Daily Current Affairs- 29th November 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 29th November 2025

GIFT City Eyes Becoming India’s ‘Guernsey’ by On‑shoring Intellectual Property

In the News: The plan to position GIFT City as India’s “Guernsey” — a domestic hub for on-shoring Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) — aims to consolidate global and domestic IPR registrations under a single roof, combining financial-centre benefits with robust IP laws.

Key Points:

• On-shoring Indian Innovation: The drive to bring Indian startups, innovators and companies back from overseas jurisdictions (often used for IP registration/export purposes) into GIFT City reflects a push to retain value within India.
• Rationale Against “Flipping”: Many Indian startups and unicorns currently “flip” or externalize – shifting headquarters or IP to jurisdictions abroad like Singapore, USA or UK — to benefit from favorable tax, compliance, and regulatory environments. 
• GIFT IFSC Regulatory & Legal Framework: The GIFT International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC) offers a regulated, business-friendly environment under the oversight of International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), enabling financial services, technology firms, and IP-holding structures to operate securely with transparent Indian governance.
• Integrated Infrastructure & Ecosystem: GIFT City, envisioned as a smart city and financial hub, provides world-class infrastructure: SEZ (Special Economic Zone), DTA (Domestic Tariff Area), modern commercial and residential zones, cutting-edge utilities — making it attractive for businesses to house IP along with their other operations.
• Business & Investment Incentives: Companies operating in GIFT IFSC enjoy tax incentives, favorable regulatory treatment, and the potential to access global and domestic capital — which strengthens the case for locating IP holdings there rather than abroad.

Jay Shah Honoured with “Indian of the Year 2025”

In the News: The Jay Shah — Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) — was honoured with the “CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2025” in the Outstanding Achievement category, recognising his transformative contribution to Indian and global cricket during his tenure as Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and early days leading ICC.

Key Points:

• Outstanding Achievement Recognition: The 2025 Indian of the Year award was conferred on Jay Shah in the Outstanding Achievement category to acknowledge the breadth and depth of reforms and developments under his stewardship — particularly those that reshaped Indian cricket at structural, commercial, and social levels.
• Championing Women’s Cricket: A major part of the honour reflects Shah’s role in promotingomen’s cricket — during his time as BCCI Secretary, he oversaw the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and introduced pay parity for women and men cricketers. These measures are widely regarded as pivotal to elevating women’s cricket in India, culminating in landmark successes such as the national women’s team’s World Cup victory in 2025. 
• Commercial and Structural Milestones: Beyond women’s cricket, Shah’s tenure witnessed bold commercial and infrastructural initiatives — including a record media-rights deal (reportedly amounting to ₹50,000 crore), and the creation of a modern National Cricket Academy (NCA) with multiple pitches designed to replicate overseas playing conditions. These efforts have strengthened India’s domestic cricket pipeline and its competitive edge abroad.
• Global Vision & Governance: As ICC Chairman since December 2024, Shah is credited with advancing a global vision for cricket — advocating for expansion of the game to emerging cricket nations, supporting enhanced governance, and pushing for cricket’s return to the Olympic fold. Awarding him now underscores recognition not just for past work, but for the strategic path he is charting for cricket globally.
• Dedication to the Game and its Players: In his acceptance remarks, Shah dedicated the award to women cricketers and senior players — acknowledging names like Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj, highlighting that his reforms aimed to benefit the players and the sport’s growth rather than personal glory.

Operation Sagar Bandhu

In the News: The Indian government has launched Operation Sagar Bandhu — a humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief mission — to support Sri Lanka after it was devastated by Cyclone Ditwah. The operation involves rapid deployment of air, sea and rescue-personnel to deliver essential relief materials, assist in rescue operations, and provide relief to thousands of affected people.

Key Points:

• Launch and Objective: Operation Sagar Bandhu was initiated in response to the widespread flooding, landslides and destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka. Its objective is to provide immediate humanitarian assistance — including food, shelter, medical aid, and rescue operations — to those affected, reflecting India’s commitment to regional solidarity and disaster-relief support.
• Scale of Relief Effort: The operation quickly mobilised resources: transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) — namely C-130J and IL-76 — delivered nearly 21 tonnes of relief material to Colombo, carrying essentials such as tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits, ready-to-eat food items, and other critical supplies.
• Personnel Deployment & Rescue Operations: Over 80 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with rescue equipment, were airlifted to assist in search and rescue operations. Additionally, two Chetak helicopters from the naval aircraft carrier INS Vikrant were deployed for rescue missions in flood-affected and landslide-hit areas, in coordination with Sri Lankan authorities.
• Delivery by Sea and Naval Assets: The first tranche of relief supplies was handed over via Indian naval ships INS Udaygiri and INS Vikrant, which docked at Colombo to deliver essential rations and supplies to displaced families. This underlined the multidimensional — air, sea and on-ground — approach of Operation Sagar Bandhu.
• Diplomacy and Regional Solidarity: The mission is guided by India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy and broader maritime-security vision Vision MAHASAGAR. The swift response conveys India’s readiness to support its maritime neighbours during crises, strengthening bilateral ties with Sri Lanka while underscoring its role as a first responder in the region.
• Humanitarian Impact: The relief operation aimed to assist tens of thousands affected by floods and landslides across multiple districts in Sri Lanka — providing essential aid, evacuation support, shelter, medical assistance, and helping restore some normalcy for displaced families.

