CURRENT AFFAIRS

The year 2025 witnessed major disruptions across India’s transportation systems—severe train overcrowding, widespread flight cancellations, aviation safety concerns, and growing road congestion. These events highlight long-standing structural challenges of underinvestment, market concentration, and weak regulation, putting India’s mobility network under severe stress.

The World Inequality Report 2026, released by the World Inequality Lab (led by economists Thomas Piketty, Lucas Chancel, Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman), highlights widening income, wealth, gender, and climate inequalities across India and the world.

India recorded a strong 8.2% GDP growth, supported by robust manufacturing and services performance. However, the IMF graded India’s national income accounting system as ‘Grade C’, pointing to statistical limitations and structural data gaps.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its June 2025 report “Growing Retail Digital Payments (Value of Interoperability)”, has recognized India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the world’s largest retail fast payment system.

India’s persistent current account deficit (CAD) remains a structural challenge, yet the recent sharp weakening of the rupee is being driven not by the CAD but by severe stress in capital inflows. This shift highlights that India’s external vulnerability now lies in the capital account rather than the current account.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted IndiGo Airlines a one-time temporary exemption from certain Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) norms for pilots.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has reported significant progress under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, with major components showing substantial improvement as of 31 October 2025.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India has renewed focus on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), as Russia accelerated fuel supply commitments and reiterated full support for completing India’s largest atomic energy project.

The Union Finance Minister has tabled the Health Security Se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 in Parliament, clarifying that the new cess will be imposed only on demerit goods such as pan masala, without affecting essential household commodities.

The Union Government has approved the construction of third and fourth railway lines on the 32 km Badlapur–Karjat stretch in Maharashtra. This expansion strengthens a crucial segment of the Mumbai–Chennai High Density Network (HDN)—one of the busiest rail corridors in India.