Daily Current Affairs- 29th December 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 29th December 2025

Govt’s Green Panel Clears Dulhasti Stage-II Hydel Power Project

In the News: The Ministry of Environment's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on hydel projects approved the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district. The clearance, granted during the committee's 45th meeting, comes in the backdrop of India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, paving the way for accelerated hydroelectric development in the Indus basin.

Key Points:

• Project Approval: The Expert Appraisal Committee on hydel projects accorded environmental clearance to the 260 MW Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project during its 45th meeting held in December 2025. The approval enables the government to float construction tenders for this run-of-the-river project.
• Project Cost and Location: The project is estimated to cost over Rs 3,200 crore and will be constructed on the Chenab River in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is designed as a run-of-the-river scheme, which means it will generate power without significantly storing water.
• Extension of Existing Facility: Dulhasti Stage-II is an extension of the existing 390 MW Dulhasti Stage-I Hydro Electric Project (Dulhasti Power Station), which has been successfully operating since its commissioning in 2007 by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC).
• Indus Waters Treaty Context: The committee noted that while the project's parameters were originally planned in accordance with the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the treaty stands suspended effective from April 23, 2025. Under the treaty, Pakistan had rights over the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, while India had rights over the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.
• Suspension Following Pahalgam Attack: India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. This suspension has enabled India to pursue hydroelectric projects on rivers that were previously subject to treaty restrictions.
• Accelerated Hydropower Development: With the treaty now in abeyance, the Centre is pushing ahead with several hydroelectric projects in the Indus basin, including Sawalkote, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru, and Kirthai I and II projects, marking a significant shift in India's water resource management strategy in the region.

RPREX 2025 Regional Pollution Response Exercise Conducts By Indian Coast Guard

In the News:  The Indian Coast Guard conducted the Regional Level Pollution Response Exercise (RPREX-2025) off the Mumbai coast to strengthen India's maritime environmental protection capabilities. The exercise, held on December 26, 2025, followed a two-phase approach with a planning conference on December 18, 2025, aimed at testing and validating the preparedness of all stakeholders in combating major oil spill incidents in the Arabian Sea.

Key Points:

• Exercise Overview: The Indian Coast Guard conducted RPREX-2025, a Regional Level Pollution Response Exercise, off the Mumbai coast on December 26, 2025 (Friday). The exercise was designed to test preparedness, coordination, and response effectiveness of all stakeholders involved in managing marine pollution incidents in accordance with the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP).
• Two-Phase Approach: The exercise followed a structured two-phase methodology. The first phase included a planning conference held on December 18, 2025, featuring technical lectures and a tabletop exercise to coordinate strategy among stakeholders. The second phase comprised a full-scale live sea exercise conducted on December 26, 2025, to test hardware, personnel, and real-time communication systems.
• ICG's Nodal Role: The Indian Coast Guard has been designated as the Central Coordinating Authority for coordinating oil spill response in Indian waters and undertaking oil spill prevention and control. The successful conduct of RPREX-2025 validated the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP), which provides the national framework for responding to oil spill emergencies in Indian waters.

Why Supreme Court stayed Delhi HC order on Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Sengar

In the News: The Supreme Court of India stayed the Delhi High Court’s order that had suspended the life sentence and granted bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, convicted in the 2017 Unnao rape case. This stay ensures that Sengar remains in jail while legal questions raised by the CBI’s appeal are examined by the apex court.

Key Points:

• Delhi High Court Order: The Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s life sentence in the 2017 Unnao rape conviction and granted him bail pending appeal, citing that he had served significant time in custody. 
• Supreme Court Stay: The Supreme Court stayed the High Court’s order on December 29, 2025, effectively halting Sengar’s release and ensuring he remains in jail while the case is heard further.
• Reason for Supreme Court Intervention: The apex court intervened after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenged the High Court’s order, highlighting serious legal questions, including interpretation of the law relating to whether an elected representative qualifies as a “public servant” under the POCSO Act and the implications for aggravated offences.
• “Public Servant” Legal Issue: A key point raised by the CBI is that the High Court’s reasoning—that Sengar was not a public servant for the purposes of aggravated charges under the POCSO Act—could create anomalies in law (e.g., less powerful public servants defined in law could be treated more harshly than an elected lawmaker). The Supreme Court flagged this concern as part of its rationale for staying the order.
• Continued Custody: While the bail order was stayed, the Supreme Court noted that Sengar is already in custody in another case (related to the custodial death of the rape survivor’s father), meaning he will remain in jail regardless of the interim stay.
• Victim and Public Response: The Unnao rape survivor and civil society welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the High Court order, viewing it as a reinforcement of justice and due process in a high-profile sexual violence case.

Israel Recognizes Somaliland as an Independent State

In the News: Israel became the first United Nations member state to formally recognise Somaliland — a self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa — as an independent and sovereign state, ending its longstanding international isolation and marking a major shift in diplomatic relations.

