News Summary · 7 minutes read
A glimpse of the 26th Hornbill Festival in Kohima, Nagaland. | Photo: X/@MDoNER_India
Stay ahead in your UPSC CSE preparation with our daily News Summary. Designed to save time, it highlights key national and international events from leading newspapers and government websites.
Supreme Court (SC) directs CBI to investigate digital arrest scams
SC took suo motu cognisance of rising cases of digital arrest scams in October 2025. Now, it has ordered a probe by the CBI into such cases.
SC’s directions
- CBI is allowed to:
- investigate digital-arrest scams nationwide and include police officers and domain experts from different States/UTs in the probe team.
- investigate bank officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for involvement in mule accounts.
- coordinate with Interpol to identify foreign cybercrime hubs.
- 3 major types of cyber fraud: digital arrest, fraudulent investment schemes, and fake part-time job scams → digital arrest cases to be investigated first.
- States asked to give general consent under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 so that CBI can investigate cases under the Information Technology Act, 2000 in their jurisdictions.
- RBI asked to respond on the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to trace ‘layering’ or the moving of the proceeds of crime through multiple bank accounts to escape detection.
- Online intermediaries directed to cooperate under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
- States/UTs instructed to establish regional cybercrime coordination centres, linked to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).
- Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked to prevent misuse of SIM cards.
What is Digital Arrest?
- A cyber fraud in which scammers impersonate police, CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), or court officials.
- Victim is falsely told they are involved in a crime.
- Fraudsters pressure the victim to stay on video call, follow instructions, transfer money, or reveal bank details.
- Fraud money is routed through mule accounts and layered across multiple banks to hide the trail.
- According to estimates, digital arrest scams in India have caused losses exceeding ₹3,000 crore to date.
New smartphones to come with pre-installed Sanchar Saathi app
- Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has ordered smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices sold from March 2026.
- App will be used to:
- verify authenticity of IMEIs used in mobile devices.
- safeguard the citizens from buying the non-genuine handsets.
- enable easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources.
- Sanchar Saathi app was first introduced as a portal in 2023, and it has been used to:
- report scam calls.
- enable users to identify SIM cards registered in their name.
- remotely disable phones after they are stolen.
Masala bonds
- Rupee-denominated bonds issued in overseas markets by Indian entities (both public and private) to raise capital.
- Denomination in Indian Rupees shifts currency risk to the investor from the issuer → allows Indian entities to access global funds without risk of foreign exchange volatility.
- First issued in 2014 by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in London.
Regulation
- Fall under RBI’s External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) Framework.
- Used primarily for infrastructure, affordable housing, and renewable energy → NOT permitted for real estate (except affordable housing) or capital market investment.
- Minimum Maturity: 3 years for bonds up to USD 50 million (INR equivalent) per financial year, and 5 years above that.
- Allowed to invest: foreign entities + NRIs/OCIs (on non-repatriation basis)
- Not allowed to invest: Indian entities (including residents), related parties of the issuer, foreign branches/subsidiaries of Indian banks, and entities in high-risk jurisdictions (FATF) or under global sanctions.
Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
- Quick Estimate of IIP is released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on the 28th of every month (or next working day if 28th is a holiday).
- Base year is 2011-12
- Covers 3 broad sectors: Manufacturing, Mining, and Electricity
| Sector | Weight |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | ~ 78 |
| Mining | ~ 14 |
| Electricity | ~ 8 |
Bioremediation
- Uses living organisms, mainly bacteria, fungi, algae, and certain plants, to clean up toxic substances such as oil, pesticides, plastics, and heavy metals.
- These organisms break down pollutants into safer end products, such as water, carbon dioxide, and simple organic compounds.
Types of Bioremediation
- In situ bioremediation: cleanup happens at the contaminated site itself. Example: spraying oil-degrading bacteria directly on an ocean spill.
