 have been resolved, and more than 2,000 personnel have been trained in maintenance.
• The State has also set up India’s first Solar O&M Learning Centre for health institutions in Raichur, aimed at building local technical capacity. “The initiative is lowering electricity costs, reducing CO2 emissions, and strengthening uninterrupted healthcare delivery for last-mile communities,” said SELCO Foundation director Huda Jaffer.

• Raj Kumar Goyal takes oath as CIC; 8 more sworn in

Context: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday administered the oath of office to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Raj Kumar Goyal as the Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission. Mr. Goyal took charge and administered the oath of office to eight new Information Commissioners in the presence of two incumbent Information Commissioners, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari

• The new appointees are Surendra Singh Meena, Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Swagat Das, Sudha Rani Relangi, P.R. Ramesh, Khushwant Singh Sethi, Jaya Varma Sinha, and Sanjeev Kumar Jindal. The Central Information Commission, set up under the RTI Act with up to 10 members, now has a full panel for the first time in nine years.

• PM Modi arrives in Jordan, says his visit will boost bilateral linkages

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his visit to Jordan will boost bilateral linkages between the two nations. He was speaking after arriving in Amman on the first leg of his three-nation trip aimed at further strengthening ties.

• In a special gesture emblematic of the close ties between the two countries, Mr. Modi was warmly received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan at the airport and accorded a ceremonial welcome.
• “Landed in Amman. Thankful to Mr. Jafar Hassan, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for the warm welcome at the airport,” Mr. Modi said in a post on social media.
• “I am sure this visit will boost bilateral linkages between our nations,” he added. This full-fledged bilateral visit to Jordan is taking place after 37 years, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• Jordan is the first leg of Modi’s four-day, three-nation tour, which will also take him to Ethiopia and Oman.
• “It is an honour to welcome Prime Minister @narendramodi of the Republic of India to Jordan today, as a valued guest, in a visit that reflects seventy-five years of close and enduring relations,” the Jordanian Prime Minister said in a post on social media.
• “We look forward to broader horizons of cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the economic, investment, and technological fields,” he added.
• Modi will meet King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein for a one-on-one talk followed by a delegation-level meeting. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister and the King would address an India-Jordan business event, which will be attended by leading businessmen from both countries.
• The Prime Minister, along with the Crown Prince, is scheduled to visit Petra, the historic city that shares ancient trade linkages with India, subject to weather conditions.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, this is Prime Minister Modi’s first full-fledged bilateral visit to Jordan.
• Modi had transited through Jordan in February 2018, while on his way to Palestine.
• India and Jordan share strong economic ties, with New Delhi being Amman’s third-largest trading partner.

• SHANTI Bill to allow private sector to make, run nuclear power plants

Context: The Centre introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday the SHANTI Bill that aims to incentivise private sector participation, both Indian and foreign, into nuclear power production. It does this by replacing India’s existing laws — the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, — with the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.

• The latter creates an atomic energy regulatory structure that is answerable to Parliament, removes the Nuclear Power Corporation of India’s monopoly over operating nuclear plants, and restricts the instances under which nuclear power plant operators can claim compensation from suppliers of equipment in case of an accident.
• Simultaneously, it also buffers operators by introducing limits on the extent of their liability, in case of violating the laws under the Act, based on the size of the plants they operate, and limits the maximum penalty on them to ₹1 crore even in the case of a “severe breach”.
• “The Bill proposes a revised and pragmatic civil liability framework for nuclear damage, confers statutory status on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), and strengthens mechanisms related to safety, security, safeguards, quality assurance and emergency preparedness,” a statement by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology said. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Science and Technology, introduced the Bill.
• Privatising the nuclear power sector, which currently makes up 1.5% of India’s installed power capacity, and 3% of the electricity produced, has been on the government’s agenda in recent years to boost clean energy production, improve grid stability, and move towards its 2070 net-zero (zero net-carbon emissions) targets.
• This includes scaling-up installed nuclear power to 100 GW, up from the current 8.8 GW, by 2047; a ₹20,000 crore mission launched in the Union Budget this year to develop ‘small modular reactors’; and a slew of customised 220 MW pressurised heavy water reactors.
• “The Bill gives hope for large-scale innovation in nuclear technology through amendments in patent laws, aligns with global liability conventions, and proposes the expansion of nuclear energy projects through private sector participation. Any explanation regarding the CNLD Act of 2010 seemed inadequate to foreign and domestic suppliers and vendors,” M.P. Ram Mohan, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

• SIR process is based on Constitutional framework: Centre

Context: Citing precedence, Law Minister says EC’s revision took place earlier too under various governments; Opposition continues criticism over exercise.

• The Union government on Monday defended the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and said the guiding principle for the exercise was universal adult franchise.
• During a discussion on electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition continued to attack the Centre over the SIR.
• Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said elections were not being held in a transparent manner as the BJP wanted to establish a ‘fascist state’ without elections. Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda said the Opposition would continue to get defeated in elections if it tarnished the image of the Election Commission every time.
• Senior Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded that the Chief Justice of India continue to be a part of the committee to select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• Participating in the debate, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the SIR was based on the constitutional framework created by B.R. Ambedkar. Quoting Dr. Ambedkar, he said the revision of the voters’ list was based on the principle of ‘one person, one vote’, which was a major pillar of election reforms.
• “Our Constitution and electoral process is based on this principle. So, when under SIR, the same is being undertaken to take out people who are not eligible from voter lists, why are they [Opposition parties] opposing it?” the Minister asked, and cited precedence that SIR took place under various governments earlier.
• Mr. Gowda said every party had lost elections, but never mocked any Prime Minister or public institution. “India is a very big country… Remember my friends, please, by using the words ‘vote chori’ (theft) you are going to suffer in the coming days,” he added. Mr. Surjewala said the SIR was a ‘selective ideological removal’ and added that Dr. Ambedkar had wanted the EC not to be under the executive and that right to vote should be a fundamental right.
• Mr. Digvijaya Singh demanded removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process.

• Unemployment rate dips to 4.7% in November: PLFS

Context: The unemployment rate (UR) among people aged 15 years and above declined to 4.7% in November, the lowest level since April, when it stood at 5.1%, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for November released.

• The PLFS, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), stated that the overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 55.8% in November, the highest level recorded since April.
• According to a MoSPI statement based on the PLFS report, the rise in LFPR was primarily driven by rural areas, where it increased to 58.6% in November from 58% in April.
• On a month-on-month basis, the rural LFPR rose from 57.8% in October, while the urban LFPR decreased marginally from 50.5% to 50.4%.
• Overall, the female LFPR showed a steady rise from June 2025 to November 2025, the MoSPI said.
• “It increased from 32% to 35.1% during this period, driven mainly by higher labour force participation in rural areas, while urban female LFPR remained relatively stable. Rural female LFPR recorded a consistent upward movement, rising from 35.2% in June 2025 to 39.7% in November 2025,” it added.
• The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas increased from 55.4% in April 2025 to 56.3% in November 2025, while the overall WPR rose from 52.8% to 53.2%.
• “Urban WPR remained largely stable. Notably, rural female WPR improved from 36.8% in April 2025 to 38.4% in November 2025, driving the rise in overall female WPR from 32.5% to 33.4% over this period,” the Centre said.
• The NSO surveyed 3,73,229 people for the PLFS. 2,13,337 from rural and 1,59,892 from urban areas were surveyed in this round.

• INR depreciates to anotherall time low of ₹90.78 a dollar

Context: The Indian rupee depreciated to a new low of ₹90.78 a dollar amid continuous foreign investment outflows and elongated period of uncertainty around tariffs.