]Key Points:

• Historic Recognition: Israel officially recognised the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state on December 26, 2025, signing a mutual declaration with Somaliland’s leadership. This makes Israel the first UN member to grant such recognition since Somaliland’s 1991 declaration of independence from Somalia.
• Diplomatic Relations: The recognition deal was marked by a joint declaration signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland’s president, with both sides expressing intentions to cooperate in areas such as agriculture, health, technology and the economy.
• Somaliland’s Status: Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and has since operated with de facto autonomy, but lacked formal international recognition despite having its own government, institutions, and relative stability in contrast to the rest of Somalia.
• Somalia’s Reaction: The federal government of Somalia strongly condemned Israel’s recognition as an illegal affront to its sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling the move a violation of international law and pledging to counter it through diplomatic, political, and legal means.
• Global Backlash: Numerous countries and international bodies — including Egypt, Turkey, the African Union, the East African Community, and several UN Security Council members — criticised the decision, warning it could undermine regional peace and stability and violate established norms on territorial integrity.

Iran launches three satellites with Russian Soyuz rockets

In the News: Iran successfully launched three domestically built satellites into low-Earth orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia, marking a significant step in Tehran’s expanding space programme and cooperation with Moscow.

Key Points:

• Launch Mission: A Russian Soyuz-2.1b rocket carried three Iranian satellites—Paya, Zafar-2 and Kowsar-1.5—into orbit on December 28, 2025, as part of a multi-payload mission that also included dozens of other spacecraft. 
• Satellite Roles: The satellites are Earth-observation platforms designed for civilian uses such as monitoring agriculture, mapping natural resources, environmental tracking, and water resource management.
• Domestic Production: All three satellites were designed and built by Iranian scientists, with involvement from government bodies, universities, and private sector companies, demonstrating growing national space capabilities.
• Iran–Russia Cooperation: The launch reinforces strategic space cooperation between Iran and Russia; Iran has frequently relied on Russian launch vehicles due to Western sanctions limiting access to international launch services.

China launches military encirclement drill near Taiwan

In the News: China launched "Justice Mission 2025," large-scale military drills encircling Taiwan involving army, navy, air force, and rocket force units. The exercises, described by Beijing as a "stern warning" against Taiwanese independence and "external interference," came less than two weeks after the United States approved a record $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan. The drills—the largest ever by total coverage area and sixth major war games since 2022—include live-fire exercises across seven maritime zones, simulated strikes on land and sea targets, and blockade rehearsals of Taiwan's main ports, disrupting over 100,000 international air travelers and prompting Taiwan to place its military on high alert.

Key Points:

• Exercise Launch and Code Name: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command launched "Justice Mission 2025" on Monday, December 29, 2025, mobilizing army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops for joint military drills around Taiwan. Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, announced that the exercises began with naval and air forces running combat readiness patrols from December 29.
• Scale and Geographic Scope - Record Coverage: The drills are being conducted across seven maritime zones encircling Taiwan—initially announced as five zones, but expanded to include an additional zone in Taiwan's eastern waters (conducted without prior Chinese announcement on Monday morning) and a seventh zone. China's Maritime Safety Administration designated these zones for military exercises including live-fire drills, making this the largest military exercise to date by total coverage area and with zones closer to Taiwan than any previous drills.
• Military Assets Deployed: As of 3:00 PM Monday, December 29, Taiwan's Defense Ministry detected: 89 Chinese military aircraft and drones operating around the Taiwan Strait (67 of which entered Taiwan's "response zone"—airspace under the military's monitoring and response), 14 Chinese naval vessels (navy ships) around the Taiwan Strait, 4 additional warships in the Western Pacific, and 14 China Coast Guard vessels conducting simultaneous maritime enforcement patrols around Taiwan and the Taiwan-held Matsu Islands and Wuqiu Islands off the coast of China.
• Live-Fire Activities - December 30, 2025: China's Eastern Theater Command released a notice announcing the closure of maritime and airspace zones around Taiwan for live-fire drills during daytime hours on Tuesday, December 30, 2025. Chinese authorities issued notifications establishing seven temporary dangerous zones around the Taiwan Strait for rocket-firing exercises from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on December 30, barring aircraft from entering these areas.
• Japan Factor - Additional Trigger: Regional frictions around Taiwan have been heightened in recent weeks as Beijing unleashed a diplomatic and economic pressure campaign against US ally Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in recent statements that Japan's military could get involved and respond militarily if China were to move to take control of Taiwan by force.
• Taiwan Military Readiness - Rapid Response Exercises: Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that "Rapid Response Exercises are underway, with forces on high alert" designed to move troops swiftly in case the drills turn into an actual attack.
• Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) Strategy: Chieh Chung, associate research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told CNN: "The PLA aims to deny intervention by foreign military forces in conflicts around Taiwan and keep them out. Beijing is very explicit about that objective in this drill." This marks the first time China has publicly stated that drills around Taiwan are explicitly aimed at deterring foreign military intervention.
• One-China Principle and Historical Context: The regime of the Chinese Communist Party maintains a policy known as the "One-China principle," which claims the sovereign nation of Taiwan is a province of China. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Chinese Civil War brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing while defeated Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) forces fled to Taiwan under Chiang Kai-shek. The island has operated since then with its own democratically elected government, though Beijing's government claims Taiwan as sovereign territory that must eventually come under its rule.