15 November 2025 Current Affairs (With PDF)

Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2025 - Key Highlights

WHO’s Global TB Report 2025 underscores that tuberculosis remains among the top 10 causes of death globally and the leading killer from a single infectious agent.

Major Findings of the Report

1. Global TB Burden:

• 87% of the world’s TB cases in 2024 were concentrated in 30 high-burden countries.
• India accounts for the highest share: ~25% of global TB cases.

2. Progress Since 2015:

• TB incidence rate: Reduced by 12% (2015–2024).
• TB deaths: Declined by 29% globally over the same period.

3. MDR-TB Concerns:

• Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) continues to be a major public health crisis and a global health security threat due to treatment resistance and higher mortality.

About Tuberculosis (TB)

A contagious airborne infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It is preventable and curable with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Forms of TB

1. Pulmonary TB:

• Affects the lungs
• Most common and highly contagious
• Spreads via airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes

2. Extrapulmonary TB:

• Affects organs outside the lungs - lymph nodes, bones, brain, kidneys, pleura
• Less contagious
• Often spreads internally from primary lung infection

Treatment

Standard regimen includes: Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol

MDR-TB

• Resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid
• Requires second-line drugs, longer treatment duration, and higher cost
• Poses a significant challenge to global TB elimination efforts

Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 Released by Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare

The Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 aims to replace the Seeds Act, 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 to modernize India’s seed sector, ensure quality seeds for farmers, safeguard farmers’ rights, and promote ease of doing business.

Key Highlights of the Bill

1. Mandatory Registration:

• No seed can be sold unless registered, except:
  ✓ Farmers’ varieties
  ✓ Seeds produced exclusively for export
• Ensures traceability, quality control, and accountability in the seed market.

2. Quality Regulation:

• Seed varieties must conform to Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards.
• Ensures purity, germination, seed health and performance.

Institutional Mechanisms

1. Central Seed Committee:

• Constituted by the Central Government; HQ: New Delhi.
• Advises on: Seed development, Production, Processing & storage, Seed export–import, Seed sector planning & programming

2. State Seed Committees:

• Each state to set up its own committee with up to 15 members.
• Coordinates state-level seed administration and regulation.

3. Registration Sub-Committees:

• Evaluate claims of seed varieties.
• Recommend varieties/kinds for registration based on performance, novelty, and quality.

Data & Record Systems

National Register on Seed Varieties

• Maintains a record of all registered kinds and varieties.
• Managed by the Registrar.
• Enables public access and transparency.

Seed Testing Infrastructure

Central & State Seed Testing Laboratories

• To be established with: Seed Analysts, Seed Inspectors
• Provide scientific testing, verification, and dispute resolution.

Offences & Penalties

• Offences classified into trivial, minor, and major.
• Major offences: Fine up to ₹30 lakh and Imprisonment provisions
• Aims to curb sale of spurious seeds and protect farmers from fraud.

India Flags Climate Finance as the Critical Bottleneck at COP30

India, speaking on behalf of BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) and the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) at UNFCCC COP30 in Belém, Brazil, underscored that inadequate climate finance continues to be the biggest barrier to developing nations’ climate ambitions.

Key Highlights of India’s Position

1. Clear Definition of Climate Finance:

• India demanded a universally accepted definition of climate finance to avoid ambiguity and inflated reporting by developed countries.

2. Strong Push for Adaptation Finance:

• Current adaptation finance must increase at least fifteenfold to meet actual needs.
• Called for scaled-up, predictable, public-funded adaptation finance for developing countries.

3. Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA):

Sought a robust outcome on GGA (established under Article 7 of the Paris Agreement), with focus on:

• Enhancing adaptive capacity
• Strengthening climate resilience
• Reducing vulnerabilities

4. Upholding Article 9.1 of Paris Agreement:

• Reiterated that developed nations have a legal obligation to provide financial resources for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

5. Technology Transfer Without Barriers:

Stated that the Technology Implementation Programme must ensure:

• Removal of IPR hurdles
• Removal of market barriers
• Smooth transfer of climate technologies to the Global South

6. Equitable Global Transition:

The Just Transitions Work Programme must promote:

• Fair, inclusive economic transformations
• Addressing the development gap between Global North & Global South

Internationally Agreed Climate Finance Commitments

1. Baku to Belém Roadmap (COP29 → COP30):

New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG):

• Minimum $300 billion/year by 2035 for developing nations
• Broader target: $1.3 trillion/year external climate finance by 2035

2. Glasgow Climate Pact (2021):

• $40 billion per year for adaptation by 2025, specifically for developing countries.

Land Gap Report 2025: Over-Reliance on Land-Based Carbon Removal (LBCR) in Climate Pledges

The Land Gap Report 2025 warns that global climate pledges depend heavily on Land-Based Carbon Removal (LBCR), requiring ~1.01 billion hectares of land — an unrealistic and unsustainable scale.

What is Land-Based Carbon Removal (LBCR)?

LBCR refers to methods that utilise terrestrial ecosystems-forests, soils, wetlands, farmlands- to absorb and store atmospheric CO₂.

