Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 28th November 2025

The UN ESCAP Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2025:

The UN ESCAP Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2025 warns that Asian megacities—Delhi, Karachi, Dhaka, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul—could face 2–7°C extra heat due to the urban heat island effect, pushing temperatures far beyond global warming averages.

Key Findings in Report:

• Even if global warming stabilises at 1.5–2°C, cities may heat by +7°C due to dense concrete, limited green cover, and high waste heat from vehicles and ACs.
• Megacities like Delhi, Karachi, Dhaka are projected to experience high localised heat stress far beyond rural surroundings.
• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: 300+ days with heat index >35°C; over 200 days above 41°C in several regions.
• Heat index includes humidity, making it a better indicator of felt temperature.
• 2024 was the hottest year on record, with Bangladesh’s April–May heatwave affecting 33 million people.
• India’s long heatwave in 2024 caused ~700 deaths, the second deadliest event in the region.
• Over 40% of South Asia’s population will face heat index >35°C and 41°C in both medium- and long-term scenarios.\
• Exposure will worsen regardless of climate policy due to continued urbanisation.
• High heat intensifies wildfires, droughts, PM10/5 load, and releases VOCs.
• Heat and pollution amplify cardiovascular and respiratory risks in a dangerous feedback loop.
• Heat-related working-hour losses in Asia projected to rise from 75 million to 8.1 million full-time job equivalents by 2030.
• Annual climate-related economic loss may rise to billion under high-emissions scenarios.

Etalin Hydroelectric Project: In News

The Project Affected Peoples Forum (PAPF) of Arunachal Pradesh recently urged NHPC Ltd to reinstate every local worker previously engaged in the Etalin Hydroelectric Project (HEP), following the Centre’s decision to transfer the project from SJVN Limited to NHPC.

• It is a 3,097 MW hydropower project planned on Dri and Talo rivers (tributaries of the Dibang river) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley.
• It is one of the largest hydropower projects proposed in the country in terms of installed capacity.
• EHEP is proposed to be developed as a combination of two run-of-the-river schemes.
• The project is being executed by NHPC Limited (formerly known as the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation).
• The project will feature two concrete gravity dams.
• The project area falls under the “richest bio-geographical province of the Himalayan zone” and “one of the mega biodiversity hotspots of the world”.
• The project area is dominated by indigenous populations belonging to Idu-Mishmi tribes.

Aloe vera : New Study

Computer simulations suggest that common plant molecules from Aloe vera might block enzymes tied to Alzheimer’s disease.

• Aloe Vera is a succulent plant belonging to the Aloaceae family, known for its medicinal and therapeutic properties.
• Scientific Name: Aloe barbadensis Mill
• It is native to the arid, desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.
• It thrives in hot, dry climates with well-drained, sandy, or rocky soils.
• It is widely cultivated in various warm regions around the world, including parts of North Africa, the Canary Islands, India, and the southwestern United States.
• It is a thick, short-stemmed plant that stores water in its leaves.
• It is known for its thick, pointed, and fleshy green leaves.
• Each leaf contains a slimy tissue that stores water, making the leaves thick.
• This water-filled tissue is the “gel” that people associate with aloe vera products.
• The gel contains beneficial bioactive compounds, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
• Aloe vera is known for its antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic properties.
• It is best known for treating skin injuries.
• It inhibits the growth of different types of bacteria.
• It is used in arid regions for erosion control due to its shallow root system and ability to stabilize soil.

Tex-RAMPS Scheme:

The Government of India has approved the Textiles Focused Research, Assessment, Monitoring, Planning and Start-up (Tex-RAMPS) Scheme.

• It will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Ministry of Textiles.
• It is designed to address critical gaps in research, data systems, and innovation support and capacity development.
• Components of Tex-RAMPS Scheme:
  • Research & Innovation: It promotes advanced research in smart textiles, sustainability, process efficiency, and emerging technologies.
  • Data, Analytics & Diagnostics: It creates robust data systems including employment assessments, supply chain mapping, and the India-Size study.
  • Integrated Textiles Statistical System (ITSS): A real-time, integrated data and analytics platform to support structured monitoring and strategic decision-making.
  • Capacity Development & Knowledge Ecosystem: It strengthens State-level planning, dissemination of best practices, capacity building workshops, and organisation of sectoral events.
  • Start-up & Innovation Support: It supports for incubators, hackathons, and academia-industry collaborations to nurture high-value textile start-ups and entrepreneurship.

