DAILY GK 15-16 OCT 2025
1.
INDIA–AUSTRALIA MILITARY EXERCISE
‘AUSTRAHIND 2025’
·
The fourth edition of
the India–Australia Joint Military Exercise ‘AUSTRAHIND 2025’ commenced
in Perth, Australia,
·
The 2024 edition was hosted in
Pune (Maharashtra), India.
·
The exercise has two phases Training Phase & Validation
Phase.
2.
FIRST COUNTRY TO ACHIEVE ‘TRIPLE
ELIMINATION’ OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV
·
The World Health Organization (WHO)
validated the Maldives for Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) of hepatitis
B.
·
With this, Maldives became
the first country globally to
achieve ‘triple elimination’ of mother-to-child transmission
of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), syphilis, and hepatitis B
Virus (HBV).
·
HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system by destroying T-cells, leading to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
·
Syphilis is a sexually
transmitted bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum that
can also be passed from mother to child during pregnancy and, if untreated, may
lead to serious complications affecting the heart, brain, and other organs.
·
Hepatitis B is a
viral infection of the liver that can be transmitted from mother to child,
through blood, or bodily fluids, and may cause acute or chronic liver disease.
·
Maldives President –
Mohamed Muizzu.
·
Capital –
Male.
3.
68TH CPC IN BARBADOS
·
The Lok Sabha (LS) Speaker, Om
Birla led an Indian
Parliamentary Delegation (IPD) to the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) held under the theme “The Commonwealth – A Global
Partner” in Bridgetown, Barbados.
·
The 68th CPC was hosted by the Parliament of Barbados and the CPA Barbados
Branch, this biennial event united
Commonwealth parliamentarians to discuss democratic governance and
parliamentary practices.
·
Barbados Capital –
Bridgetown.
4.
AIBI CHAIRMAN
·
The Association of Investment Bankers in India (AIBI), an
official voluntary association representing merchants and investment bankers in
India, has re-elected MahavirLunawat as the Chairman for a
second consecutive two-year term.
·
AIBI also appointed Abhijit
Vaidya, Managing Director (MD), Equity Corporate Finance, Kotak Investment
Banking, and Lakha Nair, MD Corporate Finance, Axis Capital,
as Vice-Chairpersons (VC).
5.
INDIA- WEST INDIES TEST SERIES
·
India won
the recently concluded test series against West Indies 2-0 margin.
·
This series marked India’s first home Test series win
under the captaincy of Shubman Gill.
·
India have now won 10
consecutive Test series against the West Indies (2000–2025), equalling
South Africa’s record of 10 straight wins against the same opponent
(1998–2024).
·
India extended their unbeaten streak against the West Indies to
27 consecutive Tests (2002–2025).
·
Ravindra Jadeja earned
his third Test Player of the Series
award.
6.
WORLD STANDARDS DAY 2025 –
OCTOBER 14
·
World Standards Day (WSD),
also known as International Standards Day, is annually observed across the
globe on October 14.
·
2025 Theme: “A
Shared Vision for a Better World: Standards for Sustainable Development
Goals(SDGs)”.
·
The International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) was officially formed in 1947.
·
International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) Headquarters – Geneva,
Switzerland.
7.
GOI EXTENDS 16TH FINANCE
COMMISSION TENURE
·
The Government of India (GoI), announced
that the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission (FC) had been
extended by one month, moving its report submission deadline from October 31,
2025, to November 30, 2025.
·
16th Finance Commission Constituted
on December 31, 2023.
·
The 16th FC’s recommendations
will address the fiscal period from
April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031.
·
Chairman: Arvind Panagariya.
·
The 16th FC will make
recommendations on Distribution of Taxes: Allocation of net
proceeds of divisible taxes between the
Union and the States.
·
Grants-in-Aid: Principles
and amounts for grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of India under Article
275.
·
Support to Local Bodies: Measures
to augment the Consolidated Fund of States to support Panchayats and
Municipalities.
·
The Finance Commissions are constitutional bodies, appointed by
the President of India under Article 280,
to define financial relations between
the Central and state governments.
·
The FC is appointed every five years and comprises a Chairperson and four other members.
·
The first FC was established in 1951, and since then, a total of 15
commissions have been constituted under the Constitution of India (CoI).
8.
238TH MEETING OF CBT OF EPF
·
Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya,
Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) chaired the 238th meeting
of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in New
Delhi.
·
The CBT approved the consolidation of 13 partial withdrawal
provisions into three streamlined categories: Essential Needs (illness, education,
marriage), Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances.
·
As per the new rules, members
will now be able to withdraw maximum 100% of the eligible
balance (75%) in the Provident Fund (PF) including the share of employee and
employer.
