Current Affairs

Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) was recently sighted in the Adyar River at Tholkappia Poonga eco-park, Chennai. It inhabits freshwater-rich rivers, wetlands and lakes, preferring shallow placid waters, with distribution across India from Himalayas to southern India including Western Ghats and northeast. India has three otter types (Eurasian, smooth-coated, small-clawed) of 13 globally. It is IUCN Vulnerable, Schedule I under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; threats include habitat loss, fish decline, pollution, poaching and pesticides; an apex predator indicating cleaner rivers.

ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) issued an Expression of Interest to manufacture two sets of Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-1) structure. BAS-1, planned in Low Earth Orbit, is included in the revised scope of the Gaganyaan Programme as an Indian human spaceflight platform. The first base module (BAS-01) is planned by 2028; the five-module station is targeted to be fully operational by 2035, supporting microgravity research, technology development, innovation and industrial participation.

IIT Madras research, using 15 years of CALIPSO satellite data, links elevated aerosol concentrations with thicker winter fog and larger droplets near the fog top. Aerosols induce vertical mixing through latent heat release, lifting fog tops to about 400–600 m and significantly delaying dissipation. This thickening traps pollutants near the surface, worsening air quality in a feedback loop; reducing aerosol emissions is a key mitigation lever.

ISRO reported that Aditya-L1 recorded and decoded the impact of a powerful solar storm on Earth’s magnetic shield. India’s first space-based solar mission, launched by PSLV-C57 in 2023, is placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1). The storm, from a massive solar plasma eruption, showed turbulent regions compressing Earth’s magnetic field, exposing geostationary satellites to harsh conditions, underscoring space-weather risks to satellites and communication.

ISRO’s PSLV-C62 launched EOS-N1 Earth observation satellite with 15 co-passengers, but reported a third-stage anomaly. It was PSLV’s 64th flight and NSIL’s 9th dedicated commercial mission; NSIL (incorporated 2019) is a Department of Space-controlled government company and ISRO’s commercial arm. EOS-N1 and 14 satellites entered Sun-synchronous orbit; Spanish KID re-entry demonstrator targets South Pacific splashdown. PSLV is India’s first liquid-stage launcher, capable of 1,750 kg to 600-km SSO; it launched 104 satellites in 2017.

Swami Vivekananda (born 12 January 1863, Calcutta), disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhans, addressed the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago (1893), introducing Hinduism to the West, and founded the Ramakrishna Mission (1897). His Neo-Vedanta stressed oneness, equality and universalism; knowledge as enduring; religion’s worth in uplifting humanity; and holistic education (physical-mental-spiritual). Relevance: inclusivity, breaking caste/creed, mindfulness, and blending spirituality with modernity.

MeitY launched ‘Param Shakti’ at IIT Madras, funded under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). It is an indigenously developed 3.1 Petaflop system, built on C-DAC’s RUDRA servers with an open-source stack (AlmaLinux), supporting aerospace, materials, climate modelling, drug discovery and advanced manufacturing. NSM (2015) connects 70+ HPC facilities via National Supercomputing Grid over NKN; steered by DST and MeitY; implemented by C-DAC Pune and IISc Bengaluru; includes PARAM 8000, Param Pravega, Param Shivay, AIRAWAT.

DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) ground-tested a full-scale, actively cooled, long-duration scramjet (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet) combustor for over 12 minutes, aiding the indigenous Hypersonic Cruise Missile Development Program. Ramjet/scramjet are air-breathing engines using forward motion for compression and need assisted take-off. Hypersonic weapons exceed Mach 5 (>6,100 km/h); types include Hypersonic Glide Vehicles and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles.

Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) issued updated guidelines for Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) service providers, bringing them under the AML/CFT/CPF framework with due diligence and reporting obligations. Since 2023, such providers fall under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Entities must appoint a Principal Officer, collect data on unhosted wallet transfers, and obtain a CERT-In empanelled cybersecurity audit certificate. VDAs (Income-tax Act, 1961) include NFTs; transfer income is taxed at 30% plus surcharge and cess.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, a biennial flagship event, is observed on 9 January, commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s 1915 return from South Africa. The Indian diaspora covers migrants from present-day India: NRIs, PIOs and OCI; PIO and OCI were merged as OCI in 2015. As of Jan 2025, diaspora is 34.35 million (17.17 million NRIs), contributing as Rashtradoots, through USD 135 billion remittances (FY25), the 4Cs framework, KIP (18–35) and ICWF support.

Union Home Minister chaired the 9th Apex Level Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) meeting in New Delhi to review national anti-drug efforts, focusing on coordination for drug law enforcement and measures to control trafficking and abuse. NCORD, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, was established in 2016 and restructured in 2019, with a four-tier framework. It supports enforcement of the NDPS Act, 1985, and initiatives include the NCORD Portal, MANAS helpline (1933), and NIDAAN database.

Madhya Pradesh CM announced the newly designated Ratapani Tiger Reserve is named after archaeologist and Padma Shri awardee Dr Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar. Located in Raisen and Sehore districts in the Vindhya ranges, it covers 1,271 sq km, north of the Narmada; Kolar River marks the western boundary. Key water bodies: Barna Reservoir and Ratapani Dam (Barrusot Lake). It includes Bhimbetka UNESCO World Heritage rock shelters, and sites like Ginnourgarh Fort/POW camp, Keri Mahadeo, Ratapani/Jholiyapur dams. Forests are dry and moist deciduous; teak covers ~55%. Apex predator: tiger; ~40 estimated. Other fauna: panther, hyena, jackal, Indian fox, wild dog, jungle cat, small Indian civet, blue bull, chinkara (endangered), black buck, chausingha, spotted deer, barking deer.

Scientists led by S.D. Biju reported two new Leptobrachium frog species from remote mountain habitats of Arunachal Pradesh, discovered at Tiwarigaon: Soman’s Slender Arm Frog (L. somani), named for late journalist E. Somanath (≈55 mm; greyish-brown; males call near streams in evergreen forests), and Mechuka Slender Arm Frog (L. mechuka), first collected near Mechuka town (≈60 mm; brown; evergreen forests and adjoining grasslands).

President Trump approved a Russia sanctions Bill imposing 500% tariffs on Russian imports and on imports from countries trading in Russian-origin uranium or petroleum. It aims to withstand rulings by N.D. Illinois, CIT and the Federal Circuit against IEEPA-based tariffs. India (US exports >$85bn) could face steep duties on textiles, footwear and marine products; electronics and pharmaceuticals are excluded so far.

India became the first country to commercially produce CSIR-developed bio-bitumen from biomass and agricultural waste for road construction. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced it at the CSIR Technology Transfer Ceremony in New Delhi, with co-minister Jitendra Singh. Bio-bitumen is an eco-friendly binding material reducing fossil-fuel dependence and crop-residue burning, aligning with Viksit Bharat 2047, Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Waste to Wealth.

SWAMIH Fund (Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing), launched in 2019, provides last-mile financing to stalled affordable and mid-income residential projects. As on 15 December 2025, it delivered ~61,000 homes across 110 projects, including 7,000+ rehabilitation/EWS units. Governed by SBI Ventures Ltd (SBI subsidiary). SWAMIH Fund-2, announced in Budget 2025-26, is a ₹15,000 crore blended finance facility (government, banks, private investors) to complete another 1 lakh units.

The Union Government notified the National Sports Board (Search-cum Selection Committee) Rules, 2026 under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The Search-cum-Selection Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, includes the Secretary (Sports), one person with sports administration experience, and two national sports award recipients. It selects the National Sports Board’s chairperson and two members. The NSB grants recognition to National Sports Bodies and ensures compliance. Tenure: 3 years or till age 65, whichever earlier.

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) released the ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026’ report, projecting India’s GDP growth at 7.2% in 2025-26. UNDESA is a UN Secretariat entity responsible for the UN’s development pillar, headquartered in New York City, mandated to help countries meet economic, social and environmental goals, and headed by an Under-Secretary-General appointed by the UN Secretary-General.