India’s Policy Shift Toward Genome-Edited Crops:

India’s progress in genetically modified (GM) crops has stalled since 2006, with no new commercial approvals beyond Bt cotton. However, genome-edited (GE) crops are witnessing accelerated development and regulatory support. Recently, two GE rice (Samba Mahsuri and MTU-1010) were cleared for release, and a GE mustard is under advanced trials, signalling a major policy shift in India’s agricultural biotechnology landscape. GE plants are exempt from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change’s (MoEFCC) strict biosafety rules because they contain no foreign (exogenous) DNA, unlike GM crops, which require approval from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee for field trials, seed production, or commercial release.
GE crops need clearance only from an Institutional Biosafety Committee, which must simply confirm that the edited plant has no foreign DNA.

3rd India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue:

India’s Defence Minister co-chaired the third India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue with the Indonesian Defence Minister in New Delhi. The dialogue assessed regional security, addressed multilateral issues, and identified new defence cooperation avenues, highlighting the strengthening strategic commitment between India and Indonesia.India and Indonesia reaffirmed commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, noting alignment between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.They agreed to deepen cooperation in maritime awareness, cyber resilience, and through multilateral bodies like the Indian Ocean Rim Association.Defence and Industry Collaboration: Indonesia welcomed India’s proposal to set up a Joint Defence Industry Cooperation Committee to strengthen technology transfer, joint research and development, certification harmonisation, and supply-chain linkages.India and Indonesia highlighted the progress in joint exercises across land, maritime, and air forces, including Super Garuda Shield, Ex Garuda Shakti, Ex Samudra Shakti, MILAN, and upcoming Air Manoeuvre Exercises.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reclassified India’s de facto exchange rate regime from a “stabilised” system to a crawl-like arrangement:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reclassified India’s de facto exchange rate regime from a “stabilised” system to a crawl-like arrangement.A crawl-like arrangement implies the exchange rate stays within a 2% band around a trend for at least six months, meaning it is not fully floating.A floating exchange rate is determined by market forces and fluctuates freely, while a fixed exchange rate is set and maintained by a government or central bankIndia currently uses a managed float system, where the RBI intervenes in the market to manage extreme fluctuations while allowing the market to determine the general trend.The classification is based on the IMF’s Articles of Agreement and its Article IV surveillance of exchange arrangements, which assesses the currency’s actual movement and the policy commitment to a specific exchange rate path.A crawl-like arrangement differs slightly from the IMF’s “crawling peg.” While a crawling peg involves small, pre-announced adjustments based on defined indicators (such as inflation differentials), a crawl-like arrangement is classified by the IMF based on how the exchange rate actually behaves, even when no formal crawling policy has been declared.

Central Empowered Committee:

The Supreme Court (SC) of India has halted any move to dissolve the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), insisting that the body can only be disbanded with its approval, after concerns were raised about overlapping roles with the National Green Tribunal (NGT).The Cabinet Secretariat said that since the NGT is now strong and fully functional, the need for the CEC should be reviewed, and asked the Environment Ministry to send the issue to the Law Commission.It was created in 2002 on a SC order in the T.N. Godavarman case (1995) and was given statutory status in 2023 through a Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notification issued on the SC’s directions. CEC monitors compliance with SC orders on environment, forest and wildlife matters, conducts field inspections, and submits independent fact-finding reports to SC. It reviews cases of non-compliance, oversees issues like encroachment removal and compensatory afforestation, and considers petitions from aggrieved persons to support the Court’s environmental oversight.The CEC consists of a chairperson, three expert members (one from each environment, forest, wildlife), and a member secretary, who are civil servants appointed by the MoEFCC.

Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

The Union Cabinet has approved the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets, a Rs 7,280-crore, seven-year programme aimed at building domestic Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) capacity.The scheme seeks to establish 6,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of integrated REPM manufacturing capacity in India.The scheme supports complete value-chain integration, covering the conversion of oxides to metals, metals to alloys, and alloys to finished sintered magnets. This will help India develop its first-ever domestic REPM manufacturing ecosystem, reducing external vulnerabilities.The financial package includes Rs 6,450 crore in sales-linked incentives over five years and Rs 750 crore in capital subsidy.