India’s women’s cricket team have scripted history on 2nd November 2025, claiming their first-ever Women’s World Cup title with a 52-run victory over South Africa in the final at Navi Mumbai. The triumph marks a golden moment for Indian women’s cricket, a sport long overshadowed by struggles for recognition, resources, and opportunities.
Hosts India posted 298-7 and then bowled out South Africa for 246, with spinner Deepti Sharma taking five wickets in the final in front of a sell-out crowd at the DY Patil Stadium.
India’s total is the second-highest in a World Cup final after Australia’s 356-5 against England in 2022.
England holds the record chase in tournament final history – it scored 167-6 against New Zealand in 2009.
India had come close twice before, reaching the final in 2005 and 2017, losing to Australia and England, respectively.
This was also the first women’s World Cup final that did not involve either Australia or England, the former being the record winners with seven victories to their name.
The Indian women played their first match in 1976, and from then till 2025, it has been nearly 50 years, and they had not won the World Cup title. The team was led by Harmanpreet Kaur.
The Player of the Match was received by Shafali Verma, who smashed 87 runs off 78 balls and also took two wickets.
Player Of The Tournament: Deepti Sharma
Top Run-Getter: Laura Wolvaardt (571 runs)
Top Wicket-Taker: Deepti Sharma (22 wickets)
This is 13th edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
The ICC announced a historic push towards gender pay equity in the sport of cricket through the record-breaking prize money that stands out as one of the highlights of the 2025 Women's World Cup:
Winner Prize Money: The winning Indian team was given an all-time high prize money of 4.48 million (around Rs 37.3 crore) which indicates a 239 percent growth over the last time.
Runner-up Prize Money: South Africa was given 2.24 million dollars (around Rs 18.6 crore), which is more than two-fold of what it used to pay out as rewards to the runner-ups.
Semi-finalists: Australia and England won 1.12 million each.
The tournament offered a commendable amount of 13.88 million as a total prize money.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia announced a cash prize of ₹51 crore for the ICC Women’s World Cup-winning Team India.
The Vice-President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, addressed the International Conference on “Libraries Empowering Communities – Global Perspectives” organised by the P. N. Panicker Foundation at Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, through a video message.
The event marks the 80th year of the organised library movement in Kerala, inspired by the vision of Shri P. N. Panicker, revered as the Pioneer of India’s Library and Literacy Movement.
About the Conference
The International Conference on “Libraries Empowering Communities – Global Perspectives”, organised by the P. N. Panicker Foundation from 2nd to 3rd November 2025,
at Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, brings together experts, policymakers, library professionals, academicians, and digital innovators to deliberate on the evolving role of libraries in the knowledge society.
The conference celebrates the enduring legacy of Kerala’s library movement and explores strategies.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 2, 2025 successfully launched the Indian Navy’s advanced communication satellite GSAT-7R (CMS-03) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The indigenously designed and developed satellite, weighing approximately 4,400 kg, is India’s heaviest communication satellite to date and marks a major milestone in strengthening the Navy’s space-based communications and maritime domain awareness.
ISRO launched the rocket aboard its most powerful launch vehicle, the LVM3, on its M5 mission. The liftoff took place at about 5:26 p.m. IST from the second launch pad, and mission control soon confirmed that the satellite had been successfully inserted into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
This is the heaviest Indian-built communications satellite launched from Indian soil so far. Because of the high mass of the GSAT-7R, the launch vehicle targeted a standard GTO; once there, the satellite will raise and circularise its orbit using its onboard propulsion systems.
The launch also demonstrated the capacity of the LVM3 rocket to routinely handle four-tonne-plus satellites to GTO from India, reducing dependence on foreign launchers for heavy communications satellites as well as feeding directly into ISRO’s preparations for Gaganyaan, its maiden human spaceflight programme, which plans to use an evolved LVM3 variant.
Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar was felicitated with the Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur at a ceremony held at its campus in Kanpur.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA), started in 1989, is the highest award given by IIT Kanpur to its alumni in recognition of their outstanding achievements.
Every year, the institute works with its alumni to honour individuals for their outstanding achievements, service to the institute, and exemplary contributions to society and nation-building.
The list of previous recipients contains illustrious names spanning fields of academic excellence, entrepreneurial excellence, professional excellence and service to the nation.
CEC Shri Gyanesh Kumar graduated from IIT Kanpur with a B.Tech in Civil Engineering in the year 1985 and was conferred the award by the Institute during the celebration of its 66th Foundation Day.
The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), successfully organised the “Niveshak Shivir” in Amritsar on 1st November, 2025.
The one-day camp witnessed enthusiastic participation from investors across Punjab and provided them with a single-window facilitation platform. This aimed to resolve issues related to unclaimed dividends, shares, and other investor services.
Following successful editions in Pune and Hyderabad, Amritsar became the next city to host this initiative, reaffirming IEPFA’s vision of building an investor-centric financial ecosystem across the nation.
The Niveshak Shivir enabled direct facilitation of unpaid dividends and claims pending for over six to seven years, provided on-the-spot KYC and nomination updates, and addressed IEPFA claim issues. Dedicated kiosks were set up by stakeholder companies and RTAs, allowing investors to interact directly with officials and eliminate the need for intermediaries.
Additionally, IEPFA and SEBI, in collaboration with other MIIs, launched an insightful explainer video conceptualized by CDSL IPF “Understanding the Process of Claiming Unpaid Dividends through IEPFA”,
Hundreds of investors benefitted from seamless interactions with company representatives, RTAs, and officials from IEPFA and SEBI.
Tri-Services Exercise (TSE-2025) “Trishul”, being conducted by the Indian Navy as the lead service jointly with the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, will commence in early Nov 2025.
