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Daily Current Affairs – 17 October, 2025

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DCA 17 Oct

    India and Brazil to Expand Trade Pact with Mercosur

    Context

  • Recently, India and Brazil agreed to expand the scope of the existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) under MERCOSUR bloc, aiming to include more sectors and products.

    • India and MERCOSUR Relations: Historical Background

  • India signed a Framework Agreement with MERCOSUR in 2003, followed by a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2004, which came into effect in 2009.
  • The PTA covers 450 product lines, offering mutual tariff concessions on items like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, and leather goods.
  • It marked India’s first formal trade pact with a Latin American bloc, laying the groundwork for deeper economic integration.
  • The India-Mercosur PTA currently provides tariff concessions on around 450–452 tariff lines, with reductions ranging from 10% to 100%.
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    Strengthening India’s Extradition Framework: Call for Special Prisons and Coordinated Action

    Context

  • Union Home Minister, at a conference on “Extradition of Fugitives: Challenges and Strategies” organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), urged States to construct special prisons for fugitives in line with international standards.

    • Need for Special Prisons

  • Extradition Obstacles: Many fugitives wanted by Indian authorities resist extradition in foreign courts, arguing that Indian prisons do not meet international human rights and safety standards. 
  • Courts in several countries have, at times, delayed or denied extradition on humanitarian grounds citing concerns like overcrowding, poor sanitation, and lack of medical care in Indian jails.
  • Compliance with International Standards: Constructing special prisons for fugitives in line with UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) would help India counter these objections and demonstrate its commitment to humane treatment.
  • Global Legal Standing: Special prisons will improve India’s credibility before foreign courts and strengthen its ability to bring back fugitives involved in terrorism, financial fraud, corruption, and other transnational crimes.
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    India Faces Highest CBAM Levy Among EU Trade Partners

    Context

  • According to European think-tank Sandberg, Indian iron and steel exporters face the highest Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) fees to the EU, estimated at €301 million.

    • Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

  • CBAM is the European Union's tool to put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods that are entering the EU, and to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.
  • CBAM is one of the elements of the EU Green Deal, the goal of which is to reduce GHG emissions by 55% by 2030. 
  • CBAM is aimed at equalizing the price of carbon paid for EU products operating under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and imported goods.
  • It refers to a phenomenon where a EU manufacturer moves carbon-intensive production to countries outside the region with less stringent climate policies. Its primary objective is to avert ‘carbon leakage’. 
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    Reservations in Local Bodies

    Context

  • The Supreme Court declined to interfere with a Telangana High Court order that had stayed two Government Orders enhancing the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in municipalities and panchayats to 42%.

    • About 

  • The Telangana High Court stayed the increase, citing the 50% ceiling set by Supreme Court precedents, but allowed elections to proceed with total reservations capped at 50%.
  • Supreme Court’s Observations: Dismissed Telangana’s appeal; allowed elections to proceed without enhanced OBC quota.
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    NAM Should Advance Goals of Global South

    Context

  • The Minister of State for External Affairs said that the Members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) should harness the initiative to advance the aspirations of the Global South.

    • Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

  • Bandung Conference (1955): The concept of non-alignment was formulated during the Bandung Conference, where newly independent nations sought to avoid entanglement in the Cold War's ideological divide.
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    News in Short – 17 October, 2025

    In News

  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has adopted Motion 042.

    • Motion 042

  • It was passed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
  • It calls for a global phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, a halt to new extraction projects, and a just transition for affected workers and communities. 
  • It is backed by civil society, Indigenous groups, and organisations like WWF and BirdLife International.
  • It urges the exploration of international mechanisms such as a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
    • Read More
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