Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 December 2025

Topic: Sports

1. Indian players secure two bronze medals at the 2025 FIDE World Rapid Championships.

• In Chess, India's Arjun Erigaisi won bronze in the men’s section and Koneru Humpy won bronze in the women’s section.
• Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen won the title in the 2025 FIDE World Rapid Championships played in Doha, Qatar.
• Russian chess grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina won the title in 2025 FIDE Women’s World Rapid Championships played in Doha, Qatar.
• Carlsen finished the tournament with 10.5 points to win his sixth World Rapid Chess title.
• A total of 13 rounds were played in the men’s event. Arjun Erigaisi finished the tournament with 9.5 points. Vladislav Artemiev earned the silver medal.
• In the women’s event, Alexandra Goryachkina won the gold medal.
• Koneru Humpy finished third and secured the bronze medal for India.
• Humpy has previously won gold medals in 2019 and 2024.

Topic: State News/Assam

2. The Jyoti–Bishnu International Art Centre has been inaugurated in Guwahati by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 29 December.

• The newly constructed Police Commissioner’s Office and Integrated Command and Control Centre were also inaugurated.
• A state-level exhibition showcasing the three new criminal laws was formally opened during the event.
• The Police Commissioner’s Office has been constructed at a cost of ₹111 crore with modern facilities.
• The Integrated Command and Control Centre, built at ₹178 crore, is aimed at enabling smart policing.
• The Jyoti–Bishnu Auditorium has been built at a cost of around ₹291 crore with a seating capacity of 5,000.
• The auditorium commemorates cultural icons Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha.
• The Home Minister highlighted Assam’s progress from a period marked by unrest to sustained development.
• He said that intruders had encroached upon land across Assam, but in the last 10 years, encroachment has been removed from 129,000 bighas of land.
• The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the Modi government has established peace in Assam by signing agreements with all the violent groups in the state.
• He said that as a result of these agreements, more than 10,000 youths have laid down their arms and returned to the mainstream, and now Assam is moving forward on the path of development.

Topic: National Appointment

3. Anu Garg appointed as Odisha’s first woman chief secretary.

• Anu Garg has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of Odisha, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
• Her appointment follows the superannuation of the incumbent Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja on December 31, 2025.
• She is a 1991-batch IAS officer with over three decades of administrative experience.
• She is currently serving as Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary.
• She also holds additional charge of the Water Resources Department.
• Ms. Garg hails from Uttar Pradesh and holds a Master’s degree in Sociology.
• She has headed key departments including Health, Water Resources and Planning.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. The REPM scheme approved to build India's integrated manufacturing ecosystem for high-value magnets.

• The Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) has been approved by the Government.
• An outlay of over ₹7,000 crore has been sanctioned for implementation of the scheme.
• The scheme aims to build India’s first integrated domestic manufacturing ecosystem for high-value magnets.
• A production capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum will be created across the entire value chain.
• The value chain will span from rare-earth oxides to finished magnets.
• India has large reserves of rare-earth minerals in several coastal and inland areas.
• These minerals are found in beach sands, red sands, and inland alluvial soils in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
• The initiative is aimed at reducing dependence on imports, particularly from China.
• The Ministry of Mines has entered into bilateral agreements with mineral-rich countries, including Australia, Argentina, and Zambia.
• This initiative supports India's energy transition, strengthens domestic industrial capacity, creates employment, and advances the vision of a self-reliant and developed India by 2047.
• It also aims to strengthen supply chains for strategic and high-growth sectors such as electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics, aerospace, and defense.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. The AI ​​Impact Summit is scheduled to be held in India in February next year.

• The AI Impact Summit is set to be hosted by India in New Delhi from 15th to 20th February.
• The event aims to shape the future of inclusive, responsible and resilient Artificial Intelligence.
• This summit is based on the three guiding principles of people, planet, and progress, demonstrating how AI should serve humanity, protect the environment, and promote inclusive development.
• It seeks to bridge gaps in the use and access of AI technologies.
• A Research Symposium on AI and its impact will be organised as part of the summit.
• Researchers and practitioners will exchange ideas and forge collaborations.
• Over 300 pre-summit events have already been organised across more than 100 cities globally.
• AI leaders and experts from over 140 countries will participate in the summit.
• The summit will promote democratisation of AI for healthcare, education and agriculture.

