- President Droupadi Murmu sought the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion under Article 143 on whether the President and governors need to follow timelines to decide on state bills.
- Recently, the Supreme Court verdict laid down a timeline for the President and governors to decide on state bills.
- Though, the Governor is not bound by any time limit to act on a Bill.
- This creates a situation where the Governor can simply not act on a Bill indefinitely this is referred to as a "Pocket Veto", although the term is not officially used in the Constitution.
- The Supreme Court ruled that Governors cannot delay or withhold assent to Bills indefinitely once they are passed or re-passed by the state Assembly. Read More
Home / Daily Current Affairs / 16-05-2025
Daily Current Affairs – 16 May, 2025
PDF - The Union Defence Minister questioned the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and called for its supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- Pakistan has tried to leverage its nuclear status against India.
- While India follows a no-first-use policy when it comes to nuclear weapons, Pakistan doesn't have any such stated policy of restraint. Read More
Put Pakistan Nuclear Arsenal under Watch: India
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About
- With the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 and Draft DPDP Rules, 2025, India aims to expand its consent-based data-sharing system by building on the Account Aggregator model.
- Financial Information Providers (FIPs): Banks, mutual fund companies, insurance companies, etc.
- Financial Information Users (FIUs): Lenders, wealth managers, insurers, etc.
- Account Aggregators (AAs): Licensed entities that facilitate data flow between FIPs and FIUs. Read More
Account Aggregators: Blueprint for Consent Managers under India’s DPDP Act
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Key Stakeholders of Account Aggregator
- The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), shows that India’s unemployment rate stood at 5.1% in April 2025.
- The rise in female labour force participation, particularly in rural areas, signifies increasing economic engagement.
- However, high youth unemployment among urban females raises concerns about gender disparities, job availability, and skill gaps.
- The revamped PLFS model provides monthly employment estimates, but timely implementation of corrective measures remains a challenge. Read More
Unemployment at 5.1%, Women Labour Force Rises: PLFS Data
Context
Significance of the Findings
- Despite India’s active negotiations of Free Trade Agreements with global partners, the agriculture sector, vital to its economy and employment, remains largely excluded.
- Fear of Import Surge: Entry into FTAs like RCEP was abandoned over concerns that cheap agri imports, especially dairy from New Zealand and Australia, would hurt Indian farmers.
- Agriculture is a State subject, whereas trade is in the Union list. This leads to inconsistent policies — bans, export quotas, or quarantine rules — harming exporter confidence.
- Infrastructural Deficiencies: Absence of cold chains, agro-processing hubs, and efficient port logistics, especially in landlocked states limits agricultural trade potential.
- Indian agricultural exports suffer from quality issues like pesticide residues, aflatoxins, and weak compliance with global SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) norms. Read More
Why is the Agriculture Sector Missing from India’s FTAs?
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Why Agriculture is Missing from India’s FTAs?
- India is set to launch its first manned deep-ocean mission, ‘Samudrayaan’, by 2026, aiming to explore marine resources at a depth of 6,000 metres using the indigenously developed submersible ‘Matsya’.
- The Samudrayaan Mission is part of the manned Deep Ocean Mission.
- It would have MATSYA 6000, a indigenously designed 4th generation manned submersible vehicle capable of carrying three people to a depth of 6,000 meters.
- It is being developed by National Institute of Ocean Technology (Chennai).
- MATSYA 6000 has an operational endurance of 12 hours and an emergency endurance of 96 hours. Read More
‘Samudrayaan’: India’s First Manned Deep Ocean Mission To Be Launched by 2026
In News
About Samudrayaan Mission
- After a 12-year interval, Uttarakhand is hosting the Pushkar Kumbh Mela at Keshav Prayag in Mana village.
- Pushkar Kumbh is a sacred Vaishnavite pilgrimage held every 12 years at Keshav Prayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda and Saraswati rivers in Mana village, Uttarakhand, when Jupiter enters Gemini.
- It holds deep spiritual significance as the site where Ved Vyas composed the Mahabharata. Saints like Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya are believed to have received divine knowledge from Goddess Saraswati here.
- Though smaller than traditional Kumbhs, it attracts devotees, especially from South India, and is seen as a bridge uniting India’s diverse spiritual traditions. Read More
