News of The Day: 23rd December 2025

News of The Day – 23rd  December 2025

SOURCES: The Hindu, Indian Express, Live Mint, Business Standard, Economic Times, PIB and AIR, etc

(with Syllabus Relevance)

(GS-1: Modern History)

• Cabinet Mission Plan’s grouping proposal (Assam in Group C with Bengal).
• About Gopinath Bordoloi
  • Prevented Assam’s inclusion in East Pakistan; highlights pre-Partition debates.

• Key Findings of the Report
  • Over 13 lakh Indian students studied abroad in 2024
  • Proposes ‘campus within campus’ model for foreign institutions, student mobility easing, and target of 1 lakh+ inbound students by 2030.
•  Aims to reduce brain drain, enhance soft power, and boost research collaborations.

(GS-2: Polity and Governance)

• About ‘SHAKTI Scholars’
  • Young Research Fellowship for policy-oriented studies on women’s issues.
• Invites applications from students/researchers; promotes evidence-based interventions for gender equality.

(GS-2: Polity & Governance)

• Karnataka Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2025 passed.
• About Social boycott and its practices.
• Aims to protect dignity; appoints prohibition officers for enforcement.

(GS-2: International Relations)

• About India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
  • Zero-duty access for all Indian exports; tariff reductions on 95% of NZ exports.
• Aims to double bilateral trade in 5 years; NZ commits $20 billion FDI.
• Boosts sectors like agriculture, services, MSMEs; enhances opportunities for students and skilled workers.

(GS-3: Defence)

• About ‘Anjadip’: Third of eight ASW SWC built by GRSE; over 80% indigenous.
  • Equipped with torpedoes, rockets, and sonar for anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, and mine-laying.
• Enhances coastal defence; fifth warship delivered by GRSE in 2025.

(GS-3: Environment)

• About Great Indian Bustard (GIB)
• SC tightens safeguards, redraws conservation zones for Green Energy Corridor.
  • Measures against power line collisions
  • Breeding success via artificial insemination noted.
  • Balances renewable energy goals with biodiversity protection.

(GS-3: Environment)

• About Kuttanad Wetland Agricultural System
  • Unique below-sea-level farming system in Kerala; Ramsar site.
• Faces challenges like flooding, salinity; recent soil tests show concerns (e.g., aluminium levels).
• Importance for biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience.

(GS-3: Science & Technology)

• What is a superkilonova? 
• Hypothetical double explosion: supernova followed by neutron star merger.
• It produces heavy elements like gold.
• Implications for understanding stellar evolution and gravitational waves.

(GS-3: Science & Technology)

• Niigata assembly approves restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
• First TEPCO restart post-Fukushima (2011)
  • Aims to reduce fossil fuel dependence.
• safety concerns