December 2025

In short: India's science, environment and technology this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.

Current Affairs — India › Science, Environment & Technology · 24 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu

Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.

ISRO's heaviest-ever satellite launch and the new Maritime Doctrine, the Supreme Court's final Great Indian Bustard verdict and two new Ramsar sites, the Aravalli-hills redefinition row, India's first indigenous microprocessor DHRUV64, and a 30-plus-term science glossary spanning Norovirus to Quantum Echoes, plus a compact atlas of December's 31 'places in the news.'

A Great Indian Bustard standing in its grassland habitat at Desert National Park, Rajasthan — Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), Desert National Park, Rajasthan — subject of the Supreme Court's final December verdict balancing conservation with renewable energy · Dr. Raju Kasambe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

1. December 2025 — Month at a Glance

December 2025 was rich in defence, space and environment news. ISRO's LVM3-M6 carried its heaviest-ever satellite payload, the Navy released an updated Maritime Doctrine on Navy Day and added a second MH-60R helicopter squadron, and the Army deployed 3D-printing technology in forward areas. On environment, the Supreme Court issued its final, six-year-in-the-making verdict balancing Great Indian Bustard conservation with renewable energy, two new wetlands joined the Ramsar list, and a Supreme Court redefinition of the 'Aravalli hills' triggered public protests before being stayed. India also unveiled its first fully indigenous microprocessor, DHRUV64, and a wide-ranging Science & Technology glossary covered everything from a newly discovered spiral galaxy to Google's Quantum Echoes experiment.

Six biggest headlines

ISRO's LVM3-M6 launches BlueBird Block-2 (~6,100 kg) — ISRO's heaviest-ever satellite; Navy releases Maritime Doctrine 2025 on Navy Day, formally recognising a 'no-war, no-peace' operational zone.
SC issues its final verdict on the Great Indian Bustard, balancing conservation with renewable energy in Rajasthan/Gujarat; Siliserh Lake and Kopra Jalashay added as Ramsar Sites (India's total: 96).
Aravalli hills redefinition (any 100m+ landform) sparks protests over 90% range exclusion risk; SC stays its own order pending an expert committee review.
India unveils DHRUV64 — its first fully indigenous dual-core microprocessor (C-DAC, MeitY); Indian Navy commissions its second MH-60R Seahawk squadron (INAS 335) and receives the Anjadip anti-submarine craft.
CITES COP20 (Samarkand, 50th anniversary) upgrades protection for 77 species; India successfully defends Guggul from an EU Appendix-II listing bid.
Indian Army deploys 3D concrete printing (Project PRABAL) in Sikkim's forward areas; INSV Kaundinya, a stitched sailing vessel, begins its maiden Porbandar-to-Muscat voyage.

2. Defence & Space Technology

LVM3-M6 — ISRO's heaviest-ever satellite payload

What — ISRO's LVM3 rocket launched BlueBird Block-2, a satellite of ~6,100 kg — ISRO's heaviest-ever payload — into a ~520 km low Earth orbit.
Maker & purpose — Built by AST SpaceMobile (USA), designed to give direct 4G/5G connectivity to ordinary smartphones via satellite — boosting India's commercial launch capability and global satellite-broadband ambitions.

Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025

What — CNS Admiral Dinesh Tripathi released the Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025, the Navy's apex strategic document, on Navy Day (4 December), commemorating Operation Trident (1971 war). Originally 2004, revised 2009/2015.
Key first — For the first time formally recognises 'no-war, no-peace' as a distinct operational category — a grey-zone shaped by coercion and sub-threshold maritime competition; aligns with Viksit Bharat 2047, integrating Sagarmala, PM Gati Shakti, Maritime India Vision 2030, MAHASAGAR.

