News of The Day: 4th December 2025

News of The Day – 4th December 2025

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

(with Syllabus Relevance)

• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health recommends separate pricing policy for non-scheduled (non-price-controlled) drugs which form 80%+ of the market.
• About Scheduled and non-scheduled drugs.
  • Provisions of classification and regulations.

(GS-2: Polity and Governance)

• IBC Amendment Bill, 2025
• Issues: Undervaluation of assets, delays, low recovery.
• Recommendations: Global bidding mandatory for large cases, professional valuers’ registry, timelines for valuation.

(GS-2: Polity and Governance)

• SC upheld that illegal immigrants/entrants cannot claim fundamental rights under Article 19 (e.g., freedom of speech, movement, profession).
• Only Article 21 (right to life & personal liberty) available in limited manner.
• Clarified difference between “illegal immigrant” and “foreigner”; strengthens government’s deportation powers.

• Recent Amendments to Environment Safeguards.
• Critique of recent amendments/easing of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) norms, Forest Conservation Act changes, and Coastal Regulation Zone relaxations.
• Argues that post-facto clearances, reduced public consultation, and dilution of “no-go” areas are systematically weakening environmental governance.

(GS-2: IR)

• SOLAW 2025: key findings
• Warns that 1/3rd of global land is degraded; water scarcity affects 3 billion people.
• India-specific: 30% land degraded, groundwater depletion in Punjab-Haryana, NW India.

• About SOLAW.

(GS-3: Economy)

• About Domestic Systemically Important Banks.
• Same three banks retained in 2025 D-SIB list (bucket system).
• Required to maintain higher CET-1 capital (additional 0.20% to 0.80%).

• MCA raised thresholds: Paid-up capital ≤ ₹4 crore (from ₹2 cr) and turnover ≤ ₹40 crore (from ₹20 cr) to qualify as “small company”.
• Benefits: Reduced compliance burden, fewer filings, easier mergers, lower audit requirements under Companies Act.

(GS-3: Environment)

• Goa-based NCPOR (under MoES) released new findings/data from 15th Indian Antarctic Expedition & Arctic missions.
• Key: New ice-core data showing rapid warming, Southern Ocean carbon sink studies, biodiversity in Larsemann Hills.
• India’s Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, Bharati stations; Himadri in the Arctic.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• About Discovery of Alaknanda Galaxy.
• Challenges previous belief that spirals formed much later; implications for galaxy evolution models.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• About Malaria parasites.
• Plasmodium sporozoites use corkscrew motion to penetrate skin and migrate to blood vessels.
• Helps explain rapid infection post mosquito bite; potential new drug/vaccine targets by blocking motility proteins.