On June 24th, 2025, India & the world witnessed important developments across various sectors. Recent U.S. military actions against Iranian nuclear facilities have sparked fears of a wider Middle East conflict and an impending energy crisis, with Iran threatening to close the vital Strait of Hormuz. Concurrently, India is implementing expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to boost its slowing economy, while also exploring innovative solutions like insect-based livestock feed to combat antimicrobial resistance and promote sustainable agriculture.

Awareness regarding daily UPSC current affairs is crucial for cracking the UPSC Prelims, excelling in UPSC Mains. It helps perform well in the UPSC personality test, thus becoming an informed and effective UPSC civil servant.

Below are the current affairs and headlines of the day taken from The Hindu, Indian Express, Press Information Bureau & All India Radio as required for UPSC preparation:

Operation Midnight Hammer

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS Paper II (International Relations)

IN NEWS 

• On June 23, 2025, the U.S. military launched a series of coordinated airstrikes, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, against key Iranian nuclear facilities. 

• The targeted sites included Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Following these strikes, Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) passed a motion to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, significantly escalating fears of a global energy crisis and a wider regional conflict in the Middle East. 

• President Trump described these military actions as a "spectacular success."

Background of the Strikes 

The U.S. military operation followed a period of escalating tensions in the region.

• Prior Israeli Attacks: The strikes by the U.S. came after Israeli attacks on Iran between June 13–14, with Israel accusing Tehran of enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels.
• Iran's Stance: Iran consistently denies these charges, stating its nuclear program is solely for peaceful energy objectives. However, reports indicated over 600 deaths in Iran due to the preceding Israeli attacks.
• International Norms Breach: The U.S. acted without specific congressional approval, which marks a serious breach of international norms and has further inflamed already high tensions among Iran, the U.S., and Israel.

Implications of the Operation

The U.S. military operation has immediate and far-reaching consequences:

• Geopolitical Escalation:
  • Significantly raises tensions across the Middle East, pushing the region closer to a full-scale conflict.
  • Increases the risk of direct war between Iran, Israel, and potentially other regional powers, creating a highly volatile scenario.
• Legal & Diplomatic Concerns:
  • The U.S. conducted the operation without a clear United Nations mandate or specific approval from its Congress, raising questions about the legality and legitimacy of the unilateral action under international law.
  • Such actions could weaken existing international nuclear governance mechanisms, particularly the inspection and verification regime of the IAEA, potentially leading to further proliferation risks.
• Regional Alignments:
  • Iran is likely to seek closer coordination with strategic partners like Russia, and possibly draw China further into the fold, deepening existing geopolitical divides.
  • This could lead to a broader realignment of global alliances and an increase in global polarization between major powers.
• Economic Repercussions:
  • The most immediate impact has been a sharp spike in global oil and gas prices due to supply disruption fears.
  • There has been a surge in insurance and shipping costs in the region, making trade more expensive and uncertain.
  • The threat to the Strait of Hormuz (discussed in the next section) amplifies these economic concerns.

Expansionary Policies in a Slowing Economy

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS Paper III (Economy)

IN NEWS 

• In 2025, India is experiencing a significant policy shift towards expansionary fiscal and monetary measures. These policies are being implemented to combat slowing economic momentum. 

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cumulatively cut the policy repo rate by basis points (bps) in April and June 2025, bringing it down to 5.5%. Simultaneously, the Union Budget 2025–26 announced significant income tax cuts, specifically intended to stimulate domestic consumption. 

• Despite these concerted efforts, indicators such as slowed credit growth and increased unemployment have emerged, prompting a critical debate on the efficacy and coordination of these expansionary policies.

Background 

Expansionary policies are tools used by governments and central banks to boost economic growth, especially during slow times.