• The rupee opened at ₹90.5 and depreciated to ₹90.79, before settling at a new all-time low of ₹90.78 against the U.S. dollar. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) had sold Indian equities worth ₹17,821 crore between December 1 and December 15 alone.

• Thermal power requirement projected to grow to 307 GW

Context: The projected thermal power requirement is expected to grow to 307 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, Union Minister for Commerce Piyush Goyal said in response to a question.

• Speaking to reporters he said progress was being constantly made to meet the energy requirement of the country. He informed that in the previous fiscal 7.2 GW-worth capacity was commissioned.

• India, Mexico in talks to mitigate tariff hike impact, says Agrawal

Context: Commerce secretary says the proposed 50% tariffs would impact $2 bn worth of exports, moots preferential trade pact for quick resolution.

• India and Mexico are discussing ways to mitigate the impact of Mexico’s proposed tariff increases on countries it does not have a free trade agreement with, which includes India, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.
• A quick way to resolve the issue would be through a Preferential Trade Agreement, he said, adding that the proposed tariffs would impact about $2 billion worth of exports from India to Mexico.
• The Mexican government had on December 3 re-submitted to its Parliament a previous proposal to hike tariffs to 50% on imports from countries which it had accorded Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and had not signed a trade agreement with.
• “Tariffs have been increased on a most-favoured nation basis, within the World Trade Organization framework,” Mr. Agrawal said at a press briefing on Monday.
• “When MFN tariffs are increased, it impacts non-Free Trade Agreement and non-Bilateral Trade Agreement partners. That is how it will impact India as well.”
• He added that due to the tariffs being on an MFN basis and within the legal framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), India would not have recourse at the WTO to challenge the decision. However, it is engaging bilaterally with Mexico to find a way forward.
• “According to the initial proposal that was supposed to come into effect from August 2026, the impact on Indian exports would have been $3.8 billion,” Mr. Agrawal said.
• “Subsequently, we have been engaged with them and we flagged that, though this was within their legal rights to raise these tariffs, it would not be good for trade. The final plan they have come out with will have an impact of $2 billion on India exports.” The tariffs are expected to impact India’s automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, and leather and footwear exports to Mexico.
• “The Embassy of India raised immediate concerns with Mexico’s Ministry of Economy on September 30, which clarified that the measure is not directed against India and reaffirmed its commitment to the bilateral relationship,” Mr. Agrawal said.
• He added that, from what “he has heard”, Mexico’s move is primarily aimed at reducing imports from China.
• “The only fast way forward is to get into a Preferential Trade Agreement, because a Free Trade Agreement would take a lot of time.”

• India-U.S. ‘very close’ to finalising initial framework deal

Context: India and the U.S. are “very close” to finalising an initial trade agreement on reciprocal tariffs, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said, although he declined from specifying a deadline for it.

• On the negotiations with the European Union, Mr. Agrawal said both sides are at the final stage where all that is left are the topics where the two sides have differences, which are gradually being resolved.
• “On the India-U.S. trade deal, we have done six formal rounds of negotiations where we have discussed both the full-fledged Bilateral Trade Agreement for which we signed the Terms of Reference in March and also an interim framework deal that can address the reciprocal tariffs,” Mr. Agrawal said at a press conference. “We are very close on at least the framework deal which we feel can be done in a short period of time, but I would not like to put a time period to it,” he added.
• In the case of the negotiations with the European Union on a Free Trade Agreement, the Commerce Secretary said that the two sides are consistently narrowing down their differences.
• “What happens when you reach the closure of a deal, there are a set of differences on the table where we are not able to agree,” Mr. Agrawal said. “Every meeting helps us reduce those differences. Every day our teams are engaged on some issue or the other.”
• “I will not say there will be formal rounds from now, but there will continue to be physical and virtual meetings to take this forward towards conclusion,” he explained. 
• On the negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, Mr. Agrawal said that talks are still in an early stage but that the next round of negotiations are proposed to be in February 2026.
• “With New Zealand, we did the fourth round in November 2025, which was a formal round,” he said. “After that some physical meetings have taken place as well as virtual.”
• “On the India-Chile FTA, the fourth round happened in early December and we are progressing well there,” he said

• Lawmakers set to debate 100% FDI in insurance proposal

Context: India’s proposal to permit 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance that figured in Budget FY26 announcements is set to be debated by lawmakers as the Bill mooting this and a clutch of a few other amendments to key insurance laws was circulated to Members of Parliament.

• The aggregate holdings of equity shares by foreign investors, including portfolio investors, in an Indian insurance company may extend up to 100% of the paid-up equity capital.
• The investment will be subject to “such conditions and such manner as may be prescribed,” per the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025, seeking to raise the FDI limit from 74%.
• The move is aimed at accelerating the growth in the insurance sector, according to the Bill to amend the Insurance Act, 1938; the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956; and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 14th December 2025

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 13th December 2025

• Retail inflation moves up marginally to 0.7% in Nov.

Context: Inflation has slowed in seven of the first eight months of the financial year; decline in food prices offsets marginal acceleration in fuel inflation; prices in housing segment stay virtually unchanged.

• Retail inflation in India quickened marginally to 0.7% in November 2025, up from the historic low of 0.25% in October 2025, with a continued contraction in food prices offsetting a marginal acceleration in fuel inflation. November’s inflation rate is the second-lowest ever recorded in the current series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
• Inflation as measured by the CPI, for which the latest data were released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday, has slowed in seven of the first eight months of this financial year.
• The food and beverages category saw prices contract by 2.8% in November 2025, as compared to a high base of 8.2% in November of last year, and a contraction of 3.7% in October 2025.
• “The factors driving inflation downwards have been the same: base effect and decline in prices of vegetables and pulses,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at the Bank of Baroda said. “In particular, potatoes, onions and tomatoes have witnessed a decline, leading to food inflation falling by 3.9%. In the food basket, edible oils witnessed sharp increases though the topline number was down to 7.9%. Mustard and coconut oil were the main drivers of inflation here.”
• This contraction in food prices offset the impact of a quickening in fuel inflation to 2.3% in November 2025, compared to 2% in October, and a contraction of 1.8% in November of last year. Inflation in the pan, tobacco, and intoxicants category quickened marginally in November 2025 to 3% from 2.9% in October.
• The clothing and footwear category, on the other hand, saw inflation ease marginally to 1.5% from 1.7%.
• Inflation in the housing category remained virtually unchanged at 2.95% in November 2025 as compared to 2.96% in October.

• AI Centre of Excellence for Healthcare established at IISc

Context: The Translational AI for Networked Universal Healthcare (TANUH) Foundation has been established at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru as a dedicated AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare to advance AI-driven healthcare innovation at scale in the country.

• This has been established in line with the government of India’s vision of ‘Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India’, and the Ministry of Education has set up four Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI-CoEs), each hosted by a premier academic institution in India, including IISc.
• The institute stated that the TANUH AI-CoE is a Section 8 not-for-profit company that focuses on developing and deploying scalable AI solutions for the effective management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the point of care. The centre operates as a multidisciplinary hub, bringing together clinicians, data scientists, and AI researchers.
• Nine faculty members from IISc, spanning digital health, machine learning, and public health, anchor the centre’s research programmes. TANUH’s core team, comprising executives, engineers, programme managers, and research staff, with significant industry experience, enables the translation of health-AI technologies from the lab to the population scale.
• TANUH’s goal is to design and deploy tools for early detection, risk prediction, monitoring and personalised solutions across high-burden conditions such as oral cancer, breast cancer, retinal diseases, diabetes, and mental health. The tools will help frontline health workers, improve primary and hospital care, and include human decision-making to make sure the care is safe and effective. The solutions are designed to be used directly where patients are treated, follow responsible AI standards, and are created and tested together with doctors and researchers.

