UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | October 13 to October 19, 2025

Reports

(FYI: The data provided in these reports can be used to substantiate your Mains answer and create a broad understanding of the topic.)

• Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report

— In the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report launched at the World Health Summit, Berlin, and published in The Lancet, the Non-communicable diseases (NCD) account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s total mortality and morbidity.

— The leading NCDs are ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

— In India, the causes of death are shifting from infectious diseases to NCDs. According to the report, in 2023, ischaemic heart disease caused maximum deaths — age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) rate at 127.82 per lakh population.

— Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder was the second leading cause of deaths in India in 2023 with ASMR rate at 99.25 per lakh, while the third was stroke with an ASMR rate of 92.88 per lakh in 2023.

• WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin

— According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, an annual publication, globally averaged surface concentrations of carbon dioxide had increased by 3.5 parts per million from the 2023 levels to reach 423.9 ppm in 2024, a record high.

— The year 2024 was also the warmest year ever recorded, with the global average temperature being 1.55 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times.

— This was the first time that global temperatures had breached the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold.

— The current CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, 423.9 ppm, is now 152% more than the pre-industrial levels of 278.3 ppm.

— CO2 is known to have contributed about 66% of the warming that has happened since pre-industrial times, and about 79% in the last decade.

— Anthropogenic activities, increased human-linked sources, rise in wildfire incidents were being underscored, yet again, as the major contributors for pushing the levels of CO2 during 2023 – 2024.

 

Events

• World Health Summit 2025

—  The World Health Summit 2025 took place from October 12-14 in Berlin, Germany, and online under the theme “Taking Responsibility for Health in a Fragmenting World.”

— The annual World Health Summit brings together global health stakeholders from all sectors and regions to find solutions for the most pressing health challenges. In 2025, it took place under the theme “Taking Responsibility for Health in a Fragmenting World.”

— WHS was founded in 2009 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Berlin’s Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and it is supported by the WHS Academic Alliance.

— Axel R. Pries is the President of WHS.  Prof. (Dr.) Balvir S. Tomar is the International President of the World Health Summit 2025. He  is the founder and Chancellor, NIMS University, Jaipur, India.

(Source: worldhealthsummit.org)

PM Modi onstage at the inauguration of IMC 2025 at Yashabhoomi Convention Centre in Delhi. (Image: IMC)

• India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025

— The India Mobile Congress was organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) over four days, that is, from October 8 to 11.

— It is said to be the largest tech expo in Asia with an estimated 1.5 lakh participants from more than 150 countries, including delegates from domains such as 5G and 6G networks, artificial intelligence, electronics manufacturing, cybersecurity, semiconductors, quantum computing, and more.

• G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group(DRR WG)

— The Fourth Working Group and Ministerial Meeting of the G20 DRR WG  was held at Cape Town, South Africa from 8–13 October 2025.

— It was held under the theme “Solidarity and Resilience” to advance international collaboration on early warning systems – a core component of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) flagship initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2022.

— South Africa has launched its national EW4All Roadmap, making it the first G20 country to unveil a national strategy at the G20 DRR WG event.

— DRR WG was established under India’s G20 Presidency in 2023 which aims to integrate risk reduction measures into public and private sector investment decisions and policy making.

— Held every 13 October, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face. The theme of this year is  “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters.”

— The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction.

(Source: g20drrwg)

Polity

• Extension of 16th Finance Commission

— The government has extended the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission by one month till November 30.

— The 16th Finance Commission was constituted by the government on December 31, 2023, with former Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya as its Chairman. The report by the panel was due by October 31

• State Mining Readiness Index

— The Ministry of Mines has released the State Mining Readiness Index (SMRI) and corresponding State rankings, marking what it described as a major step towards promoting mining sector reforms at the State level.

— Under the SMRI, States were grouped into three categories on the basis of their mineral wealth.

* Category A for mineral-rich states. The top three ranked States are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

* Category B for those with moderate resources, and the top three states are Goa, Uttar Pradesh, and Assa.

* Category C for states with limited mineral resources. Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Tripura have obtained the top three ranks.

— The purpose of the index is to serve as a tool for benchmarking State performance and encouraging healthy competition, thereby accelerating the pace of mining reforms and sustainable resource management across India.

(Source: Ministry of Mines)

• ‘We Rise’ initiative

— ‘We Rise – Women Entrepreneurs Reimagining Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprises’ has been launched as a joint initiative of NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform and DP World.

— This programme under the aegis of WEP’s Award to Reward (ATR) initiative, aims to help women entrepreneurs in India to scale their businesses globally through trade facilitation, mentorship, and strategic partnerships.

— WEP serves as national aggregator to strengthen India’s women entrepreneurship ecosystem and make women-led development a reality.

