DAILY GK 24-25 DEC 2025
1. OPERATION CHRISTMAS DROP
·
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD)
partners including India,
the United States of America (USA), Australia and Japan, successfully
conducted their 1st Field Training
Exercise (FTX) held on the sidelines of ‘Operation
Christmas Drop’ in Guam (USA).
·
The exercise aimed to
enhance shared logistics capacity for quick and effective responses to regional
humanitatarian needs.
·
Launched in 1952,
Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest-running humanitarian airlift
mission,
conducted by the United States Air Force (USAF).
·
QUAD is an informal group of
4 countries that aims to strengthen cooperation, ensure maritime security,
economic growth, and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific, countering China’s
rising influence in the region.
·
The QUAD group was
originally conceptualised by Japan’s then Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe
in 2007. But, the group was formally revived in 2017.
·
QUAD Leaders’ Summit: The 1st QUAD Leaders’ Summit was held
virtually in 2021.
·
In 2024, The USA hosted
the 4th QUAD Leaders’ Summit held in Wilmington.
·
India
is the host country for 5th QUAD Leaders’ Summit
which is scheduled to be held in 2025.
2. BRAZIL HANDS OVER BRICS
PRESIDENCY TO INDIA FOR 2026
·
Brazil formally handed over the rotating BRICS (Brazil,
Russia, India, China, and South Africa) presidency to India
during the 4th BRICS Sherpas Meeting,
held in BrasÃlia (Brazil).
·
India will officially
assume the chairmanship on January 1, 2026.
·
Brazil passed a sustainably
crafted wooden gavel, made by the Novo Airão community from Amazonian trees, to
India’s sherpa, symbolizing environmental consciousness, shared
responsibility, and enduring BRICS cooperation.
·
Brazil’s Sherpa, Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio,
handed over the gavel to India’s Sherpa,
Ambassador Sudhakar Dalela, while Brazil
remains the formal chair until 31st December 2025.
·
Brazil’s 2025 BRICS Presidency Theme: Focused on
“Strengthening Global South Co-operation for More Inclusive and Sustainable
Governance.”
·
India’s presidency for 2026 will be structured around a “humanity-first
approach” proposed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. 4
Pillars namely Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability:
·
BRICS was established as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China)
in September 2006 following United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) discussions and was formally institutionalized as an
intergovernmental organization in 2009.
·
In September 2010, South Africa joined the group, adding the “S”
and renaming it BRICS; later, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE joined in
2024, followed by Indonesia in 2025.
3.
11TH COSP TO UN
CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION
·
The 11th edition of
the Conference of the State Parties (COSP-11) to the
United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the
world’s largest anti-corruption
conference was held in Doha,
Qatar.
·
The 5-day long conference
was hosted by the State of Qatar in collaboration
with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
·
The conference concluded successfully with the adoption of
the ‘Doha Declaration 2025: strengthening international cooperation and technical assistance and
seizing the opportunities provided by Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems
in preventing and combating corruption’.
·
Other than Doha declaration, the conference adopted 11 resolutions on a wide range of issues related
to corruption.
·
Next Session- 12th COSP in Uzbekistan.
4. NASA SPACE APPS CHALLENGE
2025
·
An Indian team named Photonics Odyssey,
based in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), won the ‘National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA’s) Most Inspirational Award’ at
the International Space Apps Challenge 2025 for
their innovative satellite internet
concept to expand broadband access in remote and underserved regions of
India.
·
Launched in 2012, this global hackathon drew over 114,000
participants from 167 countries to solve real-world problems using NASA’s
open data, with Indian-origin participants among the winners.
5.
MALAYALAM PUBLISHER RAVI DEECEE
CONFERRED FRANCE’S KNIGHT OF ARTS & LETTERS
·
Ravi Deecee, Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of DC Books which
is of one of India’s prominent Malayalam
literary publishing house, was honoured with Chevalier de l’Ordre
des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), one of France’s highest civilian honours,
in recognition of his commitment to
multilingualism, literary innovation, and international cultural
collaboration.
·
Some of
the prominent Indian actors who have been honoured with the
Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (3rd of the three-category award): Nandita Das, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and
Shah Rukh Khan.
·
Knight of the Order of Arts and
Letters, established in 1957 by the
French Ministry of Culture, recognises individuals who have made
significant contributions to the promotion of arts and culture in France and
around the world.
·
It comprises three ranks i.e. Commandeur(Commander), Officier (Officer),
and Chevalier (Knight).
