2 Minute Series_8th December 2025

 08^th December 2025 

1. Border Roads Organization Projects: Recently, the union Defence Minister dedicated 125 Border Roads Organization projects to the nation from Ladakh, marking the highest number of BRO projects inaugurated in a single event.

• Key Highlights: Total investment stands at ₹5,000 crore.
• Coverage includes: Union Territories: Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir
• States: Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Mizoram
• Project break-up: 28 roads, 93 bridges and 4 key strategic assets
• Key Projects: The 920-metre Shyok Tunnel on the Darbuk–Shyok–DBO road ensures round-the-year connectivity.
• The Galwan War Memorial was virtually inaugurated. It stands as a symbol of supreme sacrifice and national gratitude towards Indian soldiers.
• Significance: Enhance national security
• Accelerate logistics and disaster response
• Boost tourism in frontier areas
• Generate local employment opportunities
• Projects align with the national vision of Viksit Bharat.

2. Dolomedes Indicus: Recently, researchers identified a new spider species named Dolomedes indicus in the evergreen rainforests of the Western Ghats, with the discovery made in Wayanad, Kerala.

• About Dolomedes indicus: This is the first time a spider from the Dolomedes genus—commonly known as raft spiders or fishing spiders—has been scientifically recorded in India.
• The genus is globally known for its semi-aquatic hunting behaviour.
• Unlike web-building house spiders, Dolomedes indicus is an active predator.
• It uses water surface tension to: Detect vibrations from insects and small fish
• Skim rapidly across water to capture prey
• The species is also a strong swimmer and capable diver.
• Males display a striking snow-white marking running from the face to the centre of the back.
• Females are: Larger in size, Greenish-brown in colour and perfectly camouflaged among mossy rocks and streamside vegetation
• Potential Indicator Species for Ecosystem Health: Its presence can help scientists:
  • Monitor freshwater ecosystem health
  • Track forest and stream conservation status

3. Exercise Harimau Shakti 2025: Recently, the 5th edition of Exercise Harimau Shakti 2025 commenced in Rajasthan, aiming to enhance interoperability in counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations.

• About Exercise Harimau Shakti: A bilateral military exercise between India and Malaysia, first conducted in 2012.
• Primary focus areas: Jungle warfare and Counter-insurgency operations
• It reinforces India’s Act East Policy and commitment to global peacekeeping frameworks.
• Participants in 2025: Indian contingent: Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army
• Malaysian contingent: 25th Battalion, Royal Malaysian Army
• Key Objectives and Operational Mandate: Joint rehearsal of Sub-Conventional Operations under UN Chapter VII.
• UN Chapter VII authorises: Military and non-military actions, Sanctions, blockades and troop deployment
• Other India–Malaysia Military Exercises: Samudra Laksamana – Bilateral naval exercise
• Udara Shakti – Bilateral air force exercise

4. Right to Disconnect Bill 2025: Recently, a Private Member’s Bill titled the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• Key Highlights: The Bill seeks to legally protect employees from after-work communication pressures and strengthen work–life balance.
• The Bill proposes setting up an Employees’ Welfare Authority to: Enforce the right to disconnect
  • Conduct baseline workforce studies
  • Negotiate lawful after-hour engagement terms
• The rules will apply to companies employing more than 10 workers.
• Employees cannot face disciplinary action for refusing after-hours communication.
• If work is assigned beyond fixed hours, employers must pay overtime wages.
• The Bill mandates: Counselling services for employees and creation of digital detox centres
• It aims to tackle rising issues like: Tele-pressure, Work-related stress and Information overload (“info-obesity”)
• Countries like France, Portugal and Australia have already enacted right to disconnect laws.
• This reflects global recognition of employee wellbeing in the digital age.

