Daily Current Affairs- 21st November 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 21st November 2025

Miss Universe 2025: Mexico’s Fátima Bosch Crowned Winner, India’s Manika Vishwakarma in Top 12

In the News: Mexico’s Fátima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe 2025 at the 74th Miss Universe pageant held in Thailand, succeeding Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig. Bosch’s win came after a highly publicised walkout and controversy with a Thai pageant organiser, turning her into a symbol of resilience and dignity on the global stage. According to major current-affairs coverage used for competitive exams, India’s Manika Vishwakarma reached the Top 12, giving India a visible presence in the finale.

Key Points:

• Winner and Crown: Mexico’s Fátima Bosch outperformed over 100 contestants from around the world to win the Miss Universe 2025 crown, praised for her confident stage presence, articulate answers, and strong advocacy work. She was crowned by outgoing Miss Universe 2024 Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark.
•  Venue and Edition: The 74th edition of Miss Universe 2025 was hosted in Thailand (Bangkok/Nonthaburi), blending glamour with cultural performances and global entertainment, and continuing the pageant’s legacy that began in 1952.
• Runners-up and Finalists: Thailand’s Praveenar Singh was declared runner-up, with Venezuela’s Stephany Adriana Abasali Nasser placed third. Other finalists included contestants from Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Philippines, Côte d’Ivoire, Malta and China, showcasing wide geographic representation.
• India’s Performance – Manika Vishwakarma: India’s Manika Vishwakarma, a Political Science and Economics student from Rajasthan, impressed audiences with her advocacy on inclusive education, mental wellness and artistic expression. Exam-oriented coverage notes that she advanced to the Top 12 before exiting after the swimsuit round, earning significant global visibility for India on the Miss Universe stage.
• Advocacy and Personal Story of Fátima Bosch: Bosch has been recognised for championing women’s empowerment, sustainable fashion, mental-health causes, and awareness about dyslexia and ADHD, conditions she openly lives with. Her journey from sceptic of pageants to transformational titleholder has been highlighted as redefining what a modern Miss Universe stands for.
• Controversies and Walkout: The 2025 pageant was marked by major controversy—including allegations of rigging, judge resignations, and viral clips of Bosch walking out after being insulted by Thai organiser Nawat Itsaragrisil, who later apologised. Bosch’s calm but firm response, and support from fellow contestants and Mexico’s President, turned the incident into a powerful moment about respect and integrity in pageants.

How Supreme Court has defined contours of gubernatorial power, over the years

In the News:  The Supreme Court of India, in its advisory opinion on a Presidential Reference, clarified the limits and scope of the Governor’s powers under Articles 163, 200 and 201 of the Constitution. The Court refused to create “deemed assent” or judicial timelines for Governors to act on Bills, but reaffirmed that prolonged, unexplained delays can be subjected to judicial scrutiny. This opinion caps a long timeline of landmark rulings from 1952 to 2025 that steadily narrowed unilateral gubernatorial discretion and emphasised that the Governor is a constitutional head, not a parallel political executive.

Key Points:

