Current Affairs – December 07, 2025

{GS2 – Governance} NITI Aayog’s Quantum Technology Push **

Context (NOA): NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub and IBM released a national roadmap targeting India as a top-3 quantum economy by 2047.

India’s Quantum Roadmap 2047

Hardware First: Develop indigenous superconducting, photonic and ion-trap quantum chips at scale.
Startup Push: Foster 10 globally competitive quantum startups via co-development & venture funds.
Applied Quantum: Deploy quantum solutions in defence, energy grids, logistics, finance, & healthcare.
Skilled Workforce: Train 1 lakh quantum professionals across IITs, IISERs, and national research labs.
Trusted Standards: Build trusted, verifiable encryption networks for critical infrastructure.

Challenges Faced in India’s Quantum Roadmap

Low R&D Funding: India spends 0.65% of GDP on R&D vs China 2.2% and the U.S. 2.8%.
Patent Lag: India filed <50 quantum patents (2018–24) vs Korea 300+ and Japan 450+.
Hardware Dependence: India imports >90% of quantum hardware components (cryogenic coolers, quantum-grade lasers, dilution refrigerators), slowing indigenous builds.
Academic Bottlenecks: India has fewer than 2,000 specialised quantum researchers, while the EU employs >15,000, creating talent scarcity.
Weak Industry Capacity: Only 6–8 startups are building quantum products, while the U.S. has >100 venture-funded quantum firms. E.g. IonQ and PsiQuantum.

Way Forward

Cluster Labs: Build national quantum fabrication clusters (cryogenics, ion-trap labs, photonic foundries) with shared access. E.g. Israel’s Quantum Tech Hub model.
Mission Procurement: Mandate government procurement of quantum-secure networks for power grids and defence. E.g. DRDO–QNu Labs Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) pilot.
State Incentives: Launch state-level capital grants and tax rebates for deep-tech quantum startups. E.g. Karnataka Semiconductor & Deep Tech Policy, 2022.
Skills Pipeline: Create 5 National Quantum Skill Centres integrated with IIT–IISER curriculum. E.g. UK National Quantum Technologies Skills Taskforce.
Patent Push: Fast-track patent examination and royalty support for indigenous quantum IP. E.g. Japan’s Patent Highway Scheme for frontier tech.

{GS2 – Governance} Police Reform in India **

Context (TH): PM Modi stressed the need for police reform while addressing the 60^th All India Conference of Director Generals in Raipur, held under the theme of ‘Viksit Bharat: Security Dimensions’.

Need for Police Reforms in India

Political and Structural Inertia

Structural Stagnation: Colonial-era institutional design restricts flexibility and undermines democratic policing. Ten states still use frameworks derived from the Police Act 1861.
Non-Compliance: Supreme Court directives to create independent police boards and fixed-tenure systems remain unmet. Not a single state in India has fully complied with all Prakash Singh directives.
Political Pressure: Political leverage over postings forces officers to prioritise political interests over the rule of law. 72% personnel faced political pressure in cases involving influential persons. (SPIR 2019).
Weak Oversight: Inadequate complaint bodies render public grievance redressal ineffective. 30% of functional State Police Complaints Authorities (SPCAs) lack a judicial member (IJR 2022).

Workforce and Capacity Crisis

Work Fatigue: Excessive duty hours and inconsistent weekly rest impair on-ground performance. An average police workday is 14 hours (SPIR 2019).
Promotion Stagnation: Limited promotion avenues reduce motivation for the bulk of the workforce. Constables form 86% of the force, but often retire with only one promotion after 30 years.
Training Deficit: Outdated training fails to prepare officers for modern forensics, cybercrime, or human-rights compliance. 64% received no in-service training in the last 5 years (IJR 2022).

