UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025
Kartavya Desk Staff
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025 covers important current affairs of the day, their backward linkages, their relevance for Prelims exam and MCQs on main articles
InstaLinks : Insta Links help you think beyond the current affairs issue and help you think multidimensionally to develop depth in your understanding of these issues. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background.
Table of Contents
GS Paper 2:
• Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RaM G)
Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RaM G)
• India–Oman Bilateral Relations
India–Oman Bilateral Relations
Content for Mains Enrichment (CME):
• Australia’s Social Media Ban for Children Under 16 Years
Facts for Prelims (FFP):
• FSSAI launches egg safety drive after ‘nitrofurans presence’
FSSAI launches egg safety drive after ‘nitrofurans presence’
• United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
• Vijay Diwas Marks India’s Victory in 1971 War
Vijay Diwas Marks India’s Victory in 1971 War
• India–ADB $2.2 billion loan agreements
India–ADB $2.2 billion loan agreements
• HAMMER precision-guided weapon (AASM)
HAMMER precision-guided weapon (AASM)
• Trade deficit
Trade deficit
Mapping:
• Ethiopia
Ethiopia
UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025
#### GS Paper 2:
Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RaM G)
Source: BS
Subject: Governance Schemes & Economy
Context: The Union government plans to table the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, proposing to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA framework.
About Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RaM G):
What it is?
• The VB-G RaM G Bill is a proposed legislation to replace MGNREGA, 2005, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household while aligning public works with long-term rural infrastructure, livelihoods, and climate resilience under the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.
Key features of the Bill:
• Enhanced employment guarantee: Raises assured workdays from 100 to 125 days, increasing income security for rural households (≈25% higher earning potential).
• Four focused asset priorities: Public works are limited to water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood infrastructure, and climate-resilience works, ensuring durable assets rather than fragmented works.
• Normative funding framework: State-wise allocations are pre-decided using objective parameters, improving predictability in budgeting while retaining unemployment allowance if work is denied.
• Revised cost-sharing pattern: 60:40 Centre–State for most states, 90:10 for NE/Himalayan states, and 100% Centre for UTs without legislatures—enhancing state accountability.
• Digital governance and transparency: Mandatory biometric attendance, Aadhaar-linked payments, GPS/geotagging, AI-based fraud detection, and real-time MIS dashboards to reduce leakages (e-payments already ~99.9%).
• Agricultural season safeguards: Allows up to 60 days’ pause during peak sowing/harvest to ensure labour availability for farms and prevent wage inflation.
• Stronger local planning: Works planned through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans and mapped to a National Rural Infrastructure Stack for coordinated development.
Need for the VB-G RaM G Bill:
• Changed rural socio-economic context: Rural poverty fell from 25.7% (2011-12) to ~4.9% (2023-24), necessitating a shift from distress relief to productivity-linked employment.
• Asset quality concerns under MGNREGA: Monitoring reports flagged sub-standard works and misuse (₹193.67 crore misappropriation in 2024-25), calling for tighter focus and oversight.
• Climate vulnerability of rural India: Frequent floods, droughts, and heat stress demand climate-adaptive assets like water harvesting and soil conservation.
• Fiscal predictability: Demand-driven budgeting caused volatility; normative funding enables better Centre-State planning while retaining social protection.
How VB-G RaM G differs from MGNREGA?
Aspect | MGNREGA (2005) | VB-G RaM G Bill (2025)
Nature | Demand-driven legal right | Normative, budget-linked guarantee
Workdays | 100 days | 125 days
Funding | ~90:10 Centre–State | 60:40 (most states)
Work scope | Broad, fragmented | 4 focused priority sectors
Technology | Supportive | Mandatory & codified
Implementation | Universal rural | Rural areas notified by Centre
Challenges associated with the Bill:
• Dilution of demand-driven right: Capped allocations may restrict employment if demand exceeds budgets, weakening the original rights-based ethos.
