The 6th International Agronomy Congress (IAC–2025) was successfully inaugurated today at the NPL Auditorium, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, in the august presence of Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
This three-day global event (24–26 November 2025) is being organized by the Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), and the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS).
India’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and France’s Safran Electronics and Defence (SED) signed a Joint Venture Cooperation Agreement (JVCA) (November 24, 2025) to manufacture the Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) precision-guided air-to-ground weapon in India.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the JV is a major boost to the Make in India initiative. The JVCA builds on an MoU signed during Aero India on February 11, 2025, and confirms plans to establish a 50:50 joint venture company in India.
The private limited entity will focus on the local manufacture, supply, and lifecycle support for HAMMER munitions for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
Indigenisation levels will be progressively increased to nearly 60%, with key electronics, sub-assemblies and mechanical components to be produced domestically.
Production transfer will take place in phases, with BEL responsible for final assembly, testing and quality assurance, the Ministry added.
The HAMMER system, already combat-proven, is valued for its precision, modular architecture and compatibility with platforms such as the Rafale and the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.
A volcano erupted in northern Ethiopia for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, with winds moving at a speed of 100-120 km/h carrying the ash plumes to many countries, including India.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region of Ethiopia erupted on Sunday morning, and the ash clouds entered Delhi.
The ash plumes, thousands of feet up in the atmosphere, first entered Gujarat and drifted towards Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab.
The volcano, which rises about 500 metres in altitude, sits within the Rift Valley, a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet.
A new trilateral technology and innovation partnership between India, Australia and Canada was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a meeting with his Australian and Canadian counterparts on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
According to a joint statement by the governments of India, Australia and Canada, the three sides agreed to “strengthen their ambition in cooperation on critical and emerging technologies to complement existing bilateral initiatives”.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat on November 20, 2025 signed the Terms of Reference that would guide negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
This is the first crucial step towards facilitating talks to conclude a balanced, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial FTA to strengthen and enhance our trade, economic, and strategic partnership.
So far, Mr. Goyal has held bilateral meetings with Mr. Barkat as well as with Israel’s Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich.
The Commerce Minister has also held meetings with the heads of several Israeli businesses and also addressed the India-Israel CEOs Forum.
Mr. Goyal is in Israel until November 22, along with a 60-member business delegation, to discuss ways to deepen and broaden bilateral trade between India and Israel.
Max Verstappen kept his title defence hopes alive by winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025, finishing ahead of pole-sitter and championship leader Lando Norris, who secured second place. Norris lost the lead during the first lap and was unable to regain position as Verstappen crossed the finish line for his sixth win of the season.
George Russell completed the race in third, marking another strong result for Mercedes. Oscar Piastri finished fourth, extending his run without a podium to six races.
The championship fight will now continue into the final two rounds, which include a sprint race in Qatar before the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The race once again delivered high-speed action as the cars reached speeds of over 215 miles per hour along the Las Vegas Strip under floodlights in the event’s third edition.
Despite finishing second, the result worked in Norris’ favour in the championship battle as he increased his lead over Oscar Piastri, who also drives for McLaren.
The outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) liberalised remittances scheme (LRS) increased marginally by $24 million in September to $2.78 billion, mainly on the back of a pickup in investment in equity/debt by Indians in overseas capital markets and robust international travel, according to data released by the RBI.
Outward remittance under the scheme was worth $2.75 billion in September 2024.
Additionally, in the April–September period of FY25 (H1FY25), outward remittance under the LRS scheme totalled $29.56 billion, down 7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), compared to $31.7 billion in the same period last year.
This was mainly due to remittance under overseas education going down this year, as well as remittance under “maintenance of close relatives”.
The LRS scheme was introduced in 2004, permitting all resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction, or a combination of both, free of charge.
The government has appointed Punjab National Bank chief general managers Sunil Kumar Chugh and Amresh Prasad as executive directors in Canara Bank and Union Bank of India respectively.
The government has also appointed Prabhat Kiran, Canara Bank's CGM as ED in Bank of Maharashtra and Mini TM, CGM in Bank of Baroda as ED in Indian Bank.
Meanwhile, Amit Kumar Srivastava, group chief risk officer in PNB has been elevated as ED in the same bank. All these appointments are for three years with effect from November 24.
Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Joshi, today inaugurated state-of-the-art 240 TPD (tonnes/day) Biomass Pellet Plant in Rewari, Haryana. Union Minister Joshi said that the occasion marks a significant milestone in the State’s clean energy journey and reflects Haryana’s steady emergence as a major contributor to India’s renewable energy future.
The Minister underlined that the Government of India has recently notified a comprehensive policy mandating biomass pellet or torrefied municipal solid waste (MSW) charcoal co-firing in all coal-based thermal power plants.
After a gap of more than two years amid a tumultuous bilateral relationship, India and Canada have finalised a broad framework and agreed to restart negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg and,
agreed to advance relations in trade, investment, technology & innovation, energy, education, defence, and the space sector.
Goyal said that the two countries were natural allies that did not compete with each other, creating significant opportunities for businesses and investors.
In March 2022, New Delhi and Ottawa formally relaunched talks for a comprehensive trade deal to create new opportunities for boosting trade and investment flows. It was also decided that an early progress trade agreement (EPTA) would be a transitional step towards a CEPA.
India–Canada cooperation on critical minerals has gained momentum, accelerated at the June 2025 G7 summit where Modi and Carney met to lead India to endorse Canada’s Critical Minerals Action Plan.
India-Canada cooperation on critical minerals has gained momentum after the June 2025 G7 Summit where Modi and Carney met and,
led India to endorse Canada’s Critical Minerals Action Plan.
This was reinforced by high-level engagements throughout 2025, including the Canadian foreign minister, Anita Anand’s visit to Delhi and discussions on mineral reserves, mining expertise and uranium supply.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will mark the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10) — an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December).
This 2025 campaign UNiTE to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls wants to mobilize all members of society: governments must end impunity through laws that penalize it; technology companies must ensure the safety of platforms and remove harmful content; donors must provide funding so that feminist organizations can work to eradicate this violence.
In Kabaddi, India won its second consecutive Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in Dhaka, defeating Chinese Taipei 35-28 in a dominant final performance. India swept all four group-stage matches before beating Iran 33-21 in the semifinals. Chinese Taipei also entered the final unbeaten, having topped Group B and defeated hosts Bangladesh 25-18 in the semis.
Eleven countries competed in the tournament, with India and Chinese Taipei advancing from their groups to the knockout rounds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India’s 2025 Women’s Kabaddi World Cup win, praising the team’s grit and skill. He said their triumph will inspire young athletes to dream bigger and aim higher.
The Prime Minister visit Kurukshetra to participate in a special programme commemorating the 350th Shaheedi Diwas of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. During the programme, Mr Modi will release a special coin and commemorative stamp marking the 350th Shaheedi Diwas of the revered Guru.
To honour the 350th Shaheedi Diwas of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Central Government is observing a year-long commemoration.
During his visit, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate a newly constructed building, Panchjanya, which has been designed in honour of the sacred conch of Lord Krishna.
