International Week of Science and Peace was first observed in 1986 as part of the observance of the International Year of Peace. The organization of events and activities for the week was undertaken as a non-governmental initiative; the secretariat for the International Year of Peace was informed of the preparatory activities and the final summary of events that occurred.
In recognition of the value of the annual observance, the General Assembly adopted resolution 43/61 in December 1988, which proclaims the “International Week of Science and Peace”, to take place each year during the week in which 11 November falls.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team captain Harmanpreet Singh and former goalkeeper PR Sreejesh have won the FIH Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year titles for the year 2024. Both Harmanpreet and Sreejesh received recognition during the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Oman.
Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Harmanpreet received over 63 per cent of all votes cast in his category. Similarly, Sreejesh was highly popular among voters, polling over 62 per cent of all votes in his category. The winners were selected through a voting process involving an expert panel, national hockey associations, fans, and media.
Cashfree Payments has partnered with Indian companies like Swiggy and Nykaa to enable international customers to make payments in India. This pilot program caters to users of RuPay cards and UPI, which are not typically recognized for global transactions.
Cashfree's cross-border payments license allows them to facilitate seamless transactions for both import and export businesses, as well as individual users. This pilot programme caters to UPI and RuPay card users, which are not typically recognised for global transactions.
GenWise has announced the launch of UPI payments on its app for senior citizens. This is the industry’s first-ever introduction of UPI for elders, offering a simple user interface, enhanced security, and cyber fraud awareness. GenWise UPI has been developed in collaboration with Axis Bank, which is acting as the sponsor bank for facilitating transactions.
Over the years, UPI has become an integral part of everyday transactions, with over 400 million unique users. In October alone, the platform processed over 16.5 billion transactions. However, over 250 million Indian elders have remained less connected to this transformation due to fear of the unknown and the complex interfaces of other apps.
Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda launched a Rs 500 crore scheme to strengthen India’s medical devices industry, focusing on critical areas such as manufacturing key components and accessories, skill development, support for clinical studies, development of common infrastructure, and industry promotion.
This initial outlay of Rs 500 crore will be for three years, up to financial year 2026-27, according to a government communication. The overall scheme consists of five components, including common facilities for medical device clusters, capacity building and skill development, a marginal investment scheme for reducing import dependence, clinical studies support.
Under the scheme, Rs 110 crore has been allocated to strengthen infrastructure through the creation of common facilities such as research and development (R&D) labs, design and testing centres, and animal labs for around 20 medical device clusters in India. This will also include the enhancement of testing facilities.
Similarly, Rs 180 crore has been outlined for a marginal investment scheme to deepen the value chain by incentivising the production of key components and raw materials used in the manufacturing of medical devices, thereby reducing import dependence. This sub-scheme offers a one-time capital subsidy of 10-20 per cent, with a maximum cap of Rs 10 crore per project.
The government will also provide a support scheme worth Rs 100 crore for clinical studies of medical devices, enabling developers and manufacturers to apply for financial assistance for animal studies and, if successful, for human trials to validate MedTech products.
The Reserve Bank said it has decided to expand the reporting requirement of forex transactions and include foreign exchange spot deals to ensure completeness of transaction data in the trade repository (TR) of the Clearing Corporation of India.
Currently, authorised dealers report all over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange derivative contracts and foreign currency interest rate derivative contracts undertaken by them directly or through their overseas entities to the TR of Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
Accordingly, transactions in foreign exchange cash; foreign exchange tom; and foreign exchange spot, involving the rupee or otherwise shall now be reported to the TR. Authorised dealers have been asked to report all inter-bank foreign exchange contracts undertaken by them to the TR of CCIL with effect from February 10, 2025, as per defined timelines.
In an indication of excess liquidity, the Reserve Bank of India received bids worth ₹58,525 crore from banks against the notified amount of ₹50,000 crore at the variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction held. This is the first time in many months when the bid amount was higher than the notified amount.
Recently, RBI has been conducting two VRRR auctions on the same day. During the past few months banks had turned reluctant to park their funds with the RBI for a longer tenure in the variable rate reverse repo auctions. The shift could indicate that RBI may conduct more VRRR auctions in the coming days.
According to Crisil, the surplus in systemic liquidity increased in October with the RBI net absorbing ₹1.5 lakh crore (0.6per cent of net demand and time liabilities, or NDTL) compared with ₹1.01 lakh crore (0.4per cent of NDTL) in September. Deposit growth outpaced credit growth during the month, leading to the higher surplus.
