Daily Insights November 6, 2025

Daily Insights November 6, 2025

1. ₹1 Lakh Crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme 2025

Source: PIB | Date: November 3, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Science & Technology; Economy)

Key Points:

• India launched ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme during ESTIC 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi

• Provides long-term financing with low/nil interest rates for private sector R&D projects

• Focus on strategic sectors: AI, Quantum, Semiconductors, Deep Ocean, Biotechnology

• Aims to build private-sector-driven innovation ecosystem for Viksit Bharat@2047

• Deep-Tech Fund of Funds to strengthen financing for startups

• Target: Achieve 2% R&D-GDP ratio by 2030

2. PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM): Transforming India’s Healthcare

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Governance; Social Security); 3 (Healthcare; Infrastructure)

Key Points:

• Launched: October 25, 2021; Total Outlay: ₹64,180 crore (2021-26)

• ₹54,205 crore for states; ₹9,340 crore for central components

• Approved Components: 17,788 Sub-Health Centres upgraded to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs); 11,024 Urban AAMs in slum areas; 3,382 Block Public Health Units; 730 Integrated Public Health Laboratories (one per district); 602 Critical Care Hospital Blocks

• States/UTs spent over ₹5,000 crore on AAM development (FY 2022-25)

• Strategic Goals: Pandemic preparedness, Universal Health Coverage, disease surveillance, health research

• Covers primary, secondary, and tertiary care levels from village to district

3. Bharat 6G Alliance Forges 10 Global Partnerships, Targets 10% of 6G Patents by 2030

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Science & Technology; Digital Communications)

Key Points:

• Department of Telecommunications led Digital Communications session at ESTIC 2025

• Bharat 6G Alliance signed 10 international collaborations with global 6G bodies

• Over 100 R&D projects dedicated to 6G currently supported

• Focus areas: Open RAN, indigenous chipsets, AI-based intelligent networks

• Target: 10% of worldwide 6G patents by 2030

• 100 5G labs established across India for 5G-to-6G transition

• India achieved fastest 5G rollout globally

4. India Deepens Trade Engagement with Latin America

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (International Relations)

Key Points:

• 9th Round of India-Peru Trade Agreement negotiations held in Lima (3-5 November 2025)

• Substantive progress across Trade in Goods, Services, Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers, Customs Procedures, Dispute Settlement, Critical Minerals

• Minister of Foreign Trade of Peru (Ms. Teresa Stella Mera Gómez) reaffirmed Peru’s commitment to timely conclusion

• Both sides agreed to intersessional meetings; next round proposed for New Delhi, January 2026

• India’s exports to Peru: $1.02 billion; Imports: $4.98 billion (FY2024-25)

• Key sectors: Critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, food processing

5. India’s Leap in Research and Innovation: National Missions in Frontier Technologies

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Science & Technology)

Key Points:

• Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD): ₹60,196 crore (2010-11) → ₹1.27 lakh crore (2020-21)

• Projected GERD: ₹2.5 lakh crore (2025-26)

• India ranks 3rd globally in PhDs awarded (60% in S&T)

• Patents filed: 24,326 (2020-21) → 68,176 (2024-25)

• National Missions: Quantum (₹6,003.65 crore), Cyber-Physical Systems (₹3,660 crore), Deep Ocean (₹4,077 crore), IndiaAI (₹10,371.92 crore)

• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): UPI handles ₹24.85 lakh crore/month; Co-WIN delivered 220+ crore doses

6. Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0 Launched Nationwide

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Governance; Social Security); 3 (Digital Infrastructure)

Key Points:

• Largest ever DLC Campaign from November 1-30, 2025

• Over 55 lakh Digital Life Certificates generated in first 4 days

• Target: 2 crore Digital Life Certificates for the month

• Coverage: 2,000 cities/towns; 2,500 camps; 1,250 nodal officers

• Collaborators: 19 Banks, 1,600 District Post offices, 57 Welfare Associations, CGDA, EPFO, Railways, MeitY, UIDAI

