Daily Current Affairs 2025  

10/12/2025

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CA-10/12/2025

• Ground-level ozone (O₃) is a harmful air pollutant formed in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) when nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight.
• Unlike the “good” ozone in the stratospheric ozone layer, ground-level ozone is considered “bad” ozone because it damages human health, crops, and ecosystems.​
• Ground-level ozone is a colorless gas and a major component of photochemical smog in cities and industrial regions.
• Typical background concentrations are a few tens of parts per billion, but levels can become much higher in polluted areas during sunny, warm conditions.​

• Nitrogen oxides from vehicle exhaust, power plants, and industrial combustion.​
• VOCs from fuels, solvents, industry, and also natural sources like vegetation.​
  Sunlight drives a chain of reactions that convert NOₓ and VOCs into ozone, making concentrations highest on hot, sunny afternoons in many regions.​

• Breathing ozone irritates the airways and can cause coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, especially during outdoor exertion.
• It worsens asthma, increases hospital admissions for respiratory disease, and is linked with premature death in vulnerable groups.

• Ozone damages plant tissues, reducing growth and crop yields and causing visible leaf injury in sensitive species.
• It also contributes to regional haze, lowers visibility, and acts as a short-lived greenhouse gas that adds to global warming.​

• Ground-level ozone in India is regulated primarily through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 2009, which set limits at 100 µg/m³ for an 8-hour average and 180 µg/m³ for a 1-hour average across industrial, residential, rural, and ecologically sensitive areas. 
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitors compliance under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), in collaboration with state boards and NEERI, though data capping at 200 µg/m³ has historically limited full exceedance assessment.​

• Neurotechnology, encompassing devices that can read, interpret, and stimulate brain signals, presents a transformative frontier with significant potential benefits for India.
• By leveraging advancements in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, engineering, and computing, India can address critical healthcare challenges, boost its innovation ecosystem, and gain strategic advantages.

• Rehabilitation and Restoring Function: Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) can translate neural activity into digital commands, enabling individuals with paralysis to control prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, or computer cursors. IIT Kanpur has already developed a BCI-based robotic hand for stroke patients, showcasing India's nascent capabilities in this domain.
• Treatment of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders: Targeted neural stimulation techniques can offer new avenues for treating conditions like Parkinson's disease and depression, potentially reducing the long-term reliance on medication.
• Early Diagnosis and Monitoring: Neurotechnology can aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of cognitive decline associated with diseases like Alzheimer's, and even potentially detect conditions like cancer through neural biomarkers, as explored by startups like Dognosis.

• Economic Growth and Job Creation: Investing in neurotechnology can lead to high-tech manufacturing jobs, patent generation, and the growth of specialized startups, contributing to the bioeconomy.
• Industry-Academia Collaboration: Strengthening partnerships between institutions like IITs, IISc, and AIIMS with industry players can accelerate research, development, and the commercialization of neurotechnological solutions.

• While still in nascent stages and subject to ethical debate, neurotechnology holds potential for defense applications.
• This could include enhanced soldier cognition, improved battlefield communication, or fatigue monitoring.
• Early investment and strategic planning can position India to be a significant player in this evolving global landscape.

• India's neurotechnology ecosystem is emerging, with research institutions like the National Brain Research Centre and IISc Bengaluru making significant contributions to neuroscience.
• Startups are also entering the field, exploring novel applications. However, the ecosystem is still relatively small compared to global leaders like the U.S. and China.

• National Neurotechnology Mission: Establishing a dedicated mission, similar to initiatives in genomics or AI, can drive research and development.
• Ethical and Regulatory Frameworks: Developing robust "neurolaw" frameworks is crucial to address issues of mental privacy, data protection, autonomy, and potential misuse. Tailored regulatory pathways for different types of BCIs will be essential.
• Research and Development Funding: Increased public funding for interdisciplinary research labs and incentivizing startups and industry-academia collaboration are vital.
• Manufacturing and Accessibility: Expanding schemes like Production Linked Incentives (PLI) for neurotech devices and ensuring affordability and accessibility in public healthcare systems will be key.
• Global Collaboration: Engaging with international partners on ethical standards and joint research can help India align with global norms and accelerate progress.

• Gallbladder cancer is a rare malignancy that originates in the cells of the gallbladder, often remaining asymptomatic until advanced stages.
• It primarily affects women more than men.
• It is strongly linked to risk factors like gallstones (cholelithiasis), chronic gallbladder inflammation, and certain geographic or ethnic predispositions, such as higher incidence in parts of India and South America.​

• Early symptoms mimic gallstone issues, including abdominal pain, nausea, and jaundice, but are often absent.
• Advanced disease presents with weight loss, fever, bloating, and dark urine due to bile duct obstruction.​

• Gallstones, especially large ones (>3 cm), increase risk 4-5 times.​
• Chronic inflammation from infections or porcelain gallbladder.
• Obesity, older age (over 65), and primary sclerosing cholangitis.​

• Diagnosis typically occurs incidentally during cholecystectomy or via imaging like ultrasound, CT, or MRI, with staging from T1 (confined to mucosa, potentially curable) to stage IV (metastatic).
• Biopsy confirms adenocarcinoma, the most common type.​

• Surgery (radical cholecystectomy with liver resection and lymph node removal) offers the best chance for early-stage cure.
• Advanced cases use chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin), radiation, or immunotherapy like durvalumab; prognosis is poor, with 5-year survival around 66% for localized vs. 2-3% for metastatic disease.​

