UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 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 : (UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November (2025)

• Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI in the Centre

Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI in the Centre

GS Paper 3:

• FAO released The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report

FAO released The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report

Content for Mains Enrichment (CME):

• Puducherry’s Innovative Green Transformation

Puducherry’s Innovative Green Transformation

Facts for Prelims (FFP):

• CAG’s Plan for Two New Cadres

CAG’s Plan for Two New Cadres

• Bihar’s Gogabeel Lake – 94th Ramsar Site of India

Bihar’s Gogabeel Lake – 94th Ramsar Site of India

• Project Suncatcher

Project Suncatcher

• Doha Political Declaration

Doha Political Declaration

• The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal

• Ethiopia to adopt Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Ethiopia to adopt Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Mapping:

• Typhoon Kalmaegi

Typhoon Kalmaegi

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025

#### GS Paper 2:

Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI in the Centre

Syllabus: Governance

Source: TH

Context: The proposal to place Universal Basic Income (UBI) at the centre of India’s welfare architecture has gained renewed attention amid growing income inequality, automation-driven job losses, and welfare inefficiencies.

About Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI in the Centre

• What is UBI? Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a periodic, unconditional cash transfer given to all citizens, regardless of income or employment status, ensuring a minimum level of economic security.

• Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a periodic, unconditional cash transfer given to all citizens, regardless of income or employment status, ensuring a minimum level of economic security.

• Features of UBI:

• Universality: Covers all citizens without discrimination or means-testing. Unconditionality: No work requirement or eligibility conditions attached. Direct Transfer Mechanism: Uses Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for efficient, corruption-free disbursal. Rights-Based Design: Recognizes income security as a citizenship right, not charity or welfare. Simplification of Welfare: Replaces fragmented, overlapping schemes with a single, streamlined safety net.

• Universality: Covers all citizens without discrimination or means-testing.

• Unconditionality: No work requirement or eligibility conditions attached.

• Direct Transfer Mechanism: Uses Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for efficient, corruption-free disbursal.

• Rights-Based Design: Recognizes income security as a citizenship right, not charity or welfare.

• Simplification of Welfare: Replaces fragmented, overlapping schemes with a single, streamlined safety net.

Need for UBI in India:

• Rising Inequality: India’s wealth Gini index (75) reflects one of the highest global inequality levels; top 10% control 77% of national wealth (WID, 2023).

• Jobless Growth: Despite 8.4% GDP growth (2023–24), unemployment and informal work persist; automation may displace 69% of Indian jobs (McKinsey).

• Fragmented Welfare System: Over 400 welfare schemes face leakages and duplication (NITI Aayog, 2022); UBI offers administrative efficiency and inclusiveness.

• Social Stress: India ranks 126/137 in the World Happiness Report (2023), showing economic growth without well-being.

• Unpaid Care Work: Recognizes invisible economic contributions, particularly by women, estimated to account for 13% of India’s GDP (ILO).

Global Evidence Supporting UBI:

• India (Madhya Pradesh Pilot, SEWA 2011–13): Recipients showed better nutrition (↑25%), higher school attendance (↑12%), and small business creation (↑17%).

• Finland (2017–19): Participants reported improved mental well-being and employment stability.

• Kenya (GiveDirectly Program): Long-term UBI transfers led to 40% increase in food security and local enterprise growth.

• Iran (2011 Reform): Replaced subsidies with cash transfers, reducing poverty without inflationary effects.

Challenges Associated with UBI:

• Fiscal Burden: Implementing a UBI of ₹7,620 per person annually would cost about 5% of India’s GDP, creating pressure on public finances and necessitating restructuring of subsidies, higher taxes, or borrowing to maintain fiscal sustainability.

• Targeting Dilemma: While universality promotes inclusion, it risks benefit dilution as the rich and poor receive the same amount; thus, a phased or quasi-universal rollout is crucial to preserve redistributive justice.

• Inflation Concerns: A sudden increase in disposable income could raise local demand faster than supply, triggering price inflation in food and essential goods if not accompanied by production growth.

• Digital Divide: Inadequate banking access, poor internet connectivity, and low digital literacy in rural and tribal areas may exclude many citizens from receiving cash transfers through the DBT system.

• Political Will: Transitioning from populist, targeted subsidies to a universal rights-based income system demands strong bipartisan support, fiscal discipline, and administrative reform—often difficult in election-driven politics.

