UPSC Daily News Summaries: Essential Current Affairs, Key Issues and Important Updates for Civil Services

A quick look at all the current affairs topics making headlines on October 10, 2025 and the possible questions for the exam.

1. Israel, Hamas agree to 1st phase of Gaza peace plan

Israel has begun implementing a ceasefire deal in Gaza, after it reached an agreement with Hamas for the Palestinian militant group to release all the hostages it holds. It is the first diplomatic breakthrough after months of failed attempts at stopping the two-year war, which has all but devastated Gaza, left tens of thousands dead, and destabilised West Asia. The deal came after days of negotiations between the warring sides in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh, building on a proposal from US President Donald Trump. A ceasefire was in effect as of Thursday. The Israeli Cabinet was set to meet late Thursday to formally approve the agreement, an Israeli official said. Army troops will start withdrawing from their positions in the 24 hours following the start of the truce while Iran-backed Hamas is set to return all of the remaining 48 hostages held in Gaza — 20 of which are believed to be alive. In return, Israel is due to release almost 2,000 jailed Palestinians and allow a ramp up of aid to Gaza through United Nations agencies and other international bodies.

UPSC exam

Possible Question

What role can global and regional powers play in mediating conflicts like the Israel–Hamas war? Analyse the implications of such ceasefire deals for India’s foreign policy in West Asia.

2. Hungarian author wins Nobel Prize for literature

Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his dystopian work characterised by absurdity, grotesque excess, and a lack of periods. The 71-year-old is an epic writer in the tradition of his hero Franz Kafka. Dubbed literature’s ‘master of the apocalypse’ by American critic Susan Sontag, Krasznahorkai was born in the small town of Gyula in southeast Hungary, near the Romanian border. His second book, published in 1989 and dubbed ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ in English, is a feverish horror fantasy set in a small Hungarian town where anarchy reigns and part of the main action involves a ghostly circus arriving with the carcass of a giant whale. Krasznahorkai could see some of the themes he drew out in his work manifesting in real life too. He spoke out against Russia’s war in Ukraine and Hungary’s political backing of President Vladimir Putin in The Yale Review in February. The Academy doesn’t shy away from awarding authors with political messages. Recent winners include Svetlana Alexievich in 2015 for her novels that criticized political regimes in the Soviet Union and Belarus and author Toni Morrison in 1993 who wrote about difficult circumstances through the lens of American society.

Possible Question

How do international literary awards such as the Nobel Prize shape global discourse? Examine their cultural and political significance for smaller nations and writers of dissent.

3. Indian entities among dozens sanctioned by US over Iran oil trade

Seventeen Indian entities and nationals were among approximately 100 individuals, companies, and vessels from several nations sanctioned by the US on Thursday in a sweeping crackdown on networks that have enabled billions of dollars worth of Iranian energy exports. The coordinated action by the Treasury and State departments marks one of the most significant targeting of those facilitating Iran’s sanctioned petroleum sector, including companies and ships out of the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and China. Washington accused nine India-based companies (including BK Sales Corporation and Indisol Marketing) of importing $423 million worth of Iranian petrochemicals and penalised eight Indian nationals — all directors, shareholders or owners of sanctioned firms — for their roles in the trade. Three of the nationals operated vessels that transported over five million barrels of Iranian oil and gas products. The sanctions represent the fourth round targeting entities facilitating Iranian oil trade as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy aimed at restricting Iran’s export revenues and forcing concessions on its nuclear programme.

Q: How do unilateral sanctions imposed by countries like the US affect India’s energy security and strategic autonomy? Discuss with reference to India’s Iran policy.

4. India, UK ink $468mn deal for supply of lightweight missiles

Britain announced on Thursday it had concluded a £350-million ($468 million) deal with India to supply lightweight multirole missile (LMM) systems to the Indian Army as part of efforts to forge a broader complex weapons partnership. The development came during UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Mumbai for a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, and defence and security cooperation was a key part of their discussions. A statement from Britain’s defence ministry said the contract envisages the delivery of air defence missiles and launchers, made by Thales at Belfast in Northern Ireland, to the Indian Army. The deal will give a significant boost to the British defence industry and secure 700 jobs at a factory that currently makes the same weapons for Ukraine. The statement described India as a key strategic partner. Meanwhile, India and Australia on Thursday signed three key agreements to deepen their military ties including a pact on information sharing, a memorandum of understanding on submarine search and rescue cooperation, and terms of reference on the establishment of joint staff talks between the two armed forces, the defence ministry said.

Possible Question

Critically examine the significance of defence cooperation in India’s strategic partnerships with major powers. How do such deals contribute to Atmanirbharta in defence?