Sujalam Bharat Summit 2025

In the News: The Sujalam Bharat Summit 2025 (formally “Vision for Sujalam Bharat Summit 2025”) was inaugurated in New Delhi by Ministry of Jal Shakti on 28 November 2025 with the objective of charting a unified, action-oriented national roadmap for water security, sustainable water governance and long-term water resource management across India.

Key Points:

• Purpose and National Water Vision: The summit is structured around a vision to secure India’s water future by fostering evidence-based policymaking, cooperative federalism and sectoral reforms in water governance. It brings together central and state officials, junior cadres, technical experts, community groups, and grassroots stakeholders to ensure broad-based participation and ground-level insight.
• Six Thematic Focus Areas: The agenda covers six critical themes — rejuvenation of rivers and springs (catchment protection, wetland restoration, river stewardship), greywater management and reuse, technology-driven water management (including AI-based monitoring, micro-irrigation, leak detection, precision agriculture), water conservation (aquifer recharge, traditional water systems, behaviour change under LiFE), sustainable drinking-water supply (climate-resilient supply, source sustainability, community-based operations), and deep community engagement (empowering PRIs, SHGs and local bodies for long-term water asset management).
• Institutional Approach & Integration with Existing Missions: The summit aims to integrate and reinforce ongoing efforts under schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission (for drinking water), Namami Gange Programme (for river rejuvenation), and recharge & water-conservation campaigns led by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. This integrated planning seeks to ensure that water security, sanitation and sustainable water management become a coordinated national priority rather than fragmented efforts.
• Broad Participation and Grassroots Inclusivity: The inaugural session saw participation from around 250 attendees — including central and state ministries, technical experts, NGOs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), community organisations, local-governance bodies (panchayats), and awardees of national water-conservation initiatives. This demonstrates the summit’s aim to move beyond policy circles and include stakeholders across administrative, community and grassroots levels. 
• Implementation Orientation — From Strategy to Action: The summit is not an academic exercise but a commitment to translate deliberations into tangible action. The roadmap to emerge aims to strengthen water-management institutions, promote scientific and nature-based solutions, ensure community ownership and adopt modern technologies — thereby enabling India to move towards a “Sujalam, Sustainable and Prosperous Bharat.”

Tewary Commission Report on Nellie Massacre

In the News: The Tewary Commission Report on the Nellie Massacre — officially titled the Report of the Commission of Enquiry on Assam Disturbances 1983.

Key Points:

• Scope and timing of the report’s release: The Tewary Commission had submitted its roughly 600-page report in 1984 to the then Assam government; however, it remained inaccessible to the public for decades, with only a few official copies existing. In November 2025, under the current government, the report was formally tabled in the legislative assembly and copies were distributed among members — marking the first time its findings have been made publicly available. 
• Findings: the massacre was avoidable — but due to failures: The Commission concluded that the violence of 18 February 1983 — which became the Nellie massacre — was not spontaneous or unavoidable; rather, it cited delayed government action, ignored intelligence warnings, and lack of coordination among security and administrative agencies as major factors that allowed the situation to spiral into mass violence. 
• Broader context — more than communal violence: Contrary to popular perception of the massacre as an exclusively communal incident, the report argues that giving it a purely communal colour is “entirely unwarranted.” Instead, it locates the violence within a complex mix of socio-economic anxieties, political polarisation, demographic changes, and long-standing tensions over land, identity and resources — factors aggravated by the political unrest of the Assam Agitation (1979–1985).
• Accountability — blame on agitation leadership and administrative failure: The report holds the leaders of the agitation — the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) — primarily responsible for creating the political climate that led to violence. It emphasises that administrative neglect — despite prior intelligence, warnings and known risks — contributed significantly to the catastrophe.
• Implications for historical accountability and public memory: The release of the Tewary report is being called a “bold step towards transparency and historical justice,” opening the door for a fuller public reckoning with one of India’s worst post-independence mass violence episodes. It may enable informed debate on past failures and contribute to reconciliation — though many warn against the risk of politicisation of its findings in the charged pre-election context.

China’s Arctic Express Route Opens — Why India Must Strengthen Its Maritime Corridors

In the News: The launch of the China–Europe Arctic Express — a new shipping route via the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) — that trims down Asia-Europe transit time dramatically has sparked discussion about why India must accelerate development of its own maritime corridors like the Chennai–Vladivostok Maritime Corridor (CVMC) and other coastal routes, in order to safeguard its trade, security and economic interests.

