Daily Current Affairs — 18 September 2025
5 articles • UPSC Prelims & Mains
Stubble-Burning: Stand of Government and Judiciary
In News Recently, the Supreme Court and the Union government clashed over how to address stubble-burning by farmers. Stubble burning Stubble (parali) burning is a method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat. It is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of grains, like paddy, etc.
Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025
Context The 18th edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, was released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO). Major Finding Decline of RD: Growth fell to 2.9% in 2024, a slowdown from the 4.4% increase in the year prior and the lowest growth since the financial crisis of 2010. Growth is projected by WIPO to slow further in 2025 (2.3%).
Prime Minister Pushes for Local Production
Context PM Modi has urged Indians to buy made in India products, to build a developed India by 2047. About The PM MITRA park in Dhar is one of seven such establishments approved by the Union Ministry of Textiles. The other sites are Tamil Nadu’s Virudhnagar, Telangana’s Warangal, Gujarat’s Navasari, Karnataka’s Kalaburagi, Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, and Maharashtra’s Amravati.
Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure (OOPE) in India
Context Despite a sharp decline in out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health in India, closer scrutiny reveals persistent concerns associated with it. About Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) It refers to the direct payments individuals make for healthcare services — without reimbursement. It includes costs for doctor consultations, medicines and diagnostics, hospitalization and surgeries, transportation and informal care etc.
CAG to Deploy AI-Powered Auditing System for Efficiency and Transparency
Context The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is set to launch an AI-powered Large Language Model (LLM) to improve efficiency and consistency in public auditing. Imperative for Digital Auditing Public auditing faces growing volume and complexity of government transactions, which makes traditional, field-heavy audits time consuming and less scalable. Many government systems now produce rich digital records; without automated analysis, large datasets remain under-used for oversight.