Diversity & Trust Deficit

Gender Gap: Low female participation restricts gender-sensitive policing in sensitive cases. Women comprise 12% of the police force, far below the 33% target.
Minority Bias: Weak minority representation in higher ranks reduces perceived neutrality. Despite forming 14% of the population, Muslims constitute only 3-4% of the police force.
Trust Deficit: Fear of police aggression discourages crime reporting and community cooperation. CSDS Survey shows 14% of citizens are “highly fearful” of the police

Human Rights & Infrastructure Issues

Custodial Violence: The absence of an anti-torture law allows “third-degree” methods to continue without consequences. India signed the UNCAT in 1997, but has yet to ratify it.
Infrastructure Deficit: Lack of basic amenities in police stations reduces working comfort and public accessibility. In 2020, 257 police stations had no vehicles, and 638 had no telephones.
Modernisation Lag: Underutilisation of modernisation funds leaves forces with shortages in weapons and vehicles. 30-40% of the Police Modernisation Fund (MPF) remains unspent annually (IJR 2022).

Major Recommendations by Commissions

National Police Commission (1977-81)

Create a State Security Commission in every state to prevent political misuse of police.
Ensure minimum assured tenure for DGPs and key police officers.
Restrict government interference and strengthen the internal authority of police leadership.

Ribeiro Commission (1998)

Set up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) to oversee transfers, promotions, and discipline.
Replace the colonial Police Act of 1861 with a modern statute.
Establish an Independent Police Recruitment Board for non-gazetted officers.

Padmanabhaiah Committee (2000)

Separate Investigation responsibilities from the law-and-order duties.
Create Police Training Advisory Councils at the central and state levels.
Retrain constables and require personnel to retire if they fail to meet updated standards.

Malimath Committee (2002-03)

Reform criminal justice processes in evidence, investigation, and trials.
Form a national-level law enforcement agency for specialised cases.
Strengthen victim rights and witness protection systems.

Model Police Act Committee (2005-06)

Replace the 1861 Act with a rights-based Police Act.
Create a State Police Board for oversight and appointments.
Enforce a mandatory two-year minimum tenure and regulate transfers by rank.

National Human Rights Commission (2021)

Insert Section 114B in the Evidence Act to place the burden of explaining custodial injuries on police.
Install CCTV cameras nationwide as directed by the Supreme Court.
Institutionalise community policing and implement Prakash Singh directives.

Supreme Court Directions in the Prakash Singh Case (2006)

Tenure Protection: Fix a minimum two-year tenure for DGPs, IGs, SPs, and SHOs; later prohibited the appointment of temporary or “acting” DGPs.
Transfer Insulation: Shift all postings, transfers, promotions, and service matters to Police Establishment Boards (PEBs).
Accountability Mechanisms: Establish State Police Complaints Authorities for public grievances and State Security Commissions to prevent political interference.
Functional Separation: Separate investigation from law-and-order duties and constitute a National Security Commission for appointment and oversight of central police chiefs.

Read More > Police Reforms in India

{Prelims – Geo} Disruption of Indian Aviation Due to Volcanic Ash

Context (TH): India’s aviation regulator (DGCA) issued advisories after volcanic ash from Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi eruption entered Indian airspace, prompting flight rerouting and cancellations.

Key Points

The Hayli Gubbi eruption sent ash up to 14 km high, travelling at 100-120 km/hr across Ethiopia, West Asia and northern India before exiting toward China.
Volcanic ash contains silicate glass and rock, which melts inside jet engines (~1600°C), forming glassy deposits that block cooling channels and may trigger engine stall or shutdown.
Risks: Ash can also abrade windscreens, sensors and turbine blades, contaminate runways, interfere with pressurisation and impair navigation and radio systems.
Regulatory Action: DGCA instructed airlines to avoid affected altitudes, report engine anomalies, and conduct runway contamination checks.
Historical Incidents: Major failures include British Airways Flight 9 (1982) and KLM Flight 867 (1989) where all four engines failed mid-air after ash encounter.

Read More > India’s Aviation Sector

{Prelims – IR} Thailand Seeks BRICS Membership

Context (WION): Thailand has expressed interest in joining BRICS & requested support ahead of India’s chairmanship of the BRICS in 2026.

