Current Affairs 03 December 2025
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) & AIDS:
- HIV Virus is a retrovirus that targets CD4 immune cells and weakens the immune system.
- CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that play a major role in protecting the body from infection.
- A retrovirus is a virus that uses RNA as its genomic material. Upon infection with a retrovirus, a cell converts the retroviral RNA into DNA, which in turn is inserted into the DNA of the host cell.
- The cell then produces more retroviruses, which infect other cells.
- Treatment of HIV: Early testing and regular antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppress viral load and slow progression.
- Transmission: occurs through unsafe sex, shared needles, infected blood, mother-to-child routes etc.
- Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.
Masala Bonds
- Masala Bonds are the rupee-denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers for raising money by the Indian corporates.
- These were introduced in India in 2014 by International Finance Corporation (IFC).
- Eligibility: Any investor from a FATF compliant jurisdiction would be eligible to invest.
- Benefit: Masala bond is an effort to protect issuers from currency risk and instead transfer the risk of currency to investors buying these bonds.
Polygamy
- It means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse.
- It can be of two types:
- Polygyny, where a man marries more than one woman .
- Polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man.
- Hindu Marriage Act,1955 prescribes punishment for bigamy.
- Section 82 of BNS deals with marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife, punishable with up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine.
Sanchar Saathi mobile app
- It was launched in 2025 to enhance transparent and secure mobile services.
- Key-features
- Chakshu :Enables users to report suspected fraud communications via calls, SMS, or WhatsApp – especially KYC-updating scams.
- IMEI Tracking and Blocking :Allows tracking and blocking of lost or stolen phones anywhere in India.
- Know Your Mobile Handset’s Genuineness: offers an easy way to verify whether a purchased mobile device is genuine.
- Reporting of international calls masked as domestic calls, originating from numbers with the Indian country code +91 followed by 10 digits.
- Know your Internet Service Provider by entering a PIN code, address, or ISP name.
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
- About: NJAC was created through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 to replace the Collegium system for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts.
- Under the NJAC system, the President was to appoint judges “recommended” by a six-member commission comprising the CJI as Chairperson, the two senior-most SC judges, the Union Law and Justice Minister, and two eminent persons.
- These eminent persons were to be selected by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
- Struck Down of NJAC: In 2015 (Fourth Judges Case), the SC struck down the 99th Amendment and the NJAC Act as unconstitutional, holding that giving the executive and non-judicial members veto power undermined judicial independence, a basic structure feature.
- The vague criteria for selecting “eminent persons” risked excessive executive influence, while the possibility of reciprocal obligations threatened impartiality, since the government is the largest litigant.
- The SC therefore restored the Collegium system, affirming that judicial primacy in appointments is essential to the basic structure.
How are Scheduled Tribes Notified in India?
- Article 366(25): “Scheduled Tribes” refers to the tribes or tribal groups that are recognised as STs under Article 342.
- Article 342: The President can notify which tribes or tribal groups are recognised as Scheduled Tribes for each State or Union Territory, after consulting the Governor.
- Any later inclusion or removal from this ST list can be done only by Parliament through legislation, not by executive notification.
- ST Categorization: The term “Scheduled Tribes” appears in the Constitution, but it does not lay down criteria for identifying them.
- The government set up the Lokur Committee in 1956, which defined a tribe using criteria such as primitive traits, a distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the wider community, and social and economic backwardness.
- Before independence, the 1931 Census described such groups as “backward tribes” living in excluded or partially excluded areas.
- In State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024), the Supreme Court upheld the validity of sub-classifying SCs and STs and allowed states to create sub-groups to ensure fair distribution of benefits.
- Reservation in Services/ Posts:
- Article 16(4): Permits reservations for backward classes who are inadequately represented in state services.
- Article 46: The State must promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sections, especially SCs and STs, and protect them from social injustice and exploitation.
- Article 335: The claims of SCs and STs must be considered in appointments to Union or State services, while maintaining administrative efficiency.
