Celebrated every 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the significant role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.
This initiative recognizes that achieving the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda and beyond will require not only advances in knowledge and innovation but also stronger partnerships between science, policy, and society. The International Week of Science and Peace was first observed during 1986 as part of the observance of the International Year of Peace.
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.
The CCI has approved the proposed acquisition of up to 80.15% shareholding of Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd. by BCP Asia II Holdco VII Pte. Ltd. The proposed combination involves the acquisition of up to 80.15% shareholding in AHFL by BCP Asia II Holdco VII Pte. Ltd. by way of a secondary acquisition and an open offer to the public shareholders of the target.
The Acquirer is controlled by funds advised and/or managed by affiliates of Blackstone Inc. It is not engaged in providing any products/services and/or performing the business of investment holding in India or worldwide since its incorporation. The Target is engaged in provision of home loans/housing finance and loans against property in India.
As part of the pre-summit event for the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026 being hosted by India, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the GoI, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Consulate General of France in Bengaluru, organised the Third India–France AI Policy Roundtable on 7 November, 2025 at the IISc Bengaluru.
The roundtable continued the ongoing Track 1.5 dialogue series on AI policy cooperation between India and France, following the previous editions held in Bengaluru and Paris earlier this year. It focused on advancing collaboration across the pillars of AI infrastructure, industry partnerships, research cooperation, and responsible AI governance.
The roundtable emphasised that India’s AI ecosystem, anchored in digital public infrastructure, a vibrant startup network, and strong academic institutions, offers a scalable platform for co-development and innovation with French partners.
Introduced on 15 August 1995, the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme that extends financial support to individuals living below poverty line (BPL). Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, the programme operates across both rural and urban areas.
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment (DoSJE), Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PW Foundation (Physics Wallah Foundation) to provide free structured online coaching to 15,000 aspirants from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and beneficiaries of the PM CARES Children Scheme.
Under this collaboration, PW Foundation will provide free access to high-quality digital coaching for UPSC, SSC, and Banking examinations. The initiative will include live and recorded lectures, test series, mentorship, counselling, and study material, thereby expanding access to competitive examination preparation for underprivileged sections of society.
This partnership is a non-financial collaboration, where the Department will facilitate selection of eligible beneficiaries through a transparent online process, while PW Foundation will deliver the educational content through its digital platform at no cost to the Government and students.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has achieved two major milestones in advancing India’s inland water transport ecosystem under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on National Waterway-1.
The Kalughat Intermodal Terminal in Bihar has been formally handed over to SAPL - Summit Alliance Port East Gateway Pvt. Ltd. for operations and maintenance. Meanwhile, cargo operations have commenced at the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal in West Bengal, operated by IRC Natural Resources Pvt. Ltd., with the first consignment of Granulated Blast Furnace Slag from Tata Steel.
Built by IWAI with financial and technical assistance from the World Bank, the Kalughat Intermodal Terminal (IMT) is strategically located in Saran district of Bihar and designed to handle a wide range of cargo, improving trade and connectivity in the region.
At the downstream end of NW-1, the Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) - also developed under JMVP - has commenced its operational journey with the loading of Tata Steel’s GBFS cargo destined for Guwahati.
The CII has announced the launch of the CII Global M&E Investor Meet at the 12th annual CII BIG Picture Summit, to be held on December 1-2, 2025, in Mumbai. This initiative, launched in collaboration with WAVES Bazaar, aims to unlock the full potential of India’s media and entertainment sector by integrating investment with companies to fuel the next wave of growth.
The CII Big Picture Summit, themed “The AI Era: Bridging Creativity & Commerce,” will bring together leaders from government and industry to chart a roadmap for the growth and transformation of India’s Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector. The Summit is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
CII has announced Elara Capital as the Investment Partner and Vitrina as the Global Financing Partner for the Investor Meet.WAVES Bazaar, a leading platform for business networking and project pitching in the M&E sector, will integrate its successful B2B meeting format and project showcases featuring initiatives from its existing projects and WAVES Film Bazaar into the CII.
The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) to collaborate on joint studies, research, and technical contributions in advanced telecom technologies and global standardisation activitie
The partnership aims to develop India-specific standards and test frameworks, explore future network technologies such as 6G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), NGN, VoIP and enhance India’s participation in ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication Standardization Sector) Study Groups.
Denmark's government on Friday announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone aged under 15. The move, led by the Ministry of Digitalisation, would set the age limit for access to social media but give some parents after a specific assessment the right to give consent to let their children access social media from age 13.
It would follow upon a move in December in Australia, where parliament enacted the world's first ban on social media for children setting the minimum age at 16.That made platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X andInstagram subject to fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding account
James Watson, the Nobel laureate co-credited with the pivotal discovery of DNA's double-helix structure, but whose career was later tainted by his repeated racist remarks, has died, his former lab said on November 7, 2025. He was 97. The eminent biologist died in hospice care on Long Island in New York, announced the Cold Spring Harbor Labor.
Along with Crick and Maurice Wilkins, he shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for their work — momentous research that gave rise to modern biology and opened the door to new insights including on genetic code and protein synthesis. Born on April 6, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, at the aqe of 15, James Dewey Watson won a scholarship to the University of Chicago.
According to the surveys, the Kaziranga landscape supports 108 species of amphibians and reptiles, accounting for 39.41% of at least 274 herpetofauna species known from India’s northeastern region, comprising eight States. Numerous wetlands of the tiger reserve also support 77 species of freshwater fish, which is more than 35% of Assam’s ichthyofauna, comprising 216 species
Simultaneous surveys have revealed that the 1,307.49 sq. km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve houses almost 40% of 274 species of amphibians and reptiles and more than 18% of the 422 species of freshwater fish recorded across the northeast.
The report also documents species of conservation concern, such as Wallago attu, Cirrhinus cirrhosus, and Botia rostrata (vulnerable); Parambassis lala, Ompok pabda, and Chitala chitala (near threatened); and Clarias magur (endangered).
The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark-1A (Mk1A) programme received a boost, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signing an agreement with American engine manufacturer General Electric (GE) for the supply of over 100 fighter jet engines to power the second tranche of Mk1A aircraft currently on order.
HAL announced that the agreement includes the supply of 113 F404-GE-IN20 engines, along with a support package, for the execution of the follow-on order for 97 Tejas Mk1A aircraft. The defence public sector undertaking added that engine deliveries are scheduled between 2027 and 2032.
Deliveries of the first tranche of 83 Tejas Mk1A jets, contracted for ₹36,400 crore in February 2021, were originally scheduled for completion by February 2028. In September, HAL received a follow-on order for a second tranche comprising 97 Mk1A aircraft, including 68 single-seat fighters and 29 twin-seat trainers -- at a cost exceeding ₹62,370 crore.
