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Current Affairs 11th December 2025
1. GM RameshbabuPraggnanandhaa Wins FIDE Circuit 2025
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Candidates Qualification: The victory automatically qualifies him for the prestigious Candidates Tournament 2026 (to be held in Cyprus), which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
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Only Male Indian Qualifier: He is the only male Indian player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2026 via the FIDE Circuit path.
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Consistent Performance: His win was the result of a highly consistent year, including major victories at the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and a strong finish at the London Chess Classic Open.
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Decisive Strategy: He secured his position with a last-minute entry and strong performance in the London Chess Classic Open, putting him mathematically out of reach of his closest competitor, Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
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Second Consecutive Appearance: This will be his second consecutive appearance at the Candidates Tournament, solidifying his status as one of the world's elite chess players.
2. Andrej Babis Sworn In as Czech Republic’s New Prime Minister
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Return to Power: This marks a significant return to office for Babiš, who previously served as Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021. He is the leader of the populist, centrist-leaning ANO (YES) movement.
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Shift in Foreign Policy (Ukraine/EU): The new coalition, which includes the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves, is expected to steer the country away from strong support for Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war and adopt a more critical, sovereignty-focused stance toward the European Union.
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Eurosceptic Alignment: The new government's policies align the Czech Republic more closely with the EU-sceptic and nationalist governments of Hungary and Slovakia on issues like migration and the EU Green Deal.
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Domestic Policy Changes: The coalition agreement explicitly rejects the EU's Migration and Asylum Pact, promises to maintain the Czech Crown by ruling out the adoption of the Euro, and signals a pull-back from certain EU environmental policies (like the new ETS2 for road transport and heating).
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Legal/Conflict of Interest: Babiš was appointed after addressing President Petr Pavel's concerns about his conflict of interest related to his vast Agrofert business conglomerate, which he has agreed to place under an independent trust.
3. India’s first incubator-linked Deep Tech VC fund launched
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Fund Size and Name: The fund has a total corpus of ₹250 crore and is named the Y-Point Venture Capital Fund.
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India's First: It is India's first-ever deep tech VC fund that is managed by an academia-linked incubator (SINE).
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Core Objective: The primary goal is to bridge the critical funding gap faced by early-stage deep tech startups.
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Target Companies: It will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage deep tech startups, particularly those emerging from IIT Bombay and other premier academic and research institutions across the country.
4. Sujalam Bharat App for Real-Time Rural Water Data
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Unified Geo-Referenced System: The app is the platform for the Sujalam Bharat Database, which aims to bring every rural drinking water scheme in the country onto a single, unified, and geo-referenced digital map.
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Unique Digital Identity (Sujal Gaon ID): Each rural water scheme and its service area will receive a unique digital identifier called the Sujalam Bharat – Sujal Gaon ID. This functions as a "digital identity" (similar to Aadhaar) for the water system, clearly linking households to their specific water source and scheme.
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Real-Time Transparency & Accountability: The platform provides real-time, comprehensive data to both citizens and institutions on critical parameters.
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Enhanced Governance and Planning: Developed with technical support from BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics), the app enables advanced geo-referencing. This supports future planning, timely repairs, expansion of networks, and long-term sustainability by integrating with the PM Gati Shakti GIS platform.
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Community Ownership: By making all data transparent and easily accessible, the app significantly enhances community ownership of the drinking water supply systems.
5. Germany wins Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup
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Record-Extending Title: This victory secured Germany's eighth Men's Junior Hockey World Cup title, extending their record as the most successful nation in the tournament's history. They also successfully defended their crown from the previous 2023 edition.
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Venue and Score: The final was held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, India. The match ended 1-1 in regulation time before Germany won the penalty shoot-out 3-2.
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Goalkeeper Heroics: German goalkeeper Jasper Ditzer was the star, making several crucial saves during the shoot-out and the match. His composure under pressure was decisive in securing the victory.
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First-Time Finalists: This was Spain's first-ever appearance in the final of the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup, making their silver medal a significant achievement, though heartbreakingly close to gold.
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India's Bronze: In the Bronze Medal match, India staged a stunning comeback to defeat Argentina 4-2, ensuring the host nation finished on the podium with the third-place medal.
6. India win bronze at 2025 Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup
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Dramatic Comeback Victory: India defeated Argentina 4-2 in the Bronze Medal match. The victory was a sensational turnaround, as India was trailing 0-2 going into the final quarter (the last 15 minutes) of the match.
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First-Ever Bronze: This medal is particularly significant as it is India's first-ever bronze medal at the FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup. India's previous medals were two Golds (2001, 2016) and one Silver (1997).
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End of a Streak: The win broke a streak of two consecutive fourth-place finishes (in 2021 and 2023), successfully securing a podium finish on home soil.