• Benefits: Simplifies life certification for pensioners, especially super-seniors

• Key feature: Face Authentication via smartphone for ease of submission

7. India Lifts 248 Million Out of Multidimensional Poverty: World Social Summit Focus

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Social Justice); 3 (Economy; Poverty Alleviation)

Key Points:

• Second World Summit for Social Development held in Doha, Qatar (4-6 November 2025)

• India lifted 248 million from multidimensional poverty between 2011-2023

• Poverty below international poverty line: 2.3% (2022-23)

• Social protection coverage expanded from 19% (2015) to 64.3% (2025), benefiting 940+ million citizens

• Flagship programmes: Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana

• JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) ensuring transparent, direct benefit delivery

• Women’s employment nearly doubled; unemployment fell from 6% (2017-18) to 3.2% (2023-24)

8. Cauvery River: Systemic Pollution Crisis Demands Urgent Environmental Action

Source: Indian Express (Editorial) | Date: November 1-2, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Environment; River Pollution; Water Resources)

Key Points:

• Cauvery lifeline severely polluted with effluents, sewage, plastics, heavy metals, pesticides across 800 km stretch

• Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) warning: untreated waste from factories/habitations dumped despite STPs

• Central Pollution Control Board identifies 296 polluted river stretches across India

• IIT Madras study flagged pharmaceutical contamination at 22 monitoring locations; threat to river ecosystems

• Self-cleansing capacity collapsing under urbanisation and waste mismanagement

• Root cause: No separation between sewer lines and stormwater drains; 30-40% of households lack sewer connections

• Solutions: Implement “One-City-One-Operator” model; enforce accountability; separate sewage-drain systems

9. UPI Dominates Global Real-Time Digital Payments: India’s 50% Global Share

Source: PIB | Date: October 8-November 5, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Digital Economy; Financial Technology)

Key Points:

• UPI processes 20 billion transactions monthly worth ₹25 lakh crore (Global Fintech Fest data)

• India accounts for 50% of all global real-time digital transactions

• UPI transactions grew 32% year-on-year (June 2024 to June 2025)

• UPI serves 491 million individuals and 65 million merchants; connects 675 banks

• Accounts for 85% of all digital transactions in India

• Global expansion: Live in 7 countries (UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius)

• JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) backbone of financial inclusion

• ONDC empowering MSMEs; OCEN simplifying credit for small entrepreneurs

• RBI’s digital currency initiative underway

10. India’s Employment Growth: 17 Crore Jobs Created, Manufacturing Surge

Source: PIB | Date: November 5, 2025; Economic Survey
GS Paper: 3 (Economy; Employment)

Key Points:

• 17 crore jobs created in past decade (highest employment expansion)

• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose to 52.2%; Female WPR climbed to 32% (August 2025)

• Overall unemployment rate eased to 5.1% (August 2025 PLFS data)

• Youth (15-29 years) unemployment declined from 17.8% (2017-18) to 10% (2022-23)

• Manufacturing job creation: 6% (2004-2014) → 15% (last decade)

• Union Budget 2025-26: Skill India Programme restructured with ₹8,800 crore outlay until 2026

• PMKVY 4.0, National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, Jan Shikshan Sansthan unified into industry-aligned framework

• EPFO net payroll additions: 61.1 lakh (FY19) → 131.5 lakh (FY24); gig economy workforce projected 2.35 crore by 2029-30

11. IISER Study Reveals Tree Species Impact on Urban Air Quality

Source: Indian Express (Science) | Date: November 6, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Environment; Conservation)

Key Points:

• IISER Mohali developed Air Quality Impact Index (AQII) to assess tree species impact on urban air

• Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) released by trees interact with NOx and VOCs, forming secondary organic aerosols and ozone

• High emitters of isoprene/monoterpenes (Mango trees): Worsen ozone levels in polluted air

