Current Affairs – November 14, 2025

{GS2 – MoSPI} National Migration Survey 2026 **

• Context (IE): MoSPI will launch a year-long national migration survey from July 2026, the first full migration survey since 2007–08.

• As per the most recent migration data collected by the statistics ministry part of its Periodic Labour Force Survey (2020-2021), India’s percentage of migrants in the population was 28.9%.

Significance of the Migration Survey

• Labour Mapping: Tracks work-driven mobility; E.g., 67% male migration for jobs (PLFS 2021).
• Gender Trends: Captures female patterns; E.g., 48% rural women are migrant’s vs 5.9% men.
• Crisis Insight: Builds post-COVID understanding for planning. E.g. 11 million reverse migrants (IGC).
• Regional Equity: Shows source–destination imbalances; E.g. UP–Bihar has the highest out-migration.
• Skill Policy: Enables skill–mobility corridor design; E.g. Kerala migration–skills model.

Key Changes to be made in the 2026 Survey

• Revised Short-Term Definition: Short-term migration now means staying away 15 days–6 months (earlier 1–6 months), improving capture of gig, festival-season, and circular workers across sectors.
• Removal of Household Migration: Eliminates the “entire household migrated” category as its share has been consistently below 1%, sharpening the survey’s focus on individual mobility.
• Addition of Impact Indicators: Adds questions on income change, healthcare access, safety, and basic amenities, allowing a clearer assessment of welfare outcomes associated with migration.
• Capturing Migration Intent: Introduces a module on whether migrants plan to move again, enabling forward-looking analysis and better prediction of future mobility flows.
• Exclusion of Hard-to-Reach Areas: Leaves out remote A&N Island villages due to severe access constraints, while maintaining national-level representativeness and operational feasibility.
• Expanded Reason Categories: Broadens reasons for migration into work, search-work, education, marriage, and distress, providing a more accurate and behaviour-sensitive classification.

Read More> Internal Migration in India

{GS2 – MoLE} Draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 **

• Context (TH): The Ministry of Labour and Employment released the Draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 to modernise labour governance and accelerate the government’s shift toward labour facilitation.

About Draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025

• Draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 is India’s first comprehensive National Labour and Employment Policy aimed at creating a fair, inclusive and technology‑enabled labour ecosystem.
• Social Security: It proposes a Universal Social Security Account (USSA) that integrates EPFO, ESIC, PM‑JAY, e‑SHRAM and state welfare boards to ensure lifelong and portable worker benefits.
• Workplace Safety: The framework commits to enforcing the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Code 2020 using AI‑based risk inspections to achieve near-zero workplace fatalities by 2047.
• Future Workforce: To build a skilled and adaptable workforce, the policy converges Skill India and PMKVY with an upgraded National Career Service platform for more accurate job matching.
• Digital Backbone: The Labour and Employment Stack will integrate worker identities, enterprise databases and social security entitlements through a unified digital architecture.
  • DPI: It will link with the National Career Service to function as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Employment.
• Women’s Participation: It aims to raise female labour force participation to 35% by 2030 through flexible working arrangements, safer workplaces and expanded childcare support.
• Compliance Ease: A single‑window digital portal will simplify labour administration by enabling self‑certification and conducting transparent, risk‑based inspections.
• Governance Reform: A new Labour & Employment Policy Evaluation Index will assess implementation progress and provide real‑time performance monitoring across states and ministries.

Challenges Associated with the Draft Policy

• Funding Gap: The policy lacks a clear financing formula for the USSA, creating uncertainty about long-term social security for informal and gig workers.
• Digital Divide: Heavy reliance on digital platforms risks excluding rural workers, women, and older workers who have limited digital literacy.
• Regulatory Shift: Transitioning the government into a facilitator role may dilute oversight and weaken enforcement.
• Informal Sector: The policy does not adequately address the protection of rights and dispute resolution mechanisms for informal and gig workers.
• Dialogue Weakening: Absence of a formal tripartite negotiation system restricts the role of trade unions and weakens participatory labour governance.
• AI Risks: AI-based labour platforms can embed caste, gender, or regional biases without robust safeguards and stringent data protection rules.

