Daily Current Affairs 2025  

19/09/2025

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CA-19/09/2025

 
Why in news?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reaffirmed that the blue economy is pivotal to India's growth, with initiatives like Sagarmala, Deep Ocean Mission, and Harit Sagar Guidelines being leveraged to modernize ports, support innovation, and empower coastal communities.
 
What is blue economy?
The blue economy refers to the sustainable use of ocean, sea, and coastal resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while ensuring the health of ocean ecosystems is preserved.
 
Key Concepts

• The blue economy encompasses all economic activities related to oceans, seas, and coasts, including both established and emerging sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture, marine transport, tourism, renewable energy, and marine biotechnology.
• It is distinguished by its emphasis on sustainability, aiming to balance economic development with conservation of marine resources and ecosystem health.
• Beyond direct economic benefits, it values ecosystem services such as carbon storage, coastal protection, biodiversity preservation, and cultural values.

Major Sectors in the Blue Economy

• Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Renewable Ocean Energy (offshore wind, tidal, wave)
• Shipping and Maritime Transport
• Ports and Coastal Infrastructure
• Tourism (coastal and marine)
• Marine Biotechnology and Research
• Ecosystem Services (carbon sequestration, coastal resilience)

India’s advancement in blue economy through major mission and Initiatives

• The Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), launched in 2021, is central to India’s push to harness marine resources. It involves developing technologies for deep-sea mining, for extracting polymetallic nodules—key to mineral security and future energy needs.
• The Sagarmala Programme focuses on modernizing India’s ports, enhancing logistics infrastructure, and integrating coastal communities into economic activities along 7,500 km of coastline.
• Harit Sagar Guidelines and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 drive sustainable port development, boost coastal shipping, and position India as a maritime leader.
• The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) promotes modern fisheries and aquaculture, increasing productivity and supporting livelihoods, in coastal regions.
• Emphasis on eco-tourism, women-led seaweed farming, and local enterprise has led to substantial job creation and strengthens socio-economic inclusiveness.
• India participates in global maritime governance, signing agreements like the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and enhancing regulations for sustainable ocean activity.
• Policy integration across ministries, public-private partnerships, and regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean (via SAGAR and IORA) strengthen the strategic and economic value of India’s blue economy.
• By 2047, these efforts aim to firmly establish the blue economy as a growth engine and a central pillar of India’s “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India) vision.

Global Context

• The global blue economy is valued at around $2.5 trillion annually, contributing 5% to the world’s GDP.
• Oceans cover about three-quarters of Earth’s surface and are vital for trade, climate regulation, and supporting global biodiversity.
• There is a significant investment gap in the sector due to risks and regulatory uncertainty. Ocean-based industries could potentially generate over $3 trillion annually by 2030 if sustainable development and investments are prioritized.

Importance and Challenges

• The blue economy is considered a sunrise sector with high potential for economic diversification, technological innovation, renewable energy, food security, and climate resilience.
• Key challenges include overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change impacts, and the need for better governance and law enforcement to ensure sustainability.
• Sustainable management requires cross-sector cooperation, advanced technologies, and international partnerships, as highlighted in India’s Maritime Vision 2047 and global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14: Life Below Water).

 
   
About
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is an integrated nutrition support program of the Indian government, focused on combating malnutrition among children (0–6 years), adolescent girls (14–18 years), pregnant women, and lactating mothers, while strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure and service delivery.
 
Core Features and Objectives

• The scheme seeks to address malnutrition through supplementary nutrition, early childhood care and education, and infrastructure upgradation of Anganwadi centres, renamed as Saksham Anganwadis.
• Poshan 2.0 integrates and converges earlier nutrition and care programs, including ICDS (Anganwadi Services), POSHAN Abhiyaan, the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), and the National Creche Scheme, streamlining interventions for improved impact.
• The objectives include addressing wasting, stunting, underweight, and anemia; promoting maternal nutrition; adolescent nutrition; and infant and child-feeding practices. There is also emphasis on community engagement, behavior change, and fostering ecosystem convergence across ministries.

Key Components

• Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP): Delivers fortified food to beneficiaries, promoting the use of millets, jaggery, and indigenous plants.
• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): Focuses on early stimulation (0–3 years), preschool (3–6 years), and foundational learning in line with the NEP.
• Modern Anganwadi Infrastructure: Upgrades centers with better facilities—classrooms, digital tools, kitchen gardens (Poshan Vatikas), and safer environments.

Implementation and Monitoring

• Services are delivered through Anganwadi centres; a key innovation is the "Poshan Tracker" for ICT-based real-time monitoring and data management.
• Significant focus is placed on life-cycle nutrition, increased transparency, use of Aadhaar integration, growth monitoring devices, and the promotion of local, culturally acceptable food solutions.

Challenges and Way Forward

• The program faces challenges in last-mile delivery, regional disparities, infra-structure gaps in remote locations, community participation, and workforce capacity.
• The recommended way forward stresses stronger monitoring, better inter-ministerial coordination, local food promotion, universal coverage, and sustained capacity-building for Anganwadi workers.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is described as one of the world’s largest nutrition support initiatives and is central to India’s strategy for advancing human capital and long-term health outcomes.
 
