Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 27th November 2025

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs : Gold Prize

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ‘GST & Customs Pavilion’ has bagged the Gold Prize in the ‘Public Outreach and Communication’ category at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2025 in New Delhi recently.

• CBIC, formerly known as the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), is one of the Boards constituted under the statute the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.
• It is the apex body under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, responsible for administering indirect taxes in India.
• It deals with the tasks of
  • Formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST.
  • Prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST, and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC’s purview.
• The Board is the administrative authority for its subordinate organizations, including Custom Houses, Central Excise and Central GST Commissionerates, and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.
• The CBIC is headed by a Chairman and has 6 members in addition to the Chairman.

Rustic Bunting:

Birders recently spotted a rare species, the rustic bunting (emberiza rustica) at Najafgarh Jheel on the Delhi-Gurugram border, marking the first time the passerine bird, which is also elusive across India, was spotted in the national capital region (NCR).

• It is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.
• Scientific Name: Emberiza rustica
• Its breeding range extends from the Nordic regions to eastern Siberia.
• It migrates to southeast Asia and parts of East Asia, including Japan, Korea, and eastern China, during the winter months.
• There are only a handful of records of it being seen across India – predominantly in the northeast and across the Himalayan belt.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

Syntactic Foam:

A crucial set of tests on the Samudrayaan, India’s first manned-submersible dive into the ocean, is likely only mid-next year following a delay in the procurement of syntactic foam cladding from France.

• A syntactic foam is a composite material that is produced by filling a metal, polymer, or ceramic with pre-formed inorganic hollow spheres known as micro balloons.
• The use of hollow microspheres allows foam to maintain a low weight while offering excellent compressive strength.
• Its inherent low density makes it ideal for subsea applications where buoyancy is critical.
• It reduces thermal conductivity and dampens noise, improving performance in marine and aerospace environments.
• The closed-cell structure prevents water absorption, enhancing its longevity in saltwater and chemically aggressive environments.
• Ideal for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), and pipeline insulation.
• Used in satellite components and structural parts where weight reduction is essential without sacrificing strength.
• Employed in sonar domes, buoyancy modules, and lightweight armor due to its impact resistance.
• Increasingly adopted for lightweight, high-impact applications such as crash protection and performance gear.
• Samudrayaan Project is India’s first manned mission to explore the deep ocean.
• It is aimed to develop a self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of 6,000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration.
• It is designed to study the deep ocean resources and conduct biodiversity assessments as well.
• The project is part of the larger Deep Ocean Mission, which supports the Central Government’s Blue Economy policy.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• MATSYA 6000 is a manned submersible vehicle developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.
• It was developed under the Samudrayaan mission to facilitate humans in the deep ocean in exploring mineral resources.

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission : Signs 3 MoUs With Nagaland Medical Council

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission signs 3 MoUs with Nagaland Medical Council, Nagaland State Drugs Control Administration (NSDCA) and Nagaland State Pharmacy Council.

• It is an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• It is created to set standards of drugs in the country.
• Its basic function is to update regularly the standards of drugs commonly required for treatment of diseases prevailing in this region.
• It publishes official documents for improving Quality of Medicines by way of adding new and updating existing monographs in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
• It further promotes rational use of generic medicines by publishing National Formulary of India.
• It prescribes standards for identity, purity and strength of drugs essentially required from the health care perspective of human beings and animals.
• It also provides IP Reference Substances (IPRS) which act as a fingerprint for identification of an article under test and its purity as prescribed in IP.
• The Pharmacopoeias are official compendia of quality standards of the drugs being imported, manufactured for sale, stocked or exhibited for sale or distributed in India.

India Internet Governance Forum: Fifth Edition

The fifth edition of the India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF 2025) concluded with clear vision for inclusion, stronger digital infrastructure and responsible AI.

• India Internet Governance Forum is the Indian chapter of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF) which was established in 2021.
• It is a global multi-stakeholder platform that fosters dialogue on public policy issues related to the Internet.
• It aims to maximize the opportunities of the Internet while addressing associated challenges and risks.
• IIGF promotes collaborative discussions among representatives from government, civil society, industries, technical communities, think tanks, and industry associations.
• It is guided by a 14-member multi-stakeholder committee, IIGF Known for its inclusive and collaborative approach.
• It plays a vital role in shaping policies for an open, secure, and accessible Internet, addressing issues such as cybersecurity, digital inclusion, data privacy, and emerging technologies.
• Theme of the fifth edition of IIGF: “Advancing Internet Governance for an Inclusive and Sustainable Viksit Bharat.”
• Internet Governance is the process of developing norms and principles that impact the way the Internet is used and functions.
• It includes solving technical issues, setting regulatory frameworks, and policymaking to respond to social, economic and security matters, as well as questions of trust, standard-setting, accountability and jurisdiction.

