1. PARLIAMENT WINTER SESSION BEGINS AMID OPPOSITION PUSH FOR ELECTORAL REFORMS
SUBJECT: POLITY
- Winter Session of Parliament started on December 10, 2025 with the government listing 16 new Bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the controversial “One Nation One Election” Bills.
- Opposition parties, led by Congress and TMC, demanded immediate discussion on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and deletion of voters in several states.
- Rajya Sabha witnessed uproar and brief adjournment after Opposition accused the Election Commission of “mass voter disenfranchisement” under the guise of SIR.
- Lok Sabha Speaker assured that a debate on electoral bonds and voter list purification will be allowed after the introduction of the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill on simultaneous elections.
- Supreme Court agreed to urgently hear a batch of petitions challenging the appointment of two new Election Commissioners in March 2025.
- Concepts: Article 324 – Superintendence of elections; Basic Structure Doctrine – Simultaneous elections vs federalism.
2. CYCLONE FENGAL AFTERMATH AND HEAVY RAIN ALERT IN TAMIL NADU
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ISSUES
- Tamil Nadu government extended relief operations in delta districts after Cyclone Fengal caused 12 deaths and damage worth ₹2,200 crore.
- Chennai and northern districts received fresh heavy rain warning till December 13 due to a new low-pressure area over southeast Bay of Bengal.
- Schools and colleges remain closed in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu for the third consecutive day.
- Southern Railway cancelled 18 trains and diverted 25 others due to waterlogging on tracks between Chennai and Vijayawada section.
- NDRF deployed additional 12 teams in coastal Tamil Nadu; Indian Navy kept flood relief columns on standby from INS Adyar.
- Concepts: Disaster Management Act, 2005 – Role of SDMA and DDMA; State List vs Concurrent List responsibilities.
3. PM MODI ATTENDS BRICS PLUS SUMMIT IN KAZAN, RUSSIA
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kazan, Russia to attend the expanded BRICS Summit (December 10-11, 2025) with 35 countries participating in BRICS+ format.
- India pushed for early reform of UN Security Council and inclusion of Global South priorities in the new Kazan Declaration.
- Bilateral meeting held between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping – first formal talks after 2020 Galwan clash – focusing on complete LAC disengagement.
- Russia announced full support for India’s permanent UNSC membership during the summit.
- Iran formally admitted as the 10th full BRICS member from January 1, 2026.
- Concepts: Multipolarity – India’s balancing role; Article 2(7) UN Charter – Domestic jurisdiction vs global governance.
4. RBI KEEPS REPO RATE UNCHANGED AT 6.5%, SHIFTS STANCE TO “NEUTRAL”
SUBJECT: ECONOMY
- Reserve Bank of India in its December 2025 Monetary Policy Review kept repo rate unchanged at 6.5% but changed stance from “withdrawal of accommodation” to “neutral”.
- RBI Governor flagged rising food inflation (projected 5.5% for FY26) and global uncertainty due to new US tariff policies under President-elect Trump.
- India’s forex reserves crossed $710 billion mark for the first time, providing strong external buffer.
- RBI introduced new framework for domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) with higher capital surcharge for SBI, HDFC and ICICI from April 2026.
- CRR reduced by 50 bps to 4% in phased manner to release ₹1.16 lakh crore primary liquidity.
- Concepts: Monetary Policy Transmission; Taylor Rule – Balancing growth and inflation; Section 7 RBI Act powers.
5. INDIAN NAVY COMMISSIONED FIRST INDIGENOUS DIVING SUPPORT VESSEL
SUBJECT: DEFENCE
- Indian Navy commissioned INS Nistar, the first of two indigenously built Diving Support Vessels (DSVs), at Visakhapatnam on December 10, 2025.
- The 118-metre vessel is capable of deep-sea saturation diving up to 300 metres and supports submarine rescue operations.
- Defence Ministry notified the fifth positive indigenisation list containing 1,200 items including next-gen corvettes and heavy-weight torpedoes.
- IAF successfully test-fired extended-range BrahMos air-launched missile (450+ km) from Su-30MKI over Bay of Bengal.
- India and France began negotiation for additional 26 Rafale-Marine jets for INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
- Concepts: Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence; Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 – Category Buy (Indian-IDDM) priority.