Naval modernisation, army innovation & security — compact roundup

December 2025 — defence & space glossary
Item	Key fact
MH-60R Seahawk — 2nd squadron	Navy commissioned INAS 335 at INS Hansa, Goa, fully operationalising its MH-60R fleet (with INAS 334, Kochi, since March 2024); replaces ageing Sea King helicopters; built by Sikorsky (Lockheed Martin).
Anjadip — anti-submarine shallow water craft	Navy received Anjadip, 3rd of 8 ASW SWCs built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders (GRSE), Kolkata; ~77m, largest Indian warships on waterjet propulsion; 80%+ indigenous content.
INSV Kaundinya	Navy's traditional stitched sailing vessel (wooden planks, coconut-coir rope, no metal — Tankai method) began its maiden Porbandar-to-Muscat voyage, reviving India's ancient maritime trade routes; joint project of the Ministry of Culture, Navy and Hodi Innovations.
3D concrete printing (Project PRABAL)	Army deployed on-site 3D concrete printing in Sikkim's forward areas for rapid bunker/sentry-post construction with minimal manpower, developed with IIT Hyderabad; fielded by the Trishakti Corps.
India needs a stronger biosecurity system	Experts flagged gaps ahead of the Biological Weapons Convention's 50th anniversary (1975 ban on bio-weapons): no unified national biosecurity framework, outdated laws, India ranks 66th on the Global Health Security Index.
Major boost to border infrastructure	Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 125 BRO projects (₹5,000 crore) across Ladakh, J&K and 7 states, incl. the strategic Shyok Tunnel; India also held joint exercises Desert Cyclone-II (UAE), EKUVERIN (Maldives) and Suryakiran-XIX (Nepal).

3. Environment, Geography & Conservation

SC's final verdict on the Great Indian Bustard

Background — A 2019 PIL sought protection for the critically endangered GIB (fewer than 150 left; poor frontal vision makes it prone to fatal collisions with power lines); a 2021 order banned new overhead lines over ~99,000 sq km in Rajasthan/Gujarat, later modified in 2024 as unworkable for renewable-energy goals.
Final verdict — SC expanded priority conservation areas (Rajasthan 13,163→14,013 sq km; Gujarat 500→740 sq km); ordered dedicated powerline corridors and a voltage-based graded undergrounding (not a blanket ban) — e.g. immediate undergrounding of 80 km of 33kV lines in Rajasthan, by 2028.
Significance — Balances Article 21 (right to life incl. ecological health) with renewable-energy/climate commitments — landscape-level conservation planning replacing a blanket ban; no universal bird-flight-diverter mandate (effectiveness unproven).

CITES COP20 and two new Ramsar sites

CITES COP20 — 20th CoP (Samarkand, Uzbekistan — 50th anniversary of the 1975 treaty) upgraded protection for 77 species; India successfully opposed an EU bid to list Guggul (medicinal resin plant) in Appendix II; proposals to reopen ivory/rhino-horn trade were rejected.
Siliserh Lake (Rajasthan) — Man-made lake (built 1845) in the buffer zone of Sariska Tiger Reserve; hosts the tiger, vulnerable river tern, Indian pangolin; sustains >1% of the biogeographic Black Stork population.
Kopra Jalashay (Chhattisgarh) — Chhattisgarh's first-ever Ramsar Site — a reservoir wetland in the upper Mahanadi catchment hosting 60+ migratory species on the Central Asian Flyway; India's Ramsar count now 96.

The Aravalli hills redefinition row

What — SC accepted a Central-government-recommended definition: an 'Aravalli hill' is any landform rising ≥100m above surrounding terrain; two such hills within 500m (plus the land between) form an 'Aravalli range' — sparking 'Save Aravalli' protests.
Concern & status — Critics say the height-based test could exclude ~90% of the range (especially Haryana/Rajasthan's lower hills) from protection, opening them to mining/real estate; the SC stayed its own order and formed a new expert committee to review.
About the range — One of the world's oldest fold mountain systems (Proterozoic Era, ~2 billion years); stretches ~670-700 km from Himmatnagar (Gujarat) to Delhi Ridge; highest peak Guru Shikhar (1,722m); acts as a barrier against Thar Desert expansion.

Kuttanad and more — environment & geography roundup

December 2025 — environment & geography glossary
Item	Key fact
Kuttanad Wetland Agricultural System	Kerala's 'rice bowl' — a GIAHS (FAO, 2013) where rice is grown 1.2-3.0m below sea level, using clay/coir bio-bunds (unlike Dutch concrete polders); soil tests found dangerously high aluminium from acidification threatening crops.
Freshwater Sponge (holobiont)	Sponges (Phylum Porifera) act as bioindicators, accumulating heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium); their resident microbes act as bioremediators, detoxifying pollutants — a natural water-purification model.
Bhima River	Rises at Bhimashankar (Western Ghats, Pune); flows through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana (~861 km) to join the Krishna near Raichur; Karnataka sought Central Water Commission intervention over Maharashtra's excess use.
Goniopora Corals — Great Barrier Reef	Heat stress + Black Band Disease wiped out 75% of Goniopora colonies at One Tree Reef during the fourth global mass bleaching event (affecting ~84% of world reefs) — a cautionary signal for India's Gulf of Mannar and Lakshadweep reefs.
UNEA-7 wildfire resolution	The UN Environment Assembly's 7th session endorsed a global wildfire-management resolution led by India, pushing for coordinated prevention, early-warning and cross-border response frameworks.
2nd WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine	Held in India, building on the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (Jamnagar, Gujarat) — showcased evidence-based integration of AYUSH systems with mainstream global healthcare.
Species in the news	Pallas's Gull returned to Jharkhand's Udhwa Bird Sanctuary after a decade; the Western Tragopan (Himachal's state bird) population stabilised via Sarahan Pheasantry captive-breeding; Tamil Nadu launched a drive to remove the invasive Senna spectabilis from Nilgiri forests by March 2026.