• About 31% of SCSP/TSP funds used for guarantee schemes since 2023

Context: Minister defends move stating Section 7(C) of the SCSP/TSP Act allows utilisation of the funds in tune with SC/ST population.

• The State government has used a significant share of the amount earmarked for the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) towards implementing the five guarantee schemes of the Congress government since 2023.
• According to statistics shared by Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa, in response to a question by Hemalatha Nayak in the Legislative Council in Belagavi on Friday, of the total amount spent towards SCSP and TSP, as much as 31%, has been utilised for the guarantee schemes.
• The total amount for SCSP and TSP for the year 2023-24 was ₹35,221.8 crore, and of that, ₹34,369.85 crore was released, and finally, ₹34,245.76 crore was spent. In the year 2024-24, the total amount spent for SCSP and TSP was ₹38,717.74 crore. In the current year, up to November 2025, the government had spent ₹14,938.19 crore towards the SCSP and TSP.
• Since the Congress party came to power in 2023, the government has spent a total of ₹87,901.69 crore for SCSP and TSP. This amount includes ₹27,630.2 crore spent towards the guarantee schemes.
• The Minister, in his reply, defended the utilisation of SCSP/TSP funds for the guarantee schemes, stating that Section 7(C) of the SCSP/TSP Act allows utilisation of the funds in tune with the population of SC and ST.
• He stated that the amount utilised for guarantee schemes reached the beneficiaries of the SC and ST communities.

Bus travellers

• Interestingly, he stated that his department had sought information from the Transport Department about the number of SC and ST women who had benefited from the Shakti scheme, under which women passengers could travel free in KSRTC buses. Ms. Nayak, the MLC, wondered how the Transport Department could share the information of the SC/ST passengers, as they do not collect the caste details while issuing tickets.
• Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy appealed to Chairman Basavaraj Horatti to allot suitable time for a detailed discussion on the issue.

• Civil society group flags concerns over Karnataka hate speech Bill

Context: A civil society organisation has urged the Karnataka government to subject the proposed Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, to wider public consultation before it is tabled in the Legislative Council. It has already been tabled in the Assembly.

• While welcoming the intent behind the legislation, Campaign Against Hate Speech, the organisation, said the Bill in its present form raises several concerns that warrant careful review.
• In a representation to the government, the group said the Bill marks an important acknowledgement of the harm hate speech and hate crimes inflict on constitutional values of fraternity and dignity. Stating that such acts disproportionately target women, minority and queer communities, they cautioned that the current version risks being ineffective and may leave scope for misuse.
• A key concern is the Bill’s definition of “hate crime”, which is limited to communication of hate speech. “This creates a false equivalence between speech and physical acts of violence, and fails to recognise offences such as mob lynching, punitive demolitions and social or economic boycotts. The Bill also provides no standalone punishment for hate speech, and relies on an emotion-based definition — an approach that has already led to weak enforcement under existing criminal laws,” the memorandum stated.
• The range of punishment for hate crimes was questioned for its lack of clarity, especially since the offence is non-bailable and cognisable. Sections granting broad “preventive” powers to the Executive Magistrate and police were flagged as potentially enabling arbitrary action, as the law does not define the scope of such powers or the due process requirements.
• Another point of concern, the group said, is the provision allowing a designated officer to block or remove online content construed as hate crime material even before trial.
• Emphasising that the Bill has far-reaching implications, the organisation cited the Supreme Court’s emphasis on meaningful public consultation and referred to the Centre’s 2014 Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy.

• Census 2027 to cost ₹11,718 crore, no separate budget earmarked for NPR

Context: The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2027 at a cost of ₹11,718.24 crore, a government statement said.

• Unlike 2019, the statement does not mention a separate budgetary allocation for updating the National Population Register (NPR), which is the first step for the creation of a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC).
• In 2019, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved ₹3,941.35 crore for updating the NPR and ₹8,754.23 crore for conducting the Census of India 2021, which could not be conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• NPR, which was first collected in 2010 and updated in 2015 and already has a database of 119 crore residents, was to be updated with the first phase of Census in 2020. On July 29, the government informed the Lok Sabha that no decision has been taken to update the NPR during the forthcoming Census exercise.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X, “The outcome of the Census 2027 will serve as the new compass for development, mirroring India’s latest population data with more accuracy. The precision in data will accelerate Modi Ji’s vision of delivering the benefits of good governance and development to citizens of every demographic denomination, making the slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ a grand reality of New India in the Amrit Kaal.”
• The government’s statement on Friday said that the “largest administrative and statistical exercise in the world” will ensure that data are provided to Ministries in a “clean, machine-readable and actionable format” as part of the “Census-as-a-Service (CaaS)” initiative.
• This will be the first digital Census and the first to enumerate caste in independent India. “The current endeavour would be to make available the coming Census data at the shortest possible time across the country. Efforts will also be made to disseminate Census results with more customised visualisation tools,” the statement said.
• The government said that a nearly 18,600-strong technical workforce will be engaged for about 550 days at the local level.
• “The enumerators, generally government teachers and appointed by the State governments, will be doing the field work of Census in addition to their regular duties,” it said.
• Data will be collected using mobile applications and a dedicated portal, namely Census Management and Monitoring System, has been developed for monitoring the Census process in real time.

• Framework to fight fake news has been made strong: Minister

Context: The government has strengthened the framework to combat fake news and deepfakes across media platforms, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Rajya Sabha.

• In response to the questions asked by Mohammed Nadimul Haque (Trinamool Congress), the Union Minister said free speech is protected under Article 19(1) of the Constitution.
• “The government is cognisant of the increasing instances of fake, false, misleading information, and AI-generated deepfakes across media platforms, which can adversely impact democratic processes and public order,” said the reply.

Statutory framework

• A broad statutory and institutional framework already exists to address fake news across various media platforms, the Minister said.
• TV channels follow the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, which prohibits content that is obscene, defamatory, deliberately false, or that contains suggestive innuendos and half-truths.
• The rules framed under the Act establish a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism to address violations.
• For the print media, Norms of Journalistic Conduct issued by the Press Council of India restrain the publication of fake, defamatory, or misleading news. It can inquire into alleged violations of the norms, examine complaints, and issue warnings.
• There is Code of Ethics under Information Technology Rules 2021 for publishers of news and current affairs on digital media.
• The Fact Check Unit (FCU) has been set up under the Press Information Bureau to check fake news related to the government.

• Govt. likely to rename MGNREGS to ‘Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana’

Context: The government is likely to introduce a Bill in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament amending the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), changing the name of the flagship rural employment scheme to “Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana”.

• According to senior government functionaries, the amended Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet in its meeting.
• There was no official announcement on the proposal at the Cabinet briefing addressed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
• The original Bill passed by Parliament on August 25, 2005, was called the “National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”. The suffix “Mahatma Gandhi” was added in 2009.
• The flagship scheme guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The sources also indicated that the government plans to increase this to 125 days.
• As per a written answer by the Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan on Friday in the Rajya Sabha, the average number of days of employment per household during the past five years comes to 50.35 days. He also noted that the scheme was a “fallback option when no better employment opportunity is available”.
• In 2022, the government had appointed a panel headed by former Union Rural Development Secretary Amarjeet Sinha to review the scheme, especially the inter-State variations, and lower expenditure under the scheme in States with higher poverty rates.
• The amended Bill is likely to take into account the panel’s recommendation, introducing exclusionary clauses based on economic indices of a State.
• The government is also likely to tweak the scheme’s funding pattern.

