News Summary · 2 minutes read
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.
India’s rice production and exports
- India became the largest producer of rice in crop year 2024-25 (July 2024–June 2025), surpassing China → produced over 150 MT → 28% share (by volume) of global rice production.
- India remained the largest exporter of rice during crop year 2024-25 →exported rice worthnearly USD 12 billion → 30% share (by value) of global rice exports.
OPEC and OPEC+
- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): founded in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela to coordinate oil policies, stabilize prices, and ensure a steady supply for consuming nations.
- Members (12): Algeria, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela
- OPEC+: includes OPEC + 10 other oil-producing countries →formed in 2016 in response to dramatically falling oil prices driven by significant increases in U.S. shale oil output.
- Members (12 + 10): OPEC + [Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan]
- Headquarters of OPEC/OPEC+ are in Vienna.
- OPEC+ countries account for over 50% of global oil production.
Samudra Pratap
- Specialised Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
- Commissioned by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh in Goa on 5 January 2026.
- Has advanced oil-spill response capabilities → can detect oil spills, recover pollutants from viscous oil, analyse contaminants, and separate oil from contaminated water.
- Enhances ICG’s pollution response, fire-fighting and maritime security capabilities.
RM Rajnath Singh at the commissioning ceremony of Samudra Pratap. Photo: X/@IndiaCoastGuard
Namami Gange Programme
- India’s flagship initiative, launched in 2014, to clean, conserve, and rejuvenate the Ganga with a focus on pollution abatement.
- Core target: 7,000 million litres per day (MLD) sewage treatment capacity by December 2026 to stop untreated sewage from entering the Ganga.
- Current status: as of October 2025, 138 sewage treatment plants (STPs) provide only 3,806 MLD operational capacity → indicates 45% gap in the required treatment infrastructure.
Quick Picks for Pre and Mains (QPPM)
- According to a 2025 OECD report, India’s average (1990-2024) annual economic losses due to natural disasters equalled 0.4% of GDP. India’s vulnerability is primarily hydrological (non-storm-related floods and landslides).
- Income Tax Act 2025 will take effect on 1 April 2026 → will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961.
- 72nd National Volleyball tournament: inaugurated by PM Modi in Varanasi on 4 January 2026.
- Globally, women spend 2.8 more hours than men on unpaid care and domestic work (2023 UN report).
- Southern Transitional Council (STC): a UAE-backed political-military group in Yemen, advocating secession of South Yemen → one of the three main rival factions in Yemen’s ongoing power struggle, the other two being the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthis.
- Khan Younis: a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
- Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.