4. Science & Technology Glossary

December's Science & Technology section covered over 30 terms spanning health, space, materials and AI — here are the two flagship items in full, followed by a compact glossary of the rest.

DHRUV64 — India's first fully indigenous microprocessor

What — India unveiled DHRUV64, its first fully indigenous dual-core microprocessor, developed by C-DAC under the Microprocessor Development Programme (MDP), MeitY.
Specs & use — 64-bit architecture, dual-core, 1.0 GHz, designed for efficient multitasking; applications span 5G, automotive, industrial automation, consumer electronics and IoT — boosts self-reliance in semiconductors, cuts import dependence.

GlowCas9 Protein — real-time tracking of gene editing

What — Scientists at Kolkata's Bose Institute created GlowCas9 — a bioluminescent CRISPR-Cas9 variant that glows during active gene editing, fused with a split nano-luciferase enzyme that emits light when Cas9 becomes functionally active inside a cell.
Significance — Provides real-time, non-destructive tracking of gene editing in living cells — a valuable tool for validating CRISPR-based therapies before clinical use.

Science & Technology glossary — December 2025
Term	Key fact
Norovirus	Highly contagious 'winter vomiting disease' virus causing acute gastroenteritis; feco-oral spread; no vaccine, supportive rehydration only.
Caller Name Presentation (CNAP)	DoT-mandated system displaying a KYC-registered caller name to curb spam/fraud calls, using telecom-operator data (not crowdsourced apps); nationwide rollout by March 2026.
Tensor Processing Unit (TPU)	Google-developed (2016) specialised chip for accelerating AI/ML tensor computations — faster, more power-efficient than general CPUs/GPUs.
Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC)	New Delhi-based biomedical research body (est. 2000) tackling cardio-metabolic and chronic non-communicable diseases in India and low/middle-income countries.
Bluetongue Virus (BTV)	Non-contagious, midge-borne haemorrhagic disease of sheep/ruminants; not zoonotic (meat/milk safe); vaccines exist for some strains, no specific treatment.
AviSpray-10c	Ultra-compact, backpack-sized agricultural spraying drone by Chennai's AvironiX Drones — hexacopter design, ~5 acres/battery, terrain-following radar.
Fluoride	Trace nutrient essential for teeth/bone strength; excess causes dental/skeletal fluorosis — flagged in Odisha's Mayurbhanj drinking water.
GLP-1 Drugs	Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 receptor agonists (e.g. Semaglutide) for Type-2 diabetes and obesity; WHO issued global usage guidelines this month; risks include pancreatitis.
Alaknanda Galaxy	A spiral galaxy ~12 billion light-years away, discovered by NCRA-TIFR Pune using JWST; named after the Himalayan river; closely resembles the Milky Way despite forming when the universe was ~10% its present age.
Hemorrhagic Septicemia	Acute, highly fatal bacterial disease (Pasteurella multocida) of cattle/buffaloes; caused blackbuck deaths in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur zoo; controlled via vaccination and early IV antibiotics.
Cosmic Filament	Oxford researchers reported a ~50-million-light-year-long thread-like structure of the cosmic web (galaxies, gas, dark matter) linking galaxy clusters and regulating star formation.
India International Science Festival (IISF)	11th edition held in Panchkula, Haryana; organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences; theme 'Vigyan Se Samruddhi: for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.'
Doppler Weather Radar (DWR)	India has 47 DWRs tracking precipitation velocity/movement via the Doppler effect for storm/rainfall/hail early warnings; IMD mainly uses S, C and X bands.
Development Communication and Information Dissemination Scheme (DCID)	MIB's central scheme for government-scheme publicity via the Central Bureau of Communication, PIB and New Media Wing across rural, tribal and urban India.
