NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Ministry of Social Justice Signs MoUs with Three Universities to Establish New Dr Ambedkar Chairs: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment signed MoUs with three universities—University of Mumbai, Jaipur National University, and G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology—to establish new Dr Ambedkar Chairs promoting research on Dr B R Ambedkar’s vision and philosophy.The initiative will strengthen policy-oriented research and enhance public awareness on social justice, equality, and empowerment of marginalised communities.With the addition of these new Chairs, the total number of operational Dr Ambedkar Chairs in India has increased to 28, furthering the goal of building an equitable and inclusive society as envisioned by Dr Ambedkar.
2. ANRF Approves Special Purpose Fund and Guidelines to Operationalize ₹1 Lakh Crore RDI Scheme for Private Sector-Led Innovation: The Executive Council of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has approved the establishment of a Special Purpose Fund (SPF), Implementation Guidelines, and Governance Framework for the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, aimed at boosting private sector-led R&D in sunrise sectors.The Department of Science & Technology (DST), with inputs from the Departments of Economic Affairs and Expenditure, prepared the Implementation Guidelines and Special Financial Rules, ensuring efficient governance and smooth execution to promote long-term innovation-driven growth.The RDI scheme will follow a two-tiered funding model, where the SPF under ANRF will manage the ₹1 lakh crore corpus and channel funds to second-level managers like AIFs, DFIs, and NBFCs, who will recommend investments through expert committees operating independently from the government.
3. Ministry of Labour & Employment Signs MoU with Zomato to Offer 2.5 Lakh Flexible Livelihood Opportunities Annually via NCS Portal: The Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE) signed an MoU with Zomato in New Delhi to enhance access to flexible and technology-enabled livelihood opportunities through the National Career Service (NCS) platform, aiming to integrate platform economy roles into the formal employment system.The NCS portal, launched in 2015, has mobilised over 7.7 crore vacancies, becoming a vital bridge between job seekers and employers, while this collaboration with Zomato will help connect more youth and women to dignified livelihoods.Under the new ‘Aggregator’ category, Zomato will list around 2.5 lakh flexible livelihood opportunities annually on the NCS portal, supporting the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision to expand formalisation and social security coverage for gig and platform workers.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Armenia Joins IUCN, Boosting Global Biodiversity Conservation and Preparing for COP17: Armenia became the newest State Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, highlighting its commitment to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.The membership will provide Armenia access to global expertise, innovative tools, and international partnerships, supporting its preparations to host COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2026.Armenia, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, is home to diverse habitats and several rare species like the Caucasian leopard, Bezoar goat, and Sevan trout, and continues to advance biodiversity policies, forest restoration, and Nature-based Solutions.
2. 18 October – World Menopause Day: World Menopause Day is observed every year on 18 October to raise awareness about menopause and support women’s health during midlife and beyond.Theme 2025 – Lifestyle MedicineThe day was established by the International Menopause Society (IMS) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).It aims to promote understanding of the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges faced by women during menopause.
3. Engagement Without Recognition: India's Taliban Policy: Afghanistan's Foreign Minister visited New Delhi, marking the highest-level Taliban visit since 2021, prompting India to upgrade its Kabul technical mission to a full embassy, without formally recognizing the Taliban government, maintaining its policy of “engagement without recognition.” Engagement Without Recognition: Recognising a government (de jure) and engaging with a regime (de facto) are separate political acts governed by international law. India does not accept the Taliban’s de jure legitimacy but maintains functional diplomatic channels through its embassy in Kabul. Purpose of Engagement: To coordinate humanitarian aid, development projects, and political dialogue while safeguarding India’s strategic and security interests. International Law Basis: This approach aligns with Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and Consular Relations (1963), which allow embassies to function without formal recognition of the host government. Precedents: India has used similar models for Taiwan and the Myanmar junta, engaging without recognising their governments formally.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. BrahMos Missile: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the BrahMos missiles were a symbol of India’s growing indigenous strength in defence manufacturing and every inch of Pakistan was within their reach.Nomenclature: It is named after the Brahmaputra River of India and the Moskva River of Russia.Range: An Indo-Russian joint venture, the standard BrahMos missile has a range of 290 km and but extended-range versions can reach up to 500 km. Future variants like the BrahMos-II are planned to have a much longer range of up to 1,500 km.Fastest cruise missile: It is the world’s fastest cruise missile with a top speed of Mach 2.8 (about three times the speed of sound). Two-stage missile; It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in the second) missile. The solid propellant booster engine propels it to supersonic speed before separating, and during the cruise phase, the liquid ramjet or second stage, propels the missile closer to 3 Mach.Launch platforms: It is a multiplatform missile which can be launched with great accuracy from land, air and sea having multi-capability capabilities and can operate during day and night despite bad weather. Uniqueness: It operates on the “fire and forget” principle i.e. it does not require guidance after launch. It also carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kg.Propulsion and Flight: Jet engines are the primary mode of propulsion for cruise missiles. Most cruise missiles are subsonic and use Turbofan and Turbojet engines. While less common, supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles utilize Ramjet and Scramjet engines.
