December 1st week current affairs (NDA 2025)

DEFENCE NEWS

• The United Service Institution of India (USI) hosted the Third Annual Indian Military Heritage Festival (IMHF) at its New Delhi campus on 14-15 November 2025, bringing together senior military leaders, policymakers, diplomats, scholars, authors, think-tanks, industry representatives and the public.
• The 14th edition of Joint Military Exercise EKUVERIN between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) began at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, held from 02–15 December 2025 (14-day joint exercise).
• The Government of India (GoI) launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) to Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft escape system at a controlled velocity at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility, TBRL (Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory), Chandigarh.
• The 1st Annual Bilateral Meeting between the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was held in Manila, Philippines on 02 December 2025.
• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) secured additional defence contracts worth ₹2,461.62 crore from the Indian Army (IA) through an emergency procurement
• The Indian Army (IA) Southern Command conducted a successful combat launch of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test range in the Bay of Bengal, accurately striking its target and reaffirming India’s long-range precision strike capability and operational readiness.
• India is preparing to commission INS Aridhaman, its third indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), enhancing the nation‟s sea-based nuclear deterrent.
• The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft emergency escape system at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility, TBRL (Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory) Chandigarh, Haryana, under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• The 5th edition of India–Malaysia Joint Exercise Harimau Shakti–2025 began at Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan, and will be held from 05–18 December 2025.
• The 8th edition of Exercise Garuda, a bilateral Indo–French air exercise, was held at Air Base 118, Mont-de-Marsan, France.
• The 10th edition of the India–Indonesia Joint Special Forces Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI commenced at the Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh, and is being held from 03–12 December 2025.
• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov co-chaired the 22nd India–Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on December 4, 2025.
• The Indian Navy conducted a grand Operational Demonstration (Op Demo) at Shangumugham Beach, Thiruvananthapuram, on 03 December 2025 showcasing its operational prowess, maritime capabilities, and technological excellence.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over seven indigenous technologies developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme to the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

NATIONAL NEWS

• The India Global Forum (IGF) launched a $250 million fund at IGF Middle East 2025 in Dubai to support high-growth Indian consumer and industrial companies in international markets.
• India has been re-elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for the 2025–2029 term, reaffirming its global leadership in education, science, culture, and communication.
• The 60th All India DGP–IGP Conference 2025 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the IIM Campus, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India has achieved a record foodgrain production of 357 million tonnes in 2025, the highest in the country’s history
• India was re-elected to the IMO Council in Category B, securing 154 out of 169 valid votes, the highest vote share in the category, marking its second consecutive term as the top voted nation
• The 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) has been formally constituted through a Gazette Notification dated 03 November 2025, as confirmed by the Ministry of Finance during the Winter Session of Parliament
• The Government of India announced a major initiative to evaluate the country’s standing across 26 global indices to identify improvement areas and strengthen India’s global position
• The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), aimed at providing pension security to low-income and unorganised sector workers, has recorded 8.34 crore enrolments as of 31 October 2025
• The Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (PAHAL) scheme, launched in January 2015, continues to improve transparency and efficiency in India’s LPG subsidy system
• India’s total installed electricity generation capacity reached 5,05,023 MW as of 31 October 2025
• The Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development, organised a National Symposium on NAKSHA and LandStack at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
• The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is slated to be renamed Seva Teerth.
• Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi has been recognised as India‟s first water positive airport among airports handling over 40 million passengers annually
• India inaugurated the 18th Plenary Meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in New Delhi, held from 2–5 December 2025.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment runs the National Career Service (NCS) Portal, a one-stop digital platform offering career-related services such as job search, job matching, counselling, skill development information, and job fair updates.
• The Department of Telecommunication has withdrawn its directive mandating smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all devices sold or imported in India
• The Lok Sabha has passed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill 2025 along with the Health and National Security Cess Bill 2025, introducing a revised tax structure on tobacco, cigarettes, and pan masala, commonly referred to as sin goods India will assume the chairship of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the first time during the Council of Member States meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, and will serve through 2026.
• Bharat Taxi, operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, has started pilot operations in Delhi and Gujarat, offering an alternative to private cab aggregators with a driver-owned cooperative model
• 231 crore Aadhaar authentication transactions were recorded in November 2025, reflecting an 8.5% year-on-year growth compared to November 2024
• Bharat Taxi is a cooperative ride-hailing platform positioned as an alternative to Uber and Ola, launched under the Union Ministry of Cooperation and supported by the National e Governance Division
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted in-principle approval for registering Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) under SEBI InvIT Regulations, 2014.
• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the global arm of NPCI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ACLEDA Bank Plc., the first publicly listed commercial bank in Cambodia, to enable QR-based cross-border transactions between India and Cambodia.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Cyclone Ditwah formed over the Southwest Bay of Bengal in November 2025, prompting India Meteorological Department (IMD) alerts for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and South Andhra Pradesh.
• The Oxford University Press (OUP) selected “Rage Bait” as the Word of the Year 2025.
• The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a global Non-Profit Organization (NPO), in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), launched the second phase of Solar Energy for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR-Phase II) in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
• United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Stefan Priesner of Austria as the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in India for a four-year term beginning 1 December 2025 and ending in 2029. Canada has announced policy changes by removing Syria from its list of states supporting terrorism and revoking the terror designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Vivek Chaturvedi, a 1990 batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officer, has been appointed Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to assume charge from December 1, 2025.
• Vice Admiral Sanjay Sadhu, AVSM, NM assumed charge as Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A) on 28 November 2025.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) assigned Praveen Kumar, the current Director General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP),, the additional charge of DG, Border Security Force (BSF) effective from 1 December 2025.
• Air Marshal Tejbir Singh has taken charge as Director General (Inspection & Safety) at Air Headquarters.
• Aparna Garg, a 1987-batch IRAS officer, assumed charge as Member (Finance), Railway Board on 01 December 2025.
• DP World appointed Abhishek Sharma as its new brand ambassador, joining Sachin Tendulkar and Tommy Fleetwood.
• Nagpur University has appointed Manali Makarand Kshirsagar as its first woman vice chancellor since its establishment in 1923, marking a historic leadership milestone.
• AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), which recently received the RBI‟s (Reserve Bank of India) in-principle approval to become a universal bank, has appointed Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna as brand ambassadors.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Vikram Sahu as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bank of America N.A. (BANA) in India for a three-year term.
• Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the retail arm of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has appointed Jeyandran Venugopal as its first-ever President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

