National Affairs

MoCAF&PD Rolls Out Dedicated Safety Standard for Incense Sticks

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution) unveiled IS 19412:2025 for Incense Sticks (Agarbatti) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Coinciding with National Consumer Day, this is the first dedicated Indian Standard focusing entirely on toxic chemical limitations and fragrance safety for agarbattis.

• Banned Chemical Agents: Strictly prohibits dangerous insecticidal elements and toxic synthetic fragrance substances.
• Grading Framework: Categorizes products into machine-made, hand-made, and traditional masala variants to streamline production quality.
• Consumer Certification: Compliant manufacturers can now feature the official BIS Standard Mark on their packaging to signify safety compliance.
• Industry Footprint: India dominates the global market as the largest producer and exporter of incense sticks, generating Rs 8,000 crore annually and exporting items worth Rs 1,200 crore to over 150 nations.

Prohibited Chemicals List (IS 19412:2025):

• Insecticides: Allethrin, Permethrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, and Fipronil.
• Fragrance Compounds: Benzyl cyanide, Ethyl acrylate, and Diphenylamine.

ICG Executes Marine Pollution Exercise (RPREX-25) Off Mumbai Coast

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), acting as the central national authority for marine environment defense, carried out its Regional Level Pollution Response Exercise 2025 (RPREX-25) off the coast of Mumbai, Maharashtra, to test large-scale oil spill containment capabilities.

• Two-Phase Execution: Started with an Initial Planning Conference and tabletop strategy drills, followed by a live sea exercise checking personnel coordination and physical hardware deployment.
• Joint Operations: Features a specialized Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) alongside support vessels from the Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
• L&T Equipment Agreement: Alongside the exercises, the ICG signed a pact with L&T Precision Engineering & Systems to buy six Rail-Less Helo Traversing Systems (RLHTS) for its domestic Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).
• RLHTS Utility: These systems use specialized winches and sensors to guide, secure, and move helicopters (up to 2.5 tonnes) between the flight deck and hangar without permanent rail setups, ensuring safe flight operations in high seas.

BIS Unveils India’s First Standard for Bomb Disposal Systems

To strengthen internal defense networks, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) notified IS 19445:2025, marking India's premier indigenous standard for manufacturing and testing bomb disposal equipment.

• Strategic Need: Global explosive defense standards are heavily restricted or fail to match the specific threat matrices faced by Indian security personnel.
• Development Origin: Created based on technical requests from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), a specialized arm of the DRDO.
• Equipment Coverage: Focuses heavily on the design parameters, splinter resistance, and blast load handling of three primary categories: Bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and bomb inhibitors.
• Application Status: Currently functions as a voluntary benchmark, though it is highly recommended for all state and central procurement agencies.

Anti-Dumping Protection Placed on Chinese Gas and Steel Imports

The Government of India has authorized a five-year anti-dumping duty on two specific industrial imports arriving from China to insulate domestic manufacturers from predatory lower pricing structures.

• Targeted Commodities: Applied directly to Chinese refrigerant gas 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) and cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel.
• Investigation Body: The corrective duties follow detailed anti-market investigations by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).
• Tariff Layout: Tariffs range between USD 223.82 and USD 415 per tonne on Chinese electrical steel, and climb up to USD 5,251 per tonne on the imported refrigerant gas.
• Vietnam Duty: A separate anti-dumping duty was simultaneously levied on imports of Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch (a core ingredient used in commercial plastic manufacturing) sourced from Vietnam.

Banking & Finance

Aryaman Finance Obtains NBFC Registration from RBI

Aryaman Finance (India) Limited (AFIL), a fully owned subsidiary of Aryaman Financial Services Limited, has secured its official Certificate of Registration (CoR) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to establish its non-banking financial pipeline.