• Two Main Tools:
  • Fiscal Policy: This involves the government changing its spending and taxes to affect demand. For example, spending more on projects or cutting taxes puts more money into the economy.
  • Monetary Policy: This involves the central bank (like RBI) changing interest rates and controlling the amount of money in the economy. Lower interest rates make borrowing cheaper, encouraging spending and investment.
• Goal in Slowdown: In a slowing economy, expansionary policies aim to increase overall demand for goods and services, create more jobs, and boost economic output.
• Coordination Challenge: However, if these policies are not well-coordinated or are out of sync, they can have opposite effects. For example, in the U.S. and U.K. (as noted in the background), tax cuts (fiscal expansion) were sometimes cancelled by the central bank raising interest rates (monetary tightening) because of fears of rising prices (inflation).

Key Economic Indicators (as of June 2025)

Understanding these indicators helps in assessing the current economic situation and the impact of policies:

• Repo Rate: The RBI has cut this key interest rate to 5.5% (a total cut of 75 bps in two months), making borrowing cheaper.
• Inflation: At 3%, inflation is at its lowest in six years and comfortably within RBI’s target range of 2–6%. This low inflation provides room for expansionary policies.
• Forecasted GDP Growth (2025–26): Projected at 6.5%, indicating a healthy but perhaps not robust growth outlook.
• Credit Growth: Dropped to 9% in May 2025, marking a 3-year low. This indicates that businesses and consumers are borrowing less, suggesting weak demand despite lower interest rates.
• Unemployment Rate: Rose to 5.6% in May from 5.1% in April, signaling a worsening job market.
• Tax Cuts: Announced in the Union Budget, these are estimated to boost the disposable income of people, especially those in middle and lower-income brackets, aiming to encourage spending.

Policy Coordination

Currently, both the government (with tax cuts) and the RBI (with repo rate cuts) are pushing for expansionary policies at the same time. This raises some concerns:

• Overheating Risk: There's a concern about the economy becoming too hot (overheating) if too much money is pushed into it too fast.
• Inflation Surge: This could lead to a quick rise in prices (inflation) once people start spending and businesses invest more.
• Future Monetary Tightening: If inflation rises sharply, the RBI might be forced to reverse its policy and raise interest rates again. This "tightening" could then undo the good effects of the current stimulus.
• Delayed Multiplier Effect: The expected boost from tax cuts (where every rupee spent leads to more than a rupee of economic activity) has not fully happened yet. This suggests:
  • Weak Consumer Confidence: People might not feel confident enough to spend their extra money.
  • High Savings: Households might be saving more due to worries about global uncertainties.
  • Policy Transmission Delay: It might just take time for the policy changes to fully show their effects in the economy.

Antimicrobial Resistance and Insect-Based Livestock Feed

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS Paper III (Science & Technology)

IN NEWS 

• There are growing worries about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is linked to unsustainable ways of raising animals. This has led to global and national efforts to find smarter, healthier, and climate-friendly alternatives for livestock. 

• Recent teamwork by ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) with private companies to develop insect-based animal feed highlights this change. 

• This new feed is getting attention as a sustainable, cheap, and highly nutritious option to reduce how much we depend on regular animal feed and antibiotics.

Background: Livestock and Antimicrobial Resistance 

Traditional ways of raising animals contribute a lot to some big problems:

• High GHG Emissions: Animals produce a lot of greenhouse gases, which add to climate change.
• Overuse of Land and Water: Raising many animals needs huge amounts of land and water.
• Too Much Antibiotic Use: There's a lot of antibiotic use, which leads to AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance). This means germs become strong against medicines. Animal farming uses over of all antibiotics globally. This is expected to reach 200,000 tonnes by 2030. Antibiotics are often given to animals not just to treat sickness, but also to make them grow faster and produce more, especially in poorer countries (Low- and Middle-Income Countries or LMICs).

AMR and the Role of Antibiotic Feed

When antibiotics are used in animal feed:

• Antibiotic Traces Remain: Small amounts of antibiotics stay in the guts of animals and are released into the environment through their waste.
• Resistance Genes Develop: This creates a "pressure" that allows germs (bacteria) to develop genes that make them resistant to antibiotics. These resistant genes can:
  • Multiply in soil and water.
  • Pose risks to human health, especially for people working in farms.
• Consequences of AMR:
  • Increased risk of kidney disease, a serious blood condition (aplastic anaemia), and certain cancers.
  • AMR is estimated to cause a rise in global deaths from 700,000 in 2014 to 10 million by 2050, making it a huge threat to public health.

