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News Highlights provides you with the best compilation of the Daily News Highlights taking place across the globe: National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, Banking, Economy, Agreement, Appointments, Ranks, and Report and General Studies
1.
Over the past few years, the U.S. government has intensified its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to identify, detain, and deport individuals without proper documentation. For instance, between June and October 2024, the Department of Homeland Security reported that 1,60,000 individuals had been deported on 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries, including India. India, which has one of the largest populations of illegal immigrants in the U.S., estimated at 7,25,000 undocumented individuals, will need to prepare for a significant increase in the number of returning migrants.
2.
The Economic Survey 2024-25 had indicated a real GDP growth in the range of 6.3%-6.8% for 2025-26. This provides some buffer if growth picks up more. The increase in the capital expenditure of the government in 2025-26 over the revised estimates of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹1.03 lakh crore. But the capital expenditures in 2025-26, at 11.2 lakh crore, are nearly the same as was indicated in the Budget of 2024-25 at 11.1 lakh crore. The buoyancy of GTR has fallen for three successive years from 1.4 in 2023-24 to 1.15 in 2024-25 (RE) and then to 1.07 in 2025-26 (BE). As a result, growth in the Government of India's GTR has kept falling from 13.5% in 2023-24 to 11.2% in 2024-25 (RE), and to 10.8% in 2025-26 (BE). Within the government's tax revenues, the growth rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has also fallen from 12.7% in 2023-24 to 10.9% in 2025-26 (BE).
3.
With a ₹90,958 crore healthcare allocation, the addition of 75,000 medical seats over the next five years, and investments in daycare cancer centres, India is poised to enhance both accessibility and quality of care. The country will add 10,000 medical seats in FY26 alone, underscoring its commitment to healthcare excellence. The establishment of 200 day-care cancer centres in district hospitals will bring specialised treatment closer to people, improving early diagnosis and better patient outcomes. The customs duty exemption on 36 life-saving drugs, including those for cancer, rare diseases, and chronic conditions will lower the cost of treatments, in turn, benefiting thousands of patients across the country. Also, the addition of 13 new patient assistance programmes would also improve access to critical medications for patients, particularly those with chronic conditions.
4.
After hitting 85 to the U.S. dollar on December 19, 2024, it slipped to 86 and crossed 87, partly due to the third factor at work. The strengthening dollar is driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's overdrive to 'Make America Great Again' with higher tariffs on major trade partners, and other disruptive economic plans such as exiting global tax accords, shutting aid flows, etal. In December, this noise was heightened after a sharp growth blip in the July-September quarter when GDP grew just 5.4%. Now, with 2024-25 GDP growth downgraded to just 6.4%, and the no marked uptick in economic metrics in the December-ending quarter, growth worries remain entrenched.
5.
Digital payments increased more than 3.5 times in value between 2013 and 2024 from ₹772 lakh crore to ₹2,758 lakh crore. They grew in volume from 222 crore to more than 20,787 crore in the same period. In the last five years alone, digital payments in India increased by 1.6 times in value and 6.7 times in volume, as per the RBI's Payment System Report. The payments landscape in India is mainly driven by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which consolidates multiple bank ac-counts into one mobile interface. UPI's contribution to the digital payments ecosystem in terms of volume rose from 34% in 2019 to 83% in 2024. While the volume of transactions through UPI increased by 46 times between 2018 and 2024, from 375 crore in to 17,221 crore, other methods of digital payments doubled to 3,566 crore. Overall, there was a 10-fold increase in digital payments to 20,787 crore from 2018.
6.
On December 18, 2024, the Supreme Court directed the Forest Department of Rajasthan to map on the ground and via satellite every ‘sacred grove’ in detail. They were to be identified irrespective of their size and based “solely on their purpose and their cultural and ecological significance to the local community”. After mapping, the court directed the department to classify them as ‘forests’ and notify them as ‘community reserves’ under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) 1972. This order shifts control of sacred groves from community-based management to the Forest Department. The decision conflicts with the Forest Rights Act, which recognises community rights over forest resources. The shift in control from community protection to Forest Department management could undermine the traditional governance of these areas.
7.
The Ministry of Finance has advised government officials to "strictly avoid" artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT and DeepSeek, on official devices as they "pose risks to the confidentiality of government data and documents". The DoE's circular comes months after another Central government office, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), organised a training session for officials in the rank of Joint Secretary and below, including Directors and Deputy Secretaries, on the use 'ChatGPT-4 Plus'.
8.
Against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India should buy more military equipment from them and amid the upcoming visit of Mr. Modi to Washington DC, several defence deals in the pipeline are in focus, among them the deal for co-production of Stryker infantry combat vehicles. The Stryker, manufactured by General Dynamics, has been evaluated in high-altitude conditions of Ladakh last September-October and the report has subsequently been shared with the Army Headquarters for further action. The performance of the vehicles was demonstrated in high-altitude conditions between 13,000 and 18,000 feet which also saw the testing of the Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM),
9.
With the decadal Census exercise pending since 2021 and unlikely to be conducted this year, at least two other key reports on births and deaths had not been released by the Union Home Ministry for the past five years. The "Vital Statistics of India Based on the Civil Registration System" and "The Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death" were last released for the year 2020. The annual "Crime in India" report by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) for the year 2023 is also yet to be released. According to the 2020 Civil Registration System report, Vital Statistics is a compilation of the "occurrence and characteristics of vital events such as births, deaths and still-births" recorded across the country, and is "invaluable for planning, monitoring and evaluating various programmes related to primary healthcare, family planning, maternal and child health, and education", and others. The States send data to the Registrar-General of India.
10.
In the latest step toward eliminating colonial practices and mindsets within the armed forces, Fort William in Kolkata, the head-quarters of the Eastern Army Command, has been renamed Vijay Durg. Additionally, Kitchener House inside Fort William has been renamed Manekshaw House, and South Gate, formerly known as St. George's Gate, is now Shivaji Gate. Fort William, named after King William III of England, was constructed by the British in 1781.The new name, Vijay Durg, is derived from the oldest fort along the Sindhudurg coast in Maharashtra. It served as a naval base for the Marathas under Chhatrapati Shivaji.
11.
Expressing disappointment over the slow progress of important projects in the spiritual tourism circuits and under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme, a parliamentary committee has asked the government to develop a "clearcut Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)" and obtain prior clearances and approvals from relevant authorities for timely completion of projects. The PRASHAD scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience. The panel also observed that under the PRASHAD scheme, only 21 of 45 projects have been completed.
12.
The All-India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across India are facing a shortage of faculty members. As much as 34% of the posts are vacant in the institute in New Delhi, 24% in Bhopal, 25% in Bhubaneswar, 28% in Jodhpur, 38% in Raipur, 27% in Patna, and 39% in Rishikesh. The Union Health Ministry revealed this in the Rajya Sabha, while replying to a question by Sanjeev Arora, MP, on the shortage of faculty and healthcare services in the AIIMS.
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