DAILY GK 17-18 DEC 2025
1.
TRAI MANDATES ADOPTION OF 1600-SERIES NUMBERS FOR
SERVICE CALLS
·
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), under
the Ministry of Communications, directed all the entities, regulated by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of
India (IRDAI), to adopt “1600” series phone
numbers for service and transactional calls to consumers by 15
February 2026.
·
The “1600” numbering
series is a special range assigned by the Department of Telecommunications
(DoT), under the Ministry of Communications, for use by Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI) entities and
select government bodies.
·
The aim is to ensure that customers can easily identify
legitimate calls from regulated financial institutions and differentiate them
from spam or fraud calls.
2.
INDIA AND SAUDI ARABIA SIGNED VISA WAIVER AGREEMENT
·
India and Saudi Arabia (SA)
signed a bilateral Visa Waiver Agreement (VWA) in
Riyadh to facilitate official travels and strengthen bilateral exchanges under
the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic
Partnership Council (SPC) in Riyadh, SA.
·
Visa Agreement Provides mutual exemption from short-stay visa requirements for holders of diplomatic,
special, and official passports, streamlining official travel.
·
The waiver does not
apply to ordinary passport holders, tourists, or business travelers.
·
India is Saudi Arabia’s
second-largest trading partner, after China, and Saudi Arabia is India’s fifth-largest
partner, with bilateral trade reaching USD 39.9 billion in 2024.
3. 7TH UN ENVIRONMENT
ASSEMBLY
·
The 7th session of the United
Nations Environment Assembly(UNEA-7), the world’s highest
decision-making body for matters related to the environment, was held at
the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
·
Theme: The theme of UNEA-7 is “Advancing
sustainable solutions for a resilient planet”.
·
Union Minister of State (MoS) Kirti Vardhan Singh, Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC), represented India at the UNEA-7.
·
Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary
(ACS), Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) (India), was honoured with the
UNEP’s 2025 Champions of the Earth Award.
·
The UNEA-7 concluded with Member States adopting 11
resolutions, three decisions and a Ministerial Declaration aimed
at advancing sustainable solutions for a more resilient planet.
·
Matthew Samuda, Minister for Water, Environment and
Climate Change of Jamaica, was
elected President of the 8th UNEA
(UNEA-8) which is scheduled to be held in December 2027 in Nairobi.
4. RUSSIA SIGNS KEY MILITARY
PACT WITH INDIA
·
Russia president Vladimir Putin signed
into federal law a major military
cooperation agreement with India, formalising the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) pact,
following its ratification by both houses of Russia’s Parliament.
·
The RELOS was ratified by the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of
parliament, followed by approval from the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house.
·
The RELOS agreement
establishes a framework for the movement and deployment of military formations,
the docking of warships in each other’s ports, and the use of airspace and
airfield infrastructure by military aircrafts from both nations.
5. PM NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT
TO JORDAN
·
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was
on a 2-day official visit to Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan as the 1st leg of his 3-nation tour (Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman), at the invitation of His
Majesty King Abdullah-II ibn Hussein of Jordan.
·
The visit of PM
Narendra Modi to Jordan coincided with the 75th anniversary of India–Jordan diplomatic
relations.
·
The key outcome of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to
Jordan was the signing of 5 key Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in
the field of new and Renewable Energy(RE), water resource management and
development, cultural exchange programme for the years 2025-2029, DPI and a twinning arrangement between Petra and
Ellora.
6. PM NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT
TO ETHIOPIA
·
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was
on a 2-day official visit to Ethiopia as the 2nd leg of his 3-nation tour
(Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman), at the invitation of Abiy Ahmed
Ali, Prime Minister (PM)
of Ethiopia.
·
This marked PM Modi’s 1st ever bilateral visit to the African
nation.
·
During his visit, PM Modi addressed the joint session of the Parliament of Ethiopia.
·
With this, the Ethiopian
Parliament has become the 18th parliament worldwide to be
addressed by PM Modi.
·
India and Ethiopia have elevated
their bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership (SP), marking a major
step in strengthening cooperation between the two Global South partners.
·
PM Modi and his
Ethiopian counterpart witnessed the exchange of 3 key Memorandums
of Understanding (MoUs) in areas like: customs cooperation, United Nations (UN)
Peacekeeping training, and data infrastructure.
·
MoU on Debt Restructuring: India and Ethiopia signed
a MoU on Debt Restructuring in respect of Ethiopia under the Group-20 (G20)
Common Framework.
·
Ethiopia Capital- Addis Ababa.
7.
PM NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO
OMAN
·
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was
on a 2-day official visit to Oman as the final leg
of his 3-nation tour that included Jordan and Ethiopia, at the invitation
of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, the
Sultan and PM of Oman.
·
This visit marked his
second visit to Oman.
·
His visit coincided with
the 70th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
·
PM Narendra Modi attended the India-Oman Business Forum held
in Muscat, Oman.
·
During the forum, the
Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OCCI) and
the CII signed an MoU to boost economic collaboration between Indian and Omani
businesses.
·
PM Modi was conferred with the “Order of
Oman”, the highest
civilian honor of Oman.
·
This marks 29th foreign state honor conferred on PM
Modi, during his 11 year tenure as PM of
India.
·
The key highlight of PM
Modi’s visit to Oman was the signing of Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman.
8.
11TH UNAOC FORUM
·
The Government of India (GoI) participated
in the 11th edition of the United Nations Alliance
of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum held in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
·
The forum was held under the theme “UNAOC: Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity – Advancing a New
Era of Mutual Respect and Understanding in a Multipolar World.”