6. INDIAN NAVY DECOMMISSIONS
‘INS SINDHUGHOSH’
·
The Indian Navy(IN) has formally
decommissioned ‘Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sindhughosh’,
the lead submarine of the Sindhughosh class, after 40 years of service to the
nation, during a ceremony held at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
·
The submarine was commissioned into the IN on April 30, 1986.
·
INS Sindhughosh is a variant of the Soviet Kilo-class
diesel-electric boats, acquired by the Government of India (GoI)
under Project 877EKM from Russia.
·
It has been replaced by the 6 Kalvari-class
(Scorpene) submarine, built indigenously by Mazagon Dock
Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under the Project 75I.
7.
GRSE DELIVERS THIRD INDIGENOUS ASW SWC ‘ANJADIP‘ TO IN
· Garden
Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited, a
key Defence Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) under the Ministry of Defence(MoD),
delivered ‘Indian Naval Ship (INS) Anjadip’,
the third of eight Anti-Submarine
Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC), to the Indian Navy (IN) in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
· The
vessels belong to the Arnala class,
named after islands, with Anjadip named after an island off the coast of
Karwar, Karnataka.
·
Anjadip
is the fifth warship delivered by GRSE in 2025,
the 115th warship built by the shipyard, and the 77th delivered to the IN.
·
The vessel is 77 meters (m) long, displaces about 900 tonnes, and has a
shallow draught of 2.7m for close-to-coast operations.
8.
ISRO SUCCESSFULLY
LAUNCHES ‘BLUEBIRD BLOCK-2 SATELLITE’
·
The Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the ‘BlueBird Block-2
communication satellite’ into Low
Earth Orbit (LEO) aboard its Launch
Vehicle Mark -3 – Mission-6 (LVM3-M6) rocket in a dedicated
commercial mission from the Second Launch
Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
·
The satellite was built by United States of America
(USA)-based AST SpaceMobile Inc. under a commercial
agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a commercial arm of
ISRO.
·
Features a 223 square meter (m2)
phased array, making it the largest commercial satellite in
LEO, and weighs 6,100 kilogram (kg), the heaviest commercial
payload launched by India.
·
This mission marks the 6th operational flight of LVM3.
·
Prior to LVM3‑M6, the LVM3 vehicle successfully launched Chandrayaan‑2,
Chandrayaan‑3, two OneWeb missions carrying 72 satellites, and LVM3‑M5/CMS‑03.
·
ISRO was
initially established as the Indian National Committee for Space Research
(INCOSPAR) in 1962 by former Prime Minister(PM)
Jawaharlal Nehru, based on scientist Vikram Sarabhai’s recommendation.
·
It was renamed ISRO in 1969 and brought under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
·
Chairman –
V. Narayanan.
·
Headquarters –
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
9.
ICG Inducts India’s First
Indigenously Designed & Built PCV ‘SamudraPratap’
·
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) formally
inducted ‘Samudra Pratap (Yard 1267)’, India’s first
indigenously designed and built Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), at
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa.
·
SamudraPratap was built by GSL under
the two-PCV project, signed on 22 June 2021 between the Ministry of
Defence (MoD) and GSL.
·
SamudraPratap, the 1st PCV, was
launched on 29 August 2024, followed by the second PCV(SamudraPrachet) in
July 2025.
·
SamudraPratap
is the first indigenously designed and built pollution control ship of the ICG and is
also the largest vessel in its fleet.
·
Dimensions: It
is 114.5 metres (m) long, 16.5 m wide, and has a displacement of 4,170 tonnes.
10.
INDIA SOUTH AFRICA T20I & ODI SERIES
·
The Indian men’s cricket team South Africa in
T20I to clinch the five-match
series 3–1.
·
Player of the Series: Varun Chakravarthy.
·
India won the ODI series against South Africa 2-1, with
Virat Kohli scoring centuries in the first two matches.
·
Player of the Series: Virat Kohli.
11. ASIAN YOUTH PARA GAMES
DUBAI 2025
·
The Asian Youth Para Games (APYG) 2025 was
held in Dubai.
·
India ranked 7th in
the medal tally with 102 medals, encompassing 36 gold, 28 silver, and 38 bronze,
including boys and girls.
·
Uzbekistan
ranked first with 197 medals, encompassing 99 gold, 57 silver, and 41 bronze.
·
Iran finished the medal
tally in second place with 262 medals, including 76 gold, 96 silver, 88 bronze.
·
Japan
secured third place with 77 medals, including 40 gold medals, 25 silver, and 12
bronze.
