Current Affairs 20 December 2025

PIB Current Affairs

National Conference for the Chairpersons of Public Service Commissions

The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, inaugurated the National Conference for the Chairpersons of Public Service Commissions at Hyderabad, Telangana, on 19 December 2025, organised by the Telangana Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

The Sixth Session of the Eighteenth Lok Sabha

The Sixth Session of the Eighteenth Lok Sabha concluded on 15 December 2025, after commencing on 1 December 2025, with 15 sittings and a total duration of 92 hours and 25 minutes. Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla informed that the productivity of the House stood at 111%, reflecting high legislative output. During the session, 10 Government Bills were introduced and 8 Bills were passed.

The 8 bills were passed as follows:

• The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025;
• The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025;
• The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025;
• The Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2025;
• The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025;
• The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025;
• The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025; and
• The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB – G RAM G

Indian Coast Guard Ship Amulya Commissioned

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned ICG Ship Amulya on 19 December 2025 in Goa. It is the third vessel in the series of eight Adamya-class Fast Patrol Vessels, designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).

Good Governance Week 2025

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) launched Good Governance Week 2025, to be observed from December 19 to 25, with Secretary, DARPG, Rachna Shah releasing the guidelines for the nationwide ‘Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore’ campaign

Hindu Current Affairs

Statue of Unity Sculptor Ram Sutar passes away

Veteran sculptor Ram V. Sutar, popularly known as the “Statue Man of India”, passed away at the age of 100. He was the chief sculptor of the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue (182 metres), dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadia, Gujarat. His notable works include statues of Mahatma Gandhi at the Parliament Complex and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at various prominent locations. He was honoured with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Maharashtra Bhushan (the highest civilian award of Maharashtra) for his immense contribution to art and culture.

Supreme Court on Ad hoc Judges Appointment

• Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant highlighted a key challenge in appointing retired High Court judges as ad hoc judges to reduce the huge pendency of criminal cases.
• As per the National Judicial Data Grid, nearly 18.98 lakh criminal cases are pending across 25 High Courts, with over 68% pending for more than one year.
• Against a sanctioned strength of 1,122 High Court judges, there are 298 vacancies as of December 15.
• In January 2025, the Supreme Court activated Article 224A of the Constitution, allowing appointment of retired judges as ad hoc judges to clear criminal appeals.
• However, retired judges are reluctant because they feel embarrassed to sit as junior judges alongside younger serving judges, while serving judges also express discomfort in sitting with retired judges heading the Bench.
• In view of this situation, the Supreme Court clarified that “Ad hoc judges under Article 224A can now function either as Single Bench judges or as members of Division Benches with serving judges, based on High Court discretion”.

DHRUV64 microprocessor

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced the launch of DHRUV64, a fully indigenous 64-bit, dual-core, 1 GHz microprocessor developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Microprocessor Development Programme. DHRUV64 is based on the RISC-V open instruction set and is part of the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) programme, which aims to build a portfolio of homegrown processors for strategic, industrial, and consumer applications.

Securities Market Code Bill, 2025

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Securities Market Code Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament. The Bill aims to unify and modernise India’s securities market regulation by consolidating three existing laws the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, the SEBI Act, 1992, and the Depositories Act, 1996 into a single comprehensive code. The bill was now was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for review.

The Securities Market Code Bill, 2025 was earlier announced in the Union Budget 2021–22. Bill Proposals

• It proposes to increase SEBI’s board strength from 9 to 15 members, including the Chairperson.
• The number of whole-time members in SEBI will be expanded to strengthen regulatory capacity.
• Minor, procedural and technical violations will be decriminalised and converted into civil penalties.
• Criminal punishment will be restricted only to serious market offences such as insider trading and market abuse.
• SEBI Board members will be required to mandatorily disclose any direct or indirect conflict of interest before decision-making.
• The Bill introduces a time limit of eight years from the date of contravention for conducting inspections.
• Overall, the reforms aim to enhance investor protection, ensure faster adjudication, and improve ease of doing business in India’s securities market.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025

Jharkhand scripted history by winning its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title, defeating Haryana by 69 runs in the final held at the MCA Stadium, Pune. Ishant Kishan was named Player of the Match, while Anukul Roy earned the Player of the Series award.

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