Daily Current Affairs 2025  

25/10/2025

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CA-25/10/2025

Why in news?
India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme, initiated in 2008, has been recently credited by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for significantly boosting exports from the world’s poorest nations, known as Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 
 
Key features of the DFTP Scheme:

• It is a unilateral non-reciprocal preferential tariff scheme introduced by the Government of India in 2008 to support Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 
• Provides duty-free access for most imported goods (98.2%) from LDCs.
• Applies to all United Nations-designated LDCs, currently around 48 countries from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
• Covers a broad range of products including agricultural goods, textiles, handicrafts, leather products, minerals, and metals.
• Requires exporters from LDCs to provide a Certificate of Origin to prove eligibility.
• Offers additional support like technical assistance and training to improve export quality in LDCs.

Benefits of the DFTP Scheme:

• Enhances market access for LDCs to the large Indian market, boosting their export competitiveness.
• Supports economic development in LDCs by generating employment and income.
• Encourages diversification of exports in LDCs.
• Strengthens trade ties and economic cooperation between India and LDCs.
• Contributes to sustainable development goals by fostering inclusive growth and reducing trade barriers for LDC products.

India’s DFTP Scheme reflects its commitment to global trade equity and support for the economic growth of least developed countries by leveraging preferential trade access to aid their integration into the global economy. Why in news?
Project Arunank, recently celebrated its 18th Raising Day on October 24, 2025, at Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, marking over 17 years of strategic infrastructure development in one of India's most challenging terrains.
 
Key features and achievements of Project Arunank:

• Project Arunank is a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) initiative launched in 2008 in Arunachal Pradesh
• Its objective is to provide vital connectivity to remote valleys and forward areas, while meeting the operational requirements of the Armed Forces.
• Constructed and maintained over 696 km of motorable roads and 1.18 km of major bridges in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Notable projects include the 278 km Hapoli-Sarli-Huri Road, which was blacktopped for the first time since Independence, connecting remote parts of the Kurung Kumey district.
• Uses innovative and sustainable technologies like steel slag in pavements, cut-and-cover tunnels to bypass landslide-prone zones, geo-cells and plastic sheets for slope stabilization, GGBFS concrete, and gabion walls to enhance durability and environmental sustainability.
• Implements environmental initiatives such as the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" program, which planted over 23,850 trees to offset the ecological impact of road construction.
• Plans to upgrade existing single-lane roads to double lanes, build new bridges and tunnels, and adopt advanced materials and eco-friendly construction technologies to improve connectivity and reduce maintenance costs.
• The project supports strategic military mobility, boosts socio-economic growth through better trade, tourism, healthcare, and education access, while balancing development with environmental protection.

The headquarters of Project Arunank is located in Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh. It continues to expand high-altitude connectivity with new roads planned to connect border areas like Maza and Taksing, as part of a broader mission to enhance infrastructure for both civilian and defense needs in Arunachal Pradesh.





  Why in news?
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is deploying Network Survey Vehicle across 23 states to cover around 20,933 km of national highways. 
 
Key Features of Network Survey Vehicle

• It is a specialized infrastructure management tool

• Equipped with advanced sensors like laser profilers, 3D laser crack measurement systems, inertial measurement units (IMU), GPS, high-res cameras, and distance measuring instruments.
• Captures multiple pavement defects including cracks, ravelling, potholes, rutting, roughness, patch area, lane marking, etc.
• Provides 3D point cloud data and 360-degree panoramic imaging.
• Collects road inventory data such as carriageway type, pavement width, shoulder width, median details, utilities, land use, and right of way.

Purpose and Benefits

• Facilitate pavement condition assessment to ensure road safety.
• Support road maintenance management and prioritization of repairs.

• NSVs are deployed by NHAI and various state agencies.
• Used extensively for national highways, especially in projects involving 2, 4, 6, and 8-lane roads.
• Mandatory survey at project completion and periodic surveys every six months.
• Data uploaded to centralized AI-based portals for expert analysis.

Network Survey Vehicles are advanced, technology-driven survey platforms essential for modern road infrastructure management, ensuring effective monitoring, maintenance, and safety across highway networks.





 
Why in news?
Recently, the Mahe -Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) was delivered to the Indian Navy.
 
About the Mahe ASW SWC:

• First of eight such vessels built indigenously by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Indian Navy, delivered in October 2025.

• Displacement and Size: Around 1,100 tons with a length of 78 meters.
• Propulsion: Diesel engine combined with waterjet propulsion, making it the largest Indian naval warship with this system.
• Role and Capabilities: Designed for anti-submarine warfare in shallow coastal waters, underwater surveillance, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), search and rescue, and mine-laying operations.
• Armament: Equipped with lightweight torpedoes, multi-functional anti-submarine rockets, guns, advanced mine-laying racks, chaff and decoy launchers.
• Sensors: Features advanced hull-mounted sonar, low-frequency variable depth sonar for detecting underwater threats with precision, and sophisticated radars.
• Indigenous Content: Over 80-90% of components are indigenously sourced, reflecting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
• Classification: Built according to the classification rules of Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

Enhances the Indian Navy’s capability to detect and neutralize submarines in littoral zones where conventional warships have limitations. It also boosts coastal defense and maritime security.