Way Forward

• Co-Funded Security: Introduce a tripartite contribution model for the USSA with fixed funding rules and offline enrolment centres
• Safety Mission: Establish a National Workplace Safety Mission with a dedicated OSH inspectorate financed by a high‑risk industry cess.
• Childcare Fund: A National Childcare Infrastructure Fund, utilising earmarked CSR allocations, can expand workplace creches and neighbourhood childcare facilities.
• AI Oversight: Set up a statutory Labour AI Audit Body to assess job‑matching and monitoring algorithms and enforce strict data‑protection safeguards.
• Transition Support: Launch a Just Transition Income Support programme that offers temporary income and reskilling supports to workers in sunset sectors.

Read More > Shram Shakti Niti 2025

{GS2 – MNRE} India Launches Biomass-Based Hydrogen Pilot Initiative

• Context (PIB): At the 3^rd International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH 2025), the Ministry for New & Renewable Energy announced a new ₹100 crore initiative under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).

Key Highlights of the Announcement

• The National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), launched in 2023 with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore, aims to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors.
• A new ₹100 crore Call for Proposals will fund pilot projects that use biomass and waste materials to produce green hydrogen.
• The scheme will be implemented through BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council).
• Another ₹100 crore has already been allocated for startups under NGHM.
• The Ministry also announced that 43 hydrogen-related skill qualifications have been approved.
  • Frameworks such as the Green Hydrogen Standard (2023) and the Certification Scheme (2025) are now operational.

Progress under NGHM.

• Incentives under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme have been awarded for:
  • 3,000 MW per annum of domestic electrolyser manufacturing and;
  • 8.62 lakh metric tonnes per annum of green hydrogen production.
• India now records the world’s lowest green ammonia price at ₹49.75/kg for a production capacity of 7.24 lakh MTPA.

{GS2 – Vulnerable Section} SC Flags Declining Representation of Women in Parliament

• Context (TH): The Supreme Court raised concern over the delay in implementing the Women’s Reservation Law (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam / 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023).

• A petition was filed seeking immediate enforcement of 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Key Observations by the Supreme Court

• Justice B.V. Nagarathna (the only woman judge on the SC Bench) highlighted that despite forming 48.44% of India’s population, women remain significantly under-represented in legislatures.
• She described women as the “largest minority” in the political space and questioned why representation should wait for procedural conditions to be met.
• Constitutional Basis: Article 15(3) permits the State to take affirmative action and make special provisions for women.
  • The Bench underlined that political justice is as essential as social & economic justice in a democracy.
• Reason for Implementation Delay:
  • The law becomes operational only after the next national census, and;
  • Delimitation (redrawing constituencies based on updated population figures).
  • The Union government has not specified any timeline for either exercise.

Read More> Political Representation of Women

{GS2 – IR} U.S. Government Shutdown Ended

• Context (TOI): US President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill on 12 November 2025, formally ending a record 43-day government shutdown.

• Record Length: The shutdown, beginning on 1 October 2025, became the longest in US history by lasting 43 days.
• Past Record: The longest shutdown lasted 35 days during Donald Trump’s first presidency between December 2018 and January 2019.

Read More> Government Shutdown in the United States

{GS2 – IR} India-Canada 7^th Ministerial Dialogue

• Context (PIB | DD): India and Canada recently held the 7th Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) in New Delhi.

Key Highlights of the Dialogue

• The meeting aimed to reinvigorate trade and investment ties and advance cooperation under the Joint Statement on Renewing Momentum towards a Stronger Partnership (October 2025).
• Both sides reaffirmed their relationship based on shared democratic values, cultural diversity, and economic complementarities.
• The Indian diaspora (2.9 million) and over 4.27 lakh Indian students in Canada were recognised as vital links strengthening bilateral relations.
• Trade Figures: Bilateral trade in goods and services reached USD 18.38 billion in 2023, reflecting steady growth.

Read More> India-Canada Relations | India-Canada to Strengthen Cooperation

{GS2 – IR} India-Nepal Connectivity Pact

• Context (TH | DDN): India and Nepal signed a Letter of Exchange (LoE) amending the Treaty of Transit to expand rail-based connectivity and enhance trade.

