Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 13th March 2025

Gulf of Oman : Naval Drills

Iran, Russia and China have begun joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, marking the fifth year the three countries have conducted military drills together.

• The Gulf of Oman, also called the Gulf of Makran, is the western extension of the Arabian Sea in the Middle East, forming the only entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean.
• It connects the Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Persian Gulf.
• It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.
• The small ports along the gulf include Ṣuḥār, al-Khābūrah, Muscat, and Ṣūr, in Oman, and Jāsk and Chāh Bahār, in Iran.
• Some of the significant islands that are located in the Gulf of Oman include Sheytan Island, Al Fahal Island, Dimaniyat Islands, and the Sawadi Islands.
• Some fishing is carried on, but the Gulf’s main importance is as a shipping route for the oil-producing area around the Persian Gulf.
• The Gulf of Oman offers the only entrance from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf.
• The world’s major oil exporters and importers have a joint interest in its security. Roughly one-third of the world’s oil is exported via the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

World Air Quality Report 2024:

With an average PM 2.5 concentration of 91.8 μg/m3, Delhi continues to be the most polluted Capital city in the world, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report.

• World Air Quality Report is published by the Swiss organisation IQAir every year. The 2024 World Air Quality Report evaluates the global state of air quality for the year 2024.
• This comprehensive report presents 5 air quality data collected from 8,954 cities across 138 countries, regions, and territories.
• According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, with an average PM 2.5 concentration of 91.8 μg/m3, Delhi continues to be the most polluted Capital city in the world.
• According to the report, 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, with Byrnihat on the Assam-Meghalaya border being the most polluted.
• The other cities include Faridabad, Loni (Ghaziabad), Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Noida, Muzaffarnagar, New Delhi (Central Delhi) and Delhi (taking the average from the rest of the city).
• India is the fifth most polluted country in the world, with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 50.6 μg/m3 – 10 times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline value of 5 μg/m3. In 2023, it was the third most polluted country.

Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025:

With an aim to enhance national security, the government on Tuesday introduced the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 in Parliament.

• The Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 aims to streamline immigration laws, strengthen national security, and impose stricter penalties for violations.
• The bill proposes to replace four colonial-era laws, including the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, to create a single, modern legal framework.
• The bill prioritises national security and sovereignty, stating that any foreigner posing a threat to India’s integrity will be denied entry or permission to stay.
• Immigration officers can arrest without a warrant if they suspect a foreigner of violating immigration laws. They can also restrict movements and name changes.
• Foreigners must register upon arrival and report any changes in movement or identity. Institutions like hospitals and schools must notify authorities about foreigners under their care.
• All foreigners need a valid passport and visa to enter or leave India. Carriers are responsible for ensuring passengers have proper documents or face fines and transport seizure.
• Penalties for Violations:
  • No valid documents – Up to 5 years jail, ₹5 lakh fine
  • Forged documents – 2 to 7 years jail, ₹1–10 lakh fine
  • Overstaying – Up to 3 years jail, ₹3 lakh fine
  • Transporting foreigners without papers – ₹5 lakh fine and vehicle seizure
• Foreigners with dual citizenship will be treated as citizens of the country whose passport they used to enter India.

La Nina : Concern

Climate change is intensifying, and the cooling effects of La Niña may weaken in a warmer future, climate scientists warn, citing current heat trends across much of the country.

• La Niña is a climate pattern that describes the cooling of surface-ocean waters along the tropical west coast of South America.
• It is considered to be the counterpart to El Niño, which is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean.
• Together, La Niña and El Niño are the “cold” (La Niña) and “warm” (El Niño) phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO is series of linked weather- and ocean-related phenomena.
• La Niña events are indicated by sea-surface temperature decreases of more than 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least five successive three-month seasons.
• La Niña is caused by a build-up of cooler-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific, the area of the Pacific Ocean between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• Unusually strong, eastward-moving trade winds and ocean currents bring this cold water to the surface, a process known as upwelling. Upwelling can cause a drastic drop in sea-surface temperature.

Chandrayaan-3 : New Findings

New findings based on data from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission suggest that water ice on the Moon may be present beyond its polar regions.

Chandrayaan-3 Recent Findings:

• New data from Chandrayaan-3 indicates possible water-ice deposits beyond the Moon’s polar regions.
• A study by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, using data from Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) instrument, supports this finding.
• ChaSTE measured a 60°C temperature difference between the lunar surface and 10 cm below it, revealing that the Moon’s surface layer is highly non-conductive, providing insights into its composition and thermal properties.
• Chandrayaan-3 was the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) second attempt, after Chandrayaan-2, to achieve a successful landing and rover operation on the Moon’s surface.
• It was launched using ISRO’s LVM3 rocket, designed to place modules into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) at a lower cost.

Kisan Credit Card : Report

In a sign of stress in the agriculture sector, scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks (RRBs), have seen a sharp increase of 42 per cent in bad loans Kisan Credit Card (KCC) accounts.