SPORTS
1. Fifth Khelo India University Games to Be Held Across 7 Cities in Rajasthan: The fifth Khelo India University Games (KIUG) will be held from November 24 across 7 cities in Rajasthan—Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, and Bharatpur—with over 5,000 university athletes participating in 23 medal sports and one demonstration sport, Kho-Kho.Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted that the Rajasthan edition will showcase India’s growing sports ecosystem, inspire students to balance academics and sports, and strengthen the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ through healthy competition.This year’s medal sports include archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, hockey, judo, kabaddi, mallakhamb, rugby, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, yogasana, cycling, beach volleyball, canoeing, and kayaking, while Kho-Kho will be featured as a demonstration sport.For the first time, beach volleyball, canoeing and kayaking, and cycling are being introduced in the KIUG programme, reflecting the initiative’s aim to expand sports opportunities and promote talent development nationwide.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Bharti Airtel Partners with IBM to Expand Cloud Services and Launch Multizone Regions in India: Bharti Airtel has partnered with IBM to offer the tech giant’s services through its Airtel Cloud platform, catering to growing demand for computing capacity.The partnership enables Airtel Cloud customers to deploy AI-ready servers and other IBM offerings in regulated sectors like banking, healthcare, and government.IBM and Airtel plan to establish two new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in Mumbai and Chennai to strengthen cloud infrastructure in India.Airtel’s collaboration with IBM complements its ongoing partnership with Google for a data center in Visakhapatnam, following Google’s $15 billion AI investment plan in Andhra Pradesh.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. India- MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement: India and Brazil have announced a joint declaration to expand the India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), strengthening India’s trade ties with Latin America, especially within the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. India–Brazil Joint Declaration: Both nations agreed that the PTA will be significantly broadened to include both tariff and non-tariff issues, allowing more trade to benefit from preferential access. A technical dialogue will soon begin, led by the Joint Administration Committee established under Article 23 of the PTA. This will help define the scope and modalities of the expanded deal. The move aims to broaden tariff preferences and scale up bilateral trade between India and Brazil from the existing USD 12.2 billion to USD 20 billion by 2030.
2. India - MERCOSUR PTA: India signed a Framework Agreement in 2003 to facilitate trade negotiations through reciprocal tariff preferences, followed by a PTA in 2004, which was implemented in 2009 in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO). A PTA allows countries to give preferential tariff access on certain products, unlike FTAs, which are broader and cover more goods.
3. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP): Chief Minister of Delhi appealed to residents to celebrate Deepavali by bursting only certified green crackers as the Capital’s air quality index (AQI) crossed 300, prompting the enforcement of stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).Nature: GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.Judgement: It was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 after the Supreme Court’s order in the matter of M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India (2016) and notified in 2017.Implementation: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas oversees the implementation of GRAP. It collaborates with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).Evolution:Till 2020, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) used to order States to implement GRAP measures.The EPCA was dissolved and replaced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in 2020.From 2021 onwards, the GRAP is being implemented by the CAQM.Role of IITM and IMD: CAQM relies on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
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