Daily Current Affairs- 9th October 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 9th October 2025

India to Host 8th International Solar Alliance Assembly In Delhi

In the News: India will host the 8th Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi from October 27 to 30, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam. The event will bring together ministers, global leaders, and energy experts from more than 120 member countries to deliberate on strategies for accelerating the global adoption of solar energy, particularly in the developing world. The Assembly underscores India’s leadership role in advancing solar diplomacy and shaping global energy transitions through sustainable and equitable pathways.

Key Points:

• Event Overview: The 8th ISA Assembly will be hosted by India at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from October 27 to 30, 2025. The event will include ministerial sessions, policy dialogues, and high-level discussions focused on the expansion of solar energy access and investment across member nations.
• Global Solar Cooperation: The Assembly will evaluate global progress under ISA’s solar programs and set new cooperative goals for the coming decade. It aims to strengthen partnerships for solar infrastructure, enhance technology transfer, and mobilize finance for renewable projects in developing and least developed countries.
• Focus on the Global South: India will emphasize its commitment to the Global South, advocating affordable solar access, sustainable financing models, and resilient supply chains to support climate action in vulnerable economies. The Assembly will also seek to identify scalable solutions that can replicate India’s success in renewable deployment.
• Themes and Agenda: The discussions will revolve around universal solar electrification, solar-powered agriculture, rooftop solar adoption, and innovative financing tools such as blended finance and risk-mitigation frameworks. The Assembly will also highlight India’s progress under missions like PM-KUSUM and the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
• About ISA: The International Solar Alliance, co-founded by India and France in 2015, serves as a collaborative platform for promoting solar energy worldwide. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, ISA has more than 120 member and signatory countries committed to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring energy equity.
• Expected Outcomes: The 8th ISA Assembly is expected to adopt a forward-looking roadmap for scaling solar technologies, enhance financial and technical collaboration, and align its goals with the upcoming COP-30 climate commitments, positioning India at the heart of the global solar transformation.

IAF to Receive First Tejas Mk1A Fighter Jet

In the News: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is scheduled to receive its first Tejas Mk1A fighter jets in October 2025, marking a pivotal moment in India’s pursuit of self-reliant defence capabilities. This delivery comes after repeated delays in engine supply and system integration, and is being closely watched as a test of India’s indigenous aerospace ambitions.

Key Points:

• Delivery & Ceremony: The first two Tejas Mk1A jets are expected to be handed over on October 17, 2025, at HAL’s Nashik facility, in a formal ceremony attended by the Defence Minister.
• Upgraded Variant: The Mk1A is a significantly enhanced version of the base Tejas Mk1, equipped with an AESA radar, a sophisticated Electronic Warfare Suite (EWS) for threat detection and jamming, and improved maintainability and survivability features.
• Indigenisation & Contract: In September 2025, India signed a ₹62,370 crore (approx. USD 7 billion) contract with HAL for 97 Mk1A jets (68 single-seat + 29 twin-seat), with over 60–65% indigenous content planned and involvement of 105 Indian suppliers.
• Challenges Overcome: The rollout had been delayed due to supply chain disruptions—especially the late delivery of GE F404-IN20 engines. The first engine was delivered in March 2025 after a two-year delay. 
• Strategic Importance: The induction of Tejas Mk1A is expected to help replace aging jets like the MiG-21, strengthen India’s air combat fleet, and validate the “Make in India” vision for defence technology.
• Future Outlook: Deliveries of the Mk1A series are slated to span 2027–28 onward. Meanwhile, development of the more advanced Tejas Mk2 / Medium Weight Fighter continues, targeting induction in the latter part of the decade.

SC opens door for junior judges to directly become district judges: What the ruling means

In the News:  The Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in Rejanish K.V. vs K. Deepa through a five-judge Constitution Bench, holding that junior judicial officers (i.e., judges serving in the subordinate judiciary) can compete for direct recruitment to the post of District Judge under the quota traditionally reserved for advocates.

Key Points:

• Change in Eligibility Interpretation: The Constitution Bench reinterpreted Article 233(2) of the Indian Constitution and overruled earlier precedents that excluded serving judges from the “bar quota” route. It held that the clause requiring seven years’ advocacy does not constitutionally bar judicial officers from entering the direct recruitment channel.
• Uniform Minimum Experience Requirement: The Court mandated that both advocates and judicial officers must have at least seven years of continuous experience (whether as an advocate, a judge, or a combination) by the time of application, not appointment, to be eligible. Breaks in service may disqualify a candidate.
• Minimum Experience Requirement: The Court mandated that both advocates and judicial officers must have at least seven years of continuous experience (whether as an advocate, a judge, or a combination) by the time of application, not appointment, to be eligible. Breaks in service may disqualify a candidate.
• Minimum Age Criterion: A uniform minimum age of 35 years is prescribed for all applicants (whether from the bar or judicial service).
• Prospective Application & Rule Amendments: The ruling is prospective, meaning it will not disturb past appointments. States, high courts, and judicial service rules must be amended within three months to align with the new eligibility framework.
• Overriding Earlier Precedents: The decision expressly overruled judgments such as Satya Narain Singh vs Allahabad High Court (1984) and Dheeraj Mor vs Delhi High Court (2020), which had confined direct recruitment to only those who were practising advocates.