• Low emitters (Ashoka, native species): Absorb more pollutants than released

• AQII factors: Pollution uptake ability, ozone/aerosol precursor emissions, pollen allergy potential

• Implication: City planners must select tree species that improve air quality rather than deteriorate it

12. Electoral Roll Integrity: Voter Fraud Allegations and ECI Accountability

Source: The Hindu Editorial, Indian Express | Date: November 5-6, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Electoral Process; Constitutional Law)

Key Points:

• Rahul Gandhi alleged 521,000 duplicate voters on electoral rolls ahead of 2024 Haryana Assembly elections

• One voter’s photograph appeared 223 times across two polling stations

• 124,177 voters in Haryana share identical photographs

• Congress claims “vote theft” extends to state and national levels

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls revealed duplicate voter removal issues

• Election Commission counter-claims: Names flagged have voted with valid address and ID cards

• Bihar SIR: ~60 lakh fewer voters after removing duplicates and questionable entries

• Tamil Nadu government petitioned Supreme Court against SIR, calling it “arbitrary” and “prone to disenfranchisement”

13. Judicial Independence vs. Executive Pressure: Systemic Reform Needs

Source: Indian Express, Legacyias Editorial Analysis | Date: October-November 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Judiciary; Constitutional Law; Governance)

Key Points:

• Sanjeev Sanyal (PM’s Economic Advisory Council) claimed judicial system is “single biggest hurdle” to Viksit Bharat

• Counter-narrative: Judicial delays stem from chronic underfunding, infrastructure gaps, high vacancies in lower judiciary

• Vacancies in district judiciary: 5,000+ positions unfilled (out of 25,081 sanctioned)

• Technology deficiency: Only 41% of lower court complexes have video conferencing (2021 CJI survey)

• Imprecise legislative drafting creates litigation burden; government litigation often frivolous

• Justice Yashwant Varma (Delhi High Court) controversy raised transparency concerns in judicial appointments

• RTI query showed Delhi High Court refused to provide complaint data on district judges

• Reform priorities: Judicial capacity building, faster appointment clearances, selective judge transfers review, improved legislative drafting

14. Pollution Control and Infrastructure Deficiency: Sewage Treatment Crisis

Source: Indian Express (Opinion) | Date: October 27, 2025
GS Paper: 3 (Environment; Urban Planning; Infrastructure)

Key Points:

• Indian cities generate 72,000 million litres per day (MLD) sewage; treatment capacity: <32,000 MLD

• Only 28% of urban wastewater treated; 72% flows untreated into water bodies

• Root cause: No separation between sewer lines and stormwater drains in many areas

• 30-40% of Delhi population in colonies without sewer connections

• Treatment plants designed for specific sewage parameters but receive drain mixture

• International model: One-City-One-Operator system (Punjab adopted 2019) with performance-linked payments

• International firms (SUEZ, VA Tech Wabag, Toshiba) operating under model with centralized accountability

• Challenge: Full sewer coverage prerequisite for effective wastewater management

15. AI in Education: Transforming Learning While Managing Teacher Readiness

Source: The Hindu (October 30, 2025) | Date: October 30, 2025
GS Paper: 2 (Education Policy); 3 (Artificial Intelligence)

Key Points:

• India integrating AI into curriculum from Grade 3 starting 2026-27 under NEP 2020

• Challenge: Upskilling 10 million+ educators for AI integration

• Teacher training progress: Over 10,000 teachers trained (support from Intel, IBM, government institutions)

• AI-driven adaptive learning: Customizes lessons based on student behavior, pace, understanding

• Example: Struggling algebra student gets additional practice; excelling biology student gets advanced challenges

• Higher education adoption: >50% of Indian institutions using generative AI for teaching

• AI chatbots, interactive quizzes, personalized materials reducing learning gaps

• Benefits: Inclusivity for non-native speakers, students with disabilities, multilingual learners

• Challenges: Scaling teacher training, ensuring equitable access, addressing AI ethics

PIB

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