Daily Current Affairs- 22nd November 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 22nd November 2025

India & Israel Sign Terms of Reference to Initiate Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

In the News: The Governments of India and Israel formally signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) in Tel Aviv, marking the commencement of structured negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The ToR was signed by India’s Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Israel’s Economy & Industry Minister Nir Barkat.

Key Points:

• Formal launch of negotiations: The signing of the ToR formalises the decision of India and Israel to enter into negotiations for an FTA—ending a period of planning and bilateral engagement and starting the formally scheduled rounds of talks.
• Comprehensive scope of the proposed agreement: The FTA is intended to cover a broad range of economic dimensions including trade in goods and services, investment promotion and protection, regulatory cooperation, technology transfer, innovation partnerships and digital trade—thereby going significantly beyond a classical tariff-only framework.
• Complementary strengths and sectoral synergies: India’s large domestic market, manufacturing and services potential are expected to be matched with Israel’s strengths in high-technology sectors such as agritech, water and climate solutions, cybersecurity, defence-industry innovation, and startup ecosystems. Business leaders note limited direct competition between the two economies, which supports the view that the FTA can be a “force-multiplier” rather than a zero-sum arrangement.
• Baseline trade and investment context: Although trade between India and Israel has been expanding, in recent fiscal year 2024-25 India’s exports to Israel stood at approximately US $2.14 billion while imports from Israel were about US $1.48 billion, total bilateral trade roughly US $3.62 billion; the FTA aims to raise this baseline significantly by easing business-barriers and facilitating greater flows of capital, goods, services and investments.

China To Builds First Nuclear-Resistant Artificial Floating Island

In the News: China is building the world’s first artificial floating island capable of withstanding nuclear blasts, rough seas and typhoons, and is expected to become operational by 2028.

Key Points:

• Project Overview: The platform is called the Deep‑Sea All‑Weather Resident Floating Research Facility. It is a twin-hull, semi-submersible artificial island weighing around 78,000 tonnes — comparable to the size of China’s latest aircraft carrier. 
• Technical Specifications & Capabilities: It measures about 138 m in length and 85 m in width, with a deck height of 45 m above the waterline. It is designed to support up to 238 persons for about four months without resupply. The structure can handle rough seas (waves of 6–9 m) and withstand typhoons rated up to category 17.
• Nuclear-Resistant Design: A distinctive feature is its “metamaterial sandwich panels” that convert sudden shockwaves into controlled compression to protect critical compartments (emergency power, navigation, communications) from nuclear blast effects. It references China’s military specification GJB 1060.1-1991 for nuclear-blast protection.
•  Strategic & Dual-Use Implications: Although officially framed as a scientific research facility, the military-grade design and mobility suggest dual-use potential: presence in contested maritime zones, deep-sea resource exploration, surveillance, and extended endurance missions far from shore. 
• Timeline & Context: Project is slated for operational readiness by 2028. It comes amid China’s broader push into the “blue economy,” ocean science infrastructure and maritime power projection.

Larry Page Surpasses Jeff Bezos as World’s Third Richest List

In the News: Larry Page, the co-founder of Alphabet Inc. (the parent company of Google), advanced to become the world’s third-richest individual after a significant surge in the company’s share price following the launch of its advanced AI model, “Gemini 3”.

Key Points:

• Wealth leap and ranking change: As Alphabets shares rallied, Page’s net worth was boosted by approximately US $7.6 billion within a short span, elevating his estimated fortune to US $238.5 billion, surpassing Jeff Bezos (whose net worth was pegged at around US $230.4 billion) and propelling Page into the third position globally.
• Catalyst: Gemin• The surge in Page’s wealth came largely as a result of Alphabet’s shares ascending by nearly 6% upon the Gemini 3 announcement, later settling around a 3.3% increase. Page holds roughly 3.2% of Alphabet, making his personal stake highly sensitive to share-price movements.
•  Broader implications for tech-ecosystem wealth: The dramatic shift in rankings underscores how founders of major tech companies, particularly those richly endowed with concentrated equity holdings and aligned with emerging sectors such as AI and cloud services, can experience rapid upward movement in net worth. This event highlights the growing importance of institutional investor sentiment in frontier technologies and serves as evidence that billionaire wealth — especially among tech founders — is increasingly volatile and tightly coupled with product announcements, innovation breakthroughs and market expectations.

UAE Becomes World’s Third-Largest Humanitarian Donor in 2025

In the News: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been ranked as the world’s third-largest humanitarian donor for 2025, following new data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which records its contribution at approximately US $1.46 billion.

Key Points:

• Ranking & Contribution: The UAE achieved the global third-place position among humanitarian donors in 2025, placing behind only the United States and the European Union, with its contribution measured at around US $1.46 billion.
• Share of Global Aid: The UAE’s contribution amounts to about 7.2 % of the total global humanitarian funding recorded by UNOCHA’s Financial Tracking Service for the year, with the global total standing at approximately US $20.28 billion.
• Nature of Aid & Strategic Approach: The aid from the UAE encompasses not only rapid emergency relief (such as food, shelter, medicine and clothing in crisis zones) but also long-term development support (including healthcare infrastructure, education projects, energy and clean water initiatives) and is guided by a principle of neutrality and inclusivity — serving people “regardless of origin, race, religion, belief or geography.”
•  Global Reach & Focus Regions: The UAE’s humanitarian activities span several major crisis-affected regions worldwide including (but not limited to) Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan — illustrating both the breadth and diversity of its humanitarian engagement.