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Fourth Quarter Blitz: India scored four goals in the final 11 minutes of the game to secure the victory. The goals were scored by Ankit Pal (49'), Manmeet Singh (52'), Sharda Nand Tiwari (57' - penalty stroke), and Anmol Ekka (58').
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Goalkeeper and PC Heroics: The spectacular comeback was fueled by the brilliance of goalkeeper Princedeep Singh in goal and the execution of key penalty corners in the final minutes, converting two of them and earning a penalty stroke.
7. BMW appoints Milan Nedeljkovic as New CEO
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Effective Date: He will officially assume the role of CEO on May 14, 2026, succeeding Oliver Zipse, who will step down after the Annual General Meeting.
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Long-Time Company Veteran: Nedeljković, 56, is an insider with over 30 years of experience at the BMW Group, having joined as a trainee in 1993. His new contract runs until 2031, signaling long-term commitment.
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Current Role & Expertise: He is currently a member of the Board of Management responsible for Production (since 2019), overseeing BMW's global production network of over 30 sites. His background is deeply rooted in production, quality control, and engineering.
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Key to EV Strategy (Neue Klasse): Nedeljković is considered one of the key architects behind the industrialization of the "Neue Klasse" electric vehicle platform—BMW's largest strategic project to accelerate its electric mobility shift and compete against rivals like Tesla and Chinese manufacturers.
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Leadership Qualities: The Supervisory Board highlighted his "strategic foresight, strong implementation skills, and entrepreneurial thinking," noting that he "inspires people... and motivates them to realize peak performance" during this period of industry transformation.
8. Google appoints Amin Vahdat as New Chief Technologist
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Strategic New Role: Vahdat has been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Technologist for AI Infrastructure. This move elevates the strategic importance of the computing backbone (data centers, networks, chips) that powers all of Google's large-scale AI models and cloud services.
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Infrastructure Veteran: He is a longtime Google executive (joining in 2010) and a Fellow/VP who previously oversaw key areas like networking systems, cloud architecture, and large-scale computing. His expertise is central to Google's engineering success.
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Focus on Custom Hardware (TPUs): Vahdat's leadership is directly responsible for developing Google's custom AI chips, the Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), and the high-speed Jupiter data-center networks. His role is to maximize the efficiency and scale of this proprietary hardware advantage against rivals like Microsoft/OpenAI (who rely on Nvidia) and Amazon.
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Massive Investment Drive: The appointment comes as Google significantly ramps up its capital expenditure, expected to exceed $90 billion by the end of 2025, primarily dedicated to expanding AI-optimized data centers and increasing global compute capacity. Vahdat will guide this massive infrastructure build-out.
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Direct AI Battleground: By focusing on the infrastructure, Google is asserting that compute capacity is the key differentiator in the high-stakes AI competition.
Foot notes:
About Google-
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CEO: Sundar Pichai
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Headquarters: United States
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Founded: 1998
9. Supriya Sahu Wins UNEP Champions of the Earth 2025 Award
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Highest UN Environmental Honour: The Champions of the Earth Award is the highest environmental honour of the United Nations, recognizing individuals and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.
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Award Category: She received the award in the Inspiration and Action category, which celebrates individuals who have created measurable benefits for people and the planet through bold initiatives.
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Key Contribution - Sustainable Cooling: Her primary recognition is for pioneering contributions to sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration in Tamil Nadu. This included promoting nature-based shading systems and integrating heat-adaptation measures into public infrastructure to combat urban heat waves.
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Creation of Green Jobs & Resilience: Her climate interventions are credited with generating 2.5 million green jobs and improving climate resilience for nearly 12 million people in the state by expanding forest cover and implementing other heat adaptation plans.
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Long-Standing Conservation Legacy: Instrumental in securing 19 new Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) in Tamil Nadu and establishing India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve and Slender Loris Sanctuary.
10. Gati Shakti University & Amazon Signed MoU for Learning and Academic Innovation
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Core Focus: The primary goal is to strengthen learning, research, and innovation specifically in the critical fields of logistics, modern warehousing, and supply chain management in India.
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Amazon Chair Professorship: A key component is the establishment of an Amazon Chair Professorship at GSV. This chair will anchor advanced research focused on leveraging data-driven decision-making frameworks for the warehousing sector.
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Curriculum Alignment: The partnership enables the joint development of academic courses and the updating of existing study material to ensure the curriculum is directly aligned with the real-world, cutting-edge needs of the logistics and e-commerce industry.
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Talent Pipeline & Industry Insight: The collaboration includes provisions for student training, internships, and faculty immersion programs with Amazon India. This provides students and researchers with invaluable practical experience and insights from a global logistics leader, accelerating specialized talent development.
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Supporting PM Gati Shakti: This MoU directly supports the objectives of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, aiming to enhance India's overall logistics efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the nation's global competitiveness in infrastructure and supply chain networks.
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