Way Ahead:

• Phased Implementation: Start with vulnerable groups—women, elderly, and informal workers—before scaling up nationwide, allowing gradual adaptation and fiscal assessment.

• Integrate with Existing Schemes: UBI should complement, not replace, essential welfare schemes like PDS and MGNREGA, ensuring food and livelihood security remain intact during the transition.

• Progressive Financing: Introduce wealth, carbon, and inheritance taxes, while cutting inefficient subsidies to create sustainable fiscal space for UBI without burdening the poor.

• Strengthen DBT Infrastructure: Upgrade the Aadhaar–Jan Dhan–Mobile (JAM) trinity, ensuring real-time transfer accuracy, grievance redressal, and digital accessibility for remote populations.

• Institutional Backing: Form an Independent Social Security Commission to assess fiscal feasibility, monitor rollout, and ensure transparency, accountability, and periodic evaluation of UBI outcomes.

Conclusion:

A Universal Basic Income can become the foundation of India’s 21st-century welfare state — simple, inclusive, and empowering. It offers a safety net amid automation, inequality, and job uncertainty, while reinforcing dignity and citizenship. The question is no longer “Can India afford UBI?” but rather “Can India afford the cost of economic insecurity without it?”

#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025 GS Paper 3:

FAO released The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report

Syllabus: Forest and Environment

Source: FAO

Context: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report titled “Addressing Land Degradation Across Landholding Scales,” highlighting how human-induced land degradation undermines global food production.

About FAO released The State of Food and Agriculture 2025 report:

• What it is? An annual flagship publication of the FAO, assessing global agricultural and food systems performance.

• An annual flagship publication of the FAO, assessing global agricultural and food systems performance.

• Published by: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome (2025).

• Aim: To examine human-induced land degradation and its implications for agricultural productivity, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability, while guiding policies to avoid, reduce, and reverse degradation across scales

Key Trends Identified in the FAO Report:

• Global Cropland Decline: About 20% of the world’s cropland shows declining productivity due to human-induced degradation, including soil erosion and organic carbon loss, particularly across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

• Regional Yield Gap Severity: Yield gaps for 10 major crops reach up to 70% below potential levels in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, linked to low soil fertility, nutrient depletion, and limited access to inputs.

• Soil Organic Carbon Loss: Global decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) is reducing water retention and microbial activity, weakening resilience to droughts and floods in semi-arid regions.

• Smallholder Constraints: Small farms under 2 hectares represent 84% of all farms but hold only 12% of farmland, leaving them vulnerable to land degradation due to poor access to finance and technology.

• Large Farm Impacts: The top 1% of farms control over 70% of agricultural land, often intensifying degradation through monocropping and excessive fertilizer use, yet having more resources for restoration.

• Land Abandonment Expansion: From 1992 to 2015, over 60 million hectares of cropland were abandoned globally—mainly in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South America—due to yield decline and migration.

• Climate–Degradation Nexus: Degraded soils now emit significant greenhouse gases, worsening climate change; FAO links this to reduced productivity, carbon sequestration, and SDG 15.3 setbacks in land neutrality.

Analysis — Success and Gaps:

Successes:

• Land Degradation Debt Model: FAO 2025 introduces a machine learning-based model comparing current and natural soil states, revealing a 30% loss in tree cover, 20% loss in biomass carbon, and a fourfold rise in soil erosion due to human activity — offering the most accurate global assessment yet.

• Quantifying Global Economic Costs: The report estimates the global cost of land degradation at around USD 300 billion annually, with over three-fourths of losses from land-use and cover change, establishing land restoration as an essential public investment priority.

• Yield Gap and Socioeconomic Risk Correlation: A 10% increase in degradation debt widens agricultural yield gaps by 2%, particularly in Southeast Asia and Western Europe, showing that intensive cultivation hides underlying soil fertility decline and rising vulnerability.

• Multi-Scale Policy Design: Through the GAEZ v5 global dataset, FAO links land degradation data to farm-size structures, enabling scale-sensitive restoration policies that balance interventions for both smallholders and large commercial farms.

Gaps / Failures

• Weak Institutional and Monitoring Capacity: Low-income nations face limited technical and satellite-monitoring capacity to track land degradation, unlike advanced models such as Inner Mongolia’s satellite-based grazing regulation system, which shows measurable success.