• The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was introduced in 1998 for issue of Kisan Credit Cards to farmers on the basis of their holdings for uniform adoption by the banks so that farmers may use them to readily purchase agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. and draw cash for their production needs.
• The scheme was extended in 2004 to cover farmers’ investment credit needs for allied and non-farm activities.
• In Budget 2018-19, the government extended the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facility to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers for meeting working capital needs.
• The Kisan Credit Card Scheme is implemented by Scheduled Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks and Cooperatives.
• The Kisan Credit Card scheme aims at providing adequate and timely credit support from the banking system under a single window with flexible and simplified procedure to the farmers for their cultivation and other needs.
• Kisan Rin Portal helps farmers avail subsidised loans under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). It was developed in collaboration with multiple government departments. It offers a comprehensive view of farmer data, loan disbursement specifics, interest subvention claims, and scheme utilisation progress. It fosters seamless integration with banks for more focused and efficient agriculture credit.

Large Phased Array Radar:

China recently deployed a powerful Large Phased Array Radar (LPAR) in Yunnan province, near the China-Myanmar border.

• Large Phased Array Radar (LPAR) has been established by China in Yunnan province, near the China-Myanmar border.
• It boasts a surveillance range exceeding 5,000 kilometers, allowing China to monitor extensive areas of the Indian Ocean and deep into Indian Territory.
• It possesses the capability to detect and track ballistic missile launches in real time.
• Unlike traditional radars, which rely on mechanical rotation, LPARs use electronically controlled antennas to scan vast areas almost instantly.
• This allows them to track multiple targets, including ballistic missiles, with high precision.
• Such radars play a critical role in early warning systems and air defence networks.
• Besides China, only the US and Russia have the LPAR
• The capabilities of China’s LPAR are being compared to the US PAVE PAWS (Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System), a Cold War-era radar designed to detect long-range missile launches.
• The American system has a detection range of approximately 5,600 km and can track multiple projectiles, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
• The Yunnan-based LPAR can monitor deep into Indian territory and track missile tests conducted from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off India’s eastern coast.
• This site is crucial for testing strategic weapons like the Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile and the K-4 submarine-launched missile.
• By capturing vital data on missile trajectories, speeds, and distances, China gains a strategic advantage, enabling it to analyse and develop countermeasures.

District-Level GDP Estimation:

India’s economic growth has long been assessed through national and state-level Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates, leaving districts (District Domestic Product (DDP) Estimation) overlooked in economic assessments.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized that to achieve the USD 5 trillion economy target, India must determine district-wise contributions and implement localized development strategies.Current GDP Estimation Methodology: India’s GDP is estimated using a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches, depending on the sector.

Pashu Aushadhi Kendras:

The government of India will launch Pashu Aushadhi Kendras under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) to provide affordable veterinary medicines to people engaged in animal husbandry and dairying.Pashu Aushadhi Kendras, modeled after Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), provide “generic medicines” veterinary medicines to improve livestock health and reduce farmers’ expenses.Pashu Aushadhi Kendras will also sell ethnoveterinary medicines, which are based on traditional Indian knowledge and indigenous practices. Pashu Aushadhi initiative introduced under the LHDCP, has a Rs 75 crore allocation for veterinary medicines and sales incentives.

India’s Pharma Industry:

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) has proposed zero customs duty on US medicine imports to prevent reciprocal US tariffs and maintain India’s dominance in the American pharmaceutical market.The US imports USD 9 billion worth of pharmaceutical formulations from India annually, making up one-third of India’s total pharma exports.India has minimized import duties on life-saving medicines. A zero-duty policy helps counter reciprocal US tariffs and safeguard exports. Lower duties strengthen trade ties and prevent strict US measures against Indian pharma like amending India’s Patents Act, 1970 to dilute its Section 3(d).The US and other western countries urge India to remove or dilute Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 which prevents evergreening of patents. Amending Section 3(d) to allow easier patenting of modified drugs (evergreening of patents) could threaten Indian pharma companies by restricting reverse engineering and delaying generic drug production.

Ancient Stone and Bone Tools:

A recent study found that ancient ancestors used bone tools 1.5 million years ago, nearly a million years earlier than believed, challenging the idea that toolmaking was unique to humans.The earliest stone tools (3.3 million years) and bone tools (1.5 million years), indicating that tool use predates Homo and was likely practiced by earlier hominins. It is argued that toolmaking required conceptual thought and was unique to humans. Discovered in 1974, Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old human ancestor, played a key role in evolution, possibly using her hands for tools.

Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan Border Deal:

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have agreed to exchange disputed lands, improving access to farmland and water resources, bringing an end to their long-standing border conflict. The conflict arises from border disputes due to differing maps and the arbitrary division of the Fergana Valley, leading to ethnic tensions among Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Uzbeks. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: Both are Central Asian nations, gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Kyrgyzstan borders Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Bishkek as its capital. Tajikistan shares borders with Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, with Dushanbe as its capital. Both share the Fergana Valley with Uzbekistan.

Overhauling the compliance framework:

India’s business environment faces challenges from corruption, frequent compliance updates, and regulatory inefficiencies. Despite reforms like the Jan Vishwas Act (2023) and the proposed Jan Vishwas 2.0, businesses continue to struggle with complex compliance systems. Introducing a unified compliance identity system and ensuring predictable regulations is crucial for improving India’s investment climate.