NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM Narendra Modi's Visit to West Bengal & Assam (Dec 20-21, 2025)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a two-day transit to launch infrastructure, connectivity, and development projects worth thousands of crores.

• West Bengal: In Ranaghat (Nadia district), the PM laid the foundation stones for two National Highway (NH) projects valued at approximately Rs 3,200 crore, designed to upgrade the critical connectivity corridor between Kolkata and Siliguri.
• Assam Roadshow: Led a 3.8 km roadshow starting near the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex on NH-27 and concluding at Basistha Chariali.
• Guwahati Infrastructure:
  • Unveiled an 80-foot statue honoring Assam's first Chief Minister, Gopinath Bordoloi.
  • Inaugurated the new 1.4 lakh sq.m terminal building at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. This stands as India’s first nature-themed airport, reflecting local biodiversity and culture through elements like regional Bamboo Orchids.
• Namrup Fertilizer Plant: Laid the foundation stone for the Ammonia-Urea Fertilizer Project under the Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited. Located at the existing Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) premises in Dibrugarh, this Rs 10,600 crore investment aims to achieve regional fertilizer self-sufficiency and reduce national import reliance.

SHANTI Bill 2025: Civil Nuclear Sector Opens to Private Players

President Droupadi Murmu granted official assent to the groundbreaking Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.

• The Shift: This Act replaces the legacy Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, allowing private enterprises and Joint Ventures (JVs) to build, own, operate, and decommission nuclear power plants under strict state regulatory oversight.
• The Vision: Intends to aggressively scale India's nuclear power capacity from its current state of ~8.9 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by the year 2047, aligning with the 2070 Net-Zero greenhouse emissions target.
• Strategic Government Monopoly: Core upstream and hazardous downstream activities—including Uranium/Thorium mining, fuel enrichment, isotopic separation, spent-fuel reprocessing, and heavy water production—remain exclusively reserved under central state control.
• FDI & Liability Caps: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted up to 49%. The liability framework introduces a capacity-based cap, completely removes third-party supplier liability, limits operational penalties to Rs 1 crore, and mandates financial security/insurance up to Rs 1,500 crore per atomic incident.

VB-G RAM Bill 2025 Replaces MGNREGA

In a massive restructuring of rural labor policies, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025.

• Statutory Extension: Formally repeals the MGNREGA Act of 2005. Under Section 5(1), the guaranteed unskilled manual wage employment is extended from 100 days up to 125 days per rural household per financial year.
• Agricultural Balance Clause: Section 6 addresses agricultural labor shortages during peak periods. States are now empowered to implement an aggregated 60-day pause period during peak sowing and harvesting windows, ensuring local farm productivity while keeping the 125-day livelihood buffer intact across the rest of the year.

World's Largest Cleanliness Survey: 10th Swachh Survekshan Toolkit Released

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the official evaluation toolkit for the 10th Swachh Survekshan (SS 2025-26) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

• Theme: "Swachata Ki Nayi Pehel - Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath".
• Dynamic Feedback: Shifts from point-in-time assessments to year-round citizen monitoring using digital channels (Vote For My City, MyGov, and Swachhata apps).
• Expanded Geography: Widens coverage from strictly Ganga-adjacent towns to include all river towns nationwide, alongside a tailored sanitation assessment index for coastal municipal areas.
• On-Ground Audits: Over 3,000 field surveyors will handle GPS-tracked evaluations across all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) between February and March 2026. A new "Swachh Shehar Jodi" (SSJ) award has been designed to recognize sister-city partnerships across varied population brackets.

Security Framework: Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) Formed

Following a high-level review panel led by Home Minister Amit Shah, the Government of India has authorized the creation of a specialized Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) to fortify national maritime frontiers.

• Framework: Established as a statutory body via Section 13 of the updated Merchant Shipping Act, 2025.
• Structure: Heavily modeled after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). It will operate administratively under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and will be headed by an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer holding a Director General (DG) rank (Pay Level-15).
• Role of CISF: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is designated as the Recognized Security Organization (RSO) responsible for performing risk evaluations, planning tactical security blueprints, and training participating Private Security Agencies (PSAs).

Fuel Milestone: India Hits 20% Ethanol Blending Target Ahead of Schedule

The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) confirmed that India successfully recorded 20% ethanol blending in petrol in November 2025.

• Timeline Triumph: This landmark cross-over accomplishes the central target well ahead of its original 2030 deadline under the National Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme.
• Feedstock Allocations: To sustain this 20% blending equilibrium, the union government cleared 52 Lakh Tonnes (LT) of surplus Food Corporation of India (FCI) rice reserves for processing over the 2024-25 and 2025-26 supply cycles, along with 40 LT of sugar diverted for the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2024-25.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

11th United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)

The 11th Conference of the States Parties (COSP-11) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption concluded its 5-day cycle in Doha, Qatar.

• Leadership & Outcome: Presided over by Qatar's Hamad bin Nasser Al-Misnad, the convention led to the historic adoption of the Doha Declaration 2025.
• The AI Directive: The declaration issues a clear mandate for state actors to systematically leverage digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to track down cross-border illicit wealth networks, improve the objectivity of national anti-corruption indicators, and curb bribery.
• Law Enforcement Networks: The document emphasizes integrating secure information channels using the UNODC-managed GlobE Network (Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities).
• Next Venue: The State Parties decided that the 12th session of the COSP will be hosted in Uzbekistan.