‘The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025’ (Bill) would allow the US administration to impose steep tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil, gas and uranium. The US President may waive tariffs for up to 180 days on national security grounds. For India, higher tariffs could hit $120 billion annual exports, especially textiles, footwear and marine products, amid existing US tariffs up to 50%, and may weaken trade leverage with the EU and GCC.

India overtook China to become the world’s largest rice producer, with 150.18 million tonnes, as announced by the Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare; India is also the top exporter, while the Philippines is the top importer (Vietnam second). Paddy has ~190-day crop cycle (≥30-day harvest) and is grown in kharif (July–Dec, mainly rainfed), rabi (Jan–Jun) and zaid (Mar–Jun) with irrigation; suitable conditions include high humidity, prolonged sunshine, assured water, 20–35°C (max 40–42°C) and 100–200 cm rainfall.

Kerala renamed Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary and notified it as the state’s first butterfly sanctuary, a key Western Ghats migrating-butterfly habitat. Located in Kannur, it was declared in 1984 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Cheenkannipuzha (from Brahmagiri ranges) flows through evergreen/semi-evergreen forests. Fauna include Common Albatross (Appias albina; subspecies swinhoei, darada; Pieridae), danaine Common/Plain Tigers (Danaus genutia, D. chrysippus; Nymphalidae), many protected species, and Schedule I Slender Loris. It adjoins Brahmagiri (Karnataka), Kottiyoor and North Wayanad forests.

Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the PANKHUDI portal as an integrated, centralized single-window digital platform to strengthen corporate partnerships, CSR and voluntary contributions, and stakeholder engagement for women and child welfare. It covers nutrition, health, ECCE, child protection, rehabilitation, and women’s safety/empowerment, supporting Mission Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, with non-cash, traceable workflows and real-time tracking.

Recent US focus highlights Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt (Faja Petrolífera del Orinoco) in the southern Orinoco River basin, holding the world’s largest extra-heavy crude; ~20% of global proven heavy/extra-heavy reserves (~¼ of OPEC). Its dense low-API oil often needs diluent blending for pipelines. The Guiana Shield is a 1.7–2-billion-year Precambrian craton across Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, southern Venezuela, northeastern Brazil and southeastern Colombia; Guiana Highlands/tepuis (Mount Roraima), Pico da Neblina (2,995 m), Angel Falls (Auyán-tepui); ~20% world freshwater, ~18% tropical-forest carbon; minerals include gold, diamonds, bauxite and iron ore.

Stray dog sterilisation is being undertaken around Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. TATR spans ~1,727 km² (core+buffer) and is among Maharashtra’s oldest and largest tiger reserves with high tiger density. Tadoba NP (1955) and Andhari WLS (1986) merged into the tiger reserve (1995). Named after Tadoba deity and Andhari River; dry deciduous teak-bamboo forests; Bengal tiger, leopard, gaur; Tadoba-Andhari rivers; corridor links to Nagzira-Navegaon and Pench.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare released the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 for public consultation, to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 and rules. It proposes unified lifecycle regulation (manufacture to disposal), a Central Pesticides Board (Health, Environment and Agriculture; safety/disposal standards) and a Registration Committee (digital evaluation for safety/efficacy; 12–18 months). It mandates prior registration for manufacture/import, digital licensing/inspections, lab accreditation, stricter penalties with compounding, inspectors’ seizure and 60-day sale stop, enhanced state penalties, and decriminalisation of petty offences.

NSO (MoSPI) First Advance Estimates, based on data up to November 2025 (to be revised in Second Advance Estimates, usually February), project FY 2025-26 real GDP growth at 7.4% (FY 2024-25: 6.5%), nominal GDP at ~8%, and GVA at ~7.3%. Services lead; financial/real estate/professional services and public administration at 9.9%; manufacturing+construction 7.0%; agriculture 3.1% (4.6%); mining -0.7%. PFCE 7.0% (7.2%); GFCF 7.8% (7.1%).