20 December 2025

• Defence: India's defence production hits Rs 1.54 lakh crore in FY25, the highest ever. Exports reach 80+ countries.
• Coast Guard: ICGS Amulya, the third Adamya-class vessel, is commissioned at Paradip.
• Agnipath: CAPF reservation for ex-Agniveers rises from 10% to 50% in Group-C posts, starting with BSF.
• Environment: The Supreme Court rules that CSR spending on environmental protection is a constitutional obligation, not merely a corporate option.
• Arctic: NOAA reports the Arctic had its warmest and wettest year on record in 2025.

GS area: GS 3 (Defence; Economy)

India's defence production in FY 2024-25 reached Rs 1.54 lakh crore, the highest level ever recorded. Exports crossed Rs 23,000 crore for the first time.

• Total defence production: Rs 1.54 lakh crore in FY 2024-25. This is the highest annual defence output in India's history.
• Indigenous production: Rs 1,27,434 crore in domestic manufacturing, representing a 174% increase from the FY 2014-15 level.
• Export record: Rs 23,622 crore worth of defence equipment exported to over 80 countries in FY 2024-25.
• Industry base: approximately 16,000 MSMEs are now part of the defence supply chain.
• Licences issued: 788 industrial licences granted to 462 companies since 2014.
• Private sector share: approximately 23% of total defence production comes from private companies, up from a negligible share a decade ago.
• FDI limits: foreign direct investment is permitted up to 74% through the automatic route and 100% through the government route in defence manufacturing.

Static linkage: Defence Indigenisation; Make in India; MSME in Defence

GS area: GS 3 (Defence; Geography)

The Indian Coast Guard commissioned ICGS Amulya at Paradip, Odisha. It is the third vessel of the Adamya class of Fast Patrol Vessels built by Goa Shipyard Limited.

• Class name: Adamya class, a series of indigenously designed Fast Patrol Vessels.
• Builder: Goa Shipyard Limited, a public sector defence shipyard.
• Indigenous content: over 60% of the vessel's components and systems are indigenously sourced.
• Dimensions and performance: 51 metres in length, maximum speed of 27 knots, and endurance of 1,500 nautical miles without resupply.
• Deployment base: Paradip, Odisha, covering the northern Bay of Bengal.
• Operational roles: maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling and anti-poaching operations, pollution response and search and rescue.

Static linkage: Indian Coast Guard; Maritime Security; Make in India Shipbuilding

GS area: GS 3 (Defence; Social Justice; Governance)

The Central Government increased the reservation for ex-Agniveers in Central Armed Police Force Group-C posts from 10% to 50%. The change begins with the BSF.

• Previous reservation: 10% of Group-C posts in CAPFs were reserved for ex-Agniveers.
• New reservation: 50% of Group-C posts in CAPFs, starting with the Border Security Force.
• Physical eligibility: ex-Agniveers are exempt from the Physical Standard Test and Physical Efficiency Test, recognising their existing military training.
• Written exam: they must still qualify the written examination, maintaining the intellectual standard of selection.
• Age relaxation: 5 years for the first Agnipath batch; 3 years for subsequent batches.
• Agnipath Scheme recap: a 4-year military service scheme for soldiers, sailors and airmen below officer rank. At the end of four years, 25% are retained in permanent service; 75% are released as Agniveers.
• Seva Nidhi package: the financial package at exit is Rs 10.04 lakh (tax-free), comprising the Agniveer's contribution and an equal government contribution with interest.
• No pension or gratuity: released Agniveers are not entitled to pension or gratuity, which remains the principal criticism of the scheme.

Static linkage: Agnipath Scheme; CAPFs; Reservation Policy

GS area: GS 1 (Geography; Climate); GS 3 (Disaster Management)

The India Meteorological Department issued a Red Alert for very dense fog in Uttar Pradesh. Visibility fell below 1 km across large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

• Alert level: Red Alert for very dense fog, indicating visibility below 1 km and severe disruption risk.
• Most common fog type: radiation fog. It forms on clear winter nights when the ground loses heat rapidly by radiation, cooling the air near the surface below the dew point.
• Why north India: the flat Indo-Gangetic Plain has shallow cold pools, light winds and high moisture from irrigation. These conditions favour radiation fog on calm winter nights.
• Other fog types for comparison:
  • Valley fog: cold air drains into low-lying areas.
  • Advection fog: warm moist air moves over a cold surface.
  • Freezing fog: fog that deposits ice on surfaces below 0 degrees Celsius.
  • Evaporation fog: cold air passes over a warm water body.
  • Upslope fog: moist air rises and cools along terrain.
• Temperature inversion: a key contributor. In an inversion layer, temperature increases with altitude rather than decreasing, trapping pollutants and moisture near the surface and intensifying fog.
• Impacts: flight delays and diversions at Delhi, Lucknow and Varanasi; rail delays on major north Indian routes; worsening of PM2.5 air quality.