Topic: Sports

6. Smriti Mandhana has joined the club of players who have scored 10,000 runs in women's international cricket.

• History has been scripted as Smriti Mandhana has become the second Indian and the fourth woman cricketer overall to complete 10,000 runs in international cricket.
• The historic milestone was achieved during the fourth T20 International of the five-match series against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium.
• With this feat, Mandhana has joined an elite list featuring Mithali Raj, Suzie Bates and Charlotte Edwards, and has become the second Indian after Mithali Raj to do so.
• In Test cricket, Mandhana has scored 629 runs in seven matches at an impressive average of 57.18, including two centuries and three half-centuries.
• In the ODI format, she has amassed 5,322 runs in 117 matches at an average of 48.38, making her the sixth-highest run-getter in women’s ODIs.
• In T20 Internationals, Mandhana has accumulated 4,102 runs in 157 matches and stands as the second-highest run-scorer in the format.
• She is now level with Australian legend Meg Lanning for the most international centuries in women's cricket, with both having 17 centuries to their name.

Topic: Sports

7. Neeru Dhanda secured women's trap gold medal at National Shooting Championship at Dr Karni Singh Range in Delhi.

• Neeru Dhanda is an Asian Championships gold medalist.
• Kirti Gupta of Delhi secured the silver medal in the women’s trap competition.
• Pragati Dubey from Madhya Pradesh secured the bronze medal.
• Aryavansh Tyagi won a gold medal in the junior men’s trap event.
• Keshav Chauhan and Zuhair Khan earned the silver medal and bronze medal respectively in the junior men’s trap event.
• Madhya Pradesh won the women’s trap team gold.
• Delhi secured silver in the women’s trap team event. Punjab finished with bronze in same category.
• Haryana topped the junior men’s trap team competition.
• Gujarat won the silver medal in the junior men’s trap team event. Rajasthan claimed bronze in the same category.
• Delhi secured gold in the junior women’s trap team event.
• Tamil Nadu earned silver and Rajasthan finished with bronze in the junior women’s trap team event.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. An agreement has been signed between the central government and a private marine company based in Goa.

• The agreement has been signed under the Indo-Canada Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme for "The Smart Sea Project by VACE".
• As per the Ministry of Science and Technology, the aim of the project is development and demonstration of a 20-passenger electric boat.
• This will contribute to India's objectives of environmentally friendly waterways.
• The agreement will also cut down dependence on fossil fuels and promote sustainable tourism development.
• The project is an initiative between the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and Global Affairs Canada.
• The private partner company is Vijai Marine Services Pvt. Ltd.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

9. An Indian-led study warns that the fungus "Candida auris" is becoming more dangerous.

• The study says fungus is spreading across the world.
• "Candida auris" is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs and has ability to survive on human skin.
• The research was carried out by scientists from the University of Delhi working at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute.
• The study was done in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health.
• Researchers found that invasive fungal infections are increasing globally. About 6.5 million people are affected each year.
• Mortality can exceed 50 percent even with treatment.
• The fungus can change its form from yeast to filamentous growth and this ability helps it spread more.
• Its cell wall proteins allow it to strongly attach to human skin. Long-term skin colonisation is a major medical concern.
• Patients carrying the fungus risk developing severe systemic infections.
• Standard lab tests often misidentify it as other yeasts. The awareness of this fungal threat is increasing.

Topic: International News

10. Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Mukalla, a port city of Yemen.

• The attack took place in the early hours of 30 December 2025.
• The airstrikes were launched after ships arrived there from Fujairah, a port city on the UAE’s eastern coast.
• Saudi authorities claimed weapons were unloaded from the ships. The airstrikes were launched to destroy those weapons.
• The attack marks a new escalation in tensions involving Saudi Arabia and the Southern Transitional Council.
• After the strikes, Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces declared a state of emergency.
• In another development, protests erupted across Iran following a sharp fall in Iran’s currency.
• Iran’s currency, rial hit a record low against the US dollar.
• The head of Iran’s Central Bank resigned. As per Media reports, the protests are the largest in three years.