• Inadequate Financing and Coordination: Although USD 19 billion has been pledged under initiatives like the Great Green Wall, poor donor coordination, weak national alignment, and short project cycles cause restoration fatigue and inconsistent outcomes.

• Limited Integration with Climate and Livelihood Goals: Land restoration projects are poorly aligned with SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 8 (Decent Work), rarely embedding gender-sensitive livelihood benefits, which reduces their social and economic inclusiveness.

• Underrepresentation of Indigenous Stewardship: Despite proven ecological success in East African pastoral and Latin American community systems, indigenous land governance models remain marginal in formal policy, limiting culturally rooted restoration outcomes.

Challenges Identified:

• Land Inequality: Top 1% of farms control over 70% of global farmland, limiting equitable access to restoration finance and technology.

• Investment Deficit: Less than 15% of agricultural investment is directed toward sustainable land management practices.

• Policy Fragmentation: Disconnect between land, water, and energy policies leads to inconsistent regional implementation.

• Data and Knowledge Gaps: Weak monitoring of soil carbon, erosion, and biodiversity impedes global reporting on SDG 15.3.

• Climate Shocks: Frequent droughts and floods are intensifying land degradation, particularly in semi-arid zones of Africa and Asia.

FAO Recommendations:

• Scale-Specific Interventions: Tailor restoration policies by farm size—incentivize smallholders through payments for ecosystem services, and regulate large-scale farms for sustainable input use.

• Invest in Land Restoration: Expand public–private partnerships for carbon farming and regenerative agriculture, using models tested in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

• Empower Local and Indigenous Actors: Integrate community-led and gender-inclusive restoration projects into national strategies.

• Enhance Global Monitoring: Establish a Global Land Degradation Data Hub integrating remote sensing and ground data for real-time tracking.

• Align with SDGs: Link national restoration policies to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) for policy coherence.

Conclusion:

The 2025 FAO report confirms that land degradation threatens nearly one-fifth of global cropland, with smallholders and developing nations hit hardest. It calls for science-driven, equity-centered, and scale-sensitive solutions to close yield gaps and restore soil health. Without immediate action, global food security and climate targets could face irreversible setbacks by 2030.

#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025 Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)

Puducherry’s Innovative Green Transformation

Context: Puducherry has launched innovative, community-driven greening initiatives under IFS officer Dr. P. Arulrajan, integrating science, spirituality, and citizen engagement to double its green cover by 2030.

About Puducherry’s Innovative Green Transformation:

What it is?

• A holistic environmental program led by Dr. P. Arulrajan (IFS, 2009 batch), blending scientific forestry, administrative innovation, and spiritual engagement to expand Puducherry’s Forest and tree cover.

Aim: To increase Puducherry’s green cover from 12.57% to at least 24% by 2030, through large-scale tree planting, community participation, and ecosystem restoration.

Key Features:

• Spiritual Van Initiative: Encourages planting three trees per person aligned with their planet, rashi, and nakshatra—merging Hindu cosmology with environmental action.

• Amma Vanam Programme: Massive community plantation drive of 1.08 lakh trees, involving MGNREGA workers, SHGs, students, and fisherfolk.

• Seed-Dusting Pencils: Eco-pencils filled with seeds used by children to green roadside and waste areas.

• Integrated Green Governance: Combines scientific planning, local convergence, and public participation for sustainable outcomes.

• Biodiversity Restoration: Focus on sand dune regeneration, urban greening, and coastal ecosystem recovery.

Significance:

• Positions Puducherry as a model of participatory, culturally rooted conservation.

• Fosters eco-literacy and civic responsibility among citizens.

• Promotes climate resilience and sustainable urban development through inclusive, low-cost interventions.

Relevance in UPSC Syllabus:

• GS Paper III – Environment & Ecology: Model for community-based afforestation, traditional knowledge integration, and climate-resilient ecosystem management.

• Model for community-based afforestation, traditional knowledge integration, and climate-resilient ecosystem management.

• GS Paper II – Governance: Example of multi-level collaboration and citizen-driven environmental governance.

• Example of multi-level collaboration and citizen-driven environmental governance.