3 reasons why Trump’s latest Russia-Ukraine peace deal favours Moscow

In the News:  A draft 28-point peace proposal reportedly developed by Donald Trump and Russia proposes terms for ending the war in Ukraine which critics say heavily favour Russia. The plan would require major concessions from Ukraine, including territorial recognition of Russian gains and limits on Ukraine’s military and NATO ambitions.

Key Points — 3 Reasons the Deal Favors Moscow:

• Recognition of Russian territorial control: The plan would effectively accept Russian control over Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk and parts of Kherson/Zaporizhzhia, which Russia gained through invasion. Clause 21(a) reportedly states that “Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States.”
• Limitation of Ukraine’s defence and NATO ambitions: Under the terms, Ukraine would be barred from joining NATO, and its armed forces would be reduced (for example from ~800,000 to ~600,000 troops). This weakens Ukraine’s long-term security and enhances Russia’s strategic advantage.
• Shift in security architecture favouring Russia: The proposal invites a new Russia-NATO dialogue and potentially freezes the war in ways that institutionalise a Russian advantage rather than restoring Ukraine’s full sovereignty. Analysts argue that recognising such arrangements would privilege Moscow’s geopolitical goals.

India’s Forex Reserves to Reach All-Time High

In the News: For the week ending November 14, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported that India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by approximately US $5.543 billion, bringing the total to around US $692.576 billion—a strong rebound following a weekly decline, and a sign of greater resilience in India’s external financial buffers.

Key Points:

• Jump in reserves after recent dip: Following a drop of about US $2.699 billion the previous week, India’s reserves surged by US $5.543 billion to reach US $692.576 billion in the week ended November 14.
• Gold holdings as principal driver: A significant portion of the increase came from gold reserves, which rose by roughly US $5.327 billion to reach US $106.857 billion—underscoring that the valuation of gold (rather than large-scale foreign-currency inflows) contributed majorly to the uptick.
• Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs) saw modest growth: The largest component of the reserves, FCAs, increased by about US $152 million to US $562.29 billion, indicating slower growth in currency holdings compared to gold.
• Other constituents improved slightly: The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by about US $56 million to US $18.65 billion, and India’s reserve position with the IMF rose by about US $8 million to US $4.779 billion, adding breadth to the reserves’ components.
• Strategic implications for India’s external buffer: With reserves nearing US $700 billion, India is in a stronger position to manage external shocks—such as sudden capital outflows, fluctuations in the rupee, or global commodity price swings—though the reliance on valuation gains (especially from gold) reminds that underlying inflows and currency strength remain key considerations for sustainability.

India Wins Record Nine Golds at World Boxing Cup Finals 2025

In the News: At the finals of the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025 held in Greater Noida, India secured a record nine gold medals, marking a landmark achievement for Indian boxing at the global level. According to the official medal table, India topped the hosts’ list of participating nations.

Key Points:

• Historic gold-medal haul: India’s nine gold medals form the largest gold tally ever achieved by the country in this tournament. The haul underscores not only individual excellence but a collective peak in performance.
• Women’s boxing leads the charge: Of the nine gold medals, seven were earned by Indian women boxers, underlining the increasing dominance of the women’s contingent. Among the gold winners were established world-champions such as Nikhat Zareen (51 kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57 kg), whose victories fuelled the overall success.
• Depth of performance across categories: India did not just win golds but secured medals in all 20 weight categories of the competition, finishing with nine gold, six silver and five bronze — a demonstration of both elite winners and broad qualification strength.
• Home-ground advantage and momentum: The event being hosted on Indian soil (at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida) provided a supportive competitive environment; the athletes translated this into conversion of finals appearances into gold medals. The presence of a large number of Indian finalists (15 boxers reached gold-medal bouts) further emphasises the depth of the field.
• Broader significance for Indian boxing: The leadership of the Boxing Federation of India described this performance as a “red-letter day” for Indian boxing, indicating that the sport in India has moved beyond emerging status toward a position of global competency and ambition in the lead-up to major events such as the Asian Games and Olympics.

Roger Federer Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

In the News: Legendary tennis player Roger Federer was announced as having been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) in his first year of eligibility, marking a crowning recognition of his extraordinary career.

Key Points:

• First year of eligibility and selection: Federer was eligible for induction five years after stepping away from professional competition, and the Hall announced his selection immediately—he was the only player in the 2026 Class to receive enough votes in the player category. 
• Career achievements underpinning the honour: Over his career, Federer won 20 Grand Slam singles titles (becoming the first male player to reach that mark), claimed 103 tour-level singles titles, and held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 237 weeks in a row (310 weeks in total).
• Legacy beyond statistics: Beyond the numbers, Federer’s elegant all-court style, his role in what he described as a “golden time for tennis”, and his influence on players, fans and the sport at large were particularly highlighted by his peers and the tennis media in their congratulatory responses.