• RS resolution seeks free, compulsory early childhood care

Context: The Rajya Sabha discussed a private member’s resolution moved by nominated member Sudha Murty urging the Union government to consider steps to amend the Constitution to introduce a new Article 21B guaranteeing free and compulsory early childhood care and education (ECCE), including nutrition, health services, and pre-primary learning, for all children between three and six years of age.

• The resolution also sought universal access to quality ECCE through strengthened Anganwadi services and asked the government to focus on ECCE for its central role in securing strong foundations for lifelong learning and development.
• “Children are our future. They are the rising Sun. Their early education should benefit their life. Hence I request through you sir, to our government to consider amending our Constitution to give fundamental right to education from three to 14 years,” Ms. Murty said.

• UNEA adopts India’s proposal on wildfire management

Context: India’s push for a stronger global system to manage and prevent wildfires — centred on early-warning mechanisms and improved risk assessments — was formally adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, the Environment Ministry said in a statement.

• India’s resolution, titled “Strengthening the Global Management of Wildfires,” calls for a shift from reactive firefighting to proactive prevention. Officials said these measures are essential to address what India called the “cascading ecological, economic and social impacts” of today’s fires.

• ‘Cover doctors deputed for COVID-19 duty under PMGKY’

Context: The Supreme Court observed that the nation must not forget the unwavering sacrifice and heroism of doctors and health workers during the pandemic days while holding that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) insurance package benefits would apply to public and private medical professionals drafted into COVID-19 duties, only to lose their lives in service.

• The Indian Medical Association’s COVID-19 registry records 748 doctors’ deaths in the first wave and hundreds more in subsequent waves.
• The PMGKY package offered a comprehensive personal accident cover of ₹50 lakh for 90 days to a total of around 22.12 lakh public healthcare providers, including community health workers, who were in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients.
• The verdict came in a petition filed on the death of a doctor who ran a private clinic in Maharashtra. Dr. B.S. Surgade’s wife claimed his services were requisitioned by the government to keep his clinic open during the pandemic. She said he had fatally contracted the virus from his patients.

• ‘PF contributions on wages beyond ₹15,000 voluntary’

Context: The Union Labour and Employment Ministry has clarified that contributions by employers and employees to the Provident Fund in excess of the statutory monthly wage ceiling of ₹15,000 are voluntary, after the Code on Social Security and three other codes came into force on November 21.

• The Code on Social Security replaces the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and eight other laws. Similarly, 20 separate laws are subsumed into the other three codes — Code on Wages; Industrial Relations Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
• In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, the Ministry made it clear that “there is no legal requirement” for the contributions made over and above the wage ceiling. “In case the employer and the employee agree, they can voluntarily contribute on wages more than the statutory limit of ₹15,000.”
• It emphasised that there would be no reduction in take-home pay in the light of enforcement of the four codes. The Ministry gave an illustration to substantiate its position.
• Since September 2014, the present limit has been in force. It was against this backdrop that early this month, Kerala MPs Benny Behanan and Dean Kuriakose raised a question in the Lok Sabha whether the ceiling would be increased to ₹30,000.
• Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya replied that “raising the wage ceiling for coverage under EPFO [Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation] is done based on extensive stakeholders’ consultations, including trade unions and industry associations, as the same will have impact on the take-home salary of employees and on the hiring cost for employers.”

• Centre increases minimum support price for copra
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), here on Friday, decided to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for copra for the 2026 market season.
• The MSP for fair average quality of milling copra has been fixed at ₹12,027 per quintal and for ball copra at ₹12,500 per quintal.
• The new rate is an increase of ₹445 per quintal for milling copra and ₹400 per quintal for ball copra over the previous season.

• India offers ‘final’ deal to U.S., but tariff removal is focus

Context: Offers ‘immediate’ removal of tariffs on import of items like walnutsand apples, but prioritises removal of 25% tariffs linked to Russian oil.

• India has offered the U.S. a revised “final” deal, but its priority now is the removal of the additional 25% tariffs linked to Russian oil, two different sources have confirmed .
• As per the latest submission, India has offered to “immediately” remove tariffs on the import of items like walnuts, almonds, apples, and industrial goods. However, these would be part of a larger Bilateral Trade Agreement, while India right now is focussing on the removal of the 25% tariffs. A U.S. team led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer was in New Delhi for two days until December 12.
• The U.S. currently imposes a 50% tariff on imports from India, including a 25% reciprocal tariff and a 25% ‘penalty’ for India’s import of Russian oil.
• “India has offered the U.S. team a revised deal,” an official in the Government of India aware of the latest developments in the trade deal told The Hindu on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue. “This is the final offer that India can make.”
• “The focus now is on removing the 25% Russian oil tariffs,” the official explained. “Indian exporters have told the government that they can deal with 25% tariffs since the lowest global tariff is 19%, but 50% tariffs are hurting.” Two days ago, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, while testifying before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, said that India was a “tough nut to crack”, but that the offers it has made to the U.S. were the “best we’ve ever received as a country”.
• According to a second official, Indian exporters are currently retaining customers by absorbing the higher tariffs as they feel that this is cheaper and easier than losing customers and then trying to reacquire them later. But this is eating into their profits.
• “They have appealed very sincerely to the government that at least the additional 25% tariff be handled and so the government is pushing for that,” the second official said.
• The latest version of India’s offer to the U.S. includes an offer to “immediately” remove tariffs on the import of tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts, apples, industrial goods, and items such as luxury motorcycles in return for the U.S. removing the additional 25% tariff.
• “The two teams of negotiators have broadly done what they can, the ball is in Trump’s court to accept the deal or not,” the second official said.
• This is confirmed by the fact that Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday told reporters in Mumbai that Mr. Switzer’s visit was not “centred around negotiations”.
• A previous analysis of government trade data by The Hindu found that India has been cutting back on its Russian oil imports well before the U.S. imposed its penalty tariffs in August.

• ‘Nuclear, insurance opened up’
• India’s Cabinet approved sweeping changes to atomic energy laws and fully opened insurance sector to foreign investors, two government sources said, in a bid to attract billions of dollars in these two critical sectors.
• India, which plans to expand nuclear power capacity 12-fold by 2047, is relaxing rules to end a decades-old State monopoly and overcome a stringent liability provision to allow private participation and attract foreign technology. In insurance, the government proposed removing the 74% cap on foreign ownership of Indian insurers.

• Union Cabinet allows export of coal

Context: Paving the way for further coal exports, the Union Cabinet approved a policy allowing coal acquired through auctioning to be utilised for any industrial use and export.

• The current policy allows coal to be used only for cement, steel, sponge, iron and aluminium, etc. via auctions.
• Effectively, the Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient and Transparent Utilisation of coal (CoalSETU) would now allow guaranteed supply deals (coal linkages) obtained via auctions to be used for captive consumption, export, or any other purpose (including coal washing), except for resale in India. Those securing coal linkages would be allowed to use it via the window among subsidiaries or group firms.
• In FY25, India produced 1.05 billion tonne of coal.

• Technical textile missionlikely to be extended

Context: The National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) introduced by the Ministry of Textiles in 2020 with ₹1,480 crore in total funding, ending in March 2026 will likely be extended by two years.

• An official said with almost 50% of the funds used so far, the Mission is expected to be extended by two years. The Mission has four components — research, innovation and development; market development, export promotion and education and training.

• India frees up business visas for Chinese professionals in major step to boost ties

Context: India has cut red tape to speed business visas for Chinese professionals, two officials said, a major step to boost ties between the Asian giants and end chronic delays that cost output worth billions of dollars because of scarce technicians.