BANKING & FINANCE

Mswipe Technologies Obtains Final Payment Aggregator (PA) License

Digital merchant ecosystem player Mswipe Technologies Private Limited has been granted its final Payment Aggregator (PA) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• Capability: This single unified regulatory clearance allows Mswipe to consolidate online, offline, and hybrid retail point-of-sale systems under one hood. It can formally onboard merchants and clear both inward and outward cross-border remittances.
• Diversified Portfolio: This final PA tag complements Mswipe's active non-banking financial portfolio, which includes an in-principle Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) license and a registered Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license.

South Indian Bank Unveils 'RuPay SIB Paytag'

South Indian Bank (SIB) entered the wearable micro-payment market by introducing the RuPay SIB Paytag Sticker.

• The Tech: Operating on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, this micro-form factor asset transforms standard items like phone cases or keychains into contactless transaction nodes without needing a physical debit card.
• Limits: Daily lifestyle procurement is capped up to Rs 1,00,000. For enhanced consumer safety, any single Point-of-Sale (POS) or e-commerce transaction exceeding Rs 5,000 strictly requires manual PIN verification. The device explicitly blocks any physical cash withdrawals at ATMs.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Navy Decommissions Submarine 'INS Sindhughosh'

The Western Naval Command hosted a formal decommissioning ceremony at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai to retire INS Sindhughosh after 40 years of service.

• Lineage: Originally commissioned into the fleet on April 30, 1986, the vessel was the flagship lead platform of India's Soviet-designed Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines (Project 877EKM), procured from Russia.
• Upgrades: Over its active lifecycle, the submarine underwent deep-cycle mid-life refits at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL, Visakhapatnam), integrating advanced Panchiki Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) systems alongside automated torpedo countermeasure batteries.
• Replacement: The legacy platform yields its position to the modern Kalvari-class (Scorpene) submarines, indigenously produced by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under Project 75.

ISRO Passes Deceleration Qualification Milestones for Gaganyaan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully passed its crucial qualification test phase for the drogue parachutes that govern the deceleration framework of the Gaganyaan Crew Module.

• Testing Ground: Conducted at the specialized Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL)—a dedicated DRDO establishment in Chandigarh.
• The Descent Sequence: The module utilizes an intricate array of 10 parachutes spanning 4 structural variations:$$\text{Apex Cover Separation Chutes (2)} \longrightarrow \text{Drogue Stabilizers (2)} \longrightarrow \text{Pilot Extractors (3)} \longrightarrow \text{Main Decelerators (3)}$$
• The Mission Horizon: These qualification runs ensure the survival system is fully rated ahead of the scheduled Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission in 2027, which aims to place 3 astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 400 km for a 3-day duration.

SPORTS

Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) 2025: India Places 7th

The second Asian Youth Para Games hosted by Dubai, UAE, concluded with historic athletic displays, witnessing the collapse of 25 standing regional benchmarks (including 9 World Records and 16 Asian Records).

• India's Tally: India finished 7th overall, breaking its previous performance ceilings to collect 102 total medals (36 Gold, 28 Silver, 38 Bronze). The performance was heavily anchored by the Para-Athletics (28 medals) and Para-Swimming (19 medals) contingents.
• The Podium Leaders: Uzbekistan clinched the 1st position on the table with 197 medals (99 Gold), closely shadowed by Iran in second place with a massive 262-medal collection (dominated by aquatic events), and Japan finishing 3rd.

BWF World Tour Finals 2025 (Hangzhou, China)

The 8th edition of the Badminton World Federation season-ending grand finale concluded with a total prize kitty of USD 3,000,000.

• Historic Indian Bronze: The frontline pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the bronze medal in the Men's Doubles category. They become the first-ever Indian men's doubles pair to secure a podium finish in the tournament's history. This is India's second-ever medal at the event following PV Sindhu's gold back in 2018.
• International Singles Champions: South Korea's An Se-young bagged her 11th international title of the season in Women’s Singles. In the Men's Singles segment, Christo Popov made history by becoming the first French player to secure the coveted championship crown.

East Bengal FC Lifts Inaugural SAFF Women's Club Championship

India's East Bengal Football Club (FC) created regional history by clinching the title at the inaugural edition of the SAFF Women's Club Championship 2025.

• The Final Faceoff: Held at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, East Bengal shut down Nepal's Armed Police Force (APF) FC with a decisive 3-0 victory.
• Milestone: With this win, East Bengal FC stands as the first Indian women's football club to claim an international tournament championship title.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Basketball Day — December 21, 2025

• Edition: 3rd annual global observance (First observed in 2023 following UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/77/324).
• Historical Significance: Commemorates the precise day in December 1891 when Canadian educator Dr. James Naismith introduced and held the world's very first organized basketball match at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
• Policy Link: Celebrated by the UN as a vital grassroots catalyst for driving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Well-being.

World Meditation Day — December 21, 2025

• Edition: 2nd global observance.
• Origin: Formally institutionalized via a unanimous UN General Assembly resolution passed in late 2024, co-sponsored by a core international coalition including India, Sri Lanka, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Mexico, and Nepal.
• Cultural & Astrological Sync: The date is intentionally selected to align with the Winter Solstice, a celestial event marking the commencement of Uttarayana—a phase considered highly auspicious for mental and spiritual practices within Indian traditional frameworks.
• 2025 Major Events: Featured a special diplomatic guided meditation assembly at the UN Headquarters Trusteeship Council in New York led by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, alongside specialized research sympnia hosted across India by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) under the Ministry of AYUSH.