DAILY GK 11 NOV 2025
1.
FIRST BIENNIAL BIMReN CONFERENCE IN KOCHI, KERALA
·
India hosted the inaugural biennial
conference of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)-India Marine Research Network (BIMReN) in
Kochi, Kerala
·
The
BIMReN initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the
Colombo BIMSTEC Summit in 2022 and officially launched in 2024 by the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
·
It promotes data sharing, capacity building, and maritime governance, reinforces India’s regional marine
diplomacy, and strengthens Bay of Bengal Blue Economy cooperation.
2.
INDIA’S LARGEST GREEN HYDROGEN PLANT IN KARNATAKA
·
JSW Energy Limited has commissioned its 1st and India’s
largest green hydrogen manufacturing plant at Vijayanagar in
Karnataka.
·
This
new facility was established under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM)
and its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme Tranche-I.
·
This initiative is part
of its 6,800 TPA allocation under the Strategic Interventions for Green
Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme by the
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
3.
NSO: INDIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DATA
·
The
National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry
of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), released the Periodic Labour Force
Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin (July to
September 2025).
·
As
per the report, India’s Unemployment Rate (UR) among
persons aged 15 years and above declined by 20 basis points (bps),
to 5.2% in 2nd Quarter (Q2:
July-September) of Financial Year 2025-26 (FY26), from 5.4% in
Q1 of FY26.
·
The
UR in rural areas decreased from 4.8% (Q1FY26) to 4.4% in Q2FY26) while
urban UR increased from 6.8% to 6.9% over the same time period.
·
Uttarakhand registered
the highest UR at 8.9% (QFY26), followed by Andhra Pradesh (AP) (8.2%), and
Kerala (8%).
·
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for individuals aged 15 and above
rose slightly from 55% in Q1 FY26 to 55.1% in Q2 FY26.
·
Female participation
improved from 33.4% to 33.7%, while male
participation declined from 77.3% to 77.2%.
·
Agriculture employed 42.4% of the workforce, followed by the tertiary sector at
33.5% and the secondary.
4.
INDIA’S 1ST MODERN RIVER FERRY TERMINAL IN GUWAHATI
·
Union
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Finance (MoF)
inaugurated Guwahati Gateway Terminal and Jetty, India’s
1st modern river ferry terminal built on the banks of Brahamputra River.
·
This new terminal was
constructed by the Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society (AIWTDS) at
a cost of Rs 304.95 crore.
·
This
newly inaugurated terminal will serve as a central hub for all ferry and
vessel operations under Assam’s Inland Water Transport Department.
5.
EPM AND CGSE SCHEMES TO BOOST EXPORT SECTOR IN INDIA
·
The
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi approved two major initiatives with an outlay of Rs
45,060 crores (cr) to strengthen India’s export ecosystem and
ease liquidity pressures for exporters.
·
The cabinet launched the
Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE) and the Export
Promotion Mission (EPM) to support exporters,
particularly MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).
·
EPM is a flagship initiative announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to strengthen India’s export
competitiveness, particularly for MSMEs, first-time exporters and
labour-intensive sectors.
·
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Minister of Commerce and
Industries (MoCI) will act as the implementing agency and manage all
processes through a dedicated digital platform integrated with existing trade
systems.
·
Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE)- The scheme aims to provide 100%
credit guarantee coverage by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited
(NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) for
extending additional credit facilities up to Rs 20,000 cr.
·
The
scheme will be valid till March 31,2026, and shall be
implemented by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) through NCGTC.
6.
RATIONALISATION OF ROYALTY RATES FOR FOUR
CRITICAL MINERALS
·
The
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, approved
the rationalisation of royalty rates for four
critical minerals Graphite, Caesium, Rubidium, and
Zirconium to boost domestic production and reduce import dependence.
·
Purpose is To boost domestic mining and production, reduce import
dependence (especially for Graphite, 60% imported), promote transparent mineral
block auctions, and enhance India’s energy and supply chain security.
·
Graphite Royalty Moves to Ad Valorem Basis: Initially fixed per tonne since
1 September 2014, Graphite, the sole critical mineral with a per‑tonne rate,
will now follow an ad valorem structure to account for price variations across
grades.
·
Royalty Rates: Graphite (≥80% fixed carbon): 2% of Average Sale Price (ASP).
·
Graphite (<80% fixed
carbon): 4% of ASP, Caesium: 2% of ASP (on metal content).
·
Rubidium: 2% of ASP (on
metal content), Zirconium: 1% of ASP (on metal content).
7.
PUNJAB BECOMES FIRST STATE TO IMPLEMENT
AMENDED BHARATNET SCHEME
·
Punjab became the first state in India to
fully implement the amended BharatNet Scheme,
providing high-speed broadband connectivity to all gram panchayats, across
the entire state.
·
Implementation started from Harsha Chinna block of Amritsar, Punjab and is active in 22 blocks;
around 1,000 kilometer (km) of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and 400 km
of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) installed.
·
Punjab
became the first state with a functional State Network Operations Centre
(S-NOC) under the Amended BharatNet Project.
·
BharatNet Scheme: The scheme, launched in 2011, aims to provide access to
electronic (e)-health, e-education, and e-governance services in rural areas.
8.
GI TAG TO SIKKIM’S MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ‘TUNGBUK’ AND
‘PUMTONGPULIT’
·
The
Government of India (GoI) granted Geographical
Indication (GI) registration for Sikkim’s two
traditional Lepcha musical instruments namely, ‘Tungbuk’ and ‘Pumtong Pulit’ under
the “Musical Instrument” category of the
Geographical Indication Registry (GIR).
·
The
GI registration certificates were formally presented during the 1st Tribal
Business Conclave held in New Delhi.
9.
1ST STATE IN INDIA TO LAUNCH TRIBAL-FOCUSED GENOME
SEQUENCING PROJECT
·
Gujarat has become the 1st state in
India to launch a large-scale tribal-focused genome sequencing project
led by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC).
·
The Government of Gujarat
will officially designate the year 2025 as ‘Tribal
Pride Year’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of “Bhagwan Birsa Munda”.
·
Aim is to understand the rising prevalence of genetic disorders among
tribal communities, a trend believed to be linked to endogamous marriages and
limited genetic diversity.
10.
SWEDEN BECOMES WORLD’S FIRST
CASHLESS SOCIETY
·
Sweden became
the world’s first society to operate as a cashless
society, where digital payments replace physical currency in
everyday transactions.
·
Sveriges Riksbank,
Central Bank of Sweden, the total amount of cash, including banknotes and
coins, is less than 1% compared to the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of Sweden.
·
In 2012, Sweden
launched “Swish”, a mobile payment application (app)
service linked to bank accounts, allowing transfers using smartphones, which
has become the primary mode of payment.
