News In Short 23-12-2025

Chaudhary Charan Singh

Syllabus: GS1/Person in News

Context

• PM Modi paid tributes to former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary.

About

• Early life: Charan Singh was born on 23 December 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh in a peasant family. 
• Graduation: He graduated in science in 1923, and did his post-graduation from Agra University in 1925. Also trained in law, he set up practice at Ghaziabad.
  • He shifted to Meerut in 1929 and later joined the Congress.
• Political Career: He was first elected to the U.P. Legislative Assembly in 1937 from Chhaprauli, and represented the constituency in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967.
  • Known for his integrity, discipline, and pragmatism, he was the architect of major land reforms, including the Debt Redemption Bill (1939) and the Land Holding Act (1960). 
  • He served as India’s fifth Prime Minister from 1979 to 1980 and was a strong advocate for farmers’ rights.
  • He served as the fifth Prime Minister of India from July 1979 to January 1980.
• Legacy: A champion of farmers and social justice, he authored influential works on agrarian reforms, leaving a lasting legacy in rural India.
  • His birth anniversary has been celebrated as Kisan Diwas since 2001 in his honor.
• Literary Contribution: Authored influential works on agrarian and rural reforms, including;
  • Abolition of Zamindari
  • Co-operative Farming X-rayed
  • India’s Poverty and Its Solution
  • Peasant Proprietorship or Land to the Workers
  • Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum.

Source: AIR

Indian Navy Receives ‘Anjadip’

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The Indian Navy received Anjadip, the third of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWC).

About

• The ship is named after Anjadip Island, located off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka, and carries forward the legacy of the erstwhile INS Anjadip, a Petya-class corvette that was decommissioned in 2003.
• It is indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
  • The project has been executed under a public-private partnership.
• The ASW SWC is the largest Indian naval warship to be propelled by waterjets.
  • The craft is equipped with advanced lightweight torpedoes, indigenously developed anti-submarine rockets and shallow water sonar systems, enabling effective detection and engagement of underwater threats. 
• The platform is expected to significantly enhance the Navy’s anti-submarine warfare, coastal surveillance and mine-laying capabilities.

Source: DD

Dark Stores

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

In News

• The number of dark stores in India is projected to triple to around 7,500 by 2030, driven by the growth of quick commerce (Q-Commerce) and consumer demand for ultra-fast deliveries.

Dark Stores

• It refers to a retail outlet or warehouse that is solely used for processing online orders and is not accessible to the public.
• These facilities are also known as dark shops, dark supermarkets, dotcom centers, or ghost stores. 
• They function as distribution hubs for storing inventory and packaging products.

Present status 

• As of October 2025, India has about 2,525 operational dark stores across eight Tier-I cities and over 100 Tier-II and III cities, covering 13 million sq. ft.
• Major players like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Reliance Retail are aggressively expanding their networks. 
• Tier-I cities—Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi-NCR—account for 68% of stores, with NCR alone hosting 400 stores. 
• Tier-II and III cities contribute 32% of stores.

Source :IE

SIGMA 30N

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• India Optel Limited (IOL), a Mini Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking, signed an agreement with a French company to manufacture two high-precision, combat-proven systems in India. 

About

• IOL will be responsible for manufacturing, final assembly, testing, quality control and full life-cycle support, ensuring the systems meet the operational needs of the Indian Army. 
• The systems to be manufactured under this collaboration include SIGMA 30N Digital Ring Laser Gyro Inertial Navigation System, used in artillery guns, air defence systems, missiles and radars; and CM3-MR Direct Firing Sight, designed for artillery guns and anti-drone systems.
  • SIGMA 30 is designed to optimize operational deployment of artillery units and their intelligence syst­ems. 
  • It gives combat platf­orms an autonomous enga­g­ement capability, even when there are no GPS signals.

Source: TH

National Mathematics Day

Syllabus: GS3/ Achievements of Indian in S&T

Context

• National Mathematics Day is observed every year on 22 December to commemorate the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Srinivasa Ramanujan?

• Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician born in 1887 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.
• Contribution to Mathematics: Despite having almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable.
  • In 1913, he wrote to British mathematician G.H. Hardy, leading to his invitation to Cambridge.
  • He became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society and the first Indian Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
• He passed away at the age of 32.