Golden Jackal:

The Golden Jackal Ambassadors’ scheme is to be launched by Tenkasi District Forest Division of Tamil Nadu for conserving the rapidly dwindling Golden Jackals.

• It is also known as the common jackal or reed wolf is a medium-sized wolf-like canid.
• It is strictly nocturnal in areas inhabited by humans, but may be partly diurnal elsewhere.
• It digs caverns for shelter, or use crevices in rocks, or caverns that were dug by other animals.
• These animals are abundant in valleys and along rivers and their tributaries, canals, lakes, and seashores, but are rare in foothills and low mountains.
• They are quite widespread across India. Right from the Himalayan foothills, down to the Western Ghats, the Golden Jackal has a wide distribution.
• They are These opportunistic foragers have a rather diverse diet.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN: Least Concern
  • CITES: Appendix III\
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

SC Panel Suggests Creation of a Goa Tiger Reserve:

A Supreme Court–appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended creating a tiger reserve in Goa, but in phases, to reduce impact on local communities.A proposal by the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to declare a Goa Tiger Reserve in a phased, community-sensitive manner, starting with areas that have very low human presence and strong ecological connectivity.

The Issue:

The Bombay High Court (Goa bench) ordered the State in 2023 to notify a tiger reserve.
The Goa government objected, arguing that tigers seen in Goa were only “transient”, not resident.
The Supreme Court referred the matter to the CEC for an independent assessment.

MH-60R Seahawk Helicopter:

India sealed a ₹7,995-crore deal with the U.S. as part of “follow on support” package for Indian Navy’s fleet of 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for five years.

• MH-60R Seahawk Helicopter is often called the “Romeo” is a state-of-the-art naval helicopter.
• It is manufactured by US defence major, Lockheed Martin.
• Features of MH-60R Seahawk Helicopter:
  • All Weather Capability: It is an all-weather helicopter designed with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.
  • It is designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), maritime surveillance, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and ship-borne operations.
  • It is one of the world’s best submarine-hunting helicopters, equipped with advanced sensors like the AN/AQS-22 ALFS dipping sonar, sonobuoys, and multi-mode radar.
  • It also carries the powerful Mk-54 torpedo, allowing it to detect, track, and engage underwater threats.
  • For surface warfare missions, the MH-60R can carry AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, lightweight torpedoes, and machine guns.
  • It is combined with electro-optical sensors and radar systems can identify hostile ships, fast attack craft, or suspicious vessels and neutralise them with precision.

Pusa DST-1 and DRR Dhan 100 Kamala:

ICAR has strongly rebutted allegations of bias in the evaluation of two gene-edited rice lines—Pusa DST-1 and DRR Dhan 100 Kamala—under the AICRPR multi-location trials.Two gene-edited rice varieties developed as improved versions of popular cultivars MTU1010 and Samba Mahsuri using advanced precision breeding techniques. Developed By: Pusa DST-1 → Developed by ICAR–IARI , DRR Dhan 100 Kamala → Developed by ICAR–IIRR. Aim is to improve tolerance to salinity and alkalinity stresses (Pusa DST-1), to enhance yield, resilience and overall performance under the agro-climatic conditions where Samba Mahsuri is cultivated (DRR Dhan 100 Kamala).

Operation Sagar Bandhu:

India has initiated Operation Sagar Bandhu to deliver humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah triggered massive floods and landslides.Cyclone Ditwah is a tropical storm that rapidly formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal.The name Ditwah was contributed by Yemen, following the regional naming system for North Indian Ocean cyclones.India rushed relief using INS Vikrant, INS Udaigiri, and an IAF C-130J carrying tents, blankets, food, hygiene kits, and tarpaulins.India has consistently acted as a first responder in the Indian Ocean region, especially for Sri Lanka, extending support during the MV XPress Pearl ship-fire disaster in 2021 and providing assistance during Cyclone Roanu (2016)..The mission aligns with India’s Neighbourhood First policy and Vision MAHASAGAR, reinforcing India’s role as a reliable first responder in the Indian Ocean region.

Sujalam Bharat Summit 2025:

The Ministry of Jal Shakti will host the Vision for Sujalam Bharat Summit 2025 in New Delhi, marking a major national effort to create a unified and practical water security framework.It was conceived in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of organising Summits that bring together Central and State officers as well as junior cadres.Objective is to accelerate water sustainability in India by promoting evidence-based policy making, sectoral reforms, and cooperative federalism in water governance.