Daily Current Affairs – 25-12-2025
International News
India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Concluded; Target to Double Trade in 5 Years
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and New Zealand were successfully concluded on December 22, 2025, and jointly announced by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, and Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, following a telephonic discussion. The negotiations, which began on March 16, are expected to be signed within three months and implemented thereafter. Under this agreement, a target has been set to double bilateral trade within five years and to increase New Zealand’s investment in India to ₹1.80 lakh crore within 15 years. The FTA provides 100% tariff exemption on Indian exports and 95% tariff exemption on New Zealand exports to India, while no concessions are given in the dairy sector. The agreement covers sectors such as textiles, leather, footwear, processed foods, jewellery, handlooms, automobiles, engineering goods, AYUSH, healthcare, power, horticulture, and plantation, and also allows temporary work visas for 5,000 skilled Indian workers for up to three years. In the 2025 financial year, India–New Zealand bilateral trade stood at ₹11,700 crore, with Indian exports worth ₹6,300 crore and imports worth ₹5,283 crore.
Russia Plans to Establish Nuclear Power Plant on the Moon
Russia has announced a plan to establish a nuclear power plant on the Moon within the next decade to supply electricity for its lunar space programme and a joint Russian–Chinese research station. The plan was announced by Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation, which stated that the lunar nuclear power plant is targeted for completion by 2036, according to a report released on December 24.
Tamil Nadu News
Chennai Sangamam–Namma Ooru Thiruvizha Begins on January 14
To mark the Pongal festival and promote Tamil cultural heritage, M. K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, will inaugurate the Chennai Sangamam–Namma Ooru Thiruvizha on January 14, 2025, at 6:00 PM at the Egmore Rajarathinam Sports Stadium in Chennai. The festival has been conducted annually during the Tamil month of Thai for the past four years. In 2025, cultural programmes featuring 250 renowned artists from Tamil Nadu will be organised across 20 locations in Chennai from January 15 to January 18. The Tamil Nadu Government has also directed all District Collectors to organise the State’s traditional arts festival in all districts, as per an official press release.
Economy News
Demat Account Additions Slow Down in 2025
Due to volatility in the equity market, the pace of new Demat account openings slowed in 2025, with only 1.51 crore new investor accounts added so far, marking the slowest growth in the last three years, according to data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This compares with 2.36 crore new Demat accounts in 2024 and 1.6 crore in 2023. As a result, the total registered investor base on the NSE stood at about 12.4 crore as of December 19, 2025, up from 10.89 crore in 2024. Separately, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) reported having around 20.5 crore Demat accounts as of November 19, 2025, though these figures may overlap with NSE accounts, and the exact number of unique active investors on the BSE has not been disclosed.
RBI Defers Phase 2 of Faster Cheque Clearance Framework
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has indefinitely postponed the implementation of Phase 2 of the Faster Cheque Clearance Framework, which was scheduled to come into effect from January 3, 2026, as per a direction issued on December 24. The framework is part of the Continuous Clearing and Settlement (CCS) system, under which Phase 1 has been operational since October 4, 2025, enabling nationwide faster cheque clearing within a few hours. Under the proposed Phase 2, banks were required to approve or reject cheques within three hours of receipt, but this phase has now been deferred until further notice, while Phase 1 will continue as usual. Under Phase 1, banks must confirm cheques by 7:00 pm, failing which the cheque is automatically approved.
States’ News
₹290 Crore Crop Damage Compensation Sanctioned for 3.6 Lakh Farmers in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu State Government has sanctioned ₹289.63 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as input subsidy relief for 3.60 lakh farmers affected by crop damage due to the 2024 Northeast Monsoon, unseasonal rainfall in 2024, and gale winds in January 2025, as announced by MRK Panneerselvam, Minister for Agriculture, with a Government Order issued on December 23. As per official assessments, agricultural crops over 4.90 lakh acres and horticultural crops over 76,132 acres were damaged, leading to the sanction of ₹254.38 crore for 2.80 lakh farmers affected by heavy rain and ₹35.25 crore for 80,383 horticulture farmers, with the relief amount to be directly credited to farmers’ bank accounts. The Revenue and Disaster Management Department assessed crop losses across 31 districts due to the 2024 Northeast Monsoon and 2025 unseasonal rainfall, while horticulture crop damage due to heavy rain, gale winds, and unseasonal rainfall was recorded in 24 districts, following joint field assessments by revenue and agriculture officials conducted as per the directions of M. K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in areas where crop damage exceeded 33%.
