Daily current affairs: 17 December 2025

Long Description : The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, aims to overhaul India’s rural employment guarantee framework by replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. The Bill seeks to redesign wage employment, livelihood support, and asset creation in rural areas, with an emphasis on productivity and convergence with other schemes. Opposition members have demanded reference of the Bill to a parliamentary committee, alleging excessive executive control, potential dilution of rights-based guarantees, and concerns over funding stability and transparency in implementation. The debate has key implications for social security, fiscal priorities, and centre–state relations in welfare delivery.

Long Description : The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, envisions a new central regulator for higher education, subsuming the University Grants Commission and restructuring oversight of universities and colleges. The Bill provides for comprehensive regulatory powers over standards, accreditation, penalties, and even closure of non‑compliant institutions. Opposition parties have objected that the framework could reduce institutional autonomy, increase centralisation, and impose stringent compliance and punitive provisions, potentially affecting academic freedom and state universities. The government argues that the reform will rationalise fragmented regulation, strengthen quality benchmarks, and align higher education with Viksit Bharat goals, making its final shape important for UPSC and other exams.

Long Description : On 16–17 December 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a bilateral visit to Ethiopia, marking a significant step in India’s Africa policy. During the visit, he was conferred with one of Ethiopia’s highest civilian honours, the “Great Honor Nishan of Ethiopia”, underscoring growing strategic trust. The two sides discussed cooperation in digital public infrastructure, capacity building, infrastructure, agriculture, and health, along with collaboration in multilateral forums like the UN and African Union. India also supported Ethiopia’s development priorities and explored new economic opportunities, aligning with New Delhi’s broader vision of South–South cooperation and a more visible Indian presence in the Horn of Africa.

Long Description : A recent communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs discusses the impacts of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) on internal security, development projects, and local governance, particularly in affected districts. The document highlights disruptions to infrastructure, intimidation of local representatives, and impediments to welfare delivery as key effects of LWE. It reiterates the Centre’s strategy combining security measures, accelerated development, and rights‑based governance to tackle extremism. The note is important for exams as it helps connect internal security issues with topics such as governance deficits, inclusive development, and cooperative federalism in managing law and order and socio‑economic vulnerabilities.

Long Description : The government’s move to introduce the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill has triggered intense contestation in Parliament. Opposition MPs objected to the perceived haste and sought detailed examination of how the rights‑based nature, wage guarantees, and transparency mechanisms of MGNREGA would change under the new framework. They staged protests, including a march to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue, framing the Bill as a rollback of rural entitlements. For exam purposes, the episode links themes of social justice, parliamentary procedure, legislative scrutiny, and the evolution of India’s rural development model from entitlement‑driven schemes to performance‑linked programmes.

Long Description : India’s high‑level political outreach in West Asia has intensified, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Jordan and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar holding talks in Israel. In Amman, India emphasised cooperation in rebuilding conflict‑affected Syria and enhancing economic and strategic ties with Jordan, a key moderate actor in the region. In Tel Aviv, India reiterated its stance on terrorism and its support for diplomatic initiatives to stabilise Gaza and the broader region. These moves reflect India’s attempt to balance relationships across West Asian actors while safeguarding energy security, diaspora interests, and a rules‑based regional order.

Long Description : Following a fatal fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa on 6 December that claimed 25 lives, a Delhi court has allowed Goa Police two days of transit remand of the establishment’s owners, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra. The case has raised serious concerns about enforcement of fire safety and building norms in crowded urban leisure spaces. It also draws attention to criminal negligence provisions, accountability of local authorities, and broader questions around urban planning and disaster risk reduction. For aspirants, the incident is relevant for topics on disaster management, urban governance, and public safety regulation frameworks in India.

Long Description : The Rural Development Ministry has released communication describing the VB-G RAM G initiative as a renewed pledge to provide reliable employment and livelihood support to rural households. It positions the proposed law as aligning employment generation with asset quality, skill enhancement, and better convergence with other flagship schemes. The Ministry highlights enhanced transparency, technology‑enabled monitoring, and improved planning at the gram panchayat level as key elements. For exams, this allows linkage of scheme redesign to themes such as outcome‑based budgeting, decentralized planning, and the evolution of India’s social protection architecture in a fiscally constrained environment.