• GS Paper IV / Essay: Demonstrates ethical environmental stewardship and faith-based ecological harmony, relevant to themes on sustainability and participatory development.

• Demonstrates ethical environmental stewardship and faith-based ecological harmony, relevant to themes on sustainability and participatory development.

#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025 Facts for Prelims (FFP)

CAG’s Plan for Two New Cadres

Source: TH

Context: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has approved the creation of two new specialised cadres — Central Revenue Audit (CRA) and Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) within its department to enhance centralisation and audit quality from 1st January 2026.

About CAG’s Plan for Two New Cadres:

• What it is? The CAG plans to restructure its Indian Audit and Accounts Department by creating two new cadres — the Central Revenue Audit (CRA) and Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) — for improved centralised auditing.

• The CAG plans to restructure its Indian Audit and Accounts Department by creating two new cadres — the Central Revenue Audit (CRA) and Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) — for improved centralised auditing.

• Names of the cadres:

• Central Revenue Audit (CRA) Cadre – will handle specialised audits of Central Government receipts and revenues. Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) Cadre – will focus on expenditure audits of ministries and departments.

• Central Revenue Audit (CRA) Cadre – will handle specialised audits of Central Government receipts and revenues.

• Central Expenditure Audit (CEA) Cadre – will focus on expenditure audits of ministries and departments.

• Aim: To develop domain expertise, improve audit quality, and ensure professional specialisation in government financial audits, leading to greater fiscal accountability and efficiency.

• Need for reform: Currently, audits are handled by multiple State Civil Audit offices with dispersed cadre control, causing fragmentation and inefficiency. The new system will consolidate over 4,000 audit professionals (out of 42,000 total staff) and enhance manpower flexibility through all-India transfer liability.

• Currently, audits are handled by multiple State Civil Audit offices with dispersed cadre control, causing fragmentation and inefficiency.

• The new system will consolidate over 4,000 audit professionals (out of 42,000 total staff) and enhance manpower flexibility through all-India transfer liability.

About the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India:

• What it is? The CAG is a constitutional authority (Articles 148–151) responsible for auditing the receipts and expenditures of the Union, States, and other government-funded bodies. It acts as the “Guardian of the Public Purse” and ensures financial accountability of the executive to the legislature.

• The CAG is a constitutional authority (Articles 148–151) responsible for auditing the receipts and expenditures of the Union, States, and other government-funded bodies.

• It acts as the “Guardian of the Public Purse” and ensures financial accountability of the executive to the legislature.

• Constitutional basis:

• Article 148: Establishes the CAG of India. Article 149: Defines CAG’s duties and powers. Article 150: Prescribes the form of government accounts. Article 151: Deals with audit report submission to the President/Governor.

• Article 148: Establishes the CAG of India.

• Article 149: Defines CAG’s duties and powers.

• Article 150: Prescribes the form of government accounts.

• Article 151: Deals with audit report submission to the President/Governor.

• Appointment and tenure:

• Appointed by the President of India under his hand and seal. Holds office for 6 years or up to age 65, whichever is earlier. Can be removed only through a special majority resolution of Parliament (same as a Supreme Court judge).

• Appointed by the President of India under his hand and seal.

• Holds office for 6 years or up to age 65, whichever is earlier.

• Can be removed only through a special majority resolution of Parliament (same as a Supreme Court judge).

• Key functions (under the 1971 Act):

• Audits all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund, and Public Account of India and States. Audits Central and State revenues to ensure proper assessment and collection. Audits government companies and corporations under respective statutes. Provides audit reports to the President/Governor, which are examined by the Public Accounts Committee. Acts as a guide, friend, and philosopher to legislative committees.

• Audits all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund, and Public Account of India and States.

• Audits Central and State revenues to ensure proper assessment and collection.

• Audits government companies and corporations under respective statutes.

• Provides audit reports to the President/Governor, which are examined by the Public Accounts Committee.

• Acts as a guide, friend, and philosopher to legislative committees.

• Reports submitted:

• Audit Report on Appropriation Accounts – checks expenditure vs sanction. Audit Report on Finance Accounts – annual receipts and disbursements. Audit Report on Public Undertakings – performance of government companies.

• Audit Report on Appropriation Accounts – checks expenditure vs sanction.

• Audit Report on Finance Accounts – annual receipts and disbursements.