RBI Launches Retail Sandbox for Digital Currency

In the News: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a retail sandbox for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the e-rupee. This sandbox will allow fintech firms and innovators to design, test, and refine digital rupee applications in a controlled environment, building on the ongoing retail e-rupee pilot that began in December 2022.

Key Points:

• Purpose & Scope: The retail sandbox is intended to foster innovation around the digital rupee by allowing regulated entities, such as fintech firms and banks, to experiment with APIs, prototypes, and real-world use cases under supervisory oversight.
• Background Pilot: India’s first retail e-rupee pilot launched on December 1, 2022. As of now, around 7 million users are interacting with the CBDC in its limited pilot form.
• Access & Participation: Fintech firms may join the sandbox either directly or via partner banks. The sandbox gives them access to required infrastructure and environment to test digital rupee solutions without full-scale deployment risks.
• Tokenised Certificates of Deposit (CDs): Alongside the sandbox, the RBI also launched a pilot for tokenising CDs (certificates of deposit), enabling these financial instruments to be represented as digital tokens on blockchain-like ledgers, settled via the wholesale CBDC layer. 
• Rationale & Benefits: The sandbox is designed to encourage experimentation, reduce barriers to innovation, and help uncover scalable and user-friendly digital rupee use cases. It provides a safe environment to manage risks while integrating CBDC features into India’s financial ecosystem.

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László Krasznahorkai Wins the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature

In the News: The Swedish Academy awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

Key Points:

• Award & Citation: Krasznahorkai received the Nobel Prize in its entirety (one full share), with the Academy highlighting how his works maintain artistic affirmation even in bleak, apocalyptic settings.
• Literary Style & Themes: His writing is marked by long, flowing sentences, dense prose and existential urgency. His themes frequently explore despair, decay, absurdism, isolation, and the tension between chaos and order.
• Cultural & Aesthetic Influences: Krasznahorkai is often aligned with the Central European tradition—seen as a successor to Kafka and Thomas Bernhard—while also drawing on contemplative influences from his travels in East Asia (China, Japan).
• Major Works & Reception: His breakthrough novel Satantango (1985), a bleak portrait of a crumbling collective farm, remains canonical and was adapted into a film by Béla Tarr. Other celebrated works include The Melancholy of Resistance, War and War, and Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming.
• Historical Significance & National Context: Krasznahorkai is the second Hungarian author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, following Imre Kertész in 2002.

12,000 Year Old Pillar Carved with Human Face Unearthed in Türkiye

In the News: Archaeologists in southeastern Türkiye unearthed a 12,000-year-old T-shaped pillar at the Neolithic site of Karahantepe that bears a carved human face — the first such discovery of its kind in the region. The find was announced under the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) Project and is hailed as a breakthrough in understanding early human symbolic and artistic expression.

Key Points:

• Discovery & Site: The pillar emerged from excavations at Karahantepe, part of the Taş Tepeler network of ancient sites in southeastern Türkiye.
• Age & Significance: Dating to about 12,000 years ago (Pre-Pottery Neolithic era), the monument is among the earliest known attempts by humans to depict facial features in stone.
• Design & Features: The T-shaped pillar incorporates a stylized human face carved at its upper section. The facial depiction has sharp contours, deep eye sockets, and a broad, flattened nose — similar in style to earlier human sculptures found in the area.
• Symbolic Implications: Previously, T-shaped pillars at sites like Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe were thought to represent humans abstractly (via stylized arms and body). The addition of a face suggests an evolution from symbolic representation toward more direct, anthropomorphic art.
• Cultural & Archaeological Impact: The find deepens our understanding of early human cognitive and symbolic development. It suggests that people in the Neolithic period were experimenting with self-representation and identity, rather than limiting pillars to purely ritual or architectural functions.
• Broader Context: Karahantepe is part of a cluster of important Neolithic sites in southeastern Anatolia that also includes Göbekli Tepe. These sites are redefining views about the transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to complex communal and ritual spaces.

Israel, Hamas agree to 1st phase of Gaza peace plan

In the News: Israel and Hamas formally agreed to the first phase of a U.S.-brokered peace plan aimed at halting the two-year war in Gaza. The agreement includes a ceasefire, a partial Israeli withdrawal, and a major hostage–prisoner exchange.

Key Points:

• Ceasefire & Withdrawal: Israel will begin a phased withdrawal from parts of Gaza, pulling back troops to a pre-agreed line while halting active combat operations.
• Hostage and Prisoner Exchange: Hamas has committed to releasing all remaining living hostages within 72 hours of the withdrawal. In return, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners (including those serving life sentences) concurrently.
•  Humanitarian Access: With the cessation of hostilities, aid convoys carrying food, medicine and relief supplies will be allowed into Gaza in much higher volumes to address the dire humanitarian crisis.
• Ratification Process: The agreement is contingent upon approval by Israel’s cabinet. Once ratified, implementation is expected to begin quickly, with hostilities ceasing within 24 hours.
• Unresolved Issues: Key challenges remain, such as Gaza’s post-war governance, the disarmament of Hamas, security guarantees, and long-term reconstruction. These will be addressed in upcoming phases of the peace plan.