• Higher state fiscal burden: Poorer states may struggle to mobilise the 40% share, risking uneven implementation.
• Centralisation concerns: Greater Centre control over notified areas and allocations may reduce state and Gram Sabha autonomy (73rd Amendment spirit).
• Technology exclusion risks: Biometric and app-based systems can fail in remote areas, affecting women, elderly, and tribal workers.
• Seasonal pause impact: The 60-day no-work window may affect landless and tribal households dependent on wage employment during lean periods.
Way ahead:
• Hybrid funding safeguard: Retain a contingency, demand-responsive window during distress years (pandemics, droughts) to protect the right to work.
• Stronger state capacity support: Provide fiscal handholding and flexibility for poorer states to meet cost-sharing requirements.
• Technology with human fallback: Ensure offline/manual alternatives where digital tools fail to avoid worker exclusion.
• Deepened social audits: Empower Gram Sabhas with binding audit outcomes and time-bound grievance redressal.
• Phased rollout with review: Pilot the scheme, assess impacts on employment days and asset quality, and course-correct before nationwide scaling.
Conclusion:
The VB-G RaM G Bill represents a significant shift from distress-centric wage relief to asset-led rural transformation. While higher guaranteed days and focused infrastructure are positives, concerns over rights dilution and state capacity remain. Balancing fiscal discipline with constitutional social protection will determine whether the reform strengthens or weakens rural livelihoods.
Q. Adequate funding is crucial for the success of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, and any reduction in budgetary allocations may affect the program’s impact. Analyse. (250 words)
India–Oman Bilateral Relations
Source: TP
Subject: Bilateral Relations
Context: PM Narendra Modi’s Oman visit during his West Asia–Africa tour coincides with 70 years of India–Oman diplomatic ties and rising regional churn.
About India–Oman Bilateral Relations:
History and evolution:
• Civilisational maritime bridge: India–Oman ties run through the Indian Ocean trading system, where the Arabian Sea acted as a connector for commerce, culture and navigation traditions.
• People-to-people and diaspora depth: Long-standing movement of traders, seafarers and workers created trust that outlasted modern geopolitics.
• Early strategic comfort in a sensitive region: When parts of the region were ambivalent about India, Oman maintained steady engagement based on moderation and neutrality.
• Institutionalisation of partnership (2005–2008 onwards): Defence MoU (2005) and Strategic Partnership (2008) gave the relationship a formal security and political spine.
• 2018–2025 phase: Strategic + digital + connectivity: The relationship expanded into Duqm access, fintech linkages and corridor conversations (IMEC).
Eg: RuPay launch in Oman (2022) shows India’s DPI diplomacy moving beyond rhetoric.
Sectors of cooperation:
• Defence and maritime security:
• Duqm as a strategic enabler: Duqm logistics access supports Indian naval turnaround, replenishment and operational flexibility in the western IOR. Joint exercises and interoperability: Regular tri-service engagement builds habits of cooperation for contingencies and HADR missions. Overflight and transit support: Operational access enhances India’s reach for evacuation, disaster response and crisis-time movement.
• Duqm as a strategic enabler: Duqm logistics access supports Indian naval turnaround, replenishment and operational flexibility in the western IOR.
• Joint exercises and interoperability: Regular tri-service engagement builds habits of cooperation for contingencies and HADR missions.
• Overflight and transit support: Operational access enhances India’s reach for evacuation, disaster response and crisis-time movement.
• Trade, investment and business:
• Growing trade and JV ecosystem: Beyond trade value, the relationship has a JV backbone that anchors continuity even during political shocks.
• Growing trade and JV ecosystem: Beyond trade value, the relationship has a JV backbone that anchors continuity even during political shocks.
Eg: Over 6,000 India–Oman joint ventures in Oman with estimated investment ~$776 mn.
• Manufacturing and logistics linkages: Free zones and port-led projects can integrate Indian firms into Gulf–Africa supply chains.
• Manufacturing and logistics linkages: Free zones and port-led projects can integrate Indian firms into Gulf–Africa supply chains.