• Audit Report on Public Undertakings – performance of government companies.

Bihar’s Gogabeel Lake – 94th Ramsar Site of India

Source: TOI

Context: Gogabeel Lake in Katihar district, Bihar, has been officially added to the list of Ramsar Sites, becoming India’s 94th Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

About Bihar’s Gogabeel Lake – 94th Ramsar Site of India:

What it is?

• Gogabeel is a natural oxbow lake—a crescent-shaped waterbody formed by the meandering of rivers—located between the Ganga and Mahananda rivers in Katihar district, Bihar. It acts as a seasonal floodplain connecting both rivers during high water levels.

Location and formation:

• Formed from the flow of Mahananda and Kankhar rivers in the north and Ganga in the south and east.

• Spread over 57 hectares as a Community Reserve and 30 hectares as a Conservation Reserve.

• Declared Bihar’s first Community Reserve in 2019 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Historical background:

• Initially declared a “Closed Area” in 1990, renewed till 2000.

• Lost its legal protection after the 2002 amendment to the Wildlife Act removed the “Closed Area” provision.

• Regained recognition as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in 2004 and 2017 by the Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) and BirdLife International.

• After community efforts led by NGOs like Janlakshya and Goga Vikas Samiti, it was notified as a Community Reserve in 2019.

• Now recognized globally as a Ramsar Site (2025), acknowledging its ecological importance.

Ecological and biodiversity features:

• Supports over 90 bird species, including 30 migratory ones using the Central Asian Flyway.

• Habitat for vulnerable species such as Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) and Lesser Adjutant Stork; Black-necked Stork, White Ibis, and White-eyed Pochard are listed as Near Threatened.

• Also serves as a breeding ground for the vulnerable catfish Wallago attu.

• Identified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by BNHS and IUCN.

• Provides livelihood through fishing, cattle grazing, and irrigation, though excessive fertilizer use threatens its ecosystem.

Project Suncatcher

Source: IE

Context: Google has announced Project Suncatcher, a pioneering plan to build AI-powered data centres in space to harness continuous solar energy and reduce Earth’s carbon footprint.

About Project Suncatcher:

What it is?

• Project Suncatcher is Google’s research initiative to create solar-powered AI data centres in space by deploying high-performance TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) aboard orbiting satellites that communicate through optical data links.

Launched by: Developed and launched by Google, under its AI and Advanced Infrastructure Division, as part of a long-term sustainability and innovation roadmap.

• To reduce energy, water, and carbon costs of terrestrial data centres.

• To harness uninterrupted solar power available in space for round-the-clock AI computation.

• To develop a scalable space-based computing network with interlinked, high-speed satellites.

Key features:

• Solar-Powered Satellite Constellation: Uses solar panels up to 8 times more efficient in orbit than on Earth.

• Orbiting TPUs: AI accelerators (Trillium v6e) tested under radiation for space durability.

• High-Speed Optical Links: Free-space optical communication capable of tens of terabits per second, connecting satellite nodes.

• Prototype Launch: Two test satellites planned for early 2027 to validate hardware and communication systems.

• Scalability: Analytical models suggest satellites can operate just hundreds of meters apart, allowing clustered space-based data hubs.

• Future Cost Efficiency: By mid-2030s, falling launch costs (as low as $200/kg) could make orbital data centres economically viable.

Significance:

• Sustainability Breakthrough: Eliminates dependency on Earth’s power and water resources.

• Technological Innovation: Opens avenues for distributed, radiation-resistant AI computing beyond Earth.

• Climate Impact Reduction: Helps offset the rising carbon emissions of expanding AI infrastructure.

Doha Political Declaration

Source: UN

Context: The Second World Summit for Social Development, hosted by Qatar, concluded with the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration, earning wide global praise for advancing social development and aligning it closely with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About Doha Political Declaration:

What it is?

• The Doha Political Declaration is the outcome document adopted at the Second World Summit for Social Development (2025), reaffirming global commitment to eradicate poverty, promote decent work, ensure social inclusion, and integrate these pillars into the broader framework of sustainable development.

• Hosted by the State of Qatar from November 4–6, 2025, at the Qatar National Convention Centre (Doha).

• Organized in collaboration with the United Nations, bringing together over 8,000 participants including heads of state, ministers, UN agencies, civil society, academia, and youth representatives.