Nitrofurans	Synthetic broad-spectrum antimicrobials (e.g. Nitrofurantoin); banned in food-producing animals over carcinogenic risk — FSSAI launched an egg-safety drive after residues were flagged.
Ekam AI and SAMBHAV	Indigenous Army technologies showcased on Vijay Diwas: Ekam AI (secure indigenous AI platform for sensitive environments) and SAMBHAV (portable satellite-enabled communication system for disaster/remote areas).
Geminid Meteor Shower	Annual mid-December shower radiating from Gemini, originating from asteroid 3200 Phaethon (unlike most comet-origin showers) — among the most reliable meteor showers.
Agentic AI	AI systems with 'agency' — autonomously setting goals, planning and acting with minimal human input, vs Generative AI which only creates content; Microsoft's Satya Nadella flagged strong Indian momentum.
Dieback Disease	Fungal disease (Phomopsis azadirachtae) causing progressive tip-to-base drying of neem trees; first reported in India near Dehradun in the 1990s; no confirmed cure.
Annatto	Natural food colouring/flavouring from achiote tree seeds (Bixa orellana); ~70% share of natural food colours; CSIR-CFTRI Mysuru studying its development.
Antariksh Prayogshala (Space Labs)	IN-SPACe's first-of-its-kind initiative to set up space labs in up to 7 academic institutions (one per zone), funding up to 75% (cap ₹5 crore/institution) for hands-on space-tech training.
Autophagy	Cellular self-cleaning/recycling mechanism removing damaged components; disrupted autophagy is linked to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Ghost Pairing	A WhatsApp account-takeover technique (flagged by CERT-In) abusing the device-linking feature without password/SIM swap, typically via a phishing link.
Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris (MMOD)	Natural (asteroid-belt) particles and human-made space junk orbiting Earth (mainly LEO, ~200-2,000 km) posing collision risks — flagged after debris cracked a Chinese Shenzhou-20 capsule window.
T Chamaeleontis	A young, Sun-like star ~350 light-years away with a wide-gap protoplanetary disk, studied via JWST's MIRI instrument to understand early planet-disk interaction and interstellar PAHs.
Frequency Combs	Laser sources with thousands of equally spaced, phase-coherent frequencies, bridging radio and optical frequencies; used for atomic-clock calibration, spectroscopy and exoplanet detection.
Candida Auris	Emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen (identified 2009, Japan), healthcare-associated, ~30-60% mortality in invasive infections; a new genetic-process discovery may unlock treatments.
MAVEN Mission	NASA lost contact with its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter (launched 2013), which had studied Mars's atmospheric loss for over a decade — finding Mars lost ~2/3 of its early atmosphere.
AILA (AI Lab Assistant)	IIT Delhi's autonomous AI agent performing real lab experiments end-to-end, directly operating instruments like the Atomic Force Microscope — cuts optimisation time from ~24 hours to 7-10 minutes.
Buccal Mucosa Cancer (BMC)	The most common oral cancer in the Indian subcontinent, arising from the inner cheek lining; tobacco and even low-level alcohol intake raise risk; ~60-70% 5-year survival with early detection.
Superkilonova	A possibly first-observed extreme cosmic event (via gravitational-wave signal) combining a supernova followed by the merger of two resulting neutron stars — creates heavy elements like gold and silver.
RESPOND Basket 2025	ISRO's list of research problem statements for academia/R&D institutions, aligned with missions like the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan and a Venus orbiter.
Quantum Echoes	Google's experiment on a 65-qubit Willow superconducting processor, tracking how quantum information scrambles and partially refocuses in entangled qubit systems — reveals quantum chaos and information flow.

5. Places in the News — December 2025 Atlas

A compact atlas of the month's geography-in-the-news items — international locations, national locations, and the world's major river deltas — condensed to their single most exam-relevant fact each.

