Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (Shanti Bill)

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Atomic Energy Bill, 2025, branded as the SHANTI Bill, marking the biggest reform in India’s nuclear sector since 1962.

SHANTI Bill :

• A comprehensive nuclear-sector reform bill replacing fragmented laws and modernising India’s nuclear governance, safety, liability, and industry participation framework.
• Ministry: Introduced by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) under the Prime Minister; regulatory reforms involve creating an independent nuclear safety authority.

Law Governing Nuclear Energy Currently:

• India’s nuclear sector is presently overseen primarily by:

1. Atomic Energy Act, 1962
2. Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLND Act)

These laws restrict private participation and impose ambiguous liability burdens.

• Aim: To enable large-scale nuclear expansion, attract private and global investment, modernise regulatory oversight, reform liability rules, and accelerate India’s path to 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.

Key Features:

• Opening the Nuclear Value Chain to Private Players: Allows private sector entry in exploration, fuel fabrication, equipment manufacturing, and potentially plant operations.
• Unified Legal Framework: Consolidates outdated laws into a streamlined licensing, safety, compliance, and operations structure.
• Reformed Nuclear Liability Architecture: Clear delineation of operator-supplier responsibilities, insurance-backed caps, and government backstopping-aligned with global norms.
• Independent Nuclear Safety Authority: New regulator ensuring transparent, professional, globally benchmarked safety oversight.
• Dedicated Nuclear Tribunal: Specialised mechanism to settle liability and contractual disputes efficiently.
• Boost to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): Supports R&D and deployment of SMRs for industrial and grid-scale decarbonisation.

Significance

• Breaks 60+ years of state monopoly, enabling private innovation and investment.
• Critical for achieving 100 GW nuclear capacity and India’s net-zero by 2070 target.
• Strengthens energy security, reducing dependence on coal and imported fuels.

Siliserh Lake and Kopra Jalashay Added to the Ramsar List

• Siliserh Lake in Alwar district, Rajasthan, and Kopra Jalashay near Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, have been added to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar List), taking India’s tally of Ramsar sites to 96.

About Siliserh Lake, Rajasthan:

• A human-made / artificial lake and wetland, now recognised as a Ramsar site (Site no. 2581).
• Important waterbody in a semi-arid zone, vital as a water source and biodiversity-rich habitat.

Located in:

• Alwar district, Rajasthan, about 8 miles southwest of Alwar city.
• Lies within the buffer zone of the Sariska Tiger Reserve, enhancing its eco-tourism and conservation value.

History:

• Built in 1845 by Maharaja Vinay Singh, ruler of Alwar, by constructing an embankment on a tributary of the Ruparel River.
• Created primarily to supply drinking water to Alwar, as evidenced by old aqueducts still visible around the lake.

Key Features

• Area of about 7 km², flanked by dense woodland and cenotaphs on its embankment.
• Supports 149 bird species and 17 mammal species, including:

1. Vulnerable river tern (Sterna aurantia),
2. Endangered tiger (Panthera tigris),
3. 1% of the biogeographic population of black stork (Ciconia nigra).

• Popular for birdwatching, with sightings of cranes, colourful kingfishers and many more species.
• Provides drinking water, recreation and tourism, but faces threats from intensive agriculture and expanding human settlements; a restoration plan is underway.

About Kopra Jalashay, Chhattisgarh:

• A reservoir-type wetland now designated as a Ramsar site (Site no. 2583).
• Originally constructed mainly for irrigation, now recognised for its hydrological and ecological importance.

Located in:

• In Chhattisgarh, in the upper catchments of the River Mahanadi, near Bilaspur.
• Mainly surrounded by farmland and a few villages.

Key Features

• Has an extensive open water area with shallow, nutrient-rich backwaters.
• Strong hydrological and ecological connectivity, creating a mosaic of habitats.
• Supports more than 60 migratory bird species that use it for nesting, feeding and as a stop-over site.

Notable species include

1. Vulnerable greater spotted eagle (Aquila clanga),
2. Endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).

• Valued by local communities and tourists for its natural beauty and birdwatching opportunities.
• Faces threats from siltation, invasive non-native species, and intensive agriculture; conservation measures are proposed, but a formal management plan is yet to be prepared.

Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU)

• The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a new CoalSETU window under the NRS Linkage Policy, enabling long-term coal linkages for any industrial use and exports.