5. Onchocerciasis: Recently, Niger became the first country in the African Region to eliminate onchocerciasis, marking a major milestone in the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

• About Onchocerciasis: Commonly called river blindness, is caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus.
• It spreads through repeated bites of infected blackflies of the Simulium species.
• The disease is not directly contagious and cannot spread person-to-person.
• How the Disease Spreads: Blackflies breed in fast-flowing rivers and streams in: Remote, Tropical and Agricultural regions
• Transmission cycle: Fly bites infected person → ingests larvae
• Fly bites uninfected person → transmits parasite
• Early and advanced symptoms include: Severe skin rashes and itching
  • Skin disfigurement
  • Visual impairment and permanent blindness
• It is the second leading cause of infection-related blindness globally, after trachoma.
• WHO Status: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), onchocerciasis remains one of the most neglected tropical diseases.
• The disease disproportionately affects remote, rural, and low-income communities.

6. State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025 Report: Recently, overfishing in the Mediterranean and Black Seas has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years, showing early signs of stock recovery, according to the State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2025 report released by the FAO.

• Key Findings: The study assessed 120 fish stocks between 2013 and 2023.
• Key trends recorded: Exploitation ratio declined from 88% (2013) to 52% (2023)
• Fishing mortality reduced by 50%
• Fish biomass rebounded by 25%
• Red mullet and giant red shrimp show clear declines in fishing pressure.
• Species under targeted management plans performed better: Common sole (Adriatic Sea) and Turbot (Black Sea)
• Rising fish biomass reflects: Improved ecosystem health
• Better stock regeneration
• Enhanced long-term sustainability prospects
• Aquaculture now contributes over 45% of aquatic food production in the region.
• Key challenges facing fisheries and aquaculture: Climate change impacts
  • Disease outbreaks and pathogens
  • Spread of non-native species
  • Complex and fragmented legal frameworks 

7. Australia–India Education and Skills Council (AIESC) Meet: Recently, the 3rd Australia–India Education and Skills Council (AIESC) Meet is set to be held in New Delhi, aimed at deepening India–Australia cooperation in education, skills, and research.

• Key Highlights: Focus on Future-Ready Education and Skills Ecosystems: Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
  • Teacher education and professional development
  • School education collaboration
  • Higher education and skilling ecosystem
  • Building a globally skilled workforce
  • The agenda builds on the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Framework (2023).
  • New Joint Research Projects Under SPARC: 10 new India–Australia joint research projects will be announced. These will strengthen long-term institutional and people-to-people linkages.

8. AstroSat: Recently, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) celebrated a decade of the successful functioning of the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) onboard

• About AstroSat: India’s first multi-wavelength space observatory.
• It studies celestial sources simultaneously in X-ray, optical and ultraviolet (UV) bands.
• It operates across an energy range of 3 keV to 100 keV.
• The mission enables simultaneous multi-wavelength observations with a single satellite, a rare global capability.
• Key Scientific Payloads of AstroSat: Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)
• Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC)
• Cadmium–Zinc–Telluride Imager (CZTI)
• Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT)
• Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM)
• Unique Features of UVIT: Consists of two co-aligned telescopes: Near-ultraviolet and visible light and far-ultraviolet observations
• Strategic Significance of AstroSat: Strengthens India’s space-based astrophysical research capability
• Positions India among a select group of nations with multi-wavelength space observatories

9. Wastelands: Recently, India’s semi-arid grasslands and savannas—long labelled as “wastelands”—are being recognised as critical climate-resilient ecosystems.

• Key Highlights: British-era policies prioritised timber-rich forests for industrial use, while grasslands were dismissed as unproductive. Grazing lands, scrublands, ravines, degraded pastures and rocky areas were officially classified as wastelands.
• India’s savannas support millions of pastoralists and diverse wildlife.
• Maharashtra’s livestock economy alone crossed ₹59,000 crore (2018–19), underlining the economic value of grassland ecosystems.
• Grasslands store most of their biomass below ground through deep, fibrous roots.
• These root systems: Stabilise soil structure, improve water infiltration, reduce erosion and increase drought resistance
• Grassland soils lock in long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) for centuries.
• Converting grasslands into plantations: Breaks underground root networks
• Causes soil compaction and erosion
• Reduces carbon storage
• Weakens ecosystem resilience