DAILY GK 2 DEC 2025
1.
INDIA RE-ELECTED TO IMO COUNCIL CATEGORY B FOR 2026-27
TERM
·
India was re-elected to the Category B of
the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for
the 2026-27 term, receiving 154 votes out
of 169 valid votes, the highest votes secured by a country in the Category B in
November 2025, during the election held at the 34th session of the IMO Assembly in London
·
As part of the Council, India
can influence critical issues such as Shipping safety standards, seafarers’
welfare policies, environmental regulations for ships, and port and trade
logistics development.
·
Category A countries includes China, Greece, Italy,
Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, UK of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, and United States of America (USA).
·
Other Category B countries includes Australia, Brazil, Canada,
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and United Arab Emirates
(UAE).
·
Category C: 20 States such as Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus,
Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco,
Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and
Türkiye are under the category C.
·
IMOHeadquarters – London, United Kingdom.
·
Established – 1948.
2.
INDIA TOURISM DATA COMPENDIUM 2025
·
The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) released
the 66th edition of “India Tourism Data
Compendium 2025”.
·
Maharashtra recorded 3.71 million Foreign Tourist
Visits (FTVs) in 2024, emerging as the most
visited destination in India, followed by West Bengal(WB) with
3.12 million and Uttar Pradesh(UP) with 2.27 million
FTVs.
·
Overall, India’s FTVs
reached 20.94 million in 2024, marking an increase
of 8.84%.
·
The report listed top 5
source markets for FTAs in India (in 2024) were: the USA (18.13%), Bangladesh (17.59%), the UK (10.28%), Australia (5.21%), and Canada (4.79%).
·
The report showed that the highest share of FTAs in India in terms of age came from the tourists
of the age group of 35-44 (20.67%) and 45-54 (20.24%).
·
India’s domestic tourism
increased
significantly by 17.51% i.e. from 2508.82 million visits (in 2023) to 2948.19
million visits (in 2024).
·
Among all states & UTs, Uttar Pradesh (UP) topped, with 646.8
million domestic visits in 2024 (+35.17%); followed by Tamil Nadu
(TN) (306.8 million, +7.28%); Karnataka (304.6 million, +7.20%).
·
Among the Centrally
Protected Ticketed Monuments in India, Taj Mahal (in Agra,
UP) topped in terms of visitors for both domestic (6.26
million) and foreign (0.645 million) tourists
in Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25).
·
It further revealed that the tourism sector’s total contribution to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
reached 5.22%.
3.
26TH HORNBILL FESTIVAL HELD IN NAGALAND
·
The 26th Hornbill Festival, also
known as “Festival of Festivals “is being held at Kisama
Heritage Village near Kohima, Nagaland, to mark
Nagaland’s Statehood Day.
·
The Hornbill Festival,
started in 2000 by the Nagaland Government, showcases Nagaland’s cultural
heritage and the traditions and unity of its 17 tribes, named after the revered
hornbill bird.
·
Six partner countries, the
United Kingdom (UK), France, Austria, Switzerland, Malta, and Ireland, along with the
partner state Arunachal Pradesh (AP), actively engage in initiatives to foster
cultural diplomacy, business networking, and tourism.
·
Temporary relaxation of
the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime facilitates foreign tourist entry, simplifying processing
at airports and promoting international tourism.
4.
60TH ALL INDIA CONFERENCE
OF DGSP & IGSP
·
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi chaired
the 60th All India Conference of Director Generals of Police (DGsP) and
Inspector Generals of Police (IGsP) held at
the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Raipur in
Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
·
The conference theme titled “Viksit Bharat: Security
Dimensions”.
5.
India Re-Elected to UNESCO Executive Board
·
Indian Permanent
Delegation to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization(UNESCO) announced that India was
re-elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for
the 2025–2029 term.
·
43rd UNESCO General Conference, held in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan.
·
India was originally
elected to the UNESCO Executive Board in
1952, soon after joining UNESCO in
1946, and has been re-elected multiple times, including in 2017 and most recently
for the 2025–2029 term.
·
UNESCO Executive Board is one of the three constitutional organs of UNESCO, alongside the General Conference and the Secretariat.
·
The Board oversees the implementation
of UNESCO’s programmes and sets strategic priorities for the organisation.