About CoalSETU :

• Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU) is a new auction-based coal linkage window under the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) Linkage Policy, allowing any domestic industrial buyer to secure long-term coal linkages for own use or export (up to 50%), except resale within India.
• Ministry: Ministry of Coal, Government of India

Aim of the Policy

• To ensure transparent, seamless and efficient utilisation of domestic coal resources.
• To promote ease of doing business and reduce dependence on coal imports.
• To boost availability of washed coal and support export opportunities.

Key Features-

New CoalSETU Window in NRS Policy (2016):

• Allows any industrial consumer to participate in coal linkage auctions.
• Existing NRS auctions for cement, sponge iron, steel, aluminium, CPPs will continue.
• These users may also bid in the CoalSETU window.

No End-Use Restrictions:

• Coal can be used for own consumption, washing, or export (up to 50%).
• Coking coal excluded from this window.
• Traders barred from bidding to prevent speculative hoarding.

Export Flexibility:

• Companies may export up to 50% of allotted coal.
• Washed coal allowed for export.
• Coal can be shared across group companies as per operational needs.

Boost to Washery Operators:

• Encourages growth of private washeries.
• Improves domestic supply of washed, cleaner coal.
• May reduce import dependence and improve export viability.

Alignment with Coal Sector Reforms:

• Complements the 2020 reform allowing commercial mining without end-use restrictions.
• Strengthens fair, market-driven allocation of mineral resources.

Significance of the Policy:

• Promotes Transparent & Competitive Allocation: Auction-based linkages ensure fair market access and remove closed-door allocations.
• Reduces Import Dependence: By expanding domestic access and improving washed coal availability, industries can reduce reliance on costly imports.
• Supports Industrial Growth: Provides long-term assured coal supply to small, medium and new industries previously excluded.

                                                                                                                                                                                         -Source: PIB-

115 Years of Savarkar’s Poem ‘Sagara Pran Talamalala’

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation addressed a cultural programme in Sri Vijayapuram to mark 115 years of Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s poem Sagara Pran Talamalala.

About Poem ‘Sagara Pran Talamalala’:

• ‘Sagara Pran Talamalala’ (often rendered as Sagara Pran Talmalala / Ne Majasi Ne…) is a Marathi patriotic poem expressing an exiled revolutionary’s torment, homesickness and yearning for the motherland, with the sea personified as a messenger between the patriot and India.
• Written by: Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883–1966), revolutionary, social reformer, writer and Hindutva ideologue.
• The poem was later immortalised in song form by Lata Mangeshkar, with music by Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Circumstances of Composition:

• Composed around 1909 on the shores of Brighton, England, when Savarkar was a young revolutionary at India House, London.
• Savarkar was under surveillance and facing imminent repression after the arrest of his elder brother and the revolutionary assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra, whom he had influenced at India House.
• The poem captures his inner conflict—torn between commitment to armed struggle in foreign land and a desperate desire to return to “Matru-bhoomi” (motherland).
• The opening invocation to the sea-urging it to carry him back to India-has since come to symbolise the anguish of countless exiles and political prisoners in the freedom movement.

Other Literary Works of Savarkar:

• The Indian War of Independence 1857: A landmark reinterpretation of the 1857 uprising as a national war of independence, countering British narratives of a “mutiny”.
• Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? : Lays out his idea of Hindutva as a cultural–civilisational identity based on common nation (rashtra), heritage and geography, encompassing Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
• My Transportation for Life (Mazi Janmathep): Autobiographical account of his incarceration in Cellular Jail, Andamans, describing brutal conditions, psychological suffering, and resolve.
• Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History: A civilisational narrative highlighting periods of Hindu resistance and resurgence, written from a distinctly nationalist–militant lens.
• Hindu Pad-Padshahi & Other Historical Works: On the Maratha empire and Hindu political power.

Poetry & Plays:

• Patriotic poems (including ‘Sagara Pran Talamalala’, ‘Jayostute’, ‘Ne Majasi Ne…’) and plays such as Sanyast Khadga, Uttarkriya, combining themes of liberty, duty, sacrifice, and rationalism.

Geminid Meteor Shower

• The Geminid meteor shower is set to peak over India between December 13–15, 2025, offering up to 100–120 meteors per hour under dark skies.

About Geminid Meteor:

• The Geminids are an annual meteor shower observed every December, known for their high meteor rates, bright fireballs, and slow-moving streaks, making them among the most spectacular celestial events visible from Earth.

Origin:

• Unlike most meteor showers that originate from comets, the Geminids arise from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, a rocky body with a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun.
• Extreme solar heating causes Phaethon to shed debris, which Earth encounters each year, producing the meteor shower.

Why it occurs?