·
UNAOC Launched by the UN in 2005, the initiative promotes
intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation to reduce
polarization and counter terrorism.
·
It was initiated by Spain and Turkey and endorsed by the UN
General Assembly (UNGA).
9. INDIA’S 95TH AND
96TH RAMSAR SITES
·
India included Siliserh Lake in
Alwar district, Rajasthan and Kopra Jalashay near
Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh in
the List of Wetlands of International Importance
(Ramsar List) under the RamsarConvention on Wetlands, 1971, as its 95th and 96th Ramsar
Sites, increasing the country’s total
number of Ramsar Sites to 96.
·
With this inclusion, Rajasthan now has 5 Ramsar Sites, while
Chhattisgarh records its first-ever
Ramsar Site.
·
Siliserh Lake is a
human-made freshwater lake, built in 1845 by
Maharaja Vinay Singh to supply drinking water to Alwar city, located about
8 miles southwest of the city within the buffer zone of the Sariska Tiger
Reserve.
·
Kopra Jalashay is a
reservoir-type wetland, originally constructed for irrigation, located near
Bilaspur in the upper catchments of the River Mahanadi and surrounded mainly by
farmland and a few villages.
·
The Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands, an international treaty for wetland conservation and sustainable use, was
adopted in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, came
into force in 1975, and India acceded
to it on 1 February 1982.
·
Headquarters – Gland, Switzerland.
10. PONDURU KHADI RECEIVES
GI TAG
·
Ponduru Khadi, a traditional handspun and handwoven cotton fabric from Ponduru village, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh (AP), received the
Geographical Indication (GI)
tag
·
During the Swadeshi Movement in 1921, Mahatma Gandhi praised Ponduru Khadi in Young
India and, after receiving a Ponduru Khadi stole, deputed
Devdas Gandhi to study its production process.
·
Ponduru Khadi has
been granted a Geographical Indication under the GI Act, 1999, covering Classes 23, 24,
and 25 to prevent misuse and imitation.
·
Geographical Indication (GI) Tagis a sign used on goods
originating from a specific geographical area with qualities or reputation
attributable to that origin.
·
Validity: 10 years (renewable).
11.
IEEE SA CORPORATE AWARD 2025
·
The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), under
Ministry of Communications, became the first Indian organization
to receive the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE SA)
Corporate Award 2025.
·
C‑DoT
became one of only five organizations
worldwide to have received the award.
·
The IEEE SA Corporate Award, presented by IEEE SA, recognizes
organizations that make outstanding contributions to the development and
advancement of global technical standards.
·
Sandeep Agarwal, a scientist at C-DoT, also received
the IEEE Standards Medallion for his contributions
to rural broadband standardisation.
12.
ELON MUSK HIT USD 600 BILLION IN NET WORTH
·
American Magazine, Forbes announced
that Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of SpaceX and Tesla, became the first
person in history to surpass a net worth of USD
600 billion.
·
This surge in Elon Musk’s wealth is primarily due to the
announcement of SpaceX going public with an USD 800 billion valuation, which
added USD 168 billion to his net worth in a single day, bringing it to an
estimated USD 677 billion.
·
Elon Musk, holding an estimated
42% stake in SpaceX, is gearing up for an Initial Public Offering (IPO)
in 2026, which could potentially value the company at USD
1.5 trillion.
·
He also holds nearly 12%
stake in Electric Vehicle (EV) company Tesla.
13. 1ST WOMAN OFFICER TO
PASS OUT FROM IMA
·
23-year old Sai Jadhav from Kolhapur (Maharashtra), scripted
history by becoming the 1st woman officer to pass
out from the Indian Military
Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
·
With this, she broke a 93-year old tradition in IMA that
only ever saw men graduate.
·
Since the establishment of IMA in 1932, over
67,000 cadets have passed out, all of them men until now.
·
At present, 8 women
officer cadets are undergoing training in IMA, as part of the 1st woman
batch selected through the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2022.
·
Sai Jadhav has been commissioned as a Lieutenant
in the Territorial Army (TA), becoming the
1st woman officer from IMA to join TA.
14.
UNION HOME MINISTER’S EFFICIENCY MEDAL
·
Senior Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) officer Dinesh Khatak,
hailing from Jind district in Haryana,
has been conferred the Union Home Minister’s Efficiency Medal (KendriyaGrahMantriDakshataPadak) for
his exemplary service, discipline and
outstanding contribution to national security by the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA).
·
He currently serves as Second-in-Command (2IC) of 196 Battalion,
CRPF.
·
Home Minister’s Efficiency Medal is conferred on members of
police forces, paramilitary units, including CRPF, and other security
organizations for professional excellence and merit.
15. BLOOMBERG WORLD’S RICHEST
FAMILIES REPORT 2025
·
Bloomberg released its annual report
titled “Bloomberg-World’s Richest Families 2025”, tracking the 25 wealthiest family fortunes globally
and their aggregate wealth growth.
·
As per the report, the Ambani family, remained 8th with
an estimated net worth of about USD 105.6 billion, is the only Indian family featured in the
list.
·
The Walton
family, who owns 44% of
Walmart, is ranked first with
USD 513.4 billion in wealth, followed by the Al Nahyan family (USD 335.9 billion) (2nd
rank), Al Saud, the Saudi Royal
family (USD 213.6 billion) (3rd rank).
·
The Al Thani Family of
Qatar ranks 4th with USD 199.5 billion, followed by France’s Hermes Family in 5th place with USD 184.5 billion.