• Presidential Reference 2025: No ‘deemed assent’, but delay reviewable. The Court held that while Governors enjoy a constitutionally conferred choice under Article 200 — to assent, withhold assent, return a Bill, or reserve it for the President — courts cannot impose deadlines or invent ‘deemed assent’ mechanisms, as that would rewrite the Constitution. However, long, unexplained delays in decision-making can be examined, even if the ultimate choice among Article 200 options remains beyond merits review.
• Framework of Articles 200 & 201: In Kameshwar Singh (1952), arising from challenges to the Bihar Land Reforms Act, the Supreme Court first mapped the Governor’s role on Bills: the Governor may assent, withhold assent, or reserve a Bill for the President, and withholding assent ends the Bill, unless the legislature uses the constitutional route in the proviso. This case laid the basic procedural architecture for Articles 200 and 201 at a time when constitutional practice was still evolving.
• Governor bound by aid & advice: In Shamsher Singh (1974), dealing with termination of probationary judges through orders issued “in the name of the Governor”, the Court rejected the idea that such actions required the Governor’s personal satisfaction. It held that the Governor normally acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, and that “satisfaction” is constitutional, not personal. No function is presumed to need personal decision unless expressly stated, preventing the Governor from becoming a second executive centre and reinforcing Cabinet responsibility.
• Narrow ‘pockets’ of discretion for Governors Across these rulings, the Court recognised only limited zones of genuine discretion. Some are express, such as:Reporting under Article 356Reserving Bills affecting High Court powers under Article 200, Certain “special responsibility” clauses for specific States. Others are implied, usually when the Council of Ministers cannot give neutral advice or the Constitution is silent — for example: identifying a Chief Minister in a hung House, dismissing a ministry that has lost majority but refuses to resign, or directing a floor test when the government stonewalls such a test.
• Reining in unilateral action:  In Nabam Rebia (2016), arising from the Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, the Governor had advanced an Assembly session, dictated the legislative agenda, and facilitated a move to remove the Speaker — all without ministerial advice, while disqualification petitions were pending. The Supreme Court treated this as a constitutional red flag and held that the Governor may summon, prorogue or dissolve the House only on ministerial advice, except in the narrow case where the government has lost its majority and refuses to face a floor test. It further clarified that the Governor cannot dictate House business, act as an “Ombudsman of the Legislature”, or interfere in Tenth Schedule disqualification proceedings, which lie exclusively with the Speaker or the designated tribunal.
• Timelines & disqualification: In Keisham Meghachandra Singh (2020), the Court addressed delays by a Speaker in deciding MLAs’ disqualification under the Tenth Schedule, and fixed an outer limit of three months, holding that failure to act can be judicially reviewed. This logic later inspired arguments that similar timelines should bind Governors under Article 200 when they sit on Bills.
• Tamil Nadu Governor case (April 2025) and its partial rollback: In an April 2025 judgment concerning Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, a Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan set aside the Governor’s decision to withhold assent to 10 Bills, calling it illegal and erroneous in law, and directed that he act within a fixed timeline. However, in the Presidential Reference opinion later in November 2025, the Supreme Court refused to generalise this approach, distinguishing Keisham (Speaker acting quasi-judicially) from the Governor’s discretionary role under Article 200 and holding that courts cannot hard-code timelines or create deemed assent, even though excessive delay remains open to challenge.

Rabih Alameddine & Patricia Smith Crowned at National Book Awards 2025

In the News:  At the 76th National Book Awards ceremony in New York City, Rabih Alameddine and Patricia Smith were crowned major winners. Alameddine won the Fiction award for his novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), while Smith received the Poetry award for her collection The Intentions of Thunder. The event celebrated diverse global voices and featured strong political and humanitarian messages from the winners’ speeches. Literary Hub+4AP News+4The Guardian+4

Key Points:

• Award Ceremony & Venue: The 76th National Book Awards were held on November 19, 2025, at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan, New York, featuring host Jeff Hiller and a performance by singer Corinne Bailey Rae, with prizes given across five main categories.
• Rabih Alameddine – Fiction Winner: Rabih Alameddine won the Fiction award for The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), a darkly comic, multi-decade narrative about family, identity, and Lebanon’s turbulent history, praised for blending political insight with emotional depth and satire.
• Patricia Smith – Poetry Winner: Patricia Smith received the Poetry award for The Intentions of Thunder, a collection exploring race, memory, trauma and resilience through intense, lyrical verse, continuing her legacy as one of the most acclaimed contemporary American poets.
• Other Major Category Winners: The Nonfiction prize went to Omar El Akkad for One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This; Daniel Nayeri won Young People’s Literature for The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story; and Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers, won Translated Literature for We Are Green and Trembling.
• Speeches & Political Themes: Many winners, including Alameddine and El Akkad, used their acceptance speeches to speak about war, Gaza, Western complicity, and the moral duty of writers to confront injustice, turning the ceremony into a forum for literary resistance and ethical reflection.
•  Lifetime & Special Honors: The National Book Foundation also honoured George Saunders with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and Roxane Gay with the Literarian Award for her work championing diverse voices in publishing, underscoring the ceremony’s focus on both artistic excellence and social impact.

Turkey to Host COP31 Climate Summit After Compromise with Australia

In the News:  It was announced at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, that Turkey will host the COP31 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2026 in Antalya, after a compromise deal in which Australia withdrew its bid to be the venue but will preside over the negotiations. This arrangement ends a long diplomatic standoff within the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) over who would host the crucial 2026 climate summit.

Key Points:

• Compromise Deal: Under the agreement, Turkey will host COP31 in Antalya in 2026, while Australia’s climate and energy minister Chris Bowen will serve as conference president and lead government negotiations, giving both countries prominent roles.
• End of Hosting Standoff: The deal ends a years-long deadlock between Turkey and Australia, both of which had bid to host COP31 on behalf of the WEOG. The compromise avoided the fallback option of defaulting the summit venue to Bonn, Germany, which had raised logistical concerns.
• Role of Pacific Nations: Australia had campaigned to host a “Pacific COP” with support from Pacific Island nations highly vulnerable to climate change. As part of the compromise, a pre-summit event is expected to be held in the Pacific, ensuring these states retain a visible platform despite Turkey securing the main venue.
• Significance of Antalya Venue: Antalya, a Mediterranean resort city in Turkey, will showcase a region facing heatwaves, water stress, wildfires and sea-level impacts, symbolising the shared climate risks of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and highlighting Turkey’s aspiration to bridge developed and developing country interests.
• Climate Diplomacy Signal: The arrangement is seen as a diplomatic win–win: Turkey gains hosting rights and visibility for its 2053 net-zero pledge, while Australia gains leadership of negotiations, reinforcing its image as a partner of the Pacific on climate action, even as critics question both countries’ continued fossil fuel expansion.
• Broader COP Trajectory: COP31 in Antalya will follow COP30 in Belém, Brazil (2025) and precede COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2027), forming a sequence in which major emerging economies and regional powers host critical negotiations on fossil fuel phase-out, climate finance, adaptation, and loss and damage.

Seychelles Becomes New Member of Colombo Security Conclave

In the News: Seychelles officially became a full member of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) during the 7th National Security Adviser–level meeting held in New Delhi, India, chaired by India’s NSA Ajit Doval. With this, Seychelles joined India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Bangladesh in a key regional security grouping focused on the Indian Ocean Region.

Key Points:

•  Event and Venue: Seychelles’ admission as a full member was announced at the 7th NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave, convened on 20 November 2025 in New Delhi, highlighting India’s role as convener and lead security partner in the grouping.
• New Member of CSC: Seychelles moved from Observer State to full member, becoming the 6th member of the CSC alongside India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Bangladesh, thereby widening the Conclave’s footprint across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 
• Participants and Leadership: The meeting was chaired by NSA Ajit Doval of India and attended by top security officials, including Ibrahim Latheef (Maldives), Rahul Rasgotra (Mauritius), Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Sampath Thuyacontha (Sri Lanka), Khalil-ur-Rehman (Bangladesh), and Major General Michael Rosette, Chief of Defence Forces of Seychelles. Malaysia joined as a Guest State for the first time.
• Core Agenda and Pillars: The Conclave reviewed progress and future plans under its five key security pillars: Maritime Safety and Security, Countering Terrorism and Radicalisation. Combating Trafficking and Transnational Organised Crime, Cyber Security and Protection of Critical Infrastructure, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
• Strategic Importance of Seychelles: Located in the western Indian Ocean as an island state and maritime hub, Seychelles’ membership significantly enhances maritime domain awareness, strengthens efforts against piracy, smuggling and other sea-borne crimes, and improves overall security coverage across key sea lanes of the IOR.
•  Boost to India’s Regional Role: The expansion of CSC with Seychelles’ inclusion reflects the growing relevance and institutional maturity of the Conclave and reinforces India’s position as a “net security provider” in the Indian Ocean, deepening its strategic and defence ties with Seychelles and other littoral states. 
• Future Cooperation & Capacity Building: Member states reiterated commitment to joint training, information-sharing, coordinated patrols, and capacity-building initiatives, using the CSC framework to respond collectively to terrorism, cyber threats, trafficking, and natural disasters in the region.

Tejas Aircraft Crashes at Dubai Air Show

In the News:  An Indian Air Force HAL Tejas light combat aircraft crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show at Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai. The aircraft burst into flames on impact, and the pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, was killed. The Indian Air Force and UAE authorities have ordered a detailed investigation into the cause, with initial reports pointing to the crash occurring during a complex low-altitude manoeuvre.

Key Points:

• Incident Timing and Location: The crash occurred on the afternoon of November 21, 2025, during a flying demonstration at the Dubai Air Show 2025 at Al Maktoum International Airport, one of the world’s largest aviation events.
• Pilot Casualty: The sole pilot on board, Wing Commander Namansh Syal of the Indian Air Force, sustained fatal injuries. He was a mid-career officer from Himachal Pradesh; both the IAF and Dubai authorities officially confirmed his death and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
• Nature of the Crash: Eyewitness videos showed the Tejas performing a low-altitude manoeuvre before it plunged to the ground, exploding into a fireball and sending up thick black smoke near the runway. The wreckage was quickly surrounded by firefighting and rescue teams who brought the blaze under control.
• Immediate Response and Show Disruption: Emergency crews from Dubai Civil Defence and airport authorities responded within minutes, cordoning off the crash site and briefly halting the flying display. After safety checks, other aerial displays resumed later in the afternoon, though the Tejas crash remained the focus of attention.
• Official Reactions and Inquiry: The Indian Air Force announced a Court of Inquiry to determine the exact cause of the accident, while India’s Defence Minister and Chief of Defence Staff described themselves as “deeply anguished” and reaffirmed support to the pilot’s family. UAE authorities also issued statements acknowledging the incident and coordinating investigative efforts with India.