Key features of the Declaration:

• Poverty Eradication: Recognizes elimination of poverty as a moral and developmental imperative, essential for equitable progress.

• Decent Work for All: Calls for creating inclusive labor markets and safe, fair employment opportunities to strengthen economic and social resilience.

• Social Inclusion: Promotes inclusion across gender, age, and marginalized groups to ensure no one is left behind in the pursuit of SDGs.

• Link to Sustainable Development: Emphasizes that social progress, economic growth, and environmental sustainability are inseparable pillars of human development.

• Action-Oriented Framework: Moves from problem diagnosis to implementable commitments and partnerships among governments, private sector, and civil society.

• Peace and Stability: Asserts that sustainable development requires peace, noting that conflicts reverse decades of social gains.

• Global Cooperation: Urges multilateral collaboration and financial investment to accelerate the 2030 Agenda.

• Transformative Vision: Seeks to build just, secure, and resilient societies, guided by shared responsibility and global solidarity.

About Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development:

• What it is? Adopted at the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), the Copenhagen Declaration is a landmark UN agreement that placed people-centered social development at the heart of global policymaking. It was the first summit of heads of state convened by the UN to prioritize poverty eradication, employment generation, and social inclusion as universal goals.

• Adopted at the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), the Copenhagen Declaration is a landmark UN agreement that placed people-centered social development at the heart of global policymaking.

• It was the first summit of heads of state convened by the UN to prioritize poverty eradication, employment generation, and social inclusion as universal goals.

• Key features:

• Integrated approach to development: Recognizes that economic growth, social justice, and environmental protection are interdependent pillars of sustainable development. Human-centric focus: Declares that people are at the centre of development, entitled to a healthy, productive life in harmony with nature. Peace and human rights linkage: Affirms that social justice and peace are mutually reinforcing, and sustainable development is impossible without respect for human rights and equality. Gender equality and empowerment: Calls for full participation of women as a prerequisite for equitable and lasting social development.

• Integrated approach to development: Recognizes that economic growth, social justice, and environmental protection are interdependent pillars of sustainable development.

• Human-centric focus: Declares that people are at the centre of development, entitled to a healthy, productive life in harmony with nature.

• Peace and human rights linkage: Affirms that social justice and peace are mutually reinforcing, and sustainable development is impossible without respect for human rights and equality.

• Gender equality and empowerment: Calls for full participation of women as a prerequisite for equitable and lasting social development.

The Taj Mahal

Source: TH

Context: The upcoming Hindi film “The Taj Story”, starring Paresh Rawal, has triggered nationwide controversy for reviving the discredited “Tejo Mahalaya” theory, which claims the Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva temple.

About the Taj Mahal:

What it is?

• The Taj Mahal is a 17th-century white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1983), celebrated as the pinnacle of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Built during:

• Commissioned in 1632 CE by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, it was completed in 1648 CE, with additional structures and landscaping finished by 1653 CE under the supervision of architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori.

History:

• Constructed by artisans, calligraphers, inlayers, and masons from across India, Central Asia, and Persia, the Taj represents the zenith of Mughal craftsmanship.

• Inscriptions in Arabic, Persian, and Quranic verses document its chronology and spiritual symbolism.

Key Features:

• The central white marble tomb stands on a raised square platform with four minarets at each corner, symbolizing symmetry and spatial balance.

• The double-dome chamber houses the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal (center) and Shah Jahan (west); the real graves lie in the lower crypt.

• The pietra dura (inlay) work, with precious stones depicting intricate floral motifs, exemplifies Persian and Indian artistic fusion.

• The Charbagh garden follows the Timurid-Persian quadripartite design, divided by water channels symbolizing the rivers of paradise.

• The main gateway (Darwaza-i-Rauza) and flanking mosque and guest house of red sandstone contrast with the central marble mausoleum, emphasizing visual harmony.

Significance:

• Represents the culmination of Mughal architecture, uniting Persian, Ottoman, and Indian aesthetics into a symbol of eternal love and divine harmony.

• Serves as a testament to 17th-century engineering and design, blending artistic precision with spiritual allegory—reflecting paradise and resurrection.

• Continues to be a global icon of India’s cultural heritage, drawing over 6 million visitors annually and inspiring art, literature, and architecture worldwide.