Static linkage: Climatology; IMD Alert Colours; Disaster Management

GS area: GS 2 (International Relations; UN)

The UN Security Council condemned drone attacks in Sudan's South Kordofan region that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers deployed under UNISFA.

• Mission: UNISFA (United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei). It monitors the Abyei Area, a disputed region on the Sudan-South Sudan border.
• Attack: drone strikes in South Kordofan killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
• India as troop contributor: India is among the five largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping globally. As of late 2025 approximately 5,000 Indian personnel are deployed across nine missions.
• Historical sacrifice: approximately 180 Indian peacekeepers have lost their lives in UN service since India began contributing troops, the highest number for any nation.
• Accountability issue: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against territorial integrity. Attacks on peacekeepers violate the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel (1994).

Static linkage: United Nations Peacekeeping; India at the UN; Sudan Conflict

GS area: GS 3 (Economy; Social Security)

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) amended the NPS Exit and Withdrawal Regulations, increasing flexibility for non-government subscribers.

• Lump sum withdrawal: non-government NPS subscribers may now withdraw up to 80% of their corpus as a lump sum at exit. Annuity purchase is mandatory for only the remaining 20%.
• Earlier rule: subscribers had to purchase an annuity with at least 40% of the corpus.
• Exit deferment: subscribers may defer their exit from NPS up to age 85, allowing the corpus to grow longer under market returns.
• Loan facility: subscribers may take a loan of up to 25% of their own contributions (excluding employer contributions) while still active.
• Death cases: in case of death of the subscriber, the entire corpus can be withdrawn as a lump sum. No mandatory annuity purchase applies.
• Regulator: PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority), established under the PFRDA Act 2013.
• NPS vs UPS distinction: the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), effective April 2025 for central government employees, guarantees 50% of average basic pay as pension. NPS provides market-linked returns with no guaranteed pension amount.

Static linkage: NPS; PFRDA; Social Security; Unified Pension Scheme

GS area: GS 3 (Environment; Governance); GS 2 (Polity)

The Supreme Court ruled that Corporate Social Responsibility spending on environmental protection is not discretionary but a constitutional obligation under Article 51A(g).

• Article 51A(g): a Fundamental Duty that obliges every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife.
• Court's holding: companies that qualify for mandatory CSR must include environmental protection as part of their obligation under Article 51A(g). Spending on the environment is not one option among many; it is constitutionally grounded.
• CSR eligibility trigger: any company with net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more in the immediately preceding financial year.
• Mandatory amount: 2% of average net profits of the immediately preceding three financial years.
• Legal basis: Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 mandates CSR. Schedule VII lists eligible activities and includes environmental sustainability, ecological balance, and conservation of natural resources.

Static linkage: Corporate Social Responsibility; Article 51A; Companies Act 2013; Environmental Law

GS area: GS 1 (Geography; Climate); GS 3 (Environment)

NOAA's 2025 Arctic Report Card found that the Arctic experienced its warmest and wettest year on record, continuing a warming trend that outpaces the global average.

• Rate of warming: the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average, a phenomenon called Arctic Amplification.
• Defining boundary: the Arctic Circle is at approximately 66.5 degrees North latitude.
• Bordering states: Russia, Canada, the United States (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Notably, Russia has the longest Arctic coastline.
• Lomonosov Ridge: an underwater mountain ridge running across the Arctic Ocean from Ellesmere Island (Canada) to the New Siberian Islands (Russia). It is the basis of competing territorial claims to the Arctic seabed.
• Permafrost concern: Arctic permafrost stores an estimated 1.5 trillion tonnes of organic carbon. As it thaws, microbes decompose this carbon and release carbon dioxide and methane, accelerating warming.
• Albedo feedback: sea ice reflects approximately 80% of incoming solar radiation. Open ocean absorbs 94%. As ice melts, the ocean absorbs more heat, accelerating further melting.

Static linkage: Climate Change; Arctic Geopolitics; NOAA; Carbon Cycle

• UNISFA was established in 2011 by UNSC Resolution 1990 to monitor the contested Abyei Area between Sudan and South Sudan.
• Goa Shipyard Limited is one of three defence public sector shipyards (the others are Mazagon Dock and Garden Reach Shipbuilders). All three fall under the Ministry of Defence.
• PFRDA Act 2013 established PFRDA on a statutory basis. The NPS itself was introduced in 2004 for central government employees and opened to all citizens in 2009.