International places in the news
Place	Why in the news
Somaliland (Horn of Africa)	Israel became the first country to formally recognise it as independent (26 Dec 2025); overlooks the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
South Kordofan (Sudan)	UNSC condemned drone attacks on UN peacekeepers here; shares a sensitive border with South Sudan.
Bondi Beach (Australia)	Site of a terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration; a crescent-shaped embayed beach near Sydney.
Petra City (Jordan)	Jordan-India agreement to twin this UNESCO site with Maharashtra's Ellora Caves; ancient capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.
Sea of Japan	US nuclear-capable B-52 bombers flew over it after Chinese/Russian drills near Japan, South Korea; a frequent North Korea missile-test site.
Ethiopia	PM Modi's first-ever visit; the Ethiopian Highlands are Africa's largest continuous high-altitude area; bisected by the Great Rift Valley.
Lalmonirhat Airbase (Bangladesh)	China is constructing its runway, just 12-15 km from India's Cooch Behar border and ~135 km from the strategic Siliguri Corridor.
Pekua (Bangladesh)	China is building Bangladesh's first submarine base (BNS Pekua, formerly BNS Sheikh Hasina) here, near the new Matarbari deep-sea port.
Benin (West Africa)	Site of the Sahel region's 3rd coup attempt (and 1st failed one) this year; over 17 African coup attempts since 2020.
Auckland (New Zealand)	A Sikh religious procession was blocked by a Haka display here; New Zealand's largest city, built on a dormant volcanic field.

National places in the news
Place	Why in the news
Bitra Island (Lakshadweep)	Navy is setting up a detachment here — a tiny 0.105 sq km island with Lakshadweep's largest lagoon, part of a 3-point maritime surveillance grid.
Kanger Valley National Park (Chhattisgarh)	Chhattisgarh is pushing for UNESCO World Heritage status; known for karst limestone caves on the Bastar Plateau.
Gandikota Canyon (Andhra Pradesh)	The 'Grand Canyon of India' — a gorge on the Penna River in Kadapa district, emerging as a major geo-heritage tourist site.
Ponduru (Andhra Pradesh)	Received the GI tag for Ponduru Khadi — the 'Khadi capital of South India', hand-spun cloth Gandhi preferred over all others.
Siliguri Corridor (West Bengal)	Under surveillance amid regional military-infrastructure upgrades; wedged between Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, close to China's Chumbi Valley.
Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)	Madras HC's Madurai Bench banned sand mining near this archaeological site, which yielded early Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.
Daringbadi (Odisha)	The 'Kashmir of Odisha' — the only place in the state where snowfall (technically frozen dew) is recorded, at ~915m altitude.
Kulasekarapattinam (Tamil Nadu)	ISRO's second spaceport (SSLV complex, launches from 2027) — allows rockets to launch directly south, avoiding Sriharikota's fuel-intensive 'dogleg' manoeuvre.
Nahargarh Biological Park (Rajasthan)	15 tourists escaped a bus fire here during a lion safari; part of the Aravalli-range Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary near Jaipur.
Moreh (Manipur)	Gateway to Southeast Asia via the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway; India scrapped the Free Movement Regime here amid Myanmar-border ethnic tensions.

Major deltas of the world
Delta	Key fact
Sundarbans (Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna)	World's largest contiguous mangrove forest (India 40%, Bangladesh 60%); only mangrove habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger; UNESCO WHS + Ramsar Site.
Nile Delta (Nile)	Classic arcuate delta, 'cradle of civilization'; only 2.4% of Egypt's area but hosts ~50% of its population; facing sediment starvation from the Aswan High Dam.
Mekong Delta (Mekong)	'Rice bowl of Vietnam'; home to the critically endangered Mekong Giant Catfish and Irrawaddy Dolphin; affected by upstream Chinese dam-building.
Mississippi Delta (Mississippi)	A classic river-dominated 'bird-foot' delta; drains 40% of the continental US; hosts the Ports of South Louisiana and New Orleans.
Indus Delta (Indus)	An arid delta (unlike humid Sundarbans); includes Sir Creek, a 96 km disputed India-Pakistan maritime boundary tidal estuary.
Volga Delta (Volga)	Europe's largest inland delta (Caspian Sea); arcuate/fan-shaped with 500+ channels; famed for sturgeon (caviar).
Lena Delta (Lena)	World's largest Arctic delta, in Russia; ~30,000 sq km, frozen most of the year; a critical indicator for monitoring Arctic climate change.
Huang He (Yellow River) Delta	A lobate delta, 'Sorrow of China' due to frequent course shifts (800+ km in 4,000 years); carries the world's highest sediment load (~1.6 billion tons/year).
Danube Delta (Danube)	Europe's 2nd-largest river delta (after Volga), shared by Romania (86%) and Ukraine (14%); a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, now a strategic 'grain corridor.'
Niger Delta (Niger)	On the Gulf of Guinea; central to Africa's oil production, marked by severe environmental degradation from oil spills and resource conflicts.
Irrawaddy Delta (Irrawaddy)	'Rice bowl of Myanmar' — produces ~60% of its rice; historically dense mangroves ('Kanazo'), now among the world's highest rates of mangrove loss.