1. National Initiatives & Technology Hackathons

Union Minister C.R. Patil Launches ‘Jal Shakti Hackathon-2025’ & Bharat-WIN Portal

Union Minister Chandrakant Raghunath (C.R.) Patil, Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), officially launched the ‘Jal Shakti Hackathon-2025’ and the ‘Bharat-Water Innovation Network (WIN) Portal’ at Shram Shakti Bhawan in New Delhi. The initiatives align with the ‘Water Vision @2047’ roadmap to drive scientific and technological breakthroughs in India's water sector.

• The Portal: Hosted at [https://bharatwin.mowr.gov.in](https://bharatwin.mowr.gov.in), functioning as part of BHARAT-WIN, a flagship program of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD&GR).
• Approach: Adopts a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society (Jan Bhagidari) framework targeting innovators, researchers, and citizens.
• Target Areas: Grassroots water challenges including farm-level water conservation, revival of conventional water practices, flood/drought management, and wastewater recycling.
• Financial Aid: Selected innovations will receive grants-in-aid funded by the DoWR, RD&GR. Winners will get a ₹1 Lakh grant for Proof-of-Concept (PoC) development.
• Implementation: The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee (Uttarakhand) has been appointed as the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) to evaluate proposals.

8th Edition of Smart India Hackathon (SIH 2025) Commences

The 8th edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH 2025) has officially kicked off across 60 nodal centers nationwide. Organized by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) alongside the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the hackathon channels youth-led solutions toward the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

• Scale: Received a record 72,165 idea submissions from 68,766 student teams tackling 271 problem statements. A total of 1,360 teams (8,000+ students and 1,300+ mentors) advanced to the Grand Finale.
• Key Focus Domains: Space technology, renewable energy, cybersecurity, defense, MedTech, robotics, and smart education.
• Women-led Innovation: The grand finale features 2,993 female finalists, including 53 all-women teams.

2. Infrastructure, Telecom & Deep-Tech Funding

India’s First All-Electric Green Tug Project Flagged Off

Marking a major milestone in sustainable maritime operations, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal (Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways) virtually flagged off the steel-cutting ceremony of India’s first all-electric green tug.

• Client: Being constructed for the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla, Gujarat.
• Program Framework: Part of the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP), which mandates the induction of 50 green tugs by 2030.
• Phase-1 Target (2024–2027): Deployment of 16 green tugs. DPA, Paradip Port Authority (PPA), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), and V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority (VoCPA) will receive two tugs each, while the remaining eight major ports will receive one each.
• Capabilities: Features a 60-tonne bollard pull capacity, operating with zero carbon emissions, reduced noise, and high energy efficiency.

Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Chairs Bharat 6G Mission Apex Meeting

Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia chaired the Apex Council Meeting under the Bharat 6G Mission in New Delhi, reviewing the progress of the Bharat 6th Generation Alliance (B6GA) to position India as a global 6G leader by 2030.

• Booklet Releases: Documented the performance and deployment of 100 5G Use Case Labs across three titles:
  1. The 5G Use Case Lab: From Infrastructure to Innovation
  2. 5G Lab Book-Edition 1: Experiments in 5G Core, 5G NR & Use Cases
  3. 5G Hackathon Book
• Gradation Awards: Four institutions were honored under the "Excellent Category" for outstanding innovation and societal impact via 5G labs:
  • Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh
  • Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan
  • IIT Roorkee (AMRUT Centre of Urban Planning and Capacity Building), Uttarakhand
  • Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab

IIT-Bombay's SINE Launches India’s 1st Incubator-Linked Deep-Tech VC Fund

The Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT-Bombay launched the ‘Y-Point Venture Capital (VC) Fund’. This marks India's first deep-tech VC fund managed by an academia-linked business incubator.

• Fund Size: ₹250 crore total corpus, registered as a Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with SEBI.
• Investment Scope: Targeting 25–30 pre-seed and seed-stage startups originating from IIT-B and other premier Indian research institutes, with a maximum check size of ₹15 crore per startup.
• Sectors Focus: AI, advanced computing, space tech, climate tech, defense, nuclear tech, and life sciences/healthcare.

3. Banking & Financial Sector Updates

UPI Recognized as World's Largest Real-Time Payment System

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report titled 'Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability)' and ACI Worldwide’s 'Prime Time for Real-Time' report, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the world's largest retail fast payment system (FPS) by transaction volume.