Eg: Indian companies are major investors in Sohar and Salalah Free Zones.
• Fintech and digital public infrastructure:
• Payment connectivity: Linked payment systems reduce transaction friction for diaspora remittances, tourism and SMEs.
• Payment connectivity: Linked payment systems reduce transaction friction for diaspora remittances, tourism and SMEs.
Eg: Central Bank of Oman–NPCI MoU (Oct 2022) and RuPay in Oman created a visible DPI milestone.
• Energy transition and future fuels:
• Beyond oil: green energy convergence: Both sides can align on green hydrogen, renewables, and critical minerals to future-proof energy security.
• Beyond oil: green energy convergence: Both sides can align on green hydrogen, renewables, and critical minerals to future-proof energy security.
• Education and health:
• Knowledge corridor potential: Offshore campuses and skill partnerships can create long-term influence and workforce linkages.
• Knowledge corridor potential: Offshore campuses and skill partnerships can create long-term influence and workforce linkages.
Challenges associated:
• Regional volatility risk: West Asia’s conflict cycles can disrupt trade routes, investor confidence, and diaspora safety planning.
• Trade concentration and limited diversification: High dependence on a few commodities reduces resilience and limits CEPA’s early “headline gains”. Eg: Without value-chain expansion, trade growth can remain price-driven instead of productivity-driven.
• Great power competition in the IOR: Strategic space is contested, and every logistics/port arrangement attracts geopolitical signalling.
Eg: Oman’s location enables monitoring of PLA Navy activity, but also raises competitive sensitivities.
• Implementation gap in agreements: Announcements can outpace execution due to standards, customs processes, and regulatory alignment issues.
• Diaspora welfare and labour market shifts: Economic slowdowns or policy changes can affect Indian workers, remittances and community stability.
Way ahead:
• Fast-track CEPA with sectoral “early harvest” wins: Prioritise services, MSME market access, standards harmonisation, and logistics facilitation for quick impact.
• Deepen Duqm-centric maritime cooperation: Expand joint patrol coordination, HADR drills, and anti-piracy information sharing in the Gulf of Oman.
• Build a green energy partnership roadmap: Create joint pilots on green hydrogen value chains and renewable-linked industrial clusters.
• Scale fintech interoperability beyond RuPay: Move from card presence to wider acceptance, cross-border UPI-like rails, and SME payment solutions.
• People-first cooperation: skills, healthcare, and mobility: Use education/health partnerships to build trust that survives geopolitical swings.
Conclusion:
India–Oman ties combine civilisational depth with modern strategic utility—from Duqm and maritime security to fintech and the energy transition. The proposed CEPA can turn a strong relationship into a more productive economic engine. Sustained delivery, diversification and people-centric outcomes will decide how far this partnership scales in a volatile region.
Q. “India’s outreach to West Asia increasingly blends economic pragmatism with strategic balancing.” Assess how such engagements strengthen India’s role in the region. (10 M)
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025 Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
Australia’s Social Media Ban for Children Under 16 Years
Context: Australia has implemented the world’s first nationwide ban on social media access for children under 16 years, aiming to protect minors from online harms.
About Australia’s Social Media Ban for Children Under 16 Years:
What it is?
• Australia has enacted a child online safety law that prohibits children below 16 years from accessing major social media platforms, placing the responsibility of enforcement on technology companies rather than parents or children.
Aim: The law seeks to protect children from addictive algorithms, cyberbullying, online predators and harmful content, while restoring healthier boundaries between childhood, family life and the digital ecosystem.
Key features:
• Age threshold: Children under 16 cannot create new social media accounts; existing accounts are to be deactivated.
• Platform-focused liability: No penalties on children or parents; companies face heavy fines (up to ~AUD 32–33 million) for non-compliance.
• Covered platforms: Major platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, Twitch, etc., are restricted.
