Key Event

• China also unveiled its 6th-generation fighter jet J-36, which was allegedly first flight tested on 26 December (the birthday of Mao Zedong).
• The very first images were revealed through social media videos and this caused controversy all over the world.

1. The Dispute:

• Sir Creek is a tidal estuary of 96 km of the Rann of Kutch, which is the maritime boundary dividing Gujarat state, India, and the Sindh region of Pakistan.
• The main dispute is on the delimitation of the maritime boundary. India is demanding that the boundary be drawn down the mid-channel (Thalweg principle) as in Paragraph 10 of the 1914 resolution. The boundary is further southeast according to the Paragraph 9, which Pakistan wants to have a larger territory and special rights.

Background

• At the moment, the authentication of digital payment in India is supported by SMS-based OTP (One Time Password).
• The single-channel authentication has weaknesses, as demonstrated by the increasing frauds like SIM-swap attack, phishing attack, and OTP interception.
• RBI is focused on the global best practices and reinforcement of the dynamic digital payments environment in India.

The Central Board of Secondary Educations (CBSE) has also announced the provisional schedule of the Class 10 board examinations in 2026. The primary examinations will take place between the 17th and 9th of March 2026, and the additional Exam-2 will tentatively start on May 15, 2026.

Bar Council of India (BCI) has officially released the schedule of All India Bar Examination (AIBE-20). As per the notification, the exam is going to be conducted in offline mode on November 30, 2025 at designated exam centers in the country. This notification is a significant development for law graduates who aspire to be bartered under the lions' share of Indian law.