• Global Share: UPI accounts for approximately 49% of global real-time payment transactions, with India logging 129.3 billion transactions. India leads ahead of runner-up countries Brazil, Thailand, China, and South Korea.
• PIDF Milestones: The Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), introduced in 2021 to boost point-of-sale terminal infrastructure in Tier-3 to Tier-6 cities and the North-East, has successfully deployed 5.45 crore digital touchpoints as of October 31, 2025.
• Merchant Reach: As of FY25, a total of 56.86 crore QR codes have been deployed to over 6.5 crore merchants.

'Your Money, Your Right' Campaign Settles ₹2,000 Crore in Unclaimed Assets

The Ministry of Finance announced that the nationwide special drive “Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar – Your Money, Your Right” successfully helped citizens reclaim ₹2,000 crore in its first two months. The 3-month campaign ran from October 4 to December 5, 2025, operating across 477 districts under the "3A Framework" (Awareness, Accessibility, Action).

Platforms Utilized: Integrated multi-agency portal systems including RBI’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits), IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa, SEBI’s MITRA (Mutual Funds Tracing), alongside PFRDA and IEPFA portals.

RBI Harmonizes Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives (IRD) Market Directions

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the 'RBI (Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives) Directions, 2025', allowing both residents and non-residents to undertake rupee-denominated IRD transactions, effective March 1, 2026.

Corporate Agency License Updates & Wise Multi-Currency Travel Card

• Sahaj Insurance Services: Granted a Corporate Agency License by the IRDAI. The subsidiary of Sahaj Retail Ltd. will distribute low-premium micro-insurance (life, health, crop, livestock) through its digital network of rural Sahaj Mitrs (Village-Level Entrepreneurs).
• Wise Travel Card Launched: Global money movement company Wise introduced its multi-currency travel card in India supporting 40+ currencies on the Visa network across 160 countries. Offers free ATM withdrawals up to $200/month and digital onboarding via DigiLocker and Video-KYC.

4. Awards, Sports & State News

UNESCO Inducts 72 New Members into Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC)

UNESCO expanded its Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) by adding 72 new cities from 46 countries. This brings the global network total to 425 cities across 91 countries.

• Key Expansions: 11 capital cities (including Riyadh, Cairo, and Lisbon) joined, and 12 new nations entered the fold for the first time.
• Indian Context: India's representations remain steady with three active member cities: Warangal (Telangana), Thrissur (Kerala), and Nilambur (Kerala).

President Confers National Handicrafts Awards

President Droupadi Murmu presented the Shilp Guru Awards and National Handicraft Awards for the 2023 and 2024 cycles during National Handicrafts Week at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• Award Layout: A total of 48 awards were presented, comprising 12 Shilp Guru Awards (the highest national recognition in the sector) and 36 National Awards (including two special Design & Innovation Awards).
• Demographics: The cohort featured 20 women craftspersons across diverse fields like metalwork, Pattachitra, leather puppetry, and terracotta.

Sports: Praggnanandhaa Wins FIDE Circuit; India Bags 5 Medals in Equestrianism

• Chess: 20-year-old Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa won the prestigious year-long FIDE Circuit 2025 with 115.17 points, securing direct qualification to the Candidates Tournament 2026 in Cyprus. He joins Indian women GMs Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and Vaishali Rameshbabu who have already qualified.
• Equestrian: India secured 3rd place overall at the 2nd FEI Asian Equestrian Championships 2025 held in Pattaya, Thailand, winning 5 medals (1 Gold, 4 Silver). Ashish Limaye created history by winning India’s first-ever individual continental gold medal in the Eventing category.

State News: Telangana Partnering with Australia's Deakin University for AI CoE

The Government of Telangana signed an agreement with Deakin University (Australia) in Hyderabad to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Applied Artificial Intelligence. This project marks the first joint research and innovation hub between an Indian state and an Australian university.

• Framework: Integrates Deakin’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute ($A^2I^2$) and the Telangana AI Innovation Hub to deliver policy-aligned, ethical, and responsible AI modules.
• Target Sectors: Public service delivery, smart health/education, climate resilience, and MSME workforce skill updates.

Quick Reference Info-Box (Static GK Integration)

Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS)

• Union Minister: Chandrakant Raghunath (C.R.) Patil (Constituency: Navsari, Gujarat)
• Ministers of State: V. Somanna (Tumkur, Karnataka) & Raj Bhushan Choudhary (Muzaffarpur, Bihar)

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

• Headquarters: Paris, France | Established: 1945
• Director-General: Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz | Member States: 194

Human Rights Day 2025

• Date: December 10 (Marks the 77th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
• 2025 Theme: "Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials"