4.5/5
Current Affairs 11th & 12th October 2025
1. RBI appoints Shri Sanjay Kumar Hansda as new Executive Director
-
Appointment: Sanjay Kumar Hansda has been appointed as Executive Director in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with effect from March 3, 2025.
-
Department: He will head the Department of Economic and Policy Research in the RBI, bringing over 30 years of central banking experience to the role.
-
Background: Before his elevation, Dr. Hansda served as Adviser in the Department of Economic and Policy Research and held key positions such as Adviser in the Monetary Policy Department.
-
Experience: He has worked extensively in areas like banking, monetary policy, interest rates, liquidity management, inflation, and financial markets, and has represented RBI in several national and international forums.
-
Previous Role: Dr. Hansda rejoined RBI on October 6, 2025, after serving as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director (India) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
2. India‑UK Launch Connectivity & Innovation Centre
-
Launch and Funding: The India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre was launched on October 10, 2025, with a combined initial investment of £24 million (approximately ₹250 crore) over four years, committed by both countries.
-
Objective: The Centre aims to advance digital inclusion, next-generation connectivity, and secure communication systems, aligning with the India-UK 2035 Vision and fostering a trusted, inclusive, and resilient digital future.
-
Benefits: The partnership is expected to deliver tangible socio-economic benefits, including boosting digital inclusion, creating commercial opportunities for telecom and tech startups, and fostering global standards leadership in emerging technologies like 6G and AI-driven communications.
-
Implementation: The Centre will unite the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK-India Technology Security Initiative.
3. India-UK Hold First Joint Carrier Strike Exercise
-
Exercise Konkan 25: The exercise marked the first-ever joint exercise between the Indian Navy's INS Vikrant Carrier Strike Group and the UK's HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group in the Western Indian Ocean.
-
Participating Ships: The Indian Navy's INS Vikrant was accompanied by destroyers INS Kolkata, INS Mormugao, and INS Surat, frigates INS Tabar and INS Teg, and fleet oiler INS Deepak. The UK's Carrier Strike Group included HMS Prince of Wales, RN destroyer HMS Dauntless, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Akebono, RN frigate HMS Richmond, and Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen.
-
Objectives: The exercise aimed to enhance maritime and air interoperability, conduct anti-submarine warfare drills, air defense exercises, and cross-deck flying operations, strengthening the Free & Open Indo-Pacific vision and advancing India-UK Vision 2035 on defense and security.
-
Multilateral Cooperation: The exercise featured participation from Japan and Norway, reflecting multilateral Indo-Pacific cooperation and reinforcing a rules-based international order.
4. Rishi Sunak Joins Microsoft and Anthropic as Adviser
-
Advisory Roles: Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister, has joined Microsoft and Anthropic as a senior adviser, providing strategic perspectives on macroeconomic and geopolitical trends.
-
Scope of Work: Sunak will focus on global strategic matters, avoiding UK-specific policy advice and lobbying the government on behalf of the companies. He'll provide high-level perspectives on macro-economic and geopolitical trends.
-
Payment and Charity: Sunak's advisory roles are paid, but he'll donate the entire proceeds to The Richmond Project, a charity he founded with his wife to improve numeracy skills across the UK.
-
Restrictions: The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) has raised concerns about potential unfair advantages for Microsoft, given Sunak's access to privileged information. To mitigate this, Sunak will steer clear of advising on UK policy matters.
-
Previous Experience: This isn't Sunak's first corporate role; he's also serving as a senior advisor to Goldman Sachs and has worked with other firms like Bain Capital and Makena Capital.
5. Castrol India appointed Saugata Basuray as Interim CEO
-
Appointment: Saugata Basuray has been appointed as the Interim CEO of Castrol India, effective January 1, 2026, following the resignation of Managing Director Kedar Lele, who will step down on December 31, 2025.
-
Background: Basuray has over 25 years of experience with Castrol India, having joined as a Management Trainee in 1999. He has held various roles in sales, marketing, and business leadership across four countries and two continents.
-
Current Role: Currently, Basuray heads the B2C business segment at Castrol India, where he has driven a multi-year transformation of the company's go-to-market model and expanded Castrol's distribution network into rural India.
-
Key Experience: Basuray's experience includes serving as Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of CIL and Regional Vice President, bp, and leading Castrol's joint venture in Indonesia as Managing Director.
-
Transition: The appointment of Basuray as Interim CEO aims to ensure continuity and stability during the transition period until a new Managing Director is appointed.
6. Union Health Ministry Appoints Actor Deepika Padukone As First-Ever Mental Health Ambassador
-
Appointment: Deepika Padukone has been designated as India's first-ever Mental Health Ambassador to raise awareness about access to mental health services in the country.
-
Objective: The appointment aims to encourage people to seek timely support through government-approved mental health resources and promote mental health as an integral aspect of public health.
-
Background: Deepika's organization, LLL Foundation, has been working for the past 10 years to spread awareness about mental health, making her a suitable candidate for the role.
-
Significance: The partnership is expected to widely disseminate awareness about mental health issues in India, normalize discussions, and reduce stigma around mental health.
7. C-DAC and ICAT Signed MoU to Develop Indigenous Automotive Solutions
-
Partnership: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop indigenous automotive technologies, promoting self-reliance and innovation under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
-
Objective: The partnership aims to accelerate India's transition towards smarter, cleaner, and connected mobility by leveraging domestic innovation and reducing dependence on imported technologies.
-
Roles and Responsibilities: ICAT will engage with the automotive industry to define specific technological needs, while C-DAC will design and develop indigenous solutions. ICAT will support testing, validation, certification, and facilitating connections with automobile manufacturers.
-
National Significance: The partnership aligns with the national vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, paving the way for a future-ready, Swadeshi mobility ecosystem.
8. Abhinav Gupta-led Stradux Honored at Times Business Awards 2025
-
Award Category: Stradux Technologies Pvt. Ltd. was honored with the award for AI Disruption Startup in Fintech at the Times Business Awards 2025, recognizing its innovative contributions to the fintech sector.
-
Event Details: The award ceremony took place at the Novotel HICC in Hyderabad, with Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Culture, Tourism & Development of Northeastern Region, as the chief guest.
-
Abhinav Gupta's Background: Abhinav Gupta, the founder of Stradux, has over two decades of experience in fintech and product innovation, having worked with global firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and the National Stock Exchange.
-
Stradux's Expertise: Under Abhinav's leadership, Stradux has developed products that address real-world financial challenges by combining AI, data analytics, and domain expertise.
-
Recognition Significance: This award cements Stradux's position as one of India's most promising AI-led disruptors in the fintech ecosystem and challenges the company to scale further, innovate deeper, and make fintech more intelligent and inclusive.
9. International Day of the Girl Child observed on 11th October 2025
-
Theme: The theme for International Day of the Girl Child 2025 is "The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis", highlighting girls' leadership and resilience in the face of adversity.
-
Objective: The day aims to celebrate girls' achievements, amplify their voices, and recognize the unique challenges they face globally, including unequal access to education, child marriage, and gender-based violence.
-
History: The day was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 19, 2011, and first observed on October 11, 2012, building on the momentum of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
-
Importance: The day emphasizes the need to invest in girls' education, health, and well-being, and to promote their empowerment and support their leadership and participation in decision-making processes.
10. Former Chairman Emeritus of ‘Prestige’ TT Jagannathan passed away
-
Demise: T.T. Jagannathan, former Chairman Emeritus of TTK Prestige, passed away in Bengaluru on October 9, 2025, at the age of 77.
-
"Kitchen Mogul" Title: He was widely known as 'The Kitchen Mogul' for his transformative role in the Indian kitchenware industry.
-
Key Innovation: He is credited with a major contribution to safety in the industry, including the invention of the Gasket Release System in pressure cookers.
-
Leadership & Transformation: He was on the company's board for over five decades and was instrumental in turning around the TTK Group, eventually building TTK Prestige into a billion-dollar brand and a market leader.
-
Educational Background: He was an alumnus of IIT Madras (gold medalist) and held a PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University, USA.
1 like |
0 comment