• The shower appears to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which rises higher in the sky after midnight, increasing meteor visibility.
• Earth passes through the dense debris stream of 3200 Phaethon between mid-November and late December, with peak activity in mid-December.
• The phenomenon is visible globally, with better rates in the Northern Hemisphere, including India.

Key Characteristics

• Peak rate: Up to 120 meteors per hour under dark, clear skies
• Colour: Often yellow or white, sometimes producing bright fireballs
• Speed: Moderately fast (~35 km/s), slower than Perseids
• Observation: Best seen from midnight to pre-dawn, without telescopes

Significance

• Scientific importance: Helps astronomers study asteroid-origin meteoroid streams and near-Earth objects.
• Public engagement: One of the most accessible astronomical events, promoting scientific curiosity and citizen science.
• Planetary defence insight: Understanding Phaethon improves tracking of potentially hazardous asteroids.

Research Ecosystem Beyond STEM Priorities

• Policy debates propose aligning PhD topics with “national priorities,” but non-STEM research continues to face funding gaps, weak institutional support, and limited academic autonomy.

Need for Non-STEM Research Ecosystem

• Balanced Knowledge Ecosystem: Sustained basic research builds long-term scientific capacity.
• Future-Ready Innovation: Supporting non-immediate research avoids short-termism and prepares India for emerging technologies.
• Inclusive Academic Growth: Recognising the humanities and social sciences strengthens policy thinking and societal understanding essential for science governance.
• Talent Retention: Funding & research freedom reduce brain drain and support young scholars’ careers.

Challenges Faced in Non-STEM Research Ecosystem

• Irregular Fellowship Payments: Scholars often face months-long delays; E.g., DST/UGC fellows report payment gaps of 6–9 months, disrupting research continuity.
• Low Stipend Levels: University-funded non-NET PhD students receive only ₹8,000/month, unchanged since 2012, below minimum wage benchmarks.
• Weak Industry-Academia Linkages: Industry-funded PhDs remain rare; E.g. collaborations outside IITs are minimal despite a research workforce of 2.8 lakh PhD scholars nationwide.
• Political Vulnerability: Social sciences face risks of topic restrictions that discourage unbiased inquiry.

Way Forward

• Timely Funding: Implement automated, predictable fellowship disbursement cycles.
• Stipend Revision: Regularly index stipends to inflation and living costs similar to periodic adjustments under India’s Junior Research Fellowship norms.
• Industry Integration: Expand doctoral programmes with co-funded industry partnerships and goal-oriented research; E.g. Emulate Germany’s Fraunhofer model linking labs and industries.
• Protect Research Autonomy: Establish academic freedom charters to safeguard non-STEM inquiry and avoid politically motivated topic selection.

India-Italy Relations

• The India–Italy Business Forum was held in Mumbai during the visit of the Italian Deputy Prime Minister.
• Key Outcome: Both countries signed the protocol for the India–Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC), outlining a concrete roadmap for economic partnership.

India-Italy Relations

• Strategic Partnership: Relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2023; both sides adopted the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029 to guide future cooperation.
• Political Relations: Regular high-level interactions, like meetings between PMs at G7 and G20 in 2024, offer strategic direction and continuity.
• Trade Relations: Italy is India’s fourth-largest trading partner within the EU, with bilateral trade surpassing USD 14.5 billion in 2023–24.
• Industry & Investment: Key focus areas include transportation, food processing, green technologies, sustainable mobility, and advanced manufacturing.
• Defence Cooperation: A 2023 defence cooperation agreement enhances security policy and defence technology collaboration.
• Multilateral Alignment: Italy supports key Indian initiatives like the ISA, IMEC, and GBA; it helped India join the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group.
• Science & Technology: The Executive Programme of Cooperation for 2025-2027 prioritises AI, digitalisation, clean energy, and quantum technologies.
• Mobility Pact: A 2023 Migration and Mobility Agreement promote legal migration, including a pilot programme to train Indian health professionals for employment in Italy.
• Cultural Ties: A formal Executive Programme on Cultural Cooperation for 2023-27 promotes mutual cultural understanding and exchange.

Mexico to Raise Import Tariffs on Non-FTA Countries

• Mexico is set to raise import tariffs on goods from countries without trade agreements effective January 1, 2026.
• Coverage: The tariff hike will apply to over 1,400 product lines imported from non-FTA countries.
• Range: Revised tariffs will range from 5% to 50%, depending on product category and sector sensitivity.
• Peak Rate: Sensitive sectors like steel and automobiles will attract the maximum tariff rate of 50%.
• Standard Rate: Most other affected goods will see tariffs increase to around 35%
• Impact: China and India will face the highest impact, followed by South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Brazil.