What is the Hardy–Ramanujan number?

• The Hardy-Ramanujan number is 1729, the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways:
  • 1³ + 12³ = 1 + 1728 = 1729; and 
  • 9³ + 10³ = 729 + 1000 = 1729.

Source: IE

Ghost Pairing

Syllabus: GS3/Cyber Security 

In News

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has warned that a cyber campaign known as “Ghost Pairing” is being used to hijack WhatsApp accounts.

Ghost Pairing 

• It is a cyber attack that targets WhatsApp and Telegram users through social engineering. 
• Attackers pose as known contacts, bank officials, or government representatives and send messages like “Hi, check this photo” with a link. 
• The link leads to a verification process where users unknowingly grant hackers access to their WhatsApp accounts. 
• No password theft or SIM swapping is needed. Once accessed, attackers can steal sensitive photos, videos, or bank information and use them to blackmail victims or steal money.

Source :Air

DRDO Transfers Directed Energy Weapon Technologies to Apollo Micro Systems

Syllabus: GS3/  Defence;  Science & Technology

Context

• Hyderabad-based defence firm Apollo Micro Systems has secured Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) approval to get access to Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) systems technologies from two DRDO entities.

What are Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)?

• Directed Energy Weapons use concentrated electromagnetic energy, primarily high-power lasers, to damage or destroy targets.
• Unlike conventional kinetic weapons, DEWs rely on thermal and energy-based effects rather than physical impact.

What are the Approved Transfers of Technology?

• Laser-based Directed Energy Weapon System
  • Technology: Multi-channel 10 kW Laser DEW system
  • DRDO Lab: Centre for High Energy Systems & Sciences (CHESS), Hyderabad
  • Purpose: Enables precision engagement of aerial threats such as drones and small UAVs.
• Electro-Optical (EO) Tracking System for DEW
  • Technology: EO tracking system with electro-optical sensors
  • DRDO Lab: Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun
  • Purpose: Provides accurate detection, tracking and targeting capability for DEW platforms.

Source: TH

The Science Behind Whole-Body Regeneration

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• Recent studies published in Cell and Cell Reports reveal that regeneration in axolotls and planarian flatworms is not confined to the injury site; the entire body actively participates in the healing and regrowth process.
  • In planarians, this finding is closely linked to neoblasts, the special stem cells that drive regeneration.

What are Neoblasts?

• Neoblasts are pluripotent stem cells found in planarian flatworms.
• They are the only dividing cells in adult planarians and are responsible for their extraordinary regenerative ability.
• Can differentiate into all cell types of the planarian body, including nerve, muscle, gut and epidermal cells.

What is a Blastema?

• A blastema is a mass of undifferentiated, proliferating cells that forms at the site of injury during regeneration.
• It is commonly observed in regenerative vertebrates, such as axolotls and salamanders.

Source: TH

SYLLA SYL-X1

Syllabus: Miscellaneous 

In News

• Sarla Aviation conducted ground tests of its half-scale eVTOL demonstrator SYLLA SYL-X1 at its Bengaluru facility.

SYLLA SYL-X1

• SYL-X1 has a 7.5-meter wingspan and is India’s largest and most advanced private eVTOL demonstrator.
• The sub-scale demonstrator validates structural behavior, propulsion integration, and system-level safety at real aircraft scale, bridging toward a planned 15-meter full-scale eVTOL.
• It is developed in ~9 months at a fraction of global costs, marking a milestone in private aerospace engineering in India.

Source :TH

Southern Ocean

Syllabus: GS1/Geography; GS3/Environment

Context

• Study highlighted that the Southern Ocean is absorbing more carbon dioxide than climate models had predicted. 

About Southern Ocean

• The Southern Ocean is one of the five major ocean basins of the Earth. It surrounds the continent of Antarctica.
  • It lies between 60° South latitude and the coast of Antarctica.
• It was formed around 34 million years ago when Antarctica and South America drifted apart, creating the Drake Passage. 
• Recognised formally as a distinct ocean by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
• It is central to international scientific research under the Antarctic Treaty System.

Source: TH