• Rail Connectivity: The LoE facilitates the movement of containerised and bulk cargo between Jogbani (India) and Biratnagar (Nepal).
• Trade Corridors: It liberalises movement along the Kolkata–Jogbani, Kolkata–Nautanwa (Sunauli), and Visakhapatnam–Nautanwa (Sunauli) corridors, facilitating Nepal’s third‑country trade.
• Significance: The amendment strengthens regional connectivity, supports India’s Neighbourhood First policy, and promotes economic integration in South Asia.

India–Nepal Relations

• Trade: India is Nepal’s largest trading partner and leading source of FDI, making up almost two-thirds of Nepal’s merchandise trade.
• Connectivity: Key initiatives include the Motihari–Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline, Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at border crossings, and various cross-border railway links.
• Defence: Both nations coordinate on border management, counter-terrorism and hold the annual military exercise, Surya Kiran.
• Energy: India has committed to importing 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal over the next decade, with recent agreements prioritising cross-border transmission lines.
• Cultural: Sister-city agreements (“twinning arrangements“) link Kathmandu–Varanasi, Lumbini–Bodhgaya, and Janakpur–Ayodhya to enhance people-to-people relations.

Read More > India-Nepal Relations

{GS3 – IE} World Bank Calls for Stronger Financial Sector Reforms in India

• Context (TH): The Financial Sector Assessment (FSA) Report 2025, jointly prepared under the IMF–World Bank FSAP, praised India’s advances in banking stability while urging reforms in capital mobilisation.

Why Financial Sector Reform is Crucial?

• Capital Mobilisation: India needs private investment of 30–35% of GDP to sustain high growth rates. E.g. Capital markets grew from 144% to 175% of GDP (2017–2025), but still lag behind China (>300%).
• Banking Stability: Indian banks have recovered from twin balance sheet stress due to better provisioning, yet credit expansion remains limited. E.g. MSMEs receive only 15% of total bank credit (RBI, 2024).
• Vision 2047 Goal: To achieve $30 trillion GDP, India must ensure robust financial intermediation, diversified markets, and resilient governance frameworks.

Read More > India’s Financial Sector

{GS3 – IE} Proposal to Remove Closed Factories from the IIP Database

• Context (IE): The MoSPI has proposed an automatic substitution mechanism to replace closed factories with active units in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) database.

Proposed Automatic Substitution Mechanism

• Mechanism: The proposed system will replace closed or inactive factories in the IIP sample with verified operational units drawn from updated databases.
• Objective: It will ensure that the IIP reflects current production trends and captures ongoing structural shifts across industries.
• Data Reliability: By eliminating around 8.9% inactive factories, the mechanism will minimise data gaps and enhance the overall credibility of industrial estimates.

Selection Process for Substitutes

• Selection Basis: Substitute factories will be selected from the latest Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) to ensure the reliability of the data.
• Eligibility: Only factories producing identical or comparable products to the replaced units will be selected to maintain comparability.
• Output Match: The new factory’s Gross Value Added (GVA) or Gross Value of Output (GVO) should closely match that of the outgoing unit.
• Verification: If a factory reports zero output or fails to share data for three consecutive months, its status will be reviewed before substitution.
• Continuity: The new factory must have at least 12 months of production data available before substitution to preserve time-series consistency.

About the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a composite indicator that tracks short-term changes in the production volume of selected industrial goods.
• Nodal Agency: The index is compiled and released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Base Year: The current base year is 2011-12. MoSPI is in the process of revising the base year to 2022-23 to accurately reflect the industrial output.
• Coverage: The IIP uses data from 14 source agencies, covering 407 items across three sectors: Manufacturing (77.6%), Mining (14.4%), and Electricity (8.0%).
  • Core Industries: Eight key sectors (Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilisers, Steel, Cement, and Electricity) together account for 40.27% of the total weight.
• Use-Based Classification: Industrial output is grouped under six categories: Primary, Capital, Intermediate, Infrastructure, Consumer Durables, and Non-Durables.
• Methodology: It is calculated using the Laspeyres fixed-base formula, applying GVA-based weights to measure changes in aggregate output.
• Frequency: Quick Estimates are published monthly with a 28-day lag and are revised the following month based on updated data.