AWARDS & HONOURS

• Camikara was named „Rum Brand of the Year at The Spirits Business Awards 2025 in London, becoming the first Indian rum to win the global title
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India honoured the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) for winning the 2025 United Nations Population Award under the Institutional Category
• Luana Lopes Lara, a 29-year-old Brazilian entrepreneur, has become the world‟s youngest self-made woman billionaire, following the rapid rise of her fintech startup Kalshi, now valued at USD 11 billion
• Microsoft announced the winners of the Microsoft Store Awards 2025, recognising high performing applications that enhanced user experience, productivity, technical innovation, and ecosystem impact on Windows platforms.
• World Athletics Awards 2025 honoured Armand Duplantis (Sweden) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (United States of America) as World Athletes of the Year for their outstanding performances and undefeated 2025 season.

SPORTS NEWS

• Ahmedabad has been officially selected to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, winning over Abuja, Nigeria
• South Africa defeated India by 408 runs in the second Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, marking India’s worst-ever Test defeat by runs
• India’s Rohit Sharma became the highest six-hitter in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), surpassing Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi’s record of 351 sixes
• Virat Kohli scored his 52nd One-Day International (ODI) century, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds, becoming the first male cricketer to score 50+ centuries in a single format
• Andre Russell, one of the most explosive all-rounders in IPL history, announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League, ending his long association with the Kolkata Knight Riders
• The Indian men‟s hockey team won the silver medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2025 held in Malaysia
• The Archery Premier League (APL) has won the title of Emerging Professional Sports Event of the Year at the India Sports Awards 2025 during FICCI TURF 2025, the 15th Global Sports Summit held in New Delhi

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The Russian spacecraft ,Soyuz MS-28 was successfully launched carrying 3 crew members— two Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts and one American NASA astronaut—to the International Space Station (ISS) for an 8-month mission.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Skyroot Aerospace’s Infinity Campus in Hyderabad, unveiling Vikram-I, India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle capable of placing satellites into orbit.
• V. Narayanan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), inaugurated the Anant Centre of Excellence for Navigation (ACEN), India’s first private navigation technology hub, at Kinfra Park, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).
• Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) delivered Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Amulya, the third of eight Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) built under India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• CSIR–NAL (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories) launched the production version of the indigenous Hansa-3(NG) trainer aircraft on 29 November 2025, with manufacturing undertaken by Pioneer Clean Amps at a ₹150-crore facility in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers developed and deployed India‟s first indigenous Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) for ports.
• The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), under the Ministry of Ayush, launched the second edition of its flagship industry–research interface initiative, SIDDHI 2.0 in Vijayawada.
• Five products from Tamil Nadu have received the Geographical Indications (GI) tag, recognising their uniqueness, heritage value, and regional identity.