  Why in news?

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has criticized the Haryana government for failing to control leachate leakage at the Bandhwari landfill near Gurgaon. 

About

• Leachate is a contaminated liquid that forms when water percolates through waste materials, extracting soluble and suspended solids, as well as other harmful substances from the material it passes through.
• It is most commonly associated with landfills, where rainwater or moisture infiltrates decomposing waste, picking up polluta

Formation and Composition

• Leachate is generated primarily by precipitation filtering through waste in landfills, but it can also form in composting sites, mining areas, and contaminated land.?
• Its composition varies depending on the type of waste, landfill age, and environmental conditions, but it generally contains organic pollutants, inorganic compounds, heavy metals, and sometimes toxic organics.?

Environmental and Health Risks

• If not properly managed, leachate can contaminate groundwater, surface water, and soil, posing risks to ecosystems and human health.?
• Contaminants in leachate can cause neurological disorders, organ damage, and harm aquatic life.?
• Leachate can also contribute to air pollution through the release of greenhouse gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide during decomposition.?

Management and Treatment

• Modern landfills use impermeable liners and leachate collection systems to prevent contamination.?
• Leachate is typically collected, treated using physical, chemical, and biological methods, and then safely discharged or recycled.?
• Regulatory bodies like the EPA enforce strict guidelines for leachate management to minimize environmental impact.

 



  Why in news?
The 10th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP10) to International Convention against Doping took place in October 2025 at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, with active participation from over 190 States, including India, which was re-elected as Vice-Chair of the Bureau for the Asia-Pacific region for 2025–2027.
 
About

• The International Convention against Doping in Sport is a UNESCO multilateral treaty adopted on 19 October 2005, aimed at preventing and eliminating doping in sport worldwide.
• It entered into force on 1 February 2007 and has become one of UNESCO's most widely ratified treaties, with 192 States Parties, including India.

Key Objectives and Purpose

• The Convention seeks to harmonize anti-doping legislation, regulations, and rules internationally, providing a legal framework for governments to address areas covered by the World Anti-Doping Code.?
• Its primary aim is to promote the prevention of and fight against doping in sport, with a view to its elimination, while protecting public health, the ethics, integrity, and universal values of sport.?
• To restrict the use and availability of prohibited substances and methods in sport, except for legitimate medical purposes.?
• To combat trafficking and promote education, awareness, and capacity building related to anti-doping.?

Governance and Implementation

• The Conference of Parties (COP) is the sovereign decision-making body, meeting biennially to monitor compliance and advance the implementation of the Convention.?
• A financial mechanism, the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport, supports anti-doping projects globally.?
• The Convention also reinforces values education through sport, emphasizing ethical learning and fair play.?

It is the only legally binding international instrument against doping in sport, making cooperation at the national and global levels crucial to achieving clean, fair, and ethical sporting environments.





 
Why in news?
A team of researchers from the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre of the Zoological Survey of India recently discovered a new fish species named Pseudorhombus bahudaensis in the Bahuda estuary in Odisha.

About Pseudorhombus bahudaensis
Pseudorhombus bahudaensis is a new species of flounder fish discovered in October 2025 in the Bahuda estuary in Odisha, India. The discovery was made by researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). 

Key facts about Pseudorhombus bahudaensis:

• Identification: For decades, this flatfish was misidentified as the more widespread Gangetic largetooth flounder (Pseudorhombus arsius). Using a combination of DNA barcoding and morphological analysis, scientists determined that it is, in fact, a distinct species.
• Genetic lineage: Genetic testing revealed that P. bahudaensis diverged from its relative P. arsius approximately 17 million years ago, a discovery that was previously masked by their physical similarities.
• Habitat: As a demersal, or bottom-dwelling fish, it inhabits the silty and muddy bottoms of estuaries and coastal bays. It can tolerate brackish water and is known to move between saltwater and freshwater environments.
• Physical characteristics: Like other flounders, P. bahudaensis has a flattened body and both eyes are located on the left side of its head. It can be distinguished from P. arsius by a broader body, a different pattern of lateral line scales, and variations in its dorsal fin rays.

Significance:
The discovery highlights the rich biodiversity of the Bahuda estuary and the wider western Bay of Bengal.
It has direct implications for fisheries management, as flounders are commercially valuable. Accurate species identification is crucial for creating sustainable exploitation and conservation strategies. 




  Why in news?
India has issued a series of NOTAMs across its entire northeastern region, covering border areas with China, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, for extensive Indian Air Force (IAF) exercises scheduled from November 6, 2025, to January 15, 2026.
 
Key Aspects of NOTAM

• Purpose: To ensure flight safety by providing timely alerts on hazards or operational changes that are not known far enough in advance for public dissemination.?
• Communication: Issued by national aviation authorities and communicated through various means, often via the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN) or cloud-based systems.?
• Types: Include different categories such as domestic, international, military, and special activity NOTAMs, among others.

The core points of NOTAM are that it is a critical, timely information bulletin issued to keep pilots informed about any changes, hazards, or operational restrictions related to the airspace and airports to ensure flight safety and efficiency.?  

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