India-Thailand ties were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2024, reflecting enhanced cooperation in trade, connectivity, security and regional frameworks.

About BRICS

BRICS is an informal grouping of major emerging economies, formalised as ‘BRIC’ with the inaugural summit in 2009; South Africa joined in 2011, expanding it to BRICS.
BRICS does not have a headquarters, being an informal group. It rotates the chairmanship and hosting of its summit between its member countries annually.
Members: Include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with the 2024 expansion adding United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran. Indonesia joined in 2025.
Focus: The grouping focuses on reforming global governance, strengthening multipolarity & enhancing South-South economic and political cooperation.
BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) was established in 2015 to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member and partner countries; headquarters at Shanghai, China.
Significance: Represents over 40% of the global population and 37%-40% of global GDP (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity), increasingly seen as an alternative to the G7 grouping.

Read More > BRICS

{Prelims – Eco} Finland to Host Circular Economy Roadshows in India

Context (TH): Finland will hold circular economy roadshows across Indian cities as India prepares to host the World Circular Economy Forum in October 2026.

About Circular Economy

Concept: Economic model focused on designing out waste, extending product lifespan and closing material loops through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling.
Drivers: Enabled by design innovation, material recovery technologies and producer-responsibility frameworks supporting closed-loop systems.
Potential: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates circular transition could unlock $4.5 trillion in economic value by 2030 while reducing emissions and resource pressure.
India Scenario: India’s circular economy potential is estimated at $2 trillion and 10 million jobs by 2050, with a current focus on waste management and recycling.
Priority Sectors: Textiles, electronics, construction, mobility, packaging, and clean energy value chains (including battery materials) are identified as key circular transition domains.

About World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF)

A global annual conference on circular economy, launched in 2017 by SITRA (Finland’s Innovation Fund), bringing together governments, industry and experts.
It showcases circular-economy solutions, policy frameworks and industrial models through high-level sessions, networking, and cross-sector collaboration.

Read More > India’s Circular Economy

{Prelims – Eco} Circulation of ₹2000 Banknote Stabilised

Context (TH): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reports that 98.39% of ₹2000 notes in circulation (as of May 2023) have now been returned.

Key Facts

₹2000 notes in circulation were valued at ₹3.56 lakh crore when the withdrawal was announced on 19 May 2023.
Current Status: As of 29 November 2025, only ₹5,743 crore remain in circulation, with deposits and exchange largely completed.
Exchange Window: General exchange at banks ended on 7 October 2023; currently allowed only at 19 RBI Issue Offices, including via India Post for account credit.
₹2000 notes remain legal tender, though gradually being phased out of active circulation.

The ₹2000 banknote was introduced in 2016 after demonetisation to meet currency replacement needs; printing ceased in 2018-19 as lower-denomination supply stabilised.

Read More > RBI’s Independence

{Prelims – Species} Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (Ocypode ceratophthalmus) *

Context (TH): Researchers documented the first confirmed case of a horn-eyed ghost crab preying on a mottled lightfoot crab at Rushikonda Beach in Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh.

About the Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (Ocypode ceratophthalmus)

The horn-eyed ghost crab is a nocturnal ghost crab species recognised for its distinctive horned eye stalks.
Appearance: This species has a box-shaped body with pale or mottled colours that resemble sandy beaches. It gradually changes its body colour to camouflage with its surroundings.
Habitat preference: It occupies tropical and subtropical sandy beaches, particularly the high intertidal and supralittoral zones.
Distribution: The crabs are widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific region (excluding the Red Sea), ranging from East Africa to Japan, Australia, and Polynesia.
- India Range: Populations occur along the coasts of Gujarat, Goa, and Visakhapatnam.
Speed Ability: This crab can reach nearly 100 body lengths per second, making it exceptionally fast for its body size.
Diet: It is a generalist predator and scavenger that feeds on insects, worms, dead fish, and occasionally sea turtle hatchlings.
Ecological Role: The species acts as a keystone coastal predator and serves as a sensitive indicator of ecosystem health. Its extensive burrowing mixes and aerates beach sand.
Key Threats: Habitat destruction, anthropogenic disturbances, exposure to chemical runoff, pollution, climate change, etc.
Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern.