• Exempted platforms: Messaging, educational and gaming platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube Kids, Google Classroom, GitHub, Roblox, etc., are currently excluded.
• Age assurance mechanisms: Platforms must take “reasonable steps” using government ID checks, biometric tools (face/voice), or age inference technologies.
• No self-certification: Users cannot self-declare age, nor can parental consent override the restriction.
Relevance for UPSC examination
• GS Paper II – Governance, Constitution & International Relations
• Digital governance & regulation of Big Tech: Comparative global models for platform accountability. Child rights & state responsibility: Balancing freedom with protection in the digital age.
• Digital governance & regulation of Big Tech: Comparative global models for platform accountability.
• Child rights & state responsibility: Balancing freedom with protection in the digital age.
• GS Paper III – Internal Security & Technology
• Cyber safety & online harms: Addressing grooming, bullying, algorithmic addiction.
• Cyber safety & online harms: Addressing grooming, bullying, algorithmic addiction.
• GS Paper IV – Ethics
• Ethics of technology: Protecting vulnerable groups vs. privacy and autonomy. Corporate ethics: Duty of care of platforms towards users, especially children.
• Ethics of technology: Protecting vulnerable groups vs. privacy and autonomy.
• Corporate ethics: Duty of care of platforms towards users, especially children.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025 Facts for Prelims (FFP)
FSSAI launches egg safety drive after ‘nitrofurans presence’
Source: NIE
Subject: Miscellaneous
Context: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a nationwide egg safety drive after a viral video alleged the presence of nitrofurans—a banned antibiotic—in eggs of a popular brand.
About FSSAI launches egg safety drive after ‘nitrofurans presence’:
What it is?
• The egg safety drive is a regulatory surveillance and testing initiative by FSSAI to detect residues of banned veterinary drugs, particularly nitrofurans, in eggs to ensure consumer safety and food law compliance.
Scientific name and classification:
• Nitrofurans are a group of synthetic nitrofuran-based antimicrobial agents.
• Common compounds include nitrofurantoin, furazolidone, nitrofurazone, and furaltadone.
• They are classified as chemotherapeutic antibacterial agents, not naturally occurring antibiotics.
Origin and use:
• Nitrofurans were historically used in veterinary medicine to treat bacterial and protozoal infections.
• Due to their carcinogenic potential, they are banned in food-producing animals in India, the EU, and several other countries.
Key features of nitrofurans:
• Broad-spectrum activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella and Giardia.
• Primarily bacteriostatic, becoming bactericidal at higher doses.
• More active in acidic environments.
• Known for slow development of microbial resistance, but show complete cross-resistance within the group.
Implications on human health:
• Carcinogenic risk: Some nitrofurans are linked to cancer, prompting global bans.
• Toxicity: Excess exposure can cause neurological symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, and hypersensitivity reactions.
• Food safety concern: Presence of residues in eggs undermines consumer trust and violates food safety standards.
• Public health risk: Long-term exposure, even at low levels, may pose cumulative health hazards.
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
Source: DD News
Subject: International Organisation
Context: India reaffirmed its civilisational ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Sarva Dharma Samabhav at the 11th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
About United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC):
• What it is? UNAOC is a United Nations initiative that seeks to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and religions, and to counter extremism through dialogue and partnership.
• UNAOC is a United Nations initiative that seeks to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and religions, and to counter extremism through dialogue and partnership.
• Established in: 2005, as a political initiative of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, co-sponsored by Spain and Türkiye.
• Headquarters: New York, United States.
• Aim: To reduce polarization between societies and cultures, strengthen intercultural dialogue, and promote peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies.
• Functions / Priority areas:
• Education: Promoting intercultural learning and curricula. Youth: Empowering youth as agents of peace. Migration: Advancing inclusion and social cohesion. Media: Countering stereotypes and hate speech. Women as peace mediators: Strengthening women’s role in peacebuilding. Building partnerships with states, civil society, faith leaders, academia, media, arts, sports, and the private sector.