Read More> Index of Industrial Production

{GS3 – S&T} RICIN and Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil *

• Context (IE | IE): Recent terror cases involving ricin preparations and Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) have renewed concerns about bioterrorism and explosives misuse in India.

• Recent Incidents: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested individuals for allegedly preparing ricin, while Red Fort blast forensics are examining possible ANFO-based explosive use.

About Ricin

• Ricin is a highly toxic glycoprotein extracted from the seeds of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis).
• Toxicity: It is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances and is recognised as a bioterrorism agent. Even minuscule amounts can be fatal when inhaled, swallowed, or injected.
• Mechanism: Ricin enters body cells, binds to ribosomes, and blocks protein synthesis, which causes rapid cell death.
• Properties: It dissolves in water and weak acids, remains stable at normal temperatures, and becomes inactive when heated above 80°C.
• Symptoms: Early symptoms differ by exposure route and include nausea, vomiting, fever, cough, confusion, seizures, and eventual organ failure.
• Treatment: No antidote is available for ricin poisoning, and treatment is limited to supportive care only.
• Regulation: Ricin is strictly controlled as a Schedule I toxin under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

About Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil

• ANFO is an industrial explosive widely used in mining, quarrying, and construction. It is prepared by mixing about 94% porous ammonium nitrate with 6% fuel oil.
• Ammonium Nitrate: NH₄NO₃ is a white, crystalline, water‑soluble fertiliser that remains non‑explosive under normal conditions. It is manufactured as porous prills to uniformly absorb fuel oil.
• Fuel Oil: Diesel or similar petroleum‑based fuel acts as the combustible component that allows ANFO to detonate when properly initiated.
• Industrial Use: ANFO is preferred for large‑scale blasting because it is inexpensive, easy to prepare, and effective for controlled explosions.
• Regulation: ANFO is regulated under the Ammonium Nitrate Rules 2012 and the Explosives Act 1884. Any mixture containing more than 45% ammonium nitrate is legally defined as an explosive.

Read More > Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

{Prelims – Disease} India Records Decline in TB Incidence

• Context (TH): As per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global TB Report 2025, India’s tuberculosis (TB) incidence has fallen by 21% annually, marking one of the steepest declines worldwide.

Key Highlights of the Report

• TB Incidence: Cases dropped from 237 per lakh population (2015) to 187 per lakh (2024), reflecting substantial progress under national TB control programmes.
• Treatment Coverage: Improved from 53% in 2015 to over 92% in 2024, aided by technological innovations, community mobilisation, and decentralised health services.
• Detection & Reporting: India diagnosed 26.18 lakh TB patients in 2024, with “missing cases” reduced from 15 lakh in 2015 to under 1 lakh.
• Mortality Rate: Fell from 28 per lakh (2015) to 21 per lakh (2024).

{Prelims – Species} Himalayan Black Bears

• Context (NIE): Climate change-induced changing weather patterns are disturbing the hibernation patterns of Himalayan Black Bears, making them unusually aggressive.

• This shift in behaviour has led to more attacks on humans and livestock, intensifying human–animal conflict in Himalayan regions.

About Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger)

• The Himalayan black bear is a subspecies of the Asiatic black bear native to the Himalayan region. They are called “moon bear” because of a white crescent or V-shaped mark on their chest.
• Habitat Distribution: They inhabit India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Pakistan across elevational zones of 1,500–3,700 meters.
• Physical Features: It has a glossy black coat, a pale chest patch, rounded ears, and an elongated snout.
• Unique Features: Longer, thicker fur than other Asiatic black bears; they hibernate for 5-7 months during peak winter.
• Diet: Himalayan black bears are omnivores, consuming nuts, fruits, honey, roots, and insects.
• Behavioural Patterns: They are skilled climbers, nocturnal, solitary, and spend much time in trees.
• Ecological Role: They are keystone species and serve as a primary seed disperser, which helps sustain the stability and regeneration of the forest ecosystem.
• Major Threats: Habitat fragmentation, human encroachment, and poaching for gall bladders (used in traditional Asian medicine).