Key Points:

• Arctic Express rewrites global shipping dynamics: The Arctic Express, with the vessel Istanbul Bridge, began service from China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in September 2025, reaching Europe’s major ports (such as in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Poland) in just about 18 days — roughly half the time required via the traditional Suez Canal route, which typically takes over 40 days. This represents a paradigm shift in global supply-chain logistics and reduces distance, time, costs and certain geopolitical vulnerabilities associated with older routes.
• Strategic challenge for India — risk of being bypassed: With China gaining a significant lead via the Arctic Express, trade flows between Asia and Europe may increasingly favor Arctic-based shipping lanes. For India, which relies heavily on maritime trade and is geographically placed outside these new Arctic-Europe corridors, there is a risk that its ports and shipping corridors may become less competitive if it does not upgrade maritime connectivity and logistics infrastructure.
• Importance of strengthening Chennai–Vladivostok and other corridors: The Chennai–Vladivostok Maritime Corridor, already operational as of 2024, connects India’s east coast with Russia’s Far East — reducing shipping distance and cargo transit time considerably compared to older sea-routes. This corridor enhances India’s access to Russia’s resource-rich Far East and bolsters Indo-Pacific maritime outreach.
• Diversification of trade and energy supply chains: By expanding maritime corridors along India’s coasts and with partner countries, India can build resilience in its trade and energy import strategy, lessen dependence on traditional routes (especially those vulnerable to geopolitical or chokepoint risks), and gain strategic flexibility in the evolving global maritime order.

India’s Fiscal Deficit Reaches 52.6% of FY26 Target by October, Driven by Higher Capex

In the News: According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), by the end of October 2025 the central government’s fiscal deficit for FY26 had surged to ₹ 8.25 lakh crore — equivalent to 52.6% of the full-year target, reflecting a combination of elevated capital expenditure and weaker net tax revenue.

Key Points:

• Size and comparison: The deficit reaching 52.6 % of the FY26 target by October marks a sharp increase compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, when the shortfall stood at 46.5% of the annual target.
• Drivers — Capex surge & tax revenue drop: The primary reason for the widening gap is a significant rise in capital expenditure, which stood at ₹ 6.18 lakh crore (55.1% of the FY26 capex target) by October — against ₹ 4.7 lakh crore in the same period last year. Meanwhile, net tax collections have declined to ₹ 12.74 lakh crore, down from ₹ 13.05 lakh crore in the corresponding period of FY25.
• Revenue receipts and non-tax revenue: In spite of the dip in tax revenue, non-tax receipts have improved — non-tax revenue reached ₹ 4.89 lakh crore, compared with ₹ 4.00 lakh crore in the previous year. Total revenue receipts stood at ₹ 17.63 lakh crore, which corresponds to about 51.6% of the full-year estimate. 
• Expenditure pattern: As of October, total government expenditure was ₹ 26.26 lakh crore (about 51.8% of the annual projection), distributed across revenue and capital spending — reflecting front-loaded spending in infrastructure and other capital projects. 
• Implications for fiscal consolidation and risks ahead: The sharp rise in capex shows the government’s commitment to infrastructure and growth stimulation, but the drop in tax revenues poses a risk to achieving the targeted fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP for FY26. Analysts warn that to meet the annual target, tax collections need to increase significantly in the remaining months — a challenging task given current trends.

India Adds 7 New Names to the Martian Map

In the News: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved seven new Indian-origin names for geological features on Mars — proposed by researchers from Kerala — thereby extending India’s footprint onto the Martian map in a move celebrated as a landmark for Indian planetary science.

Key Points:

• New Martian Names Reflect Indian Heritage & Science Legacy: The newly approved names include a large crater named after distinguished Indian geologist M. S. Krishnan, along with nearby plains and several smaller craters and valleys named after places in Kerala. Specifically, the features are: Krishnan Crater, Krishnan Palus (plain), Periyar Vallis (valley), and craters named Valiamala, Thumba, Bekal, and Varkala. 
• Scientific Significance of Krishnan Crater: The Krishnan Crater, located in the Martian region Xanthe Terra, spans approximately 77 km in diameter and is estimated to be about 3.5 billion years old — making it geologically significant for studies of ancient Mars. The adjoining plain, Krishnan Palus, supplements this naming to mark extended terrain around the crater.
• Kerala Names — Cultural, Geographic & Historical Links: The other features — Periyar Vallis (named after Kerala’s longest river), Varkala (after the popular coastal town and beach), Bekal (after historic Bekal Fort), Thumba (the site linked to early Indian space-programme launches), and Valiamala — mark a symbolic fusion of Earth’s cultural/geographic heritage with extra-terrestrial mapping.
• Adherence to IAU Nomenclature Rules: According to IAU naming conventions, large Martian craters (diameter ≥ 50 km) are named after deceased scientists who made significant contributions — hence Krishnan — while smaller craters and valleys may be named after towns or geographic features on Earth (with population thresholds), explaining the inclusion of smaller towns/locations from Kerala for Valiamala, Thumba, Bekal, Varkala and Periyar.
• Recognition for Indian Space Science and Global Presence: This approval reflects growing international recognition of India’s contribution to planetary geology and space research. By anchoring Indian names — both of a pioneering scientist and culturally significant places — on Mars, the move symbolises India’s increasing footprint in global space science and inspires a sense of national pride.