- Draft National Labour & Employment Policy – Shram Shakti Niti 2025
SUBJECT: NATIONAL
- The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment released the draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025, India’s first integrated policy on labour and employment, aiming to create ten crore jobs by 2030 through skill development and gig economy regulations.
- The policy is structured in three phases: Phase I (2025–27) focuses on institutional setup and digital pilots for social security; Phase II (2027–30) expands Universal Social Security and AI-based job matching; Phase III (beyond 2030) achieves full digital convergence.
- It addresses informal sector vulnerabilities, gender disparities in workforce participation, and climate-resilient employment, integrating with schemes like PMKVY and MGNREGA.
- Consultations with states, unions, and industry bodies are ongoing until November 2025, with final adoption targeted for Q1 2026.
- The policy emphasizes predictive labour governance using data analytics to forecast skill needs amid automation.
- Concepts: Article 41: Right to work, education, and public assistance in cases of unemployment; Labour Code 2020: Consolidated framework for wages, social security, and industrial relations.
- Doctrine of Social Justice: Ensures equitable distribution of employment opportunities, aligning with Directive Principles of State Policy.
2. Surge in Cyber Fraud Cases and Digital Arrest Scams
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ISSUES
- A 78-year-old banker in Mumbai lost twenty-three crore rupees in a “digital arrest” scam, highlighting a forty percent rise in cyber frauds reported in 2025, with over fifteen lakh cases filed nationwide per NCRB data.
- The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) launched Operation Chakra to dismantle scam networks operating from Southeast Asia, leading to two hundred arrests in the first nine months.
- RBI mandated banks to implement AI-driven anomaly detection systems, reducing transaction fraud by twenty-five percent in pilot states.
- Public awareness campaigns like Cyber Jagrookta Abhiyan reached fifty crore citizens via social media and community drives.
- The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal saw a sixty percent increase in complaints, prompting calls for stricter enforcement of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
- Concepts: Section 66C and 66D of IT Act: Penalties for identity theft and cheating by personation using computer resources.
- Precautionary Principle: From Vellore Citizens’ Forum vs Union of India (1996), applied to preventive measures against emerging digital threats.
3. India Pushes for Global Governance Reforms at 16th BRICS Summit
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL
- At the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, PM Modi advocated for UN Security Council restructuring, emphasizing greater representation for Global South nations in decision-making bodies.
- India proposed a BRICS Development Bank expansion to fund one hundred billion dollars in sustainable infrastructure projects, focusing on climate adaptation in developing economies.
- Bilateral talks with Brazil and South Africa advanced trade pacts for agricultural exports, aiming to boost intra-BRICS commerce to five hundred billion dollars by 2028.
- The summit condemned unilateral sanctions and called for de-dollarization through local currency settlements, with India piloting rupee-ruble trades.
- Discussions on counter-terrorism highlighted India’s concerns over cross-border threats from Pakistan, urging enhanced intelligence sharing.
- Concepts: Article 2(4) of UN Charter: Prohibition on threat or use of force against territorial integrity; Non-Alignment Movement (NAM): India’s historical advocacy for multilateralism.
- Principle of Sovereign Equality: Under UN Charter, ensures equal participation of member states in international forums.
4. Record Solar and Wind Energy Generation Boosts Renewable Targets
SUBJECT: ECONOMY
- India achieved a record twelve percent contribution from solar and wind to the national grid in Q3 2025, generating eighty-five gigawatts, aligning with the five hundred gigawatt non-fossil fuel target by 2030.
- PM Modi’s inauguration of the Green Energy Corridor Phase II added thirteen gigawatts capacity, attracting one point five lakh crore rupees in private investments.
- The scheme reduced import dependency on coal by fifteen percent, creating five lakh green jobs in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- Integration with smart grids enabled twenty-four by seven renewable supply, cutting power costs by twenty percent for industrial consumers.
- International Solar Alliance (ISA) partnerships facilitated technology transfer from Australia and France.
- Concepts: Section 61 of Electricity Act, 2003: Mandates renewable purchase obligations for distribution licensees.
- Fiscal Federalism: Under Article 246, concurrent powers for Centre-states in energy policy implementation.
5. DRDO Unveils Indian Radio Software Architecture for Enhanced Defence Communications
SUBJECT: DEFENCE
- DRDO, in collaboration with Tri-Services, launched IRSA 1.0 at a New Delhi workshop, standardizing software for Software Defined Radios to ensure secure, interoperable military networks.
- The architecture supports real-time encryption and AI-enabled spectrum management, reducing dependency on foreign tech by forty percent.
- Tested in joint exercises, it enhances command-control for border surveillance and naval operations.
- Integration with Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative aims for seventy percent indigenous content in defence electronics by 2027.
- The rollout includes training for ten thousand personnel across Army, Navy, and Air Force.
- Concepts: Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020: Prioritizes indigenous procurement and technology transfer.
- Strategic Autonomy: Aligns with National Security Strategy for self-reliance in critical defence technologies.