• As Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautiously rekindles ties with Beijing in the face of punishing U.S. tariffs, the officials said New Delhi dropped a layer of bureaucratic scrutiny and shortened visa approval times to less than a month.
• India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbours clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, widening its vetting of business visas beyond the home and foreign ministries.
• Following the news, China’s Foreign Ministry said it had noticed “positive action” from India to facilitate people-to-people exchanges in the common interest. “China is willing to maintain communication and consultation with India to continuously enhance the level of facilitation of exchanges,” Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun added.
• The removal of red tape comes after Mr. Modi visited China this year for the first time in seven years.

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 12th December 2025

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 11th December 2025

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 8th December 2025

• With only 26% deaths having certified cause, Karnataka keen to enhance rate

Context: Following concerns that only 26.73% of registered deaths in Karnataka currently have medically certified causes — a major gap affecting disease surveillance and health planning —  the State Health Department has issued a set of directives to improve the coverage and quality of Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD) reporting in the State.

• In a circular issued by Harsh Gupta, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, the department noted that reliable cause-specific mortality data is critical. The MCCD system, mandated under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023), is intended to provide cause-specific mortality data at the State and national level.
• Mr. Gupta told The Hindu that the recent amendment to the Karnataka Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2024, effective from January 16, 2025, has made it mandatory for all government and private health facilities to issue a certificate of the cause of death in Form 4 for hospital deaths and Form 4A for deaths occurring at home or other locations.

Through e-JanMa

• All registered hospitals — public and private — must issue medical cause of death certificates in Form 4 for hospital deaths and submit them electronically through e-JanMa to the local registrar, while also providing a copy to the next of kin.
• For deaths occurring outside medical institutions —  homes, transit, prisons, old-age homes and similar facilities —  attending doctors must issue Form 4A for free.
• Hospitals are also required to report monthly death counts and submit “nil reports” where no deaths occur.
• Local registrars must ensure that every reported death (Form 2) is accompanied by a cause-of-death certificate.
• For non-hospital deaths, priority for issuing the certificate is assigned to the doctor who treated the deceased during the final illness, any doctor familiar with the patient’s medical history or government medical officers (PHCs, CHCs, taluk and district hospitals).
• In medico-legal cases, the certifying doctor must provide the cause of death following an inquest or autopsy. Deaths must be reported and certified within 21 days across rural and urban areas. Private hospitals must report deaths occurring under their care to the respective registrar.
• To ensure compliance and improve data quality, each district will establish a review and monitoring committee headed by the District Health Officer, with experts from clinical and public health departments. The committee will meet monthly to review samples of certificates, support local registrars and hospitals, and organise training.

• Post pandemic, new families get on the ‘silk road’ in Karnataka

Context: After a dip during the pandemic years, over 13,000 new families have taken up sericulture in Karnataka over the past five years, contributing a 43% rise in cocoon production and a nearly 20% jump in raw silk output.

• Several factors including support from the government, better cocoon prices and better availability of high-quality chawki (carefully reared young silkworms essential for good yields) have helped the industry regain momentum and expanded mulberry cultivation to 1.18 lakh hectares in 2024–25, the largest area under sericulture in 15 years.
• Farmers also believe that demand for Karnataka silk has strengthened after the Centre banned China silk, which earlier dominated the market because of its lower cost. “The price of silk is around ₹7,000 to ₹7,500 a kg now, and in the coming months it may touch ₹9,000. During COVID, it had fallen below ₹2,000,” M. Pemme Kumar, a sericulturist said.
• “Karnataka’s traditional silk belts- Ramanagara and Sidlaghatta which are known for producing some of India’s best cocoons- had witnessed farmers gradually exit sericulture, moving to horticulture over the past decade, largely due to volatile prices and competition from cheaper imported silk. The ban on China silk has brought some stability back to the market,” Bhupat Rajan, another grower said.
• Officials from the Central Silk Board, however, believe that Chinese imports were not the primary reason for the earlier price crash, noting that the price of Chinese silk remains around ₹5,000 a kg.
• The growers pointed out that government support has revived the industry significantly. “The State government raised the incentive for bivoltine cocoon producers from ₹10 to ₹30 a kg in the 2024–25 Budget. This attracted many growers,” Shantamma Nagaraju, a sericulturist said.

Reelers in decline

• While demand has strengthened and prices have recovered from the pandemic lows, the sector continues to grapple with a shrinking number of reelers, a link in the value chain whose decline has itself contributed to the higher price of raw silk in recent years, the growers said.
• While the State government had announced an annual subsidy of ₹12 crore for raw silk reelers through the Karnataka Minority Development Corporation during last year’s Budget, many, specifically younger generations, are no longer entering into reeling because of low and irregular incomes, demanding working conditions and lack of mechanisation.
• “Reeling, a labour-intensive process of extracting fine silk fibre from cocoons, is struggling to survive as this altogether lacks machinery and relies on skill, precision and hours of manual labour to produce high-grade yarn,” a grower said.

• State revises maize procurement norms; raises cap to 50 quintals per farmer

Context: Following protests by maize growers over procurement limits, the State government on Sunday revised its order on Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations, increasing the maximum quantity that can be purchased from each farmer to 50 quintals.

• A corrigendum issued in this regard stated that the earlier cap of 20 quintals per farmer has now been enhanced. Procurement would be based on landholding data available on the FRUITS platform, with up to 12 quintals per acre allowed and a ceiling of 50 quintals per farmer at the support price of ₹2,400 per quintal. The order states that priority will be accorded to procurement through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies located near distilleries.
• The decision comes after maize growers staged demonstrations alleging “unfair treatment” in procurement operations and demanded wider coverage under the MSP window.
• The government had recently permitted poultry feed manufacturers to directly buy maize from growers. In a separate order issued on December 4, the government had allowed poultry feed producers to procure maize directly from farmers at MSP rates for the 2025–26 kharif marketing season. The move is expected to ensure better price realisation, reduce intermediary involvement, and expand marketing channels for growers.
• The decision followed a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah where industry representatives were urged to source an estimated five lakh tonnes of maize.
• The Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders’ Association has committed to initially procure 5,000 tonnes with a 20% advance payment.
• Procurement will adhere to MSP quality specifications with a maximum moisture content of 12% for poultry feed suitability. The government said the latest measure would run parallel with procurement by the Karnataka State Co-operative Marketing Federation, which supplies maize to distilleries.

• The evolution of pension reforms in India

Context: There has been a gradual but decisive shift from a welfare-based social assistance to a more participatory inclusion framework.