{Prelims – S&T} Tensor Processing Units

Context (MSN): Reports suggest Meta is in advanced talks to use Google’s Tensor Processing Units, signalling potential disruption in Nvidia’s lead in the AI chip market.

About Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)

A Tensor Processing Unit is a specialised computer chip developed by Google in 2016 to run artificial intelligence and machine learning models faster than regular processors.
Working: TPUs are built to handle tensor-based maths, allowing them to process massive datasets quickly and in parallel.
Performance: Google’s latest TPUv7-Ironwood reportedly matches Nvidia’s Blackwell platform in compute and memory capacity, reducing the earlier performance gap between GPUs and TPUs.
Advantage: Provides much higher throughput and better energy efficiency for large-scale Machine Learning workloads than general-purpose CPUs and even many GPU-based setups.

Tensor: A multi-dimensional data structure (like stacked matrices) used in AI models to store and process information such as images, text or numerical weights.
GPU: A Graphics Processing Unit designed for high-speed parallel processing; widely used in AI for training and running large machine learning models.

Read More > Neural Processing Unit

{Prelims – S&T} R&D Roadmap for CCUS in India *

Context (PIB): The Government of India has launched the first national R&D Roadmap for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) to support its Net Zero goals.

CCUS involves technologies that capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources or the atmosphere, then reuse or permanently store it to prevent emissions.

About the Roadmap

It outlines a national strategy to deploy CCUS at scale, especially in sectors with few clean-energy options, like coal power, cement, petrochemicals, oil, gas, and fertilisers.
Developed By: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science & Technology.
Objective: Guide and accelerate R&D, collaboration, and investment for large-scale CCUS deployment to meet India’s Net-Zero by 2070 target.
Funding Mechanisms: It proposes utilising the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme and encourages the use of captured CO₂ for value-added products.
Significance: It aligns with Viksit Bharat@2047, reinforcing India’s commitment to global climate action.

Key Features

Balanced Approach: It focuses on advancing current CCUS technologies while promoting the development of next-generation solutions.
PPP Focus: It encourages Public–Private Partnership to establish CCUS test beds in industrial facilities, emphasising infrastructure, clear regulations, and skilled human resources.
Cluster Model: It recommends CCUS clusters where multiple industrial units capture CO₂ and utilise shared transportation and storage networks to reduce costs.

{Prelims – In News} World Telecommunication Development Conference

Context (PIB): World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) 2025 concluded in Baku, where India contributed to major policy outcomes.

Key Outcomes of WTDC-25

Leadership: India secured Vice-Chair roles in WTDC-25 and International Telecommunication Union-Development (ITU-D) Study Groups (2026-29) and led 19 resolutions.
Resolution 85 expanded Smart Sustainable Cities to Smart Villages; Resolutions 89-90 strengthened global innovation alliances and support for emerging tech.
Resolution 45 upgraded measures against misuse of telecom services (spam, spoofing) and enhanced cyber-resilience.
Resolution 34 promoted early-warning systems and regional disaster coordination; Resolution 66 pushed circular economy, e-waste awareness and climate-responsible systems.

About International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

UN specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs); founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and became a UN agency in 1947; headquartered in Geneva.
Members: 194 Member States and 1,000+ sector members (industry, academia, organisations); India has been a member since 1869 and has been on the ITU Council since 1952.
- India hosts the ITU Area Office and Innovation Centre at C-DoT, New Delhi.
Role: Allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops telecom/ICT technical standards, and ensures secure, interoperable global connectivity.
ITU conducts the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) every four years to set global telecom development priorities under ITU-D.