Headquarters Western Naval Command, in close coordination with the three Services, will be conducting the exercise which will feature large scale operations across the creek and desert sectors,
of Rajasthan and Gujarat, alongside comprehensive maritime operations including amphibious operations in the North Arabian Sea.
Covering the Gujarat coast and the northern Arabian Sea - Army Southern Command, Western Naval Command, and the South Western Air Command are the principal formations participating in the exercise - Indian Coast Guard, Border Security Force,
and other central agencies are also participating in large numbers, further reinforcing inter-agency coordination and integrated operations.
The exercise aims to achieve validation and synchronisation of operational procedures across the three Services, enabling joint effect-based operations in multi-domain environment.
The exercise will also validate joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW) and Cyber Warfare plans. The exercise will include Indian Navy carrier operations conducted jointly with shore-based assets of the Indian Air Force.
TSE-2025 “Trishul” underscores the collective resolve of the Indian Armed Forces to operate in a fully integrated manner, thereby enhancing joint operational readiness and national security preparedness.
National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a Central Sector Scheme for promoting scientific beekeeping for holistic growth of beekeeping sector. The goal is to bring about a “Sweet Revolution”.
The mission has a total budget outlay of Rs. 500 crores and is being implemented for the period FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26. National Bee Board (NBB) is implementing the NBHM.
NBHM is implemented through 3 Mini Missions that focus on productivity improvement, post-harvest management, and research & technology generation.
In 2024, India produced approx. 1.4 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of natural honey.
India exported around 1.07 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of natural honey worth USD 177.55 million in FY 2023-24.
It is now the second-largest exporter of honey globally, up from the 9th rank in 2020.
The Madhukranti portal has been launched for the online registration and traceability of the source of honey and other bee products.
Bringing over three decades of experience in defence finance and public administration, Shri Vishvajit Sahay, a 1990-batch officer of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), assumed charge as the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) on November 01, 2025.
An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, Shri Vishvajit Sahay has served in several key positions in the Government of India, including Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser, Department of Science and Technology; Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry; and Finance Manager (Acquisition Wing), Ministry of Defence.
Within the Defence Accounts Department, he has held pivotal assignments such as Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj; Joint CGDA; and Special CGDA.
Shri Vishvajit Sahay has also represented India at international training forums including Cambridge University, UK, and the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies, Germany.
Vice Admiral B. Sivakumar, AVSM, VSM, assumed the position of the 40th Chief of Materiel on 1 November 2025. He is a distinguished alumnus of the 70th Course at the National Defence Academy and was commissioned as an Electrical Officer in the Indian Navy on July 1, 1987.
During his distinguished and illustrious service of over 38 years, the Flag Officer has held various key appointments in the Naval Headquarters, HQ ATVP, Naval Dockyards and Command Headquarters. He has served onboard frontline warships, Indian Navy ships Ranjit, Kirpan and Akshay, and has commanded the premier Electrical Training Base,
INS Valsura, as stated in the release.
Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, AVSM, VSM, takes over as Chief of Materiel from Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh, AVSM, VSM, who hands over the baton on completion of over 39 years of glorious service.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country's biggest lender, has launched an annual employee excellence award, 'SBI STAR' (Staff Talent Acknowledgement & Recognition), a structured framework to recognise employees' excellence outside professional spheres.
In alignment with the SBI's long-standing commitment to promote holistic employee engagement, well-being and organisational pride, SBI STAR aims to recognise the exemplary talent of its employees in areas of Arts, Literature, Games & Sports, Culture, Social Work and environmental initiatives, SBI said in a statement.
The SBI STAR framework ensures a fair, transparent, and structured selection process, it said, adding that employees can self-nominate, following which each Circle or Vertical will evaluate and shortlist candidates based on defined parameters.
The final selection of awardees will be undertaken by the Corporate Centre in Mumbai, it said.
State Bank of India (SBI) announced executing its inaugural gold trade as a special category client (SCC) on the India International Bullion Exchange (IFSC) Ltd.
This event heralds a transformative era for bullion imports in India, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and accessibility for the industry, particularly the MSME jewellers, SBI said in a statement.
SBI was also the first bank to become a Trading-cum-Clearing (TCM) Member at India International Bullion Exchange in 2024, it said.
The move aligns with SBI's commitment to innovation and financial inclusion, leveraging the advanced infrastructure of IIBX to streamline imports and reduce reliance on conventional methods, it added.
As a special category client, SBI is positioned to facilitate seamless bullion transactions, supporting jewellers, bullion dealers, and other stakeholders in importing gold through IIBX and meeting the escalating demand for precious metals across the country, it said.
AU Small Finance Bank on Friday announced that its Deputy CEO, Rajeev Yadav, has resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Yadav will be relieved from the services of the bank with effect from the close of business hours on October 31, 2025.
AU Small Finance Bank reported a 2 per cent dip in net profit at Rs 561 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2025. The bank had a net profit of Rs 571 crore in the July-September quarter of FY25, the lender said in a regulatory filing.
The high-value Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 5,817 crore are still in circulation, according to the Reserve Bank data released.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023.
Rs 2,000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.
In a statement, the central bank said the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of the currency was announced, has declined to Rs 5,817 crore at the close of business on October 31, 2025.
The Hon’ble President of India, H. E. Smt. Droupadi Murmu delivered a keynote address at the Eighth Session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly at the iconic Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
This marked the first-ever address by the President of India to the ISA Assembly, underscoring India’s commitment to ISA's leadership in advancing global solar energy cooperation and its founding vision of “One World, One Sun, One Grid advanced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.