• Education: Promoting intercultural learning and curricula.
• Youth: Empowering youth as agents of peace.
• Migration: Advancing inclusion and social cohesion.
• Media: Countering stereotypes and hate speech.
• Women as peace mediators: Strengthening women’s role in peacebuilding.
• Building partnerships with states, civil society, faith leaders, academia, media, arts, sports, and the private sector.
About UNAOC 2025 (11th Edition)
• Host: Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.
• Theme: “UNAOC: Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity—Advancing a New Era of Mutual Respect and Understanding in a Multipolar World”.
• Outcomes / Highlights:
• Renewed global commitment to dialogue, mutual respect, and religious harmony amid conflicts and trust deficits in multilateralism. Marked 20 years of UNAOC, setting the course for its third decade. Broad participation of political leaders, international organizations, religious and faith actors, youth, civil society, media, arts and sports to advance peacebuilding through dialogue.
• Renewed global commitment to dialogue, mutual respect, and religious harmony amid conflicts and trust deficits in multilateralism.
• Marked 20 years of UNAOC, setting the course for its third decade.
• Broad participation of political leaders, international organizations, religious and faith actors, youth, civil society, media, arts and sports to advance peacebuilding through dialogue.
Vijay Diwas Marks India’s Victory in 1971 War
Source: TOI
Subject: History
Context: India is observing Vijay Diwas on 16 December 2025 to commemorate the 1971 victory and honour the armed forces’ sacrifice and valour.
• The day marks the surrender of Pakistan’s Eastern Command in Dhaka (16 Dec 1971) and the birth of Bangladesh.
About Vijay Diwas Marks India’s Victory in 1971 War:
Background of the war:
• Electoral mandate denied (1970): The Awami League won a decisive majority in Pakistan’s 1970 elections, but transfer of power was blocked, triggering mass agitation in East Pakistan.
• Military crackdown (25 March 1971): Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight in Dhaka and elsewhere, intensifying violence and driving the liberation movement.
• Refugee crisis in India: Around ~10 million refugees crossed into India creating major humanitarian and fiscal pressure.
• Rise of Mukti Bahini + Govt-in-exile: Bengali resistance consolidated as Mukti Bahini; India provided training, logistics and sanctuary while preparing for escalation.
Key events during the war (3–16 Dec 1971):
• Trigger — 3 Dec 1971: Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes (Operation Chengiz Khan) on multiple Indian airfields, after which India formally entered full-scale war.
• Air superiority in the East: Indian Air Force quickly neutralised East Pakistan’s limited air capability, enabling unhindered close air support and interdiction.
• Naval blockade in Bay of Bengal: Indian Navy isolated East Pakistan; INS Vikrant supported strikes on ports/coastal targets, choking reinforcement and resupply.
• Karachi strikes: Indian Navy hit Karachi in Operation Trident (4/5 Dec) and Operation Python (8/9 Dec)—major blows to fuel storage/shipping capacity.
• Surrender — 16 Dec: With Dhaka encircled and East Pakistan strategically isolated, Eastern Command surrendered, ending the war decisively in 13 days.
Outcomes:
• Bangladesh created: East Pakistan became the sovereign state of Bangladesh, fundamentally altering South Asian geopolitics.
• Mass surrender/POWs: ~93,000 Pakistani troops/personnel surrendered—one of the biggest capitulations since WWII.
• Strategic realignment: Pakistan lost its eastern wing; India emerged as the dominant conventional military power in the region, with strengthened deterrence credibility.
• Post-war settlement: The 1971 outcome directly shaped subsequent diplomacy, including Simla Agreement (1972) framework and long-term India–Bangladesh relations.
Significance:
• National remembrance: Symbol of armed forces’ bravery, jointness (Army-Navy-Air Force) and decisive leadership in warfighting.
• Doctrine & deterrence: Demonstrates the value of clear political objectives, rapid manoeuvre, air superiority, and maritime choke-point control.
