Legal Current Affairs for 6 December 2025

Generally, patents have a maximum life of 20 years, and evergreening is a strategy used to prolong patent monopolies by making minor changes to existing patented compounds.
Nature of Modifications: Includes new forms, salts, isomers, polymorphs, dosages, or delivery systems in drugs that do not improve therapeutic value.
Legal provisions:
Patents Act, 1970 (Section 3(d)): Expressly prohibits patents on new forms or derivatives of known substances unless they demonstrate significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy, thereby limiting evergreening practices.
Patentability Standards: Mandate strict tests of novelty and inventive step, under which trivial modifications or obvious variants of existing drugs are not eligible for patent protection.
TRIPS and Doha Declaration Flexibilities: India’s framework remains TRIPS-compliant while using public-health flexibilities under the Doha Declaration to curb unjustified secondary patents and ensure access to affordable generics.

Right to Disconnect is a legal protection allowing workers to disconnect from work and ignore work-related electronic communications during non-work hours.
Based on Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): ‘Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.’
Need for Right to Disconnect
Work-related stress: Constant availability in the digital age causes high stress, sleep deprivation, and mental exhaustion.
Productivity Decline: E.g. Studies show productivity drops when working over 50 hours per week.
Socio-psychological impact: Overwork harms work-life balance, social relationships (e.g. isolation),
E.g. Ernst & Young employee’s death in Pune due to overwork in 2024.
Constitutional Basis:
Article 21: Right to Life and Liberty and dignity.
Article 39(e): State to ensure that health and strength of workers are not abused.
Article 42: State’s responsibility to ensure just and humane working conditions.

Political Features:
A member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), it is the oldest independent state in the Arab world.
Bordering Countries: It is bounded by Yemen (South-west), United Arab Emirates (North-west), and Saudi Arabia (West).
Maritime Boundaries: Arabian Sea (South and East) and Gulf of Oman (North).
Geographical Features:
Desert: Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) desert.
Mountain Ranges: Hajar and Dhofar.
Natural Resources: Petroleum, Copper, Asbestos, Limestone, Natural Gas etc.

About DGCA (HQ: New Delhi)
It is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation primarily dealing with
safety issues, regulation of air transport services to/from/within India and
enforcement of civil air regulations and airworthiness standards.
Ministry: It is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
It also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

UMEED stands for Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
It is a centralized digital platform for real-time uploading, verification, and monitoring of Waqf properties.
Key Features:
Creation of a digital inventory with geo-tagging of all Waqf properties
Online grievance redressal system.
Transparent leasing and usage tracking.
Integration with GIS mapping and other e-Governance tools.
Public access to verified records and reports.

The act mandates establishment of the Lokpal at the union level and Lokayukta at the state level to deal with complaints relating to corruption against certain public functionaries.
It also contains provisions for establishment of :-
Inquiry Wing (Section 11) headed by the Director of Inquiry: for the purpose of conducting preliminary inquiry into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Prosecution Wing(Section 12) headed by the Director of Prosecution: for the purpose of prosecution of public servants in relation to any complaint by the Lokpal under this Act.

It is the world’s largest regional security organization.
Participating States: 57 from North America, Europe and Asia (India is not a member).
All participating States have equal status and decisions are made by consensus.
Mandate : It works for stability, peace and democracy for more than a billion people, through political dialogue about shared values and through practical work that makes a lasting difference.
Governance structure: Summits (highest decision-making body), Forum for Security Co-operation (Dealing with the politico-military dimension of security) etc.

Date & Place: Started on 20 March 1927 at Chavdar Tale, Mahad (Maharashtra).
Objective: To secure the right of untouchables to access public drinking water, which was denied due to caste discrimination.
Key associates of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar included Anandrao Chitre, Bapu Sahastrabuddhe, Sambhaji Gaikwad, Ramchandra More.
Symbolic Act: Ambedkar and followers drank water from the public tank, asserting that essential resources like water cannot be monopolised by upper castes.
Ideological Message: Water is a basic human right, not a caste privilege; aimed at breaking social exclusion rooted in untouchability.
Manusmriti Dahan (Burning): On 25 December 1927, Ambedkar burned Manusmriti publicly, rejecting the caste system
Significance: It marked the first major civil rights movement of Dalits under Ambedkar.

Covers northeastern part of Ethiopia where Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden.
Three rift systems: Main Ethiopian, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Rift converge here forming a triple junction.
Afar depression or Danakil depression: Forms northern part and is largely a desert scrubland with shallow salty lakes and volcanoes.
Awash River valley: Forms the southern part.
Much of the region is below sea level and is one of Earth’s hottest places.
Known for early hominid fossil finds including ‘Lucy’, an Australopithecus afarensis.

Products Include
Woraiyur cotton sari: Native to Tiruchi district.
Kavindapadi nattu sakkarai: A jaggery powder.
Namakkal makkal pathirangal: Soapstone cookware.
Thooyamalli rice variety: Meaning ‘pure jasmine’, is a traditional sambha-season rice variety grown over 135 – 140 days.
Ambasamudram choppu saman: Wooden toys.
About GI Tags
Sign used on products with specific geographical origin and possessing qualities due to that origin.
Regulated under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999.
Provided for 10 years and can be renewed.