—  The Award to Reward (ATR) initiative, launched in 2023, institutionalises WEP’s partnership framework by bringing together ecosystem stakeholders to address the specific needs of women entrepreneurs. It serves as a plug-and-play model fostering scalable collaborations and measurable impact.

• Scheme for Innovation and Technology Association with Aadhaar (SITAA)

— To foster innovation and collaboration in the digital identity domain, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the SITAA.

— The initiative aims to strengthen India’s ID Tech ecosystem by enabling startups, academia, and industry to work closely with UIDAI.

— Through this initiative, UIDAI seeks to drive innovation, promote indigenization, and co-develop advanced and future-ready identity technologies.

(Source: PIB)

Defence

• BrahMos missiles

— Recently, the first batch of supersonic BrahMos missiles manufactured at the Lucknow unit of BrahMos Aerospace Limited was flagged off.

—  Lucknow facility was inaugurated in May at a cost of Rs 380 crore over 200 acres, which has manufactured and delivered its first batch of missiles in just five months.

— BrahMos is considered an extremely versatile ‘fire and forget’ type missile, which has proved its capabilities across its land-based, ship-based, air-launched and submarine-based versions.

—  It is a two-stage cruise missile with a solid propellant booster engine.

• LCA Tejas Mk 1 A

— The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk 1A undertook its first public sortie at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Nashik on 17th October, 2025.

— LCA Tejas is a 4.5 generation, all-weather and multi-role fighter aircraft. India is currently developing its own fifth-generation aircraft with Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

— Currently, only the US (F-22 and F-35), Russia (Sukhoi Su-57), and China (Chengdu J-20) have developed operational fifth-generation aircraft.

 

Environment

Among states, Karnataka continues to harbour the largest population (6,013), followed by Assam (4,159) and Tamil Nadu (3,136)

• Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2021-25

— The Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE) 2021-25 was released on October 14 in Dehradun by officials of the Union Environment Ministry and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

— The estimation reported 22,446 elephants in the country, primarily concentrated across the Western Ghats in the southern states, and the hills and plains of the Northeast.

— Among states, Karnataka continues to be home to the largest elephant population, 6013, followed by Assam (4,159), Tamil Nadu (3,136), Kerala (2,785), Uttarakhand (1,792), and Odisha (912).

— The Brahmagiri – Nilgiri – Eastern Ghats block is home to the largest sub-population in Western Ghats.

— Compared to the 2017 numbers, the estimated population of elephants has dipped by nearly 18%, with the highest dip seen across the Northeast Region and Central India and Eastern Ghats region. Jharkhand and Odisha have seen a 68% and 54% drop, respectively, compared to the 2017 estimate.

— The endangered Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an endangered species. It has been on the IUCN Red List, which details the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species, since 1986.

• Green Crackers

— Recently, the Supreme Court has relaxed the absolute ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), allowing government-approved “green crackers” on a “test case basis”.

— The term ‘green cracker’ does not mean it is pollution-free. It refers to a formulation developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and NEERI to have a reduced environmental impact compared to traditional firecrackers.

— Green crackers do not contain harmful chemicals like barium nitrate, arsenic, lithium, and mercury. They exclude barium compounds and have drastically reduced aluminium and sulphur content.  They are designed to release water vapour or dust suppressants that trap a portion of the particulate matter generated.

— They have a lower noise intensity, capped at 120 decibels.

— Manufacturers must obtain a licence from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation and a certificate from CSIR-NEERI to produce and sell them.

— Three types of green crackers have been developed – SWAS (Safe Water Releasable), STAR (Safe Thermite Cracker), and SAFAL (Safe Minimal Aluminium).

• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

— Pollution levels in Delhi spiked sharply through Diwali night on Monday, with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) real-time data showing PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations breaching safe limits by 15 to 18 times across several stations.

— The Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR has already ordered the implementation of actions under Stage II of the GRAP following the deterioration in the air quality to ‘very poor’ on Diwali eve.

— The GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold.

— Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300). The second, third and fourth stages will be activated three days ahead of the AQI reaching the ‘very poor’ category (301 to 400), ‘severe’ category (401 to 450) and ‘severe +’ category (above 450), respectively.

 

Science and Technology

• South Atlantic Anomaly

— Using the data of 11 years from Swarm, an Earth Explorer mission developed under ESA’s Earth Observation FutureEO programme, the scientists have discovered that the weak region in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic – known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) – has expanded by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe since 2014.

— The SAA is caused by the “tilt of Earth’s magnetic axis and the flow of molten metals within its outer core”.

— Earth’s magnetic field has a protective layer around the planet that keeps charged particles (solar particles) from the Sun at bay. Its protection is also extended to the satellites that orbit close to the Earth.

— However, the SAA causes these particles to dip closer to the surface than they are supposed to. This will result in interference in the data collection by knocking out satellites’ computers.

