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Daily Current Affairs – 4 November, 2025

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4 Nov 2025

    Challenges Linked to High Seas Treaty

    In News

  • The High Seas Treaty, ratified by over 60 countries, will take effect in January 2026.

    • Origin and Evolution of Treaty

  • The High Seas Treaty process began in 2004 when the UN General Assembly formed a working group to address gaps in UNCLOS (1982) regarding Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
  • By 2011, countries agreed to negotiate four key areas: Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs), Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and capacity building with technology transfer. 
  • After four Intergovernmental Conferences between 2018 and 2023, a final agreement was reached in March 2023, and the treaty was formally adopted in June 2023 and ratified in September 2025.
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    Need for Shift from Food Security to Nutrition Security

    Context

  • At the inaugural session of the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 PM Modi urged the scientific community to focus on moving from food security to nutrition security.

    • Status of Food Security in India

  • According to the Third Advance Estimates for 2024-25, India has achieved record foodgrain production of 353.96 million tonnes, including 117.51 million tonnes of wheat and 149.07 million tonnes of rice.
  • The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 ensures subsidised foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries, covering 75% of rural and 50% of urban populations.
  • As of July 2025, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have a total of 917.83 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) storage capacity for central pool grains.
  • However food security does not ensure nutritional security.
    • Read More

    India and Bahrain’s Bilateral Relations

    Context

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Bahrain’s Foreign Minister and discussed cooperation in defence and security.

    • Brief on India Bahrain Ties

  • Bilateral trade: USD 1.64 billion (FY 2024–25); India among Bahrain’s top five trading partners.
  • Emphasis on diversification into electronics, petroleum products, processed foods, base metals, gems & jewellery.
  • Investment Cooperation: Two-way investments between the countries are growing, and have increased 40% since 2019.
  • From the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, there was a 15% increase in investments taking total two-way investments to $1.56 billion.
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    NITI Aayog Unveils “Reimagining Agriculture: Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation”

    In News

  • NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub unveiled a major roadmap titled “Reimagining Agriculture: A Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation”.

    • Key Features of the Roadmap

  • Frontier Technologies: The roadmap focuses on integrating cutting-edge tools such as climate-resilient seeds, digital twins, precision agriculture, AI (including Agentic AI), and advanced mechanization. 
  • Customization for Farmer Segments: Farmers are categorized as Aspiring, Transitioning, and Advanced, with each group receiving tailored solutions to address their unique needs – from smallholders to commercial cultivators.​
  • Pilots to Scale: Start with high-impact use cases (variable-rate application, disease prediction, micro-irrigation scheduling) and scale through state programs and PPPs.
  • State-examples: Gujarat is showcased as a leading example: digital crop survey, farmer registry, portal i-Khedut etc.
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    Heavy Metals Contamination

    Context

  • A recent study, published in Environmental Earth Sciences, reveals alarming levels of heavy metal contamination in fish species of Cauvery River, posing serious risks to ecosystems and public health.

    • About the Heavy Metals

  • These are naturally occurring elements with high atomic weights and densities. 
  • While some like iron and zinc are essential in trace amounts, others such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium are toxic even at low concentrations.
  • These pollutants settle in river sediments and bioaccumulate in aquatic life, entering the human food chain through fish and drinking water.
    • Read More

    China’s First-ever Thorium Fuel Conversion Paves Way for 100MW Molten-salt Reactor

    Context

  • China has successfully achieved the first-ever conversion of thorium into uranium fuel within a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR).

    • About

  • It is the first time in the world that scientists have been able to acquire experimental data on thorium operations from inside a molten salt reactor.
  • The achievement makes the 2 megawatt liquid-fuelled thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) the only operating example of the technology in the world to have successfully loaded and used thorium fuel.
    • Read More

    News in Short – 4 November, 2025

    In News

  • The Maldives has become the first country worldwide to impose a historic generational ban on tobacco and vaping.

    • What is Generational Ban?

  • Tobacco-related diseases cause over 7 million deaths annually worldwide, making tobacco one of the leading causes of preventable death globally.
  • India is among the largest consumers and producers of tobacco globally.
  • Despite global anti-tobacco efforts like the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), 1.3 billion people still use tobacco products worldwide.
  • India implements multiple tobacco control measures like bans on public smoking, pictorial health warnings, advertising restrictions, and the COTPA law.
    • Read More
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