Year-End
Reckoning

The Viksit Bharat Guaranteed Rural Employment and Migration Guarantee (G-RAM-G) Bill, 2025 was passed by Parliament during the Winter Session. It replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGS), 2005. Under the new law, a rural household's guaranteed employment entitlement rises from 100 to 125 days per year. Funding follows a 60:40 Centre-State cost-sharing ratio. States bear all costs above a normative allocation, creating a conditional funding architecture. The Bill also introduces a migration support component — providing transitional entitlements for rural workers who migrate to urban areas. Debates in Lok Sabha continued until 1 AM before passage; Rajya Sabha passed it subsequently.

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted during its December 3–5, 2025 meeting to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points — from 5.5% to 5.25%. The Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate was cut from 5.25% to 5.0%, while the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and Bank Rate were both reduced from 5.75% to 5.5%. The MPC maintained a neutral policy stance. Simultaneously, RBI revised upward its real GDP growth projection for 2025-26 from 6.8% to 7.3% — reflecting stronger domestic demand, improving credit offtake, and contained inflation. India's Q2 CAD improved to 1.3% of GDP (USD 12.3 billion) from 2.2% in Q2 FY2024-25.

The SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Bill, 2025 is among India's most consequential energy reform laws. Key changes include: (1) Private Entry — Indian private companies may now obtain licences for nuclear power generation and fuel handling, through JVs with government entities. (2) AERB — the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board receives statutory recognition for the first time, mandated to ensure safe use of radiation. (3) Liability Reform — the operator's right of recourse against suppliers for defective equipment is removed, addressing the key sticking point that blocked US and French nuclear vendors from entering India post-2010. (4) Tiered liability — from ₹100 crore (small reactors) to ₹3,000 crore (large reactors ≥10 MW).

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India on 4–5 December 2025 for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit — marking the 25th anniversary of the Delhi Declaration (2000) that established the Strategic Partnership. PM Modi and President Putin reaffirmed the "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" established in 2010 at Hyderabad House, New Delhi. Key outcomes: (1) India–Russia Vision 2030 signed — a trade, co-production and connectivity roadmap; (2) bilateral trade target set at USD 100 bn by 2030 (from USD 68.7 bn in FY2025); (3) Kudankulam NPP units confirmed for continuation + second site discussions; (4) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) cooperation discussed; (5) 16 intergovernmental agreements and 15 MoUs signed; (6) FTA with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) negotiations accelerated.

December 2025 saw the parliamentary Standing Committee (not the Supreme Court) submit the IBC Select Committee report on December 17, 2025. The Committee recommended: (1) barring Resolution Professionals (RPs) from being appointed as liquidators in the same case — addressing conflict of interest; (2) imposing statutory timelines for NCLAT appeal disposal; (3) specifying details for cross-border insolvency framework aligned with UNCITRAL Model Law. Simultaneously, the Standing Committee on Finance submitted its report on National Statistical Commission (NSC) performance, recommending full statutory autonomy for NSC and a national standards framework for data collection — addressing long-standing concerns about data reliability in India's official statistics.