UPSC Prelims Current Affairs for 6 December 2025

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

December 6, 2025

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Latest News

Recently, foreign minister of Ukraine said at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that Ukraine wants "real peace, not appeasement" with Russia.

About Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

It is a dynamic organization that is dedicated to promoting peace, stability, and security throughout Europe and Central Asia.
It is the world’s largest regional security organization.
Origin: The OSCE’s origins date back to the early 1970s, to the Helsinki Final Act (1975) and the creation of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which during the Cold War served as an important multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiations between East and West.
- In 1994, the CSCE was renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to reflect these changes more accurately.
Member Countries: It consists of 57 participating States in North America, Europe and Asia. (India is not a member country).
Objective: It works for stability, peace and democracy through political dialogue about shared values and through practical work that makes a lasting difference.
Decision-making bodies of OSCE: There are four decision-making bodies with delineated, distinct mandates namely;
- Summits: It is the highest decision-making body of the OSCE
- Ministerial Councils: The OSCE’s central decision-making and governing body
- Permanent Council: It is responsible for the day-to-day business of the Organization
- Forum for Security Co-operation: It deals with the politico-military dimension of security
Leadership: The OSCE’s leadership includes the Chairperson-in-Office, the Secretary General, and the heads of its institutions and field operations.
Headquarter: Vienna

Source: Reuters

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe FAQs

Q1: Where is the headquarters of OSCE located?

Ans: Vienna, Austria

Q2: What is the primary objective of OSCE?

Ans: To ensure security and stability in Europe

Afar Region

December 6, 2025

Afar Region Latest News

Scientists predict that Africa’s Afar region could become Earth’s next ocean basin.

About Afar region

Location: It is the northeastern part of Ethiopia, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden.
The Afar depression, also known as the Danakil depression, forms the northern part of the region and is largely desert scrubland with shallow salty lakes and long chains of volcanoes.
The Awash River valley forms the southern part of the area.
Tectonic Significance: It is situated at a unique triple junction where the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and East African Rift converge.
Terrain: The region’s landscape is marked by deep rift valleys, volcanic plateaus, and extensive fissures, reflecting the dynamic forces reshaping the Earth’s crust.
It offers scientists a rare opportunity to observe the processes of continental break-up and ocean genesis in action.
The region is well known for its early hominid fossil finds including 'Lucy', an Australopithecus afarensis, discovered in 1974.

Source: IE

Afar Region FAQs

Q1: What is the climate of the Afar region like?

Ans: Arid and hot

Q2: What is significant about the Afar region in terms of human evolution?

Ans: It is home to the oldest known human fossils (e.g., Lucy, Australopithecus afarensis).

AstroSat

December 6, 2025

AstroSat Latest News

Recently, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) celebrated a decade of successful operation of the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on AstroSat.

About AstroSat

It is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
The payloads cover the energy bands of Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical and X-ray regime (0.3 keV to 100keV).
It enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.
Payloads of Astrosat: Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC), Cadmium–Zinc–Telluride Imager (CZTI), Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) and Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM).
- UVIT consists of two telescopes: one dedicated to near-ultraviolet and visible wavelengths, and the other to far-ultraviolet observations.
The spacecraft control centre at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru manages the satellite during its entire mission life.

Objectives of AstroSat

To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes.
Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars.
Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy.
Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky.
Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region.

Source: DD News

AstroSat FAQs

Q1: What is Astrosat?

Ans: It is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.

Q2: When was Astrosat launched?

Ans: in the year 2015

Repo Rate, Meaning, Importance, Impact, Current Rate, Latest News

December 6, 2025

Repo Rate News

Recently, The RBI has cut the repo rate to 5.25%, easing borrowing costs for homebuyers and boosting real estate sentiment. The RBI has kept the reverse repo rate unchanged to 3.35%.

Basis Points Meaning

Basis points (bps) are a standard financial unit used to measure small changes in interest rates, yields, or other percentage-based values.
They provide precision when expressing movements in financial indicators. For example, a 25 bps hike means a 0.25% increase.
Basis points are widely used to describe changes in interest rates on loans, savings, bonds, and other financial instruments, ensuring clarity where even minor shifts matter.

RBI Repo Rate

The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities.
It serves as a primary tool for the RBI to regulate liquidity, control inflation, and influence overall economic activity.
By adjusting the repo rate, RBI can either encourage banks to borrow more (by lowering the rate) or discourage borrowing (by raising the rate), thus influencing the money supply in the economy.
The reverse repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank (such as the RBI) borrows surplus funds from commercial banks, thereby absorbing excess liquidity from the system.
- It is the opposite of the repo rate, where commercial banks borrow from the central bank.

Also Read: RBI Monetary Policy 2025

Impact of RBI Repo Rate Cut

Lower Borrowing Costs: Commercial banks benefit from reduced borrowing costs, enabling them to offer loans at more competitive interest rates.
Fixed Deposit (FD) Interest Rates: Banks likely lower FD rates after a repo rate cut, as their own cost of funds decreases. This means new FDs may offer lower returns, while existing FDs remain unaffected until maturity
Enhanced Credit Flow: Lower interest rates encourage increased borrowing by businesses and consumers, stimulating investment and consumption.
Boost to Real Estate and Infrastructure: Due to more affordable financing options, sectors like real estate and infrastructure may see heightened activity.
Support Amid Global Challenges: The RBI's accommodative stance aims to bolster the Indian economy against global uncertainties, such as increased U.S. tariffs impacting exports.

Repo Rate FAQs

Q1: What is the repo rate?

Ans: The repo rate is the interest rate at which commercial banks borrow money from the RBI by pledging government securities.

Q2: What is the current repo rate?

Ans: As of December 05, 2025, the RBI repo rate is 5.25%.

Q3: What is the repo rate of RBI in 2025?

Ans: In December 2025, the RBI reduced the repo rate to 5.25% during its December Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

Q4: What is the current reverse repo rate?

Ans: As of December 05, 2025, the reverse repo rate is 3.35%.