NEWS & VIEWS|||SARASIJ|||17/12/2025.

 

NEWS & VIEWS|||SARASIJ|||17/12/2025.

WEDNESDAY| VOL—IV/2025/DECEMBER

OPINIONATED, FOR FREE CIRCULATION.

PORTRAITS OF PVC RECIPIENTS REPLACE BRITISH OFFICERS AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN.

INDIA: (GOI, SWARAJYA, VISHWAMITRA, HINDU POST, INDIA TODAY).

More than two hundred flights were canceled and fifty trains delayed in New Delhi, officials said yesterday, as the city experienced its worst air pollution levels in weeks. Last month, air pollution sparked rare protests in the city. Its smog levels worsen in the winter, when nearby farmers clear land with fires. India’s Supreme Court is due to hear a case tomorrow that argues authorities are not doing enough in response. 

“Tata, Lockheed Break Ground on India’s First Major C-130J MRO Hub to Be Ready by 2026, Operations in 2027”, Defense Capital, December 08, 2025.

The Government  introduced the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) V B – G Ram G, Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The legislation will replace the twenty-year-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).

The Lok Sabha  passed the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025. The Bill provides for the repeal of certain enactments and the amendment of certain other enactments.

It repeals 71 Acts, including the Indian Tramways Act, 1886, the Levy Sugar Price Equalization Fund Act, 1976, and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Determination of Conditions of Service of Employees) Act, 1988.

Union Minister Amit Shah-Led Committee approves ₹507 crore for Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction in 20 states.

The Lok Sabha has passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill 2025. The Bill seeks to amend the  Insurance Act 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999. The bill is aimed at accelerating the growth and development of the insurance sector and ensuring better protection of policyholders.

Parliament has passed the Appropriation (No. 4) Bill 2025, with the Rajya Sabha approving it and returning it to the Lok Sabha after discussion. The Bill seeks to authorize payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2025-26.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman  introduced the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha. The Bill amends the Insurance Act 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.

India has signed bilateral agreements with 27 countries and an MoU with 19 countries for combating the illicit trafficking of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

WORLD: (REUTER, AP, AFP, BLOOMBERG, CNN, WP)

Thailand moved to block fuel from reaching Cambodia yesterday as the countries’ border conflict continues to escalate. Dozens of people have been killed and more than five hundred thousand displaced this month in the latest round of fighting, officials from both countries said, despite attempted mediation last week by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump claimed to have ended the countries’ long-simmering border conflict after it flared in July, and wrote after speaking to each leader on Friday that the countries had agreed to pause fighting. But Cambodia did not echo that claim, and Thailand rejected it.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed to have ended eight wars since he returned to office.

BEYOND WORLD OF WHITE CHRISIANS, AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAS LITTLE RESPECT GLOBALLY.

U.S. and European leaders committed to work toward providing a “legally binding commitment” to defend Ukraine in the case of a future attack, European leaders said in a joint statement yesterday.

Leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy, arrived in The Hague to launch an International Claims Commission to compensate Kyiv for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.

Trump declared illegal fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals to be weapons of mass destruction in an executive order yesterday. He directed agencies to probe and prosecute fentanyl trafficking, and to consider devoting military resources to the problem.

Federal officials yesterday said they arrested four left-wing activists in a probe, alleging that the activists had planned a New Years Eve attack on two California companies.

DEFENSE:

RV Lakshya Raghu Vamsi Group has launched ‘Arrobot’, a cutting-edge deep-technology defence brand, and unveiled six indigenous UAV and autonomous defence products developed entirely in India. This marks the company's bold entry into fully integrated defence platforms.

WILD LIFE & FORESTS:

The National Highways Authority of India has introduced India’s first wildlife-safe road on National Highway 45 in Madhya Pradesh. The initiative aims to reduce animal-vehicle collisions while balancing highway development with wildlife conservation in ecologically sensitive regions.

The Bannerghatta Biological Park, Karnataka has imported eight black-capped capuchin monkeys from South Africa under a formal animal exchange programme. The move aims to enhance genetic diversity and strengthen conservation-oriented zoological management at the park.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT:

In Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, thirty-four Maoists, including seven women, surrendered yesterday. Out of them, 26 Maoists were collectively carrying a total reward of eighty-four lakh rupees. The Maoists also handed over their weapons at the time of surrender.

One of the two gunmen who carried out the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 persons during celebrations of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, was originally from India and had migrated to Australia more than three decades ago, official and media reports said on Tuesday.

 

Sajid Akram was a resident of Hyderabad and had completed his BCom degree in India before migrating to Australia in the late 1980s in search of employment. He later married a woman of European origin and settled permanently in Australia. Naveed and a daughter were born in Australia and

MISHAPS: -

In Mexico, seven people were killed after a small aircraft crashed in the municipality of San Mateo Atenco State.

DAS KAPITAL:

Nasdaq, one of the world's largest exchanges, is planning to submit paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to roll out round-the-clock trading of stocks, as it looks to capitalize on a global demand for US equities.

Indian Share Market: -

*BSE SENSEX* 84,679.86 −533.50 (0.63%)🔻

 *NIFTY*25,860.10 −167.20 (0.64%)🔻

Currency Exchange Rates:

USD*  ₹ 91/-*Euro* : ₹ 106/-* China ¥* : ₹ 13/-

BULLIONS:

 *GOLD* : ₹ 13,100/ 01gm (24 krt)

 *SILVER* : ₹ 201,000/KG

WHAT IS NEXT:

Today, a World Trade Organization General Council meeting begins in Geneva.

Today, ByteDance faces a deadline to sell its operations of TikTok in the United States.

Tomorrow, the European Union holds a summit with western Balkan countries in Brussels.

 

 

THE END.