Major LBCR Methods

• Reforestation & Afforestation: IPCC estimates mitigation potential: 0.5–10.1 Gt CO₂/year.
• Soil Carbon Sequestration: Stores atmospheric CO₂ as soil organic carbon (SOC).
• BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage): Energy crops → burned for bioenergy → CO₂ captured & stored underground.
• Geologic Carbon Sequestration: Captured CO₂ injected deep underground into porous rock formations.
• Biochar: Biomass burned with limited oxygen → stable carbon added to soils.
• Enhanced Weathering: Uses reactive rocks to accelerate natural CO₂ absorption.

Key Findings of the Land Gap Report 2025

• The “Land Gap”: Current climate pledges require 1 billion ha of land for LBCR ➝ Unfeasible due to land constraints.
• Risks & Trade-offs: Excessive reliance on land threatens - Food security (competition with agriculture), Biodiversity (conversion of natural ecosystems), Local livelihoods (displacement & land conflicts)
• The “Forest Gap”: Despite commitments to halt deforestation by 2030, ~20 million ha of forests per year may still be lost or degraded.

Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change

The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change launched the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change at COP30.

Background

• The Initiative was first announced at the G20 Leaders’ Summit 2024.
• It is a multilateral platform involving governments and international organizations.
• Purpose: To fund research, build capacity, and promote information integrity on climate issues.
• A Global Fund for Information Integrity on Climate Change has also been launched.

About the Declaration

1. Core Recognition:

• Climate misinformation has itself become a climate crisis.
• It undermines science, delays policy action, and lowers public trust.

2. Definition:

• Climate misinformation: False, misleading, or deceptive content related to Causes of climate change, Impacts, Solutions or mitigation strategies, Scientific evidence

3. Key Commitments:

• Protect climate science from distortion, manipulation, and misrepresentation.
• Ensure transparent, accurate, and accessible public communication on climate change.
• Promote evidence-based policymaking.
• Strengthen cooperation among: Governments, Research institutions, Civil society, International organizations

Global Carbon Budget 2025

The Global Carbon Budget 2025 report, released by the Global Carbon Project, highlights recent trends in global and national greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Findings Related to India

1. Emission Growth Slows:

India’s CO₂ emissions grew only 1.4% in 2025, a slowdown attributed to:

• Monsoon-driven cooling, lowering electricity demand
• Expansion of renewable energy, reducing coal dependence

2. India’s Global Ranking:

India remains the 3rd largest carbon emitter (2024):

• China: 12 billion tonnes
• USA: 4.9 billion tonnes
• India: 3.2 billion tonnes

3. Per Capita Emissions:

• Per capita CO₂ emissions: 2.2 tonnes/year
• This is the second lowest among the world's 20 largest economies—highlighting India’s low per-person footprint despite being a major economy.

4. Sectoral Contribution:

• Coal continues to be the largest contributor to India’s emissions, especially from: Power generation, Heavy industry

Saranda Forest Declared Wildlife Sanctuary & Conservation Reserve

The Supreme Court has directed the Jharkhand government to notify Saranda Forest as a Wildlife Sanctuary and a Conservation Reserve.

The Court has also banned mining within a 1-km radius of its boundary to safeguard its fragile ecology.

About Saranda Forest

1. Location & Ecology:

• Situated in West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand.
• Known as the “Land of Seven Hundred Hills”, it forms one of India’s largest contiguous Sal (Shorea robusta) forests.
• Part of the Chhotanagpur Biogeographic Zone, with ecological continuity into Odisha and Chhattisgarh forests.

2. Hydrology:

• Major rivers flowing through the region include: Karo, Koina, Lailor
• These rivers support dense forest vegetation and local tribal settlements.

Biodiversity Significance

1. Fauna:

• Crucial movement corridor for the Central Indian elephant population.
• Rich in endemic wildlife and lesser-studied species.

2. Flora:

• Home to unique and rare orchids.
• Ligarda Swamp contains rare and sensitive plant assemblages such as: Wild bananas, Palms, Ferns, Piper species

3. Human & Cultural Landscape:

• Inhabited by major tribal communities: Ho, Munda, Uraon, Santhal
• They depend on the forest for livelihood, culture, and traditional practices.

Mudh-Nyoma Airbase Operationalised in Ladakh

India has operationalised the Mudh-Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh, significantly strengthening airpower and surveillance capabilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

About Mudh-Nyoma Airbase

1. Location & Altitude:

• Situated in Eastern Ladakh, close to the LAC.
• Located at an altitude of ~13,000 feet, making it one of the world’s highest airbases.

2. Strategic Importance:

• Overlooks sensitive sectors such as: Depsang Plains, Pangong Tso sector, Chushul Valley
• Enhances rapid deployment, logistics, and air operations capability in a high-altitude conflict zone.
• Supports operations of fighter aircraft, transport planes, helicopters, and UAVs.

3. Construction:

• Developed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under a high-priority strategic infrastructure plan.

4. Role in India’s Defence Network:

• Becomes Ladakh’s fourth major airbase, supplementing: Leh, Kargil, Thoise
• Together, these airbases strengthen India's air defence grid and quick-reaction capability across the eastern Ladakh frontier.