India–ADB $2.2 billion loan agreements
Source: ET
Subject: International Organisation, Economy
Context: India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed loan agreements worth over $2.2 billion to finance five major development projects.
About India–ADB $2.2 billion loan agreements:
What it is?
• A multi-sector financing package from ADB to India aimed at accelerating human capital development, clean energy transition, urban mobility, healthcare capacity and sustainable livelihoods across several states.
Key features:
• Skilling & employability ($846 million): Modernisation of 650 ITIs in 12 states and upgradation of 5 National Skill Training Institutes; targets employability of 1.3 million youth in high-growth sectors like renewable energy and electric mobility.
• Rooftop solar expansion ($650 million): Supports PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to scale rooftop solar for 10 million households by 2027, focusing on sectoral reforms and affordable, collateral-free loans.
• Healthcare augmentation ($398.8 million): Strengthens tertiary healthcare by upgrading medical colleges in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Silchar as centres of excellence.
• Urban transport ($240 million): Chennai Metro Rail Project: Tranche 2 for new corridors and stations with climate-resilient and universal access features.
• Sustainable livelihoods ($77 million): Meghalaya ecotourism and climate-smart agriculture project to improve incomes and conservation outcomes for local and indigenous communities.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
• What it is? ADB is a multilateral development bank that supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific through finance, policy support and partnerships.
• ADB is a multilateral development bank that supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific through finance, policy support and partnerships.
• Established: 19 December 1966
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines
• Members: 69 countries (50 regional, 19 non-regional); India is a founding member (1966)
• India’s position: Largest recipient, accounting for about 14% of ADB’s financial commitments
• Aims: Eradicate extreme poverty and promote prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable development aligned with the SDG
• Functions:
• Provides loans, grants, technical assistance and equity investments to governments, private sector and PPPs. Supports policy reforms, capacity building and co-financing with official and private sources. Focuses on education, health, transport, energy, finance and climate action.
• Provides loans, grants, technical assistance and equity investments to governments, private sector and PPPs.
• Supports policy reforms, capacity building and co-financing with official and private sources.
• Focuses on education, health, transport, energy, finance and climate action.
HAMMER precision-guided weapon (AASM)
Source: TOI
Subject: Defence
Context: India has signed a pact with France’s Safran to jointly manufacture, customise, supply and maintain the HAMMER (AASM) precision-guided air-to-ground weapon in India through a 50–50 JV with BEL.
About HAMMER precision-guided weapon (AASM):
What it is?
• HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range), also known as AASM, is a stand-off, precision-guided air-to-ground weapon that converts conventional bombs into high-accuracy strike systems through modular guidance and propulsion kits.
Developed by:
• Developed by Safran Electronics & Defense (France).
• In India, it will be jointly manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran through a 50:50 joint venture.
• To provide the air force with accurate, flexible and survivable precision strike capability from stand-off ranges, enabling controlled escalation while minimising collateral damage and aircraft risk.
Key features:
• Modular design: Consists of a nose-mounted guidance kit and a tail-mounted range-extension kit, fitted onto standard bomb bodies (125 kg to 1,000 kg, including Mk-80 series).
• Multiple guidance options: INS-GPS (all-weather), INS-GPS-IR (high-precision fixed targets), and laser guidance (moving targets).
• Stand-off range & off-axis launch: Rocket booster and winglets allow launch from outside hostile air-defence zones and even at large off-axis angles.
• High precision: Circular Error Probability ranges from ~10 m (INS-GPS) to ~1 m (IR-guided).
• Platform flexibility: Integrated on Rafale and planned for Tejas, enabling a common precision-strike capability across imported and indigenous aircraft.
Significance:
• Operational edge: Bridges the gap between unguided bombs and expensive cruise missiles, offering missile-like precision at lower cost.
• Strategic autonomy: Domestic manufacturing reduces import dependence and ensures availability during crises.
• Technology absorption: Builds Indian expertise in guidance systems, propulsion integration and precision-strike workflows.