- Ex situ bioremediation: contaminated soil or water is removed, treated in a controlled facility, and returned after cleaning. Examples: treating tannery sludge in biopiles.
| Bioremediation Type | Techniques |
|---|---|
| In Situ | Bioventing, Biosparging, Bioaugmentation, Biostimulation, Bioattenuation, Bioslurping, Phytoremediation |
| Ex Situ | Biopiles, Bioreactors, Landfarming, Composting, Windrows |
Limitations of bioremediation
- Cannot degrade all pollutants, especially persistent chemicals such as PFAS, strong pesticides, plastics, and radioactive waste.
- Works only under suitable environmental conditions and is often slow.
- High toxin concentrations can inhibit microbes.
- Heavy metals cannot be destroyed → only some of them can be converted into less toxic, immobilized, or non-leachable forms,
Modern Advances
- Organisms can be bioengineered to work efficiently under specific conditions, such as sewage plants or agricultural fields.
- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are being developed to break down stubborn pollutants, such as plastics and persistent oil residues, that natural microbes cannot easily degrade.
- Introducing GMOs into open environments for bioremediation can have unintended ecological effects.
- Inadequate testing or poor containment of organisms used for bioremediation can create new problems.
- Public engagement is necessary to allow the smooth adoption of new technologies.
- India needs new biosafety guidelines, certification systems, and trained personnel to utilise it effectively and responsibly.
Suggestions
- Develop national standards for bioremediation protocols and microbial applications.
- Create regional bioremediation hubs that link universities, industries, and local governments to understand local issues better and identify appropriate technologies for their resolution.
- Engage the public to raise awareness that microbes can be allies, not threats, in environmental restoration.
Rare earth elements (REEs)
- A group of 17 minerals, crucial for their high density, melting point and conductivity → abundant, but hard to extract economically and sustainably.
- China dominates the REE sector → controls 90% of global REE processing and 70% of production, despite holding only 30% of global reserves.
India’s focus on REEs
- Driven by India’s ambitions in electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics manufacturing and defence, which depend heavily on rare earth magnets and components.
- India has 8% of the world’s REE reserves, mainly in monazite sands across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but produces less than 1% of global output.
- India’s monazite sands contain several rare-earth elements, including Neodymium, which are used in rare-earth magnets.
- Challenges for India: lack of refining infrastructure, skilled labour and innovation capacity.
- India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission in 2025, with an outlay of ₹34,300 crore spread over 7 years → focuses on exploration, processing, and recycling minerals like lithium, cobalt, and REEs.
India HIV Estimation 2025 technical report
- Released by Union Health Minister JP Nadda → assesses HIV and AIDS status in India for 2024–25.
Key points
- Sources of HIV infections: heterosexual relations (73%) > drug injections > homosexual/bisexual relations > vertical transmission (mother-to-child).
- India has nearly 26 lakh people (2024) living with HIV (PLHIV) → 2nd largest PLHIV population globally after South Africa → accounts for 6.3% of the global HIV burden.
- Nationally, annual new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have declined by nearly 49% and 81%, respectively, from 2010 to 2024 → annual new HIV infections have surged by over 400% in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura during the same period.
- Mizoram and Nagaland have an HIV prevalence > 1%.
- Highest PLHIV burden: Maharashtra > Andhra Pradesh > Karnataka.
- Highest AIDS-related mortality was noticed in Manipur.
Quick Picks for Prelims and Mains (QPPM)
- GST compensation cess: originally levied in 2017 for 5 years to compensate States for revenue losses due to GST implementation → extended later until March 2026, for loan repayment taken by the Centre to compensate States.
- Biological Weapons Convention (BWC): 1st multilateral treaty that prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling, and use of biological and toxin weapons → was opened for signature in 1972, and entered into force in 1975.
- 26th Hornbill Festival is being celebrated in Nagaland from December 1-10, 2025 → held annually at the Kisama Heritage Village (Kohima).
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