Daily Current Affairs Quiz December 24 2025

1. Ukraine Peace Plan: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy unveiled a 20‑point “final draft” peace plan and sought talks with U.S. leaders (including former President Trump) to end the war, though key issues like Donbas remain unresolved.

2. EU–US Digital Law Row: EU leaders (including France’s Macron) condemned U.S. visa bans imposed in retaliation for Europe’s upcoming “digital services” and “digital markets” laws, calling the bans an “intolerable” breach of sovereignty.

3. Summit of the Americas: The Dominican Republic (as OAS Chair) announced that the 10th Summit of the Americas (originally scheduled for Dec 2025) has been postponed to 2026.

4. India–Russia Ties: In a December summit, India and Russia agreed to deepen trade and defence ties. Russia promised uninterrupted fuel supplies and sought more Indian exports, while both sides discussed deals to expand mutual trade beyond hydrocarbons.

1. Monetary Policy: India’s retail inflation remained unusually low (around 0.7% in Nov), prompting the RBI to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points in Dec. 2025 – the fourth cut that year, totaling 125 bps – and economists expect further cuts in early 2026.

2. Digital Payments: Canara Bank launched a new “Canara ai1Pe” UPI mobile app for faster, secure inter-bank payments. Separately, Paytm (One97 Communications) announced plans to set up wholly owned subsidiaries in Indonesia and Luxembourg as part of international expansion.

3. Pension Reforms: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) amended NPS rules: it removed the mandatory 5-year lock-in for non-govt subscribers, raised lump-sum withdrawal to 80% of corpus (from 60%), and extended the maximum NPS age to 85 years.

1. Space Exploration: On Nov 13, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket successfully launched two NASA EscaPADE probes bound for Mars and achieved the first-ever sea landing of its giant booster. The twin satellites will study Martian space weather on a 22-month mission.

2. Defence Tech Delivery: Indian shipyard GRSE delivered INS Anjadip, the third of eight indigenous ASW (anti-submarine warfare) shallow-water crafts, to the Indian Navy on 22 Dec. This 77m vessel (Arnala-class) will enhance India’s coastal anti-submarine capabilities.

COP30 Climate Summit: The UN climate talks (COP30) were held in Belém, Brazil. Over 110 countries submitted updated pledges covering ~80% of global emissions, targeting a 12% cut below 2019 levels by 2035. Nations also agreed to triple climate adaptation finance by 2035 to help vulnerable countries cope with climate impacts.

1. IOL–Safran Partnership: India Optel Ltd (IOL, a defence PSU) signed a deal with France’s Safran Electronics & Defense to locally produce two combat-proven systems: the SIGMA-30N inertial navigation system and the CM3-MR direct firing sight. This “Make in India” collaboration aims to boost the Indian Army’s readiness and reduce imports.

2. Army–NSUT AI MoU: On 22 Dec, the Indian Army signed an MoU with NSUT Delhi to jointly develop software and AI-based solutions for military applications. The partnership will involve NSUT faculty and students working on live problem statements, and includes a contract (won by startup Enord) for 700+ indigenous VR drone simulators for army training.

3. Defence Deliveries: The delivered INS Anjadip (see Science & Tech) and ongoing indigenization efforts (e.g. IOL-Safran) illustrate India’s push to strengthen its defence-industrial base and technology adoption.

1. Maria Corina Machado: The Venezuelan opposition leader was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for democracy and human rights in Venezuela. (Notably, she dedicated the prize to U.S. President Donald Trump.)

2. Kiran Desai & Arundhati Roy: Indian authors Kiran Desai and Arundhati Roy both made The New York Times annual Top 10 Books of 2025. Desai’s novel The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (Sept 2025) was listed in fiction, and Roy’s memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me (Aug 2025) in nonfiction – a historic double recognition for Indian literature.

U19 Asia Cup (Cricket): Pakistan won the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2025 by defeating India in the final. This victory marks Pakistan’s third U19 Asia Cup title.