• India’s rapidly ageing population is emerging as a pivotal pension challenge. Today, over 153 million Indians are aged over 60. This is projected to double to 347 million by 2050. While a small section of older Indians has benefited from the rise of formal sector retirement, more than 88% of today’s senior citizens continue to work, in the sprawling informal economy, without access to pensions or reliable social security rather than retiring (Chart 1). We revisit the evolution of pension schemes for financial inclusivity of the Indian informal sector.
• The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) is a social assistance programme launched in 1995 for persons aged over 65, living below the poverty line (BPL). Subsequent changes expanded scheme eligibility and strengthened financial support, leading to a significant rise in enrolment. It is a first among national-level efforts taken to provide a direct, regular source of income to the older population in the unorganised and economically vulnerable section of society. Similarly, formal sector government employees were covered under the government-sponsored Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
• Research finds that unlike social benefit schemes, contributory pension schemes in developing countries encourage household formal savings behaviour. Announced in Budget 2015-16, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a contributory pension scheme for individuals aged 18-40, where periodic contributions are made to a pension account. At retirement, the accumulated amount, including returns, is disbursed, with the government guaranteeing a minimum pension if returns fall short. Taking into consideration the seasonal nature of informal sector income, especially agriculture, the APY allows for not just monthly but also quarterly and half-yearly instalments.
• For the formal sector, OPS was replaced by the contributory-model New Pension Scheme (NPS) in 2004. The NPS also has a corporate sector model which extends to all corporate sector employees with a savings account. Recently, the NPS 2.0 was launched allowing total allotment to 100% equity and a flexible multiple scheme framework (MSF) — an attractive change for younger high-risk, high-reward-type investors. The APY and NPS models form a comprehensive long-term financial security framework that ensures inclusion in the formal financial system, despite the sectoral divide.
• The Labour Codes introduced a uniform definition of ‘wages’, requiring that basic pay make up at least 50% of total earnings. This closes a long-standing loophole that allowed employers to shrink basic pay by inflating allowances. With pension, gratuity, and social security benefits now calculated on a higher base, workers stand to gain stronger financial protection.
• The progression of pension schemes in India reflects a hierarchical pattern in which each stage builds on the needs identified before it. Through an equity and social-welfare lens, the government first introduced IGNOAPS and OPS to meet the basic needs of older adults. Having secured social protection, the focus shifted to more sophisticated goals such as financial inclusion and savings and investment behaviour through the NPS and the NPS 2.0. To bridge sectoral divide, similar behavioural nudges were extended to informal-sector workers via the APY.
• Many of these schemes are explicitly targeted at BPL individuals, and are therefore designed to extend coverage to informal-sector workers who lack access to formal retirement provisions. However, there still exists a gap in awareness of schemes amongst the eligible population. Our findings from the Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India (LASI) show that as of 2017-18, 42% of individuals aged over 55 were still unaware of NPS and its eligibility criteria and requirements (Chart 2).
• To tackle limited awareness and fragmented access to welfare programs, the e-SHRAM portal was launched as a national database for informal sector workers. Through this, workers can register and obtain information about social security schemes for which they are eligible. Our analysis of the LASI data shows that over age 55, about 75.6% of women and 68% of men work in this sector.
• While this is a significant step towards integrating the informal workforce into the country’s formal social protection system, realising e-SHRAM’s full potential depends on overcoming challenges related to registration, awareness, and effective disbursement of benefits. For instance, registration requires Aadhaar to phone number linkage and a savings bank account, which is susceptible to errors of exclusion. Moreover, according to the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey of India (2022-23), 63% of the elderly population do not know how to use the Internet. This risks leaving the most economically vulnerable among them behind.
• The evolution of pension schemes in India has seen a gradual but decisive shift from a welfare-based social assistance to a more participatory inclusion framework. While the challenges of unawareness still remain, initiatives such as e-SHRAM signal a data-driven approach to policy targeted at the older age population. The trajectory of these continuing revisions and initiatives will pave the way for inclusive policies and dignify the contributions of the elderly in their later years of life.

• U.S. official begins five-day India visit to advance strategic partnership

Context: A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, started her five-day visit on Sunday. The visit will cover New Delhi and Bengaluru and include meetings between Ms. Hooker and senior Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

• “Under Secretary Hooker’s visit will focus on advancing the U.S.-India strategic partnership, deepening economic and commercial ties, including increasing American exports, and fostering collaboration in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and space exploration,” said the Department of State in an announcement.
• During her stay in New Delhi, Under Secretary Hooker will participate in the Foreign Office Consultations with Foreign Secretary Misri. Her discussion will include regional security, economic cooperation and “shared priorities” in the Indo-Pacific, said the official announcement.
• Ms. Hooker took charge as the Under Secretary of state earlier this year and ever since has held a number of meetings with officials from the region. India was supposed to host the Quad summit in 2025, but the summit meeting has not been scheduled so far, and there is no official information about it.
• In Bengaluru, Ms. Hooker will visit the Indian Space Research Organisation and meet leading figures from India’s space, energy and technology sectors with the goal to “promote innovation in U.S.-India research partnership and explore opportunities for expanded cooperation,” the official announcement said.
• The Foreign Office Consultation comes against the backdrop of the continuation of the penalty tariffs by the U.S. on India. Latest reports suggest that India has made a considerable reduction in the purchase of Russian energy, though relations with Russia remain on track, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 5 describing the bilateral relationship as important as the “Pole Star” (Dhruva Tara).

• ‘It is essential to nurture inheritance and pass it on to future generations’

Context: The world is indeed becoming “more multi-polar”, which makes a compelling case for “deeper multilateralism”, and collectively, prosperity can only come through mutual respect and understanding, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said.

• In his address at the opening ceremony of a key UNESCO meeting on Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) at the Red Fort complex here, he also told delegates from various countries that in the “shared quest for progress and prosperity”, it is essential to nurture inheritance, build on it and pass it on to the future generations.
• The 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place at the Red Fort from December 8 to 13.
• Mr. Jaishankar underlined that India, besides being home to many UNESCO World Heritage Sites, has itself undertaken many preservation and conservation projects across the world. A key dimension of that engagement is preservation of intangible heritage.
• “The world is a fundamentally pluralistic landscape, a landscape whose richness lies in its diversity and intricacy. Far from being flat, it has a vast range of specificities and characteristics,” he said. “What humankind has generated over the centuries will only be fully appreciated when that heritage is carefully nurtured,” he said.
• He emphasised that challenges in that context arise when efforts are made to “dominate, to sideline, to dismiss or even to erode”.
• But as “decolonisation” took place and the world began returning to its “natural diversity”, political and economic rebalancing started to unfold, Mr. Jaishankar said.
• “Voices across geographies that were suppressed found expression again. But that process will remain incomplete until there is also cultural rebalancing,” he added.

• Cheetah cub from Kuno run over by vehicle in Gwalior
• A cheetah cub died on Sunday in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district after being hit by a vehicle on the Agra-Mumbai National Highway (NH-46), making it the second death of a big cat at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in just two days.
• Two 20-month-old Indian-born male cubs, offspring of the South African female cheetah named Gamini, had ventured out of Kuno’s boundaries, and were being tracked by a cheetah tracking team and local forest staff, when one of them was hit by a speeding vehicle. The incident took place around 6.30 a.m. when the two cubs were crossing the NH-46 near Ghatigaon in Gwalior.

• Rajnath unveils border infrastructure projects

Context: Minister inaugurates 125 BRO projects across Ladakh, J&K and seven States, describes them as a testament to the government’s commitment to border infrastructure under vision of Viksit Bharat.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday inaugurated 125 strategically vital infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) from Ladakh, the highest number ever dedicated to the nation in one event.
• The Defence Ministry said the projects, worth around ₹5,000 crore, span the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and seven States — Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Mizoram. The initiatives comprise 28 roads, 93 bridges, and four other key assets, marking the largest value inauguration in the BRO’s history.
• Addressing the ceremony held on the Darbuk Shyok Daulat Beg Oldie Road at the Shyok Tunnel site, Mr. Singh described the projects as a testament to the government’s commitment to border infrastructure under the vision of Viksit Bharat.
•  The 920-metre Shyok Tunnel, a major highlight, is engineered to provide all-weather connectivity to one of the world’s most challenging terrains. He said the tunnel would significantly improve mobility, security and rapid deployment capabilities during extreme winters, when the region experiences avalanches and heavy snowfall.
• Mr. Singh also virtually inaugurated the Galwan War Memorial, built to honour the courage and sacrifice of Indian soldiers. Emphasising the multi-dimensional value of robust border connectivity, he said such infrastructure strengthened national security, enhanced logistics movement, boosted tourism, and generated employment while reinforcing people’s faith in development.
• Referring to Operation Sindoor, the Minister credited strong connectivity for enabling the armed forces to conduct the operation with precision and coordination. He praised the synergy between the forces, civil administration and border residents, describing it as the “unique identity” of the nation.
• Mr. Singh also highlighted the BRO’s humanitarian work in Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir, and acknowledged its technological advancements, including indigenous Class 70 modular bridges developed under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
• Citing a record BRO expenditure of ₹16,690 crore in FY 2024 25 and an enhanced outlay for FY 2025 26, he reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening border infrastructure and achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
• In the past two years, 356 BRO projects have been dedicated to the nation, underlining the organisation’s capability across diverse terrains.