Rationale-

• Shield domestic industries and jobs from “unfairly” cheap imports from Asia.
• Generate about $3.76 billion to reduce Mexico’s fiscal deficit.
• Promotes industrial sovereignty by replacing imports with domestically manufactured goods.
• Addresses U.S. concerns over Chinese goods bypassing U.S tariffs through the Mexican backdoor.

An Overview of India-Mexico Bilateral Relations

• Diplomatic Ties: India and Mexico established diplomatic relations in 1950, with Mexico being the first Latin American country to recognise India.
• Partnership: The two countries share a ‘Privileged Partnership’ formally established in 2007.
• Trade Standing: Mexico is India’s second-largest Latin American trading partner after Brazil.
• Trade Volume: Bilateral trade reached $11.7 billion in 2024, with India recording a trade surplus.
• Indian Exports: Vehicles, auto parts, organic chemicals, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
• Space Cooperation: ISRO and the Mexican Space Agency cooperate on satellite-based crop monitoring and drought assessment.

Gold Card Visa Programme

• U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the “Trump Gold Card” visa programme.
• Immigration Pathway: Gold Card visa programme offers expedited U.S. permanent residency through direct financial contributions to the government.
• It follows a pay-to-play model where direct contributions fast-track Green Card access.
• Launch: The programme was launched in December 2025 to effectively replace the EB-5 investor visa.
• Unlike the EB-5 investor visa, the Gold Card does not require job creation.
• Tax Liability: Gold Card holders are subject to United States taxation on their worldwide income.

Visa Framework

• Visa Status: The programme does not create a new visa category under U.S. immigration law.
• Qualification: Applicants must independently qualify under existing high-priority employment-based Green Card pathways
• EB-1A Route: For individuals with sustained national or international acclaim in their field.
• EB-2 NIW Route: For individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability.
• Benefit Evidence: The financial gift is treated as evidence of substantial benefit to the United States.

Financial Structure

• Individual Tier: Requires a $1 million ‘gift’ to the U.S. Treasury and a non-refundable processing fee.
• Corporate Tier: Allows U.S. companies to sponsor employees through a $2 million contribution.
• Future Tier: Proposes a $5 million contribution requirement for ultra-wealthy individuals.

Key Benefits

• The programme expedites Legal Permanent Residency with full Green Card status.
• It allows naturalisation after five years, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen.
• Companies can bypass H-1B lottery limits and Green Card backlogs through this programme.
• Primary applicant may include spouse and unmarried children under 21 as dependents, subject to additional per-person financial contribution.

Convention against Discrimination in Education

• UNESCO unveiled a report titled Right to Education: Past, Present and Future which reflected on the achievements of the 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education.

About the Convention

• Origin - It was adopted in 1960 by UNESCO.
• Legality: It is the First legally binding international instrument which is entirely dedicated to the right to education.
• Rights and Obligations: It reaffirms education as a  fundamental human right and obligates states to ensure:
• Free and compulsory Primary education
• Secondary Education accessible and available to all
• Higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of individual capacity
• It bans any form of discrimination in education etc.
• India has not ratified it.

GlowCas9

• Indian scientists have developed GlowCas9, a CRISPR protein that glows while performing gene editing.

About GlowCas9

• It is a bioluminescent version of Cas9 formed by fusing Cas9 with an enzyme derived from deep-sea shrimp proteins.
• The glowing allows monitoring CRISPR operations in living cells, tissues, etc. without harming them.
• CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene-editing technology that enables removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.
• The Cas9 enzyme acts as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ to cut strands of DNA.

National Hub for Quantum Communication

• IIT Madras inaugurated India’s National Hub for Quantum Communication at its campus under the National Quantum Mission (NQM).

About National Hub for Quantum Communication

• AIM: To accelerate national capabilities in quantum secure communication, thereby safeguarding India's digital infrastructure against potential threats from advanced quantum computers.
• The hub will focus on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) networks, post-quantum security, quantum memory and repeaters, and satellite-based quantum communication.
• It will also drive co-development programs, large-scale testbeds, and deep-tech startup support.

Yellow Line

• The Israeli military chief called the Yellow Line between Israel and Gaza as the new border.

About the Yellow Line

• The Yellow Line marks the zone to which Israeli forces have withdrawn under the 2025 US backed ceasefire.
• It divides Gaza into two parts i.e. Israeli-controlled eastern areas and Palestinian-administered western areas.