Nobel Prizes 2025: The Nobel committees announced laureates in October. Nobel Medicine went to Brunkow (Roche Pharmaceuticals), Kanellopoulos (NY Eye & Ear), and Volland (Germany/Switzerland) for research (details in sources). Nobel Literature was awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai. Nobel Peace (Maria Corina Machado) is covered above.

National Mathematics Day: Dec 22, 2025 marked the 138th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan. On this day (declared National Mathematics Day in India), awards in Ramanujan’s honor were given: the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2025 went to Dr. Alexander Smith (USA), and the DST–ICTP–IMU Ramanujan Prize 2025 to Claudio Muñoz (Chile).

1. Coal India CMD: B. Sairam was appointed Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Coal India Ltd by the Ministry of Coal, replacing Sanoj Kumar Jha. Sairam was formerly CMD of subsidiary Northern Coalfields Ltd.

2. Britannia Leadership Change: Varun Berry resigned as MD & CEO of Britannia Industries (Nov 2025), and Rakshit Hargave (ex-Birla Opus) was named to succeed him. Hargave will serve as MD & CEO from mid-Dec 2025.

1. WSIS+20 (UN GA Review): A UN General Assembly high-level meeting on 16–17 Dec reviewed the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Member states and stakeholders assessed 20 years of progress in ICT for development as part of the WSIS+20 process.

2. EBRAINS Summit 2025: Held 8–11 Dec in Brussels, this conference brought together international neuroscience researchers and partners to showcase how the EU’s EBRAINS digital brain research infrastructure advances neuroscience, AI, and neurotechnology.

3. Strong Cities Network Summit: The 6th Global Summit of the Strong Cities Network took place 9–11 Dec in Toronto, convening mayors and civic leaders worldwide to share strategies for countering hate, extremism, and polarization in urban communities.

1. Uttar Pradesh Budget: On 22 Dec, UP Finance Minister presented a supplementary demand of ₹24,497 crore (3.03% of the original budget) for FY26. This raised the state’s total FY26 budget to ₹8.33 lakh crore, with increased allocations for industry, power, health, urban development, and other sectors.

2. New Haryana District: The Haryana government notified the creation of Hansi as the state’s 23rd district (carved from Hisar) to improve local administration and service delivery.

1. Ira “Ike” Schab (USA): A decorated World War II veteran and longtime volunteer at the Norman, Oklahoma Veterans Hospital, Schab passed away at age 105. He was known for his service to fellow veterans and his own combat service in Europe.

2. Mohammad Bakri (Palestine): Renowned actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri (72) died of a heart attack. Bakri was noted for his work in Palestinian cinema and stage, including directing the documentary Jenin, Jenin (2002).

3. Surupsingh Hirya Naik (India): Veteran Maharashtra politician Surupsingh Naik (87), a three-time MP and three-time state legislator from Nandurbar district, passed away. He was a prominent leader in tribal and rural development initiatives.

World Competitiveness Index 2025: The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (June 2025) named Switzerland as the world’s most competitive economy, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong. Canada, Germany, and Luxembourg were noted as the most improved among the top 20 economies.

Global Recognition: Besides the NYT Top 10 mention above, Indian books made headlines: Kiran Desai’s epic novel The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (Sept 2025) and Arundhati Roy’s memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me (Aug 2025) were both honored among The New York Times’ best books of 2025. This was seen as a landmark year for Indian women’s literature on the world stage.

1. NCW “SHAKTI Scholars”: India’s National Commission for Women launched the “SHAKTI Scholars” fellowship programme on 22 Dec to fund research projects on women’s issues (safety, health, rights) by young scholars. Selected researchers (aged 21–30) receive ₹1 lakh for a 6-month project.

2. IDRBT–IIIT Hyderabad MoU: On 22 Dec, India’s banking tech institute (IDRBT) and IIIT Hyderabad signed an MoU for joint research and training in areas like digital payments, AI, cybersecurity, and fintech.

3. CRISPR Research Centre: The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and startup CRISPRBits signed a Letter of Intent to establish India’s first Centre of Excellence for CRISPR innovation, aiming to translate gene-editing research into medical applications.