   
Why in news?
India has been re-elected to the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the Council of Administration (CA) of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) during the 28th UPU Congress held in Dubai in September 2025. 
India has played a proactive role in advancing digital transformation programs such as DigiPIN (digital addressing), UPI-enabled cross-border remittances, and e-commerce facilitation through Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras.
 
About Postal Operations Council (POC)

• The Postal Operations Council (POC) is the technical and operational body of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). It consists of 48 member countries elected during the UPU Congress. The POC meets annually at the UPU headquarters in Berne, Switzerland.

Key points about the Postal Operations Council:

• It focuses on the operational, economic, and commercial aspects of the global postal business.
• The POC helps postal services modernize and upgrade their products and services.
• It makes recommendations to member countries on standards for technological, operational, or other postal processes requiring uniform practices.
• The council elects its own Chair from among its members.
• Member countries include major postal operators worldwide, representing diverse regions.

The POC works complementary to the Council of Administration (which handles policy, regulatory, and governance matters), focusing on technical and operational efficiency and innovation in international postal services.
 
   
Why in news?
ICGS Adamya is the first of eight Adamya-class Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) of the Indian Coast Guard, commissioned at Paradip Port, Odisha in September 2025.
 
Key points about the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Adamya:

• Adamya is a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), the first in a series of eight being built by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the Indian Coast Guard under the 8-FPV project.
• The vessel has a length of 52 meters, beam of 8 meters, and designed speed of over 27 knots with a range/endurance of 1500 nautical miles at economical speed.
• Adamya is the first ICG ship to feature Controllable Pitch Propellers (CPP) and indigenously developed gearboxes, offering superior maneuverability, operational flexibility, and enhanced performance at sea.
• Armament includes a 30mm CRN-91 naval gun and two 12.7mm stabilized remote-controlled machine guns with fire control systems for precise and responsive operation.
• It is equipped with advanced systems such as Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), and Automated Power Management System (APMS) for enhanced operational efficiency and automation.

Adamya is designed for multi-role operations including coastal and offshore patrolling, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fisheries protection, search and rescue missions, and coastal security.
 
   
Why in news?
India's sovereign credit rating was upgraded to BBB+ with a Stable outlook by the Japanese credit rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) in September 2025. 
 
Sovereign credit ratings of some other major countries in 2025

• Germany, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland hold AAA ratings.
• United States and some European countries have AA or AA+ ratings.
• Countries like China and Japan have A+ ratings.

Reasons for the Upgrade:

• Strong macroeconomic fundamentals characterized by India's position as one of the fastest-growing major economies with resilient domestic demand and a large, young population supporting growth.
• Sustained fiscal consolidation efforts that improved government finances, with combined central and state debt declining to about 80% of GDP.
• Robust revenue collections and rationalization of subsidies leading to a manageable deficit and enhanced fiscal discipline.
• External stability reflected in a contained current account deficit below 1% of GDP, healthy foreign exchange reserves, and low external debt ratios.
• Credit rating agencies recognized India's reduced risk profile and improved ability to service its debt under both domestic and global economic uncertainties.

Impact of the Upgrade:

• Enhanced investor confidence attracting higher foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI), stimulated by lower sovereign risk perception.
• Reduced sovereign borrowing costs, which helps in cheaper government debt issuances and reduces financing costs for businesses.
• Strengthened India’s economic credibility internationally, reinforcing its attractiveness as a stable and promising investment destination.
• Support for sustainable economic growth and infrastructure funding through improved access to global financial markets.

Overall, the upgrade aligns with India's long-term goals of economic expansion, job creation, and fiscal prudence, while providing a competitive edge globally.
 
   
Why in news?
The Moran community has been staging large-scale protests primarily in Assam, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. 
 
About Moran community
The Moran community is an indigenous ethnic group mainly found in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. Key features of the Moran community include:

• They belong to the Tibeto-Burman ethnic lineage, specifically within the Kachari family of tribes.
• Historically, the Morans had their own chiefdom before the Ahom kingdom's advent and later became integrated through marriage alliances.
• They originally spoke the Moran language, closely related to Dimasa, but now predominantly speak Assamese with their own dialect.
• The community followed traditional customs and allied rituals with other Kachari groups, but many converted to Vaishnavism, blending their customs with this faith.
• Their traditional territory was the Brahmaputra valley region, especially around Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and nearby areas.
• The Morans have a strong cultural identity linked to their history as "sons of the soil" (Habungiya/Hasa in their language).
• They were major followers of the Moamaria sect which played a significant role in regional history as a rebellion group against the Ahom rule.

 
  (North East Students' Programme for Awareness, Reach, and Knowledge on Space)
 
NE-SPARKS, is collaborative program, of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (MDoNER), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the respective state governments, aims to kindle an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields among the youth of the region.
 
Key highlights include:

• Exposure visits to ISRO facilities such as the Satellite Control Centre, Mission Operations Complex, Indian Deep Space Network, and U R Rao Satellite Centre.
• Interaction with senior ISRO scientists and engineers to gain insights into satellite operations, deep space communications, and India's space missions, including the Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Program.
• Designed to bridge geographical and informational gaps for students from remote areas, offering them a unique opportunity to witness cutting-edge space technologies.
• North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) acts as the nodal agency for the program's execution with support from ISRO’s Capacity Building and Public Outreach (CBPO) unit.

The initiative also reflects a broader government commitment to nurture talent from the North East, encouraging youth participation in the country’s growing space sector.
 

 

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