World Immunization Day, observed annually on November 10, aims to raise awareness about the vital role vaccines play in preventing infectious diseases and protecting public health. Immunization is one of the most effective and cost-efficient intervention for controlling and eradicating diseases, saving millions of lives globally each year.
The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of India's most comprehensive public health initiatives, aiming to provide life-saving vaccines to millions of newborns and pregnant women each year. Initially launched in 1978 as the Expanded Programme on Immunization, it was rebranded as the UIP in 1985 when its coverage was extended beyond urban centres to rural areas.
In 1992, the UIP was incorporated into the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme and later, in 1997, into the National Reproductive and Child Health Programme.Since 2005, under the National Rural Health Mission, the UIP has become a central component of India's public health efforts, focusing on ensuring that vaccines reach every child, even in the most remote parts.
Mission Indradhanush (MI), launched in December 2014, is a strategic initiative by the Indian government aimed at increasing the full immunization coverage for children across the country, with a goal to reach 90% coverage. The first two phases of Mission Indradhanush alone led to a 6.7% increase in full immunization coverage in just one year, reflecting its early success.
The U-WIN Portal represents a major leap forward in India’s immunization efforts, providing a fully digitized record of vaccination for pregnant women and children from birth to 17 years under the Universal Immunization Programme. With accessibility in mind, the U-WIN portal is available in 11 regional languages, including Hindi.
India’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, launched on January 16, 2021, stands as a global success story in public health. By January 6, 2023, the program had administered over 220 crore doses, covering 97% of eligible citizens with at least one dose and 90% with both doses.
On March 27, 2014, India, along with ten other countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region, was officially certified as polio-free—a significant public health achievement. India’s last reported case of polio was on January 13, 2011, in Howrah, West Bengal.
India’s success in eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNTE) stands as a major public health accomplishment. Achieved in April 2015, well ahead of the global target of December 2015, MNTE validation was completed across all of India’s 36 states and union territories.
In another historic milestone, India became the first country to be officially recognized as yaws-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), achieving this well before the global target year of 2020. This recognition highlights India’s proactive and sustained efforts to eradicate the disease, which primarily affects rural and marginalized communities.
National Legal Services Day is being observed across the country on 9 Nov. The day is primarily celebrated to promote legal awareness and ensure access to justice for all citizens, especially those from marginalized communities. This day is to educate people about their legal rights and promote mechanisms for dispute resolution through a number of projects and activities.
On November 9, 1995, the Legal Services Authorities Act was created with the intention of providing legal aid to underprivileged and marginalized people. As a result of the historic law, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was established on December 5, the same year. Since then, National Legal Services Day is observed every year.
Uttarakhand Foundation Day is annually celebrated on November 9, and in 2024, it marks the 24th anniversary of the formation of the state. Uttarakhand is commonly referred to as the “Land of the Gods (Devbhumi),” due to several Hindu pilgrimage sites in the state.
The state of Uttarakhand was formed on November 9, 2000, after a prolonged struggle by the people of the region, who sought a separate state due to cultural, geographic, and administrative differences from Uttar Pradesh. Originally known as Uttaranchal, it formed the 27th state of India, with the name being officially changed to Uttarakhand in 2007.
India outperformed China in the QS Asia University Rankings 2025. As many as 162 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) from India found a spot in the list. India witnessed highest growth in university representation in contrast with China. A total of 135 Chenese universities ranked in the list while Japan secured the third spot with 115 universities.
The evaluating agency used 11 performance indicators, including Employer Reputation, International Faculty Ratio, International Research Network, International Student Ratio, Academic Reputation, Faculty-Student Ratio, Outbound Exchange Students, Inbound Exchange Students, Papers per Faculty, Citations per Paper, and Staff with PhDs.
According to the press release, a total of seven Indian universities featured in the top 100 institutes in Asia, including University of Delhi, IISc Bangalore, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Kanpur, among others. Notably, IIT Delhi secured 44th place and emerged as the highest-ranking Indian institution in Asia and India this year.
Indian cue sports legend Pankaj Advani clinched his 18th World Billiards Title and 28th Billiards and Snooker titles combined at the 2024 IBSF 150-up Billiards Championships held in Doha, Qatar. Advani defeated England’s Robert Hall 4-2 in the final, marking his seventh consecutive title in the 150-Up format of the IBSF Billiards Championship.
This victory makes him a 28-time International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Champion, with an impressive tally of 18 Billiards titles, one World Team Billiards title, and nine titles across various snooker competitions.