(Source: ESA)

 

Persons in News

(Just FYI: Noting historical personalities’ anniversaries aids UPSC prep. UPSC often includes such personalities in questions, so revisiting their lives refreshes your static syllabus.)

Renowned actor Deepika Padukone has been appointed as the first-ever Mental Health Ambassador of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (Source: X/@MoHFW_INDIA)

• Deepika Padukone

— Actor Deepika Padukone was appointed as the first-ever Mental Health Ambassador of India by the Health Ministry.

— The announcement was made on World Mental Health Day, which is marked on October 10 every year to raise awareness about mental health concerns while mobilising support for its well-being.

— The World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health group with members and links in over 150 countries, initiated the first World Mental Health Day on October 10, 1992.

— The theme of this year is ‘Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergencies’, which encourages governments, organisations, and the general public to provide psychological support, trauma care, and community resilience programmes, particularly during times of crisis.

• Vivek Menon

— Vivek Menon has been elected as the new Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) for the 2025–2029 quadrennium.

— Menon’s appointment marks the first time in the Commission’s 75-year history that an Asian leader will head the global body — a significant recognition of the growing leadership of Asia and the Global South in shaping conservation action worldwide.

— The SSC is one of the seven expert commissions under the global body that advises the IUCN secretariat on matters concerning biodiversity and species conservation. The commission and its specialist groups play a key role in preparing the IUCN’s red list of threatened species.

• Sonali Ghosh

— Sonali Ghosh, the Director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, has become the first Indian to receive the prestigious WCPA-Kenton Miller Award for innovation in national parks and protected area sustainability.

— The award was presented at the IUCN World Conservation Congress by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a global body that recognises individuals who have made innovative contributions to wildlife area conservation.

• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt 

—  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the “Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025” — popularly called the Nobel prize for economics — to Joel Mokyr (Northwestern University, US), Philippe Aghion (Collège de France, INSEAD, and LSE) and Peter Howitt (Brown University, US) “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth”.

— Mokyr, an economic historian, has received the Nobel for his work that was grounded in using historical sources to uncover the causes of sustained economic growth in the world.

— Aghion & Howitt have been recognised for their mathematical model, which instead of looking into the past, analysed how individual decisions and conflicting interests at the level of firms can lead to steady economic growth at the national level.

 

Sports

(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)

An artist’s impression of what the venues planned for the 2036 Olympics and the 2030 CWG in Ahmedabad would look like. (Special arrangement)

• 2030 Commonwealth Games

— India is set to hold the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in 2030 with Ahmedabad as the venue for the centenary edition of the event. India last hosted the CWG in 2010 in Delhi.

— The final decision on the host nation for the Centenary Commonwealth Games will be made by the General Assembly of Commonwealth Sport and will be announced on November 26 in Glasgow.

— First hosted in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada, the Commonwealth Games will see its 24th edition play out in 2030.

— The 2026 edition of CWG will be held in Glasgow and it will feature only 10 games.

• Khelo India University Games 2025

— Khelo India University Games 2025 will be held in Rajasthan from November 24 to December 5. It will be held across seven Rajasthan cities – Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, and Bharatpur.

— Rajasthan will be hosting the KIUG for the first time. The inaugural Khelo India University Games was held in 2020 with Bhubaneswar, Odisha, playing host.

(Source: olympics.com)

• BWF World Junior Championships 2025

— Tanvi Sharma won the silver medal in the girls’ singles event at the BWF World Junior Championships 2025 badminton tournament in Guwahati, Assam, on 19th October, 2025. She lost to Thailand’s second seed Anyapat Phichitpreechasak

— She became the fifth Indian to win silver at the World Junior Championships, after Aparna Popat (1996), Saina Nehwal (2006), Siril Verma (2015), and Sankar Muthusamy (2022).

— The Indian Badminton team also clinched bronze in the Mixed Team event at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2025. Though India lost to Indonesia in the semifinals, but secured a historic first-ever medal in the event category.

— The BWF World Junior Championships were held in Guwahati from October 6 to 19. India hosted the Junior Championships after 17 years.

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

(1) Consider the following aircraft: (UPSC CSE 2024)

1. Rafael

2. MiG-29

3. Tejas MK-1

How many of the above are considered fifth generation fighter aircraft?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

(2) Consider the following statements about “green crackers”:

1. Green crackers use chemicals such as barium, sulphur, potassium nitrate, and aluminium.

2. Manufacturers must obtain a licence from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation.

Which of the above-mentioned statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

(3) Consider the following statements about the BWF World Junior Championships 2025:

1. Tanvi Sharma became the first Indian to win a Gold medal at the championship.

2. It was held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

3. Saina Nehwal was first to win a medal in girl’s category.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) One only

(b) Two only

(c) All three

(d) None

Prelims Answer Key

1. (d)   2. (b)   3. (d)

 

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