DAILY GK 12-13 DEC 2025

 DAILY GK 12-13 DEC 2025

1.       TIME MAGAZINE PERSON OF THE YEAR

·       TIME magazine named the “Architects of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” as its Person of the Year for 2025, recognising the individuals who designed, developed, and advanced modern AI technologies.

·       Individuals Featured: Jensen Huang – Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nvidia Corporation.

·       Mark Zuckerberg – CEO, Meta Platforms,Elon Musk – Founder, xAI; CEO, Tesla.

·       Sam Altman – CEO, OpenAI,Lisa Su – CEO, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

·       Demis Hassabis – CEO, Google DeepMind,Dario Amodei – CEO, Anthropic.

·       Fei-Fei Li – AI pioneer; Founder, World Labs.

·       The 2025 TIME cover featured two designs, one depicting eight AI leaders in a “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” style, and another creatively integrating the letters “AI” into technological scaffolding.

·       Since 1927, TIME’s Person of the Year has recognized influential figures and groups, including Donald Trump (2024), Taylor Swift (2023).

 

2.       INDIA-MALAYSIA MILITARY EXERCISE ‘HARIMAU SHAKTI’

·       The 5th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Harimau Shakti 2025’ between Indian Army(IA) and Royal Malaysian Army commenced at Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) in Rajasthan.

·       It is a bilateral military exercise conducted annually between the armies of India and Malaysia, since 2012.

·       The 4th edition of joint military exercise Harimau Shakti was held in Bentong Camp, Malaysia.

 

3.       GM ARJUN ERIGAISI WINS JERUSALEM MASTERS 2025

·       Indian Chess Grandmaster (GM) Arjun Erigaisi won the 2nd edition of Jerusalem Masters 2025 title by defeating the five-time world champion and Indian Chess GM Viswanathan Anand in the final held in Jerusalem, Israel.

·       The Jerusalem Masters is a closed invitational event where twelve players compete in a round-robin stage, with the top four advancing to the semifinals and final.

·       The 2025 Jerusalem Masters featured a total prize fund of USD 140,000.

 

4.       5TH EDITION OF KIUG 2025

·       The 5th edition of the Khelo India University Games 2025 (KIUG 2025) was held across seven cities in Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, and Bharatpur

·       Chandigarh University, Gharuan (Punjab), topped the medal tally with a total of 67 medals (42 gold, 14 silver, and 11 bronze).

·       Lovely Professional University (LPU), Punjab, secured second place with a total of 78 medals (32 gold, 24 silver, and 22 bronze), and Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar (Punjab), secured third place with a total of 72 medals (32 gold, 22 silver, and 18 bronze).

·       KUIG 2025, a multi-sport event, was organized under the Khelo India Programme by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and the Rajasthan State Sports Council (RSSC).

 

5.       ABU DHABI GP 2025

·       Lando Norris, McLaren Racing, secured his first Formula One (F1) Drivers’ Championship title by finishing third at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (GP) 2025  UAE, behind race winner Max Verstappen and runner-up Oscar Piastri, clinching the title by just two points.

·       Lando Norris became the 11ᵗʰ British driver to win the F1 World Championship and the first British champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2020, securing McLaren’s 13ᵗʰ drivers’ championship title.

·       A GP is a major international motorsport race included in the Formula One World Championship. The 2025 season comprised 24 events where drivers competed for points, podium finishes, and the overall championship.

 

6.       FIDE CIRCUIT 2025

·       Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Circuit 2025 with 115.17 points, a year-long series of tournaments held from January to December 2025, securing direct qualification to the Candidates Tournament 2026. 

·       He became the only male player to qualify via the FIDE Circuit and will make his second consecutive appearance at the Candidates Tournament.

·       Three Indian women GM Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and Vaishali Rameshbabu have already qualified for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

·       The 2025 FIDE Circuit served as a system of top-level tournaments that acted as a qualification path for the Candidates Tournament 2026.

·       Candidates Tournament 2026 is Scheduled to take place in Pegeia, Cyprus in March 2026.

 

7.       ASIAN EQUESTRIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2025

·       The second edition of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports or the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Asian Equestrian Championships 2025, was held in Pattaya, Thailand

·       Thailand topped with 7 medals (3 gold, 0 silver, 4 bronze), followed by Hong Kong secured 7 medals (0 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze), and India claimed 5 medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 0 bronze).

·       Ashish Limaye became the first Indian rider to win a gold medal in Eventing at the continental championship.

·       FEI Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

8.       FIH MEN’S JUNIOR HOCKEY WORLD CUP 2025

·       The 14th edition of the International Hockey Federation or Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2025 was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN), and Madurai, TN,

·       Germany clinched its eighth FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup by defeating Spain 3–2 in a shoot-out after a 1–1 draw in regulation time in the final held in Chennai, TN.

·       India secured bronze medal by overturning a 0-2 deficit to defeat Argentina 4-2.

·       Germany won the gold medal, while Spain secured the silver.

·       India won the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup gold medals in 2001 and 2016.

·       Fifth Place: Belgium defeated the Netherlands.

·       COMMONWEALTH KHO KHO CHAMPIONSHIP

·       The Commonwealth Sports granted its approval for India to host the 1st ever edition of Commonwealth Kho Kho Championship in March 2026.

·       The inaugural Kho Kho Championship is expected to witness participation from over 24 Commonwealth Nations, featuring 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams.

·       The Championship marks the next key milestone in Indian Kho Kho, after the first World Cup held in New Delhi in January 2025.

 

9.       FIRST PAYMENTS BANK TO RECEIVE RBI’S APPROVAL FOR CONVERSION INTO SFB

·       The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted in-principle approval to Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL) to convert into a Small Finance Bank (SFB), becoming the 1st Payment Bank (PB) in India to get such approval.

·       This conversion will enable the FPBL to accept larger deposits, provide loans, and credit facilities to individuals and small enterprises, and expand its customer base and services.

·       FPBL, which was operationalized in 2017, had applied for a SFB license in December 2023.

·       As per RBI’s ‘on tap licensing’ norms, existing payment banks which are controlled by residents and have completed 5 years of operations are eligible to apply for conversion into SFBs.

·       PB interest for conversion into a SFB, is required to maintain a minimum net worth of Rs 300 crore.

·       It is required to infuse additional paid-up voting equity share capital to achieve net worth of Rs 300 crore within 18 months from the date of receiving in-principle approval or as on the date of commencement of operations, whichever is earlier.

 

10.    NHAI RECEIVED SEBI’S IN-PRINCIPLE APPROVAL FOR REGISTRATION OF RIIT AS INVIT

·       The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to register the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT).

·       In order to receive the final approval, RIIT is required to meet the specific conditions over the next 6 months, including, the appointment of directors, submission of requisite financial statements, and compliance with other regulatory norms.

·       RIIMPL has been established as the collaborative equity venture with participation from leading private and public sector banks(PSBs) as well as financial institutions in India including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Banks (PNB); National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID); Axis Bank; Bajaj Finserv Ventures Ltd; HDFC Bank; ICICI Bank; IDBI Bank; IndusInd Bank, and Yes Bank.