• National intelligence grid gains traction as Central agencies, police scour for information

Context: The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), a platform for the police and investigating agencies to securely access government and private databases in real time, is getting around 45,000 requests a month, government officials told.

• The platform, accessible only to security agencies, became operational last year after first being conceptualised in 2009 in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• At the recent conference of Directors-General of Police, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Raipur, the law enforcement agencies, including State police, were asked to scale up the use of NATGRID in all investigations.
• The Union Home Ministry has asked States to liberally use the platform to access datasets, which include details of driving licence, Aadhaar registration, airline data, bank records, and also details of social media accounts which share posts on a particular issue.
• Access to NATGRID is now available to Superintendent of Police-rank officers. Earlier, it was only meant to be accessible to 10 Central agencies, such as the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Financial Intelligence Unit, Narcotics Control Bureau, and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
• Several State police officials told that they faced certain hurdles while accessing the information on the platform.

Time consuming

• An official said that logging on the portal required a lot of time, while another official said they had to wait longer to get the desired information, even though the platform is supposed to provide real-time data.
• The platform, which had been in the works for over a decade and was first envisaged under Congress leader P. Chidambaram, received a fresh momentum under Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019. Under Mr. Shah, the differences between various security agencies were ironed out, and the application was made accessible to even the State police.
• The government is taking several steps to enhance security and maintain the sanctity of data in the wake of repeated cyberattack attempts on critical infrastructure in the country, official sources said.
• In 2024, India witnessed over 20.41 lakh cybersecurity-related incidents, the highest number of incidents since 2020.
• “Instead of security agencies seeking data from multiple sources, NATGRID provides the information on a single platform. The confidentiality of the user is maintained, and the registration of a first information report (FIR) is not necessary. Information can be secured to join the dots during an investigation or to develop intelligence,” said another government official.

• Top agricultural research body urges varsities to startcourses in natural farming

Context: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director-General M.L. Jat has written to the Vice-Chancellors of all State and Central agriculture universities, as well as universities with agriculture departments, urging them to launch undergraduate and postgraduate courses and research programmes in natural farming.

• Though natural farming was already offered as an elective subject in various institutions and four universities had dedicated courses on the subject, it is the first time that the ICAR has urged all affiliated colleges and State government institutions to introduce courses on the topic.
• In the letter, Dr. Jat said natural farming had emerged as a subject of national importance, aligned with India’s strategic priorities for sustainable agriculture and farmer welfare. He said the B.Sc. (Hons.) agriculture – natural farming programme, developed as per the Sixth Deans’ Committee recommendations and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 guidelines, has already been finalised, approved, and circulated to all agricultural universities. “Some universities have successfully initiated this programme from the academic year 2023-24, marking a transformative milestone in agricultural higher education. I hope remaining universities will introduce this course by next academic year,” he said.
• On strengthening postgraduate education and advanced research on the subject, he said that given the expanding national demand for chemical-free food systems, resilient agro-ecosystems, soil health restoration, and low-emission farming, it was imperative that the State agricultural universities, deemed universities, and Central agricultural universities develop PG programmes in natural farming and allied domains.

UPSC/KPSC Current Affairs: 7th December 2025

Amit Shah says circular economy will raise dairy farmers’ income in 5 years

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday expressed confidence that the implementation of the circular economy model across the country will increase dairy farmers’ income by 20% over the next five years.Mr. Shah was addressing cattle rearers associated with Banas Dairy at an event held at Sanadar village in Gujarat’s Vav-Tharad district to mark the inauguration of the dairy’s bio-CNG and fertilizer plant and the ground-breaking of its milk powder plant.He praised Banas Dairy’s management for successfully developing a model for a circular economy in the dairy sector, which includes generating extra income for farmers through various means.Mr. Shah informed the audience that he had brought several MPs to Banaskantha to understand the circular economy model of Banas Dairy.“So far, our cooperative dairies have received huge success in procuring milk from farmers and giving back the income generated from selling milk products. Now, the time has come to focus on the circular economy. You will get your share from the income generated by the dairy by selling biogas and fertilizer produced from cattle dung procured from farmers,” he said.Mr. Shah also informed the gathering that chairpersons and managing directors of all the major cooperative dairies will visit Banas Dairy in January 2026 to understand more about the initiatives taken by the dairy, considered Asia’s largest dairy with a turnover of ₹24,000 crore.“Apart from the usual milk products like paneer and curd, there are many products that are in demand across the globe, but they are not produced in India. If we focus on those products, dairy farmers can earn extra income,” he said.The Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a system wherein dairies will get the required finance and technology to adopt this circular economy model, which also includes leather production from hides harvested from the cattle that die naturally.He expressed confidence that targets set by Prime Minister under the ‘White Revolution 2.0’ initiative will be achieved through collective efforts.Mr. Shah also praised women dairy farmers for their contribution and efforts in strengthening the sector in this arid region of Gujarat.

NGO in Rajasthan targets 38 districts to end child marriageChittorgarh and Bhilwara districts have a child marriage prevalence of over 40%, while nine other districts have a 30% to 40% prevalence; NGO to focus on community efforts, legal interventions

A civil society network has selected 38 high-risk districts in Rajasthan to conduct an intensive drive to completely weed out the practice of child marriage over the next year, through community efforts and legal interventions.

The drive will extend support to the State government’s actions and use the resources of village panchayats to spread awareness in far-off areas.

Just Rights for Children (JRC), working with 17 partner organisations in the State, claims to have prevented 22,480 child marriages in Rajasthan during the last year.

The villages falling within the 38 districts selected for the drive have been identified as “high-prevalence areas” in terms of child marriages, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), conducted from 2019 to 2021.

As per the NFHS-5, the prevalence of child marriage in Rajasthan is 25.4%, barely above the national average of 23.3% (the share of women aged 20-24 who married before turning 18). Various districts in the State, however, show huge disparity. Chittorgarh and Bhilwara districts have a child marriage prevalence of over 40%, while nine districts — Jhalawar, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Bundi, Bharatpur, Karauli, Bikaner, Alwar, and Pratapgarh — have a prevalence of over 30%. There are nine more districts where the child marriage prevalence is between 23% and 29.9%.

JRC founder Bhuwan Ribhu said here on Saturday that community groups, faith leaders, village panchayats, and citizens would play an important role in the drive. “Child marriage is a crime against children. We will make every possible effort to completely eliminate child marriages through collective work,” Mr. Ribhu said.