5. ‘Too much passion, little reason’: SC on SIR pleas

“Too much of passion, little of reason,” the Supreme Court remarked on Thursday as it heard petitions challenging the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and the alleged deletion of nearly 366,000 voters from final rolls. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing the matter for the third time in as many weeks, expressed concern over the absence of credible material before it to establish wrongful deletions, observing that most allegations were yet to be tested through the statutory appeal mechanism available under the law. “An appeal can just be made by saying that ‘My name has not been included and no order has been passed’. Where is even one such appeal? There seems to be too much of passion, little of reason. Let appeals be filed first,” the bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The court stressed that anyone aggrieved by deletion from the electoral rolls must first exhaust the remedy of appeal before the designated authorities under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, adding that even those who have received cryptic or incorrect orders could still approach the appellate forum. The remarks came after senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI), pointed out discrepancies in an affidavit filed by ADR on behalf of a person who claimed his name had been wrongfully deleted.

Possible Question

Discuss the constitutional and statutory mechanisms available for ensuring accuracy of electoral rolls in India. How can judicial oversight strengthen electoral integrity?

Editorial Snapshots

A. Gaza’s wait for a durable peace

Gunfire will cease in Gaza after two years of war and more than 67,000 deaths. According to US President Donald Trump, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire as part of implementing a 20-point peace plan mooted by him. Hamas has agreed to release hostages — 48 of them, though only 20 are believed to be alive — and Israel, in return, will release prisoners, withdraw its forces from Gaza city, and allow aid to reach the Palestinian civilian population, bombed out of their homes and starved of food, water, medicines, and other essentials. Hopefully, the ceasefire will lead to a durable peace in West Asia — on the edge since October 7, 2023, when Hamas brutally attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking a large number of hostages. Israel retaliated ferociously by razing Gaza to rubble and targeting Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Syria and Qatar, leading to a limited war with Iran involving the US as well, and making the whole of West Asia insecure. Both Israel and Hamas have been losers in this war: Tel Aviv lost moral standing, with UN bodies describing its actions as genocide, and global political support; the mass rallies in the West, including the US, are evidence of this. And the terrorist act of Hamas has come at a great human cost and possibly, its end as a political force. Both parties (the Benjamin Netanyahu administration and Hamas) stand diminished and, most likely, alienated from their own people, for eschewing the path of negotiation and coexistence and pursuing a path of mindless violence..

Possible Question

Critically assess the humanitarian dimensions of the Gaza conflict. How should the global community balance state security concerns with human rights obligations?

B. In Ronaldo, football gets its first billionaire

Cristiano Ronaldo has long been one of football’s great goal scorers, and also a man driven as much by milestones as glory. Most international appearances, most international goals, the highest paid player in history (by moving to Al Nassr in 2023), but it doesn’t stop there for him. Even at the age of 40, he wants to become the first in FIFA’s records to score a thousand goals, international and club combined (currently, he has 946). It is precisely this hunger that has seen him become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion. His latest contract renewal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, which will keep him there till he is 42, is reportedly worth more than $400 million — all tax-free. The $18 million a year from his Nike contract helps too, as do the 665 million Instagram followers. As part of his deal with Al-Nassr, Ronaldo reportedly received a 15% stake in the football club — a team-owning trend that has been embraced by his peer Lionel Messi, who will get part ownership of Inter Miami CF when he retires. The portfolio is very similar to other billionaires in sports — Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer. Sporting talent brings them the initial recognition, but it’s smart investments and deals thereafter that propel them into the billionaire category.

Possible Question

Examine the rise of sports as an economic industry in the 21st century. What lessons can India draw to professionalise and monetise its sports ecosystem?

Fact of the day

Prohibition’s hangover in Bihar: It is now almost ten years since Nitish Kumar imposed prohibition in Bihar. Its stated objectives were to prevent crime, abuse of women by alcoholic male family members, and divert money spent on alcohol towards more useful purposes. The National Family and Health Surveys (NFHS) gives data on the 15-9 age group men who consume alcohol. This number increased significantly between 1998-99 and 2005-06 (from 21.5% to 34.0%), fell somewhat in 2015-16 (28.9%), and fell sharply by the 2019-21 round to 17%. The share of those who consume alcohol almost every day has fallen to 10.3% in 2019-21 (from 13.7% in 2015-16). Another data set, the Consumption Expenditure Surveys (CES), conducted in 2011-12 and 2023-24, show that while the consumption of country liquor, beer, and foreign/refined liquor or wine fell in Bihar during that period, in contrast to the all-India trend, the share of households reporting toddy consumption more than doubled in the State.