Trade deficit
Source: ANI
Subject: Economics
Context: India’s trade deficit fell sharply to $6.6 billion in November 2025, driven by a strong rise in merchandise exports and a decline in merchandise imports (notably lower gold imports).
About Trade deficit:
What it is?
• A trade deficit occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceeds the value of its exports over a given period, resulting in a negative balance of trade (BoT).
Formula:
• Trade balance (BoT) = Total exports − Total imports If BoT is negative → Trade deficit. If BoT is positive → Trade surplus.
• If BoT is negative → Trade deficit.
• If BoT is positive → Trade surplus.
Types:
• Merchandise (goods) trade deficit: Gap between goods exports and goods imports.
• Services trade deficit/surplus: Gap between services exports and imports.
• Bilateral trade deficit: Deficit with a specific country.
Key features:
• Indicator of net external demand: Shows whether a country is a net buyer or net seller in global markets.
• Highly cyclical: Moves with growth, commodity prices (oil/gold), exchange rate, and domestic demand.
• Composition matters: Deficit driven by capital goods/intermediates can aid future productivity; deficit driven by non-essential imports may be less desirable.
• Linked to current account: Trade deficit is a major component of the Current Account Deficit (CAD), though services/remittances can offset it.
Implications:
• Currency pressure: Persistent deficits can raise demand for foreign currency, contributing to rupee depreciation and imported inflation.
• External vulnerability: Larger deficits may widen CAD, increasing reliance on capital inflows (FDI/FPI/borrowings).
• Inflation transmission: Higher import bills (especially oil) can feed into fuel, transport, and food inflation.
• Industrial competitiveness signal: Can reflect gaps in manufacturing capability, logistics costs, technology intensity, or export diversification.
• Not always “bad”: If financed sustainably and linked to productive investment (machinery, technology), it can support growth and upgrading.
#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 16 December 2025 Mapping:
Ethiopia
Source: DD News
Subject: Mapping
Context: Prime Minister of India visit to Ethiopia has highlighted India’s growing strategic engagement with Africa, especially the Horn of Africa region.
About Ethiopia:
• What it is? Ethiopia is a sovereign African nation and one of the oldest continuously existing states in the world, with a long civilisational history linked to Aksumite civilisation and Pan-African movements.
• Ethiopia is a sovereign African nation and one of the oldest continuously existing states in the world, with a long civilisational history linked to Aksumite civilisation and Pan-African movements.
• Located in: It is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, lying entirely within tropical latitudes and occupying a central position in East Africa.
• Capital: Addis Ababa, which also hosts the headquarters of the African Union (AU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
• Neighbouring nations: Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan.
• Geological features:
• Ethiopian Highlands: Among the most rugged in Africa, often called the “Roof of Africa,” with Mount Ras Dejen as the highest peak. Great Rift Valley: Part of the East African Rift System, running north–south through the country, marked by tectonic activity, volcanoes and lakes. Volcanic plateau: Large parts of Ethiopia are covered by basaltic lava flows from Cenozoic volcanic activity. Major river systems: Origin of the Blue Nile (Abay), along with Tekeze and Baro rivers flowing westward; Awash and Omo rivers form internal drainage. Denakil Depression: One of the hottest and lowest places on Earth, featuring active volcanoes like Erta Ale.
• Ethiopian Highlands: Among the most rugged in Africa, often called the “Roof of Africa,” with Mount Ras Dejen as the highest peak.
• Great Rift Valley: Part of the East African Rift System, running north–south through the country, marked by tectonic activity, volcanoes and lakes.
• Volcanic plateau: Large parts of Ethiopia are covered by basaltic lava flows from Cenozoic volcanic activity.
• Major river systems: Origin of the Blue Nile (Abay), along with Tekeze and Baro rivers flowing westward; Awash and Omo rivers form internal drainage.
• Denakil Depression: One of the hottest and lowest places on Earth, featuring active volcanoes like Erta Ale.
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