Sports News
Rohit Sharma Equals David Warner’s List A Record
In a List A cricket match held at Jaipur on December 24, Mumbai defeated Sikkim by 8 wickets after chasing a target of 236 runs, scoring 237/2 in 30.3 overs. In this match, Rohit Sharma scored 155 runs off 94 balls, including 18 boundaries and 9 sixes, and equalled the record for most 150+ scores in List A cricket (9 times). This record was earlier held by David Warner of Australia.
Virat Kohli Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar’s List A Record
In a List A cricket match held at Bengaluru on December 24, Delhi defeated Andhra by 4 wickets after successfully chasing a target of 298 runs, scoring 300/6 in 37.4 overs. In this match, Virat Kohli scored 131 runs with 14 boundaries and 3 sixes and achieved the milestone of 16,000 runs in List A cricket in his 330th innings. This performance broke the earlier record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who had reached 16,000 List A runs in 391 innings, making Virat Kohli the fastest player to cross 16,000 runs in List A cricket.
Bihar Creates Multiple Records in Vijay Hazare Trophy Cricket
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy match held at Ranchi on December 24, the Bihar cricket team defeated Arunachal Pradesh by 397 runs, after scoring 574/6 in 50 overs, which became the highest team total in List A cricket history, surpassing Tamil Nadu’s 506/2 record set in the 2022–23 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the same match, Bihar became the first team in Vijay Hazare Trophy history to have three batsmen score centuries in a single innings, with Giyan Gandhi scoring 190 runs, captain Sakibul Gani remaining unbeaten on 128 runs, and Ayush Govinda scoring 116 runs. Bipin Saurabh, aged 14 years, became the youngest player to score a century in List A cricket, breaking the earlier record of Hasan Raza (1996). Sakibul Gani also became the fastest Indian to score a List A century, reaching the milestone in 32 balls, while Giyan Gandhi set the record for the fastest 150 runs in List A cricket in 59 balls. Bihar batsmen hit 38 sixes, the most by a team in List A cricket, and Ayush Govinda conceded 116 runs in 9 overs, the highest runs conceded by a bowler in List A cricket history.
National News
Central Government Bans New Mining Leases in the Aravalli Range
The Central Government of India on December 24 imposed a ban on State Governments from issuing new mining leases in the Aravalli Range to protect its natural environment. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) was directed to identify additional areas where mining should be prohibited beyond existing restrictions and to scientifically prepare a Sustainable Mining Management Plan (MSM) for the Aravalli region, based on its natural structure and topography. The ban applies to the entire Aravalli range extending from Gujarat to Delhi, and existing mines will be placed under strict monitoring. Earlier, an expert committee appointed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests submitted a new definition of the Aravalli hills to the Supreme Court of India, defining hills with a minimum height of 100 metres from the local ground level as Aravalli hills, and two or more such hills within 500 metres as the Aravalli mountain range, which was accepted by the Supreme Court last month.
Approval Granted for Two New Airline Companies in India
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation granted No Objection Certificates (NOC) on December 24, 2025, to two new airline companies from Kerala—Al Hind Air of the Al Hind Group and Fly Express—to operate commercial flight services in India, with operations expected to begin in 2026. Earlier, Sankh Air from Uttar Pradesh had already received its NOC, making a total of three new airlines approved to commence services next year. The Al Hind Group, founded about 30 years ago in Kozhikode, operates as a travel management company across United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. As of now, nine airline companies—including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, Star Air, Fly91, and India One Air—are operating in India’s domestic aviation sector, with IndiGo and the Air India Group together holding over 90% of the market share, and IndiGo alone accounting for over 65%.
ISRO Launches Heaviest Satellite Using LVM-3 Rocket
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the American BlueBird-6 communication satellite weighing 6,100 kg, the heaviest satellite ever launched by ISRO, using the LVM‑3 (GSLV Mark-3) rocket on December 24, 2025, at 8:55 AM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The satellite was accurately placed in its intended orbit. The LVM-3 rocket, also known as India’s ‘Bahubali’ rocket, is capable of launching commercial satellites up to 8,000 kg and carrying combined payloads exceeding 4,000 kg, and this mission marked the third occasion the rocket carried such a heavy payload and its ninth consecutive successful mission, achieving 100% reliability. Through its commercial arm NewSpace India Limited, ISRO has launched 434 foreign satellites for 34 countries since 1993. The BlueBird-6 satellite will provide direct high-speed internet connectivity to mobile phones from space, enabling 5G-speed data, video calls, and messaging services in remote regions without signal towers, including forests, hilly areas, and islands.