Current Affairs 30 December 2025

Silky Soil

The deltaic coast of Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, especially the fishing hamlets of Vellapallam, Pushpavanam and Vanavan Mahadevi in Vedaranyam taluk, is facing a serious livelihood crisis due to the presence of silky clay loose soil, commonly referred to as silky soil. Unlike firm sandy beaches, this fine-grained clay lacks load-bearing strength, causing fishing boats, breakwater stones and even people to sink into the shoreline.

Experts attribute the formation of silky soil to sediment discharge from the Vennar Basin, the shallow gradient of the continental shelf, and seasonal littoral drift that deposits fine clay along this stretch of the coast. As a result, fisherfolk are compelled to use tractors to launch and retrieve boats, significantly increasing daily operating costs and pushing many families into debt.

Documentary Filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy Passes Away

Documentary and television filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy passed away recently. He produced over 900 documentary and television films. His magnum opus, Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi, released in 1976, traced 5,000 years of Indian history, was shot at 100 locations, and its international rights were acquired by Warner Brothers. He was awarded the Padma Shri (2009) and the Dr. V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award (2020). In 2025, he authored Voyages Retraced: India’s Influence in East Asia, highlighting India’s historical cultural links with Southeast Asia.

Alaknanda – An Old Spiral Galaxy

Indian astronomers have discovered one of the earliest known spiral galaxies, named Alaknanda, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The galaxy was identified by researchers at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, while analysing JWST data from the uncover survey. What makes Alaknanda remarkable is that it existed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang (redshift z ≈ 4), yet already shows well-defined spiral arms and a rotating disk.

World’s Largest Crude Oil Reserves

• Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves (about 303 billion barrels as of 2023), yet its economy remains severely strained.
• Most of its oil is extra-heavy crude, which requires advanced technology and high investment for extraction and refining.
• Venezuela’s crude oil production in 2024 was around 9.21 lakh barrels per day, far below its 1980s levels.
• Despite being a founding member of OPEC, Venezuela now has one of the highest government debt levels among OPEC countries.
• Venezuela’s share in global oil exports fell from over 4% in the 1990s to about 0.35% in 2023, highlighting the depth of its decline.
• Top three Crude Oil producing countries in 2024 are USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia.

Rare Earth Elements and Their Strategic Importance

• Rare-earth elements (REEs) consist of 17 metallic elements: the 15 lanthanides (lanthanum to lutetium) plus scandium and yttrium.
• Though not always geologically scarce, REEs are widely dispersed in low concentrations and mixed together in minerals like monazite and bastnäsite, making extraction and separation difficult and costly.
• REEs are critical for green and advanced technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, lasers, fibre optics, catalysts, and defence systems.
• Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, based on rare-earth elements, are among the strongest permanent magnets and are essential for high-efficiency motors and generators.
• The most complex and strategic part of the REE value chain is midstream processing, especially chemical separation using solvent extraction, which is energy-intensive and technologically demanding.
• China dominates the global REE supply chain, accounting for about 91% of global rare-earth separation and refining and nearly 94% of sintered rare-earth permanent magnet production.
• Many countries, including India, are now focusing on building domestic refining and magnet-manufacturing capacity to reduce dependence on China and strengthen supply-chain resilience.
• India holds about 6.9 million tonnes of rare-earth oxide reserves, mainly associated with monazite deposits, but faces challenges in scaling up downstream processing.

Narasapuram Lace Craft

• The Prime Minister highlighted the traditional Narasapuram lace craft of Andhra Pradesh in Mann Ki Baat programme.
• Narasapuram lace (crochet lace), practised in West Godavari district, is a heritage handicraft preserved by families and communities over generations.
• The craft is women-led and has become a symbol of women empowerment and livelihood generation, with products reaching global markets.

World Rapid Chess Championship 2025

The FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship concluded in Doha, Qatar, crowning new champions in both Open and Women’s categories.

• Magnus Carlsen won the Open World Rapid title with an impressive score of 10.5/13, securing his sixth World Rapid Championship and finishing a full point ahead of competitors.
• In the Women’s category, Aleksandra Goryachkina emerged champion after defeating Zhu Jiner in a blitz playoff.
• India performed strongly at the championship, with Koneru Humpy and Arjun Erigaisi winning bronze medals in their respective categories.

INSV Kaundinya – India’s Ancient Maritime Legacy

The Indian Navy has launched INSV Kaundinya, a unique sailing vessel constructed using the ancient sewn ship technique, reviving India’s rich maritime heritage. The vessel’s design is inspired by a 5th century CE merchant ship depicted in the murals of Cave 17 of the Ajanta Caves.

INSV Kaundinya is named after Kaundinya (Kaundinya I), a legendary Indian mariner believed to have sailed to Southeast Asia in the 1st century CE. According to tradition, he married Queen Soma of Funan (in present-day Cambodia) and became the second king of the Funan Kingdom, symbolising early India–Southeast Asia maritime and cultural links.

The vessel has embarked on its maiden voyage from Porbandar (Gujarat) to Muscat (Oman). Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the designers, artisans, shipbuilders, and the Indian Navy for successfully bringing this historic vessel to life, highlighting India’s ancient shipbuilding traditions and seafaring prowess.

Defence Acquisition Council Approvals

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, has granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for defence procurement proposals worth approximately ₹79,000 crore for the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Disclaimer: This article is prepared for competitive exam preparation using publicly available information.