• Legal Framework: Granted under Section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• Operational Class: Classified explicitly as a Type-II NBFC-ND-ICC (Non-Deposit taking - Investment and Credit Company).
• Business Scope: Authorized to handle commercial credit lending, diverse market investments, and corporate financial solutions.

Awards & Recognitions

Changi Airport Named Best International Airport by Travel+Leisure

Singapore's Changi Airport (SIN) secured the "Best International Airport" title at the 14th edition of India’s Best Awards, hosted by Travel+Leisure India & South Asia.

• Selection Metric: Selected via a comprehensive online reader voting campaign evaluating terminal efficiency, transit luxury, and user comfort.
• Key Highlights: Recognized worldwide for breaking traditional transit layouts by integrating deep public attractions, including the Jewel Changi Rain Vortex (the tallest indoor waterfall globally), indoor butterfly reserves, and dedicated transit resting bays.

Appointments & Resignations

Ratan Kumar Kesh Re-Appointed Executive Director of Bandhan Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cleared the executive extension of Ratan Kumar Kesh as the Executive Director (ED) of Bandhan Bank for a fresh three-year tenure, beginning March 31, 2026.

• Dual Portfolio: Kesh will concurrently retain his senior management positions as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP).
• Track Record: Holds nearly three decades of cross-bank operations mastery, previously steering tech modifications at HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Yes Bank before taking over as Bandhan Bank's Interim MD & CEO in 2024.

Science & Technology

PARAM Rudra Supercomputer Deployed at IIT-Patna

Marking a major leap for scientific infrastructure in Eastern India, the high-performance supercomputer PARAM Rudra was formally inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna. This represents the first system of its class installed in Bihar.

[Computational Astrobiology] ──► [Material Design] ──► [Nano-Bio Research]
                                       │
                                       ▼
                     [PARAM Rudra Indigenous Architecture]
                                       ▲
                                       │
[Quantum Computing Models] ─────► [Data Science] ─────► [Fluid Mechanics]

• Mission Blueprint: Engineered under the umbrella of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) using indigenously developed "Rudra" server nodes and homegrown software stacks to bolster computing self-reliance.
• Research Scope: Empowers over 460 faculty members and research scholars across 10 separate technical departments.
• Key Application Zones: Tasks include analyzing complex astrochemistry reactions, molecular electronics design, fluid mechanics, deep data science, and exploratory quantum computing math.

Obituary

Tripura Assembly Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen Passes Away

The current Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, Biswa Bandhu Sen, passed away at the age of 72 during medical treatment in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• Legislative Legacy: Served as the 11th Speaker of the state assembly since March 2023. He was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) four consecutive times representing the 56-Dharmanagar constituency in North Tripura.
• Administrative Profile: Served as the Deputy Speaker of the Tripura Assembly from 2018 to 2023 and previously held the position of Vice-Chairman of the Dharmanagar Nagar Panchayat back in 1988.

Books & Authors

VP Releases Historical Compilation 'Mahamana Vangmay'

Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan officially unveiled the book Mahamana Vangmay: The Collected Works of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (Second and Final Series) during a commemorative literary gathering at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

• Volume Details: Features 12 comprehensive volumes totaling nearly 3,500 pages of historical letters, editorials, philosophical ideas, and speeches.
• Publishing Partnership: Put together by the Mahamana Malaviya Mission in close coordination with the Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
• About the Subject: Born on December 25, 1861, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 2015.

Important Days

Veer Bal Diwas Observed Nationally on December 26

India marked its 4th annual Veer Bal Diwas to pay tribute to the profound courage and martyrdom of the four Sahibzadas of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

• Nodal Event: Managed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• PMRBP 2025 Presentation: President Droupadi Murmu presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar to 20 brilliant young achievers. Among them was 14-year-old cricket record-breaker Vaibhav Suryavanshi from Bihar.

6th International Day of Epidemic Preparedness — December 27

Organized under United Nations guidance to stress the critical value of unified international data-sharing, early warning networks, and localized epidemic containment setups.