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development also launched a 100-day nationwide movement on Friday to help end child marriage in the country by 2030. India has committed to the global target of eliminating the practice by that date, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Assam govt. reinforces two-child policy for jobs, electoral participation

The Assam government has notified an amendment to a 2017 policy on population and women empowerment to reinforce the two-child norm for eligibility in government jobs, self-help groups (SHGs), and electoral participation.Certain communities have, however, been allowed to have up to three children without losing access to government jobs and benefits, and the eligibility to contest elections to panchayats and urban local bodies.These groups are Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), “Tea Garden Tribes”, and the Matak and Moran communities.‘Effective immediately’The Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam (Amendment), 2025, will come into force immediately, the December 5 notification issued by the State’s Health and Family Welfare Department read.According to this notification, candidates with only two children will be eligible for government employment, and existing government servants must strictly adhere to the two-child norm as role models for society.It further said that individuals, male or female, who marry below the legal age, will become ineligible for government jobs or the State’s employment-generation schemes.The revised framework states that the SHGs with members who uniformly adhere to the two-child (three-child for communities enjoying the relaxation) policy will receive special government incentives.The notification says that the government may legislate legal provisions to bar people with more than two children from taking part in panchayat and municipal elections, and consider similar legal provisions for election or nomination to other statutory bodies and committees.“In addition to the two-child norm, Government may, in aid of creating an educated society and population structure, put minimum educational qualifications as eligibility criteria for contesting elections to panchayats and urban local bodies,” the notification reads.“The Government of Assam will take up with the Government of India the issue of ensuring that MLAs adhere to the family planning norms. The two-child norm will be proposed as the yardstick for anyone contesting election to the State legislature. In case any MLA from the State flouts the family planning norms, i.e., having more than two children, he or she may be disqualified from his/her membership and be debarred from contesting polls in future,” it says.

India emerging as a major hub of renewable energy: Joshi

India has emerged as a major player in generating renewable energy, a mark of transition from fossil fuel energy, by adding 31.25 gigawatt (GW), including 24.28 GW of solar power, in the current financial year alone, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said.

Speaking at Global Energy Leaders’ Summit 2025, Mr. Joshi said: “It took nearly 70 years to reach the milestone of one Terawatt of power from renewable sources. However, the second Terawatt capacity in renewable energy sector was achieved in just two years.” It is indicative of India’s growth in the renewable energy sector, he said.

“India is a key driver of this explosive global surge in renewable energy. In the last 11 years, the country’s solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW to around 130 GW, a rise of more than 4,500%. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, India contributed 46 GW to global solar additions, becoming the third-largest contributor,” said the Minister.

Similarly, module manufacturing in 2014 was 2 GW… that has now grown to 120 GW, he informed.

Although India holds the world’s fifth-largest coal reserves and is the second largest consumer of coal, a balanced approach is needed, he said.

Focus Odisha

Mr. Joshi said Odisha was fast emerging as a major renewable energy hub with 3.1 GW renewable energy capacity and 34% clean share in the power mix.

The Union Minister said the Centre had sanctioned 1.5 lakh new rooftop solar systems (1 kW each).

“Over 1.6 lakh households in Odisha applied for rooftop solar; 23,000 installations completed with ₹147 crore subsidy transferred to beneficiaries. Under PM Surya Ghar, 1.5 lakh rooftop solar systems (1 kW each) have been approved for Odisha, benefiting 7-8 lakh people,” he said.

What did Putin’s visit to India achieve?Where do India-Russia relations stand? What did the two sides agree on during the recent summit? What statements did both leaders make on the Ukraine war? Why is Putin’s visit significant at this juncture when India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the U.S.?

Strong ties: President Droupadi Murmu, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi converse at a state banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 5. PTISuhasini HaidarThe story so far:In terms of protocol, the government gave Russian President Vladimir Putin his warmest welcome yet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received him on the red carpet at the New Delhi tarmac, and then travelled with him to the PM’s residence for a private dinner. At the end of the 30-hour trip, President Droupadi Murmu hosted him for a banquet as well. Mr. Modi called the India-Russia relationship steady like a “pole star (dhruva tara)”. However, the outcome of the Modi-Putin summit has been modest.What are the main takeaways?Ahead of Mr. Putin’s visit, his first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the India-Pakistan conflict this year, and the downturn in India-U.S. ties, there was considerable speculation that the two sides were working on a substantial set of agreements on defence cooperation, procurement and technology transfer deals in aircraft, air defence systems, drones and missiles. However, the meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov before Mr. Putin landed, ended without any announcements. Instead, the focus was squarely on economic cooperation, and taking forward the roadmap on the “Development of Strategic Areas of India — Russia Economic Cooperation till 2030” that was launched during Mr. Modi’s visit to Moscow in 2024. To this end, they announced a “Labour Mobility Agreement” that will facilitate Indian skilled workers to work in Russia, where manpower shortages for three million jobs are expected by the end of the decade. Russian and Indian fertilizer companies also signed an MoU to build a urea plant in Russia. Apart from this, the two sides signed agreements on maritime cooperation, ports and customs. The two sides expected to smooth the path for bilateral trade, particularly via the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and International North South Transport Corridor. India and Russia agreed to continue working towards enhancing the settlement of bilateral trade in their national currencies. There were no announcements, however, on oil procurement, that made up more than $60 billion of the $69 billion trade last year, nor were there any concrete outcomes on space and nuclear cooperation.Was the Ukraine war a factor?Mr. Putin’s visit to India, at a time the Ukraine war could head into its fourth year, was significant, as it came during intense negotiations over a U.S.-led peace proposal aimed at ending the conflict last week in Moscow. In comments to the media prior to their talks, Mr. Modi thanked Mr. Putin for “always keeping India briefed” about the conflict, and hoping for it to end. “India is not neutral, it stands on the side of peace,” Mr. Modi said. Mr. Putin too said he hoped for peace, and signalled some hope for the U.S. proposal. However, the larger shadow over the talks was of Western sanctions on Russia that have exacted a high cost on India. While Mr. Putin promised “uninterrupted fuel supplies to India”, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said it would only bow to “commercial considerations” on oil purchases, it would seem European sanctions on Russian and Indian oil companies as well as the hefty 25% tariff added on to Indian goods by the U.S. have dented India’s resolve. Figures show, that in 2025, the year-on-year intake of Russian oil has been cut drastically (38% y-o-y down in value in October 2025). The two sides may have also stayed away from announcements in the field of defence, space and nuclear cooperation during Mr. Putin’s visit, just in case the U.S. revisits its 2018 CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) law that sanctions strategic purchases from Russia. In addition, a warning shot from three European Ambassadors (the U.K., Germany and France) in an article criticising Russia for the war in Ukraine, that appeared just days before Mr. Putin’s visit, may have given the government some reason to pause, even though the MEA called the article’s “public advice” to India, “unacceptable”. It is also significant that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had last year criticised Mr. Modi for embracing Mr. Putin in Moscow, remained silent on the hugs and bonhomie in Delhi, possibly due to some deft diplomacy by New Delhi, and owing to the sensitive stage the U.S.-led peace talks are at.What can be the way forward?For New Delhi, an end to the conflict in Ukraine will ease the tightrope walk it is currently being forced into due to the deep polarisation between Russia and Europe, and as Russia’s dependency on China grows. Mr. Putin’s visit came just a month before likely visits from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the European Union’s top leadership Ursula Von Der Leyen and Antonio Costa for Republic Day. The EU-India Summit is being held after a long gap, and the EU-India Free Trade Agreement is expected to be signed. In February, New Delhi expects French President Emmanuel Macron and other Western leaders at the Artificial Intelligence Summit, and Canadian PM Mark Carney thereafter. Meanwhile, the India-U.S. free trade agreement, that hopes to see a rollback of excessive U.S. tariffs, is also in a decisive phase. In that sense, New Delhi hoped the Putin-visit, that was long delayed, would be a “win-win.” It wanted the visit to be a reaffirmation of its traditional ties with Russia, while ensuring the outcomes did not raise a protest from the West. This would allow India to continue to uphold its decades-old policy of “strategic autonomy.”Western sanctions on Russia that have exacted a high cost on India cast a shadow on the summit.

Jantar Mantar now in Mysuru