• DHRUVA, or Digital Hub for Reference and Unique Virtual Address, is a national Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) framework proposed by India's Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications to standardize and digitize physical addresses nationwide.​
• DHRUVA introduces "Address as a Service" (AaaS), assigning unique Digital Address Identifiers (DAIs) linked to geo-coded data for secure, interoperable use across sectors like logistics, e-commerce, finance, and governance.
• It builds on the DIGIPIN system, which divides India into 4x4 meter grids with 10-character alphanumeric codes based on latitude-longitude.​

• Digital Address Identifier (DAI): Secure ID for verified addresses, generated with user consent.​
• Address Service Providers (ASPs): Licensed entities for creation, mapping, and verification.​
• Address Validation Agencies (AVAs): Independent bodies for authentication.​
• Interoperability Standards: Ensures seamless integration across public-private systems.​

• Amendments to the Post Office Act, 2023 provide statutory support, defining governance via a National Network Administrator, privacy safeguards, and grievance mechanisms.
• Public comments on the draft are open until December 31, 2025.​

• DHRUVA enhances service delivery in rural areas, improves subsidy targeting, boosts logistics efficiency, and supports emergency responses by reducing address errors.
• It promotes digital inclusion akin to Aadhaar and UPI, with consent-based data sharing to protect privacy.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) identified Rs 888.82 crore in undisclosed VDA income, while issuing over 44,000 notices to traders who omitted crypto gains from Income Tax Returns.
• Uttar Pradesh police recently dismantled a crypto fraud ring laundering Rs 11.95 crore via rented bank accounts, arresting six suspects.
• VDAs fall under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) oversight, with exchanges required to report transactions to FIU-IND, leading to Enforcement Directorate actions seizing Rs 4,189.89 crore in proceeds.​

• India lacks a dedicated crypto law but treats VDAs as taxable assets, with SEBI monitoring security-like tokens since April 2025 under a multi-agency model involving RBI and Finance Ministry.
• Crypto trading remains legal but unregulated as legal tender, emphasizing KYC/AML compliance and no loss offsets against gains.
• TDS collections from crypto hit Rs 1,000 crore over three years, signaling robust tax enforcement without full regulatory clarity.​

• Transactions require a cryptocurrency wallet holding private and public keys, the specific blockchain (e.g., Bitcoin or Ethereum), and a fee paid in crypto to cover network processing costs known as gas or miner fees.
• The sender's wallet generates a unique digital signature using their private key to authorize the transfer securely.​

• Creation: Enter the recipient's public address and amount; the wallet bundles this data, hashes it cryptographically, and signs it with the sender's private key.​
• Broadcasting: The signed transaction spreads across network nodes, which verify validity, balance, and prevent double-spending by checking the mempool.​
• Confirmation: Miners or validators (via proof-of-work or proof-of-stake) include it in a block, adding it to the immutable blockchain; multiple confirmations (e.g., 6 for Bitcoin) ensure finality, taking minutes to hours.​

• Resumption requires 100% e-KYC for all workers, biometric attendance via Aadhaar Payment Bridge, and quarterly labour budget approvals based on compliance.
• Works exceeding Rs 20 lakh are barred, with mandatory Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) approved by District Magistrates for all community projects up to that limit, generated via SECURE software;
• No more than 10 ongoing works per gram panchayat are allowed.​

• Prior to suspension, West Bengal served 51-80 lakh families annually under the scheme, making it a top performer.
• The state must now ensure geo-tagged pre-estimation visits, annual performance audits by the Principal Accountant General, time-bound recoveries, FIRs against irregularities, and regular social audits.
• This revival aids rural households ahead of 2026 Assembly elections but emphasizes transparency.​

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, guarantees at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.
• It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by focusing on water conservation, drought relief, and land development activities.​

• Guaranteed Employment: Households can demand work within 15 days of application; failure triggers unemployment allowance.
• Wage Payment: Wages are paid within 15 days, with minimum rates set by states (linked to 100 days of work).
• Work Types: Prioritizes sustainable assets like irrigation, plantations, and rural infrastructure.​

• It facilitates international police cooperation by sharing crime-related details, such as verifying criminal records or locating individuals before formal charges or arrests.
• Unlike a Red Notice, which seeks arrest and extradition, a Blue Notice is an "enquiry notice" and does not compel action but relies on member countries' cooperation.​

Notice Type	Primary Purpose
Blue	Gather info on identity/location/activities ​
Red	Provisional arrest for extradition ​
Orange	Warn of imminent threats ​
Purple	Info on criminal methods/objects ​

• A mandatory “One Nation, One Licence, One Payment” blanket licence that allows AI developers to use all lawfully accessed copyrighted works for training, in return for paying statutory royalties to rightsholders.​
• A hybrid model: no individual negotiations at the training stage, but royalties become payable when the AI system is commercially exploited.​
• Royalties to be calculated as a fixed percentage of the gross global revenue (excluding taxes) earned from commercialising AI systems trained on copyrighted content, with the obligation applying even to past training that is already generating revenue.​

• Creation of a central non-profit “Copyright Royalties Collective for AI Training” (CRCAT) to collect royalty payments from AI firms and distribute them to creators, including those outside existing copyright societies who register to receive AI-related royalties.​
• A government-constituted rate‑setting committee comprising senior officials, legal experts, economists and technology experts, plus representatives of CRCAT and AI developers, to periodically fix and review royalty rates; its decisions would be subject to judicial review by courts.​

• The committee has explicitly rejected a “zero‑price” or free text‑and‑data‑mining exception, arguing that unrestricted free use of creative works for AI training would harm the creative ecosystem and especially smaller creators.​
• DPIIT has released Part I of the working paper on generative AI and copyright and opened a 30‑day window for stakeholders to send comments, after which the government will decide on legislative or regulatory changes.​

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