·
UNESCOHeadquarters - Paris, France.
·
Established- 1945.
6.
SEMICONDUCTOR TRAINING LABS AT SCL MOHALI
·
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw,
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), inaugurated
the Semiconductor Process Gallery and PARANGAT
Semiconductor Training Lab at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL)
in Mohali, Punjab.
·
The Government of India (GoI) is investing Rs.
4,500 crore to modernise and expand SCL Mohali.
7.
PM’S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
2025
·
The Government of India (GoI) approved
the Prime Minister (PM)’s Awards for Excellence in Public
Administration 2025, designed to acknowledge, recognize and reward outstanding work by civil servants
across India.
·
The awards will be
presented by PM Narendra Modi on 21 April 2026,
marking Civil Services Day, at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
·
The awards include a trophy, scroll, and an
incentive of Rs.20 lakhs to the awarded District or
organization for project implementation or welfare needs.
·
For 2025, the PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public
Administration seek to honour the outstanding contributions of civil servants
under three key categories.
·
Category 1- Holistic Development of Districts: It focuses on
overall development in districts, showing exceptional performance and
improvement in the 11 priority sectors.
·
Under this
category, 5 awards will be conferred.
·
Category 2 – Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP): It focuses on
Aspirational Blocks, areas identified as backward or needing targeted intervention.
·
Under this category, 5
awards would be conferred on blocks showing remarkable progress
and innovation.
·
Category 3 – Innovations for Central
Ministries or Departments, States, Districts: Under this category, 6
awards will be conferred on innovative projects or practices,
developed by Central Ministries or Departments, State Governments, and District
Administrations.
8.
DARJEELING MANDARIN ORANGE RECEIVED GI TAG
·
West Bengal (WB)’s Darjeeling
Mandarin Orange (Scientific name: Citrus reticulata Blanco),
locally called ‘suntala’, received the Geographical
Indication (GI) tag in November 2025.
·
West Bengal has 33 Geographical
Indication (GI) tags, including 11 agricultural and horticultural products;
the Darjeeling region now has its second GI-tagged product after
Dalley Khorsani, following Darjeeling Tea (2004).
·
In India, GI tags are governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection)
Act, 1999, effective from September 15, 2003.
·
Darjeeling Tea was the first Indian
product to receive a GI tag in 2004.
·
A GI tag is valid for 10
years
from the date of registration and can be renewed every 10 years.
9.
GOI APPROVES 5% SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL BLEND
BY 2030
·
Union Minister of State (MoS) Murlidhar Mohol, Ministry
of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced that the Government of India (GoI) has
formally approved the Sustainable
Aviation Fuel (SAF) blending targets in traditional jet fuel i.e. 1% by
2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030.
·
The initial SAF blending
targets will apply to international flights
departing from India.
·
At present, a total
of 93 airports in India have switched over to 100%
green energy usage.
·
India, being a member state of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is
obligated to comply with the mandatory phase of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from
the year 2027.
·
CORSIA,
adopted by ICAO, aimed to reduce carbon emissions from international civil aviation.
·
India has pledged to
achieve Net-Zero Target by 2070.
10. BIS UNVEILED INDIA’S NEW
SEISMIC MAP
·
The Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS), statutory body under the
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD),
unveiled a revised seismic zonation map under the
updated Earthquake Design Code 2025(BIS,
2025), incorporating data on active faults, maximum probable events,
attenuation patterns, tectonics, and lithology.
·
Previously divided into
Zones II–V,
India’s seismic map now includes a newly introduced
Zone VI, the highest-risk category.
·
As per the BIS, the new quake map had been created using
globally accepted Probabilistic Seismic
Hazard Assessment (PSHA) methods that include
detailed data on active faults, the maximum potential magnitude on each fault,
the tectonic regime of each region, among others.
·
The new seismic map has
introduced a new concept known as the ‘Exposure
Window’ which takes into account population density, infrastructure, and
socio-economic vulnerability through the Probabilistic
Exposure and Multi-Hazard (PEMA) methodology.
·
The map further revealed that 61% of India’s
landmass now lies in moderate to high hazard zones, marking
one of the major shifts in seismic hazard assessment in decades.
·
The newly released map showed that 75% of the
Indian population lives in seismically active regions.