·
The CBT increased EPF withdrawal allowances, permitting 10 education and 5
marriage withdrawals, up from the previous combined limit of 3.
·
The Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) has launched the ‘Vishwas Scheme’ to
resolve long-standing disputes over
delayed Provident Fund (PF) payments.
·
The CBT has also approved the
signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between EPFO and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to provide doorstep Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Services
to EPS’95 pensioners.
9.
IAF & UK’S CSG JOINT
AERIAL EXERCISE
·
The Indian Air Force (IAF) and
the United Kingdom (UK)’s Carrier Strike
Group (CSG) conducted a joint aerial exercise over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
·
The air exercise followed the
successful sea phase of the bilateral KONKAN
25 maritime drill between the Indian Navy(IN) and Royal Navy.
10. INDIA
ELECTED FOR 7TH TIME TO UNHRC FOR 2026-28 TERM
·
India was
elected unopposed to the United Nations
Human Rights Council (UNHRC) with
177 out of 188 votes for the 2026–28
term (January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2028), marking its seventh tenure
on the Council.
·
The
election took place during the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) Elections
for Human Rights Council (HRC) Membership in
New York, USA.
·
During the election, the UNGA
elected 14 members, including 4 African
states such as Angola, Egypt, Mauritius, and South Africa (SA).
·
4
Asia-Pacific states, India, Iraq, Pakistan, and
Vietnam.
·
2 Eastern
European states, Estonia, and Slovenia.
·
2 Latin
American & Caribbean States, Chile, and Ecuador.
·
2 Western
European & other states, Italy, United Kingdom (UK).
·
UNHRC is an intergovernmental
body within the UN system, responsible for strengthening the promotion and
protection of human rights across the globe.
·
It consists of 47 member
states, serving three-year terms.
·
They are elected by the UNGA, via secret ballot, by a
majority of those present and voting.
·
A state shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.
·
The seats are distributed regionally in groups to ensure geographic
balance such as 13 seats for African
States, Asia-Pacific States (13 seats), Eastern European States (6 seats),
Latin American & Caribbean States (8), and Western European & other
states (7).
·
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) –
Volker Turk.
·
Headquarters –
Geneva, Switzerland.
·
Established –
2006.
11.
IN-ROKN BILATERAL NAVAL
EXERCISE
·
Indian
Navy (IN)-Republic of Korea (RoKN) bilateral
exercise, held in Busan, South
Korea.
·
It is held in 2 phases named Harbour Phase
& Sea Phase.
12.
NIPL SIGNS MOU WITH NTT DATA
JAPAN FOR UPI
·
The NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a global wing of National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI), has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and
Technology( NTT) DATA to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance across merchant
locations in Japan.
·
This partnership marks UPI’s
debut in East Asia, strengthening its global presence as a trusted digital
payment system.
13. IMF
RAISES INDIA’S FY26 GROWTH FORECAST TO 6.6%
·
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
released its October 2025 World Economic
Outlook (WEO) report
titled ‘Global Economy in Flux, Prospects Remain Dim’.
·
The IMF revised India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth
forecast for Financial Year 2025–26
(FY26) upward by 20 basis points (bps) to 6.6 %.
·
As per IMF India’s growth for
FY25 is 6.5%.
·
Similarly, the growth for FY27 is
projected at 6.2%.
·
The IMF cut India’s FY26
inflation forecast to 2.8 %, sharply lower than 4.2% projected
in April.
·
The IMF now expects global growth to decline from 3.3% in 2024 to 3.2% in
2025, while the 2026 outlook remains
unchanged from July, at 3.1%.
·
IMF Managing
Director (MD) – Kristalina Georgieva.
·
Headquarters – Washington
DC.
·
Established – 1944.
·
Member Nations – 190.
14. FIRST
INDIAN TO CLIMB 9 PEAKS ABOVE 8,000M
·
Bharath Thammineni, a
mountaineer and expedition leader from Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh, AP), has become
the first Indian to climb nine
of the world’s 14 mountains exceeding 8,000 meters (m), by
climbing Mount (Mt) Cho Oyu of 8,188 m in the China-Nepal border, the sixth highest
mountain globally.
·
Peaks Conquered are Mt Everest (8,848 m),
Mt Manaslu, Mt Lhotse , Mt Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), Mt
Annapurna I , Mt Makalu,
Mt Shishapangma, Mt Dhaulagiri, Mt Cho Oyu.
·
The 14 mountains above 8,000 m, located in the Himalayas and Karakoram
ranges across Nepal, Tibet (China), and Pakistan, are classified as “eight-thousanders.”