Ethiopia to adopt Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

Source: NDTV

Context: Ethiopia has announced plans to adopt India’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) model to tackle rural poverty and promote women’s empowerment.

About Ethiopia to adopt Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM):

What it is?

• DAY-NRLM is India’s flagship poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment programme under the Ministry of Rural Development, focusing on sustainable livelihoods, financial inclusion, and social mobilization through Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Launched in: 2011 as National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) by restructuring the Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

• It has been renamed as Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – NRLM (DAY-NRLM) in 2016.

Aim: To reduce rural poverty by enabling poor households, especially women, to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage opportunities through community institutions, skill training, and access to credit.

History:

• The mission represents a paradigm shift from subsidy-driven programmes to self-reliance through institution-building.

• It is jointly funded by the Centre and States and is among the world’s largest community-mobilisation programmes, aligning with SDGs 1 (No Poverty) and 5 (Gender Equality).

Key Features:

• Social Mobilization & SHG Formation: Over 10.05 crore rural women organized into 90.9 lakh SHGs across 28 States and 6 UTs.

• Community Resource Persons: Deployment of Bank Sakhis, Krishi Sakhis, and Pashu Sakhis to deliver last-mile financial, agricultural, and livestock services.

• Financial Inclusion: Over ₹11 lakh crore in collateral-free credit disbursed to SHGs with a 98% repayment rate, making it a global model of credit discipline.

• Livelihood Diversification: Promotion of farm and non-farm activities, including 4.62 crore Mahila Kisans, 1.95 lakh producer groups, and 3.74 lakh rural enterprises supported under SVEP.

• Skill Development: Implementation of DDU-GKY (placement-linked training for youth) and RSETIs (entrepreneurship training), training over 74 lakh youth cumulatively by mid-2025.

• Sustainable Agriculture: Creation of 6,000 integrated farming clusters and scaling of agro-ecological practices to improve rural resilience.

• Digital Inclusion: Integration with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Digital Public Infrastructure to ensure transparency and last-mile delivery.

#### UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 7 November 2025 Mapping:

Typhoon Kalmaegi

Source: FP

Context: Typhoon Kalmaegi struck Vietnam’s central coast, forcing flight cancellations and mass evacuations after killing over 114 people in the Philippines, where it caused widespread flooding, destruction, and displacement.

About Typhoon Kalmaegi:

• What it is? Typhoon Kalmaegi is a tropical cyclone that developed over the western Pacific Ocean, characterized by strong winds, torrential rains, and high tidal waves. It intensified rapidly before making landfall in the Philippines and Vietnam.

• Typhoon Kalmaegi is a tropical cyclone that developed over the western Pacific Ocean, characterized by strong winds, torrential rains, and high tidal waves.

• It intensified rapidly before making landfall in the Philippines and Vietnam.

• Origin: Kalmaegi formed over the Philippine Sea, moving westward toward Luzon (Philippines) before crossing the South China Sea and hitting central Vietnam. It is named after the Korean word for “seagull.”

• Kalmaegi formed over the Philippine Sea, moving westward toward Luzon (Philippines) before crossing the South China Sea and hitting central Vietnam.

• It is named after the Korean word for “seagull.”

About the Philippines:

• What it is? The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia, located in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of over 7,000 islands, divided mainly into three groups — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

• The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia, located in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of over 7,000 islands, divided mainly into three groups — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

• Capital: Manila

• Neighbouring nations: It lies 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Vietnam, bordered by the Philippine Sea (east), South China Sea (west), Celebes Sea (south), and near Taiwan (north) and Indonesia (south).

• Geological features:

• The archipelago is mountainous and volcanic, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Notable volcanoes include Mayon, Mount Apo, and Mount Pinatubo. Major rivers: Cagayan, Pampanga, Agusan, Mindanao River. The islands experience frequent typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Climate: Tropical monsoon with a wet season (May–Oct) and dry season (Nov–Apr).

• The archipelago is mountainous and volcanic, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

• Notable volcanoes include Mayon, Mount Apo, and Mount Pinatubo.

• Major rivers: Cagayan, Pampanga, Agusan, Mindanao River.

• The islands experience frequent typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic activity.

• Climate: Tropical monsoon with a wet season (May–Oct) and dry season (Nov–Apr).

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