Daily UPSC Current Affairs

The Indian government, through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules on October 22, 2025, making it mandatory for social media users and platforms to label AI-generated or synthetically altered content. This move comes amid a surge in non-consensual deepfake videos targeting women, including celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna and Aishwarya Rai, which blend seamlessly into feeds on Instagram and X, eroding privacy and consent while spreading misinformation at scale. The rules aim to empower users to distinguish real from fake, with platforms required to verify declarations and apply visible markers, addressing a crisis where 90% of deepfake victims are women.

A deep depression brewing over the southeast Bay of Bengal has intensified into the cyclonic storm Montha, marking the season's first major cyclone to threaten India's east coast. With landfall expected near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on the evening of October 28, 2025, states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have issued red alerts, closed schools, suspended fishing operations, and begun evacuations from low-lying areas. This development has triggered widespread preparations amid forecasts of extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 210 mm in 24 hours, strong winds up to 110 kmph, and rough seas, highlighting the urgent need for coastal resilience as the cyclone month unfolds.

A consortium led by Arcop Associates has been selected as the top bidder for the architectural and exhibition design of the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum. Restoration work on the North Block has begun. The first gallery is expected to open by the end of 2026. This marks a key step in transforming the North and South Blocks into the world's largest museum as part of the Central Vista project.

The United States has opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel to oversee the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and plan for an international force that could help maintain peace in the enclave. On October 24, 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the center in Kiryat Gat, emphasizing the need for countries "Israel is comfortable with" to join the effort, amid ongoing challenges in disarming militant groups and addressing humanitarian needs. This move highlights the complex US role in post-war Gaza reconstruction, drawing from reports in The Indian Express (via Reuters), The Hindu, and AP News.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest Fiscal Monitor report, released in October 2025, has flagged a sharp rise in global public debt, forecasting it to exceed 100% of GDP by 2029—the highest level since 1948. This comes amid growing pressures from higher interest rates and increased spending needs, raising alarms about fiscal stability worldwide. For India, with its public debt at around 81.4% of GDP, the report underscores relative resilience but warns of potential vulnerabilities if deficits persist, as echoed in analyses from The Economic Times and The Hindu.

The Supreme Court has expressed strong disappointment over the slow disposal of execution petitions in lower courts, extending a six-month deadline for high courts to monitor and clear backlogs after an initial March 2024 order showed limited progress. With 8.82 lakh cases still pending—many for up to five years—the court warned that such delays turn court victories into hollow promises, eroding public trust in the judiciary, as highlighted in recent reports from The Hindu and Indian Express.

On October 21, 2025, Sanae Takaichi was elected by Japan's Parliament as the nation's first female Prime Minister, securing a majority vote after forming a coalition between her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP). This marks a significant shift in Japanese politics, ending a three-month vacuum following the LDP's election losses in July and the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba, while highlighting the rise of conservative leadership in response to party crises.

The Reserve Bank of India released its October 2025 bulletin on October 20, highlighting positive signs in domestic demand for September based on high-frequency data like vehicle sales and GST e-way bills. It also downplayed the impact of high US tariffs on India's growth, emphasizing the role of recent GST rate cuts in boosting consumption and offsetting external pressures, amid ongoing global trade tensions.

On October 20, 2025, Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a significant outage due to a DNS resolution issue in its DynamoDB service endpoints, affecting over 1,000 online platforms and services globally. This event disrupted everyday digital activities for millions, from messaging apps to financial transactions, and highlighted the critical role of cloud infrastructure in modern internet operations, prompting discussions on the need for greater diversification in cloud reliance.

After back-to-back good monsoons in 2024 and 2025, India is facing a surplus in key crops like rice, wheat, and soyabean, leading to wholesale prices dropping well below the minimum support prices (MSP). This has reversed the earlier focus on curbing high food inflation that hurt consumers, now putting pressure on farmers with low returns, prompting potential policy changes to support the farm sector.

The Trump administration has ramped up military and intelligence operations against Venezuela, including authorizing CIA covert actions, deploying forces in the Caribbean Sea, and offering a $50 million bounty for President Nicolas Maduro's arrest on drug trafficking charges. This escalation, framed as a fight against drugs and migration, comes amid accusations that Maduro's regime is illegitimate following disputed elections, raising fears of a potential US-led regime change similar to past interventions in Latin America.

The Indian government is preparing a new initiative to attract established Indian-origin scientists and researchers from abroad, particularly from the US, to return and contribute to domestic institutions. This comes amid the Trump administration's stringent policies on higher education, including caps on international student intake and freezes on federal grants for universities, which have raised concerns about academic freedom and prompted global competition for talent.