❓Question 1:

Consider the following statements regarding Operation Midnight Hammer:

It was a U.S. military operation involving airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The targeted sites included Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The operation was carried out in retaliation for Iranian nuclear enrichment activities.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

✅Correct Answer: (b)

📘Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Operation Midnight Hammer was indeed a U.S. military operation involving airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Statement 2 is correct: The article explicitly mentions Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan as the targeted nuclear sites.

Statement 3 is incorrect: While the strike followed Israeli attacks accusing Iran of enriching weapons-grade uranium, the article states the U.S. acted without specific congressional approval and describes the U.S. action as a response following Israeli attacks, rather than solely a direct retaliation for enrichment in the specific context of this operation. The primary immediate trigger mentioned for Iran's retaliation was the U.S. strikes themselves.

❓Question 2:

In the context of economic policy, what is the primary concern when both fiscal and monetary policies are expansionary at the same time in an economy already prone to inflation?

(a) Faster-than-anticipated fall in unemployment rates.

(b) Reduced overall aggregate demand due to conflicting signals.

(c) Risk of overheating the economy and accelerating inflation.

(d) Increased foreign exchange reserves due to capital inflows.

✅Correct Answer: (c)

📘Explanation:

When both fiscal (government spending/tax cuts) and monetary (interest rate cuts) policies are expansionary simultaneously, they both inject more money and stimulate demand. If this happens in an economy that already has a tendency for prices to rise, the main concern is that it could cause the economy to "overheat" and lead to a faster and more significant rise in inflation, potentially forcing the central bank to reverse its easy money policy.

❓Question 3:

Which of the following best describes how insect-based livestock feed contributes to reducing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)?

(a) It replaces traditional feed with a cheaper alternative, allowing more resources for animal health.

(b) It enhances livestock immunity naturally and reduces the need for growth-promoting antibiotics.

(c) It contains synthetic antibiotics that are less harmful to the environment.

(d) It makes livestock less susceptible to all types of bacterial infections directly.

✅Correct Answer: (b)

📘Explanation:

The article states that insect-based feed helps mitigate AMR by "eliminating non-essential antibiotic use" and by being "rich in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which help fight pathogens in animals without promoting resistance," thereby enhancing livestock immunity naturally. It does not contain synthetic antibiotics, nor is its primary function just cost reduction for AMR benefit.

❓Question 4:

Iran's recent approval of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a direct retaliatory response to which of the following events mentioned in the news?

(a) Renewed international sanctions on its oil exports.

(b) U.S. air strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.

(c) An increase in naval patrols by allied forces in the Persian Gulf.

(d) An accusation from the UN nuclear watchdog regarding its enrichment activities.

✅Correct Answer: (b)

📘Explanation:

The news explicitly states that Iran's Parliament approved the motion to close the Strait of Hormuz "In retaliation" to "the U.S. military launched airstrikes (Operation Midnight Hammer) on Iranian nuclear facilities."

❓Question 5:

Consider the following statements regarding the economic indicators and expansionary policies in India as of June 2025:

The RBI has cut the policy repo rate by a cumulative 75 basis points to 5.5%.

Inflation is at its lowest in six years, within the RBI's target range.

Credit growth has increased to a 3-year high, indicating strong lending.

The unemployment rate has decreased, showing improved job market conditions.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

✅Correct Answer: (a)

📘Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The RBI has indeed cut the policy repo rate by a cumulative 75 bps to 5.5%.

Statement 2 is correct: Inflation is at 3%, its lowest in six years and within the RBI's 2-6% target range.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The article states "credit growth has slowed," dropping to 9% in May 2025 (3-year low), not increased to a high.

Statement 4 is incorrect: The unemployment rate "rose to 5.6% in May from 5.1% in April," indicating an increase, not a decrease.