Long Description : A new Insurance Amendment Bill has been cleared by Lok Sabha to increase the foreign direct investment cap in Indian insurance companies to 100%. The legislative change aims to attract higher foreign capital, deepen insurance penetration, and support long‑term infrastructure financing. Simultaneously, the Bill expands the enforcement powers of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), including search and seizure authority over intermediaries and enhanced oversight over market conduct. For exam purposes, this development is important under topics such as financial sector reform, FDI policy, regulatory architecture, and the interplay between financial inclusion and prudential regulation in India.

Long Description : Reports from the Indian Express archive indicate that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) may initiate a review of norms governing mutual funds and the lock‑in period applicable to pre‑IPO investors. Possible adjustments could influence liquidity patterns, pricing behaviour, and risk distribution between institutional and retail investors in the primary market. The review fits into SEBI’s broader effort to strengthen transparency, reduce mis‑selling, and align regulations with evolving market practices. For candidates, this topic connects to SEBI’s mandate, capital market reforms, and the regulatory ecosystem underpinning investor confidence in India’s securities markets.

Long Description : In proceedings relating to disabled officer cadets, the Supreme Court has given the Union government six more weeks to file its response on rehabilitation and support frameworks. The case highlights the intersection of disability rights, service regulations, and the duty of the State to ensure dignified treatment of trainees injured in the line of duty. It is relevant for understanding how constitutional guarantees, including equality and non‑discrimination, apply in disciplined forces. For exams, the issue can be linked with topics such as fundamental rights, welfare obligations of the State, evolving jurisprudence on disability, and reforms in military human resource policies.

Long Description : Authorities in Delhi have decided that non‑BS VI compliant vehicles coming from outside the National Capital will be barred from entering the city from 18 December onwards. The measure forms part of a broader strategy to curb vehicular emissions and address severe air quality deterioration, especially in winter. This policy supplements earlier restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan and highlights the growing role of emission standards in urban environmental governance. For exam aspirants, it is a good case study linking environment legislation, federal coordination, and administrative measures used to manage urban pollution in India.

Long Description : India and Jordan, celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, have used recent high‑level exchanges to broaden their partnership beyond traditional areas. India has proposed a significant increase in bilateral trade over the next five years and is exploring cooperation in critical minerals, renewable energy, water management, health, and pharmaceuticals. Memorandums of Understanding have been signed on renewable energy, water resources, cultural exchanges, digital public infrastructure, and a heritage twinning arrangement between Petra and Ellora. For exams, these developments illustrate diversification of India’s West Asia policy, integration of India Stack into diplomacy, and the strategic importance of food, fertiliser, and water security linkages.

Long Description : New Delhi is hosting the second edition of the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, bringing together policymakers, experts, and practitioners to discuss evidence‑based integration of traditional systems with modern healthcare. India, which also hosted the first summit, is using the platform to highlight its AYUSH ecosystem, research initiatives, and regulatory frameworks for quality and safety. The event focuses on universal health coverage, innovation, biodiversity conservation, and economic opportunities in the traditional medicine sector. For aspirants, the summit links to topics on global health governance, soft power, One Health, and the role of traditional knowledge in sustainable development and public health strategies.

Long Description : Reports highlight that researchers are investigating the nuclear genome of the Sahariya tribal community in Madhya Pradesh to identify genetic factors that may contribute to an unusually high incidence of tuberculosis. The study aims to complement socio‑economic and environmental explanations with molecular insights into susceptibility. It has implications for designing targeted interventions, personalised medicine approaches, and culturally sensitive public health strategies for vulnerable groups. For exams, this topic interlinks tribal health, neglected diseases, social determinants of health, and the emerging use of genomics in public health policy in India.

Long Description : As part of its engagement with Ethiopia, India has agreed to assist in establishing a data centre at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strengthening digital infrastructure and e‑governance capacity. The two countries have also signed an arrangement to enhance coordination in multilateral forums, including the United Nations, reflecting convergence on global governance issues. These initiatives fit within India’s broader push to export digital public infrastructure and build technology partnerships across the Global South. They are relevant for exam topics such as digital diplomacy, South–South cooperation, and India’s evolving role in shaping multilateral norms on data, development, and security.